Taming Alaska (So Not Prince Charming Book 1) (30 page)

“Has any of the furniture been sold?” I ask as he drives through the city.

“Fay sold some of it to line her pockets. She’s scrambling to secure whatever she can. It’s not looking too good.”

“I won’t be able to pay you for a while,” I say.

“Don’t worry about it. I’d do it for your mom, and if you need anything, please don’t hesitate to call me.”

After thanking Royce, I ring on the doorbell since Shane’s bear stole my keys. Willa answers, her eyes swollen and bloodshot from crying. When she sees it’s me, she hugs me long and hard.

“Oh God, we didn’t know you’d been kidnapped until it came out in the papers, and Dad’s in jail, and we’re going to lose the house.” She’s sobbing.

Most of my life I’ve believed money is important, but spending a week in the interior while running for my life has changed everything. I don’t know exactly what to think, other than I’d like to strangle Fay or my uncle? I do know that I want Shane back.

“Where’s Fay?” I scan the grand entrance where stairs on both sides circle to the second floor. The antique mirrors and paintings in the entryway are gone. Rage spikes deep inside of me and my fists clench at my side.

“She moved out today, and she’s out with Trevor. They’re getting married.” Hiccups break up her words. “She freaked out when she heard you were on your way home. What’s that about?”

I brace her shoulders. “Don’t be alone with her until I get us a place to stay. She may be responsible for Mom’s death and my kidnapping.” I hope now it was her.

“Why? Why would she do that?”

“Money. To get rid of us. Our Mexican heritage makes her a pariah among the socialites.”

“I don’t believe you,” Willa says. “Do you have money in one of your accounts? I have my Toyota Camry, but that’s about it.”

“I’ll sell my Porsche, and if you don’t mind, we’ll share your Toyota.” As I study the mansion, I know I’ll miss the estate, Dad’s rose gardens, Mom’s illegally gained plants, and growing up here. I miss her so much that it physically hurts.

Willa’s face pinches. “Are you sure? You love that car.”

I do, but Willa finishing her senior year at the same school is far more important. Mom would agree. “We’ll be okay. I’m going to shower and change, and then we’ll talk.” We’ll get the hell out of this house and soon.

Despair riddles her expression and crinkles her brow.

In my private bathroom, I sit in the shower and let the rain head drench me in steamy hot water. The heat penetrates my sore muscles while my mind works over Shane. It’s been only two days and I can’t stop thinking about him—the way his expert hands excite and guide my sexual pleasure.

My pussy tightens and aches with the memory of him thrusting inside me. Surely I can work my way back into his life—as long as he returns here. What do the feds have in mind for him anyway? He was worried about his back taxes, and now I don’t know where Willa and I will live.

I don’t know how long I soak in the shower, and my body begs to sleep in my bed, but I can’t, not with Fay having a key to the house. After I change into jeans and a tee shirt, I pad barefoot out to the kitchen to eat and check my banking account and my husband’s joint account—not much. In the short term, we should stay at a friend’s or mom’s mother until I can sell the Porsche.

Before I reach the kitchen, scuffling and mumbled cries come from the great room. I run back to my room to search for a weapon, a phone, but the bear ate mine.

Mom’s first husband loved to hunt, so I sneak into his game room filled with creepy stuffed animals from his African safaris over to the gun safe. The dead stares of the bodiless trophy animals needle under my skin, prickling the hairs on the back of my neck. The gun safe is locked, so I search for the key, which is normally under the water buffalo’s head. It’s not there.

“Is this what you’re looking for?” Fay holds up the key in one hand.

Willa holds deathly still in Trevor’s grasp. He really is stupid. Perspiration beads on her forehead and tears spill from her puffy, dark eyes.

“The feds suspect you for my kidnapping and Mom’s murder,” I say calmly.

“No they don’t,” Fay says. “I thought I’d come home and collect the guns that belong to me, but it seems like you had the same idea.”

She’s taking everything and leaving us with nothing. “You didn’t have the right to sell off the furniture. It belonged to all of us.”

“Who’s going to stop me? Trevor’s dad bought the estate, so this will be mine.” She waves her hands around. “Where is mother’s ring? It’s supposed to be mine.”

Fay knows about the ring. “Let go of Willa,” I say.

