“Soleil, did you break off the engagement because you didn’t want to marry Winston or because he refused to sign the prenup and you didn’t want him to be able to get to your money?”
Czar slipped the question in so smoothly, Ice almost didn’t notice. He scowled when he realized what had been asked.
“That’s more personal, Czar, and has nothing to do with this ring of con artists who have targeted her for murder.” Ice tried to push down his anger and instant resentment. He didn’t care if the president was asking. He didn’t want Soleil to have to answer personal questions with Absinthe touching her, or even in front of all of them.
“I don’t mind,” Soleil said. “I made up my mind I wasn’t going to marry him before we ever went to Vegas. I told him several times it was too soon, and I needed time, but he refused to listen. I mostly needed the time to figure out how to break the engagement off for good. I knew he’d be upset, although I didn’t realize he would resort to violence.”
Absinthe nodded and the terrible tension in the room dissipated along with the churning in Ice’s stomach. His woman. She spoke matter-of-factly. He brought her hand to his mouth and kissed her knuckles before pushing her palm into his thigh again.
“How did you end up in the bar, meeting Ice?” Czar asked.
“Winston and I were walking along the strip and he wanted to go directly to a chapel and get married. I told him that wasn’t happening. That we agreed we weren’t going to get married. I mentioned the prenup. He actually had it with him and shoved it in my face and then he grabbed my arms and shook me. Hard. It scared me.”
Ice clenched his teeth. He wanted two minutes with Winston Trent. He’d show him what pain was. He could tell by the sudden stillness in the room that the others agreed with him.
“I had bruises and I was crying. I didn’t want to give him the satisfaction of seeing me cry, so I detoured and went to one of the restrooms on the main floor. Lana was in there changing. She was beautiful and confident, and I wanted to be like her. I imagined that no one would ever be allowed to treat her the way Winston had me.”
Soleil smiled at Lana. “She was worried about me. No one had worried about me in a long time. She programmed her number into my phone and told me to call if there was a problem. She showed me her Torpedo Ink jacket and said she had lots of friends and that they’d help if Winston got rough with me.”
Czar’s gaze flicked to Lana. She shrugged, uncomfortable with the others hearing the admiration and respect in Soleil’s voice.
“When I told Winston I wouldn’t marry him, he went crazy, hitting me, and then he told me to clean myself up, we were getting married in half an hour. I went into the bathroom but left the door ajar just in case he was coming back. He left the bedroom door open and I heard him talking. I thought it might be room service and I could yell for help. That’s when I overheard that Kevin’s accident wasn’t an accident and that they could easily kill me, but if he didn’t finish what he started, it would be him.”
“Thank you, Soleil. I’m certain that wasn’t easy reliving.” Czar nodded to Absinthe, and he removed his hand from her wrist.
Soleil gave him a faint smile. She seemed to have such a natural compassion for everyone. “I still want all of you to see how dangerous they must be. I’m not the only one they tricked. It’s a little humiliating to know I was taken in by Winston.”
Steele shrugged his broad shoulders. “They studied you, found out everything you liked, where you would most likely go, and then Winston had to memorize those things, much like he wanted you to make friends only with those he trusted. If he cut you off from others, you would have no one looking to find out what really happened to you. That’s the way a lot of these cons work, although murder isn’t necessarily a part of them.”
Ice threaded his fingers through hers. “Code, can you find these people?” Code was always their go-to man, a genius on the computer.
“I’ve located nearly all of them. I’ve gotten into Winston’s private email accounts. He had four addresses. He’s already corresponding with another woman. She’s older. A widow. Her estate is large, but not nearly as large as Soleil’s.” He whistled, still not looking up. “Nowhere in the ballpark. They aren’t going to let this one go, Ice. They thought they had that money in the bag. Now it’s gone. I’ve got demands from four others in the ring insisting Winston find Soleil fast, marry her and dispense with her. That’s the word they use. Dispense. I guess they’re too sophisticated to use the word murder.”