by King, Ann
Chapter 4
“What?” Hannah’s face fell. Her heart pounded hard against her rib cage. “Somebody wants me dead?”
“Yes, someone whom you’ve had a relationship with,” Andre Corskovi asserted as he made his way over to Hannah. A muscle twitched in his jaw. His eyes grew dark and dangerous. She wondered whom Andre was angry with? The stalker? Or Hannah? Was he thinking that she was hiding something from him? Lying to him about her past?
“A jealous ex? No. It can’t be,” Hannah shook her head and bit down on her lip, her defenses fired up a notch. Yeah, like she ever had a real boyfriend before Andre—if you could call him her boyfriend. She’d never really been intimate with anyone before! Period.
This was so absurd on many levels.
Sure she’d had some casual group dates to the movies when she was younger. But this was just crazy. Somebody was setting her up, playing a deadly game with her and she wanted to know who it was and why.
She peered out at the beautiful panoramic view of the Toronto skyline through Andre’s enormous ceiling-to-floor windows of his penthouse suite. Tears spilled down her cheeks as she wrapped her arms around her chest, nasal congestion resulted from her tears. She hated sounding stuffy. “You don’t understand, Andre,” Hannah sniffled, sounding more tearful with her stuffed nose than she’d wanted to. “I haven’t had a serious relationship before you. This has to be some mistake.” Her heart was palpitating in her chest and her palms moistened with sweat.
What the hell was going on?
The last twenty-four hours from Vegas to Toronto had been one heck of a wild experience. It was driving her insane. It was as if she were in some nightmare. From a jilted wedding, to losing her precious virginity in the heat of passion to Andre, the man who was supposed to give her away. Hannah’s emotions seemed so out of control right now. Her mind swirled with all kinds of horrible thoughts and scenarios. She racked her brain trying to remember any guys that she’d turn down from dating in the past. Not many asked her out but there were a few. The wrong types of course. Or at least none that she thought were serious about her…the ones who were only interested in getting inside her panties instead of inside her heart.
She quivered uncontrollably. It was as if the chilling action of whoever was doing this to her bore through her entire body.
Talk about adding insult to injury. It wasn’t as if she were a popular kid in school. She’d kept to herself most of the time.
The door knocked and Hannah jumped.
“Don’t be nervous my dear, it’s only room service.” Andre’s cool voice sent another chill down her spine. He offered her a box of tissues that lay on his side table then walked over to the door.
Hannah grabbed a few tissues from the box and dabbed her face before blowing her nose. She knew she must look like hell. Like a raccoon for sure since her mascara wasn’t the expensive non-drip kind. She peeked in the mirror on the wall by the fireplace and continued to dab her face to appear more presentable—not like a weak ass crybaby. Okay, so she got a bit emotional at times but Hannah had been through a lot of shit in her life and she wasn’t about to cave in that easy.
The only thing she had on her mind right now was Andre.
Sexy, tall, powerful Andre.
Why was he being such a jerk about this? Even though he was in a fucked up mood right now, he was so irresistibly fine! She watched his firm ass move as he made his way over to the door. She admired his smooth steps with one hand in his pocket, his tall six foot three frame and dark shiny hair.
Her defenses began to melt again.
She should be pissed off at him right now but somehow she wasn’t. What the hell kind of magic effect did this gorgeous, sinfully sexy man have over her?
Hannah tried to see it from his point of view but she just couldn’t grasp it right now. Somebody was going through a crap load of trouble to make her look bad. And it was working like a bitch! Speaking of bitch, she wasn’t very popular with the snobby girls in her classes, either. Like the cliques who thought they were better than anyone else and made it a point to humiliate anyone who wasn’t wearing the latest tags. They’d always gossip about her and make up stuff that she must be a lesbian or something. She thought they were so psychotic and had way too much time on their hands. They were rich girls for sure but would they have the time of day to screw with her life after high school? Were they behind this crazy surveillance? No. It couldn’t be. It just didn’t make any sense. She had always tried to avoid them like the plague.
