She didn’t know anymore. “You,” she said. “I want you to help me forget all of this.”
He scooped her up and headed for the bedroom, where she planned to stay as long as she could possibly keep him there.
Chapter Twenty
Her dress was sexy as sin, a long, cream colored number that Julie had brought her, and it hugged every sleek line of her body. Just another reason Royce wanted to turn away from the museum before he pulled the truck into the valet parking. He didn’t care that Saturday night had come with no more threats, that the plea had seemed to end the hell. The bastard was still out there, still a ghost they couldn’t find, and he wasn’t going to rest until they found him. This had ended too easily, and too easy, he’d learned, was never easy at all. It was the calm before an storm, but he wasn’t going to put Lauren on edge again. He damn sure didn’t tell her that he was so antsy about this event that he had Blake and Luke in a surveillance van a block away. When tonight was over, he was going to present her with tickets to Rome, and they were getting the heck out of Dodge until he knew this was really over.
“You sure you don’t want to just skip this?” he asked her for the third time since he’d shackled himself into a monkey suit, otherwise known as a tuxedo.
“No, Royce,” she said. “You know I have to be there for Julie. I put her through living in a hotel for days. I have to show my support. She’s family. And she bought me this dress.”
He sighed and turned into the drive. “I do owe her for that one. I like it.”
She laughed. “So you keep telling me. I’m sure Sharon will call it inappropriate, when her own dress will be far more so.” She shrugged out of her coat and the valet opened her door.
Royce quickly exited and handed off the keys before stepping to her side, wrapping his arm around her as she shivered. “I’m going to have to give up this tux jacket. You’re going to be cold inside.”
“You just want an excuse to give it up,” she said. “And you have to wear it.”
They waited by the door, as several other people entered before them. Suddenly, cameras started to flash around them and a reporter stepped close to them. “Is it true your father is running for the Republican nomination, Ms. Reynolds?”
“That’s a question for him,” she said quickly.
“Is that why you caved to a plea deal for the husband killer?”
She stopped walking, the color draining out of her face.
Royce pulled her to the other side of him and forward, inside the building. The minute they were inside and signed the register, he pulled her aside. “Blow that off, baby. It means nothing. If that’s the worst thing that happens tonight, we’re good.” His hand brushed her bare shoulder. “The best thing, at least for me, is going to be peeling this dress off of you.” He motioned to the room. “Let's go mingle so I can get to do it sooner rather than later.”
She laughed, a soft, sexy sound that he’d never get tired of hearing, and wrapped her arm around him. They entered an oval room with doorways leading to art displays, towering ceilings and several winding stairwells that led to the balcony areas above. Displays of food and drink framed tables and chairs with white tablecloths.
Julie hurried toward them, dressed in a long light blue silk dress that accented her voluptuous curves that Royce was pretty sure Luke would approve of, even if his brother wouldn’t admit it.
“Hey, sweetie,” Julie said, hugging Lauren. “How are you?” She looked at Lauren’s arm where the burn mark was covered by a bandage. “Stylish and sexy. Does it hurt?”
“No, not anymore,” Lauren said, and then added, “And it’s not like I could hide it in this particular dress.”
“Which I should thank you for buying,” Royce quickly added.
Julie winked. “My pleasure and yours too, I hope.” Then to Lauren, she said, “I have to mingle. Mark and Lindsey are looking for you. They are at a center table. Mommy Dearest is shopping the art, and your father is on his way. Brother Brad is also present.” She glanced up. “Judge Moore and his wife are here. Talk about awkward.” She lowered her voice, “I’m serving her divorce papers Monday.”
Lauren gaped. “And he’s with her tonight?”
“Yeah. He’s a cold-hearted bastard, that one.” She plastered on a fake smile. “Off to act friendly.”
Someone cleared their throat from behind them and Royce turned with Lauren’s hand tucked under his elbow. Her stepbrother, whom Royce had met on several occasions, stood there, and Royce felt Lauren tense and melt closer to his side.
