Beautiful No More

by MJ Nightingale

  Cat surprised him even more. Instead of replying she burst out laughing. A full bellied laugh, that came with a snort or two.

  “What?” he asked, still baffled but completely enthralled by the woman on his bed.

  His widened eyes had her practically in hysterics. “Mr. Marino, I mean Andreas, I . . . am sorry . . . but I was laughing at my own thoughts. You see downstairs earlier, I had asked your sister-in-law if you were gay. And then there you were dressing in the closet. I mean who does that?” she continued to laugh and wipe at her eyes.

  “Gay?” She thought he was gay! He was completely dumb struck. “I . . am . . not . . .”

  “Oh please, Andreas,” she laughed getting up from her seat and approaching him. “You do not need to explain. I was just curious as to why I saw that you felt no attraction to me, while I was very much attracted to you. You just kept pouting at me, and giving me mean looks. Your sister-in-law assured me you were not gay, and that, like me, you have schooled your emotions. She said those looks were not mean and that you probably found me very attractive.”

  Again her complete openness and candor shocked him. Did people really talk this way? Or was it just her? But his mind was still on the gay thing, and he could not shake that. So like a fourteen year old, he repeated, “First, I am not gay. Second, yes, I find you very attractive.”

  “Good,” she replied getting up from the bed. She walked towards him and his heart began to beat faster. He saw a twinkle of mischief in her eyes. When she was just a breath away, she lifted her hands, palms facing him and then she touched him. He was on fire. Yet, she was just smoothing the wrinkles out of his t-shirt. But with every stroke, he could feel her hands caress him. His body came alive at her touch. And it burned.

  She stepped back from him and he immediately felt the loss. “Perhaps when this situation is over, we can explore this . . . um . . . our mutual attraction to one another.” The arch of her eyebrows made it a question. At his slight nod, she smiled and stepped to the side. “I’ll leave you to finish dressing and go annoy your brothers now.”

  Holy Fuck! He was in trouble. When the door closed softly behind her, he let out his breath, and took several in. The woman had left him turned on, harder than stone, and left him speechless. Him!

  * * *

  “We’ll be back later,” Andreas informed Gio by the downstairs entrance. His brother had followed them to the front entryway. Andreas left his car parked there for a quick getaway. Gio’s grin was ear to ear. He was holding back his laughter, but not saying anything for which Andreas was grateful. But he had his suspicions. His sister-in-law must have told him Catarina’s very, very wrong suspicions. He cleared his throat and gave Gio the evil eye, daring him to say anything. Gio clamped his lips shut, but winked at him. Andreas had the urge to clobber the larger man. Rubbing his jaw, Andreas muttered at the door. “After we get Miss Stone’s things we may stop to eat. Help yourselves to whatever is in the kitchen.”

  “We’ll be fine,” Lisa stated as she came towards the door. She stood next to her husband, and elbowed him in the ribs when she saw the goofy expression on his face. Shaking her head, she muttered, “Go. Have fun.”

  “Yes, go out. Have fun,” Gio stated as Andreas took Catarina’s elbow and guided her down the stairs. Andreas chanced a look back at his brother while opening Cat’s door. Again his brother had that silly grin on his face. His eyebrows were waging war with his face. Gio started to laugh, and Andreas gave him one more dirty look as Lisa began to shut the door.

  But Gio wasn’t done. He never was. He always needed the last word. And Andreas’ suspicions were confirmed about his sister-in-law when his brother added quickly just before the door shut completely, “Bye ladies. Don’t stay out too late.”

  Catarina had just sat down inside the car, and she heard it too. She began to laugh, but stifled it at Andreas’ stony expression. From inside they heard several expletives. They came from Lisa. Knowing this story would be told for years, and years, he began to shut the door and keep Catarina from hearing more colorful New York curses. Once she was safely ensconced inside, still giggling herself, Andreas made his way round to his side. But he fumed. His brother was a goddammned nit wit, and now he would tell the others. He would never be able to live this down.

  Chapter 13

  Business and Pleasure

  They decided to have dinner first, and Andreas found himself immensely enjoying her company. She was a great conversationalist, asked probing and thoughtful questions about his work, but kept it light. She never asked anything too personal, and he returned the favor. He asked her about her work, and she explained her business to him.

  When Catarina explained it the way she did, he saw the benefit to what she was doing, and he couldn’t fault her. He felt pride in how she wanted to keep these girls off the street, and he knew why, but didn’t let on that he knew. She explained she did not condone her girls having sex with the clients although on occasion it happened, as long as the girls were willing and it was beyond their contracted hours. Her clients were older men, more often than not widowed, politicians who were invited to countless events and were either unmarried, gay, or widowers not looking to replace their wives but no longer wanted to go stag. For those who were gay, they were still in the proverbial closet. These older gentleman still fearful of the public scrutiny in the positions they held. Some of the men were just tired of fix ups, and some just wanted conversation. Andreas nodded understanding that. He wasn’t a talker himself, but he knew many men were.

  “What do you do if the girls don’t follow your rules?” he asked curiously, wanting to know how she handled those situations.