She yanks on Willa’s hair, and Willa cries out in pain. “Mom ruined everything. If she wouldn’t have married that…that wetback, I would’ve inherited the ranch one day, married, and traveled. Your dad lost everything.”

I lower my brows. “If you wouldn’t have killed Mom, none of this would’ve happened.”

“What?” Fay shakes her head. “Mom had it all—respect, wealth, a good husband, and she lost that when she married your dad. I just want Mom’s ring. My dad gave it to her.”

If she thinks I have it now and not five years ago, she must think I found it, which means she knows Loki kept our shoes. “I don’t have it, so let go of Willa.”

Trevor releases her. “Your sister just wants what rightfully belongs to her. It’ll be her engagement ring.”

“So when’s the wedding? You do know I slept with Trevor.” Fay is going to get away with killing Mom. Maybe she meant for her to die all along.

“No you didn’t,” he says, his eyes pleading with my crazy half-sister.

“It sucked,” I add.

Fay spins around toward him, her fists clenched with rage. “How could you sleep with that slut?”

“I didn’t.” Trevor’s brow scrunches up. “How could you believe her over me?”

Fay slaps him across the face, and he holds the angry red palm print on his cheek.

“Because it’s the truth,” I say. “You two should leave. The house will be yours in a week, and then you won’t have to see us ever again.”

The doorbell rings, and all of us glance toward the entryway.

“Who the hell is that?” Fay asks.

Willa slowly walks to the door and we follow her. When she opens the door, Maria Fuentes saunters into the room, and I notice she has quite the gangbanger set of heavy gold chains weighing her down.

“I need to talk to Cyn alone,” she says casually.

“Whatever.” Fay shoves past me, and Trevor follows her. “I want that ring, and I know you have it.”

If I had it, I still wouldn’t give it to her. Mom never put the ring in the will.

Fay and Trevor leave out the front door, and she slams it hard.

“What do you want, Maria?” I ask, annoyed. “I don’t have time for you.”

She nods at Willa to leave, so she gives me an odd look before heading to her room.

“You have to know what this is about,” Maria says calmly.

“I have no idea.” Where are her boys?

“Uncle Manny wants the copy of the books.”

Shit. Now I know. I should’ve known she worked for him. “It’s on the computers the feds took,” I lie, though Finnegan could’ve lied to me.

“No, they aren’t.” Her voice sounds deadly. “If you give them to us, he’ll let you live.”

“I don’t have them.”

“Find them.” She turns away from me and walks out the door.

Oh shit. Uncle Manny wanted Mom’s money. What does he have over our dad because he wouldn’t have just handed it over? His brother must’ve thought he could find the copy if I was out of the way, but they obviously didn’t.

I go back to the trophy room and break the glass on the case to take several of the guns. Fay can have the rest. She may need some.

Willa comes downstairs. “What did Maria want?”

“Where would Dad hide something of value?” I grab her shoulders. “Think.”

She stares down at her shoes for a moment. “He always said Saint Christopher would always keep us safe.”

“It’s in the gardens.” I grab one of the handguns, ensure it’s loaded, and run outside. “Get a shovel.”

Outside, she opens the shed and finds a shovel. I take it from her and dig in front of the statue until I hit something solid. I pull out a canister and inside it is a flash drive. I recall sitting out here by the statue, watching Shane and Nikita fight at my wedding.

“I’ll put this in the safety deposit box tomorrow, and if something should happen to me, turn this over to the feds.”

“Why don’t you just give it to Uncle Manny?”

“As long as we have this, it’ll keep us alive.” Manny would worry that we’d turn it over to the feds. He probably searched everywhere for the books.

“Are you sure?”

“Yes.” If it’s where our uncle can’t get to it, he’ll leave us alone.

We hurry inside where I deadbolt the doors and then go to my room.

Willa follows me and sits on my bed. She lies down and stares up at the ceiling. “The cops said Shane saved you. I always liked him. Where is he and why aren’t you with him?”

“I don’t know if I can live in Alaska,” I say, even though my heart aches for him. “All those long, cold, endless winter nights.”

Willa sighs. “Yeah, all those long, dark nights sleeping with that gorgeous body. That would absolutely suck.”

Chapter Thirty

Cyn

The semester ended yesterday, so I only have the spring left before graduation then I can get a real job and provide for Willa. With her in the last semester of high school coming up, I don’t know how we’ll pay for her private school unless I get a job.

