The Playboy Billionaire (The Romero Brothers, Book 3) (10 page)

Who was that crazy person?

Just then she heard the wheels of the SUV
screeching as he sped up and rammed her again. This time, Blue saw her life
flash before her.
Blue lost control of her car and drove off
into a ravine.

“Oh, somebody’s got a woman on his mind,”
Carl teased his brother, Zack, as he walked into the foyer at the winery house.

Zack was leaning back on his desk with his
arms folded across his chest, peering out at the window. An incredulous look
formed on his face at his brother’s words. “What are you talking about, Carl?”

“Oh, come on. You were daydreaming about Blue.
She’s one heck of a gorgeous reporter.”

“Film producer,” Zack corrected, not
amused. “She’s only here working on a documentary for the winery, Carl. And no,
I was not thinking about her.” Zack tried to keep his tone as cool as he could.
Truth be told, he was lying right through his teeth. Damn! Blue Monroe was hot
as hell. So hot, his body was on fire from the embers of her kiss. He really
needed to take a cold shower more than anything. Good thing the main house
wasn’t too far from the winery house on the estate. He loved working close to
home, or at least one of his homes, since Romero Manor was the family estate.

“Well, good, because you know you can’t
break that deal with Granddad, or he’ll have you out of here. You’ve still got
what? Another week!”

Zack winced. “Another day,” he scowled. Old
man Romero was a sturdy, fine man who grew up on principles and loved his
family dearly, though at times, he often imposed some childish rules on his grown,
accomplished grandchildren. But Zack, like his brothers and cousins, loved Toni
Romero without bounds. They would do anything for him.

“Did you find anything else out about that
tape?” Zack changed the topic. “I presume you’re not here for a brotherly chat.”

Carl grinned. Zack’s sense of humor was
often dry but he tended to make light of most situations.

“Well, yeah. That,” Carl said, rubbing his
stubble. “There is a digital file in some Cloud storage.”

“What? Are you sure about that?”

“Yeah. Sorry, man.”

“Right.” Zack’s jaw clenched.
Of all the lowdown things.
“Doesn’t she realize that Cloud storages
can get hacked into?”

“Well,” Carl grinned. “First off. No, our
men did not hack into her account.”

“I didn’t think you did. You know I
wouldn’t stand for that.”

“I know. Anyway, our man JoJo mentioned
that she sent emails to an associate. They were talking about how much they
could potentially get on hot video like that. They’re looking at a bidding war
of seven figures between several of the leading online news rags.”

Zack winced. A sick feeling settled in his
gut; he felt acid burning a hole in his heart.
Selina
.
Nothing
but trouble.

“Just keep me posted, will you?”

“Sure thing.”

“And you still want to go into politics,
bro? You’re crazy,” Zack chided, pouring
himself
a
glass of wine. He took out another glass and offered it to his brother one.

“Sounds like a great plan, don’t you
think?”

“No. Not in the least bit. If you think
business can get crazy, politics is way worse, Carl. Just you be careful. We Romeros
have to stick together. Too many crazy people out there would like nothing more
than to see us trounced.”

“I hear ya, bro. I thought about it
but,
I really want to do something decent in this town. Help
those who started out like us—with very little or even nothing. You know
,
be a voice for the voiceless.”

“You’re full of crap, you know that?” Zack
teased his brother. Truth be told, he loved his family more than the breath in
his lungs, but the guys infrequently complimented each other outright or said
anything sappy. “But you just might stand a chance. If you can get those
skeletons cleared out of your closet in time for election.” Zack grinned and
took a sip of his Merlot.

Carl, who was standing close by to him,
gave him a playful punch in the arm. As if his steel biceps could feel a thing.
But it almost knocked the drink out of his hand.

All this time, Venus was still there,
working late and knocked on the door to Zack’s office.

“Hi, I’m sorry, Zack,” she said,
breathless.

“Venus, what is it?” Zack asked, concern
evident. He cared a lot about his employees. A damn lot and now his level of
alertness shot up. She seemed to be in distress.

“Are you okay?” Carl dropped his glass on
the table and went over to her.

She shook her head. “No. I mean, yes. It’s…I
just got a call from security. They spotted Blue Monroe’s car in a ditch. Off
the main road.”

Zack's fingers went numb, which almost
never happened, and he dropped his glass on the desk.
 
“What? Are you sure?”

“How far from here?” Zack asked, grabbing
his keys and his jacket. Fury fumed through his veins. It was an inferno in his
body right now. All he could do was think about lovely Blue, crushed. Hurt. Or
worse. Her shiny black hair tangled. God help somebody out there, if a hair was
out of place or a scratch was on her skin. Why all of a sudden did he assume it
was somebody else’s fault? He didn’t know why, but he just did.

He cursed under his breath. Damn! Why
hadn’t she taken him up on his offer to have a car take her home? One of his
drivers could have easily done that. She looked so darn tired at the end of the
day. Shit! If anything happened to her, he didn’t know what the hell he would
do with himself.

“You’re very lucky, Miss Monroe,” Dr.
Randall at the Mayberry Hill County Hospital told Blue later while she sat up
on a stretcher in the emergency room. The green hospital curtains around her
bed were pulled closed for privacy. “It could have been worse. Much worse. No
broken bones. No fractures. The nurse will give you something for your
headache.”

The doctor stood in the private area along
with Zack. Carl stayed back at the estate after driving Venus home. She also
overheard Zack asking Carl about finding out some information about what
happened. Information? Whatever could that mean? Weren’t the cops on the case?
She’d heard about the men having their own team of investigators who work
behind the scenes on projects for them from time to time. They could never have
too many or too few enemies and always aimed to stay on top of things as far as
dealing with unscrupulous people was concerned.

