by Kacey Mark
Or…not.
The mangled door handle greeted her first, though it no longer served most of its purpose. Smashed and folded over itself, it had become impossible to turn.
Not that she needed it.
Fractured shards of wood buckled near the doorframe. She glanced to Adrian’s car.
“Shauna, that you?” Kimmy called from somewhere beyond the gap in the door.
Shauna nudged the door wider. “It’s me. What the hell happened to the door? Are you okay?”
“Fine. And your stupid fiancé, that’s what.”
“Geez…he’s not my fiancé anymore.” Shauna gave Adrian a final wave goodbye, and entered. She picked careful steps through the toppled lamp, scattered papers, and cast-off clothing as she made her way to the kitchen. “What happened?”
She rounded to the kitchen table, to where Kimmy sat with a rather smarmy grin and a cartoon-worthy black eye.
Shauna gasped. “Oh my hell!”
“Yeah, you’re telling me.” She pushed what appeared to be a crumpled eviction notice across the table. “He came back after you left.”
“Let’s get you some ice.” Shauna jerked open the freezer door to find frosted bottles of liquid and cartons of sticky, half-eaten ice cream.
“I used it all. Though most of it fell into my glass.” Kimmy snorted.
“Here.” Shauna handed her a half-bag of frozen peas. “Did you call the cops? We should call the cops.”
Kimmy set the peas aside. She used a tissue to dab the corner of her mouth, where it had cracked and bled. “No cops. I swear to God, the next time I see him, I’ll beat him senseless. Then I’ll be the one arrested. Did he find you, by the way?”
Shauna didn’t answer. She glanced pointedly to the bedroom at the end of the hall. “How much did you see last night?”
Kimmy’s gaze dropped to the table, and she shooed the question away. “Some of it. But your boyfriend busted in. He saw you on the video feed. Then all hell broke loose. I’m real sorry.”
Shauna’s shoulders drooped in defeat. She couldn’t build enough calluses to lecture Kimmy. She’d already been beaten to a pulp. But she had to ask. “Sorry was a start, but why did you send me to the pit?”
“Rewind your face to twenty seconds ago and tell me, was it worth it? When you’re happy, I’m—”
“Does either one of us look happy right now?” she demanded.
Shauna rolled her gaze heavenward when Kimmy bowed her head and tented her fingers under her chin. Here it comes. She knew that mystical, know-it-all gesture anywhere.
“Some women are great; some have greatness thrust upon them. That’s Shakespeare, darling.”
Shauna widened her gaze and her attention flicked around the room, searching for any leftover bits of sanity. “Are you kidding me? You’re supposed to be my friend.”
Kimmy nodded. Mimicking Shauna’s crazy-eyed stare, only this one hit Shauna between the eyes. “Yeah. I am your friend. I sent you there to find something you desperately needed. You found it, didn’t you?”
“Yeah.”
“Well then.” She turned away. “Hate me if you have to—most people do. But there’s no other way I could have set it up.”
“You didn’t need to—”
“But I never would have sent you in there if I thought you would get hurt. I knew you wouldn’t get hurt. I knew he would save you. This is what I do. My job. I align the situation and let the cards fall where they may. Sometimes the outcome is good. Sometimes not so good.”
“Okay, enough with the transcending enlightenment crap. You work for an Internet service provider. That’s your job—”
“You work at a damn make-up counter. Is that who you are?” Kimmy flailed her hands through the air as if striving to grasp the right word. “A brainless…pampered…powder puff?”
Shauna grimaced. “Wow. You’ve really been holding this in.”
Kimmy’s rant elevated. She slapped the table. “I have a black eye and a date tonight.” She pointed a cherry-lacquered finger toward her face. “How the hell am I going to cover this up? Granted. It’s with a boxer. So maybe he’ll understand. But still!”
Kimmy turned away, gesturing to the open window that once framed Adrian’s car. “My point is, this is who we’ve become. Not who we are. You are just as impulsive as I am. I’m just as scared as you.”
