Chapter 24
Catalina sat in the passenger seat of Benjamin’s Porsche, her head swimming with everything she’d found out in the past half hour. She didn’t even know where to begin to process everything that had happened. She was overwhelmed with both relief, delight, and fear.
Knowing that her brother was safe for now was a big relief.
He now had a personal bodyguard—albeit a fellow inmate.
But most likely that was better than a guard looking out for him.
Another inmate would be by his side all the time, while a guard wouldn’t.
That Benjamin was paying for all this, she couldn’t even fathom.
And without even telling her. It was selfless of him and generous beyond belief.
But now she also understood why he was doing it: he loved her.
While it hadn’t completely come out of left field since he’d shown her from the start that he liked her, she hadn’t expected him to declare his love so soon and so freely.
Weren’t men supposed to keep their feelings close to their vest?
Weren’t they the ones who took longer than women to fall in love?
How had she gotten so lucky with him? It would have been so easy for him to pull back from her once he’d found out how complicated her life was—and getting more complicated by the hour.
Finding out that the Prestons had a video of her trying to break into their safe had sent a shock through her system. She felt like a fool! She’d seen the security video that had been instrumental in convicting her brother. It had been taken in the same room.
However, she’d counted on the security system being turned off during the party. Why else would they have hired security for the event? None of the alarms had been on during the party, and she’d assumed that meant that the cameras weren’t recording either.
“I can’t believe how stupid I was,” she said now, shaking her head, while Benjamin was driving into the underground garage.
“About what?”
“The security camera in the Prestons’ bedroom. I should have known they were always recording, even when the alarm wasn’t turned on.”
Benjamin put his hand over hers. “We can’t change that now.”
He parked near the elevator and switched off the engine.
“Come, let’s go to my office, and we’ll continue where we left off.”
He opened the driver’s side door and hopped out.
By the time she’d grabbed her handbag from the spot by her feet, Benjamin had already walked around the car and opened the door for her.
He helped her exit, then led her to the elevator, while still holding her hand.
In the elevator, he pressed the button to the second floor.
The elevator began to move, and he leaned in and kissed her temple.
“Don’t worry, baby, we’ll figure it all out.”
She forced a smile onto her lips. “I wish I had your confidence.”
He shrugged. “I’ve had many years of experience with investigations. You’d be just as confident if you’d done this for nearly twenty years.”
The hint about his age brought back another question.
Benjamin had just celebrated his 37th birthday, so why did his father look like he was no older than forty?
And it was clear that he was his father.
The family resemblance was overwhelming.
Benjamin and Damian looked like they were chiseled from their father’s features, the same black hair, the same piercing blue eyes, and the same facial structure.
In fact, their father looked as if he was their older brother.
“Uhm, about that… Your father. He looks so young. But if he’s your biological father, he must be at least in his late fifties, if not older. I just can’t get my head around that.”
“We get that a lot. We just have really good genes. Besides, fifty- and sixty-year-old people these days just don’t look that old anymore. They dress younger and don’t behave like old people. They’re much more active. Dad still works full-time, and I can’t imagine him ever retiring.”
She let his words sink in. In a way, he was right. Sixty was probably the new forty. Still, there was something else about his father that had felt odd.
“Your father is very… how shall I say? Adamant. If I have to be honest, he scared me a bit.”
Benjamin chuckled. “Yeah, he can have that effect on people who don’t know him. But don’t worry, you’ll get to know him better, and then you’ll see that he’s really just a big teddy bear. Mom has got him wrapped around her little finger.”
He winked at her. The elevator doors opened, and they exited. The corridor was broad, and to her surprise, despite the late hour—it was at least eight p.m.—several people were rushing around.
“People are working late here,” she commented.
“Yep. Security is a twenty-four-hour business.” He opened a door and led her inside. “This is my office.”
She entered the comfortable office, which had a large desk with a computer screen, several chairs, and a sofa in one corner. The window looked out over busy Mission Street. There were notes and files on the desk. She pointed to them.
“Have you found out anything more about the public defender?”
“So far, no. Given that we have more than just the public defender to look into, I need to delegate that to somebody else. Let me do that now.”
He sat down behind his desk. “Make yourself comfortable.”
She took the seat in front of the desk while Benjamin made a call.
“Hey, Nicholas? Are you in the building? … Great. Can you come to my office? I have a job for you. Thanks.”
He disconnected the call, then he pointed to his computer screen. “Anita sent me the security video that showed Santiago in the Prestons’ master bedroom.”
