Page 42 of Enigma: The Complete Collection
Even knowing he has a guest waiting for his arrival, Isaac assists me out of my wetsuit. Once it’s dumped on the wooden jetty, he clasps my hand in his before striding toward the main house. When we round the corner of the vast verandah, we’re greeted by a gentleman in his early thirties with inky black hair. I’m somewhat surprised at how attractive he is. Anytime I think of the mob, my thoughts stray to wrinkled, overweight men with moles on their faces.
“Henry, sorry I forgot about our meeting.” Isaac’s tone exudes authority and reveals he’s the alpha male in the room.
“That’s fine, Isaac.” Henry’s eyes turn to face me. “I can understand your forgetfulness.”
Isaac’s gaze narrows when he notices Henry’s eager judgment of my body. When Henry spots Isaac’s stern glare, he diverts his amused gaze back to Isaac.
“Isabelle, this is Henry Gottle, a business associate of mine,” Isaac introduces.
“I would have said long-time friend, but I guess business associate will have to do,” Henry replies coolly.
Accepting the handshake Henry offers, my eyes bounce between Isaac and Henry. It’s hard to tell if they’re friends or business associates. Isaac is more reserved around Henry than he is with Cormack, but he seems more laid back than he appeared in surveillance photos with his real business associates.
“I may have said friend if I weren’t left handling the repercussions of your wretched wife,” Isaac interjects. Although his tone is serious, it still has an edge of wittiness to it.
“Try living with her,” Henry grumbles. “Three years I had to put up with that.”
Isaac and Henry shudder at the same time before they chuckle full-heartedly.
I take it neither of them are fans of Henry’s ex-wife, Delilah Winterbottom?
“Well, I got her out of your hair, and now I’m calling in those chips,” Isaac advises.
Henry’s eyes shoot to mine. His uneasy gaze reveals his concern about me being present during their private conversation.
“I’ll go and grab some lunch.”
I smile when Isaac says, “If you want to stay, Isabelle, you can stay.”
“It’s fine, I’m famished anyway.”
I also don’t want to run the risk of unearthing anything I may be forced to disclose to the FBI. I’d never intentionally spy on Isaac in private, but I did swear an oath to uphold the law, and if I stumbled upon something significantly illegal, it would be my moral obligation to inform the authorities.Wouldn’t it?
My worry settles when I overhear a portion of Isaac’s statement as I’m exiting the room.
“I need you to find a loophole in the UFC, so my fighter, Jacob, can fight a current UFC contender.”
CHAPTER21
For the past half an hour, Cormack, Harlow, and I have been seated at an elegant Italian steak restaurant. The restaurant is a hive of bustling activity, but with the hum of conversations, laughing, and cutlery scraping against plates, it’s difficult for me to participate in any discussions being held across the table. The conversation between Harlow and Cormack is engaging, but it doesn’t seem appropriate for three unless you’re into that type of thing.
“Thank you,” I say in appreciation when the waiter hands me a black and gold embossed menu, grateful for the distraction.I should have listened to my intuition. I’ve always known being the third wheel on dates isn’t fun.
When I scan the prices on the elegant menu, I nearly fall off my chair. Every entrée listed costs more than I make in an entire day. Gnawing on my bottom lip, I ignore the pang of hunger rumbling in my stomach and order the most inexpensive item I can find on the menu—a side serving of salad.
“E per il vostro corso principale?” the waitress questions.
“I’m sorry, I don’t speak Italian,” I reply, praying she can understand English.
“She’s asking what you would like to order for your main course,” advises a ruggedly sexy voice.
Isaac’s scrumptious aroma engulfs my senses the instant he slides into the seat next to me. My breath hitches when he leans over and places a brief peck on my cheek.
“Sorry I’m late,” he whispers into my ear. “I had some business I had to take care of.”
This is the first time I’ve seen Isaac since our ride on the Wave Runner earlier today. I’m not sure if his meeting with Henry was for the entire afternoon or if he had other business matters to attend to. I tried to keep myself immersed in the world of Kellan Kyle, but my mind kept drifting to Isaac. My views on him have significantly swayed the past twenty-four hours. More so since I’ve yet to stumble on a shred of evidence that matches Isaac to the person his FBI file shows him to be.
“Do you know what you want?” he queries, interrupting me from my thoughts.
