Exposure

Isabella shot up out of her sleep with a panic. Mom…..

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Vista Hills Hotel & Spa

“That was great,” Pierce sighed as he finished his long-awaited sexual bout with Sloane.

“Was it enough to get me what I want…what I need out of you?” Sloane had hopped out of bed as soon as Pierce had been sated and had already begun to put her clothes on. She would tend to the business of washing off her guilt and disgust for what she had done later.

“More than enough. I’ll make sure the story goes out today.” “Good. She’ll go running for the hills when this gets out. The sooner that bitch is out of this town the better.”

Sloane had wasted no time enacting her plan after reading the article about Isabella’s return. She had to get her to leave Las Vistas no matter what the cost. Using her body was a small sacrifice that had worked in the past. Too much was at stake and she didn’t know what would happen if she let her stay.

“Tell me again why you hate a woman you barely even know?” Pierce said pulling on his jeans.

“Get a clue. Of course, I know her; she just can’t know that I am the one behind all of this…not ever. Just make sure that story runs or I won’t be responsible for what I tell your wife about our little encounter.

Sloane paused an extra moment staring at him so that he understood the seriousness in her eyes. When he finally nodded affirmatively she headed out the door into the disappearing cloak of night eagerly anticipating the fallout that the day would bring.


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DeSantos Residence - Sagebrush, Las Vistas

Rook paused at the door to his brother’s weight room, watching him intently as he struggled to lift the overloaded barbell, trying to read the situation.

Stress was always a part of the equation, given the line of work they were in, but lately, his brother had been downright distraught. As he watched him struggle through his last repetition, he knew his instincts about what was bothering him were right.

“You might want to take it easy,” Rook said, startling his brother. “Damn it Rook are you trying to kill me,” Nico growled, struggling to control the weight above his head before he finally mounted it back on the bench. “What the hell are you doing here anyway?”

“I’m here to get the money for the pickup tonight…like we talked about. I came by last night, but you weren’t here, again.” Rook studied his brother who was clearly not listening to him. “Nico, did you hear me?!!”

Nico looked up at Rook from the bench with an annoyed glare. “Of course I did. The money’s over there in that bag,” he said pointing across the room as he stood up from the bench. “Now get out of here!”

“What the hell is the matter with you or do I even have to ask? You saw her again, didn’t you? I told you that chick is nothing but trouble. She’s going to bring you down.”

“When I want your opinion I’ll give it to you,” Nico replied, his eyes filled with anger. “You don’t know what you’re talking about anyway so back the hell off!” Whatever mask he thought he was hiding his feelings behind was completely transparent to Rook. His brother knew him better than anyone and Nico knew backing off was the last thing he would do.

“I’ll back off when you wise up. This chick has gotten under your skin again and I bet you haven’t even talked to her yet. Am I right?” Nico gave him a cold glare and then walked out the back door to the pool.

Following close behind Rook pressed him further. “She’s got you so distracted you probably don’t even know what day it is. You’ve got to snap out of this. People could get hurt if you lose your focus, especially with what we’ve got going on now.”

Focus had been the farthest thing from his grasp. Isabella was all he had thought about since he saw her the night she returned to Las Vistas. His emotions had been conflicted ever since. One part of him falling quickly into his past, reaching for the young man whose heart had been so wide open and full of love for her, while the other part was slapping him back to his senses and reminding him of the life he lived now; the impossibility of opening that door back up. He felt trapped and anxious, like a caged animal.

“I said back the hell off Rook,” he growled through gritted teeth. “I know exactly what’s at stake here. Rook shot him a disbelieving look and hammered his point in again. “Look, I know you loved her, but you were a kid then. You’ve got responsibilities now, a business, and a daughter. You….we can’t afford to get that attached to anyone ever again. Not living this life.”

The truth of Rook’s words dropped on him like a ton of bricks which made him even more anxious and annoyed. He opened his mouth to fire back when he saw Rider appear from the front of the house and began to walk towards the two of them. “I know what I’m doing. This conversation is over,” he whispered to Rook.

“Are we going or what? I’ve been in the car for 20 minutes.” Rider said, assessing the two men and picking up on the tension between them. He had heard them yelling from the driveway but decided to leave it alone. “Yeah, in a minute,” Rook replied.

