Seductive Knight (20 page)

“Good morning. My name is Luke Williams.”

“Good morning.”

“I’m here to see Mrs. Lucrezia Rose and her daughter, Frieda.”

“Are they expecting you?” the maid asked with a Spanish accent.

“No. But I don’t have a number to call to let them know I was coming today.”

“I’m sorry, Mrs. Rose is—”

“I have news about her granddaughter, Alex Rose.”

Just like that, the maid let him in. Of course, she would let him in. Lucrezia Rose must have been waiting to hear news about Alex for years. She was Alex’s grandmother, after all.

Luke was escorted to the room with walls the color of a lovely shade of pink. As soon as he was alone, he let out a pent up breath he realized he’d been holding. Fuck! He could do this. All he had to do was stick to his plan. Alex said her grandma had been nice to her. Surely, the old woman had been dying to know about Alex’s fate.

Why Gawain Knight and the lawyer Baskerville didn’t want Alex to see Lucrezia and Frieda, he had no idea. But one thing he was sure about—he closely inspected the books on the shelf, teacups and teapot sitting on the round table and doilies—his mother would surely love this room and all the knick-knacks that came with it.

If the house had all the elements that made it look beautiful, inside, it was breathtaking. From the marbled floor to the chandelier, the house spoke of wealth. The opposite of the house Alex lived in for years in the Philippines.

How a family could amass this kind of fortune was beyond him. Was it luck, or had God a hand on their success? Could God really be that one-sided? Who gives a fuck? What he knew now was that he’d found an answer to his growing problems—Alex and everything that she’d told him.

The door opened.

A woman in a long flowery dress holding a cane walked in.

“I am Alex’s grandmother, Lucrezia. You have news about my granddaughter?”

Distrust was obvious in Lucrezia’s face. She assessed Luke from head to toe, lingering on his shoes.

Luke felt uneasy, but didn’t show it.

For a grandmother who lost a grandchild and daughter-in-law, she didn’t look happy at all at the prospect of hearing news about them. Another woman who looked half-asleep, whom Luke guessed must be Frieda, followed Lucrezia and then stood beside her. She was chewing her fingers and kept looking at her mother as if she was waiting to hear what Lucrezia would say.

“I have good news about Alex.”

“She’s dead?”

“Frieda!”

“I was going to say that is not good news, Mom.”

Okie fucking-dokie.

“Have a seat. Luke Williams, right?”

“Right.” He watched the women take their places before taking the loveseat. Both sat with their back straight like a board. They looked tense.

“Tell me. What is it you want to tell us about Alex.”

Interesting. Lucrezia asked about Alex, but not Molly. “She’s alive. Been living in the Philippines since she and Molly left US.”

“Hear that, Mom? That is good news.”

Lucrezia nodded. “How did you know this?”

“I’ve been friends with her for years.”

“So, Molly and Alex are okay.” Lucrezia placed a hand on her chest and let out a deep sigh.

“Unfortunately, no.”

“No?” Mother and daughter said simultaneously.

What the hell. Now, they looked excited. Alex said a lot of people didn’t like Molly. Could these women be some of them? Do they hate Molly or just don’t care? “Molly died from hypoglycemia.”

“Are you sure?” Lucrezia asked almost in cheerful tone.

“Yes. Alex and I have become friends. You might be interested to know that Alex grew up to be a beautiful woman.” And pure, he wanted to add. His mother would be proud if he brought Alex home. The problem was there wouldn’t be a home to come home to if the bank repossessed it.

With his father living in Florida somewhere with his fourth wife and a fucking number of children, it would be stupid to ask for his help. The fucking ass was worse than a scab. Since he’d known him, he’d been nothing but an ass, using his religion to have more than one wife in his bed. As soon as one got pregnant, he’d move to the next one. That was what he had done with his mother, who’d been gullible to believe his fucking lies. After seven children, he left to live with his younger wife. Fucking son of a bitch. Now, it was up to him to keep his family together and fed.

When he said he’d help Alex find out about what happened to her house and grandma and aunt, he meant it. This time though, he had another purpose—to use Alex. He hoped someday she’d forgive him.

“Why in the world would she live in the Philippines?” Lucrezia asked.

“That’s where Molly took her.”