“Lauren,” Brad said tightly, his gaze hitting Royce with a hostile blow. “I see you haven’t disposed of your bodyguard.”
A muscle in Royce’s jaw jumped, but he kept his tone cool. “Seems there are all kinds of unsavory characters around her I need to protect her from.”
Brad’s eyes narrowed, sliding from Royce to Lauren and back. “She’s making some statement to her father. Once she’s done making it, you’ll be done.”
“What?” Lauren demanded. “I... I don’t even know what to say to you.”
“You say ‘where’s the bar?’ and walk away,” Royce offered, turning her away and urging her forward, before leaning in close. “And I’ll be your statement any day of the week, as long as it’s forever.”
She stopped and looked up at him. “What?”
“I’ve got you now,” he said. “I’m not letting you go. But we’ll talk later.”
The tension slid away from her. “Talk. You want to talk?” She rose up on her toes, and whispered in his ear, “Either you want me forever or you don’t.”
He wrapped his arm around her waist and kissed her, not giving a damn about propriety. “I want you. Forever.” He trailed his fingers down her arm. “Let’s find Mark before I forget why it matters and then drag you out of here.”
She laughed and they quickly found Mark and his wife Lindsey, a dynamite blonde who was as gorgeous as she was friendly, and joined them at their table.
“So I hear Mark proposed a new career option for you,” Lindsey said, getting right to the point.
“He said something about it, yes.”
“So what do I have to do to talk you into it? I need some women power at the firm. I’m the only one there.”
From there, Royce was pleased to see Lauren relax and get lost in conversation with Lindsey. Royce and Mark were both pleased to see the magic unfold, as Lindsey convinced Lauren that she had to join their firm.
A good hour passed before Lauren pushed to her feet and Royce followed her. “Bathroom,” she said. “You talk your football. I want to find Julie, too, so I might be a few.” She took off through the crowd.
He hesitated, fighting the urge to follow her, telling himself he was being paranoid. But whoever had been terrorizing her was still out there somewhere.
***
Lauren walked down the hallway into the ladies, feeling more relaxed than she had in a very long time, a smile touching her lips. She was in love and she was no longer being stalked. And, damn it, she was going to quit her job and join Mark and Lindsey, and if she could talk Julie into leaving the firm she was with, she’d get her on the boat, too.
She turned a corner to enter the bathroom when Sharon stepped in front of her, her black dress twinkling in the overhead lights. “Let's step to the courtyard and talk.”
“It’s cold, Sharon, and I have to get back to my table.”
“I received an interesting delivery today,” she said. “You're going to want to know what’s inside and not where others can see it.”
Lauren’s lips parted in shock. This couldn’t be happening. There couldn’t be yet another threat. “Okay. Let’s go.”
“I thought so,” Sharon said smugly and turned and headed down the hall, away from the main room.
Lauren balled her fists at her sides and followed, telling herself not to overreact. Sharon was notorious for her ridiculous reactions to things. She opened the door, the cool fall night chilling her sk
in.
Greenery and trees lined a red brick path that allowed guests to go forward, left or right.
“We’ll want to walk further into the courtyard,” Sharon said, flicking her a hard look. “We don’t need an audience.”
Lauren hesitated a second, before following again, not comfortable with the secluded location, which was ridiculous. Sharon was a bit off her rocker, but she wasn’t dangerous. A few people milled around at the concrete seats along the way, and while that should have eased Lauren’s unease, it didn’t.
Sharon walked up the steps of the gazebo, a slim heater hanging from the ceiling and down to almost the floor, sending Lauren in pursuit a bit more eagerly. Lauren rushed to the glowing device and held her hands above it. A second later, someone grabbed her from behind and she blacked out.
***
Twenty minutes after Lauren left the table Royce was talking football with Mark when he saw Julie nearby and stopped mid-sentence. Lauren wasn’t with her.
