by G. K. Parks
“You could try again at the party tomorrow night.”
“I don’t think she’ll be very forthcoming, especially with Andre there.”
“He’s going?”
“I don’t know for certain, but he goes to these types of things. Since Colton Raine has him feeling insecure, I’m guessing he’ll be there.” I noticed the time. “I have to get back. Eve should be finishing up at work. I’m not sure where she’s going afterward, but I’m hoping it’ll be somewhere exciting.”
“You’re just hoping to catch her cheating so you can quit that case and focus solely on mine.”
“I have to before you blow it out of the water.”
“I’ll try not to,” O’Connell promised. “Hey,” he stopped me before I could depart, “I thought you didn’t want to work a serial killer case.”
“I don’t, but if a crazy woman is killing men she dated or wanted to date, I need to stop her. It gives all women a bad name, and with Martin’s reputation, he might be somewhere on that list.”
“Do you honestly believe that?”
“No, but at this point, I wouldn’t be surprised.”
After leaving the precinct, I spent the rest of the afternoon tailing Eve. Thankfully, she stuck to her schedule and went home to Andre for movie night. As soon as they were settled, I decided it was time for me to go home too.
Thirty-six
“You’re getting sloppy.”
“I am not,” I growled.
He shoved my back into the ground. “Bang.”
“Dammit.” I slapped my palm against the mat. “Let’s go again.”
“Come on, Parker,” Bruiser said, “it’s an impossible situation.”
“Again,” I insisted.
He released his grip, and we reset our positions. This time, I tried swinging my leg higher, hoping to hook my knee around his neck. He parried with his forearm, drove my thigh down on the opposite side, pulled the prop we were using as a gun, and pressed it into my low back. “Bang.”
“Fuck.” I rolled onto my stomach, pounding my fist into the mat. “Again.”
Bruiser leaned back, waiting for me to flip over before pinning me again. I was determined to find another way out of the hold, the one from my nightmares, the one that resulted in the hole in my thigh. So far, I’d come up with nothing. Bruiser insisted there was no feasible escape plan, but there had to be.
This time, I tried to headbutt him. The move surprised him, and he leaned back on his haunches. But with my legs still pinned beneath him, I couldn’t do much. I remembered grabbing for a broken piece of wood, but we hadn’t recreated every aspect of that scene, so instead, I took a swing at his jaw. He grabbed my hand and pinned it above my head. I tried to fight him off with my other hand, and he grabbed that one two, bringing both of our arms together above me.
My heart rate skyrocketed, but I stayed present and focused. Don’t panic. This was how Martin triggered me that night. At least this little exercise taught me something. It probably tied back to when I’d been hung by my wrists and tortured. Damn, I’d had a hell of a few years.
Predictably, I twisted and fought, but Bruiser was too strong. He pinned both of my wrists with one hand, pulled the fake gun, and aimed it at my head. “Bang.”
“Fucking hell.”
“It’s an unwinnable scenario, Parker. You did the best you could and survived. Unscathed just isn’t a possibility.”
“I refuse to accept that.” I flopped back against the mat. “There’s always another way. I’m just not seeing it. Let’s go again.”
“That’s enough.” Martin moved away from his perch on the stairs. I didn’t know how long he’d been watching us. “Bruiser, stop banging my girlfriend.”
“She asked me to.” Bruiser got off the ground and offered me a hand up, which I refused to take. “Repeatedly.”
“That’s because you’re leaving her unsatisfied.” Martin kept his eyes on me, the air becoming charged.
I stared back at Martin. “I’m not finished yet.”
“I know, but you picked the wrong man for that. I’ll make sure you finish.” He put a hand on Bruiser’s shoulder. “I’ll take over from here. Why don’t you take off for the night?”
“Yes, sir.” Bruiser quietly excused himself while Martin knelt on the ground above me.