No arguing there. Shauna paused. She eased her tone. “So now what?”
Kimmy smiled. “Let your impulsivity take over your fear. You can’t have both. Choose, you must.”
Shauna closed her eyes. “What are you, Yoda now?”
Kimmy sat back in her chair. “I’m Yoda’s wet dream, sweetie. Now go put that sexy little lab coat of yours on and toddle off to work.”
“I gotta say. You’re handling this pretty well, considering.”
Kimmy held up a stopping hand. “That’s because I’m medicated, and I have a plan. Now go. I’ll take care of this mess and call a hit out on your ex.”
Shauna backed away. Kimmy wasn’t serious. She couldn’t be. “We’re talking when I get back,” she clarified.
“Damn right we are. You’ve got some ’splainin’ to do about the hot guy in that car.”
****
“I’m not going to lie to you. The cost isn’t cheap.” The Oracle rubbed the dark grease paint between his thumb and forefinger. Betrayal and disgust seeped through his veins.
He looked to the man’s lowered head. No response apart from the sporadic hitch that interjected the shallow rise and fall of his chest.
Had he passed out again?
“Wakie, wakie.” The Oracle nudged the man’s side as he circled him.
The man flinched to the left, indicating at least slight coherence.
Not many people could doze through a broken rib.
O gestured to the hall, to intermittent drips of water and a dense shadow of soot that marred the ceiling. “I don’t know who let you in. I don’t know why, but in a matter of minutes you’ve done irreparable damage here.”
The Oracle fought to keep his voice pleasant despite the urge to strangle the boy with the trailing end of rope that bound him to the spiked chair. If O lost control, if he evoked violence, the visions might leave him.
For weeks, the chance with Adrian had consumed his fantasies. The skin that stretched over his swollen cock had become raw and inflamed from male prostitutes, rounds of sloppy blowjobs, and ultimately, the persistent stroke of his own fist. All vain attempts to quell an unsurpassable urge. Nothing could compare to the one. Adrian Sands.
O clutched the open cell door with both hands. His palms burned as he squeezed and twisted around the rough metal in an attempt to contain his boiling rage. How could he have missed this fraud? How?
How could he let this man suddenly appear at his side as a trusted servant and undo all he had worked for?
The moment O slipped from his observer role, and become the catalyst, his vision of the future went dark. He knew it would happen, but the urge to take possession of his tantalizing apothecary had been too much to ignore.
Adrian would have become the puppet, and he, the master. Complete submission. An undying loyalty. Pleasure beyond anything the Oracle had known.
He paced the boy with a candy-apple ball gag in his mouth. “You can. Not. Replace what you have stolen from me tonight.”
The prisoner nodded to the contrary.
“Oh, don’t worry. By God, you’re going to try,” the Oracle agreed. “Someone’s going to pay. And right now, it’s you!”
No…no.
O closed his eyes and took several deep breaths through his nose. He allowed his chest to expand full capacity, then released his breath. Slow.
Stay calm. Callllm. Taking anger out on this poor specimen wouldn’t solve anything. Let’s not forget our strength in this moment of unease.
Serenity and pleasure and his solution would come.
The weight of the boy’s stare tugged at O’s attention. He crac
ked an eye open.
The boy’s pale lashes stretched high. His crystal-blue eyes widened with innocence.
O always was a sucker for blue eyes. “Oh, what is it?” he snapped.
A low, unintelligible mumbling sound formed around the ball gag. His voice came deeper than expected. With the cherub curls and all, O expected more of a choirboy tone.
Against his better judgment, O loosened the gag, and slipped the warm, moist ball around the man’s neck. This was safe. He could still strangle him this way.
If he wanted to.
“I can find Adrian Sands. I know where he is,” the boy pleaded.
“So do I.” The Oracle sniffed. “But knowing of his existence doesn’t sway him. He wanted a toy. Now he has his toy. What do I have that he could possibly want now?”
