“I’ve been thinking about that. He personally has never been violent with me, but there has always been an implied…threat is the best way to put it. If I didn’t go along with what he planned. I ignored it, but it was always there. I just assumed that’s how the world worked.”
Evan shook his head. “God, that’s so messed up.”
“Right? I’m just figuring that out.” Lukia looked so young at that moment that Evan couldn’t help but take her hand.
“Lu, that’s not how you’re going to live from now on, I swear.”
She smiled at him. “I’m right there with you. Enough is enough. You said you have some reservations? What are the others?”
“A press conference can be edited by the news people. Well, any video can be, I know, but if you get your unedited version out there first, then it’s harder for them to do it. The fewer people get their hands on it before release, the better. If you want to do it, do it through your YouTube site or something like that.”
Lukia nodded slowly. “That’s a good idea…will you help me?”
He stroked his hand down her hair. “Of course. Now, I have to go to talk to Teddy Vale…will you be okay for an hour or two? Vic and his team are here.”
“Of course.” She leaned over and kissed him. “Do what you have to do.”
Evan called Teddy and asked to see him. “Sure thing, kid, but come down to the restaurant. Harper’s, walk past the coffeehouse and hang a left.”
Evan pushed open the doors of the restaurant and was surprised to see Teddy behind the counter. “Hey, Chief, moonlighting?”
Teddy grinned. “More like working on my retirement plan. Bought this place a couple of years ago and been taking lessons from Miguel. He’s an old friend and a chef from Portland. Say hello, Miguel.”
A waving hand was stuck out from the kitchen door and Evan heard a shout of hello. Teddy smiled. “He’s focused. He was in demand in Portland at all the top places, but he wanted a quieter life here. Good man. What can I do for you, kid?”
“I talked to Billy Cyprian and I’m ruling him out. I still have some concerns about Damon Jones, but I don’t know, my gut is telling me Maurice Winston is behind this.”
“The agent?”
Evan nodded. He looked around the restaurant, bathed in strange light, the sky outside a mess of bruised clouds and rain. The windows were running with water, the storm obviously picking up momentum. The walls of the restaurant were covered in photo frames, Evan recognized some of the people in them, Billy, Lukia. Groups of family, friends, good times. The one above the bar that caught his eye was older. Teddy, younger and in uniform.
“You served?”
Teddy nodded. “Stationed in Saigon at the end.”
Evan whistled. “Veteran, Sheriff and chef. Renaissance man.”
Teddy smiled. “Just the way life took me, son. How about you, you do this for love?”
Evan shrugged. “In the family. I was a cop in the city first, but then the F.B.I. recruited me. I’ve worked out of the Portland office for years – this is actually one of the few times I’m not working on the biggest case, the serial killer in the city.” He sighed. “Can I ask you something? Would you have left in the middle of a huge investigation? No matter how it was affecting you?”
Teddy was silent. He got up, swiped a dish cloth from the bar and started to clean it. “Man, I think you did the right thing. Those girls…I’ve seen things, in the war, as a cop and it damn nearly killed me. Evan, if you felt it was right to walk away, then it was right for you. Don’t beat yourself up.”
Evan felt bleak. “But he’s still out there. And now he’s on the move.”
Teddy patted his shoulder. “Why I keep one eye open at night. Listen, I gotta get this place up and running for this evening – sure I can’t make you something?”
Evan shook his head and stood. “No, man, thanks. And thanks for the advice.”
He stepped into the rain, a deluge now, leaving the road slick and the sidewalks flooded. He shrugged his jacket over his head and ran for his cruiser. In the dry, he was about to start the car when he saw Damon Jones leave the station, glance towards the coffee house but then turn away. Evan watched the deputy until he disappeared, then looked over to the coffeehouse himself. He could bring Lukia some of her favorite hot chocolate.
Also, he thought as he grabbed an Americano for himself, he needed to take stock of what had happened between them. He’d acted unprofessionally, yes, but she was under his skin. So vulnerable, so fragile. Being with her, touching her, kissing her had been the most honest thing he’d done in years. When this case is over, he thought, I’m quitting. Who knows where things could go with Lukia – if anything - but I want to at least try.
