That made no sense. She’d had the Inara costume. She hadn’t even stayed much past that as her message wasn’t but an hour or so after that. “And?”
“She bought Leia’s costume. You know the one. Gold bikini. And boy, she had the body to carry it off.”
Joel couldn’t control his cock. Or a shivery reaction imagining her in the bikini. She did have the body to carry that off. “She bought it? The gold bikini. You’re sure?”
“I sold it to her.”
Madison started pulling on his arm. “That skank. Probably bought it to take home. Wear to a different conference. Do what she did to you to more unsuspecting men.” She shook her head. “The beeyotch.”
Joel tried to throw off her hand but couldn’t. His amorousness deflated both with her clutches and with knowing that the Leia getup hadn’t been for him. Samantha’s messages to the loops had proved as much.
Giorgio shook his head furiously. “Oh no. She said it was ‘for tonight.’ That she needed to show a guy how much he meant to her. Apparently the guy was a Leia-in-a-bikini fan. She was quite insistent she had to have that costume. She said she’d been ‘an idiot’ and this would help her make amends.” He chuckled. “I’d seen you with her earlier. You two were quite tight and…I figured you’d had a fight. I guess it was my mistake.”
Joel’s head buzzed. This didn’t compute. This was the second person to tell him that Samantha had seemed to want to make up with him. That she had felt badly for doing what she had. Not only that but it was from a second person he trusted. Yet, she’d run off and posted that damn message…
Wait a minute… “What time did you see her? Not exact. Approximate.” His voice hitched in his throat.
Madison pulled on his arm. “What does it matter? She’s nothing but a skank. A harlot. A whore who wanted you as another notch on her belt…”
He finally got his arm away from her.
Giorgio seemed to think for a minute. “It was maybe 1:00. 1:30. She said she’d hit several costume places before me. Couldn’t find the costume she wanted. Course I’m the best. She should have come to me first.” He puffed out his chest and put an arrogant look on his face.
Joel rubbed his head, ignoring Giorgio’s ego. “You’re sure of the time.” Another piece that didn’t fit in the puzzle he was making.
“Yeah. Why?”
“Joel…” Madison’s voice turned whiny.
Joel ignored her. “Because Samantha posted something on a message board. At 2:30. Even if she ran out of here after buying that costume to check out, there’s no way she could get home to post in that amount of time. She lives further away than that.” He knew the approximate town that she lived in. She’d had the area she lived posted on the message board even if her gender was fake. Truth was, it was several hours away from where he lived and where the convention was. Unless of course she’d lied about that too. His chest started to deflate. She could have lied.
“What does that matter? She still posted that message. She might have posted it before she left. Or at a coffee shop on the way home.” Madison’s voice turned sneering. “She still posted it.”
Joel swallowed. She was right. Whatever straws he was hanging onto about Samantha, he needed to let go of. The messages proved that.
Giorgio backed away. “I’m sorry to have intruded on your night. I shouldn’t have brought it up but I…she seemed so excited to find the costume and so eager to put it on for this guy. Maybe it wasn’t you. I truly am sorry.” He waved and walked away.
Madison pulled on his arm again, trying to drag him in the opposite direction from Giorgio. “Let’s go outside and chat. Not talk about nasty old Samatra300.”
Joel didn’t allow himself to be led. There was something about this whole thing not making sense. It was time he took his leave from this place and went to think. He always thought better alone, hence his walking around this morning. “I can’t. Madison, I need to…”
“We can go get some air. You’d like that. We can talk. Or you don’t even have to talk. We’ll just be together. I can keep you company.” She sounded more desperate with each word.
He shook his head. “Not tonight.”
She shook her head wildly now. “But we can hang out. I can be everything you want me to be. You want the gold bikini? I can find one.”
Joel shook his head again. He backed away from Madison, trying to free himself from the woman. Like everything, he hadn’t left when he should have. He needed to stop putting things off. “I need to go.” He was watching someone self-destruct right before his eyes.
