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‘I think there’s a good chance Carlos has hunkered down in one of the places we own.’

‘One of the places you own?’

‘We have several properties in various countries. It would make sense that he’s in one of them. He wouldn’t need to use any of his credit cards so wouldn’t leave a financial trail. He would be able to hide out there if he doesn’t want to be found by me, which I’m guessing he doesn’t. I could try them all, but it would be time-consuming. If you know where he’s hiding out, it would be easy for you to warn him so that he bolts.’

‘Like I said, I’m not in contact with your brother.’ Her voice was urgent and anxious. ‘He’s switched his phone off so I wouldn’t be able to warn him of anything. You’ve had a wasted trip, Javier. I’m sorry.’

‘Sorry?’

‘That you and Carlos are so distant, especially considering that your parents died when you were both so young. It must be particularly heartbreaking at this time of year, with Christmas just round the corner…’

‘I can live without the sympathy vote,’ Javier said with a thin mouth. His dark eyes were suddenly assessing. ‘Instead, I have a proposition for you.’

‘A proposition?’

‘You come with me to the five family properties. If my brother is hiding out in any of them, I feel your presence with me will go a long way towards him listening to what I have to say without immediately shutting down. If he’s back on the drugs, you and I can reason with him together. You tell me you’re his friend. Prove it.’ Javier paused, then added, ‘I’m prepared to pay you handsomely for your cooperation.’

He took out his mobile phone, tapped something into it and showed her a figure that made her mouth fall open.

‘It’ll be no more than ten days away from your life here. At the end of it you’ll have enough money to buy the warehouse you’re working in, if that’s where your tastes run when it comes to spending money.’ He looked at her. ‘This isn’t about me, Hope. This is about Carlos. I’m worried about him. If we find him and he has no interest in ever speaking to me again, then I’ll accept that. Just so long as he’s all right.’

‘Can I think about it?’

She pictured poor Carlos, wrestling with his inner demons and turning to the thing that had once got him past them.

‘Of course, but time waits for no man. You have until the end of the meal.’

‘The end of the meal? I only have half an hour to decide? What if I don’t give you the answer you want?’

‘I hope you do.’ Javier sat back as their wine was brought to the table, but his dark eyes never left her face. ‘But if you don’t, then I’ll get other people involved and I’ll find him. And I’ll confront him. Although if I do that, I have no doubt that it will spell…’ His voice trailed off.

‘Spell what?’

‘The very end of our relationship, such as it is.’

CHAPTER TWO

‘SO…’ JAVIER TWIRLED his wine glass and looked at her with his head tilted to one side, ‘…you said that my brother met you through your…classes. Tell me how that happened.’

‘I can’t make small talk when I’m trying to make a decision about something like this. When you say that I come with you to the properties you own to track Carlos down, what exactly would that entail? You can’t just ask me to do something like that without bothering to give me any details.’

In the background, upbeat Christmas carols were being played but, between them, the atmosphere couldn’t have been further from ho-ho-ho.

‘I’m open to whatever questions you have,’ Javier said in a sweepingly reassuring tone. His dark eyes remained keenly riveted to her expressive face.

This was an example of thinking on his feet. Although she might be giving off vague signals of hesitation, he knew she would do as requested. Money had been dangled in front of her. However disingenuous she might look, and whatever she might say about deep, abiding friendships and shoulders to cry on, the bottom line was that money talked.

It always did. In an unsteady world, money was always the great leveller.

None of that mattered. Realistically, this was a good outcome for him. The fewer outsiders who knew about his private life, the better. Employing perfect strangers to find Carlos had always been a last resort. This woman wasn’t a perfect stranger. She seemed as equally invested in his brother’s welfare as he was.

He was guiltily glad for this particular third-party intervention.

His relationship with his brother, over the years, had veered between cool, polite exchanges and guidance, which he knew often came across as orders to be obeyed. Somewhere, somehow, he had lost the knack of communication. They both had.

He had always known that at some point he would again be cast in the role of enforcer…

Seven years ago, he had accepted that. He had known that he would get what he wanted, naturally. He hadn’t left until he knew that his brother was back on the straight and narrow, for his own good, but he had also accepted the painful consequences of his actions—namely, the complete cessation of any healthy relationship with Carlos.