Page 61 of Unravel You

I could only imagine what Tyler and this woman had going on. I went along with it because Valentina didn’t need any grief over the fact that she potentially invited someone Tyler didn’t want to see. If the daggers he shot at her were any indication, my guess would be he didn’t want her here anymore than I wanted Alex Maio in my house.

Ana turned to Rebecca. “Well, I see you’re in good hands now.” She placed Rebecca’s hand in Valentina’s, stretching her neck to see over the heads of the people in front of us. “I see Lilly making eyes at me. Can I just go ahead and apologize for what’s about to happen?”

“Don’t apologize.” Valentina beamed at her. “I’m touched that you’re taking the time to play for us. Thank you so much.”

After Ana picked her way toward the front and sat at the piano, Mom gestured for everyone to be quiet. “Thank you, all, for being here tonight to help us celebrate my son Derek and his beautiful fiancée, Valentina.”

What did this display look like to Valentina? Over a hundred eyeballs and smiles that meant nothing to her were suddenly on us. She leaned closer to me, and I held her tight.

“I know we had a bit of a rough start.” Mom offered us a warm smile.

She and Valentina weren’t that different when it came to family. Maybe that was why Valentina had been so quick to forgive Mom for being brusque with her before.

“But I hope you know that I’m very happy for the both of you and I wish you the very best.” Mom’s eyes watered as she did a little bow toward Valentina. “As a treat, I talked Sweet Ana into playing something for Derek and Valentina. I hope you enjoy.”

Valentina glanced up at me and kissed me. For the first time since this whole ordeal started earlier this evening, I felt at peace. Later, I’d have to tell her about Alex, but for now she deserved a few minutes of sheer happiness.

“This is ‘Rêverie’ by Debussy,” Ana announced to the group at large with a shaky voice.

Of course, Mom wouldn’t miss an opportunity to show off Ana, who hated doing this kind of thing, if I remembered correctly. Though the minute her fingers touched the old ivory keys, her face changed. She was in charge and not nervous at all. I’d forgotten she could play the piano like this. Within a few strokes, she had the entire room hanging on her every note.

No matter how enthralling Ana’s playing was though, Tyler still stood next to me ready to pounce for some reason. When he saw Matt make his way toward the terrace, he went after him. This better have nothing to do with the missing guard.

I hugged Valentina and whispered in her ear. “I’ll be right back. Will you be okay if I leave for a few minutes?”

Of course, she mouthed, flashing me a smile that made me ache for her.

I kissed her, and she shoved me toward the exit, as if she’d known I was going after Tyler. I took her hand and kissed her cold fingers. “Are you sure? Your hands are freezing.”

“Go. I’m fine.” Her whisper barely registered over the notes of the piano.

I nodded and took off before Ana stopped playing and everyone came out of the spell she had them under. As soon as I entered the foyer, I ran into Tyler and Matt.

“You should’ve called me when Rebecca showed up in New Orleans.” Tyler’s face was redder than before.

I’d never seen him like that. Out of all of us, he was the only one who inherited Dad’s mellow disposition. What happened? I stepped closer. “What the hell is going on? Exactly, who did Valentina invite to the party?”

“Where the fuck is Wesley?” Matt asked in response.

“Where do you think?” I pointed toward the drawing room. “He’s in there, hypnotized by Ana’s music like the rest of them.”

“Let’s take this outside.” Tyler gestured for me to follow.

The garden was empty save for a few couples still trickling inside to hear Ana’s impromptu concert. The music spilled out into the dark night, with a soft melody that mismatched Tyler’s heavy stomping.

“Who’s Rebecca? Do I need to call security to get her out?” I asked.

“No.” Matt and Tyler said in unison. For all their anger, they seemed to care about Rebecca’s safety.

“Okay, then. Start talking.”

“We met her in Venezuela, in a small town outside of Maracaibo,” Matt said through gritted teeth.

And then it hit me. Wesley, Matt, and Ana’s brother Charlie had been deployed on a special task force mission to Venezuela last year. They all came back not quite the same. They, meaning Wesley and Matt. As the one in command, Charlie had stayed behind to handle whatever logistics needed handling at the end of their mission.

“Is this the official mission you couldn’t talk about?” I asked.

“Yes. Rebecca helped us.” Matt glanced over his shoulder. “Derek, I have to go back to New Orleans tonight. I’m sorry to have to cut it short, but something doesn’t feel right. I gotta go with my gut.”

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