Summer Vows

He was the only one of his parents’ four children who still lived at home. He had his own apartment in the expansive house and had access to an in-home recording studio. Although he was provided ultimate privacy, Jason refused to sleep with a woman under his parents’ roof. If his dates didn’t have their own place, then he entertained them at hotels.

Jason had surprised everyone once he’d announced that he’d bought property in Oregon near the Cascades where he’d built a sprawling house he dubbed Serenity West. It was where he spent months writing and recording music, and he made it a point to spend at least half the year there.

Ana followed Jason into the living/dining area and sat with him on a sofa covered with Haitian cotton. The seating arrangement faced a wall of pocket doors that overlooked the patio and inground pool.

Shifting, he turned to face his sister. “They’re making plans to send you away.”

Ana’s eyes widened until he could see the dark centers of the golden orbs. “Send me where?”

“Diego said he has a friend who is a U.S. Marshal. It appears the man has a house down in the Keys, and that he’s taken an extended vacation leave, so Diego asked him to look after you.”

“Look after me!” Ana’s voice had gone up several octaves. “What the hell do they think I am? I’m not a three-year-old that has to be looked after.”

Reaching out, Jason caught her shoulders and pressed his forehead to his twin’s. “Calm down, Ana.”

“Calm down! Would you be calm if someone decided to send you away against your will?”

His eyes, so much like Ana’s, bore into hers. “I would if my life depended upon it.”

There was something in her brother’s voice and expression that made her pause. “What is it, Jay?” she asked, using her pet name for him.

Jason closed his eyes, a fringe of long, thick black lashes touching high cheekbones. “That bullet was meant for you.”

She went still, nothing moving as Ana held her breath. “How do you know that?” she whispered once she exhaled.

He patted his chest over his heart. “I feel it here.”

People had always asked them as twins if one felt when the other was in danger, and the answer was yes. And even before he’d gotten the phone call that Tyler was with Ana when he’d been shot, Jason had known something was wrong. He’d been in the studio editing a song when he’d suddenly felt as if someone or something had squeezed his heart, making breathing difficult. He’d called Ana’s cell phone at the same time she was calling him, and he was at the hospital minutes before Tyler was wheeled into the E.R.

Ana’s eyes filled with tears as she slumped against Jason, who was rubbing her back in a comforting gesture. She could admit unequivocally that she trusted her twin more than anyone. They shared a special bond that gave them the ability to complete one another’s sentences and know when the other felt joy or sadness.

“You’re saying I should go?”

“I’m saying you shouldn’t fight Mom and Dad on this.”

She eased back. “What about you, Jay? You’re also Serenity Records.”

He shook his head. “Not like you, Ana. You’re front and center, while I work behind the scene. You negotiate the contracts and handle all the legal entanglements. I know that bullet was meant for you.”

“I go away for a couple of weeks, then what? What if the police don’t catch the person who shot Tyler?”

“The police have made this case a priority. They’re going to find the shooter.”

“What if they don’t?” she asked again.

“Dad and Uncle Martin have contacted a P.I. firm who employ ex-military and law enforcement. They have their own methods of uncovering details the police may overlook.”

Ana ran her fingers through her short hair. “What about Serenity?”

Jason gave her a long stare. “It’s not going to implode because you’re not there. I may not be familiar with all the legalese, but I do have an MBA. I believe that qualifies me to know a little about running a business.”

Pinpoints of heat stung Ana’s cheeks. “I didn’t mean to imply it would fall apart without me, Jason.”

He ruffled her hair as he’d done when she was a little girl. “Everything is going to be all right.”

Ana sucked in a lungful of air, held it and then exhaled slowly. “It’s not going to be all right until they catch the person who shot Tyler.”

There was a light knock on the door and Jason and Ana turned to find Diego Cole-Thomas standing in the open doorway. Folding his arms over his chest, the head of ColeDiz International, Ltd. leaned against the frame. People who saw photographs of Samuel Cole usually did a double-take whenever they looked at Diego. He was his great-grandfather’s clone. Not only did he look like the man who’d amassed a fortune growing tobacco, bananas and coffee, but his approach to business was similar.

“Did you tell her?” Diego asked.

Ana pushed off the sofa and approached her cousin. “Why are you talking about me as if I wasn’t here, Diego? And yes, Jason did tell me.” She tilted her chin, staring up at Diego staring down at her. “Where exactly in the Keys am I going and who’s going to babysit me?”

Diego flashed a rare smile, transforming his stoic expression. “His name is Jacob Jones, he lives on Long Key and he’s not too pleased that he has to babysit you, but he’s willing to do it as a favor to me. As soon as you pack enough to last you a couple of weeks I’ll fly down with you. Jacob will meet us at the Marathon airport.”

Ana’s stomach did a flip-flop. “You want me to leave now?”

“Yes. That’s what your folks want.”

She wanted to ask him if what she wanted figured into the equation. Ana knew she definitely would’ve rejected anyone’s suggestion she go into hiding if Jason hadn’t voiced his fear that her life was in danger. “What time is liftoff?”

“Three.”

Ana took a quick glance at her watch. It was eleven-thirty. She felt like crying, but refused to let her brother and cousin see her break down. She knew her family wanted her safe as much as she wanted to live. At thirty-three she had her whole life ahead of her. And like her sister Alexandra she wanted to fall in love, marry and have children. She wanted what most normal women wanted, but there was someone out there who’d decided they wanted her dead.

“Do I have time to see Tyler before I leave?”

Diego nodded. “I’ll call the pilot and have him delay takeoff.”

Ana knew they were flying down in the corporate jet, so she didn’t have to concern herself with going through airport-security checkpoints. “I guess I better go and pack.”

She walked past Diego and out of Jason’s apartment and into the one that she’d occupied for years. The studio apartment rental and her condo had wonderful ocean views but lacked adequate closet space, so she’d stored most of her clothes in her parents’ house. When she entered her bedroom Ana saw her mother sitting on a cushioned rocker. The strain of the past three days was etched around Serena’s mouth.

Ana closed her eyes and when she reopened them she saw tears making their way slowly down her mother’s face. “I don’t want to go.”

Serena stood up. “But you have to go, baby. And you have to stay away until we settle this.”

She took a step, then another until she hugged her mother so tightly both struggled to breathe. “Will you help me pack, Mama?”

Serena nodded, unable to speak because of the constriction in her throat. It had been years since her wild child had called her Mama. Reaching into a pocket of her slacks, she took out a tissue and blotted her face. She kissed Ana’s cheek. “We’re going to get through this. It’s not the first time we’ve had a family crisis and it probably won’t be the last. Your father, uncles and the other men in this family will make certain nothing will happen to you. They always protect their own.”

Ana held her mother as if she were her a lifeline. She didn’t know why, but she felt as if she was going into exile without a hint of when she would return. Diego had mentioned she should pack enough for a couple of weeks, yet something told her it would be longer. She was leaving everything that was familiar to live with a stranger who’d assured Diego that he would protect her. She had to believe him or whoever wanted her dead would determine her destiny.

No permita que nadie le defina ni determine su destino. It was as if Marguerite-Joséfina Isabel Diaz-Cole was in the room whispering in her ear. Her grandmother had always cautioned her not to let anyone define her or to determine her destiny. Ana’s grandmother had been born during a time when women had little or no rights, and even less when it came to selecting a husband. Cuban-born M.J. had defied her father, married an American and left the country of her birth to become the matriarch of a dynasty. Ana kissed her mother again.

“I’m ready, Mom.” And she was ready to do whatever she needed to do so she could live her life without having to look over her shoulder.

Chapter 2