by Tina Donahue
He and Jake had other thoughts. While she struggled to catch her breath, Toby fumbled with the cuffs, unlocking them finally. Still bleary-eyed, Jake soon had Lea on her back, one hand clamped on her wrists, her legs spread, his hand between them and his tongue in her mouth.
She whimpered in satisfaction, even as her body begged for a bit of peace.
Jake gave her none, his hand and tongue using her without mercy, bringing her to an excruciatingly slow and powerful orgasm until Toby recovered. In less time than before.
Both guys took their turns mounting her missionary, then doggie style. Jake ordered Lea to suck Toby’s cock while his own plowed into her cunt. After that, no part of her was free of their lust. Toby enjoyed her anally twice before he let Jake have his chance.
He entered her narrowest opening with a right that he’d presumed from the start, knowing it was exactly what she wanted.
How much time passed, Lea didn’t want to know. She clung to the present, willingly giving herself even when she was too weary to move.
At length, Jake and Toby slowed down, their heavy sighs telling Lea they were fighting sleep. She held out her arms to them, too tired to form words.
Jake lay to her right, Toby to her left, their hands on her breasts, their mouths near her throat.
In that position, they finally gave in, allowing darkness and peace to claim them.
Chapter Twelve
A distant scream awakened Jake.
Lea?
Had Cubrero found her?
Bolting to a sitting position, Jake stared at the moon’s ashy light pouring through the windows, creating ominous shadows in the room. On a rough breath, he looked down, surprised to see Lea next to him.
Her features were slack with sleep, her head on Toby’s shoulder, his fingers resting on the cleft between her legs.
Jake didn’t get it. Had he been dreaming?
He sagged to the mattress and froze with the sound, a thin shriek his slumbering brain had mistaken for a scream. Though familiar, he couldn’t quite place the noise. Was it an alarm? Had Toby set one of the clocks downstairs to awaken them in time for Lea’s flight? It couldn’t be that time already, could it?
The shrill squeal stopped for a few seconds and started again.
What in the fuck was—oh shit. His cellphone was ringing. Quickly, Jake left the bed and hurried downstairs to the family room where he’d left his clothes days before. The darkness was more pronounced here. Even the lights displaying the artwork were off. He rushed across the space anyway, ramming his knee into an end table and stubbing his toe on one of the chair’s legs.
“God damn—fuck.” He fell to his knees, following the sound to his clothing, finding and opening his phone. “Gabriel.”
“What took you so long to answer?” Nunez barked. “What’s wrong?”
Jake sat cross-legged on the hardwood floor and did his best not to sound sleepy or breathless with pain. “Nothing. I was outside checking the periphery of the building, securing it, when I heard the call. I had to get back inside.”
“You don’t carry the phone with you?” Nunez snapped. “Where’s Quinn?”
An image of Toby’s fingers on Lea’s slit filled Jake’s mind. “He’s still outside making certain everything’s all right.”
“Call him back in. You have to leave with the woman now.”
What? “Why?” Jake grabbed his watch from the cocktail table, angling its face toward the windows, the few threads of moonlight filtering past the monstrous pines. It wasn’t even ten o’clock. “Has the flight been pushed up?”
“No. But you need to get her out of there.”
Jake’s stomach rolled. His mind screamed why?
Nunez told Jake what he hadn’t expected and didn’t want to hear…what he would have to tell Toby and eventually Lea.
Oh God no, not her.
His head hung between his shoulders. He could barely breathe, but managed to speak with surprising authority the moment Nunez was quiet. “We’ll have her at the airport as quickly as we can.”
“Make certain you do.”
Jake squeezed his cellphone, wanting to break it, needing to hurt something to blow off his rage and worry. No time for that now, not if he wanted to keep Lea safe. He moved on instinct, gathering her, his and Toby’s clothes, making certain he also had his and Toby’s weapons. Until this moment, Jake hadn’t recalled leaving his gun down here. A stupid move on his part, he’d readily admit. His only excuse was that this place had a state-of-the-art alarm system as complicated as the upstairs shower. The entire estate was so fucking secluded and safe.
