by HELEN HARDT
By the end, I was blond again with glowing skin, freshly waxed eyebrows in their natural brown, and fingernails and toenails painted a sparkly light blue to match my eyes.
I left the spa feeling brand new.
So brand new that I felt I might be able to tell my story after all. Especially if it would help Reid.
I had no alibi for the night of Derek Wolfe’s murder, as my show had been dark. But I was innocent, even though I had a motive. I’d been here in Las Vegas. I wouldn’t show up on any flight log, and I’d performed the night before and the night after.
I felt strong. Stronger than before.
Maybe I felt like me again. The Zee before all the turmoil. Looking in the mirror, I saw her. Tidbits of her before those horrible few days.
I inhaled and made up my mind.
I was going to New York.
Reid stood, gawking at me. Did my new hair make that much of a difference?
“It’s me,” I said.
“I know. My God, you look beautiful, Zee.”
“I should thank you. Your gift made it possible.”
“But…why?”
I sighed. “I don’t know. I guess I just wanted to look like myself again. Weird, really.”
“You were gorgeous before, but now… Wow.” He smiled.
How I loved that smile! When Reid smiled, I saw Reid. Not the son who looked so much like his father.
Just Reid.
That was who I wanted to see.
Two flight attendants—both gorgeous—fluttered around me. “Anything to drink, Ms. Jones? Mr. Wolfe ordered bottled water for you, but would you care for anything else?”
“Bottled water is perfect,” I said.
My massage therapist had told me to drink a lot of water today.
I was so relaxed. More relaxed than I’d been since…
It was the therapy, of course, but perhaps it was also the fact that I’d decided to go to New York. To tell my story. To help put away the priest and any others the authorities could find.
Perhaps it was being with Reid.
How was I falling so hard so quickly?
I never felt like this about men. In fact, I’d often wondered if I’d ever have a relationship. If I could ever be whole enough to.
Reid showed me to a lush seat and sat next to me.
“The captain says it’s time to fasten your seatbelts,” one of the flight attendants said. “He just got clearance to head to the runway.”
The seatbelt had shoulder straps as well as a lap belt. Reid showed me how to adjust them.
“This is the safest jet you’ll ever fly on,” he said.
“It’s beautiful.” I gazed around at the lounge area, which included two long leather couches with plush pillows and blankets. I glanced at a door beyond. “What’s through there?”
“The lavatories,” he said, “and…”
“And what?”
He cleared his throat. “A bedroom.”
“Oh.” I looked down at my lap and fidgeted with the seatbelt buckle.
A bedroom. How many women had Reid Wolfe bedded in this jet? A lot. He was known as a womanizer.
Yet he’d been gentle with me so far. He hadn’t tried anything other than a light kiss.
I wasn’t the jealous type. I never had to be, as I wasn’t interested in a relationship with any man.
Until now.
A lump formed in my throat.
Reid Wolfe.
The man most likely to never fall in love with me.
And I was halfway in love with him already.
22
Reid
I couldn’t take my eyes off her.
I forced myself to, though. Staring would make Zee uncomfortable, and I didn’t want that.
Her blond hair cascaded over her shoulders. It was a few inches shorter, but still long and lush. Her cheeks glowed a natural pink, and her lips… God, her lips. Normally she painted them bright red, but now they were a soft pink, full and plump.
This was what she’d looked like when…
Hard as it was for me to go there in my mind, I had to. I had to remember what she’d been through at my father’s hands. If I forgot, even for an instant, I might do something she wasn’t ready for.
She’d freaked a little at my mention of the bedroom.
That bedroom had seen a lot of action. The norm for me was to bring a companion along on my business trips.
And we always joined the mile high club.
I was a lifetime member at this point.
I squirmed slightly, adjusting my boner without Zee knowing. At least I hoped she didn’t know. That would freak her out even more.
As hard as I’d been for her before, I was even harder now. Seeing her the way she was meant to look…
This was the real Zee.
Not Zara Jones, but Zinnia Rehnquist.
Fuck.
I had to have her.
I would have her, one way or the other.
The plane taxied to the runway, and when it increased speed for takeoff, Zee grabbed her armrests.
A white-knuckled flier.
I covered her hand with mine. “Don’t be nervous.”
“I’m not.”
“Your body language says otherwise.”
“Oh, I’m not nervous about the flight.”
“What, then?”
“It’s not nervous so much as… Well, maybe it is nerves. I’ve made a decision that is going to change my life.”
“The decision to go to New York?”
“Yeah. And to talk about…you know.”
“You still don’t have to.”
“But…isn’t that why you wanted me to come with you?”
Was it? Yeah, on one level.
On another level, I hadn’t been ready to say goodbye to Zee.
I wanted to spend more time with her.
Funny, just a few days ago, I was ready to seduce her and use my womanizing charms—which were well tested—to get what I needed out of her.
Those aspirations were gone now.
