by Josie Litton
Raising my hand to her lips, she kissed it gently. I felt the warmth of her breath on my skin. A tremor ran through me as she said, “Let’s go back to the hotel.”
Chapter Eleven
Thump….
Thump…
Grunt…
THUMP!
I sat up groggily, clutching the covers to my breasts and looked around. The curtains in the bedroom were still drawn but the angle of light slanting through them suggested that it was mid-morning. I had no idea when I’d finally fallen asleep but I certainly felt well rested.
A slow smile crept over my face. The three days since I had stormed into Adam’s suite at the Plaza had been a revelation. No woman could have asked for a more tender or passionate lover. Or a more thoughtful companion.
We had spent almost every hour together and in that time, I believed that I was coming to know him in an entirely new way. Little by little, we were letting down our guard and letting each other in. Adam had even spoken of memories he had of his parents, happy times before the tragedy that altered his life forever. In turn, I’d confessed to the strategies that I’d developed as a kid to avoid family events or, when that failed, make myself invisible during them.
Not that everything was perfect. I still hadn’t confided in him about Patrick and I sensed there were things he wasn’t telling me. But all things considered, we had made remarkable progress.
Thump…
What on earth?
Consumed by curiosity--and a touch of alarm--I pulled on sweatpants and a camisole-- collected along with other clothes during a brief visit to my apartment--and went in search of the source of the noise. It didn’t take long to find.
Down a hallway from the main part of the apartment, I nudged open a door to discover that it led to a well-appointed gymnasium. Adam was there with another man--young, extremely fit with closely cropped hair and the same aura of tightly coiled power that I associated with Adam himself.
I needed only a moment to realize that this was no ordinary work-out or martial arts training session. The two of them looked as though they were seriously trying to hurt each other, if not worse. The elegance of the surroundings-this was the first gym I had seen with crystal chandeliers--only heightened the air of deliberate, controlled savagery.
They appeared equally matched as they circled warily, crouched, the muscles of their bared arms glistening with sweat. All my attention focused on Adam. This was the man I knew all too well--hard, ruthless, driven, on occasion merciless. But he was also the lover I was coming to know, giving, passionate, and capable of genuine tenderness. With each passing day--and night--I was more willing to admit how drawn I was to all sides of his complex nature.
A gasp escaped me when the other man suddenly slammed a double-fisted blow toward the side of Adam’s head. It missed but only barely. Adam was about to respond when his opponent took a step back and held up both hands.
“Hold,” he said and nodded in my direction, silently drawing attention to my presence.
Adam turned, his gaze finding and sweeping over me. At once, I flushed from head to toe. Despite the distance between us and the presence of the other man, the moment felt overwhelmingly intimate. I couldn’t look away from him.
“Sorry,” I said, feeling suddenly self-conscious. “I didn’t mean to intrude.”
“You’re not,” Adam said softly. He came toward me, a smile curving his lips, equally amused and seductive, all male. “I’m sorry if Jacob and I disturbed you.”
I glanced toward the other man but he was already gone. I had to admire his sense of discretion.
“What kind of work-out was that?” I asked. “Some form of mixed martial arts?”
“Not exactly. Jacob is expert in a system of hand-to-hand combat developed by the military.” He paused and for a moment, I thought he would tell me more. But instead, he said, “I need a shower. Why don’t you think about where you’d like to have lunch?”
I was about to suggest that I join him but I thought better of it. We weren’t joined at the hip, after all, and besides, he might want some time to himself to deal with business matters.
“Fine, I’ll see what I can come up with.”
At Adam’s urging, we’d gone out every day to have a meal, catch a movie, or just take a stroll. The first time we were photographed, I was dismayed. He shrugged it off. Too easily, I thought, until I realized that he’d expected it to happen. Even planned for it to.
I didn’t need to go on-line to be sure that pictures of ‘America’s Princess’ and the heir of one of Europe’s wealthiest and most aristocratic families walking hand-in-hand along Fifth Avenue were drawing attention. In the back of my mind, I knew what was bound to happen as a result. Still, I wasn’t truly prepared for it.
I’d just finished dressing and was in the living room waiting for Adam when my cell phone rang. A glance at the screen and my throat tightened. For a moment, I considered letting the call go to voice mail. But I refused to show any lack of nerve when it came to my family. They could sniff out wounded prey better than any wolf pack.
“Darling,” my mother exclaimed the moment I answered. “How are you? We haven’t heard a word from you! Of course, we understood that you needed some time to yourself to get over that dreadful, dreadful business.”
I took a firmer grip on the phone and steeled myself to stay calm. Her callousness was breathtaking but it didn’t surprise me. I knew full well that she’d kept her distance rather than risk becoming collateral damage when Grandmother took her inevitable revenge.
Perhaps not quite so inevitable now. Or at least postponed. I had to give Adam credit, his strategy for making the family believe that I might still be of use to them was working, if only for the moment.
My mother’s tone turned coy. “It came as quite a surprise to discover that you’re seeing Adam Falzon again.”
Flatly, without a flicker of emotion, I said, “Did it? I thought the family was all for that.”
