by Ivy Nelson
Marissa gave him a tender look. “Hey. I’m sorry, OK. I just have a lot of confusing things going on in my head and I don’t think either of us are in the right frame of mind to address it.”
He waived his hand. “Just drop it. You’re right. I’ll talk to you about the job when we get back to Chicago.”
He drained the last of his beer and stood to walk away. Marissa watched as he approached a group of women who simpered and giggled when he stepped into their conversation. Bastard. Was he purposely trying to make her jealous?
She couldn’t watch him spend the night being ‘personable’ with other women, so she tossed back the stout cocktail and made her way to the exit. In the lobby, she stopped in the conference room and gathered her tech.
“Going somewhere?” Eli asked from his office.
She gave him a tight smile. “Think I worked too hard today. I’m just gonna go crash in my cabin for a little while. I don’t mind coming back to help with shutdown or something if you want.”
Eli pushed away from the door and walked toward her.
“Why don’t you leave your tech in my office. Then you won’t be tempted to work.”
She clutched the bag closer to her and huffed. “Fine. I’m not going to crash, I’m to get back to work. I just can’t be here right now.”
He chuckled. “All you had to say.”
“What’s your excuse?” she asked nodding to the office.
His eyes wandered to the double doors that led to the bar and dungeon. “Patrick and Austin are playing in there tonight. We have an agreement that Holly and I stay out if they’re playing. Plus, Holly is suffering from jet lag, so I sent her for a nap.”
She nodded. Holly wasn’t someone she’d spent much time around, but she seemed like a hard-working woman with a lot of spunk. Probably kept Eli on his toes.
“Well, have a good night. See you tomorrow.”
Eli nodded.
“Hey, I can’t tell you what to do, but maybe think about talking to Lance.”
She gave him a tight smile. “I will. I promise. Just not tonight.”
“Fair enough. You OK walking or do you want me to have someone take you in a golf cart?”
“Walking will do me good. Thanks though.”
Outside, she shivered as she made her way down the path to the cabins behind Solitaire.
Maybe some sleep would actually do her good. But she knew she wouldn’t actually sleep. She would sit up all night working on the job Solitaire was paying her to do.
As she stepped onto the porch of the third cabin, she spotted a light on in the first one. Odd. She’d been deep in Solitaire’s records all day and knew for a fact she was the only one renting a cabin this weekend. Had the cleaning crew left a light on? She unlocked her own cabin and stepped inside, intent on double checking records. Movement caught her eye. Someone was definitely inside. She set her tech bag inside and pulled the door shut again.
Carefully, she crossed behind the cabins until she got to the first one in the row.
Voices.
As quietly as she could manage, she slipped around until she was near the front window where she’d spotted the movement. Her eyes went wide. Jodie was inside talking to someone, but she couldn’t see them. A deep voice told her it was a man. What was the crazy bitch up to? She’d been banned for a month. How did she get on the property with the added security at the bottom of the hill?
Wanting to see if she could get a better look at the man, she climbed the steps cursing to herself as one of them creaked loudly.
She crouched by the window, but the man had moved. Fuck. She needed to get out of here and get security. Turning, her back to the door she started for the stairs. A noise behind her caused her to freeze.
Pain shot through her as something cracked into the back of her head and she crumpled to the wooden planks of the porch.
“It’s that Marissa bitch Lance abandoned me for,” Jodie said just as her world went dark.
26
“Three, thank you Sir!”
Lance watched a sub take a paddling from her Dom, hating that he didn’t have Marissa at his feet. He’d gone after her, but Eli stopped him and convinced him she needed some time.
Now he sat brooding as he watched everyone else play.
Unable to stomach the scene any longer, he walked to the far side of the dungeon to an alcove that wasn’t being used. Stepping to the railing, he looked down the short distance to the wooded area below and breathed in the cool night air.
Something tinged at his nostrils and he inhaled again. Was that… smoke?
