Yoongi and Jungkook were successful. Within a couple hours, they returned to Yoongi’s hotel room with all the equipment they needed. And the dinner they had grabbed on the way back. Yoongi got to work right away while Jungkook munched on empanadas and watched Yoongi work. Once in a while, Jungkook would feed his friend a bite of food. They stayed up part of the night transferring the tapes to digital recordings.
Tae had gotten a room next to Tia and Julieta’s room. Jin’s room was on the other side of the girls’ room. The other guys were staying across the hall. The girls were surrounded by strong men watching out for their safety. Still, they spent the night feeling very insecure.
The next day, they all congregated in the girls’ room to discuss their plans. All of the guys agreed that the girls should travel with them to Los Angeles. They didn’t want them returning home until some sort of legal action had been taken.
“What will I tell Martina? She is expecting me back in the office next week,” Julieta pointed out.
“Tell her that you have made some contacts in Los Angeles and are traveling there with us for a series of meetings that you’ve arranged. If she asks for details, tell her you will fill her in when you return. That you’ve got it all taken care of,” Namjoon suggested.
Julieta nodded. “I can do that. I’ll have her postpone any meetings I’ve scheduled.”
She was grateful that she didn’t have to return to Korea to face Martina alone. Julieta was truly freaked out now that she had seen the evil side of Pedro. She wouldn’t put anything past him or Santiago now. Or Martina. They all seemed to be in league with each other. She wanted to escape to another land. Somewhere beyond their reach. Hopefully, Los Angeles fit the bill.
Tia glanced at Tae. “Guess I’ll be taking those pictures of the United States, after all,” she murmured.
Tae grinned. But he noticed that she wasn’t smiling.
“What’s wrong?”
“I’m wondering how we’re going to keep our relationship a secret. I mean, coming here we had an excuse to be on that plane with you. But L.A.? Come on. People will be awaiting your arrival. If we all get off that plane together, surely someone will notice.”
“You’re right. So, we won’t.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, we’re the newsmakers. Once we leave the plane, all eyes will follow us. Not our plane. We’ll just have you and Julieta wait on the plane for an extra half-hour. You can stay behind to collect some of our things. If anyone notices you, they’ll just think you work for us. We can meet up later at the hotel.”
Tia sighed. She supposed that would work. She just wished it were easier. That they could actually be seen together. But she knew that they had been really blessed not to be recognized in Paris. She didn’t want to push their luck.
The nine of them spent the remainder of Sunday and part of Monday sightseeing. The girls showed them all their favorite places and many hidden gems. They all shared dinner out on Sunday evening. Monday night, the guys met with the coordinators of the Connect to discuss its grand opening the next day.
BTS would be the stars of the exhibit on Tuesday. They would do numerous photo shoots amongst all the artwork they were promoting. The girls had already decided they’d spend the evening hiding in their hotel room. With the added security of a couple of guards outside their room. Everything went off without a hitch, and they all boarded their plane on Wednesday and headed for Los Angeles.
Over the next week, in between promotional appointments and interviews, recording sessions and practices, the guys, along with Julieta and Tia, spoke with several attorneys and determined that they needed to turn the evidence over to the district attorney in Buenos Aires. Jin and Tae hired a couple of lawyers to fly there and present the evidence to the district attorney’s office. The boys were doing their utmost to protect their girls from any trouble.
A few days after the attorneys met over the evidence, Mr. Gonzalez was arrested. Apparently, Carlos had received a visit from the district attorney. Once Carlos discovered that his tapes had been unearthed, he let all the truth spill out. Between the tapes and his testimony, the district attorney was satisfied enough to file charges against Pedro. He was soon in custody.
Julieta was still scared. She was afraid that he would get bail and come calling. She had seen his vengeance already. She’d spent the last ten years paying for it. Carlos’s daughter was just further proof of the merciless side of Pedro’s character.
But, as it turned out, he was denied bail because the judge determined he might pose a threat to Julieta, Tia, and Carlos’s daughter. All his assets were frozen. He would have a hard time wreaking vengeance now. The district attorney also reopened the case into the deaths of Juan and Lucia Flores. She now found the cause of their demise very suspicious.
When Julieta spoke to the other members of the board and voiced her suspicions concerning Santiago and Martina, the board removed them both from their positions, pending an investigation. They were denied access to the facilities. Martina flew back to Buenos Aires, leaving Julieta’s office more secure.
Tia and Julieta remained in the United States until the members of BTS were ready to return to Korea. The girls boarded the plane an hour before the boys arrived. Tia turned towards Julieta.
“Are you happy to be headed home?”
Julieta smiled. “Korea really is home now, isn’t it, Tia?”
Tia nodded. “Honestly, wherever Tae is, that’s home.”
Julieta concurred. “I feel the same way about Jin. They’re two amazing guys, aren’t they? Look at how they’ve fought for us. How they’ve surrounded us. And not just them, but all seven of them. Tia, I don’t know what would have happened to us if they hadn’t entered our lives. It’s scary to contemplate.”
“You don’t need to. They did enter our lives.”
“All because some crazy fans chased Tae down a street in Paris, and my adventurous sister was riding by on a motorcycle!”
“Don’t forget the part where my hard-working sis convinced Jin and Jungkook that our snack cakes are the world’s best! If you hadn’t begun working with BTS, I never would have talked to Tae again.”
“Well, whatever circumstances came together, I’m just so glad we have them now. And I’m looking forward to returning to work now that Martina is gone. Jin was helpful there too. He suggested a girl I could hire to help me run the office. I meet with her the day after we return. Things are definitely looking up.”
Tia stared out the window. “We walked through so much hard stuff, Juju. For a long time, I felt so alone. So frozen.”
“Me too,” Julieta murmured.
“But now. Well, it’s like we’ve found a piece of heaven with our guys. I told Tae once – and I’ll say it again, it’s like 24/7 Heaven.”
Julieta smiled. She thought of Jin’s sweet kisses and his kind words. “I have to agree. 24/7 Heaven, indeed.”
