Misfits, Inc. (8 page)

L
ogan’s tidy studio style guestroom was covered in plants from
ceiling to floor, lending an almost jungle like atmosphere.  His odd
fascination with plant life was curious for a man who looked more like a
linebacker than a gardener.  Hailey sat on the older, flower-patterned sofa
with a drink in her hand.  She’d had one too many drinks already in the two
hours they’d been looking over Logan’s old manuscript.  It was only a little
after eight o’clock, but it felt later.  Hailey was having a difficult time
hiding her drunken condition in front of the men.  Although she didn’t know
them very well, she felt she could trust them not to try anything.  Skyler
slouched in an overstuffed chair while reading the old, tattered manuscript. 
Logan sprayed his plants with great care.  Hailey couldn’t be certain, but she
thought she heard him softly singing to the plants.  Skyler suddenly
straightened in his chair and vigorously tapped the page.

“That’s the creature I saw in my dreams!”

Logan glanced at him and showed almost no
reaction.  “Freaky, isn’t it?”

Skyler’s expression immediately dropped.  “I
despise that term,” he muttered then studied Logan and appeared curious.  “Are
you psychic too?”

“No, I’m not psychic,” Logan replied.  “That story
just came to me.”  He grinned almost proudly.  “I’m considered a ‘one hit
wonder’.”

Skyler gave Hailey a serious look.  “Fate brought
you here.”

Although she believed his tales when they’d first
met, she was regretting encouraging him.  He was starting to sound like a
raving lunatic.

“Listen to yourself,” Hailey announced firmly. 
“I’m
not
some magical princess.  If you want to be some mystical
Numinous--go right ahead.”

Despite her negativity, he wasn’t about to be shot
down.  “It says here that the princess can communicate with spirits,” he
informed her.  “You said you saw Amy walking in the woods.”

“We don’t know that Amy is dead.”  Hailey took
another sip of her drink and groaned.  “I’m not drunk enough to have this
conversation,” she muttered while covering her eyes.  She took a deep breath,
leaned forward, and stared Skyler in the eyes.  “Let’s suppose, just for
argument’s sake, I am this magical princess and you’re my Numinous.  What do
you suggest we do?  Ride our magical unicorn off to gumdrop city?”

“According to the story, you’re supposed to choose
your council,” Skyler replied with enthusiasm and didn’t seem at all bothered
by her sarcasm.

She wasn’t sure she wanted to encourage him,
especially since he was completely sober and wanted desperately to believe the
story.  He was obviously getting caught up in something that allowed him to
escape the life he hated.  Of course, with all the alcohol Hailey had consumed,
she found the situation a little more humorous than she had earlier.

“Okay, just for the sake of playing along,” she
announced, a little more giddy than usual.  “That would leave Balance, Charmer,
and the Guardian.”

“Logan is Balance,” Skyler interjected. 
“Artistically talented, musically inclined, and has a natural gift with plant
life.”  He indicated the plants around the room while gesturing with his hands. 
“Need I say more?”

He wasn’t completely wrong with his assumption, and
she admired his enthusiasm.

“So that just leaves Charmer and the Guardian,”
Skyler continued.

Hailey sank into thought while leaning back on the
sofa and smiled mockingly.  “Who to pick?”  She gave Logan a curious look. 
“Would Charmer be someone I find charming, or someone who just thinks he’s
charming?”

“Don’t look at me,” Logan announced while holding
up his spray bottle defensively then nodded to Skyler.  “Get your Numinous to
translate it.  That’s his job.”

“Well, Talbert certainly thinks he’s charming, not
that I think he’s anything special,” she muttered.

“I think we can all agree that Marcus would have to
be the Guardian,” Skyler announced and glanced at both for approval.  “He was
on the police force, and he’s in charge of security.  Seems only natural.”

Hailey attempted to hold back her drunken giggle. 
“Okay, my council is in place.  So what’s next, Numinous?”

“We have a mystery to solve,” Skyler informed her
excitedly while nearly bounding out of his chair.

Hailey could no longer control her instincts to
laugh at the entire situation.  “Okay, Velma.  You find Scooby and Shaggy. 
Fred and I will gas up the Mystery Machine.”

Logan chuckled despite his attempt to contain it. 
Skyler muttered something under his breath.  He obviously wasn’t as humored as
his friends were.  Hailey finished her drink and stood with some unsteadiness.

“I’d love to stay and debate this all night, but
her wicked, royal highness needs her beauty sleep,” Hailey announced proudly
and nearly tripped over the coffee table.  “I have a dragon to slay in the
morning, and her name is Lucinda.”

