Dark Perception: The Corde Noire Series (20 page)

“
Is that why he told you to
use that guy’s cement business when you start
construction?”

He nodded. “Sal Cuccina was the only
other competition I had who could have possibly come up with the
backing to fund the project. But city leaders didn’t want Sal’s
side business with the local mafia to come under scrutiny by
federal authorities. They have been all over every city development
project since Katrina. So, Sal backed out, and someone in city
government told me the project was mine as long as I came up with
the funding. Sal was just sending me a message that he would
scratch my back if I scratched his.”

“
Isn’t that
illegal?”

“
Everything illegal is
legal in New Orleans. I’ve had more backroom meetings in this town
than I ever had in North Carolina.”

“
Is that why you were
chosen to get the deal? Because of those backroom
meetings?”

“
No, the deal was given to
me because I’m the son of a US congressman and the feds won’t ask
any questions if I’m involved. Being Representative Mark Cole’s son
has its advantages.”

“
I thought you didn’t like
to tell anyone about your father.”

“
I don’t, but the people I
was dealing with already knew who I was before they met me. That’s
the way this town works, Melinda. Who you are, and who you are
related to, matters here.”

As she gazed up at the dilapidated
factory building, she felt something pull at her from a corner of
the large lot. Melinda stopped and turned to a weed-filled
area.

“
What is it?” Nathan asked,
letting her go.

She sensed something was there in the
weeds; no, not in the weeds, but buried beneath them.

“
Have people been buried
here?” She turned back to Nathan.

“
Could be. The place has
been abandoned for over twenty years. God knows what crimes have
been committed here.”

She pointed to the corner mound of
grass. “Someone is in those weeds.”

“
I thought you said you
didn’t communicate with the dead.”

“
I didn’t communicate with
him. He reached out to me.”

“
He?”

Melinda glanced up to the artistic
brickwork above the factory entrance. “Yes, he. He’s tall, white,
slender, and not a bum. He’s well-dressed in a nice gray suit with
a cream-colored tie, but he hasn’t been here long or just came
here.” She shook her head. “It isn’t clear.”

“
Got a name?”

“
The dead aren’t hung up on
names, Nathan. They see their lives in pictures and events, not in
names and dates.”

He gave her an odd side-glance. “Where
did you learn that?”

She skimmed a line of graffiti painted
on the office building. “I’ve picked up things here and there from
the few spirits I’ve dealt with.”

Nathan ran his hand over his chin.
“Have you ever told anyone about this?”

Melinda avoided his eyes. “You’re the
first. I never wanted to tell anyone in case they locked me up and
threw away the key.”

He set his hand under her chin,
turning her eyes to him. “I want you to share everything with me,
understand?” He touched the cord on her neck. “This means you must
tell me all of your secrets.”

“
Even if you don’t want to
hear about them?”

“
I want to know everything
about you, Melinda. It’s my duty as your Dom to anticipate your
needs and fulfill them. How can I do that if you don’t share
everything about yourself with me?”

“
I’ll try,
Nathan.”

He took her hand, holding it tight.
“Come on. I want to show you where I plan on putting the retail
stores and penthouses.”

Nathan led her to a rusted metal door
at the side of the main factory entrance. He placed the key in the
lock and was about to open the door when the strange tug from the
corner of the lot distracted Melinda. She spied the weeded area.
Something wasn’t right, but she couldn’t put her finger on
it.

“
This place has so much
potential,” Nathan declared with all the emotion of an exuberant
child.

Melinda pushed the unwanted feeling
away. “Yes, I know you will do great things here.”

He glanced back at her, his brown eyes
glowing with enthusiasm. “Is that what you see?”

Melinda didn’t want to quash his
enthusiasm, but the truth was she didn’t feel anything about the
old power plant. She didn’t see any shopping centers or expensive
penthouses going up in her mind. It was completely dead. She didn’t
have the heart to tell him that his dream would never come
true.

“
Yes, Nathan, that’s what I
see. It will be a great success.”

“
Do you see how we get the
funding?”

Oh, shit!
Thinking fast, she bit her lower lip. “I can’t
see that. I told you before, I have no control over the
visions.”

He returned his attention to the metal
door. “As long as you see the end result, that’s all that
matters.”

Melinda sighed with relief, yet
wondered how long it would be before he discovered her lie. For
some reason, she sensed this project was not right for Nathan.
There was something dangerous there that could end up destroying
him.

“
Let me show you that view
of the river,” he proposed, taking her hand.

Nathan and Melinda ventured inside the
dark factory entrance and away from the comforting sunlight. The
first thing to hit her was the smell.

“
It stinks.” Melinda put
her hand over her nose.

Nathan’s cell phone rang out with a
jazzy ringtone. “Yeah, I know,” he said, grabbing for his phone in
the front pocket of his jeans. “Just don’t take in a lot of deep
breaths.” He checked the caller ID on his cell phone. “Great,” he
mumbled. “Denise Becnel.” He answered the call.

“
Hello, Denise. How are you
today?” He motioned to Melinda to follow him outside. “Let me step
outside for a moment, Denise. I’m in the Market Street building.
The reception is lousy.”

He walked out the reinforced entrance
and hit the speaker button on his phone.

“
What are you doing out
there?” Denise’s raspy voice came out over the speaker.

Nathan placed his finger to his lips
and glanced back at Melinda.

“
I’m showing the place to a
few potential investors,” he told Denise as he exhibited a crafty
smile.

Melinda elbowed him,
grinning.

