“You recognize the guy in this picture?” she asked Rafael, holding up the photo she was still clutching in her hand. She had hoped to inconspicuously show it to the woman getting her hair washed beside her. “You
know
this guy?”
Rafael nodded, looking confused as to why she was so surprised. “Sure, I see him with Manny at Coco Locos three days a week. They're usually hiding in the VIP section. I told you . . . They're an item.”
Stephanie wanted to jump up and down with joy. Rafael had seen Isaac! After days of searching and going to so many salons and spas she had almost lost count, she had finally hit the jackpot!
“Devon's kind of a jerk though. Always walks around with his nose in the air,” Rafael continued with a curl of disgust in his lip. “Personally, I think Manny's too good for him. Manny could do so much better.”
“
Manny?
Who . . . Who's she?”
“Not
she,
honey.
He!”
Stephanie's eyes bulged out of her head. Isaac was dating
a man?
“His name is Manny. He's Manuel Alvarez.”
She gazed at him blankly.
“You know . . . the famous developer.” He paused. “You aren't from around here, are you?”
“No, I'm from Virginia.”
“Well, Manny is a big guy here in Miami . . . owns lots of real estate around Miami Beach and South Beach. He and
mi novio
have worked together on a few deals. That's how I know him. He's also part owner of Coco Locos. I go there all the time. It's got a good vibe. It's one of the best gay clubs in town.”
Isaac would do a lot of things to make a buck: lie, cheat, even get into the pants of sixty-year-old women. But she found it hard to believe that he also was willing to seduce men to thicken his wallet. He had seemed so . . . so straight.
“Yeah,” a voice in her head chided, “well, he seemed to be a lot of things that he wasn't.”
She held the picture toward Rafael.
“You're definitely sure it's him?
This
is Manny's boyfriend?”
Rafael didn't hesitate before nodding again. “Sure, it's him. Devon doesn't have the goatee anymore, but trade the suit for a low-cut tank top and Rock & Republic denim jeans and you've got that queen! There's no mistaking it.”
Stephanie lowered her head back into the shampoo bowl, gazed blankly at the ceiling, and let the news about Isaac sink in. This was a plot twist she certainly hadn't anticipated. She bet Keith would be shocked to hear it too.
“So you never explained why you have his picture,” Rafael persisted, rinsing her hair again.
“Ummm, well, I've . . .” She hesitated. “I've been looking for him.”
“Looking for him? Has Devon done something wrong?” He turned off the water and made a
tsk, tsk
sound. He grabbed one of the dark towels off the wooden shelf behind him. “I swear there's something about that guy that has always rubbed me the wrong way. When I met him, he seemed so shady.”
“Well, don't tell anyone I told you this,” she whispered, deciding to be honest with Rafael since he didn't seem particularly fond of Isaac eitherâor
Devon,
as he was calling himself now. “But he's wanted by the police in Virginia. I've been tracking him down for weeks.”
“Wait.
You're a cop?
”
“No, I'm a private detective . . . sort of.”
Rafael grinned as he dried her hair. “I didn't know they had detectives as cute as you.”
She winked. “If you're angling to get a big tip, it's working.”
“So I guess you want to know where you can find Devon.”
“If you're willing to tell me . . .” She shrugged. “Sure!”
He wrapped the towel around her neck and patted her shoulder. “I will not only tell you where to find him, but I'll write down the address and give you directions. Wait right here.”
Stephanie grinned as she watched Rafael walk across the salon. She clapped her hands triumphantly.
An hour and a half later, Stephanie rushed back to the hotel to tell Keith what she had learned that morning. She had gotten the address for Manuel's villa in South Beach from Rafael. She raced into the hotel room, making Keith look up from his lunch at her in surprise. She was so excited that all she could do was jump up and down.
Keith stood from his chair and held up his hand. “Calm down, baby. Take a deep breath.”
She did what he said and slowly breathed in, then out. When she did, she felt a lot calmer.
“Now,” he said slowly. “Tell me what happened.”
When she finished telling Keith the story Rafael had told her, Keith stared at her. He looked absolutely stunned.
“His next mark is
a man?
”
She nodded and kicked off her high heels. “Looks like it. Rafael said they've been dating only a couple of weeks. He gave Manny and all his friends some cock and bull story about being an actor from California.”
