Secrets That Kill: A Shelby Nichols Adventure Read online

  He narrowed his eyes, but a playful smile betrayed him. “Then be careful what you say to me. I don’t have quite the same scruples that you do. You’d be wise to remember that.” He was thinking it was partly true. There was a certain attraction between us, even though there was no way in hell he’d ever act on it. Still, it was best not to go there.

  I huffed. “You know I heard all that, right?”

  He pursed his lips. “Yeah, and it was a lot easier than talking about it.” He glanced at me and shrugged. “I’m a bad guy, what can I say? You should be careful around me.”

  I rolled my eyes and sighed. “Fine, but I don’t think you’re as bad as you think you are.” Before he could protest I continued. “So where are we going?”

  “I need to check out the restaurant in order to make plans for tonight,” Ramos said. “Do you have the address?”

  “Um…no. But I remember the name. It’s called The Blue Heron. Do you know it?”

  He shook his head. “I may have grown up here, but I haven’t been back for years.” He was thinking a lot had changed, but it wasn’t enough to keep him from remembering the past. Stepping off the plane and smelling the air had brought it all back. It didn’t matter how long he’d been gone, a part of him would always know this place, and he realized he could never outrun his past. Good or bad, it had made him who he was today.

  He huffed, pushing all thoughts of the past away. He had a job to do, and the sooner it was done, the better. “Let’s see if our GPS system can help us out.” He turned it on and started speaking to it. “Orlando restaurants. The Blue Heron.”

  A British-sounding voice responded with directions, and Ramos grinned with satisfaction, like he’d just performed a major accomplishment.

  “You just love it when things work right, don’t you?” I asked.

  “I certainly do,” he said. “Lots better than asking directions.”

  Ramos drove through traffic with expert skill, and we pulled across the street from the restaurant in record time. Over four hours had passed since I had been there, but yellow tape still marked it as a crime scene. “I guess they’re not open for business yet,” I said.

  “Looks that way,” Ramos agreed. “It might make it easier to break in later.”

  “Yeah,” I agreed. “I think there must be a door that goes from the kitchen and out the back. At least that’s where Warren was headed when he got killed.”

  Ramos studied the surrounding buildings, noting where the light poles were in relation to the parking lot. “I think we can sneak in the back without detection.” He was thinking about where to park the car and the route we needed to take. Putting the car into gear, he drove slowly around the block. “There,” he said with satisfaction. “We’ll back the car into that alley and go through the back to the parking lot behind it.”

  “What about that fence?” I asked. “It “is” blocking the alleyway, you know.”

  “Yeah,” he glanced at me, thinking duh in his mind. “We’ll climb over it.”

  “You think I can do that? It looks kind of tall to me, but I guess if you brought a ladder, I could do it.”

  “A ladder?” Ramos smiled. He figured I was serious, but no way would he be caught dead carrying a ladder. “Don’t worry about it. I’ll help you over.” He envisioned pushing my ass up the fence and his smile got bigger.

  “Stop that,” I scolded. “It’s chain link. I can probably climb it just fine by myself.”

  “Good.” He congratulated himself, thinking his little ploy had worked like a charm.

  “You…” I almost said ‘big lug,’ but punched his arm instead. It was like hitting a rock. I shook my hand and groaned.

  He raised a brow in cool disdain. “Are you done?” he asked.

  I frowned and Ramos chuckled. He enjoyed teasing me. “Let’s get to the hotel and have some dinner,” he said. “I have some calls to make.”

  “Fine,” I agreed, slightly miffed. He sure knew how to push my buttons. Because of that, I wasn’t about to ask him where we were staying. Besides, the way we’d been communicating, it was almost easier to pick it up from his mind and not waste my breath.

  Ramos directed his attention to the road, leaving me in the dark. How his brain worked continually amazed me. Most people thought of lots of things at once, but not Ramos. He was real good at compartmentalizing his thoughts. Right now he was thinking of which road to turn on, instead of our destination. It was starting to drive me nuts.

  “We’re going to The Carlton,” he said, surprising me. “In case you were wondering.”

