Page 54 of Unchained
We slowed at a vine-covered wall and gate, and beyond the gate, I could see a large house. It was almost over.
Veronica lowered my window and said something in Portuguese to the guard. He glanced at me and then nodded at her. The window was raised, and we waited for the gate to open.
“I don’t know what the hell you said to him, but you will take the first bullet if shit goes bad. Remember that.”
The gate slowly opened, and we slowly pulled forward. I still didn’t know what to say, but as tears began filling my eyes, I figured I could find the words once I found Suzanne and my son.
Stephanie stopped at the front door, and I swallowed hard, brushing away the tears.
“She’s in the garden,” Veronica said. “It’s her favorite place. Please let me go in first and explain to her what has happened. You are free to watch from inside the house.”
“I’m telling you, don’t fuck this up or go back on your word. We had a deal, and I’ve stuck to it just as closely as you have.”
I’m climbed from the car, and my stomach practically hit the ground. For five very long years, I thought Suzanne was dead. I’d been hellbent on bringing a killer to my own justice.
Veronica got out and led Stephanie and me up the stairs. She opened the door, not bothering to knock, and we entered the house behind her.
I looked up at the concaved foyer, at the massive chandelier. Tile ran from the entrance in four different directions. A woman, not Suzanne, came down the six-foot-wide stairs. She wore a maids outfit and carried a stack of towels. She stopped in front of Veronica and kissed Veronica on each cheek.
“Deek is still sleeping,” the woman said. “He had a long night at his birthday party.”
Veronica spoke to the woman in Portuguese, and the woman’s eyes grew wide. She glanced at me and then hurried away.
“Obviously, Suzanne named your son after you. Before we go out back, I need to callback to the boat and have it ready to return you and your family to Miami. I won’t be joining you.” She turned her attention to Stephanie. “I don’t want you around. You’ll return as well.” She left us alone and entered an office to our right and closed the door.
“You knew nothing about this?” I asked Stephanie, hoping she would say no. My attraction to her faded when I found out Suzanne was still alive. I would still take her back with and us and see to it that she was well taken care of. I wanted to get her away from people like Veronica and help her get her life together.
“I knew about this place and knew Veronica had someone here. We all thought it was a boyfriend she didn’t want anyone to see. And those who work here know better than to run their mouths.” Stephanie shoved her hands into her jean pockets and blew out a long breath. She was still beautiful and still attractive, just not to me any longer.
“Will Veronica let us leave?”
“I honestly don’t know. I’ve never been around her when she acted like this. She’s so used to everyone doing exactly as they are told that I’m really not sure how she’s going to deal with you.”
I moved my hand around my back and under my shirt, feeling for the gun. “Is there another way out of here other than the front gate?”
The maid passed by again, and we quieted. When she returned to upstairs, Stephanie answered.
“I heard that Veronica had a tunnel built beneath the house just in case The Brazillian government ever decided to crack down on her. It zigzags for about two hundred yards into the forest. I know she has a car there just in case.”
“Keys in it?”
Stephanie shrugged. “I don’t know.”
“Do you know how to get down there?”
“I’m sorry, I don’t.”
Veronica returned from her office, her hair pulled back in a ponytail. She smelled good and suddenly looked gorgeous again. Fucking playing people like a fine-tuned piano. “Follow me. And like we agreed, you need to wait inside the house and let me bring her in. It’s going to be a shock to her.”
We followed Veronica to the back of the house, and through the large palladium windows, I could see Suzane caring for flowers in the garden that covered much of the back yard. Just beyond the yard stood the wall none of us would be able to climb.
“I want the gun,” Veronica said. “I don’t trust you.”
I removed the gun from my waistband and looked back at the house staff who had gathered behind us. Veronica was putting on a show. Nothing she had said was really going to happen.
“I’ll keep the fucking gun. Now go get my wife, and then we will leave.”
“You’re making a mistake, Deacon. Suzanne may not be the woman she once was. Maybe she’ll want to stay.”
