you will.’ He subjected her to a raking appraisal, noting the fine bone structure, a slenderness that was almost too lean. How many meals had she missed in the past? ‘Spence will drive you there.’
She opened her mouth to protest, then closed it again.
His expression remained unchanged. ‘It’s his job description.’ Only part of it. He extracted a cellphone from his jacket pocket and handed it to her. ‘Yours. The essential numbers are already programmed in on speed-dial.’
Kayla thrust it into her shoulder bag, and looked in silent askance as he withdrew a sheaf of papers.
‘Your signature is required on the marriage-licence application.’
Duardo handed her a pen, indicated where she should sign, then handed her a legal document. ‘A copy of the pre-nuptial agreement for you to read. You have an appointment with my lawyer at midday to sign the original.’
Oh, my. She felt her stomach twist into a painful knot. All legalities taken care of. Somehow she didn’t feel inclined to thank him.
Calm, she had to remain calm. ‘I imagine you’ve arranged a date for this marriage?’
‘Tomorrow. A Celebrant will conduct the ceremony here at the house.’
‘Tomorrow.’ She swallowed the sudden lump that had formed in her throat.
He withdrew his wallet, extracted several notes and handed them to her. ‘I’ll organize a bank account and charge-card in your name this morning. Spence will ensure you tend to the necessary paperwork.’
‘You’re not afraid I might abscond?’ The query emerged with more flippancy than she intended, and his gaze narrowed fractionally.
‘Be warned, you wouldn’t get far.’
A chill settled deep in her bones. ‘I made a deal,’ she voiced quietly. ‘There’s too much at stake for me not to honour it.’
Duardo collected his briefcase in one hand and picked up his laptop. ‘I’ll see you tonight.’
‘Late,’ Kayla qualified, and at his raised eyebrow she added in explanation, ‘Jacob. Hospital.’
‘Spence will drop you there this afternoon.’
‘I can use public transport.’
‘But you won’t.’ There was an underlying hint of steel apparent, which she chose to ignore.
‘Why not?’ Besides, she wanted some degree of independence.
His eyes seared hers. ‘You want to draw battle lines?’
Her head tilted a little as she held his gaze. ‘Yes.’
‘We’ll discuss issues over dinner.’
‘Let’s do that.’ Without a further word she made her way downstairs, aware he descended them at her side, and she didn’t so much as spare him a glance as they reached the foyer and went in different directions.
Kayla found the informal dining room, and greeted the hovering Maria with a smile.
Orange juice, coffee, cereal, fruit, eggs benedict…it was a veritable feast. Her appetite, which had taken a dive, was sufficiently tempted to have a little of each.
For years, breakfast had been a gulp-and-go affair as she inevitably raced to meet the train. To sit down and savour food without the immediate need to rush proved something of a rarity.
Spence appeared as she drained the last of her coffee, and she grabbed her bag and followed him out to the four-wheel-drive.
They struck peak-hour traffic, which slowed their progress down, and although she had a host of questions, she asked only one. ‘Did you know Duardo in New York?’
An easy smile parted his mouth. ‘For a number of years. When I expressed a desire to move to Australia, he suggested I take care of security for him.’
Had they worked the streets together and kept one step ahead of the law? Moved on and up by the skin of their teeth and sheer luck before exchanging the shady deals for legitimate ones? Taking risks no sensible person would touch, gambling both life and limb in the driven desire to succeed?
That Duardo Alvarez had reached the pinnacle of success was no mean feat.
‘Ensuring his life runs smoothly.’ It was a statement, not a query, and Spence chuckled.
‘I guess you could say that.’
Security covered a whole range of possibilities, of which bodyguard and driver were only two.
It was almost eight-thirty when Spence drew the four-wheel-drive into the hospital’s main entrance. ‘Meet me here in three quarters of an hour. Duardo suggested we undertake a shopping expedition until your midday appointment with the lawyer.’
Shopping? We? ‘You’re joking, right?’
His gaze remained steady. ‘You have a problem with me accompanying you?’
Oh, my. ‘Not if you’re authorised to use Duardo’s credit card.’ Kayla checked her watch, then offered a dazzling smile. ‘Nine-fifteen.’
It took only minutes to reach the upper floor and locate Jacob’s room, a single suite with a view from the window.
‘Hi.’ Kayla crossed to the bed and brushed her lips to his forehead.
‘Right back at you.’
His voice was drowsy with the faint huskiness of sedation, and her heart ached for him.
He was all she had. The one person who’d been there for her, unconditionally, since their mother’s death.
Together they’d shared the grief, weathered the despair and fought to regain a modicum of dignity through Benjamin’s fall from grace.
And afterwards, when the grim reality of poverty made itself felt, Jacob had given up everything…as she had…to work every waking hour in an effort to survive.
She noted the bruises to his jaw, his cheek…much more noticeable than they had been last night. How many more were there, marring his young body?
His leg…his shattered knee. It sickened her to think of the surgery he had to undergo, and she worried if it would be totally successful. If he’d be left with a limp…not be able to run or play sport.
His welfare brought vividly to mind just what Duardo’s proposition meant in real terms. And why she’d accepted it.
‘How are you feeling?’
A faint smile parted his lips. ‘Almost out of it.’
‘You’re going to be fine.’ Words, sincerely meant in reassurance.
He squeezed her hand. ‘Thanks.’
Tears momentarily blurred her vision, and she blinked rapidly to dispel them.
Within minutes a nurse appeared, took his vital signs, then signalled for an Orderly to take the patient to Theatre.
‘There’s a visitors’ lounge at the end of the corridor where you can wait. A cafeteria on the next level.’ She checked her watch. ‘Given surgery, recovery, he won’t be back in his room much under five hours.’
Jacob managed a slow smile as the Orderly trundled the bed from the suite, and Kayla walked at his side until they reached the lift.
She left her cellphone number with the sister-in-charge, together with a request to call should Jacob recover from the anaesthetic sooner than anticipated.
Spence was waiting when she emerged from the main entrance, and his choice of venues soon became apparent when he entered Double Bay.
Exclusive expensive boutiques, and once, in another life, her preferred shopping mecca. An area where serious money could be spent on designer