In the Still of the Night:Sexy Romantic Suspense (Book 2 The Blonde Barracuda's Sizzling Suspense Series) (26 page)

Peter shook his head, his expression was solemn. “That’s not necessary, Lexie.”

“Oh, but it is. I… was… it was a difficult evening. I knew that it would be, and I should not have agreed to come.”

He raised his hands in mock horror. “What? And deprived me of that vision of you lighting the ballroom like a golden goddess from another planet? That would have been a genuine loss. I particularly enjoyed the way the crowd parted for you. But then you must be used to that.”

Lexie frowned slightly, his remark reminded her of what Dalila had said. One of the many mean things that she’d said. The thought of Dalila brought back the memory of the horrible evening.

Peter picked up on her discomfort.

“I’m sorry. Did I say something that upset you?”

Lexie shook her head. “No, no. It’s just that this is difficult. You have been very kind to me, and I repaid you by leaving last night without saying good bye or thank you.”

He sighed. “Alexis, I’m going to be honest with you. My intentions were not always the most honorable. I admit that when I invited you to be my guest, I had an ulterior motive. You must know what a lovely young woman you are. It shouldn’t surprise you that I am attracted to you.”

When she frowned, he laughed.

“Relax, Alexis. I am not here to profess my undying love for you or even my lust. No, as much as I would like to think that we might have had a connection, I didn’t get to where I am in my life without being a good judge of people and situations. It’s clear to me and to anyone who spends three minutes with you and the lucky Colonel to know that you are passionately in love. I applaud you both. You deserve a man like Jake Gardner and he is very lucky to have a woman like you.”

Lexie was both surprised and charmed by Peter’s words. How could she be anything else? Looking at the distinguished man smiling at her, she was struck by how much she liked him. And she genuinely appreciated his help.

“Peter, thank you. You have been a wonderful friend. More than that, a true lifesaver. But you are correct. Jake and I are crazy, wildly in love with each other. We allowed our differences about my work to come between us. And you were caught in the middle of the mess we’d made. Thank you for understanding that. I’m sorry if I misled you in any way or gave you the wrong impression.”

Again, he held up his hand.

“Absolutely not. You were most candid, and one look at your face any time Gardner was nearby was all the evidence I needed to know that you were spoken for. But, we’re done with that now, Alexis. Let’s move forward. We have a number of things to discuss. Particularly the situation with the city.”

Lexie breathed a sigh of relief. She’d assumed she’d lost his support and was grateful that he still intended to be her champion.

The waitress returned and they took a break to order. Lexie was astonished at how hungry she was. Then, remembering Jake’s passionate lovemaking, she blushed and decided she’d earned any amount of food she could eat.

As they ate, she and Peter mapped out an action plan that included a list of next steps both with the Council and the District. As she laid out how she planned to take on the owners of the massage parlors, she saw his frown.

“What is it, Peter?”

He hesitated for a moment then pinned her with a hard gaze.

“I’ll be honest with you, Alexis. I hope you will understand what I am about to say. I believe that work is better done by a combination of the police and the legal apparatus of the city.”

Lexie was startled.

“You can’t be serious, Peter. Are you talking about the same police force and ‘legal apparatus’ that allowed 90 % of the illicit massage parlors to get a City permit to operate? I don’t understand. Surely you know how ineffective they have been. If I pull back, they will see it as a victory. They can just wait me out until the press has found another issue to dog, and then go back to business as usual.”

Peter conceded. “That is always a possibility when you are dealing with government entities. But I have more faith than that. You have done an extraordinary job focusing attention on the issue. The City won’t be able to hide behind their usual bureaucratic ramparts. The press won’t let them, and you won’t let them. But as for going after the owners, that is a different issue.”

Lexie couldn’t believe what he was saying. Surely he knew the hard work was just beginning. If they stopped now, the immoral people most responsible for the criminal activity would once again get off free. Free to open more illicit parlors, exploit more vulnerable women. She was shocked and disappointed. She’d truly believed that Peter was different. That he understood how important it was for her to see this through. To bring down the villains who were most responsible. Moreover, she’d hoped that he would help her, back her up. Perhaps even help her convince Jake how important it was that she continue. Here she’d thought he’d come to her out of respect. To decide how they could work together to get the owners. But he was just like the rest of them. Jake, Dan Rourke and now Peter, all thought that she wasn’t strong enough, powerful enough to take on the real criminals.