  She cocked her head to the side, her mane of hair glistening richly in the recessed lighting of the restaurant. “Hmm, I give them fair warning, talk to them, and then I dismiss them with a nice severance pay if it happens again. No drugs, no sex during the contracted hours. My rules are simple. If they choose to pursue a relationship with one of the clients, then those men are no longer clients. Ever. The clients understand the rules as well.”

  He admired this woman. She was very self-assured. “Full-disclosure, so to speak.”

  “Yes,” she mused sipping her wine. The meal at the small Italian restaurant had been consumed long ago. “I believe in being very up front with my girls, and my clients. It creates fewer problems afterwards. But, it was not always so smooth. I learned as I went.”

  She saw the narrowing of his brilliant blue eyes. They were a prominent feature, and she found them mesmerizing. “Have you had any trouble with any of your clients?” he asked, trying to be nonchalant. She knew he was thinking about the case again, her connection.

  Cat tilted her head to the side, her long manicured nails tapping on the table reached up to push her long mahogany hair back over her shoulder. He wanted to reach forward and bring a strand back. He enjoyed looking at it and felt the urge to touch it.

  “Not really. No, I screen them pretty well. I have had four of my clients who pursued relationships with my girls. Two actually married my girls, and the two other relationships ended eventually.”

  Andreas set down his glass and gave her a wry smile. “Fifty-Fifty. Decent odds.”

  “Yes, I guess a few of my girls got their Fairy tale prince. I was happy for them.” Her tone became softer.

  Cat had a faraway look in her eyes, and although Andreas had sworn not to bring up the past he couldn’t help ask, “Are you looking for a fairy tale prince, Catarina?”

  Her eyes widened and she focused on Andreas. She had not expected that question. She recovered quickly, and answered right away, her eyes narrowing with her words. “No. I was thinking of my great grandparents though. They had that. Shall we go?” she concluded abruptly and stood.

  Andreas nodded and followed her out. He had paid the tab long ago, but he found himself wondering what her great grandparents had been like. It had been the only time in her life, he knew from reading her files, that she may have had stabi
lity, family. And it bothered him that she had not had more time with them.

  * * *

  Andreas steered Catarina down the hall of the tenth floor of the Trump Towers. She slipped out her key from her small bag and handed it to Andreas who opened her door for her. He scanned the interior quickly and entered before her. Her apartment upon first appearance was large, and airy. The décor elegant. Like her. A second scan of the place and he was able to detect the motion sensors and small hidden cameras. The white caps over the sensors in the corners of the large room covered the device from immediate detection and blended in with the white paint of the ceiling. He pointed them out to her and explained what they did. You would not know what they were, he explained, unless you were informed. They appeared to be part of the crown molding.

  He steered her closer to one of the motion detectors. “As soon as the system is armed which you can do from the remote control on any of your televisions, or from the wall unit near the door, the system will be activated. Once the system is armed, the motion detectors sensing movement will send a signal to the security company and they will get immediate video feed and begin to monitor the situation and send help if it is needed.”

  “Very good,” she commented, and turned to glance at the other three corners of the large open space.

  “Also, if you are sleeping, it is a good idea to arm the system. An alarm will sound and it will begin recording and again, it will send those images directly to the security company. If you get up in the night you can disarm it easily and then rearm it from your remote.”

  He felt her stiffen at his side. “Can I access the video feed?” she asked. He looked down on her, sensing her fear.

  He reached for her arm, just caressing it lightly to let her know she was not alone. “Yes, you will receive a code, and if you have a smart television you will be able to access it from there, your laptop, phone, or tablet.”

  Her smile wavered as she glanced around her apartment once more. She let out a slow breath, pushing it from her lungs. “That’s wonderful. I admit, since the note was left on my door, I did not think I would feel safe here, but this seems like a good system.”

  Andreas cocked his head to the side. He felt a trickle of fear himself. He did not like the idea of her being alone. He could hire some men to protect her as well. He was about to suggest it, when she began speaking. She must have misinterpreted his silence.

  She started. “Well, I meant if I was out I could get alerted as well that someone was here and not put myself in danger. I don’t expect to be babysat twenty-four hours a day.” Her spine stiffened.

  Her ire had come up, and he did not want to ruin the progress they had made, so instead he decided to show her the rest of the security features. “I understand. Let me show you the other cameras and their locations.”

  Catarina followed him through her apartment. She was nervous though, she had to admit to herself, as she looked where he pointed. Even with the high tech equipment. The cameras were disguised amongst her things. One attached to a wall sconce, one on an adornment added to a curtain rod provided panoramic images of the living room. One on top of her steel refrigerator scanned the kitchen. Then he indicated two more at each end of the hallway leading to her bedrooms. There was a camera in each of her guest rooms and one in her bedroom. “You will be able to disable the one in your master bedroom if you wish.” He coughed and looked away when her eyes searched his face. He felt uncomfortable suddenly in her very simple, pristinely white yet feminine bedroom. It suited her. There were not a lot of decorations or adornments throughout the entire apartment. No pictures. He knew why, but would not comment on it.

