Trick's Trap (A Singular Obsession Book 5)

by Lucy Leroux

  “Your father?”

  “Yes,” she whispered. “On the floor, already gone. He died horribly. Something must have gone wrong. It must have been chaos. It’s the only reason I got away.”

  “Oh, Tahlia.” Maia’s thin arms wrapped around her, squeezing tight around the safe unbruised area above her elbows.

  “I think my uncle Lucas did it. I’m not sure. As far as I knew, they got on well enough, but I’ve been avoiding everyone since I came to school. They must have had a falling out.”

  She laughed hoarsely. “If Lucas had his way, I would never have been able to come to Boston to school at all. He’s cold and cruel—a complete misogynist. If I’d been his, I’d have been feral. He was against letting me learn to read. He said I was never going to need to know how. His sons have tormented me since I was a little girl, but he is so much worse. I don’t know why he wants me, but whatever the reason, it must be why my father’s dead.”

  Chapter 16

  Trick felt like he was ready to crawl out of his skin. He told himself he was being crazy. The streak of madness running through him was obvious, but knowing it was there did him no good.

  Tahlia was safe here in the suite adjoining his in the hotel he owned. That should have been enough to soothe him. But after seeing her hurt on that basement floor, he’d been spiraling with self-recrimination.

  “I should have had armed guards and metal detectors,” he said, still in disbelief at the brazen way the hired thug circumvented their security measures. “Then that asshole wouldn’t have gotten away.”

  Trick was trying to save Tahlia. Instead, he’d given the assholes pursuing her the opportunity they’d been waiting for. His lack of preparation and foresight led to her getting hurt.

  Calen and his brother Liam exchanged a glance. They’d been keeping vigil with him since they flew Tahlia here on the corporate helicopter.

  Liam leaned against the back of the couch. “You have to stop blaming yourself. You couldn’t have known they’d attack out in the open like that. Not to mention both Jason and Ethan were there, and they didn’t notice anything shady and that’s their job,” he pointed out.

  He clapped Trick on the shoulder. “We won’t make the same mistake here. I’ve got the penthouse floor locked up tighter than Fort Knox.”

  “I know that,” Trick replied, rubbing his face. “But it doesn’t change the fact she’s lying in that bed because of me.”

  “Tahlia will be fine.” Calen held up his phone. “Eric is on his way back here to check on her again, but he gave her the all-clear last night. She just needs some time to recuperate.”

  Eric Tam, a concierge doctor who worked for the hotel sometimes, examined Tahlia while she was in and out of consciousness last night. In addition to her numerous physical injuries, he declared her malnourished and suffering from clinical exhaustion.

  Trick checked the clock on his phone. “Speaking of time…”

  “You agreed to let Maia have a half hour with her,” Calen reminded him.

  “And it’s almost up,” he said, staring at the closed door to the bedroom.

  “Let the Maia do her thing,” Liam urged. “She has a much better chance of convincing her to spill the real details of what’s going on than you do.”

  “I know that,” he muttered, wondering if Calen’s wife was getting anywhere.

  They were friends, but Tahlia hadn’t confided in Maia before now. According to Calen, his mystery woman had always been skittish in company. It made sense now, of course. Tahlia had been keeping a tight lid on a troubled past. She was used to deflecting any personal questions, never revealing any details about herself, let alone her true feelings.

  No wonder she has such an amazing poker face.

  He checked the time again. Calen tsked and shook his head. “Believe me, it’s better not to push when a woman is in a vulnerable state. You don’t want to overwhelm her.”

  Trick rolled his eyes. “Oh, for fuck’s sake, that’s the exact opposite of what you did when you met Maia and you know it.”

  “That was different.”

  “How?”

  Calen wisely didn’t answer.

  A knock at the door signaled the arrival of room service. “Finally,” he said, going to open the door.

  But it wasn’t Constance, the maid assigned to the penthouse floor. It was Ethan, and he appeared more grim than usual.

