Obsessed with Fur [3xtasy Lake 4] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) (2 page)

After turning on the shower, she quietly opened the bathroom door, slipped into the hallway, and tiptoed her way to front door. Considering the noise that was coming from the bedroom, it sounded like she wasn’t distracting them, and they had no idea she was leaving. Still Jessica darted quick looks back to the bedroom doorway every few seconds, fearful that she would be caught. She would make it this time. This time she was going to go.

“Jessie!”

Jessica almost fell to her knees when she heard Geoff holler her name.

“Jessie! Hurry the fuck up!”

Her hands shook violently with relief. He thought she was in the shower. But it also meant she didn’t have much time. She grabbed her purse and hugged it tightly to her body as she moved across the living room to the front door. It took precious seconds for her to unlock the dead bolt, praying the whole time he wouldn’t hear the snap of the lock as she opened it. Once in the hallway, she eased the door closed, letting go of the handle as soon after the door completely closed. The snick of the latch sounded like a cannon shot to her and she could almost envision Geoff quickly moving off the bed to investigate. He would know she’d left. He always seemed to know when she’d wanted to leave him. He’d kick the shit out of her if he caught her.

Jessica ran down the hallway and smacked her fingers against the
down
button to the elevator. Seconds ticked by, and she tapped the button again. “Oh, come on. Hurry up.” She darted looks down the hallway. Any moment that door was going to open and he would see her. He would order her into the apartment and she would go because she didn’t have the strength to say no.

Not anymore.

She’d obeyed her father and then Geoff and had done what she could to protect them and hide the abuses they’d both heaped on her head. She couldn’t do it anymore. This had nothing to do with the woman in her bed. Strangely, that didn’t anger her at all. In fact she felt a sense of relief that she didn’t have to service Geoff’s needs.

She tapped against the button again, her heart pounding against the inside of her chest. A loud roar echoed down the hall.

Was that my name?
She froze, positive she heard her name being yelled. Tears pricked the corners of her eyes.
Hurryuphurryuphurryup,
she mentally begged the elevator. If she had been thinking clearly she would have taken the stairs in the first place. Out of habit, she’d gone straight for the elevator and it was too late to change her mind now. That would mean heading back past her apartment door. She couldn’t make it. He would be there. Her legs trembled and she couldn’t hear anything past her own breathing.

A soft ding made her jump and the elevator door opened. Darting in, she rapidly smacked the
close
button.
Almost there.

“Jessie!”

Her heart leapt to her throat at the sound of Geoff’s voice. The door slid shut, cutting off the angry shout she heard echoing down the hall.
Oh, no.
Geoff would take the stairs, she knew it.
Which means I have less time to get away.
No matter how fast he ran, she would still have a few seconds to spare.
Oh please, please, please.

Waves of terrified nausea cramped her stomach. She could almost see his furious expression.
Don’t let him be in front of the doors when they open.
The swift descent was uninterrupted. Instead of heading to the parking garage and her car, she got off at the lobby. When the doors opened, Jess bolted out as fast as she could. She might not be as fast as some of the Alpha wolves but she knew she could easily outrun a human. At this point, she didn’t care if anyone saw her. She punched open the glass doors and escaped into the night.

The temperature had dropped, and the overcast skies created numerous shadows for her to hide in. Freezing rain stung her cheeks as she ran. Her sneaker slipped on the wet pavement but she recovered and kept moving. As soon as she could, she ducked into an alley and hid. Her entire body trembled as she tried to calm down.
I got away. I did it!
It felt like a lead weight had been lifted off her shoulders.
I should have done this months ago.

Her cell phone rang but it was Geoff’s number on the display. No way could she answer that. Forget it. Even seeing the number sent a fresh wave of fear through her system. She couldn’t do this alone. The moment her phone stopped ringing, it started again. She watched the display and let it go to voice mail. He would freak on that and it would give her a couple moments of peace. The moment her phone stopped ringing, she quickly dialed for help.

