Page 182 of Enigma: The Complete Collection
Hugo smirks, loving the doubt in my tone. “I told you Isaac givesverygenerous bonus checks in his Christmas cards.”
“You did, but this generous?”
With his lips clamped and his engine shut down, Hugo exits his car without speaking another word. As I mimic his movements, I take in the architectural wonder in front of me. Glass and steel beams stretch as far as the eye can see, and the ocean backdrop exhibits throughout each floor. It gives the glass a blue tint, but it isn’t dark enough to assure privacy. Hunter could get away with a lack of curtains if he didn’t have neighbors, but we’re not in the middle of the countryside. Modest, private-looking houses border his property, so how does he maintain privacy?
My eyes bug out even more when a wicked thought enters my mind. I shake it off, certain the confident man I met this weekend isn’tthatconfident.
As Hugo paces toward the large double doors, he digs his phone out of his pocket. After he punches in a security code into a white panel at the side, a buzz booms over the waves crashing in the distance. Like I could get any more excitement, a second outbreak hits me when a computerized voice says, “Welcome home, Mr. Kane.”
“I’m handing in my resignation first thing tomorrow morning.” Brandon’s tone doesn’t indicate if he’s joking or not, but the cranking of his elbow exposes it was more friendly than scornful.
After accepting the arm he’s popped out in offering, we enter the elaborate home. My jaw drops lower with every step we take. Risqué female nude artwork adorns the pristine white walls. They’re painted the same color as the ocean backdrop that expands as far as the eye can see. Modern white leather furniture is in abundance, and no expense was spared on the marble floors and granite countertops.
At a quick guess, I’d say this property has three bedrooms and two bathrooms. With the top story reserved for sleeping, all the living space is downstairs. The living room, kitchen, and dining area stretch across the entire back of the house giving uninterrupted views of the ocean, and an office is tucked away under the stairs.
When Hugo slides open the bi-folding doors at the back of the property, cool, salty air fans my cheeks. I unloop my arm from Brandon to move onto the glass patio outside. The calming noise of waves crashing in the distance soothe my agitated composure. It’s serene here—almost too tranquil to be peaceful.
When I snap my eyes shut, eager to suck in the salty, warm air, the hairs on my arm prickle from the excitement scampering through my body. Only one person has ever made my body respond in such a manner. That person is the incredibly alluring Mr. Isaac Holt.
With my hope as high as my heart rate, I crack my eyes back open before pivoting on my heels to face the house. When my eyes lock in on Isaac standing in the entryway of Hunter’s home, my breath hitches. He’s talking to Regan. Their discussion looks heated, no doubt fueled by Regan’s request for us to stay away from each other. Forever attentive, he notices my intense stare before I can verbalize my relief at seeing him again.
“Isabelle.”
His voice is barely a whisper, but it still rips through me like a knife. The sheer hurt in his tone reveals that this morning’s proceedings gutted him as brutally as it maimed me. Eager to soothe his panic, I rush for him. My thighs are quivering, making my footing unsteady, but nothing can taper my strides.
After flashing a smirk that has my knees clashing, he matches my speed stride for stride. Halfway between the patio and the entryway, he catches me with his outstretched arms before pulling me into his heaving chest.
“You’re okay. I’ve got you.” His soothing purr lessens the chance of tears in my eyes trickling down my cheeks.
He gathers me in his arms before moving our reunion to a double leather sofa at the side of the living room. When he sits on the plush couch, I fist his business shirt in my hand, tethering myself to him so he can’t let me go. My greatest fear the past twenty-four hours was wondering if I’d ever see him again. I categorized my fear before storing it away for a more appropriate time, but now, having his smell, his allure, and his magnetizing pull directly in front of me, I can’t help but wonder what will happen if Ryan and Regina don’t get the scientific evidence refuted. There’s a very good chance I could spend the next twenty years in jail.
Isaac proves he knows me like no one else when he reads the need in my hold without a word spilling from my lips. “I’m not going anywhere, Isabelle, and neither are you. You willnotspend one more night in custody. I promise you that.”
My heart swells when his thumbs sweep across my cheeks to ensure they’re dry. Once he’s confident the hue on my cheeks is from his nearness, not tears, he peers at someone behind my shoulder. “Give me one night, then I’ll do anything you ask.” The crackle in his tone hints he’s at the peak of his anger, but the softness of his words indicates he wants violence to be the last resort.
Nervous excitement sparks through me when Regan nods. “One night, then you have to step back and let me do the job you pay me to do.”
CHAPTER10
ISAAC
“Come pick Isabelle up from the boathouse tomorrow morning.”
Hugo jerks up his chin, hearing the words I didn’t speak the loudest.
“Then you can’t let her leave your side. I don’t know who’s framing her for murder, but since there’s no body, my suspicions that this is Col or someone in his crew has significantly increased.”
“I wouldn’t be so quick to point fingers. Your arrest and Theresa’s sudden resurrection in Ravenshoe smells mighty fishy to me. Have you had Hunter look a little deeper at that side of the coin yet?” Hugo’s tone doesn’t have an ounce of accusation. He’s just wading through this muddled mess surrounding us by evaluating each viable vantage point.
I shake my head to his question. I briefly considered if our arrests were linked, but no matter how many ways I worked the facts, I couldn’t find a connection. Theresa’s attempts to coerce me back between her sheets were the most unscrupulous I’ve seen, but without a body, Megan’s murder points to either Col Petretti or someone in his crew. Even when his family members die, a body isneverrecovered by law enforcement officers. He ties upallloose ends to ensure there’s no possibility of a ricochet effect to him or his organization.
“I don’t trust either Col or Theresa as far as I can throw them. That’s why you need to be Isabelle’s shadow. If they can’t make the murder charge stick, they’ll switch tactics.”
The twist of Hugo’s lips is cruel. “She won’t leave my sight.” After jerking his head to Isabelle and Brandon talking across the room, he shifts on his feet to face me head-on. “I don’t like him. He’s hiding something… guaranteed.”
A grin tugs his lips a little higher when I ask, “Aren’t we all?”
“True. But his is big. I’ve never had someone rub me as badly as he does. He gives me the creeps.”