Skyler groaned and reluctantly stood.  “I’ll see
the royal lush to her suite.”

†

H
ailey and Skyler appeared from the staff wing and walked across
the lobby toward the elevator.  Hailey was clinging to Skyler’s arm more for
support than anything else.  She was finding it difficult to contain her
giddiness in her drunken state.  They saw Cass, who was working the evening
shift, standing behind the front desk while talking with Delaney.  Delaney cast
a strange look at Skyler and Hailey as they passed.  Hailey was clearly drunk
but transformed into a sober appearance for Delaney’s benefit.  She was
painfully aware of what the security guard thought about them after their story
about the dead woman.  The way Delaney stared at them made her uncomfortable.

“I guess we gave them something to gossip about,”
Hailey muttered to her friend.

“I’m used to being stared at in
that
way,”
Skyler replied with little emotion.

Hailey then realized what Skyler went through every
day of his life, and she suddenly felt bad for her earlier behavior.  She
gently squeezed his arm with hers.

“I’m sorry for mocking you earlier,” she said
softly.  “It’s been a weird sort of day.”

“Every day is a weird sort of day for me,” Skyler
remarked while grinning.

They exchanged looks and laughed softly.  Lucinda
hurried along the corridor from the lounge and approached them, clearly with a
mission.  Hailey saw her and groaned softly.  She didn’t need to deal with the
barracuda yet tonight.  Lucinda had already seen her, so it was too late to
make a hasty exit.  Lucinda nearly cut them off on their approach to the
elevator.  Hailey was concerned about the upcoming conversation, because in her
condition, she was likely to say just about anything to her boss.  She then saw
the strange smile on Lucinda’s face.

“I don’t know what you said to Nevin, but he wants
the contract,” Lucinda announced and could barely contain her enthusiasm.

Hailey stared at her with surprise.  “Nothing very
flattering, I assure you,” she muttered.

Lucinda affectionately touched her arm.  “Well,
whatever you said, it worked,” she remarked with an odd giddiness Hailey found
slightly disturbing.  “Would you be a dear and fetch the contract from my
suite?  I’d left it on my bedside table.”  She gestured down the corridor. 
“I’ll keep him occupied in the lounge.  Don’t be long.”

Lucinda handed her the keycard to her penthouse
suite then hurried back the way she came.  Both watched her with shared looks
of surprise.  Hailey had never seen Lucinda move that fast before.  She glanced
at Skyler and uncertainly shook her head.

“Huh?  I guess I’m still employed,” she remarked
then laughed softly.  “I’d better get that contract before Brody changes his
mind.  I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”

“Are you sure you don’t want me to come along?” he
asked with a look of concern on his face.  “I wouldn’t want you to get turned
around in your condition.”

“I’m fine,” Hailey replied, although she
appreciated his concern.  “Seeing Lucinda scared me sober.”

Skyler chuckled.  “Then I’ll be heading back to my
room,” he replied.  “You know where to find me if you need me.”

“Goodnight, Skyler.”

“Night, Hailey.”

Hailey hurried to the elevator and pressed the
button.  She glanced back at the front desk and saw Delaney and Cass still
casting looks at her.  Hailey desperately wanted to gesture like an enraged
truck driver but thought better of it.

H
ailey entered the living room of Lucinda’s penthouse suite from
the secured twentieth floor corridor.  The twentieth floor was home to only
Lucinda’s penthouse suite and the rarely used presidential suite.  The
penthouse suite had a large living room with a marble fireplace.  The small
kitchen was separated from the living room by a marble breakfast bar with a
formal dining room to the right of the kitchen.  The back wall of the suite was
floor to ceiling glass windows with doors leading to the large balcony.  To the
left of the balcony doors was a sunken hot tub with enough room for eight
people.  Near the hot tub was a small but elegant wet bar.  The penthouse suite
contained two bedrooms, both with private baths, and there was a half bath off
the living room.  Hailey crossed the living room and entered the mostly dark
master bedroom.  She didn’t need to turn the light on, since she could see the
contract lying on the nightstand next to the bed only a few feet into the
room.  As she crossed the bedroom, she noticed the open balcony door swaying
slightly from a gentle breeze.  Hailey paused near the bedside table and was
about to pick up the contract when she again looked at the partially open
balcony door.

There was always a breeze off the ocean that
affected the higher floors, so she didn’t know why Lucinda had left the balcony
door open.  As Hailey approached the door to close it, she saw an intruder
partially hidden within the corner just behind the curtains.  Hailey gasped
with surprise and ran toward the bed for the security button on the
nightstand.  She nearly made it to the button when she was tackled face first
onto the elegant bed with the intruder landing on top of her.  He skillfully
flipped her over, rendered her motionless with his body, and held her wrists to
the bed near her head.  Between being startled by the man in Lucinda’s room and
the amount of alcohol in her system, she was frozen by the assault.  Her head
was spinning slightly, moderately disorienting her. 

