The Midnight Club

by Love, Michelle

Over the last four weeks, she had been training hard every day with Jason Meeks, an instructor who Alex knew. She was enjoying the physicality of it and her body changing as she got fitter and leaner, but there was something else, something she hadn’t shared with Maceo or Alex.

  Jason himself had appeared friendly when she started working with him. They would go for long hikes in the woods, but it wasn’t until a few days ago that she’d noticed his changing attitude. He began to flirt, complimenting her on her body in a way that made her uncomfortable. What was the word? she thought. Intimate. He pretended there was an intimacy between them that didn’t exist as far as she was concerned.

  Then, yesterday, she had been late to the rendezvous point. Tired, cranky, and hormonal, she had overslept, and the aspirin she’d taken for cramps hadn’t kicked in yet. She pulled her car alongside his at the parking lot of the trail. He stood, his hands on his hips, staring at her car.

  She sat in the car for a few minutes trying to gather herself. It was obvious Jason was waiting for her. She rubbed at her eyes and dropped her head into her hands, frustrated. “Five. Minutes. To. Myself,” she intoned softly, her words muffled.

  She gave a yelp as the car door was yanked openly suddenly.

  “What the hell are you doing?” Jason’s face was red with anger “I was worried sick about you.”

  Her annoyance flooded over, and she slid from the car and slammed the door shut behind her. Ignoring him, she stomped into the small hut where the bathrooms were, trying to slam the door in his face. He caught it, though, following her, and she turned on him.

  “I don’t answer to you, Jason. I don’t answer to anyone. Now, if you don’t mind …”

  He stepped toward her, and she caught her breath as she saw the rage in his face. She swallowed and turned away, but his hand was on her shoulder then, gripping, spinning her around.

  “You don’t talk to me like that, baby girl, do you understand? After all, I’ve done for you … is it too much to ask for a little common courtesy?”

  Ori felt a jolt of dread as she looked into his handsome yet angry face. Suddenly Jason blinked, stepped away from her, and held his hands up.

  “God … I’m sorry, Ori. That was totally inappropriate. Please forgive me. I was worried sick about you, and I took it out on you. Please, I’m sorry.”

  He looked so genuine contrite that Ori’s anger seeped away. “It’s okay,” she said rather stiffly. “Look, shall we leave it for today?”

  Jason sighed. “If you’d like, but I’m willing to put this behind us and carry on if you are?”

  Ori considered. Her stomach cramps were telling her to go back to bed, but she knew that if she carried on, the exercise would be good for her.

  And, indeed, it proved so as they ran, walked, and practiced their moves. She had to admit, she loved training out in the open, no matter how cold it was. She felt like she was becoming strong and hardier. Jason didn’t mention his outburst again, but she knew she would never feel comfortable with him.

  So now, when she had the chance to say something to Maceo or Alex, she stayed silent. Jason Meeks was the least of her problems right now. Maceo’s passport had still not been returned by the DA, and now Maceo’s lawyer was getting involved, making noise. She and Maceo wanted desperately to go home to Italy; she missed her work, Lucia, all her friends, along with their life together in Venice, away from all this crap. She had a constant dread that she would never see that life again, that it would be taken from her one way or another.

  She and Maceo had been trying to find a suitable bodyguard who wouldn’t mind traveling around the world, but it had been a hard job. Alex assured them that while they were living under his roof, they were safe.

  Ori pulled away from Maceo and went to use the shower. A few minutes later, he joined her in there, sliding his arms around her wet body and turning her to face him. The spray pounded down on them, flattening his dark curls, and she grinned. Maceo’s eyes were serious, though.

  “Are you okay?”

  She nodded, smoothing his wet hair back from his face, his glorious face. She loved how one moment he could look like a teenager, the next, like a dangerous man, his eyes growing dark and brooding.

  “You are so darn sexy,” she said to him now, and he smiled.

