Dreaming With A Broken Heart (Hollywood Legends Book 1) (29 page)

The more she heard, the angrier she became. The old Jade
would be in tears by now. A puddle of inconsolable dysfunction. If she needed
proof that she was no longer that woman, this was it. Her cheeks were dry.
Instead, they flamed with rage. All she wanted to do was leap over the railing
like an avenging warrior. Self-preservation kept her rooted to where she stood.
Two men twice her size and a woman wielding a gun. In her head, Jade pictured
herself as Wonder Woman. The reality was much different.

Time to stop listening. She needed to call the police before
Stephen got away again. When a hand slipped over her mouth, Jade barely
swallowed her scream.

“It’s me,” Garrett whispered. “Back up.
Slowly.”

Breathing deeply, Jade followed Garrett’s lead. Before she
knew it, they were in a secluded alcove between the balcony and the ballroom.

“Damn it, Jade,” Garrett hissed, wrapping her in
his arms. “Why didn’t you come get me the second you saw your
ex-husband.”

“I couldn’t move,” Jade explained. She burrowed
closer. “Don’t jump down my throat, Garrett. I wasn’t in any danger. I
needed to hear what they were saying.”

“That’s no—”

“There isn’t time for this.” Jade started at the
sound of Sable’s voice. “I had an eye on her the entire time, Garrett.
Though I wasn’t aware of the floor show until I noticed how fixated you were on
the lawn. Grass isn’t that fascinating.”

“I know I should have come to you right away.”

“We’ll talk about protocol another time.” Sable
pulled the gun from her purse. She calmly did a quick check of the bullets
before flipping off the safety.

“Shouldn’t we call the police?”

“Already taken care of. My boss called me just before
you went outside. Alex was giving me a heads up that Marsh and his companion
were heading west. The plan was to get you out of here, just to be safe. Once
we realized what was going on, Alex put in the calls to the proper
authorities.”

“Good,” Jade nodded. “Great. Wait.” She
put out a hand when Sable started to leave. “Wait for help.”

“I won’t move unless I have to,” Sable assured
her. “That’s an unstable group, Jade. If it looks like Marsh is going to
bolt or his friend is about to blow your bastard father’s head off, I’ll step
in.” Sable gave Jade a cool, emotionless look. “Unless you’d prefer I
let nature take its course?”

Let Teresa kill her father? They all knew that was what
Sable meant. After everything, Jade didn’t hesitate. “Unlike my father, I
refuse to play God. I’m happy with the thought of him rotting in a cell for the
next few years.”

“Fair enough.” Sable turned to Garrett. “Take
Jade out of here. You can’t go home. The FBI will want to talk to both of
you.”

“Need some backup?” Nate stepped into the alcove.

Sable lifted her skirt revealing another gun strapped to her
thigh. Acting as though she did it every day, she pulled it from its case, and
then handed it to Nate.

“How much did you hear?”

“I caught the gist.” Nate checked the gun.

“Good. One thing. Don’t play the hero,” Sable
said, her eyes serious. “I can handle the bad guys. What scares me is having
to tell your mother I stood by while one of her babies took a bullet.”

“I hope they’ll be okay.”

“Nate can take of himself.” Garrett took Jade’s
hand. “You heard Sable. The plan is to keep an eye on things until the
authorities get here.”

“The FBI.”

With impressive ease, Garrett ushered Jade through the
crowd. Somehow, he avoided anyone who wanted a moment of his time. Every time
it looked like they were approaching a talker, Garrett made a detour until they
were across the room and out the door.

“Where can we go so we won’t be disturbed?”

“This way.”

Jade knew the perfect place. Keeping a hold of Garrett’s
hand, she went down the hall to her left. The art gallery where she used to
hide from prying eyes when she texted Garrett. It was bound to be locked. With
so many strangers wandering around, her father wouldn’t take any chances.
However, unless things had suddenly changed, the key wasn’t far away.

“You have got to be kidding.” Garrett watched in
amazement as Jade lifted the Ming vase on the nearby table. “What’s the
point of locking it in the first place?”

“My father has no idea the housekeeper leaves the key
here.” Jade unlocked the door, and then put the key back in its hiding
place. “One time she lost the original. Naturally, my father had an
important guest that he wanted to impress. You can imagine his reaction when a
locksmith had to be called. After that, an extra key was never far away.”