Regardless, Blue loved the way the Romero
family was so down-to-earth and went to great lengths to take care of their
staff members. Holy hell! She was grateful to be working with them. What a
change from Channel 31 News. She didn’t feel like a contracted employee at the
Romero Winery and Vineyard. She felt more like a family member. It was as if
she had an extended family of her own.

“Thank you,” Blue said, her voice hinted at
fatigue and she felt so drained. She was glad to have Zack by her side.

“You’re very welcome, Miss Monroe. The
nurse will give you the discharge papers later. In a few minutes she’ll bring
you some Tylenol.”

The doctor nodded politely to Zack and left
the area, pulling the curtains open and closing them behind him.

“Oh, no. Courtney!” Blue said, remembering
her sister would be at home worried about not seeing her.

“It’s okay,” Zack said quietly. “I had
Venus call before she left to let your sister know that you were okay. We have
someone posted at the building outside on watch to make sure nothing happens.”

“You don’t need to do that, Mr…Zack.”

“After someone tried to kill you just now
by forcing your car off the road? Please!” he objected, leaning
against
the wall.

Blue pinched her lips together. Oh, great.
Now she might have to tell him…everything. Blue really didn’t want to get into
her past right now. She didn’t want to have to go deeply into all the crap that
had happened to her and her family. But then again, she didn’t really know who
ran her off the road. She never got a license plate or saw a face. What did she
really have to go on?

The police had already taken the report on
the scene and Zack offered to have his men at their own garage take care of
vehicle repairs. It was all she had. She didn’t want to report the accident
because she knew her insurance would go through the roof. Then how would she
afford the monthly premiums? Still, she was glad she got the help when she
needed it. Blue always sought to do things
on her own
.
She was an independent woman, who, in the past, would take on three part-time
jobs at the same time just to make ends meet. Going from one place of
employment and at quitting time, taking the bus to her next job. At one time,
she even worked a double-shift, long before she finished college and became a
journalist, which ended up being a short-term career thanks to her ex Elliot.

Yet, Zack was not judgmental. He just
wanted to be there for her. She wasn’t used to being treated like that. She could
see the look of genuine concern on his face.

She remembered a while back when she had
borrowed Elliot’s car to take her sister to the orthodontist. Someone had
parked their car beside hers and had opened their door wide and carelessly
enough to scratch the car door on the passenger side.

“You idiot,” Elliot shouted in a rage at
her. He hurled a whole lot of abusive words and Blue failed
understand
his fury. It was a car! At least she and Courtney were fine. Wasn't that what
mattered? Nonetheless, Blue offered to cover the damage done, even though it
wasn’t her fault. She shouldn’t have parked there. She should have checked the
licence plate of the car beside her just in case before she drove off. She
should have done this, or that. Never, are you okay,
honey
?
Never. He wasn’t even concerned about her sister’s procedure. He only informed her
it was the last time she would drive his car. He obviously had completely
forgotten how many times she loaned him her car when his was off the road. He
became increasingly horrible towards her. Blue could no longer bear it. What a
difference it was to see Zack not scold her for not taking him up on his offer,
knowing that she was tired, to take a ride home. Perhaps, if she were more
alert, she would have thought to take down the license plate number. Perhaps.
Perhaps. Perhaps.

“Yes, you’re right, Zack,” Blue conceded,
getting back to reality and the present moment.

The nurse came in and gave Blue two Tylenol
tablets with a cup of water. Blue thanked the woman.

“Thank you,” Zack also said to the nurse in
a low, deep silky voice while Blue swallowed the water. That was awfully nice
of him. He was very gracious, that was evident.

“No worries. I’m glad you’ll be leaving
soon,” the nurse said, turning back to Blue. “For your sake,” she corrected.
The nurse appeared nervous. She was a young woman with dark brown hair and blue
eyes that matched the color of her scrubs. The nurse kept glancing at Zack and
gushing. Did she know who Zack was? Or maybe it was the sexual appeal that was
so splendidly obvious. A blind woman would notice his sexiness. The way he
walked, his smooth voice, his aura, his admirable physique and handsomeness was
a gift to behold all eyes that were laid on him.

And oh, he was with her, Blue Monroe.

Not that they were together of course. Like
only in her dreams. But he was there, with her and no one else. The thought
brought on
an a
comforting warmth to her stomach.

All her life Blue was the one to rush to
the ER for her sister or a friend or when her parents were alive and had sudden
chest pains or other ailments that would require a visit. Yep, Blue was often
the go-to gal.

But who would be there for her?

It was nice to be the one taken care of and
fussed over for a change.
Even if Zack was her boss and
nothing more.

Moments later when Blue
got her things together and her discharge papers, Zack rolled her out to his
awaiting SUV.
Oh, my. It was evening now but she
could still appreciate the fine shiny black vehicle. She felt as if she were a
celebrity who’d just gotten out of rehab and had one of those monstrous luxury
trucks awaiting them. Only difference, of course, was no reporters or freelance
photographers. Ha!
Unless, she counted herself.

 
Zack introduced Blue to a burly man who
looked more like a bodyguard.

“Nice to meet you, Hans.”

Hans nodded and echoed the sentiment.

She scooped herself into the backseat. The
leather interior was plush and opulent. The dim lights inside brought on a
soothing ambiance. Oh, what a day it had been. Blue never thought it would end
up like this.
Alone with billionaire playboy Zack Romero at
her side.
A headline story if she had to write it herself.