“I’m not going to hurt you,” the man whispered close
to her face.

She stared helplessly at the man on top of her in
the near darkness.  Her mind raced.  She wasn’t sure if she should scream,
fight to free herself, or head butt him in the nose.  She couldn’t seem to
convince her body to do any of those things.  He had caught her off guard,
leaving her completely paralyzed with fear.  With his gloved hand, he snatched
the sash from the bed curtain behind her head.  Hailey gasped and suddenly
fought against him.  Fear that he was going to kill her, or attempt any number
of other heinous acts, kick started her defenses.  He easily rendered her
immobile and again placed his face within inches of hers.  Although she
couldn’t see his eyes in the darkened room, she could feel him staring at her.

“Which part of ‘I won’t hurt you’ didn’t you
understand?” he whispered more firmly.  “You’re not on my ‘to do’ list.”

She couldn’t be sure, but she was convinced he was
smiling at her.

“Relax,” he said softly.  “I just need a five
minute head start before you call security.”

She wasn’t sure why, but she believed him.  She
cursed her body for relaxing as he had instructed, but in her moderately
drunken condition, it wasn’t as if she had a lot of options.  As her head
continued to spin, she feared she might pass out.  He skillfully tied her right
wrist to a brass headboard with the sash while keeping her immobile with his
body.  She could feel his neck brush against her face as he tied her right
wrist.  For a brief moment, she considered sinking her teeth into his neck.  Her
cannibalistic thoughts were short-lived as she inhaled the faint traces of his
cologne.  It was a familiar scent, but she couldn’t place it.  Just about every
man at the resort wore expensive cologne.  She wasn’t sure why the scent
relaxed her.  Perhaps because it was familiar, lulling her into a false sense
of security.  For a moment, she thought maybe she even knew him.  As he
straightened over her, his lips brushed past hers.  She was uncertain if it was
by accident or intentional.

“That should keep you busy for a few minutes,” he
whispered in an almost mocking tone.

She stared at him through the darkness even though
she couldn’t make out any of his features.  Hailey knew he was staring back at
her, although she was positive he couldn’t know she was staring at him.  There
was an awkward moment where neither moved.  She could feel his heart pounding
against her chest, and he seemed to stop breathing.  She then felt the all too
familiar feeling of male arousal against her hip.  Hailey tensed to the sensation
but, oddly enough, wasn’t frightened by what was obviously going through his
head.  She felt his gloved hand gently touch her face.  She trembled from the
sensation of the soft leather touching her cheek, but she still wasn’t afraid
he would hurt her.  He groaned softly and kissed her passionately on the
mouth.  She had to force herself not to return the kiss even though her body
screamed for her to do it.  She could taste the expensive alcohol on his lips
and tongue.  He broke off the kiss as quickly as he’d indulged in it and jumped
off her with amazing reflexes.  Although she couldn’t see it, she knew he was
smiling at her.

The intruder darted toward the open balcony door
and disappeared through it.  Hailey remained motionless a moment, still feeling
the sensation of his hard body against hers.  She finally came to her senses
and frantically struggled to untie the rope on her right wrist with her left
hand.  She looked at the knot through the near darkness, frowned, and pulled
the loose end, releasing the slipknot.  He was an intruder with a sense of
humor--and one hell of a great kisser.  Hailey jumped from the bed and
immediately regretted the sudden movement.  She clutched her head until the
dizziness passed.  She then ran to the balcony and looked out, but he was gone.

†

O
nly ten minutes had passed before Marcus and Delaney stormed
the penthouse suite.  Lucinda arrived only moments after her two security
officers.  The master bedroom light brightened the entire room to reveal its
grandeur and expensive furniture.  The wall safe, once hidden behind a
painting, now stood open.  Hailey sat on the large bed and subconsciously ran
her fingers through her hair.  She couldn’t get the last few minutes out of her
head, and it wasn’t because she was thrown to a bed and tied up by a strange
man.  It was his kiss she couldn’t shake.  It had to be because she was drunk. 
She’d gone too long without male company, and being drunk didn’t help her
reaction to the intruder’s charm.  Lucinda frantically paced before the open
wall safe while wrenching her fingers together.  It appeared unclear if she was
frightened or angry.  Marcus returned to the bedroom from the balcony and shook
his head with disgust.  Lucinda turned toward him with a wild look.  She wasn’t
frightened; she was angry and hateful.