“But a man!” Keith exclaimed, still shaking his head. He slumped back into his chair. “
Seriously?
”
“Manny may be a man, but think about it, Keith! He fits the description of all the other victims Isaac targeted. Manny's unattached and supposed to be pretty wealthy.” She tilted her head. “In fact, if Manny was straight, I probably would have tracked him down myself.”
Keith chuckled. “He
does
sound like your type.”
Stephanie leaned down and kissed him. She then sat in his lap and wrapped her arms around his neck. “Not anymore. I like average Joes who drive old, beat up SUVs and are really,
really
good in bed.”
“Well, that's much appreciated.” He laughed again then quickly grew somber. “All right, so we should probably plan on heading there tonight. Maybe we can finally get a glimpse of Isaac.”
“You mean like a . . . a
real
stakeout?”
“Sure, we can call it a stakeout, if you want.”
She untangled her arms from around his neck and instantly jumped to her feet. “Great! I have the perfect outfit!”
Keith raised an eyebrow. “Huh?”
“Just give me time to change!” she shouted before raising the hem of her dress and rushing toward their hotel bathroom. She then pulled her dress over her head and tossed it to the floor.
Chapter 31
“S
o is there any reason why you're wearing all black?” Keith asked as he glanced over at Stephanie.
She could tell he was fighting back a smile.
She was sitting in the passenger seat beside him wearing a tight-fitting, black T-shirt, black Capris, and a black beret. She gazed at him quizzically.
“You said we were going on a stakeout,” she said, tucking her hair behind her ear. “What's wrong? Did I wear the wrong outfit?”
He slowly shook his head in bemusement.
They were parked across the street behind a line of cars, not far from the wrought-iron gates of Manny's Moorish-style villa. They had been hunkered down for almost an hour, sitting in the dark, waiting for Isaac. Stephanie was starting to feel a little anxious. It was odd to know that after all this time and after all they had been through, their journey might be finally coming to an end.
“Did you ever think two months ago that you'd be doing something like this?” Keith asked quietly, reading her thoughts.
She shook her head and giggled as she gazed out the car's windshield. “Nope. I thought I was well on my way to seducing a rich financial consultant and becoming Mrs. Isaac Beardan.” She turned to Keith. “But in some ways, I'm glad things didn't turn out the way that I planned.”
“
Really?
” he asked, raising his brows.
“Yep. I mean . . . I still want my sixty thousand dollars back and for that bastard to rot in jail, but I don't think I would have been happy with Isaac, even if he turned out to be the real thing and not a conman. That life was . . .” She paused, searching for the right word. “. . . empty.
I
was empty. It had to end. You gotta grow up eventually.”
Keith leaned back in his chair. A smile slowly crept to his lips. “What brought you to this conclusion?”
“I don't know. Maybe going through all this stuff helped me to figure it out.” She shrugged. “I mean I've done more stuff in the past week than I ever thought I was capable of doing. Maybe falling in love did it too. It makes me see things differently now.”
He trailed a finger along her cheek. “You're an amazing woman, Stephanie Gibbons.”
She grinned and leaned toward him, gazing into his eyes. “It's about damn time you realized that.”
“Oh, I realized it. I just tried really hard to deny it.”
“Why?”
“Because just like you were set in your ways, so was I. It's been just me and only me for a very long time, Steph. Mike keeps ragging on me about it, but I admit that it's true. I was a single, independent guy and I liked it that way. No commitment . . . a few one-night stands . . .”
She frowned.
One night stands? OK, he's going to have to clarify that later.
“I haven't been in a serious relationship with a woman in a very long time . . . probably not ever, if I really think about it. To let someone else wedge themselves into my life isn't something that I'm used to.”
“So am I wedging into your life? And more importantly . . . Am I getting in?”
“More and more every day,” he whispered before lowering his mouth to hers.
They kissed and she felt the familiar tingle that she always felt when he touched her lips. She hoped he would continue to let her into his life, because she didn't know what she would do with herself if she had to let go of this man.
The kiss deepened and she suddenly wished that they were back in their hotel room so they could go a lot further. Too bad they were stuck in some SUV staking out Manny's house, waiting for Isaac.
Isaac! Is that Isaac?
