Chapter 12
“We got them!” Edward announced, stepping into the kitchen.
Macie turned around, her face flushed red as she bent to look into the oven. “What did you get?” she asked, emerging with something in her hands.
Edward stared at her hands, still trying to figure out what she was holding. “That smells incredible!” he said, coming closer to savor the lemony, sweet scent. “What is it?”
“I made you a lemon cake,” she told him, setting the pan on a wire cooling rack, then stepped back to admire her efforts.
“You made me a cake?” he repeated, stunned and…charmed. “Lemon is my favorite.”
She smiled and shrugged, lowering her lashes as a blush stained her cheeks. “I know. You mentioned it a couple of days ago.” A second later, she jerked to attention. “Oh, wait! I need to…” she rushed over to the stove and lifted a pan that had an even stronger lemon scent. “Ms. Kealy helped me make this lemon syrup for the cake. It has a touch of rum in it as well.”
Edward watched Macie because she was more delicious than the cake. She looked adorable with her whole body tilted at an angle so she could watch the syrup as it dribbled from the pot and was absorbed into the warm cake, her pink tongue, a tongue that had done some amazing things to him just last night, poked out as she concentrated.
“All done!” she said with a sigh, putting the pot back on the stove. She returned to admiring her work. “That needs to sit for five minutes, then I flip it over and we can have a taste!”
He laughed softly, pulling her into his arms. “You aren’t going to make me wait to try it after dinner?”
She lifted her hands, sliding them up his chest until her small fingers rested on his shoulders. “Would you obey me if I put such a restriction on you?”
He peered over her head at the cake. “I would make a valiant effort.”
She laughed, then leaned forward to kiss him. He met her halfway because…why not? He enjoyed kissing her. And the scent of vanilla and lemon surrounding them made the kiss even sweeter.
“You said something about getting someone?” she asked when he lifted his head. It took Edward several moments to remember what he’d been talking about. Between her soft body pressed against his, the sweet promise in her kiss, not to mention the cake right behind her, he was a little distracted.
But when he remembered, his eyes sharpened. “The information you gave me earlier allowed us to track the shipping manifest to the warehouse manager. Mike, who normally drives the forklift and loads the cargo into the planes, talked to one of the law enforcement officers. Apparently, some man named Gilly Cultain was late for a happy hour meet up last night. Mike went back to the warehouse and saw Cultain take some of the boxes off the plane, and replace them with wooden crates. Mike told the officers, a warrant was issued to search Cultain’s home, and they found a box filled with cash, as well as notes on previous shipments. The Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms officers were able to track those shipments to previous arms deals.”
“Gilly?” she gasped, pulling out of his arms. Distractedly, Macie grabbed the serving platter and flipped the cake over, tapping the Bundt pan to gently release the cake, then stepped back to admire her efforts. A moment later, she turned and frowned up at Edward, confused. “Gilly is a nice guy. I’ve spoken with him several times about various issues while working on the shipping program. He explained the various nuances of packing a plane.”
Edward nodded. “Apparently, there is enough evidence to convict him.”
She tilted her head slightly. “Gilly is a sweet guy, but he’s not bright enough to figure out how to ship illegal arms around the world. He’s just…just a golden retriever of a guy who likes women and beer, in that order.”
Edward’s brow furrowed. “So, you think someone else was orchestrating the deliveries?”
“There has to be someone else,” she said with a slow, considering nod. “Besides, Gilly isn’t ambitious. He knows how to do one thing really well and, when I worked with him, I didn’t get the impression that he wanted to do anything more challenging than organizing boxes and making sure that the boxes got onto the plane. He’s good at his job, don’t get me wrong. And he’s been doing it for a while now. But he’s just a worker, not a leader.”
Edward considered her words carefully. “But you said he understood the nuances of packing the plane.”
“Yeah,” she agreed. “But that’s all he knows. He’s been doing it since he was about sixteen years old. And he’s in his early thirties now. So, he has a lot of experience, which is why he’s a good manager. But leader?” she shook her head. “No, I don’t think so. Gilly’s just a sweet guy. He wouldn’t slash my tires, much less set my house on fire. That would take time away from drinking beer and pursuing ladies.”
