EDGE OF SUSPENSE: Thrilling Tales of Mystery & Murder (9 page)

"Why don't you tell me something about
yourself," I suggested.

She removed her glasses, revealing eyes that
were sexy pools of ocean blue. "What do you want to know?"

Everything
came to mind, but
something told me that might take more time than she had. So I cut
to the chase.

"How about how you ended up here with
me?"

She laughed. "Don't sell yourself
short."

"I never do."

"Good." She sipped her drink, her lips
lingering on the rim of the glass for a moment. "I'm married."

"Where's your husband?"

"Does it matter?"

I wasn't necessarily looking to step into
another man's shoes, but wasn't against it either. "No, not in my
book."

She looked relieved. Or maybe a bit nervous.
I couldn't be sure.

"He's home right now, probably wondering
where I am," she said.

"Too bad for him."

"He's not very nice when he's angry."

"So why make him angry?"

"Why not?" She widened those big baby blues.
"Sometimes a girl just wants to have fun."

I grinned. "So does a guy."

Gabriella licked the gin off her lips. "You
probably have a wife and kids at home."

"Not quite," I said. "She's an ex and has
full custody of the kids. So I'm on my own."

She gave me a dazzling smile. "Doesn't have
to be that way."

"Oh...?"

"Maybe we can have fun together?"

"Maybe we can."

The smile left her pretty face. "This isn't
a good place to talk."

The conversation seemed to be working fine
for me up to that point. "You have a better place in mind?"

"Meet me tomorrow night."

I wondered if I could wait that long. "When
and where?"

"Denny Park at seven—near the play
area."

"I'll be there."

She smiled again. "See you then."

Gabriella put on her shades, then got up and
left.

I wanted to follow her, but decided not to.
I went home by myself to an apartment I rented on North Yale
Street. It was a studio and a big step down from the house my ex
walked away with in the divorce settlement.

But at least I had a roof over my head and a
bed to climb into. I would've preferred to do so with Gabriella,
but that would have to wait for another day. I put my head on the
pillow and counted down the minutes till I could see her again.

* * *

Denny Park was Seattle's oldest park and a
cornerstone of South Lake Union. Once a cemetery, it has undergone
extensive renovations over the years and given people a place to
hang out and hope muggers looked the other way.

But I was less interested in its past than
my potential future with Gabriella.

I found her occupying a bench by the
children's play area. What I had in mind was strictly for
adults.

Gabriella was dressed to kill in a low-cut,
fuchsia dress.

I sat next to her. Her flowery fragrance
smelled like a slice of heaven.

"I wasn't sure you'd come," she said.

"I was too intrigued not to."

"I'm not that interesting."

"I beg to differ." We were sitting so close
that our legs touched. "What does your husband think you're doing
right now?"

She smiled. "He thinks I'm visiting my
sister."

"And where does your sister think you
are?"

"With a really sexy guy at the park."

I grinned. "I'm okay with that."

"I'm just looking to have a good time."

"Isn't that why we're here?"

She looked away. "My husband is a very
jealous man."

"Why are you telling me this?"

Our eyes met. "Because I want you to know
what you're getting into."

"Thanks for the warning, but I can take care
of myself. And you too, if that's what you want."

"Eric's much older than me and he's been
married twice before. I think he sees me as a beautiful woman that
he can control and show off at parties."

"Like a trophy wife?"

"Yes, something like that."

"What did you see in him? Is he rich or
something?"

"He's someone who makes my life easier."

"At what price?" I asked.

"I can't answer that."

"Can't or won't?"

She chewed her lower lip. "He cheats on me.
He still sees his last wife and probably other women, too."

"Why do you stay with him?"

Her eyes narrowed. "Why do you think?"

"You tell me."

She swallowed. "Isn't that what all men do?
Cheat?"

I thought of my ex who started fooling
around with her boss before the divorce.

"Some women cheat too," I told her.

Gabriella put a hand on my knee. "Why
shouldn't women get their fair share?"

