Sunset Rivalry: The Caliendo Resort (By The Lake: The Caliendo Resort Book 2) (23 page)

Quinn wrote down the memorized list then slid it back. 

He felt Anya’s hand touch his with support and he covered it with his own. 

“Thank you.” 

“Thank you for bringing Anya to us.” Eliza looked at Anya. “Anya, you are stronger than you give yourself credit.”

Quinn picked up the files and handed them to Dave, who nodded and walked back to Anya’s suite.

“Mom, where’s Rebecca’s file?” Anya asked.

“The files are in disarray right now. I haven’t found Rebecca’s, but your uncle is looking right now.”

Anya nodded. “Okay.”

On the way back to her suite, Quinn wrapped his arm around Anya and squeezed. “She will find it.”

“I hope so.”

“Hey.” He turned her toward him. “They will find it.” He kissed her.

She bunched the front of his shirt in her hands. “Go and read your files,” she said. “With your brother. This is something you two should do together.” She kissed him again and rejoined the rest of her family at the pool.

Quinn turned toward Anya’s suite and couldn’t believe the file he’s been seeking for so long was on the other side of that door waiting for him.

***

QUINN SPENT HOURS looking through the files with Dave. They read right through the afternoon, only breaking for a barbeque in the pool room, then dived right back in until two in the morning. Finally, they both called it a night.

Heading toward the hallway to the guest room, Dave asked, “Do you trust Eliza?”

Quinn nodded without hesitation. “Yes.”

Dave said nothing more. He headed to the guest room and Quinn grabbed a beer out of the fridge, seeking a moment alone to lull over everything he’d read. He stood by the front door and pushed the curtain aside. The half moon hung low in the pitch-black, starless sky, just above the treetops.

Quinn’s file had been incriminating against him. When he was doing work for Robert, breaking into houses, offices, getting the info he needed, Robert had him trailed. There was enough photo evidence in his file that if he’d ever tried to expose Robert, he would have been exposing himself. He had to chuckle at how clever the man was, saving his ass like that. A genuine prick.

Nikki’s file had been nothing more than her police records, which included the string of charges against her. There were some minor charges of possession of narcotics and disrupting the peace, that sort of thing. Nothing that indicated Robert had anything to do with her death.

There was however one section Quinn and Dave hadn’t understood at first. A police record of Nikki being busted for breaking and entering, possession of stolen goods and resisting arrest, charges that were serious and would have involved jail time. Neither Quinn nor Dave had ever heard of these charges. They’d had no idea and both had been working in the Oakston police department when the charges were handed out. Only they weren’t handed out in Oakston. They were in Willow Valley. It took them more digging to put together what neither of them could believe and probably the only reason given to Dave that would ever make him trust a Caliendo. Robert had the charges dropped and dismissed, taken off Nikki’s record completely.

The house address and family information to the house she’d broken into was also in her file. Along with a written agreement signed by whom Quinn assumed was the family agreeing for their silence in return for a hefty payment. A payment Max would never have been able to afford. He made a lot of money, but he didn’t have six-digit payouts to throw around. Robert did.

The truth took a while to sink in. They re-read the file repeatedly in case they were missing something, but each time it laughed in their face, telling them Robert had kept their sister out of jail. Robert had...protected their family. That was hard to wrap his mind around...even harder for Dave.

“Quinn?” Anya’s sleepy voice made him smile.

He turned and found Anya leaning against the doorframe to the hallway. She let out a yawn. The silk housecoat she wore was only because they had guests and he wondered what was underneath. Another silk pajama set? Or nothing?

“Are you coming to bed yet?” she asked.

Was she wondering if he was ready to sleep or make love?

Another yawn answered his unspoken question.

“Yes.” He downed the rest of his beer and set the bottle on the counter as she walked over to meet him.

“Are you alright?”

Surprisingly, he was. He was better than all right. Her father wasn’t entirely the monster he thought. Although he assumed Max had asked him for the favor. Maybe more of the truth was written somewhere in Max’s file. They hadn’t even been able to read half of the information held in Max’s file. He had over thirty years of things that seemed useless. What could come out of learning about what he’d done? Except another guilt-laden desire to fix it, just as Quinn thought it would.

“I’m alright.”

She reached up and lightly kissed his lips. “Did you find what you were looking for?”

“I found more.”

She frowned. “Is that good?”

He reached down and brushed her lips softly. “Yes.” He didn’t want to wake her with the details. “Let’s go to bed.”

She nodded her sleepy head. “Does go to bed mean you’re going to try and get lucky?” Her groggy voice was adorable.

“Is there a chance I would get lucky?” he teased, seeing her droopy eyes fall as they walked down the hall.

She shook her head. “Long day. Dead corpse here,” she muttered.

That was all right by him. Soon enough they would level out their life and not have the extra stress of files and past lives to deal with.