“What’s going on? And why aren’t you in school?” Nico challenged Rider. “Teacher conferences. Rook’s taking me to the garage to show me the ropes. And then we’re going to do the exchange at the airport tonight,” he said with a smile that quickly fell when he saw Nico’s face.

“Like hell you are. Rook how many times do I have to tell you that Rider is not getting involved in our business? He’s got better options than that.”

“Look, the kid said he wanted to see what we do, so I told him he could tag along. He can go or not go—it doesn’t matter to me,” Rook shot Rider an angry glare for throwing him under the bus. “He can go to the garage, but not the exchange. That’s final. Now the two of you get out of here, it’s almost time to open. I’ll be there in a while.”

The disappointment on Rider’s face was apparent, but, deciding not to push his luck, he headed to the car. Rook began to follow but turned back to Nico briefly. “Remember what I said. This whole thing is nothing but trouble.”

************************

Monacco Desert Cottage - Vista Hills

Hanging up from the third phone call in 5 minutes Lexie plopped down in front of her computer to investigate why three news stations had called asking for a comment from her boss.

She typed Isabella’s name into the search engine and waited with bated breath as the page began to fill with what she knew would be her worst nightmare. Hesitantly she clicked on a link and sat face to face with her own image. Pictures of her and Isabella in front of the house, in the car, coming from the airport; shots of Isabella with Eden and Reese from a vantage point that appeared quite close to Eden’s house stared back at her. Someone had been tailing them both from the moment they had arrived.

Lexie kept clicking through the links finding more and more pieces of tabloid fodder, the majority of which was either grossly exaggerated or downright fake. There was no time to waste. She quickly picked up the phone again and dialed.

“Blair, it's Lexie. I think you need to get over here right now.”

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DeSantos Bros. Auto Body - Downtown Las Vistas

Memories and daydreams had kept her up for most of the night before. Remnants of her conversation with Eden and seeing Reese again had allowed thoughts of Nico to flood her consciousness almost to the point of unrest. The “what ifs” that played over and over again in her mind had brought her here and now she was hesitating.

Isabella sat outside of the garage that Nico owned paralyzed with fear of what she would walk into if she left her car. The boy she had left so many years ago had become a man now. A man who she didn’t know—who she was afraid to seek out for fear of her worst “what if” coming true.

As hard as she tried to cling to her doubts, start the car, and leave her curiosity was killing her. She got out of the car and started her walk into the unknown to satisfy it.

As she approached she paused for a moment when she saw him standing in the lobby. She was taken aback by how much he had changed physically.

He was taller, much bigger, muscular, and his faded beard framed the chiseled edges of his face. His eyes piercing and intense remained the same. She had found love and comfort in those eyes so many years ago. What would she find now?

Nico’s heart hit the floor when he looked up and saw Isabella walking through the door. He had been watching her for days now from afar, always careful not to be seen, even though there was a part of him that had wanted her to look in his direction, notice him watching her. And though he had subconsciously willed her to come to him, he was shocked that she had actually shown up.

He took a moment to collect his thoughts before he spoke. “Isabella….how are you?” he said casually as if they had only just seen each other a few days before.

“I’m well, and you?” she replied. She was clearly prepared to put on the same front as he was—keeping it cool as if there had never been anything between them. But he sensed that there was something more beyond the surface.

“Why don’t we go to my office, it’s a bit noisy and dirty out here. Wouldn’t want you to get grease on your dress” he said as he motioned for Rook to continue going over the spreadsheets with Rider. He stepped aside for her to proceed before him and by default, got a good look at her in that dress that he was concerned about keeping clean. Pausing for a moment to keep his physical reaction in check he followed her to his office and shut the door.

The cold cement box that he worked in held little more than his desk and two chairs. He gestured for her to have a seat and she obliged while he began clearing the mess of papers strewn across the desktop; a futile effort to straighten up as well as a stalling tactic.

Isabella couldn’t stop her mind from racing. So many emotions and memories of times past flooded her consciousness. Feelings that she had repressed for years began popping up as if they had been there all the time. She would have to keep her composure if she was going to get through this.

As they made small talk Nico fell into the rhythm of her voice; still the same, soft and sensual against his ears. He was torn between avoiding eye contact, yet not being able to take his eyes off of her when she looked away. If it was possible, she was even more beautiful now than when she was a teenager. She had the same smile, same sapphire eyes, same goddess-like figure that now came with sensual confidence that was hard to resist. He wondered how many other things about her were the same.

