Beautifully Broken (The Broken Series Book 2) (22 page)

Kadyn
continued. “Mason and I will approach the house from this end, on the opposite
side of the street. We’ll stop in the middle of the block and pretend to have a
conversation so we can scope out the house.”

Mason
folded his arms across his chest. “Dude. I know how to have a conversation. I
don’t have to pretend.”

Kadyn
wiped all expression from his face as he stared at Mason. “We’ll meet back here
at the car.” His eyes slanted toward Cenia and Roger. “As you two walk around
the back of the block, try to examine the back of the house. Is there a yard?
Is it fenced? Is there a gate? Are there places to hide? You get the drift.”

Cenia
and Roger nodded.

“If
anyone gives you a hard time for wandering too close to the house, just mention
that you heard the house was recently up for sale and ask if it has already
been purchased. Did you memorize that line in French?” Kadyn asked.

Cenia
smiled. “
Oui.
”

Kadyn
shook his head. “Let’s go.” The friends parted ways as they followed their
designated paths. They met back at the car forty minutes later.

Kadyn
jerked his head toward Roger. “Debrief.”

Roger
leaned against the side of the car. “There’s a rather large garden in the back
of the property and another house. It looks like some sort of carriage home, possibly
a guest house or servant quarters. There were a number of men in uniforms working
on ground floor windows and the back doors. The ground floor windows run
ceiling to floor. There are two sets of French doors that lead out to the
garden. Given the security vans parked down the block, my guess is they’re
working on the security system. Aside from the security workers, I didn’t see
any residents or staff.”

Cenia
shook her head. “This place is massive. I’m not sure we would spot anyone
unless they were standing at the windows or walking through the garden. The
garden has a number of thick hedges that could provide some cover, and the
house is distanced far enough from the others to where we might get away with
conducting some surveillance. The trees won’t offer any cover. The trunks are
quite small and the branches are sculpted.”

“There
is no way we can approach this house from the front, and given the
neighborhood, I seriously doubt we can break into the house and get away with
it. I snapped off some pictures of the front of the house so we can download them
onto my laptop and examine the house further. I’ll go around back and snap off
some more pictures when the security workers clear out,” Mason stated.

Roger
pushed off from the car. “I’m with Mason. I don’t think we should attempt to
break in. What if Cenia and I go up and ring the doorbell to ask if the
property is for sale? Do you think we’re dressed nice enough to pass as
interested buyers?”

Kadyn
shook his head. “No. Not for this neighborhood. Besides, I seriously doubt Garcia
or Kri will be answering the door… assuming they’re even here. We’ll just have
to keep an eye on the place. We’re bound to see someone coming and going over
the next few days.”

“I
have an idea.”

All
eyes turned to Cenia.

“There
are all kinds of shops and bakeries located a few blocks from here. We passed
some on the Champs Elysees. Why don’t we visit some of the coffee shops? You
know how addicted Kri is to coffee. Garcia has had her for close to three
months now. Maybe… just maybe… he has taken her out for coffee. We can show her
picture to some of the waiters and see if anyone recognizes her. It would help
us confirm whether or not she’s here.”

“You
don’t seriously think the guy kidnapped her, and then took her out for coffee?”
Mason asked incredulously.

Cenia
nodded as her eyes raked over the exclusive neighborhood. “Yes, I do.” She glanced
at Kadyn. “I think the guy brought her here to seduce her. This guy is not
stupid. He’s going to use all of the resources at his disposal to win her over.
Why would he keep her locked inside the house when he has all of this to work
with?” Cenia motioned in the direction of the Seine and the Eiffel Tower.

Roger
shrugged. “I think Cenia is right. Besides, I could use a bite to eat. Let’s
leave the car and walk back that way. If I remember correctly, the Champs
Elysees is only a couple of blocks away.”

A
few minutes later, the friends were seated at two small metal tables just
outside a trendy coffee shop on the Champs Elysees. Long narrow boxes of flowers
in pink, lavender, and white were scattered decoratively along the ornate metal
fence that established the boundary for the outdoor seating area. The friends
attempted to order their drinks and food in French. They breathed a sigh of
relief when the waiter switched over to English.

Cenia
excused herself to use the ladies room when the waiter left with their order. Kadyn
watched as she disappeared through the glass doors leading into the coffee shop.
When she returned, she approached the waiter, who was pouring water at a small
outdoor catering station.

Roger
gritted his teeth when Cenia laughed and touched the waiter’s arm.

Mason
nudged Roger’s shoulder. “You do realize what she’s doing, right?”

Roger
scowled. “Yes, but I don’t have to like it. What is it that women find so
appealing about French men anyway?”

Mason
ran his hand over his buzz cut. “Who knows? They look like a bunch of sissies with
their long hair. And, if our waiter is any indication, they bathe in their cologne.
You might want to keep an eye on Cenia, in case she passes out from the fumes.”

Kadyn
was watching Cenia. She glanced admiringly at the waiter’s bicep before draping
her hand over his shoulder. The guy inched toward her as she showed him a
picture on her cell phone. Kadyn responded without looking at Roger. “Even the
waiters dress nice. They know how to seduce women, and the accent appears to
short circuit their brains.”

Roger
rose from his chair, just as the waiter leaned in to smell Cenia’s hair.

Kadyn
grabbed his shoulder and forced him back into the seat. “Just give her a
minute.”

The
three men watched as the waiter whispered something in Cenia’s ear. Cenia
smiled, then kissed the guy on the cheek.