Or so he hoped.
“Cubrero’s been trying to find out where you are,” Nunez had said. “He may have already figured it out.”
How was that possible, even with an informer in the police department? The detective who’d been making inquiries about him and Toby couldn’t have discovered that Toby was Rebecca Holmes’ son. She’d never advertised the fact. No one had ever published pictures of them together—she’d considered it bad for her career to even have a child. She was a fucking has-been star when she’d died, barely noted by the media. Attorneys settled her estate without fanfare, putting it into some kind of trust, not Toby’s name. This place was as off the charts as they could have hoped, the perfect place to protect Lea.
In the bedroom, Jake put the clothing on a leather chair. He kept Toby’s holster slung over his shoulder, took his own gun and went to the bed.
Toby awoke instantly at Jake tapping his arm. Taking in the weapons, he followed Jake into the bathroom and squinted at the lights coming on.
“What’s going on?” he asked quietly.
“We have to leave now.” Jake handed Toby his holster. “A detective in the police department has been asking a lot of questions, doing research on you and me. The only reason he would is to feed Cubrero information about us.”
All the color drained from Toby’s face. “That’s not possible. Cubrero couldn’t possibly know who we are.”
“He was at The Second Circle when we were, Toby. He saw us.”
“How can you know that?”
“He killed Danielle.”
Toby’s features went slack.
Jake continued, relaying what Nunez had told him. “Her apartment manager found her this afternoon when the service came to spray for insects. She had a few days off from the club. No one had been looking for her. The only one who could have done this, the only one with a reason, was Cubrero. He probably thought she had information about Lea that he could use.”
“Oh shit,” Toby said. “When we first got here, Lea’s cellphone rang. She said the call was from Danielle.”
Jake’s stomach rolled again. “We have to get her out of here now.”
“What are we going to do about this, about telling her?” Toby grabbed Jake’s arm. “I don’t want her hurt.”
“You think I do?” He pulled away from the man. “We don’t say anything until we have to.”
“You mean at the airport? We’re going to tell her then and just leave?”
“No—hell, I don’t know. We’ll figure something out.”
“What? Fuck, we have to tell her about Danielle, there’s no choice.” Toby looked ill. “It’s just a matter of where and—” He stopped abruptly.
Jake turned.
Lea stood in the bathroom doorway, her eyes wide.
Oh shit. How much had she heard? Jake didn’t want to know. He went to her, wrapping his fingers around her upper arm. “We have to leave now. Your clothes are on the bedroom chair. Come on.”
Yanking free of him, she stepped away. “Why were you two talking about Danielle? What about her?”
Toby joined them. “Lea—”
Jake cut him off. “We have to go now.”
She frowned. “To see Danielle?”
“No.” Jake tried to maintain his calm. To get her the fuck out of here without any more questions he didn’t want to answer, didn’t know how to answ
er.
Lea wasn’t having it. “Then why were you talking about her?” She turned to Toby. “You said—we have to tell her about Danielle, there’s no choice. I heard you. What’s going on? What happened?”
This time, Toby said nothing.
“Tell me,” Lea snapped.
It killed Jake to bring her even the slightest bit of pain, but he had no other options now. No way would she back down. “Danielle’s dead, Lea. We believe Cubrero murdered her.”
She stared. Jake’s words kept echoing in her mind, but didn’t quite register.
“I’m so sorry,” he said.
Lea was about to ask why, but did not, seeing the truth on his and Toby’s faces. Danielle was really dead. Cubrero had really murdered her.
All of the air whooshed from Lea’s lungs. Her body went hot, then cold.
Jake reached for her.
She stepped back.
“We didn’t want to have to tell you like this,” Toby said.
Lea glanced past him at the bathroom, recalling the pleasure she’d experienced in here a short while before, trying to make sense of what was happening now.