He waved her towards the door to the kitchen. “Sean is in Philadelphia, working with the ATF agents. Why don’t we give him a call and see if he has anything to add?”
She started to follow him, but Edward abruptly turned and hurrying back to the cake. “I’m not letting this out of my sight,” he explained with a playful growl as he also grabbed a knife, two plates and two forks. “We’ll sample this while we talk with Sean.”
Macie smiled, warmed by his enthusiasm for her cake.
In the office, Edward dialed Sean’s number and cut the cake while they waited for his friend and business partner to answer.
“This is worse than we thought,” was Sean’s opening statement.
Edward hesitated, then laid the first slice of cake on a plate, handing it to Macie. “What’s up?”
Sean sighed. “The warehouse manager, a guy named Gilly Cultain,”
“I know him,” Macie announced.
“He’s missing,” Sean continued.
Macie froze. “Missing?” she squeaked, a bad feeling washing over her.
“Yeah,” Sean continued, his tone frustrated. “The ATF agents went to his house and we found evidence that he was helping with the operation, but no one has seen him today. His car is still at his house and he hasn’t packed a bag. But he didn’t report to work this morning and he left a large amount of cash at his house. If he’d suspected he was in jeopardy of being arrested, he would have taken the cash. And he isn’t smart enough to leave his car before going on the run.”
“So, where do you think he is?” Edward asked the question on everyone’s mind.
“No one knows. He’s not staying with friends. He’s not at work and he hasn’t driven out of town. He hasn’t used his bank card in several days and he doesn’t have cash.”
Edward must have sensed Macie’s concern because he pulled her against his side, the lemon cake forgotten for the moment.
“The ATF agents will continue to search for him, but the odds are that he was taken care of by whomever is calling the shots.”
Macie pressed her cheek against Edward’s chest, feeling his heartbeat steady and strong. “It has to be one of the executives,” she whispered.
“What’s that?” Sean prompted.
Macie looked up and said it again. “That’s the only way this makes sense. Someone at the executive level, someone with the intelligence to make the contacts, switch out the orders, and figure out a path where the illegal shipments could go undetected.”
Edward’s arm tightened around Macie as they stared into each other’s eyes. Both said, “Henry” at the same time that Sean called out the same name over the phone.
There was a long silence as each contemplated the implications.
“He’s the only person who has access to the entire operation.”
“Plus,” Sean added, “he filed papers yesterday to divorce his wife.”
“Damn!” Edward muttered. “Okay, so how do we get the evidence that Henry is the mastermind?”
Sean groaned and Macie pictured him shaking his head. “I don’t know. I’m working with the ATF agents here. I know that Antonio is in Germany, working with Ralph, and the–”
Everyone stopped breathing. Macie looked up at Edward again and she saw the truth in his eyes. “Ralph has to be on the other end of this!” she whispered.
“I agree,” Sean stated. “I think we should conference Antonio in on this conversation.”
Five minutes later, Antonio was on the line with several of the German border agents, all of whom confirmed that they had Ralph Minstra under investigation. They were searching his home now.
“What about Henry’s place?” Macie asked.
“We don’t have enough evidence to get a warrant to search his home,” Sean said. “Not yet, anyway. Maybe the information from Ralph’s search will turn up something to implicate Henry. Until then, I’ll ask the agents here to quietly keep Henry under surveillance. We don’t want to spook him. He has a lot of cash hidden away somewhere. He could easily disappear.”
“I’m heading to London, Edward. Let’s get all three of us together and figure this out, okay?”
“Tell me when your flights land and I’ll pick you up. We can work in my London office.”
Antonio and Sean both agreed to the plan and the call ended.
Edward turned to Macie, gripping her arms. “Will you stay here while we figure this out? This house is the safest place for you right now. And Kyle.”
She smiled at him, her worry vanishing at his assurance. “Yes. We’ll stay here. You’re right. I feel safe here and I can’t imagine anyone would make a connection between you and me.”
