by Sloan Storm
“Ainsley will be coming also. I know you two don’t exactly get along. I think this would be a great chance for both of you to get to know each other a little better.”
The thought of Ainsley being there didn’t exactly thrill me but I found it hard to resist his invitation. Every word out of his mouth seemed so sincere. On the other hand, Las Vegas was my hometown. While I probably wouldn’t see anyone I knew, if I did, how would I explain being out with another man instead of Todd?
“I won’t take ‘no’ for an answer, Tempest. Once the evening is over, my driver will take you wherever you want to go, even if that’s back to my place.”
He winked at me. “Well?”
I probably could have come up with a ton of reasons why it would make sense for me to say ‘no’, but after what had just happened, every part of me screamed ‘yes’.
“Okay,” I began, leaning away from him and propping myself up on my elbow. “But that doesn’t mean that you’re going to get lucky.”
Dorian reached for me, snatching me with blinding speed. I shrieked, and he yanked me close, bear hugging me against his rock hard body.
“I’m not going to wait until tomorrow to get lucky when I have tonight.”
Still holding me in his grasp, Dorian rolled me over onto my back and crawled on top of me. He lowered his face to mine, our lips mere inches apart.
“Whatever time we have left, I want all of you, and I won’t settle for anything less.”
The next night we arrived at the venue for the show.
Dorian decided to deliver the case on his own, leaving me alone with Ainsley until he arrived just ahead of the performance. I hadn’t seen him since earlier in the day. When he appeared wearing an exquisitely tailored tuxedo, seeing him made my mouth moisten with anticipation.
Oh hell, who am I kidding? I salivated.
He sat down next to me, kissing me on the cheek.
My blood temperature increased, and desire coursed through my veins. How in the hell was I ever going to be free of him? Even though he was willing to let me go, the effect his touch had on my body might have stopped me from going through with it.
After kissing me, he leaned back in his chair.
Ainsley sat on the other side of him. Our eyes met. I swear if she’d had the chance, she would’ve jumped me. After glaring at me for a few seconds, she eventually looked away and leaned back in her seat as well.
I glanced at Dorian. “How did everything go? With the case I mean…”
He reached up and straightened his collar before snapping his arms at the elbow and tugging at the edges of his tuxedo sleeves.
“There were a couple of issues…” He paused, turning and looking at me. “There’s been a change of plans. We had to postpone the exchange.”
“So… what are you saying? What does that mean?”
He shrugged off my question. “Nothing, except that I’ve got to keep you with me until it’s finished. I don’t anticipate it being much longer. A few days, maybe a week.”
Oh my God.
All the feelings I’d been having towards him cooled. Fuck that — they froze. I know I shouldn’t have been suspicious of his motives, but I just couldn’t help myself.
“Did you know this was going to happen?”
“What?” he asked, leaning away from me. “Why would you say something that?”
I shook my head and looked away from him. “Never mind.”
Just then, he reached for my knee and tried to wrap his hand around it. I pulled it away and crossed it over the other.
“It couldn’t be helped, Tempest. Anyway, now isn’t the time to discuss it. The show is about to begin. Just try and have a good time.”
A half an hour later, he and Ainsley seemed to be doing just that, but my quiet anger bubbled over into a simmering rage.
That’s it. I’m done being a pawn in his game.
Right then and there I made up my mind I was going to escape. I’d go to the police and tell them everything. He might have been a lot of things, but he wasn’t above the law. It wouldn’t be long until intermission. That’s when I would do it. In the midst of my decision, Dorian leaned into me, pointing towards the act on stage.
“Can you believe they can do stunts like that with those huge wigs on their heads? Fucking incredible, wow.”
I hadn’t paid any attention to the show.
They could have all been naked and on fire, I wouldn’t have noticed. Frustrated, I followed the line of his finger, shooting a quick glance towards the performer. Pinching my cheek between my teeth, I nodded but didn’t reply, forcing a small smile to my lips instead.
Intermission arrived. This was it. Above all else, I had to stay calm and focused. I didn’t waste a single second.
“I’m going to go to the ladies’ room.” I said, attempting to stand from my seat. “I’ll be back in a few minutes.”
Dorian reached for me, wrapping his fingers around my forearm. I shot a glance in his direction.
“Yes?”
He shook his head. “You know I can’t let you do that.”
I tugged my arm free of his grasp. “What? I have to use the bathroom.”
“You didn’t let me finish… I can’t let you go to the bathroom all alone. Ainsley will go with you.”
Oh, great. I should have seen this coming.
“Why?”
“Yeah,” Ainsley chimed in. “She’s a big girl. She can do it all by herself.”
Dorian raised his hand in the air. “Because I said so. I wasn’t able to make the exchange tonight so I’ll feel more comfortable having the two of you together. That’s the end of the discussion.”
It’s not like Ainsley was thrilled either. I’m sure she saw it as little more than a babysitting assignment given to her by her big brother.
“Don’t stay gone long,” Dorian began, smiling at me and stroking my thigh. “I’m really enjoying your company tonight.”
