Page 67 of Loving at 40

“The Quinteros visited the Magellen whenever they came to Chicago. Of course, that’s confidential information, and now I have to kill all of you for knowing.” Noah laughs, good-natured and teasingly, but the severity of his words isn’t lost on most of the group.

“That isn’t fucking funny,” Zack grumbles, swiping a hand through his hair. The nervous tell is something he’d done in college, and I’m surprised I remember the movement. His voice deepens as he snaps at his brother. “Explain.”

“The Quintero family is weal-thy, and their money is dirty, but they had some kind of relationship with the head of the hotel corporation. I don’t know the details. I just know main office management would call with a reservation for the penthouse suite, and we’d have to clear the floor for the honored guests like they were freaking royalty.”

We all stare at Noah, struggling to process what he’s said.

“About eight years ago, Archer came in with Viviana. He caught my eye, warning me not to expose him or even question if it was him. I figured he was either in trouble or in deep with the Quinteros for another reason. Archer isn’t stupid, so I went with option two. He wouldn’t fall to the dark side.”

“You never thought to mention this?” Zack snaps at his brother.

“Can’t say I recall Archer coming up in casual conversation.” Noah is snarky, and he’s not giving in to his younger brother’s stiff, sharp address or sarcasm.

“I told you how he’s been missing for years,” Zack states, irritation filling his voice.

“And it’s not like I really know where he’s been. Being with Viviana might have been a one-time hookup. It wasn’t until recently he told me he’d been involved with her for five years.”

“Five years?” I shriek. That’s longer than I’d been married to Ryan. That’s not a simple woman taking a spin on Archer’s motorcycle. That’s a relationship.

You love me. He had to have loved her. I saw the way he looked at her. She was his everything.

“Are you certain it was her?” Mason asks me.

“I don’t know. I’ve never heard of her before.” She was just a woman. I try to wipe her from my thoughts. No man could dismiss a woman like her.

“Luscious curves.” Noah moves his hands to form the hourglass shape of a woman. “Throaty accent. Gleam in her eye like she could cut you with a glare. Screams entitled.” None of these attributes was a question.

“That was her.”

“It’s Viviana,” Noah confirms. “Funny he left with her as she’s the one who shot him.”

“She shot him?” Anna shrieks, and she glances at me across the space in Zack’s backyard. “How do I not know this?” She’s still looking at me as if I hold all the answers.

“I only found out the other night.” I rub my upper left thigh. “It’s why he always wears jeans and long shorts.” The admission feels like a betrayal, and the glare in Anna’s eyes says she’d like to cut me, although she’d never ever do such a thing. Hurt and fear and a million other sharp things rest in those dark orbs so similar to her brother’s.

Anna tosses her hands up in the air. “I give up. I’m the only one who will never know anything.” She glances at Autumn, and I’m reminded that Autumn had access to an email address for Archer, not Anna, not his own sister.

“He didn’t want you to worry,” I try to soothe her.

“How can I worry when I don’t know anything?” she snaps at me, although I know her anger isn’t aimed at me.

“That might be the point,” Logan tosses in.

“Not helping,” Autumn mutters beside him but pats his thigh.

“He wanted to protect you,” I state, defending her brother once more.

“Is he dangerous?” Mason asks, looking at Noah as he speaks.

“He was trying to protect Anna from dangerous people,” I add. This Quintero family certainly sounds dangerous. Shooting Archer. Drug lords. What kind of conversation is this? It’s as if we’re discussing a movie we’ve recently seen and not someone’s life. Archer’s life.

“If that woman is here, does that mean you’re in danger?” Mason addresses me. “Is her presence putting Anna in danger? The kids?” His voice rises with each addition to his list. “I’ll fucking shoot him myself.”

“You will not,” Logan huffs, slowly smiling at the tough act Mason can’t quite pull off with his preppy clothing and model-worthy good looks.

“Fuck you. You don’t know the lengths I’d go to for . . .” Mason’s voice fades, and he glances at Anna before dropping his gaze. He swipes two hands into his hair and stands, stepping away from the group and stalking toward the cliff’s edge, where another staircase leads down to the beach below.

Mason’s question does leave me wondering. What are the chances that Archer ran into her at a restaurant in this small touristy town on Lake Michigan? Did she know he was here? Does she know where he’s been staying? Had she been to Lakeside Cottage before? Had she been in his bed in the apartment?