  “What is it?”

  The FBI agent nodded at everyone in the room, except Liam. “I got some of the blood work back from the basement. It’s not all hers. Our perp was in there.”

  “What?” They’d assumed Tahlia managed to escape her pursuer before her accident.

  “How do you know that?” Liam asked.

  Ethan opened a file folder he was holding. “There was fresh blood in two places. One was under the stairs. All of that was Tahlia’s.”

  Trick rubbed his face and reminded himself she was awake and talking in the next room.

  Ethan took a picture from the file. “But there were a few drops at the very bottom of the stairs, too. They belong to this motherfucker. Meet Tommy Casey. He did a four-year stretch upstate for assault and battery, and he has a string of lesser crimes on his rap sheet. He’s been keeping his nose clean the last few years, but according to rumor, it’s because he graduated to the big time.”

  “So he’s local talent?” Calen asked.

  The agent nodded. “Not affiliated with your family, I assure you,” he told him with a little smirk. “Whoever is after Trick’s girlfriend must have hired this guy to snatch her. He almost succeeded, but Tahlia got lucky. She knocked a step loose when she fell over the rail.”

  “That was lucky?” Trick scoffed.

  Ethan shrugged. “Tommy boy must have missed the gap in the dark. He fell down the stairs, landed at the bottom. My best guess is that he fucked himself up bad enough to abort the mission. Or else, he heard something that spooked him. Whatever the reason, he bolted without getting what he came for.”

  That something was Tahlia. “Where is he?” Trick growled.

  Ethan shrugged. “For now, he’s in the wind. We’ve got an APB out on him and we’re running down known associates, but it could take a while. But if we do dig him up, there’s a chance we can lean on him and get him to give us some dirt on his employers.”

  Damn. “What chance do we have of flipping a career criminal? Do you really think you can get him to testify against Tahlia’s family?”

  The agent shrugged. “I guess that depends on whether our hired gun thinks we’re more dangerous than they are.”

  Trick’s hand fisted involuntarily. Something told him that wasn’t going to be a problem. He’d just need five minutes alone with Tommy Casey.

  A door opened behind him. Maia came out of the bedroom. She closed the door behind her.

  He was next to her before the door clicked shut.

  Maia held up a hand. “Stop. She’s already asleep.”

  He swore.

  Maia grabbed his sleeve, turning him around to face the others. “She was wrung out after our talk. Let her rest.”

  Ethan shifted his weight. “Did she tell you anything that explains why her family is after her? Or is it someone else entirely?”

  “Oh, it’s them.” She patted her stomach, screwing up her nose. “You are not going to believe this…”

  Chapter 17

  The pillow he put over the top half of his face had drifted over his mouth. Trick sat up, smacking his lips together, trying to clear his tongue of the fuzz he suspected came from accidentally licking the thing in his sleep.

  He hadn’t meant to drift off. He’d been waiting for Tahlia to wake up, but she’d slept long enough for him to get tired. I was only going to close my eyes for five minutes. Somehow, that turned into over two hours of sleep on the suite’s couch according to his watch.

  He glanced over the back of the sofa. “Hi.”

  Tahlia spun on her heel next to the food-service tray. She had a fi
stful of French fries in her good hand.

  Her hair was wet and her skin possessed the freshly scrubbed look of someone who just stepped out of the shower. She was also pale, and much frailer than he remembered. The only color on her face was from a bruise high on her cheek.

  “Hi.” Her voice was muffled, her mouth half-crammed with cold food. She swallowed hastily.

  Trick got to his feet, waving at the plate he’d ordered before her nap. “Don’t eat this. I can get something fresh and hot up here in less than ten minutes.”

  Tahlia coughed, blinking. She reached for the pitcher of water on the cart and poured herself a drink.

  “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to startle you,” he said, putting his hands in his pockets before coming around the couch. “I was waiting for you to get up, and I accidentally fell asleep on your couch.”

