“Spider reporting in. We’ve wrapped the package all nice and tight. Ten-four.”
Cliff chuckled and pushed Greg toward the door. “Let’s go and join them, shall we?”
“But, what about me?” I asked. A tinge of panic leaked through.
“You’re free to go, Mrs. Dick. Don’t leave town.” Cliff winked and pushed Greg through the front door. I looked out into a sea of flashing lights and uniforms. Several cruisers and a couple of vans lined the street in front of our home. “Have at it, boys and girls.”
And just like that, it was over. I sank into my favorite comfy chair and surveyed the chaos surrounding me. An entire platoon of men and women circulated through the house like a forest fire sending tendrils trailing around every rock and crevice in its way. Like those flames, the officers found the next likely target, leaped on it with their powders and tools, and then sealed them in crisp new evidence bags.
“Mrs. Dick—”
I looked up into green eyes that held the wisdom of the ages. I bit back the retort that fought to run right off my tongue. “Please call me Logan.”
She smiled. “Okay, Logan. Is there somewhere you’d be more comfortable? Is there anything I can get for you?”
I hadn’t thought of what would come next. In my dream version of today’s events, Daniel would be right behind the secret service guys with his arms held wide, eager to embrace and console me after the rigors of my collision with Greg. There might even be a bit of slow motion as we ran toward each other, magnolia blossoms gently waving in the background. Now would not be a good time to mention that magnolia trees are not resident in New Jersey.
He enfolds me in his big, brawny embrace, covering me with gentle kisses, while he tells me I’m his all, his everything. Sigh. Just like in one of my novels. Now a red-haired beauty stood waiting for me to surface from my wet dream.
“Could I use my cell phone?” I wasn’t at all sure what I could and could not touch. Would they want my cell for evidence?
“Special Agent Newman did say you could keep any of the contents of your purse, but they had to take the purse for evidence. It’s on the butcher’s block in the kitchen.”
I grabbed my glass of wine, pulled up a stool, and checked my messages. None from Daniel. A stream of them from Judy.
Judy: What’s going on? Daniel just left.
Daniel was there? Why?
Judy: WTF, Loge. Text me.
Judy: Daniel left you a present.
Judy: Why aren’t you answering your phone?
Judy: You’re scaring me, girlfriend. Call me NOW.
I hit reply.
Me: Sorry about that. Busy with police. Daniel was there? Where is he now? What kind of present?
I tried Daniel.
Me: We got him. I can’t wait to see you. Where are you?
The phone pinged while I keyed his message. Judy.
Judy: Well, thank God. Are you okay? Is Cliff there?
Me: Yes, I’m fine. Cliff left with Greg. They arrested him. They’re searching the house now. Where’s Daniel?
Judy: I’ll tell you when you get here. Get your ass over here. NOW!!!!!
The exclamation queen was back. Judy was in one of her moods.
Me > Judy: On my way.
Me > Daniel: You there, hon?
I waited a beat. No ping. I dialed his number. Straight to voice mail.
I left him a message. “Babe, we got him. It’s all over. Where are you? Let’s celebrate.”
Judy damned near broke my arm pulling me into her kitchen. The pugs were a frenzy of dancing brown and black pudgy bodies, tripping and falling over each other in their excitement. Judy’s signature pigtails followed suit as she bristled with impatience.
“Sit your ass down and tell me what happened and don’t leave out one single detail.” Judy stood there, feet planted, arms akimbo.
“Good grief, Jude, what got up your rear? I should be the excited one here.”
“Let me see.” Judy held up her index finger. “One, my best friend disappears without a trace, and I have no idea if she’s alive or dead.” The middle finger went up. “Two, my boyfriend decides today would be a good day to ignore me while he goes off on some super-secret case involving my best friend and her deadbeat husband.” The third finger joined the first two. “Three—”
“Okay, okay. I get the point. It all happened so fast, and what do you mean you had no idea what was going on? Didn’t Cliff brief you?”
“Cliff didn’t brief, as you call it, me or Daniel, sweetie. We’ve been swinging in the wind all day.”