She followed him but he kept moving away from her.
Baxter came out of the elevators. “There you are. I’ve been calling.”
Joel hadn’t heard his phone ring. “What’s up?” He pulled it out to check it though he wasn’t sure why. Baxter had probably been trying to reach him. Sure enough, there were several missed calls.
Madison continued to babble behind them.
Baxter looked at her, frowned and then launched into his spiel. “Something was off about the whole Sam thing. Something bothered me about the IP address, you know the Internet address that shows where you post from. So I started looking at it.” He got animated. “Samatra’s message was…” He listed off some numbers that meant nothing to Joel.
“So?” IP’s meant nothing to Joel though Baxter had waxed on and on about them, trying to explain how they worked to Joel a couple of times.
“So, the IP addresses for all the messages following hers…were the same as hers. The IP address for that idiot solidat? The same one.”
“But that’s…that’s highly unlikely, isn’t it?” He didn’t know as much about computers as Baxter did. That was why Baxter was in charge of handling technology at all their boards.
“Yeah. I mean one, maybe two, might have the same IP. But for all of them to? That was like a dozen messages.” Baxter then shook his finger. “But that’s not all.” He cocked his head to the side. Like Samantha did sometimes.
Terrible how everything reminded Joel of her. He needed to stop that but couldn’t seem to. “What?” He tried to shake off thinking about her for the thousandth time.
“Two things. HarborLights89’s email? The one that came in after Samantha’s message?” Baxter obviously didn’t realize who was behind them, listening. He’d never been good with faces or names. Unless it was the administrative assistant where he worked that he watched every day.
Madison gasped.
Joel ignored her. Baxter did shoot her a look as if to ask her who she was, but then he returned his attention to Joel.
“Go on.”
“HarborLights89’s message came from the same IP that all the other messages came from. And when I traced that IP?” He shook his finger again. “It’s from somewhere in this fair city.”
Joel glanced around them, his mind whirling like a fun machine at the fair. “From this city. All of the messages came from here? You’re sure?”
“Yes. Even though the posters of the messages had different locations listed on their profiles from around the country and overseas and none had posted on the boards about attending this convention. Even Samantha’s original message came from that IP address, though she was supposed to have gone home. If she’d been home, that would have come up as a different IP address. It’s far enough away to be different.” Baxter then laid down his winning card. “I asked the hotel desk. She never checked out, Joel.”
Samantha had never left?
He breathed out a heavy breath. Samantha could still be playing games. She’d deceived him before with her true gender. But something weird was going on. He needed to find out what. He couldn’t ignore this.
He turned to Madison, who stood there wide eyed. Somehow she seemed to be involved. “Where is she?”
“Who?” Madison said defiantly.
“Samatra300.” Joel came closer, his arms folded across his chest. He would get to the bottom of this with or without her help.
�
��Why do you want her? What’s wrong with me?” Her voice grew plaintive. Wail-like. It cut across his ears like scissors. “I could be your Inara.”
“Bad analogy. They never got together.” His head came up again. “How did you know I was going to be Mal tonight?” He’d only told two people who he was going as. Baxter and Samantha.
“Why don’t you want me?” Her voice rose.
“Because you’re not her.” Probably the wrong thing to say but he needed to find Samantha. “Come on, Bax. I think I know where I want to look. We need the hotel staff to get in.” He headed for the lobby even as Madison began calling his name again and stamping her foot.
If he was wrong, Samantha was going to be pissed. Regardless, he was going to find his answer.
* * * *
Samantha had managed to fall from the bed without killing herself or breaking anything. Had managed to scoot over to the phone.
Hang up, damn you.
She was having problems getting the phone back on the cradle so she could hang it up and start over with who she wanted to call.
“Damnth phonth.” Nothing escaped the gag but muffled sounds. She wanted to scream in frustration but Madison hadn’t even left her that.
