Love Takes All Read online

  “Give me one good reason,” Lydia said.

  “If you don’t, we’ll have to declare bankruptcy.”

  Lydia sat down, her legs no longer able to hold her. “What?” Had she heard correctly?

  “The last development your dad managed fell through when the bottom dropped out of the real estate market. We lost almost half our portfolio. And then...” Caroline opened another shopping bag and drew out a pair of white linen pants. She held them up and gently placed them over the back of the sofa.

  “And then...” Lydia prompted.

  “Well, Leon and David were so nice about it.”

  “About what?” Lydia’s eyes narrowed. She felt like she was watching a newscast with the words “More disastrous news to come. Watch at eleven.”

  “They told Andrew he could borrow whatever he needed to get back on his feet.” Caroline sat down, her knees pressed tightly together and her hands clenching and unclenching.

  Bits and pieces of information dropped into place in Lydia’s mind. “So that’s why you and Dad sided with Leon and David over Maya. You owe them money. How much money do you owe them?”

  Caroline hesitated.

  “How much money do you owe them?” Lydia pressed her mother harder.

  “Four and half million,” Caroline whispered. “They promised if we could help them get control of Maya, they would forgive the loan.”

  Lydia felt like she was hyperventilating. She pressed trembling fingers to her hot cheeks. She stood. “I can’t talk to you right now.” She turned for the door.

  “Lydia,” Caroline pleaded. “Don’t go away angry. Your father did what he thought was best.”

  Lydia stopped with one hand on the doorknob. She glanced back at her mother. “Best for whom?” Certainly not best for Maya or Lydia. She realized that her father considered what was best for himself first and then insisted it was best for everybody.

  * * *

  Hunter dropped his briefcase on his desk. The coffeemaker in the corner spit out coffee. After a morning at the building department to work out any kinks they had before issuing building permits had left him mildly annoyed.

  He poured himself a cup and went back to his desk. Coffee was his savior. He sipped it as he looked over the building permit. They could start construction of the spa on Monday. He had the contractor already in place and ready to go.

  Lydia appeared in the doorframe, an urgent look on her face. “Do you have a minute?”

  “I’ve got maybe ten.”

  She shrugged her shoulders. “This is more than ten minutes’ worth of sharing. I’ll come back later.”

  “Whoa. I can spare as much time as you need.” He gestured at the only empty chair in his office. Somehow he’d managed to fill every flat surface with files, blueprints and other assorted minutiae that seemed to be part of the life of an architect.

  Lydia sat down. “My parents sold me to my husband.”

  “I thought that was illegal.”

  Her eyes shone with unshed tears even as her mouth twisted with hurt anger. “Apparently not.” She brushed the wetness from her eyes as she went on explaining the convoluted story until Hunter started to feel furious for her. By the time she ended up with her father’s debt, Hunter’s hand hovered over the phone. He was prepared to call Scott to have them all thrown out of the hotel.

  “And now they want to sell my daughter to Leon and David.” Lydia jumped to her feet. She moved restlessly about the room, stopping at the table holding the facsimile of the spa. She explained about the debt her father had incurred.

  “Just say the word and we’ll have Scott remove them. There is a sign in the lobby that states we have the right to refuse service. We can have them gone in twenty minutes.”

  “You have no idea how tempted I am.”

  “What’s stopping you?”

  “You know and I know we need to keep them here under observation.”

  “But are they worth the turmoil?”

  “To stop them from maybe taking my daughter? Yes. Considering how low they’ve gone, I think there are still lower levels unknown.”

  “Why don’t you go on up to your suite, calm down and relax. I’ll get Scott and we’ll plan your next move.”

  “I’ll call Vanessa and find out where we are on the DNA sample from Mitchell.” With a plan in place, Lydia left and Hunter reached for the phone to fill Scott in on the newest development.