“Molly must be crazy. Philippines is a third world country. I would never go there. Always visited by typhoons. Poor, but rich with bugs. And dirty. Just like Molly,” Frieda spat out.

“Frieda!” Lucrezia practically snarled at her daughter. “Pardon my daughter, Mr. Williams. We are angry. If it weren’t for Molly, Clayton and Alex would still be with us. She took Alex away and ran away with her lover.”

“And the family jewels, Mom,” Frieda added.

“We were worried.” Lucrezia ignored Frieda. “Thanks to you, now, we know she’s safe.”

“How did you know that she ran away with a lover?”

“Because she’s a whore,” Frieda hissed.

Lucrezia glared at Frieda. “We don’t know. However, her past is so murky people couldn’t help but make some speculations that she had a lover.”

“Molly didn’t run away with a lover. She ran away to protect Alex and herself.”

“Protect themselves from what?”

“From those who tried to hurt the Roses. But that’s all I’m going to say until we talk about my conditions.”

“Conditions?”

“Information about Alex in exchange of money.”

Lucrezia’s eyes narrowed. Her grip on her cane tightened. “You came here posing as Alex’s friend, when the truth is you want our money.”

“Alex asked for my help. That’s why I am here.”

Frieda’s brows slammed together. “She asked you to sell information to us?

“No. No.”
Damn. This is not going well at all.
“I came here to sell information without Alex’s knowledge.”

“Why would I buy information from you.”

“Because what I know could make you lose all of this.”

“I truly doubt that. My daughter and I have nothing to do with Molly and Alex.”

“Really. So why do you think the agent watching Alex right now prevented her from seeing you two? You didn’t even know Alex was back until a minute ago.”

Lucrezia and Frieda exchanged looks.

“Alex is back in the United States under the care of an FBI Agent and his brother,” Luke continued.

“So, what is this information you mentioned that Molly took with her?” Lucrezia placed her cane across her lap.

“Half a million. And I will tell you Alex’s location and everything that she knows the night Molly left this house.”

“Half a million? You’re insane.” Frieda’s nostrils flared. “My husband will never give you that kind of money.”

“Mister Williams, you do realize that we don’t need to strike up a deal with you. I am sure Alex will contact us soon. If she really is back.”

Luke stood up. Before he came here, the idea that these two would do whatever it took just to get Alex back sounded plausible. Alex and her story were the only thing he had to trade with these women. But he didn’t expect them to be like this. Obviously, they didn’t care whether Molly turned into a rock. These women hated her no matter how they tried to hide their hostility. And he wasn’t sure if they wanted Alex back either. Shit.

The way the women had been glancing at each other, he couldn’t help but suspect they knew something. What he needed to figure out was how to get to them. “If you want to know why Alex came back after eleven years of living in the Philippines and if you are ready to listen to my terms, I’m staying at The Orca Inn.” He was almost to the door when Lucrezia called him back.

“Alex was just a child when Molly took her away, but she would never forget us. My granddaughter will come. After all, this is her parents’ home. You are selling something that I could get for free.”

“I just spoke to her, Lucrezia. You see, she didn’t just arrive today. Interesting, isn’t it? That she would call me instead of you?”

The women exchanged glances.

There it is again. The glances.

“We haven’t had any communication for eleven years. You have. Of course she will call you before me.” Lucrezia cocked her head to the side and her brow raised.

Luke smiled a tight smile. The bitch thought to challenge him, eh? “Or maybe you’re not supposed to know that she’s back.”

“I don’t understand. Why would she hide from us? Maybe Molly told her to do that. What do you think, Mom?” Frieda frowned.

“It seems, Mr. Williams is the one who knows the answer.”

“For what I know, I should ask for more than half a million, but I’m only doing this out of necessity.”

“And you won’t feel guilty for selling your friend. Is that it?”

Luke stared at Frieda. He didn’t like the barb. “Half a million. I expect to hear from you tomorrow at noon.”

“My husband will bury you alive first before he gives you the money.”

“Suit yourself.”

“Frieda, darling. Let me handle this.” To Luke, she asked. “What if you don’t hear from us?”

“Then the man watching Alex right now will hear about you two.”

“Hear about us?” Lucrezia snorted. “Whoever that man is, he most likely knows about us. We are Alex’s living relatives, after all.”

