Chapter 27
EBERLY
“There will be time to talk later. For now, let’s get out of the way and let the cleanup crew do their job,” said Decker, motioning to two waiting SUVs.
“Wait,” I said when Trevino released me. I closed the distance between my father and me, and when he opened his arms, we embraced.
“I’m so sorry for everything,” he said. “The winery, the house, the lies.”
I rested my head on his chest. “It was to protect me, Dad. You saved my life.” I couldn’t tell him now how I hadn’t given him the benefit of the doubt or that I’d believed he’d willingly defrauded me out of my home. I owed it to him, though. He deserved my apology more than I did his.
“What about Nancy?” I asked when my father released me and we were walking toward one of the SUVs.
“Dead. They all are,” said Decker. “I’d like to do a hotwash, err, after-incident brief now, if you’re feeling up to it.”
“Of course,” I said when my father and uncle said they were.
“We can return to Los Caballeros if that—”
“I’d prefer to go home,” said my dad.
“Of course,” Decker responded.
Trevino held my hand, then helped me into the SUV. “Aren’t you coming with us?” I asked when he didn’t get in after I slid to the middle.
“I thought you’d rather ride with your dad and uncle.”
“Of course I would, but I want to be with you more.”
When he climbed in beside me, there was a tightness to his eyes.
I’d ask what was wrong, but he wouldn’t want me to as long as we had an audience.
I put my arm through his and rested my head on his shoulder.
Rather than relax into me, his muscles remained taut.
I was about to pull away, but Trevino held me tight to his side.
We’d talk later, once we were alone, I reminded myself.
My father sat on the other side of me, and Uncle Michael got in the front passenger seat.
“Ready?” Trevino’s brother Snapper asked.
Even though no one answered, he put the truck in reverse and drove down a gravel road.
“What winery is this?” my uncle asked.
“It was Hope Springs,” said Snapper.
“Also taken out by the consortium,” my father muttered. “It was in Lucas Hope’s family for decades.”
“He’s Saffron and Felicity’s father, right?” I asked.
“Yes,” Snapper answered before my dad. I could see his grip on the steering wheel tighten.
A half hour later, when we pulled up to the newly installed gate of our estate, my father’s eyes widened, but he didn’t say anything.
“I’ll go over the new security systems later,” Snapper said over his shoulder.
My dad didn’t respond, but when I put my free hand in his, he looked at me and squeezed it.
I could only imagine the guilt he must feel, but like I’d said before we got on the road, everything he did was to protect me.
Could that be the cause of the tension I felt from Trevino too? Did he believe he’d somehow failed me?
Snapper pulled up near the front door to let us out. Trevino went ahead of me to enter his code to open it.
Once inside, my father looked around as if it had been far longer than a few days since he’d been here. Apart from the secret garden being destroyed, nothing had changed.
He stood in the entryway, and his eyes filled with tears. “It’s okay, Dad. We’ll figure this out together.”
There was a knock at the door. Trevino opened it, and Decker, Zin, and Kick came inside.
“Let’s go in here,” I said, motioning to the living room. “Can I get anyone anything?”
“I’ll take care of it. You sit down,” Trevino said.
Snapper put his hand on his brother’s arm. “Let me, Bit.”
We sat on the sofa like we did in the SUV. Trevino on one side of me, and my dad on the other.
“I’m going to start with what we learned about Tiernan Burke and the others responsible for the abduction,” said Decker. “Prior to your rescue, we learned Burke’s real identity. He was Liam Devaney, grandson of Christopher Devaney. Who, along with Liam’s father, was arrested earlier today.”
My father stiffened, and I put my hand on his.
“What we believe is that after the raid and dismantling of both the Killeens and FAIM a year ago, the Devaneys saw an opportunity to take over their territories here in the States. We also believe the intention was to build a war chest, if you will, of cash.” He looked at Trevino, then at me, then my dad.
“While it was buried under the guise of an LLC, the crime syndicate held controlling interest in the Wine Consortium. Not that it changes anything, but the Warwick family was just one of those targeted. You should also know that, once it went public, it appears the Devaneys dumped their shares of stock, resulting in a big payday. Although insider trading would be the least of their crimes at this point.”
