The Key To Micah's Heart (Hell Yeah!) (17 page)

At the Hidalgo Club – Juarez. Mexico

“May I speak to the manager, please?” Sofia’s voice shook with nerves. Hopefully all they’d see was an old peasant woman and not a Mata Hari bent on taking down her enemy.

“Sit over there, he’s busy.” The overly made-up hostess eyed her with suspicious scrutiny before she left the room through a curtain of beads.

Almost–Sofia got up and left. Maybe Noah was right. This might be the height of foolishness, but she had to try. Just the thought of all the innocent girls who’d lost their lives to these jackals gave her courage to keep her seat. Her eyes roved around the room. Two of the walls were stucco and two were covered with garish wallpaper, dark red with gold fleur de lis imprinted in a dizzying pattern.

“Stop her!” The sound of running feet and a scuffling noise rang out just before she heard a gunshot. Sofia jumped up, adrenaline coursing through her body. She started for the door, realizing Mateo was right, she wasn’t prepared for this. These men were ruthless.

But before she could run, a young woman came crashing through the beads, tears streaming down her cheeks. She spied Sofia and instead of trying to escape, she came and threw herself at Sofia’s feet. “Angel Rubio, Angel Rubio, save me.”

“Lupe?” Sofia grasped her head, recognizing the young woman from the photograph her grandmother, Senora Estevez, had given her.

“It is you, I have heard you described many times, the blonde angel in red. You possess God’s power, he protects you and all you touch. Please save me, these men will kill me.”

Sofia’s heart sank. She wished she did have power. If she did, she’d snatch Lupe up and escape this hellhole. But–that would not be. The two men standing in the doorway, armed to the teeth would prevent that from happening. Placing a protective arm around the young woman, Sofia helped Lupe up to sit beside her. She tried not to shake, showing fear was not her way. But when the goons with the big guns took a step each away from the door, the sight behind it caused her teeth to chatter and her own reaction was a puzzle to Sofia.

A trio of men in suits walked into the room. They were well-dressed, a little on the short side and two of them had a visible paunch, the other was a little too thin. Both Mateo and her son, not to mention the guards, all towered over this trio. Neither collectively nor individually did they appear intimidating, but it wasn’t their appearance that caused her to quake, it was the thick cloud of evil that emanated from them. They had blood on their hands, she would bet her life on it.

As soon as the thought came to her mind, she knew it was truth. Sofia hadn’t realized she possessed the gift of prophecy until this moment. She had bet her life and she might lose. What had made her think she could waltz into this place and find evidence of their wrongdoing without getting caught in their snare? Foolhardy, she was foolhardy. Still–she would be audacious, Angel Rubio would not go down without a fight. Rising, she pulled Lupe up with her. “Gentleman, if you’ll excuse us, we’ll see ourselves out. So sorry to disturb you.”

The shorter man in the middle threw back his head and laughed. “Ah, Senora, you are so amusing.” He made a broad all-encompassing gesture with his arms. “You come into our place of business with an ulterior motive and you think to leave with our property?”

“I have no ulterior motive. I came looking for a job, but I recognize this young lady. She’s the granddaughter of a friend of mine. I was about to offer her a ride home.” Her philosophy was never to admit a thing to the devil–not even if he caught you at it.

“She called you Angel Rubio, did she not?” The younger of the three men asked her in a thick accent. Colombian, maybe?

Lupe murmured an apology and Sofia gave her a reassuring squeeze. “My name is Sofia Garza Salazar, widow of Juan Salazar. I make my living selling flowers on a street corner. I am no threat to you.”

“Threat?” The third man, the one with the white moustache spoke this time. “You have singlehandedly tried to ruin us. You have spread the word that you are the answer, a way out, that you will redeem these girls from a life of indignity and give them a fresh start. Even now, we know you have talked to people you shouldn’t. People who will pay for your blatant interference.”

“I’m sorry, I think you have mistaken me for someone else.” She tried to be stoic, but when one of them stalked up and snatched her mantilla from her head, she groaned.