She didn’t hide her disappointment. “Are you suggesting that I back off? That I stop what I am doing and turn it over to the ‘authorities’?”

Peter sighed. “In essence, yes. Alexis, there are powerful forces out there that are beyond even your formidable strengths. You have done an astonishing job of bringing attention to the issue. Unfortunately, it also has put you in the crosshairs of some very dangerous entities. It is my considered opinion that you need to ‘back off,’ as you say. I’m not suggesting that you stop working with the exploited women. Absolutely not. They need you, Alexis. You are their champion. But at this point you need to turn the larger issue over to those who can better handle the risk.”

Her voice was sharp. “Stop, Peter. You will understand if I tell you that I have heard this song before. What you are saying is just one more version of what Jake is saying, what Dan Rouke is saying, what Brady is saying and dammit, even Master Wan. And now you, Peter?”

Peter frowned. “Unless I am mistaken, and I know I’m not, every man on that list you just ticked off respects and cares for you. Can you please give all of us a break, Alexis, and understand that we are concerned about your safety?”

Lexie rose from the table. She pressed her lips in a firm line and glared at him. She was disappointed and angry.

“I do understand that, Peter. And I appreciate your concern. But, what you and Jake and all the rest of them don’t seem to appreciate is that if it wasn’t for me the ‘entities’ you refer to would be doing business as usual. Now they are forced to come out in the open and fight me.”

Peter leaned back in his chair and regarded her carefully. His voice and demeanor were calm, contained, but she saw the intensity in his eyes. “Would you believe me, Alexis, if I told you that those ‘entities’ don’t fight openly? They fight behind the scenes in dirtier and more violent ways than you can imagine. They make examples of people like you, Alexis. To frighten other crusaders off.”

Somehow she managed to control her anger. It wasn’t easy. She wanted to scream at him she was so disappointed. She spoke slowly, carefully, “That may be true, Peter. Maybe you and Jake and the rest are smarter than I am. But dammit, if any of you think that I am going to pull back after coming this far, you are sorely mistaken.”

Peter huffed out a loud sigh and quirked an ironic brow. “While I envy him, Jake most certainly has his hands full. You are one stubborn woman, Ms. Beloi.”

Lexie tossed her head and snapped, “Oh great, Peter. That also sounds like a familiar tune. Next you’ll be asking me if I’ve ever been spanked!”

Peter’s eyes widened, then twinkled in appreciation.

He grinned. “I’d be lying. Alexis, if I said the thought hadn’t occurred to me.”

Lexie glared at him. “For God’s sake, Peter. I expected more from you. Thanks for the coffee.” As she turned to leave, she said, “I’ll see you on Monday. Maybe.”