He drove back to the Fleming compound, feeling lighter, but just as he got out of his car, his cell phone rang.
“Hey, boss.” It was Roscoe. “We think we have a line on the person who sold the video. He’s a lowlife adult film producer down in San Diego, but we’re having a hard time locating him.”
“Does he have a link to Maurice Winston?”
“Unknown, but we’re looking into it. The check you asked for on Deputy Damon James Jones came back clear, by the way, dude’s a boy scout.”
Evan sighed. “Well, thanks, Roscoe. Keep me updated as soon as you know anything. Winston is coming here tomorrow, and I don’t want Ms. Fleming upset by him – or worse.”
“Got it, boss. Later.”
Evan ended the call and looked up to see Lukia at the door, waiting for him, a sweet smile on her face. He loped up the steps to join her. She pulled him inside, out of the way of any prying eyes and kissed him passionately. After they had broken apart, she grinned up at him.
“It’s late. You’re off the clock, agent.”
Evan laughed softly. “I am, am I?”
“Oh yes. Come eat.”
Over steak and salad, she told him she had recorded a statement. “Will you watch it while we eat? I want to get it up and out tonight, but I need your opinion first.”
Evan watched as Lukia cued up the video. She looked vulnerable and very young on camera.
“By now, all of you know that I was attacked in my home on Saturday night. You will have the seen the video of the attack, released by the man who assaulted me and threatened my life. It has become clear to me over the past few days that my increasingly public profile may have factored into this attack. That isn’t how I want my life to be any more. As of this moment, I am no longer an actress or a public figure. Thank you for all your support over the past few years, but it has been on my mind for a while that this isn’t what I want for my career and that being famous is something I neither want nor crave. Thank you for respecting my privacy at this time – I will make no further statement on any matter. Goodbye.”
Lukia looked at Evan, chewing her lip. “Cheesy?”
“Not at all. Classy, yes. Admirable.”
She flushed with pleasure. “Thank you. I feel a weight has been lifted.”
Evan smiled and leaned over to touch her cheek. “I’m glad.”
After dinner, Lukia hesitated before saying, “Let’s sit in the living room, shall we?”
Evan knew it cost her a lot to say that, to want to return to the room where she had been attacked. He took her hand and led her into the room, sitting down on the couch and opening his arms so she could go into them. Lukia was trembling as he held her and he pressed his lips to her temple. “You don’t have to be afraid anymore, little one.”
She looked up at him, tears in her eyes. “Why do I feel like this? Why on the one hand do I feel so broken, but when you’re here, I feel so happy I could die? I’ve never had this experience where I’ve met someone and boom! My heart is yours, already, and that makes me full of joy and scared as hell. I don’t believe in love at first sight, Evan – at least, I didn’t.”
“Same here,” he said gently, “and I think we have to be careful with each other’s hearts.”
L
ukia nodded. “Part of me wonders if this is all because of heightened emotions, so I’m trying not to get too…involved. But I can’t help it, Evan, I want you.”
He pressed his lips to hers, gently at first, then as she responded, the kiss deepened, became almost fevered.
“Take me upstairs,” Lukia moaned against his lips, and in a flash, they were on her bed, tearing each other’s clothes off. Evan kissed her lips, down to her throat, her breasts, her belly and finally he took her clit into his mouth and Lukia gasped, moaning his name as his tongue lashed around the sensitive bud.
“Evan…god…Evan…”
He brought her to a shattering climax then lunged his ram-rod hard cock into her as she screamed his name over and over. They fucked hard and long into the night, becoming almost feral in their desire for each other. Something was forged that night, a deeper connection, as Lukia’s fingernails clawed down Evan’s back and his cock drove deeper and harder into her ready cunt.
