14. Kyle
14
KYLE
“I’m coming with you.”
Her gaze instinctively slides towards her father, who is sitting with his head in hands like he has no idea where things went so wrong.
“What about—” she begins.
“Terry will take care of it, Sienna.”
I recognize the look in her eyes. It’s despair. Overwhelmed. Weariness.
She doesn’t deserve this.
I lead the way through the casino and down to the basement lot where Seamus is waiting for us with the car engine running.
Sitting in the back seat with Sienna, the brightly lit store windows flashing by in a blur, I berate myself for not insisting that she stay in a suite at the Wraith when I had the chance. Too many coincidences. Nick’s disappearance. Her father somehow convincing her to stay at his apartment and then getting caught cheating … in our casino .
It’s all connected. But despite throwing every second of my time at it, I still don’t know how.
Sienna’s face is turned toward the passenger window. Her shoulders are tense. Her fists are clenched by her sides. Her reflection in the glass is ghastly pale.
I cover her hand with mine. “You’re cold.”
She turns to look at me, and her eyes plead with me to tell her that everything will be alright.
“The NYPD will already be on the scene. Any damage that has occurred: I’ll get it sorted tonight, Sienna.”
I hope that she can read between the lines and know how much I love her. It’s my fault that she has to rebuild her trust in me, and I’ll give her all the time in the world if that’s what it’s going to take.
She doesn’t speak. We spend the rest of the journey with my hand over hers, and her hazy reflection haunting me from the passenger window.
What is the point of wealth if I can’t take away her pain? The question slides back and forth behind my eyelids like a mantra. What is the point…?
The revolving blue lights come into view as we pull into the road housing Sienna’s gallery. My pulse races. I’d hoped that it might be a false alarm, a glitch in the system, or a mouse scurrying across the floor inside. Now, the best I can hope for is that the damage is minimal.
Sienna’s door opens before Seamus can bring the car to a halt.
I don’t miss a beat. I jump out, circling the car in a few strides. I’m not letting her do this alone.
A uniformed cop greets us at the doorway.
I can see more uniforms inside, but my gaze has already settled on what appears to be the remains of a shredded canvas, and hot, stinging bile rises in my throat.
“This is Sienna Walker,” I speak for her.
Sienna is frozen to the spot, one hand hovering over her mouth while her gaze darts back and forth, trying to see the destruction and not wanting to see it at the same time.
“She’s the owner of the gallery.”
“I’m sorry, ma’am.” The cop’s faint smile is apologetic. “I’ll need to see some ID before I can let you inside.”
“Kyle…?” Sienna’s voice is barely audible. Her eyes are large with tears.
I slide my wallet from my jacket pocket and present my own ID to the cop. “My family owns the Wraith, the Rinse, and the Titan.”
I’m not above using our reputation when the situation calls for it, and right now, I’d bribe him with a Caribbean cruise for him and every member of his extended family, and his neighbors, if it would help Sienna.
The cop’s eyes hardly graze my ID before he waves us inside.
I hear him confirm our entry to a colleague, but the words hardly register in my brain as it tries to process what my eyes are seeing.
The floor is littered with strips of canvas, long jagged splinters of broken easel, splashes of color ripped out of context. Some paintings remain on the wall, but the torn artwork hangs from them in tatters. Nothing has been left untouched.
I feel numb, but when my eyes land on Sienna, she resembles a waxwork of the beautiful woman I know. Her face is ashen. Her expression is twisted into a combination of grief and disbelief. If someone broke into the Wraith and trashed the casino, I’d be gutted, but it doesn’t compare to the loss of Sienna’s artwork. She must feel as if her heart has been ripped from her chest and shredded into a million tiny irreparable pieces.
A female cop approaches us, flinching as she follows Sienna’s gaze to the painting that held pride of place at the launch, and is now torn straight down the middle, but still standing.
“I’m sorry, ma’am,” she says. “I realize how difficult this must be for you, but I need to ask you a few questions.”
Sienna turns huge, tear-filled eyes towards the woman, but doesn’t acknowledge her. She sways a little, and her hand instinctively reaches for mine. I squeeze it and slide my other arm around her shoulders. It’s all I can do for her in the moment.
It’s the least I can do.
If I hadn’t called her to the Wraith…
The police officer slides a small notepad and pen from her jacket pocket. “There were no obvious signs of a break-in. Can you tell me who else has a key to the property?”
Sienna’s breathing is shallow, and I give her another squeeze. “No one,” she whispers.
