Making You Mine (The Moreno Brothers #5)

Chapter 32

Romero’s connection still hadn’t had any luck with the surveillance tape from the casino. But after Sal let him in on his conversation with Melissa and told him how convinced he was now that nothing had actually happened that night, Romero had an idea.

Since Romero had so many clients who hired him to get proof their spouses were cheating, he’d long ago acquired ways for tracking text messages and emails. If Melissa had texted or emailed even one person to tell them about what she’d done, Sal would have his proof. Romero said he’d get on it ASAP, but he still had his guy trying to track down video of that night at the casino.

Sal had been at the restaurant reading through his emails when Alex walked into the back office where he sat. “Any news from Romero yet?”

“Nothing new,” he said, without looking away from the computer screen.

Sal had filled him in on the theories about the possibility that nothing may have happened. Alex was as optimistic about that fixing things as Sofia was.

“Have you heard from Melissa?”

Before he said anything to Alex or Sofia, he wanted to have some kind of proof. He knew Alex and Sofia would be all about him going straight to Grace with the news, but he needed more. He didn’t want to open up any more wounds before he knew he could back up his story with something solid. Still he thought Alex would be a little less gung-ho about it than Sofia, so he spun around in his chair to face him as Alex stood there, pulling a restaurant polo over his head.

“She called me yesterday morning.”

“For what?”

“She was drunk, but I almost got her to admit nothing happened between me and her in Vegas.”

Alex’s eyes opened wide. “What do you mean almost?”

Sofia walked in and Sal bit his tongue but it was too late. Alex pushed on. “Did she actually say nothing happened?”

Sofia’s eyebrows pinched. “Who?”

“Melissa,” Alex smiled, the excitement in his eyes said it all. He was going to be gung-ho. “She called Sal and almost admitted nothing happened in Vegas.”

Sofia’s eyes immediately lit up. “You’re kidding me. What did she say? Have you called Grace?”

Damn it. This was exactly what he’d hoped to avoid. “No. She didn’t say it exactly, but her reaction to my questioning pretty much said it all. She went quiet, and when I all out accused her of making the whole thing up, she hung up on me. She’s never been one to walk away or end a conversation with me. She’s always done just the opposite.”

“I knew it. I knew it!” Sofia held her hand up and high-fived Alex then held her hand up for Sal. “So you called Grace?”

Sal didn’t even raise his hand. “No.”

“What?” This was exactly what he expected from Sofia. She brought her hand down looking almost disgusted. “Why not?”

“Because I still have no proof. Grace isn’t gonna buy this shit. If the tables were turned, I’m not sure I would either.”

“But you have to at least tell her there is a very high probability, Sal. What if you wait too long and she, you know, moves on?”

Sal noticed Sofia’s level of a excitement take a sudden nose dive with that last question. “I’m working on it, Sof. Romero’s doing some more digging for me. I’m hoping he’ll have something for me soon.”

“Grace won’t be moving on, Sof,” Alex said with a frown. “You didn’t see her the day Melissa told her about Vegas.”

Sal’s heart ached at the thought. Her agonized expression at Joey’s and Taylor’s when she told him she hated him would forever haunt him.

“You wanna bet?”

His thoughts were still so consumed in the memories of that horrible day that Sofia’s words barely registered, but he glanced at her as she pulled her phone out of her purse. “Does this look like someone who’s not moving on?”

Both Sal and Alex waited as Sofia’s fingers tapped and glided over her touch screen phone then flipped it around for Sal to see the picture on the screen. He reached over slowly, staring at the picture of an almost unrecognizable Grace on the screen.

“That was last night at the Voodoo lounge. She was there with someone, and he seemed very smitten from where I was standing.”

Slapped with the overpowering feelings of raw jealously, Sal pulled his eyes from Sofia’s phone to look at her. “What do you mean?”

Alex took the phone from Sal. “Oh damn, this is Gracie?”

“Slide over to the next picture, and you’ll see what I mean.”

Alex slid his finger over the screen, and Sal saw his expression immediately go hard. “What the fuck? Who’s the guy?”

Sal grabbed the phone out of Alex’s hands. In the picture, Grace was on the dance floor, smiling at a guy who had his arm around her waist—a guy he didn’t recognize as the older guy with the roses who’d come to pick her up that night. Sal’s insides were ablaze. “Did you talk to her?”

