by Naomi West
“I appreciate it.” Rascal had headed back to his room for a bag to throw them all in, but just as he was coming back out he had bumped into Rita in the hall.
“Hey, I just had a few thoughts. I don’t know what’s going on with this girl, but it occurred to me that she might need more than just a change of clothes.”
“Oh. Um, I don’t know.” He hadn’t thought past getting her out of that torn dress. Granted, he’d thought of several ways of doing that, and one of them definitely involved finding out what she had underneath it.
“Well, here.” Rita had handed him another bag. “It’s got all the basics for her. I had bought a bunch of new stuff, and there’s toiletries as well. I can always just go buy more.”
Rascal had smiled. The club girls were pretty much just sexy women the president agreed to bring in as entertainment for the men, and he wouldn’t have expected one of them to show so much kindness or thought. “Thanks. I really appreciate it.”
“Don’t worry about it. I know you, Rascal. You’ve got a big heart. You always have. I remember when you tried to bring some homeless folks in here because you felt sorry for them. I don’t know what you have going on, but let me know if you need anything else.”
Rita had already been part of the club when Rascal had joined, and she was almost a decade older than he was. Soon enough, she probably wouldn’t be a club girl at all anymore, choosing to pair off with one of the men or retire and find something else to do with her life. But she had a good heart, and she was just the sort of person he needed right then.
Now, back at the Jackrabbit, he was even more grateful that Rita had been able to help him out without too many questions. Vera seemed to be relaxing. She had food in her stomach, and her big blue eyes glittered when she looked at him. She had stiffened again slightly when they had discussed the news, but that could have been for any reason. Unfortunately, spending a little time with her at the bar wasn’t making him feel any more interested in leaving her alone than he had been in the first place.
“I don’t know what your story is, but it sounds like you don’t want to go home. How about I take you to a nice little hotel across the street? I’ll make sure you’re all settled in for the night.” And if he had things his way, he would be settled in right along with her. She had far less skin showing now that she was wearing Rita’s clothes, but it didn’t detract from her beauty.
“That would be really nice.” Her eyelashes fluttered attractively as she looked down at her drink and then back up at him again. “It’s been a strange night, and I think I could use a rest.”
Rascal drained his drink, eager to get going. His pants were tighter just thinking about what he might do to Vera within the confines of a hotel room. He wanted to get to know her better, and he could think of some very fun ways to do it. “I’m ready to go whenever you are.”
She emptied her glass and smiled at him, making his heart shoot up into his throat. “Sounds good.”
“I’ll just pay the tab.” Rascal stepped up to the bar. “Everything go okay while I was gone?”
Vinny kept his gaze focused on the cash register, acting as though he wasn’t really in the mood to talk. “Yeah. Of course. Why?”
“Just curious.” He couldn’t explain his concerns about Vera. It was clear to Rascal that Vera was in some sort of trouble, and he didn’t trust anyone when it came to things like that.
“She can definitely put down a sandwich, I can tell you that much.” Vinny took his money and handed back his change. “Have a good night.”
“Yeah.” Rascal was eager to turn his attention back to Vera. He retrieved her from the table and escorted her out the door. “We just have to head down this block and then cross over. It’s that place with the bright sign.”
Her face was round and pale in the night lights of the city, and it was a beautiful thing. He wanted to keep looking at her, but he didn’t need to be caught staring just yet. He didn’t want to scare her off. Vera, though, wasn’t paying any attention to him. The sign had captivated her interest, and she stared at it the same way she had looked at the television.
“Are you okay?”
“Yeah.” She blinked a few times and turned to him with a smile. “Of course. Let’s go.”
The night air was damp around them, the last remnants of the rain still hanging around to remind them that it had indeed fallen. Puddles gathered in the potholes on the street, reflecting the lights and the signs of downtown and in shimmering waves. The darkness seemed to hold some sort of magic in it, as though anything could happen. He was too old and had experienced too much heartache to think such a thing, but he was questioning himself just as he was questioning who this woman at his side was.
“Can I ask you a question?” He had tried not to push her too much, but he couldn’t help but wonder about Vera. It was clear that she hadn’t belonged in the canal, and she had been desperate to get out. But then she hadn’t wanted to go anywhere. There was something he was missing.
Her body stiffened again. This was becoming a habit with her. She tried to pretend like it hadn’t happened, but he had already noticed. “Sure.”
“What would you have done if I hadn’t come along?” It was a cocky question, and he knew it. If she answered him with tales of how poorly she would have done on her own, then it would be nothing but flattering to him. And of course she couldn’t say that she would have been fine on her own, because that was clearly a lie.
Vera walked along at his side, staying close enough that her elbow rubbed a little against his side as she moved. But she didn’t look at him, keeping her face straight ahead. “I don’t really know. I’m not sure I want to think about it. It was a crazy situation.”