Oh shit. This hoped-for reunion was not turning out as I’d planned. “You mean Daniel didn’t know about Cliff’s plan?”
“I don’t think so. Daniel was pretty damned pissed when he was here. He left that.” She pointed to a box on the counter.
It was certainly too big to be jewelry. I popped the flaps, and my nightshirt, toothbrush, and the novel I’d been reading at Daniel’s loft were neatly lined up along with a few other personals. I looked up at Judy, confused. “Did he say anything?”
“Ah, yeah, he said he’s done. Whatever it is you did with Greg, you did it well. Now, would you please tell me what the hell’s going on?” Judy’s drawn out the emphasis on the “e” in please sounded like swarming bees.
I flinched and sank into a chair. “Shit.” I dropped my head in my hands. “How did he seem?”
Judy sat in the chair beside me. “Honey, oh honey.” She slid her arm around my shoulders and gave my arm a squeeze. “He was devastated and determined. It’s not going to be that easy to get through to him. He thinks you turned on him. You’d better tell me the whole story.”
I told her the whole story, right up until the run-in at the house. “I had to get rid of him, and he can be so stubborn. So I said the one thing I knew would work.”
“And what the hell was that?
“I apologized for leading him on, told him I wasn’t into the kink and used the words I knew would make him leave—Justine’s words.”
“Who the hell is Justine?”
“Daniel’s ex. I’ll try to make a rather long story short. She wanted him for his political future, so she pretended to like sex. Daniel likes…” Warmth rushed through my core toward my neck like a tidal wave on its way to shore.
Judy giggled and slapped her thigh. “Oh man, you should see your face. You’re absolutely p-u-r-p-l-e. I can’t wait to hear this.” Her grin split her face from ear to ear. “What’s he like?”
I cleared my throat. “Oh, you know, kinky stuff. I’m sure you’d find it all rather tame, Jude.” I got up and poured myself a glass of water and leaned against the counter. “Do you want to hear the rest of the story or not?”
Judy leaned back. “Go ahead. I’ll find out about the kink later. Don’t think for a second that I’m going to let that one go.”
I sighed. Hope springs eternal. “Anyway, the night he was going to propose, he overheard her telling her best friend that she was playing him and didn’t love him. When he told me about it, the thing that hurt him the most was how cold and calculated she’d been. How he’d realized that was who she was. She’d even tried to shake his hand and said the fateful words I repeated, ‘I do hope we can be friends.’ That shut him down, thank God. I had to get him out of there before he ruined everything.”
“Well, you know I believe love solves all the problems in the universe, so what are you going to do to get him back?”
“I don’t know, I’ve got to find him first.”
Judy took my arm and led me to the door.
Chapter 26
Daniel
I was in a serious funk. I’d been stupid and opened myself up to love. To Logan. Sucked into the vortex of those large sapphire eyes radiating a combination of determination and fragility that took the breath right out of my soul. She’d taken that very soul, wrapped it in a blanket of deceit and treachery, and discarded it when my love no longer suited her purpose. My love. My lov
e. I’d hesitated at the door when I saw that glimmer of hope, the life-saving rope dangling the promise of love and acceptance I didn’t think possible.
Fool that I am, I’d pushed open the door, grabbed the line, and hung on tight for the ride. Despair and grief nestled like a heavy rock blocking the entrance to a cave, hiding the tears I could not shed. I grabbed a bottle, determined to get stinking drunk instead. To hell with Logan. And her perfect body, her stimulating mind, her… I gave my head a shake. From that moment on, Logan could no longer exist in my world.
I mixed a pitcher of vodka and lime, grabbed a gimlet glass, and slouched in my favorite chair in the library. The chair where Logan had opened herself to me. Stop it. Dark thoughts churned around in my head like a poisonous brew boiling in a witch’s cauldron. How could she have done this to me? How could I have been such a fool? So what if she did this to save me—who asked her to? She betrayed me.
