Diamonds and Spurs [The Callens 9] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) (5 page)

“Who is she?”

Vince leaned against the counter as if he could deflect the question with ease. “She works for Sam.”

“What do you know about her?”

Vince’s stare hardened. “Other than she’s hot? Not much. You did the background check. What did you find?”

He checked all new hires, but his cursory search didn’t bring up any red flags. Without a picture attached, he had no idea she could be a double for Sharon, the woman he’d almost married. “Did she tell you she was married?”

Vince swallowed. “Married? Fuck.” He stepped forward. “I kissed her. How did you know?”

“Look at her ring finger.”

“I did. It’s bare.”

“She’s got a tan line.”

Vince got in his face. “That means nothing. What is your beef anyway?” He poked his chest. “Mandy isn’t Sharon.”

“I know.” He’d moved on from her. “Even you can see this one is high maintenance, though. She must be after the Callen money.”

Vince moved back and smiled. “Is that all what this is about? You think she’s trying to horn in on the Callen fortune? Mandy is not a gold digger. You’re confusing her with our, I mean,
your
fiancée.”

“You are so wrong. Sharon and Mandy may both have the same length brown hair, but that’s where the resemblance ends.”

“I’m not the one claiming they look alike. You are.” Vince laughed. “Holy shit. You’re attracted to Mandy, and you’ve known her what, all of two minutes? Are you scared you’ll fall as hard for her as you did for Sharon?”

“You’re way off base. Admittedly, both women are beautiful and have an air of sophistication I find attractive, but I know the difference between them. This one”—he nodded toward the living room—“is here under false pretenses. I can smell her lies.”

Vince strolled to the fridge and grabbed another beer. “Just because Sharon took your credit card and two-carat diamond ring and ran off, you assume all women are like that?” He swigged a large portion of the contents. “Get over it. It’s a done deal.”

Was he judging all women by one woman’s actions?
Shit
. He couldn’t be that shallow. He prided himself on judging people without prejudice, though Sharon had shaken his world. He thought she loved both him and Vince, and he’d been wrong.

Vince stood there grinning. “Why aren’t you upset?” Cam asked. He stabbed a hand through his hair. “She dumped you first.”

“Ouch.” Vince shrugged. “I thought she was the one, too, but I made a mistake. Shit happens. I moved on.”

He still hadn’t come to grips with the woman he thought he’d marry racking up twenty grand in purchases as if it didn’t matter. “Maybe you can get over the loss of a loved one in a month, but I can’t.”

“I admit I don’t know much about Mandy, but I want to.”

“Don’t forget we share. We agreed.”

“You didn’t have that attitude after Sharon dumped me and you still clung to her.” He sobered. “You’re afraid, aren’t you?”

“Me? What do I have to be afraid of?”

“Losing your heart. Again.”

“Bullshit.”

“Then go out with her.”

He never lost his cool in court, but right now he was losing it big time.

“Hey, guys?” Mandy called from the living room. “I need to go.”

Cam grabbed Vince’s shirt. “This isn’t finished.”

Vince shoved him back. “You got that right. The moment you sink your cock into her, you’ll be lost, and that scares the crap out of you. But you can’t hide your head in the sand forever.”

He shook his head. “If I owned anything you’d want, I’d bet you everything I have you’re dead wrong.”

Vince cocked a brow. “There’s where you’re wrong. You do have something I want.”

Cam looked behind him to make sure she wasn’t standing in the doorway. “What?”

“Your willingness to give her a try.”

* * * *

Bill Christopher, one of Indulgent Spa’s biggest investors, barged into Craig’s office, his face red. “You can’t keep ignoring me any longer.”

Craig leaned back in his seat. He worked hard to school his features, especially since his heart was racing and the acid in his stomach had climbed into his throat. “Bill, calm down and have a seat.”

The man placed his hands on the desk and leaned over. “I’ve been talking to some of the other investors. We know what you’ve been doing.” He tapped the desk. “That’s why you won’t take my calls.”

He couldn’t know. Craig had been careful. “What have I been doing, Bill?” He was pleased his tone carried an air of calm.

“You took our money, God damn it.”

“Calm down. I didn’t
take
your money. You invested it with me.” He leaned forward. “And you’ve gotten a good return, I might add.” He pushed back his chair and went to his credenza where he picked up the decanter of scotch. “Drink?”

“Fuck you. Give me my money back or I’m going to the FBI.”

As casually as his shaking hand could manage, he poured himself a drink, taking his time to compose himself.

He turned around. “If I had the money on hand I would return it, but I invested it in the other spas. You know that’s how it works. You get dividends monthly.”

“You have personal money. I just want my million dollars back.”

Bill’s eyes glassed over. From the way his eye ticked, it appeared as if he might be having a heart attack. “I wish I could help you. Give me a few days, and I’ll see what I can do.”

“Your wife said you’d stashed money in the Cayman Islands and in Switzerland.”

His blood ran cold. “When did you speak with my wife?” He didn’t even think of her as his ex-wife. Amanda would come home once she realized how much she’d lost and all would be back to normal.

“Four months ago.”

Heavy sludge moved through his veins. A sharp pain stabbed his left arm. Craig inhaled and from his top desk drawer withdrew the checkbook that went to his special account. He wrote a check for one million dollars. “Here, ya go, Bill.” Anger rippled through him but he didn’t let Bill know.

The man snatched it up. He twisted on his polished loafers and raced out.

Craig sat and didn’t move for at least five minutes, stunned and growing more irate by the minute. With money in hand, Bill might keep his mouth shut, but what about other investors?

Christ
. This was a fucking nightmare.

He knew who was to blame—Amanda. “That fucking bitch.” He picked up the phone and called his assistant.

