Page 45 of Enigma: An Isaac Retelling
I don’t recognize my voice when I ask, “How bad is the damage?” I dump the bag of takeout outside of Isabelle’s door, then race for the elevator bank when Hunter murmurs, “You’ll need more than a blank check to fix all her cracks.”
17
Parker, one of my West Coast security personnel, curls his hand around the doorknob of a suite in a private hospital on the outskirts of Nevada. He’s uneased about my request but aware nothing will postpone it, so he stopped objecting five miles from the remote airstrip I arrived at over an hour ago. “The nurses have her heavily sedated. She may not be responsive.”
I jerk up my chin, advising I understand what I’m walking toward before nudging my head to the door, requesting for him to open it. The longer he delays this, the more chance my visit will be witnessed by someone who could detrimentally affect my empire. Since it is already racing toward an industry I never wanted it cloaked by, this needs to be a quick visit.
When Parker slings open the door, I almost strangle the fluffy rabbit I’m clutching. Callie’s injuries aren’t superficial. Her leg is in plaster, most of her head is covered by a bandage, and her face is mottled with bruises.
I don’t care what her medical records state, she didnotfall down a set of stairs. The marks on her face are similar to the injuries CJ Petretti suffered when I was forced to fight him or lose Ophelia forever. She was beaten, and if my intuition is anything to go by, I know who her culprit is. Unlike Henry, Vladimir rules with cruel, undermining tactics. He doesn’t just loathe his daughters, though. His sons are the bane of his existence as well.
I lift my chin when Parker mutters, “I’ll keep watch.”
Since he has the stagger of a police officer, our arrival was only eyeballed by two security guards in the foyer. They didn’t approach us to identify if the Glock Parker is carrying is registered. With Hunter taking care of surveillance, my visit will only be documented in person. There is no flight manifest to scrutinize and no hotel room receipts. As far as anyone is concerned, Isaac Holt is in heavy negotiations with a landowner in Miami.
The churns of my stomach ramp up when my entrance into Callie’s room is done without scrutiny. There’s no crying mother at her side, nor are any of her siblings maintaining a bedside vigil. She’s alone, fighting the world, and she isn’t even three yet. Her birthday is a little over two months away.
Callie whimpers in her sleep when I tuck the bunny I brought her into her side before pulling up the bedding. She has Isabelle’s dark hair, but hers is a little lighter, the hours she clearly spends in the sun both darkening her skin and highlighting her hair.
When I pull strands of mousy brown hair away from her face, my heart beats out a funky tune. There’s a ring imprint on her right cheek. It’s from a family crest, but it isn’t the one I was anticipating. Although the P could be mistaken for Popov, there’s only one family who wears their emblem on custom jewelry pieces. The Petrettis.
As my mind scrambles to work out how the Petrettis are linked to this, I yank my cell phone out of my pocket. It isn’t my everyday one. It’s the one I use when I don’t want my movements traced.
Hunter answers two rings later. “Boss.”
“I need you to contact Jae…”
I pause when he says my name. It’s more fretful this time around than helpful. “Your registration as a bidder is already causing a stir, so bringing in an outsider could double the whispers.” I hear his fingers work his keyboard a million miles an hour. “The pediatric doctor at Callie’s hospital comes highly recommended. The board at Ravenshoe Private has been endeavoring to secure her for years.”
His commentary loosens the knot in my stomach, but it doesn’t entirely remove it. “I want someone here I trust.”
“Even if it doubles the asking price?”
“Yes,” I reply through a tight jaw, unappreciative of his bartering. He needs to remember he works for me, not the other way around. I made many decisions for my empire long before he became a part of my team, and I will continue making them until I take my final breath. “The auction estimate increased from two hundred thousand to half a million when my registration was approved.”
I hear Hunter scrub at his beard as he says, “Because they want what you want.”
“Precisely. And that is why I can’t let them win. If I fail once, all my successes will be overlooked.”
“Isaac…” He pauses, breathes heavily out of his nose, then tries again. “I get where you’re coming from, I read the medical reports. It makes me sick to my fucking stomach, but if you show too much interest in this case, not only will Vladimir push the reserve through the roof, he will want to know why you’re obsessed with this one auction item.”
He huffs like I’m being unreasonable when I reply, “That won’t happen if we maintain a rational thought process.” I lower my voice when my deep timbre causes Callie to stir. “These men are not smart, Hunter. It doesn’t take a brilliant mind to profit from drugs, the prostitution conglomerate, or child trafficking. We can outsmart them. I just need you to focus on Callie instead of me. I can take care of myself.”
He waits a beat before the whoosh of his head bob sounds down the line. “This won’t be the first time we will send Jae on an interstate recruitment drive. Don’t see it being the last.” My thankful smirk stays on my face for barely a second before he switches it out for a snarl. “While we wait for the good doctor to arrive, we need to lay out traps to ensure your tracks aren’t found. Hernandez won’t budge from his $13.4 million asking price…” His delay both frustrates and excites me. Hunter only ever brings out the dramatics when he has a big fish on the hook. “But he’s willing to throw in a hamlet in Paris or an unknown dance club ten miles out from the Las Vegas strip. It is a money pit, but it presents the perfect excuse for you to spend a couple of days in Nevada.”
My piqued interests are heard in my tone. “How soon can he process the sale?”
“For cash, we could close within a week.”
I stray my eyes back to Callie, confident about what needs to be done and happy to take a loss for it to occur. “Have Regan forward me the sale contract. I’ll have it signed and endorsed by close of business today.” I stop Hunter from disconnecting our call by shouting his name when he hums in agreement. “Process the sale under a corporate entity but ensure the right people know who the true purchaser is. If Vladimir questions my interest, we could excuse an infatuation with Vegas royalty for it. There’s no better way to disarm a mobster than to stroke his ego.”
Hunter’s laugh is interrupted by Parker knocking on the door. Only his head pops into Callie’s room when I signal for him to enter. “We have a situation.” He nudges his head to the corridor, requesting to talk outside of Callie’s room.
Although she appears fast asleep, I understand Parker’s objective. I learned about Nicholas being conceived in a test tube to save my life and the consequences it caused my parents’ marriage from the times I pretended to be asleep during my numerous hospital stays. Because, at the time, I was unaware my mother valued possessions more than she did her family, I kept quiet on the other things I discovered until it was too late for my father. He could have known about her affair with a plastic surgeon years earlier if I hadn’t believed in fairy tales.
“What is it?” I ask Parker when he fidgets on the spot like a schoolgirl spotting her idol. The last time I saw him fiddle this much was when I scribbled his yearly salary onto a piece of paper. He’s usually a reserved man, but not even a trust-fund baby can act nonchalant when they see how well I pay my staff.
Although my comment was about a schoolgirl, I realize I’m not far off the mark when Parker says, “I just got word Callie’s mother’s body has been found.” The way he articulates himself leaves no doubt she isn’t alive, but I am surprised by what he says next. “Although her body had several ligature marks, bruises, and she was badly malnourished, the coroner has ruled that her death is not suspicious.”