Edward sighed, obviously relieved, but his fingers tightened again. “What about if you stayed here…forever?”
Macie held her breath, wondering if she was misunderstanding. “Forever, Edward?”
“Yes,” he breathed, moving closer. “I love having you here. I love being with you.” He kissed her lightly, but pulled away before their passion ignited and things got out of control again. “I…if you feel the same way…I’d like to try making this…permanent.”
Macie heard the way he carefully chose his words and her stomach tightened. “Edward, what are you trying not to say?”
Edward dropped her arms and stepped backwards. Immediately, Macie regretted asking. She loved feeling his hands on her, no matter where they were. She loved being around him, missed him during the day when she hadn’t seen him or spoken to him for a few hours. She loved…him!
He touched his forehead, then ran his fingers through his dark hair, releasing the breath he’d been holding.
“I know that we both shared our past. We both have…issues with marriage.” He looked at her, his eyes intent. “But I want to try with you!”
“Try…what…with me?”
He stared at her for a long moment, as the rapid pounding of her heart sounded in her ears. Finally, he said, “Everything. I want you, here, with me. Forever.”
“Forever,” she repeated, testing out the word. “What if we fight?”
“Married couples fight,” he offered.
She blinked, startled by the M word. “You want to get married?”
He pulled back slightly. “Yes. That’s what I’m asking. Marriage.” He seemed nervous and that touched Macie more than anything else. Edward was always so confident, so powerful, and able to bend the world to his purposes. But he was nervously offering her marriage? Wow!
“But what if those fights become mean?” she asked, trying not to get lost in the fantasy.
“We can work on not letting our fights become mean,” he countered. “We’re intelligent, educated adults. We both know how to speak to other human beings without causing each other harm with our words. Why can’t we apply that knowledge to a marriage?”
She thought about that for a long moment, chewing on her lower lip.
“What about Kyle?” she blurted, even though she wasn’t actually concerned about their son. Bringing him up was just an excuse to give herself time to think.
“What about Kyle? He’s our son. He’ll be with us forever anyway. Why not join forces to raise him to be a responsible, productive member of society?”
She rolled her eyes. “I meant, what about Kyle and…everything else?”
He shook his head. “I don’t know what ‘everything else’ means, Macie. I’m just a guy who is forgetting every vow I ever made about personal relationships here. You’re going to have to spell things out for me.”
The fact that Edward was nervous charmed her. She stepped closer, putting her hands on his chest. “You’re terrified of marriage, aren’t you?”
“Absolutely petrified,” he admitted, wrapping his arms around her. “But I’m even more petrified of living without you. I did it over the past year, but now, I can’t imagine not waking up with you in my arms, with you smiling at me, and making every damn moment of life better and more exciting.”
“Now, that’s a decent proposal!” she declared.
“Do you think that you can move beyond your past and figure out how to not obliterate positivity?”
Macie thought about that, tilting her head to the side. Then she nodded. “Yes. You’re right. We’re two highly intelligent people. There has to be a way to make this work. We don’t need to be controlled by our parents any longer.”
“And kids?”
She smiled at him with desire shining through her green eyes. “What about kids?”
“I want more. I love Kyle. He’s absolutely incredible.”
She laughed, appreciating his description. “I’ll make a deal with you.”
“What’s that?” he demanded, feeling more confident now.
Macie could tell he was starting to feel pretty smug. He was going to get his ‘yes’ answer. But she had a secret weapon that would throw him off.
“I’ll agree to marry you. And we can definitely have more children.”
“But?” he asked, accurately guessing that there was more to her agreement.
“But… you have to give birth to all our future children. I’ve done it once. There’s no way in hell I’m going through all that again!”
She squealed when he lifted her into his arms, hugging her tightly.
“Deal!” he said, then kissed her as he slowly lowered her feet to the floor. The kiss was deep and long, igniting the latent passion that was always simmering just below the surface between them. It had been there throughout the last year while they’d been apart, and it was still here now as their bodies ignited. That afternoon, the desk in Edward’s office was used for purposes other than business!