Dangerous Attraction

by Sidney Bristol

  Bliss groaned and let her sister haul her out of the living room, past the kitchen, and into the pantry. The red liquid sloshed over the rim and onto her hand.

  “What the hell, Wendy?” She set the glass she didn’t want onto a shelf and daubed the back of her hand on her jeans. At this point, there was no telling what was on them. When this day was over, they were going in the garbage. She was weary of all the people, the activity.

  “Sorry, I just—CPS wants to take Carlos. They’re backed up because of the holidays and asked if he could stay here a few days until they get it sorted.” Wendy paced up and down the short room. Every few steps, she reached out and straightened a can or turned a box.

  “Okay. He has family, doesn’t he?”

  “In Mexico. Priscilla’s parents were illegal immigrants who got deported a couple years ago. That’s why she’s been on her own. She was born here, and so was Carlos.”

  “Wow, that’s rough.” Bliss blew out a breath. Daniel’s actions impacted so many people. So much death and loss and sadness.

  “I want to adopt him.” Wendy whirled to face her, spine straight, head held high.

  “Really? Wow, I mean, are you sure?”

  “Yes. I’ve known him most of his life. He doesn’t even remember his grandparents. If we do, he could get the kind of life Priscilla always wanted for him. And of course I’d want him to know his real family. We could go visit them, or something, but he’d have a better chance if he stayed with us. Wouldn’t he? Or is that arrogant? I want to do what’s best for him, but I also feel responsible for what happened to his mother. I mean, can I fix this? Is it a good idea?”

  “Well, have you talked to him about it?”

  “No. He’s upset.”

  “Where is he?”

  “Upstairs, sleeping.”

  “Have you talked to Grayson about it?”

  “Not yet.” Wendy wrung her hands. “I was kind of hoping to pitch the idea to you, first.”

  “I think it’s a good idea, but his family has to be included on a decision like this, I think. They are his family. But, you’re right. He has known you more and longer than his own family. So yeah, I think you should consider it.”

  “Yeah?” Wendy smiled, and it was both happy and sad.

  “Do you want me to hold your hand while you talk to Grayson?” She offered up her right hand.

  “Stop it.” Wendy slapped her. “No, I just—is it a good idea?”

  “Maybe? If it’s what Carlos wants and if Grayson is okay with it, yeah. But he’s not a puppy. You can’t adopt just because it makes you feel good.”

  “I know. I love that little boy.”

  Bliss took a deep breath. They were going to be okay. The nightmares weren’t going to go away, Wendy’s depression wasn’t cured, but they could take the awful things that had happened and make a new future.

  “I just keep thinking...I wanted babies. Lots of them. But after Paul, I just don’t think I can go through that again. Just getting pregnant was hard enough. What if this is how we do it? We adopt?”

  “That’s great, Wendy. You have a lot of love to give to kids. But...can I suggest waiting a bit before jumping on the adoption train? You’ve been through a lot this week, and I know you’re feeling better, but what if tomorrow is a bad one?”

  “No, no, you’re right. I want to focus on Carlos first, then in a year or more, we can see about adding to it.”

  “Good.”

  “Paperwork will probably take ages.”

  “Right. But, you need to take things slowly. For Carlos. For you.”

  “I know I’m not magically better, but I do feel more alive than I have in...months. You are right. I’ll probably still have some bad days, but I want to get better.”

  “Have you considered therapy again?” Bliss had bullied her sister into going a handful of times, but the therapist couldn’t work with a mute patient.

  “Yeah, and I think this time it’ll be good. I just couldn’t figure out how to put things into words before. Now I have a lot to talk about.” Wendy sighed and faced Bliss. “I don’t know if I’ve ever said this, but thank you. Thank you for being there for me, and propping me up and everything. I can’t imagine what it’s been like for you.”

  “That’s what sisters are for.” Bliss grasped Wendy’s hand and pulled her in for a hug.

  “I’m just trying to say,” Wendy’s voice trembled, “thank you, and whatever you have it in your head to do, do it. Please? For you. I’m going to be okay.”

