What's Done in Darkness (20 page)

“Katrina,” I said in a warning tone. “You want the bouncers to call the cops? After what happened today?”

“Fuck you, Jade!” she snapped. “Stay out of it.”

I reeled backward at her harsh words and tone.

“Is there a problem?” one of the two brawny bouncers asked as they reached us. This one was the taller of the two, about six foot one, and built like a linebacker.

“I'm perfectly fine,” Katrina said. Then she walked off in the direction of the drug dealer, who was watching us from among the crowd. She wrapped her arms around the man's waist as though they were longtime lovers. She leveled a dirty look at Christian before she snaked her hand around the man's head and forced it down. The next instant she was planting her lips on his.

“Fucking bitch,” Christian muttered.

“Christian,” I said, reaching for him. But he shrugged away from my touch and stalked toward the club's exit.

So much for our first happy day of vacationing in Mexico.

It had just gone to hell.

 

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

I watched Christian leave. Then I marched over to Katrina, confused and angry. Was it the Ecstasy that was making her act so completely irrationally?

The only thing I knew for sure was that I was pissed. I had come to Mexico—at her urging—for a peaceful vacation. Not drama and chaos.

“Katrina, what the fuck are you doing?”

Her eyes lit up, and a smile erupted on her face, as though she were seeing me for the first time. Yeah, the Ecstasy had clearly taken effect already. My gaze went to the guy, who also was also in happyland with Katrina.

Sternly I said, “Can you please get off my friend so I can talk to her for a moment?”

“Feisty. I like it.” He stepped back, raising his hands in a sign of surrender. Then blew me a kiss.

Rolling my eyes, I grabbed Katrina by the upper arms and shook her. That's when I noticed the sort of bug-eyed look on her face.

Just how out of it did a person get on Ecstasy? I'd never taken it, so I had no clue what it did to a person. But it had done something. Because Katrina didn't look like herself.

“What are you doing?” I asked, hoping to talk some sense into her. “You just sent Christian away—for this guy. A stranger. Why did you start making out with him like that?”

Katrina leaned in close and whispered, “He wanted to give me something. And he had to use his mouth.”

Was this how they exchanged the drugs? From each other's tongues? I felt sick.

“Christian left,” I told her.

Katrina shrugged.

“Look, whatever game you're playing, you need to realize that it's dangerous. First of all, you already know Christian has a temper.” I respected that he'd left before doing something worse, which I almost couldn't blame him for at this point. In fact, I was seeing Katrina in a new light. If this was how she acted with Christian, it wasn't hard for me to believe that she had pushed him to violence. “Second, you can't just let strange guys—”

“Relax; Christian will be back. You know it, and I know it. He always comes back.”

As I stared at Katrina, my anger grew. She wasn't completely out of her mind. She was doing this on purpose. Pushing Christian as far as she could just to see how much he would put up with? What a bitch.

But it wasn't my life; it was hers. I couldn't control her, and I didn't want to.

In fact, maybe I didn't even want to work for her anymore. I didn't need to be caught up in her drama. As if I didn't have enough of my own.

She stepped away from me and looked around, as though searching for the pig she had just exchanged saliva with. I too looked for him. The guy had given me a bad vibe from the moment I'd met him, and I hoped that he was gone.

I saw him nowhere.

But as my eyes scanned the place, I saw someone else. And this time, I knew I wasn't imagining him.

Brian!

He
was
here. In Mexico.

And he was heading in my direction.

*   *   *

I was dumbfounded.

And pissed.

Brian really was here?

My stomach lurched with anxiety when his gaze connected with mine. No doubt about it, he was making his way toward me through the crowd. I could hardly believe my eyes.

“Jade,” he said, and opened his arms, expecting me to hug him.

Was he for real? “You're here?” I asked. “And you didn't tell me you were coming?”

“I wanted to surprise you.”