  “I was,” I said, narrowing my eyes at him. “And you knew it too, didn’t you?”

  He shrugged. “It was a good guess. I imagine it’s a little like how you managed to keep people in the dark about your mind reading abilities. Telling them you were guessing?”

  “Hmm… I suppose you’re right about that.” I couldn’t compete with Ramos, and it was probably best not to even try.

  A short while later, we pulled into the drive of The Ritz-Carlton Hotel, and my jaw dropped open. When he said The Carlton, I had no idea he meant The Ritz-Carlton. This place was amazing, and I could hardly believe we were staying here. An impressive panther fountain gave way to palm trees that lined the drive to the hotel, which was set back beside the Grande Lakes.

  As we pulled into the hotel’s valet parking, Ramos popped open the trunk. A parking attendant rushed to serve us, and another attendant took our bags from the trunk. I followed Ramos inside to the hotel lobby and tried to keep my mouth shut. The elegant lobby was richly appointed with marble columns, Italian furniture, and a mosaic floor that gave it a Palazzo feel. I felt totally out-classed in my jeans and pink t-shirt.

  “Welcome to the Carlton,” the hostess said. “Do you have a reservation?”

  “Yes,” Ramos answered. “One of the executive suites. It’s under Alejandro Ramos.” He flipped open his wallet, showing her his ID.

  “Very good,” she answered, quickly tapping his name into her keyboard.

  Alejandro? That was his first name? How come I never knew that?

  “You are on the sixth floor, room six-seventeen,” the hostess said. “Here are your keycards. Enjoy your stay. If there is anything you need, just let us know.”

  “Thank you,” Ramos said. He pocketed the keycards and motioned me toward the elevators. The attendant followed with our luggage, so I couldn’t ask any of the questions floating through my mind, like…if we were in the same room, what bed was he sleeping in? But since this was a suite, it had to have more than one bedroom, right?

  In between all of these thoughts, my mind kept coming back to Ramos’ first name. Alejandro. Hmm…was it for real? I realized I hardly knew anything about Ramos’ personal life. If today was any indication, this trip might change that, and I couldn’t help smiling. I’d always been curious about him, and how he had ended up with Uncle Joey. This could get interesting.

  We exited the elevator, following the numbers to room six-seventeen. Ramos keyed it open and stepped inside, holding the door for me. He tipped the attendant and brought our bags in himself. “This is a one-bedroom suite,” he explained. “But you can take the bed, and I’ll sleep out here on the couch.”

  “Are you sure?” I asked, suddenly nervous. “Maybe we should get two rooms.”

  “Look, I’m fine on the couch, and you can lock the bedroom door if it makes you feel better. Go on…take a look around. You’ll find there’s plenty of room. Don’t worry about me. I have my own bathroom and everything.”

  The living room held a couch, end tables with lamps, a coffee table with fresh flowers, a chair, flat screen TV, and sliding doors that opened onto a balcony. The scent of fresh flowers along with a few potted plants made the room seem refreshing and pleasant.

  On the other side of the room, double doors opened into the master bedroom. A king-sized bed sat in the center with a chaise-lounge, dresser, flat screen TV, and another private balcony. I couldn’t resist
opening the sliding balcony door and admiring the lakefront view. It was breathtaking, and the weariness of the day fell from my shoulders.

  With a sigh, I turned back into the bedroom and found a walk-in closet on the other side of the room before coming to the bathroom door. The luxurious bathroom was done in gray marble with a tub, shower, separate toilet, and double sink. Red rose petals were spread along the floor to the jetted tub over a lush rug. Wow, did I ever want to take a bath in there.

  I turned back to the living room and found Ramos out on the balcony talking on his phone. While he was occupied, I rounded the corner to find the other bathroom. It was marble too, but didn’t have a shower or tub, only a sink and separate toilet. It looked like I’d have to share the shower, but that was probably all, and it was only for one night. I could do this.

  But was it fair to make Ramos sleep on the couch when he was paying for the room? The couch wasn’t very big, and the bed was huge. On the other hand, he’d made the arrangements. He had to know he’d end up sleeping on the couch, so I couldn’t really feel too bad about that. Besides, he could have gotten two rooms.