Lexie strode to her car, so furious she forgot to buy a copy of the newspaper. Deciding that she didn’t want to go back in case she ran into Peter, she unlocked her car door. Muttering to herself about the trials of dealing with arrogant men, she almost missed the paper that fluttered to the ground. Her heart rate sped up precipitously as she reached for the white envelope. She waited until she was safely locked inside the car before she opened it. It was another picture of her. Once again she was covered with blood, this time apparently from slash wounds. She sniffed and attempted gallows humor to allay the dread crashing over her. “I guess they are done raping me.” As before, she wasn’t amused by her pitiful attempt at humor. She sat for a moment wondering if ‘he’ were watching her. The hairs rising on the back of her neck confirmed that he probably was.

~~~

His soft accented voice didn’t hide his annoyance. “So we are all in agreement?”

“Yes. It should now be clear to everyone that she will not pull back.”

The man asked again, not hiding his impatience. “And your plan will also take out the troublesome Col. Gardner?”

“Oh yes. That is the beauty of the plan. Unwittingly they both are cooperating beautifully. There is a witness list of over 400 people who will not be surprised when they hear the sad news. The Colonel and Ms. Beloi could not be more acquiescent than if they were puppets on my strings. And in essence they are, aren’t they?”

His brusque tone indicated he was not amused. “You had better hope for your sake that is correct. A failure at this point would be devastating for all concerned. I know I do not have to add that includes you.”

“No, you do not have to add that. I am well aware of the consequences of failure. That is why I’ve ensured that there will be no failure.

You’d better hope for your sake there is not. Call me tonight when the job is complete. And please do not fuck up!

On that threatening note the phone connection went dead.

Chapter 26

As hard she tried to put them out of her mind, Lexie couldn’t stop thinking about the notes. She had to figure out who was sending them. At some point —and that point was fast approaching, she knew she needed to show them to Jake. Just the thought frightened her. He would be furious. Of course he would be even more adamant that she pull back, stop working the case. But the notes were coming too frequently to ignore. She admitted the most frightening aspect was that they were appearing in places where she was physically—and where she’d been for only short periods of time. The text messages, as gruesome as they were, didn’t scare her as much. The person sending them could be anywhere. Another city, or even another country. But the notes were coming from someone who was in close proximity. Someone who knew exactly where she was at that moment.

She finally allowed herself to think the impossible. It was better to get her fears out in the open, address them and then tuck them away. She decided she may as well say it, at least to herself. Could it possibly be Peter? Even the thought was ridiculous—and terrifying. But she couldn’t ignore the possibility. She’d received each of the notes in odd places, public places where he had been just minutes before. The City Council hearing room? And now, her car outside the restaurant? She quickly reminded herself that anyone who was following her could easily have done the same thing. But there also was the odd way that he’d appeared out of nowhere that night in the alley behind the Rising Sun. His explanation was too pat, his presence too coincidental. She’d always known that. But if he were out to hurt her, why would he fight off her attackers? Put himself in danger? Even today, he warned her to stop. Why would he tell her to back off? Unless… unless he was covering his tracks. To make her think he was her friend and champion.

Fortunately, the more she thought about it, the less it made sense. It was inconceivable that this distinguished man would do something so ugly, so demented. She thought about the men she’d seen at the hotel last night. The dangerous-looking ones who were armed and hovering close to Peter. She wasn’t surprised they were there. Of course someone of Peter’s stature would have bodyguards. While she and Jake hadn’t discussed the fact that Peter had a cadre of men surrounding him, she’d seen the looks Jake and Brady exchanged. Neither one had mentioned them to her. She shook her head, not able to squash her disgust. They were always in their protective mode. She snorted. As though she wasn’t familiar with men who had weapons. Hell, she did. She never went anywhere without a knife in her ankle sheathe… or a Rugar in her purse. Even as annoying as Jake was about her safety, she had to admit, knowing that he had guards watching the Center, and her, was comforting. It also confirmed that she needed to tell him soon—tonight—about the notes. She could no longer ignore the danger. Not only to herself, but to the innocent people around her. Master Wan, Madam Juen, her students. All of them were at risk if someone truly was out to get her. And, she admitted, they clearly were.

Her students were waiting for her in the dojo, but she stole another minute to replay Jake’s message. His deep voice alone sent shivery sensations to the pit of her stomach. She closed her eyes imagining him doing all the naughty things he was describing over the phone. She could almost feel his beard stubble rubbing against that sensitive place on her throat as he whispered in her ear. She felt his tongue first licking her lips then forcing her to open her mouth, to let him in. At the thought she unconsciously spread her legs, knowing that was what he’d order her to do next. And she would, eagerly, passionately. He described in erotic detail what he would do to her breasts, how he would pinch her tender nipples and make them hard. How he’d lick them, suck on them and then bite them. She slid her fingers inside her wet sensitive folds parting them the way he said he would. Finding them wet, a rush of sensation flooded her and she allowed herself to ride it, to glory in the waves of passion pulsing through her. After she came down, she closed her eyes and leaned back in her chair, thanking her angels that they sent her Jake. A man whose voice alone could make her come, bring her waves of excruciating pleasure. God, how she loved him!