Carnal Beginnings

by Reily Garrett

  “Sounds delightful. What else?”

  “Gardening. My parents used to have a really cool greenhouse. We’d spend hours in there. They taught me a lot.”

  “Really? Have you done much in the past five years, at your uncle’s house?”

  “No. When my parents died, their lawyer liquidated the estate. Tony wouldn’t let me do any gardening. Said only old people and slave laborers played in the dirt.”

  “I see. Tell me about your parent’s greenhouse.”

  His smile decimated her concentration, his focus so zeroed in on her. Beside Graham, whom she seldom saw for more than lunch breaks since graduation, and Maura, whom she didn’t know as well, no one had ever shown interest in her comfort and pleasure.

  She couldn’t stifle the smile as she turned catty-corner on the sofa to face Julien.

  * * * *

  Animation breathed new life into Adara’s soul, written in the smile tilting her lips, the openness of her expression, and the small hand gestures emphasizing finer points.

  He finally discovered what stirred her passion.

  “Actually, it was the most amazing place you could experience. The glass units were made with one pane of tempered glass on the outside and laminated glass for the inside pane.”

  “Hmm, you know your glass.”

  She blushed again. “Well, they did a lot of research and included my input in all of the design aspects. They used a geothermal heating system, a great ventilation system, even a movable curtain insulation setup. We’d spend hours in there. I learned not just seed starting, but techniques for propagation, layering with runners, air layering, grafting…all kinds of stuff.”

  The fact she didn’t blush when mentioning propagation attested to her horticultural enthusiasm while expounding on minute details energized her demeanor. It was the first time he’d witnessed happiness dancing in her eyes.

  As the clock chimed the hour, he made mental notes of future endeavors. It would take careful planning. Fascination blossomed in the next two hours where they delved the depths of her interest and knowledge of cooking and other pursuits. He now had a starting place and the beginnings of a strategy. As the night wore on, he watched her muscle tension seep away and wondered if the pre-orphan Adara would stay. He hadn’t felt so inspired in years.

  “Adara, what about friends from high school before your parents’ accident? Do you maintain contact with them? Would you like to look them up? They should be easy enough to find.” To his knowledge, Maura might number her only friend. Then the image of the downtrodden young man leaving the office came to mind.

  “Well—I do have one friend outside the office. He came to see me today, but refused to meet me after work. Something was terribly wrong. I’ve never seen him so…beat.”

  “Oh? Why don’t you call him? If he wanted to talk, he wouldn’t mind your call.”

  “He said he’d stop in tomorrow at lunchtime. He’d been crying, so I know his world is imploding. He’s always been so happy. He’s the only friend who helped me through my parents’ death.”

  Digging his cell from his pocket, Julien handed it over. “Here, give him a call.”

  “Really? You don’t mind? I’m thinking something happened to his—ah—partner. He’s, um, gay.”

  “And? That bothers you?”

  “Me? Oh. No. Absolutely not. He’s been my best friend since kindergarten.”

  The call went straight to voice mail. Unlike the appearance of her visitor, the voice heard through the cell was upbeat, chipper. Adara left a message and the number.

  “Odd. He always has his cell on and always answers…hope you don’t mind me telling him to call your cell. We’ve been careful not to have his number show up on my phone…”

  “No problem. If he’s a good friend, I’d certainly expect you to have him contact you however possible. Did he give you any indication of what was wrong today?”

  “No. Just said he’d meet me tomorrow.”

  Chapter Ten

  Fleecy-white clouds strafed the heavens yet allowed bands of brilliant morning sunshine to burnish the calm waters with starburst reflections. The day had progressed in the vein of the prior night, with Adara’s smile wider and matching the rest of her body language.

  Inhaling the ocean’s tang and listening to the gentle surf as he closed the back door equaled nature’s confirmation he was on the right track.

  “After we do some shopping, we’ll head to the office so I can make some calls. Then we’ll run some errands.”

