Darkness Follows (18 page)

Lasko

I sat in the corner of the small diner and peeked out from behind my blond, shaggy wig and thick-rimmed glasses. I sipped the nasty, burned coffee and watched the cute waitress serve other tables. She caught my glance and hurried over.

“More coffee?”

“Please.” I watched as she leaned over and gave me a peep show of her perky breasts. I reached up and fingered her name tag. “Joney is a pretty name.” She reminded me of Julia, and I instantly grew hard. I had been disappointed with the prostitute from the motel, though it had been a first to screw a girl while she got choked out by a snake. She had been around the block so many times she had barely gripped me. My fist did a better job.

“Thanks.” She blushed right down to her chest. “You want me to take that?” She pointed to my half-eaten bacon and eggs.

My phone rang, and I brought it to my ear. I shook my head to the girl. She nodded and walked away from me. I was sure she swayed her hips extra for me.
Little dick tease,
I thought, then shifted my erection and gave it a tug.

“Yes.”

“She’s spending four days at the Wind Gate Spa in Laguna,” the voice said. “This is it, Jimmy. This is the time to take her. You won’t have a better opportunity than this.”

I could barely contain myself.

“Take Blake with you. He’ll be your eyes, and he fits in there well. Call me when it’s done.” The line went dead.

My dick throbbed at the idea of Emily spread out under me, my hands wrapped around her neck where I could feel her life beat under my control.

Joney flashed me a sexy grin and nodded toward the bathroom. Really? I set my phone to vibrate, tossed a twenty, and headed in her direction.

I opened the door to find her sitting on the counter, dress hiked up, and completely nude underneath.

Fuck, yeah.

***

Emily

I felt like I had stepped through the pearly gates. The spa was truly spectacular. No wonder Marc had suggested it. It had white and gold tile and a huge fountain that must have stood thirty feet tall. Big, cream, lush chairs circled around a glass table that looked down into a tropical fish tank. Two love birds chirped as we approached the front desk.

“Hello and welcome to the Wind Gate Spa and Resort. Can I help you check in today?” a beautiful Hawaiian woman asked.

“The reservation is under Erin Barrenger.” Erin had been kind enough to help me set this up. The woman’s eyes lit up when she saw what room I had booked.

“Of course, Miss Barrenger, here are your keys.” She waved to someone behind us. “Paul will take you to your room.”

The penthouse was hands down the most beautiful suite I’d ever seen. I even caught Riley’s excitement too. Floor to ceiling windows looked over the ocean, and a balcony wrapped the entire length of the penthouse, giving a 360-degree view of Laguna. I pointed to a door off to the right.

“That’s your room. I’m here.” I pointed to a room across from his. “What can I do to make you feel less uneasy?” I noticed his discomfort. He dropped his bag on the couch and turned to me.

“You could tell the guys we’re here, for starters.”

“I will as soon as I get settled in.” I poured myself a glass of the wine I had brought along for the occasion. I offered him one, but he shook his head. “You want me to book you a massage with the oh-so-pretty Gillian? I heard she has magical hands.”

“Emily, I’m not here to drink or get massages or mud wraps.” He gave me a look. “I’ll be in the background, blending in and giving you the space you want, but still
trying
to do my job.”

I grinned at the sound of a familiar knock at the door. “Well it’s a good thing I brought along someone who does want to do all of that.” Riley gave me a puzzled look. He put one hand on his gun and used the other to open the door.

“I think I had three orgasms on my way up here. Did you see the arms on Paul?” Pete called out dramatically as he walked into the room and tossed his bag onto the bar top. “Well, bend me over and smack my—” He suddenly noticed Riley off to his left. “Who is this, and where can I buy one?”

Riley’s expression was worth every penny. Pete’s eyes grew. I could tell he was going to have fun with Riley.

“Pete, this is Riley, my bodyguard. Riley, this is Pete, one of my oldest friends.”

“When she says oldest, she means longest.” Pete winked. “If you know what I mean?”

“Okay, Pete,” I laughed. “Let’s not scare him off yet. I think I may need him when I tell Seth and Garrett I’m here.”

He stopped and turned toward me, all the fun lost from his face. “Excuse me?”

I rolled my eyes and held up my phone. “I’m not going to call them ’til after we have dinner. I think I deserve that, don’t you?”

He thought for a moment. “Of course, love.” He kissed my cheek. “Let’s get ready for dinner.”

***

Seth

I had been feeling off all day. I glanced at my phone. Riley’s messages were shorter than usual. Normally they were quite detailed, but today’s were at most four words long.

“We got something,” Michaels called out to me and Garrett. We both rushed over to join him in his office.

“It took some digging, and I probably owe some not-so-pretty favors, but I found out that Jimmy Lasko, at age eleven, lived with an aunt in Belgium where he attended an all-boys boarding school. He was there until he graduated high school, and then he moved around for a few years before he returned to the States. No record of him being married, or of any children either.”

