Killer Cupid (The Redemption Series: Book 1) (20 page)

“Oh, Glori.” Cindy clutched her chest.

“Yeah, he even used the ‘L’ word, before we parted company, that is.”

“Parted company?”

“Yeah, it’s not like we’re gonna see each other again or anything. It’s just that I’m really special to him.” I thought I’d faint.

Chapter Thirteen

It was the following Friday, when Cindy and Raphael and a squadron of body guards had an actual date. They made a great couple – they looked good together. And once Cindy got over her jitters and tongue-tie, because he was incredibly good looking, they got along famously.

They were both avid swimmers, and Cin had first invited him to the pool the day of the barbecue. I remember Alain and I had split our sides laughing watching them in the pool.

“Are you challenging me to a race?” Raphael had a smile that devastated women.

“Fine with me.” Cin was sounding bold, but I knew she thought of doing laps so she wouldn’t have to make conversation.

Cindy challenged him to three laps, and began her swim. Raphael followed behind her. When she finished, she pulled herself out of the pool, and sat on the edge to get her breath. Raphael relaxed in the water, smiling at her.

Then Cin said, “I have a hard time believing I’m a faster swimmer than you. Why did you follow me the whole time?”

“I liked the view,” Raphael said.

Alain and I cracked up. Mortified, Cindy gasped and splashed him with as much energy as she could summon up.

Raphael sat on the edge of the pool. “And the rules say the loser has to treat the winner to dinner.”

“Really?” Cin used her coquettish smile.

“Yes. And there is also an addendum to that rule.” I couldn’t wait to hear it. I had to ask Cin afterward what an “addendum” is. She’s smart, so she knew.

“Really?” Cindy beamed. “An addendum, and what is the addendum?”

“The winner
must
dance at least
one
dance with the loser.”

“Really? Wow, it’s a good thing you know so much about all the rules,” she said.

“I do. As a matter of fact, I am such an authority; some people have even called me a ‘know-it-all’.” Raphael could get away with anything when he smiled.

We all burst out laughing.

By the time Cin calmed down and told him she wouldn’t eat brussel sprouts or peas, they had a date to go to Tolland’s for dinner and dancing. Like I said, them and a million body guards. We were sick over our friend Kendra being murdered. So we knew we needed to be safe, no matter how much I made fun of “Agent Jimmy.”

***

I sat propped up on my bed, comfortable on a pile of pillows. My magazine was opened to the gossip page, and my mind was in a faraway place with Alain.

The voice at the door got my attention. Then Cindy was in the room, “Hey Glori!” She dropped on the bed beside me.

“So you gotta tell me everything. Did you have a good time? What happened? Details please.”

Cin was beaming. “We had a great time!”

“That’s all you can say? A great time?”

“Well… he’d been there before and even knew the maitre d’. I thought that was weird, but it turns out he gets to L.A. every so often on business, and one of his clients owns Tolland’s.”

“Wow, Cin, that’s wild. So what happened?”

“You remember all those rules and requirements we discussed in the pool, right? The addendums.” We giggled. “Well, he held me to it and – you won’t believe—we danced the tango!” We cracked up laughing.

Cin took one of my pillows and clutched it. “He’s an incredible dancer. It was like a fairy tale. It felt comfortable. We had so much to talk about. The food was great, and we shared dessert.”

“Yeah?”

“And we shared a kiss…”

“With a thousand bodyguards looking on.”

“Kind of.” Cin rolled her eyes.

“So what did he have to say about his family? Or is it all top secret?”

“No, not really. I was impressed – he’s devoted to his family. He spent so much time growing up with his cousins and David’s and Nita’s families – they’d all blended into one big clan. He told me some stories of their adventures, and it sounded like he, his cousins and David were very close. I guess it all started when their parents all went to school together in England and became best friends.”

“Cool.”

“The best thing – I felt so comfortable talking about my family and how close-knit we are and how important that is to me. Most people in Beverly Hills can’t relate to that. And he could. And, most important, he seems interested in finding the right person to settle down with. He wants a wife and children.”

“Whoa, Cin, you covered a lot of ground in one night. I guess that’s what happens when you can’t make out.”

Cindy laughed. “Usually the guy talks about his work first. We talked about everything but. And after all the family stuff, I asked about his business.”

“Alain says the guy’s got real money.”

“Yes, his grandfather started the business – construction – and his dad took it over, and expanded in Europe. He works for his dad, but since he started he’s more than doubled their business and taken it global. He’s a hard worker. And smart.”

“Wow. So that’s where the Malaysia
—
Madrid connection comes in.” I winked.

Cindy giggled. “That’s it. Their office is in Madrid. And when David was hurt, he was traveling on business in Malaysia. General Pearson was freaked, I guess, because something really bad happened, and he had the whole family brought here.”

I had sudden pangs over my friend, Kendra. “I bet there’s some real big mess goin’ on Cin. We’ve got no idea. And Kendra somehow got in the middle of it.”

“Yeah.” She moaned. “I don’t think Raphael knows any more about it than we do, even though he’s living right there with them on that base. But what in heck could Kendra have been involved with?”

“She must’ve heard something she wasn’t supposed to, Cin. That Dr. Payne was up to his eyeballs in drug money. And she knew about him.”

“Do you think he murdered her? His boat was at that marina where she was found,” Cin said.

“Didn’t seem like a killer to me, but what do I know? Maybe he hired a hit man. And maybe he hired the guys that tried to kill us. Maybe he figured Kendra told us what she knew.” My mind was spinning.

“I guess. But the guys that came after us apparently weren’t too bright.”

“Yeah. But Payne probably wasn’t the brightest bulb of the criminal world either.” I shook my head. “Poor Kendra. What an awful way to go.”

