Fatal Dreams (COBRA Securities Book 17)

by Velvet Vaughn

“That’s a great way to think about it.” It was the same advice Lyra had given her when she confessed about her dreams. Focus on the good, not the bad. “Joelle will be here soon. She wants to get some fresh shots for the website.”

  “Awesome. I’ve got some new pieces I want to add to the inventory.”

  “Knock, knock. Can I come in?”

  Esme glanced up to see Sophie walk inside still dressed in her hospital scrubs. “Hey, Soph. How are you?”

  “Tired.” She plopped her purse on the counter and dropped into a chair. “My feet are killing me.”

  “Did you switch to the day shift?”

  “No, a bug’s going around and it’s hit the nursing staff hard. I filled in for someone today. Thankfully, I have tonight off.” She glanced around the displays. “It looks fabulous in here. You’ve changed things up, haven’t you?”

  “Yes. We’ve been rearranging.”

  “God, it smells like Heaven. I swear, Esme, your candles are porn for the olfactory sense.”

  Esme burst out laughing. “Thanks, I think?”

  Sophie grinned. “It was a compliment.” She suddenly frowned. “I don’t ever see you anymore. You’re never home.”

  “I know. I’m sorry. After Femi’s death, I didn’t want my aunt to be alone.”

  Sophie grabbed her hand. “Oh, I didn’t mean to sound bitchy. I totally understand. I just miss you.”

  Esme hugged her. “I missed you, too.” She glanced at her watch. Dinner time and no call from Ethan. Bastard. “Do you want to grab something to eat?”

  Sophie hopped off the stool. “Absolutely, but I don’t have anything else to wear.”

  “You can borrow something of mine. Lyra, do you want to come to dinner with us?”

  “Oh, I’d love to, but I have plans.”

  “Look at that, she’s blushing,” Sophie pointed out. “Are your plans of the naked variety?” She wiggled her brows.

  Lyra’s cheeks turned the color of ripe tomatoes.

  “They are,” Sophie crowed.

  Esme felt bad for her shy friend. Lyra had told her about her very conservative upbringing with parents who were strict but loving. Talking about sex wasn’t something she was used to doing, even with friends.

  Joelle walked in with her camera bag. “Hey, all.”

  “Hi, Joelle. Are you free for dinner?” Esme asked her.

  Joelle looked surprised and then pleased. “Sure. I can take the pictures later, if that’s okay.”

  “Great. Sophie and I will change and then we’ll head out.”

  #

  Lyra knew her cheeks were the color of a fire truck, but she couldn’t help it. She wasn’t comfortable talking about sex, especially with someone she didn’t know well. If it’d been just Esme, she wouldn’t have been so self-conscious. But Sophie was bold and outspoken and frankly, she intimidated Lyra.

  She wished she was going to dinner with them. Esme had quickly become her best friend. She wanted to get to know Joelle and Sophie better. Maybe if she spent more time with Sophie, she wouldn’t threaten her so much. She’d never had a group of girlfriends to hang out with before and she’d always wanted to partake in a ladies night out. She’d had acquaintances in the different orchestras she’d played in, but people were competing for the first chair and the backstabbing could be brutal. As much as she wanted to hang out with Esme, Sophie and Joelle, her relationship with Tyler was new and exciting and she’d rather spend every minute with him.

  Secretly she feared he’d grow bored with her and move on. He was so intelligent, and she was almost certain there wasn’t anything he couldn’t do. If he wanted to build a rocket that circled Jupiter on the way to the moon, she had no doubt he’d achieve it. It still blew her mind that he’d asked her out in the first place.

  She’d been so shocked when he kissed her last night, she didn’t react at first. Then it was over before she could reciprocate. She’d been afraid to open her eyes, not wanting to see the disappointment she knew must be clearly written on his face. When she gathered her courage, she’d found that he was gazing at her not with disappointment, but affection. His thumb gently stroked her cheek and tears crowded her eyes at the tenderness. She was falling in love with him despite having known him less than a week.

  If she was truthful, she’d admit that she’d started down that slope the first time they met, when he almost plowed her over right here in Esme’s shop.

