La Brat

by Ashe Barker

  “I don’t know—yet. We will solve this, though. And until we do, you won’t be out of my sight, not even for a moment. I won’t let anyone hurt you again.”

  He caught her gaze and held it. She felt steadied by his quiet determination, his unwavering confidence. She believed in him.

  With a self-conscious cough of her own, Elise stood and reached for her bag. “I need to get back. I just wanted to see you for myself, to make sure you were okay. I’ll let everyone else know.”

  Aaron turned to her. “Actually, if you wouldn’t mind, could you just let everyone else think Genie is still unconscious? Best not to broadcast that this attempt failed in case it encourages whoever set that fire to have another go.”

  Both women stared at him.

  “Do you think they might? Am I still in danger?” Eugenie could hear the tremor in her voice.

  Aaron gave her a reassuring smile. “Not right at this moment. Whoever did this is probably assuming you’re still at death’s door, and I want to keep it that way. Apart from us three, only Pierre knows you’ve regained consciousness and are able to tell us anything about what happened. When the doc says you’re fit to be discharged, my plan is to sneak you back into the hotel without anyone else knowing you’re there. Pierre and Elise can help keep other staff away while we spirit you through. You can hide out in my apartment. We’ll check out the CCTV images, see if anything jogs your memory further—if you feel up to that, of course. Or you can just get some rest.”

  “No, I want to help. And I want to be at that wedding. If I can…”

  “It’s not until late afternoon tomorrow. We’ll probably know a lot more about what happened by then.” He grinned at her. “I don’t want to miss it either, after all the work we’ve both put in.”

  “When can I leave here?”

  Elise leaned down to kiss Eugenie’s cheek, a purely Gallic gesture. “I’ll see if the doctor’s still around and ask him to come back and talk to you about that.” She turned to Aaron. “I assume you’ll be staying here?”

  He nodded.

  “I’ll see you soon then.” Elise stopped in the doorway. “Aaron, let me know when you’re coming back and I’ll make sure the coast is clear.” With a quick wave at Eugenie, she was gone.

  A few minutes later, the doctor came back. “I gather you want to leave us already?”

  Eugenie’s smile was self-conscious. “I’m feeling a lot better now, thank you. You’ve been very kind, but I’d like to go home, if I can.”

  He smiled at her. “Ah, we have that effect on so many of our guests. I daresay your accommodations at the Totally Five Star are much more comfortable. Well, your readings were near enough normal, but I’d like to get a couple more hourly observations in before discharging you. It’s after nine in the evening now, so how about you stay with us overnight and we’ll look to send you on your way first thing in the morning?”

  Eugenie grimaced. She’d hoped to be leaving sooner than that. Aaron’s expression was suddenly pure Dom, daring her to argue. Eugenie subsided back against her pillow.

  “That sounds fine, Doctor. Thank you.”

  On reflection, tomorrow would come soon enough.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Aaron much preferred her in his bed than in the hospital one, especially as she didn’t find it necessary to wear any clothes. Perhaps it was the fact that he was stretched out alongside her. Certainly, that didn’t hurt. Eugenie turned to nestle up against him, her nose buried in the cotton of his T-shirt. He could hear her breathing and thanked God for that sound. He’d nearly lost her.

  “Thank you for staying with me.”

  He pulled her up his body to plant a kiss on her mouth. “I said I would. We’re joined at the hip, you and me, until this is settled.”

  “Nice idea, Sir. And since we are here, in your bed…”

  His cock twitched, but he knew that would have to wait. Still, he couldn’t help playing with her. “Insatiable slut. Aren’t you tired?”

  “No, Sir. I’ve done nothing but sleep for nearly two days.”

  “Thirty-six hours, actually. Well, since you’re so bright-eyed and bushy-tailed right now, do you feel up to watching a bit of television? Of the closed circuit variety?”

  Eugenie sat up next to him, treating him to an uninterrupted view of her gorgeous breasts. His cock was taking on a life of its own.

  “Can we view it from here?”