Martin picked up the fake gun we’d been using and examined the wood prop. “He used toys and still couldn’t get you there?” He clucked his tongue in disapproval, tucking the gun away and getting into position. “Ready?”
“Yep.”
He reached for my belt, and I twisted to the side beneath him. He moved his hands up to my shoulders, pushing me harder into the ground. This time, I brought my arms up inside of his, throwing his arms off to the side. He wobbled, and I tried to sucker-punch him.
Martin wasn’t nearly as well-trained as Bruiser, but he could hold his own in a fight. He batted my hand away, my knuckle brushing against the stubble on his jaw. He lunged, grabbing both of my arms with his and holding them out to the sides, as if we were announcing a touchdown, and kissed me.
I nipped at his lip. Since he wasn’t playing fair, neither was I, but that didn’t deter him. Instead, he kissed me again, never releasing my hands. He knew if he did, I’d do something unexpected to cheat. He pulled back and pressed his forehead against mine.
“You survived. That’s all that matters,” he breathed.
“No,” I turned my face away from him, “I should have been able to get away. To get the gun. To stop him.”
“Alex, it was already too late. The damage was done.”
“Then why didn’t I stop him before?”
“You couldn’t have known he’d escape from prison. You couldn’t have known any of it. Deep down, you know that.” He released my hands and held my face, forcing me to look at him. “You didn’t come home last night, so we didn’t get a chance to talk.” He ran a thumb along the dark circle beneath one of my eyes. “How did your therapy session go?”
“This has nothing to do with that. Bruiser and I have been sparring for a while now.”
“I know.” He stroked my hair. “I’m just asking.”
“Let me up.”
“If I do, you’ll run.”
I glared at him. “I’m not going to run away. I’m going to finish my workout.”
“Fine.” He stood, offering me his hand.
I took it and let him pull me to my feet. I crossed to the other side of our home gym, stretched my arms over my head, and leaned over to one side and then the other. Exhaling, I placed my right hand lightly on the barre and moved into first position.
“Just so you know, I quit therapy.” I did a few pliés and relevés to warm up, moving from a semi-squat to rising up onto the balls of my feet and back again.
“Wow, you made it through two whole sessions. Is that a personal best?”
“More like one and a half.” I moved through the various positions before letting go of the barre and switching to a simplistic routine. My leg was stronger, but it still trembled. “Dance with me.”
Martin moved closer. “I hate to disappoint, but I’m out of my depth here.”
“Really? You never pranced around in a leotard?” I stood on my left leg, my right raised in a straight line behind me, and swept my body downward, lifting my leg higher as I stretched my left arm out in front of me. Slowly, I came back up, executing a little leap before switching legs. My right leg shook. “It’s easy. Take my hand and don’t let me fall.” Martin held his hand in the air, level with mine, and I grasped his palm. He stepped back to make room as I swept forward and moved closer as I stood back up. “See, not that hard.”
“What happened with the shrink?”
“I ran into Lucca in the waiting room.” I gripped his palm harder as the tremor increased under the exertion. “She said it wasn’t intentional, but she also told me she wasn’t FBI. I know for a fact one of those isn’t true. Possibly both.”
“Are you ok
ay?”
“I’m good. Relieved, actually. The last thing I wanted was for some stranger to poke around in my head. It’s annoying enough when you do it. Plus, sleeping for a week has gotten rid of the hallucinations and panic attacks. I just need to take better care of myself.”
“Didn’t I say something along those lines?”
“Yes, but you didn’t charge me three hundred dollars, so it didn’t sound as impressive.”
“My bill’s in the mail.” He lowered as I did, my face inches from the ground as I performed a standing split. “We can find someone else.”
“I don’t want someone else.” I looked up from the spot I’d been focused on to maintain my balance and met his eyes. “I have you. That’s enough.”
“What about sleeping?”
“What about it?”
“Without the pills, your nightmares will return.”
“So I’ll deal with them.”