  “Okay, thanks. I haven’t been shopping like this since my parents died.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Able to pick out my own clothes—things I want to wear. I’d love some jeans.”

  “Then to the mall we go.” Julien stopped short and reached for Adara after rounding the back corner of his home, his gaze scanning the perimeter. Her slight gasp gentled his grip as he urged her back to the house.

  “Oh my God. Why would anyone do this to your car?”

  All four tires were flat and the word whore was written in contrasting red paint along the passenger side.

  “It appears someone needs a lesson in manners. Good thing I’m an excellent teacher.” Julien led his shaking guest back to the house and settled her on the sofa before stepping into his office and making necessary calls.

  Conner answered on the first ring. “Figures you’d catch me before going to the office.”

  “I had a visitor or two, last night. There’s a lot more to my assistant than I realized.”

  “Considering the malware on her phone, I’m not surprised. Though they did find you pretty quick.”

  A brief outline described the major points of the prior twelve hours. “I’ll call for a tow and rental. We have some errands to run, then we’ll meet you guys in the office.”

  “We’ll start detailed background checks on the family.”

  The abrupt disconnect paralleled the change in Julien’s life. Military operations demonstrated on a regular basis, the fragility of life. He’d lost friends and teammates overseas. Rare was the time he needed those skills in his present work life.

  The fact his aftermarket alarm hadn’t alerted him to the intruder depicted a certain amount of experience in the thug trying to frighten Adara.

  Thoughtful steps carried him back to his guest, sitting on the sofa like a statue. In that minute, he realized the tire-slashing fucker from last night set Adara’s confidence level back to zero.

  “I’m so sorry, Julien. This is all because of me…”

  He sat beside her, thankful she didn’t flinch with his proximity. Tilting her chin, he locked their gazes. “No, Adara. It’s not. This is because some bastard hasn’t learned the lesson about destruction of other people’s property. This is all about him, not you.”

  “But—”

  “No, Adara. It’ll be fine.” Not wanting to alarm her further, he didn’t tell her Conner found tracking software that monitored not just location, but emails, phone calls, etc. Someone wanted to know everywhere she went and with whom she connected.

  Conner had alerted his brothers to sweep the office for bugs and other employees were called and advised their workday incurred a short delay.

  A CPD officer he knew well, came and took a report, taking the note left on his windshield at the restaurant. It was unlikely to find other prints, but they’d started a paper trail for the case.

  “As soon as the rental car arrives, we’ll do some light shopping and make a stop for coffee. I think you need a distraction.” First order of business at work would be a meeting with his brothers.

  “You want to go shopping?”

  “Of course. You need clothes. I’m not going to let the dirtball change our plans.”

  A small measure of defiance straightened her spine and shone from her gaze. “If it’s my family who did it, they wouldn’t try anything during daylight.”

  “Adara, how do you feel about dogs?”

  “I love them
. We used to have a German shepherd, but after my parents’ death, Uncle Tony said we couldn’t keep him.”

  “Well, Marc has a shepherd and I thought you might like to have her stay with us for a while. She can come to the office, go pretty much everywhere you do. Would you like the company?”

  “Really? I’d love it. When we talked last night, it never occurred to me you would allow a dog in here.”

  “Actually, I think it would be wonderful. We’ll pick up some doggy supplies before we go into the office.”

  The bargain-basement franchise where she directed him to stop inspired images of homeless runaways and bag ladies in filthy alleys. He cringed when she chose more of the dowdy, dreary, and baggy sacks. Size extra-large with a guest suite. Due to time constraints, he kept her purchases to a minimum while in his mind he burned every piece.

  Beauty and grace such as hers dictated a proper shopping spree, dressed in cultured elegance, with a pair of sweats thrown in for gardening and martial arts. The quiet ride back to the office allowed time to revamp his plan for her moving forward. He looked forward to the self-defense training. Physical contact…

  He expected to find the uncle or cousin waiting in the parking lot, disappointed to find it devoid of all but neatly lined rows of steel, aluminum, glass and rubber behemoths awaiting their owners.

