by Lisa G Riley
And he fed from her greedily, licking and laving, slurping and sucking until her screams turned into sobs and those into pitiful whimpers begging him to stop…to keep going. So out of it, she only vaguely heard the unbuckling of his belt and the unzipping of his pants before he was on top of her and sliding into her, arousing her enough so that she was soon forgetting her lassitude and wrapping her naked limbs around him and moving in tandem with him as he thrust repeatedly into her. Her world knocked off its axis for the second time that night, she clung to him as she followed him over the precipice.
BRIAN jerked awake when his cell phone rang shrilly from the bedside table. He looked at his watch, noticing it was a little past eleven. They’d been asleep just over an hour. “Who is it?” he said into the phone. He sat up fully alert when he got his answer.
Shortly after hanging up, he reached over a couple of pillows and shook Caroline awake. He didn’t want to, but knew he’d never hear the end of it if he didn’t. “Wake up, Caroline.”
“Hmm? Why?” she asked groggily.
“We have to go home.”
Not as alert as Brian had been a few moments earlier, she nonetheless did sit up. “Okay. Absolutely. Umm…how come?”
“I just got off the phone with the security firm. Someone tried to break into the house. They’ve notified the police and sent a car over.”
Chapter Nine
Caroline took a deep breath and pulled Brian’s dinner jacket a little tighter around her. She’d been in such a rush to dress and leave the hotel, that she’d just put on the same dress she’d worn to her parents’ party. Brian wore his same suit, but without his tie. As did Jae. She tuned into what the police officer was saying as they all stood looking at the side of the house. She bent to pet Motley, who was standing guard at her side. The dog had run out to greet them almost as soon as they’d arrived.
“It looks like the perpetrator got in that way,” the officer told them and pointed to the French doors, which stood ajar and showed a busted lock. “First-rate security system that you have, the silent alarm connected to this door alerted your security company, and they phoned us immediately. My partner and I were patrolling the area, so arrived within minutes -- right before a guard from your security company.”
“So you’ve apprehended him, then?” Brian asked. “Who is it?”
The officer shrugged. “Some sixteen-year-old kid looking to score. He’s in the patrol car, but he’s actually a neighbor of yours of sorts. He lives a couple of blocks away. It doesn’t look like anything was taken. He had nothing on him when we grabbed him and he was barely five feet into the house by then. Your security company’s to be commended for such fast and thorough work. When they called us, they were able to relay which ingress had been breached. If we hadn’t known that, I’m not so certain we’d have caught the kid.”
“We should still go through the house to make sure nothing is missing, right?” Caroline asked.
“Of course, ma’am.”
“Do your people have everything you need?” Brian asked. “Per Topnotch Security policy, someone will be here soon to fix that lock.”
IT was two thirty by the time they were able to go back to bed. They’d filed a police report and waited while two men had fixed the lock on the French doors. Having checked out of the hotel before they left, they were now in their own bed. Brian pulled Caroline into his arms and sighed as she made herself comfortable.
“We’re going to have to change those French doors, I think.”
“Yeah,” he agreed. “That’s a fact. They should be fine until we get back, though. The glass is reinforced and that burglar bar they put across the bottom should work pretty well as a deterrent.”
“I’m glad they caught him before he could take anything or do any real damage,” she said around a jaw-crackling yawn, “but it still sucks to have your property invaded -- in any kind of way.”
“I know,” Brian said as he felt sleep sinking into his bones and begin to pull him under like he was a drowning man. He burrowed into the pillows. “God, I’m exhausted.”
“Me, too,” Caroline murmured.
He’d just drifted off when he heard the dog scratching at the door and whimpering. “Your turn to take her back to her bed,” he said, his limbs feeling like lead and making the fifteen feet spanning the distance from their bed to the door seem like fifteen miles. “I did the last time.”
“No, I did,” Caroline protested, “and besides, I’m too tired to move from this bed.”
“So am I.”