  Christ, yes. We could probably view it from the moon if it got any bigger.

  “Sir? The CCTV—can we watch it from your apartment?”

  Aaron gave himself and his rampant testosterone a mental shake. Business first, pleasure later. Lots of pleasure.

  “Yes. I can patch my laptop through to the hotel system. Wait there.” He rolled from the bed and left the room. A few moments later, he returned, his laptop under his arm. He’d loosened the button on his jeans. He set the computer on top of the duvet and winked at her as he fired it up.

  “Looking good there, little Genie. Maybe I should move you in permanently.”

  “Sir?”

  “Just an idea. Your flat is uninhabitable and I don’t think there are any vacant ones. At least not singles.”

  Her face fell. “Oh. I see. That’s kind of you, Sir.”

  “And of course a live-in sub is so much more convenient. I could fuck you every morning. How would you like that, Genie?”

  “I’d like it very much, Sir. If it’s not too much trouble. Are you sure you have enough room for me?”

  “I’ll make space. Are you being a brat again, Genie?”

  “Me, Sir? Of course not.”

  “Mmm, I think you are. Whatever, I’ll spank you anyway. After we’re done here.”

  “Thank you, Sir. Do I have any clothes left? After the fire, I mean?”

  He glanced across at her. “I’m not sure. There was a lot of smoke damage. The TFS insurance will cover you, though. Elise sent some stuff over for you to borrow until you can replace your own.”

  “She’s been so kind. She’s a wonderful boss.”

  “She values her best staff and looks out for them. And she likes you.”

  “You too. I mean, you’ve been wonderful too. Did I thank you for rescuing me?”

  “You did, and you will again. I intend to fuck you until you see stars later. If you feel up to it, naturally. That’ll be my reward.”

  “I see. But even so, Sir, I want you to know how grateful I am.”

  He turned to face her, his expression serious. “Don’t be grateful. I love you. You mean the world to me. What else would I have done? I need you. Here. With me.”

  “So, the live-in sub thing, it’s not just for convenience?”

  “Who are you talking to, Genie?”

  “For convenience, Sir? I apologize.”

  “Accepted. No. It’s not. You may be many things, my sweet little slut, but convenient is not one of them. You’ll lead me a real dance, but I’ll manage to control you. Somehow.”

  “Your belt might be useful, Sir.”

  “Indeed.”

  “And a cane. A cane always gets my attention.”

  “I’ve noticed.”

  “I don’t much like being whipped.”

  “I noticed that too. I’ll be needing a new whip. Maybe two.”

  “Thank you, Sir.”

  Aaron growled as she shifted to kneel on the bed, leaning forward to peer at the screen of his laptop, her pert little bottom right in front of his nose.

  Later, baby. You will regret that. His cock was straining the font of his jeans. This was going to be a difficult day.

  * * * *

  “There. That’s the maid. She was about halfway along the corridor when I got back.”

  They sat on the bed, Eugenie nestled between Aaron’s outstretched legs, her bum pressing against his erection. His self-control was sorely tested as he reached his arms around her, his fingers on the keyboard. They had work to do. Aaron halted the recording to note the time th
e cleaner had come into view. Ten minutes or so before he knew Genie had returned to her room.

  They watched the woman push her trolley full of cleaning materials along the deserted corridor. She paused at Genie’s door and knocked. She waited a few moments then continued on her way to the far end of the hallway. There, she turned the trolley around then just leaned on the handle, waiting.

  “What’s she doing? She doesn’t look to be doing any work.”

  “I’d say she’s waiting for something. Or someone.”

  “Me? Do you suppose she was waiting there for me?”

  Aaron shrugged, not wanting to give voice to his suspicions. But she was spot on. He used the zoom facility to move in for a close-up of the maid’s features. His heart lurched as he recognized the face.

  “Shit! That’s Sara Khalid al-Fulani.” Aaron leaned forward to study the image in the screen. “What the fuck is she doing pushing a bloody cleaning trolley?”

  “You know her?”

