Chapter 23
ISABELLA
S ummer fades into fall, and I get comfortable in my new normal.
Sebastian moved forward with purchasing the distillery a few doors down from my bakery, and spends most of his days working from my kitchen.
At first, I was aggravated at having him invade my space.
My kitchen has always been my sanity. It was where I could go to unwind, process things, and find my confidence.
But slowly, Sebastian has become my saving grace.
My person. The one who gives me peace and confidence to be exactly who I’m meant to be.
There’s something so incredibly tranquil about working in my kitchen while Sebastian sits beside me, quietly typing on a laptop.
Every so often, he’ll ask what I’m working on, or reach over to touch me in some way.
A light caress of my cheek, a kiss on my temple, or a massage of my neck.
Somehow he knows when I need it. I think it grounds us both.
From a baking perspective, autumn is my favorite season.
I love making things with pumpkin, apple, cranberry, and cinnamon, as we get ready for the holidays.
Apple dumplings, cranberry bars, maple blondies, and my favorite thing of all: pumpkin cheesecake bites.
People can’t seem to say no to an adorable little ball of orange bliss, shaped like a pumpkin, and rolled in sugar.
Even when I make dozens at a time, they’ll sell out before noon.
“What are you working on?” Sebastian asks quietly .
I’m rolling out dough for my second most popular item. “A sugar cookie with a maple glaze.”
“Bet the kids love that one,” he comments.
“They do, but my frosted Christmas ornament in November and December is much more popular.”
“Ava is up front, right?”
“Yes. She’s here until close.” My lovely employee with the lead foot didn’t even bat an eyelash when I explained the situation with my ex-boyfriend. In fact, she seemed even more excited. Sebastian is convinced she has some sociopathic tendencies.
“Good. I need to run down to the bar. I should be back in fifteen or twenty minutes. Will you be okay?”
Sebastian hates leaving me alone here, even for a few minutes. “I’ll be fine. No one knows I’m back here. I’m hoping to go home early today anyway. Can we leave when you get back?”
He smiles. “Of course. Camila is having a sleepover with Hannah and Luca, so we’ll have the house to ourselves.”
Camila is pretty much obsessed with all of my nieces and nephews, but especially Luca’s two kids, Melanie and Caleb.
She’s older than Melanie, but they love playing with all of Melanie’s stuffed animals.
Caleb is very much still a Momma’s boy, but he’s fascinated with watching his big sister and Camila play.
“Do you have plans for me, Mr. Garcia?” I ask coyly, and he wraps his arms around my waist, pulling me snugly against him.
“I always have plans for you,” he whispers seductively against my ear, his hot breath sending a shiver down my spine. “I’ll be back soon.”
“Hurry. Now I have plans for you too,” I call out as he strides from the room. I hear his loud laughter all the way out the bakery door.
Shaking my head, I get back to carefully icing the maple leaf-shaped cookies, when I hear Ava ask me to come out front.
Her voice sounds different, and I’m immediately on edge.
I take off my gloves, grab my phone, and pull up Sebastian’s contact.
I hit ‘call’ and stuff the phone in my jeans, between my skin and my panties.
I figure it’ll be too obvious if I put it in my pocket, even though I know any conversation will be really muted under the fabric.
But I’d rather have Sebastian alerted about nothing than have no way to contact him if something is wrong.
And something tells me I’m about to wish Sebastian had never left the bakery.
“What’s up?” I ask, rounding the corner and stopping on a dime when I see three men, one of whom is holding a gun to Ava’s temple. “Let her go, please. She doesn’t know anything.”
“Bitch, I’ll decide who gets let go,” one of them snarls. Looking to the right, I notice one of the guys looks very familiar. He smiles, a sinister grimace that sends fear shooting down my spine.
“I think our girl remembers me,” he boasts, making the other two laugh. He strides toward me, his chest out in arrogance. “Time to meet the boss.”
“No,” I whisper.
“No?” he repeats, raising a brow. I barely see his backhand before it lashes across my face, but the metallic taste filling my mouth lets me know immediately that I’ve been hit. “You wanna try that again?”
I back up against the closest wall, holding my throbbing cheek, my eyes darting between this man and Ava. Her eyes are terror-filled, as I’m sure mine are now as well. “I swear I don’t know what you’re looking for. I didn’t take anything from Rick’s apartment.”
“You think we actually believe you?” he asks.