He leaned over the railing and looked around as he sniffed. Something was definitely burning. That couldn’t be good.
The smell seemed to be coming from the direction of the cabins.
“Everything OK, Master Lance?”
He turned to see Simon stepping into the alcove with cleaning supplies in his hand.
“You smell that?” Lance asked.
Simon moved next to him and inhaled deeply.
“Smoke,” the man murmured. Lance watched as he set the cleaning supplies down on a nearby table and hiked one leg over the railing. It was nearly an eight-foot drop to the ground below.
“Get down,” Lance hissed.
“Cabin. Call the fire department.’
The man pushed himself off the railing and made the jump.
Lance watched, frozen for a split second before he whipped out his phone and made the call.
He jogged through the dungeon toward the lobby.
As he ran, Eli stepped out of his office.
“She needs time,” he said as Lance yanked the front door open.
“Fire. Keep everyone inside.”
His feet pounded the stairs as he rushed down them while he talked to the nine-one-one operator and let her know there was a fire on the property.
He rounded the corner of the building and the flaming cabin came into view.
It wasn’t the one Marissa had rented for the weekend, but his gut still twisted as he pushed into a full-blown run. Gravel crunched beneath his boots flying in all directions until he caught up with Simon.
“Someone’s laying on the porch,” Simon panted.
Lance’s heart skipped a beat and he clutched his chest. “Marissa,” he hissed as he pushed himself forward.
Simon got there first and dragged a lifeless form away from the steps.
“She’s alive but we need to get her to the hospital,” the man yelled.
Lance fell to his knees as the big male sub cradled Marissa’s body and laid her gently in front of him.
“EMS and fire are on their way,” Lance said as he cupped Marissa’s face.
“Come on kitten. Hang in there.”
Simon’s hands were bloody, so he started checking her for injuries.
“Fuck, someone hit her on the head,” he bit.
Sirens wailed in the distance and he prayed they got there in time.
Behind him, he heard gravel flying. His head swiveled and he spotted Patrick, Dakota, and Samuel sprinting toward them. Patrick gripped a fire extinguisher, but the flames had grown far beyond that, so he chucked it to the side as Samuel made a beeline for the water spigot at the back of the building. There was no hose though so it wouldn’t do any good.
On the ground at his feet, Marissa groaned.
“Riss, baby, hang in there.” He cupped her pale face and willed her to stay alive as he simultaneously willed the fire department to hurry.
“What the fuck happened?” Patrick barked.
“No clue,” Simon said. Lance was grateful to have someone with him.
“Master Lance and I were in an alcove when we smelled smoke. I hoped the rail and ran in the direction of the flames and found Marissa unconscious on the porch. Looks like the fire started inside the cabin though and I got her off the porch just in time.”
Samuel dropped to his knees next to Lance and began checking Marissa over.
“She’s breathi
ng good. Doesn’t look like any smoke damage. You got to her in time.”
He didn’t know all of the man’s background, but he likely knew what he was talking about.
“Ambulance and fire trucks are at the gate,” Dakota said, phone in her hand.
He nodded as Samuel scooped Marissa up.
“We’ll meet them in the parking lot,” the brawny man said as he hurried down the path back toward the club. Everyone fell in behind him, not caring that the cabin still burned.
In the parking lot, Samuel handed Marissa to the EMT’s who jumped out of their vehicle and rolled a stretcher forward.
Lance was focused on Marissa, but he didn’t miss the fact that Samuel slipped into his car and drove away. What was that about? Would they see him again?
Lance had a grim feeling, but he had to focus on Marissa right now. He hopped into the ambulance despite EMT objections and watched out the window as the firetruck moved down the road to the cabin.
An hour later, he paced the ER waiting room because they wouldn’t let him back with her.
All he knew was she needed stitches. They told him to contact family if he could, but he wasn’t sure how she would feel if he called her mother, so he’d refrained.