  “Don’t try and distract me, mio caro, I’m concerned.” Nevertheless, he pressed his lips to her throat. Ori leaned into his big, solid body, skin on skin. This is the place I feel safest in the world. She could feel his cock ramrod hard against her belly and she sank to her knees and took him into her mouth, sweeping her tongue across the sensitive tip, hearing Maceo’s soft groan. She fisted the root of him as she ran her tongue gently up and down the shaft, cupping his balls in her hands, gently massaging them. As she could feel him get close, she dug her fingernails into his buttocks and made him come in her mouth, swallowing him down.

  Maceo lifted her up, kissing her with a fire that made her heart pound and her sex dampen. The shower water pounded down on them, but they ignored it as he picked her up, and slid into her, fucking her against the cool tile of the bathroom until she was sobbing with pleasure. She bit down on his shoulder as she came and he laughed, his arms tight around her, steadying her as she trembled.

  Laughing, they dried off and dressed, stopping to kiss every now and again. Maceo eyed her workout gear appreciatively. It skimmed her curves, the Lycra fabric accentuating the shape of her breasts, her hips, and her belly. “You know, I could get used to this look,” Maceo said, a wicked glint in his eye, “Just don’t get too skinny, will you?”

  Ori laughed. “Never a chance of that, my love.”

  Maceo’s cellphone rang. “Oh, hey, Kate. Yup? God that is good news, thank you. Yeah. Courier will be fine. I can’t thank you enough.”

  He gave Ori a thumbs-up and mouthed passport’ to her. Ori felt a flood of relief. They could go home at last.

  They told Alex the news, and Ori sensed he was slightly disappointed. She felt a rush of fondness for him; he was obviously lonely. “You could always come with us,” she said to him. “It might do you good to get away from here for a while.”

  Alex smiled gratefully at her. “You’re very sweet. You’ll stay another week?”

  Maceo looked at Ori, who nodded. “Of course, my friend, we would be happy to.”

  Ori looked out of the window. Jason was picking her up today, and she saw him coming up the driveway. She pushed the little bit of unease she felt to the back of her mind and kissed Maceo goodbye.

  Shiloh and Benoit waited for the doctor, their hearts sinking. “Hey,” he said softly, “if it’s bad news, we can try again.”

  A nurse poked her head in the door. “The doctor is running behind. I’m so sorry, but he’ll be another couple of hours.”

  Shiloh nodded, but Benoit let out a long breath, obviously irritated. Shiloh smoothed his hair.

  “You look exhausted.” She looked around him. “Seth, help me out here, get him to get some sleep.”

  Seth had been their rock over the last few days. The doctors had operated on Shiloh, trying to save the baby, but it was a long shot, they told her. Not wanting to invade their privacy, Seth moved out of the gloom of the corner. “She’s right, Benoit. You’ve been awake for three days straight.”

  Benoit looked mutinous for a moment … then relented. “Okay, look, I’ll grab an hour in the room next door. They had a cot set up in there for us. Are you sure you’ll be okay?”

  She put her hands on his face and pulled it to her.

  “I’ll be fine, baby. Go sleep.” She kissed his eyelids. “Sleep.”

  Benoit kissed her, then stood. “You wake me if anything, anything, happens.” He said this to Seth, who nodded.

  “Go, Benoit. I’ll be here. With Shiloh.” Seth smiled at her. Benoit hesitated, then moved to the door. With one last look back at her, he disappeared into the next room, leaving the door ajar. Shiloh saw this and rolled her eyes at Seth. He stifled a laugh.

 
“Can I get you anything, Shiloh?”

  “Some hot tea would be lovely, if it’s not too much trouble. Thank you, Seth.”

  The doctor came eventually. “It’s good news,” he smiled at them. Shiloh burst into tears, and Benoit looked vastly relieved. “I want to keep Shiloh in for a couple of days, but then you should be good to go.”

  “Mon Dieu, mon Dieu.” Benoit rubbed his face then hugged Shiloh tightly. “I’ve never been so scared in my life.”

  Seth chuckled. “I’m intruding on your family time; I’ll give you some space.”

  As he left, Benoit hugged him. “Thank you for being here.”

  “Anytime.”

  Benoit and Shiloh sat and talked about their future, their child, for a time, then Shiloh met his gaze. “Someone tried to kill us.”