“Lucrezia, I‘ve been nice since I stepped into this house. But all you did is give me a hard time. We all know that you have something to do with why Molly took off. Now, if you want me to help you, give me what I want and we’ll all walk away happy. If you want to spend the rest of your remaining life in jail, sitting with inmates who never brush their teeth and comb their hair, suit yourself.” Luke snickered at the women’s reaction. The bit about him knowing they had a hand in what happened at the Rose’s house was a lie. It worked, though. He’d rattled the bitches. Jesus, he could tell the women were guilty. What he needed was proof.

“We love Alex. Everybody knows that. We’ll never do anything to harm her. It was her mother who created problems in the Rose family. We cooperated with Clayton’s lawyer when he came asking questions. He knew we have nothing to do with Molly and Alex’s disappearance. All we want is to get Alex back.” Lucrezia pounded her cane on the floor.

“Well, she
is
back. But not to snuggle in your bosom. She’s now on US soil to piece the puzzle all together.”

“Good. It’s time we close this chapter in our lives. Not knowing what truly happened is really heavy on our shoulders. Right, Mom?”

Lucrezia ignored her daughter. “Mr. Williams, did you know that a lot of people didn’t really like Molly? In fact, Clayton’s friends talked behind her back. Her own friends didn’t think that she was right for Clayton. And she was really a whore, drug addict and a thief.”

“Yes. I was told Molly was all that. Should I think bad about her? No. No one should be treated like a leper based on their past and not given a second chance at all. She had been a good mother. A fact that you refused to see. You wanted her gone, Lucrezia. So much you’d anything to make that happen. And yes, it happened. Guess what? Molly knows.” He walked toward the door. If he stayed here longer, he might say more than what he had planned. “Tomorrow. Noon.”

“We have nothing to do with that man! We don’t even know him.”

Man? Luke stopped on his tracks. Slowly, he turned around to face the women. Joy bubbled in his chest when he saw the women’s expressions. Lucrezia’s eyes were huge and her mouth open. Frieda’s face had turned almost grey. What do you know? These women had just given him reason to believe that his money was already in the bag.

“Tomorrow.”

As soon as he was back in his car, Luke pulled his phone from his pocket. Still on record mode.

Chapter Fourteen

Lucrezia stopped from pacing the room to glare at her son-in-law who’d been a pain in her ass and purse. Miguel. If Frieda weren’t married to him, she’d hire someone to bury him alive.

But the man had his use.

Eleven years ago, he’d agreed to do a job for her without a second thought, though he bungled the job. The stupid fool would’ve been in jail now if he hadn’t awoken an hour after Molly bashed him in the head with a poker. And who knew what he would’ve revealed if the police questioned him. Luckily, he was able to leave before Clayton came home.

Miguel had managed to send Molly packing. Maybe this time he’d be able to finish another job one hundred percent. Lucrezia glance at Miguel. She’d had enough watching his lazy ass move around the house, but she’d keep quiet for now. Later, she’d find a way to get rid of him. She wasn’t going to all the trouble of putting her neck on the line to get Clayton’s money for nothing.

Now Clayton’s brat had come back. Why? What did she know about what happened? Luke obviously knew something. What, she didn’t know.

“Lucrezia, you’re making me dizzy,” Miguel said.

“Molly,” Lucrezia snapped.

“What about Molly?”

“She must have told Alex something.”

“Like what?”

“I don’t know!” Lucrezia screamed. “You should know. You were the one who broke into Clayton’s house. If you just did what we had planned to do, we wouldn’t be worrying like this.”

Miguel shot out of his chair and walked toward Lucrezia in a slow predatory move. “Don’t yell at me, Lucrezia. I tried what you had asked me to do. Break into the Rose’s house, force Molly to take ecstasy and painkiller oxycontin to make it look like she’s drunk and happy. You told me she’d do it without a fight because she’s a user and a whore. You lied to me. And she nearly killed me.”

“Well, she didn’t. And I saved your ass.”

“This ass made you rich. Don’t you fucking forget that. Molly loved her husband and child. But you and my wife—” he jabbed a finger in Frieda’s direction— “couldn’t accept that fact. You had to get rid of her.”