He stripped down naked and when she dropped her robe, he discovered she was naked under that little silk tease too. She might be exhausted, but that didn’t stop his body from reacting to her flesh.

They crawled into bed and instead of snuggling against him and closing her eyes, Anya’s hands pulled his face to hers and her body reacted to his naked flesh in kind.

ANYA WOKE UP early to find Quinn still sleeping. This time she was happy to be naked with him.

Her head rested in the nook of his arm, while their bodies molded together under the blankets. She lay still for a long time simply enjoying just watching him. Even in his sleep he was gorgeous.

His steady breathing indicated he was still in a deep sleep, making his strong features softer, but she knew better than anyone that beyond the fierce man he displayed was someone who loved harder than anyone she’d ever met.

Anya didn’t even know that kind of love existed. The relationship between her parents had always been strained. Most of the time Robert had been barking out orders and Eliza had been doing the opposite. Eliza had never sat back and allowed Robert’s rules or sense of responsibility for their name come between what made her children happy.

This type of love with Quinn was new and terrifying. She’d loved him this entire time, through his betrayal and her hurt, but he’d loved her so much more that he’d sacrificed parts of his life for her. Terrifying was right, but if she was going to go down this terrifying road with anyone, she wanted the support and strength of Quinn.

She wiggled herself free of his arms, pausing when a little groan escaped him. When he settled, she climbed off the bed and slipped a robe on, excited to prepare him a not-too-boring breakfast...although if he really enjoyed hard-boiled eggs, she would prepare some of those too.

Quietly moving through the suite, so as not to wake their guests, she started preparing another breakfast buffet of eggs, pancakes, bacon, sausage and fruit. Cutting, frying, and mixing she found herself humming a little tune as she moved. She got to pull out her fancy kitchen platters and heated the stove to keep the food warm until everyone woke up. 

She loved the idea of waking up with Quinn every morning for the rest of their lives. She loved that his brother had taken the trip to drag him back home, only to discover there was more to Anya and her family then the horror Robert had bestowed upon their family. Nikki’s file had come up empty, leaving nothing to pull them apart.

With the other files at his fingertips, and Eliza collaborating with the rest of the family, they would mend the lives of the people Robert had damaged. Anya couldn’t be happier than this very moment.

She piled the flapjacks on a tray and slid them into the oven to warm beside the bacon, sausage and ham, giving the door a little extra bouncy bump with her hip to shut it.

Anya smiled and breathed in the smell of life.

Once her mother gave her Rebecca’s file, she would go to Rebecca, no doubt with Quinn at her side, and give her the answers she needed to move on with her life.

Anya hadn’t imagined her life ever turning out this incredibly amazing. It was almost too good to be true. 

Anya set the bread by the toaster as her guests began to stir. She set the table with a jug of freshly squeezed orange juice then walked over to the french doors to the pool room and pulled open the curtains.

She almost screamed at the sight of her mom standing on the opposite side of the glass looking unkempt with rumpled clothes from the night before and uncombed hair. 

She whipped open the door.

“Momma? Are you alright?” 

Eliza glanced past her like she was searching for her guests. 

“It’s just me,” Anya told her. “Everyone else is still sleeping.” 

Eliza grabbed her hand. “Let’s talk at my suite.” 

The walk to Eliza’s suite was quick but upsetting. Anya knew this wasn’t a friendly visit and she had a sickening feeling that it was about Rebecca’s file. Eliza had found something...something disturbing. 

Inside Carl was sitting at the coffee table looking equally distressed. 

“Sit down sweetheart,” he said, standing to pull out a chair for her. 

Anya looked back and forth between them as she sat. “What’s going on? You two are scaring me.” 

Eliza sat beside Carl and he wrapped his arm around her shoulder as if his support was all that held her up.

Anya was glad her mother had found the same love Anya had with Quinn. After years of being married to Robert, it wasn’t a surprise really that these two had bonded. Robert was a difficult man to deal with and had lashed out at both. But she couldn’t think about that right now with the both of them looking like a tornado was about to touch down.

“We found Rebecca’s file.” That would have excited Anya except the way Eliza said it made the discovery sound bad. 

Anya’s eyes dropped to the manila folder in front of them. “Is that it?” 

Eliza nodded and slid it over.

Anya’s hands trembled as she pulled it in front of her. She was afraid to open it. This was supposed to make everything better, but by the look on Eliza and Carl’s face it was guaranteed to make everything worse.

Anya sucked in a deep breath and opened the file. Her mom spoke as she flipped through the pages that were hard to understand, let alone comprehend.

“Rebecca isn’t her real name. She was in hiding under a new identity that was created by Robert.”

Anya wasn’t surprised by that discovery. She’d expected a different name and figured that was maybe the reason Eliza had a more difficult time finding the file.

