Rebels and Roses, page 12
It wasn’t the time to point out that Fiona had been three sheets to the wind last night, and she hadn’t been in shape to do much other than pass out on her hotel room bed. She could have hardly dealt with her brother, too.
“Tom was a grown man. He made his own decisions.”
“All of them wrong,” Fiona sobbed, grabbing his t-shirt and burying her face in the cotton. “But I still loved him. He was my little brother. Why on earth did this happen? How did it happen?”
Both were good questions.
“Finn and the coroner are going to figure out how Tom died.”
“A couple of hick public servants in a hick town,” Fiona scoffed. “I bet Daddy is going to want to hire a real investigator.”
The Kemp patriarch would have to notice that he had children first.
“What did your parents say when you talked to them? Are they flying in to claim the body?”
A strange expression crossed Fiona’s face - part guilt and part deception. He’d seen it before. She was about to either lie to him or tell him something that she wasn’t proud of.
“I haven’t called them yet.”
Fiona’s gaze was somewhere over his shoulder, deliberately not meeting his eyes.
“I understand that you’re upset. When are you planning to call them? Do you want me to take you to the inn so you can have some privacy to do it?”
“About that…I was hoping that you could do it.”
She still wasn’t meeting his eyes, but her tone had been casual as if asking such a request was completely and totally no big deal. Ten years ago, Cooper would have done it, too. Now, he was older and hopefully wiser.
“I don’t think it’s a good idea. They’ll want to hear it from you.”
His denial caught Fiona by surprise. Her eyes widened and she took a step back and then stopped, seemingly unsure as to how to react.
“I—I don’t think I can tell them.”
“I’m sure you can,” Cooper replied, not budging an inch.
“You always know just the right words to say, though. I’ll just upset them.”
“Their son just died, Fiona. I would imagine they’re going to be upset no matter what. This is a family situation.”
“You’re family.”
“No, I’m not,” he said, keeping his voice steady but firm. “This is not my news to share with your parents. You need to do this. Can I give you a ride back to the hotel?”
Not happy with his refusal, her uncertainty as to how to deal with him morphed into something far more calculating. A smug smile bloomed on her face, and her eyes glittered with triumph.
“Once I start talking, I may not stop,” she said. “I might even tell your family that you’re the bestselling author S.S. Cooper. You don’t want that to happen, now do you? Maybe you should call my parents and tell them about Tom. I’d hate to reveal one of your big secrets.”
If Cooper could kick his own ass, he would. He only had himself to blame, however. He’s the one who had married her, ignoring all the red flags along the way.
She thought she had him by the short hairs, but she’d calculated wrong. He’d intended to eventually tell his family; he simply wasn’t in a huge hurry. He would have told them already except for his dad.
“Go ahead,” Cooper urged. “But blackmail goes both ways. I know shit about you that would curl your old man’s hair. The best you got is that I’m actually a productive member of society instead of a deadbeat, and that I make a hell of a lot of money. That’s not much of a threat. You’re losing your touch, Fi. Seven years ago, you would have done better.”
The only tell that she was furious was the visible trembling of her lips and hands. Otherwise, she appeared as cool as a cucumber.
“Take me back to the hotel. Asshole.”
She stomped toward where he’d parked his car, not sparing a glance over her shoulder to see if he was following her. Before he left, he wanted to let Finn know that he was taking her back to the inn.
His phone vibrated with an incoming text. Jane had messaged him that Tom’s almost-fiancée Erica had shown up at the bookstore. Was Tom with him?
Damn. This wasn’t going to go well.
The news of Tom’s death hadn’t hit the town gossip grapevine yet. His thumb hovered over the screen, but he didn’t think that breaking the news over the phone was a good idea. Instead, he sent a message back that he’d be there in a few minutes. Finn would want to talk to Tom’s fiancée.
Cooper would drop Fiona back at the inn, and then go directly to the bookstore. Did Erica know about Tom’s drug problems, debt, and general womanizing?
It looked like they were about to find out.
Jane couldn’t believe how everything in the world could be upended in such a short span of time, but somehow it had. Erica was here in town, Tom was dead.
I’ve barely even had my coffee.
Erica was now crying for a different reason. Her fiancé Tom had been found dead, which was a shock to them all, of course. The young woman was beside herself, angry that she’d let him out of her sight. Apparently, she’d known that the man she planned to marry someday had a drug problem.
“He was getting help for it,” Erica explained, the tissue clutched in her hand a sodden mess. “He was seeing a therapist. He’d been clean for months.”
“Did you know that he’d been to rehab several times?” Cooper gently asked. Finn was still at the scene with Tom’s body waiting for the coroner. “Did you know that his sister Fiona was here to take him again? To a place in Miami?”
Anger immediately crossed Erica’s delicate features. She tossed the tissue onto the table and ripped a new one from the box that Lucy had slid in front of her. They’d moved this conversation into the backroom, but there were a few customers in the main area that were curious as to what was going on. The gossips would fill them in eventually.
