Read Neighbors and More (High Rise Series) Online
Authors: Mona Risk
He tried the lid of a few bottles to verify what she said,
read the labels, and counted the pills inside each vial.
“You can believe me. I know I didn’t open the Valium bottle.”
So who took the three pills out of the bottle? “Do you think Steve helped
himself to my medicines?”
“Possible. Did he use your bathroom the last two times he
visited?”
Alexa shook her head, walked back to the living room, and
paced its length several times. Her eyes fixed on the marble tiles of the
floor.
“Alexa, for heaven’s sake, stop. I know you’re stressed, but
try to control your facial expressions, your tone of voice, your whole
attitude. The detective was studying you.”
“Yeah, yeah, you’re right,” she said, not paying attention. “Something
is bothering me. But I can’t put my finger on it.” And then she swirled to face
him. “Dante, yesterday Steve walked straight into my living room without
knocking on my door. He had my key. He could have taken the pills anytime
without my knowledge.”
“Why would he do that?”
“Maybe he was stressed because of his move to Atlanta? Maybe
he didn’t want to let anyone know he was under a lot of pressure? He probably
took the pills and swallowed one a day. But yesterday, he also drank. You heard
the detective. Drugs and alcohol caused him drowsiness. He slept and slipped under
water.”
“It makes a lot of sense from a medical point of view.”
“Doesn’t it?” She cleared their breakfast plates from the
table, her heart lighter, now that she’d figured a plausible reason for Steve’s
death. “I hope the detective would come to the same conclusion. Can we call him
and explain this theory?”
“No. The less you tell him the better. Let him do his job.
And let me do the talking.”
“Why? Because he wouldn’t believe me?”
“Because I’m your lawyer. You hired me to defend you.”
She cringed. “Defend me from what? Don’t talk like Julia.” Alexa
raised her voice, suddenly upset. “And don’t act bossy like Greg.”
“I would never act like Greg, Alexa.” His eyebrows gathered
in a scowl and a shadow darkened his eyes. He came to her and held her hands in
his. “Never. I despise him. And I respect you too much to treat you like a sex
slave as he’s obviously done.”
Her cheeks flamed. How had Dante guessed that was precisely
what Greg did to her? That she had trouble trusting men because of the way Greg
controlled her?
Arrogant and autocratic, he’d slept and played with her
whenever it suited him during their marriage. Shame prickled her eyes, yet she
sealed her mouth on the awful details. Too young and inexperienced to leave and
live on her own, she stayed with him, until she reached the brim of her cup.
“I hate him. God, how I hate him. He’s so powerful. He
controls my share of the company, my money, my investment. But I’m not eighteen
anymore. I’ll leave the Blue Waves, and then I’ll find a way to regain control
of my assets.” She hoped she’d be able to do it on her own. Except she didn’t
feel that strong in spite of her resolutions. Once she’d settled away from this
building, she’d consult with professionals.
Dante’s strong and gentle hands squeezed her shoulders,
imparting her with confidence. “Alexa, you’re doing the right thing by going
away. This is a momentary crisis. Soon you’ll be able to follow your plans.”
The little niggling of self-doubt filtered out of her
stressed mind, but Dante’s close proximity created a new type of tension.
“Things will get better eventually,
cara
mia
.”
He swiped a curl behind her ear, cupped his hands on each side of her head, and
gazed deeply into her eyes. “Trust yourself. And trust me, please.” His breath
and soothing voice brushed her face with warmth. Sudden tingles stirred in her
belly.
Drat
, she needed him as a lawyer, not a lover.
“I do, Dante. Thanks for the support.” Easing away, she shoved
the past aside and regained her composure. The present brought enough problems
without adding rotten memories. “I’m sorry I’m wasting your time. You must have
piles of papers to go through.”
“Work can wait for one more day. Besides, you’re my client
now. A client who needs special care.” He tilted her chin with his fingertip. She
looked into dark blue eyes twinkling with mischief. “I have an idea. Let’s go
check on my boat and take it to the ocean. The day is gorgeous, and I missed my
Little Sicily
.”
She laughed. It would be easy to let go and fall in love
with Dante, but so wrong. Before giving up her heart, she’d better learn to be
independent.
