‘I’m not on duty, Cora, call me Noah.’
‘Noah,’ she said shyly and sighed. ‘It happened about a week ago. Her friend, Tinsley…did you meet her?’ Noah shook his head, his heart thumping with rising panic. ‘Well, Tinsley went to her apartment and Lila was crying and rambling about how she had ‘fucked something up’ and that it was really bad and she didn’t know what to do. Tinsley tried to talk to her, find out what was going on but Lila wouldn’t say, just kept saying she had screwed things up so bad.’
Noah’s heart was beating out of his chest. ‘So what happened next?’
Cora leaned forward, hugging her arms around herself as if her stomach hurt. ‘Tinsley said that all of a sudden, Lila just got calm – I mean, way too calm for how upset she’d been. Told Tinsley she loved her but she needed to be alone now. So Tinsley left – oh, and went on a date with my brother but that’s another story – and the next day, Mom and I went to see Lila – and the apartment was empty. I mean empty, empty. She’d asked the super to let us in if we wanted and we found a note.’
This was not good. ‘What did it say?’
Cora hesitated and then reached for her clutch. ‘Read it. I can’t stop looking at it.’ She handed him a letter. It was written on a heavy cream, obviously expensive paper, and Noah couldn’t help be thrilled at Lila’s scrawling handwriting.
Dear…Everyone,
I am so sorry about this but I can’t think of anything else to do but go away. From New York, from all of you. Know that I love you all, so, so much and I will forever be grateful for your love and your generosity.
I did something I can’t undo. Please don’t worry, it’s not illegal or life-threatening but I have to do it alone. Maybe one day, I’ll be brave enough to tell you.
Please, don’t try to find me.
I love you all,
Lila
Noah reread the letter three times. ‘There was a separate letter for Charlie but it was in a sealed envelope. He hasn’t told us what it said.’
Of course not. Not for the first time, Noah felt irritated with Charlie Sherman. At the same time…Charlie had known Lila for much, much longer than he had – and how well did he, Noah, know Lila anyway? One fuck does not make you soulmates. But the way he felt about her….
‘Noah? You look upset?’
Shit. He smiled at Cora. ‘I’m just concerned. It’s only a few months since she was stabbed; she shouldn’t be on her own. If there are complications…’ He trailed off, realizing he wasn’t helping Cora’s anxiety. ‘Look, she’s an adult, I’m sure she’s fine. Sometimes people just need space. Let’s hope that’s all it is.’
Cora nodded, again tears were threatening. ‘Dr.….Noah, would you stay in touch? I feel better talking to you; the rest of us are way too close to her.’
If only you knew. Noah nodded. ‘Of course.’
Later, Noah drove around to where Cora said Lila’s old apartment was and parked outside, looking up at the darkened windows. Where are you? He felt like a stalker, flying across a continent for a woman he’d slept with once. What the fuck am I doing? He started the car and drove back to his hotel. Forget her. You don’t want this drama.
Except when, later, he lay in bed staring up at the ceiling, all he could think about was Lila. That day, in his rehab studio, when she’d made it clear she wanted him; there had not been a doubt in his mind that making love to her was all he wanted. And the feel of her skin under his fingertips, the softness of her thighs around his waist as he moved inside her…
‘For the love of God!’ He rolled onto his side and gazed out of the window at the night. ‘Where are you?’
Don’t try to find me. Well, Lila, you didn’t write that note to me so, beautiful, I can ignore your wishes.
I will find you…
‘Okay. Let’s try this again…third time lucky.’ Harry grinned at Tinsley as they sat in the small cocktail bar. Tinsley laughed, shaking her head ruefully. Their first date – sort of date – was a washout. After she’d been with a distraught Lila, Tinsley had been distracted and subdued. At the end of the date, he’d driven her home and she’d apologized profusely.
A couple of days later, unable to get her out of his head, he called again and now, smiling at her, he tapped her glass with his.
‘I promise, this time, no annoying cop friends andno freaking out over Lila,’ she said.
‘Still not heard from her?’
