Deceiving Bella: Book Eleven In The Bodyguards Of L.A. County Series Read online

  Reed grunted again as he went after the tape on the next box.

  “This is where it gets good, buddy, real good. Right before Walter bit it, he was telling Upshaw how he was worrying about one of his former witnesses who left WITSEC several years ago. Walter had been trying to track him down to check in with him. Nicoli Fuckin’ Caparelli.”

  Reed froze when he heard the name.

  “You listening to me, boss? Nicoli Caparelli. All these years we were working with Walt and he knows Nicoli Caparelli. Never said a damn thing. Those Marshals. I’m tellin’ you.”

  Reed relaxed his jaw and set down the box cutter. “Why are you telling me this?”

  “Why am I telling you this? Why am I telling you this?” Joey laughed incredulously. “Did we not spend almost a decade of our lives trying to take down the Caparellis?”

  Reed clenched his jaw again. “We’re out of it.”

  “Bullshit. You and I both know their organization is growing stronger every day, and Alfeo’s gonna be out of the big house in less than three-and-a-half months.”

  Reed felt his nostrils flare as he gripped the side of the cardboard. “Not my problem.”

  “Right. Not your problem. Upshaw mentioned two different identities Nicoli used while he was in the program, and you can bet your sweet ass they’re branded on my brain. He’s more than likely still using one of them.”

  “Hopefully Upshaw finds Nicoli before his brother does, or he’s a dead man.”

  “Upshaw’s going to do a search—do Walter one last solid and make sure his old witness is safe and sound.”

  There was a long silence, and Reed knew where this was going.

  Joey said, “We could find him first—”

  “No.”

  “Reed—”

  “No,” he said, giving a bad-tempered push to the box in front of him before he turned away.

  “We can do this, man.”

  “Do what exactly? What are we going to do, Joey? NYPD shut down our unit; the investigation’s closed.”

  “So what? When has that ever stopped us?”

  “There’s no ‘us’ anymore.” He paced to the bathroom and back. “We’re finished with this.”

  “Since when does Mad Dog McKinley let a little red tape get in the way? We’ll work the angles.”

  He shook his head. “You’re Vice now and I’m close protection. In another state. Across the country.”

  “After what they did to your pops, to your grandpops and uncle? We’ve got the information. Let’s see what we can do with it, where we can make this go.”

  Reed had come to terms with the fact that he would never pay the Caparellis back for slaughtering his family—or he was trying to come to terms. “I’ve let it go, Joe—”

  “Bull.”

  “I’ve let it go,” he repeated. His marrow-deep craving for revenge, for justice had ruled his every thought and move for the last decade, eating him alive until there was nothing left of him but a shell of who he’d once been. “We’ve both got a couple of ugly scars that say we’re done.” He gave the box another solid shove, no longer interested in settling in, and walked downstairs, stopping in his tracks as he stared at the huge-ass dog standing in the middle of his empty living room. “Uh, I’ve gotta go.”

  “Reed—”

  “I’ll call you later.” He hung up, eyeing the fawn-colored Great Dane as he shoved his phone in his back pocket, noting the pink bandana tied around the animal’s neck and her color-coordinated nails. Why were people so weird around here? “Nice doggy,” he said from the last step. “Nice—”

  “Lucy,” someone hissed in a whisper outside Reed’s half-open front door. “Lucy, come here.”

  He held out his hand, hoping the dog would give him a sniff instead of turn him into a snack. His shoulders relaxed when the sweet-eyed animal stepped closer and licked his fingers.

  “Lucy—”

  “Your dog’s in here,” Reed called.

  A black-haired goddess peeked her head around the door. “I’m so sorry.” She stepped all the way inside wearing a pale blue above-the-knee spaghetti-strap sundress.

  Reed’s gaze trailed over amazing features: sun-kissed skin, big brown eyes, high cheekbones, full, glossy lips, mile-long toned legs. Lucy’s owner was spectacular. “It’s no problem.” He stroked his hand along the dog.

  High-heeled sandals slapped against the polished wood floor as the beauty moved closer and perfume, something expensive and sexy, filled his nose. “Lucy doesn’t usually do stuff like this. Never, actually.”

