Nightclub Surprise

by Michelle Love

  ‘Cos, really, it’s romantic. And it’s given our whole office something to gossip about,’ she laughed as Cosima looked appalled. ‘Relax, chick, I’m kidding. But good for you, he’s gorgeous. And rich. And sweet – god, I think I hate you.’

  Cosima laughed, grateful for the other woman’s humor. ‘Thank you, he is very special to me.’ She pondered telling Jennifer that she was now living with him but decided against it – at least until she’d told Harpa and Jake. Jake! God, she’d forgotten about him, shoot.

  After a while, Jennifer left her alone, and Cosima took out her phone to call Jack. She got his voicemail and left a message, then went back to work.

  A half hour later, Tal called her into his office, his face creased with concern. ‘Cosima… did something happen to you recently?’

  She suddenly felt cold. ‘What do you mean?’

  He nodded at her still-bandaged arm. ‘You told me you hurt your arm in a fall.’

  ‘So?’

  He motioned for her to sit down then turned his laptop around. Cosima watched in horror as a video of the attack played out on the screen. Her hand at her mouth, she watched as her attacker slashed at her, then her own reaction, bent double clutching her arm as Steve and Roger took the man down. The video wasn’t a fuzzy, handheld camera – it was shot in such a way that the camera person obviously knew the attack was about to happen. Underneath the clip, the title read: ‘Attack on Cosima Malhotra, New Orleans’ and the date of the attack.

  Oh, damn it, damn it. ‘Yes…that happened but we were trying to keep it quiet because…god, how long has it been on the internet?’

  Tal, his old eyes filled with worry, checked the timestamp. ‘About twelve hours. Look, Cosima, with your situation, maybe you should call your FBI guy.’

  Her eyes filled with tears. ‘He’ll make me leave, Tal. He’ll make me leave all of you, Arlo, the Hotel, New Orleans.’

  ‘It’s your life at risk, Cosima. Obviously this,’ he nodded at the laptop, ‘means they’re still after you.’

  She shook her head. ‘That’s the thing, Tal; it was a weird attack like he only wanted to wound me, not kill. It was a warning – ‘

  ‘Exactly. Look, no-one wants you to leave, least of all me. But I’d rather you be alive and well.’

  Cosima nodded, wiped a tear away. ‘I know. Look, I’m going to call Arlo.’

  ‘Do that, and then call your guy. Take the rest of the day, Cos, this is more important than work.’

  Cosima thanked him then went to call Arlo. He picked up on the first ring.

  ‘Hey beautiful, you okay?’

  Cosima could have cried at the love in his voice. ‘Not really, baby.’ And she told him everything. The tone of his voice changed immediately.

  ‘Stay there, I’m coming to get you.’

  Cosima put her phone in her bag and went to the restroom. Jeez, could this really be happening? As much as she took the threat to her life seriously, she was far more terrified of having to leave Arlo and her friends here in New Orleans. For crying out loud, she’d just moved in with her gorgeous lover, why now?

  She sighed and bent to splash water on her face. In her haste, she cranked the faucet too hard, and the water splashed all over her. She cursed and reached for the hand towels…only to encounter an arm. Water streaming in her eyes, she jerked away and gasped. Someone grabbed her from behind and a cloth soaked in chemicals was pressed to her nose and mouth, and as she sank into unconsciousness, she only had one thought…

  I’ll never see Arlo again…

  TORN AND TORMENTED

  Part Three

  Harpa Bedi stood on the viewing deck of Seattle’s Space Needle and gazed out over the city. God, how had she not done this her first day? Seattle stretched out below her, the sun glittered off Elliott Bay; in the distance the Olympic Mountains and Mt. Rainier stood out against the skyline. Harpa squinted and pointed to the right of the big mountain at the faintest outline of another mountain on the horizon. ‘Is that…?’

  ‘Mt. St Helens,’ Mikah Ray said, sliding his arms around her waist and hugging her to him. ‘Beautiful, isn’t it?’

  ‘The mountains look painted on the sky,’ she said in wonder and Mikah chuckled.

  ‘I guess they do. Living in Washington all my life, I kinda got used to them but yeah, it’s an amazing sight.’

