Virtual Justice (12 page)

“A drugs dog! Really?” Lorne sat down heavily in the chair.

Charlie stood directly behind her and gasped.

“Yes. Well, I’d like to take Rusty on and see what he has. He could either become a drugs dog, or several of the dogs have gone on to become excellent at searching out explosives. Some even leave us and join the Army, detecting IEDs to help our troops out in Afghanistan.”

“No!” Charlie screeched. “I won’t let Rusty be blown to bits like that.”

Jeff smiled up at Charlie reassuringly. “They rarely get blown up. They tend to detect the devices before they go off. They’ve saved hundreds of our troops out there, and they’ll go on to save thousands more. But it’s highly unlikely that Rusty would be sent out there. He’s needed here to work with the police. That’s if he proves to be good enough. Excuse the pun, but you get a nose for these things, and from what I saw the other day, Rusty has all the instincts to be a good police dog.”

“I’m not sure, Mr. Salter. My daughter has become very attached to Rusty since he was brought in. It would be hard to let him go now.”

“I can see where you’re coming from. I’m just asking you to consider the possibility.”

“What about the other dogs in our care? There are two more spaniels boarding with us at the moment.”

“I would like to take all three if I can. Maybe just for a week or two, see if they adapt to the intense training or not. Not every dog can stick with it.”

Lorne turned to face her daughter. “It’s your decision, love.”

“I can’t, Mum. Rusty has been through so much already. He seems settled here with us.”

Jeff rose from the table and gave Lorne a card. “I’ll leave you to discuss it over the weekend and get back to you on Monday. How’s that?”

“Thanks. That sounds a good compromise. We’ll consider it over the weekend. Seriously consider it, I mean.”

With that, the man walked out of the kitchen, and Charlie ran up to her room.

“Oh crap!” Tony mumbled. “That’s going to be a tough decision.”

“Yeah, don’t I know it.”

CHAPTER ELEVEN

B
ella spent twenty-four hours in pure paradise. After asking her to spend the day with him, alone, Morris treated her like a goddess. The day consisted of a first-time trip for her to London Zoo, which was followed by a divine lunch at The Ivy. Then they went back to his flat and entertained themselves in the usual manner. After that, they lazily relaxed in bed and talked over their aspirations and life’s ambitions. The conversation soon turned to the plans they had brushed the surface of during the week.

Morris opened his laptop and searched for his favourite dating site—the site where they’d first met. He selected several male candidates for her to choose from to entice on a date. Apprehensively, after creating an account under a false name, she wrote an e-mail to Richard Lowe. He was six-five, had brown hair and blue eyes, and was handsome in a strange kind of way. Not the usual type Bella went for, but Morris had prompted her to choose him.

Within thirty minutes of sending the e-mail, Morris’s computer pinged, alerting them that the response had arrived. Excitedly, Morris opened the e-mail for them both to see. “Yes! He took the bait…‌I mean, he wants to meet you. What about a date tonight?”

“Er…‌I thought today was about us. Us spending quality time with each other.”

He squeezed her to him and kissed her forehead. “It is, darling. But the sooner we get our plan moving, the more time we’ll be able to spend with each other. Don’t you see that?”

She forced a smile.
No, I don’t see. This has been the perfect day. Why would I want to spoil that? Why would Morris want to spoil it?
“Very well. Make the arrangements.”

Morris urgently tapped keys, showing signs of annoyance when he hit the wrong ones in his rush to reply with a designated place and time to meet. “There, all done.” He hit the send button and smiled with satisfaction as the computer pinged a second time. “Guess who’s going to meet someone for a first date tonight?”

Fear and disappointment clenched her stomach, but outwardly, she disguised it well.

“I’ll pick out what you’ll wear, and we’ll run through what you have to do.” He pushed her out of the bed. “Shoo, off now and bathe.”

She watched from the bathroom doorway as he bashed computer keys, still grinning from ear to ear.
What have I done? I don’t want to go on a date with this guy. I want to stay here and spend time with Morris.

•\ \ \ \ \ •\ \ \ \ \ •

After luxuriating in a hot lavender bath, Bella felt more relaxed about her upcoming date, and everything seemed to be put back into perspective.
It’s only a date after all. What could possibly go wrong?

