Kitabı oku: «Secrets Of The A-List (Episode 5 Of 12)»

Chapter One

Gabe Santiago stared at Thom. The last thing he wanted to do was get into anything with the other man. Not tonight. Not when he had so many other things on his mind. But he would do what he had to do. What his job demanded. As he always did.

“This is business?” Thom shook his head, then he spoke again, his voice quiet. “How long have you been doing this stuff?”

Gabe kept his emotions in check. “This stuff?”

Thom shrugged one shoulder nervously. “You know...the fixing stuff.”

He sensed it would be wrong to smile, despite the overdramatic near fear in Thom’s voice. There was nothing remotely amusing about his work. It was serious stuff. Sometimes life and death serious.

“Does it really matter?”

Thom shifted on his feet, clearly uncomfortable as he exhaled a shuddering breath. “I guess not. I just thought...”

“You thought what?”

The other man looked as though he wanted to plummet into a sinkhole. “I wondered why it’s all such a big secret.”

“Because it has to be. Secrets are secrets for a reason,” Gabe reminded him. “You should know that...considering.”

Gabe noticed Thom’s response in a microsecond. The other man’s jaw tightened. His hands curled into fists. His shoulders straightened. Which was the usual comeback when someone felt cornered. Gabe was well acquainted with the fight-or-flight response in people. And Thom, to his credit, didn’t look as though he wanted to bail. He looked like he wanted to knock Gabe on his ass. But Gabe wasn’t about to start a fight with his cousin’s fiancé. If he broke Thom’s nose or gave him a black eye—or worse—he’d have some serious explaining to do to Elana and Mariella. Besides, Luc and Rafe’s recent scuffle that had been caught on camera already had the rumor mills churning about the family and how they were coping after Harrison’s accident. It had taken some effort to pull the plug on the photos and video circulating on the internet.

“You’d really resort to blackmail?” Thom asked, his lips pressed together.

Gabe nodded, suddenly bored with the whole conversation. “I’ll do whatever I have to do to ensure the family is protected. Maintaining anonymity ensures their protection. If you force me out of the closet—figuratively speaking,” Gabe said calmly, “I’ll do the same.” He took a long breath and glanced backward briefly. Inside the restaurant, the party was going on without them. Gabe could hear music and Elana’s bubbly laughter and the clinking of glasses. He needed to keep it together. While Harrison was out of action, Gabe needed to be the glue that kept everyone together and the family afloat. He knew what the truth about Thom would do to the family. He knew Elana would be hurt and Thom’s parents, Samuel and Caroline Scott, would be outraged. It was better that everything remained a secret. Hidden. Off the grid. As it had been for so long.

Gabe took another deep breath and spoke again. “And since it will not only upset Elana, but also ruin the relationship with your parents that you clearly want to protect, you should think hard before you open your mouth to the family...or the press.”

“Is that a threat?”

Gabe shrugged loosely. “Take it as you like. I get things done. Things that other people don’t want to do.”

“As Harrison’s hired thug, you mean?”

“As someone who will do whatever needs to be done to protect the people in that room,” he replied, hooking a thumb in the direction of the party. “You’d do well to remember that since you’re soon to become part of this family.”

Thom ran a hand through his short-cropped hair. “This is seriously fucked-up.”

“This is real life,” Gabe said harshly. “Get used to it.”

“I thought we were friends.”

Friends. Gabe wondered how long it had been since he’d considered anyone a friend. Luc, maybe, a long time ago. When they were kids, before Harrison’s eldest son started resenting Gabe for his close relationship with the older man. And he’d never really been friends with Thom. He liked him well enough, but he would forget him in a heartbeat if he needed to.

“There are no friends in business,” Gabe said coolly and saw Thom’s eyes flash. “But if you want to keep this friendly, then keep your mouth shut. Do that, and the photos will stay hidden and no one will know the truth about you.”

Thom took a couple of steps closer to the edge of the balcony. The crashing waves of the Pacific were at odds with the uneasy quiet around them, and even the music from inside the restaurant seemed to have dropped in volume. There was a long drop to the rocks below, and as Gabe watched, the other man stared down into the darkness. For a moment, he wondered if Thom felt so cornered and out of control that he would end things and jump. Of course, Gabe would stop him. He wasn’t totally without compassion. Thom was okay, even if he believed the upcoming wedding was complete farce. But it wasn’t Gabe’s place or his job to get involved. He didn’t do involvement. He stayed on the sidelines, working, watching everyone else screw up so he could fix things.