Eager to find out what he thought of it, she leaned forward. “Do you think it’s a deepfake?”
“I don’t know. I don’t have those skills.”
Disappointment flooded her. “Oh.”
“But I know somebody who can analyze it. I was about to ask him to help me with it when I found out that my father went to see you.”
“How did he even know where I live?”
“Well, that’s the problem when your entire family works at the same company.
Nothing stays a secret. He showed the video with you and me on it to my uncle, who runs the IT department here with his husband, and he recognized you because I had him run your license plate to find out where you live a couple of days earlier. ”
Now it all made sense. “You actually memorized my license plate?”
He smiled. “Well, you didn’t leave me a choice after running out on me that first night. You didn’t think I’d let a catch like you get away, did you?”
She felt her cheeks flush and heat engulf her head and neck. Benjamin could do that to her with his smile and those penetrating blue eyes.
“If I’d known that you were so understanding about my situation, I wouldn’t have left. But I didn’t want to burden somebody else with my problems…”
“I know that now, baby.” He tapped on his phone. “Let me call Sebastian. He can help with the video.” There was a short pause, then he said into the phone, “Hey, Sebastian. I need your help. Can you analyze a video for me to see if it’s a fake? Yeah. Great. I’m in my office.”
He disconnected the call. Then he looked around his desk. “Darn. I left my tablet up in my uncle’s office. I’ll be right back.”
“Do you want me to stay here? On my own?” she asked.
“The building is secure. Don’t worry. I’ll be just a couple of minutes.” He hurried out the door.
When she was alone, she felt silly having asked that.
Of course, she was safe here. She’d noticed that Benjamin had not only had to swipe his access card but also scan his thumbprint to access the parking garage beneath the building.
Even for the cafeteria, where he’d left her for a short while a couple of days earlier while he got changed, he’d used his access card to gain entry.
This security company certainly practiced what it preached.
Still, she felt a little awkward being alone in his office.
She knew it was a sign of trust, and that feeling was still new and foreign.
Feeling a little on edge, she stood up and walked around the room.
She went to the window and looked out at the street, where traffic was still heavy.
When she heard the door being opened, she whirled around, expecting to see Benjamin.
Instead, a tall, bald man entered. He was dressed entirely in black.
“Benjamin, I need—”
He didn’t finish his sentence and stared at her, narrowing his eyes.
“Who are you?”
The question was barked rather than spoken, sending a shiver down her spine. Her neck prickled at the spot where she could have sworn that Benjamin had given her a hickey, even though there was no physical evidence. She rubbed her fingers over it.
“I’m… uhm,” she stuttered, her throat as dry as Death Valley. “I’m Benjamin’s girlfriend.”
He ran his eyes over her. “Hmm. Anybody could say that. You don’t have a visitor badge. So, where is he then? Your boyfriend?”
The last word was spoken as if he’d put it in parentheses.
Before she could say anything else, another man entered behind him. He appeared younger and was Asian. She recognized him from the party at Benjamin’s flat, but she couldn’t remember his name.
“I asked you a question!” the mean bald guy said.
“Give her a break, Zane,” the Asian guy said. “That’s Catalina, Benjamin’s woman. You’d better be nice to her.”
She cast him a thankful smile. “Sorry, we met at the party, but I don’t remember your name.”
“Sebastian,” he replied.
“Yeah, whatever,” Zane cut him off. “Just because she’s Benjamin’s girl doesn’t mean that he can skirt the rules.” He pointed to her while looking at Sebastian. “She needs a visitor pass. We can’t just let anybody run around in here.”
“Alright, alright,” Sebastian said, obviously not intimidated by the other man. “I’ll take her to the reception to get her a pass.”
Zane grunted. “And tell Benjamin the rules are there for everybody!”
“Come along, Catalina,” Sebastian said in a much friendlier tone than his colleague. “I’ll take you there.”
“But Benjamin should be back any minute now. He won’t know where I went.”
“We won’t be long,” Sebastian assured her.
Zane hadn’t moved an inch, clearly bent on making sure she actually went to the reception to get a visitor pass.
“Okay then,” she relented and followed Sebastian out of the office.
When she walked alongside him toward the elevator, he leaned in and whispered, “Just ignore Zane. Like he’s never broken a rule in his life.”
“I heard that,” Zane called after them.
Catalina looked over her shoulder and saw that Zane stood just outside of Benjamin’s office. How could he have heard Sebastian’s whispered words, when she’d barely heard them?