“We’ll deal them,” Martin promised, but I could tell he thought I should seek professional help. “Is this why you didn’t come home last night and why you look like you haven’t slept?”
“I was working.” Slowly, I returned to standing and repeated the leg raise, but my thigh was cooked. Martin anticipated my fall, sliding in closer and slipping his free hand around my ribcage.
“When your legs start to shake, that usually means you’re finished.”
“You’re right. I’m done.”
He smirked. “I told you I’d get you there.”
I returned his look. “I hate to break it to you, handsome, but Bruiser tired me out. If you want, we can still cuddle.”
Martin snorted. “Whatever you say.” He scooped me into his arms and whispered in my ear, “But we both know the truth.”
Thirty-seven
“What happened with Eve last night?” O’Connell asked when I set foot inside the precinct.
“Nothing. She left work at 6:45, stopped at the grocery store for ice cream and a ton of toppings, and went to Andre’s. They ordered in, ate dinner, and probably did some things with the chocolate syrup that I don’t want to think about.”
“They’re in love.”
“He loves her.”
O’Connell snorted. “She’s like you, Alex. Cool on the outside, a hot mess on the inside.”
I glared at him. “Are you wearing that to Colton’s launch party?”
“No, I have a black suit and black tie in my locker. You look nice, by the way.” He examined the royal blue dress I wore. “Who’s watching Eve now?”
“Lucien’s keeping an eye on her. I couldn’t get into Spark without arousing suspicion, but he said he’d take care of it.”
“All right. I want to see what I can find out about Eve’s business practices and if everyone she tells to check out her parties gets put on the guest lists. Hopefully, that’ll be the end of it and I won’t tip her off to your investigation. After that, I’ll do some recon and see what types of people show up at this thing and if anyone looks familiar. I just spent the entire day pulling IDs of the women who looked at the victims’ dating profiles. So I should be able to recognize faces.”
“You seriously think the killer’s going to be at Colton Raine’s launch party?”
“I have no idea what to think, but it won’t hurt to see how these things work. It might give me some insight into the events Eve throws. Plus, she probably uses the same caterers and cleanup crew. I might get lucky and recognize one of them from the surveillance footage from the hotels. It could lead to something.”
“Aren’t you optimistic?”
“One of us should be.” He nodded to the empty chair near the front desk. “Give me a minute to change. We’re riding together, right?”
“I hope so. I parked my car outside Spark and took a cab here. Just in case anyone’s paying attention, I thought it’d be best if the happy couple arrives together.”
“That would make sense.”
The drive to Spark didn’t take long. Unlike the last time I was here, the alley beside the club was filled with cars. Street parking was impossible to find, so we ended up parking several blocks away and walking. This had been the first time I’d worn heels since getting shot, and by the time we made it to the door, I regretted it.
“You gonna be okay?” O’Connell asked.
I gave him a look. “Martin would have carried me.”
“Who are you kidding? He would have had his driver drop you off at the front door.”
“True.” We got in line to wait for entry. Several high-end performance vehicles were parked nearby. I recognized Colton’s Lotus and Cross’s Porsche. I wasn’t sure about the others. They could belong to Colton’s guests, or Colton parked those cars here for a potential demonstration or to build anticipation. It’s the type of thing Eve would insist on.
Thankfully, we didn’t have to wait long. Everything moved like clockwork. I recognized George from my previous visit. I just hoped he wouldn’t get suspicious that I was here with another man.
“Name.” George stared down at the clipboard.
“Nick James and Alexandra Peters.” O’Connell waited while George moved the pen down the page.
“Go on in.”
“I almost called you Lola,” O’Connell whispered. “You could have worn the same dress. This is a similar enough undercover assignment.”
“Don’t remind me.”
We entered the club, which had undergone a complete makeover. The subdued music was replaced by pounding rhythms that moved with the bouncing colored lights. Reds, yellows, and greens. I wasn’t entirely sure of the theme, but if I had to describe it in one word, I’d call it fast. Everything was streaked, from the lights to the linens on the tables to the shiny jumpsuits the servers wore.