* * * *

Jelani Bennett scanned the area in front of him. “Where did that sniper go?”

“Watch your flank,” his brother replied, via the bud in his ear.

“Shit.” Jelani spun around in time to watch as the ground rushed up to meet him. “Dammit, that noob shot me again. I’m on your team, dickhead!”

“I don’t think the kid can hear you.” His brother, Marcario, laughed across from him and he could hear the echoes of laughter in his earphones. Meeting up online with their friends, Duke and Gage from Texas, for a bit of
Call of Duty
was something they didn’t get to do as often as they would like. The four of them had played together for ages and they tended to dominate all their missions, except when newbies joined their team and repeatedly shot them in the back.

He flopped back against the sofa and waited to get back into the game. They only had a few days left before heading back to Africa and they were crashing at their brother-in-law’s condo in Toronto.

The phone started ringing, and since he was dead for a few moments, he took opportunity to answer it, snagging it on the second ring. “Hi.”

“Um, hello. Is Mai Solfalvi there, please?”

“Sorry, she’s out right now.” He reached over for a pen and a piece of paper. “Can I take a message?”

“What about Gaspar or Vencel?”

The woman’s voice took on a slightly hysterical tone, and Jelani got up from the couch and stepped away from the noise of gunfire and his brother’s profanity so he could hear her better. “They’re out with Mai. I’m her brother, Jelani Bennett, is there something I can do to help you? Are you all right?” He wasn’t about to stand around and do nothing if someone needed help.

“Oh, well, no but I’ll figure out something. I’m sorry to have bothered you.”

“Wait, don’t hang up.” He didn’t like the tone to her voice. There was desperation to it making the hair on the back of his neck bristle. “Why don’t you tell me your name?”

“No, I don’t want to bother you.”

“It’s not a bother. I can text Mai and let her know you’re looking for her.” He waved at his brother, who flicked the game off as soon as Jelani caught his attention. Thankfully it took only a quick look to convey that there was a problem.

“My name is Jessica Tam.”

“The Jessica Tam who works for Gordon Roberts?” Jelani remembered Mai telling him about Gordon’s assistant who was in a relationship with a completely obnoxious asshole.

“How did you know?”

“Vencel mentioned you the other day. He asked if I could drop some papers off at Gordon’s downtown office tomorrow for you.”

“Aren’t they in Toronto?” The panic was becoming more apparent in her voice and he could hear her breathing speeding up. She was practically panting on the phone.

“No, I’m sorry, they aren’t. They caught a flight earlier today to Montreal for the weekend.” The line fell dead, and for a moment Jelani thought that he lost the call or she hung up. “Jessica?”

“I’m scared.”

Jelani might not know this woman, but he wasn’t about to leave her on her own. He grabbed his coat off the back of a chair and smacked Marcario on the shoulder. Tucking the phone into the crook of his neck, he pulled on his shoes as he spoke. “I’m coming to get you, right now.”

“It will take too long. He’ll find me.”

“No he won’t. Is he near you right now?”

“No, I don’t think so.”

“Can you find somewhere to hide? Go to a public place where there are lots of people, and stay there. Do not leave for any reason, and my brother and I will come and get you.”

“You don’t know what I look like.”

He could hear the whooshing of wind through her phone, so she must be moving outside as she spoke, and that made him feel better. “We’ll find you, Jess. Watch for us. We’re both in jeans and winter jackets. Marcario is wearing a red hat and I’ve got a black one. We’ll be together. Do you have a coat on?” It wasn’t unusual for a woman escaping a bad situation to leave with nothing but the clothes on her back.

“Yes, I’ll head to Nathan Phillips Square.”

“We’ll meet you there. I’m on a landline right now so I’m going to hang up, Jess. I’ll call you back on my cell and talk to you until we get to you if you want.”

“No, I think my phone has GPS. I have to throw it away, or he can find me.”

