by Linda Ladd
Another thing they found out they shared was an intense love of horror movies. There was a home movie theater in Junior’s basement, and they’d relax in two big, leather recliners, eating cheeseburgers and fries from In-N-Out Burger and drinking beer all night long while they watched one film after another. They liked to watch flicks with lots of blood and gore and strangling and maiming and butchering, and then they’d discuss how they could have committed the murders better and without getting caught. They loved the cruelty and the mind games and the screaming of victims, and the more they saw, the better they liked it. It was exciting and horrible and mind-blowing. Soon those kinds of films became their obsession. That dark basement room filled with endless depictions of murder and death and destruction was what they lived for.
Chapter 7
Nicholas Black sat in a comfortable maroon leather wing chair in front of the living room fireplace. He was waiting for Claire to get home from work, staring into the fire, his feet propped on a round hassock. Rico was sitting on the couch, his fingers working fast and furiously on the keys of his iPhone. He was playing a new Star Wars video game that Black had downloaded for him a couple of weeks ago. All sorts of ringing and exploding sounds were disrupting the quiet room. Black grinned at the expressions flitting across Rico’s face as he concentrated on the keys. He loved Star Wars more than just about anything. The penthouse no longer lay silent when Claire was gone, that was for damn sure. Since Rico had come to live with them, the ten-year-old boy had always been on the move, running from room to room and laughing and talking with nonstop excitement. Tonight was no different. They had already put up a small Christmas tree in the boy’s bedroom, but Rico had wanted to wait for Claire to come home before they decorated it. Now, however, Rico was waiting for Claire’s good friend, Harve Lester, to come pick him up so he could help decorate Harve’s tree and spend the night at his house. Black looked forward to some private downtime with Claire, and that meant the kind they enjoyed the most.
But now she was late coming home, and Black and Rico were both becoming impatient. Being late was always okay with him until it became too late, and then he started getting worried. God knew he had reason to be. She had been late in the past for some very dangerous, life-threatening reasons. He shot back his sleeve and looked at his watch. Going on three hours late now, but he couldn’t say he didn’t expect that to happen now and then. Homicide detectives worked crazy hours, and she and Bud had just caught a murder that they had to investigate. He understood that and tried to be reasonable. Sometimes it wasn’t so easy. Like right now.
For a long time, he and Claire had worked around her crazy detective schedule. That’s when he had really been concerned about her safety. She had this bizarre tendency to get caught up with serial killers, one right after another. It was uncanny, actually. Hopefully, this time, the murder would be an easy one to solve, with enough proof at the scene to make an immediate arrest. But he wasn’t counting on that. Few of her murder cases had ever been simple, but she always somehow managed to solve them. She was damn good detective. But these late hours were one reason she had agreed to open her private investigation firm. Nothing had ever made him happier than that decision.
At the moment, however, there was a holiday lull in her active PI cases, and her partner, Will Novak, was off somewhere in Central America. Claire had jumped at the chance to return to the sheriff’s department and partner up with Bud again. Black was fine with that, because it made her happy. Still, he had not missed these long nights of sitting and waiting for her, most of the time without a clue to where she was or what she was doing or what kind of danger she was facing. He’d done that too often since he’d met her. “Hey, Nick, I’m stuck on this level,” Rico said, getting up and coming over to his chair. “Will you help me? You’re good at these games, aren’t you?”
“Yes, I am. Come on, we’ll do it together.”
Rico climbed up onto Black’s lap. It felt good to have a little kid sitting on his lap. He’d always wanted a son, and Rico was just the best little kid in the world. Black already considered him a son. Black smiled at how excited Rico was as he explained the game and what he was having trouble with. This kid was something else.
“Okay, look, take the catapult back and aim higher and it will drop down and topple the enemy’s fort. See, let me show you.”
Black demonstrated and managed a bull’s-eye, and Rico laughed when the entire structure crumbled into the moat. “Cool, that’s so cool. Awesome, Nick. Okay, let me try, let me do it.”