Stephanie thought with alarm when she heard the sound of a car's engine. Her eyes fluttered open and she pushed herself away from Keith. She turned to see a black Bentley pulling up to the gate. The words
TOO HOT
were on the license plate.
“Oh, my God, Keith! I think it's him! I think we finally found him!”
She and Keith watched as the driver's-side window of the Bentley slowly lowered. And then it finally happened. After about a month on the road searching for him, she finally saw Isaac and she instantly saw red. The rage against him that had been bottled up for weeks and weeks suddenly burst to the surface. She watched as he leaned out of the car window and punched a code into the gate's wall panel. The villa's automatic gates then began to slide open.
Stephanie didn't know what had taken over her, but the instant she saw Isaac drive his Bentley inside the property, she threw open the SUV's door and bolted.
“Stephanie!” Keith whispered shrilly after her. “Stephanie, what the hell are you doing?”
She didn't answer him. She didn't have time to respond.
She wasn't sure where she had found the strength or the ability to run that fast, but she didâmaking the distance from the SUV to the front gate in less than ten seconds. She made it inside the villa's grounds just as the gate slid closed behind her.
Keith was probably thinking she had lost her mind, but there was no turning back now. She was officially trespassing, but she was on a mission. Seeing Isaac wasn't enough. She
had
to confront him.
Stephanie bent forward with her hands on her knees and took several deep breaths. That run had taken a lot out of her. She rested her hand over her rapidly beating heart and closed her eyes. After a few seconds, her heart slowed its pace. She took her final deep breath and stood upright. She squinted and looked around her.
With the exception of a few floodlights near the double doors of the villa, it was pretty dark outside. The decorative foliage on the grounds created many shadows. It made it a challenge to see around her, but the darkness was the coverage she needed if she didn't want anyone to catch her.
She watched as Isaac threw open the driver's-side door of the Bentley and stepped out. Panicked that he would see her, Stephanie instantly shifted, squatted, and hid behind a hibiscus bush and a palm tree. She pushed a few leaves aside and gawked at him.
Isaac certainly looked different. His goatee was gone, just like the shampoo guy Rafael had said. Isaac also had given up the perfectly tailored suits she remembered him wearing back in Chesterton and was now sporting a white T-shirt with a deep V collar that showed off his pecs and waxed chest. His jeans were so tight you could almost see the imprint of his balls even from this distance. He wore a garish silver chain around his neck with a giant gothic cross that dangled near his navel and a leather cuff on his wrist with silver studs.
The man was certainly a chameleon. He barely resembled the Isaac she remembered from back home.
She watched as Isaac shut his car door behind him, locked it with a loud beep, and tossed a leather jacket over his shoulder. He then casually strolled to the villa's front doors.
Stephanie crept up the winding driveway, walking past the trickling water fountain then the Bentley. Just as Isaac inserted his key and pushed opened the villa's front door, she ran behind him, giving him a hard shove that sent him careening into the marble-tiled foyer.
“What the hell?” he shouted then suddenly whipped around to face her.
Before he could get his bearings, Stephanie balled her fist and gave him the hardest punch she could musterâa right hook to his jaw. It sent him stumbling backward again.
Her hand hurt like hell, but the punch had made her proud.
“Oww!” Isaac screamed, raising his hand to his mouth. He then raised his gaze and looked up at his assailant. Isaac's brown eyes almost popped out of his head when he saw her standing there.
“
Stephanie?
” he squeaked.
“You goddamn right it's me, you son of a bitch! Where the hell is my money? Where is it?”
“Stephanie, what . . . What are you doing here?” he asked, taking several hesitant steps back. “How did you find me?”
“That's all you have to say to me?” she yelled as she stalked toward him. “What the hell do you think I'm doing here, Isaac . . . or Devon . . . or Reggie . . . or whatever the fuck your name really is? I want my money!”
He shook his head. “I don't kn-know what you're talking about, Steph. What money?”
“Bullshit! You know damn well what I'm talking about! Your conman days are over! You have messed with the wrong chick! You stole sixty thousand dollars from me! So either you give me my damn money,” she said, pointing her finger into his muscled chest, “or I'm taking it out of your hide!” She then balled her sore fist again and held it up menacingly.
Isaac's mouth fell open in astonishment.
“Why is this woman screaming at the top of her lungs in my home,
querido?
” a voice suddenly boomed from above them.
