Charmed (12 page)

I want to know how he feels. I want to see inside his heart. I need to feel close to him, and I do. I didn’t have love when I grew up, and I’m glad to know that I didn’t lose the ability to feel love. Maybe it’s something you don’t lose, if you have it in the first place, that is.

I just want to fix whatever is bothering Adam. He thinks he is telling me all about it, but he’s really told me very little. I will find out, and I will make sure he gets free of his father. It’s not right, and Adam has endured it too long. It’s not affecting me, even though Adam fears that it will. But anything that makes Adam unhappy, or is b
ad for his family, must change.

We are so close to living a life I only thought possible in my fictional romance stories. Without the evil pervading his life, everything would be perfect. Can I hope for that? I’m not sure I deserve it. Around Adam I do feel good about myself, but deep down inside, I have to admit I still struggle with self-worth.

But I have to change. For Adam. And I won’t let any of my issues mar what we have, any more than I will let his father ruin Adam’s life. I’m committed to handling the situation, and I will.

A shadow blocked the light of the moon, and Ella turned to see Adam standing beside her. “Couldn’t sleep?”

“No, I couldn’t,” she replied.

Adam sat in the chair beside her and put his arm over her shoulders. “What are you writing?”

“Just writing in my diary.”

“Oh…anything about me?” Adam grinned.

“Maybe,” Ella said, playfully evading his inquiry.

“Like what?”

“You don’t need to know everything.”

“Hmmm, secrets, huh?”

“Could be.”

“Are you going to let me read it?”

“Depends.”

“On what?”

“Just depends, that’s all.” Ella giggled and Adam ruffled her hair.

Adam moved to one of the lounge chairs and motioned for her to follow. He lowered the back of the chair to make a flatter surface, and pulled Ella onto his lap. She settled between his legs, her head on his chest, and he wrapped his arms around her. Together they watched the light flicker on the dark ocean until they fell asleep.

*****

Ella awoke to music, a song she didn’t recognize. She was alone on the lounge chair and the sun was peeking over the horizon, casting its brilliance over the ocean, along the shore, and over the mountains. She stretched before getting up to go find Adam. Music played outdoors and indoors; it was everywhere.

Adam was in the dining room with Eli, discussing breakfast; the table already set. He looked freshly showered and as yummy as ever in casual slacks and a white shirt. Ella pulled her sweatshirt down so as not to be indecent. “Hey,” Adam said.

“Hey.”

Eli disappeared into the kitchen, and Adam folded her into his arms. “I always wanted to sleep out by the pool in the night air. Did you sleep well? I think I’ll have to get one of those outdoor beds, something a bit softer.”

“I slept fine, until I woke up and you weren’t there.”

“I’m not a late sleeper.”

“Um, the sun is just coming up. What do you call late?”

“Past sunrise is late. All the best waves are early, you know that.”

Ella grinned. “Once a surfer, always a surfer. What’s for breakfast? All that night air made me hungry.”

“I don’t think that’s the only thing that made you hungry.”

Ella looked away coyly, playing with him. “Hmm, I think you are right.” She stepped closer and he pulled her to him, kissing her sweetly.

“Eli is preparing a German-style breakfast.”

“I better dress. Wouldn’t want Eli serving me, when I’m only in my underwear.”

“No comment.” Adam grinned.

Ella went to dig through her suitcase for something to wear, noting music playing there too. The one small case didn’t hold much and she realized a shopping trip would be needed soon. Deciding on a pair of shorts and a knit shell with matching sweater, she got showered, dressed, and tended to her personal grooming. Coffee was what she needed, and she salivated, thinking of the flavorful coffee coming up. Breakfast sounded pretty good as well.

Adam was talking on the phone, pacing the dining room, when she returned. Watching, she sat at the table and waited for him to finish. Eli appeared with steaming coffee, somehow aware of her arrival to breakfast, having a sort of sixth sense and always there to serve when needed. The cream and sugar were in front of her. She doused her coffee with cream, the delicious aroma wafting up to tempt her. It was every bit as delicious as she expected.

Done with his call, Adam sat across from her, reached out, and squeezed her hand. “Sorry, have to keep up with work.”