Tinsley shook her head. ‘She doesn’t want to be found and I respect that. I miss her, of course, we all do, but she’s doing what she needs to do.’
Harry took a slug of his beer. ‘Can I be honest? I’m a little pissed at her. I don’t think she realizes what her taking off has done to my family, especially Cora. My sister is fragile and she loves Lila like a sister.’
Tinsley nodded. ‘I know. Lila’s not perfect, by any stretch but because, most of the time, she’s so level she gets tarred with that brush. Don’t judge her too harshly; she’s been through hell.’
Harry sighed. ‘In that case…why don’t we change the subject? I want to know about you, Tinsley.’
Tinsley grinned. ‘What do you want to know?’
‘Everything. Family?’
‘Mum, dad, two older brothers called Tyler and Joseph. Both are a pain in my ass but I begrudgingly love them.’ Her smile said it was more than begrudging love. ‘They’re typical surfer types; really, if you described a stereotypical surfer dude, that’s Ty and Joe.’
‘What about you?’
‘Went to college near home, came here to start art school. Dropped out when I got interested in managing a bar instead. Mikey sold me half the business last year. I love it.’
Harry nodded. ‘That’s great, finding your dream.’
Tinsley nodded. ‘I know it’s not everyone’s dream but I love the life. I’m a night owl, and a people person, I love meeting new people. Hell, I even enjoy a good bar brawl.’
Harry grinned. ‘Suddenly I’m having flashbacks to the wild west.’
Tinsley chuckled. ‘Red Dead Redemption, actually.’
‘You game?’
She nodded. ‘You?’
Harry looked embarrassed. ‘The whole thing passed me by, if I’m honest.’
‘So what’s your dream?’
He smiled. ‘Building boats and by that, I mean catamarans, sail boats, that type. Getting my hands covered in varnish, and jammed full of splinters from good wood.’
Tinsley’s eyes were wide. ‘That, I wasn’t expecting.’
Harry grinned. ‘What were you expecting?’
‘Well, just, you know, your brother was more about the bling – not over the top and crass, but as much as he tried to hide it, Rich liked his cars, and his penthouse and his Saville Row suits. You seem to be the plaid wearing step-child,’ she added with a wicked grin.
Harry laughed. ‘Is that the hipster version of the redheaded-stepchild?’
‘It is, except you’re not a hipster.’
‘Thank god. Well, I guess, me and Rich had a lot of differences. He was more spontaneous. I like the slow burn.’
It wasn’t intended, but at his words, their eyes met and held. Tinsley’s cheeks colored a little but she raised her chin and her sapphire eyes twinkled. ‘You do, huh?’
God, she’s delicious. ‘Yes, ma’am.’
She smiled as she sipped her drink. ‘I like that.’
He reached out and stroked her cheek with the back of his hand and she leaned into his touch. ‘Tinsley…I had all sorts of reservations about getting involved with someone. I still have those reservations. I can’t promise anything…I want to go back to Australia; it pulls me back, constantly, something deep in me. But I like you. A lot.’
She nodded. ‘I understand, I really do. I’ve never done long-term, not even with Charlie. I’m not sure I’m able to do commitment. But I can do fun.’
Harry smiled. ‘We’re on the same page.’
A small smile played around her lips. ‘Almost. I
’m a contradiction. I don’t sleep with anyone on the first date.’
Harry chuckled. ‘This is our third date.’
‘The first two were disasters, they don’t count,’ she waved her hand dismissively and he laughed loudly.
Tinsley leaned forward, and with a finger, traced a line down his inner thigh, slowly, lightly, until she placed her palm over his groin. Harry felt his cock respond but he smiled lazily at her as she cupped him through his jeans.
‘I’m looking forward to seeing more of you,’ she said, ‘but forgive me if I want to explore that slow burn.’ She removed her hand, and threw back the rest of her drink. ‘Pick me up tomorrow, my place. We’ll see if that slow burn is more of a flash burn.’
She winked at an astonished Harry and walked away. He watched the sway of her hips as she sauntered out of the bar, the way she looked back at him and grinned. Confident. Sexy.