  Her phone rang and she smiled when his face popped up on the screen. “Hey.”

  “Hey, Lyra. Are you about done? I thought I’d grab some dinner for us and head to your place, if that’s okay.”

  She stood and dug her purse from the shelf beneath the counter. “Perfect. I’m on my way home now.”

  “I’ll see you there in about a half hour.”

  “Drive safely.”

  “You, too.”

  She waved goodbye to the other women as she raced to her car. Tyler had spent the last two nights at her condo. She hadn’t been to his apartment yet. He’d told her about the secure compound where he lived with most of his colleagues. It sounded so interesting. She wanted to see it for herself. He hedged when she’d mentioned it, saying something about nosy coworkers butting into his affairs. She wasn’t sure what he meant. Then he made another crack about being afraid for her to meet the men he worked with. She’d paled, thinking he meant he was embarrassed of her. He’d quickly realized his error and rushed to assure her that he was proud to show her off, wanted to, in fact, but that he was the insecure one. He said that all the men he worked with made Greek gods look like pencil neck geeks and he didn’t want her drooling over them. She’d met Ethan and he was definitely drool-worthy, but she only had eyes for Tyler. She tried to assure him of that and maybe one day, she’d succeed.

  #

  Tyler knew he was being impulsive. Hell, that wasn’t even the word for it. Maybe he’d lost his ever-loving mind, along with his heart. That had to be the reason he was standing over the counter in the jewelry shop, pondering which engagement ring to buy Lyra.

  He might be crazy, but he knew without a doubt he wanted to spend the rest of his life with her. She hadn’t even met his parents yet, but if they held true to form, they wouldn’t even realize she was in the same room. It had nothing to do with Lyra and everything to do with the sperm and egg donors who created him. Nurturing parents they were not.

  It was sad to realize he spoke with his folks a half a dozen times a year. Birthdays and Christmas. He called on Mother’s Day and Father’s Day and that was pretty much it. Still, he wanted them to meet Lyra. He’d never be too old for his parents’ approval and he wanted them to like her.

  He’d never cashed in any vacation time since he started working for COBRA Securities. He hadn’t wanted to. His job was his passion and he didn’t consider it work. As much as he loved what he did, he finally found something he loved more. Lyra. He could use all those accrued days to whisk her away on a kick-ass trip around the world, or to Tahiti or something. He’d let her pick the honeymoon spot. He’d follow her anywhere.

  Peter Dennis, Tyler’s immediate boss, had been urging him to take more time off. He didn’t want Tyler to burn out—as if that was even a remote possibility. When he logged off his computer to leave in the afternoon, Pete had nodded his approval. Even though he clocked out early, he wasn’t completely slacking. He was always on call. If one of the agents needed something, he’d be there for them, always. Day or night. If he was away from his office, he took his phone and laptop with him, so he could work from virtually anywhere.

  He didn’t plan on proposing to Lyra yet. He didn’t want to scare her away. They hadn’t even slept together. Heck, they hadn’t even rounded second base. Maybe tonight.

  The friendly saleswoman had given him time to browse but he’d already found the one he wanted. “I’ll take this one.”

  The woman gaped before quickly masking her reaction. She was probably adding up the commission she’d make from the most expensi
ve ring in the case. He didn’t care. Lyra was worth it.

  He strolled out of the shop with the ring in his pocket. He didn’t plan on giving it to her quite yet, but he would soon. He called her once he was inside his car. He couldn’t wait to see her. They’d been working on the prototypes of weaponized jewelry. He’d shown her Wyatt Hollister’s belt buckle dagger, and she thought she could recreate something similar. Maggie McQueen, Kayla Hepburn, Hillary Steele and several of the other female agents added their thoughts. Lyra wasn’t sure she wanted to sell the pieces to the public, but she was willing to make anything within her abilities his associates requested.

  He stopped and picked up a pizza to take to her house. He’d been thrilled to discover she liked Hawaiian, like him. His coworkers ragged on him because he liked ham and pineapple on his pie. They swore it wasn’t even allowed to be called pizza. Just another sign that Lyra was meant for him. She even wanted to purchase a bike so she could go riding with him. She was the perfect woman.