She shut the door behind them. Before Jade could turn on the
lights, Garrett kissed her. Melting into his embrace, she gave herself up to
the sensations. Desire. Warmth. Love. The feeling that she was home.

“When I realized that monster was outside, only a few
feet away from you, it was all I could do not to grab you. It’s a good thing
Sable has a stable head on her shoulders. If she hadn’t held me back, he might
have gotten away.”

“Sable is trained to keep her cool.” Jade nuzzled
his neck. “Besides, she isn’t in love with me.”

“That does make a difference.”

“All the difference in the world.”

Jade. Garrett. A darkened room. She felt the tug of the
memory of another time not so long ago. So much had happened since the first
night they met in that seedy motel room. A different part of Los Angles. A
different woman.

Reaching over, Jade flipped on the lights. She no longer
needed the dark. She had a life. Outside this room. A life with Garrett.

“Behold the Marlow treasure trove.”

“I love Chagall.”

Jade smiled. “Me too.” She slowly turned in a
circle, silently greeting her old friends. “I’ve always hated that he
squirrels these masterpieces away. They need to be seen — enjoyed.”

“A museum?” Garrett picked up a Rodin, examining
it closely.

“I once suggested a traveling exhibit. It would be a
chance for people who never get to New York or Paris to see each piece in
person.”

“How did that go over?”

“Not well.”

“Jade.” Garrett set the statue down. “I
didn’t hear everything that went on out there. Do you want to talk about
it?”

Jade ran her hand over the Picasso. The Renoir. The Matisse.

“He wishes I had died.”

Garrett didn’t argue. He didn’t tell her she must have
misunderstood. Or her father didn’t mean it. How could he? What would be the
point of lying when Jade was all too aware of the truth? So he did the only
thing that was in his power to do. Someone to listen.

He led her to the leather sofa, gently pushing her onto the
cushion. Then sat down next to her, their knees brushing.

“Tell me everything.”

In truth, there wasn’t very much to tell. Once she moved
past her initial shock of seeing Stephen again, Jade shared the rest with
Garrett without hesitation.

“Is it too late to change your mind? Who would mourn if
that son of a bitch got a bullet through his cold, dead heart?”

“I can’t think of a single person.” Jade sighed.
“Why put him out of his misery? I would rather he pay with the loss of his
freedom than the loss of his life. When all this hits the fan, he won’t be able
to buy his way out.”

“Honey…”

“What?”

“I wouldn’t bank on seeing your father go to
prison.”

Jade knew what Garrett was going to say. In all likelihood,
his money would buy Anson Marlow his freedom. She could testify to what she
heard. There was no reason for Stephen not to roll over on him. Jade hadn’t a
clue what Teresa knew. She could sing to the rafters. One thing remained true.
Money bought you a lot of leeway in the world.

The sound of yelling drew Jade and Garrett into the hall.
She didn’t know if this was the definition of all hell breaking loose, but she
would bet it was damn close.

A crowd of people hated nothing more than to be told they
couldn’t leave. When those people had money and power behind their names, it
made the situation in the Marlow mansion a chaotic mess. Uniformed police
officers sealed off the exits then did their best with crowd control. Some of
the older party guests yelled their displeasure. Everyone else frantically
called or texted their lawyers. It didn’t matter that they hadn’t done anything
wrong. Securing representation was a knee-jerk reaction of the rich and famous.

“I saw the valets moving cars,” Nate said as he
joined them. “The police and the Feds are letting everyone leave.”

“Nate.” Garrett sighed with relief. “You seem
to be in one piece. Where’s Sable?”

“Conferring with a couple of guys in black suits. FBI,
I assume.” Nate shook his head. “It’s nothing like the movies. Thank
God.”

“What happened? Is Stephen in custody?” Jade
asked, her hand reaching for Garrett’s

“He isn’t getting away this time,” Nate assured
her. “Sable made sure of that.”

“We didn’t hear any shots.” Now that it was over,
Jade felt her first bout of nerves. Aftershock. Garrett gently rubbed the back
of Jade’s hand with his thumb. A small, yet comforting gesture.

“We stayed out of sight, waiting for the police,”
Nate explained. “For some reason, your father kept antagonizing the woman
with the gun.”

“Teresa.”