I wanted to get out of there. I really did. Still, feeling his touch and hearing words like that from his lips, it threw me for a bit of a loop. For a split second, the feelings almost got the best of me. If it hadn’t been for Ainsley distracting me, I might’ve lost my focus.
“Tempest?” she said, snapping her fingers. “Hello?”
Getting up, I ignored her rudeness and smiled at Dorian.
“Thank you for saying that and thank you for inviting me tonight. I won’t be gone long.”
I hated having to say that but what choice did I have? I could only hope I was convincing. Even though the restrooms weren’t far, it felt like the longest walk of my life. The entire way, I reminded myself of what I had to do, and as much as I hated it, I did my best to be friendly and talkative with Ainsley.
That went about as well as I expected. In other words, she was her usual bitchy self. Her behavior reached a new low while we waited in line to use the bathroom where she stood ahead of me.
Turning, she arched an eyebrow at me. “I’m not stupid, you know.”
“Excuse me?”
Once she started to speak, the line for the restroom inched forward.
“You and Dorian? It’s not like I don’t know that the two of you are hooking up.”
It took every ounce of self-control I had not to tell her where to shove her opinion. However, the last thing I could afford to do was get into a huge fight with her.
Still, few things would have made me happier than to tell her to mind her own business. Instead, I exhaled a deep breath, careful to keep the heat burning inside confined to my nostrils and not my tongue.
“What did he say to you?” I asked.
“I’m not going to tell you what I talk about with my brother. If it isn’t obvious by now, I don’t want you here. But for some reason, he does.”
She stopped talking and turned around, facing me fully. Her expression crinkled into a dismissive mask. “Just watch yourself.”
The inside of my lip was getting sore and tender. I don’t think I’d
bitten it that much in one night my entire life. My fingers threatened to curl into fists but at the last instant, someone came out of the stall and Ainsley walked inside, mercifully putting an end to the confrontation.
“Bitch.” I muttered.
I’ll show you.
With that, I turned and left the bathroom, walking as fast as my legs would carry me. Even though I’d ditched her, I worried that I might still see Dorian. Luckily, the exit stairwell wasn’t far from the ladies’ room. I made my way to it and after a long trip down the stairs walked out onto the Strip wondering how long it would be before he came looking.
8
Vanished (Dorian)
I knew Tempest was pissed, but it really was out of my hands.
The good news was even though she’d been angry when I told her the news, it seemed like her mood improved as the night went on. Now if I could just find a way to keep her and Ainsley from scratching each other’s eyes out, I’d really be making some progress. Working on my second gin and tonic, I’d just taken another hit of it when Ainsley reappeared, without Tempest.
What’s worse, Ainsley’s face had a pale hue to it.
Frowning, I looked on either side of my sister before turning my attention to her face. “Where’s Tempest?”
Ainsley’s mouth fell open but no words came out, at least not right away.
“Well?”
She just stood there, shaking her head.
“She was right…” Ainsley stammered. “Right behind me. I mean, we were in line together to use the restroom and…”
“And what?”
“I-I came out of the stall and she was gone.”
I slammed my drink down with a thump. “Gone! What you mean gone?”
She staggered back.
Jumping to my feet, I stared Ainsley straight in the eye. “Are you sure? Is there any way she could still be in the bathroom?”
Ainsley continued to shake her head. “I don’t think so.”
“You don’t think so?” I replied, struggling to keep my anger in check.
“I mean, no. No. I waited and waited. There was almost no one left in there by the time I decided to come back here and tell you.”
“Jesus fucking…”
“No!” she snapped, pointing her finger at me. “You are not going to take this out on me. Do you hear me? I told you she was going to be trouble. I warned you not to do this.”
“Hey! I sent you in there to keep an eye on her and…”
Before I completely lost my shit, I raised both hands in front of my body.
“I don’t want to start a whole thing here. Let’s just go. We don’t have any time to waste. We need to find her and fast.”
Back at the restroom in no time, it was obvious she was long gone. I groaned, looking up towards the ceiling when I happened to notice a camera in one of the corners.
“Elliott!” I said, snapping my fingers.
Ainsley frowned at me. “What about him?”
I pointed up at the camera. “Those will tell us everything we need to know about where Tempest went.”
Swiping my phone on, I called my good friend and owner of the casino, Elliott Parsons.
“Dorian,” he said, answering. “How’s the show?”
“Show’s great. Thanks again for the tickets.”
“My pleasure, what are friends for?”
“It’s funny you should say that…”
Elliott went silent. “Oh man, what’s going on?”
He and I had been friends since our days in the military. We went our separate ways, made our fortunes in completely different fields but we always had a bond.
“I’ve got a situation. It’s private. I’d like to keep it that way.”
“I understand. What do you need from me?”
“I need access to the video camera footage near the ladies’ room just outside the Performance Center.”
“Not a problem. Give me a few minutes to make the call and I’ll take care of it. Nothing illegal?”
“No. Just something I need to get handled.”
He did as promised. Ainsley and I sat in the surveillance room within fifteen minutes, queueing up the footage of the area where she last saw Tempest. While I waited for it to start, I wanted to ram my fist straight through the fucking monitor. I should’ve been more careful. I couldn’t believe that Malcolm had gotten to her. I should have known he had spies out tracking our every move.