  Chapter Ten

  After the mind-blowing date with Esme, Ethan spent the next few days moving out of the apartment he shared with his brother. Holy moly, he’d acquired a colossal amount of junk over the years. He’d caught an episode of the Netflix show with Marie Kondo where she helped people declutter their lives. He tried her method of keeping only the things that “sparked joy” and man, he had a massive pile to drop off at Goodwill. Not many possessions brought him joy, he discovered. People did. It reminded him of the way his parents lived, with few belongings but many friends they called family. He wasn’t ready to strip naked and sing Kumbaya by the campfire at the commune, but he felt more at peace.

  After he settled into his streamlined new digs, he made the trip to Indy to pick up Noah and Peyton from the airport. Though they’d endured an unimaginable ordeal of having to attend the funerals of Peyton’s friends and her longtime coach, he’d never seen his brother so happy. It was obvious he loved Peyton and equally obvious she felt the same way. He was going to treasure having her as a sister.

  Strangely enough, he missed Esme. He hardly knew her, but he thought of her often every day. He’d texted her right after their date to let her know that he’d be busy all week. She texted back that all the toilet paper rolls were full, and all lightbulbs were burning brightly, so he could rest easily. Smartass. He couldn’t help but smile.

  “What’s that look?”

  “Huh?” He glanced up from the text that he’d been rereading for the hundredth time to find Noah staring at him curiously.

  “Oh damn, brother, you’ve got it bad.”

  He frowned. “What are you talking about?”

  “Who is she?”

  “Who is who?”

  Noah crossed his arms. “Really? That’s how you’re going to play this? I know you, Ethan. I practically raised you. You can’t hide your feelings from me.”

  “You did not practically raise me. You’re barely older than me, jackass.” He slid the phone in his pocket and turned to leave. Noah grabbed his arm.

  “Quit avoiding the question. Who is she?”

  There was no sense trying to hide anything from his older brother. Noah would hound him until he caved. “Just a woman I met.” When Noah refused to retreat, he found himself spilling everything. He told him about helping her when her aunt’s car broke down, and then finding her at the side of the road again when he returned home. “There’s something about her. I can’t explain it. But she’s got this aunt who scares the hell out of me.”

  Noah looked intrigued. “What did she do to frighten you?”

  “I guess I should’ve told you that Esme is Romani. Her aunt, too.”

  “You mean Gypsies?”

  Ethan grimaced. “Don’t ever let her hear you call her that. It’s a derogatory, racist term to them.”

  “It is?”

  “Yeah. I didn’t know either. Anyway, her aunt has abilities. She tells fortunes. When she looked at me, it was as if she was peering into my soul. I almost confessed every sin I’ve ever committed in my life.”

  Noah winced. “That sounds frightening.”

  “Right? She barely spoke to me, just stared at me with shrewd green eyes, as if she knew every deep dark thought in my head.”

  “What did you do?”

  “I got the hell out of there,” he practically shouted. “I felt as if I couldn’t breathe. Tyler was with me, hitting up a pretty woman who works with Esme. I literally drug him out the door kicking and screaming.”

  Noah chuckled. “I’d have loved to have seen that.”

  “It was a riot.” Not. “Now I don’t know what to do. I like this woman. A lot. She’s gorgeous and intelligent and fiery, but there’s no way in hell I want to run into the aunt again.”

  “If you stick to your usual modus operandi, you’ll date the woman a few times and then dump her, so maybe you won’t have to see the aunt.”

  He opened his mouth to dispute the claim but slammed his lips shut. That was his usual MO. But it felt wrong to hear those words coming from his brother regarding Esme.

  Noah clamped a hand on his shoulder. “Not to change the subject, but I wanted to thank you again for moving out of the apartment. I wish you hadn’t. We could’ve coexisted. Peyton said she was looking forward to two male roommates. But I appreciate the gesture.”

  “How’s she holding up?” Several of Peyton’s former swimming teammates and her coach had been murdered by the man who terrorized her simply because she excelled at her sport. She’d been devastated but was slowly picking up the pieces of her life with Noah’s help.

