Chapter 62: Another Shock
Liz
I think I may still be in shock. I am going through the motions like I should, but I feel numb. My mind is in such a mess and I can’t understand it. I don’t love Kyle anymore, but I do feel sad. I didn’t expect him to die. I step under the shower and Zander washes my hair.
I just close my eyes and enjoy the feeling of him caring for me. Why do I feel like this? I should hate Kyle, but yet I am consumed with sadness. A single tear escapes my eye and I wipe it away. I look up at Zander, and he looks at me in concern. “I am sorry,” I say, and rest my
forehead on his chest.
“Why are you sorry?” he asks me gently, putting his arms around me. “I shouldn’t be sad, but I
am,” I mumble. “You have every right to be sad and to mourn his death, my Liz. You loved him
and everyone understands that. He was a big part of your life for many years,” Zander says
softly.
I lift my head and look into his eyes. “Why are you always so understanding?” I ask and he
smiles. “Because I love you,” he says simply and kisses my forehead. I hold him as tightly–as I
can, before I step away and take the sponge to wash him. We help each other get clean and
once we are dressed, we head down to breakfast.
It’s weird not having Rosa or Clara around. We had a memorial for Clara, and she was
cremated. When things die down here, Zander wants to go to her hometown to see her mother
and give her the ashes. I suppose I will have to give Kyle a funeral. I don’t even know if his
parents are still alive. He never spoke of them and I didn’t want to upset him, so I didn’t push.
“I want to give Kyle a cremation,” I say, breaking the silence at the table. “I already asked Toby to arrange something,” Zander says, and I smile. “How did you know?” I ask. “I know you, Liz,
you have a big heart. Even Kyle deserves to be put to rest. He may have been an ass, but he
was also tricked and manipulated. I am not making excuses for his behavior, I just like to look
at things from all angles,” he answers.
I do agree, and I have already made my peace with his betrayal and I forgave him to set myself free. “So what is the story with Tiffany and Elaine?” I asked. “Tiffany’s surgery was a success.
They managed to stop the bleeding, but her left lung is severely damaged. They did all they
could for her,” Zander says, and I nod.
“I am glad Elaine survived. She needs to be punished for what she did to her own sister. Death
is too easy for her,” I say and Zander nods. “That’s how I feel about Martha,” he says, looking
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Chapter 62: Another Shock
out of the window. I get up and go sit on his lap and cup his face.
“She will pay for everything she has done to you. They all will,” I say, looking into his eyes, and kiss his lips softly. He puts his arms around me and holds me for a while. The ringing of his phone makes us both look at each other. He takes out his phone and I see its agent Perez,
calling.
He answers immediately and puts the phone on speaker, but doesn’t let go of me. “Hi agent Perez,” Zander says in answer. “Morning Zander, I just called to give you an update. Keira led us to an apartment not far from your offices. The apartment is in her name, so we assume it’s
where she stayed.
There was no one else there, only her. She left a few minutes ago, and we have agents tailing her. We also gained entry to the apartment and placed a few bugs around. We don’t know if she will come back there, but we want to cover all our bases. But so far, no sign of Martha,” he
says, and we both sigh.
O
“That’s unfortunate, but thank you for letting us know,” Zander says and agent Perez says goodbye before he hangs up. “At least they still have eyes on Keira. If they need us to, we can always bait Martha out of hiding,” I say, but Zander shakes his head. “It’s too dangerous and risky,” he says, and I just nod.
“Robyn is coming to stay with us until they catch Martha. And Toby is going to stay with Chris, “Zander says with a secret smile. “I knew there was something brewing there. Chris
mentioned a younger guy he was interested in.” I say, with a smile of my own. “Toby mentioned someone he had his eye on that was under his nose for a while,” Zander says, and
my smile widens.
“This is so perfect,” I squeal and Zander chuckles. “Calm down, Cupid, leave them be. Let them get there on their own. Toby has never been in a serious relationship and Chris’s last relationshit ended badly,” Zander says. “Relationshit?” I ask and he chuckles. “Yeah, that guy
was a rude, obnoxious piece of s**t. He just used Chris for his money,” Zander says.
“Asshole, but I know Toby is the one. They will be so good together,” I say. “They will. Can you
please find out if Robyn will be staying with Ricardo, or in her own room?” Zander says. “I will call her and get everything ready,” I say, and he nods and kisses me and then looks at the
time.