  Bliss leaned back and screwed up her face.

  “What do you think I’m going to do?” she asked.

  “Something. You always had the more interesting life.”

  “You mean Travis?” Just saying his name set the butterflies going in her stomach.

  “Yeah. You like him.”

  “I do.”

  “Grayson doesn’t like him.”

  “Do I want to know why?” Just the little Travis had said about Grayson’s career left big questions in her head.

  “Some other time.” Wendy waved her hand. “So, what is it you’re going to do?”

  “I...don’t know yet. I like him.” Love, was more accurate, but she knew that would sound crazy to anyone else. They loved each other, and she wasn’t going to let that go.

  “He likes you, too.”

  “How do you know?”

  “He rescued you.”

  “He rescued us.”

  “Carlos and I were a bonus. He went in there for you. That’s how I knew Grayson was the one. I was at that party you told me not to go to, got drunk, and there he was.” Wendy shook her head.

  “What? You mean you didn’t meet Grayson in the library like you told Mom and Dad?” Bliss mock gasped. Oh man, did she remember the stories from that night.

  “The last thing they want to hear is how I puked my guts up and he held my hair.”

  They laughed, a myriad of memories brightening up the otherwise bittersweet day.

  “You were so in love with him. I mean, from day one, it was there.” Bliss shook her head.

  “Which is why I can say, with confidence, don’t let this one go. If you don’t love him already, you’re going to.” Wendy crossed her arms, eyes twinkling. “Do you want to slip out? Head home?”

  “God, yes. I’m exhausted, and all these people...” She shuddered.

  “I don’t blame you, but this is my house so I can’t run away. I’ll go get Travis. Someone drove your car back here, didn’t they?”

  “Yeah, Jade did. I have the keys.” She patted her pocket.

  “I’ll send Travis out with your coat.”

  Wendy opened the pantry door and left. Bliss wrapped her arms around herself and stared at the floor.

  They were going to be okay. Wendy, Carlos, and her. They were going to make it. Now, she just had to convince a brooding, sexy man to spend extra time with her.

  “JADE. TRAVIS.”

  Travis glanced up from his phone. Ryan jerked his head. The tense set of his lips, the one clenched fist...they didn’t bode well. What other bad news could they get? Did Daniel Campbell have a sick, twisted twin brother? Or a partner they didn’t know about?

  Both Jade and Travis followed Ryan through the throng of people into the office. It was still decked out with all their information from trying to catch Daniel. Now, would they be after another ghost?

  Dmitri closed the door behind them and leaned against the wall.

  “What is it?” Jade asked.

  “Lali has made her initial pass through Daniel’s files,” Ryan said.

  “And?”

  “We know he was in contact with the person called Black Widow. The same one we think TBKiller was taking orders from.”

  Travis’ stomach dropped. It was the connection he’d been asked to look into. To see if these murders matched up with other copy cats, if the feds had a case to add to the potential list of Killer Club members.

  “There appears to have been some
correspondence. Lali sent it over.” Ryan turned his tablet around to display a page of text.

  “What’s it say?” Travis asked. If there was another danger to Bliss or his sister Emma, he needed to know. The reach of a couple of psychopaths wouldn’t be that great. He could get them out of the country, set them up somewhere safe. Thailand had always been his first option for laying low. Take them deep enough, and no one would find them. No one but him.

  “Essentially Daniel petitioned for membership over six years ago, but the emails go back further. Around the time the first blonde woman disappeared. He claims to have been inspired by a sixteenth-century German serial killer who would kill people traveling deep in the forests and hide their bodies in caves.”

  “Christman Genipperteinga?” Jade reached for the tablet. “That doesn’t quite fit.”

  “Who?” Travis glanced between the two.

  “He murdered almost a thousand people. Got away with it because he lived so far out. In caves. He killed mostly robbers and highwaymen, which is why it took so long for people to stop him. Who cares about the person killing the bad guys? He wasn’t caught until he let his sex slave-wife visit her family, and she had a nervous breakdown and outed him to the mayor.”