  Tahlia cleared her throat, her fine features tight and uncertain. For a moment, she stared, holding her injured hand against her chest. “I’m great with this burger, thanks. This isn’t your room? I mean, it resembles it, but it’s laid out differently…”

  A corner of his mouth lifted. “All the suites on this floor are similar. I wanted to put you in my room, but decided it was too presumptuous. “

  She blushed, much-needed color returning to her cheeks.

  Trick pointed to an adjoining door. “My room is through there.” He cocked his head at her, gesturing for her to follow him so he could display the twin lock. “There is one of these on both sides. Both have to be undone to pass through. Yours is locked, of course. Mine will stay open in case you need something—just come on in, day or night. If I’m not there, I’m on the floor below in my office.”

  Normally, that wouldn’t have been the case, but he was taking a break from his heavy travel schedule for the foreseeable future. Liam had agreed to take over the next series of on-sight visits to the hotels abroad, and his sister Maggie was handling their many conferences.

  Tahlia’s lips parted, a slightly hunted expression flicking across her face.

  Trick winced. “Unless you think that’s totally creepy. If you’d be more comfortable somewhere else, I can move you to another room,” he added hurriedly. “We have over two hundred of them.”

  She shook her head. “No, it’s nice of you to put me up here. I’m just a little embarrassed that everyone knows.”

  “That everyone knows what?”

  “That I came up here with you the night we met and…”

  He stepped closer, putting his hands on her shoulders. “We didn’t do anything. Just talked.” And made out for a few hours before going to sleep.

  She toyed with the cotton of her sleep shirt. “I know…but no one will believe we didn’t sleep together.”

  He walked closer, until he was close enough to touch her. Fingering an almost-dry strand of her hair, he stared down into her eyes, drinking in their startling silver-blue gleam. “I told Jason and Ethan you were here that night after the game, but no one else. I asked Juan, the security guard you met, not to mention it to anyone outside of law enforcement. Maia and Peyton have no idea. Neither do my siblings. The only reason I told Ethan was to make sure he would be able to retrace your steps that night. He’s also aware that nothing happened. I made that clear.”

  Tahlia frowned. “Why?”

  “Because I didn’t think it was anyone else’s business but our own. The agents will keep it to themselves—not that they’re in any position to judge. Trust me on that.”

  “Oh. Um…thank you.”

  He sighed. Her reaction was so telling, and she didn’t even know it. “You don’t have to thank me for that. I know you regretted coming with me. I knew it that night, as soon as the elevator doors closed on us.”

  Startled, she met his eyes.

  He inched closer, his hand lowering to wrap around her waist. “That’s another reason I told the agents. You came with me because you felt threatened, didn’t you? Even earlier in the alley, you were on edge. And in the lobby again, you kept looking over your shoulder. Maia said your family was in the habit of having you followed.”

  He paused, savoring the feeling of her in his arms, wishing he could crush her against him. But she was still too fragile. “I wish I’d known about them that night. If I had, I wouldn’t have let myself fall asleep. And I certainly wouldn’t have let you leave.”

  Tahlia blinked, her eyes brightening with tears. “I did want to come with upstairs you. You’re the one who didn’t want to rush into bed. As I recall, I threw myself at you. “

  He moved a hand to her chin. “And you were nearly irresistible. But I slowed things down because I could feel something was off, not because I didn’t want you.”

  He’d desired her that night, and he still wanted her now. Desire, lust, and half a dozen emotions he couldn’t name were there in between them, thickening the air. He doubted it would every go away.

  But there had been a recklessness to her that night that caught him off guard. He wrestled the devil, turning down what she offered. But his instincts had told him if he slept with her, he’d never see her again. That hadn’t fit with his plans.

  Speaking of which. Trick took hold of her hair, twisting and wrapping the long length of it around his fist. Kneeling, he bent to kiss her, stopping when he was just a hairsbreadth away, letting her close the small distance between them.