“Yes, let’s go to the marina. I’ll pack a few things. Go get
your stuff from your place,” she suggested. Eager to enjoy a fun day, she rushed
to her bedroom, shoved her bikini, towels, toiletries, and a change of clothes
into her oversized beach bag.
In less than two minutes, Dante came back from his condo. “Give
me the bag and let’s go down before more people delay us.”
Rather than taking the elevator and risking a meeting with disagreeable
neighbors, they raced to the fire exit and climbed down the twenty-one floors. After
a fifteen-minute ride in Dante’s
BMW
, they arrived at the marina.
A day with Dante in the middle of the ocean would be pure
bliss, a gift from the gods she might not receive again, especially if the
investigation got complicated.
****
“I haven’t called Tom Dallen to put the boat into the water,”
Dante said after he parked his shiny black sports car. “We have to stop by his
office.” They strolled through the covered storage area housing racks of boats
hanging on three levels. The office of the marina’s owner was at the end,
hidden in a dark corner, where the engine noise and rattling of the boats
forklifts wouldn’t disturb him.
They went up the five steps leading to the door. Dante peeked
through the little window into the dimly lit room and gasped. He ducked,
pushing Alexa down with him. “I’ll be damned.”
“Why? What did you see?” she whispered.
“Tom, and guess who’s in his arms?”
“Who?” she mouthed.
“Your friend Julia,” he murmured into her ear.
“No!” Alexa pulled back, her eyes huge in the semi-darkness.
He clamped his hand on her mouth. “Shh.”
She eased his fingers away and kept holding them. “You
sure?”
“Oh yeah. Believe me, I can tell when a man is kissing a
woman.”
“On the mouth?”
He snorted. “So far yes.”
“What are we going to do now?”
“Let’s go back out. I’ll call him as I should have in the
first place.” He turned and tiptoed down the steps. “Damn it, Alexa, come
here.”
“I got it,” she proudly brandished her tiny camera—more like
a piece of jewelry— and followed him.
“It’d be too dark to be clear.”
She chuckled as they hid behind the racks and proceeded to
the door.
“This little toy costs a fortune.” Like everything she owned.
He shook his head. “Trust me, it’s good,” she added and patted her camera.
“You caught them kissing?” Maybe the picture would come in handy
if things got difficult.
“Kissing and more. “
Dante stopped in his tracks and bit his lip not to burst out
laughing. “Yeah?”
She leaned to his side and whispered. “He had a hand
grasping her breast and the other clutching her butt.”
“
Mamma mia
. Ladd should hire you as an assistant.”
“Actually, Dante. I think we should do a little
investigation on the side. Our detective doesn’t look too smart to me.”
Dante arched his eyebrows. “Not a bad idea.” He’d been
thinking the same.
They reached the door, made a beeline for his car, and slid
inside. Dante turned the key on and punched a programmed number on his cell
phone. A few minutes passed before Tom answered. “Deep Waters Marina… Dallen
speaking… How… how can I help you?” His voice was labored as if he struggled to
recover his breath.
“Hi Tom—”
“Oof, stop it. Uh… excuse me. There’s uh… a… a fly bugging
me. Who’s there?”
Dante shook his hand and waggled his eyebrows for Alexa’s
benefit.
“Tom, this is Dante Cantari. I’m back from Sicily. Can I
have my boat lowered to the water?”
“Now?” The single word rang so loud that Alexa heard it and
clamped both hands over her mouth while her shoulders shook.
“Yes, please. I’m sitting outside in my car. Would you like
me to come to your office?” Dante asked sweetly.
“No. No. I’m coming right away. I’ll call Juan to get your
boat out to the water.”
“Thanks. Appreciate it.” Dante clicked his phone shut. “I
have the feeling we interrupted him in the middle of a serious, hum… job.”
“Oh dear, I can imagine him talking to you, and trying to
refrain from huffing and puffing while she works on him. That made up for the
heartache she gave me. Too bad I don’t have a picture of that scene. We left
his window a minute too early.”
“Thank God. We’re not peeping toms. Here he comes. I see him
in the rear window. Stay inside.”
Dante jumped out of his car and walked toward Tom.
“Welcome back, Dante. Good to see you. So how was the trip?”