I cared about this woman, and I wouldn’t use her.
No matter how much my body wanted it.
We arrived at LaGuardia a little before eleven p.m. After we deplaned, my driver met us at the terminal.
“Home, James,” I said to him.
His name wasn’t actually James. It was Wayne. Now that I knew the truth about Father Jim, I vowed to stop the whole “James” thing.
Zee turned to me. “I need to book a room somewhere.”
“That’s not necessary. You can stay with me.”
Her eyes widened.
“My place has three bedrooms,” I told her. “I didn’t mean…”
“I know,” she said softly, though her demeanor negated her statement.
We arrived at the Wolfe building and I helped Zee out of the limo. “Thanks, Wayne,” I said.
“Good night, sir.” Wayne waved as he drove off.
Zee looked up and then stumbled into my arms.
I steadied her. “You okay?”
“This… This place…”
“Oh, shit,” I said.
“I can’t… I can’t go in there.”
“You remember.”
“I ran out. Naked. A nice person helped me. And then…”
So much more to Zee’s story than I knew. What had happened to her after she got away? I knew only that she’d gotten hooked on drugs and had eventually gotten through rehab.
That was something to be proud of.
“Do you want to tell me what happened?”
“I suppose I have to. I mean, that’s why I came here, right?”
“You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to do. If you’ve changed your mind, no one, especially not me, is going to force you to tell us anything. I need you to believe that, Zee. I need you to trust that.”
She nodded, still clearly nervous, her lips trembling.
“I also need you to trust that you are safe h
ere. This is my building now, and I swear to God, I will never let anything happen to you.”
My words surprised even me, and I meant them. I meant them with all my heart.
She nodded again. “Okay. Thank you.”
“You have my word. Nothing will happen to you on my watch.”
23
Zee
My flesh was ice cold as Reid led me, his hand enclosed around mine, into the building, through the lobby, and toward a lone elevator that was in an alcove away from the other elevators.
He slid a key card through a slot, and the elevator arrived shortly. Then he slid the card into another slot once we were inside. “This goes straight to my place,” he said.
“Do you all live here?” I asked.
“No. Just me. Rock will, eventually, but the penthouse where my father lived is still a crime scene.”
“Where do Roy and Riley live?”
“They both live in other buildings, not too far from here.”
“Why don’t they live here?”
“Roy didn’t want to, and Riley… Honestly, I don’t know. I’m surprised my father didn’t want her here, close to him.”
“Why would he?”
“How much has she told you?” he asked.
“Not much. Just that you were all abused by him. Your father.”
“I can’t tell you her story,” Reid said. “But if you ask her, I think she’ll level with you.”
I could already imagine what Riley had suffered, and I didn’t like where my mind was going.
When the elevator door opened right into a living area, Reid said, “This is the second to top floor. The penthouse is at the top.”
My stomach was jarred from how quickly the elevator had ascended. I felt a little queasy from the ride…and also from being here with Reid.
His place was huge and spacious, decorated in masculine black and green. I wanted to look, to take it all in, but I followed Reid.
He carried my small bag—I hadn’t brought much—to a door and opened it.
I gasped. “Is this where you want me to stay?”
The room was huge and decorated in soft pastels. So unlike Reid Wolfe. A king-sized bed was covered in what appeared to be pink satin. Fluffy pink and white pillows lounged over it. The dresser and chest were white lacquer, and the window… Such a gorgeous view of the city lights. Nothing like the glitz of Las Vegas. The Manhattan skyline wasn’t as colorful but was spectacular in a classy way.
“Don’t you like it?” he asked.
“It’s lovely, but I have to say. I can’t imagine you having a pink and white bedroom in your house.”
“It’s a guest room,” he laughed. “My own bedroom doesn’t have a sliver of pink in it, I assure you.”
A guest room. Of course. For female guests. Which he probably had a lot of.
Jealousy speared its ugly head into my flesh.
What did I have to be jealous of? Reid wasn’t mine. Would never be mine, no matter how attracted I was to him. I was a mess, and getting involved with the son of one of my tormentors wouldn’t help me heal.
Still, I couldn’t help getting snippy. “Not all women like pink, you know.”
He lifted his eyebrows. “Of course they don’t. I have another guest room.” He picked up my suitcase.
I sighed. How immature I was being. Pink wasn’t my favorite color, but I had nothing against it. He was offering me a place to stay in this amazing apartment for free.
“This room is fine,” I said.
“You sure? There’s another, but it’s closer to my master suite. I thought you’d feel safer being farther away from me.”
“Why would you think that?”
“You seemed so…apprehensive about being near me,” he said. “I want you to feel protected.”
“Actually,” I replied, “I think I’d feel safer if I were closer to you.”
He smiled. “Good enough.” He picked up my suitcase and led me down a hallway to another door and opened it.