Blake’s parents let me keep the cash-wedding gift they gave to Blake and me and I sold my Porsche, which I used to put a down payment on the townhouse. They knew about Julian, and asked for my silence about the affair, which I easily agreed to. It was hard on them to lose Blake, and though it was hard for me too, it’s Shane who I miss more.

I curl up on the couch with the newspaper to find a part-time job to pay for Willa’s tuition. I hate being broke. Between catching up with school and comforting Willa, I’ve had my hands full and little time to work.

My cold bed reminds me of how much I miss waking up with Shane’s arms wrapped around me. I’ve heard nothing from him, whether he’s alive or dead, and it pisses me off. He could’ve at least called me. It’s not like he gets phone service in EBF, Alaska. I’ve searched online and have not found any sign of him starting up a new business.

I get up to pour a glass of wine because my heart aches for stupid Shane and that Willa and I will be alone for the holidays and God knows what Shane is doing. I circle several bookkeeping and accounting jobs. One catches my eye because it has an interesting name—Red Sky Corporation. Red and Skyler?

The doorbell to our townhouse rings, so I pad over to it and peek through the peephole. A vaguely familiar Asian man holds a package outside my door. He doesn’t wear any delivery logo but is wearing khakis and a polo shirt.

After retrieving a handgun, I slowly open the door and recall the man standing before me. He used to work for Shane’s company.

“Cynthia Diaz?”

“Tang, right?” I say, feeling slightly excited and snatching the box from him. It must be from Shane. “Do I need to sign for anything?”

“No, but Shane wanted to make sure you got something. He said you’d know after you opened the box. I’m surprised you remember me.”

I smile because Tang was one of Shane’s best programmers. “Come in.”

He steps onto the stone tiled foyer.

From the kitchen, I grab a knife and slide it under the tape. Eagerness bubbles under my tongue, tingling it.

Inside the box, my backpack is ripped to shreds along with my tattered clothes. The grizzly must’ve enjoyed my energy bars. I unzip the front pouch and pull out a pink ribbon tied to my mom’s pink diamond. A photo falls out beside it where I’m sleeping next to a grinning Shane taking a selfie. It’s a cute pic that makes me smile, and it’s the only one I have of him.

Mom’s sneakers, my phone, and a letter are tucked into the box. I gather from the torn plastic container that the bear ate my birth control pills. My lips screw up to hold back a laugh while I hold the letter to my chest—about time he sent one. “I’ve got it. Would you tell Shane thank you?”

“Yeah.”

As he steps back outside, I stop him. “Does Shane have a new business?”

“Yeah,” he says, giving me an odd look while scratching his head. “He comes up with great ideas all the time. He hired me for his new sports dating site called Hoops N’ Hookups. The app was released a few days ago and already a million have been downloaded. I don’t know how he does it.”

He better not be using his app to hookup with strange women. “Is his corporation called Red Sky?” For his two brothers?

“Yeah.”

Does Tang know another word? “Tell him I said, ‘hi.’”

“I will.” He leaves me with the letter I’m anxious to read.

I slowly unfold it, my heart pounding in my chest.

My Hot Princess, I killed the bear, and somehow it didn’t give me any closure. I still miss my two brothers, but not as much as I miss you. I miss that sweet ass of yours wiggling against my hard-on while you sleep. You have no idea how hard I am for you. I miss the way you taste and that devilish tongue of yours.

How can he do this to me? Why didn’t he come here and show me? My breasts physically ache for his large, rough hands. A tear spills onto the paper, spreading the ink.

I miss how you scrunch up your nose when I call you Princess. I miss waking up next to you and how you whimper while I make love to you.

I don’t whimper. Oh how I miss his orgasms and Secretariat.

I hope you don’t hate me for what I’m about to do. I miss you, Cyn. Shane.

What the hell? What is he going to do? He better not be soliciting himself on his media hookup site.

I plop down on the couch and gulp the wine. Mom’s ring would bring a nice sum and help pay for Willa’s private school next semester. I circle the ad for the accounting job at Red Sky. Working for Red Sky would remind him of what he is obviously missing in his letter.

The pain of missing him burrows into my skin. Though he drives me crazy, I can’t live without this man, and I’ll be damned if I’ll let someone else have him.