“
Don’t con an old lady,
Nathan,” Denise cautioned. “I know you’ve got no other interested
parties, except for that idiot, Bud Moore, and he’s gonna need to
hock his tech company up to the eyeballs to get the kind of funding
you require.”

“
But he can get it,” Nathan
maintained. “That’s all I’m interested in, Denise.”

“
Well, we can’t have that
Texan bringing in outside companies from his state to hurt our
local business people.”

Nathan frowned. “What would you
suggest?”

“
Keep the retail section of
the project open to local shops, making it a made-in-Louisiana
hallmark.”

Nathan’s face lit up. “We could do
that, Denise, but I would need local investors for that idea to
work.”

“
Max Dileo and Sam Allison
are in with me on this thing. We can guarantee you thirty-five
million to start. That should be enough to purchase the property
from the city and begin the cleanup. We can leave it to our lawyers
and accountants to haggle about the percentages.”

Nathan raised his eyebrows. “I have to
say I’m surprised to hear this after what happened last night with
your son.”

“
It was my son who talked
me into it. James has a lot of faith in that young woman you were
with. He told me if Melinda trusted you, then I could too.” There
was a moment of silence over the line. “I’ll have my lawyers
contact you in the morning to set up the negotiations.
Congratulations, Nathan. It looks like you’re going to have your
Market Street development.”

“
Thank you, Denise,” he
said with a sincere smile.

“
Don’t thank me. Thank that
girl of yours. She got you this deal, Nathan. Let’s see if we can
make it work.” Denise hung up.

Nathan stood for a moment, staring
down at the black cell phone in his hand. “I can’t believe this,”
he shouted, rushing toward her. He picked her up and twirled her
around. “My little lucky charm. Did you hear what she
said?”

Melinda had heard every word, but she
didn’t feel elated. She was crushed by it. Despite everything that
had happened with Jack, he still believed in her. Melinda had
convinced herself that after their argument, she had put Jack
behind her. Instantly, all the pain she had denied feeling erupted
to the surface.

“
This is the best news,”
Nathan exclaimed, lowering her to the ground.

“
It’s wonderful news.”
Melinda tried to sound upbeat. He kissed her passionately on the
lips. When he broke away, Melinda asked, “What was that
for?”

“
For being here, for giving
me the encouragement to pursue this crazy deal, for last night …
any number of things.”

Her cheeks turned a dark shade of red.
“I’m the one who should be thanking you for last night … and this
morning.”

“
I’m going to make you so
happy, baby.”

The ache created in her heart by Jack
eased a little. She liked it when Nathan was happy. “You’ve already
made me happy, Nathan.”

He rested his forehead against hers.
“I know a way to make you even happier. Are you ready to hit the
stores and get your new wardrobe?”

She pointed to the phone still in his
left hand. “Don’t you have calls to make and meetings to set
up?”

“
Not today.” He put his
phone away in his back pocket. “Today is about you and me. We’re
celebrating, remember?”

Melinda glimpsed the large power plant
behind her. “What about the view of the river?”

He clasped her hand and urged her to
the gate. “You’ll have plenty of time to see it later. When we have
our penthouse suite on the top floor, you can look out over the
river every day.”

Melinda let go of his hand and stopped
walking. “‘Our penthouse suite’?”

He pulled up next to her, eyeing her
puzzled face. “Melinda, you’re mine. Where I live, you will
live.”

She glanced down at her hands. Not
since Josh had a man wanted to live with her. “That sounds serious,
Nathan.”

He came around in front of her. “One
advantage of being with an older man, darling. We don’t waste time
when we find the woman we want.” He took her hand and raised it to
his lips. “And I want you … all of you.”

What are you so afraid of?
Say yes!

Giving in to her inner
voice, Melinda nodded her head.
“Okay,
Nathan. Wherever you live, I’ll live there, too. So, yes to ‘our
penthouse suite.’”

Leading her toward the gate, Nathan’s
excitement was contagious. “Let’s get you some new clothes to go
with your new life.”

Not since first arriving in New
Orleans had Melinda been so hopeful for the future. But as she
thought of that future with Nathan at her side, one slightly
freckled, dimple-cheeked, hazel-eyed face came to the forefront of
her thoughts.

She wondered what Jack
would think of Nathan and his plans for her. In an instant, she saw
Jack’s face before her. With his head tilted to the side, she could
almost hear his voice saying,
“This isn’t
you, Maddie. This just isn’t you.”

* * *

The Elle Boutique was usually closed
on Sundays, but Nathan made a phone call to the owner, and as soon
as they entered the quaint, upscale dress shop, Melinda was whisked
away to a fitting area with racks of dresses, pantsuits, and formal
gowns all in her size.

The owner, who introduced herself as
Sandy, was a pale brunette with watery brown eyes, small features,
and a continually runny nose.

“
Allergies,” she mumbled to
Melinda as she reached for a box of tissue close to the fitting
room door.

“
What are you allergic to?”
Melinda questioned while inspecting a tea-length dress made of
bright blue silk and corseted at the waist.

“
Everything,” Sandy
reported. “The shots help, but I live on antihistamines. I’ve been
like this since I was a kid. It’s the weather down here. Everyone I
know has sinus problems.”

“
Then why don’t you
move?”

“
And leave New Orleans?”
Sandy tittered, sounding flabbergasted. “Never. I was born and
raised here, and when my time is up, I’m gonna have a fancy jazz
funeral with a second-line parade.” Sandy selected a green, beaded
A-line dress from a nearby rack. “This is home. New Orleans will
always be in my heart.”

Melinda studied the very thin woman
with the delicate hands. “Why is that? I know people love this
city, but the residents here really love their city. I could never
understand that.”