Deadly Embrace (32 page)

"Oh yeah," Vinny said, scowling. "
That
cow."

"She was with them that night. One of the two men was her cousin
Roy."

"You're makin' this up," Vinny said, turning pale.

"No, I'm not. It's somethin' I found out recently. Marnie was
waitin' outside the store. It was her set the whole thing."

"That lousy, no-good
cunt
!" Vinny screamed.

"Don't worry—I'm takin' care of it."

"How'll you do that?"

"Better you don't ever know."

Vincent was a serious child, and gorgeous, with his long, silky
black eyelashes and deep green eyes. He was smart too—by the
time he was two he could recite his ABCs and count to one hundred in
English and Spanish. Nando was also smart, quick-witted and very
bright, but he refused to take anything seriously. He was into
exploring, experimenting', and getting into trouble. The two of them
balanced each other out. They were as close as brothers, and even
though they were only seven, they exhibited a fierce loyalty toward
each other.

At school, Vincent excelled, while Nando lagged behind. Sometimes
it worried Dani that Nando might be a bad influence on her son. She
didn't act on it; the boys were so close it would be unfair to try
and separate them.

Shortly after marrying Morgan, Gemini gave up her job at the
Magiriano Hotel. Dani was upset. She knew she would miss the
companionship of seeing her friend every night. "We'll still get
together during the day," Gemini promised. "Except when we're
traveling. Morgan loves to travel and I have to be available to go
with him."

They'd made a deal that whenever Gemini was away, Dani would take
care of Nando.

Friday morning, Gemini and Morgan left for a long weekend in
Chicago, dropping Nando off on their way to the airport.

Later that day, Dani took the two boys to the children's area in
the park. She sat on the bench watching Nando show off as he
attempted to stand on his head on the merry-go-round, while some of
the smaller kids who were playing in the sandbox screamed with
delight.

The boys were getting too big for park activities; they preferred
hanging out at the ranch, where they could ride horses and run
wild.

Dani didn't notice the man approaching her until he was standing
right next to her.

"Excuse me," he said, startling her.

She glanced up. He was a slim man, dressed in jeans, a blue sports
jacket, and a white shirt open at the neck. Quite attractive, he had
dark blond hair that curled around his collar, a stubbled chin, and
unfocused, faintly bloodshot eyes. He did not look American.

"Can I help you?" she asked.

"You're Dani Castle, is that right?" he said in a hardly
detectable foreign accent.

"That's right," she said, thinking that he obviously recognized
her from the show and was about to ask for her autograph.

"You have something that belongs to me," he said, cracking his
knuckles.

"I do?" she said, glancing around to see if there was anyone who
could come to her assistance if he got crazy on her. Sometimes fans
did—although this man did not seem to be a fan. "And what would
that be?"

"My son," he said.

"Your son?" she repeated.

"I'm Moralis," he said, his eyes darting around the playground.
"Gemini's ex-husband. I'm sure she has informed you what a bastard I
am."

Actually, Gemini had said very little about Moralis—except
that he was the son of an extremely rich man, that he'd abused her
both mentally and physically, and that after their divorce was final,
they'd both agreed to never see each other again. Now here he
was.

Uninvited, he sat down beside her and proceeded to tell her how
he'd been searching for his son for the last four years, and had only
recently—with the help of a private detective—discovered
that Nando was in Vegas.

"I... I thought you and Gemini worked everything out," Dani said,
not wanting to get in the middle of this.

"After I paid her a fortune, she disappeared with my son," he said
bitterly. "Left my country without informing me where she was going.
It has taken me all this time to find her." He stood up. "Where is
Nando? I must see him."

"You'll have to wait until Gemini gets home in a couple of
days."

"I don't think so," he said forcefully. "I came here to take my
son, and that's what I'm doing."

"You can't," she said quickly.

"Who'll stop me?"

"I will."

"Oh,
you
will," he said, almost laughing in her face.

"Gemini has custody of Nando," she explained, hoping he'd listen
to reason. "If you want to share that custody you'll have to go
through the courts."

