He was going to lose his mind. He stared at the end call notification on his phone and felt his fury rising.
“You, okay?” Enia questioned as she approached from behind him. “You’re almost up for your speech.”
“No. I fucked up.”
“You mean with the weird cold shoulder thing you were giving Liesl for a situation which wasn’t even close to her fault? Yeah, you did.”
“Enia, not now.”
“Then when, Isaias. You know, I’ve known you my entire life. I have never, not once seen you like this over a woman. You’ve never been this obsessed.”
“I’m not obsessed.”
“No?”
“No.”
“Then what is it? Is it the McGrath connection?”
“Fuck no.” he shook his head and took a breath, “I’m head over heels in love with her, Enia. From the minute she sat across from me in the restaurant and slid a thumb drive into my hand, I’ve been captivated, and every conversation thereafter has amplified it. I didn’t realize how hard I was falling until she told me Friday morning, she was falling in love with me. Everything in me wanted to tell her how I felt but over the phone seemed wrong. If for the first time ever in my life I’m going to tell a woman I love her, it’s not going to be on the phone while I’m three thousand miles away.”
Enia’s smile was huge as she stared at him. “Holy shit. Isaias Machado caught real feelings?”
“Caught them hard and now I fucked it up. I didn’t call her back and talk to her because I was terrified of blurting it out over the phone and I wanted to say it to her face. Instead in the car I got the stupid report about Trent violating her privacy. Then we walked in here to see her being accosted by the four of them with Mallory standing there letting it happen. I was trying to reign in my temper, so I didn’t snap at her by mistake, and she thought I was ignoring her.”
“You were.”
“It wasn’t intentional, En.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “I want to go in there and beat Trent McGrath into the ground for putting a recording device on her headboard. It means he was in her place after she moved in, in her bedroom. The night Merlin broke in, Fred made a comment about Trent secretly wanting Liesl and suggested he’d put a camera over her shower. All I can think of now is the dirty pervert going through her belongings while she wasn’t there, sniffing her panties and listening to her conversations with her friends.” He clenched his fists. “What makes me more upset was, how long was this going on? Has he been perving on her for years or only since she left Merlin?”
“Shit, Isaias, I’m sorry. I didn’t even consider this.”
“It’s all I can think of. Merlin is a duckling, Enia. He follows his parents around and does everything they tell him to without a mind of his own. Trent is the mastermind. I’ve been through Merlin’s emails, and I don’t doubt he loves Liesl in whatever sick twisted way he is capable of loving anyone, but Trent is obsessed.”
“He’s old and married. Are you sure it’s not a fatherly affection?”
“Come on Enia. You saw the way he looked at her in her dress tonight. Merlin tried to get in between them more than once. I’d bet my takeover Merlin’s been aware of his father’s desire for his wife for a long time and he’s been running interference.”
“What are you going to do?”
“I don’t know. I need to keep her safe but most importantly, I don’t want to lose her. She’s everything to me. I didn’t wait thirty-nine years to finally fall in love only to lose her over a misunderstanding. I need to figure out where she went.”
“Yes. I asked her to come back, and she said she was already undressed, makeup off and hair undone.”
“She didn’t go home then.”
“No.”
“She must have taken a room in the hotel,” Enia said with a shrug. “She probably got a room while the three of you were behaving like brutes arguing in the alcove.”
He looked to the ceiling with relief at his sister’s brilliance, “you’re right.” He caught sight of the event coordinator looking around for him and he knew he was going to have to make his presentation. “Fuck, I don’t want to do this. I want to find her.”
“Michelle deserves you to put your emotions aside for twenty minutes and give her the due she is warranted. Then we will get the rest sorted. We’ll figure out which room she’s in and we’ll get you to her. You can declare your love and devotion, get the girl back and I can go back to finding someone to scratch an itch.”
He hugged her to his side, “you deserve more than itch scratching.”
“Yup but it’s going to have to be it for tonight.”
“Um, excuse me, Isaias?” the nasally voice he was growing to despise crawled along his skin.
“What?” he turned and looked to Sandy with distaste. Her dress reminded him of a slutty Morticia Adams Halloween costume, and he wasn’t sure where to look considering her makeup was so overdone it bordered theatrical. He saw Enia’s sneer and knew his facial expressions were not much better.
“Do you know where Liesl is?”
“She left. She had a headache and left,” Enia interrupted.
“I really wanted to talk to her.” Sandy shifted in her heels, “she said she was about talking to a lawyer to ban us from talking to her and I can’t let her do that. She’s my big sister and she needs to be here for me. I need her. I can’t think straight if she’s not part of my life.”
“You don’t think straight, period.” Isaias cut her off. “I was not joking when I said earlier, I’d ruin you, Sandy. Leave her alone. You’ve broken her heart.”
“I did her a favor,” Sandy said earnestly gripping his arm. “I knew Merlin would never be able to be faithful to her. He’s always had his eye on me. He can say what he wants, and he can protest all he wants but he has always stared at me. It’s not his fault. I know how much more beautiful I am than Liesl and I’m infinitely more intelligent. She’s an artist where I have my CPA.”
Isaias felt his jaw clench, “you’re joking right?”
“Oh, come now,” Sandy stroked his bicep making a face when he slapped her hand off. “If I offered right now to show you what I can do with my mouth, you’d follow me into the nearest hotel room too. Merlin was ripe for the picking. Why would anyone settle for Liesl when they can have me?” She looked him over as if forgetting Enia’s presence and leaned closer, “if you want to see what all the rage is, I’m game, Isaias.”
“You have got to be kidding me,” Enia snorted. “Are you seriously propositioning my brother with me standing right here while you’re pregnant with your sister’s ex-husband’s baby? What is wrong with you? Do you lack basic decency?”
“I’m simply stating a fact. Liesl is a flaky artist with no real career path in place. Men like Isaias and Merlin need an intellectual woman who can keep up with your brain,” she looked him up and down drawing her tongue along her lower lip, “and your body.”
Isaias stepped closer to her, “let me make myself abundantly clear, Sandy. I loathe you. If my choices were you and a goat, I’d take the goat. You repulse me. Your sister is worth a million of you. She is smart, funny, sexy as hell and she is mine. If I catch you so much as breathing any further plots or plans against her, contemplating upsetting her, suggesting you want to hurt her by forcing your unwanted attention on her again, I’ll make good on my threat from earlier. Stay away from her. Stay away from me.”
He walked away from the psychotic bitch and headed back to the gala towards the coordinator who was anxiously awaiting him. “Let’s get this going. I have somewhere to be.”
He was going to go find his girl and fix everything.