“But I worked so hard today,” she murmured, her words barely audible as she buried her nose in his neck.
“So did I,” Brian argued in a slurred voice as he absently caressed the arm she’d thrown across his chest.
“But, I’m pregnant.” And even though her words were just as slurred as his, he heard the triumph in them.
He lay there, not wanting to move, but knowing he was defeated.
But he guessed she still had some doubt that he’d get up because she reminded him, “With your child.”
Brian playfully pushed her off of him, prompting a laughing protest, “Hey!” But he noticed she wasted no time in curling up with a pillow in his absence.
As he climbed out of bed, he pinched her lightly on the behind. “Don’t think you’ll be able to run me around with that excuse throughout this entire pregnancy.”
Again, her words were slurred, but he distinctly heard the confidence that belied what she actually said: “Of course not, darling.”
***
“IT’S just gorgeous,” Caroline observed as they rode up the long drive to the Grand Hotel. They’d driven seven hours from Chicago to St. Ignace, Michigan and had taken a ferry across Lake Huron to the island. The carriage ride, provided by the hotel, was the last leg of their journey. Caroline found the entire island charming, and felt like they were visiting another world entirely. The island looked like a Victorian village with much of its architecture featuring rounded corners and gabled roofs. Indeed, motorized vehicles were not allowed anywhere on the island. To Caroline, the sight of horse-drawn carriages and bicycles added greatly to the charm of the popular vacation spot. They’d arranged to leave their own cars parked in St. Ignace.
“This is supposed to be the longest front porch in the world, right?” Caroline asked as they disembarked. “Close to seven hundred feet or something?”
“Or something,” Brian agreed.
“It’s six hundred and sixty feet long, to be exact, Mrs. Singleton-Keenan,” Jae corrected.
Caroline looked back at the wood-framed building, thinking it looked like a longer version of the White House, except it had a sloping roof, which was painted green. “It’s lovely,” she murmured, knowing immediately that she’d have to paint it. It was fronted by lush green forestry and she could see the forest looming over it in the back as well. She then remembered that most of the island was preserved as a state park.
“It can take up to two hours for delivery of our luggage,” Brian was saying, “so it probably won’t be here yet. But let’s go check in and get to our new digs, shall we?”
ENTERING the two-story cottage, Brian, Caroline and Jae immediately took a self-directed tour. “Well, if the rest of the place is anything like this,” Caroline began as she slowly did a three-hundred-and-sixty degree turn in the middle of the parlor, “then we’re in for a great stay.” The room was ringed by windows from floor to ceiling and had a soothing white and ocean-blue décor. A mixture of white wicker and white wood pieces were side by side with white sofas and chairs trimmed in the same blue. In the center of the large room, several white columns circled an area of the high ceiling carved out to hold a stunning blue-accented chandelier.
Brian was frowning at all the windows. Too exposed, he thought. He looked at Jae and could tell he was thinking the same thing.
“Of course there’s way too much exposure,” Caroline said as she made a turn around the room, “but it is quite lovely.
”
Brian narrowed his eyes. “We could keep the curtains closed, I suppose,” he suggested, testing her.
Looking thoughtful, she pouted a moment before saying, “I’d rather not, but if that’s what’s best, then of course we’ll do it. Though, I must say, I think we should be living our lives normally. We don’t know if Brickman will figure out where we are or not, but if he does, he might not ever try anything if we’re all shut in, and that would make it even more difficult to catch him.” She sighed, “I mean, I just want this to be over. I want my life back,” she said plaintively, “so if leaving the curtains open will somehow lure him into thinking I’m an easy catch, then I say we go for it.”
Jae spoke up. “She does make a good point.”
“I know,” Brian muttered, “but I don’t have to like it that something that makes sense also increases the danger factor.”
Caroline walked over and patted his arm in consolation. “I’ve got my gun, you’ve got your gun and Jae’s got his gun. We’ll talk to the local police and hotel security, and I think we will have covered all of our bases.”