  Feeling better, I picked up my carry-on bag and took it into the bedroom. Thank goodness I kept all my make-up in my bag, along with my toothbrush. Plus, my mother always taught me to keep an extra change of underwear for emergencies, so that was covered. I only wished I had more clothes to wear.

  The sliding door opened, and Ramos ended his call, so I hurried into the living room. “That was Manetto,” he said. “I needed to fill him in on our progress.” At my nod, he continued. “Are you hungry?”

  “Sort of,” I said, feeling more unsettled with Ramos’ close proximity than I wanted to admit. I mean seriously…we were sharing a hotel room, and he was…well…Ramos. “What do we need for tonight?”

  Ramos grabbed his bag and set it on the chair. Unzipping it, he pulled out some nicely folded black clothes, black gloves, and a black cap for me to hide my hair. “I think I have everything here we need.” He handed me a long-sleeved black shirt. “Your jeans are dark enough, and I don’t think your shoes will matter that much.”

  I glanced at my gray running shoes with the purple stripes. “Um…yeah,” I agreed. “They’re dark enough they should be fine.”

  “We’ve got lots of time before we hit the restaurant. Why don’t we go grab some food and get you anything you might need for the night?” He was thinking I probably didn’t have pajamas, or whatever else a woman needed to survive, so we might as well get it now.

  “Okay,” I said. “Just let me fix my hair and I’ll be ready to go.” I hurried into the bathroom and pulled off the pink t-shirt, straightened my white one, and then ran a comb through my hair. After putting on some lip-gloss, I was ready.

  “You don’t think I need my hair-hat anymore do you?” I asked Ramos.

  “No. I’m sure you’ll be fine without it.”

  We drove in companionable silence until we came to a Walmart, and I begged Ramos to stop. “This will work great for getting what I need to survive,” I explained.

  Ramos pursed his lips at my use of his thoughts, and pulled into the parking lot.

  “You can stay in the car if you like,” I said sweetly. I didn’t really want him hovering over me while I bought the necessary toiletries. He was thinking that was a good idea, as long as I didn’t take too long. “I’ll be quick,” I promised. He grunted and I hurried inside.

  I looked through the pajamas first, happy to find a set with an oversized t-shirt and capri-length bottoms, knowing it was important to keep my modesty just in case I ran into Ramos in the room with them on. No need to tempt fate.

  Nearby, I found a table with swimming suits on sale and sighed, remembering the amazing pool at the hotel. I could probably go for a swim in the morning before we left if I had a suit. I quickly rummaged through them until finding a one-piece in my size. It wasn’t the cutest in the bunch, but it had a halter top that I knew couldn’t expose too much of me like some of the others. I never bought a swimming suit without trying it on first, but because I was in a hurry, I had to make an exception this time. For that pool, it was worth it.

  Next, I had to find a blouse or shirt that wasn’t so touristy to wear home tomorrow. I mean, how could I be staying at the Ritz-Carlton and fly in a private jet with this frumpy, touristy t-shirt on? It was unthinkable.

  I spied a table with print tees on it, and found a Lady Gaga one that I was tempted to buy, mostly because it reminded me of her song titled “Alejandro.” I picked it up and started singing under my breath “Ale-Alejandro, Ale-Alejandro.” Smiling, I turned to take it with me and bumped into a solid chest.

  “Oof!” I exclaimed, springing back.

  Ramos stared down at me, his eyes narrowed.

  “Aa! You scared me.” Realizing he’d heard me singing his name, my face flamed red with embarrassment, so I went on the defense. “What are you doing in here? I thought you were waiting in the car.”

  “I was, but you were taking so long, I thought I’d better come in and check up on you.” He took the Lady Gaga tee from me and studied it.

  “Um…I was just singing that Lady Gaga song, you know, the one about Alejandro, mostly because I guess that’s your name and I never knew that, and this shirt reminded me of it. Have you ever heard that song?”

  “Are you going to buy it, or what?” he asked, focusing his thoughts on me.