“I do love Elana,” Thom said quietly. “Despite what you think.”

“I don’t think anything,” Gabe replied.

Thom shrugged loosely and spun around. “I’m not gay.”

Gabe met his gaze head-on and tapped his coat pocket. “Really? I’ve known you a long time. And I know everything about you.”

Thom visibly swallowed, clearly unhappy. “They don’t prove anything.”

Gabe raised a brow. “Maybe not. They don’t really have to prove anything. They exist...that’s enough for it to become a problem.”

“It wasn’t how it looked. Nothing happened.”

Gabe almost laughed. “Doesn’t matter. But your secret is safe, Thom. Make sure you don’t do anything to change that.”

“Or else?”

Gabe took a long breath, his hands thrust in his pockets. “Or else.”

“You don’t scare me.”

Gabe was pretty sure he did, but a part of him admired the other man’s resilience. “That’s not my intention. Just making sure we’re on the same page.”

“The same page?” Thom echoed incredulously. “Are you kidding me?”

“I never kid. I act. I respond. You’d do well to remember that, Thom.”

“You really are a fucking devious bastard,” Thom said and shook his head.

Irritation coursed up Gabe’s spine. He was tired of the conversation. Tired of Thom’s voice. Maybe he should punch Thom in the face. Maybe he just needed a long workout at the gym or to get laid to ease the tension cramping his entire body. It had been too long since he’d screwed his brains out to forget things for a few mindless hours.

The music suddenly got louder, and they both turned toward the patio entrance. Mariella came through the door, and some of the tension constricting Gabe’s chest disappeared. His aunt always calmed him. Maybe it was a DNA thing, a blood tie that couldn’t be denied. She’d been more of a mother to him than his own ever had, that was for sure.

“What are you two doing out here?” she inquired, arms now crossed, tapping long nails on her elbows.

Gabe knew his aunt well and sensed her disappointment in Thom’s quick departure from the restaurant and his aborted speech. “Nothing, Tía,” he assured her. “Just guy talk.”

“I’ve been looking for you, Thom,” she said quietly, her voice a little sterner than usual. “Elana is concerned that you—”

“I’m fine,” Thom said in a rush. “I just needed some air, like I said.”

“What happened in there?”

He shrugged. “I couldn’t—”

“Couldn’t what?” she pressed. “Manage a short speech to celebrate your engagement to my daughter?”

Thom nodded. “I know. As I said right after it happened, I’m truly sorry...”

“It’s just cold feet, Tía,” Gabe said and tapped Thom on the shoulder. “Typical prewedding jitters. Nothing to worry about. I was just telling Thom how every groom feels that way.”

The other man flashed him a how-the-hell-would-you-know kind of look. Which made sense, since Gabe had never been married, engaged, or trapped in any kind of long-term, committed relationship. Commitment meant laying a heart on the line, and that was out of the question. Romantic love was for fools. Sex was all he allowed himself. Hot, meaningless sex with faceless women. One night, maybe two. Nothing serious. Nothing that could lead to rejection or heartbreak. For a moment, and against his better judgment, he allowed himself to remember a girl with long blond hair and deep blue eyes. A girl he’d loved and lost. But that was a long time ago, more of a shadow now than a memory. The pain was still there, though, deep down, in his dark place. He shook the thought off, switching back to what mattered. The family. Elana’s engagement. Harrison getting better. Finding out if someone had tried to kill the man who’d raised him. His work as the Fixer remaining a secret.

“Cold feet?” Mariella said, her dramatic brows now at a steep angle.

Thom looked instantly on the defensive. Mariella’s disapproval had a way of doing that to people. Thom was as eager to please her as everyone else. “I’m good now.”

“I hope so,” Mariella said quietly. “Elana, as wonderful and enchanting as she is, is easily spooked. I don’t want her thinking that you aren’t one hundred percent committed to this relationship.”

“I am committed,” Thom said on a rush of breath and glanced toward Gabe. “I love her. Only her.”

“I’m pleased to hear that. I’d hate to think you were going to bail on my daughter because of cold feet. Or anything else.”

Gabe heard something in Mariella’s voice. Did she suspect Thom wasn’t being entirely honest with Elana? As far as he knew, he was the only one who knew of Thom’s inclinations. Maybe Mariella knew more than he thought. If she did, she wasn’t letting on.