That’s when she heard voices outside. She tried to yell through the gag but all that came out was a squeak. “Eeeeee.”
The door lock rattled.
The door creaked open.
People ran through the door as soon as it was wide enough. All she could see was their feet but she could tell they ran.
“Oh my God,” said an unfamiliar voice. “She’s tied up.”
“I know.” Joel’s voice sounded grim.
Her heart swelled inside her chest. He was there. He’d found her. Joel. His hands touched her flesh as he cradled in his arms. She knew it was him from the way her skin prickled and smell of his cologne as he held her close.
In his arms.
She squeaked again behind the gag. “Getthisthingoffmymouth.” She wanted to be able to speak. To explain.
Joel gently undid the gag. “You’re okay. I’ve got you.”
Best damn words in the whole English language. She gasped, trying to drum up moisture so she could manage something beyond a croak. He had her. She leaned into him as Baxter knelt down by her feet.
Baxter undid her feet carefully, untying the ropes. “Where are the keys to the cuffs?”
Joel reached down and gripped the handcuffs on her hands. “There are keys on the table right where we came in. That held the coffee pot.”
Baxter looked over his shoulder at two hotel employees who were gaping. “Little help here, guys. Keys.”
“Some water, too.” That was from Joel. He was looking out for her.
Her heart continued to pound. Joel had saved her.
“Oh, right.” One of them went and got the keys. Another got some water and handed it to Joel.
He held the cup for her to drink a few sips before he carefully unlocked her from the cuffs. He rubbed her hands putting circulation back in them. “You okay?”
“I am now.” She could finally talk. Her limbs trembled from being tied up but mostly from being in Joel’s arms. She never wanted to leave them again. If she had her way, she was going to stay in Joel’s arms forever.
“Good.” He moved to cradle her even closer. He kissed the top of her head. He was shaking too. She could feel the trembles in him as he held her.
Had he been scared for her? He’d come to rescue her like some video game action hero of her own. Her heart swelled. He’d been there when she’d needed him. “I was so wrong…”
He hushed her. “We’ll talk later. Let’s get you okay first.”
“We need to call the police.” The hotel employee looked like he wanted to take off right then and there. He didn’t look comfortable.
“Noooo.” She sat up, almost knocking Joel in the jaw. Her voice still sounded froggy. “No cops. I’m alright.”
“Who did this to you?” Joel looked down at her. His eyes were murderous. “It was HarborLights, wasn’t it?” Somehow he’d figured it out. Somehow her Joel had seen through HarborLights’ ruse.
She’d underestimated him yet again. She should have known he would meet the challenge. She’d never underestimate him again if he let her. She nodded, bleakly. He was sure to make the other woman pay for this. He had that look in his eyes. On the one hand, she liked it. On the other hand, HarborLights wasn’t worth him getting into trouble.
“They handcuffed you, tied your feet, and put you in a bikini.” The hotel staff person shook his head. “And you don’t want the cops called?”
She’d been so relieved at seeing Joel and at getting rescued, she’d forgotten her attire. “No, I did the bikini myself.” She sat up, pulling herself more away from Joel. If he kept touching her with that body of his, she was never going to be able to talk. But she couldn’t stop touching him completely so she left some parts of them touching. “I screwed up earlier. I shouldn’t have let you walk away.” She waved her hands around the gold Princess Leia bikini. “This was for you. To show you what an idiot I was for letting you walk. To show you that what we have isn’t just online. To show you that I love y…” Her words were cut off as Joel grabbed her and his lips met her own.
His lips kissed her fiercely as though he didn’t want to ever let her go. He held her in arms and kissed away all the trouble of the last several hours. All the heartache she’d ever had. He kissed away all her doubts at them being more than online friends and gaming buddies.
She vaguely heard Baxter say, “Ahem. I think we’ll just be going now.”