Black handed the phone over, and Rico frowned in concentration as he continued to play. Rico was a whiz at anything computer related, learned quickly, and loved his electronics more than anything else he had. Black smiled at his enthusiasm, so happy to have the boy living with them. Now if Claire would just get home so he wouldn’t have to worry about her.
Other than Claire’s late arrival and the blasted media hounds down in the lobby, he was more content than he’d been in years. Everything had been going so well. Now that they were married, he and Claire were in a really good place. A fantastic place. Rico had a lot to do with that, too. All three of them were doing fine after barely surviving some dicey situations the summer before. But who was he kidding? They’d survived because of Claire. Her courage and determination had saved his life and Rico’s, but Rico had been a little hero, too. Now life was finally getting halfway back to normal. They were home at the lake. He was seeing patients, and not just at Cedar Bend Lodge but at his private clinics in other cities, too. He would have to start traveling again soon, maybe even a trip to New York later this week. Right now, though, he was simply glad to be home at the lake where it was nice and quiet. Most of all, he was happy that Claire was his wife and Rico was still living with them. Black was pretty much glad about everything he could think of―except for those damn tabloids. His jaw hardened again when he thought about Claire’s picture in that bikini. He’d been angry about it all day long, couldn’t seem to shake off his resentment. Now he wished he hadn’t ever bought that thing for her.
“Hey, I know I’m really late. Sorry.”
Black turned around at the sound of Claire’s voice. Immediately relieved, he got that little thrill that shot through him each time he saw her come home from work safe and sound. He got it every time he saw her, period. Rico jumped up and ran to her, and she leaned down and gave him a big hug, then bent down and listened to the boy’s excited chatter about the computer game.
“Harve’s gonna be here any minute to pick me up,” Rico was telling her. “I’m going to help him with his Christmas tree.”
“Hey, tonight’s a school night.”
“That’s okay. I’ve done my homework and Harve says he’ll take me to school. Nick said I could go.”
As if scripted, Black’s phone vibrated and a text from Harve popped up. “He’s downstairs waiting with Isaac by the elevator. I’ve got your backpack ready to go. Don’t forget to brush your teeth.”
“Okay, then I’ll see you tomorrow after school,” Rico said, rushing to give Black a hug and then grabbing his backpack before returning to give Claire a quick kiss. “I gotta go. Harve’ll be waiting for me. We’re gonna make s’mores and cocoa.”
Then he was gone in a flash, a clatter of running footsteps receding down the hall, leaving Claire and Black looking after him. Claire turned and smiled at Black as she slipped out of her parka and pulled off her gloves. She crossed the room to him, her face flushed from the cold, cheeks pink and glowing. God, he was glad they were finally married. All she had to do was show up and he wanted her. It had always been that way. He watched her shrug out of her shoulder holster and put it down on the coffee table. “Good God, is there anything on earth sexier than a woman wearing a shoulder holster?”
“You are, according to People magazine.”
“Don’t get me started. I’m still pissed off.”
“That is putting i
t mildly. But that’s okay with me. Just so long as you remain calm around me and Rico.” She glanced around. “It’s too quiet already. That kid. How’d we ever get along without him? And where’s that best and biggest tree ever that you’ve been bragging about?”
“When you didn’t show up for dinner, Rico decided he wanted to go over to Harve’s house and help him put up his tree. So I said he could, and that we’d wait and do ours tomorrow night.”
Claire sat down and started unlacing her snow boots. “Black, it’s a school night. He needs to get to bed early.”
“Harve knows that. Besides, Rico can miss a day of school now and then. His IQ is through the roof. I tested him the other day.”
“You don’t have to tell me that. On the other hand, he still needs to learn the basics, you know, like multiplication tables and state capitals and verb tenses.”
“He probably already knows them. Besides, I got him a new Apple Watch so he can look all that up whenever he needs to. You know how interested he is in just about everything. That will be a good incentive to satisfy his curiosity.”
