CHAPTER31
LOUISA
Iwake aching, sore and exhausted, yet so happy I could sing like Julie Andrews. How did I get so lucky?
As I turn, I see the empty space beside me, which makes me sit up with a moment of fear. He didn’t come back. My first thought is that he’s ok and as I seize my phone, I see the text that tells me we’re now ready for phase two of our operation and my heart starts thumping as my own part in this is up.
My fingers shake as I dial the number I hoped never to use and as the phone rings, I’m not sure my voice is up to the job.
Then a gravelly voice answers with a curious, “Massimo Delauren. Who is this?”
“Um…” My voice shakes and I dig my nails into my palm for courage. “It’s um, Louisa Sullivan, your, um, niece.”
“Louisa.” He sounds shocked and I’m guessing he is because I’ve never called, or even met him once in my life and he says quickly, “Is it your father? Has something happened?”
“No, um, well, he doesn’t know I’m calling you.”
“I see.” I sense his curiosity and his voice changes a little as he prepares for me to speak and I say hesitantly, “I hoped we could meet. I, um, well, I have some news you may want to hear.”
“Then tell me; I don’t like surprises.” His voice is hard, and distrusting, and I whisper, “It concerns Iris Young and what she told me.”
“Iris! What did she say?”
I falter and whisper, “I can’t tell you over the phone. It’s not safe.”
“Does your father know about this?” He sounds merely curious, and I say quickly, “No, which is why we need to meet.”
“No.” His voice is curt. “I don’t meet anyone.”
“Please, uncle.” I hate hearing that word on my lips, but I need to do this. “It’s well, it’s something you will want to discover.”
There’s a slight pause and then he says curtly, “I will arrange a dinner reservation. I’ll bring my wife. Will you be attending alone?”
“No, I’ll be accompanied by my, um, well, I believe you know him.”
I wasn’t expecting the low laugh that sounds down the phone and he says “Now we’re getting somewhere. Who is the lucky man?”
“Flynn Vasquez.”
A sharp intake of breath tells me he wasn’t expecting that, and he says quickly, “You had better start explaining, young lady, if you stand any hope of my attention.”
“I wouldn’t call you if it wasn’t in your best interests. I am putting a lot on the line for this, my own relationship with my father for one. If he learned I was going behind his back to tell you something so destructive, he would haul my ass back to Seattle and lock me up and throw away the key.” My words come out in a sudden rush. “It’s just that, well, Flynn came to me with a story you will very much want to hear and I’m not sure my father would approve of the company I’m keeping.”
I hope he falls for it because I’m relying on his hatred of my father to hold this against him and then he laughs and whispers, “It appears you are more like me than he may be comfortable with. You have your meeting, but if I sense a trap, you won’t make it out of there alive. Trust me on that.”
He cuts the call, leaving me shaking as I grip the phone hard. Flynn told me he would only agree if he believed he was getting one over on my father and he wasn’t wrong. The fact we used Flynn’s name was the carrot on the end of the stick because he will now know Wesley has done something that Iris Young found out about.
A sudden text lights up my phone.
7.30 The Capital Room
I forward it to Flynn and lean back in my bed and try hard to calm my freaking heart down. If I make it through dinner, I’ll be lucky because I’m about to have a heart attack. I’m so afraid. Even over the phone, his tone was chilling, and I hope that Flynn knows what he’s doing because tonight could be both the beginning and the end for both of us.
Flynn’s text does nothing to calm my beating heart, telling me he will call for me at six thirty and to stay strong until then. I’m fearful about what’s happening with his uncle and try to distract myself by working on my laptop. Brad is pissed I took time off, but my father made my excuses personally, so it’s doubtful he would ever complain about it and once again, I wonder what my father was on when he tried to set me up with such a dick.
I work hard for most of the day, grateful to have something to occupy my mind and as six thirty rolls ever closer, I take great care in my appearance and mentally prepare myself for what could prove to be a life changing evening.
“Honey, I’m home.”