“Was there nothing before age eleven? What about his family?” I asked, happy they had finally found out something.

“Nothing. It’s strange, unless the FBI isn’t sharing, but I have some close contacts there. I think I’d get the full 411 on him if they had it.” Michaels thought for a moment. “Given what we’ve learned about Matthews, I think we should bring McPhee in again. I’ve got a bad feeling.”

“I’ll call Riley and find out where they are.” I felt the same way as Michaels. Something was off.

“Hi, Connors.” Riley’s voice sounded different.

“Riley, I need Emily to come to the station.”

“Umm, I’m afraid I can’t do that at the moment.”

I shot a look at Garrett just as my stomach hit the floor. “Why not?”

“Hasn’t she called you yet?”

My heart squeezed to the point of pain. “No. What has she gone and done now?”

I nearly lost it when Riley filled me in.

“I’m sorry, Connors, but I thought if I went against her, she would’ve come without anyone.”

“No, you did the right thing.” I raked my hand through my hair.

“She promised me she’d call you when she got here, but…”

Michaels got my attention and motioned for me to hang up.

“Riley, I’ll call you right back.”

Michaels took a moment as he thought something over. “This might actually be a good thing. No doubt Lasko knows she’s there. I’m sure he thinks this is the best place to take her, a public place with lots of rooms, and where she could slip off the radar fairly easy.” I flexed my hands into fists. “We’ll get a team there, blend in and watch her, see if Lasko comes out of the woodwork. Connors, get Riley to have McPhee call you. Here’s what you’re going to say…”

***

Emily

I tried to convince Riley to eat with us, but he insisted on sitting a few tables back. He said he felt more comfortable with the whole room in front of him. Pete grinned at me as the waiter poured us some red wine.

“To the prettiest person in the room.” He raised his glass to me. “And to you, as well.” I laughed and rolled my eyes.

“How are you not taken?” I joked at his vain flattery toward himself.

“I like to be available for when Matt Bomer realizes I’m better suited for him than Simon Halls.”

“Ah, of course.” I looked over the menu. Everything looked delicious.

“Emily,” Riley came up to me, “I’m not covering for you anymore. Call Connors.” Crap, the calls must have started. I grabbed my phone and saw four texts from Seth. I sighed while the phone rang. He answered on the second ring.

“Where are you?”

“Hello, Seth, and how are you this evening?” I hated when he was all business.

“You haven’t returned any of my texts, and when I called Riley, he said I had to speak to you before he’d talk to me. So what is going on?”

“I’m spending the next couple of days at the Wind Gate Spa and Resort in Laguna. I just need some time, Seth, time to myself. I’m not alone. I have Riley and Pete with me. I didn’t say anything because I knew you’d never let me go. Lasko had the perfect opportunity to make a move when my mother was in town, but he didn’t. I don’t think he’ll try anything. I’m tired of asking permission. Lasko will not ruin every aspect of my life.” I felt my heart pound hard enough to leave a bruise. There was a long pause before he finally spoke.

“I agree that you could use some space. We’ve all been smothering you, trying to keep you safe.” I could hardly believe he was all right with this. “But make sure you keep Riley with you at all times, and please check in with me whenever you can.”

“Um, okay.”

Wow, who are you, and what have you done with Seth Connors?

“I’ll get in touch with the spa’s security team to make sure they know what Lasko looks like.”

“Seems fair.”

“And, Emily,” there was a small pause, “so help me God, if I find out you left the resort, I will personally come down there and bring you home myself.”

Oh, there he is.

“I won’t leave. I never had any plan to. Thanks for being so understanding about this.”

“I’ll talk to you later.” The line went dead. I shrugged. That could have been worse.

A bottle of wine and a glass or two of champagne later, Pete and I were on a roll.

“I say four-point-five out of ten.”

“What!” Pete shrieked. “He’s at least an eight.” We ranked the waiters as they walked by, and we had been there long enough that we had pretty much closed the place down. There were a few stragglers who didn’t seem to mind our random outbursts of laughter.

“Wait, do you hear that?” Pete strained to listen, and then started to laugh. “This place really changes after hours! Listen to the song.”

I winked at him; it was
Hungry Eyes
from the movie Dirty Dancing. I sang as he drummed his fingers on the table. “Why do I feel like Patrick Swayze is going to come bursting through those doors wearing a tight dress shirt and black pants?”

“One can only dream, my love,” Pete muttered.

A few staff members seemed to enjoy our company. I glanced over at Riley, and he just shook his head at me. He suddenly tensed and looked behind me.

“Excuse me, but I think you dropped this.” A set of chocolate eyes gazed down at me. I pulled my sweater out of his grasp.

“Oh, thank you.”

“You’re most welcome.” He smiled at Pete. “Enjoy the rest of your evening.” The man slipped a hand into his jacket pocket and strolled off.