“Are you sure about that, ma’am?”
“Did you give Victoria a key?” I prompt.
“No.” Her voice is filled with panic like this is a test, and she’s scared of getting all the answers wrong. “Not with the baby. I didn’t want to put any pressure on her.”
“And does anyone else have access to your keys?” The cop’s gaze slides between me and Sienna.
“No.” Sienna chews her bottom lip and releases a heavy sigh. “It’s just…”
“Just what? Any information that you can give us will be helpful, ma’am.”
“My father. He took the keys to my apartment…” Sienna leaves the sentence hanging. “But I was here. I had the gallery key.”
“What about the spare?” I ask.
“The spare?” She blinks several times, processing the question.
“Did your father have the spare key, Sienna?”
It’s all starting to come together inside my head; just a few pieces left to connect. Her father got caught cheating at the Wraith because he needed an alibi. He needed witnesses to prove that he was at the casino while the gallery was being ransacked, and what better proof than being held in the private lounge by the owner? Demanding Sienna’s presence was the finishing touch, a foolproof way to ensure that the gallery was empty.
“I don’t know.” Fresh tears spill over her bottom lashes as she peers around at the destruction.
“Do you know where your father is now?” The cop scribbles on her notepad.
Sienna’s expression is blank, so I answer instead. “He’s at the Wraith. He’s currently being held by my head of security.”
“And can you tell me what time he arrived?”
“I can get the time from our CCTV cameras.”
I know where this is going, and I don’t want the NYPD to discount the man without at least considering the circumstances.
“Sienna’s father got caught cheating in the casino. I was dealing with the situation in-house, and he demanded to see Sienna. If he hadn’t, if I hadn’t called her and asked her to come to the Wraith, she’d have still been here.”
“But he has an alibi for the time of the break-in,” she reiterates.
“Yes, but it’s all a little too convenient, don’t you think?” I maintain eye contact, waiting for a hint of recognition that what I’m saying makes sense and that she’ll follow it up. “He coordinates the perfect alibi while an accomplice breaks into the gallery.”
She addresses Sienna. “Can you think of a reason why your father would want to do this to you?”
“No.” It’s obvious that Sienna is holding back tears, and my heart cracks open for her. “I hadn’t seen him in twenty years. He said he wanted to make things better.”
“And do you believe him?” The woman’s voice has softened just a little.
“No.” Sniff. “I don’t know.” Sienna snatches her hand away from me and covers her face with both palms. “It’s all … just wrong. I don’t even know what’s going on anymore.”
Her shoulders shudder as she finally succumbs to the sobs that she has been trying to contain.
“Sienna…” I fold her into my embrace and stroke her hair while she lets it all out. “I’ll make it all better. I promise I’ll find out who did this, and I’ll make it all better.”
“How?” She pulls away and stares at me, damp-cheeked, and teary-eyed. “How can you make it better? I can’t reproduce those pictures. They’ll never be the same because I’m not the same person I was when I put my heart and soul into painting them.”
“I know.” I’m finding it hard to swallow. “I know, Sienna, but I’ll do everything in my power to help you start over.”
“I just got a commission.” She shakes her head, talking out loud. “What about all the money I owe Caleb?”
The officer’s ears keen at this. “Who is Caleb? Can I ask how much money you owe him?”
“Caleb is my brother.” My shoulders slump with the increasing enormity of what it will take for Sienna to start over again. “He’s the investor behind the gallery.”
“How much money do you owe Caleb, Sienna?” she presses.
“I don’t know exactly.” Sienna dabs under her eyes with the back of her hand. “A lot.”
“And is he putting pressure on you to repay him?”
“No.” Sienna shakes her head vehemently. “It’s not like that.”
“What is it like?”
I know the cops have a job to do, but while she’s standing here asking questions about money, the perpetrator is out there somewhere and probably feeling zero remorse for having destroyed a young woman’s life work.
“My brother is married to Sienna’s best friend.” I step in. “He doesn’t want or expect Sienna to pay back the money he put into the gallery.”
The cop arches an eyebrow. “That’s very generous of him.”
I ignore the comment. “Will you question Sienna’s father?”
“I can’t disclose details of the investigation.” She flips her notepad shut and slips it back into her pocket. “If you remember anything else that might be relevant, here’s my number.” She hands me a business card. “Have you seen anyone loitering about while you’ve been in the gallery, Sienna?”
“Only the bodyguard.”
“Bodyguard?” Frown lines crease her forehead.