I gaped at him. “Surprise me? After you're the one who suggested meeting me here?” I paused. “I thought you weren't coming. I thought…”

“That I was leading you on?” he supplied.

I turned, giving him my back at the bar.

“What—you're that mad at me?” he asked.

“You're playing games with me. I don't like games.”

“All right, I can see why you're unhappy. I didn't think. I just figured I'd show up, and—”

“How did you even know I was here?” I asked, gesturing to the bar. “I certainly didn't get to tell you that.”

“Coincidence.”

I narrowed my eyes. “Where are you even staying? You know what, forget it. I don't want to know.”

Brian edged into the space beside me at the bar and gently placed a hand on the small of my back. And damn, was I insane? Because that simple touch flooded my body with heat.

“Don't touch me,” I said, and eased away from him. Despite my body's reaction, I didn't want to be a fool. His behavior wasn't adding up.

He raised his hands. “All right. I get it. I should have told you I was definitely coming. I'm sorry.”

He was quick to own up to his flaws, which was a good quality. But I didn't want a guy who figured he could keep disappointing me and simply apologize to make everything better. “I thought I saw you on the beach today,” I said. “With another guy. Near the Serenity Resort.”

“I'm staying at a resort near that one,” Brian said. “Yeah, I was out checking out the beach with my buddy, Keith. I told him I was coming to Mexico, and he decided to come with me.”

“Did you see me? Did you see me and turn the other way?”

He shook his head. “No. If I saw you, I would have approached you. You're the reason I came here, Jade.”

A few beats passed. I stared at him. Studied him, really. He said the right things, but something was off. “I don't get you,” I said.

He put his hand on the small of my back again, and just like the first time, my body reacted. I felt the stirring of arousal in my gut.

“What if I said that something's going on that I can't tell you about? That I need you to take a leap of faith and trust me. Can you do that?”

His touch was distracting me. Maybe I didn't really care what his excuse was. I wasn't looking to make a love connection, but I could definitely see myself making a sexual one with him. Something about Brian made my whole body come alive.

“A fitness trainer with such secretive work?” I asked, my voice laced with sarcasm.

“I will admit that I'm not a fitness trainer.”

“What do you really do?”

Brian grinned, the kind of grin that made me realize he had a few secrets. My brain told me that I should run, not walk, away from him.

“It's not something I want to get into right now.”

“Is it legal?” I asked.

“Definitely legal.”

“Then why can't you tell me about it?”

“This isn't the time,” he said simply. And then his hand began to move up my back. When it got to my neck, he trilled my skin with his fingers.

“When is the time?” I managed to ask, surprised my voice even escaped my lips.

“After we get to know each other a bit better,” he whispered into my ear.

My eyelids fluttered shut. Sex first, questions later? Was that what he was proposing?

Slowly, my eyes perused his body. How did he make a simple T-shirt look so good? His black shirt hugged his muscular chest and highlighted his biceps. His jeans were also black, and damn if his thighs didn't look incredible. He looked even better than the first time I'd met him.

“Where's that drink, bro?”

At the sound of the foreign voice, I glanced beyond Brian. There was a man standing began him, the same one who'd been walking on the beach with him. He was a little taller than Brian, with darker skin.

“Sorry, Keith,” Brian said. He faced his friend quickly before meeting my eyes again. “I got distracted.”

I swallowed. Why was I so fiercely attracted to this guy?

“This is Jade,” Brian went on. “The woman I told you I was coming here to surprise.”

Keith's eyes lit up, as if he was excited to finally meet me. “Ah, you're the famous Jade. Hello. I'm Keith.”

“Hello,” I said, and shook the hand he offered me.

“Adele,” Brian said as a new song began to play. “This is a great song. Want to dance?”

“I don't know, Brian.”

He took my hand in his. “Trust me,” he whispered.

I swallowed. Then I said, “All right.”

Brian led me to the dance floor, where we danced close to each other but not touching. His eyes were so striking, light brown in color, and as he regarded me I could feel the heat emanating from his gaze.