  “I guess that’s what I get for leaving my door open.”

  She flashed him a hesitant smile. “Still, it’s rude.” She cleared her throat as she extended her hand. “I’m Bella.”

  He gripped her soft skin. “Reed.”

  “Reed,” she repeated before she let him go. “I’m your neighbor. The next building over—first unit closest on your end.” She pointed to the condo he could just make out from his current angle at the window. Barely thirty feet separated their properties.

  “Good to know.” He went back to petting the dog that was now leaning her weight against the top of his thigh. “Lucy’s a big girl.”

  “Yes, but she’s sweet—very gentle. She’s just finished her training as a therapy dog.”

  He studied his new neighbor again, noting that her legs were every man’s dream, even if she was relatively short: five-four, five-five at the most. Lucy had to outweigh her by a good fifty or sixty pounds—maybe more. “How old?”

  “Uh, she’s just about one.”

  Reed’s eyes went huge. “She’s a puppy?”

  She flashed him a grin, far less hesitant with her smile this time. “If you can believe it, I used to be able to hold her in my palms. They grow fast.” She stepped closer, stroking the pup with a perfectly manicured hand. “We should get out of your way. I’m sorry again for just barging in.”

  He shrugged. “It’s no big deal.”

  “Come on, Lucy.” She turned toward the exit. “Let’s go home.” Bella stopped and looked over her shoulder, her cascade of shiny hair following her movements. “Welcome to the neighborhood, by the way.”

  “Thanks.”

  “Knock. Knock.” Wren Campbell gave a quick rap of her knuckles to the doorframe and walked in, hugely pregnant yet professionally sleek in heels and a dress, before Bella could make it out the door. “It’s a full house in here.”

  Reed barely held back a sigh as he glanced at the notebook and measuring tape Wren held. He’d been hoping she’d forgotten about their afternoon interior design consultation she’d bullied him into when they bumped into each other at Ethan Cooke Security last week. “Hey, Wren.”

  “Hey.” She grinned and bent at the waist. “Lucy. Hi, sweetie.”

  Lucy abandoned Bella and hurried over to Wren.

  Reed shoved his hands in his pockets while Wren cooed and made kissy noises at the dog. “It looks like you’ve already met my neighbors.”

  Wren gave Lucy a thorough petting. “It’s a small world, really. You work for Ethan, and Bella’s one of my best friends.”

  Bella blinked as she looked at Reed. “You work for Ethan?”

  He nodded as he rocked back on his heels. The day just kept getting more and more interesting.

  “Reed’s one of my brother’s lean, mean fighting machines.” She grinned, sending him a saucy wink as she closed the distance between herself and Bella. “I didn’t realize I was going to run into you.”

  Bella enveloped her in a hug. “Lucy decided to stop in without an invitation.” She sent Reed a quick apologetic smile before she returned her attention to her pal. “Will I see you at yoga tomorrow?”

  “You might have to roll me around the studio, but I’ll be there with the rest of you girls.”

  Bella laughed. “You look amazing.”

  Wren shook her head. “I’ve got this pregnancy mask thing going on.” She gestured to her face.

  “Melasma,” B
ella said as she touched Wren’s cheeks and forehead with gentle fingers. “It’s a temporary condition. Keep up with the sunblock. If you come by my office, I’ll show you a few tricks with concealer. And we can do a facial.” Bella’s phone dinged, and she peeked at the screen and dismissed it.

  “Will it help with this horrible pigmentation?”

  “Not really, but it will feel great.”

  “Sold.”

  Bella and Wren grinned at each other.

  “I’m booked tomorrow,” Bella continued, “but if you come in around eight, before we open, I’ll get you taken care of.”

  “I’ll be there.”

  Reed cleared his throat, hoping the girl talk going on in his living room was just about finished. Pregnancy and facials had been covered. He feared cramps, placentas, or something equally as horrifying might be next.

  Wren and Bella looked at him.