“And your dress? How did you tear it?” Okay, he’d given already up on leaving her alone. He couldn’t just accept that it was all normal.
“Oh, um, I fell. You know how flimsy they make women’s clothing these days. I might as well have been wearing tissue paper.” She gave a breathy laugh that he knew wasn’t genuine.
“Right. Seems like a strange place to be wearing a dress like that anyway.” He knew what kinds of people hung out in the canal, and they never showed up in formal wear.
“It’s a long story. I don’t want to bore you with it.”
Rascal was ready to argue, but a car came flying by right then. It kicked up water from one of the puddles on the road, throwing it up onto the sidewalk. Instinctively, Rascal grabbed Vera in his arms and turned his back to the onslaught. Cold, muddy water soaked his clothes and dripped down the back of his neck, but the only thing he was paying attention to was the warm body he encompassed.
Vera held her breath and pulled her arms in, wrapping them around her chest as though protecting herself from Rascal’s touch. One foot had lifted off the ground, perhaps in preparation to make a run for it. But Rascal had her, and he wasn’t about to let her go. He looked down at her with curiosity and concern racing through his veins, as well as a healthy dose of testosterone. Vera was a wild, scared creature that needed his protection, even if she wouldn’t admit it.
“Are you all right?” he asked, his lips nearly touching her ear.
She turned to look up at him, still holding that scared stance, but her body melted back into fluidity as she took in the rivulets of brown water running down his temples. Her face split in a grin, and she began to laugh. It wasn’t the fake laugh she had tried to pass off a moment ago, but a genuine one that rippled through the air and into his heart. “I’m sorry,” she gasped. “I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t laugh. But you’re just so wet.” She burst into another round of laughter.
Rascal felt himself doing the same. There had been something endearing about having her in his arms, small, frail, and in need of protection even though she wasn’t sure where to turn for it. Not to mention the heat she had sent flushing through his body at holding her so closely. She was a fine woman, and he couldn’t have planned out the opportunity better. But it had been an odd night, an
d it felt good to just laugh over something completely ridiculous. “It’s okay. I’ll live. Come on. The hotel is right across the street.”
It wasn’t a fancy place, but it was nicer than some of the scuzzy motels Rascal had stayed in every now and then. A sign in the front lobby advertised a free breakfast buffet, Wi-Fi, and economy rooms. The lights cast a yellow glow over the floral wallpaper and the plush red carpet. Behind a large desk stood a slim young man in a red uniform and bowtie. He smiled earnestly at them as they walked in the front door. “Good evening, Miss Evans.”
Vera’s steps stuttered at this, but only for a moment. “Hello.”
“I’m happy to say that we got the issue with your door fixed while you were gone. Here’s your new keycard.” He produced a small white card from under the desk and handed it over. “And you won’t have to worry about the noise from the ice machine across the hall, either. We’ve gotten that fixed.”
She took the card with trembling fingers and nodded. “Thank you. You’re very kind. Now I wonder if you might do me another favor.”
“Of course.”
“I’m afraid I’ve had a bit to drink, and I don’t remember my room number. I know it sounds so silly to have to ask such a thing …”
“Not at all,” the clerk said reassuringly. “It happens all the time. You’re in room 518. Just head up the elevator to the fifth floor and take a left. You’ll find it right at the end of the hall.” He pointed toward the other side of the lobby, where a set of elevators waited for them.
“Thank you again. You’re very kind.”
The exchange was setting off alarm bells in Rascal’s mind. There was clearly something wrong here. Why wouldn’t she have just asked him to take her back to the hotel? Or walked out of the canal and then hailed a cab? He leaned close as he took her elbow and guided her toward the elevators. “If you don’t mind, I’d like to make sure you get settled into your room all right. You know, especially since you already had one.”
She pushed the button and the elevator doors closed, encapsulating them as they rose through the building. “Sorry, I guess I just got so wrapped up in our conversation that I completely forgot.” Vera watched the numbers on the elevator as they ticked up to the fifth floor.
Rascal followed her through the hallway until they reached 518. Vera had intrigued him, but she was also proving to be a very strange woman. He waited as she put the key card in the lock, expecting her to turn around and tell him thank you and good night. But when she turned to him, a small smile played along her full lips. “You’re absolutely drenched. Would you like to come in and get cleaned up?”
He knew better. He knew that this woman could be nothing but trouble, and he never should have gotten involved with her in the first place. But she had gotten under his skin, and the only way he was going to get her back out was if he managed to do the one thing that had been on his mind since he’d had her arms wrapped around him on the motorcycle. Being alone with her in a hotel room was the next step. “That would be nice. Thanks.”
She led him in. It was a nice suite, more expensive than some of the other rooms the hotel offered. Divided into a bedroom and living space, the room had a small kitchenette in one corner with a fridge, microwave, and coffee machine. A wide arch led into the bedroom, where a large, white, fluffy bed waited for them. He moved past it and into the bathroom, which boasted a jacuzzi tub. Whoever Vera really was, she must have money.