I put my hand on hers. "You're right, why
shouldn't they?"

"Eric will be going out of town on business
tomorrow."

I liked where this was headed. "I'm
listening."

"If you come over at around eight tomorrow
night, we'll have the whole houseboat all to ourselves."

"A houseboat, huh?" I'd never been inside
one before. "Eight o' clock it is."

She gave me the address. "I like you."

"Works both ways."

She kissed me hard on the mouth. "Till
tomorrow..."

Gabriella got up and sashayed away. I went
in the opposite direction.

Things were beginning to look up again in my
life. I had this beautiful lady to thank for that.

* * *

The next day I made my way to the Yale
Street Landing marina, eager to hook up with Gabriella and see how
many ways we could please each other.

Only a smattering of houseboats were moored
there, but enough to tell me that I had stepped up quite a few
notches in wealth. I was beginning to understand why Gabriella was
in no hurry to pack her bags.

I'd barely stepped onto the floating walkway
leading to the moorages when a dark-haired, well-dressed Latino man
bumped into me.

"Excuse me," I said.

He gave no response, and hurried past
me.

I continued on my merry way, sure that this
would be a night to remember.

Her houseboat was hard to miss. It had an
end moorage and was the biggest and classiest of them all.

The wraparound deck offered a full view of
the city skyline and the surrounding water caught reflections that
danced across the lake. I figured this place had to be worth a
mint. But the main attraction for me was the lady inside.

Gabriella opened the door before I could
ring the bell. I gave her the once-over and liked what I saw. She
was wearing a carnation-colored robe that revealed a lot of
cleavage. I wondered if she wore anything underneath it.

"Right on time," she said.

"Did you think I wouldn't be?"

"Not really." Her cheeks flushed. "Come
in."

I walked into a wide, open living and dining
area. It had cane furnishings, rich, paneled walls, multiple
windows, and more than a touch of class. I could get used this
quickly.

I returned my attention to Gabriella. She
was everything I ever dreamt about. With any luck, this could turn
into a regular gig.

"Would you like a drink?" she asked.

"Sure, why not."

"I've got wine, whiskey, brandy,
beer..."

"Wine," I said.

She handed me a long-stemmed glass and
filled it with Cabernet Sauvignon.

"Does your husband go away on business
often?"

"Often enough."

I grinned. "Works for me."

"I'm glad it does."

I put my glass down and pulled her close. I
kissed her passionately, tasting the wine on her tongue.

After a while, she pulled away. "Why don't
we go in the bedroom where it's more comfortable?"

"Lead the way."

She took my hand and we ended up in a
spacious master suite on the main floor. It had a king size
four-poster bed and crisp red satin sheets ready to be
wrinkled.

"I'm yours," Gabriella cooed.

I didn't want to give her a moment to change
her mind, so I untied the belt on her robe. Indeed, she wore
nothing beneath it. Her voluptuous, naked body begged to be
caressed.

She kissed me, ran her tongue across my
lips, then laid down on the bed, her long, shapely legs making me
forget any woman trouble I had in the past. She curled a finger and
beckoned me to join her.

I got undressed in a hurry and joined her on
the bed.

Our lovemaking was slow and deliberate. I
spent what seemed like forever lost in her touch, her firm breasts,
her velvet-soft skin, her legs wrapped around me, hands cupping my
buttocks.

A loud noise in the hallway interrupted our
passion.

"What the hell was that?"

Gabriella's eyes widened. "I think my
husband's back."

My heart skipped a beat. "You said he was
out of town."

"He must have taken an early flight," she
said, jumping out of bed and grabbing her robe. "You have to get
out of here!"

I agreed, but knew I couldn't get dressed
and out of there without her husband seeing me.

I had just put on my pants and loafers when
a sixty-something man burst into the room. He was heavyset,
paunchy, and wore a designer suit. His eyes narrowed to slits as he
glared at Gabriella.

"You bitch!"

She cowered behind me as though she expected
me to go from lover to protector.