Sienna scoffs in my direction. “Where is he when I need him, huh?”
“Okay, would someone like to explain what this is all about?” The notepad comes back out of the pocket.
“Someone has been having Sienna followed,” I explain. “I was concerned for her safety, so I had a member of my security team keeping an eye on her.”
“Where are they now?”
“Outside in the car. Sienna came with me from the Wraith.”
“That’s convenient too.” Sienna’s tone is dull as if she doesn’t like where her thoughts are leading. “Why didn’t you have someone watching the gallery?”
I sense the cop paying close attention, but I focus on Sienna. It suddenly feels as if the entire situation has been flipped on its head, all arrows pointing in my direction. “Because I was more worried about your safety. I never expected this to happen. Never in a million years.”
“Have you ever had a key to the gallery in your possession, sir?” I can’t see the cop’s notes, but it’s obvious that she has written down my name.
“No. I’ve been in Ireland for three months. I only got back last week.” I want to add that I shouldn’t have to justify my actions. I’m not the bad guy here.
But I keep it to myself.
“You could’ve set up this entire scenario.” Sienna appears to shrink away from me. “You wanted me to stay at the Wraith. You wanted me to believe that I was in danger.”
“Sienna.” I reach for her hand, but she snatches it away from me. “You’re upset. It’s understandable given the?—”
“Upset? No.” She shakes her head. “Upset doesn’t even come close to what I’m feeling right now.”
“I know. I wish that I could make it better, Sienna.” My chest is starting to feel tight, but I need to tell her how I feel before I use my inhaler. “You must know that I would never do this to you. When you’re hurt, I’m hurt. All I’ve ever wanted is for you to be happy. You believe that don’t you?”
I stepped back when she asked me to.
I gave her the chance to let me walk away, and she didn’t take it.
“You’re not thinking clearly,” I add. “You’re in shock, Sienna. Let me?—”
I don’t finish what I started. We all hear the commotion outside the entrance, and my gut clenches when I spot Nick Morris trying to convince the cop on the door to let him in.
“Nick?” Sienna spots him at the same time. But instead of ignoring his arrival, she tells the officer that she knows him.
“I came as soon as I heard.” Waved inside, he joins us with his cashmere coat buttoned up against the cold and his wide cheesy smile accentuating the movie star looks. His gaze takes in the ruined artwork and the chaos, and his shoulders slump theatrically. “What happened? Did they get away?”
Sienna is crying again.
Nick stands protectively beside her. My only consolation is that Sienna isn’t crying on his shoulder.
“How did you hear about it?” I demand. There were no reporters outside when I arrived with Sienna, and neither of us spoke to anyone else once the alarm was raised.
He doesn’t miss a beat. “A colleague saw the police cars parked outside the gallery and called me straight away.”
No mention of where he has been.
“What can I do, Sienna?” He holds her gaze so that her attention is on him.
“It’s all in hand,” I say. “I’ll get a team in to repair any damage and salvage what we can.”
He scans the gallery. “Did they…” his voice breaks. “Did they destroy everything?”
Sienna covers her face again as fresh sobs erupt.
This time there’s no stopping him. He wraps his arms around her and turns his back on me so that I’m blocked from her view.
“I’m so sorry, darling,” he murmurs against the top of her head. “I’m so sorry that this has happened to you. I know how much hard work you put into opening the gallery.”
“Why … did this … happen?” Sienna manages between sobs.
“People are cruel, Sienna.” He turns his face to the policewoman while trapping Sienna against his chest. “Are there any leads? I trust that you’ll be checking CCTV cameras.”
“Of course, sir.” Her tone is neutral, and I wonder if she’ll add the name Nick Morris to her notepad, along with an observation about how he blustered in and took control of the situation. “May I ask how you know Ms. Walker?”
“We’ve known each other for several years. I was her surgeon, before our relationship became personal.”
My heart tries to perform a somersault, and my breathing quickly catches on when it crashes against my ribs. I use my inhaler to ease the wheezing in my lungs.
Nick releases Sienna. He holds her at arm’s length and lowers his face to her level. “Why don’t you come back to my apartment, Sienna? I can’t bear the thought of you being alone tonight, after this. Kyle will close the gallery for you once everything is sorted, won’t you?”
He doesn’t even glance my way.
“Sienna, you don’t have to do anything you don’t want to do,” I say.
I can’t be certain that she even hears me because Nick is already leading her outside, one arm draped across her shoulder.
Neither of them look around before they climb into a waiting taxi and drive away.