by Lisa Rayns
Cade took a breath and began to pace again. “You’re not leaving here until I get something.”
“I liked Chad.”
“You liked him enough until he touched your precious necklace, then he had to die, is that it?”
“No!” I demanded, hating the way he twisted everything to make me sound guilty.
He glanced at me sideways before he sat down in his chair. The harsh lines smoothed out on his face until he appeared almost rational. “What were you doing in Siwa, Egypt?”
“I was looking for a friend.”
Cade raised his eyebrows. “Why? Is he or she next?”
After another hour of the ridiculous questions, Cade had to let me go, much to his dismay. “I’ll find the evidence,” he threatened as I grabbed my backpack and walked out.
****
Working at the convenience store I owned provided a welcome distraction. The continuous flow of evening customers kept my mind busy, and I was able to put the detective’s badgering out of my head.
At ten after ten the store turned deadly quiet so I bought five lottery scratch tickets to pass the time. I leaned over the counter and carefully rubbed off the hidden numbers with a penny. Looking down, my eyes misread the last lottery ticket. I thought I’d won a dollar, but that couldn’t be right. Did that mean the curse was receding? Wiping my eyes, I looked again and then anxiously held it up to the light.
In that second, an earsplitting noise shattered the silence, and I ducked to the floor instinctively. The lottery ticket had disappeared into thin air, and something hissed near the back of the store. Bewildered more than anything, I looked up to find a small hole the size of a bullet in the strong glass. Peeking out the window, I didn’t see anything but traffic.
What the hell?
My hands trembled as I grabbed the phone and dialed 911. I quickly told the operator what happened and then did as she instructed; I switched the store sign to closed and locked the doors before returning to my crouch. The loud click of the refrigeration system made me jump. I laughed nervously, but a real fear started to quake through me. My heart raced and my eyes felt like they were three times larger than my head.
When a squad car arrived, I unlocked the door and went to meet the first officer outside. The young kid, who looked fresh out of high school, walked right passed me to inspect the bullet hole in the window. His eyes were aglow. “That’s pretty cool. It didn’t even shatter.”
He turned to me with a more cop-like attitude when more squad cars pulled up. He drew a notebook and pen out of his front shirt pocket. “Are you all right, ma’am?”
“Yes. I’m fine,” I ridiculed. “Thank you for finally asking.”
My anxiety heightened and peaked when Detective Cade appeared and rushed toward a group of officers. After a short, heated conversation, he made a beeline straight for me. The dark look in his tired eyes made my heart jump into my throat.
“What happened?” he growled.
“There was a loud noise and then there was a hole in the window. That’s all I know.” I shook my head innocently and then stared at him. “Don’t you ever sleep?”
“Not when I’m on a case,” he grumbled.
“Hmm.” I nodded. “That explains a lot.”
He scanned the faces of his colleagues before he pulled me toward the side of the building. Once away from all the cops, his face relaxed. “Tell me the truth,” he said seriously. “Is someone stalking you? Is someone doing this to you and trying to frame you? I can’t help you unless I know what’s going on.”
I shot him a doubtful look. “You don’t want to help me. You want to lock me up and throw away the key.”
“I want to find out the truth. I want a murderer brought to justice.”
“I don’t know what happened tonight.”
“Is there someone who wants to hurt you?” A hint of kindness threaded his voice.
His concern startled me but I just shook my head.
With a deep breath, his compassion disintegrated and he took on an official sounding tone. “The crime scene unit found the bullet in a can of coke twelve feet in. It stopped in one of those warm twelve packs you have stacked up back there. Know anything about a lottery ticket?”
“Yeah, I’d just held it up to the light. It was a winner.”
“Not anymore. The bullet went straight through it.”
“Perfect,” I mumbled and then turned to watch the fireworks display. I sighed, wishing I had my own independence from the curse, but no winning lottery ticket was going to change my fate. My future held only stray bullets and dead friends.