The doors slid open and Eli, Holly, Austin, Patrick, Garrett, and Hunter rushed in.
“How is she?” Austin asked.
Lance shook his head as they surrounded him.
“Not sure. They won’t let me see her.”
Austin pulled away. “Be right back.”
Everyone watched as she rushed to the counter.
“Excuse me. My sister was just brought in by ambulance.”
Lance lifted an eyebrow, half expecting the receptionist to question her.
Instead, she just asked for the patient’s name and buzzed her through the security door.
Lance scowled when Austin winked at him and walked toward Marissa’s room.
“Clever girl,” Patrick murmured as he watched his wife walk away.
“Talk to me,” Lance said. “What happened back there? That wasn’t even the cabin she was staying in.”
Eli shook his head. “We’re still sorting that out. Jax, Isabelle and Dakota stayed behind to clear everyone out and talk to the authorities. Fire is out and investigators are searching the debris for signs of arson.”
“What about Samuel or Matthew?”
Eli shrugged. Samuel disappeared after he put Marissa in the ambulance. I get the feeling our situation is getting a little too sticky for him but hopefully he’ll reach out. Matthew couldn’t make it this weekend.”
Lance dragged a hand through his hair as they waited for Austin to come back.
“I just want to be with her, and they won’t let me back.”
Eli clapped a hand on his shoulder. “Relax. Austin is with her now. You’ll be updated. Let’s get to the bottom of this.”
Lance nodded and dropped into an empty plastic chair to bury his face in his hands.
Someone shoved a cup of coffee in his hands and Garrett took a call from Isabelle.
When he returned, he settled next to Lance.
“My girl says investigators found an accelerant. The fire was set on purpose.”
But they already knew that. Marissa had been clobbered on the back of the head.
Lance gulped at the coffee and did his best to focus on Garrett’s words as his eyes drifted to the doors that led to Marissa.
“We’ll find out who did this,” Garrett assured, clapping him on the shoulder.
Austin pushed into the waiting room and made a beeline for him.
She crouched on one knee and gripped his hand. “She’s unconscious but they believe she’ll wake up with a nasty headache and be fine. They’ll keep her overnight for monitoring. What do you need?”
Lance felt an immense weight leave him. “Fuck. Thank God. I just want to see her, but I need to get back to Solitaire. Last month, Samuel and Russell helped me install outdoor security cameras. I want to start digging through the footage.”
Austin stood. “Go.” Turning, she smiled at Garrett. “Send your girl to keep us company? She doesn’t need to be around all that stress anyway.”
Garrett gave a curt nod and lifted his phone.
“I’m here, Lance. Go do what you need to do. I’ll call you the minute anything changes.”
Trusting her, Lance stood and motioned for the others to follow him. Holly settled into a chair next to her sister-in-law after kissing Eli on the cheek.
The man looked like he didn’t want to leave her but ultimately squeezed her shoulders and followed the rest of them to the parking lot.
“We need to pour through seven cameras worth of footage for tonight. I need all of your eyes,” Lance said. “We’ll meet in the conference room and get started right away.”
27
“Miss Sullivan, welcome back.”
Marissa blinked against dim lights as she fought to figure out where she was. What was in her nose? She clawed at whatever it was only to have hands grip her wrists.
“It’s just oxygen. You’re in the hospital, Marissa.”
She recognized the voice but didn’t know why.
Finally, the fog cleared, and she saw Austin Yates hovering over her.
“What happened?” she croaked as she breathed around the oxygen tubing in her nose.
“Someone knocked you out and set cabin one on fire.”
Everything came rushing back and she gasped.
“Jodie. It’s Jodie. She was with a man but that’s all I remember. Lance?”
Austin gripped her hand. “I need to go call him. He’s fine, sweetie. Let the nurse take care of you. You’re sure Jodie was there?”
Marissa nodded. “Positive.”