  She interrupted his thoughts by throwing her purse onto the white duvet that covered her large bed. “Not to worry, I do not have guests here.”

  That startled Andreas. She made it sound like she never had anyone over. He looked at her as she began to open drawers and select items from them. He couldn’t help but notice the white satin she was holding. He looked away. He presumed it was some kind of nightwear, but did not want to imagine any more. He was already trying to get the image of her with other men, many men, out of his mind. He didn’t want the image to be further detailed by imagining her in silk, satin and lace. Fuck! Too late. He was imagining that now too. But instead of other men, she was walking towards him wearing those things. He felt himself stirring.

  Clearing his throat and dragging his eyes away from her hands gently pulling garments out of her drawers, he spoke. “I’ll give you some space,” he spoke the words gruffly, more so than he intended. “I’ll call the security company to see if the permits came in so they can put the electronics and wiring in for the system to go live.”

  Smiling, Cat only nodded and resumed selecting a few changes of clothes.

  Escaping her room, Andreas let out a shaky breath. He was dumbfounded at his reaction to this woman. He was a virile man, and enjoyed the opposite sex, and having it with them, but he never mixed business with pleasure. When he was in the mood, he sought out his entertainments. He wondered why she was different. He presumed it was because of the connection to his parents’ murders and Romeo. His guilt had eaten away at him for years. He didn’t want any more blood spilled because he hadn’t been able to catch this psychopath. Shaking his head now that his libido was once more under control, he pulled out his phone and called the security company.

  He found out the permits would be in the next day, just as her cry tore him back into her bedroom. Cat was backing out of the bathroom, and she was shaking, her body heaving, and when she turned she launched herself into his arms. Andreas wrapped his arms around her, but peered over her head into the room she had come out of. He could see the red lettering scrawled across the wall? It read, “Where are you, beautiful? You won’t escape me again.” He pushed her aside even though she was still trembling. He wanted a closer look. The handwriting was familiar, very familiar.

  Backing out of the bathroom he gathered her back into his arms. Her back was to him, her shoulders bent in exhaustion, and fear. She was still trembling and he felt the tension in her body. Andreas, seeing those words, made a decision. Security or no security, until Romeo was caught, she was staying with him. He soothed her as best he could. She had turned in his arms, and pressed herself up tightly against him. Grabbing at his shirt and shaking her head, she was like a child trying to push back a nightmare.

  “Hush, It’s gonna be okay. I will get him. I promise. Come on. Let’s get out of here. We will call the police down stairs and I’ll take you home. You are going to stay with me until we find him. I can’t risk you coming back here.”

  Blood boiling because of his anger, and the feel of her in his arms, he had to admit he knew one thing that was certain; Sal Mazzelli wasn’t going to touch her, not with one fucking finger.

  Chapter 14

  Rage

  Rage, like nothing he had ever experienced tore through his soul. Sal choked back the sobs that threatened to reveal him and his hiding location. He panicked when she had not come home by ten last night. Since her neighbors had returned and his urges had overtaken him once more, he was desperate to see her. Last night, he had come to the parking garage in the hopes of seeing her. He had come two other times on his nights off. Both times her car was already parked and he had not gotten the glimpse he desired. But last night he had been hopeful. He had hidden behind two parked cars near where he knew she parked her small silver Mustang.

  From the layer of dust on the cars he was squatting behind, and the coverings on the wheels to protect them from the Florida weather, he knew they belonged to snowbirds. But she had not come; her car was not in its place and he had waited all night. He knew from watching her for months what she did for a living, sometimes even risked following her during the day to her destinations, but she always came home. Only on occasion had she been out late. He had panicked then too. But she had come home to sleep alone and that pleased him. She wasn’t the slut she had once been. And back then she ha
d been forced.

  But when she did not return at all last night, his imagination went wild with irritation and then fury. He was desperate to see her, to know where she was, with whom she was spending her time. He imagined all kinds of things. The worst things she could do to betray him. Like spreading those milky thighs for one of her Johns. Yes, he knew what she did for a living. He had overheard her having a phone conversation once.

  He went home when the sun was coming up and he was unable to sleep. He even called in sick from work for the next night, something he had never done before. He needed to keep his vigil, find his beauty. He had an old jacket from one of his past jobs, and he rolled it up and tucked it under his arm. The faded blue jacket simply read repairman. It would have to do. He would put it on once he got past the front door and the lobby.

  He combed his course hair back, now a faded brown in color from age and a box of cheap dye. Using gel and water gave it a slick appearance, he went without his usual ball cap. His plan was to simply walk into the building telling the doorman he had forgotten his wallet inside his janitorial closet and show his ID.

  And it worked. Beautifully.

  The man allowed him to pass no questions asked. He went directly to the floor he worked on in case someone saw what floor he stopped on. He got out, and then took the stairs to Cat’s floor up two flights. He saw right away workmen coming and going out of her apartment, and quickly turned around and went back to the stairwell. His heart pounded in his chest as he thought about what to do next. It looked like those men were leaving. When he glanced through the small window in the door to gaze down the corridor, he knew his assumption was correct. They were packing up.