Chapter 57
SPOV
I felt warm and comfortable as my senses came to me and then I panicked. Had Ash found me and moved me back to the bedroom I was supposed to be in. Would Remi punish me again? I know my breathing was getting faster and my head was aching but then I felt strong arms around me, a heat surrounding me and the smell of Carlos and Bulgari engulf me. All of a sudden, I remembered that he was there last night, he came for me like he always did. My hands shot to my throat feeling something slippy below my fingers. The collar was gone, but hell my neck felt sore.
"You're home Babe, you're safe"
I felt a shudder go through me as I remembered the feel of the pain that had engulfed me and from seeing Carlos shot and hurt. I felt Carlos pull me to him tighter.
"You were hurt"
"I'm fine"
"That's my line. Are you hurting? Ash told me you were in the hospital"
"A bump on the head and a sore shoulder"
He was shot, it had to be more than just sore, and the fact that he was in the hospital meant it was more serious than he was saying.
"It's over, Babe"
"Are you sure?"
"Yes. Remi is dead. Ash is in custody. Gauge is being treated for a complete breakdown and Dolby turned up floating in the river"
"Remi's dead?"
"Yes, during the struggle when we entered the house. There was no choice Babe"
"Dolby?"
"Apparently he owed a lot of money to people who didn't appreciate he was trying to disappear"
I should have felt comforted at knowing that, but there was still a heavy feeling in my heart.
"Why Ash, I really thought I could trust him?"
"I know Babe, so did I. Sometimes people forget what's important and only see what they can get"
"Yeah, Remi told me they intended to make a fortune with Buckley's program"
"You feeling better now?"
"I suppose"
"Okay, it's still early. Are you okay to go back to sleep if I head to the gym?"
"Yes I'll be fine"
He peppered my face in kisses before he eventually got out of the bed. I watched him as he walked into the bathroom. His silk boxers hung low on his hips but even in the dim light I could see the outline of the muscles on his shoulders, back and thighs. Then I noticed a bandage on his shoulder reminding me of the wound he had. I rolled onto my back deciding it wouldn't do my hormones any good just to watch him and thought about what to do with the rest of my day.
Once the apartment was empty, I showered and dressed in jeans and high-necked sweater. I was very conscious of the marks around my neck. I had a lot to do today so started to make myself a list whilst I ate some granola, with yoghurt and fruit. I needed to check how much money I had in the bank. I never had got around to sorting that out. My apartment had been empty for so long I was sure the dust bunnies would have taken over, so cleaning was probably due. I'd call at the bonds office and see if I still had a job and finally hit the mall, especially Victorias Secrets. If I had any money, I wanted to buy something special for tonight. Carlos and I had never got to celebrate our engagement properly. I sorted through my bag checking that I had everything I needed, deciding to throw away the burn phone. Once down on five I saw that Carlos's office door was closed. He probably had a meeting so I wouldn't disturb him, so instead walked along to the control room to see if there was a car I could use. At some stage I would need to buy a car but at the moment that was at the bottom of my list.
"Estefania, what you doing?"
"I was seeing if there was a car I could use"
"I'm not on shift, I drive you"
Surprisingly I was okay with that. It's strange how a few weeks of turmoil still had me feeling slightly anxious to be by myself.
"Are you sure Hector, I have a few places to go?"
"Sure"
Once in the car I gave Hector the address for my bank, sitting quietly as he drove. As he parked the car I got out and headed inside. Hell, it seemed ages since I was last here. Just like before there was only one person in the queue in front of me when my phone started to ring. The number came up as unknown, but I answered it anyway.
"Hello"
"Miss Plum?"
"Yes"
"My name is Thomas Evans. I've been trying to contact you. I am the lawyer that one of your colleagues spoke to with regards to Mr Adrian Buckley"
"How can I help you Mr Evans"
"I've finalized Mr Buckley's estate and would appreciate having a conversation with you. I'm just driving into Trenton now, so maybe I could meet you at Rangeman?"
"Err, sure. I'll meet you there"
Damn, meeting with anyone hadn't been in my plans for today but I had no choice it seemed. At least he was prepared to meet with me at Rangeman. I turned around and got back in the car, probably surprising Hector that I was back so soon.
