He stepped my way and formed his lips into an angry line. “What you’re going to do is have the guards escort you back to your room.”

“No.”

He closed his eyes and rubbed his head. “Okay. I’m sorry. I’ve been curt and bossy. It’s just that my plan tonight was to be with you, in any capacity. Now I’m going to look at the second dead girl for this week. Not to mention, I’ve had several complications come up today. I’m just tired of this.”

“I understand.”

“So you’ll go back with your guards so that I won’t have to worry about your safety?”

“No. I’m coming with you.”

“Damn it. You’re worse than Hex.” His phone rang. He didn’t answer.

“Do you even have time to go back and forth with me?” I asked. “Because that’s what’s going to happen. I’m going to follow you wherever you go because I want to know exactly what’s happening here and how dangerous things truly are.”

“My men can stop you.”

“Your men will get kneed in the balls and if they touch me without my permission you’ll have a lawsuit on your hands. Not to mention my whole body is under a special insurance claim for modeling. You’ll have two sets of lawyers coming at you in different directions if a tiny little mark is put on my skin. If you think you’re busy now, then you have no idea how difficult life can be if you’ve pissed me off.”

“You’re bullshitting me.”

I was, but he didn’t need to know that. “Do you have time to tell if I’m bullshitting you?”

His phone rang again. He checked the screen and said something in Spanish under his breath. “You stay far behind me and with your guards. They go wherever you go. When I’m talking to the cops or investigator, you stay behind. When I look at the poor girl’s body, I don’t want you over there and messing up the area.”

“Why?”

“There could be clues or something.”

“Fine.”

He stormed off, and I did my best to follow.

Chapter 12

Alvarez

The second dead woman was named Patricia.

I’d questioned the poor woman who found her best friend’s corpse. Reece wrote most of the information down just in case I couldn’t remember it all. Thank god for Reece. I’d given her the night off and instead of going to do something for herself, she’d stayed around the castle and monitored the party, and made sure the performers did what they were supposed to as well as completing any tasks that would need to be done later this week. As soon as I started talking with the dead girl’s friend, Reece appeared by my side and helped me through the process.

For some reason, an awkward tension stretched around us. Elle and Reece exchanged a few odd glances at each other. When I finally had the time to introduce them, there were no handshakes or warm hellos, just a curt nod and a knowing smirk. On that basis alone, I gave Reece the task of making sure everybody left. It was the first time she’d glared at me in all the years she’d been my personal assistant.

“How long has Reece worked for you?” Elle asked as we walked to view the body. She wore my jacket. I’d had one of my men grab it from my bedroom. Sure, he could’ve simply gotten a jacket or sweater from her room, but then I would’ve never gotten her sweet scent into my clothes.

“Ten years or so. Why?”

“You two seem pretty close.” I wanted to turn and see if there was a questioning expression with those words, but I left it alone. “It just seems like we’re close because we know each other’s habits, I guess. I see her every day.”

“And she’s only been your personal assistant?”

There we go. She thinks I’m sleeping with Reece. “Just my assistant, nothing else.”

“That’s surprising.”

“Why?” I asked.

“She’s beautiful.”

“A lot of women are beautiful, but that doesn’t mean I have to be with all of them.”

She snorted. “Michael would’ve disagreed with that statement.”

Is that what Michael did to push you away, sleep with lots of women?

“Then Michael is a fool, if he needs to sleep with every pretty woman he sees when he has the best woman of all right next to him.”

We said nothing else.

Darkness blanketed the area. All the lights on this side of the castle had been broken. Our maintenance people stood on ladders and were doing their best to replace them. The dead girl, Patricia, lay in the garden next to the rows of eggplants, the second body in the same garden this week.

Grandma was right about the land beginning to rot. Even in the dark, I could see the vegetables and even the land beyond the garden, appeared brown and spotted. The grass and vines crumbled under our feet like dead leaves. A stink radiated from the decomposing earth.

Tags: Kenya Wright Mystery
Source: readsnovelonline.net