“How was Nancy Burke involved?” I asked. “I mean, I know she was the notary who testified I’d signed the loan documents.”
“Her real identity is Miranda Boyle, Liam’s sister. She, along with her husband, Patrick, and a man named James Dunn, were the three others killed along with Devaney.”
My father took a deep breath and hung his head.
“Malcolm?”
He looked up at Decker.
“When you’re ready, we’ll want to take a statement about the chain of events that led up to your kidnapping. That isn’t something we need to do today. In fact, it would be best to wait for the sheriff.”
“He just pulled in,” Trevino said, looking beyond me and out the window.
“In that case, we can do it now,” said my father.
Decker studied him. “If you’re sure.”
“I am. I’d rather get this over with and start working to clean up the mess I’ve made of our lives.”
Trevino’s silence worried me, and since I’d already heard my father’s side of the story, I asked Decker if they needed me for this part.
“Not necessarily,” he responded.
“Can you come with me?” I asked Trevino.
He nodded and stood when I did.
“Mind if we go outside?” I asked.
“That’s fine,” he muttered.
I led him to the same bench where we’d sat when I told him about my mother and I working together on the butterfly garden. “Talk to me,” I said once we were seated.
He leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knees.
“Please, Trevino.”
He glanced over at me, and I saw his eyes fill with tears. Rather than speak, he shook his head.
“Okay, I will, then.”
He turned his head and looked out at the vineyards.
“Because of you—and my dad—I’m alive. My father protected me from Tiernan, err, Liam, then you did too.”
“I failed you,” he said, barely above a whisper.
“Look at me.”
He sat up straight.
“You saved my life.”
“If it weren’t for me, you wouldn’t have been in danger in the first place.”
My eyes bored into his. “I disagree. If you’d been in the courtroom when the bailiff told my uncle and me that the judge wanted to see us in his chambers, you would’ve been abducted too.”
“Is that what happened?”
I told him how, as soon as we were through the door leading out of the courtroom, I realized the man who’d asked us to follow him wasn’t the same one I’d seen a few minutes earlier. And that, by the time my uncle and I realized it, it was too late.
Trevino looked up at the sky. “I’ll never forgive myself—”
“Stop this.”
His eyes opened wide at my response. “Eberly, I—”
“No. I won’t allow you to do this. You are in no way to blame for anything that’s happened.
All you’ve done since the moment I met you was care for me, care about me, in a way no one other than my parents ever has.
You know me better than anyone, even them, so you also know that it’s because of you that the way I’m speaking to you right now isn’t something I would’ve been able to do a month ago. ”
I saw a half smile. “You would’ve. Just like the day at the old winery when you told me what was what.”
“Do you mean the Stonehouse and Gardens?”
He chuckled. “Yeah, the day you renamed the place.”
“That was still because of you, Trevino. I knew then that I could trust you enough to speak my mind, something I’d rarely ever done. I knew you’d listen and not make me feel stupid for sharing my ideas.”
“I hate that you felt anyone would make you feel stupid, little dove.”
I smiled, and my eyes filled with tears.
“What?” he asked.
“I love it when you call me that. I’ve been waiting for you to since we left Hope Springs.” I wove my fingers with his. “There’s something I need from you.”
“Anything.”
“Be you, Trevino. Be the guy who tells me there will be consequences if I say something bad about myself. Be the guy I feel safe with, protected by, loved by. Stop thinking you didn’t do everything you could to save my life.”
He grinned. “And if I don’t?”
I pursed my lips and scrunched my eyes. “Then, you’ll face consequences.”
“Come here,” he said, pulling me onto his lap. “I love you, little dove.”
I wriggled when I felt his hardness pressed against me. “Even when I get mad at you?”
“Especially when you do.”
I raised a brow. “Is that right?”
He reached under me and squeezed my bottom. “I’m thinking of ways I can punish you.”
My cheeks flushed, and my pussy clenched. “So am I, sir.”