Secrets Collide (Bluegrass Brothers) (20 page)

“Who’s that?” Cy asked. “He looks like a small version of Ahmed.”

“Ah, that’s mini-Ahmed. His real name is Nabi . . . well, Nabi is good enough.”

“Mr. Cy Davies?” Mini-Ahmed asked.

“Yep, that’s me.” Cy held out his hand and accepted an envelope. “So you’re Nabi.”

“Nabi Ulmalhamsh Mosteghanemi,” he said with a slight bow of his head.

“Right.” Cy knew his limits on language and that was it. “So you’re working for Ahmed.”

“Yes. I’m very privileged,” Nabi said while looking back and forth between the brothers. “Were you training?”

“Yes, we were. Would you like to go a round?” Cy asked as Nabi looked around as if to see if he was being watched. “Don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone that you took some time off. I’m good at keeping secrets after all.”

Gemma held her breath as she read the last page Cade had printed from the translated flash drive. She was having trouble seeing through the tears rolling silently down her cheeks as she read the letter her sister had left for her. Gia had known she was in danger and had left this note the morning she was killed, just in case. She said she had a feeling something was wrong.

“I never told you how proud I am of you,”
her sister wrote among the meaningful stories, the special moments, and the hopes for the future. Gemma sucked in a ragged breath as she finished the letter.
“Live life to the fullest for us both. I’ll be checking in on you to make sure you do. I’m your big sister, after all.”

The heartbreak was complete. The feeling of being ripped in two was so overwhelming that Gemma curled into a ball and sobbed.

“Gemma? What is it?” Cade asked quietly as he put a gentle hand on her shoulder.

“My sister left me a note. I should be with her now. It should've been me. I was running in circles, but she was going places. She was making a difference in the world with her reporting.”

“Gemma, you can’t do this to yourself," Cade reassured her. "Your sister loved you and there is no way she would want you to blame yourself. I’ve only known you a short time, but it’s clear to me that you have great things ahead. Your sister would be very proud of you. I know my brother is.”

Fresh tears started and Gemma couldn’t stop them. She knew she looked a mess. She was an ugly crier, but right now she didn’t care. Although Cade’s slightly nervous look caused her some comic relief.

“What the hell did you do to her?” Cy yelled. She looked up and found him shooting daggers at his brother.

“Oh, Cy.” Gemma jumped up, pushing Cade out of the way, and leaped onto Cy. Gemma pressed herself against him as she hugged him tight.

“I’ll come back,” Cade said as he started for the door.

“No. I’m okay. Tell him what we found.” Gemma laughed as she dried her tears. Cy’s confused expression was just as funny as Cade’s had been.

“We read through all the notes on the flash drive and there was this one phrase toward the end that read
Sarah is the key
. Gemma thinks this blonde woman is Sarah. The question remains—who is she?”

“Wait,” Gemma said, “that club in the background. I know that club. It’s in L.A. and I happen to know the bouncer.”

“Do you think he’ll know her?” Cy asked as he looked at the picture again.

“I bet he does. She looks wealthy and if you and I both think she looks familiar, she has to be on the party scene. I’ll call him tonight before the club opens. With the time difference, he’s probably sleeping and waking him will not entice him to help. But we did it. We have our first real lead.”

Gemma sat down in the chair Cy held out for her at the café and picked up the menu. This time the moment of silence when they entered only lasted a couple of seconds. She was growing on them. And they were growing on her, too. The town was cute and the gossip that was being traded at every table was friendly. Not the career-or-relationship-ending kind she normally dealt with.

“I’ll have the chicken salad. Thank you, Miss Daisy.” Gemma waited for Cy to place his order before she talked to him. “This is a good idea. If we hadn’t come, I would've been pacing while I waited to call Joe at the club.”

“Any time I get to spend with you is good. Actually, I was wondering if you wanted to go to a party tomorrow with me.”

Gemma looked at him skeptically. “Will it end with high-speed chases and someone dying?”

“No. It'll end with eating cake and opening baby gifts.”

“Then it sounds perfect.”

The café went quiet and then started whispering again when the newest couple came in. “This is big. That’s Henry Rooney; he’s our town’s only defense attorney. He’s been dating Neely Grace for a while now.”

“Why is that big?” Gemma asked.