So who else could it be? Gustav? His wife? Lance?
Lance?
The name suddenly popped into her mind. How could she have forgotten? He was the captain of the high school football team. A jock and a male whore who boasted about how many girls he’d managed to screw by graduation time. Of course, Hannah wasn’t one of them. He’d tried to ask her out in secret but she turned him down. Did he have an agenda to fuck with her after that—since he couldn’t actually fuck her? His male ego had taken a tumble from the first girl, Hannah, that actually turned him down flat. And she wasn’t even the prettiest girl in school. Okay, that must have screwed with his macho mind. He had issues for sure—everyone knew that but Hannah just wasn’t sure if he was behind all of this.
Shit! Hanna felt as if she were turning into some sort of paranoid princess. That was the last thing she needed.
“Million dollars for your thoughts, Hannah,” Andre’s cool, smooth voice penetrated her thoughts as the butler moved the meal cart into the dining area by the window. The aroma of the brunch was delicious, it made Hannah’s mouth water. The silver tray consisted of freshly baked cinnamon rolls with icing, tasty fruit pastries, fresh strawberries and orange slices and a crisp tossed garden salad.
“Thank you,” Andre said to the butler as he bowed graciously and walked away. The man was dressed in an expensive black suit with a tie.
Holy cow! It must be so nice to live like this every day.
Andre’s dark, sexy eyes turned back to Hannah after they’d seated in the plush dining area of his condo.
Hannah drew in a deep breath, “Isn’t it obvious what I’m thinking, Andre?” she murmured.
“No.”
“Well, I’m not exactly happy about this whole being filmed business and then…” Hannah hesitated. Should she tell him how she felt about his accusing tone of voice?
“Well,” Andre cocked a brow as he picked up a glass of orange juice from the tray and brought it to his lips.
“I feel as if you don’t believe me, Andre. You think I’m lying to you. I don’t like the fact that you don’t trust me.”
Andre placed his glass on the table and leaned back in his chair, the sun gleaming through the window accentuating his strong, beautiful facial features.
“You think I don’t trust you?”
“Yes.”
“Well, my dear,” his tone lowered, “For one thing, if I didn’t trust you, I wouldn’t have you here in my private residence. Very few people know I live here. Secondly,” he continued.
His cell phone buzzed again and he looked at the call display before answering it.
It must be a new development from the case. God, she was stunned by how fast these people worked. In the last twenty-four hours they were able to track down so much information. Everything could be traced these days. Cyber information, digital storage and online records. It was easy for detectives to retrieve information, especially detectives with hacking skills, she guessed. Even items in email trash bins could be easily retrieved. If only people knew.
These guys could pull information at the speed of light. This was all making her head spin. Unfortunately, the same goes for the secret sex video that was lurking somewhere in cyber space waiting to be exposed. She cringed at the thought and tried to sip on her Green tea to calm herself.
Andre remembered how much she loved drinking Green tea. Hmm. It appeared that nothing missed his observations. He probably knew she’d always ordered Green tea from St
arbucks whenever they had a staff coffee run at his office. He wasn’t her direct boss or supervisor but he owned the corporation so it was almost like the same thing, though they rarely crossed paths at work, since they’d known each other during childhood and she really didn’t want anyone knowing their connection. They’d agreed on that point.
“Who’s Elroy James?” Andre asked in a smooth voice after he ended his conversation.
“Elroy James?” Hannah felt a lurch in her stomach. “Andre, I swear to you, I don’t know an Elroy James. Though…”
“Yes,” Andre asked expectantly.
Hannah sighed. “The name doesn’t sound unfamiliar but I don’t think I can place him. Why?”
“Well according to my sources, he registered a while back with a small detective agency.”
“And?” Hannah’s curiosity was even more piqued now.
“And…he paid a huge sum of money to have you tracked.”