“Sure, it’s not like you are on holiday or something,” she teased. “What’s that music? The other day you were playing the same artists as you had in Newport, but this is different? Is it Brazilian?”

“Yep. It’s Ivette Sangalo, a popular Brazilian axé singer/songwriter.”

“Uh, speak a language I know.”

Adam laughed. “Axé is a fusion of Afro/Caribbean genres, includes things like reggae.”

“You’ll have to explain better than that.”

“Axé was a religious term for ‘soul’ or ‘spirit.’ Originally, the term was used as an insult because the music was thought to be pretentious. It hit the mainstream here in Brazil in the nineties. Ivette Sangalo is one of my favorites. It’s the sort of thing you just have to listen to. You’ll catch on. This song is ‘Festa’ which means ‘party.’ Like it?”

“I’m hooked, even though I don’t understand the words.”

“She is singing in Portuguese. I’ll get you an English translation. She’s singing about the whole world coming together like a big party, all faiths and all races coming together.”

“The music conveys the feeling, even without knowing the words. It sounds like rock music.”

“It does.”

Breakfast was an event. Flavorful crusty rolls with sesame seeds on top were served with soft butter. Eli called them “Brötchen” or “small bread” and explained that Germany is renowned for good bread. Biting the browned crust and into the soft center, she told him it was some of the best bread she’d ever had; perfect texture and taste.

Serving platters offered a variety of cheeses imported from Germany. Ella especially liked the Tilsiter, and Eli beamed over her choice. The mild, semi-hard cheese had a nice tang to it she preferred. The cheeses were accompanied with a variety of fruits, soft-boiled eggs, and real German muesli. If Eli could do breakfast with such flair, she could only imagine what he’d serve for dinner.

Yet, there was a lot of food. “You were expecting company?”

“Just you,” Adam said.

“I guess you think I need to keep up my strength.”

“Something like that.” Adam laughed.

“Well, I’m stuffed. I know you have work to do. I’ll go email Kaiyla. She’s probably anxious to hear how it’s going over here. I can use your laptop, right?”

“Sure, it’s secure.”

“Oh, and later, I need to go shopping. You can send your army with me if you like, but I have nothing to wear. Seriously.”

“Good idea. I’m sure Fiorella would love to go with you and show you around.”

Ella took her time getting to the computer. Staying with Adam was like living in a resort. She went outside and stepped to the edge of the deck to get the best view. The panorama was stunning in every direction. Maybe she’d spend her life looking out at the ocean. There would be worse things to do. Surfing was something she really missed, though. If Adam kept feeding her like this, she’d have to attack some waves soon or she might actually start putting on weight.

Plunking into a chair in one of the many sitting rooms, Ella booted up the laptop, trying to adjust to the fact that all her emails would be encrypted. Odd to be so clandestine, something she’d only seen in James Bond movies. Logging into her email, she checked for anything important and the subject line “Should I be worried?” caught her eye.

Kaiyla said she’d noticed a dark-haired man following her, or at least hanging around. He was tall and slender, but looked foreign. “Anyone you know?” she’d written. A tinge of panic gripped Ella. Her friend had written with an edge of humor, but she knew her well enough to know she was alarmed. Who wouldn’t be? Either Kaiyla had a stalker or Adam’s father was watching her.

Ella’s heart sank. The innocent action of using the video phone for texts to Kaiyla may be the reason for the sudden interest in her. The idea of a stalker seemed remote. Criminals lurking in the background did not. In just the short time Ella had been in Rio, she had become familiar with personal danger and the need for protection. Nothing must happen to Kaiyla; certainly not because of Ella or her connection to Adam.

“Adam,” she called, jogging to his office. “Adam!”

He looked up as Ella entered. “What? What’s wrong?”

“It’s Kaiyla. Somebody is following her.”

“What makes you think that?”

“This email,” Ella said, handing the laptop to Adam.

He read the text and frowned. “Not good. Not good at all.”

“You think it’s one of Claudio’s men?”

“Very possible.”

“I should never have used that phone after you stopped calling me on it.”

“You didn’t know. I should have thought of it, and told you to dispose of the phone. It was monitored. I heard back from my head of security. Any call from the phone is traced and followed up on.”

