[2016] Muscle by Michelle StJames

Author:Michelle StJames [StJames, Michelle]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Amazon: B01F4S7HAI
Barnesnoble: B01F4S7HAI
Publisher: Blackthorn Press
Published: 2016-05-03T06:00:00+00:00

34

Isabel paced her room while she watched Luca talk to the men on the lawn. She watched him point to the perimeter of the property, and then saw the men follow his line of sight. A few minutes later, they fanned out across the property, even Marco who would keep an eye on them and make sure they stayed out of the house long enough for Isabel to search Diego’s study. Only Eduardo seemed to hesitate, gazing back up at the house as if he could see Isabel standing in the shadow of her curtains. Marco said something to him a moment later, and he started off like the others.

Isabel hurried down the stairs and met Luca in the foyer. “All set?”

Luca nodded. “Eduardo makes me nervous, but Marco will keep him outside for at least twenty minutes.”

“Good. And you’re sure Diego’s gone?”

“I spoke to him on his way out about the security assessment,” Luca said. “He’s been edgy, too. Seemed to have something on his mind.”

“As long as it’s not me or Sofia, I couldn’t care less,” Isabel said.

Luca nodded. “Let’s go.”

They headed down the main hall toward the study. Luca stopped at the door. “I’m going to circle back out to the balcony. I’ll keep an ear out in case Diego comes back.”

“But he’s gone, right?” Isabel said, her stomach tightening. She couldn’t even begin to think about what Diego would do to her if he found her snooping in his study. She wasn't sure even Luca would be able to help her then.

He reached out to smooth her hair. “He’s gone, sweetheart. But we have to cover all our bases.”

She nodded, soothed by his presence like always. She drew in a deep breath and opened the door to Diego’s study, then closed it behind her. She took a minute to survey the room. It had been her father’s once. Then it had been a sanctuary. A place to hide away in the middle of the day, laying on his sofa and reading while he conducted business on the phone or worked on his computer. Sometimes he would take a break to sit with her, and they would listen to the opera or discuss a book she was reading. He would light the pipe he liked to smoke, filled not with the gross stuff Diego liked but with an earthy, cherry tobacco that made her feel like everything was right with the world.

Now the space felt different, charged with Diego’s energy. Violent. Angry. There was no life in the air. No music or art. Just the books on the walls — books she’d never seen Diego read — and the desk and other furniture scattered around the room.

She moved toward the cabinet against one wall first, hoping to find the humidor her father had kept in there. It was the only thing about Diego that reminded her of her father — they both loved a good cigar — and she thought she remembered seeing him drop the key to his desk inside it once when he thought she wasn’t looking.

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