“You said no one could break into the penthouse,”
Lucinda launched at Marcus, her eyes digging into him like daggers.  “You said
no one could crack that safe!  Poor Hailey was nearly killed tonight!  What are
you going to do about it?”

“I wasn’t nearly killed,” Hailey replied softly,
although she wasn’t sure why she felt the need to say anything as she
subconsciously touched her lips.  She swore she still felt his mouth on hers.

Delaney hastily made his getaway, possibly to avoid
the wrath of the barracuda.  Hailey glanced at the safe in the wall not far
from the bed, which contained many jewelry boxes and several bundles of cash. 
She found it odd that he left all the valuables behind.  What surprised her
more was what he actually did take.

“He left all that cash,” Hailey marveled aloud then
glanced at Lucinda.  “Why did he only steal that old, emerald necklace of
yours?”

Lucinda spun on her heels and looked at Hailey with
rage on her face.  “Because he obviously knew his jewelry,” she exploded then
turned to Marcus with equal hostility toward him.  “Find my necklace!  I don’t
care if you have to tear apart every room in the hotel!”

Lucinda snatched the contract from the nightstand
and stormed from the room.  The penthouse door was heard slamming as she left. 
Marcus and Hailey exchanged puzzled looks.  She somehow knew he was thinking
the same thing she was.

“That went surprisingly well,” he announced then
closed the safe and gave the dial a quick spin.  Marcus looked back at Hailey,
who still hadn’t moved from the bed.  He revealed the same sympathetic look
she’d seen in the lounge then sat on the bed alongside her.  As he stared into
her eyes, she saw a genuine kindness he probably shared with few.  “Are you
sure there isn’t anything else you can tell me about him?”

“No, it was too dark,” she replied and gently
rubbed her hands over her arms, feeling a slight chill.

Marcus stared at her a moment longer, making her
slightly uncomfortable.  She certainly wasn’t going to tell him that the
intruder kissed her or that she sort of enjoyed it.  As he stared at her, she
could smell faint traces of his cologne.  Hailey suddenly felt compelled to
lean closer and investigate the scent.  She was almost afraid to learn the
truth, so she maintained her distance.  She shifted uncomfortably and looked
away to avoid him possibly reading her eyes.

“If we’re done, I’d really like to go to my room,”
she announced gently.

Marcus smiled gently and nodded while standing. 
“Yes, of course,” he announced and extended his hand to her.  “I’ll escort you
to your room.”

She stared at his hand a moment and hesitantly
accepted it while wondering what it was about him that peaked her curiosity. 
She brushed those feelings aside as he helped her to her feet.

“I’d appreciate that.”

He offered a polite smile and guided her toward the
bedroom door.  “It’s my job to protect you.”

Hailey gave him a strange look as they walked out
the door.  She couldn’t believe Skyler’s story was actually getting to her!

†

H
ailey soaked beneath the hot stream of water in the large,
elegant standing shower encased in stone and frosted glass doors.  She’d
considered soaking in the jetted tub after her ordeal, but she was exhausted
and feared falling asleep, drowning herself.  Her thoughts were scattered, yet
they kept returning to the scene in Lucinda’s bedroom.  She could still feel
the intruder’s mouth on hers and could almost taste the expensive alcohol.  The
man broke into her boss’s safe, tied her to a bed, and practically assaulted her,
yet she couldn’t get his kiss off her mind.  It concerned her that she wasn’t
scared.  She should have been frightened to death, especially with his untold
arousal against her hip.  There was something familiar about the man, but she
couldn’t quite grasp what it was.  She wasn’t going to rest until she smelled
every man at the resort.  She desperately wanted to know who he was, and it had
nothing to do with getting Lucinda’s necklace back.

Through the frosted doors, she saw a dark object
move across the bathroom.  A clunk followed.  Hailey strained to look through
the shower doors and saw the dark mass beyond the glass standing at waist
level.  Hailey gasped with horror, snatched her towel from over the shower
door, and wrapped it around her.  The dark mass moved, indicating whatever it
was, it was alive.  She quickly opened the shower door.  A large black cat sat
on the sink playing with her toothbrush.  Hailey groaned, stepped out of the
shower, and petted the cat.  It seemed friendly enough.

“Where did you come from, little kitty?” she asked
then laughed at her earlier overreaction.  “Did Skyler put you up to this?”

The cat purred as she stroked its fur and then
turned serious as it pounced on her toothbrush in the sink.  The little kitty
was determined to save the world one toothbrush at a time.  She laughed at the
playful kitty.

“Okay, you can stay; but just for tonight.”