Danielle’s dead.
Nooooo. That wasn’t possible. They had to be mistaken, lying, something.
“You’re wrong,” she said. “She’s only twenty-five. People that young don’t die.”
Jake moved closer.
“They don’t!” she shouted at him. “She only has three semesters to go before getting her degree. She had such a shitty childhood, but she’s digging herself out of it. She’s going to work at one of the major banks and run the damn place before she hits thirty-five. At thirty, she’s going to marry a guy she loves. I’m going to be her maid-of-honor and godmother to her kids. We have it all planned out.”
Jake wrapped his arm around her, followed by Toby.
Lea couldn’t stop trembling. Her heart ached so badly, she was unable to catch her breath. Her legs started to give out.
“I have her,” Jake said. With his arm on her waist, he supported Lea, bringing her into the bedroom. “I’m sorry, but you have to get dressed,” he said. “We have to leave. One of the detectives in the police department has been feeding Cubrero information. It’s not likely, but it’s not impossible that Cubrero knows about this place and is headed here now.”
To do what, kill Jake and Toby as he had Danielle so he could finally get to her? Lea dug her fingers into Jake’s wrist.
“You don’t have to worry,” he said. “You’ll be safe as long as we leave.”
“I don’t care about me,” she cried, her tears finally coming, streaming down her face. She’d lost Danielle and any hope of a future. All that mattered now was Jake and Toby getting out of this alive. “I don’t want you guys getting hurt because of me.”
“We won’t,” Toby said. He pulled on his shirt and briefs. “Go on, get dressed. Please.”
Mechanically, Lea pulled on her clothes, barely listening to Toby and Jake discussing their plans and the departure. Her mind wandered back to Phoenix, Danielle’s apartment. Is that where the cops had found her? Had Cubrero brutalized her as he had his other victims?
Please God no, not that. Danielle couldn’t have been in pain or afraid when she died. Life had been so fucking unkind to her, she deserved some measure of compassion. To have gone quickly, too surprised to react or to realize that all of her dreams hadn’t come true…would never come true as she’d hoped.
Lea pressed her hand over her mouth, muffling her wrenching sob.
Jake looked over. So did Toby. They appeared as helpless as Lea felt. She turned away, not wanting them to feel burdened by her grief.
Toby cleared his throat and spoke quietly. “I have to get my laptop. It’s in the kitchen, I think. Did you leave anything of yours downstairs?”
“I don’t think so,” Jake said. “Go on, get your stuff. Lea and I will be down there in a few minutes.”
Toby stopped at her side.
She murmured, “I’m all right.”
He turned her around and folded her within his embrace. “We should have protected her, Lea. We should have known. It’s our fault.”
“No it’s not.” She hugged him hard. “Don’t ever say that. If it hadn’t been for me, none of this would have happened. Danielle wouldn’t be…” Lea’s throat closed with new tears, not allowing her to continue.
Toby kissed the top of her head, squeezed her one last time and left.
Jake crossed the room. “None of this is your fault, Lea. You have to believe that. Decisions were made by your father when you were a child. Nothing you could have done would have prevented this. It was always on his head, not yours.”
He sounded so composed, yet appeared so sad. Was this how he’d been during those years when he’d tried to win his stepfather’s love? Reasoning things out with his mind while his heart continued to long for what could never be? Caressing the side of his face, Lea rested her thumb on his bottom lip. “Keep safe, please. Make certain nothing happens to you or Toby.”
Jake yanked her into his arms, holding Lea so tightly she couldn’t breathe. She clung to him as fiercely, knowing this would be their last chance. Once they were at their final destination, his and Toby’s colleagues would be there, giving them no chance to express their love.
Weeping, Lea dug her fingers into his shirt. He kissed her throat, her cheek, then sought her mouth. Just as their lips touched, his cellphone rang.
He swore.
She asked, “Who is it? Is it bad?”
