Read Online Double Vision by Fiona Brand - Free Book Online

had expected. There was no fortress-style house, no high walls and no sign indicating there were roving guard dogs. It looked like any one of a hundred expensive addresses, with nicely landscaped grounds and tantalizing glimpses of a pool area. While the house was large and sprawling, it wasn’t in the extreme-wealth bracket; it could have belonged to any number of prosperous families.
    She took in the proportions of the house again. Oh, he was clever. He wasn’t making a splash; he was blending.
    The garage was closed, but she glimpsed the rear of a black truck parked at the side of the garage, almost obscured by a shade tree. It was the unexpected second vehicle she had seen the night Lopez had come to dinner.
    Rina craned around, her expression openly curious. “Who lives there?”
    Distracted, Esther took her gaze off the house and concentrated on the road. She should have done the drive-by before she picked Rina up, but she hadn’t been able to risk it until she had been certain she wasn’t followed. “Alex Lopez.”
    There was no point in not telling Rina that, and in a way it made sense. A little foreknowledge would prepare her for what was going to happen.
    Rina settled back into her seat and dragged her Walkman out of her schoolbag, which was propped on the floor by her feet. “So that’s why we’re undercover.”
    â€œWe are not undercover. My car’s being serviced, so I borrowed Jorge’s.”
    Rina flipped the Walkman open and examined the tape. “I would have taken Dad’s ’Vette.”
    â€œMaybe the ’Vette was out.”
    â€œThe ’Vette’s in the garage.”
    â€œHow did you know that?”
    â€œDad got picked up this morning. I saw him leave from my bedroom window.”
    Esther frowned. Cesar did use a driver occasionally, usually if he had a lot of stops to make in places where it was difficult to get parking, but according to his secretary he had had just the one meeting today, which he had missed. “How come you know so much about the ’Vette, anyway?”
    Rina’s expression was smug. “Dad’s already let me drive it.”
    â€œWhat?”
    Rina grinned. “Uh-huh. I’m on the road.”
    â€œNot with me you’re not. And I’ll be having a word to your father about that.” The words were automatic, but with a pang she realized she wouldn’t be having a word with Cesar about Rina, or anything else, in the conceivable future. For the next twenty-four hours, she would be staying quiet and keeping her mouth shut. Every ounce of energy she had would be directed into helping Xavier pull off the funds transfer and making arrangements for both Rina and herself to disappear.
    Grief she hadn’t had time to feel hit her like a fist in the chest. She had been so busy trying to find out what had gone wrong and figure a way through the mess, she hadn’t had time to count the personal cost, and it was huge. She and Cesar had had twelve good years together. The pull of those years, of living and working side by side tugged at her, sharp enough to cause actual pain. At times they had fought—each as stubborn as the other—but the relationship had been exhilarating and Esther had been satisfied. Rina had completed them, filling the gaps that occasionally loomed, bringing softness and the sense of family she craved.
    She turned a corner and accelerated away from the barbed territory of Lopez’s house, shoving the misery down somewhere deep and dark until she had the time and the privacy to deal with it.
    â€œLopez is a problem, isn’t he?”
    Esther’s gaze was sharp. “What do you mean?”
    â€œI heard him and Dad talking.” Rina made a face. “Don’t look so surprised. Just because it looks like I’m not listening, it doesn’t mean I’m not. Anyway, they thought I was listening to my Walkman, but I wasn’t. Lopez