“A police car will be driving by every hour for the next couple of nights but for now, they’re ruling this a stray bullet. And since you’re not talking, I’m going to assume you set this up yourself to throw me off your trail.”
I stared at him incredulously. “I had someone shoot at me?”
Not missing a beat, he pulled out his notepad. “Is that a statement, Miss Patrix?”
Hatred churned inside of me, making my blood boil, but I walked away, certain I could make the bar before closing time.
“And just remember, Miss Patrix. If you leave town again, I will arrest you. That’s a promise.”
Chapter 6
Empty shot glasses lined my lonely table by midnight. The cola I’d washed the alcohol down with no longer stung my throat. No feeling remained at all. I was numb, the way I preferred it.
The crowd in the small roughneck bar, carried on like they were having the time of their lives, but I ignored the noise. I distracted myself by watching a handsome pool player lean over the table. I imagined him leaning over me that way.
“Getting laid is out of the question for us, isn’t it?” Calvin’s words played inside my mind and made me regret not sleeping with him. If he had offered instead of trying to force himself on me, I might have been more receptive. The lust in his eyes had excited me but frightened me at the same time. I really didn’t know what to expect from sex. I’d heard other girls say it was wonderful, but I’d spent my entire life pushing men away from me. It felt weird to be near Calvin again because I didn’t have to push him away, yet I did so instinctually. Now I would go to jail for life without ever experiencing sex. The thought affected me more than I could have imagined.
I sighed when the pool player grabbed his jean jacket and headed out the door. I raised my hand to my wonderful waitress, but she was already bringing me another.
“Hey, you’re that chick.” A handsome, young man with short blond hair slid into the chair across from me. His eyes were wide and glassy and his pale, boyish face smiled with recognition.
“Excuse me?” I tipped the waitress when she brought me two more shots of whiskey.
“You’re that chick I saw get arrested at the airport today. What did you do?”
“Nothing,” I told the man. “I left the country when I wasn’t supposed to.”
“I get that a lot.” His understanding shrug made the Harley on his black T-shirt fold up and nearly disappear. “Anyway, I’m guessing you’re having a bad day, and I happen to know a lot about bad days. You interested in something to make it go away?”
“I got something,” I said, holding up my shot before I downed it and took a drink of pop. I smiled at the warming effects of the alcohol but immediately frowned, irritated, when he took my second shot and swallowed it. I held up my hand to order another. The waitress nodded.
He scoffed at the drink that didn’t even sour his face and then raised his eyebrows persuasively. “I got something better than that.”
“I don’t do drugs,” I said flatly.
He chuckled. “That guy said you didn’t know how to have a good time.”
I stared at him warily, but my heart started pounding. “What guy?”
He shrugged again. “I don’t know, Calvin somebody. He bet me $100 that you wouldn’t take this,” he said, producing a little pink pill.
“I guess he’ll win then. Where is he?”
“Well that’s the thing there, little lady. I have information, but I’m gonna lose a hundred bucks here.”
I narrowed my eyes. “Let me go to the ATM, and I’ll give you two hundred to tell me.”
He shook his head. “It’s not about the money. See, I made a bet and I don’t like to lose.”
Covering my eyes with my hand, I half-laughed and half-cried into it. Desperate. Calvin knew I was desperate. “How far will you go?” Snatching the pill, I put it in my mouth and washed it down with the rest of my cola.
“There now,” the man said pleasantly. “That wasn’t so bad, was it?”
When I shook my head, he rose and started to walk away. “Wait! Where is he? You owe me some information!”
“Oh, yeah,” he said with another chuckle. “He said he’d find you.”
“Bastard,” I fumed under my breath.
I’d had enough of Calvin’s games. I tried to go to the bathroom to throw up the pill but the same man pulled me out onto the dance floor and literally kept me locked in his arms for an entire slow song. I didn’t want to cause a scene, but the constant struggle to keep him from touching my necklace wore me out. By the time I returned to my chair, I needed another drink which the waitress kindly provided.