The toy kept Adrian obedient, and she’d walked right into her own cage. This fool had set her free, shifted the gears, and set an entirely new future in play. A blind path. How could O head off a future so uncertain? How could he get back the control he’d lost and mold Adrian to his will again?
“The girl.” The tip of the prisoner’s tongue reached out to inspect the dried blood at the corner of his mouth. “I can get that too.”
O’s attention followed the tender exploration of his tongue until it disappeared. “My, but you’re a willing one, aren’t you? And what makes you so sure?”
“I have connections,” the boy offered. His voice a low rumble, as though hesitant to admit his secret gift.
“Do you now?” O brushed a hand over the man’s hair, careful to avoid the large goose egg at his temple. He savored the tickle of stiff, close-cropped curls that were gelled into perfect formation.
This one didn’t flinch. Not an ounce of repulsion tugged at his full upper lip. Only hesitation and uncertainty stayed him. Then after a moment, he seemed to accept O’s strokes. He leaned into it, just enough to encourage yet hopefully avoid detection.
Charming really. The boy possessed an untouched wonder about him.
The Oracle paused. Frowned.
Images came swift and dirty with this one. The rapid-fire vision of polished leather, and starched shirts slammed into the Oracle’s mind. Almost…military. The authority that shadowed this boy evoked an awareness inside. Another image slammed over the first. The boy was turned away this time. Whether on hands and knees or simply bent over, O couldn’t tell.
Knees sound better. He’d go with that.
The stout, rowing flexion of his shoulders had the tempo of a gold-metal sculling team and all the exertion of a man on the brink of orgasm. His head of golden curls arched back. Heady breaths belabored his mounting pleasure. Then a large male hand clamped down on the boy’s shoulder. Not to stop him, but to encourage and leverage his movement.
The Oracle jerked back from the mental image. Could O’s fantasy have interceded, ruining his concentration?
Never happened before…
It had to be—both the Oracle and the man shared this temptation. Some dark, unspoken knowledge forged a link between the two of them. The man knew O could give him what he needed.
This man with the angelic exterior, he didn’t know the Oracle could detect it. But the angel was prepared to make a most alluring request.
O swallowed the moisture that flooded his mouth.
The angel had privilege and power beyond anything O could hope to gain. A perfect confection of political influence and scandal. This guy enjoyed this domineering, military shadow. A little too much.
The urge to pursue the man’s dark secret couldn’t be ignored. Not in the form of this tender, polished angel all grown-up and eager to please. “But something more than eager,” O murmured. “You can offer me something more, can’t you? Lots more.”
“I…I don’t know what you mean.”
The Oracle started again, willing to let the denial slide.
For now.
“You’re military. Intelligence. Something like that. Something…rather unusual.”
A frightful darkness passed over the man’s crystal-blue eyes, as though caught in a lie and begging forgiveness.
And the charm runs deeper.
The Oracle narrowed his vision. “You’re FBI.”
The angel’s gaze shifted to the door.
“What’s your name?”
His attention jerked back. He shook his head.
O grinned. “But you must.”
“If my family finds out I’m here, they’ll—”
“Don’t worry.” O chided as he stroked the angel’s head. “Don’t you worry. This will be our little secret. Because it’s ours now. You and I.”
Again, how could he let this man suddenly appear at his side? Because it was meant to be. “What fates impose, that men must needs abide,” O murmured. This man belonged here.
The man’s brows furrowed with confusion.
O sighed. If Adrian were here, he’d understand. There weren’t many things in life more delightful than watching Adrian get all broody over Shakespearian quotation.
The Curlicue Prince here made for a pretty mediocre substitute. A helpful distraction. For now. He’d settle for that, but he wasn’t through with Adrian.
“Your name,” O persisted.
“I’m not FBI.”
Changing the subject. That’s cute.
“They contacted me years ago,” the man continued. “When I first met Shauna.”