He was looking forward to the next night. Flash burn indeed…
San Juan Island, Washington State
Was it stupid, coming back here? Was it too obvious, would they come looking? Lila had avoided – painfully – going back to Seattle so she picked a place up on San Juan Island, somewhere where she could walk around without being recognized but was still close enough to civilization. She wanted to be alone, not isolated.
Alone. Did she really want that or was she in Washington State because at least this way, she could be near to Noah. You’ll drive yourself crazy, she remonstrated with herself. Stop thinking about him. Noah Applebaum was not an option. Not now.
She sat on the porch of the little cottage she’d rented, that looked out over the Haro Straight. There was a decent bit of land with the property which she loved – privacy. Every morning since she had come here, she had taken her breakfast out on the porch, sitting at the small wrought iron table with her cereal and her tea. It was so quiet, so serene. She would periodically see orca in the water, marveling at their graceful movement despite their size.
It was almost heavenly. She sighed now, placing her hand over her belly, still not quite believing that a tiny being was inside there. Noah’s baby. The day she had found out, she had flipped, lost it. It couldn’t be, not now, not with all this going on – what the hell would she tell the Carnegie’s? Oh hi, yeah, we’ve just buried your son and my fiancé but guess what? I’m having my doctor’s baby! Surprise!
‘Jeez,’ she said to herself, cringing. Tinsley had happened upon her when she was in the middle of her meltdown but Lila didn’t tell her about the baby. She just shut down on her and Tinsley, obviously hurt, had tried to be a friend. When the realization hit that the only way to handle this was to leave, Lila’s mind had calmed, had stilled and she’d calmly and politely asked Tinsley to go. Lila felt a pang now; Tinsley was a good friend and she deserved better than the brush off she got.
Lila absentmindedly stroked her non-existent bump and wondered if she could risk emailing Tinsley to apologize. Get a temporary email address then delete it after she’d sent the mail. She couldn’t risk discovery, not by Tinsley, not by the Carnegies and not by Charlie.
And definitely not by the stranger who’d broken into her house that night. Every time she thought about it, she was surer someone had been in her apartment while she was asleep in the bath. When she’d gotten out of the freezing cold bath, wrapping a towel around her nakedness, she’d grabbed a full shampoo bottle to use as a weapon and marched with purpose around the whole apartment. Nothing. No-one.
But her things were moved. Her laptop, which she was certain had been shut off, was on, the browser open. She’d looked closer then recoiled with a gasp. Horrific images of murdered women, all of them stabbed.
Then she got mad. She stalked around the apartment again, this time armed with her own knife, checking every possible place a person could be. When she was satisfied, she let out a scream of rage.
She remembered that scream now; it had been a howl of anger, fear, and utter exhaustion. Whoever stabbed her still wanted her dead, that was clear.
So getting away was a no-brainer. Lila breathed in a lungful of cold, fresh, clean air and wondered what to do next. For once, she was glad of Rich’s money, that it gave her breathing space to work out what to do next. She wanted to completely remodel this house, get it ready for the baby. The baby’s room was the one room she would not spend Rich’s money; she just couldn’t do it. Not for another man’s baby.
So she would need a job. Minimum wage, stacking groceries until she was too big – she could do that. She would do that.
‘You and me now, beanpod,’ she said softly then went inside to change.
Noah pressed his lips against her throat, his big hands sliding around her back and stroking the soft skin. God I missed you…
The way she whispered his name as he stroked her thighs, pulling them around his waist and slipping his hand between her legs to stroke her sex, feeling the warmth, the dampness as she gasped at his touch. Lila…
Her violet eyes shone with love for him as his cock, so huge, so heavy, drilled deep into her ready cunt, her sharp intake of breath as he filled her, the friction between them driving them both wild as he moved in and out of her, their lips hungry against the others. Noah braced his hands either side of her head and slammed his hips against hers until she was moaning and coming and she looked so, so beautiful that he came over and over and over…
Noah stared up at the ceiling of his bedroom. Every night he lay here awake, unable to sleep, remonstrating with himself. You slept with the woman once. That’s it. Stop obsessing.