She applied subtle makeup and returned to the bedroom. Morris was sitting on the edge of the bed, waiting for her. He studied her with displeasure. “Do you have any makeup on?”

“Yes. I don’t like to wear much.”

“Get back in there and put more on. You want to attract the man, not scare him away the first time he lays eyes on you.”

Tears pricked the back of her eyes as she slowly turned back into the bathroom.
Why would he want me to look nice for someone else?
She was beside herself, and the more she thought about the way he’d spoken to her, the more the tears threatened to spill down her cheeks. She reprimanded herself for being stupid.
It’s a game,
she reminded herself
, an innocent game to keep the spark alive.
As long as she remembered that, nothing on earth could go wrong. She blotted a cotton wool with makeup remover and wiped her face until every last bit of colour had been cleaned off. Then she picked up her foundation and started from scratch. This time, she piled on the colour. When she’d finished, she admired herself in the glass and concluded that she could give the dirtiest slapper around a run for her money. She squirted a large amount of perfume between her breasts and on her neck, then went back to the bedroom. Morris’s displeasure dissipated, and lust-filled admiration filled his features. His eyes ate through her flesh just as they had the first night she’d met him. She totally understood what the game was all about. The change in him was remarkable.

“You like?” she asked shyly.

He held out his hand, inviting her to go to him. He pulled her close, turning his face to rest his cheek against the bare skin of her tummy. “You’re an angel in disguise. A beauty no man will ever be able to resist. A stunning attraction that will entice men when they least expect it. Together, we can and will take love to where it has never dared to venture before.”

A thrill rampaged through her body like a tsunami. No one had ever worshipped her as he did.

Before she could respond, he pushed her away from him and stood up. His erection brushed the inner part of her thigh. She wanted him so much and expected him to take her. Instead, he reached for the underwear he’d laid out on the bed and proceeded to dress her. His hands tickled her skin. Every nerve in her body was set on edge by the erotic way he was dressing her. She found herself cursing that he was dressing her rather than undressing her, but she looked forward to the end of the evening, when he would reverse the action. She expected him to pull the dress he’d bought her over her head. However, he retrieved something from the bedside cabinet that she hadn’t noticed lying there.

“What’s that?”

“Something that will help tonight go according to plan.”

“Meaning what?” She frowned as he strapped the little box around her waist and settled it in the small of her back. It felt uncomfortable, and she tried to wriggle.

“Stay still. I haven’t finished yet.” He attached a small lead to the pack. On the other end of the wire was an earpiece. Pushing her hair back, he inserted the small object into her right ear. “How does that feel?”

“Uncomfortable and like it doesn’t belong there.”

“Stop complaining. All will be revealed in good time.” He pulled the midnight-blue dress over her head and smoothed it down over her hips, then spun her around to see if the bulge was noticeable. He turned her back to face him again and leaned forward. “You look good enough to eat,” he whispered in a low sultry voice.

Her legs crumpled beneath her, and his arm shot out to support her. “Please, let me stay here, with you. I’ll show you what you mean to me.”

He smiled and shook his head slowly. “Tonight, on your date with Richard, that will show me how much I mean to you.”

“I’m confused. How will spending time with another man prove how much I love you?” She drew in a breath. She’d never uttered the L-word before, to him or any other man.

He petted her cheek. “I love you, too, baby. You’ll see at the end of the evening.”

“Okay.” She smiled brightly. She couldn’t help visualising how fantastic their sex was going to be after she had concluded her date with the stranger and returned to the flat to be in Morris’s arms.

He picked up another object off the bedside table. “I’ll be listening to you and commenting throughout the evening. There’s no need for you to be afraid.”

“Is this what the earplug is for?” Somehow, she felt less stressed about what lay ahead, knowing that he would be watching over her. She knew she would cling to that comfort throughout the evening.

“Yes, darling. I’ll prompt you what to say if nerves take over and you dry up. We all know what it’s like to meet a complete stranger only to struggle through a conversation. You must admit, that never happened with us, did it?”