"I've just had a call from Mr Buckley's lawyer. He wants to speak with me back at Rangeman"
"You know what about?"
"No. Where should I meet him?"
"Room behind reception"
All too soon we were back at Rangeman and as we parked the car, I opened the door and made my way to the reception area. Surprisingly Hector was with me but stayed just behind me. There was already a man waiting there and as he was dressed in a dark brown suit and carrying a briefcase, I assumed he was the lawyer.
"Mr Evans?"
"Miss Plum, a pleasure to meet you"
We shook hands and then I led him through the door into a meeting room. Just as I had sat down Carlos walked through the door and sat down next to me.
"Sorry, I thought you were in meetings otherwise I would have called you"
"Meetings are finished, I'm all yours today"
"Mr Evans this is Carlos Manoso"
"Mr Manoso. This is just a formality, a matter of finalizing Mr Buckley's estate"
"I'm not sure I can help you with that"
"Why of course you can. Unknown to me Mr Buckley had been in the office and spoken with an associate just before he died. He made changes to his will, which was duly authorized. As part of his will he included you. Mr Buckley had no living relatives but had made provision for certain charities and organizations to benefit. It has taken some time to settle his estate so I am now in a position to finalize his wishes"
I'm sure I was frowning because I had absolutely no idea what this lawyer was talking about. Hell, I'd only met Mr Buckley on two occasions and the second one was when he had died.
"Mr Evans"
"Please just hear me out"
"Okay"
"I have a letter here for you that he asked us to deliver to you and I have transferred the money that was due to you into your bank account"
"Money?"
"Yes, one million dollars"
"One million dollars! That can't be right"
"He was an extremely wealthy man"
"But I shouldn't be getting anything"
"It was his wishes, and it's done. He was very generous to the charities he donated to, his estate came to a value of 17 million dollars"
As he handed me a letter I was totally shocked. So much so that I wasn't really aware of Mr Evans leaving the room. It was Carlos's hands on my face and him looking at me that finally snapped me out of my stupor.
"I, I don't know what to think"
"Babe, read the letter, maybe that might explain it"
"Can we go upstairs to do that?"
"Of course we can"
I was in a daze as we entered the elevator and walked into the apartment. Carlos had to lead me to the couch to sit down. I turned the envelope over in my hands, almost as if I didn't want to open it. I suppose I didn't. I still felt so guilty for his death. If it wasn't for me, he'd probably still be alive, maybe still being plagued by people wanting his work, but alive.
"Babe?"
I knew that was his way of telling me to get on with it, so I very carefully peeled the envelope open and removed a single white sheet of paper. The writing on the paper was handwritten in neat small script. How he kept the lines straight amazed me. But that was me trying to put off the inevitable.
"My dear Miss Plum.
I was very surprised on that momentous day to find you stood on my doorstep. That you came inside of my house with no fear started to tell me a little something about you. I am really sorry you were hurt as we fell through that window. But as I laid you on the couch, I couldn't help but become intrigued with you. Never once did you complain or get annoyed. The manner you conducted yourself with, humbled me. You are a very beautiful woman and as I watched you awaken your soul called out to me. The blue of your eyes showed me so much depth and openness.
I couldn't allow you to take me to court, I had too much work to do. Part of that was finding out just who you were. That in itself reaffirmed my instinct about just who you are. An Angel put into this world to help others. Selflessly putting yourself in danger to do so. You helped get a little girl back to her family, found people who had murdered others, protected a mother and her child from an insane man. There were so many stories I read about. I truly believe you were destined to meet with me.
So, I took a long hard look at my life and achievements and found it lacking. I could have done more to help others and the direction I was heading wasn't a good one. You were a key factor in showing me the way and gave me time to try and put things right. Now I am leaving you to guard the secret for me. I'm sure we will meet again, though if you are reading this then it means my time has come to pass through this world.
Thank you for being there at a time when I was lost. I will always regard you as the angel who saved me.
Be true to yourself.
Adrian Buckley"
I read through the letter again, tears coming to my eyes. Why would he think that I saved him? I mean I just did my job as best as I could and helping Ranger was different, I wanted to help him when I could, because it was all I could give to a man who had everything.