Brian shook his head, thinking this was one hell of a fix. He’d insisted that Caroline start taking shooting lessons, and even with hating the very sight of a gun, she was a pretty good shot -- good enough to protect herself if that’s what it came down to, which he certainly hoped it wouldn’t. He nodded. “It’s the best we can do for now. Let’s gather up our respective licenses and make that trip to the local police station to let them know what’s going on.”
FROM his position on a wooden bridge, Brian looked out over Lake Huron. The water was a brilliant shimmering blue and only added to the grandeur provided by Arch Rock, a natural perfect limestone arch formed during something called the Nipissing post-glacial period, according to their tour guide. The craggy gray structure covered sparsely with green foliage apparently rose a majestic one hundred and forty-six feet on the lake’s shore and spanned fifty feet across at its widest point. It was the third stop on their carriage tour and the shortest one, which he knew was frustrating Caroline to no end. His gaze found her. She was as close to the arch as she could get without crossing over into the restricted area, and furiously snapping pictures while Jae stood no more than three feet behind her.
It was their first full day on the island and he was glad they’d decided to come. The trip was doing both of them a lot of good. The serenity of the island helped them to relax and slow down. Brickman was never far from his thoughts, but he wasn’t at the forefront, and that was enough for now. He only hoped that the other man would fall for the trap he and Jack had set, and that they’d be seeing him before he saw them. He’d discussed the plan with Caroline and they’d fine-tuned it together, adding a couple of ideas that she’d had. Now all they could do was sit back and wait and hope for the trap to be sprung. “And knowing Brickman’s overlarge ego and his obsessive nature, it will happen,” he mused aloud, “Hopefully.”
Just as the tour guide announced it was time to board the carriages again, Caroline appeared at his side, followed by Jae. “Hey. Get what you wanted?” he asked her.
“I did, but not nearly enough,” she said with a frown as they joined the rest of the tour group to walk back to the carriage. “I think I’ll have to come back on my own, or I should say we will, if you wouldn’t mind.”
“Sure, no problem,” Brian said as he rubbed her back. “Just tell me when.”
“Isn’t there something you’d rather do?” she asked. “So far it’s been all about me -- not that I mind that, you understand, but you should have some fun, too.”
“The tour has been interesting,” Brian said, “but don’t you worry. Jae and I have already discussed this, and we’re going golfing.” Caroline’s face fell and he laughed. “You don’t have to come with us. We decided that we’d each take some time separately so that you’re never alone.”
Her relief was plainly visible. “Oh, okay,” she said as she climbed into the carriage and scooted over on one of the bench seats to make room for them. “When is this happening?”
“Jae prefers to golf in the afternoon, so I’ll go in the morning. I hear the course at the Grand Hotel is pretty awesome.”
Caroline rested her head on his shoulder. “Does that mean you’d consider a picnic with me tomorrow?”
“Anything you want,” Brian said magnanimously. “Maybe you’ll consider going golfing with me in the morning, though,” he said in a lowered tone for her ears only.
She lifted her head and looked at him in confusion. “But you just said…”
Brian had given his head a quick shake, causing her to trail off. “I just think Jae deserves some time to himself, don’t you? He worked this weekend, when usually he’d have the time off. He must be heartily sick of us by now.”
“Oh! I’m sorry I didn’t think of that,” she said, keeping her tone low as well. “Of course I’ll go golfing with you then. But you know I’m not that good at it, primarily because I just find it so darned boring.”
“You’d be better at it,” Brian argued, “if you would just focus on the ball and not how the course is such a perfect forest green or if the sky could be best described as a pale or a bright cerulean.”
Unconcerned, Caroline said, “I am what I am, and if that course is as beautiful as I suspect it is, I’ll not be able to focus on a little boring white ball. In fact,” she began excitedly as she stared ahead in thought, “I think I’ll bring my sketch pad, some charcoal and colored pencils along with us.” She turned back to Brian. “What do you think?”