“I’m sure Thom has no intention of upsetting Elana,” Gabe said and glanced at the other man. “Right, Thom?”

“Right,” Thom replied. “Of course. I was stupid for a moment. It won’t happen again.” He tugged at his collar. “And I should probably get back inside and talk to Elana.”

“You won’t upset her?” Mariella said.

Thom shook his head. “No. I’m good now. But I need to talk to my fiancée.”

Gabe’s suspicions rose. Thom sounded off. Running scared. Mariella was frowning and clearly sensed it, too. The last thing he wanted was Thom getting an attack of conscience and telling Elana that he was gay. “I’ll go with you,” he said quietly and waited until Thom walked on ahead a few steps before he spoke to his aunt. “It’s okay, Tía...it’s all under control.”

“Make sure it is,” Mariella said quietly, almost gravely. “I don’t want anything to ruin my daughter’s wedding.”

“I’ve got it covered,” he assured her before he headed back into the restaurant. “You know I will always protect the family. No matter what the cost.”

* * *

Thom wasn’t sure how the hell he was supposed to talk to Elana with Gabe breathing down his neck. Dammit, but the dark and brooding Gabriel Santiago made him feel like an insecure sixteen-year-old. The truth was, Gabe was more Marshall than Santiago. He was more like Harrison than either Luc or Rafe. He possessed the old man’s grit and coldness...the same steely-eyed determination and ruthlessness. No wonder Gabe was the Fixer. It all made perfect sense now. Harrison was the money man, Gabe the muscle. It was clearly the perfect combination. As he walked toward his fiancée, Thom recalled the conversation he’d overheard at the house. The names. The numbers. The things that needed to be done. The Fixer fixing things while Harrison lay in a coma.

This is so fucked up.

What else didn’t he know? The police were still investigating the accident. There were no fresh leads. It was likely to remain that way unless Harrison woke up from the coma. It occurred to Thom that maybe Gabe was responsible for Harrison’s accident. Out with the old...the perfect takeover. He certainly had the connections to orchestrate such a thing.

The idea left him cold. Elana would be devastated by that idea.

Besides, he had no proof. He’d only ever witnessed Gabe and Harrison as having a close relationship. Still, as he reached Elana, the notion lingered.

She was frowning as he approached, brushing off the woman at her side to take a few steps toward him. “Where have you been?” she demanded, her lovely face filled with irritation.

God, she was beautiful. And vivacious. And challenging. And everything any man could want or desire. He longed to truly want her. To truly need her. To truly love her the way she needed to be loved.

But even after so many years, it still tasted like a lie on his tongue.

Because, in his heart, he knew it wasn’t Elana that he wanted. Or needed. Or loved.

It was someone else.

It always had been.

“I’ve been out on the balcony with your mother and cousin,” he replied, trying to make his voice as light as possible. “Did you miss me?”

She was still frowning. “Your speech...”

“I know,” he said and touched her arm. “I’m sorry. Let’s go someone where we can talk.”

She glanced around. “And leave the party?”

“Only for a moment,” he assured her. “I need to speak with you, Elana...it’s important.”

Her expression became wary, but she finally nodded a little. “Okay.”

She led him toward the bar, and they huddled in a dark corner. Thom looked over his shoulder and saw Gabe striding toward them. The other man had the upper hand. The Fixer had him by the cojones, and he knew it. But he wasn’t about to be blackmailed, especially by someone as disagreeable and grim as Gabe Santiago. He knew he had to marry Elana. That’s all that mattered. He had to do something, and fast. “Marry me,” he said quickly.

Elana’s eyes widened, and she giggled. “What?”

“Marry me,” he said again.

“Um...we’re already engaged, Thom,” she reminded him. “You asked me that question already, months ago. I said yes. You gave me a ring, and now here we are.”

“Marry me now,” Thom said and moved closer. “Tonight. Let’s fly to Vegas and do it. Just you and me. No one else. Just us, Elana...like it should be.”

“But we—”

“Come on,” he insisted, whispering the words close to her ear. “It’ll be fun. Don’t tell me you’re not as over all this wedding preparation stuff as I am. The whole thing is turning into a circus. Let’s do it. Let’s say to hell with everyone and everything and just do it our own way.”

She laughed and pressed against him. “Since when have you been so impulsive? I mean, I like it...but we can’t possibly do it.”