"Do I look as if I'm prepared to do that?" he said edgily.

"Let me see if I can contact Gemini and ask
her
what to
do."

"Do you
understand
what I'm telling you?" he said, getting
angry. "She took my
son
away from me. In my country that is
not legal. In my country a man has rights."

There was something unsettling about this man, and until she had
Gemini's permission, there was no way she was allowing him to take
Nando.

"Perhaps you can tell me where you're staying, and I'll be in
touch," she said.

"I want my son," he answered, an angry gleam in his eyes. "And I
want him now."

"That's not possible. Nando is in my charge, and I can't release
him."

"
Bitch
!" he said, suddenly snapping. "You fucking American
women are all bitches. You're as bad as the French ones."

Dani stood up. She was as tall as him and unafraid. 'You'll need a
court order to take Nando, so go away," she said firmly.

"No, I will not go away," he said, staring her down.

Out of the corner of her eye she observed a police car cruising
by. "If you cause any more problems, I'm flagging down that police
car and you'll be arrested."

"Are you
threatening
me?" he said, the anger in his eyes
turning dangerous.

"I'm merely trying to make this a pleasant experience for everyone
concerned. I'm sure you want to see your son. However, you must
understand my position."

"I understand shit," he said abruptly. "I'm takin' my kid." And he
marched toward the boys on the swings. "Nando!" he called out.
"Nando, it's your papa. I've come to get you."

Nando stopped what he was doing and turned to see who was calling
him.

Quickly Dani ran over and waved down the police car. Leaning into
the window, she was happy to recognize one of the cops. His name was
Burt, and he attended her show on a regular basis.

"Hey, Dani—how's it going?" Burt asked.

"Not good," she answered. "That man over there is Gemini's
ex-husband. He's trying to take her son. Can you do something?"

"Sure," Burt said. "We'll go have a word with him."

Burt and his female partner got out of their patrol car and
approached Moralis, who by this time had picked Nando up and was
swinging him around in the air. The little boy didn't seem at all
perturbed. On the other hand, he didn't recognize Moralis—but
hey, an adventure was always fun, and Nando lived for fun.

"I'm your papa," Moralis kept on repeating. "Remember me? Your
papa."

"Can I talk to you, sir?" Burt said.

Moralis was not in a good mood. "I'm busy," he said.

"Put the boy down, come over here, and we'll talk," interjected
the female cop, a tough-looking redhead.

"Screw you," Moralis snapped.

Vincent, who'd been watching all this, ran over to Dani. "Who's
that man, Mommy?" he asked. "Why's he got Nando?"

"It's nothing, baby," she said, quickly taking his hand.

"Why's Nando
with
him?" Vincent persisted.

"He's a... relative. We have to wait until Auntie Gem comes back,
then we'll sort everything out."

"Wanna get down," Nando suddenly yelled at Moralis. "Lemme go."
And he kneed him in the stomach.

"You little shit!" Moralis shouted, and went to slap the boy.

Before he was able to, Burt grabbed his arm, Nando lost his
balance, and a scuffle ensued.

Dani didn't wait around. She rushed over, grabbed Nando, and
hurried the boys to her car. "Get in quickly," she commanded. And
without looking back, she drove them home, where her housekeeper
informed her that a Mr. Sanchez had been around asking for his son,
and she'd directed him to the park.

"
Never
do that again," Dani said. "Do not tell
anyone
where I am unless you know who they are."

She instructed the boys to go upstairs, ran to the phone, and
called Gemini and Morgan in Chicago. They were not in the hotel. Next
she phoned Dean in Houston. He was there. She relayed the story.

"Don't panic," he said. "Drive the boys out to the ranch and warn
your housekeeper not to tell anyone where you are. In the meantime,
I'll contact Morgan; he'll know how to handle this."

"Thank you, Dean," she said gratefully.

"The guy didn't threaten
you
, did he?"

"No, but there was definitely something weird about him."

"Don't worry, I'll take care of it."