Cenia
eyed Roger warily as she returned to her seat. She quickly turned her attention
to Kadyn. “My new friend, Amaury, remembers seeing Kri a few weeks ago. He said
she looks different, though. She’s wearing more makeup, and she’s wearing her
hair straight. I told him she’s a friend of ours from the states and that we’re
trying to catch up with her while we’re in town. He seemed to buy it. I asked
if she was with anyone, and the man actually had a name. He said the guy’s a
regular around here. Apparently, one of the baristas has a huge crush on him,
and she was pretty miffed when he waltzed in with Kri.”

Kadyn,
Roger, and Mason looked at her expectantly. No one said a word.

Cenia’s
eyebrows knit together. “He said she was with Rafael Garcia.”

“Who
the hell is Rafael?” Mason bellowed.

Cenia
hushed him. She looked at Kadyn. “Do you think Michael could be going by
another name?”

Kadyn
shrugged. “Maybe. I’ll ask Phil to look into it.”

The
waiter returned to the table with their coffee and pastries. A low growl
emanated from Roger when the man winked at Cenia.

“
Merci
,”
Cenia responded with a flirtatious smile. Her smile widened as she watched the waiter
walk away. “I think I may have a date tonight.”

All
three men groaned.

Roger
ripped into a croissant. He scowled at Cenia. “What is it with French men?”

Cenia
laughed. “You got me, but you all might want to start taking notes.”

* * * * * *

The
four friends c
ontinued to watch the house over the next few days.
Aside from the gardener and a gray haired woman with a young girl, they didn’t
see anyone coming or going from the house.

They
eventually split up so they could expand their search to include additional
coffee shops and some of the more popular tourist sites. They were unable to
find anyone, besides the waiter and the barista, who recognized Kri. The
barista offered no insight as to who Rafael Garcia might be, although she could
easily recite what he typically ordered. She was still miffed about Kri.

Phil
called to confirm that the mansion was the only property registered to Michael
Garcia in Paris. He couldn’t find a single thing on Rafael Garcia. After ten
days, the four friends were forced to return home, discouraged and empty
handed.

Rafael
and Jean accompanied Michael and me on the flight back to Paris. Jean
disappeared the moment we entered the house. Michael, Rafael, and I lingered in
the foyer.

Michael
gave me a hug. “I have some things I need to tend to, so Rafael is going to review
the new security measures with you. I’ll join you for lunch in a couple of hours.”
He kissed me on the cheek before heading toward his office, which was located
just off the foyer.

Michael
disappeared into the office. I glanced nervously at Rafael. We still hadn’t
talked about what happened in the safe room, and I was really embarrassed about
how I had reacted.

Rafael’s
eyes softened as they met mine. “Madame Stone, before we review the new security
system, I want to apologize for what happened last month. I’m very sorry I
scared you. I was so anxious to get you into that safe room without being
heard, that I didn’t stop to think about how that might affect you, especially
given your past. I should have approached the situation differently.”

I
smiled reassuringly. “Please, Rafael, you don’t need to apologize. You had the
best of intentions. You were just trying to keep me safe. I wish… Sometimes, I
wish my past didn’t own me the way that it does. When those memories hit, I
can’t hardly see the person standing in front of me. All I see is the past.”

Rafael
nodded. “Still, I would prefer not to cause you anymore pain.”

I
hugged him, much to his surprise. He patted me awkwardly on the back before
relaxing and returning the hug.

Michael
cleared his throat.

I
spun around so quickly, Rafael had to steady me. Michael was standing in the
doorway to his office trying not to smile at us.

His
eyes locked on Rafael’s. “You know how I feel about other people touching her.
Maybe there should be a little less touching and a bit more security briefing
between the two of you?”

Rafael
released his hands from my arms. He didn’t look the least bit offended by
Michael’s comment. A smile tugged at the corners of his mouth.  “
Oui,
bien sûr,
Monsieur,
” he responded in a
slightly mocking tone.  He reached for my hand and tucked it in the crook of his
arm as he led me toward the back of the house.

Michael
growled from the doorway.

I
burst out laughing. Then I ran back and jumped in Michael’s arms. “Oh, stop it,
you big bully. You know I love you!” I kissed him fully on the mouth.

Michael’s
smile fell away as he backed away from the kiss. “You love me…” he repeated, as
if he wasn’t quite sure he’d heard me correctly. His eyes searched mine. “You… love
me?” he asked again. Confusion and doubt flitted across his face.

I
was still locked in his arms. My toes hung suspended above the ground. I bit my
lip. I knew I was dangling over the edge of something really big... something I
hadn’t really thought through.

Michael
took a step back inside his office and kicked the door closed. He hitched my
legs around his waist and pressed my back against the door. “Please answer me,
Kristine. Do you… love me?”

My
heart beat frantically as I sifted through my feelings and my unplanned
confession. That’s when I knew how it felt to be Michael… to let go and love
with reckless abandon. It was fierce and raw and messy and painful, but it was
also very real. My heart pounded. My pulse quickened, and my breath got tangled
in the response. “Yes, Michael. I’m deeply in love with you.”

His
mouth came crashing down on mine as he sought to confirm my response. “
Je t'aime, Kristine,
tu es
mon cœur,
” he rasped as
he wrenched open the door. He strode out of the office, still kissing and
carrying me in his arms. He walked past Rafael, who stared wide eyed from the
piano bench.

Michael
broke the kiss long enough to issue a new command. “I’ll be handling her
security briefing myself.” I giggled and waved goodbye to Rafael, who now stood
gaping at the two of us. Michael carried me all the way up the stairs to our
bed, where he took me ten ways to heaven before commencing our security tour.

*
* * * * *

Michael
spent a couple of hours showing me how to access each and every safe room in
the house. He had buttons built into every room that he said would trigger the
silent alarms, which not only sounded at the main security office but also
caused all of the cell phones for the security staff, the household staff, and
Michael to pulse.