“Why don’t you turn your phone off for now but keep it with you in case of emergency. You will be safe with us, Jessica.”

“I know. Mai told me about you.”

“Any of the bad stuff was lies.”

She laughed and he felt a moment’s relief. “See you soon, Jessica.”

“Good-bye, Jelani.”

As soon as she hung up, he did as well and tossed the phone on the counter. Marcario was already standing by the door with his coat and boots on. “What’s up?”

“Mai’s friend left her boyfriend. She sounds terrified and panicking.”

“He has been abusing her, then.” Darkness edged the features of his brother’s face. Marcario couldn’t stand to see women abused in any way either. “Mai was afraid of that.”

“We’re going to keep Jessica safe.”

Jelani didn’t want to go through the bother of getting Vencel’s car. Getting around Toronto was a bitch on a good day, and a busy Friday afternoon during rush hour wasn’t a good time. It was easier to grab a cab so they wouldn’t have to find parking. Typical of November’s unpredictable weather, the freezing rain had turned into wet snow as the temperature fell and the wind whipped it around. In a few weeks, Nathan Phillips Square would be filled with people ice skating. In this weather, people were rushing around trying to get home.

“I wish I had thought to ask her what she was wearing.” Jelani scanned the area, looking for anyone who might meet Jess’s description. He tried her cell but she’d turned it off. Marcario had texted Vencel while in the cab and got a general description of her. They didn’t want to upset Mai, so Vencel and Gaspar were keeping this from her for the time being.

“Let’s walk the perimeter. If she’s frightened she probably stayed to the edges.”

They made it to the other side of the reflection pool when a woman stepped out from behind one of the trees in the peace garden.

Her hands were clasped tightly by her stomach and she took a couple steps in their direction before stopping to look around. It was obvious she was nervous by the way she constantly checked her surroundings. Jessica had delicate features that reminded him of some of the fairies in Mai’s favorite children’s book. She wore her hair pulled back in a tight ponytail that emphasized her facial features. Her eyebrows gently curved over large eyes. He couldn’t tell the color from here, but finding out felt like an imperative. Her lips looked soft and made for kissing. His fingers itched to trace along her delicate jaw and then along her lower lip.

He grabbed Marcario by the arm and nodded in her direction. The closer they got the slower she walked, and Jelani could see the panic coloring her features. Her skin was so pale that in this dimming light she looked like an otherworldly specter. Neither he nor his brother were small men, opposite to their sister, and Jelani feared that might intimidate Jessica. Marcario stopped a distance away and grabbed Jelani’s arm to stop him from going further. Marcario had great instincts when it came to people’s moods, so he followed his brother’s lead.

She edged closer and Jelani could almost imagine her acting like a shy animal, wanting to come close but afraid of being hurt. They saw a lot of this behavior in some of the areas they worked overseas. People wanted help but were afraid to come too close in case they were hurt further. He held out a hand and waited. Keeping his tone even and soft, he spoke to her. “Jessica, I’m Jelani. We spoke on the phone, remember? This is Marcario.”

His brother nodded at her and gave her a soft smile as well. “It’s nice to meet you, Jessica.”

She darted a quick look around before stepping closer to them. “You look like your sister.”

“Yeah, poor Mai. She never was all that pretty.” Marcario grinned at Jessica’s shocked reaction.

“That’s a terrible thing to say. She is beautiful, and I know that her men would object to you saying that.”

Jelani continued to look around. He learned quickly in the Congo what type of body language to look for. Not all the predators in Africa walked on four legs.

Jessica stood there wringing her hands and then clutching at the front of her jacket. She pulled it away from her throat and gasped for breath.

“Jessica, are you okay?” Jelani stepped closer and hunched down, trying to mask his size. He didn’t want to intimidate her, but he was growing concerned for her health. Her eyes were wide open and she seemed to be breathing much too quickly and far too shallow.