Stephanie and Isaac looked up.
A patrician-looking man who was in his late fifties or early sixties stood at the top of the double staircase with one hand perched casually on the wrought-iron banister and the other hand holding a wineglass. He slowly walked down the stairs toward them.
He was wearing a white linen shirt, tan drawstring pants, and brown leather sandals. His skin was wrinkled but he had a healthy tan. His white hair was cropped short. When he descended the last riser, Stephanie saw that he barely stood five feet tall.
“Why is this woman here?” he asked Isaac. He then glanced at Stephanie.
“I have no idea, darling,” Isaac said, holding his mouth again.
Stephanie's brows furrowed angrily.
“She followed me inside. She just started hitting me for no reason.”
“No reason?”
Stephanie screeched. “You know damn well why I hit you, Isaac! You're lucky that's all I did!”
“Manny, you stay here with her, while I call the police,” Isaac said as he took a few steps across the foyer. “I want her arrested.”
“Yes, Isaac, call the damn police!” Stephanie shouted. “And while you're at it tell them about the money you stole from me, the diamonds you stole from that other woman in Maryland, and all the other women you seduced to get
their
money!”
Manny gazed at Stephanie, absolutely stunned. “Devon, what is she talking about?” He narrowed his eyes at Stephanie. “And why do you keep calling him Isaac?”
“I'm calling him Isaac because that's the name he gave me when we were dating. But that's not his real name. Devon isn't his real name either. He always changes his name when he's running a new con.”
“What?”
Isaac exclaimed, looking horrified by her accusation. If she wasn't so angry she would have laughed at his shoddy performance. “She's delusional, baby!”
“Manny,” Stephanie said, earnestly gazing at the short man, “he's conning you now just like he conned me a little more than a month ago. I know now that he's done this so many times that even he has probably lost count.”
“Lies!” Isaac shouted. “All lies, Manny! This woman is insane!”
“It took weeks to track him down and trace him here,” Stephanie continued. “He stole my money. He told me his name was Isaac Beardan and that he was a financial planner. He told me lie after lie after lie. He gained my trust and he stole my savings.”
Manny seemed to study her, gauging whether she was telling the truth.
“Baby, you're not actually listening to this crap, are you?” Isaac yelled, pointing at her. “You wouldn't take her word over mine, would you?”
Manny stayed silent.
“I have no idea who this woman is or why she's saying these things!” Isaac insisted, feigning being hurt. “You have to believe me, baby! I've never seen her before in my entire life before today! Sheâ”
“So why did you call her Stephanie?” Manny asked quietly, turning his penetrating gaze back to Isaac.
Isaac paused. “Wha-what?”
“Before I came downstairs, I overheard you call her Stephanie.” He turned to look at Stephanie and pursed his lips. “That
is
your name, isn't it?”
She nodded. “Yes, Stephanie Gibbons.”
Manny glared at Isaac. “How did you know her name,
querido,
if you two have never met before?”
Isaac's face clouded with alarm. “Umm, I . . . Well, Iâ”
“Don't lie to me,” Manny said firmly, holding up an index finger in warning. “Just answer my question. Do you know this woman? Did you steal money from her?”
Isaac took a deep breath. He looked at Manny then looked at Stephanie then back at Manny again. He knew when he was cornered. His shoulders slumped. “Honey, let me explain.”
Manny slowly closed his eyes. “That's all the explanation I need,” he said, shaking his head. “Miss Gibbons, would you please follow me?
Querido,
you can come too.”
Manny then slowly walked toward a room adjacent to the foyer. He took a sip from his glass as he went. The soft flap of his sandals echoed off the marble floor in the foyer.
Stephanie and Isaac glanced at one another in surprise. Manny seemed to be taking the news about Isaac being a conman pretty well. Stephanie hadn't expected him to start screaming and throwing thingsâwhich was definitely more her styleâbut she hadn't expected this subdued reaction either.
She followed Manny into the adjacent room, which turned out to be a home office. Isaac trailed behind her.
The space was opulently decorated with lush leather furniture and floor-to-ceiling wooden bookshelves filled with volumes upon volumes of books. All the books had antiqued leather and gold binding that made them look like they should be on the auction block at Christie's or Sotheby's. Several expensive-looking pieces of art hung on the walls and a few small sculptures decorated the room.