“Because Henry is famous for his bad pick-up lines. I heard they fell in love over a battle of bad one-liners at my parents’ house one night. That and Neely Grace is smart, good-looking, and also a lawyer. We all thought Henry would end up marrying someone he met on the Internet who didn’t speak English.”

Henry and Neely Grace stopped at the table on the way to theirs. “Cy. It’s good to see you again. Have you met Neely Grace?”

“Of course I have. It’s been a long time, though, Neely Grace.”

“Since high school,” Neely Grace told them.

“And this is my girlfriend, Gemma Perry. Gemma, Neely Grace and Henry Rooney.”

“Nice to meet you,” Henry said during a full body scan.  Neely Grace rolled her eyes and smacked Henry prompting him to say, “What?”

“He’s learning,” Neely Grace said with an apologetic grin that told Gemma she was enjoying teaching him. Gemma giggled and gave Neely Grace an understanding look. She’d dated a couple of guys like that, too.

Gemma and Cy enjoyed dinner and he told her about the fight at the peewee football game, which had her laughing so hard a couple people turned to look at them. She met some more of the townsfolk and before long she looked at her watch and jumped up.

“It’s time to call Joe. I almost missed it because I was having such a nice time.”

“Come on. You can call him while we walk back to Miss Lily’s.”

Cy paid the check and Gemma went outside to call the club. She waited impatiently as the phone rang over and over again. “Hello. Can I talk to Joe?” she asked when the phone was picked up.

It took a couple minutes, but Joe finally came to the phone. “This is Joe.”

“Joe, Gemma Perry.”

“Hey, Gemma. What can I do for you? Do you need to be on the VIP list tonight?”

“No, I need to send you a picture and have you identify a woman for me. It’s really important.”

“Sure.” Joe rattled off his cell number and Gemma sent the picture to him. “Okay, I got it. Damn, this is bothering me. She looks so familiar, but I can’t place her. There are just too many bottle blondes with big tits to keep them straight. But Nick at the bar should know. Tonight’s his night off. Can I give you a call tomorrow?”

“That would be great. Thanks, Joe.” Gemma hung up the phone and turned to Cy. “Tomorrow. We’ll know tomorrow.”

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

Gemma stood proudly at Cy’s arm as they followed the pink and blue balloons to the back of the biggest mansion she’d ever seen. A large white silk tent was in the backyard, filled with tables. Each table had a huge arrangement of pink and blue hydrangeas and little wooden alphabet blocks as napkin holders.

“This is amazing. Do they do this for every party?” Gemma asked as they nodded their hellos to some people standing in a group near the tent.

“I don’t think so. I’m not here much, but from what I understand they’re very laid back. All of this is because the King and Queen of Rahmi are here. And here are our hosts. Hi, Mo. Dani, you’re glowing,” Cy said as he gave Dani a kiss on the cheek.

“It’s called sweat, but I like the way you say it much better,” Dani laughed. “But now I'm going to steal Gemma away and introduce her around so you men can complain about being dragged to a baby shower.”

Gemma waved goodbye as Dani linked her arm in hers and started walking toward their friends. “I wanted a small party with my girlfriends and this is the compromise we came to with my father-in-law. I need to get better at negotiating,” Dani teased.

“Gemma, I’m so glad you’re here. Tell us everything about the ball,” Paige practically screamed. Gemma tried hard not to blush. While many things happened that night, it was what happened after she got home that she remembered the most.

“It was wonderful. Even if I’m not a great dancer.”

“Was it romantic?” Tammy asked, her eyes big with anticipation.

“It was. Until we had to chase down the bad guy.”

“If it’s one thing I know, it’s action. That can be the best kind of foreplay,” Annie said with her eyes twinkling with mischief.

“You know a lot about action, huh?” Morgan teased.

“Not that kind of action.”

“Poor Cade,” Katelyn laughed.

“Y’all suck,” Annie joked.

“Oh no,” Dani said sadly.

“Are you okay?” Kenna asked, concerned.

“Yes, it’s just my brother and sister-in-law are here, too, and no one is talking to them.” Gemma glanced to the elegantly dressed couple standing uncomfortably alone a short distance away. “I’m going to bring her over here. She needs some girl time.”

A couple minutes later Dani returned with a regal, yet somewhat shy, woman. Her dark hair was hidden under a beautiful scarf that complemented her suit to perfection.

