Page 25 of Wilde In His Arms

He walked in, taking in the opulence of the space.

She closed the door behind him.

The suite was everything he thought it would be and more.The entryway had slate tiles.The walls were the palest of blue.A huge arrangement of assorted pink, white, and yellow flowers stood on the entry table.Their sweet fragrance surrounded him.But the view through the floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking part of the world-class golf course and the mountain range that had some of the best skiing trails in the state…spectacular.He couldn’t take his gaze away from the beauty of it all.Julia went about checking to be sure the fridge was stocked with expensive champagne and chilled vodka in the freezer.The bar held several types of top-shelf liquor.Cut crystal decanters were topped off and glasses stood ready to be used.

The living space boasted an elegant sectional, large-screen TV, a wood coffee table, and a couple of chairs.He could sit on that couch and stare at the view for hours as the clouds drifted past.

Julia clasped her hands in front of her.“So you want to ask about Javier?Go ahead.Ask your questions.But I don’t know anything.”

“When is the last time you saw him?”

She shrugged.“Maybe two, three years ago.”

He narrowed his gaze.“Try again.I have a photo taken of you two together at a restaurant three months ago.”

She pressed her lips tight.“It was my birthday.I was there with friends.He surprised me.”

Yeah, and one of those friends posted the pics on social media and the FBI’s face recognition software found the photo.

“Happy birthday.”

“Thank you.He only stayed for a little while before he left again.I haven’t seen him since he showed up out of the blue.”She squeezed her fingers.“He knows I want nothing to do with him and his world.Although what he did for me was nice, he is not a nice man.”

Nick knew that all too well.“Did he tell you where he’s living?What he’s doing?”

“I don’t want to know, so I don’t ask.He didn’t say.He asked about me, our mother, if we needed anything.That sort of thing.”Her gaze never met his.The words came out too smoothly, almost rehearsed.Like her brother told her exactly what to say.

“If you’re scared of him…if he threatened you in any way…I can help.”

She pressed her lips tight.“I don’t need help.I have a good job.I make enough for what I need to take care of myself and my mother.”

He made a show of looking around the opulent room again.“This is more than a few steps up from the motel I found you working at the last time.”

Defensiveness filled her gaze.“I’ve worked hard to rise above my circumstances.I like it here.It’s clean.The people are mostly nice.The ones who aren’t I avoid if I can.”

“Did one of the ones you couldn’t avoid do that to your arm?”Nick gentled his voice, hoping she’d respond to his concern and open up to him about the bruises he had spotted the second he walked into her office.

She quickly covered the four bruises on the outside of her forearm.He bet he’d find one thumb imprint on the other side of her arm.Someone had grabbed her.Hard.And not let go.“Some men think they can put their hands on a woman because of their name or what they do and nothing will happen to them.But they learn different when it comes to me.”

That was interesting.“Did you report him?”

She seemed to catch herself and waved that away.“It’s not important.I dealt with it.”

He wondered if she’d had Javier take care of it for her.Or if Javier was the one who marked her.“Do you have any information about your brother and where he might be?”

She straightened her spine.“Like I told you last time, he keeps his business, or whatever he’s doing, away from us.”

“This place has a lot of security.”He’d noticed the camera in the elevator, several along the corridor outside the suites on this floor.He bet if he looked hard enough, he’d find one in the living space here.Hopefully not the bedrooms or bathrooms that split off this main space.

“The wealthy expect it along with their privacy.”

He flipped open the room service menu on the bar.“You can get just about anything you want in a place like this.”Yes, he was fishing to see if she took the bait and revealed anything.

Julia eyed him, probably guessing he suspected illicit things happened here all the time.“We pride ourselves on taking care of our members’ needs.”

He grinned, hoping to disarm her.“Anything and everything at their fingertips.”

“We want them to enjoy theexperiencesthis place has to offer.”It sounded like there was a subtle hint of something in those words.

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