Chapter Twenty-Eight
As Franco moved through the crowd searching for Candace he could barely contain his excitement. He was determined he would find a way to be alone with her. But the home was huge. Rooms were everywhere leading into more rooms.
Then suddenly he saw her!
Speechless, he stared in awe at the stunning beauty who owned his heart.
He had no idea who she was supposed to be, but he didn’t care. The historical costume accentuated her figure, and ringlets from a wig framed her beautiful face. She was talking to a good-looking young man with an impressive physique and longish sandy hair dressed as Tarzan. Feeling a streak of jealousy, Franco took a deep breath and was about to walk up to them when there was a tap on his shoulder. Startled and spinning around, he found himself staring at Manny Trubello.
“It’s an amazing costume, but Franco, it’s rude to stare!”
They may have been friends as children, but at that moment Franco hated him. He’d stolen Candace, and it took every ounce of self control not to hurl his fist square between Manny’s eyes then pound him into a pulp.
“Who is she?” Franco managed. “The outfit, I mean. I don’t recognize it?”
“Marie Antoinette, and I guess I can’t blame you for not being able to take your eyes off her. She really is a vision,” Manny declared, waving over a waiter carrying a tray of drinks. “Have some whiskey. You look like you could use it.”
“It’s been a crazy few days,” Franco managed, taking a glass though he hated Manny’s patronizing tone.
“Yeah? Why is that?”
“Why do you think? Boris! I still can’t believe he was shot the way he was,” Franco replied, lowering his voice, then downed the whiskey in one gulp.
“You weren’t behind that?”
“Are you out of your fucking mind? You think I’d send a shooter into a restaurant full of people? That’s not my style. Not in a million years, and you fucking know it!”
“Hey, he was trying to muscle his way into your operation. Seemed like a reasonable conclusion, but if it wasn’t you, then…”
“Who was it? Not a clue. But I’d like to shake his hand—or hers. I guess you heard the killer was a woman. I’ve been racking my brains but I can’t think of anyone who has a woman on their payroll. Not that kind of woman.”
“Yeah, and I don’t know why but it bothers the crap outta me,” Manny grunted.
“And it was a woman who saved Donovan Blake the night I tried to snatch him.”
“You screwed that up big time. He’s here, by the way.”
“Donovan Blake is here?” Franco exclaimed. “Where is he? I’ll kill that asshole myself.”
“Not at my party, you won’t. And not while he’s here in Southampton.”
“Why the fuck not?”
“He’s with Phoebe Beaumont, as in Beaumont Engineering, that’s why not! If anything happens to either of them the feds will be all over it and that’s the last thing I need.”
“But—but—that’s impossible,” Franco muttered feeling a strange prickle ripple through his body.
“Hey, Franco, what the hell? You look like you’ve just been punched in the gut.”
“That’s her,” Franco sputtered. “That’s the woman who fucked everything up that night. The woman who saved his ass. Phoebe Beaumont. That’s her name.”
“You’ve gotta be kidding me!”
“We tracked her to a condo complex and went in but she’d gone. She’s a fucking nurse. Why would Fred Beaumont’s daughter be a nurse? It has to be a different Phoebe Beaumont.”
“I can’t believe I’m hearing this,” Manny muttered shaking his head. “It’s definitely her. Donovan introduced us.”
“Where’s that waiter, I need another drink,” Franco grunted. “In fact I need the whole fucking bottle. Damn! I just realized something.”
“What’s that?” Manny asked, gesturing to a waiter.
“The guys, they went through her place and tore it up pretty good trying to find where she might have gone. There was nothing, but—”
“Fuck, Franco! You’d better hope she doesn’t know it was you.”
“But Donovan Blake…he would have known right away.”
“Has she seen it?”
“No, we have spyware in place to alert us the minute anyone goes in there, and a live cam will be triggered once they do.”
“You’d better get a clean up crew over there, and I mean right now. Then get on your knees and thank God you didn’t catch her.”
“What the fuck is going on?” Franco grumbled. “Boris is shot in a busy restaurant, the girl who showed up in the middle of the night to save Donovan Blake is Fred Beaumont’s daughter, and they’re both in this house! What’s next?”
“That’s a very good question,” Manny muttered as the server walked up and Franco seized another glass. “But we have to pick this up later. I don’t like how that wannabe actor is leering at Candy.”
Downing the drink and snatching up another, Franco seethed as Manny marched across the room to join Candace and the handsome young man. Then, to his shock, Donovan and the Beaumont girl entered through another door.
Franco was usually a decisive, confident man and knew how to handle difficult situations, but seeing Manny greet Donovan and the gorgeous heiress was the last straw. As he hastily left the room and entered another, he spotted two scantily dressed young women standing at a bar. The invitation had said, Harem Girls Available.
“Are you two part of the harem?” he asked, marching up to them.
“We sure are,” one of them replied. “I’m Serena and this is Kate.”
“How much do you charge to keep a guy company for a while?”
“That’s already been taken care of by Mr. Trubello, but tips are always welcome.”
“I’m all yours, and I’m a big tipper. Just get me the fuck out of here.”
As the girls moved to either side of him and looped their arms through his, Franco let out a relieved sigh. He desperately needed the diversion.
But walking away he experienced a moment of clarity.
He wasn’t sure how, but before he left the MCT mansion Manny would be joining Boris in Hell.