  She turned in his arms and gazed up at him. ‘You’re an amazing sight,’ she said, her voice thick. ‘Thank you for bringing me up here.’

  He smiled down at her. ‘Well, you’re very welcome.’ He pressed his lips to hers. ‘Wanna go grab some lunch?’

  It had been only a few weeks since they had met but already Harpa was smitten. Big time. Mikah was erudite and funny, laid back and just so… ‘Cool,’ she thought,’ he’s just so cool.’ She felt relaxed in his presence.

  After that first night, they had spent every free moment together. They had talked a long time about their lives; at least, Harpa had given him a carefully edited version of hers. She didn’t want to burden him with all the crap going on in her life. She told him about Cosima, about Arlo, about moving away from her sister for the first time. Mikah, in turn, told her how he’d started out in the business, his first tentative steps into the art world. His tutelage under one of the world’s foremost art experts, Randall Mallory, had quickly turned into a lucrative career, and now Mikah found himself head of a business which made millions, if not billions, a year.

  ‘I would worry that Randall would think I’m stealing his business, but he’s moved more into philanthropic foundations for the arts now; a couple of his daughters-in-law are artists. I’m not that selfless yet, I’d like to make sure my future – and those of my staff – are secure first. Even with the recession, we’ve managed to still make a profit, so we’re very lucky.’

  ‘Rich people still need their toys,’ Harpa quipped, and he grinned.

  ‘Exactly.’

  They’d never gotten around to doing all the tourist things Mikah had promised on that second day, too busy exploring the other’s body, fucking, loving, laughing.

  Now, finally making it out of Mikah’s bedroom and as they sat in one of the seafood restaurants on the waterfront, Harpa told him about the hotel Cosima was remodeling for Arlo. ‘You should see it,’ she raved, ‘God, I wish I had Cos’s eye for that kind of thing.’

  ‘You have other talents,’ Mikah grinned, and as she flushed, he relented, ‘I mean, your food is incredible.’

  Still scarlet, she waved away his compliment. ‘You’ve only had one dish.’

  ‘I can tell.’

  ‘Psychic?’

  ‘Absolutely,’ and they laughed. Mikah took Harpa’s hand, linking his fingers with hers. ‘Look, Harpa, it’s been a while since I connected with someone like I have with you. I’d like to see you exclusively; is that something you would consider?’

  She was charmed by his old-fashioned manner. ‘I would, very much.’

  ‘Good.’

  He drove her back to her apartment and the whistled when he saw the building. ‘Oh, that Arlo Forrester. Should have made the connection.’

  ‘Do you know him?’

  ‘I’ve met him a couple of times, just to say hi. He seems like a good guy.’

  ‘He is, he’s the best. He’s crazy about Cos too, it’s really sweet.’

  ‘If she’s anything like you, I’m not surprised. Can I see you later?’

  Harpa looked doubtful. ‘I’ll be at work until about one a.m.’

  Mikah smiled and leaned over to kiss her softly. ‘I’ll pick you up,’ he murmured against her lips and Harpa felt her stomach dissolve with desire.

  ‘Okay,’ she whispered, closing her eyes and relaxing into the embrace. God, he was intoxicating.

  When she finally made it back to her apartment, her whole body felt different, her mind a delirious, delicious fog of lust and happiness. She showered and changed, then grabbed her cell to call Cosima. The phone rang and rang until it clicked onto voicemail
.

  ‘Hey, sis…it’s me. Have I got some news for you…’

  Jennifer Lyons sat her desk in the office, sending an email and looking up periodically. Cosima had gone to the bathroom at least ten minutes ago and hadn’t come back yet. Jennifer, very fond of the young architect, hoped she wasn’t unwell; Cosima had come out from Tal’s office looking very green. Jennifer wasn’t worried that she’d had words with Tal – no-one ever had a bad word from Tal and Cosima was such a rising star and a hard worker there was no way Tal was unhappy so…

  Pregnant? Maybe, thought Jennifer with a smile, Cosima, and Arlo Forrester were clearly crazy about each other, but it was too soon in their relationship to have that decision to make. Ah, screw it, she thought and got up to seek Cosima out. She pushed open the door of the bathroom and stopped. Cosima’s purse lay on the floor, the contents scattered across the linoleum. Jennifer frowned. ‘Cos? You okay?’