Evan woke around three a.m., his big body curved around Lukia’s protectively. What had woken him? Something. Something was wrong, his gut was telling him. He slipped from the bed and retrieved his sidearm, padding silently through the quiet house. He stopped and listened. He would expect to hear Vic’s men patrolling outside, the quiet crackle of their radios, a low murmur of chatter. There was nothing. Evan went down stairs, his weapon raised, his senses on high alert.
“Evan?”
He heard Lukia’s voice from the top of the stairs, calling him softly. “Lukia, go back to bed honey, and lock the door.”
“What’s wrong?”
“Maybe nothing, I don’t know. Go back to the bedroom, sweetheart.”
“Should we…” Her words were broken off as she screamed. “Evan!”
Evan darted towards the stairs only to be knocked sideways by an assailant ramming into him from the side. As he fought off his own attacker, he heard Lukia crying and screaming.
“No, please, don’t!”
Desperate, he punched his attacker out and looked up towards where Lukia was screaming. In horror, he saw her stagger away from her attacker as he lunged at her with a knife and drove it into her belly. She buckled backward, gasping in shock and pain.
“No!” Adrenaline coursed through Evan’s body and he forced his own attacker away, kicking at the man’s throat as he went down then raced up the stairs. Lukia’s attacker was trying to stab her again, but she was fighting back, anger as well as terror and pain on her lovely face.
“Motherfucker!” she screamed at her would-be killer as Evan tackled him away from her. The floor was slippery with her blood as Evan and the attacker fought. Where the hell was Vic and his men? As the thought hit him, he was distracted for a millisecond, and the attacker took advantage. He plunged the knife into Evan’s chest, just under his clavicle and Evan roared with the pain. He heard a gunshot from below and then, as his attacker tried to stab him again, suddenly his head exploded. Behind him, a bleeding wounded Lukia held Evan’s gun in her shaking hands. She sunk the floor, breathing hard. Evan’s chest wound was making him feel woozy, but he reached for Lukia as she starting to pass out, bleeding heavily. They stared at each other for the longest time, knowing they might never see each other again.
“I love you,” Lukia said in a whisper, then Evan saw her eyes close.
“I love you too,” he said and prayed it wasn’t too late for both of them. As he too gave into darkness, he heard voices, familiar voices, as Teddy Vale and his men came rushing into help.
Evan opened his eyes and blinked in the sudden bright light. Hospital. His chest was bandaged, and tubes were sticking out of his arm, but he was alive. His first thought wasn’t for himself, but for the beautiful woman, he felt he had let down.
He felt someone touch his hand. “Hey, kiddo.”
Teddy Vale smiled down at him. “Thought we’d lost you there for a while.”
Evan looked up at him, dread making his blood cold. “Lukia?”
“She’ll be fine, Evan, just fine. She had surgery, same as you, and she’s getting well. You saved her.”
Evan shook his head. “No, Teddy. She saved me.”
Teddy smiled. “Why do I get the feeling that she’ll say the opposite? She cares about you, kid, a lot.”
“Can I see her?”
“I’ll ask. I know the doctors are in with her at the moment. Let me go check.”
“Teddy, before you go…what happened? Who were those guys and what happened to Vic?”
Teddy’s smile faded. “It was Vic and his men,” he said, slowly. “Your friend Roscoe called me when he couldn’t reach you, telling me that he’d identified the men who had sold the video to the gossip sites. He emailed me a photo. I got straight over to yours. Evan…Billy hired them. He hired them to kill Lukia.”
The shock was deep and Evan closed my eyes. “Damn, he’s a good actor.”
“He’s a junkie with mental health issues.” Teddy’s voice was hard. “He fooled us all. The man who attacked you, the one who survived rolled on Billy. Billy didn’t have work commitments. He was still in town, spying on you…man, there’s so much to tell you, I can’t even begin.”
“Where is Billy now?”
“Jail, being assessed by a psychiatrist. He’s in withdrawal too, from heroin. Again, something he was a master of disguising.”
Evan closed his eyes and rubbed them. “But why? Why would he want to kill Lukia?”
Teddy smiled grimly. “She was about to become a huge movie star, and he has been fading for a while. Pure jealousy and he also thought he could milk her death for the publicity.”