“Fiona,” Erica spat out, her lips curled in distaste. “She wasn’t making anything any better. She babied Tom, telling him that his addiction wasn’t that bad. She’d say that he’d get help when he was ready. I find it hard to believe that she was going to take him to rehab. In Miami or anywhere else.”
“You didn’t get along with Fiona?”
“Does anyone?” Erica shot back. “She only cares about herself. I’ve never seen a more self-absorbed person in my life. She simply would not leave us alone. She’d dig around until she found one of Tom’s weaknesses, and then she’d try to exploit it.”
“What for?” Cooper asked. “How did she do that?”
“What for? She wanted to pull all the strings. Control. She wanted Tom to do whatever she told him to do. And before you even ask me, I don’t know why that was important to her. His life didn’t even affect hers, but she’d still do it. He and I would be doing great, and then she’d show up. She’d mess with his head, and the next thing I knew he’d go on a coke binge after being clean for months. It was almost like she couldn’t stand for him to be healthy and happy.”
From the expression on Cooper’s face, he believed Erica completely. For the dozenth time, Jane had to wonder just how he’d ended up married to Fiona. He’d explained that he’d been young and optimistic, but…damn. He’d been willingly blind, too.
Lust. It had to be lust. Perhaps Fiona was great in the sack. Jane had seen men fall for women who were a red flag-waving party, but they didn’t seem to care as long as they were getting laid.
Until later, of course. Then they cared a whole bunch, but it was often too late.
What was that saying? Don’t stick your dick in crazy.
“I can’t believe he’s really gone,” Erica sobbed, more tears running down her cheeks. “I just talked to him the day before yesterday. He was coming home. He had his flight booked and everything. He said that he was going to hire a private investigator to look into his claims of being followed and watched. He seemed upbeat about it.”
“How did you feel about his claims?” Cooper asked. “Did you believe him?”
“I believe that he believed it,” Erica replied. “But I was honest with him that I couldn’t see why anyone would follow him. It’s not like he was a famous actor or a rock star. We lived a fairly quiet life most of the time.”
“What about his friends? Or co-workers?”
“What about them?” Erica said with a shrug. “He partied with friends a few nights a month. He didn’t socialize with his co-workers. He said they were all stupid. They wouldn’t follow him around. That wouldn’t make any sense.”
The problem was none of it made any sense. Erica had a decent point. Tom wasn’t a famous pop singer with an army of fans.
“Was he privy to any sort of business or finance secrets in his job?” Cooper queried. “Was he working on any sort of business development projects that other companies might want to get ahold of?”
“Listen, I don’t want to make it sound like Tom didn’t do anything, because he definitely did,” Erica explained. “But his job was routine. Nothing high-profile. He went in at nine and he left at four. It was kind of an open secret that the only reason he worked at the firm was because my dad insisted on it. He didn’t want me to marry someone who lived off their trust fund. Why are you asking me these questions?”
“I was wondering if Tom had a legitimate reason to be paranoid.”
Erica shook her head again as more tears flowed. Jane felt terrible for the young woman who had been dealt such a horrible blow. The poor girl wasn’t going to get the happily ever after that she’d been counting on.
Cooper excused himself while Erica tried to pull herself together, coming over to speak to Jane.
“Can we step outside for a minute?”
“Sure.”
The two of them exited the back door and into the deserted alleyway behind the building.
“I’m sorry I didn’t answer the texts from you and Lucy.”
“I get it,” Jane replied. “You were dealing with this. You found the body?”
“I did, and it wasn’t a pretty sight.”
“Is Fiona okay? Seeing her brother like that had to be traumatic.”
“Yes, she is upset.”
His tone was short and clipped. Jane had the distinct feeling there was more to the story.
“That sounded like half a sentence. Is there more?”
“Yes,” he sighed. “So far, she has refused to call her parents to give them the bad news. She wanted me to do it.”
“You? Why would you do that?”
“Because she threatened to tell my family that I’m S.S. Cooper.”
Holy shit, Fiona tried to blackmail Cooper. I bet that didn’t go well.
“And after you told her to get fucked, what did she say?”
“That’s why I like you,” Cooper chuckled. “You know me well. I told her to go ahead. I’ve been meaning to tell everyone anyway. The only reason I haven’t is because of my dad. Then I told her that I know more secrets about her so maybe she shouldn’t start thinking she held a winning hand here.”
That sounded like Cooper.
“Her reaction?”
“She stomped back to my car. I took her to the inn and left her there. What happens now I don’t know. She’s pissed off at me for sure, though. Not that I care.”
Cooper’s phone buzzed in his pocket. Cursing softly, he pulled it out and checked the screen.
“All be damned. This is getting stranger by the second. It looks like my dad and Kimberly have been made aware that Fiona is in town and that Tom is dead. They want to host a dinner tonight with everyone there including Fiona and Erica. This can only be trouble. My dad doesn’t do anything without a motive.”
“Everyone will be there?” Jane echoed. “What does that mean?”
“I would assume everyone that will show up. That would be Tate, Sam, maybe Zack and Lucy. Kim has already invited Fiona apparently, so I guess I have to go.”
“Since when do you give in to your dad and say yes to his dinner invitations?”