“Her real name is Nicolette. She worked for the mayor and got involved in a tryst between Robert and the mayor. She was in trouble, holding information that could take Murray down. Not knowing what else to do with it, she came to Robert and he offered her an out, to protect her and her family from Murray. Her only option was to leave. The problem was Robert wouldn’t let her take her family.”

Anya looked up, surprised and confused. “Why not?” 

“Because her husband worked for Robert and he was irreplaceable.” 

“Her husband works here? Did he know about Dad’s deal with his wife?” 

Carl shook his head. “He didn’t know. None of us knew. He passed away four years ago.” 

Anya’s heart sunk.
Nicolette’s family was dead?
She finally had the file and all it held was sorrow she would have to pass onto Nicolette.

“Anya?” 

Anya looked at her mother. “This is terrible Mom. I finally get her answers and her family is dead.”

“Her husband is dead,” Eliza corrected. “She has two sons.” 

Two sons!
That was great news. Why was her mom being so solemn about it?

Then it hit Anya. It hit her hard and sickness filled her stomach. She dropped the file and pushed away from the table. 

“No,” she whispered, her eyes darting from her mom to Carl.

Their faces told her that her suspicion was correct.

“Please no.” 

“Nicolette Barker is her full name,” Eliza said. She didn’t have to finish her sentence. As the name passed her mother’s lips, Anya’s eyes fell shut and her too good to be true world collapsed around her.

“Quinn and Dave are her sons.”

***

QUINN WAS DISAPPOINTED to find the bed empty, but lingered in Anya’s smell for a while. He’d always loved her smell. He’d always loved her. 

He showered and dressed before leaving her bedroom and found his family awake and eating around the dining room table. If only they’d known what transpired on that table a week ago they would have taken their breakfast to the pool room. 

Quinn grabbed a piece of toast and ruffled Memphis’s hair.  

“Have you seen Anya?” he asked, taking a bite. 
Mmm,
even this woman’s toast was ridiculously incredible.

Dave had a mouthful of food so Pamela answered. “I spotted her in the pool room.”

“Can we go back in the pool later?” Memphis asked. “I love the bat cave! And Parker loves to play superheroes. So does Rosemary, but she’s a girl.”

“Sure can buddy,” Quinn said, ruffling his hair.

“You know, you’re going to have a little sister soon,” Pamela said to Memphis, reaching over and wiping egg yolk off his sleeve.

He pulled away with a piece of toast in his hand, sending yolk dripping across the table.

“Memphis!”

He paid no attention and stuffed the toast in his mouth. “Maybe it’s going to be a boy.”

His parents chuckled.

“It’s a girl,” Dave said.

“She’s a girl,” Pamela corrected.

Dave looked at Quinn. “Try to reason with a four-year-old, or a pregnant woman.” He laughed as Pamela shot him a dirty glare.

“Don’t deny it sweetheart. You’re craving for pickles dipped in cream cheese sent me on crazy store hunts in the middle of the night.”

Pamela laughed. “Don’t bring them into our morning conversation, unless you are ready to drive around this countryside to get me some.”

Dave hiked his thumb at Quinn. “His girlfriend has like four on-site restaurants and is a chef. I am sure I wouldn’t even have to leave the premises.”

Quinn stopped listening to the banter, running the word
girlfriend
through his head. He liked the way that sounded, especially coming from his brother.

He was thankful that after reading the files, Dave had accepted what Eliza said to be the truth and accepted that Quinn loved Anya.

Quinn stepped into the poolroom and found Anya pacing the far side of the room with hushed tones into her cell phone. She didn’t notice him right away.

The closer he walked he saw the alarm in her eyes, the frown across her face, and her fingers pinching the bridge of her nose so tightly, her skin had turned white.

Anya looked up at him and stopped dead in her tracks like she was staring at a ghost.

“I will see you in a few hours,” she said and hung up the phone. He could see how hard the last week had been on her. The distressed look in her eyes and the blame she carried was stacking up on her.

“Rebecca?” he asked, kissing her cheek.

Anya nodded, wrapping her arms around Quinn’s neck. Her tight grasp indicated how hard this was on her. He wrapped his arms around her middle and hoped she would always come to him with her problems. Hoped from now on she wouldn’t carry things that worried her alone and they would work as a team. They were incredible together.

“I’m right here,” he whispered in her ear. “I’m not going anywhere. Just tell me what you need, my love.”

Her head dug deeper into his shoulder but she said nothing.

Quinn kissed her cheek. He couldn’t wait for Rebecca to be reunited with her family so Anya could let go of some of the guilt she held for her part in Rebecca’s tragedy.

“Invite your family to stay for the day,” she said. “And another night.”

Quinn pulled away and moved the hair away as he cupped her face. “I don’t want them to distract you from what you have to do.”

“They won’t. Please convince them to stay.”

“Okay.”