  A deep sigh told him Adara held the same expectations.

  The front of his agency’s building consisted of floor-to-ceiling tinted glass, admitting brilliant light throughout the day. A spacious foyer, delineated with tile, gave way to a cavernous room. Four large desks sat divided by two lines of filing cabinets down the main room’s center.

  All appeared normal sans his brothers’ scowls. Each sibling waited at their respective office door.

  Adara smiled at Maura, who answered with a frown and impatient come-here gesture. Before either could speak, Jackie’s feral grin forewarned of the venom she’d spew.

  Inwardly, he groaned. Intervening would undermine Adara’s self-confidence.

  “Oh, Adara, you’re quite the popular one this morning, you’ve already had visitors.” Jackie’s sickly sweet tone coincided with the sneer marring her superficial beauty.

  Julien watched as Adara mentally shrank, hunching her shoulders and ducking her head, her gaze plastered to the floor. If Jackie were a Jack, a black eye would’ve been in order.

  Verbal warfare it is.

  “W-who came to see me?”

  Julien was well aware only her uncle and cousin would’ve come. The orchid bearing weasel wouldn’t dare—at least not during daylight. He might have tampered with her phone or slashed his tires. Time would tell. As for her male friend, he wasn’t due until lunchtime.

  “Your family, of course,” Jackie replied in an overloud voice the entire staff would hear. “They said you didn’t come home last night. All. Night. Long.” She looked around at the other assistants and three part-time investigators as she spoke.

  Julien noticed the gaping jaws and widened eyes. Would Adara continue to shrink or fight back? Underneath it all, she bore steel in her skeleton. He knew it. Her face held the blush of a gala apple, her jaw clenched and a muscle ticked in her temple. Hands remained at her side, knuckles white from clenching.

  “They wondered where you were. Even called the police.”

  It wasn’t the time or place for a proper set down, but he couldn’t allow the shrew to continue. “Jackie, knock it off. Don’t involve yourself with things that aren’t your concern.” His deep voice carried throughout the space. “How about everybody get back to work.” A sudden flurry of activity conveyed understanding. Everyone suddenly found his or her work fascinating.

  Leaning down to whisper his encouragement, he smiled to lighten her mood. “Don’t worry about the time. I called your boss and told him you’d be late…”

  “Your brothers won’t be upset?” The corners of her mouth twitched.

  “Nah, it’s fine. Besides, you’re my assistant.” Julien raised his hand slowly to brush a lock of hair from her brow. “I didn’t want to bring you to work in the clothes you wore yesterday. And, believe it or not, I love to take a woman shopping.”

  “Thanks, Julien. I don’t know why Jackie hates me so much. I’ve tried to be friendly, but she has never liked me.”

  “Actually, her dislike has nothing to do with you. She’s kinda made it known…well, she hit on me just before you came on board. I turned her down—nicely.”

  “Oh. Oh! She’s jealous? Of me?”

  “Yep. Don’t worry though, sweetheart. She’ll get over it or be looking for other work. I won’t tolerate nastiness.”

  “Well, thank you for taking me shopping…I appreciate it. I’m sure glad I missed Uncle Tony and Gary. They’d have made a bigger scene if I were here.”

  “Don’t sweat it. Listen, I need to talk to my brothers. Afterward I’ll take you to the bank to open an account, in your name. Then you’ll have complete control over your money. Okay?”

  Self-confidence raised her chin as she passed Jackie’s desk to take her seat.

  Julien nudged the door closed behind him before sitting at the conference table. His brothers’ expressions vacillated from anger, worry, and frustration. “So, guys, why the long faces? We’ve dealt with this kind of shit before.”

  “You stepped in something deeper, bro. You’ve pissed someone off, big time.” With a gloved hand, Conner tossed three small pieces of spyware to the center of the table. “We deactivated these, but I haven’t determined their origins yet.”