  “As well as can be expected. Kurt’s funeral hit her hard, but she’s strong.”

  “And she has you.”

  Noah smiled. “That she does.”

  “What about her brother?” Noah had been teammates with Peyton’s older brother, Owen. It’d been Owen who called Noah and asked him to watch over his sister, never dreaming that the two would fall in love. Owen was having a hard time accepting the relationship, feeling as if Noah abused his trust. Ethan knew it was killing Noah.

  Noah’s smile evaporated. “Haven’t talked to him.”

  Ethan already had one come to Jesus talk with Owen and if he didn’t pull his head out of his ass, Ethan would be paying him another visit. No one hurt his brother and got away with it.

  #

  Something was seriously wrong with Esme. She was sharing drinks with her two friends before dinner, but she couldn’t completely relax and enjoy the evening. She kept checking her phone, waiting for a call that never came. What was wrong with her? What was wrong with Ethan? Why wasn’t he calling? Dammit.

  Lyra was on a date right now with Tyler, probably having a wonderful time, maybe even enjoying more kisses. All Esme had to go on were fading memories.

  “Don’t you think so, Esme?”

  She looked up to find both women staring at her. “I’m sorry, what was that?”

  “I was saying how I thought Lyra’s jewelry was splendid,” Sophie said.

  “I do, too. She’s very talented.”

  “I hope I can capture the detail in the pictures I post on the internet,” Joelle confessed. “I’m still learning about aperture, shutter speed and ISO settings.”

  While Esme and Sophie had been friends for a few months, she hadn’t spent time with Joelle outside of her shop. The woman was busy with school, but she tried to drop by a few times a week to check in. Having waited a few years before applying for college, Joelle was older than most of her classmates and tonight she’d admitted to feeling out of place around them. Esme was glad she’d invited her to join them.

  “I have no doubt you’ll capture them to perfection. You do a fabulous job, Joelle.”

  Joelle glanced down at her lap, but Esme could tell the comment pleased her. “Thanks. It means so much to me that you think so.” She looked up at Esme. “Working with you has been a big boost to my confidence. I can’t thank you enough.”

  In truth, Joelle had herself
to thank. She was the one who approached Esme with her ideas for an online presence after she visited the shop. She put together a remarkable proposal that made it impossible to say no. The presentation had been flashy yet classy and Esme had been impressed. Joelle even set her fees low, despite Esme being willing to pay more. Joelle justified the discrepancy by using the argument that she was still in school and didn’t have her degree yet. Plus, she used techniques and programming she was learning in class on Esme’s site, so it worked well for both parties.

  Having an online presence had catapulted Esme’s standing in the candle and soap business, so much so that she was even negotiating with a shop in Indianapolis who wanted to carry her line of products. She’d never envisioned instant success when she started melting wax and pouring candles for fun. She discovered a love of mixing essential oils to achieve a certain mood or feeling and from there, her line had been born.

  Sophie leaned forward. “Don’t look now,” she whispered, “but those guys by the bar are checking us out.”

  Esme glanced over to see three twenty-somethings staring their way.

  “I said don’t look,” Sophie hissed.

  Esme offered an apologetic shrug. The men were all dressed in crisp button-down shirts and ties, obviously having stopped in for a drink after work. They were all average height, two with brown hair, one dirty blond.

  “Here they come,” Joelle twittered excitedly.

  Esme wasn’t so thrilled. She didn’t want to have to make small talk and banter with a guy she had absolutely no interest in getting to know better. There was only one man she wanted to flirt with, but he obviously didn’t feel the same way. She sat up straighter. Ethan didn’t want her, so why not chat up a cute hottie? Maybe snap a selfie with him that, oops, got sent to Ethan by accident.

  As quickly as the idea popped into her head, she dismissed it. That was a juvenile move and she was a grown woman. Besides, it wouldn’t be fair to lead the new man on when she didn’t plan on following through.

  “Ladies,” one of the brown-haired men said when they arrived at the table. He’d apparently been appointed the spokesman. “Would you like some company tonight?”