"Hey, why don't we talk about this?" I told
him.

He sucker-punched me on the chin, stunning
me. My legs gave out, but I got up quickly. He was bigger than me,
but I was younger and quicker. He swung again. I ducked and hit him
twice in the stomach.

He doubled over, gasping for air.

I thought it was over, but he suddenly
charged at me like a battering ram and got me in a headlock. We
both fell to the floor.

During the struggle, he ended up on top of
me. He put his massive hands around my neck and started to choke
me.

Desperate and unable to break free, I balled
my hands and slammed them against his temples as hard as I
could.

It worked.

He groaned and released his grip on my neck.
I scrambled out from under him and got to my feet. But so did
he...

I couldn't believe he was ready to go at it
again.

Then a shot rang out.

The man clutched his chest and fell flat on
his face.

I turned and saw Gabriella holding a gun in
her hand.

"You killed him!" I said.

"Yeah." She regarded me with eyes that had
gone cold.

I tried to collect my thoughts as I moved
toward her. "Look, you could say you shot your husband in
self-defense."

"That won't be necessary," a man's voice
said from behind me.

I turned to see the Latino man I had run
into on the dock. He joined Gabriella. She handed him the gun and
he aimed it at me.

"What the hell are you doing?" I asked.

The man looked at Gabriella. "Should I tell
him or do you want to?"

As he put his arm around her protectively,
she smiled at me. "You followed me home and raped me," she said as
if a prepared speech. "When my dear husband came home unexpectedly,
the two of you got into a fight. Then you shot him." She glanced at
the other man. "That's when Antonio, my husband's lawyer, came over
for a meeting with him—and shot you before you could kill me,
too."

I watched as Antonio pulled out another gun,
aiming it at me. "After I shoot you as a rapist, murderer, and
maybe even a burglar, I'll put the murder weapon in your hands and
call the cops. They will take our statements, haul your ass off to
jail, and then Gabriella and I will live happily ever after on
Eric's money."

I glared at Gabriella, wondering how I could
have fallen into this trap of sex, deception, and murder. More
importantly, I wondered how I could avoid the husband's fate as I
stared at the wrong end of a gun barrel.

"Why me?" I asked her.

Gabriella smiled and turned to her partner
in crime. "You do the honors."

"My pleasure," Antonio said, grinning. "You
can thank your ex wife for this..."

"What—?" My head snapped back as though I'd
been punched again.

"I happen to work at the same law firm as
her divorce attorney. Seeing how easy it was for them to screw you
over made you a perfect patsy. It was easy to get a handle on your
routine. Work, drink, feel sorry for yourself, and hope to get
lucky with some hot dame. You get the picture."

I did and it wasn't pretty. They were
holding all the cards and I never even got a chance to shuffle the
deck.

Antonio bared his teeth. "So long, sucker.
Hope she was worth it!"

The way I saw it, my only hope to get out of
this alive was to go on the attack. But with two guns pointed at me
from a safe distance, the odds were anything but in my favor.

I had nothing to lose at this point that I
hadn't already lost.

That was when fate stepped in and lent me a
helping hand.

As I prepared to lunge at Antonio, a shot
rang out. Only he wasn't the one firing.

Antonio went down in a heap. Half of his
head had been blown away.

I turned and saw that the husband Gabriella
had shot dead had come back to life. He had managed to crawl to a
cabinet where a spare gun came in handy. And he knew just what to
do with it before collapsing again.

I wasn't about to let lady luck down. With
the two guns Antonio had now up for grabs, I dove and got my hands
on one quicker than Gabriella could.

Recognizing that the tables had turned
against her, she fled the houseboat.

As I got to my feet, I suddenly felt a
stinging sensation in my shoulder and saw blood making its way down
my arm.

I had been shot, apparently a parting gift
from Antonio as he went down for the count.

Ignoring the pain, I made my way over to
Gabriella's husband and felt for a pulse. He was still alive and so
was I.