Chapter 8
Chapter Eight
Nate
Hours after I put a spectacularly drunk Juliet to bed, I sat on the porch with my first coffee of the day.
The end-of-harvest celebration had been a massive success, in no small part because of the woman who slumbered peacefully upstairs.
Everyone loved her, and the chili she'd worked so hard to perfect was a hit.
People offered so much praise she was blushing to the tips of her ears by the end of the night.
Of course, the redness in her cheeks wasn't simply down to her unexpected bashfulness over accepting compliments. She sampled a decent selection of the wines we produce and danced up a storm with an endless succession of partners wanting to bask in her effervescent glow.
As I reveled in the stillness of the vineyard, I considered how right Juliet had felt in my arms as I carried her back to the house last night.
I knew there and then I wanted to take our relationship further, but nothing would have induced me to act on my desires when she was incapable of consenting. I was not that kind of man.
My thoughts about Juliet were disturbed by a sudden harsh buzzing. It took me a moment to realize a call was coming through on my cellphone. Picking it up from the table next to me, I saw it was Scott calling and answered.
"Talk to me," I said, foregoing the usual pleasantries.
"I'm sending you a file." Scott was as uninterested in making small talk as I was, which was one of the reasons I liked him. "Don't open it where someone else can see."
That meant he'd found incriminating material.
"Okay." Ending the call, I headed inside and went straight to my study. I closed the door behind me and locked it. After last night's revelry, it was unlikely anyone would surface before midday, but I wasn't prepared to risk Eileen or Juliet wandering in.
I opened my laptop and logged into my email to find the message from Scott. When I clicked on the folder he'd attached I was instantly reminded of why I paid my security team so much money. There were dozens of documents, encrypted as usual. I opened the one labelled summary and began to read.
By the time I reached the third page, I was numb. If this was what Scott had uncovered already, there had to be so much more incriminating information out there. It scarcely mattered. We already had enough to bury Kane, but I wanted to know if there was more. I picked up the phone again.
"How solid is this?" I asked the second Scott answered.
"It's solid." Scott's voice held its usual professional detachment, but there was an undercurrent that told me he was as angry as I was about what he'd uncovered. "The first two women took pretty large payoffs. The third woman, the one from Chicago, hasn't accepted any money from him yet."
"Is she willing to go on record?"
"She'll take some convincing. She's been frightened for a long time, but I offered her protection. I assume that's what you'd want."
"Of course." I wouldn't allow any innocent party to get hurt when I moved to take Garrett Kane down.
"Nate, what he did to these women, it was bad, but…" Scott paused and drew in a breath. "They may have been the lucky ones. There are rumors of disappearances. I'll need to dig into it more, but this guy is sick."
I pressed two fingers to the bridge of my nose. "Yeah." I'd read enough. The details made my stomach churn. "And the financial misconduct you uncovered?"
"His media group has been running cash through several shell companies in the Caymans for at least four years. It's linked to all sorts of tax evasion and insider trading schemes. The SEC would have a field day. I have a contact we can use if we decide to go that route."
"No. I don't want him to go down for his financial crimes. He needs to pay for what he's done to these women."
"Understood. There's one more thing you should know."
He paused again as if steeling himself to break bad news.
"Go on."
"Kane has had eyes on Juliet Caldwell for a long time. I found correspondence from a source I can't disclose, but it seems he's been engineering situations to get close to her for more than three years. He's been tracking her movements and pressuring her mother to push Juliet toward him."
"Shit." His interest was obviously deeper than Juliet had told me. "Why hasn't he made a move?"
"Because Juliet's in the public eye. Her family is wealthy and influential. She can't be disappeared like some other women. If he wants her, he has to obtain her through more conventional means."
"Conventional means?" His wording struck me as odd. There was nothing normal about the way Kane was pursuing Juliet.
"I meant through marriage."
"Right." If he married her, he could present their relationship as some sort of love story, then slowly remove her from the public eye.