“This must be what happens when you inhale too much exhaust at a race.” O’Connell looked around the room. “Colton definitely has branding down.”
“I’m guessing that was Eve’s doing.”
A server walked by with an empty tray. I watched her go. Tan-colored tights covered her long legs beneath the silver shorts of her jumpsuit, which was unzipped halfway down her chest. The name tag above her left breast had been stitched on, made to look like a mechanic’s uniform if he’d cut off the sleeves and pant legs and wore the coveralls skin tight.
“Those have to be custom made,” O’Connell said after she passed. He took a headcount. There were at least twenty-five servers working the room, each with a similar uniform made to look like mechanics or pit crew.
I spotted my boss at the bar. He was chatting with Andre. Could this situation get any worse?
“There’s Eve.” O’Connell nodded toward the woman moving swiftly around the edge of the crowded dance floor. She wore a slinky red dress that shimmered every time the light hit it, just like the highlights in her wavy hair.
Eve grabbed one of the servers by the crook of her elbow, whispered something in her ear, and let the woman continue on her way. After greeting several of the guests, she pressed a hand to her ear, indicating she had a Bluetooth or radio clipped in, said something to whoever was on the other end, and continued to the bar.
“Should we go over there?” O’Connell asked.
“Not yet.” I watched her slide into the spot beside Andre. He looped an arm around her waist. She let her elbow rest on his shoulder, leaning her head down and close to his. They looked good together. Maybe she was faithful.
Andre introduced her to Cross, and Eve smiled. I doubted either man had told her the truth. But just in case, I wanted to stay out of drink-throwing distance until I was sure it was safe.
The bartender poured a glass of white wine for Eve, and she took a sip. She gave Andre a chaste peck on the lips, nodded at Cross, and pulled away from Andre. His arm stretched to its full length, lingering on the small of her back as long as possible before she stepped out of reach.
“Do you think they told her the truth?” O’Connell asked.
At that moment, Eve spotted us.
“I guess we’re about to find out.”
She didn’t look mad or betrayed. If anything, she appeared more relaxed than I’d seen her in the last few days. Smiling, she made her way to us. “You came.”
“Of course.” O’Connell wrapped his arm around me and let his hand rest on my waist. “Thanks for inviting us. This is incredible.”
“He’s just saying that because he likes the outfits the servers are wearing.”
“They’re awesome, aren’t they? Sexy and fun.” She pointed out the centerpieces on the tables. “This is the grown-up version of every little boy’s race car birthday party. At least that’s how Colton described what he wanted.”
“You did a wonderful job.” I studied the arrangement on the table. It was such a random hodgepodge of flowers and automotive themed objects, yet it came together perfectly with bright reds, greens, and yellows. “We’re already getting so many ideas.” I gave O’Connell a wicked look. “But we will not be having the pit crew catering our wedding, no matter what he says.”
“Gotcha.” Eve waved to someone who just walked in.
“Thanks for putting us on the guest list,” O’Connell said. “You said you’ve done this before, but I feel like a real VIP. Does every party crasher get star treatment?”
“Yes. The only party crashers I want at my events have to be the ones I approve.” She looked pointedly toward two larger men dressed similarly to O’Connell but who had wireless radios clipped to their ears. “Spark’s manager provided security for this event, but most venues have security. If they don’t, I’ve hired firms in the past. Nowadays, no one can be too careful.”
“Don’t I know it,” I muttered.
Eve glanced behind her, her eyes brightening. “Have you met Andre yet?”
“Your fiancé?” It was easy to play dumb. I just hoped Andre could act just as clueless.
“Yes, I always add him to the list.” She met his eyes, her cheeks flushing a little under his adoring gaze. “He’s actually speaking to a gentleman right now who runs a security company.”