  She checked the stalls, but the bathroom was empty. Her heart began to beat a little faster and when she turned she saw it. The blood on one of the basins. Not a lot, but a smear of it. Oh no… She ran out into the hallway and looked around. The fire escape was open, just a little, she ran to it. It opened out into a wide parking lot, and Jennifer ran out, scanning around, her breath coming in panicked gasps. One of Cosima’s shoes lay abandoned on the asphalt.

  Jennifer ran back in, tears starting to fall down her cheeks, straight to Tal’s office, not bothering to knock. ‘Tal…’ She couldn’t get the words out, and the elderly man shot up from his desk and came around to comfort her.

  ‘What? What is it, dear?’

  Jennifer could not contain her sobs. ‘It’s Cosima…Tal…I think she’s been taken.’

  Arlo remembered every moment from the day his brother Mason had been murdered. The sympathetic policeman who had come to his office. I’m sorry to inform you…

  Even now, all these years later, he still felt that nausea, that clenching of his chest, the shattering grief.

  And now it was happening again. He sat in the back of the police cruiser as they drove him to the station, numb, his mind blanks with terror.

  Cosima was gone. Abducted. Taken from her place of work in broad daylight. Oh God. Oh God. Oh God.

  Every scenario ran through his head, all images of Cosima being murdered, horribly, brutally. He didn’t know how to stop them.

  ‘We’ve called her liaison, Jack Hampton, he’s on his way. He was flying into see her today, did you know that?’

  Arlo shook his head. ‘No, I didn’t. Good, though, he’ll know what to do.’ His voice sounded weird, disconnected like it didn’t belong to him. He wanted to shake himself, yell at himself to wake up, think, and make a plan. The shock was paralyzing.

  At the station, he was given hot coffee and lead to an interview room where a young, good-looking detective sat down with him. Det. David Hanks, dark-haired and blue-eyed studied him.

  ‘Mr. Forrester…can you tell me about the last twenty-four hours with Cosima, please? Obviously, I don’t mean to pry but anything you could tell us that’s relevant. And I’d like to know about this.’

  He handed an iPad to Arlo and Arlo watched the video of the market attack on Cosima. Oh god…he was so stupid – her enemies had found her and so terrified he had been of her having to leave New Orleans, he’d gone along with her plan of not telling Jack. Damn it…

  ‘Yeah, I’d quite like to know about that, myself.’

  The two men turned to see a very grim-faced Jack Hampton staring at Arlo. ‘What the fuck, Arlo? Why the hell wasn’t I informed about this?’

  For a moment, Arlo struggled to find the words then… ‘Cos didn’t want to tell you; she thought you might insist on her leaving.’ He winced; he didn’t want to blame Cosima for that decision, but it was the truth. ‘We both agreed.’

  Jack threw a file down on the table. ‘Well, fucking congratulations, Arlo, that decision has probably gotten her killed.’

  Arlo jerked back in pain. ‘Stop. Please, help me find her.’

  Jack stared at him coldly. David Hanks nodded at the file. ‘What’s that?’

  Jack’s eyes were icy. ‘It’s a collection of the multiple death threats we’ve accumulated for Cosima over the years. The threats have ramped up this year. In that file, Arlo, is the way her enemies intend to kill her, every last detail. I want you to read that file and realize what a dumb fucking mistake you’ve made, what they’ll do or are doing to her right now. Sick fucking stuff. And all because you couldn’t give up screwing her long enough to consider her safety.’

  ‘That’s enough,’ David Hanks stood, his voice hard. ‘I don’t know how things are done in the FBI, Agent, but here we take care of the next of kin.’

  ‘Oh God,’ Arlo said suddenly, ‘Harpa…what the hell am I going to tell Harpa?’

  ‘Nothing,’ Jack said. ‘Nothing yet. We check out every place we think she might have been taken.’ He looked at David. ‘You realize, Miss Malhotra’s abduction and probable murder will be an international incident, yes? The US Government had always supported the family of Arjun Malhotra against terrorism and if we’re found to have dropped the ball, the ramifications of that…’

  ‘Let’s just all cool our boots, okay? One thing at a time. The only thing I care about at this moment is finding Cosima alive and well.’ David Hanks’ manner was calm, and Arlo found himself liking the detective.