She cast her mind back to their first date and smiled. No, nothing could be farther from the truth, thanks to his tenacity to keep the conversation going. “No, it didn’t. I feel better knowing that you’ll be on the end of this.” She tapped the earplug.

He kissed her lips gently. “I’ll be with you every step of the way, my love. Come, time is marching on. We need to get you to the restaurant to meet your new beau. Don’t look at me like that. I’m kidding.”

•\ \ \ \ \ •\ \ \ \ \ •

Ten minutes later, they left Morris’s luxurious flat and drove to the restaurant. Her nerves took over once again in the car, and Bella found herself sucking in and blowing out several short breaths to calm her racing heart. A weird sensation moved through her. Thinking about the date from an outsider’s point of view, she came to the conclusion that she would be under double the stress of a person embarking on a normal first date. She had that side of things to handle, as well as the fact that Morris would be listening in on the conversation.

Morris clutched her hand and squeezed it gently. “You’ll be fine, I assure you.” She saw a strange twinkle in his eye as he stopped the car outside the car park before ushering her out of the vehicle without kissing her goodbye.

On heavy legs, she entered the restaurant and walked up to the hostess at the desk. “I’m here to meet a Mr. Lowe.”

“Ah, yes. Please, come this way.”

She spotted Richard instantly. Like a true gentleman, he rose from the table and held her chair out for her. “It’s so good to see you, Sandy.”

Bella was confused for the briefest of seconds, until she remembered that she was meeting her date under an assumed name. Her confusion doubled and turned to anguish when she looked up at the person whom the hostess was showing to the table behind Richard. There, in all his glory, was Morris. He hadn’t told her that he would be
inside
the restaurant.

Morris’s mesmerising voice filled her ear. “Hello, darling. I’m here. Lots of smiles now. Just ignore me if you can.”

Bella smiled, but her stomach churned vigorously, as if a tornado were building up a huge force inside her. She tried hard to keep the conversation light between her and Richard, and all went well for the first half an hour. But after they had eaten their delicious starters, the small talk dried up. Richard’s eyes were glazing over, like the eyes of the other men she had dated before Morris had come along and swept her off her feet. That should reinforce how much she loved him, shouldn’t it?

Suddenly, breaking into her distant thoughts, a voice struck up in her ear. “Ask him how many women he’s been with.”

Bella’s gaze shot over to Morris’s table. He scowled at her and said in her earpiece, “Don’t you dare look over here. Just do as I say.”

She turned to her date, and her mouth nervously twitched into a false smile. Bella swallowed hard. “Tell me, Richard, how many women have you dated from the agency?”

A menacing voice erupted in her ear, “I didn’t tell you to ask that. Reach across the table, flirt with him, and ask, ‘How many women have you been with?’ Do it.”

Bella developed a nervous twitch in her leg. “Sorry.” She swung her jittery leg back and forth as her hand touched his gently. “What I meant to say was, how many women have you been with?”

At first, Richard tried to withdraw his hand, but she tightened her grip. Then he appeared to relax a little as he contemplated his reply. He leaned forward and gave her a cheeky smile. “A few dozen. Enough to have gained a lot of experience over the years. What about you?”

She smiled awkwardly and delayed her answer as she awaited Morris’s prompt. He wasn’t forthcoming, so she murmured, “One or two.” No sooner had she said the words than Morris urged her to say more.

“Dozen. One or two dozen.
Say
it.”

“I mean, one or two dozen,” Bella corrected, then added a flirty chuckle.

Richard’s eyes almost popped out of his head. “My, you don’t look the type.”

Bella felt the colour invade her cheeks. She averted her eyes, until Morris said, “You’d be surprised. Go on, say it.”

“You’d be surprised.” She was overwhelmed by the need to flee, or to at least take a breather in the ladies’ toilet.

Morris must have sensed what she was about to do, because he quickly whispered, “Stay where you are. You move, and you’ll suffer the consequences later.”

She didn’t have time to mull over the menacing threat because Richard grabbed her hand, at the same time he summoned the waiter. “A bottle of your finest champagne.”

“No, I couldn’t possibly let you buy that.”

“Nonsense,” Richard insisted. He stood up and placed his chair next to hers at the table, and after he sat down again, his hand latched onto her thigh.