  Aaron nodded, reaching for his phone. “Yes. She’s part of Farah’s household. Deals with her personal correspondence mainly. You’ve probably seen her about the hotel but had no close dealings with her.” He tapped his phone once and put it to his ear. It was answered immediately.

  “Pierre? Can you locate Sara Khalid al-Fulani? I want to know exactly where she is at this moment. No, don’t let her know we’re interested, just find her and tell me.”

  He thanked Pierre before turning back to the computer. He tapped a few more keys to access his restricted security files and went straight to his personnel files relating to the wedding party.

  “I did the checks on all the guests, but not the personal staff of either Farah or Lucas. Their own operations had that covered. Or so we thought. Here, this is Sara.” He hit a key and the screen filled with an image of a young woman, pretty enough, dark-haired, dark-eyed, smiling into the camera.

  “I have seen her.”

  “Yeah, you will have.”

  Eugenie grabbed for his arm, her fingers digging into his wrist. “No. Not with Farah. I’ve seen her working as a maid before—or pretending to.” She turned to him, her eyes glittering. “She was there, in the corridor, when I fell down the stairs. I know it was her. I walked right past her, she said good morning to me.”

  Realization dawned, the final pieces started dropping into place. There was a reason he didn’t believe in coincidences.

  “Holy fucking shit.” He grabbed his phone and in moments had Pierre back on the other end. “How far back do we store CCTV records for? Thirty days?” He turned to Eugenie. “Can you remember what date it was when you fell down the stairs?”

  She did a quick tally in her head, then replied, “The twenty-second of last month, I think. Yes, the twenty-second. Definitely.”

  “Good. We might just be in time, then. Pierre, can you find the CCTV footage from the twenty-second of June, seventh floor in the staff wing. Particularly the area around the lifts and stairs. Patch it through to me as soon as you have it.”

  “Do you think she was the one who set fire to my apartment? Why would she do that? I don’t understand. Why would she want to attack me?”

  “I have no idea. But I intend to find out. You’ve been having too many mishaps for my liking, and if Sara was in the vicinity on more than one occasion, that means she has some questions to answer. Apart from anything else, I want to know why she’s been sneaking around the hotel disguised as a chambermaid.”

  “She could be a thief. You know, using her passkey to access guests’ suites.”

  “That’s a possibility, though no thefts have been reported.” Somehow, his instincts were not screaming ‘thief’ at him. His gut told him this was something else, something more complex.

  “Maybe she’s planning something…” Eugenie broke off as Aaron’s phone trilled. He reached for it, saw Pierre’s name on the caller ID.

  “Yes?”

  “Boss? I’m sending you the CCTV now. You’ll want to see this.”

  Aaron wedged the phone between his head and his shoulder as he tapped the computer keys again to go back to the CCTV footage. This time the image was of the section of the hallway close to the lift. The maid—Sara—was clearly visible, dragging a vacuum cleaner along the carpet.

  “See. That’s her. I knew it.” She peered more closely. “What’s she doing? That vacuum cleaner isn’t even plugged in.”

  “It’s a prop, that’s all. Look, this is you.”

  The image showed Eugenie walking along the corridor, her stride brisk. She sidestepped to get past the maid and the two exchanged a brief greeting.

  “That’s when she said good morning. She looked right at me. I recognized her as the same maid when I opened my door the other evening. That’s why I didn’t think anything of it, I’d seen her before.”

  They both watched the screen as Eugenie continued down the corridor to the lift. She pressed the call button then waited a few moments before heading for the stairs.

  “My sandal came undone. I stopped to fasten it. I sat on the top step—”

  “Look. Watch the maid. She’s coming up behind you.”

  “I never heard her. I thought she was still somewhere along the hall. What is she—?” Eugenie grabbed his hand, her eyes startled. “Did you see that? Did you see what she did? She pushed me! The bitch, she actually pushed me down the stairs.”

