“Thank you for seeing us, Soleil. There’s a lot of people who are very surprised that you married Ice,” Harrington said.
“Because he’s in a club? I love the club and being on his motorcycle with him. Given my past history of adrenaline sports, I wouldn’t call it that surprising.”
“Do you know his real name?” Deveau broke in.
They were going to play good cop, bad cop. She’d heard of that routine. “Of course I know his real name. We’re married. When one gets married, you normally share names.”
Deveau didn’t wither as he should have under her haughtiest, very perfect dry-up-and-die look. He didn’t seem the least affected.
“It is?” he challenged.
She didn’t even stumble. “His name is Isaak, his brother’s name is Dmitry and his sister’s name is Alena, just in case you were going to ask their names as well. My last name is now Koval. Is that what you need to know?”
Jonas sent Jackson a quelling look. “Yes, we did need to know those things, Soleil. Winston Trent made some pretty nasty accusations before his death. He claimed you were being held prisoner, that these men were after your money and that you’ve been ill for some time.”
“Ah, yes. The ‘mentally ill, I need to take care of her and her money’ scam. Do you know how many men actually think that’s going to work? Winston inserted himself into my life and I couldn’t get him out. Kevin Bennet, my lawyer—” She stopped and swallowed the sudden lump in her throat. She shook her head to clear it. Every time she thought of Kevin, she wanted to cry.
“Kevin was helping me get rid of him. With Winston, no didn’t mean no. Even after I made it clear we weren’t getting married, he hired an attorney I didn’t approve of, or want for one. I had to go behind his back to get rid of the man.”
“Why didn’t you call law enforcement and file a restraining order?” Deveau demanded. “That seems like the smart thing to do.”
“By the time I realized it would come to that, he had already started his campaign to make me look like I needed to go to a hospital.”
“How did you meet Ice?” Harrington asked.
“In a bar. Winston had gotten very violent. I ran. I’d met Lana in a restroom of all places, and she’d given me her number just in case I got into trouble. They were all in Vegas because Steele and Breezy were getting married.”
“Winston got violent?” Harrington echoed.
She nodded. “I made it very clear I wasn’t going to marry him. He got angry and punched me several times. I was scared and I ran. I ran the opposite way of where I thought Winston would look for me. That way took me away from the strip and down toward the bars.”
“Why didn’t you go to the police then?” Deveau persisted.
“He had a lot of cop friends. I didn’t know who to trust. I saw the bikes and someone outside wearing the Torpedo Ink colors like Lana had shown me and I went inside. I was too distraught to think it was a dumb idea to go into a biker bar. Fortunately, I met Ice right away, and he took care of me.”
“Did he know you were an heiress?” Deveau asked.
“Not then. Probably later, when we talked marriage and I said he had to sign the prenup Kevin had drawn up. He signed it without hesitation.”
“Ice signed a prenup drawn up by your previous lawyer,” Harrington echoed, exchanging a long look with Deveau.
“Yes,” she reiterated. “Without hesitation. If you’re thinking he coerced me into this marriage in any way, he didn’t. I wanted him almost from the first moment I set eyes on him. He was so sweet to me. He hated that Winston had put bruises on me. I tried to get him drunk and I deliberately tried to seduce him.”
Both men exchanged grins. She ignored them. No one ever seemed to believe the truth, that she was the one at fault, not Ice. He always had to take the blame in everyone’s eyes. It hadn’t been that way, but everyone seemed determined to make him take the blame.
“I will admit I’d been drinking and so had he. When we woke up, the first thought was to dissolve the marriage, although I didn’t want to. I liked him. I liked everything about him. I knew it was wrong to trap him into marriage and eventually I thought he’d be really upset about it. Then I saw Winston in the parking lot with a bunch of cops and I panicked. I got on Ice’s bike and came here to Caspar. To this house.”
Soleil looked around her. “It’s so beautiful. He was offering me so much. A home. A family. And him. He’s amazing. Caring. Very loving all the time. We don’t have fights. We don’t even argue. When I’m in the kitchen experimenting, he’s right there with me.”
“I’m sure you’ve been kept apprised of the investigation into Winston’s death,” Harrington said, abruptly switching subjects.
She smiled at him and sat back in the chair. “I think I’d like my lawyer with me now. I’d feel a lot more comfortable.”
Before either of them could object, she waved at Absinthe, who was watching carefully. Ice had told her that he was able to lip-read and they’d determined ahead of time which chair for her to sit in so it would force the two law enforcement officers to sit in the ones that would give Absinthe the advantage of reading their lips. He came in immediately and took the chair beside hers.
“Gentlemen,” he greeted.
Soleil was a little shocked at how different Absinthe looked when he dressed in a suit. Like the others, he was tatted and had defined muscles. He was blond with strange, crystallized eyes. They were so light blue they looked almost cloudy at times. He had one scar that curved along the left side of his jaw. Incredibly handsome, whether he was in blue jeans or a suit, he was intimidating. He was quiet, and spoke softly, but when he did speak, his voice was so compelling, she noticed the room would go silent.
“Are you all right, Soleil?” he asked, his voice incredibly gentle.
She could tell he was genuinely concerned for her, and that warmed her. She did have a family. She’d been accepted into Torpedo Ink’s circle and they were there, making certain she wasn’t alone. Ice had given her that. Her Ice.
“Yes. We’re just getting into the investigation into Winston and those horrible people. If I’d stayed with him, he would have murdered me.” She rubbed her arms with her hands. The chills were real. She’d had no idea that there were so many people involved.
“As you know, Winston was involved in a con artist ring targeting wealthy women. These men would meet women at fund-raising events and then insert themselves into their lives.” Jonas Harrington leaned forward. “How much did you know about it?”
“Nothing at all.” She could answer that honestly. “Winston would give me a list of names, both men and women, he wanted me to befriend. He claimed he was going into politics and it was important to know the right people. He would need money and donations and wanted me friends with very wealthy men and women. He also introduced me to several of the men that were involved with him in this horrible business.” She gave a delicate little shudder.