Loving My SECRET (Corrigan & Co. Book 10) (22 page)

“His recommendation
will be glowing. Don’t worry about that,” my brother tells her.

“Thanks. Miles, your
assistant has been getting calls from the people Corrigan does
business with. They all want to talk to you immediately. Some are
threatening to pull their contracts.”

“I’ve been ignoring
her calls. And let the fuckers try and break a contract. Reina
kissing some guys has nothing to do with how Matt or I run the
business.”

“They could make both
of you look bad in the media.”

“Like my little
brother said, let the fuckers try. They think they can intimidate us?
One of us could take them down. Together, we’ll crush them.”

“Why did this have to
happen while Ray is on vacation, and I have to run things for my
internship?”

“You’ve got this
Camari. There’s a whole staff behind you. We’re behind you, too,”
I tell her.

“Is there something
official you want me to say?”

“Yes. Tell them I
love my wife, and stand behind whatever choices she’s making right
now.”

“The media is going
to paint you as a cuckolded fool. Just warning you.”

“I’m man enough to
handle some bad press.”

“Why do I feel like
there’s more going on here than you’re telling me?”

“Because you’re
smart.”

“You’re not going
to tell me anything else, are you?”

“No. When we can tell
you, we will. You take care of the press. Miles and I will take care
of the business.”

“Are you going to
take care of Reina, too?”

“Yes,” I tell her
with a smile I’m not feeling. “My wife is my number one priority
right now.”

Within minutes of her
leaving, the entire Society—minus Reina, Gram, and Alex—converge
on my room. They all look as freaked out as Miles and me. Theo walks
in a few minutes later, barking orders into his phone about not
letting anyone but employees or people on his list through the gates.

“Every journalist on
the planet is outside the gates,” he says.

“I doubt it’s
everyone,” Ellie tells him with a smirk.

“Go look for
yourself. ‘Party girl Reina’ is causing me more trouble than
working for a gay Vice President ever did.”

“My wife is hotter
than Aiden’s dad.”

“Enough of the fun,”
Stella says, looking fiercer than I’ve ever seen her. “What the
hell is going on?”

“We don’t know.
Joel Cruz called Miles and said Reina told him to call and say that
Gram, Jessica, and Alex needed to be protected.”

“That call came too
late,” Ainsley says. “At least for Jane and Alex. They’ve
disappeared.”

“My mom’s not
answering her phone, either.” Miles looks like he’s seconds from
losing it, and I pull him in for a hug.

“We’ll get them
back. They don’t have Reina yet, and if I’m right, she’s going
to keep doing whatever she can to make sure they think we’re headed
for a divorce.”

“Why them?” he
asks.

“They’re the last
of the Corrigan women,” Isa reminds us. “Without one of them
alive, and leading, the Foundation will fall.”

“Along with the
Society. Fuck,” Tegan says.

“This isn’t the
first time someone has gone after us. We stopped Selene,” Mallory
reminds us.

“She didn’t kidnap
all of the women who can keep us from having to shut down. Although,
Jessica is divorced, so I don’t get why she was taken,” Helen
adds.

“She’s my mother,
and she kept my last name. It doesn’t matter that they’re
divorced. She’ll always be a Corrigan.”

“This couldn’t be
your dad, could it?” Cyndi asks.

“No,” Ainsley tells
her. “He’s well monitored, and since his one attempt at escape
went badly for him, he’s been a model prisoner.”

“Who could be doing
this then? And what do they have to gain? I can’t imagine one
trafficker having the resources or knowledge to do this,” Maggie
says.

“No. This is bigger.
I feel it. It’s bad, and it’s more than one person. It’s just
my gut, but that’s what I think,” I tell them.

“I agree,” Audrey
says.

“I need to get to
London without anyone knowing,” I tell them.

“London?”

“It’s where Jessica
was, and I don’t doubt that Reina knows it, and will head there
next.”

“If only we could
contact her,” Faith says.

“I have an idea about
that. You all just get me there, and I’ll take care of Reina.”

“I’m going, too,”
Miles says.

“No. You can’t. You
need to stay here and run the company. Business as usual. I’m still
recovering, Alex is taking a much needed vacation, Reina has no
bearing on the business, and anything else Camari tells you to say.”