“That doesn’t make sense…she told us she was retiring from the limelight, didn’t want it.”
“He was too far in by then, she had to die before someone found out he’d paid to have her attacked. Ever wonder why it was so convenient he wasn’t around when she needed him? And when he found about you two…”
Evan looked alarmed. “I’m sorry?”
Teddy gave a chuckle. “Come on now, kid. I could see it from a mile away. Billy was jealous. You need to look after each other now, you hear?”
Evan nodded, still confused. Billy? Her brother? It didn’t make any sense to him. Teddy patted his arm and got up to go. He went to the door then turned and smiled. “Someone’s here to see you,” he said with a warm chuckle, and then there she was, being escorted by a nurse, slightly bent over, but Lukia, smiling at Evan with all the love in her eyes.
As she was helped into the chair next to his bed, she took his hand, and he gazed at her lovely, pale face. Her eyes were shining at him, but he could see the pain too. She brought his hand up to her mouth and kissed it. “I love you,” she said softly, and Evan smiled.
“I love you too, sweetheart. Are you okay?”
“Physically, yes. Other stuff may take some time, but I’m just so happy you’re okay.”
“I have a good reason to live,” he said, serious now and she nodded.
“Yes, you do. Evan, the way my life has changed, in a week…I can’t begin to tell you how my emotions are in turmoil. But the one thing I am sure of is my feelings for you. I know we’re only just starting to know each other…can it work when people love each other before they really know each other?”
Evan stroked her soft downy cheek. “Baby, I don’t know the answer to that but, if you’re up for it, I’m willing to find out.”
Lukia smiled, her sapphire blue eyes soft with love. “Count me in, handsome. Evan, we have so much to figure out – not least is what the hell is wrong with my brother.”
Evan nodded. “How are you dealing with that?”
“I’m heartbroken,” she said, honestly, her voice cracking. “Everything in my life was a lie. That’s what I feel.”
“No,” Evan shook his head. “No. Only he was a lie. That one person. Teddy Vale isn’t a lie, the town who you love and who loves you, that’s not a lie. I’m not a lie. Just Billy. And for years, he wasn’t a lie, either. We just
have to figure out when he changed, what the trigger was.”
Lukia sighed and didn’t say anything for a while, just stroked Evan’s forehead. “Maurice came to see me,” she said, with a grin. “He was full of crap as usual. Said he forgave me for quitting. I hear he’s trying to sell a story about us to a production company. Yuck. I fired him on the spot and told him to that if he interferes with my life in any way, I’m going to the press. Evan, I just want to be away from here at the moment.”
Evan smiled widely then. “I couldn’t agree more. Your passport up-to-date?”
She gave him a quizzical look. “Yes, why?”
“Because I know of just the most perfectplace we can escape to.”
Epilogue
Two months later…
Tuscany, Italy
“Hey!”
Sailor Creed ran out to hug Evan ad he got out of the car and, when he had introduced them, she hugged Lukia.
“I’m so glad you’ve come,” Sailor said, warmly, tucking her hand under Lukia’s arm. “Evan said you needed to get away from the worldand get some peace…well, I promise you, you’ll find it here.”
The villa was beautiful, the weather sultry and warm and Lukia loved Sailor and Bodhi and their adorable children instantly. After a wonderful home cooked meal, she sat outside with Evan, the Creed’s young son Adamo asleep in her arms, as Evan put his arms around her shoulders. Sailor and Bodhi had sent them out to relax as they cleaned up inside and Lukia sighed happily.
“You know,” Evan said idly, “they have writing schools in Italy too.”
Lukia grinned at him. “They do, don’t they? What are you suggesting, ex-F.B.I? Agent Teal?”
“I’m just saying, ex-superstar actress Fleming, that here, in this country, we could truly be anonymous.”
Lukia Fleming kissed her lover and smiled at him. “Yes, yes, we could.”
Evan stroked Adamo’s head. “And we could have a bunch of these.”
Rockstar Untamed: A Single Dad Virgin Romance Page 136