As I emptied the shot glass, a brilliant wave ran through me, followed by a rush of radiance. Crystal clear music pillowed my head, and the dim neon lights focused in around me, producing a charming atmosphere. I smiled hopelessly, feeling happier than I ever remembered. Pleasure filled my senses and created a high so enjoyable that I changed my mind about my earlier disapproval of the pill. Without a thought, I stumbled out the door to look for Calvin. Something told me he wouldn’t be far.
A crisp Wisconsin breeze blew into to me when I stepped outside. The fresh air washed away the stagnant bar odors and revitalized me as I inhaled deeply. I scanned the dimly lit parking, seeing no one.
Suddenly someone grabbed me and swung me around the side of the bar, pushing me into the concrete wall so hard that my head hit against it with a thump. Head forgotten, bites on my neck made me come before I saw Calvin holding me in a tight grip.
An intense rush flowed through me when he slipped his hands under my shirt to rub my back, the skin on skin contact during my climactic high, shorting out all circuits in my good sense system. I let myself enjoy the simple pleasure of his touch and its tiny twinges that shot straight through my body. I couldn’t stop myself when I called out his name.
“Hey, baby. Are you ready to fuck me now?” he asked before another bite sent me over an unseen edge.
Our bodies together felt good. I hungered for his flesh almost uncontrollably. My hands dove under his shirt, and the sensation sent a shockwave through my body that instantly warmed my insides. When a moan escaped my lips, he slid his hand down to rub where the hot wetness had soaked through my jeans.
“I think you’re ready,” he said with a chuckle. He kissed my lips and then grabbed my arm roughly. “You want me to take you back to your place?”
I nodded, eyes slitted, my breaths coming out in rugged, labored pants. My body didn’t want to talk, so I followed him anxiously as he tugged me toward my car. His touch, though rough, reminded me of the joys I’d denied myself only days before. Tonight, I willingly took him in, the sparkle in his eye, the slight five o’clock shadow, the light scent of sweet cologne, and even the tightness in a certain part of his clothing.
I stared at him from the passenger seat in the car, my body aching for his touch. He kept his hands on the wheel and his eyes on the road, his expression unreadable in the moving lights. I slid across the bench seat and snuck my fingers through the buttons on his thin shirt. He didn’t seem to mind so I ventured downward to stroke his hardness through his jeans, fascinated by the warmth and the size. When he closed his eyes for what seemed like minutes, I pulled my hand away, afraid of getting into an accident. Oddly, the only reason I cared about that was because I knew it would prolong the time it took to get to my apartment.
After he parked, he grabbed my arm again and pulled me inside. Once there, he crushed me against the wall with a hard kiss, his tongue invading my mouth deliciously. His hungry hands stroked my back before he dug his fingernails into my shoulders, just enough to cause an invigorating tingling sensation that increased my need to demanding levels.
When a high-pitched squeal fell out of my mouth, he laughed and pulled away to look me in the eye. “Do you want me now?”
Oh yeah, I wanted him! I nodded, unsure of what was so funny.
Picking me up like a new bride, he carried me into the bedroom and laid me on the bed. My heart beat excitedly when one hand gathered up the material around my waist and then eased up my stomach to cup my breast.
“How bad do you want me?” he whispered.
When he pinched my hard nipple through my bra, a gasp was all I could muster. Pleasure consumed me. My eyes rolled back into my head and my toes curled. I arched my back into him, willing his fingers to continue their quest.
He pushed my arm above my head with the hand that wasn’t molesting me. “Do you want me bad?” he asked, nearly straddling me.
I nodded again, still panting. My body screamed for pleasure and I wanted him to take me, roughly or softly, I didn’t care as long as he took me soon.
“Good,” he said, locking something around my wrist. Then his face twisted angrily along with his words, “Now you know how I’ve felt, every day for the last ten years!”