Then he could do whatever he wanted with her.
If that was what he planned, it made him more dangerous than I'd realized.
If he had that much patience, he wouldn't give up on her easily.
"How is she doing out there?" Scott asked.
"She's good." In the short time she'd been here, I'd seen another side to her, one that was relaxed and carefree. "I think she's enjoying being out of the spotlight."
"Glad to hear it." Scott hummed, a sign he was thinking. "I hate to do this to you both, but I'm sending four additional team members down today. You're going to have to tell Juliet why they're there. She needs to understand the seriousness of the situation so she's vigilant."
"Yeah." I ended the call and sat for a long time, staring at the wall.
If Scott believed there was a need to increase the security presence here, I wouldn't argue with him, but I didn't like it.
The vineyard was my sanctuary, and it was starting to feel like a fortress.
I could put up with it for a while if it meant Juliet was safe, but I wanted this situation resolved quickly.
Anger rose in me, but I tamped it down. I needed to keep a cool head, especially around Juliet. Letting her see how mad I was at Garrett Kane would place an additional burden on her shoulders. She had enough to deal with.
Closing the file, I cleared the screen and headed to the kitchen to refresh my coffee which had long since gone cold.
When I got there, I was surprised to find both Juliet and Eileen.
My aunt was mixing something in a bowl while Juliet leaned against the counter with a mug in hand.
Whatever they were discussing must have been fascinating, judging by the focused attention they were both giving it.
As I walked in, I cleared my throat to announce my presence. Both women turned to me. After her late-night shenanigans, Juliet appeared none the worse for wear. She grinned broadly at me.
"You're up early, Nate."
"I could say the same." I crossed over to the coffee machine. "How long have you been down here?"
"About thirty minutes." She wrapped both hands around her mug. "I don't sleep well past 8 am, even if I've had a late night." She tilted her head as though in thought. "You have your work face on."
Eileen glanced up from the bowl and nodded in agreement.
"Yes, that's his work face."
"My work face?" I repeated.
"Yes, the one where everything is very controlled and calm, and you're totally in charge." Juliet raised an eyebrow as though challenging me to deny it. "That one."
She was perceptive.
"Scott, my head of security, called." I decided he was right that I should level with her. "He's making some adjustments to the security arrangements."
Juliet was quiet for a moment. She rolled her mug this way and that between her palms.
"Has something happened?"
"Nothing for you to worry about."
She pursed her lips. "Nate." Her eyes held mine in a steady gaze. "I'm not a child. If there's something I should know, you need to tell me."
Eileen made a sound that was almost certainly agreement. I brought my coffee to the island and stood across from Juliet. Though I didn't want to tell her any of what I'd learned about Garrett Kane, she had a right to know that he was more dangerous than she'd imagined.
"Kane has been paying close attention to you for longer than you realized," I said carefully. "Scott confirmed that it's no coincidence Kane has been running into you at events. He's been tracking your whereabouts for some time."
Juliet pursed her lips. "How long?"
"About three years."
She absorbed that in silence. Her jaw tightened fractionally then relaxed. "So I didn't imagine he was stalking me, then?"
It was the first time I'd heard her put it in those terms. She'd spoken about unwanted interest but never named it for what it was. "No, you didn't." I cleared my throat. "Scott is also investigating Kane's communications with your mother."
"Good. I want to know how much encouragement she's been giving him." Juliet stared out of the kitchen window and said nothing for a while. It had to sting, knowing your mother was helping a man who was harassing you. "What else did you learn about him?"
"Nothing good." One day soon, she'd learn about all his crimes, but for now, I wanted to protect her from the worst of it.
"Right." She pursed her lips, well aware I was trying to shield her. She turned her back to me and focused on Eileen once more. "Show me what you were doing with that batter."
Eileen smiled and handed her the wooden spoon. I took my coffee and left them to it.