I tossed my magazine aside and got up to throw some water on my face. When I got back, Cin was staring out the window at the guards in the driveway, lit up as bright as day.

I needed to change the subject. “Anyway Cin – you can’t let this one get away. He’s smart and funny and – a hunk! I think he’s even better looking than Eduardo. I mean, they both are handsome, but there’s something special about Raphael.”

Cindy sighed. “I know, I think it’s his manners. I mean he’s outgoing and funny like Eduardo, but he’s not as rough around the edges. You know, he’s more genteel and polite, more like Cisco that way. Too good to be true.”

“Well, I know a lot about ‘too good to be true’ these days. Anyway, I hope you have better luck. At least this guy has more of a regular job.”

“Yeah, a regular job in Madrid, Spain.” Cindy laughed.

***

Doug Bainbridge dropped Beachcomber Magazine on the dinner table in front of me. “One of the guards lent it to me,” he said smirking. Cin faked a swipe at him and Dottie gave him a look as the family sat down to dinner.

“Cool.” It was the best thing that happened to me in a while. Cin smiled at me. I knew she was glad I wasn’t going to let the turkeys get me down.

I used my dramatic voice. “Yeah, I’m okay, Douggy. Thanks for caring. I haven’t killed myself yet.”

“Oh Glori. You know you have everything to live for. Your Beachcomber top ten is on all the newsstands, and I can tell it’s flying off the shelves. So they’ll be calling you for more covers, more travel to all these exotic places,” Dottie said.

“Yeah. Eat your heart out, Secret Agent Man.”

Cindy chuckled. “Well, wherever he is, I bet he sees it.”

“Yeah.” I let out a long sigh.

Cindy passed the salad. “You know, honey, everything may have turned out for the best.”

“Huh?”

“Well, it could really be trouble to get too involved with those guys. I mean, look at Debbie. She’s with him in the hospital because he got shot almost dead, and then she gets poisoned! Then Nita almost gets shot in a hail of gunfire, the first time she leaves the base with Eduardo. It’s a dangerous business, and it puts you in danger too.”

“Yeah, I guess. I just got a broken heart. And Alain, who knows what’s gonna happen to him. I’ll never know if he’s dead or alive. But you’re right Cin, I gotta move on.”

Bud took notice of our conversation all of a sudden. “Wait a minute. Aren’t you girls and Doug meeting up with them tomorrow?”

“Yeah, Dad. Paulo Clemente and his family. Remember the demo?” Doug filled half his plate with potato and gravy.

“I hope that studio has enough security.”

“Sure, Dad.”

I wasn’t so confident in Doug’s answer. And Bud didn’t look like it either.

Eduardo

As Eduardo walked through the door, Paulo was nervously shuffling through his closet for a shirt. Although he still sported a ragged scar, he was feeling back to his normal self, and excited his little brother was getting his big chance in life.

“Hey Paulo! Today’s the day.” He stopped short as he noticed the remains of a large black and blue area on his brother’s right shoulder blade. “Whoa! What happened here?” He put his hand to the spot, as Paulo quickly turned away to put on his shirt.

“What happened?”

“Nothing.” Paulo turned red. “I – I just hit up against something. The door, I guess.”

Eduardo followed as his brother fled into the small closet. “Did someone push you?”

“No. It’s nothing.” Paulo grabbed for a tie. “Mama wants me to wear a suit and tie. I don’t think they get all dressed up here. I don’t want to look like a foreigner. They’ll think I’m stupid if I show up with the wrong clothes.”

Paulo was obviously trying to distract him with his tirade. Considering the stress he was under, Eduardo decided to back off.

***

His tie already undone, Paulo shook Doug Bainbridge’s hand. Practically the entire family proudly looked on as Doug said how impressed he and his colleagues were with Paulo’s CD. Heading toward the studio, Doug discussed the plan for the morning.

Paulo explained that Cat had written most of the lyrics for his songs, and she, Nita and Paulo were the voices on the CD. He handed Doug a portfolio of songs he had composed, and another CD that included solo performances by Cat and Nita. Doug was impressed before they reached the studio. Paulo looked increasingly nervous.

“So you guys have played together for a while?” Doug looked up at the three, after listening to the new CD. He leaned back in his chair and put his hands behind his head.

“Yes.” Paulo nodded. “When Cat and Nita are home, and sometimes we’ve played together in Salzburg.” He wiped his sweaty palms on his pants.

“Who’s your drummer?”

“Oh I – I always play the drums, most every instrument, unless Cat is around to help with keyboards.” Paulo was beginning to stammer. Cat sat beside him, and took his hand to calm him.

Doug nodded, “Excellent!”  Then he fell quiet.

Paulo turned whiter the longer Doug remained silent.

Doug finally spoke. “Okay. I’m going to have you take a seat at the piano, and do a song for me. Don’t worry about the other instruments, just a simple song. Warm up the voice a bit.” He pointed him to the piano.

Paulo took an obvious breath as he rose from his seat, and let go of Cat’s comforting hand.

Doug began flipping through pages of songs in the portfolio. “These are fantastic! You sure have written a ton of music. How long have you been composing?”

Paulo looked up from the piano. “Oh, I’ve been writing songs since I was about three years old. But I – I didn’t think you’d want them all today. I just brought a few.”

His eyes opened wide. “A few? There must be a hundred songs here.”

Paulo began to play, and the stress on his face disappeared as he involved himself in the music. He sang in a tenor voice that captivated – gentle and bold, plaintive and almost comedic, when required. His music displayed a wide range of emotion, and his instrument and his voice conveyed it.

After Paulo had been performing for an hour, Doug walked over to him and slapped him on the back. “Awesome! Let’s hear what your friends can do.”

Cat and Nita exchanged nervous glances.