“I won’t take long,” he promised. “I’m sure you’re ready to get to bed.” He wondered if she would pick up on the hints in his words.
Vera smiled and flapped her hand at him. “Take your time. I’m fine.”
As he shut the bathroom door behind him and turned on the shower, he wondered how he could possibly want to spend so much time and effort getting to know someone who was clearly lying to him. There was no better explanation. Rascal didn’t know what the truth was, but her answers were always too simple or too vague. She had to be in some sort of trouble, and he had let himself get wrapped up in it.
He washed the muddy water out of his hair, wishing he had Vera here in the shower with him, soaping up her naked body. Oh yeah, that was why he’d gone out of his way for her. He had been with plenty of women before, and he’d found them all attractive, but there was something about her that was just irresistible. Maybe it was the way she seemed to need him, even though she didn’t come right out and say it. Rascal liked the idea of being able to protect her; he just wondered what he was protecting her from.
Chapter Five
Vera
As soon as the bathroom door closed, Vera jumped into action. There had to be some sort of hint to her past here in the hotel room. She was tempted to run back down to the lobby and ask the hotel clerk what he knew. After all, he must have known her before she ended up in the canal. But just because he had seen her and fixed the key to her room didn’t mean he knew anything about her past or how she had gotten to New Mexico in the first place.
She searched the room and quickly found a suitcase. It wasn’t a particularly large one, but big enough that it could have held clothes and supplies for several days. With a gray plaid design and a cheap lock that fortunately wasn’t fastened, it looked as though it had barely been used. Whoever she was, Vera must not have traveled much.
Inside, she found several outfits neatly folded. Nothing seemed to be the same style, ranging from a hooded sweatshirt and jeans to a pantsuit worthy of a corporate CEO. Each one was arranged carefully in the suitcase, the outfits matched up together and folded so that they wouldn’t wrinkle. Vera glanced at the closet. It had typical hotel hangers that wouldn’t come off the bar, but nothing was hanging up on them.
“Looks like I was ready to check out,” Vera whispered to herself. “But the clerk didn’t mention anything about it. Maybe I was just ready to leave at a moment’s notice.”
She searched the rest of the suitcase, checking all the pockets and hoping for some other bit of information that would jog her memory or outright explain what was going on. She found no evidence of a purse or a wallet, and she hadn’t had any of it with her when she’d woken up in the canal. No books, no phone. In a hidden pocket underneath the clothing, though, she found a large wad of cash.
“Well, that might explain some of the clothes and the hotel,” she breathed, glancing at the bathroom door to make sure Rascal hadn’t come out yet. “But how did I get all this money?” The bundle consisted of mostly 100-dollar bills, and there was more than enough to pay for the hotel room. That, at least, she wouldn’t have to worry about.
Just before she closed the suitcase, her hand rested on a drab brown garment. Curious, Vera pulled it out of the case and unfolded it, holding it up before herself in the mirrored closet doors. It was a long cotton dress with sleeves. There were no decorations, not even a zipper or a set of laces. The dress looked like the sort of thing women might have worn back in the prairie days.
Vera’s heart was in her throat as she stared at herself, wishing her brain would work. She wanted to convince herself that this was just another costume from the suitcase, that her former self had purchased it along with the now-defunct cocktail dress and the power suit so that she could fit into any occasion. In a way, that thought didn’t make her feel any better because it meant she was on the run or in hiding.
Even so, she had a shiver of horror flush through her body. There was something more to this garment than just playing dress-up, and she knew it. She couldn’t explain it or describe it; she only knew that it was bad news.
Vera balled up the dress and chucked it back in the suitcase, leaving it open on the bed. She turned to the dresser, frantically yanking open the drawers and slamming them shut again. There had to be something she could use, some piece of the puzzle. But the drawers were empty, just like the closet was. She next checked the nightstand and then the entertainment center, even getting down on her knees and looking under the bed. Nothing. There was absolutely nothing.
It was
a desperate thought, but Vera then dashed into the living area and looked in the fridge. She checked the small cabinet under the sink. It wasn’t the sort of place she would have imagined putting any of her own belongings, but who knew what might have happened if she was in a desperate situation.
As she came back into the bedroom to check the shelf in the closet, she froze in her tracks. Rascal was standing in the bathroom doorway, watching her. He had a white towel wrapped around his waist, and he showed no sign of putting his clothes back on any time soon. His dark hair, wet and curly against his head, released a few drops of water onto his skin. She couldn’t help but take in his wide chest, a dusting of dark hairs covering it and leading down his hard abdomen to the top of the towel. His powerful legs stuck out from underneath. Several tattoos graced his skin, but her eyes were moving too quickly to stop and study them.
“Would you like to tell me what’s going on?” he asked quietly.