  “She sure did.” Aaron rewound the final few seconds of the recording and replayed it. They watched in silence this time as the maid in the image crept along the hallway and crouched a couple of feet behind Eugenie. As Eugenie started to rise, having fastened her sandal, the maid moved fast. Her hands outstretched, she shoved Eugenie in the middle of the back to propel her head first down the stairs. This time Aaron let the recording continue. Eugenie had disappeared from their view but they watched the maid as she stood on the landing for several seconds, looking down the stairs after Eugenie. Then she turned and marched off in the other direction.

  “I never felt the push. How could that be?”

  “Probably because you were startled and concentrating on trying not to fall. And maybe because it seemed so unbelievable you just didn’t register the possibility.”

  “Maybe. I heard her, though, after I fell. I heard her footsteps. I thought she was coming to help me, but there was just the sound of a door closing then silence.”

  “Pierre? You still there?” Aaron had his phone to his ear again.

  “Yes, boss. Did you see it?”

  “We did.”

  “And the other footage? From the other night?”

  “What? No, not yet.”

  “Look at that too. I’ll wait.” Pierre’s tone was terse.

  “You’re on speaker. Eugenie is here too.”

  “Okay. Good morning, Miss d’André. I hope you’re feeling better now.” The security consultant’s voice softened, his concern apparent.

  “I’m fine, thank you, Monsieur Barent.”

  Aaron switched the CCTV footage back to the shots of the corridor outside Eugenie’s apartment. He used the fast forward function to flick through several minutes where the maid in the image made no move to perform any duties.

  “She’s not there to work, that’s for sure.” Aaron muttered the comment, glancing at Eugenie.

  The disembodied voice of Pierre Barent answered him. “You’ll see what she’s there for in a minute. Has Miss d’André appeared yet?”

  “No. Yes, here she is.” Aaron leaned forward, concentrating hard on the scene unfolding on the small screen. Eugenie came into the picture, walking down the hallway and letting herself into her room. Moments later, the maid pushed her trolley along the corridor, stopping outside Eugenie’s door. She knocked and waited. The door opened, the maid seemed to be saying something, then she turned to lift a pile of bedding from her trolley.

  “She told me she had fresh bed linen.”

  “Right. And now she’s handing you the sheets. Shit—what was that? What did she ju
st do?”

  “She had something in her other hand, some sort of weapon. It looks as though she hit Miss d’André with it.” The disembodied voice again.

  “I don’t remember anything about that. I took the sheets then… Nothing.”

  “Carry on watching.” Pierre’s tone was grim.

  They watched as the maid pushed the door of Eugenie’s room open and stepped inside. A couple of minutes later, she came out and closed the door behind her. She knelt beside it for a couple of seconds and looked to be fiddling with the lock.

  “What’s she doing now? Did she sabotage the locking mechanism?”

  Pierre’s reply was curt, “Yeah. She used a magnet. A strong one but wafer thin. She attached it to the underside of the lock housing and it played havoc with the circuitry. An old trick but effective. She locked the door, then she disabled the signaling system so it wouldn’t respond to any more commands. It stayed locked.”

  Aaron let out a low whistle as they watched the maid scurrying away from the room. “Will we be able to prove it, though?”

  Pierre chuckled. “We have the footage. And I have the magnet. She’s not wearing gloves so her fingerprints will be on it. I reckon we can make that stick.”

  “You have the magnet? How?”

  “I saw this footage last night, remember? As soon as I realized she’d tinkered with the lock, I went to investigate and found the magnet. It was subtle. The police and fire service both missed it. In fairness, they weren’t looking.”

  As they watched the continuing sequence of images, they caught sight of the first wisps of smoke creeping from under the door then, seconds later, Aaron came into the picture, hurtling down the corridor carrying the fire extinguisher.

  “Thank God you came.”

  “I wish I’d been there sooner. Christ, I was so scared. I thought I’d lost you.”

  Eugenie winced as she saw him launch himself at her door, splintering the frame on the second attempt. She turned to bury her face in his chest. He closed his arms around her and kissed the top of her head, oblivious for once to her nakedness. He was only aware of the warm, living, breathing woman that she was. That she still was, despite the repeated efforts of this would-be murderer.