finally.
âThat doesnât mean whatever he did was right,â Alex retorted.
Monica shook her head. âIt doesnât matter. Itâs in the past. And I donât want to talk about it,â she said with finality.
âAt some point in our lives, we all do things we donât want to do.â
âNot me. Not anymore.â Her lips set firmly as she looked away from him, her dark eyes focusing on the crackling fire.
Alex touched a hand to her chin, turned her face so she was looking at him again.
âI cannot apologize for whatever he did or didnât do. All I can do is promise I wonât make the same mistake.â
âHow can you say that when you donât know what he did?â
âBecause while I may be a lot of things, Queen, Iâm no fool.â He traced a finger over her bottom lip. âAnd only a fool would do something to hurt you.â
It was ridiculously silly for her insides to turn to mush at his words, not to mention naive. But Monica couldnât fight the feeling. She couldnât resist the urge to move closer, to let him take her in his embrace, to be held and comforted, for once. And when Alex did just that she knew she was a goner.
Chapter 12
Connecticut
âI tâs been two days,â Karena said with a sigh.
âTheyâre fine, baby.â Sam kneaded her shoulders then moved down to her back.
âNo, theyâre not. Alexâs probably dead and stuffed in a closet by now. Monica does not have a high tolerance level.â
Sam chuckled. âSheâs not a murderer, either.â
âWhatever. You laugh if you want, but somethingâs definitely going on up there and I donât think itâs good.â
Before Sam could reply Karenaâs cell phone rang. He scooped it off the coffee table and handed it to her.
âKarena Desdune,â she answered. It was the ringtone of a business call.
âMrs. Desdune, this is Adonna from the gallery.â
âYes. Adonna, how can I help you?â She wasnât sure why Monicaâs assistant was calling her but it couldnât be a good thing.
âIâm trying to get in touch with Ms. Lakefield. I have an urgent message for her as well as a package that arrived yesterday morning. Iâve been calling her cell and emailing her but Iâm not getting any response. I thought sheâd be back in town by now so I figured Iâd give you a call to see if you could advise what I should do.â
Adonna Banks did whatever Monica instructed her to do. Sheâd been Monicaâs assistant for the past five years and knew her job inside and outâwhich really translated to her knowing how to avoid Monicaâs wrath at all times. So if she was calling Karena at almost ten oâclock on a weeknight then it must be urgent.
âWho is the message from? Maybe I can handle this before Monica returns,â Karena said since she had no idea what her sister was doing or when she would return.
âItâs from a Yates Hinton. Iâve never heard the name before and heâs not a client. But heâs been calling here nonstop. I think the package is from him, as well. He says its imperative that he speak to Monica as soon as possible. He even asked if I could give out her cell-phone number or the number to where sheâs staying.â
Karena was not happy that Adonna had been right. If Adonna hadnât heard of someone and they were calling the gallery for Monica then it couldnât be about gallery business. Which was strange because everyone knew Monica didnât have a personal life.
âGive me his number. Iâll give him a call and see what I can get out of him.â
While Adonna read off the number Karena motionedfor Sam to get her something to write with. As she jotted down the name and number she assured Adonna she would take care of everything and not to worry. Even though a very small part of her had begun to do just
Colin Cotterill
Robert T. Jeschonek
Amelia Bishop
Delilah Devlin
Jamise L. Dames
Gillian Roberts
Barbra Annino
Gin Phillips
Matt Christopher
Gun Brooke