I don't know Bella!!

Bella drew in a slow, deep breath, swallowed and lifted her face to his.
This is the time she'd dreaded would come anytime soon .

“Carol Rodriguez wanted me to take several pictures of you...."

His gaze narrowed, his eyes turned black as the darkness outside. “why is that? Did I look like I was involved with her company too?”

"No. But maybe you're her son!"

Miguel blinked twice, then very carefully, very slowly said, “What did you say?”

She pulled his hand. "Sit first"

He felt the pressure of her hand on his chest and ignored it. He wanted to hear what she's said again, "If I hear you clearly, you're saying she's... she's my mum?"
“Please…”

Her voice softened, but there was an edge of desperation there, as well, Miguel noted. He realized that he’d pressed her tightly against the counter, that their bodies were touching intimately.

He might have indulged himself and prolonged the contact if she hadn’t just laid a bombshell on him.

On a curse, he moved away and shook his head. Damn it. He almost fell for her tricks. "The worse luck right now isnif you keep up this tell tale lullaby and get to the fuckin truth, blondie"

“I’m telling you the truth.” She straightened, placed both hands on the counter behind her and drew in a slow breath. “Your biological mum, Carol Rodriguez is alive and never dead!. Now will you please sit down?”

He did, but only because the kitchen was too small for him to pace effectively.

The words are almost driving him to the brink of insanity, he needed this girl to get to the darn conclusion soon

He glanced at his watch, then folded his arms and stared at her. “Start talking.”

With a sigh, she dragged one hand through her damp hair. “The Mafia rivalry between immortal and Agatha was the reason why she left. Your father died in a plane crash but Carol survived it. You only lived with your grandfather and wasn't there during the crash. She was afraid to come near you all these while because you might not want to accept her"

He held the pain of that memory to himself, kept his face impassive as he stared blankly back at her. “All a matter of record. That doesn't guarantee that I'm going to believe you blindly"

“You marrier the daughter of Immortal boss..." Bella stopped. The words chocking her throat. Only if she could confess herself right now.

"Is that all you've got?" Miguel snapped. "You got nothing but the record of that darn marriage, continue"

She gulped hard and went on. "Still living at your grandfather she spent the next nine years trying to locate you before you become the boss of Agatha and got married"

He smiled at that memory. “I hope you get to that darn conclusion soon and stop mentioning the word marriage”

The patient look she shot him made him want to shake her. “Why are you so against talking about marriage? Let me be through with whatever I have to say please......”

“You did a lot of digging, Blondie,” he said dryly. “If I wasn’t so annoyed that it was my personal life you’ve stuck your nose into, I’d be impressed.”

“Like I said, details are my specialty. I make a point to pay close attention.”

He might tell her that he was paying attention to a few of her details, as well, such as the damp spots making her blouse almost see-through, and the curve of her long legs in her snug jeans.

But he’d rather not be distracted at the moment, so he forced his attention to her eyes, noticed the smug satisfaction in her green gaze.

She might not look so smug if he told her that she’d uncovered no more about his current life than anyone else with a personal computer and telephone could have done.

Anything else would require a level-four security pass. And that, he was certain, this talkative didn’t have.

He was almost beginning to enjoy this little game. It had been a long time since a woman had intrigued him.

Even though he was certain she didn't know his wife, it had been a hell of a lot longer since he’d felt an attraction as intense as the one she evoked in him.

There was something about her eyes that fascinated him.

They changed color with her moods. When she was angry they shone like green fire. After he’d kissed her, they’d turned smoky. A few moments ago, when he’d had her pinned against the sink, they’d softened to the color of a spring meadow.

'How can I be so sure she wasn't lying about her identity?' he thought that he wanted her, just as much as he was certain she’d wanted him, and it had taken a will of iron not to strip down her jeans, lift her onto that counter and take her.

The thought alone aroused him, but he forced it back down. “How ‘bout you tell me something I don’t already know, I mean things like......”

“All right.” She tossed her head back and sent the ends of her hair over her shoulders. “You might have thought your mum left you, but in truth, she only did it just to protect herself. She was in love with your father, but Cartersville Trump loves her first"

He didn’t believe any of it. He wondered briefly if Carter has sent her just like he sent his daughter, inventing this ridiculous story to test his reaction, to see if this woman could gain his confidence and convince him to reveal sensitive information.

Or worse, if she wasn’t from Carter, if someone else had sent her…He didn’t like the thought of that at all. Didn’t want to consider what he’d have to do if she
turned out to be someone other than who she said she was.

He leaned back in his chair, kept his expression bland and his tone bored. “So my real mum is alive all these while and couldn't come to find me herself but send you?"

Bella shook her head. “Mrs Carol and I had a lot of conversations and before she selected me to do this, I have passed through a very tough test phase that is not very pleasant. She'd searched for you for years, even after you left Liverpool, but never found anything to give her hope.”

“Until you came along.” Miguel kept his gaze carefully locked with hers. If she was lying, she was damn good, he thought.

Her sigh was heavy as she pushed away from the counter. “I ran computer checks on every member of her family to make sure she wasn't lying to me either. I can't hurt you twice and...."

Bella stopped. Damn it! She'd exposed herself. "Uh, I mean I can't be one sided and...."

Miguel lifted his hands in mock admiration. The truth of the reality he was seeing hurting him as fuck. "Tell me, what did you know, about Bella Trump?"

Bella know this is the end. He was in her carbin right now and could do anything that he wanted to her if she didn't comply. She put on a fast but agitating smile, "B... Bella? Who is Bella why did you keep confusing me with someone else?"

Miguel jerked up from the chair, "I thought I was mistaken for a moment, but looking at you up close, I was right...."

"I really don't know who Bella is!" She insisted "I'm Valeire Jarrett and that's all!"

Eyes narrowed, he glanced up sharply. "Really?"