I woke with a jolt of adrenaline running through me. Something had touched me. What the fuck? I swiveled my head ignoring the crick in my neck and looked right into those eyes I loved. Those eyes that hid a cornucopia of lies and half-truths. Those eyes that could never be mine. I dropped my gaze to her hand resting on my shoulder and tensed my muscles. She removed her hand and took a step back.
“There you are. I’ve been looking all over for you. We got him, Daniel. We got Greg.” Logan’s wide smile shone like the ray of sunshine breaking through the underbelly of dark thunder clouds.
But a complete bastard closed the hole in those clouds. I stood and moved away from her. There was no way in hell I could stay this close to her, smell her uniquely sensual scent, without touching her. If I touched her, I was lost.
“What are you doing here? You’re not welcome here.”
She followed me across the room. I moved around the desk and stood between the chair and the wall. I shoved my fingers through my hair. Not only was I acting a bastard, I was doing my best imitation of a three-year-old while I did it. Now she was between me and the door. Shit! Her forehead furrowed.
“Oh really. Well, that’s not what Raphael said.” She dug in her bag and slapped her Ticket to Temptation on the desk. “And this says so. I don’t know what you think happened, but hear me out.”
I almost smiled. Logan was a little tinder box. But a treacherous one. Don’t be duped. “I have nothing to say to you. If you don’t leave, I will.”
She stood up and put her fists on those lovely slender hips. “Well, see you later then, because I’m not going anywhere.” Sparks flew out of her eyes like a cinder bursting under the pressure of a new log. “Seriously, Daniel, you’re going to get pissy with me now? I just saved your sorry ass, and this is how you behave? Let me tell you how I imagined this going.”
I didn’t know what the hell got into her—I blamed the house—but she shed an article of clothing with each step she took toward me. I scooted around the other side of the desk and rapid-walked out the library door.
I could hear the click of Logan’s heels as she ran after me. She caught up to me and pulled on my arm. “Daniel, stop. Just listen to me. Hear me out, that’s all I ask.”
“No.” I shook her off, grabbed my keys off the hall table, and ran out the front door. I could not allow myself to stop or take one look at her. Or I’d cave, against my better judgment. I. Could. Not.
For the first time, maybe ever, my Aston didn’t comfort me. How could Logan pretend she did this for me? She kissed him. Get over it, asshole. I shook my head to purge the dense fog of despair threatening to consume me. Was I an ass? Could I be wrong? No! I’d gone down this path with Justine. I would not be cuckolded by another conniving woman.
What the hell was I going to do now? I drove aimlessly for a while trying to stop the swirling winds of my thoughts from spiraling into a full-fledged cyclone. She looked so beautiful and so triumphant. Like she’d brought me the belt after winning a championship boxing match. Logan in the ring shadow dancing with Greg—fainting left, a jab right, then pow, the knock-out punch. I slammed the heel of my hand into the steering wheel. Time for a drink.
I circled a few more blocks and pulled into the parking lot of some Italian restaurant tavern called Water & Wine. It was on the fancier side of what I was looking for, but the bar was separate from the merry diners, so that was good enough for me. It was that or some place called Buck Off that advertised their mechanical bull. Some place where some redneck was bound to shove his testosterone and booze-fueled muscle around. Some place where I’d be happy to oblige him. And live to regret it. I slid onto a stool at the farthest edge of the very large, very swanky marble-topped bar.
The server slid a cocktail menu in front of me. Cocktail menu? I opened the cover. What the hell? Tonight was as good a night as any to tie one on. The server returned and wiped the already clean bar in front of me. I looked up into the face of a very striking blonde who looked something like Barbie’s sister, Skipper. She winked at me. Not tonight, honey.
“My name’s Katie. What can I do for you?”
Oh, brother. “What the hell, bring me a bottle of the Aged at Sea.”
Those clear blue eyes stared through me as if I were an escapee from a prison for the mentally insane and cleared her throat. “We don’t sell that by the bottle. It’s $25 per shot.”