“Holy hell, that man is hot.” Pete hopped to his feet as Riley approached us.

“Let’s go.”

Pete grinned at me, “I would seriously consider a sex change just to have five minutes alone with that guy.”

“Hmm, I see you with a B cup.” I felt his chest with both hands as we were pushed to the lobby by an unimpressed Riley.

“Double D. Go big, or go home.” Pete laughed as he watched Riley’s face.

“Okay, you two, upstairs.” Riley pushed the elevator button and hustled us inside. “Why do I feel like all the warnings the guys gave me about you are going to be proven true in these next few days?”

This made Pete laugh hard enough that he had to hold onto the wall for support. I crossed my arms and pretended to be hurt, but it was no use. I joined his belly roar.

“Riley, look at it this way.” Pete held his side. “I’m sure your sergeant will give you a raise when you’re done with this one.”

“Hey!” I smacked Pete in the shoulder when the elevator opened to our floor.

“Well, actually, you were pretty damn tame tonight.”

Riley locked the door behind us. “I don’t suppose Seth’s advice to be careful means squat to you right now either.” I waved him off. We’d had too much fun to let him ruin our mood. “Come on, you two, into bed you go.”

“Night, Riley.” I waved over my shoulder.

Pete changed into a pair of silk PJs and climbed under the covers. I joined him, and we both stared up at the ceiling, which held a giant net that completely covered the whole bed. It was lovely and set the mood perfectly.

“Riley has a fine ass, hey?” Pete suddenly blurted out. I started to laugh silently, but I made the whole bed jiggle, which only made him keep going. “Do you ever picture him shirtless?”

“No.”

“That’s a shame. I’m doing it right now.”

“Pete,” I held my stomach, “please.”

He rolled onto his stomach to face me. “Oh shit, I bet he has tattoos.”

“Stop!” I closed my eyes. “I don’t want to picture him.”

“Why? You wanna talk about how Seth looks?” He batted his eyes.

“Go to sleep, perv.”

He flopped back over with a heavy sigh. “That’s okay,” he patted my arm, “I can do it without you.”

“You’re hopeless.” I rolled onto my side and pulled the covers to my chin. Pete flopped around a little, then I heard him giggle. I didn’t even want to know.

I lay there for a few minutes, then snatched my phone off the nightstand.

Emily: In bed with the world’s biggest pervert. Hope you had a good day.

A few moments passed, and then I felt my phone vibrate.

Seth: Good, stay put until morning.

I rolled my eyes.

Emily: There was a time you would have cared who I slept with.

Seth: I care, but after the pic he just sent me I’m not concerned.

I rolled over and stared at Pete. He turned the phone around to show me the picture. I laughed when I saw his sad face at my back.

“I told him you were ignoring me.”

“Oh, Pete.” I took his arm and wrapped it around my waist so he’d cuddle with me.

“That’s better.” He stuck the phone in front of me and snapped another photo.

A few minutes later I felt my phone buzz.

Seth: I’m sending Riley in.

Pete laughed over my shoulder. Nothing wrong with giving him a little kick in the ass in the right direction.

Emily: Goodnight, Seth.

Seth: Text me when you get up. Night, babe.

***

The sun beat down on my face, and the pool water made for a beach-like feel.

“Who would have thought Mario’s hands could work that kind of magic?” Pete cooed as he sipped his mojito. He gave me a guilty smile as we lounged around the pool area under the solarium dome. It made me feel like it was the middle of summer.

I was incredibly thankful I only had to
hear
about what happened with Pete and Mario as opposed to being there to witness it.

“I’m sure it happens all the time. You can’t blame me for being attracted to a half-naked man. I wasn’t prepared to turn over when
he
turned
me
. At least he knows he’s good at his job.” He winked.

“Oh Lord.” I sighed and reached for my drink.

“Hello again.” The attractive man from yesterday swam over to us.

Pete gasped. “Sweet Jesus, it’s Daniel Craig.”

“You two look very relaxed.” He hooked his arms on the edge of the pool. “I take it you spent the morning with Mario and Tony?”

“Yes, we did. So, are you a regular here?” I asked as I looked around for Riley, who was across the pool. He nodded to let me know he saw us.

“Yes, I come at least six times a year for work. It wins over the clients every time.”

“I can see that,” Pete chimed in as he finished off his drink. He stood and eyed mine. “I’ll get us some refills.” He leaned down and whispered in my ear, “It’s okay to be friendly. I know where your heart belongs, love.” He kissed my cheek. I guessed he had a point. I didn’t have to be rude. I’d just learned there was a fine line that seemed to get crossed often.

“May I sit?” he asked as he pulled himself out of the pool.

“Sure.”

He laid a towel on the lounge chair, and then sat down to face me. “Hi.” He waited for me answer him.

“Hi, I’m Emily.”

“It’s nice to meet you properly. I’m Blake.”

***