  * * *

  Lydia walked down the hall to her suite with dragging footsteps. So much had happened to send her down so many different emotional paths, she knew she needed time alone. Thankfully, Maya was with Hector and his daughter, but they would be bringing her home within the hour. Lydia decided she had just enough time for a long, soothing bath.

  She opened the door to her suite. As anxious as she was to be in her own home, she felt the suite had become a second home for her. She’d come to like the texture of the rooms and the vibrant Spanish colors.

  Before she could head to the bathroom to start a bath, a knock sounded on the door. She opened it to find Leon and David standing out in the hall.

  “Can we come in?” Leon said. “We really need to talk to you.”

  “Why?”

  “It’s about Maya.”

  “Are you giving up your custody battle?”

  He pulled a small gun from his pocket and gestured for her to back up. “No.”

  Lydia stumbled backward. “What are you doing?” Don’t panic. Don’t panic. Don’t panic.

  “Where’s Maya?”

  “You come in here with a gun demanding to know where my daughter is. I don’t think so.”

  “Then we’ll wait. She’s bound to show up sometime. David,” Leon ordered, “go into Maya’s bedroom and pack some overnight clothes.”

  “You’re kidnapping her!”

  “No,” Leon replied, pulling a piece of paper out of his jacket pocket, “you’re signing over custody of her.” He thrust the paper at Lydia. “Sign it.”

  She refused to take the paper, but Leon thrust the gun in her face. “Sign it.”

  Lydia took the paper, unfolded it and sat down on the sofa. “I have to read it first.”

  “Lydia, just sign it.” Leon waved the gun at her.

  “Do you have a pen?”

  Leon stared at her and then reached inside his jacket pocket again. “Read it and then sign it and stop procrastinating.”

  “You know a contract signed under duress isn’t binding.” She set the paper down on the coffee table and smoothed it out.

  “I’ll have possession of Maya and isn’t possession nine tenths of the law?”

  For a second fear slithered her through her. She smoothed the creased paper again and started reading. In the back of her mind, she hoped Hunter found Scott quickly.

  She read it through twice. The custody transfer was a boilerplate Leon had printed from some website. From Maya’s bedroom she could hear drawers opening and closing. David muttered and Leon walked to the bedroom door to look inside while still keeping the gun trained on her.

  Lydia considered flight, but Leon would catch her before she was close enough to the door to escape. Hurry up, Hunter, she prayed, pushing the panic down again. She needed to keep her head.

  “Lydia,” Leon said, an edge of warning in his tone. “Sign it.”

  She read through the document one more time and picked up the pen. “If I don’t?”

  “I’m holding a gun, Lydia.”

  “But if you shoot me someone will hear and investigate.” Keep them talking, she thought. Hunter and Scott should be here any minute.

  “These rooms are sound-proof. Now sign the damn thing or I’ll break every one of your pretty little fingers. Then they won’t be so pretty anymore.”
r />   As if she cared. She would die for Maya. She didn’t think Leon could break them all at once, though the pain could be a deterrent. “Oh, what to do? What to do?”

  Leon frowned at her. Lydia picked up the pen. An idea had just occurred to her. She smiled as she scribbled Lydia M. Mouse at the bottom of the paper. She put the pen down, refolded the paper carefully so he wouldn’t see what she’d written and left it sitting on the table with the pen neatly lined up with it.

  Leon grinned in triumph, picked up the folded paper and thrust it into his pocket. “David, what’s taking so long in there?”

  “I’m coming,” David yelled back.

  Lydia saw a shadow on the patio. She watched the shadow out of the corner of her eyes. Suddenly Scott’s face peered in quickly and disappeared again.

  “Why do you want Maya so badly?” Lydia asked. “I control her inheritance. I can write you a check today for any amount you want.”

  “I want everything.”

  Now that she’d signed the paper, Lydia could see that Leon wanted to be friendly.

  “Why just ask for a pie when I can have the whole bakery?”

  “What do you think Maya is going to say in ten years and when she’s eighteen and discovered you’ve pretty much plundered her estate?”