Leaning forward, he whispered, “You're beautiful.”

Glancing away, I smiled bashfully. Two simple words had me feeling giddy inside. Suddenly I understood why Katrina was so giggly around Christian—when things were good between them. It was that attraction to a new person that had you euphoric, something I'd forgotten after dating Wesley for so long.

One dance turned into two, and when a slow song began to play, Brian didn't hesitate. He pulled me into his arms.

And Lord, the feel of his strong hands on my back and the way his hard chest pressed against my breasts sent my body into overdrive.

I wanted to get naked with him.

But wanting that and going for it were two different things.

An upbeat hip-hop tune began to play, and we pulled apart. I glanced beyond Brian then and saw Katrina about ten feet away. I'd pretty much forgotten about her and was surprised to see her chatting with Brian's friend, Keith.

“Looking for someone?” Brian asked me.

“I just realized that the friend I came here with is talking to your friend.”

Brian glanced over his shoulder, then faced me again. “Talking. Is that what you call it?”

I jerked my head in Katrina's direction again. No longer just talking, she was acting like the high school slut, gyrating against Keith. As I watched in horror, Katrina ran her hand down his chest to his waistline, then kissed him on the cheek.

“Oh God,” I uttered.

“Is she always like that?”

“I've never seen her act like this before.” I cringed when I saw Keith remove Katrina's hand before it lowered to his groin. At least he wasn't one of those guys who would take advantage of an inebriated girl throwing herself at him. “Shit, she is totally out of control. Even your friend can't handle her.”

“Keith is fine.”

“I'm sorry about that,” I said.

“Don't apologize,” Brian said. “Your friend is grown. So is Keith.”

“Katrina's not normally like this. I think she took some—” I stopped short, realizing that I'd been about to blurt out that Katrina had consumed drugs. Not a smart idea, even if Brian was a happy tourist who wouldn't care about illegal activity.

“Hmm?” Brian prompted.

“Um.” I paused to think. “She took some pain medication with her alcohol,” I lied. “She had a migraine before we left the hotel. She should know better, but…” My voice trailed off, and I shrugged.

“Enough about your friend,” Brian said. “Can I finally get you that drink?”

“I guess I'll have a margarita,” I told him.

He took my hand and we walked together through the crowd, past the happy guests who were pumping their bodies to the music. It felt nice, him holding my hand like that.

And it was nice to feel wanted.

He'd asked me to trust him. And that was what I was doing. Because the way he was making me feel, I just couldn't believe that he was lying to me.

 

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

A short while later, Brian and I were on the dance floor, working up a sweat, when Keith came over to us. I thought he was going to address Brian, but instead Keith spoke to me.

“I think your friend might need you,” he said.

I narrowed my eyes. “What's the matter?”

“She went into the bathroom about fifteen minutes ago,” Keith answered. “Said she wasn't feeling well, and she hasn't come out.”

“Shit,” I uttered. Then, “Excuse me for a minute?”

I took a step, but Brian put a hand on my arm, stopping me. I faced him. “What?”

“By the way, did you tell Katrina that we met before?”

I shook my head. “No.”

“Then let's keep that between us.”

I narrowed my eyes. “Why?”

“I have my reasons.”

More secrecy. “I don't understand.”

“I'll explain later, I promise. Just … don't tell her we met before. Trust me,” he added.

“You're asking a lot.” Perhaps too much. When Brian said nothing, just gave me an imploring look, I said, “Fine. All right.”

I made my way to the bathroom. Inside, two girls, both with dirty blond hair, stood in front of the sink, adding more mascara to eyes that definitely had enough. The two made me think of those girls from
Jersey Shore
—identical hot messes. But they smiled at me, and I returned the smile.

A quick glance beneath the doors told me that all three stalls were occupied. “Katrina?” I called out.

No answer.

When I called her name again and still got no answer, I waited. I figured she was in a stall, trying to compose herself. Or possibly puking.