Isabella could feel his eyes on her and sensed his hesitation when he spoke. She wondered if he was going through the same emotional turmoil as she was -- desperately wanting to say things that had been held back for years.

Running out of meaningless banter to throw around, the heart of the matter crept closer yet they seemed to have made a mutual yet unspoken decision to dance around it. The tension between them was palpable and if one of them didn’t say something soon the moment would pass them by, possibly forever. She decided to give her mind a rest and speak from her heart.

“I’m sorry I left the way I did, Nico” she began. I just didn’t have a choice. You know how my father was…is. The last thing I ever wanted to do was leave…you.

He sat quietly for a moment, shocked that she had let her guard down. He wanted to open up to her too, letting loose all the feelings he had locked away. He wanted to tell her how crazed he had been when he found out that she had left and how, after months of not hearing from her, his heart had hardened when he realized that she wasn’t coming back. He wanted to tell her how much he had missed her, how much he still felt for her, even now after all this time.

But this was an emotional ride he could not afford to go on, especially not at work. He needed to switch gears—and fast. Against his better judgment, he let the monster inside him come out to play. “What’s to be sorry for?” He said nonchalantly. “Did you miss me or something? I don’t remember getting a letter or a postcard. Did I miss you on one of your visits?”

His childishness had always annoyed her then—it still did now. This was the reaction she had feared; defensive, stubborn, and heartless. How dare he mock her when she was trying to explain herself. The walls that she had foolishly begun to let down shot back up, cold and hard.

“I guess I should have known better than to think you had grown up at all,” she said rising to leave. “You’re still the same cocky asshole you’ve always been.”

“You didn’t grow up much either if you thought you were going to breeze in here with your sad eyes and everything would be forgiven. It just doesn’t work that way…. angel.”

He threw that word, once used as his term of endearment for her, like a dagger aimed at her heart. It had made sharp cutting contact. “Go to hell, Nico!” Isabella shouted as she stormed out of his office.

Too late I’m already there, he thought to himself as he watched her leave. Frustrated by his emotions and ashamed of his actions Nico spun his chair to face the cold wall of his office. Seeing her again had opened up a deep wound inside of him that he thought he had closed so many years ago. The undeniable truth stared him in the face; he was still vulnerable to her and there was nothing he could do about it.

****************************************************

Wiping at the tears flowing from her eyes, Isabella tried to stop thinking about her encounter with Nico, but his words kept ringing in her head. The harsh tone of his voice and the ice-cold glare in his eyes left little doubt of his hatred for her. She had been a fool to let her guard down; a fool to believe that some part of him still loved her.

She drove home on autopilot; a right turn here, left turn there, stop, go, stop. Flashbacks of moments they had shared overtook her mind; memories played back like an old forgotten movie. He had told her he wanted to be with her forever, that he would never leave, never love anyone the way he loved her. She had his heart and he had hers, a feeling that gave her the most peaceful comfort she had ever felt. Could all of that truly be gone?

It was an idea that in theory, she had rationalized a million different ways—time passing, maturity, and growth taking over—but she was being crushed by the weight of the reality that the truest love she had ever known was dead and buried.

Blair’s car was in front of the house when she pulled up, an omen that didn’t sit well with her. She looked at her cell phone and saw six missed calls all from Blair. Whatever was going on it certainly wasn’t good. She wiped her face, touched up her makeup, and made her way into the house.

She heard the blaring news report before she was halfway in the door; the reporter’s condescending voice spouting the same allegations from years ago. Was her mother’s mysterious “accidental” death really murder? Is she back to claim the love child she left behind? Has she been a part of an international prostitution ring headed by her father? Did Carlos Monacco squander the family fortune leaving her to beg for money from his old business associates? The hurtful rumors went on and on.

Isabella could feel the blood rushing from her head and she shifted her weight to keep her balance. Her heart was pounding in her chest and the muscles around it seemed to tighten with every breath she took. For the second time in an hour tears hot and painful began to blur her vision and stream down her face. “Turn it off!” she shouted to a stunned Lexie and Blair who hadn’t heard her come in. “Please just turn it off!”