  He wasn’t cutting me any slack, and it made me a little angry. I was about to tell him no when a thought of his came through that he was…embarrassed? Flattered? “Of course I’m going to buy it.” I pulled it from his hands and threw it over my arm with the rest of my stuff. “I have to get one more thing.” I raised my brow in a challenge. “You going to follow me, or what?”

  He snorted, but wisely moved out of my way. “I’ll wait over there.” He motioned toward the closest cash register.

  I nodded, and a bit rattled by our encounter, hurried to another rack of shirts. I still wanted something a little nicer to wear and quickly scanned the rack. Finding a jewel digital print tee, I held it up and admired the gold and silver tones over a white background in jewel shapes. It even had cute cap sleeves. With the right necklace and earrings this would look amazing paired with my jeans, plus it was in my size.

  I grabbed it and marched over to the jewelry. After a few minutes’ search, I found just what I was looking for. Gold and silver chains highlighted with geometric shapes and earrings to match! Now all I needed was a pair of metallic sandals to complete the outfit.

  Glancing toward the cash register, I noticed Ramos looking through the magazines, so I high-tailed it over to the shoes for a quick look. One good thing about Orlando is the great selection of sandals. The only hard part was deciding whether to get the gold ones or the silver ones. I went with the silver, figuring they would go with more of my clothes.

  On my way to the checkout stand, I passed a display of sunglasses and paused to grab a pair. I found cute white-rimmed ones with gold speckles on the sides that matched my outfit perfectly. I slid them on and smiled. Yup, they made me look good.

  I rushed back to the cash register, hoping Ramos wasn’t too upset with me for taking so long. I got in line and smiled at him, feeling his relief at finally being able to leave. The person at the cash register was grateful we were leaving too. Ramos’ cold expression and watchful eyes made him nervous, especially since he looked like he was ready to kill somebody.

  As the cashier rang up my purchases, Ramos’ brows lifted in disbelief at all the stuff I was buying. He could understand the pajamas and shirts, but the jewelry and sandals? He took a deep breath and let it out, then noticed the swimming suit and sunglasses. He glanced at me, thinking there wasn’t enough time to go swimming.

  “Have you even seen the pool?” I asked. “It’s awesome. Even a fifteen minute swim would be worth it.”

  He glanced away with a smile and shook his head. I opened my purse to get my credit card, but he stopped me.
“I got this.”

  I took a breath to object but closed my mouth instead. Ramos was thinking that I’d better keep my mouth shut if I knew what was good for me. I chuckled and moved out of his way. I’d probably tested his patience enough for one day, and we still had some breaking and entering on the agenda.

  That thought sent a chill down my spine. But I would be with Ramos. What could go wrong with him there? At least I knew he had my back.

  We got in the car, and Ramos pulled into traffic. “I know a place that serves the best fish tacos I’ve ever had. You game?”

  “Sure,” I said.

  “I don’t know if it’s still there, but ever since I got off the plane, that’s what I’ve wanted to eat. Crazy how a place can trigger things like that, isn’t it?”

  “For sure,” I agreed. “How long has it been since you’ve been back?”

  He sighed. “I don’t know, about fifteen years. I was eighteen when I left, and I swore I’d never come back. But it doesn’t seem so bad to be here this time.” He was thinking it was true as long as he didn’t try too hard to remember why he’d left.

  Since he was thinking that, I decided not to ask him any more questions about his past. Not when he felt such bitterness and pain. Something bad had happened to him here, and although I was curious, now was not the time to talk about it.

  “There it is!” he said. “I can’t believe it’s still here.” Ramos grinned like a kid. I’d never seen him like that. It was a little disconcerting.

  “Sweet!” I said, trying to match his enthusiasm. We pulled into the small parking lot surrounding what looked like an old fast food joint that had been remodeled into a Mexican restaurant with a big sombrero hat on top. The word “Hector’s” glowed in neon lights above the building. The place was crowded with people, and we hurried to the back of the line.

  The only bad part about this idea was that I hated fish tacos. But there was no way I could tell Ramos that. I’d have to suck it up and eat at least one. That should work since I could use the excuse that I wasn’t very hungry, which was mostly true. Hopefully it wouldn’t kill me.