“Yeah. I asked her if she’d moved on already, and she didn’t say yes, but she didn’t deny it either, Sal. She said he was a friend, but she looked spectacular, like she’s ready to move on. Why else would she be at a nightclub all done up with another guy?”

Sal stared at the picture of Grace and the other guy, feeling ready to explode. Business date his ass. “What do you want me to do, Sof?” His gruff voice did nothing to hide what he was feeling, and he didn’t even care anymore. He was done playing the part of the in-control brother. Seeing Grace in the arms of another man made him feel things he didn’t even know he was capable of feeling. “I don’t even have her number anymore, and she won’t see me. She begged me to stay away from her.”

Julie stuck her head in the door. “They need one of you out here to sign for a delivery.”

Sofia frowned, shaking her head, but turned toward the door. “I got it.”

Even though he didn’t care about being in-control anymore, Sal still tried to collect himself. He needed to gather his thoughts. He swiped Sofia’s phone again and the next photo made him suck in a breath. It was of Grace and the guy walking off the dance floor, holding hands. She was looking down, but the guy gazed at her with an undeniable look of desire in his eyes. He tried swiping again, but it was the last picture on her phone.

“Fuck!” He tossed the phone as if he held it any longer it would burn a hole through his hand. Either that or he’d be buying Sofia a new phone since he had a very strong urge to fling it across the room.

Alex picked it up. “Dude, Valerie begged me once to stay away from her. I was stupid enough to do it for over a year.” Alex stared down at the phone, frowning. “Yep, this is what happens. Damn, she looks different.”

“Hot is what she looked like,” Sofia said, walking back into the room. “I told her about Melissa not being pregnant.”

Sal felt the hair on the back of his neck stand as he turned and stared at his sister. “And what did she say?”

Sofia chewed the corner of her lip. “Obviously, she’s still hurt, but I really don’t think you should wait on this, Sal. That guy she was with last night was totally into her, and I gotta tell you,” Sofia turned and opened the cabinet, giving her back to Sal, “she seemed sad for a moment there when I brought up Melissa, but she got over it fairly quickly. This could be her rebound guy, you know. Even if she is just using him to help her get over you, he certainly didn’t look like he’d mind being used and abused by the suddenly hot Gracie.”

His jaw hurt from how hard he’d been clenching it the entire time Sofia spoke. If Sofia’s phone had still been in his hands, it’d be in a million pieces now for as tight as he was gripping the arm of the chair. “But she said he’s just a friend.”

Sofia turned to him, making a face. “Yeah, you think she’d actually tell me if she was doing anything else with him?” She pulled her apron around her. “Though her behavior around him last night sure made it look like she is.”

Unable to sit anymore, Sal stood up, nearly sputtering his words. “What was she doing?” He wasn’t even sure why he was asking. Just the thought crushed into his chest like a freight train. Did he really want to know?

Sofia smirked. “Not much more than what you saw in those pictures.” She patted Sal’s arm. “She just looked like she was having a good time with him. That’s all. But it made me nervous, Sal. If he can make her forget about you, even if it is only for an evening, that could be how it starts.”

“She’s right, man,” Alex added, still looking down at Sofia’s phone. “This would make me nervous as shit. Hell, I ain’t you and I’m nervous for you. You gotta move, Sal, before this guy does.”

As tempted as Sal was to look at the photos again, he resisted grabbing the phone from Alex. Even another glance at the asshole with her in the pictures and he was certain Sofia’s phone would go flying across the room. Instead he pulled his own phone out of his holster.

“You calling her?” Sofia’s bright eyes were hopeful.

“No, I don’t have her number, Sof.” But they were right. He had to do something. “I’m calling Romero.” He walked past her and out the door with the phone at his ear. “I’ll be outside.”

He needed air—needed to breathe. If he stood in that room any longer thinking about Grace and the guy she’d been with, things were going to start flying in every direction. For the first time, Sal understood now how Alex’s temper could torpedo in an instant. He flexed his empty hand as he walked out the back door then paced, waiting for Romero to answer. When the call went to voicemail, he hung up and dialed Vincent. He answered on the first ring. “Hey Sal.”

“Did Rose say anything else about this business date Grace was on last night?” The more he thought about it, the hotter he got. He pulled on his collar and loosened his tie. His next call would be to cancel the meeting he had scheduled with the same investing group he’d been in the middle of negotiating with when Alex had called to tell him about Melissa showing up at the restaurant and dropping the bomb on Grace.