“Give me a minute, Mark,” he said, pushing to his feet and going to Julie’s side. “Where’s Lauren?”
“I don’t know. I thought she was with you. Is something wrong?”
“She went to the bathroom and was supposed to be finding you. I need you to-”
“I’m going,” she said, heading for the bathroom without another word. Royce fell into step with her, his adrenaline pumping, telling himself to stay calm. She was okay.
“Has her father arrived?”
“If he has I haven’t seen him,” she said, as they rounded the corner to the bathroom. “But maybe that’s because they are off talking. She’d been avoiding him.” She pushed the bathroom door open and went inside.
Royce’s cell phone rang and he yanked it off his belt to see Blake in the Caller ID. He answered and Blake immediately said, ”Is Lauren with you?”
“No, I can’t find her.”
“Front door,” Blake said. “Now.”
“She’s not here,” Julie said, rushing out of the bathroom.
Royce turned away from her, charging for the door, and barely keeping himself from running. He was in front of the building in a minute flat and the van was waiting.
The side door opened. “Get in,” Blake said and Royce didn’t ask questions.
Royce was inside and the van moving before the door was even shut, Luke taking off like a bat out of hell. He rotated on his heels to find the computer panel on the wall lit up with a tracking program, a dot beeping.
“That’s Lauren,” Blake said. “That chip you put in her watch wasn’t working. I found the problem. Now it’s working. Luke has the feed up front, too.”
Royce inhaled a calming breath, and letting it out. “What else do we know?”
“Not a damn thing.”
“Exiting towards the Bronx,” Luke shouted.
Royce headed to the front with Luke, willing the van to move quicker, and cursing the traffic that had them at a dead stop... afraid Lauren would be dead before he got to her.
Chapter Twenty-One
Lauren woke to a throbbing in her head and neck, lost in a fog she couldn’t seem to escape.
“I don’t understand why I’m here,” a female said. “I’m not supposed to be involved. You said I wouldn’t have to be involved. And what’s the camera for?
“Better to see with, sweetheart.”
The voices played in her head, her mind starting to process. Sharon. The female was Sharon. She tried to move and couldn’t, panic overtaking her. Lauren jerked her head up and tugged on her arms to find her hands tied behind her back, behind the rails of a wooden chair.
Her gaze traveled frantically over a warehouse of some sort, and landed on the two people talking, their backs to her. Sharon and... Oh God. Wilkins, dressed in army fatigues with at least one gun and one knife attached to his hip. This wasn’t happening. It couldn’t be happening.
“Well, look who’s awake,” he said, turning to face her. “This would be no fun if you weren’t fully present.”
“I don’t need to see this,” Sharon said. “I don’t. I need to get out of here. Take me out of here before you do it.”
“It?” Lauren said. “What is it?”
“You’re a smart person,” he said, walking to her and squatting down beside her. “I’m pretty sure you can figure it out.” He brushed his gloved fingers over her cheek and Lauren tried to pull away, pretty sure the gloves were a bad sign for her future. He laughed, as if her resistance amused him. “Pretty little thing, you are. I think Mama here hates you for that as much as she does anything else. We bonded over hating you that day I paid your father a visit. A romp in the sack later, a few bucks in my bank, and I got paid into scaring you into that plea. She’s hot in the sack, a fucking wildcat your old fogie father can’t keep up with.”
“Shut up, Jonathan,” she growled behind him. “Just shut up.”
He flicked a look over his shoulder. “Who’s she going to tell?” His eyes fixed on Lauren. “She’s a wicked witch. I knew you wouldn’t leave the DA, and you sure as hell wouldn’t marry your stepbrother. That’s some twisted shit.” He pulled his gun and slid it to her chin.
“Please, don’t do this,” Lauren said, her voice shaking, her entire body shaking. “Please.”
“We were always going to end up right here, with you and me,” he said. “I knew that the day I visited your office.” He pushed to his feet, walked to a video camera and adjusted it.