My mind couldn’t grasp where his anger came from. I didn’t even fully understand it until he kissed me roughly once more, rose, and then shut off the lights, leaving me alone with an unfilled desire the size of North America.
Chapter 7
The next morning, I awoke still handcuffed to my headboard. Surprisingly, my head didn’t hurt, and everything still looked nicer than normal like the drug hadn’t completely worn off yet. I heard Calvin moving around in my kitchen. Pots and pans clanged, cuss words spewed, finally the door slammed and my car squealed out of the driveway.
Instead of trying to get free, I spent the next hour imagining what he could have and should have done to me. Oddly, being handcuffed didn’t bother me at all, but the new, erotic thoughts that crossed my mind made me blush in the morning light.
Calvin returned and the loud noises resumed, but he didn’t enter my room. He left the bathroom door open when he showered and I listened carefully, feeling jealous of the warm water that was undoubtedly running down his sexy body. When the water turned off, a long silence followed.
“Okay, I get it!” I finally yelled. “You’re sexually frustrated. Why are you taking this out on me?”
“That’s not it!” he demanded, appearing in my bedroom doorway, wearing only jeans. His hair and hard chest glistened in the light and his beautiful eyes ran down my body once. “Okay, maybe that’s part of it, but that’s not everything. What the hell were you thinking? I can’t believe you actually took a drug from a stranger! I lost a hundred bucks!”
My mouth fell open and my eyes widened as I gasped, not believing what I was hearing. “I thought you wanted me to. I thought you were still testing me.”
He rolled his eyes upward to the ceiling, and then he sat down on the foot of the bed, looking toward the door. “I’ll do it,” he said.
His serious demeanor didn’t mesh with the naughty thoughts that lingered in my mind. “Do what exactly?”
“I’ll break your curse.”
Elation and relief washed over me, filling me with pure happiness. I tried to hug him but only succeeding in twisting my arm. “Really?” I asked, lying back down with arm above my head.
He turned to look into my eyes and nodded. “As soon as you help me find a way to break my curse, I’ll break yours.”
“I would love to break them both. Just tell me what to do.”
“I think there’s a third piece to the set, but I need your father’s notes. There has to be a clue or something. He’s the only one
who knew everything about that dig.”
“Sure. You can go there now. Help yourself.”
He shook his head. “I need you to come.”
My eyes widened fearfully. “Why?”
“You know where he kept his stuff.” His brow scrunched down over his eyes, making him appear suspicious. “I thought you were going to help.”
“I am. I…I just can’t bring myself to go back there yet.”
“Why not, Cleo? It’s been two years.”
“I just can’t.”
“Yes, you can,” he insisted. Rising, he pulled a key out of his back pocket and removed the handcuffs.
“Thanks.” I rubbed my wrist for a few minutes and then made my way to the kitchen, haunted by the lasting final image of my father–wide, scared eyes reflecting the guilt I felt. Without thinking, I poured myself a glass of vodka.
“Stop!” Calvin yelled, ripping the drink out of my hand to dump it down the sink.
Startled, I stared at him for a second trying to figure out what I’d done wrong. “Okay, geez! I just wanted to calm my nerves.”
“I’m surprised you have any nerves left,” he muttered.
His comment scraped slowly down my spine until a red hue obscured my vision. I’d had enough of his abusive treatment and his games that weren’t funny. I let it build freely and then released all my frustrations in one spurt. “What the hell do you know? You don’t know what I go through. I don’t get to turn into a kitty and prance around all cute, impressing the ladies. I go through hell!”
My outburst only infuriated him more. “Yeah? Well you’re not helping things by being blitzed all the time.”
“It helps me!”
He shoved me back against the counter and smashed his lips on mine. I hated the way my body responded to his roughness, but I found myself clutching the edge of the counter until my fingertips hurt.
After the kiss, he leaned into my ear. “Go ahead,” he whispered. “I won’t be such a gentleman the next time you get wasted and beg for it.”
