Page 48 of Renegade
The guy stopped in his tracks, nervously looking between us as Miguel started to laugh. “Dirtbag?” he asked. “End him?” He laughed some more, clearly remembering what had happened when he’d told Ned the same thing as he’d threatened to spray Miguel with pepper spray
I gave him an innocent shrug, smiling. “He started it.”
“Down on your knees!” Cal said, gesturing to the ground with his gun.
“I’m not getting on my knees!” I shouted back.
“Neither of us are,” Miguel growled. He sounded like he wanted to strangle the guy.
“What’s happening here!”
We all turned to the doorway where Mr. Aston and Mrs. Flores were exiting the gallery as the sea of bespoke suits and couture gowns parted to let them through with a security detail. I’d never been so relieved to see two people in my life, but I kept my hands high in the air as the pair crossed the patio, coming at us.
“Put those guns down!” Mrs. Flores said. “Right now! These are my guests. How dare you treat them like this?” She clipped past them on high heels as the two men looked at her with a stunned expression. She wasn’t in her widow’s weeds this time. Mrs. Tawny Flores looked like she was worth about a billion dollars; she was gorgeous in a bejeweled, black evening gown, her blonde hair curled into an elaborate chignon on top of her head, wearing a strand of black pearls and matching earrings. Her full lips were painted a cherry red, and pursed with worry. I really hoped she didn’t have anything to do with the theft of her ruby because she was the last person I wanted to see behind bars. She was a society girl, but I liked her, especially the way she was looking us over as she walked right up to us with Aston and the guard who’d gone to get him following close behind.
“Are you two okay?” she asked, as she looked up at my hands. “Please lower your hands,” she said quietly before turning and glancing over her shoulder at the guards. “These men are my guests, and I am a patron of the Getty. If you don’t want to get sued for more than you’ll ever make in your entire lives, I’d put away those guns right now.” She sounded remarkably imperious for a woman of twenty-five. I was glad for it.
“Ah…yes, ma’am,” Cal said. “Just doing our duty, ma’am.”
Aston found his voice as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a monogrammed, silver business card case. He took out an embossed card and handed it to the head of security who had now appeared. “My name is Gregory Aston Esquire. I just want you to know how sorely we both feel about this incident and the way our guests were treated.”
Several people clapped from the doorway, and it irritated me to know that we were still out here on display. I didn’t know what had happened to terrify Miguel so badly that he’d come charging up the stairs with his gun out. He’d peppered me with tons of questions, and it set off alarm bells in my head. My lover was not exactly the kind of man who got scared for no reason and I’d seen real fear in his eyes.
“That’s really not necessary,” Miguel said, smiling at Mrs. Flores as he replaced his gun in his shoulder holster. “I suppose they were doing their jobs, but we did tell them who we were and offer to show them our identification.”
I smothered a smile behind my hand. I’d almost wanted to see Cal and his two underlings get roasted just a little longer. Everything would’ve been so much easier if they’d just let us show our identification. They’d pointed a gun at the man I loved and nearly shot him. I’d seen the gleam in the youngest one’s eyes. He’d been itching for a reason to kill Miguel. They deserved to be on the hotseat.
“That’s extremely…interesting to hear, Mr. Huerta,” Aston said, looking at the guards and then at Miguel. The lawyer’s “interest” couldn’t have been clearer if he’d shouted it from the rooftops. “I’d be happy to talk to you two about your treatment here tonight.”
“That’s fine,” I said, sending Miguel a knowing glance. He nodded.
“Like my partner said, it’s fine. I assume we’re free to get on with our night?”
“Yes, once I get a statement from you. Of course,” said the head of security who introduced himself as Steve Parker.
“I’m so sorry to hear you were disturbed,” Mrs. Flores said, once more turning her back on the three guards. “What happened?”
I looked at Miguel. “Yes, what happened?”
“I had an altercation with one of the guests that I’d met inside the gallery,” Miguel replied, as he faced Mrs. Flores. “It seems she knew about your ruby and threatened me.”
Mrs. Flores’ hand flew to her chest, looking genuinely shocked. “She threatened you?”
I felt something like a brick in the pit of my stomach.
“What happened, Mr. Huerta? How did she threaten you?”
He turned to look at me and I could see the compassion in his eyes. “She had a knife but also had a partner hiding in the thick shrubs at the bottom of the garden.”
“What makes you think so, Mr. Huerta?” Parker asked.
“I’d need permission from Mrs. Flores and Mr. Aston to discuss the details of what we’re working on for them,” I said.
She nodded, eyes wide, and I briefly explained what our situation was.
“She told me that ‘they’ expect us to give them the ruby. When I said we didn’t have it, we were only hired to recover it, she didn’t want to take no for an answer. That’s when she pulled the knife,” said Miguel.
That wasn’t all of it. “How do you know she had a partner hiding in the trees, Miguel?”