But it was the fact that she was missing that bothered him. Cora had told him that it wasn’t anything sinister but he couldn’t help but worry. Someone had tried to kill her before now; who’s to say he – or she – wouldn’t find her again and they would never know, never be able to protect Lila from her killer.
Damn it, Lila, why’d you make my life so damn complicated? Noah shook his head. He’d never taken advantage of his family’s wealth and connections much before, but earlier today, he’d called the private investigators his father used and set them on a countrywide search for Lila. Invasion of privacy? Maybe, but if they found her, he’d instructed them not to make themselves known to her, to keep a distance. Then he would make his decision as to how to approach her. Jeez, what a mess.
He couldn’t get an image of Lila’s murdered, mutilated body out of his mind. Please, god let me find her before he does…
With that thought screaming through his mind, Noah flicked the lamp off and tried to go to sleep.
Manhattan
Harry was early. Tinsley grinned at him as she opened the door, her hair still wet from the shower, the zipper on the back of her dress still undone. Harry raised his eyebrows at her.
‘Sorry, I got home from work late, could you zip me up, please?’
Harry laughed. ‘Sure thing…’ He let his fingertips drift up her spine before he pulled the zipper up and she shivered with pleasure. She turned around and slid her arms around his waist.
‘Thank you.’
He smoothed the damp hair away from her face and pressed his lips to hers. ‘My pleasure,’ he murmured, breathing in her clean, soapy scent. ‘Although I’d rather be taking it off entirely.’
Tinsley chuckled quietly. ‘Anticipation is the name of the game tonight, Mr Carnegie. Lots of kissing first…kissing and food, because I am starving.’
They both laughed. ‘What are you in the mood for?’
‘Hamburgers,’ she said immediately, ‘all flame-grilled and juicy.’ She made the words sound so filthy he gave a little growl and she laughed. She slid her hand over his demin-clad cock. ‘Patience. It’ll be worth it, I promise.’ She grabbed his hand and put it under her dress. His cool fingers found hot bare skin. No underwear. Harry groaned and buried his face in her neck.
‘Tinsley Chang, I swear you’ll be the death of me.’
She grinned. ‘Harry…I swear, tonight will be the best of your life. Are you up fo
r adventure? Whatever it is?’
Harry nodded. ‘Whatever it is.’
They ate at a local burger place, family-run, huge sandwiches, thin but incredibly tasty patties smothered in mustard, mayo, pickle and lettuce. The sauces dripped down their fingers and made a mess but they didn’t care. There was something so carnal, so sensual about the way they ate them, licking their fingers so suggestively that they both ended up laughing. Afterward, they went to a low key bar and drank mojitos.
‘I feel like I wanted to ask you more about your life, but tonight doesn’t feel like the right time.’
She nodded. ‘Tonight is all about the physical, Mr Carnegie.’
Really, he’d never met a woman so unaffected, so confident in her sexiness. It drove him wild.
‘So what do you like? Are you a straight up missionary girl….wait, I think I know the answer to that.’
Tinsley sipped her drink. ‘Harry, I don’t believe in limitations or labels. I don’t believe in holding back. If I want someone, and they want me, why pretend to follow social norms that say a woman should be coquettish or pretend to a reservation she doesn’t feel. That just gets in the way of a good fuck.’
Harry raised his glass to her. ‘I’ll drink to that.’
She grinned. ‘I bet you do. Harry…where’s the wildest place you’ve had sex?’
He considered. ‘Probably under the bleachers of my college football field.’
‘Is that it? Was it during a game?’
Harry grinned sheepishly. ‘Nope, sorry. How about you?’
Tinsley took a long moment before she answered. ‘There’s a club I go to sometimes.’
Harry caught her tone and grinned. ‘Oh, ‘a club’.’
She laughed. ‘Yes, and it’s exactly what you think it is, but it’s a safe space to…try new things.’
‘Like?’
‘Bondage.’ She studied his eyes for his reaction but he returned her gaze steadily. ‘It depends what you’re into, of course.’
Nightclub Sins: A Billionaire Romance Series Page 104