  Leon shrugged. “Do I care? Six hundred fifty million will go a long way. When that’s gone, I’ll break up the investment company and parcel it off. Be happy I’m not asking for your money.”

  “Why is the money so important? Mitchell left you fifty million dollars.”

  “Because that little brat took everything,” Leon snarled. “Once she came along my father didn’t have time for us anymore.”

  “Maybe the problem wasn’t Mitchell but you. You fathered two children and abandoned them. You refused to take responsibility for your children as their father. You screwed up every job your father gave you.”

  “I didn’t want to work in the mailroom.”

  Lydia sighed. “Your job was to learn how the company worked from the bottom up.”

  Scott had opened the patio door and stepped into the dining area. He moved soundlessly across the floor and into Maya’s bedroom.

  “That company was mine by right.” Leon waved the gun at her, his face set with anger.

  “You’ve never earned anything.”

  “Like you have, Miss Trophy Wife,” he sneered.

  “I’m a good parent.” And she had earned the right to raise her daughter in the best way she saw fit, which included learning to ride to make her daughter happy.

  A knock sounded on the door to the suite.

  “Don’t answer it,” Leon growled.

  “If I don’t answer it, people are going to be concerned and call security. I’ll just get rid of them.” She heard a muffled sound from Maya’s bedroom. Scott poked his head out and then back inside again.

  Lydia walked calmly to the door. Leon followed her, the gun pressed against her spine, his attention wholly on her. A knock sounded again. Lydia opened the door to find Hunter standing there.

  “Lydia, got a minute?”

  “I do.”

  “She doesn’t,” Leon said. “We’re in the middle of something.”

  “Really.” Hunter pointed at something behind Leon. “Maybe you need to talk to my brother.”

  In the next second, Leon was whirled around and neatly disarmed by Scott. Hunter grabbed Lydia and pulled her out of the way. Leon fell to the floor writhing in pain with Scott standing over him, the small gun now in his hand.

  “That was too easy.” Scott sounded disappointed. He looked at the gun, ejected the clip and then put the gun in one pocket and the clip in another. He grabbed Leon by the arm and jerked him to his feet while smoothly sliding handcuffs on his wrists.

  Chapter 12

  “You can’t have us arrested,” Leon protested as two uniformed police officers and two detectives stood in Lydia’s suite. “We’re now Maya’s legal guardians. Think of the scandal.”

  “About that.” Lydia asked the police detective to retrieve the folded paper from Leon’s jacket pocket and handed it to Lydia. She opened the paper and held it up in front of Leon’s face. “Lydia M. Mouse has no legal authority to sign this piece of trumped up custody contract. Especially under duress.” She handed the paper back to the detective, who dropped it into a paper envelope.

  Vanessa Peabody entered the suite, a curious look on her face. She held her briefcase in one hand. “What’s going on?”

  “We’re just in the middle of a little hostage situation,” Lydia said.

  “I demand to see my lawyer,” Leon yelled.

  “He’s five minutes behind me,” Vanessa said. She opened her briefcase and pulled out an envelope. “I have good news and I have better news.” She smiled at the detective. “Could you wait a moment before taking them away?”

  The lead detective nodded. A few moments later, Leon and David’s lawyer, Kramer O’Reilly, entered. “What the hell is going on here?”

  Leon surged forward but was stopped by the tight grip the police officer had on his arm. “Make these goons release me.”

  Kramer half smiled. “I need to know what’s going on.”

  Lydia stepped forward. “Leon and David tried to force me to sign a bogus custody paper for my daughter.”

  “Did you sign it?” Vanessa asked frowning.

  “Not with my real name,” Lydia said with a tight grin. She nodded at the detective, who opened the envelope and allowed Vanessa and Kramer to glance at it before returning it to the envelope.

  “Smart girl,” Vanessa said.

  “I have my moments.” Lydia sat down. “So what’s the good news?”

  Vanessa grinned. “The good news is that Maya is definitely your husband’s daughter.”