She saw movement from the other two people but didn’t pay it any mind as she kissed Joel back thoroughly and gently. She wanted to do for him what the kiss had done for her. She didn’t care who saw. She hoped they posted any pictures they took on the Internet. She’d crow to the world about her and Joel. All she wanted was to be with him. Didn’t care about anything else.
He broke the kiss. “Are you sure you’re okay?”
Baxter cleared his throat. “Okay, people, I think we’re done here. Really this time.” He turned to face the two hotel employees who still remained. “Nothing to see here.” He motioned to them to leave.
Everyone still hovered though, not taking his direction. So Baxter turned his attention to her. “Are you okay?”
Joel rubbed her wrists where the cuffs had chafed them a little bit. His gaze met Sam’s. “I think she will be now, won’t you?”
She nodded. “Because you came, I’m okay. Thank God.” Her wrists were a little chafed even while Joel continued to rub them. Her body was a little sore.
The hotel employees finally left without a backward glance.
Baxter walked to the door behind them. “Call me if you need anything. And let me know how you’re doing. When you can.” He sounded as if he might be smiling. The door to her hotel room shut with a click.
Alone at last. She started babbling. “I was trying to get the phone to call for help. I fell off the bed.” She rubbed and discovered a bruise on her side. Probably from the fall to the floor. Wasn’t terrible. She’d been lucky she hadn’t hurt herself. Even more lucky that Joel had found her.
Joel surveyed her rubbing herself. “Maybe we should take you to the doctor. You suffered a fall. God knows what else.”
“I’m fine.” She snuggled into him again. Then, she got out of his arms. “You stay right here. I’ll be right back. Do not go anywhere.”
He laughed. “I’m not going anywhere for a long time. You okay?”
“Yes, just have to take care of something.”
She dashed into the bathroom. When she came out, he’d moved up onto the bed. He tossed the cuffs in the trashcan at her approach. “We can’t let HarborLights get away with this. I know you don’t want to think about that right now but we can’t.”
“I have no desire to go to the police.” It wasn’t what she wanted to talk about either. But she didn’t know how to bri
ng up what she did want to talk about. She felt a little shy and a lot nervous. They still had stuff to work out.
“The upper hotel management may have something to say about that when they find out. They’ll probably be worried you’ll sue.”
“I won’t.” She shivered a little. “I just want to forget it. I was stupid for letting her into my room. I thought she just wanted to talk. I didn’t realize she was batshit crazy.”
“I can’t forget it. And you shouldn’t have had to worry about letting her in. She shouldn’t have done what she did.” He motioned for her to come onto the bed and hugged her closely. He wasn’t blaming her, instead placing the blame on her attacker where it belonged. Her skin warmed where he touched. “We are going to tell the Forum how she hacked your account. Clear that whole message thing up. She’ll get banned. I’ll see to that. All her little fake accounts too.”
“I think that will be punishment enough for Madison.” She nuzzled into his chest. His warmth heated her up. “That and she doesn’t get you.” She bit her lip. That didn’t mean she would get him. Not if he couldn’t forgive her for what had happened earlier. She held her breath.
He stared down at her. She could feel the shift of his body against her. “Who does? Get me?” His voice was hesitant. As though he wasn’t sure of the answer.
She licked her lips. She paused. Hated that he didn’t know the answer to the question but didn’t blame him. She’d made so many mistakes. Could she do this? Now was no time to be shy. Not in a Princess Leia gold bikini getup. She had to make her mistakes right. Maybe she would get the guy…
“Maybe not a fair question right now.” He didn’t move away but she could feel him pull away a little bit. “You’ve been a through a lot.” He wasn’t sure where he stood with her and that hurt her most of all. Even more than what Madison had done to her or the bruise on her side.
“I get to keep you.” She blew out a breath and sat up to face him instead of leaning into his chest. “I was thinking what we had wasn’t real because it was online…but you’re more real than anyone else I’ve ever met. I realized that right after you left. Hence Princess Leia’s gold bikini.” She blew out another breath. “Silly, huh?”
Geek Love Page 10