“Right.” Nate smiled at Jade. “Instead of
respecting the fact that she held a deadly weapon, he wouldn’t stop. He called
her stupid. A whore. I think it was that last one that pushed her over the top.
She was going to shoot your father, Jade.”

“He has that effect on people.” Jade leaned closer
to Garrett. “Most of them aren’t carrying guns.”

“I didn’t see Sable move,” Nate said in amazement.
“I swear, one moment she was by my side, the next Teresa was on her
ass.”

“And Stephen?”

“He started babbling incoherently.” Nate grinned.

“What?” Garrett demanded.

“Sable clocked him. One punch. The bastard was out like
a light. That was when the police swarmed in. Teresa and Stephen were cuffed
and led away. End of drama.”

“I see what you mean,” Garrett nodded. “In
the movies, that final scene would have taken at least thirty minutes.”

“Explosions, fire.” Nate made exaggerated motions
with his arms. “Half the house would be smoking rubble.”

“This is a better ending,” Garrett said, slipping
his arm around Jade. “I prefer my mayhem up on the screen.”

“No argument here.”

Jade felt the tension draining from her body. After all this
time, it was over. Stephen was no longer a threat.

“Is it really over?”

“Almost.” Garrett nodded to where her father was being
led in.

It didn’t appear to Jade that he was in custody. His hands
were free of any restraints. However, he was flanked on both sides by uniformed
police.

Sable entered the room with the two men Nate had told them
about. She appeared completely unruffled. Not even her lipstick was smudged. To
look at her, no one would guess what she had been up to a few minutes earlier.
Seeing Jade, she said a few quick words to her companions before making her way
across the room.

“Are you okay?” Just because she looked fine on
the outside didn’t mean Sable hadn’t been hurt. No one knew better than Jade
how clothing could cover a multitude of injuries.

“Not a scratch. Well.” Sable grimaced. She looked
down at her hand. “My manicure has been shot to hell.”

With a relieved laugh, Jade hugged Sable. “I’ll take
you for a new one tomorrow. My treat.”

“About your father.”

Jade glanced his way again. Anson Marlow had the look of a
man without a care in the world. A sick feeling crept into her stomach.

“He’s going to get away with it.”

“Jade…” Garrett exchanged worried looks with Nate.

“I don’t know, Jade.” Sable shook her head.
“If Marsh and the woman roll on him, he won’t be able to wiggle
away.”

“Why do I think there’s a but coming?”

“Before everything went down,” Nate told her,
“your father offered Marsh and Teresa a shit-load of money to keep their
mouths shut. That and a guarantee of top-notch legal representation.”

“What do you think?” Jade asked Sable. “Will
they take the money?”

“They are both going down,” Sable said. “The
charges against Marsh are more serious. He’s bound to do a larger amount of
time. Still…”

“Still?”

“With the right lawyer, they could plead diminished
capacity because of alcohol abuse.”

“Fuck that,” Garrett growled.

“I agree.” Sable gave Jade a reassuring smile.
“Marsh isn’t walking away from this. He might be seduced into thinking he
could. If that happens, your father will walk. What you overheard won’t hold
enough water, Jade. Any lawyer worth his salt will claim hearsay.”

“That son of a bitch thinks he’s home free. I want to
knock that smug look off his face.” Garrett took a step forward.

Nate put a restraining hand on his arm. “At this point,
all it would accomplish is you getting arrested for assault. That won’t help
Jade any.”

“No,” Jade agreed. “It’s time I helped
myself.”

“What do you have in mind?”

“Come with me.” She took Garrett’s hand before
turning to Sable and Nate. “I need five minutes.”

“Go,” Sable urged without any question. “We
have your back.”

“Are we about to do something illegal?” Garrett
followed Jade, looking over his shoulder. No one seemed to be paying any
attention to them. “Because I’m okay with that.”

“This might be one of those gray areas.” Jade
paused outside a large door. On a long table, an arrangement of roses sat
looking completely innocuous.

“Another hiding place?”

Jade tilted the vase, revealing a key. “The little
things always slide by my father. I’m hoping it will be his undoing.”

She unlocked the door. Garrett slipped in behind her,
shutting them into darkness. Jade didn’t bother with the light. Nothing ever
changed in her father’s office. The furniture was never rearranged. It was a
straight path from where she stood to where she wanted to be. In a heartbeat,
she was across the room.