Claire sat down on the arm of the couch just across from him. “Yeah? Know what, Black? I think we need to talk about how much you spoil that boy. You are now edging up to win the most super indulgent parent who ever lived award.”
Black only smiled. “I’m not spoiling him, I’m rewarding him. He saved our lives in Sicily, if you recall. He’s a good little kid, despite all the bad things he’s been through.”
Claire looked unconvinced, but Black’s gratitude for what Rico had done was endless. Rico had helped Claire get Black out of a very dire situation with some equally dire bad guys. They both owed the kid for that little miracle of youthful ingenuity. Still, he was only ten years old, turning eleven in another month or so. He needed structure in his life, and he was getting it. Claire didn’t need to worry about that.
“All true,” Claire was saying, “but he’s still stealing things around the resort. That’s got to stop.”
“He had to steal to survive when he was on that island. You know that. He stole stuff that saved our necks, if you’ll recall.”
“I am as grateful as you are, Black, and I love him as much as you do, but he has to learn right and wrong, and that he’s got to follow the rules just like everybody else. Or we’re gonna end up with a little juvenile delinquent on our hands.”
“No, we won’t. He knows right from wrong as well as you and I do.”
Black watched her roll her neck around and stretch her shoulders, and then he stood up and walked over to the couch. He sat down beside her and pulled her off the arm of the chair down onto his lap. He put his arms around her waist and laid his head against her breast. He could hear her heart beating, and it began to speed up. He smiled, liking that. She slid her arms around his neck, snuggled closer, and laid her cheek against the top of his head. That’s all it took. He wanted to kiss her, just like he always did. He closed his eyes as she tangled her fingers in his hair. It felt so comfortable, the two of them together, married, happy, felt so damn right, felt perfect. He sighed, glad she was finally back home. But Rico’s stealing had become a bone of contention between them. He didn’t think it mattered since he owned everything that Rico had taken from the hotel. Claire felt differently, and as a law enforcement officer it bugged her big time. “You know, Claire, it doesn’t matter what Rico takes, anyway. I told the resort shops and restaurants to let him have what he wants and charge it to me. So he’s not really stealing. Technically.”
Claire leaned back and stared down into his face. “Black! What the devil are you thinking? He cannot be allowed to just take things off store shelves without paying for them. Not here, or anywhere else. That is a bad habit, and a dangerous one, and you have to know it.”
“It never amounts to much, just a few cans of soda and some candy, usually, for himself and the other kids. He’s not robbing cash registers.”
“What other kids?”
“Kids whose families are staying here. He’s mentioned somebody named Ollie, who’s on vacation here, and there’s a Jonathan, and there’s a Katie, I think. I always confront him when I get the bills and tell him it’s wrong and that I’m taking the cost out of his allowance.”
“Why does that sound ineffective to me? Besides, I think a hundred dollars a month for a ten-year-old’s allowance is going a little overboard. Surely you see my point?”
Black only smiled. “Most of it goes into his savings account. And I told you. We owe that kid. I am grateful, and I always show my gratitude in a big way.” He picked up her hand and pressed the back of it to his mouth. Her skin smelled good. Irish Spring soap. He turned it over and caressed her palm with his lips because he knew it turned her on. Then he sat up and pulled her around to straddle his lap. He slid his hand up under her sweatshirt. “My God, you feel good. I’m suddenly very pleased that we’re home alone tonight. Let me take off that shirt and see what happens.”
“I know what’s gonna happen, and so do you. But I’m in, one hundred percent. Trust me. You need to warm me up, anyway. It’s cold outside.”
Claire moaned softly as he pulled the sweatshirt over her head. “Now this is something I have sincerely missed, Claire. I’m not used to having a kid in the house twenty-four seven. It’s cramping my style.”
“Well, I haven’t noticed much of that. Think back. Last night. Long, hot, sexy, soapy shower together. Or did I dream that?”