“Shauna. That’s her name?” O let his arm fall to his side and he turned away. “How neighborly.” The farm-fresh, school-girl type. She managed to snag Adrian’s attention in only a few days’ time. And form that kind of bond? Like an amateur porn plot. A little too convenient. Even for O.
“They started tracking her after college. She has this,” the man searched for the word, “ability of some kind. It only comes out when she gets excited.” His attention flashed to the Oracle and away again. “Turned on, you know? Only I…”
“You couldn’t get her there.”
The naughty angel didn’t respond.
O sighed. It was a pathetic attempt to hide his own delight. “You couldn’t get her there because you, my boy, don’t swing that way.” O pulled his brows together in a look that bled sympathy. Tetchy subject. A tender young thing, in his prime, afraid to admit to the world that he’d rather feel the rigid power and stamina of another man.
“You thought I didn’t notice you stroking yourself earlier tonight.” O leaned over the man’s shoulder. He glanced pointedly to the impressive display of cylindrical flesh that lay between the man’s thighs. “It’s difficult. Keeping it up under such duress.”
The man crossed his legs.
There goes that fearful look again. O fought to suppress the giggle that danced in his chest.
“I thought that if she went too far here, on her own, her secret would come out. If I didn’t…wasn’t here, I’d lose my cut.”
“So what you’re saying is you were hired as the fed’s whore?”
The man raised both brows. “No, not at all.”
Damn. O eclipsed his disappointment with what he hoped was a kind smile.
“They said to get a reaction by whatever means necessary. In a controlled environment. I wasn’t planning to do it this way. I had the perfect plan—”
“Perfect?” The desperation in that word hit O at an odd angle.
“—but things changed. She left me no choice.” The man looked to the floor. “We were set for marriage. I was doing it right, I swear. But the feds…” He shook his head. Crystal blues wide and pleading. “I hit my deadline. I had no choice. They promised if I made it happen, they’d take care of the rest. Shauna’d disappear—I don’t mean killed—”
“‘Course not.”
“They’d fix her. Give her a perfect life somewhere else. Then I—” He swallowed.
“You could be a respectable widower.” The Oracle rocked back and forth on his heels. “I see. An easy out.” O wrinkled his nose. “All that pesky heterosexual peer
pressure.”
“I can get her back for you. I can bring both of them back,” the man insisted.
“What assurance do I have?”
He shrugged. Gaze pinned back to the floor. “I’ll offer you anything. Money, political influence…”
“We’ll explore that.” O nodded his assurance. “We will.” The Oracle had time, plenty of it to seek the full extent of the angel’s generosity, his willingness to comply and abide by the rules.
Because Adrian would be coming back.
This time, he’d never leave.
Chapter Fifteen
Toss the straw hat, the vacation from sanity is over.
Shauna steered her attention away from the mall’s network of sleepy stores, where lights had flickered on and gates lifted half-open in preparation for a new day.
Heartley, the queen of coworkers, sashayed past the rainbow hues of pressed powders and lipstick tubes. “Team meeting time,” she cooed.
“Right.” Shauna squared her shoulders amid the deluge of heel clicks on the glossy tile floor. Time to drag herself, and her giant suitcase of dirty exploits, back to reality.
Too bad no amount of bleach would rid her eyes of what she’d seen last night.
Or how she’d behaved.
Better throw in some holy water and set her mental state for an extra rinse.
She rounded the makeup counter and fell in step with Heartley, and the other day-shifters.
“Late night?” Heartley called over her shoulder.
“Yep.” Her gaze veered to the GNC store at the far end of the building. She could almost catch the faint smell of toasted spice.
Shauna yanked her attention back. She gritted her teeth. Air Nutcase is now boarding aisle A. Get-the-freak onboard.
She snatched a test vial of the monthly special and spritzed it between her breasts. She ignored the raised brow look Heartley shot her and spritzed again for good measure.
If Adrian had kept his usual MO, he’d never approach that store again. Or her.
He wouldn’t promise to see her again. He said he would do his best.
Sounded like the gentlest letdown in the history of ever.
