"Miss Richman?"
"Yes," she replied, not recognizing the voice.
"My name is Detective Ovens. I'm calling from the 46th Precinct in New York. I was wondering if you could tell me where your brother, Sean, is. Have you heard from him?"
"What? My brother, Sean? No. Why? What happened?"
"He's wanted for questioning in an armed robbery in Missouri."
"Oh, my God. Are you serious?"
"Yes, ma'am. If you're helping him, I need to know. I need you to turn him in."
"Oh, I can assure you that I'm not helping him, Detective Ovens. First of all, I'm in Paris right now on business, and secondly, I haven't spoken to my brother in five years."
"I spoke with your parents. They weren't very cooperative."
"They're not nice people, Detective."
"You've been sending them money."
"How do you know that?"
"It's my job to know. It seems that your brother headed here to New York. I'm working with other investigators. When are you returning to the city?"
"Tomorrow. Late evening."
"Can I leave you my number for you to call me?"
She looked around the bathroom.
"I don't have a pen. Can you text me the number? I don't think there's anything more I can help you with though."
"I'll determine that when we meet. You're sure that he wouldn't come to see you? Maybe try to get money from you?"
"No. He hates me."
"Those are harsh words."
"His treatment was harsher. I'm sorry, but I can't help you."
She disconnected the call then felt her gut clench and her heart race. She needed to get home. The perfect wonderful time with Hudson and Jagger was over. Reality came crashing back. Now here she was again, trying to separate herself from a family with bad intentions, and specifically, a brother wanted by the law. How was this going to affect her life? Could he cause her trouble? Could he actually try to contact her for help? She could lose her job. She could go to jail for aiding and abetting, even though she did no such thing. Oh, my God, my life will never improve. They'll always have control of me. They'll always bring me down.
The knock on the door frightened her.
"I'll be right out," she said, and then threw the dress over her head, zipped up the back best she could, and ran her fingers through her hair. She saw the tube of toothpaste on the counter and quickly spread some onto her finger as a makeshift toothbrush. She rubbed it in then spit it out, nearly gagging.
She fixed herself best she could, adjusted her boobs into the tight bodice, and took a deep breath.
Back to reality.
"Is everything okay?" Hudson asked as Tia Rose emerged from the bathroom. She was dressed and she looked like an angel.
"Yes. I need to go. Something came up."
Jagger grabbed her hand and pulled her against his chest. He was staring down into her eyes. She had no shoes on and she looked so petite and feminine.
"Tell me there's not another man."
"Please, Jagger. I need to go. This is over."
He covered her mouth and kissed her deeply. Hudson felt his cock grow hard just watching. They were good together. Scratch that, they were perfect. What could he do to get her to stay or at least get her tell them how to contact her?
Jagger released her lips and hugged her.
"Can I give you our card? Maybe think about calling us?" he asked.
He pulled it out and placed it into her hand as she shook her head, no.
Hudson pulled her into his arms next.
He stared down into her gorgeous green eyes. His gut clenched. He was overwhelmed with a feeling of possessiveness and regret.
"Tell me you'll call us."
"Please, Hudson. Don't make this more difficult than it is. It's better this way. I need to go."
She was pulling from his arms, and he pulled her back and kissed her deeply. When he finally let her go, he could see the tears in her eyes, and her cell phone was ringing again.
Was she involved with someone else? He never asked her. She asked him, and of course, he told her no. They stood there and watched her leave. As the door closed, Jagger shook his head.
"She was fucking perfect, Hudson. Perfect."
"I know. But we can't force her to stay, to tell us who she really is, and where she lives."
Jagger ran his hands through his hair then walked toward the bed. He pulled on his jeans and then stopped.
"You don't have any idea where she lives?"
Hudson shook his head. He was angry. He should try to stop her again, but then she may get scared. He didn't want to scare her. Something in her eyes told him she was untrusting and that this whole weekend was not a normal thing for her. God, he hoped it wasn't. He didn't want to think about her with someone else.
"Hey, is this yours?" Jagger asked, holding out a small piece of paper.
"What is it?" Hudson took it and looked at it.
"A piece of a receipt of some kind. For a money transfer."
"No. It's not mine. It says to Missouri. Of course the name of the sender's missing."
"Maybe it's Tia Rose's. Maybe that's where she's from?"
Hudson felt the excitement and then the need to respect her wishes.
"I don't think she's from there. We can't do anything about it. She made her decision. She left us. It's over. I'm going to go shower."
Hudson left the room, and as he started the shower and grabbed the soap, he closed his eyes and envisioned her. She had been the most beautiful woman he had ever met. How could he let her go? How could he have been so stupid to have not asked her more questions?
Because I fear opening up my heart to any woman. None of them can be trusted. None had proven they wanted his love or his heart, only his money.
Chapter 7
"You worthless bitch! Where's the money?" her father screamed at her over the telephone. She was at work and trying to get over the fact that someone broke into her apartment. The police thought that it may have been her brother, but the small safe she had bolted down in her closet wasn't even tampered with. Instead, her lingerie, her entire bedroom, including her drawing desk, computer and supplies were.
"I sent you the thousand dollars."
"Bullshit! You're holding out. Now you don't want to pay us? You think you're too good. We took care of you. You owe us for putting up with your fat, disgusting self."
The tears stung her eyes. When were her parents name-calling and insults going to not affect her? When?
"It can't be. I did send it. I have five thousand dollars in that account."
"Five thousand and you only send us one? If you were here right now, Tia, I'd give you an ass whipping and you'd be damn sure to show me respect. Send us the money and make it two thousand from now on."
He hung up the phone. His voice and his threats lingered in her mind. She tried to stop the shaking. She was almost as upset as when the detectives asked her if she had an ex-boyfriend or lover who was stalking her. Maybe someone she met that didn't want her out of his life. She mentioned Salvador. She had thought about Hudson and Jagger. No way. They weren't those kind of men. But she did have to ask herself the question, which only led to her missing them, and the safety of their arms. She made her decision. Now she had to live with it.
Her father frightened her even more so than her brother.
She pulled her personal account information up on the bank computer. She then saw that her savings account was still secure, and her mere twenty-two thousand dollars and twenty cents were still there. She sighed in relief. Not that it was much, but it was hers.
She then opened up the small account she set up to do direct money transfers to Western union through her account to her parents' account. As she logged in and saw the balance, she was shocked. It was at zero. Three phone calls later and then one to the police, she realized she had been robbed. Detective Owens said that if it were her brother or someone else who ransacked her apartment and took any leftover receipts that they could then steal the money from the account.
The bank was trying to trace the money, but it was a Saturday, and the bank would be closing soon. Monday could give more answers.
She then had to withdraw a thousand dollars, not two, from her savings to a new direct transfer account. She refused to send the man two thousand dollars. She just couldn't survive if she kept that up once a month. That was like a house mortgage.
At least work was going well. She had impressed the board with her new ideas, and was finalizing the fall catalogue for publishing. She was finally where she belonged and getting the recognition she felt she deserved. But even now, with her work a success, she had an even greater hollow feeling inside.
She wished she could have stayed in Paris with Hudson and Jagger forever.
"Okay, so let me get this straight. Hudson, you meet this sexy, full-figured goddess, the answer to your fantasies, in Paris and sleep with her. Then, while you're running late from a meeting, Jagger is asleep in the hotel room with jet lag, and this woman mistakes him for you?" Jett asked.