  For a second, he believed she wouldn’t, but then a fairy’s wing brushed him as she stood on her tiptoes to reach him.

  Her lips touched his, the lightest and sweetest of pressure. That was all it took. Lust roared, drowning out his intention to handle her with care. Trick flattened his hand against the back of her head, pressing his lips down more firmly.

  His tongue licked and bit, demanding entry. Tahlia obeyed, parting her full lips to let him in.

  His response was completely out of proportion with the act. One kiss should not make him feel like a conqueror, but it did. His blood ran fast and hot as he plundered, coaxing and seducing Tahlia into kissing him back.

  She did, but tentatively, just like their first encounter so many months ago. Her hesitation only made him hungrier.

  He’d grilled Maia on the men in Tahlia’s life. As far as she knew, there hadn’t been any. Perhaps there had been someone significant in Florida, but in Boston, she’d lived like a nun.

  It was startling to realize how much he liked that.

  Trick didn’t think of himself as a chauvinist. He’d hooked up with a lot of women, and he appreciated the bold ones who knew what they wanted and weren’t afraid to take it.

  Nevertheless, something about Tahlia’s obvious inexperience pleased him inordinately.

  She’s with you. It’s not one-sided, he assured himself as her tongue shyly stroked his back. Though circumstances had pushed her into his arms, they did have a connection. Neither of them would deny that.

  Tahlia shivered, straining against him. She put her hands against his chest, making him glance down. The wrap on her wrist reminded him to take care. He pulled back abruptly, breathing hard.

  “Sorry,” he apologized, taking her bandaged hand in his. “I don’t want to aggravate your injuries.”

  Abashed, Tahlia backed away. “Now that you mention it, I could use a little more ibuprofen.”

  “Are you sure you don’t want anything stronger?” he asked. Eric had left a bottle of codeine for her.

  She shook her head. “I met one or two people on the streets who got there after getting hooked to an opiate after an injury. I don’t want to tempt fate. Ibuprofen is fine.”

  Turning, she glanced back longingly at the unfinished plate of burger and fries.

  Trick jumped into action. He got on the phone, and then quickly ordered a fresh plate over her objections. “Trust me. Our signature burger tastes a lot better fresh and hot.”

  She pursed her lips. “I don’t want to waste anything. The kitchenette has a microwave,” she pointed out, waving at the elaborate string of appliances on the far en
d of the counter.

  “And you’re welcome to use it if you’re still hungry after the fresh one comes,” he said, winking.

  He could feel her reluctance as she picked up another cold fry from the plate. She chewed walking around the suite, her bare feet sinking into the plush carpet as she examined her new home.

  The floor plan of the suite was open, with a tiled kitchen area partially separated from a sunken living area. The bedroom was separated by a pair of French doors. Unlike his room, this suite didn’t have a separate office. There was a desk and reading nook in the bedroom.

  The knock announcing the arrival of Tahlia’s food came in record time. It was as if the kitchen had been waiting for the call—which they were. The Caislean staff was well trained, and they’d taken an avid interest in Tahlia’s situation.

  Preparing a memorial for a beautiful girl, only to have her come back from the dead, would make anyone curious.

  He thanked Daran, the night butler, for the tray and set it on the kitchen counter by Tahlia with a flourish. “Now this is how the Caislean burger should be eaten.”

  Tahlia climbed on the barstool. Her hands shook slightly as she reached for the burger, making him feel guilty for making her wait. She took a bite and closed her eyes.

  “Oh God, it’s so good.” She licked her lips, snatching up a few hot fries.

  Trick pushed the accompanying vanilla milkshake in front of her and backed away, pretending to fuss in the kitchen. He hadn’t known the fridge was stocked with an assortment of pre-made meals, else he would have popped one of those in the oven to warm up. Snacks filled the cupboards, along with a wide range of soft drinks and teas.

  Out of the corner of his eye, he watched her eat. Thinking him distracted, she attacked the food, biting and chewing so fast he was worried she might choke.