  Julien used a pen to push the small transmitter closer for inspection. “This looks like what we used in the military.”

  “It is. Digitally encrypted and uses infrared to avoid detection and unauthorized radio interception. Also found a keyboard transmitter.” Conner’s voice held the disgust Julien felt.

  “Let me guess, all on or around Adara’s desk?”

  “Yep. Someone’s gone to a bit of trouble to keep tabs on your girl. There’s no identifying numbers on either of those pieces. ” Nate produced a pair of gloves and an evidence bag from his jacket pocket. The snap of putting them on distracted Julien as he picked up the transmitter.

  Julien explained the letter he’d found on his windshield.

  “How many people, not in the military, do you suppose can get a hold of that type of equipment?” Marc asked.

  “Probably more than you think. Conner, you have the best contacts there…can you find out where these damn things came from?” Julien’s fingers drummed on the table as he explained his confrontation with Simmie.

  Without going into detail, he gave the cliff notes version of Adara’s abuse and suffering. “We can find the weasel easy enough, but we’ll also need to check on her friend, Graham. I have his cell number and first name only, though I doubt he’s involved.” Julien searched his cell and read Graham’s number aloud. “She tried to call him last night but got no answer. He’s supposed to stop by at lunchtime.”

  “I’ll be on him when he leaves here. Meanwhile, I’ll track his number and start a paper file,” Nate added.

  “I’ll swing by your home after checking with military contacts. We’ll set up cameras to see who’s sniffing around.” Conner shoved his chair back to stand.

  “Marc, you mind if I take Nika for a few days? I told Adara she could have a visitor. I think it would make her feel better.”

  “No problem. Don’t forget her toys and lock the pet door before you leave. I don’t want the neighbor’s dog coming in and trashing my house.”

  “Yes, dear. I’ll remember,” Julien quipped.

  Like bank interest that compounded daily, Adara’s list of problems grew, expanding in reach and significance. Military-grade electronics drew a path toward an organized assault.

  Conner opened the door and paused. From the main room, a thread of agitation and stress raised Adara’s voice.

  Julien’s chair skidded back as he stood and strode for the door.

  C
hapter Eleven

  “Simmie, I don’t care what you think. I don’t want to hear it and I don’t want you to call me again. I’m not going out with you. I-I have a boyfriend now and he won’t tolerate you harassing me.” The fabrication shook Adara’s voice, but it was the first thing that came to mind. Closing her eyes, she gritted her teeth against the retort that would silence her would-be suitor’s spewed vulgarity. She’d been raised better than that

  “No. And I’m not going to listen to any more nonsense.” The hissed whisper would carry throughout the office and earn her more condemning gazes from Jackie. “He’s not after my money, he has enough of his own. And he doesn’t want to interfere with your father’s drug company. That’s ridiculous. So just stop it and don’t call me again. I mean it. And I don’t care what you tell my family because I won’t be seeing them again either. I’ve moved out.” The force of the phone connecting with its cradle jarred her wrist but offered little satisfaction. A wary glance in the direction of Julien’s office showed the door open and the room empty. Thank God.

  “Adara?” Maura’s jaw hung open. “Was that—”

  “The weasel. He just won’t take no for an answer. Says we’re fated to be together, just give him a chance and a bunch of other crap. Can you believe it?”

  “Yeah, I can.” The deep resonance of Julien’s voice turned co-workers back to their desks. “What else did he say, Adara?”

  “Oh. I’m sorry to be so loud. I never lose control.” He was in the conference room. Embarrassment sent heat climbing her cheeks. “He wanted me to meet him for lunch. When I said no, he started talking trash about you.”

  “Hmm, sounds like you put him in his place. Good for you.” A crisp nod and direct eye contact indicated his approval.

  “Do you think he slashed your tires?”

  “Couldn’t say at this point. Did you tell him where you’re staying?”

  “No, and he would never suspect, um, well, that I’d leave home.”

  Julien frowned and opened his mouth yet hesitated to speak.