“Nope. That was as real as it gets. I think we need a reenactment. Right now would be good.”
“Wow, you have calmed down considerably since your ridiculous tirade this morning.” Claire laughed softly as she said it, her lips moving across his cheek until she found his mouth. “I think you’ve got a dandy idea going on here, though. So feel free, sweetie pie. Have at it. I am yours for the taking.”
“Then hold on tight, because I have missed the hell out of you today.” Having at it was what Black had in mind since she left the breakfast table that morning. It had been a long day of wanting her. He turned and lay down on his back and pulled her on top of him. Then he began to kiss her, both hands tangled in her hair, slowly and thoroughly at first, but that never lasted long. She responded in kind, and their lovemaking shot into double time pretty damn quick.
Black sat up and pulled off his own shirt, and then his mouth found hers again. That was pretty much all he thought about for the next ten minutes, except for some heavy breathing and pleasurable moans. It was always like this, always so damn good, and it had only gotten better since they’d been married. She was responding, her palms sliding up his bare back. Yeah, things were good, all right. At least, they were until Claire’s cell phone vibrated inside her jeans pocket. “Gotta take this, Black,” she muttered hoarsely, sitting up astride him.
“Hell no, you don’t. Call them back, for God’s sake.” Black pulled her down against his chest again, not prepared to stop anytime soon.
Claire let him do that, but then braced her elbows on his chest as she pulled out the phone. She frowned as she read the screen. “It’s the front desk. It might be about Rico. I better answer.”
“The desk usually calls me when it’s about Rico.” But Black let go of her and watched her sit up and answer the phone. He worried about Rico as much as Claire did, but not so much when he was staying with Harve. Claire listened for a moment, and then she said, “No, wait, wait a second, don’t send him up here. I’ll come down.” After that, Claire sat up in a hurry and started pulling on her clothes.
Black sighed. “What? Can’t it wait?”
“No, unfortunately. She says there’s an FBI agent down in the lobby insisting that he talk to me tonight. Said it concerns an extremely urgent matter.”
“And that would be your murder case, I take it?”
“Yep, afraid so.” Claire stood up, hastily pulled on her snow boots, and started lacing them up.
“We can make love any old time, all night long if you want. Suits me fine. But if there’s a federal officer downstairs demanding to see me, something important is going on. And it probably does concern this homicide. On which, by the way, we have exactly zip.”
“You haven’t told me about your case. So why don’t I tag along and see what’s so important? Maybe I can help.”
“Okay with me. He might object, though. You know how uppity FBI agents can get.”
Black got dressed quickly. He was a forensic psychiatrist; he was always interested in her cases, and Claire had solved some doozies. Mainly, he liked to help so she wouldn’t get shot or beaten up again.
Minutes later, they were inside the private elevator and on their way down to the lobby. Two Cedars restaurant was still open, and so was the adjoining bar. Both places were fairly crowded. Probably late Christmas office parties. They had a ton of bookings this year. The bar looked jam packed. All the hotel boutiques were still open, too, and would be until midnight. Black was pleased with Cedar Bend’s bottom line. It had become the place to go at the lake and was always busy and buzzing with excitement. Better yet, he didn’t see any paparazzi or reporters anywhere. Either they’d given up for the night or something notable was going on somewhere else.
“That must be him,” Claire was saying, looking toward the main fireplace. “See that guy sitting in the rocking chair? He’s the only man I see who’s not with a group.”
Black found the guy she was talking about and watched him for a moment. There were leather couches and chairs all around the raised hearth, the fire built up high, logs blazing and snapping. People sat everywhere, conversing or enjoying cocktails and the warmth of the fire. The FBI agent sat off by himself, so Black and Claire walked over to him together. When he saw them approaching, he stood up. His eyes riveted solely on Claire, really scorching her with the kind of masculine stare that Black understood all too well. He didn’t like it. He didn’t like him.