“You can do that? Know all that?”

Adam smirked. “Yes, I wrote the software. We can scan any phone and pick up other frequencies. But what we can’t do is tell exactly where they are coming from. I don’t need software to know that. It’s Claudio, no question.”

“How can he do all that? He doesn’t have you helping him anymore.”

“He has new friends, unsavory associations. In the criminal world, he has many resources. Growing up, I didn’t realize the depth of his greed. I knew he would do anything to me or his family if it meant more profit. But recently, I’ve been forced to see that his mi
sdeeds are not limited to that.

“I need more on him before I can act. His power is in staying hidden. Should his transgressions see the light of day, it would weaken him. But it takes time. My investigative team is working on it, knowing how
vital this issue is.

“Meanwhile, we will have to protect Kaiyla. Her phone will be monitored now. Send her an email and let her know that you’ll send her a phone that’s safe to use, and I’ll have Nico get one to her. They may think I have some connection to her, not knowing about you as yet. Likely they won’t harm her until they learn more. And I’ll assign protection for her, to watch and step in as needed. We won’t let anything happen to her.

“Anyone connected to me is in danger, as in my father’s perverted mind, they can be used to get to me. Oh, he knows I’m in Rio now, and has ever since I returned. But he is looking for weakness, some Achilles heel. He knows I won’t just give him what he wants. The more desperate he gets, the worse it will be for all of us.”

Ella felt faint. Fear for Kaiyla was worse than anything that could happen to her. Ella knew she could take care of herself; she always had. But Kaiyla was too friendly, too unsuspecting. She’d have to stress the urgency of the matter, and hope Kaiyla would do the right thing. At least she’d have protection.

Sitting next to Adam, she typed out an email, being as explicit as she could. It wasn’t easy to tell her friend the stranger watching her posed a real threat. Nor was it easy to explain what all that had to do with Adam, and Ella, as well. After all, Ella didn’t completely understand it herself. Before logging off she sent an email to Julianna also, just to be sure her sister was okay.

Ella needed more answers from Adam. The fact that he had a team investigating and was spending a fortune in protective services was frightening. Who did that unless it really was a life-and-death situation? Ella didn’t like being kept in the dark, and needed to know everything Adam did.

Her shopping trip with Fiorella only exacerbated her irritation with the whole situation. Miguel drove her to a mall in Leblon, an affluent neighborhood in Rio. Again, Ella had to play the shell game with the cars, so whoever was watching would be unable to follow her. She had to wonder if that sort of silliness worked. Maybe the criminals really were that dumb; she hoped so.

She could only imagine how Fiorella got to the mall, and it didn’t take her long to spot an imposing guard not far from where she sat waiting. “Fiorella,” she called, Nico walking not far behind, and scanning the area. If nothing else, seeing Nico would deter any casual attacker, but Ella knew a team accompanied him, more discreet but available if needed.

“Ella.”

Ella slipped into a seat across from Fiorella in the mall courtyard. “It’s so good to see you. I’m sorry I have to bring protection with me. Adam insists.”

“It’s no different for me. He loves us, and doesn’t want anything to happen to us. I know this is all knew to you, and must be frightening. Do you wish you’d stayed in Newport?”

“No, not for a second. I want to be here, where I can do something. Do you think Claudio is capable of harming us?”

Fiorella tensed and looked down. “Yes.”

“What makes you think so? Has he hurt you before?”

“Not me, but my mother, yes. Even recently. Didn’t Adam tell you?”

“No, he didn’t. I have to pry everything out of him. I understand that it’s hard to talk about, but I must know. My friend, Kaiyla, is in trouble now too, because of all this. Please tell me, Fiorella. Tell me what you know.”

Fiorella sighed. “You do have a right to know. Adam is not trying to keep anything from you. He dislikes secrets as much as we do. He only wants to live free, and wants the same for us. But it has never been that way. His whole life, he’s had to fight Claudio.

“As a boy, he just tried to please him. But our father thought only of himself, and nothing was ever enough. I’m not sure if it was worse for Adam, or for my mother.”

“What do you mean?”

“Yes, I suppose Adam wouldn’t have told you. Claudio, he…Well, he mistreated my mother. He physically abused her.”