  “Sex slave?” Connor parroted back, his face screwed up on one side.

  “It’s the connection.” Ryan gestured to the board. “Daniel Campbell was trying to be a better Christman. He killed the women so they wouldn’t betray him. His god complex morphed that into creating a better race through their children.”

  “Not to be rude, but what does this have to do with Bliss or Emma? Are they in any danger?”

  “No.” Ryan crossed his arms. “In the last email with Black Widow, she told him she doesn’t allow sex crimes into the club. Any raping or genital mutilation is expressly forbidden. She goes on to say that they also do not allow child crimes, either.”

  “That eliminates roughly half our potential pool of cases.” Jade handed the tablet back. “It’s smart though. Sex crimes and children get the most media attention. If she wants to keep this club secret, best to stay away from the kinds of crimes that get the most press.”

  “That can’t work.” Travis couldn’t wrap his head around the idea.

  “It has.” Connor pointed at the tablet. “If that email is to be believed, they’ve been operating for seven or more years. And we’re just now finding out about them.”

  “And you’re sure we aren’t in danger?” Travis asked again. He didn’t give a flying fuck about what kind of crazy puffs Daniel ate, only that the two people who mattered in his life were safe. It was a callous mindset, but they could never stop all the sickos out there from killing innocents.

  Ryan shook his head. “He operated alone. Plus, retaliation murders would draw attention, and everything in Black Widow’s messages conveys the need for secrecy.”

  “Anything else?” Travis asked.

  “Unfortunately, no.”

  “But it’s more than we had. Before we didn’t know the identities of the club members. Now, we know who they answer to.”

  “It’s interesting she chose the moniker Black Widow.” Jade tapped her chin.

  “That is a problem for another day. I’m ready for some of that turkey and some sleep.” Connor pushed up out of one of the office chairs and stretched.

  “When we get back and get this sorted, I’d like to discuss a more permanent arrangement. Your help has been invaluable.” Ryan extended his hand to Travis.

  Yeah right, like the FBI was going to make an exception for a felon. More likely it would be under the table work. The kind that kept him on the fringes. Still, it would be better than nothing.

  “You know where to find me.” Travis shook Ryan’s hand. “Flying out tonight?”

  “The morning. We could all use some sleep.”

  He was running on fumes himself.

  “Travis?” Wendy leaned into the office. If possible, she looked better and more alive than she had since he’d met her. Crazy to think that kidnapping had worked some good in her life.

  “Excuse me.” Travis stepped out of the office, closing the door behind him. “What’s wrong? Where’s Bliss?”

  “Nothing’s wrong. I’m just helping my sister get out of here.” Wendy handed him Bliss’ jacket. “She’ll head out in a few minutes, then you guys can go do whatever.”

  “What about you?”

  “I’m fine. This,” she gestured to the people milling around in the living room, “is what I’ve been missing. Bliss? She’s exhausted and over-peopled. Do me a favor and get her out of here, please?”

  She didn’t have to ask him twice.

  He took the jacket, said a few goodbyes to the feds, and jogged out to Bliss’ little car. Their stuff was already in the back, so it wasn’t like he was leaving anything here.

  A few moments later Bliss slipped out the front door, quick-stepped to the passenger side of the hatchback, and dropped in. She leaned her head against the seat and closed her eyes, blowing out a deep breath.

  “Drive. Don’t talk. Just drive,” she said.

  He chuckled. He could understand the desire for silence, especially after being in the house that felt too full.

  The path to her apartment was still burned into his skull. He would never forget these turns. It was as if he’d always been here.

  “Wendy wants to adopt Carlos,” she said after a while.

  “Oh?”

  “Yeah. Thanks for skipping out with me.”

  He reached over and covered her hand with his, squeezing it tight. How did he convey to her what she meant to him? How important she was?