  “Yes. Don’t worry. Seth and I have already set things in motion. Seth talked to Maceo, to Lisander and Alex. We’re mobilizing. This ends now, if it takes every penny we have, every resource available. We’re going to make damn sure we’re safe. All of us.”

  Ori had been on edge since Jason had picked her up, and now she felt sick. He wasn’t driving her to their usual work-out spot; she realized this as they passed the turning. “Where are we going?”

  Jason smiled at her, and she couldn’t detect any menace behind it. “A surprise. Somewhere I think you might enjoy.”

  From what Ori could make out, they were going deeper into the forest. As Jason pulled the car over, he started talking. “This is my favorite place to run and walk. It’s gorgeous. I guarantee you’ll love it.”

  There was no one else around, and the forest was quiet. Ori felt her muscles tense as they walked along a path, then, as they started to run, she wondered if it had been a good idea after yesterday’s debacle.

  An hour later, they were deep inside the forest when Jason stopped, offering a bottle of water. “I wanted to talk to you, Ori, without anyone around.”

  Oh God, no. She had been right; this was a plan. Jason studied her. “You have nothing to be afraid of with me, Ori, I swear to God. It’s Alex I wanted to talk about.”

  Ori was astonished. “Alex? Why on earth would you need to talk about Alex?”

  “I’ve known Alex a lot longer than you have,” Jason said gently, “and I knew him with Viola. I knew Viola pretty well … Ori, you and she could be sisters.”

  “So people have kept telling me,” Ori couldn’t help but be a little irritated at being reminded of her resemblance to a dead woman over and over. “This is not news.”

  “Is Alex being in love with you news?”

  Ori rolled her eyes. “Alex is not in love with me, Jason. He might have a little crush, but love? I don’t think so.”

  Jason was quiet for a long moment. “Then … if it’s not love, it’s obsession.”

  “Oh, come on!’ Ori yelled, throwing her hands up.

  “Look, he’s my friend, but you should know something. Alex was extremely possessive about Viola. Extreme to the point of violence.”

  “Stop it.”

  “I saw the bruises, Ori.”

  She turned on him. “Why? Why are you saying this shit?”

  “Because I care. I care what happens to you.”

  She held her hands up. “Please, please tell me you’re kidding, or this is some deluded way of getting me to—.”

  “Viola slept with Maceo.”

  He could not have said anything else that would have made her shut down as quickly. No. No, Maceo would have told her … she put her hands on her face. “Why are you doing this?”

  “I have no proof of this, but I think Alex is dangerous, and I think he wants revenge. He knows about Viola and Maceo.”

  Ori was quiet for a moment and then yelled “Fuck!’ loud and long into the silence of the forest.

  “This is why I wanted to tell you out here. And to answer your question, yeah. I’m attracted to you, and I think we have a hell of a lot more in common than that bunch of rich bastards.” Jason stepped closer to her and Ori backed up into a tree. Jason trapped her in the cage of his arms. Ori tried to step away, but he grabbed her. “Don’t fight this, Ori. We belong together.”

  “Oh, for fuck’s sake...” She pushed her way free and started to backtrack along the trail, fury burning inside of her. “We’re going home. Now.”

  To her relief, Jason didn’t argue, and they walked back to the car in silence.

  On the drive home, he turned the car into a Gas ’n Sip, and for a second she thought about running.

  “I’ll be just a second.” He got out, and she let out a deep breath.

  Outside the weather had turned stormy, the rain slamming heavily into the earth. Ori leaned her head against the cool window as trucks and cars roared past on the highway, headlights like stars out of the looming dark. The gas station was empty apart from Jason’s car. Ori sighed heavily. She watched as Jason paid the clerk and chatted to him. Was she unreasonable? No. This morning she could forgive, but after the way, Jason had just behaved

  I don’t want to be anywhere near him. She choked back the tears as they came, rummaging through her bag for a tissue. Coming up with nothing, she pulled open the glove box of Jason’s car. As she searched, her fingers brushed against something cold. Her hand closed around it, and she pulled it out. Her entire body went slack as she stared down at the knife in her hand.

  Ori slammed the glove box closed, opened the door of the car, and threw up. Jason, still pumping gas into the car, moved around the car.