Brian shook his head in consternation, but said, “If that’s what you want to do, then you should do it.”
She nodded with satisfaction. “Good. Then we’ll both have a good time.”
“That’s the purpose of this trip, sweetheart; a good time.” His attention was caught by something outside the window. “I think we’ve arrived at Fort Mackinac,” he said just as the carriage started climbing a steep incline. The white stone wall was almost blinding in the bright sunlight, he thought as he listened to the tour guide give the history of the fort, which had apparently changed hands four times during its two hundred and twenty year history. Both the British and the Americans had found the strategic spot on a bluff above a park and the Straits of Mackinac irresistible. Brian was looking forward to seeing the reenactments with cannon blasts and rifle fire. He could already see the soldiers marching.
“I can see the excitement in your eyes,” Caroline teased as they disembarked. “You’re practically chomping at the bit.”
Brian smiled. “I confess, I am really looking forward to it.”
“So since we’re going to visit the fort, we should leave the tour here, and after the visit, board another carriage from the tour company, right?”
“Yes, and if there’s room, we can climb on board; if not, we can either walk back to the hotel or call for a taxi.”
“Which will be horse-drawn, of course,” Caroline posited.
“WE should have our picnic down there tomorrow,” Brian said later as they looked down at Marquette Park from their position at the fort. “It’s stunning.”
“Isn’t it?” Caroline agreed wholeheartedly as she too stared down at the park. Ferries and freights chugged along proficiently on the lake, which fronted a lush green park. To her right were white Victorian homes and other buildings peeking out between the abundance of tall trees and shrubbery. “There’s a statue,” she called out as she looked through the binoculars they’d brought. “I’m guessing it’s in homage to the park’s namesake, Father Marquette.” Once again, her fingers itched for a sketchpad, but her camera would do just as well, she thought. “Want to take another look, darling?” she asked Brian and gave him the binoculars.
Brian peered through the binoculars, and said to Jae who had his own set, “Wonder if we can count on our friend Mr. Brickman to live up to predictability.”
Jae shrugged. “One can only hope, sir, but the odds are on our
side, I think. According to Mr. Winthrop, he’s almost sure to try something; his ego will not allow him not to -- if he’s back in Chicago, that is. Mr. Winthrop is hardly ever wrong about these things.”
“I know,” Brian said. “Let’s just hope that the ‘something’ Brickman tries is the ‘something’ we want.”
***
BRICKMAN stood across the street and stared at the Singleton-Keenan home. Jealousy coursed through him like lava, leaving a scorching heat in its wake. It was a beautiful home, he thought angrily, one that he might have chosen for himself had he not been forced to travel the world like some vagabond, never able to settle in one place for more than a few months. The three-story home was elegant, at least a hundred years old and quietly expensive. He wanted to blow it and everything and everyone in it to kingdom come. He said nothing, just stood there and let the anger and jealousy consume him.
“We’re ready when you are, Alex,” Jonathan said quietly from beside him. “Your guy in the security firm should be settled in at his desk by now.”
“I know that,” Brickman responded and his anger was all the more palpable for the softness of his voice. “I’m the one paying the man.” He’d come up with the brilliant idea to infiltrate the security firm the Keenans were using, knowing that everyone had a price. He’d found his sellout in one Monty Graham who was willing to switch his shift at Jack Winthrop’s Topnotch Security and ignore the silent alarm from the Keenan household when Brickman and his team moved in, all for the less-than-princely sum of five thousand dollars. The man had also given him the house’s layout and a schematic of the hotspots for cameras and motion sensors.
“Let’s go,” he ordered, his voice now vibrating with anticipation. He could not wait to see the looks of complete surprise on the house’s inhabitants once they were confronted with him. He’d kill the men and the dog and take the girl. It was as simple as that. As much as he’d like to linger over things, it would have to be short and sweet.