“It’s my wife, my
mom, and Gram. I can’t just sit here and do nothing.”

“Don’t you trust me
Kilo?” I ask, using that stupid nickname to coax a smile out of
him.

“Bastard. You know I
trust you. Bring them back, bro. All of them.”

“I will. I just need
to go alone. We can’t hide all of us, and if these people have the
Corrigan women, they know about the rest of us. Our plans cannot be
told to anyone outside of this room. Not the teams, and not the other
guys. I trust the guys, and I would like to trust the teams, but we
can’t have anyone accidentally slip.”

“Understood. We can
do this. We have to do this,” Darcy says.

“There’s one thing
you should know, Matt,” Cyndi tells me. “The four of us are going
to London in a few days. There’s a royal ball we were all invited
to.”

“How long has this
been planned?”

“Months. It’s a
minor royal, and not the queen, but we were all excited to be
invited. We had a whole week of shopping and fun planned. All five of
us,” Helen says.

“Then you all need to
go. I’ll take my Gram’s place. We just won’t tell them that
until that night.”

“They may not let you
in.”

“They’ll let me
in.”

“One thing no one has
mentioned needs to be addressed,” Jade says.

“What?’ I ask.

“You haven’t been
released yet.”

I smile. “Don’t
worry about me. My 78% is another guy’s 110%. I’ve got this.”

“I wasn’t doubting
your skills. I was just worried about you.”

“Thanks, but I
promise you I wouldn’t do this if I didn’t think I could.”

I’m not lying. I need
to protect those women who I love more than anyone else, which is why
I wouldn’t risk any of us by going out if I wasn’t ready. I know
I could do more harm than help if I take off without being ready. I’m
ready, and if I still hurt a little, well that’s only going to make
me a little angrier. I may not be Hulk, but I can guarantee that no
one likes me when I’m angry, and whoever has my family had better
be ready for me. I’m taking no prisoners on this one.

* * *

Reina

I know I’m going to
be followed today, and I won’t be coming back here to the hotel. I
arranged with the front desk to have my things sent home, and I’ve
got everything I need for later in my messenger bag. To anyone else,
it will look like I’m just sightseeing today, but in reality, I’m
putting on a show. An important show that just might save us all.

I take the Metro to the
Musee Rodin. I wanted to see the museum, and I’m not disappointed.
The Kiss, The Thinker, and The Gates of Hell are magnificent. The
other statues throughout the outside gardens are no less stunning. I
have no trouble pretending to be enjoying all of it. In the gift
shop, I’m not surprised to learn that a smaller version of The Kiss
has been purchased for me, and will be shipped to Las Vegas. I thank
the clerk, and buy myself a t-shirt. I wish I could text Matt, but I
can’t.

After the museum, I
walk through the neighborhood, passing government buildings that are
as gorgeous as they are functional, and apartments that make me wish
I could stay here forever. I can’t help feeling the history of this
city as I walk. I can even see the Eiffel Tower in the distance. The
city isn’t big, but it makes me feel small and young as I make my
way through it.

I’m walking towards
the Musee d’Orsay when I see the Obelisk. I cross the closest
bridge, and stand on one of the sidewalks in the roundabout to take
pictures. I’ve been to Paris many times, but never to just enjoy
it. If I had more time, I’d walk the entire city. I promise myself
that I’ll come back one day, and maybe bring Matt with me. I want
to hold his hand as I walk these streets. I don’t know if we’ll
be at that place again, but I want us to be.

I feel his absence even
more on the bridge with all the locks covering it. I know they’re
coming down soon due to the weight destroying the bridge. I’m happy
for a chance to see them, and the love they represent. It’s the
kind of hopeful love I once had, and hope to feel again one day.

I wander through the
Museum, looking at the paintings and admiring the statues. Even
though I rarely take selfies, I take one in front of the famous
clock. I’ve always loved it, and there was no one around who looked
interested in taking a picture for me. A girl’s gotta do what a
girl’s gotta do. I snag a seat at the casual café downstairs, and
then visit my second museum gift shop of the day.