He didn’t care that day that he’d blown them off the moment he realized what had happened, and he didn’t care now.

Vincent exhaled loudly, an indication that Rose had said something. “Out with it, Vin. Is she seeing this guy?”

God that pissed him off. Sure she was under the impression he’d betrayed her, but it hadn’t even been a month. He couldn’t even begin to think about seeing anyone else, and she was out dancing with this fucker? And from what Sofia said, enjoying it?

“She didn’t say much about it last night,” Vincent said. “But this morning, she texted me to say they’re going house hunting all day today. The guy she went out with last night I guess is buying the house with them.”

Sal stopped his pacing, his eyebrows shooting up. “They’re buying a house together?”

“I guess. She said he was going because he’d be part owner.”

Sal could barely bring himself to ask the next question, but he had to know. Speaking through his teeth, he barely got the words out. “Is he moving in with her?”

“Whoa. I don’t know about that. I can ask her if you want. But dude, aren’t you having a kid with—”

“No, I’m not!” His voice a near roar now, and there was little he could do about it. “Ask her and call me back.”

“I’ll text her then forward you whatever she responds. I’m not supposed to be using my mom’s minutes. But Sal … ”

“What Vincent?” Sal’s patience was completely shot now.

“I was just gonna say it may take a while because I can’t just ask her, you know? It’ll be too suspicious. I’ll have to work my way to the question.”

“I’ll be waiting.”

After hanging up with Vincent, Sal paced for a few more minutes outside. He knew there was no way Grace could be sleeping with this guy, but what other incentive would he have to buy her and her family a fucking house? He tried making sense of it. The guy owned a casino in Laughlin. Why would he be looking into moving in with Grace in California?

Once he felt calm enough at least to speak without growling, he called and cancelled his meeting. There was no way he’d be able to concentrate on anything now.

He tried Romero again. This time he answered.

“You got anything yet?”

“I was just going through some of her email. But fuck, she has a lot. I was able to filter out the ones that were just business. All the court crap.”

Sal ran his fingers through his hair. “Doesn’t she have a personal email?”

“Yeah, problem is, she uses that one for all her court shit too. But I’m getting hot. I found a couple between Melissa and her cousin—I guess your friend’s wife.”

Sal winced, remembering how he’d skipped out on Jason’s wedding. After everything that happened, he didn’t even want to be in the same room with Melissa, and since she was a bridesmaid, she would be there for sure. He’d lied through his teeth, telling Jason he was sick as a dog, but he knew Jason had still been disappointed. He hadn’t talked to him since. “Kat?”

“Katherine? That’s what the email says.”

“Yeah, that’s her.”

“So I’m sifting through this shit, and your name has come up, but only to ask if you’d be in Vegas. The report for the text messaging just came through; I was getting ready to switch over to that. Maybe I’ll have better luck there. It’s huge though. I can only imagine the amount of garbage I’m gonna have to go through.”

“Dude, you gotta find something. I need this now.”

Romero promised he’d do his best, and Sal hung up with him, the frustration weighing even heavier. Then he noticed he had a text—from Vincent.

He took a deep breath before reading it. The first part was Vincent’s text to Rose where he cleverly asked her if she was blowing him off and if she really needed to go with her sister and her new boyfriend to look for their new place.

Her first response, although she didn’t comment on the boyfriend inference or the their place comment, was somewhat reassuring. She said Grace didn’t like to spend that much time with him alone, so she’d asked her to come with them. Sal stared at the rest of the text conversation, feeling sick to his stomach.

Vince: ?? Why would she go out with someone she doesn’t like being alone with?

Rose: It’s complicated. All I can say is he’s going to a big part of our lives now.

Vince: Really? So it’s getting serious?

Rose: Something like that. We’re here. I’ll ttyl!

Rose: Oh and remember, don’t you dare say anything to Sal!

The last part of the text was from Vince addressed to Sal.

You better never tell Grace I forwarded you this. I already feel like I’m going straight to hell. Can’t tell you how many times I’ve assured her I would never pass on any info to you man! This is some bullshit! >=(

Sal stood there, still staring at the text, his heart pounding in his chest. He’s going to be a big part of our lives now. What the hell did that mean?