Jake put up his hand for her to be quiet and answered the call. “Gabriel.”
Lea bit her bottom lip as he listened.
“Yes, that’s right,” he said. “Wait, give me a sec.” Holding the phone to his chest, he whispered, “It’s all right. Nothing bad. Go on downstairs. I’ll meet you and Toby there when I’m through with this call.”
Halfway down the stairs, Lea saw light streaming from the kitchen. More came from the maid’s room where Toby and Jake had provided so much joy. Given the sounds, Toby was in there gathering his stuff so they could leave.
Swiping tears from her eyes, Lea crossed the family room, searching for her backpack. The last she recalled, she’d left it on one of the chairs. All of them were empty. So were the sofas. She turned slowly, taking everything in, finally spotting the backpack on one of the heavy Spanish credenzas against the wall.
When had she put it there? She couldn’t remember. From the moment they’d arrived, she’d focused on satisfaction, having the best time she could, forgetting the future, living in the present.
Even that had been taken from her.
Fighting new tears, Lea dug through her things—a comb, lipstick, her apartment and car keys, a grocery list, her cellphone. She looked at the device, wondering when Jake had returned it. After he’d found out about Danielle, knowing she couldn’t call her friend ever again?
Lea’s bottom lip trembled. Gripping the edge of the furniture, she lowered her face, not wanting to leave this place, knowing she had no choice. She belonged nowhere now. Again. Her heritage making certain she’d never share her life with anyone.
A tear hit her hand, rolling into the phone. She ran her thumb over the keypad, pausing on the button used to take pictures. Of course, why hadn’t she thought of it earlier? Before they left, she’d get a photo of Jake and Toby. They might not want her to take it, but she’d argue them down. The picture would be hers to treasure in the months and years to come. A small part of them for her to remember.
Lea’s hand trembled as she checked the phone’s battery. Shit. It was almost dead. She dug into her backpack for the charger. Surely she’d brought it with her to The Second Circle. She couldn’t have left it at—
Her thoughts halted with a rattling sound to her left.
Lea stared at the front door, slightly ajar. Frowning, she listened. There were no more sounds coming from the maid’s room. Had Toby gone from there to the outside without her hearing or seeing him?
>
Or had Jake come downstairs and moved past quietly, not wanting to interrupt her weeping?
Lea glanced at the stairway, then felt something tugging her hair. Lifting her hand, she touched warm skin. Toby’s? Jake’s?
Her mouth opened on a gasp at her hair being twisted and held tight, the press of cold metal at her throat, warm breath on her ear.
“Scream and your friends will die,” a man whispered. His words lilted slightly with his Spanish accent.
Raw terror prickled Lea’s skin.
It’s not impossible that Cubrero knows about this place and is headed here now, Jake had said.
How had he gotten inside? Had he broken the lock on the front door and simply strolled in here? Why hadn’t the alarm gone off? Hadn’t Toby set it?
With sickening speed, Lea realized he must have forgotten about the estate’s security once he’d joined her and Jake at the pool that first day. After what happened out there, none of them had been thinking clearly, and all because of her. She’d encouraged both men to behave as hedonistically as possible, ignoring the truth, how single-minded and sadistic Cubrero could be.
“I’ll go with you, wherever you want,” she whispered. “I won’t make a sound. They won’t know I’m gone. Please don’t hurt them.”
“Before I’m finished with you, you’ll beg me for a lot more than that.”
Lea’s eyes filled, but she said no more. Pleading was futile now. Her life had come full circle and would end as horrifically as Cubrero’s other victims. As Danielle’s had. Lea held back a sob. She hadn’t been able to protect her friend, but she’d do everything she could to keep Jake or Toby from coming to harm.
With his hand gripping her hair, Cubrero shoved Lea toward the front door.
Footfalls sounded in the hall leading to the maid’s room.
Cubrero stopped and yanked her back.
No. Oh God no. Lea’s mind screamed for Toby to stay where he was, not to come out here.