"Babe, what he's saying is true"
"But"
"No, you have a way of lighting up people's lives. That's what attracted you to me at first and that's why every man here would do anything for you"
"But I don't give anyone anything"
"You give them yourself, you're open with people, you empathize with anyone you meet and always look for the good in people. That's what Buckley saw in you and why he decided to change what he was doing"
"What about the money, I can't take that much"
"Giving someone something gives more pleasure and a sense of fulfillment to the person doing the giving. Take it Babe, you can invest it so it's always there when you need it"
"I suppose I won't have to worry about paying my rent or bills"
"About that. I was hoping you'd move in with me"
"Here?"
"Here, the old building or we could even find a place that's new to both of us"
I know I was quiet, and for once I was sat still. I was trying to identify the feelings that were there when he'd asked me. When Morelli ever suggested me giving up my apartment and moving in with him, I panicked. But there was no panic, no feelings of running or being trapped.
"Babe?"
"Yeah, that feels right to me"
"Good. We can let Dillon know and then you can sort through what you want to keep"
"The place is a mess, there's probably not a lot of stuff worth saving"
"There might be things you want to keep"
"Okay then"
"Babe the meeting I had this morning, it was a telephone call, well I have to go down to Washington"
"Are you going in the wind?"
Shit I knew that this would happen sooner or later and the idea of him being away for weeks or even months suddenly had me feeling absolutely miserable. I'd miss him so much.
"Hey, don't look so upset. It's only for a couple of days, though at some stage I will have to go out on other missions. My work with the government should be finished soon, but they'll probably take full advantage before that happens"
"So you don't want to go in the wind anymore?"
"No, I want to be here with you. I don't want you to be worrying when I'd be back or if I got hurt or worse"
"I'll always worry, I always have, but I'll be here waiting for you and I know you'll get back home safely"
"Well I have to leave this evening, Tank will be in charge, but I'll call you when I can"
"When will you be back?"
"The day after tomorrow. What will you do while I'm away, you can always do some work here"
"I can do some, but maybe I could go over to my apartment and start sorting things out. I also need to call in at the bonds office"
"Babe, it was Lula who told Morelli where you were when he found you at Pinos"
I had never thought about how he found me, I thought maybe it was a coincidence. Why would Lula do that? Unless she genuinely thought I was in trouble and Morelli was trying to help.
"What are you thinking?"
"Maybe she thought she was helping"
"Just be careful with her Babe, she's picking up skips but isn't doing that well. Hell half the time she can't find them and when she does she can be rough with them"
"Is she still filing?"
"No so she's struggling for money"
"Okay, I'll be careful, I'll get the low down from Connie"
"I'm thinking of raising the value of the skips we go after"
"That means I'd end up with the higher bonds"
"I don't want that to happen, they're not nice people Babe"
"What else would I do?"
"How about if Rangeman takes lower level skips and you bring them in?"
"You mean for Rangeman?"
"Yeah, you can use the search programs and your contacts to find them and then have one of the men back you up"
"Won't that mean you're one man down?"
"Not necessarily"
"Let me think about it while you're away"
"Okay. But seeing as I have to leave tonight, you're not going to have any time for thinking"
His hands came to my waist but because I moved at the same time he ended up tickling me, which caused me to start giggling. That only spurred him to continue and I was almost hysterical with laughing, squirming to get out of his grip. All of a sudden, the mood changed, and his mouth came crashing down onto mine. I couldn't get enough of him as we fought each other for control. There was a trail of clothes leading into the bedroom as we ravaged each other, until we were entwined together in every way possible. The feelings that were coursing through me, feelings so strong, that I had never experienced before. As Carlos plunged into me, I felt like I'd exploded into a million pieces, then as his movements continued, he took me to whole new level. I felt a connection, a love that was so perfect that I felt a part of him, as though our souls were irrevocably joined together. I couldn't put into words how it felt. The knowledge that Carlos was leaving for Washington completely went out of my head. It felt far too soon when Carlos eventually left our bed, left our apartment to travel down to Washington.