Austin pulled free and headed for the door with her cellphone in her hand.
Her head ached and she gingerly lifted a hand to the back where the pain was.
“My hair,” she whispered.
The nurse gave her a gentle pat. “You had a pretty nasty wound. A good hairdresser will be able to fix it right up.”
Marissa fought back tears.
“How’s your pain on a scale of one to ten?”
Marissa took a ragged breath and winced as her head brushed the pillow. “Maybe an eight,” she said on a shaky breath.
The nurse nodded and pulled a vial and syringe from her scrubs and injected something into her IV.
Images of Lance swirled in her mind as a warm fuzzy feeling enveloped her.
When she opened her eyes sometime later, Isabelle and Holly were by her side. Disappointment flooded her. Where was Lance?
“Hey sweetie. Glad you’re awake,” Isabelle said as she poured water into a plastic cup and handed it to her. Holly helped her sip.
“Want to sit up more?” Holly asked.
Marissa gave a nod and the bed whirred as it raised her up.
“I’ll go find a nurse,” Isabelle murmured.
Holly’s phone rang and she excused herself as well, leaving Marissa to stare at the empty hospital room.
A few minutes later, a shadow cast over the entry and she looked up to find Lance staring at her.
“Lance,” she croaked.
He moved to her side and looked down at her, something like anguish on his face.
“What happened,” he asked, his voice low and quiet.
She replayed the events. “I knew I was the only one with a cabin for the weekend, so I went to check it out. I saw Jodie for sure, but I never caught sight of the man and I didn’t recognize his voice either.”
“Do you know what time that was?”
Why was he interrogating her? It wasn’t what she expected. Had he decided he didn’t want her anymore?
Her heart sank but she answered his question. “Just after eleven, I think?”
He pulled out his phone and pressed it to his ear. “Check the cameras on the back side of the building and secondary building just before and just after eleven.”
&n
bsp; He listened for a moment before he bent to brush a feather soft kiss to her forehead and turned to walk out of the room.
She wanted to call after him to wait but she couldn’t muster the strength. There was so much she needed to tell him. Austin, Holly, and Isabelle returned to keep her company, but she asked for quiet to sleep again so they moved to the waiting room, talking amongst themselves as they left.
♦♦♦♦
Lance rode in the backseat of an SUV, was it Hunter’s? He honestly didn’t remember. When he arrived back at Solitaire, he stormed into the conference room to find Jax and Russell hunkered over computers staring at footage.
“That’s Jodie alright, but I never get a good look at the man,” Russell said.
Lance hovered behind Jax and watched the footage.
There was nothing familiar about the man in the shadows. He was too tall to be Sebastian Forcythe and they knew Nicholas Sutton was in California on house arrest.
“Who the fuck is it?” Lance barked as he gripped the back of Russell’s chair.
The man looked up at him grim. “It’s hard to say. We’ll have to crosscheck everyone who came in the gate tonight and start ruling people out.”
“Samuel left in a hurry. He OK?” Jax asked.
Lance shook his head. “I don’t think so but that’s going to have to be a problem for another day. He’ll stay safe and that’s all we need to worry about right now.”
Jax kept rewinding footage. “How’s your girl?” he muttered as he examined another frame.
“Awake, in pain. I didn’t let myself stay. I knew we needed to get back to work.”
Russell eyed him. “Did you make sure she knew that’s why you were leaving?”
Lance scowled. “I don’t have time for your psychobabble relationship advice man. We need to catch these fuckers. Do we have the cops looking for Jodie?”
Russell chuckled. “I wouldn’t call it psychobabble. She’s a strong girl but you both have…”
“Issues?” Lance questioned. “Believe me. I know. We’ll work them out once I know this place is safe. Now. Answer my question. Are the cops looking for Jodie?”
Russell wisely didn’t press and gave a nod. “They are. And I have a team looking for her too. No luck finding her just yet, but I’m sure they will.”