  Arlo sighed and closed his eyes. ‘I’ll tell you everything leading up to today,’ he said, then remembered. ‘Jack, there’s something else you should know. Cosima and I are now living together at the hotel. She moved in with me a couple of weeks ago.’

  Jack’s jaw was clenching, the muscles tensed. ‘We need to have a serious talk about what you two think my job is and what I should know.’

  He slammed out of the room and Arlo sighed. ‘Look, detective, I have a whole fleet of security detail that can help you find Cosima.’

  ‘I believe she had two men on her watch, outside the office?’

  Arlo nodded. ‘I know, it seems ineffectual, but she didn’t want to be ‘watched’ all of the time and have them intimidating everyone in the office. The office was deemed safe.’

  ‘But it wasn’t.’

  ‘No. It was shoddy planning on my part, and I can’t forgive myself. We have to walk a fine line between safety and intrusion…’

  ‘Mr. Forrester – Arlo – don’t beat yourself up. The hard truth is, no matter how many bodyguards a person has if someone’s determined to get to them, they will. The abductors took a huge risk taking her in broad daylight at her place of work – at the same time, it was a genius move. No-one would have expected that. It’s like when we send our kids to school – we think they’re protected and safe then some gun nut walks in.’

  Arlo half-smiled. ‘You’re not reassuring me.’

  David sat back down opposite him. ‘I won’t treat you like Agent Hampton but neither will I sugar-coat things. It’s bad.’

  Arlo nodded, his entire frame slumped. ‘I know.’

  ‘I’ll leave you along for a moment.’ He patted Arlo’s shoulder then reached for the file Jack had left.

  ‘No, leave it. I want to see it.’

  David looked doubtful. ‘I think…’

  ‘Please. I need to read it.’

  David nodded. ‘Okay. I’ll give you some space.’

  ‘Thanks.’

  When the door closed, Arlo reached for the file and then hesitated. What horrors lay within those pages? Would he be able to function if he knew what was probably happening to Cosima right now? God…

  He closed his eyes, pinched the bridge of his nose. ‘Cos, I’m so sorry…I love you…please, please be alive, please…’

  And he opened the file and began to read.

  Cosima drifted slowly back into consciousness. She felt the need to throw up but drew in some air to stop herself because she could feel her mouth was taped. Her eyes were also blindfolded, her hands tied behind her, her ank
les bound. She was lying on what she assumed was a bed – it was soft under her body.

  Why aren’t I dead? That had been her first thought, and she wondered again now. She always assumed that if her father’s enemies took her, they’d put a bullet in her head or cut her throat and dump her body somewhere. But this…

  When she had been attacked in the restroom, as the darkness had come, she’d struggled wildly, twisting out of her attacker’s grip only to smash her head on one of the porcelain sinks. Instant blackness. Her head screeched with pain – concussion no doubt. She lay still, realizing she could not hear anything either; her ears felt plugged. The only sense she had fully functioning was her sense of smell, and she breathed in a lungful of air. There was an undercurrent of something; fetid, swampy. She must be near the bayou. So that was their game plan – her body thrown to the alligators like so many other murder victims and Arlo and Harpa would never know what happened to her.

  Suddenly she froze. There was a change in the room, she could sense something – someone. When cold fingers touched her face, she whimpered. Her ears were unplugged.

  ‘Ssh,’ a whispered male voice, gravelly, muffled, disguised. ‘Don’t struggle or I’ll put a bullet in you. Nod your head if you understand.’

  She nodded.

  ‘Good.’ Her abductor stripped the tape away from her mouth, and she gasped. A drinking straw was placed between her teeth. ‘Sip.’

  She did, the swirl of fresh cold water was blissful in her mouth.

  ‘Good girl.’

  He hauled her into a sitting position and took her blindfold off. He was dressed in head to toe black, a balaclava covering his head and a mask, a dumb goat’s head mask. She blinked a couple of times, realized her left eye was sticky with blood. Her abductor – Goaty - brought a bowl of warm water and washcloth and gently washed her face. She saw the water turn red and felt a wave of dizziness.

  ‘It’s a pretty nasty cut, pretty girl. You shouldn’t have fought me so hard.’