  “I should go,” Bella said. “Reed, it was nice to meet you. Wren, I’ll see you tomorrow.” She tossed them a wave and left with her huge dog.

  “Well.” Wren settled her hand on her belly as she looked from Reed to his empty apartment. “It looks like we’ve got some work to do in here.”

  “I’m renting, so I really don’t need an interior decorator.”

  Wren blinked and smiled politely. “Of course you do. This place will be a masterpiece by the time I’m finished.” She narrowed her eyes as she studied him. “Masculine. Intense. Basic. I’m seeing brown leather couches for this room here, maybe strong, muted tones for accents.”

  He rubbed at the back of his neck, in way over his head. “Uh—”

  “I’ll just take some measurements and come by the office with my mock-ups.”

  How was he supposed to say no to his boss’s sister and one of his coworkers’ wives? This was clearly a woman serious about design. “Sounds great.”

  “This is a wonderful complex. I know Bella loves living here.”

  He could still smell his new neighbor’s perfume wafting on the air. “She does your makeup?”

  “Sometimes.” Wren got to work with her tape measure by the window. “She’s a medical aesthetician.”

  He had no idea what that was. “Huh.”

  “She’s gorgeous and smart.” She turned with her pad and pen in hand. “And single. Are you interested?”

  Ethan’s sister was also direct. “Uh,” was all he said as he held her gaze, not liking the twinkle that had come into her eyes. Bella with the big dog was phenomenal…and definitely not his type. She looked like she’d stepped out of a magazine. Her hair and makeup were perfect—Beverly Hills all the way. He liked someone with a little more grit. Someone who could kick his ass in the boxing ring. “I’m going to get the rest of my stuff from my truck.”

  Wren grinned. “Sure.”

  He scratched his head, growing more uncomfortable by the second.

  “I’ll be out of your way in just a few minutes,” she said.