Cooper had been giving Joel Winslow the middle finger for a couple of decades. He had nothing but contempt for his father.
“Since I don’t want my ex-wife there without me. If I say no, he’ll go around me and get her there anyway. When he met Fiona, he immediately liked her.”
“And that didn’t give you pause?”
“I thought it was because she was sexy and good-looking. He’s always liked the ladies, and Fiona played up to him. She’d flirt and laugh at his jokes. That sort of thing.”
When Jane was younger, she’d laughed at her father-in-law’s horrible jokes, and eaten her mother-in-law’s terrible casseroles, so she understood wanting to be liked by the spouse’s family.
“If she goes alone, what bad thing could happen?”
“I don’t know, and that’s what bugs me. I want to be there to keep an eye on her. And my dad. I don’t trust either of them, so I have to go. I’ll tell them that there will be two of us coming.”
Now Jane was confused.
“Are you going to try and get Frankie or Piper to go with you?”
“No, I’m talking about you. I was hoping you’d go with me. Don’t make me go to this alone. My dad is up to something, and I need to find out what.”
Me? You want to be seen in public with me? With your family? This is…big. And unexpected. How do I feel about this?
Jane’s immediate reaction was to say hell no. They needed to have an entire discussion as to what that would mean and the consequences of being seen together. A hell of a lot of thought needed to go into this sort of decision. If she did this, everything would be different tomorrow. In a good or a bad way? She didn’t have a clue.
“I can do that.”
The words had tumbled out of her mouth without even a pause at the Yield sign in her brain. So much for holding the line until they could talk about it.
It was official. Jane was going to the Winslow mansion for dinner with Cooper as her escort.
What could possibly go wrong?
12
Joel Winslow was not a happy man. He didn’t care so much about that; his measure of a good day wasn’t predicated on his mood. But today he had work to get done, important work. Bringing his children back into the family was the goal.
Today it was Cooper. His second eldest was probably the most stubborn of all of his children, although Francesca gave him a good run. Piper acted all tough, but she had the softest heart of all of them.
But Joel didn’t get to where he was in life by being a quitter. He wasn’t ever going to give up, and tonight he just may have found a path to Cooper - his ex-wife Fiona.
“You wanted to speak to me in private? I really should be out there with Erica.”
“Kim will keep Erica company. It will be fine. We have some time before the others get here.”
Fiona was sipping a martini, sitting on the leather sofa in his office. She had that haughty look and tone, but he knew better. He’d made sure to know more about Fiona Kemp Winslow than she even knew about herself. She might act like she didn’t care about what he had to say, but she did care. Very much.
It was fine with Joel if she wanted to play the princess. As long as by the end of the evening, she realized he was the king. He made it a point to always win.
Instead of sitting behind his desk, Joel sat down on the sofa with Fiona but at the other end so he could easily take in her expressions and body language. He didn’t want her to view him as a threat, but as a…friend. Or perhaps “benefactor” was a better word. He could help her. He had what she wanted. All she had to do was cooperate.
“I did want to talk to you,” Joel said, his gaze intent on her face. “I’d like to propose a little business deal.”
“Business?”
“Business…and personal. For you, anyway. I think we can help each other.”
“Why would I help you?”
Yes, she wanted to know what he was offering. She didn’t want to seem too desperate, however. But he wasn’t fooled. He could see that her fingers had tightened on the edge of her glass, the knuckles white. He was in the driver’s seat. Just the way he liked it. He’d chosen her well all those years ago - a money-hungry little bitch who could be bought by the highest bidder.
“For money, of course. That’s what you want, correct?”
“Mr. Winslow, I come from a wealthy family which you very well know. Why would I need your money?”
The Kemp family was richer than hell, the patriarch Andrew a financial genius who always seemed to know where to invest his money wisely and profitably. Andrew’s own father had been the same.
“Because you and your now-late brother Tom spend to the yearly limit of your trust funds, and your parents aren’t inclined to give you any extra. Joyce and Andrew are also in excellent health, so you won’t be inheriting anything any time soon. You’re in debt due to your extravagant spending, and you need a nice cash infusion for all those designer handbags and shoes.”
Fiona’s eyes narrowed, his nostrils flaring in annoyance. Did she actually think he would offer her a deal without knowing exactly where his opponent stood? Joel liked to have all the information at his fingertips. He never went in without having the upper hand.
“I am not in debt—”
“Come now, Fiona,” Joel said, interrupting her denial. “Let’s not play games here. We both know that you’re deeply in debt and next year’s portion of your trust fund isn’t going to cover it. You might have to get a job or something even more unseemly. But I’m here to make sure that you don’t have to do that. I can help you dig out of that hole. We’ve helped each other before, after all. That didn’t work out as I expected it to, but these things can happen.”
“There was no way I could talk Cooper out of the divorce,” Fiona bit out, her lip curled in derision. “Your son can be a total asshole and is hell to live with. We needed to separate for our own sanity.”
“But now both of you have grown up. You’re older and wiser. And you could be richer, too.”
“If I do what you want me to.”
