Page 30 of The Perfect Kiss
“What?” Reyna said, pulling away and looking me in the eye.
“October 16th. That is the day we are going to get married.”
“We can’t get married on the sixteenth. Kenzi would be devastated if she couldn’t plan our wedding. There isn’t enough time for her to do that.” Panic coated Reyna’s voice as she took hold of my hand.
“More than anything, I want to be married to you. October 16this a perfect date.”
“Why is it so important, Davian?”
“There is something I need to tell you.” This wasn’t how I wanted Reyna to learn about the death of my mom. But she wouldn’t understand unless I told her. “My mother passed away two days ago, and I want to do something special for her. I think that getting married on her birthday would have made her very happy.”
“Why didn’t you tell me, Davian? I’m so sorry.” Reyna wrapped her arms around me, and the tears fell, both hers and mine.
The only other person who knew about my mom’s death was my father, but telling Reyna also meant that Axe knew too. The last thing I wanted was for the guys to be hovering over me with sympathy. “There was a lot going on. I didn’t feel it was the right time to add any more bad news to the pile.”
Axe just looked at me through the rearview mirror without saying a word. Of all the men on the team, he was probably the one most affected by tragedy. Losing his younger sister to a drive-by shooting and never finding out who shot her was something I could relate to. When I found out that Gwen was taken from me five, almost six, years ago, I went to a very dark place. If it hadn’t been for the men ofThe Society,I might have ended up in jail. Thanks to them, I got my life back on track and met the most gorgeous woman to spend the rest of my life with.
Thirty minutes later, we were parked in the parking garage at The Regency. Samantha’s MRX was parked in her designated parking spot like it was Monday through Saturday. What she didn’t realize was this was going to be her last day as my general manager. With the proof we had on her, she would be lucky to get out of jail in ten years. Aiding and abetting a known, wanted felon for second-degree murder is a criminal offense. If she were willing to help us, maybe the judge would be easy on her and reduce her sentence. At least, that was what I was going to tell her.
When we got to the mezzanine, the first place we went was to my office to make a disheartening call—one I never thought I would make. I could tell that Reyna was nervous as she took a seat in one of the chairs in front of my desk. Axe was standing at the door, leaning against the wall. He was more than aware of what was going to take place. Three of the hotel security guards were on alert in case the conversation with Samantha went sideways.
Dialing her extension, I acted like my usual self. “Samantha, I have the hotel event schedule to go over with you. There are some changes I would like your input on. Can you meet me in my office? I thought we could go over them and then have dinner.”
“Of course, Davian. I’ll be right there. I’m lining out the cooks for the menu change.” The excitement in her voice was undeniable. Thankfully I hadn’t put the call on speaker. The last thing I wanted was for Reyna to get upset.
~25~
Reyna
Although I was nervous about Davian confronting Samantha, Axe standing behind me at Davian’s office door made me more nervous. I was afraid that once she saw Axe, she would run for the hills. In the back of my mind, I knew she wouldn’t get far since Davian had notified his security team, but there was still that same chance that she would get away.
Axe eased my apprehension of Samantha getting away by leaving Davian’s office, but he remained nearby if there were any problems. I wasn’t sure how this conversation would go down, but I had to have faith in Davian that he knew what he was doing.
Ten minutes after Axe left, there was a knock at the door. “Come in,” Davian said in a confident voice that amazed me.
When the door opened, Samantha’s eyes fell to me instead of Davian. She wasn’t at all happy that I was in Davian’s office. As far as she knew, he was alone. “Davian, I thought you wanted to go over the hotel’s event schedule,” she began. “What is Reyna doing here?”
“Just stop, Samantha. We know who you are, and it’s over. Sit down.”
I never heard Davian speak in such a strong tone. It almost scared me. Samantha walked over to the chair next to me and took a seat. She didn’t look the least bit worried about what he was going to say. She actually looked like a conniving bitch.
“What is this about, Davian?” Samantha placed her hands on her lap and folded her hands one over the other.”
“The game is over, Samantha. We know about your relationship with McCalls. We also know that you helped Delilah leave The Regency. What I don’t understand is why? Why would you do this? Was it Spade who convinced you, or maybe it was McCall?”
Just like Davian, I sat silently, waiting for Samantha to answer Davian's questions. When she didn’t respond, I was sure she was taking the Fifth. If she said anything, she knew she would incriminate herself.
I was about to tell her to answer Davian when she said, “You have no idea what you’re asking. Do you really think I would tell you anything?”
“Have it your way. But if you don’t want to spend the next ten years behind bars, you better start talking. Where is McCall going?”
What Davian said must have hit a nerve because the next thing Samantha said was, “Screw you. I’m as good as dead if I tell you anything.”
“We can protect you. Just tell me what you know, Samantha.” Davian was at his wit's end. I knew he was lying. After what Samantha did, there was no way Davian would protect her. Thankfully she believed his bluff.
“Savannah. Spade and Hugo are taking Crosby and Delilah to Savannah. You have to protect me, Davian. If Crosby finds out that I betrayed him, he will kill me. He is more powerful than you think,” Samantha said as she slumped, defeated in her chair. “They are headed to the docks, where a boat will be waiting to take them to Puerto Rico.”
Davian picked up the receiver and pressed a button. He only said two words, “It’s time,” before hanging up the phone. His focus switched to Samantha, who was still slumped in her chair before he sprung to his feet. “If you’re lying to me, Ms. Cain, I will make sure you spend time in jail until you are an old woman.”