  He hoped so. “Take your time.” He walked outside into the perpetual California sunshine, glancing toward Bella’s condo and the white VW convertible Bug in her designated parking spot. “Definitely not my type.”

  ~~~~

  Bella shut herself inside and leaned against the door as she slid her feet from her Jimmy Choos, no longer concerned about Lucy booking it into her sexy new neighbor’s home without an invitation. Maybe he had killer blue eyes and broad shoulders to die for, but that was the least of her problems right now. She set her purse, the latest design from the Abby Harris line, on her entryway table and pulled her phone from the front pocket, nibbling her lip as she read the text she’d received moments ago while she spoke to Wren.

  Give me a call when you can.

  She sighed, not so sure she wanted to talk to Jed. Once or twice a month, her PI texted her a similar message—courtesy updates that always got her hopes up but never led anywhere. “Not this time. Not today,” she assured herself as she searched her contact list for his private line. Five months ago, she’d finally decided to move forward and track down her father after so many years. Now that Mom was gone, she needed to find him, to know why he left them without any explanations.

  Taking a deep breath, she selected Jed’s number, pretending her heart rate hadn’t just kicked up a notch as she listened to the ringing in her ear.

  “Hey, Bella.”

  “Hey.” She swallowed, loosening the tightness in her throat. “I just got your text.”

  “Thanks for giving me a call. I’m happy to report that I actually have some good news. I think we’ve got him. It took some digging, but I think I found your father.”

  “You found him,” she mumbled, hurrying over to the couch and settling herself on the biscuit-colored cushion before her legs had a chance to give out. “Are you sure?”

  “I had to dig pretty deep—bend a few rules—but I’ve got him. He likes to stay off the map—no driver’s license—only a picture ID from Nebraska. He rents his home, pays cash for most everything. I found a bank account he opened about nine months ago. There’s been some recent activity.”

  She gripped the phone in one hand and extended her opposite arm to the coffee table, tracing the chunky white candle in frantic circles. “You’re sure it’s him?”

  “As sure as I can be without swabbing for DNA. There wasn’t much of a paper trail to follow, but his age fits. The picture you gave me of the two of you matches up fairly well if you add about twenty years.”

  She gained her feet and sat just as quickly, realizing her knees had indeed turned to Jell-O. “You saw him? You saw my dad?”

  “Yeah, at his house—”

  “You went to Nebraska?”

  “No. He’s in California—up in Reseda. That’s where I found the bank account.”

  “Reseda?”

  “About an hour north of the Palisades. I’ll email his information.”

  She blinked rapidly as tears filled her eyes. She’d been waiting for this, wanting this for so long, and now it was happening. “I don’t know how to thank you.”

  “I’m glad I could give you a hand.”

  She nodded to no one. “Thank you, Jed. Are you sure I can’t pay you?”

  “A friend of Ethan’s is a friend of mine. Maybe we can grab a drink sometime.”

  Jed was handsome but not necessarily the GQ-type she was typically attracted to. But he’d just found her father. “Sure. That would be nice.”

  “I’ll send the information over now.”

  “I appreciate it.”

  “Bye.”

  “Bye.” Hanging up, she dropped her phone and pressed her face into her trembling hands. “Oh my God.” Nearly twenty-one years. She’d waited over two decades.

  Her phone dinged, startling her. She opened Jed’s email, studying the address. “Reseda,” she whispered, absently petting Lucy as her puppy sniffed at Bella’s hair. “He’s in Reseda, Lucy. For months he’s been so close, and I had no idea.” She buried her face in the dog’s short, soft coat, taking the comfort her best friend offered as she tried to believe that this was actually real.

  Chapter Three

  Bella sat in her car, gripping the steering wheel while she stared at the white ranch-style house to her left. She bobbed her leg up and down as heat blasted from the vents, warming her chilly skin despite the balmy seventy degrees on the other side of the window. The sun shined bright and the trees swayed in the breeze while a young couple strolled down the sidewalk in the rougher section of town. Life moved on around her, yet Bella was stuck in the past as her tired eyes stayed glued to the small home where her father currently lived.

  For much of last night, she’d lain awake, unable to shut down her mind. Her thoughts had raced, remembering Daddy taking her to the library or the park and reading with her before bed. Her happy childhood had ended the morning she pulled back her Hello Kitty covers and realized Dad was gone. Days later, Mom had strapped Bella into her booster seat in the old Honda hatchback, pulling a tiny U-Haul behind
them as they left Ohio. And nothing had ever been the same. There had never been any explanations, just that Dad had to go. He’d ripped her life apart and she wanted answers.

  She reached for the door handle and snatched her hand back, clutching the steering wheel again. “What are you doing?” she muttered, unable to make herself move. Was she really going to knock on his door? What would she say? “Hey, I’m your daughter. Where the hell have you been?”

  She shook her head and turned over the ignition, then shut it off just as quickly. No matter what, she needed to see her father. Steeling herself, she tossed her sunglasses on the passenger seat and got out, smoothing her purple knee-length dress as she walked up the steps to the painted black door.

  With a deep breath, she balled her fist, hesitating, then knocked, closing her eyes momentarily as her stomach began to roil. Long moments passed in pure torture while she waited, watching the curtain in the window to her right move before the door finally opened to a man blinking, clearly surprised.

  “Bella.”

  “Daddy,” she heard herself whisper as she stared into brown eyes so much like her own. He looked different—older, yet so much the same. His once black hair was mostly gray, and he had crow’s feet and a few deep wrinkles among the numerous fine lines. She remembered him being much taller, more muscular, but this was definitely him.

  “Bella,” he repeated.

  She opened her mouth and closed it, nodding when she couldn’t find her words.

  He looked around, sliding his gaze from left to right as the strong scent of cigarette smoke wafted from the house.

  “I found you,” she finally said, waiting for him to smile or pull her close in a hug, the way she’d fantasized their reunion more times than she could count. “I, um, I wanted to see you.” She shifted in her strappy heels as each second passing became more and more awkward. “I was wondering… Where have you… Can I come in?”

  He held her gaze, then finally stepped back and opened the door wider.

  “Thank you.” She walked inside, glancing around the dim space at the dark emerald curtains closed over the windows and the cheap, simple furnishings in the small living room area. There were no pictures on the yellowed walls, no décor to speak of at all, nothing that made this house a home.