“See, your hair is pale like your skin. You are the one they speak of…this Angel Rubio. A former harlot, trying to pay for your sins by saving those who are not worthy to latch my shoes. But you do not save this one, nor will you save yourself. You want to see what we do here? Well, we’ll show you…first hand. Guard! Take these two below and let us prepare for tonight’s entertainment. And do whatever it takes to get an address out of her, we need to let her family know where she is…and how she’s doing.” He laughed uproariously as if he’d just made a huge joke.

Lupe cried and Sofia prayed as they were led through the beaded curtain to God knows what awaited them.
Noah, my Noah, I wish I had waited for you. Be safe, my child.

Coming out of the writer’s cave…

To take his mind off the unfamiliar feelings he was experiencing, Micah strolled through the mansion, following the sound of feminine laughter. “What are you hens cackling about in here?” Micah quipped when he came through the kitchen doors.

He found Aron, Noah and Isaac McCoys wives–Libby, Skye and Avery–sitting around the large marble island that sat smack-dab in the middle of the kitchen. As he glanced around at the trays of extra food, he noticed the beat-up old cutting boards on the counter by the sink. They possessed a certain character that just fit with the old house. Many times Hannah had told him that she closed her eyes and just imagined the great women who’d lived in this house before her and that she felt extremely lucky and grateful to be included in their ranks. Micah knew she sometimes couldn’t fathom her rise from illegal immigrant to the First Lady of Texas. It didn’t shock him, Hannah was nothing less than a gracious, elegant woman.

“What are we cackling about? Boys, what else?” Libby answered with a giggle.

Micah placed his drink down on the island. “Be a doll and top me off, would yah, hon?”

Hannah, having just joined them, whacked him on the arm. “You know where the fridge is. Top yourself off.”

Micah gave Kyle’s wife a wink, then turned his attention to the McCoy women. “Any word from Noah yet?” He wanted to get their take on the situation.

Skye sighed. “Nothing yet. I just hope it all goes smoothly. I can’t imagine what it’s got to be like for my poor Noah. Meeting his mother for the first time. It has to be tough.”

Everyone in the room could feel how heavily it was weighing on her and Libby stretched a hand out to place on top of Skye’s.

“So nobody is gonna get me a drink, I take it?” Micah joked, trying to impart a bit of levity into what had suddenly become a very somber moment. He stormed over to the refrigerator in an exaggerated stride. “Where the hell is Jeeves when I need him?”

His antics drew a small chuckle from the women. Hannah was piling plates up on the counter next to Paulo’s cake. He’d already blown out the candles and she was about to slice the layered delight. “Well, I for one, am happy for the break in the party. Don’t get me wrong. I love being the governor’s wife, but it gets tiring shaking all those hands and smiling for so long. I wish we could’ve just had all of you over instead of the political scavengers who constantly circle my husband.”

Micah came up beside Hannah. He could hear the tension in her voice. “Easy now, little darlin’.” He took the sharp knife out of her hand. “Why don’t you just let ol’ Micah take care of this cake cuttin’ business? You go on now. Scoot. I reckon anything to do with a sharp blade probably ought to be considered man’s work.” He began to cut the slices. “I’ll say, there’s more cake here than you can shake a stick at. Bless your heart. I bet it’s so good, my mouth’s waterin’. Why, I’m just ready and rarin to go at this cake.” 

The chuckles turned into full-fledged giggles now. The messages with Madison had invigorated Micah and he was in full performance mode.

Libby turned to Avery. “You should use those for titles of your books.” She thrust her hand in the air as if framing words. “I can see it now. ‘More Than You Can Shake a Stick At’, ‘My Mouth’s Waterin’ and ‘Ready and Rarin’ to Go’.”

The big bad wolf’s ears perked up. “Books?” he asked slyly, not looking away from what he was doing.

Avery fixed Libby with a fierce glare.

“Ooops, I’m sorry,” Libby put a hand over her mouth. “You know I’ve got a big mouth.”

Micah placed a slice of cake on a plate and considered letting it go, but when he looked up and saw how uncomfortable they all suddenly looked, he just couldn’t help himself. He pushed a slice of cake in front of Libby. “Don’t you just love girl talk?”