I shot back with my arched eyebrow. “Fine, bring me ten shots. No chaser. No ice. No water. Straight up.” I slapped my Black Amex, four hundred dollar bills, and my keys on the bar. “Call me a cab when this is over if you wouldn’t mind. I’ll collect the keys tomorrow. Keep the change for your trouble.”
She grinned. I nodded. A smile was more than I could manage.
“Okie Dokie, then.” She swiveled and made her way down the bar.
Katie poured me into the back seat of the cab. I tried to sit up, but some bastard kept pushing me over. I batted my hand at the invisible monster.
“Is he going to be sick?” The cabbie’s voice echoed from someplace far away.
“I don’t think so, not sure.” Good old Katie. How did somebody even sound that perky? I groaned something unintelligible to even my ears.
“Take him to one-five-four Dug Way. He says to just drop him off at the end of the lane.”
“There’s nothing there but forest.” The cabbie didn’t sound any too happy. I tried a little harder to get my tongue to work, and this time a few grunts came out. I sighed and lay across the seat as my cab started to tilt in slow circles. Boy, was I hammered.
“Those are his instructions. This ought to be enough for your trouble.” Our Katie didn't sound too happy, but my lids were too heavy to open. I presumed she handed him one of the hundreds I’d pressed into her hand earlier.
The cabby whistled. “That will do it.”
My stomach lurched as the cab pulled away. Oh boy.
An eternity, but what only could have been a few minutes later, someone punched me in the shoulder. Hard. I sat up. My head swam. I squeezed my eyes shut. What the fuck?
“Hey man, where’s one-five-four. I’ve been driving around here forever, and I don’t see no one-five-four.”
I pried my eyes open a slit. “It’s just up there on the right.” I lay back down. The cab lurched ahead.
“Hey, there’s an old guy standing by the side of the road. Is that it?” He slid to a stop.
Using the headrest, I pulled myself up. The car door opened. Strong hands kept me from spilling out onto the gravel.
“Raphael, my man. What are you doing here?” I mumbled some facsimile of those words and leaned on him, grateful.
“I’ll take it from here,” Raphael said. “Have you been paid?”
“All taken care of.”
“An honest cab driver, how refreshing. Thank you.” Raphael closed the open rear door and guided me away from the car as it sped off.
“Is she still here? I’m not going in there is she’s still here.” I stopped and leaned against a tree.
“Come on, let’s get you into bed. You c
an worry about all that in the morning.”
Raphael practically carried me to my bed. As we passed Logan’s bedroom, I swore I could smell her scent, that perfect bouquet of subtle spring flowers. I faltered. Raphael pushed through her room into the bathroom and held me up while I took a piss, my pants and briefs pooled at my ankles. I kicked my way out of them and collapsed on my bed. The lights went out.
My nose twitched as the smell of coffee permeated my rather dry mucous membranes. I rolled my tongue in a cavern that felt sticky, like I’d OD’d on a vat of salt toffee. Sunlight seared my corneas as I opened my eyes a sliver. I slowly…oh so slowly…rotated them in the direction of the tantalizing smell. Sitting up, I put my elbows on my knees and cradled my head until my stomach stopped pitching forward. The whirring sound of a rivet gun forced its way through my skull, pounding a series of nails into my brain. I didn’t know whether to clutch my head—just the thought of going near that pain shot terror through me—or scream. Even the thought of noise brought on full body tremors.
I inched my eyes open and reached for the coffee. I cradled the cup and inhaled deeply with one long, slow pull of the aroma of the gods. Coffee.
A few sips helped shore up the walls and dampened the threat of total physical annihilation. I let my lips quirk at the corners at my ridiculous sense of melodrama. I stretched and swiveled my head easing the crick in my neck. Thoughts of Logan came rushing in. Her betrayal sharp on their heels. Logan. I shot up, almost spilling the coffee. I slammed the mug on the coaster certain I must be having some kind of hallucination. Logan knelt at the foot of the bed, head bowed in submission, hands resting palm up on her thighs. She knelt on a pillow, the same goddamned pillow we’d used that day in the playroom. That bloody wonderful day.
Ticket to Temptation Page 23
