Chapter Eight
He grinned and answered his cook. “I know.”
And he did know how fortunate he was. He’d been smart to agree with Franklin because he would never have met her otherwise. Although he hadn’t been looking, she was exactly what he would have tried to find. Everything about her appealed to him, and the more he got to know her, the deeper his feelings became.
After they ate, he showed her around the house and then took her to the stables. He showed her his horses and introduced her to his stable manager, Wayne.
“Wayne, come and meet my new wife.”
Rafael wrapped an arm around her shoulders. “Faith, this is Wayne, and he’s in charge of the horses.”
“It’s nice to meet you,” she said.
Wayne smiled. “You, too. Do you like horses?”
“Yes, very much. I grew up with them.”
“I didn’t see any when I was visiting your father,” Rafael said.
“Our stables are in the back, but we don’t have the horses anymore. My stepmother got rid of all of them.”
He could see the disappointment in her eyes. Rafael didn’t think he could hate Eldora more, but it kept getting worse. “Would you like to take a ride later? You’re not really dressed for it now.”
She smiled as she patted one of the horses. “I’d like that very much.”
“Good.” He held out his hand. “Let’s keep walking.”
“It was nice to meet you, Wayne.”
The man waved. “You, too.”
They walked hand in hand for over an hour before they made their way inside.
“Master Rafael, there is a man in the living room waiting for you. He says it concerns Mistress Faith.”
He turned to Faith, lifted her hand, and kissed her knuckles. “I want you to go upstairs to our bedroom.”
“Shouldn’t I be there if it’s about me?”
He shook his head. “No. I don’t know who this man is, and I want you safe.”
She nodded and let him lead her to the back stairs so she wouldn’t be seen. He made sure she was upstairs before he moved into the living room. He was pleased to see three of his security guys standing around the room.
“I am Rafael Montego,” he said. “You wished to talk to me?”
“Yes, sir. My name is Winston Barlow, and I was a friend of Franklin. Franklin died soon after you and your men left yesterday.”
“He what? He was fine when we left.”
Winston nodded. “I talked to him on the phone yesterday morning, and he said he felt good.”
“What killed him?”
“This is the interesting part. The coroner deemed he died from his stomach cancer, but we’ll never know for sure because his wife had him cremated as soon as she could. I’ve had some suspicions that the coroner was corrupt.”
“Oh, my God.” Rafael walked toward the window and stared out at nothing. “We should have taken him out of there.”
“I tried many times. He wouldn’t budge, and I never found out why. He was my oldest friend.”
Rafael turned to him and saw the deep grief in the man’s eyes. “I’m sorry for your loss.”
Winston nodded. “The princesses are going to be crushed.”
Rafael nodded. He hadn’t realized they were real princesses. Shit, it would make it that much harder to keep her safe. “They have their husbands now.”
“Yes, thank God for that.”
“Is a funeral set up yet?”
Winston nodded. “It’s a small gathering, just family and a few close friends. It’s tomorrow morning at ten at the Presbyterian church on Fourth Street. I’m not sure if you’re going to want Faith there. Even with a lot of security, they could be hurt or taken.”
Rafael nodded. “I will talk to Casen and Rowan.”
“I better get going. I’ve got a few men checking into Eldora’s business dealings.”
“I do, too, and I’m sure the other two do. It can’t hurt.”
“If I find out anything, I’ll get in touch with you.”
Rafael shook the man’s hand and asked one of his men to see him out. He walked to his office and made a three-way call to Rowan and Casen. Finally, after a few minutes, all three were able to talk.
“Tell me how it’s going with you guys?” Rafael asked.
“Harmony wants to see her sisters.”
Rowan cleared his throat. “My Angel isn’t settling in very well. I know part of it is missing her sisters.”
“We’ll have to get them together soon,” Rafael commented. “Maybe at your house, Rowan. It’s like a fortress.”
“We can do that,” Casen said. “We could also bring our security teams with us.”
“I say we do all we can.” Rafael agreed. “One of the reasons I’m calling is Franklin. He died yesterday after we left.”
“That fucking bitch killed him,” Rowan burst out.
“I agree. I think she might have been poisoning him all along. I wish we could have gotten him out of there.”
Rafael rubbed the back of his neck. “I said that same thing to Winston, and he tried many times. For some reason, Franklin wouldn’t let anyone help him.”
“What are you guys thinking about for the funeral?” Rafael asked.
“Funeral? What funeral?” a woman’s voice said in the background.
Rowan cursed. “Guys, I’ve got to go. I’ll check in later. At this moment, I say no. There are too many variables we’d have to consider.”
“Rowan, who are you talking about?”
“Angel, Sweetheart. Wait…”
“It’s my father, isn’t it?”
Rafael could hear the tears in her broken tone. “Go and take care of your woman.”
Rafael heard a scream as Rowan hung up.
“Fuck, I’m not looking forward to telling Harmony. My woman hates Eldora with a passion. I’m going to have to hold her back from killing the woman.”
“My Faith will be broken. She’s very soft-hearted.”
Casen snorted. “I’d rather have them yell than cry.”
Rafael agreed. “So, we agree that we won’t go to the funeral?”
“Yes. I don’t want to take a chance,” Casen agreed. “I’ll get in touch with Rowan later and tell him it’s a firm no.”
“Are you going to tell your woman you’re keeping her from her father’s funeral?”
Rafael heard Casen sigh.
“I’m not sure yet. How about you?”
Rafael sat back. “I’m not sure either. I’ll have to decide how I’ll deal with her after I tell her.”
“Good plan. I better go. My Harmony is going to be a handful tonight.”
“I think we should get them together tomorrow so they have each other to grieve.”
“Good idea. I’ll tell Rowan so he can get his security organized. Bye.”
“Good luck, my friends,” Rafael said and hung up.