This room was decorated in black and white—the furniture was black lacquer, and the bedding was zebra-striped. I gasped again. The room was roughly the same size as the other, but the view was even more spectacular from here.
“Is this better?” Reid asked.
“This is fine. Thank you. Where’s your room?”
“Right across the hall.”
Curiosity rolled through me. What might Reid Wolfe’s bedroom look like?
He set my suitcase on the floor and led me to the bathroom, which was even more decadent than I could have imagined. “There are robes in the closet for your use. Lots of shampoo and conditioner and body wash. Towels and wash cloths. Everything you’ll need, and if there’s something else you need, just let me know. Lydia can get it for you.”
“Lydia?”
“She’s my housekeeper. Head of staff.”
Staff? “Oh. Okay.” I imagined a shapely woman dressed in a black and white French maid’s uniform.
“Just push this button.” He indicated a pad on the wall that looked like an intercom. “Lydia will come.”
“She’s not here now, is she?”
“She’s off duty, but the night maid is here. Her name is Monique.”
Monique. Yeah, definitely the French maid mini-uniform with black fishnets. “I don’t want to bother anyone.”
“They’re paid to see to my guests. It’s not a bother. What do you need?”
“Maybe just some water.”
“Not a problem.” He pushed the button. “Monique?”
“Yes, Mr. Wolfe?”
“We have a guest tonight in the second bedroom. She’d like some water, please.”
“Right away.”
I was still mesmerized by the view when someone knocked on the door.
Reid opened it. “Good evening, Monique.”
I turned.
And nearly burst into laughter.
Monique was lovely, but she was an older woman with silver hair à la Helen Mirren, and she wore black slacks and a white shirt. Hardly a French maid’s uniform.
“Here you go, Mr. Wolfe.” Monique held out a bottle of Fiji water.
“Thank you, Monique. This is Zee. She’ll be here for a few days.”
Monique nodded to me. “Ms. Zee.”
“Just Zee is fine. Thank you so much for the water.”
“My pleasure.” Monique smiled. “Is there anything else?”
“No, thank you,” I said.
“All right. Good night, then.” Monique left.
“Please make yourself at home,” Reid said. “If you need anything, just buzz for Monique.”
“She seems very nice.”
“She’s the best. I only hire the best people.” Reid smiled.
I returned his smile shyly. “Thanks for all this.”
“You’re very welcome. Get some sleep, and we’ll talk in the morning.”
I opened my mouth to tell him not to go yet, but the words stayed stuck in my throat as he closed the door behind him.
I was alone.
I hadn’t slept alone in a bedroom for years.
Part of me was scared silly.
How long had I been in the room with no windows? Someone in a mask had brought me food five times now, but without a clock or daylight, my internal clock was all messed up.
The meals were good, oddly. Whoever had kidnapped me didn’t want me to starve, at least not yet.
Strange.
I gobbled up every morsel each time they fed me. After all, I never knew if it would be the last meal.
I slept and I ate. I went to the bathroom. I washed myself in the small sink.
And I waited.
Waited to…
To what?
Women didn’t get kidnapped to just exist in sterile rooms and be fed. Something would happen. Someone would eventually come and beat me. Or rape me.
Or kill me.
One of those things would happen. Probably all three.
I ex
isted on edge. Eating the meals they provided and always frightened of what would come next.
Why? Why had this happened to me?
I was supposed to be starting college. Orientation week.
Parties and mixers. Classes and new friends.
All that I’d looked so forward to.
I’d stopped crying a few days before. I had no clothes, no tissues. Only toilet paper, and I needed to save that. I had no idea if they’d replenish it, and the thought of not being able to…
Yuck.
I simply existed. Existed in a perpetual state of fear, my flesh crawling with invisible fingers, my mind numb yet always racing.
Racing with all the torture that could be coming my way.
But when it finally came, what actually happened to me had never crossed my mind.
24
Reid
It was late, but I called Rock. “Any news on the Nieves front?”
“None,” he said. “I’ve tried to get in touch with her.”
“What’s up with Leta?”
“She’s still in the hospital,” he said. “Someone knocked her around pretty good.”
“Any idea who?”
“The guys are looking into it. She knows something, and someone doesn’t want her talking.”
“She’s already talked.”
“Right. That might be the problem.”
“Maybe you should go back to Montana and check things out,” I said.
He harrumphed. “No can do, brother.”
“Why?”
“All of us, including Lace, have been told not to leave the state of New York.”
“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me.”
“Nope. I just got that news while you were in flight. I was going to tell you first thing tomorrow.”
“How are we supposed to do our work?”
“Beats the hell out of me, but Morgan says they’re close to making an arrest.”
“Then we’ve got to move faster,” I said. “Which we may be able to do.”
“What do you mean?”
“Zee is with me.”
Silence for a moment.
Then, “Did you…”
“Of course not!” I raked my fingers through my hair. “I’ve hardly touched her, and she came to me. She said she’s ready to talk.”