Libby grinned and picked up a fork. She was just about to dig in when Micah pulled the plate back to him.

“Not so fast. Spill it. Or no cake, sweetheart.”

Libby looked to her left, Avery still had the glare on her face and her eyes had narrowed even further, a clear warning in them.

Micah dug a fork into Libby’s slice and lifted the sugary concoction to his lips. “Mmmmmmmmmmmmm. So moist and fluffy.”

Libby swore she felt a bead of sweat roll down her forehead and all eyes in the room were focused on her.

“Don’t do it, Libby,” Skye said playfully. “The man is the devil.”

“Don’t listen to her, Libby.” Micah waved a forkful in her face, his voice dropping to a purposefully hypnotic drawl. “Tell me what you know. Surrender to the darkness. We have cake over on this side. You know you want it.”

Libby had helped bake little Paulo’s chocolate ganache cake. She knew exactly how delicious the sinful blend of chocolaty layer upon chocolaty layer would taste and she could feel herself starting to crack.

Micah went to the refrigerator. “I bet a nice, tall, cool glass of milk would go just right with this cake.” He poured a glass slowly, letting Libby think about it for a while.

Libby’s hand came sneaking across the table towards the plate.

“Liberty Belle McCoy.” Skye slapped it away. “Don’t you even think about it.”

Micah’s eyes stayed locked on Libby’s. “I’m afraid Misses McCoy has already coveted thy cake, Skye. It seems the dark side has become too much to resist. And by dark side, I mean this decadently, sinful chocolate.”

“Avery writes dirty books!” Libby suddenly shouted.

“Libby!” Avery, Skye and Hannah all chastised in unison.

Micah slid the plate back across to her. “Good girl.”

Libby scooped a big chunk of cake up with her fork. “What?” She inquired innocently as the women looked at her, a dollop of ganache at the corner of her mouth. “He’s a friend, it was bound to come up sometime.”

“Benedict Arnold,” Avery muttered before averting her glare from Libby and toward Micah.

Micah stood with a hand on the counter. He’d tucked a napkin into the front of his shirt to guard against any falling cake. “Dirty books, huh?” he asked, pulling the prongs of his fork slowly from between his lips before smirking at her.

Avery had long ago gotten over being ashamed of what she wrote. She was proud of it, but she didn’t go around advertising. “Yes, I do. They aren’t really dirty books. I write adventure and suspense too. My books are tasteful and beautiful and full of love.”

“And dirty words.” Micah prompted with a smirk.

“If you must know, yes there is some…descriptive language.” Avery struck out a hand and tugged the napkin out of Micah’s collar. “You look ridiculous.”

Micah could only laugh. “I assume you use an alias.” Oh, how he was loving this. Avery had been visibly upset when Libby spilled the beans…but if she, if they all, only knew he was in the same boat as Avery. But he wasn’t about to offer up that information right away. Micah Wolfe loved watching people squirm.

“Yes, I do use an alias as a matter of fact. Not that I would expect you to know anything about the world of erotic romance.”

Micah placed another forkful of cake into his mouth. “Oh. Now why is that exactly?” This was all just too much fun for the wolf.

“Most men know nothing of my world.”

“Well, now, let’s see. I never claimed to be ‘most men’. So why don’t you lay it on me, little momma. What’s your alias?”

“Sable Hunter.”

Micah spit his cake out onto the counter. “You’re Sable Hunter?”

Avery was confused. “Why, yes, I am. Have you heard of me?”

Micah gathered himself. “I have.” This was all too good. Not only had he heard of Sable Hunter, but Sable Hunter and Don Juan shared a publisher. All this time he and Avery had known each other and neither of them had been the wiser.

“Libby and Skye. Can you two give me a hand taking plates out?” Hannah asked when the cake had been all cut up for service. She’d seen how Avery’s eyes lit up when Micah said he’d heard of her and she wanted to let them talk a little longer.

Avery wasn’t sure how to go about talking to Micah about her writing life. There were men who knew who she was and what she wrote, but she wasn’t used to running into men who knew her for her work.