Page 12 of Reckless Love

“I didn’t lie about Owen.”

He clearly didn’t want me to know he was the boss in Bellerive and not Owen. I let out a huff of annoyance. This game of hide-and-seek he’s playing with information and the truth is not my favorite.

“Now you’re going to guard me and Landon?”

“I do what’s needed for the company to maintain its reputation. Today was a massive mishandling by Marlo of a very important client.”

A little part of me wants Stephen to tell me he stepped in because he cares about me, not because he cares about the company’s reputation. Apparently, long-dead habits are still hard to break. The intense desire to be put first by him is scabbed over but easy to pick at, to uncover.

“I still don’t understand the steak,” I say.

“No?” He finally meets my gaze in the mirror. “You and your husband don’t talk?”

“What does the steak have to do with Raul?”

“Those steaks were delivered to The Nile workers with a card that said, ‘Vote No and the steaks stay cheap.’”

“He’s bribing them?” I say, and then I glance at Landon, realizing he’s probably following at least some pieces of this conversation.

“You seem surprised.”

“I don’t know,” I say, not keen to push when little ears might repeat what’s said. He doesn’t see much of Raul, but Landon is a parrot when a topic comes up that he thinks he knows something about.

Stephen seems content to let the conversation die when I don’t admit that I’m not surprised that Raul would do anything and everything to get what he wants. He’s not a terrible man, but he’s not a good one either.

“How do you even know all this?” I ask as we get close to my place, and it’s only then that I remember I was going to Ember’s for a visit.

“About his tactics?” Stephen asks, his expression shuttered.

“Yes.”

“My sister works for The Nile in the warehouse.”

“You have enough money to buy into Owen’s company, but your sister is still working a low-wage job?”

His jaw hardens, but he doesn’t make any attempt to explain himself. The stonewalling only causes my mind to run wild with theories. Vanessa, who is fifteen years younger than Stephen, has the same stubborn Foster streak as her brother. She was in university off the island when Stephen disappeared, and she swore to me that she didn’t know where he’d gone. Probably bullshit.

We turn up the long driveway to my mansion, and it’s clear Stephen is done talking to me for today. Frustration bubbles inside me. For two people who used to be the rawest and realest versions of ourselves when we were together, I almost can’t believe how distant we’ve become.

Chapter Five

Stephen

While I give instructions to Jeanique, the secretary who deals with scheduling at the Bellerive security office, I rub my knee, which has been aching all day. In front of me is a large, long brick bungalow with an equally spacious accessibility ramp.

“You want to be placed with Mrs. Santos for her daily routines?” Jeanique asks. “Kiara’s crew will be on the boy at school?”

“Yes,” I say with a deep sigh. “I need a second person with me. Not Marlo. I’m still too pissed to deal with him.”

“Do you care about who the night staff are?” she asks, and I can hear her typing in the background.

“Reliable,” I say. “The Santos family has electronic security, a gate, cameras. We just need an extra level of deterrence.”

“Got it,” she says. “For what it’s worth, Marlo seemed pretty down when he got back here.”

“He should be. If those eggs had been bullets, he’d have been fucked. I told Owen that Marlo clearly needs more basic maneuver training.”

“Bellerive’s tight gun laws make it unlikely those eggs would be bullets,” she says.