“Girls, this is my sister-in-law, Ameera.” Ameera’s brown eyes widened and Dani patted her hand. “When
he’s
not around, we go by our first names,” she said with a wink.

Gemma smiled at the woman when they were introduced and saw she was concerned for her husband. “Don’t worry. The guys sneaked him out. I’m sure they’re doing something manly,” Gemma said, trying to comfort her.

“Oh good,” Ameera said with relief. “He has not left my side in the month we have been in the United States. Don’t eat this, don’t drink that—it’s not good for the baby.”

“You’re pregnant?” they all asked at once.

“No, that is the problem. We are undergoing treatments to try to get pregnant.” Ameera then looked nervously to Dani’s rounded belly.

“I certainly hope that it works. You find out in a couple weeks if the first treatment works, right?” Dani asked.

“Yes. But, did you say you hope it works?”

“Of course I want it to work. I want to raise any children I have in Keeneston. I give His Highness enough problems just as a princess. Can you imagine me having to be the mother of the future king if we have a boy? It would be horrible.”

Ameera smiled. “Yes, it would be very trying for His Highness. See, I've been raised since birth to be a queen and to raise the future king. I feel like such a failure that I cannot do the job I was raised to perform.”

“Oh, sweetie. I understand. You know it wasn’t easy for Mo and me either, but we’re both here for you.”

“And so are we. You’re always welcome to Keeneston if you all need a place to relax,” Paige offered.

“Thank you, that is so kind. We have really enjoyed our time here and I hope we have time to meet again before we all leave to go to Rahmi. Look, here come the men.”

Gemma looked toward the entrance of the tent and saw the Davies brothers along with Mo, his brother, Will, and Cole all walking into the tent. They were all smiling and fixing their ties. If she were a betting woman, she would say they had a couple of drinks and tossed a football around behind the tent.

A mousy woman stopped Cy and when he looked up, he signaled Gemma to come join them. She made her excuses and headed his way.

“Sweetheart, this is Marianne. She owns the
Keeneston Journal
, our local weekly paper.”

“It’s such a pleasure to meet you, Miss Perry. Cy was just telling me you worked for
Inside Peek
. I love that magazine,” Marianne pushed up her glasses and looked slightly embarrassed.

“Thank you. I’m surprised it’s even sold out here.”

“There’s not a whole lot of news to report in a town this size, but we do have gossip. The magazine and articles really guide me on how to run the
Keeneston Journal
. It’s so exciting to meet you. I must talk with you sometime about what you do there.”

Gemma beamed at the compliment. She’d been yelled at, cursed at, spit at, and threatened for stories she’d run before. She’d never been praised. She was just about to ask Marianne if she wanted the scoop of her life—the memory card with Ginger and Tatum was back in her room—when she felt her cell phone vibrate. She never had a chance to turn it in. In fact, she had all the stories deemed too “feel good” about Hollywood celebrities on her computer that her boss refused to run.

“I’d love to talk more, but I have a call I need to take,” she said, giving Cy a meaningful look. She answered her phone and hurried out of the tent as Cy gave his excuses to Marianne. He was beside her before she even had a chance to say hello.

“Joe?” Gemma asked as she stopped under the wide branches of a maple tree.

“Hey, Gem. I feel real stupid, you know. As soon as Nick said her name it hit me. Sarah Elizabeth Flannery.”

“The socialite?”

“The very one. Not only that, but the boss man had me put her on tonight’s VIP list. Should I add your name, too?” he asked with a smile to his voice.

“Looks like I’ll be seeing you soon. Thanks a lot, Joe, I owe you.”

“Can you get me an audition with Doug Mac for his next action movie?” Joe teased.

“Ha, I’ll see what I can do. See you tonight.” Gemma hung up the phone and turned to see half the town behind her.

“Just tell us all. John probably has your phone tapped, dear,” Miss Lily said matter-of-factly.

Gemma looked past the Rose sisters to where Dani and Mo stood with the rest of the Davies family. “I have a little favor to ask,” Gemma said sweetly. “We need to get to L.A. right now.”

“I will have the plane ready in thirty minutes.” Mo sent a quick message on his phone and then gave her a little nod. “Now tell us why.”

“All the clues point to this one woman, Sarah Elizabeth Flannery. I don’t know what a twenty-one-year-old socialite has to do with this mess.”