  “Should that be the better news?” Hunter asked curiously.

  “The better news is...” Vanessa glanced at Leon and David, who leaned forward to look at her. “The better news is that Leon and David are not your late husband’s sons.” She handed a piece of paper to Lydia.

  Lydia glanced through the paper. “Oh my.”

  “That’s a lie,” Leon said.

  Kramer O’Reilly took the paper and glanced through it.

  “And,” Vanessa grinned wider, “better news, part two.” She whipped out another paper from her briefcase. “I spoke with Mitchell’s lawyer and Mr. Tynan faxed me this letter.” She handed it to Lydia. “Mitchell knew Leon and David weren’t his sons, but...” she glanced at them “...he chose to provide for them anyway.”

  “That’s not true,” David cried.

  Lydia read the letter from Mitchell’s lawyer, Everest Tynan. The prose was dry and filled with legalese, but the gist was Mitchell knew very well that neither Leon nor David were his biological children. Lydia couldn’t help the feeling of sadness filling her.

  Kramer took the letter from Lydia and glanced through it. “It looks pretty true to me and the DNA results definitely show that you have no familial relationship with the man who raised you.”

  “No,” David said, shaking his head. “No.”

  “Are you going to press charges?” the lead detective asked. “They did threaten you with a gun.”

  Lydia was very tempted to say yes. These two men had threatened to hurt her. She wanted to punish them for making her so afraid, for making her life miserable, for making her parents threaten her. But she couldn’t. She looked at Hunter, who shook his head slightly. He knew what she needed to do.

  “I’m not pressing charges,” Lydia said quietly.

  Leon and David were released. The police left. Lydia sat down on the sofa feeling drained.

  Scott had his own security people in the suite in seconds. “You have thirty minutes to pack, settl
e your bill and get out of here. My people will escort you to your suite and then out of this hotel.”

  Leon and his brother looked totally defeated.

  “Just get them out of here,” Lydia said. “I’ll take care of their bill.”

  “Lydia,” Hunter said.

  “Its okay, Hunter.” She pointed at the door. “Get out. If you aren’t out of Nevada within twenty-four hours, I will be contacting this very nice detective—” she held up his business card “—and re-instating my complaint. And Scott here will personally take you to the airport and make sure you leave. Don’t come back to Nevada.”

  “If you come back,” Vanessa put in, “Lydia can still file her complaint. It’s to your interest to stay as far away from Nevada as you possibly can, and never come back.”

  Leon glared at Lydia. “This isn’t over.”

  “Yes, it is,” Hunter said firmly.

  Scott herded the two men to the door and pushed them out. Two of his security people fell into step behind them with Scott in the rear. Leon looked furious. David looked defeated. Lydia simply felt sorry for them.

  “I guess I have no legal reason to be here,” Kramer said. He picked up his briefcase and left, leaving Lydia, Hunter and Vanessa alone.

  “Who knew?” Lydia headed to the kitchen. She was desperately in need of coffee.

  “Apparently not them,” Vanessa said, following.

  Hunter sat on the sofa rereading the DNA results and the letter from Everest Tynan.

  Later they sat around the coffee table.

  “You knew, didn’t you?” Lydia asked Vanessa as she sipped her coffee.

  “I suspected,” Vanessa said. “When the results showed no familial relationship between Maya and the brothers, I contacted Mr. Tynan to find out if he knew anything. He had the letter, but we both decided DNA results would be more conclusive.”

  “I feel sorry for them,” Lydia said. “They loved Mitchell. They thought he was their father. If it were me, I’d be devastated.”

  Hunter shrugged. “I think what is even more stunning is that Mitchell took care of them even though he knew.”

  Lydia thought about Mitchell. She’d just discovered a side of him she hadn’t known. She knew he’d loved David and Leon, but their behavior had upset him. He could have told them at any time, but he didn’t. Even when he was dying of cancer he’d kept the secret.