“What?” Hannah almost choked on her own saliva. Her heartbeat galloped in her throat.
“Why would he want to have me tracked down?”
“Well, I will know more later but in the meantime I want you to keep a low profile and here,” he said as he handed her a phone he’d retrieved from a side table. “Only make calls from this cell phone.”
“Why?”
“Don’t ask why, Hannah? I can’t tell you at this moment. Only that it is unlikely that anyone will have the technology to tap this phone.”
“Oh?” Hannah stiffened at his tone. “And what about you, Andre?”
“What about me?”
“Will you be able to tap this phone?”
Andre cocked a brow and tilted his head slightly. He looked positively handsome when he wore a trace of sarcasm on his face. “What do you think, Hannah?”
Hannah rolled her eyes and shook her head as she grabbed the phone from Andre. She was being a bit confrontative but who could blame her? Some idiot she barely knew had her bugged and had a revealing sex tape of her with Andre, the best man on the night that should have been her wedding night. If only she knew why?
2.
The next few days went by in a blur. The days melding together as anxiety levels soared within Hannah’s bloodstream. Andre had been quite distant in some ways—or troubled, but he hadn’t quite opened up to her about why. She had enjoyed the sightseeing in Toronto and at Andre’s insistence, she had her own personal shopper who catered to her in Toronto’s elite district in the Yorkville area. She’d heard that Yorkville was one of the most luxurious shopping streets in North America, being compared to New York's Fifth Avenue.
She had also been pampered in a private spa for the wealthy while sipping delicious Strawberry Daiquiri in a tall glass with a yellow umbrella and slice of strawberry. She’d felt as if she were in heaven—or she felt as if she were one of those Hollywood A-list stars and almost felt a pang of guilt for enjoying the luxuries. All her life she’d been working herself hard and taking care of her mother. Luxury and being pampered was so not her thing.
Still, it annoyed her like crazy that Andre was away from her most of the time with all kinds of business meetings—around the clock. She’d spoken to her mother a few times to make sure that she was okay. Thankfully Andre had thought of everything and had twenty-four hour care for her mother with her own private duty nurse and occupational therapist.
Hannah felt so indebted to Andre. But she wanted more than just his kind gestures or his unlimited supply of gold cards and cash. She craved Andre. The man. The lover. Not his worldly possessions. She wanted all of him and nothing less.
Her body hungered for his touch again. Why was he cooling off her all of a sudden? They barely touched in the last few days, literally.
The luxury high rise condominium itself was quite a sight with its million-dollar health spa and gymnasium equipped with the best exercise machines with expensive monitors and flat screen TVs for those who wanted a little distraction while they worked out. Still part of her felt like a prisoner in this glass and concrete paradise. She wasn’t free to return back home. Not yet, anyway. Andre had insisted that she remain in Canada.
Late in the afternoon, Hannah sat on the patio of the rooftop restaurant on the fifth floor overlooking the beautiful blue lake while scrolling through the iPad menu that the hostess had given her. It was so weird moving her fingers on the screen to search through the various tasty entrees to make up her mind on what she felt to eat. She’d never seen iPad menus at restaurants before. Each customer had at least one at their table. This must be how the uber rich lived everyday, she mused. Hannah felt so out of her elements, but tried not to gape at her surroundings.
“Will Mr. Corskovi be joining you today, Miss?” The lovely Asian hostess asked as she placed an elegant pitcher of water on the table. The hostess held a mini iPad in her hand ready to take Hannah’s order.
Hannah’s stomach took a tumble when she realized that she would be dining alone. Again.
Hannah felt resentment and a pinch of humiliation. She’d been dining alone for a few days now. “Oh, um…well, he—”
“Yes, I will.” Andre’s smooth deep voice sliced through as he made his way over to Hannah’s table.
She tried to hide her relief though his silky voice always sent waves through her belly. Again, Andre saved her face.