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck!
Just the thought of someone else putting their hands on her was almost enough to make me want to tear the whole goddamn casino apart. And that piece of shit, Malcolm… I was literally going to rip him limb from limb.
“How much longer?” I snarled, banging my hand on the desk.
“Dorian!” Ainsley snapped.
I turned away from the display of monitors, jumping up from my seat and taking a few steps towards the other side of the room, trying to calm myself down. Eventually, he got to the timeframe where she vanished.
“It’s ready, sir.” The man operating the system said, turning and looking up at me.
I marched back over to see for myself. At first, we didn’t see Tempest at all, just a crowd of people milling about.
“Oh,” Ainsley began, pointing at the monitor. “There she is.”
I looked in every direction, scanning the room for anyone who looked suspicious closing in on her. Tempest continued to move through the crowd, untouched and unharmed.
Frowning, I looked at my sister. “Do you see anyone after her?”
She shook her head.
Turning my attention to the screen again, I watched Tempest continue to cut and carve her way through the throng of people until she reached the exit for the stairwell.
“What the fuck?” I muttered. “There’s no way… There’s no fucking way.”
But then, no sooner had the words left my lips than I watched in utter disbelief as she pushed the door open and walked through it.
“Cunt.” Ainsley growled. “This had nothing to do with Malcolm at all. That bitch ran off.”
My state of mind shifted. I went from kicking myself to… I don’t even know what. I might have been angry as hell, but just because Malcolm hadn’t had anything to do with her disappearance, it didn’t mean that he wasn’t watching and wasn’t following. I still had to keep him in mind as a threat.
“Good riddance,” Ainsley added.
“Hey,” I began, cutting her off. “That’s enough.”
Reaching in my pocket, I pulled out a stack of bills, tossing a couple hundred to the camera operator.
“Thanks for your time.” I looked at Ainsley. “Let’s go. We’ve got to find her.”
“Why? Just let her go… This is like a gift from heaven and…”
“Shut up!” I snapped. “If you aren’t going to come with me, then go watch the rest of the show or go back to the estate. I really don’t care. But I don’t want to hear another word from you about her. Is that clear?”
Ainsley fumed. “Whatever. I’m leaving.”
Right on cue, she stormed out, leaving me alone in the control room with my thoughts. I couldn’t believe Tempest had been so reckless. Hadn’t she listened to me? Didn’t she believe me? The only way I was going to get any answers to those questions was to find her and to do it fast.
Leaving the control room, I decided to head to the stairwell she’d taken and see where it led for myself.
9
No Escape (Tempest)
I should never have tried to make an escape on foot in an evening gown and high heels. It seemed like it had taken me forever just to get down the stairs and get a few blocks away from the casino. I assumed they wouldn’t be far behind.
To make matters worse, every drunk guy on the street whistled at me and made just about every crude comment imaginable. It wouldn’t bother me under normal circumstances except the last thing I wanted to do was draw any attention to myself. So, instead of telling the dirt balls off, I decided t
o keep my head down and walk as quickly as I could.
Now that I’d accomplished my goal of escaping, I realized I didn’t have any plan about what to do next. I mean, I wanted to go to the police, but it wasn’t like the decision was crystal clear in my mind. It seemed like a good idea earlier but now, all of a sudden, it didn’t.
Would they even believe me?
After all, how likely was it that a billionaire would kidnap a cocktail waitress and hold her hostage? God, with every step I took making a confession like that began to sound more and more idiotic.
My thoughts became clouded, a fog descended on my brain.
All kinds of random ideas started to float around. Maybe I should go to my job. But if I did that, everyone would ask about Todd? Where is he?
Reaching up, I crossed my arms at my chest and began to rub my upper arms with my hands, trying to warm myself. Even though it was ninety degrees out, I couldn’t fight the feeling of a sudden chill coming from the realization Dorian might be right.
Was I crazy to have run away? After all, he really didn’t have any reason to lie to me. What if someone really was after me? It became more and more difficult to get a single breath. In every direction I looked, the faces of strangers worried me.
I wondered if the next person I walked past would grab me and pull me into a dark alley or, a waiting car. Any ability I had to think clearly slipped away. Just then, I saw a couple of cops on bicycles about a block ahead. Thinking about all of these things exhausted me. The stress started to overwhelm me. I approached them.
“Excuse me?” I began, feeling suddenly awkward in my appearance. “Can you tell me where the nearest police station is?”
They exchanged glances. One of the officers looked at me, confusion in his eyes. “Um, a couple of miles from here. Are you okay? Are you hurt?”
I shook my head. “No, I-I’m fine. This isn’t something I want to talk about on the street.”
They basically ignored me, instead wasting my time asking me a bunch of stupid questions. It seemed to me like all of these things could be taking care of at the station. Every second that passed made me grow warier of being discovered.
I couldn’t take it anymore. “Look, please, I’m begging you. Can I just go to the police station? I’ll answer every single question that you have. Please.”