  Travis had never loved before. Bliss deserved for him to not fuck this up, but that was a lot to ask of a man with a history of screwing up.

  12.

  Bliss smiled and squeezed Travis’ hand.

  Man of few words.

  He made her heart beat too fast, her head want things she hadn’t realized she wanted, and her body, well, she’d never had a man set her insides on fire like Travis did. She loved him. And he’d told her he loved her. It was a curious place to be, confident and nervous all at once. Things between them were still new, and yet the more time she was around him, the more it felt as though he’d always been there. A silent, ever-present shadow watching over her.

  They spent the rest of the drive to her apartment in silence. It was nice to be free of the expectation to smile and say thank you to all the well wishes for living through the holiday nightmare. She could just—be. Travis didn’t need her to put on an act. He’d see through that anyway.

  “We’re here.” Travis killed the engine.

  She stretched and pushed her door open.

  “Is it safe?” She stood and blinked at her apartment.

  “Yeah. Cops went over it twice.”

  Bliss followed Travis up the walk and leaned against his back, soaking up his warmth, while he unlocked her door. Reality would hit soon, and then she’d need to sort out work, bills, and what they were going to do to make this relationship work, but for tonight she wanted to simply be with him. Like normal people. Granted, after what Daniel had done, she’d never be normal again.

  He held the door for her, their bags slung over his shoulders.

  She entered her apartment and paused. Things were out of place. Only a little. But she could tell people had been here. That her home had been invaded by strangers with both good and bad intent. She wrapped her arms around her and peered around.

  “The cameras are all gone.”

  “You said that. It’s just...I didn’t really think about it until now.”

  “You want to go somewhere else? A hotel?”

  “No, that’s silly. I pay rent here. I live here. I’m going to have to get over it.” She pushed her shoulders back and strode into the living room. This was her space. She’d have to work it out for as long as she lived here.

  Travis took their bags into the bedroom. She liked his easy assumption that was
where his stuff went. As if he’d accepted this thing between them wasn’t optional.

  She stood behind her sofa and turned in a circle, taking in the living room on one side and the kitchen-dining room on the other.

  Daniel had been here. But now he was dead. She wouldn’t ever be able to erase what he’d done to her from her mind, but it didn’t have to rule her.

  “Come here.”

  She turned, and there was Travis. He wrapped his arms around her, tugging her jacket off, until he had her squeezed tight. She sighed, letting go of the tension and stress. Everything would be okay, somehow, some way.

  “I missed you,” she mumbled into his shirt. From the moment they arrived back at Wendy’s house, he’d been a wall-hugging shadow.

  “I’m not going anywhere.”

  “Good.” She tipped her head back and looked up at him.

  Travis was a rough-and-tumble man. She’d never seen herself falling for anything but the nice guy, but here they were, and she wouldn’t change it for the world. He wasn’t what she expected, he totally screwed up her five-year plan, but maybe that’s what she needed. The kind of shove out the door to do something new — and totally for herself.

  He pushed his hand into her hair, cupping the back of her head. She stared at his mouth, hungry for something besides her mother’s cooking.

  “You never do something like what you did today ever again.” His voice was hard and probably scary, but his mouth was downright fascinating to watch.

  “Okay.” She slid her hands up his chest.

  “I’m serious, Bliss.”

  “Me too.”

  “You could have been hurt.”

  “I know. It was stupid. I realized that pretty early on.”

  “Then why didn’t you get help?”

  “It was too late. I didn’t have a phone. And if I wasn’t there on time, he’d kill Carlos. I’d already watched his mother die. I couldn’t let him die if I could save him.”

  Travis made a frustrated growling noise deep in his throat. It rumbled in his chest and tickled her breasts where they were mashed up against him.

  “I know you’re angry with me, but you know you’d do the same thing.”

  “That’s different.”

  “How is it different? Is it because you think you’re disposable while I’m not?” Stupid, infuriating man. She jabbed her finger at his chest. “That’s not how this works. I can’t just replace you. You said you loved me, and that means you are just as important as me.”