“I have some calls to make, and I have a meeting in a few minutes. Will you be okay on your
own?” Zander asks me and I nod. “Go, I will be fine.” I say, and he steals a quick kiss before he
lets me go and gets up. I tidy up before I call Robyn and then Toby to hear what he planned for
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Kyle’s memorial.
Zander
It’s been days and Keira still has not led us to Martha. According to Perez, it looks like Keira is up to something. She keeps going to the same bar. She doesn’t drink anything besides water,
or speak to anyone. She just sits there and waits. Like she is waiting for someone. She has
been doing this for three days now.
She is there every day at exactly the same time. She stays for an hour, orders a glass of water and then just looks around. She is definitely meeting someone, or hoping to see someone. I suggested showing up there and ruffling her feathers a bit, but they had a better idea.
So now, I am pacing my office, waiting for news. Liz peeks in and calls my name. “Hey my Liz.”
I say, and show her to come in. “Any news yet?” she asks, and I shake my head. “This waiting
is driving me insane. We need this plan to work, it’s been days,” I say, and she nods and puts
her arms around me.
My phone rings and I grab it off my desk and answer. “Zander, we didn’t follow through with
the plan. We finally know who she was waiting for,” Chris says, and I can hear from his tone
that he is pissed off. “For f**k sake Chris, just tell me.” I say. “Brady, and they seem to know
each other very well,” he says and sighs.
“What the f**k? Does Ricardo know?” I ask in shock. That fucker has been living in my house,
right under my nose, for weeks now. “He does. We had to stop him from breaking cover.
Luckily, none of Ricardo’s men knew about this sting. They all know about the tracker and her
apartment being bugged. He must’ve told her, and that’s why she didn’t go to her mother,”
Chris says.
“Damn it, I have known that guy for years. f**k Chris!” I just f*****g realized something. “He
was working here when my parents were still alive. If that son of a b***h has anything to do
with their death,.I will kill him myself,” I say, and Liz rubs my back and holds me tightly.
“I know, we have a plan that should work perfectly. We need to know what they are up to, so the waitress is an agent Brady doesn’t know. She is trying to listen in. Ricardo will feed him
false information, and hopefully, he will lead us straight to Martha,” Chris says.
“Do whatever you must. Let me know if you need any help from us,” I say. “I do actually need your help. It may get dangerous, but we will have your back. But it’s your choice, Zander. We
will need Liz in on it too,” Chris says, and I look at Liz before I answer, and she nods. “We are
&
in, come by when you are done.” “Will do man,” Chris says and hangs up.
“I don’t believe this. He has been with Ricardo since he took that first job here. Has he been
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Chapter 62: Another Shock
playing us this entire time?” I ask, throwing my phone down on my desk. “You don’t have all the answers yet, Zander, don’t do this to yourself. For now, we act like everything is okay so
that he doesn’t get suspicious,” Liz says.
“Will you watch out for him while I check his room for clues?” I ask and she nods. I sent a quick text to Chris to tell him what I wanted to do, and he called me back immediately, but Ricardo spoke. “Don’t forget, he is a neat freak. Check in my room under my bed.
There is a small black metal case. Take one of the listening devices out and tap the flat surface twice to turn it on. Plant it somewhere in his room that he won’t think to look. It has very good range. Don’t put it anywhere near his bed, he keeps his weapons under the bed.
You could put it on top of the wardrobe. I doubt he will look there. And his room gets dusted by your staff, so he won’t think of cleaning there. Please be careful and put everything back in its place. Check under his mattress, in his boots and check if there is anything taped under
the drawers.
Those are places he would hide something. You also need to remove him from Jojo’s software asap. I am surprised he didn’t break cover the day they attacked the house. I am so sorry, Zander. We grew up in the same neighborhood. I done my checks on him, and he was a foster kid like me,” Ricardo says.
“It’s not your fault, he played us all perfectly. Stop beating yourself up,” I say. “I will make this right, Zander,” he answers. “We will make it right. Let me know the minute he leaves,” I say, and hang up. “I will take my phone with me. Message if he shows up, and keep all the staff away. I don’t want them involved.” I tell Liz, and she nods.
I went to Ricardo’s room first to get the bug, and then I headed to Brady’s room.