“Of course! But still…does he know?”
“Know what, Mother?”
“What happened to you… No, of course he doesn’t. You’d never be that foolish. Still, those awful videos…” She sighed deeply, a note of irritation not to be mistaken for sympathy. “Well, never mind. We’ll just have to hope that he never finds out. Wouldn’t do for you to be damaged goods, would it, dear?”
My eyes burned. I blinked back the tears that I absolutely refused to shed. No good could come from obsessing over what I hadn’t had--a mother’s love, a caring family. I’d build my own life apart from them and be all the better off for doing so. At least I had the chance for a future, something Patrick had been denied.
The reminder of my cousin’s fate stiffened my resolve. “Is there something you want, Mother?”
“We’d love to see you and Adam, of course. So would Grandmother. You’ll need to be patient with her but once she realizes that you and Adam are serious, I’m sure she’ll be pleased.”
Patience was the last thing I was feeling and I didn’t pretend otherwise. “She’ll have to wait. We’re both very busy.”
My mother sucked in her breath. I had managed to shock her. “What? Oh, no, dear, that won’t do. You don’t want to annoy her.”
I also didn’t want to give her any occasion to observe Adam and me together. As dark and deceitful as her mind was, she might suspect that he not only knew what had happened to me but had been the cause of it.
“You’ll just have to trust me, Mother. I’ll get in touch when it’s a good time.”
Before she could reply, I hung up. As I slipped my phone back into the pocket of my skirt, I saw Adam standing in the entrance to the living room. He was casually dressed in jeans and a white, open-necked shirt. Droplets of water still clung to his dark hair. He looked…too good. Everything in me wanted to go to him but I held back, still trying to come to terms with what had just happened.
“Are you all right?” he asked, coming to me.
I shook o
ff the weight of my regrets and mustered a smile, faint though it was. “Actually, I’m better than I would have expected. Do you still want to go out?”
He took both my hands in his. Looking down at me searchingly, he asked, “Do we still have to?”
“No, my family knows about us. We’ve bought some time. But Adam…” I hesitated but I knew what needed to be said and I couldn’t avoid it any longer. “You can’t protect me forever. I need to find a way to deal with them.”
“Let me help you.”
As tempted as I was by his offer, I shook my head. “There are answers that I have to find, people I need to talk to. They won’t help me if you’re involved.”
I was thinking of Will in particular; he’d already told me how much he distrusted Adam. There might be others who felt the same way. I couldn’t take that chance, not if I was to have any hope of succeeding.
I waited for Adam to refuse, dreading the moment when I would have to insist no matter what.
Finally, he said, “All right… We’ll try it your way. But you’ll have security, that isn’t negotiable. And you’ll keep me updated.”
Relief flowed through me so powerfully that I sagged. Just then, I probably would have agreed to any conditions but these sounded entirely reasonable.
“Of course,” I said.
He smiled and drew me to him, his lips on mine, the warmth of his body driving out all fear and doubt. I surrendered to him without hesitation, meeting his passion with my own.
Only later, when it was too late, would I wonder why I had believed him.
Chapter Twelve
“This is a surprise,” Will said. He sounded drunk.
I shifted on the leather couch, suddenly even more concerned about him than I’d been to start with. It was late afternoon. Adam was in his private office, working I assumed. I’d seized the opportunity to reach out to the one person I thought was most likely to have information about Patrick.
“You said that you’d call,” I reminded him.
“Sheesh, that was just a few days ago. Don’t be so needy.”
“Will…”
“Sorry, was that rude? So how are you? How’s the big romance going? Is Falzon really Prince Charming in disguise or what?”
That was the problem with celebrity pics, they got out to everyone.
“I’m more interested in you right now,” I said.
There was silence for a moment before he laughed. Or groaned. It was hard to tell which.
“I can’t believe you said that. It’s the Delaney in you, isn’t it? You just can’t help being a manipulative bitch.”
“Hey! Neither of us is having an easy time of it right now. We need to talk.”
“About what?”
I heard the clink of a bottle against glass and took a breath, summoning patience. “About Patrick.”
“What the hell? Were you not paying any attention to the whole Snowden thing? The ears have walls…sharp little gov’ment ears and we know who’s wired into the gov’ment, don’t we? Sitting right there at the center of it like a big fat old spider.”
He sighed deeply and I heard him swallow. After a moment, he said, “Nothing’s secret anymore, ‘cept the stuff they want to be. Dark, nasty stuff.”
How dark, I wondered. Ned had set the bar high when it came to depravity. Was there anything that could have beaten it?
“Are you at your place?”
“Why should I tell you?”
Oh, great, not just drunk but belligerent. “Because I’m coming over.”
“Oh, no, you’re not! What would lover boy think? You know he’s got a really bad reputation, right? Like dead bodies piling up bad.”
“This has nothing to do with Adam. I just want to talk.”
I broke off at the sound of a raised voice coming from the office. I couldn’t make it out but clearly Adam was angry. As I strained to listen, I caught one word--“Sebastian!” Followed by what sounded like a string of curses.
