Chapter 14
Chapter Fourteen
Nate
The fermentation on the reserve cabernet was further along than I'd expected.
Ramon poured a small measure for each of us.
We stood at the barrel in the half-dark of the winery and tasted it, taking a moment to silently reflect.
That was how Ramon preferred to work. He didn't like commentary until he'd had time to form his own view.
I held it on my palate for a moment. There was something there that hadn't been present at the last tasting, a deeper flavor that would only improve with time.
"Another six months," Ramon said.
"At least."
My phone buzzed in my pocket. When I took it out and spotted Scott’s name on the screen, I signaled to Ramon that I was going to take a minute and answered the call.
"Look at the Herald online," Scott said as I stepped outside to speak to him in private. "It's one of Kane's papers. Lifestyle section."
I pulled it up. The piece had been up since early morning.
The article carefully avoided slander but made wild accusations dressed up as concern.
I scanned the text. Fears grow for Caldwell heiress.
Sources close to the Caldwell family. Friends say Juliet has been unreachable for weeks.
The remote Sonoma estate is understood to operate under significant private security.
Though the writer didn't say it directly, the implication that Juliet was being kept here under duress was clear.
The photos made the point the words didn't. The first was from the harvest dance, taken from outside the marquee through the open side panel.
Juliet was in her pretty red dress, my hand at her back.
Cropped tight with the lighting altered to appear darker, the picture made it look as if I was manhandling her.
The second image was of Corrigan walking Juliet back down the path from the hill. His hand was at her elbow, presumably to guide her. A head taller than her and built like a wall, he looked more like her jailer than a bodyguard.
I had to look at the third picture twice before I understood what I was seeing.
Someone had been on the road on the western boundary with a long lens the morning after the harvest dance.
I was carrying her back to the house, her shoes in my hand.
The moment had been perfectly innocent but was obviously open to misinterpretation.
"Fuck!" I cursed.
"Each picture does nothing on its own," Scott said. "But together they tell a story." He let out a long, slow breath. "This is Kane's opening move, Nate. There'll be more."
"Yeah, I know."
Those photos had been taken over several days.
Kane had been patient and deliberate, waiting until he could build a story in which I was the villain, and Juliet the innocent captive.
These photographs were enough to seed doubt in people's minds.
If I didn't handle this carefully, my reputation would be shredded, and that would be bad for business.
"How far has this spread?" I asked.
"Two of his other titles have also run stories. A couple of independents picked it up."
Damn it. This wasn't something I could keep a lid on. "Juliet will need to know."
"Yes," Scott said. "I guess she will."
I ended the call and went back inside. Ramon was in the office, sitting in front of the computer he loathed.
"Everything okay, boss?" he asked as I dropped onto the chair across from him.
"A newspaper is running a story, suggesting I'm keeping Juliet prisoner here."
Ramon almost choked in surprise. "What? Where would they get that idea?"
"Someone's been taking pictures of us. Edited just right, they look suspicious."
Ramon shook his head. "That's crazy. You're going to do something about it?"
"Of course, but it will take time. The man behind it is a snake. I need to handle him carefully."
"If you need anything from me, Nate, you only have to ask." Ramon looked me straight in the eye. "Anything at all."
"Thank you."
He nodded. "Anyone who hurts you or Miss Juliet will answer to me."
Well that was interesting. I'd never heard such vehemence in his voice. It made me more grateful than ever to have him by my side. Clearing my throat, I gestured toward the computer.
"Shall we get on with it?"
By the time Ramon and I had finished planning out our strategy for the next six months, the morning was gone.
I returned to the house and found Juliet on the porch.
Her phone was face down on the table beside her.
She looked up as I approached, her expression revealing she already knew about the photos.
"You saw?"
"My mother sent me a link to the article," she said.
"She's demanding I come home." She glanced at the phone.
"Apparently it's one thing for people to think you kidnapped me but another for them to be speculating about whether or not I'm some sort of drunk you're having to take care of.
She says there are some wild stories circulating, and she isn't happy. "
"I guess that's what Kane wanted."
Juliet nodded. "It's so disgusting. The photo from the dance was taken from just outside the tent. Surely whoever took it was trespassing?"
"Unless it was one of the seasonal workers who was at the dance."
That was a possibility I didn't want to entertain. Having our privacy invaded by some random photographer was bad enough, but it was worse to think someone I'd welcomed onto my property could have betrayed our trust.
"I'm not going home," Juliet said, speaking more to herself than to me.
She glanced up at me, her expression hardening.
"We need to take Kane down," she said. "By the time we're finished with him, I want him to rue the day he was born."
It was almost amusing to hear this sweet woman demanding vengeance, but I didn't laugh at the vehemence in her voice. Instead I took her hand.
"We'll make him pay for all the shit he's pulled, Juliet." I squeezed her hand as I made my vow. "He won't even know what hit him."