That's what she loved about Dean. He was always ready to take care
of anything she asked, even though she was still reticent about
getting married.

"We're engaged," she'd said to him the last time he'd asked.
"Let's enjoy that for a while."

"What kind of an engagement is it when you're in Vegas and I'm in
Houston?" he'd said.

He was right, but she couldn't bring herself to take the final
step.

"I'm not going to wait forever," he'd told her.

"I know, Dean. I promise—soon."

And that's how they'd left it.

* * *

When Gemini returned from Chicago, she cautioned Dani not to tell
Morgan anything that Moralis had said, other than his request to take
Nando.

"I thought you'd worked everything out with him," Dani said over
lunch at the ranch.

"Not exactly," Gemini replied.

"According to Moralis, you took off with Nando four years ago, and
he's been looking for you ever since."

"It's a long story," Gemini said, sipping iced tea. "I left a
trail that ended in Paris. I thought he'd search Europe for a couple
of months, then forget about us."

"Apparently he hasn't."

"Moralis is full of demons," Gemini said earnestly. "Look what
you
went through with Sam."

"That's different," Dani said. "Sam isn't Vincent's real father.
Plus, Sam turned out to be a drunk—that's hardly comparable to
being filled with demons."

"I had to get away," Gemini explained, her face clouding over.
"Nobody has any idea how violent Moralis can be. When he loses his
temper, he doesn't care what he does. You're lucky he didn't attack
you
."

"I have a feeling he was about to. Fortunately, I saw the police
car and waved it down."

"Do you think Nando remembered him?" Gemini asked.

"He didn't seem to."

"Thank God!"

"Is he likely to come back?"

Gemini shook her head. "With the police involved, I'm sure he
won't dare."

"Do you honestly think one little incident with the police will
make him go away?"

"When he finds out he can't treat me the way that he used to,
he'll leave. I have Morgan to protect me now."

It crossed Dani's mind that maybe Gemini had married Morgan for
exactly that reason. An older, powerful, rich man who could protect
her. Close as she was to Gemini, there were obviously things she
didn't know.

"If you ever want to talk about it—I'm here," she
offered.

"Thanks, Dani, you're a good friend."

"I try to be."

* * *

Several weeks passed and there were no more Moralis sightings.

Gemini was relieved. "Morgan says if he comes back again, he'll
have him arrested."

"Is that possible?"

"Anything's possible," Gemini replied, secure in her marriage to a
powerful man.

Dani wasn't sure that Moralis would give up so easily. She'd seen
the look in his eyes; he was a determined man and an angry one.

Dean flew back into town and began pressuring her again. Since
she'd slept with him once, he expected she would do it again. She
demurred, coming up with many different excuses.

"Dani," he said to her one day, "are we doing this, or not?"

"Doing what, Dean?" she asked, although she knew exactly what he
meant.

"Getting married," he said flatly. "Because if we're not..."

"Yes?"

"If we're not, I have to move on."

Move on? What was he talking about? "Excuse me?" she said.

"I have needs, Dani, and you're not meeting them."

"Are you asking me to give you back your ring?"

"No."

"Then-what?"

"Love
me
like I love you. Is that too much to ask?"

"I... I'm not sure I can," she said hesitantly.

"Why not?" he demanded.

"I need time."

"You've
had
time."

She knew she had to make a decision. If she didn't marry Dean
soon, he
would
move on.

She consulted with Gemini, who told her that Morgan had mentioned
Dean was seeing someone in Houston. The news came as a blow.

Dean was hers. Always there. Always faithful.

Or was he?

She waited until his next trip, and over a quiet dinner after her
show agreed that they should set a date. Then she stayed the night at
his hotel, cementing the deal.

In the morning he was ecstatic. "You'll never regret it," he
said.

"Let's do it next week," she said, afraid that she might change
her mind.

He was surprised. "Don't you want to plan a big wedding with all
the trimmings?"

"No," she said. "If Morgan and Gemini agree, we'll do it at the
ranch."