“I had a thing for you, you know,” Will said.
I hadn’t and I didn’t want to. I did want to know what Adam’s traitorous cousin had done now but instead I asked, “How much have you had to drink?”
“Not enough. Todd’s little sister, the princess in the tower. I kept wondering what it would take to get you to let your hair down.”
He laughed again. This time it sounded more like a sob.
I got up and headed for the door. I’d have to text Adam and tell him where I was going. His security guys could catch up with me.
“Stay on the phone with me, okay?” I said.
“Why, you think I’m gonna do something?”
“No, but this isn’t like you. Something’s got you spooked. What’s happened?”
“Ears…walls… The really sad part is I like Todd. I think he might do an okay job in Washington but he better watch himself ‘cause otherwise he’s gonna end up under a bridge.”
A chill ran through me. Patrick had been found under a bridge. How much did Will know about what had put him there?
“If we’re not careful,” he said morosely, “we all will.”
“We can put a stop to them.” I jabbed the button for the elevator. “You just have to tell me what you know.”
The polished metal doors slid open. The moment I stepped beyond them the connection was broken.
“Will!” Damn, I’d have to call him back and hope to god that he answered.
My phone started ringing the moment I reached the lobby. I thought Will was calling back but I was wrong.
“Where are you?” Adam demanded.
“On my way to see a friend. I was about to text you.”
“Turn around and come back right now.”
“Why, what’s going on?”
“Damn it, Grace, just do as I say!”
Like hell I would. We weren’t on Malta any more. This was supposed to be a new beginning for us. Just who the hell did he think he was?
“No, this is what I need to do. I’ll let you know when I’m done.”
I ended the call before he could say anything more. Shaking and determined to ignore it, I started walking down Fifth Avenue. I needed to get a cab or take the subway, whichever would get me to Will the fastest.
I got three blocks before the black SUV pulled up along the curb. Three men jumped from it. I had a few seconds, not more, when I could have run but I stood frozen in place, refusing to believe what was happening.
A tall man, somber, with a shaven head and black leather gloves took hold of me. Distantly, I heard him say, “I’m sorry, Miss Delaney, but I have my orders.”
Instinct finally kicked in and I tried to fight. But the prick of a needle against my neck stopped me. I stared into incongruously warm brown eyes in the instant before my vision narrowed, whirling away into a pinprick of light before vanishing altogether.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
I woke to the soft throb of airplane engines and the cool, sharp scent of filtered air. My head ached but only a little. It occurred to me that this time, at least, I had been given less of the drug.
Was anything else different? I moved a hand along my side. So far as I could tell, I was still wearing the clothes I’d had on in the apartment. They were an improvement over burlap or nothing at all.
Gingerly, I opened my eyes. The cabin I was in was dark except for a scattering of reading lights above some of the oversized seats. Including the one opposite me.
Adam sat there, studying a file open in front of him. As I watched, the shaven-headed man approached and bent to speak quietly. Adam listened, nodded, then said, “Thank you, Rolf. Keep me informed.”
I closed my eyes and pretended to still be asleep. But soon enough, the pretense became real. The drug still had hold of me. I succumbed to it, fleeing into forgetfulness.
When I was next aware, the cabin was flooded with light. People, half-a-dozen or more were moving around. The sound of the engines had changed. We were descending.
Adam leaned ove
r me. I held my breath, fighting the urge to lash out at him. The sense of betrayal that filled me was bitter in the extreme. But it was surpassed by the anger that I felt at myself. I had trusted him. What a sad, pathetic mistake to have made.
“Sir, we’re about to land.”
He moved away. I felt his absence and loathed myself all the more.
A few moments later, wheels touched the ground. We taxied a short distance before coming to a stop. I heard the hiss of air as the cabin door was opened.
And felt a sudden rush of cold so startling that I sat up.
“Easy,” Adam said. “You could be a little dizzy.”
I glared at him and tried to pull away but he was having none of that. Thickly, through the lingering haze of disbelief, I said, “How could you do this?”
A nerve twitched in his tightly clenched jaw. “I can’t risk losing you.”
“You have. I’ll never trust you again.”
Pain darted behind his eyes. For a moment, I thought he might relent. But that was just one more piece of foolishness on top of all the others.
“I took you the first time for duty,” Adam said.
“And this time?”
Arctic blue eyes met mine. In them, I saw remorseless resolve and more. The scarcely banked fires of a passion that neither of us could resist.
“This time, I’ve taken you for myself.”
I knew what I had to say--that he was wrong, he couldn’t do this, he had to let me go. But the words wouldn’t come. Nor could I resist when he wrapped something meltingly soft and warm around me.
Lifting me into his arms, he strode down the length of the cabin and out into light so bright that it made me wince. Frosted air touched my face, the only part of me that was exposed to it. The chill banished the last vestiges of the drug and made me aware that I was nestled within a blanket of ermine, the fur of kings and princes.
From the shelter of his embrace, I stared not at the softly rolling landscape of Malta but at a wall of snow-topped mountains that rose above us, triumphant and majestic.
“Where are we?” I murmured.