“You can’t possibly do what?”

Gabe’s voice. Thom’s back straightened immediately. But it was Elana who spoke next.

“My gorgeous fiancé wants to elope,” she said with a shrill laugh. “Imagine that.”

He looked at the other man and raised a brow. “Really? This is all rather sudden.”

Thom shrugged. “Maybe. But it’s not really anyone’s business but ours.”

Elana jabbed him in the ribs. “Thom,” she chided. “Gabe didn’t mean anything by it, did you, cousin?”

Gabe shook his head. “Of course not. But Thom is just full of surprises tonight, isn’t he?”

Elana laughed again. “True enough, but I like it. Keep this up and I’ll make it worth your while later.”

The innuendo was obvious, and Thom felt his skin heat. Elana was a flirt, no doubt about it, but he wasn’t usually on the receiving end of her flirtation. Even if it was for show, it still made him uncomfortable. Thom glanced toward Gabe and saw a brief flash of skepticism in the other man’s expression. But Gabe hid it well. Occupational hazard, he thought, figuring that the Fixer spent his life hiding who he was and what he did.

And Thom wished that making love with Elana would fix everything. But it wouldn’t.

“Everything okay here?”

Mariella.

The older woman approached and moved beside her nephew. Uneasiness crept up Thom’s spine. He liked and respected Elana’s mother, but en masse, the family was formidable.

“Elana was just saying how Thom wants to elope,” Gabe supplied.

“Really?” Mariella said, her mouth pressed into a thin line. “And what do you say, Elana?”

“I was just about to say,” Elana purred the words and leaned in toward him, “that as exciting as that sounds, there’s no way we could possibly do that without upsetting you and Thom’s parents. And Daddy,” she added, her voice suddenly quiet, “I mean, if he was here...and awake and able to...you know what I mean.”

Guilt pressed down on Thom’s shoulders. He knew how much Elana adored her father and tried to offer a few consoling words. “I’m sure he’s here in spirit, honey.”

Elana’s eyes filled with tears, and she blinked quickly. “I know. I just wish—”

“The wedding will go ahead as planned,” Mariella said firmly, cutting her off. “Arrangements have been made, venues booked, invitations sent out. It’s what we all want. What we planned. And remember that you are heading to Paris next Friday. Dior is expecting you to choose from their spring collection.”

Paris. That’s right. Elana was going on a shopping trip. Harrison Marshall’s daughter had her pick from the best fashion houses in Europe. Mariella had taken great pride in assuring that Elana had her pick from the latest collection. And no doubt his fiancée would spend her time and money equally at Saint Laurent, Givenchy and Dior. Their wedding was the event of the year on the social calendar. Hundreds of guests, the best catering, gowns direct from Paris...so no expense spared. Yeah, circus just about covered it. But if he knew Elana, he suspected she’d be scouring some of the edgier, more modern fashion houses while she was in Paris. And her next words confirmed it.

“I was thinking about heading to a few of the newer places,” Elana said and smiled. “You know, in the Boho district. Some of the places you’re suggesting are so...so...old-school.”

Mariella waved an impatient hand. “It’s already organized.”

“But, Mom, I—”

“You can do both. Remember, we need this wedding to show the world that we are still a tight unit, a family,” Mariella stressed. “So forget all this nonsense about eloping and start mingling with your guests. This is your engagement party,” she reminded them and then smiled. “And you two are not going to deprive me of the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity of seeing my darling daughter get married. I won’t hear of it.” She moved between them, draping an arm around them both for a moment. “Okay?”

Elana nodded. “You’re right, Mom.”

Mariella stepped back, releasing them, looking very pleased with herself. Of course, she would be, Thom thought. She’d won the round, with her best trained attack dog at her side. He noticed that Gabe was still watching them with a kind of veiled skepticism.

Thom wrapped an arm around his fiancée’s slender waist and pulled her close. She smelled so good, like flowers and apples. Beneath the scent of the Creed tuberose fragrance she wore, her signature shampoo was as familiar to him as his own breath, and he inhaled deeply, feeling the comfort and warmth of her seep through to his bones like a tonic. To the world she was Harrison Marshall’s spoiled and indulged daughter, often considered a flake and ridiculed or referred to unkindly in the media. But to Thom, she was his Elana. His best freaking friend in the whole world.

He would marry her. And he’d be faithful. He’d make it work. For both of them. He had to.

He had no other choice.