Tom pumped Dante’s hand, a jovial smile on his face. The walk across the boat
storage area must have helped him recover.
“Great. But it’s wonderful to be back. I missed my
Little
Sicily
. How’s she doing?” He clapped Tom’s back while still shaking his
hand.
“Here she is, clean, shiny, and gorgeous,” Tom said as the
forklift passed by carrying Dante’s boat. “You should have called earlier. I
would have set some time to go out to the ocean with you. Today, I’m kind of
busy.”
Dante nodded with understanding. “Don’t worry. Another
time.”
“Yes. Of course. I better go finish the job I started.”
“Go ahead. We should never neglect our work. See you some
other time, Tom.” With effort, Dante managed to keep a straight face.
Tom rushed back inside the boat storage area. Once he
disappeared into his office, Dante opened the passenger door to let Alexa out
of the car. “He couldn’t wait to go back to his work.”
“I bet. Julia is not a patient woman. The little bitch had
the guts to accuse me of taking her husband. To think the guy is not even buried
yet.” Alexa patted her pocket. “Just let her open her mouth again. I have a
great picture to shut it permanently.”
Dante chuckled. “At least, this episode helped you unwind.
Now let’s enjoy our day.”
At the dock, Dante helped her climb down into his boat. “See
how beautiful she looks.” He seriously missed the boat that gave him hours of
relaxation.
But Alexa wasn’t listening. Her eyebrows knitted, her eyes
fixed on the dirty water of the canal.
“Alexa?”
“Dante,” she said without looking at him. “Think with me for
a minute. Maybe Steve took the pills from my medicine cabinet. And maybe it was
Julia who dissolved the Valium in his coffee. Maybe she wanted to get rid of
him to be with Tom.”
Chapter Six
With a similar concentration, Alexa studied his chiseled
profile and strong neck. Black strands of hair curled, mussed by the soft wind.
She stopped sipping her beer and licked her lips. Her gaze fell to his tanned
shoulders and the brawny back rippling with muscles as he maneuvered the speed
throttle. The boat glided over the smooth surface of the ocean, creating a
white froth in its wake.
From far away, the buildings looked almost alike, at least
the ones painted white. She removed her sunglasses and squinted to locate their
neighborhood. “I think we are in front of our building,” Alexa said, to attract
his attention. Frankly, she’d had it with Dante flirting with his
Little
Sicily
and ignoring his flesh and blood friend.
“Uh… yeah. Did you hear that noise?” Dante stiffened, his
back straight.
“What noise?”
“In the engine.” He tilted his head, listening. “No, it’s
normal. For a moment I thought my
Little Sicily
was—”
“Dante, did you hear me? I asked you if this is our building.”
“No. We’re still too far north. We’ll pass the Blue Waves in
three minutes,” he said, as he glanced at his watch.
“Are you always so accurate?”
“I have to be.” He chugged on his beer and set it in the
bottle holder of the starboard side. “I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if
I made a mistake that sent an innocent person to the electric chair.” He bent
his head and busied himself again, steering his boat. “She’s amazing, my
Little
Sicily
. So smooth at high speed.”
In spite of the burning sun of the early afternoon, Alexa
shivered. “Dante, do you actually know cases where innocent people were
unjustly condemned?” Good Lord, it wouldn’t do if over-confident Detective Ladd
stupidly blamed her because Steve had taken her antidepressants.
Steve drowned. That was all.
Dante snorted while adjusting the speed, and then slowed the
boat to idle. “The court archives abound with such cases.”
Biting the inside of her cheek, Alexa lurched forward. So
mistakes happened in court. Good God. She swallowed. “Dante...” she muttered,
unable to express her fears.
But Dante’s long fingers caressed the control board
amorously. “
Bellissima
.”
Traitor
. He’d called her that last night. Now his
boat was the
bellissima
.
“Here is our magnificent Blue Waves,” he said with a chuckle.
“To the left, you can hardly see the restaurants and boutiques of Las Olas, and…”
He turned his head toward her, and gasped. “Alexa, what happened? Your lips? How
did you hurt yourself?” He cut off the engine and came to kneel by her bench.
He took her hand. “My goodness, you’re trembling. Are you all right?”