There’s not much I
want, since most of it has the art from the museum on it, and not
their cool logo or the clock. I decide on a journal with their logo,
and take it to the cashier. It’s so subtle that I might have missed
it, but he switches my journal for one that’s below the register. I
know in that moment that Joel made his call, meaning Matt’s gifts
are going to start including messages to me.

I make my way into the
nearest restroom, and lock myself in a stall before taking out the
journal. The page tucked inside contains my message. It looks like
jibberish, but I know it’s in code. I pull the tenth word out of
every sentence to form what was left for me. Ten is my favorite
number, and Matt knows that.

No one can reach G,
A, or J. The 5 were to attend a ball in London, which is where J was
last seen. 4 will go, with a 5th guest. Attend if you can, but be
careful. Keep up your act. It may be the only thing keeping you safe,
and I know it’s not real. I love you, M

I tear up the paper,
and flush it down the toilet. I need to go to London, and keep
kissing boys who aren’t the right one, all so we can try to flush
out the people who took the other Corrigan women. I have no doubt
that they were taken, and I can’t shake the feeling that I’m
missing something important. I feel like I should know who took them,
who arranged for all of the mentors to be in London. It’s just out
of my grasp, and I can’t dwell on it right now. It’ll come to me,
or I’ll figure it out later. Right now, I have a ruse to keep up.

I walk to the nearest
Metro station and make my way to the Champs Elysees. Any soon to be
divorcee in Paris would spend her husband’s money on this famous
street, and I do just that—or at least I pretend to. I buy clothes,
shoes, purses, and everything else that strikes my fancy, but I pay
with my own credit card. All of it will be shipped to me, because I’m
not feeling safe enough to have my hands full while I’m still being
followed. They think they’re hiding, but I see them. And I let them
see me.

In the café near the
Arc de Triomphe, I kiss the cute bartender when he asks me how my
dessert tastes. I hear the cell phones going off, but I ignore them.
I don’t ignore the man outside the Metro station in Montmarte who
looks interested. He kisses like an eager twelve year-old, but I
pretend I’m into it as more pictures are taken. The handsome man
outside Notre Dame kisses better, but doesn’t even make my pulse
speed up a little. I finish off my Paris kissing adventure in the
Gare du Nord train station. I grab a boy who can’t be older than
twenty, and kiss him in front of his friends before boarding my train
for London. I can only imagine what the Corrigan PR people are
dealing with, but the need to stay alive trumps any guilt I’m
feeling about the extra work I’m giving them. I’ll apologize
later.

Matt

I have less than 24
hours before my plane leaves for London, and I’m not wasting a
second of it. Kendrick and Waverly weren’t totally on board with my
plan, but they resigned themselves to it. I’m running full out on
the treadmill while doing curls with five pound weights. They thought
I was nuts, but now they’re looking at me like they can’t believe
what they’re seeing.

“Special Forces,
people. This is nothing.”

“Show off,” Waverly
says.

“Man with the most
important mission of his life,” I counter.

“I understand, and
that is the only reason I’m letting you out of here,” Kendrick
tells me.

“You think you could
stop me?”

“No, but I would
try.”

“Appreciate that,
Kenny,” I tell him with a laugh.

“I’m glad you can
laugh right now,” Camari says as she walks in.

“How bad is it?”

“A nuclear bomb would
probably cause less damage to Corrigan than Reina is doing.”

“I’m ready to make
a statement.”

“Great. I’ll type
something up,” The raven haired beauty tells me.

“Nope. This is going
to be all me.”

“That’s not a good
idea. You should let me at least look at what you have written down.”

“I don’t have
anything written down. I’ll be speaking from the heart.”

“I’m not going to
win if I fight you on this, am I?”

“Nope.”

“Is this afternoon
good enough for you?”

“Yes. Thanks, Camari.
You’re doing a great job.”

“I’m sorry about
Reina,” Kendrick tells me.

“Me too,” I say,
playing along.

I finish my workout and
call Stella and Tegan once I’m alone in my room. What I’m going
to do is necessary, both for the company and for Reina. I need them
to know it’s not real so they don’t kill me. I can only hope that
the woman I love will realize it on her own. If she thinks it’s
real, I may lose her forever this time.