“Yes, boss?”

“Get in my office now.” He slammed the phone down.

The timing was too coincidental. Amanda was beautiful and the perfect hostess. He figured an elementary school teacher wouldn’t have the brains to even comprehend the brilliant scheme he’d orchestrated. For years he’d fooled her, so how had she found out? Was it when Bill approached her?
Jesus
. He stabbed a hand through his hair.

“You need me, sir?” Charles Fenwig stood at attention across from Craig’s desk.

“We’re in trouble. Have a seat.”

“What sort of trouble?”

“Bill Christopher was in here demanding his money back.” He gulped down the scotch he’d poured. “He knows.”

“What does he know, sir?”

Did he have to spell it out? “He hinted that he knew about the Ponzi scheme.”

Fenwig’s face turned whiter than the snowcapped mountains. “How?”

“I don’t know how he figured it out.”

“What’s he going to do?”

“I’m not sure, but he said he spoke to Amanda about this. If she knows anything about what’s been going on, she could testify against me, since we’re no longer married.”

His assistant swayed in his seat. “What do you want me to do?”

“Locate her.”

“You want me to talk with Candace? They’re best friends.”

“Leave Candy to me. What I want you to do is use every connection we have to bring her home.” She belonged at his side. He’d insist in a small, quick, ceremony. He’d offer her money. She’d take it. Then she couldn’t say a word in court. The pain in his arm lessened at the new plan.

“I’ll get right on it.”

“Hire whoever you need, but for God’s sake, be discreet.”

“I’ll deliver Mandy to you personally.”

“See that you do.”

Talk about being uncomfortable. Even with earplugs, Mandy would have heard Cam and Vince shouting. The scuffling feet implied someone wasn’t happy, and she’d bet all of Craig’s millions it was Cam.

She’d announced she needed to leave, but neither man responded. Maybe she should let them figure things out and go. Finding her way back wouldn’t be hard. Nothing of interest existed between here and the Circle Bar other than empty range.

More shouts pierced the air. She picked up her keys. Right now, if Cam asked her any more questions, she might fold and tell him everything. She’d caught the phrase
gold digger
.
Ha
. The last thing she needed was another rich man. Men like the Callens, and probably the Longworths, only cared about their fortune. No thank you. Men like them were off-limits.

The rain still came down with conviction, but no thunder had sounded since she’d arrived. With the car covered, she remained relatively dry as she slid into her seat. Driving in this weather would be quite treacherous. With every pothole she hit, her spine jammed. Somehow, when Vince drove, he managed to avoid them.

Christ
. Maybe coming to this wilderness had been a mistake. She wasn’t cut out to rough it. Sure, her dad took her camping, hiking, and rock climbing all through high school. College cut short her weekend trips, but she managed to spend her Saturdays riding. Hell, she’d even tried her hand at rodeo riding once, but when it came to roping a calf, she sucked. The one time she managed to lasso the poor critter, he refused to go down. That she could handle. But unpaved roads? Wild animals and extremely harsh winters? Perhaps she was more of a city girl than she’d thought.

By the time she arrived back to the bunkhouse, all she could think about was a hot shower. Even though she’d jacked up the heat on the way over, the quick dash inside soaked and chilled her again.

Inside the bunkhouse, Lilly was on her bed reading and Trinity was whittling something.

“Hey, ladies.”

Both looked up. Lilly closed the book. “What happened to you?”

“It’s raining.”

“I meant before. Where did you go? Sam came looking for you.”

Crap
. Just what she didn’t need. “I drove Vince Callen home.”

Both women sat on the edge of the bed. Trinity smiled. “How did you swing that? He’s only the most eligible bachelor around.”

“It was no big deal.” She told them about him showing up in the barn and offering to help. Trinity whistled, and Mandy held up her palms. “I didn’t know he was a Callen. If I had, I never would have gone riding with him.”

Trinity dropped back on the bed, crossed her legs at her ankles and rested her head on her hands. “Why not?”

Because he might ask questions she didn’t want to answer. “It’s not wise to fraternize with the owners, even if he’s only Sam’s cousin.”

“Cop-out. If he ever asked me out, I jump his bones in a heartbeat.”

“I came here to get away from men.”

Lilly sat on the edge of the bed. “You running away, too?”

Too?
“No. I just wanted a fresh start in life.” She didn’t need to confide in these women. No telling who they’d tattle to.

“Boyfriend problems?”

Stating some truth would help calm her pulse. “Yes.”

Lilly’s shoulders slumped. “I know what you mean.”

Glad to switch the focus to Lilly, she sat next to her. “What happened?”

“The usual. I got dumped by someone I thought loved me.”

“Always the way.” She shivered. “Let me take a shower and get warm. Then we can commiserate about men.”

They both chuckled. She grabbed some dry clothes and stepped into the bathroom. The three shower stalls were for the eight possible bunkmates. At the moment only the three of them shared the cabin. So far neither Trinity nor Lilly seemed overly curious about her, which worked well for her.

She turned on the water and undressed. When the water warmed, she stepped under the luxurious heat. Her mind bounced between the thrill of the horse ride, Vince’s highly sensual kiss, and his roommate debacle. She hadn’t said anything other than
hi
when Cam began to grill her. Before she had the opportunity to ask him what he did, he called a male confab in the kitchen.
Yeesh. Men
.

She dragged the bar of soap over her breasts, and the image of Vince flashed in her mind. She knew his type. He was a charmer, a lover, a player. He was the
get in quick and get out faster
kind of guy. While she wasn’t looking for anything permanent, even a fling would be too much right now. Keeping under the radar was the only way to stay safe.