  “Hey … hey … Ori, are you okay?”

  Ori cringed away from him, all her bravado from earlier dissipated. She was shaking so badly that he crouched down, reached in, and held her hands. He glanced over to the glove box, and his face changed and became somber.

  “I know what you saw in there. It’s just a hunting knife. I put it in there in case we ... Ori, we were in the middle of the forest today. I don’t have a gun. I thought it would be better to be safe. Obviously, I didn’t think it through. Here.” He opened the glove box and pulled out the knife. “You hold it. If it makes you feel safer, you hold it.” He looked at her pinched face and sighed, reached into her bag and handed her phone to her. “Call Maceo and tell him where you. It’ll make you feel safe. I’m so sorry I scared you, Ori. I’m going to finish getting the gas, then I’ll take you home. I promise, Ori. I will take you home.”

  She didn’t say anything to Maceo or Alex later, but both of them noticed how quiet she was. After the house had gone to bed, she lay awake, gazing at Maceo’s handsome face, wondering if Jason had been telling the truth. In her heart, she knew he was. Maceo had been a different person before her—at least, that’s what she told herself. How long would it be before he grew tired of her and strayed?

  Ori felt her eyes fill with tears and, not wanting to disturb him, she got up and went down to the kitchen to cry silently.

  As she cried herself out, she felt a hand on her hair, smoothing. She knew immediately it was Alex. She looked up at him through her tears. “Maceo and Viola,” she said simply, and he nodded.

  “Yes. I hoped you wouldn’t find out.”

  “How long have you known?”

  “Since before she died. She told me herself. We talked. I forgave her.”

  “But you never told Maceo?”

  He shook his head. “No. I know what Maceo must have felt, the tremendous guilt he must have been carrying around. It was a mistake, a one-time thing, not an affair.” He sighed and pulled up a chair, sitting down, taking her hands. “There is a difference between a one-time thing and a full-blown affair, Ori, and I know that. I was not always faithful either. I have not … been faithful to her memory.”

  His gaze locked onto hers and she shivered with the intensity of it. “You must know how I feel about you. But I would never act on it while you were happy with Maceo. Are you happy with Maceo?”

  She opened her mouth to tell him yes, yes, yes, I love Maceo more than my own life, but the words choked in her
throat.

  He bent then and kissed her on the mouth softly, and smiled as he drew back. “Maceo is a fool if he doesn’t hang onto you.” He kissed her again, and she felt herself respond, returning the kiss.

  She pulled away after a second, stunned at her body’s response. Alex cupped her face in his hands.

  “I’ll see you in the morning.” And he was gone, walking down the dimly lit corridor. She stared after him, her mind in turmoil. What was that?

  Ori went to the bathroom to brush her teeth. She stared at her reflection in the mirror. She looked lost, she thought, lost and frightened. She got back into bed and turned on her side, away from the sleeping Maceo. She stared at the darkness outside the window until her eyes grew heavy and she let herself sink into sleep.

  Kate and Lisander had not seen each other since the day Nikos had almost caught them kissing. Kate and Nikos had talked and talked, but both of them realized, this was the end. Kate moved out of the apartment and was staying on a friend’s couch, and now she was apartment hunting,

  By the third apartment, Kate’s spirits had begun to lift. A new life, she thought, and remembered when she’d last said those words. The day she met Lisander. Could that really have been less than forever ago?

  She smiled at the realtor, Mindy, who was looking at her expectantly.

  “Well?”

  The apartment was a one-bed, one-bath, small, but the large windows and view over the city more than made up for it. Even better, Kate thought, were the inbuilt bookcases that stretched from floor to ceiling. She could see herself curled up on the couch with a book, maybe a dog curled up in her lap. The thought of it made her excited.

  “Yes. This one is just perfect, I mean, a little small, but hey, it’s just me. What’s the situation with the seller?”

  “He bought it to rent out, did that for a few years, and then just wanted to get rid of it. Everything is included, all the furniture—it’s a tad worn, but useable. You could move straight in, and as there’s no forward chain, escrow shouldn’t be difficult.”