“Do you really think my father will run for office after I’m murdered?” Lauren demanded.
“I’ll convince him he has to make the world a better place, in your honor, you little bitch,” Sharon snapped. “And he’ll win with the sympathy vote. You will give me the White House from the grave. I’ll finally get something for putting up with you all these years.”
Jonathan walked to Sharon and came up behind her. “What are you doing?” she demanded.
“Getting you ready for you big day,” he said, pressing the gun into her hand. ”You’re going to shoot her yourself.”
“No. No, I can’t do it.”
“You will,” he said, stepping back from her and pointing another gun at her head. “You’ll shoot her or I’ll shoot you both.”
“What?” Sharon screeched. “What are you doing?”
“Insurance, sweetheart,” he said. “When you get to the White House you’re going to get my sister pardoned or the world will know you murdered your stepdaughter.”
He stepped backwards to the camera and she turned to him. “Turn around!” he shouted, cocking his gun. She started to shake and cry.
All Lauren could think of was how much she wished she’d told Royce how much she loved him, how alone Julie would be. How alone her father would be. “Don’t do this, Sharon,” Lauren said. “You have a gun just like him. Shoot him. Shoot him and I won’t say a word about this.”
Sharon whirled on Lauren, holding up the gun. “Shut up! Shut up! You are always talking.” She cocked the gun.
Lauren squeezed her eyes shut and started to pray. Royce was going to blame himself, he was going to let it eat him alive. She didn’t want that. She didn’t... The sound of bullets rang out and she braced herself for impact, but nothing happened. Suddenly, Sharon was on the ground and so was Wilkins, and Royce was kneeling in front of her, his hands on her face.
“You’re okay. You’re okay, baby.”
“Is she?”
“Dead,” he said. “Yes.”
Lauren burst into tears, shaking worse now than ever. Royce untied her and picked her up and she curled into him, not wanting to see Sharon’s body. The sound of sirens erupted outside the building, as they the warehouse.
She had no concept of time, of when the chaos calmed and the EMS crew reluctantly released her. She knew though, that they had tried to convince her to go to the hospital to be treated for shock.
They walked to the van and paused by the passenger door. “I have to tell my father,” she said.
“We’ll do
it together.”
“I was hoping you’d say that.”
“You don’t ever have to do anything alone again,” he promised. “I’m here and I swear to you, Lauren, I will never again let you down like I did tonight.”
She flung her arms around him. “You didn’t let me down. You saved my life. I love you. I don’t know if I’ve really truly told you how much. I didn’t tell my mother enough. I was a teenager, and it wasn’t cool and then she was just gone. Tonight I almost died and my last thought was how much I wished I had told you how much you’ve changed my life, how much you mean to me.”
“I love you, too, baby, more than you know. If you’d have died in there, I would have died with you.” He ran his hand down her hair. “Let’s go talk to your father. We’ll get through the bad, and we’ll make the good together.”
Epilogue
A month after Lauren had sat in that wooden chair, certain she was going to die, she stood in a pink silk robe on a Paris balcony looking out over the city, appreciating life more than ever. The moon was full, the stars twinkling in a fairy tale vision of perfection.
She had two weeks of heaven here with Royce, and then she’d start her new job with Mark and Lindsey. Her father was retiring from government to run his own firm, and had fired Brad, though Roger was still around. Apparently, her father had been blackmailed, though she’d never found out about what. Just that he now knew that Sharon had been involved, and perhaps, though she wasn’t certain, Brad as well.
Royce walked up behind her and slid his arms around her. “It’s beautiful,” he said, staring out at it with her.
“Yes,” she sighed. “I’m so glad we did this.”
“Me too, baby,” he said, and turned her to face him. “And I can’t think of a better time or place to have a talk.”
She laughed and turned in his arms. “Not the talk again.”
“Oh, yeah,” he said. “The talk.” His expression turned serious, and he added, “I can’t go on like this, Lauren.”
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