The hostess bowed gracefully to Andre which puzzled Hannah until she remembered that Andre owned the whole joint. He was the king of this part of the world.
They both decided on Fire-Grilled Lobster, Shrimp and Scallops with a savoury garlic finish, served over rice. The hostess keyed in their meal requests and left the table.
“Did you enjoy your time at the spa?” Andre asked casually as he poured himself a glass of water. The cool breeze whisked through his dark, thick hair. His delicious brown eyes looked more hazel and glowing in the sunlight. He looked positively gorgeous as usual. There it was again that light tingling feeling in the pit of Hannah’s stomach. Then she remembered that she was royally pissed off at him because he’d been so distant these past few days as his men hunted for more information on this Elroy James character who had a potentially scandalous video recording of them ‘going at it’ like animals in the wild.
“Yes,” she said, sounding more curt than she had intended. She tried hard not to growl but he really owed her an explanation. But by the look on his face, he was not in a mood to argue with right now. “Everything okay?” Hannah continued.
“Why shouldn’t it be?” Andre answered scanning the wine menu on the iPad.
“Well…you’ve been a bit distant these last few days.”
“Have I?” He said, his eyes avoiding hers.
“Yes.”
Andre placed the iPad down on the table and reached across to Hannah. “I have a lot on my mind. Okay?”
“Like what, Andre? Why is so hard to open up to me?” She’d wanted to say why was it so hard for men to open up to women in general but was careful not to paint him with a generic brush. The last thing she wanted to do was to arouse his anger. But he was holding back something. Hannah didn’t know how she knew but she just knew. Call it a woman’s intuition, but she felt it deep in her gut. Had she made a mistake believing she could reach Andre emotionally? The man was so closed up.
“Do you really want to know what’s on my mind, Hannah?”
She swallowed hard. Maybe she didn’t.
“Yes,” she finally answered.
“You’re fucking with my head. That’s what’s on my mind. Satisfied?”
“What?” Hannah felt heat rise to her cheeks. She’d never seen Andre like this. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Do you want to know what else my men dug up?”
Hannah’s felt her heart squeeze. “Y-yes.”
“Well…”
“Your order, sir.” The pleasant hostess returned with two delicious trays of juicy lobster, shrimp and scallops and had the waiter at her side set the table. A candlelight shone in the cen
terpiece to create a romantic ambiance as the sun set. Hannah should be feeling cosy right now but she was fuming inside, though the delicious aroma of seafood wafted her nostrils.
Fucking with his head? What about my head? This is just as crazy for me, too.
After the hostess and waiter left the table, Hannah leaned forward, grateful they were seated far from anyone else in their private area of the patio furnished with tall potted green plants. “Well, what did you find, Andre?”
Why in God’s name was he torturing her like this?
Those luscious lips of his that once caressed her body and brought her to dizzying heights of pleasure now delivered chilling words of accusations.
“Why didn’t you tell me, Elroy James was your husband?” Andre asked casually, as he dug into his scallops, not even looking at Hannah.
“What?” Hannah shouted loud enough to turn some heads from other tables on the rooftop patio.
“Do you mind keeping it down, darling?”
“No. I mean, yes, I do mind? What are you talking about, Andre? I’ve never been married!”
“You know, part of me believes you.”
“But?”
“But if that’s the case, then this Elroy James character is far more dangerous than I estimated.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“He shelled out an enormous sum of cash to have you tracked down, claiming that you are his wife and you’d ran off with some money and you’re from a tiny principality in the Mediterranean.”
Heat fired up through Hannah’s bloodline like a volcano erupted. She could not believe her burning ears. This was sounding more crazy by the minute. Her jaw fell open and could not close.
“I don’t believe this.”
“You’d better believe it, Hannah.”
“But who is this guy?”
“I’m going to find out. I’m heading back to New York tomorrow morning.”
“So soon? I thought we’d be here longer.”
“Oh, you will be, Hannah. I will be returning alone. For now.”