“It’s true. My boyfriend got the doorbell camera from across the hall. You can see someone else enter the apartment thirty minutes before me, then come out a minute later.”
“Why the hell would I believe you?” he retorts.
“Because I have no reason to lie?” I try to keep my voice calm as I reason with him.
“I’m just a baker. I wouldn’t know any drugs other than what I can buy at the grocery store for a headache.
I like my life, and I’m not made to survive in prison, so I wouldn’t take a chance on stealing drugs, and then selling them.
I just wouldn’t. I’ve never even taken anything from Rick.
I was only there because I was pissed he cheated on me with my best friend. ”
“Which is exactly why you’re the only suspect, you stupid cunt. But since you seem so sure of yourself, I’ll give you one option to walk away —”
“Yes, yes, please. I’ll do anything,” I blurt out quickly.
“You sure about that?” he asks. “Because it’s either you or her.”
Confused, I look at Ava, but the guy shakes his head. “No, not this bitch. Her.”
He holds up a phone, and I see a video of my sister, Arianna, with her two children at a playground near her house. Then I notice it’s a video call. “Is that …”
“Oh, it’s live. You think I’ve only been tailing you? Took me a bit to find your sister. She was only on screen for a second at your boyfriend’s apartment.”
Confused, I reply, “She hasn’t been to Sebastian’s.”
The guy sighs dramatically. “Rick’s.”
“Wait. Rick has cameras now?” I ask.
“Only one. In the bedroom. You’re boring as fuck in bed, babe.”
Blood drains from my face as his words hit. Rick had a camera? He was recording me — us — in bed? Without my consent or knowledge? I feel sick.
Sebastian seemed genuinely remorseful for his cameras.
Is it the same thing, though? Did Rick just innocently forget to tell me he’d added cameras?
. At least Sebastian told me as soon as he remembered.
But I know if I’d said I didn’t like it, he’d have deleted the footage and probably move the cameras somewhere else.
Knowing the difference between Sebastian and Rick, however, tells me Rick would record me without telling me, and he’d never feel an ounce of remorse over that fact.
“Aw. You’re upset.” He gives me a fake frown. “Poor Isabella. She thought Rick was the one, and he’d never do her wrong.”
I laugh bitterly. “No, I absolutely do know he’d be like that.”
He looks surprised. “But he cheated, and you destroyed his apartment.”
“So?”
He shrugs. “Doesn’t matter. Let’s go. You’re gonna have to sit with the boss to see if he believes you or not.”
I try to keep my voice even as I plead with him. “I’ll go with you. But please leave Ava here. She really doesn’t have anything to do with this.”
He ponders this for a moment, tilting his head as he studies me, with one finger against his chin. “Nah. I think she’ll come with us as collateral.”
Using his gun, he motions for me to step toward the door, but then he slaps my ass twice. I jump, squeaking in shock, making him laugh. “Just checking to see if you’re trying to be sneaky and bring a phone. Won’t end well for you if you cross me, Isabella.”
Ava grabs my hand when I get close to her, and I squeeze it reassuringly. She’s completely terrified, and I feel awful for bringing her into this chaos. Still a teenager, Ava has her whole life ahead of her.
We’re directed to the east, away from Sebastian’s new bar, and I feel hysteria rising in my throat. He’d have seen us if we walked past. But now he’ll walk back to an empty bakery and have no clue what happened.
I can only hope he’s silently listening on my hidden phone, and he’ll be able to follow us, or track my location somehow. Here I am, hoping a man loaded tracking software onto my phone like he said he would.
We pile into an unmarked white van that doesn’t appear suspicious, and I’m thankful for the noise of driving because my phone is vibrating nonstop.
Maybe the call to Sebastian didn’t go through, or maybe he’s texting responses instead of speaking.
My phone is always on silent with vibration, and I’m now acutely aware of how loud vibrations are when the rest of the world is quiet.
To add some volume to the air, I begin asking the man questions, as he rides with me and Ava in the back of the van.
The other two men sit silently in the front seat.
“I recognize you,” I comment.
“And?” he retorts.
“How did you infiltrate Sebastian’s MC so quickly?”
He laughs sardonically. “That dumbass prospect we were with. He couldn’t stop talking about the MC and how amazing the president was.
He slipped and said the guy’s name once, and all it took was an Internet search to put the pieces together as the man who beat up Devon.
He never should have let Devon go, not that it matters. He was dying either way.”
“Devon?” I ask, my voice incredibly quiet.