The room was quiet. The tension palpable. It was Cat’s sultry tone that broke the silence. “Where am I sleeping? It’s nearly eleven, and I’m tired.”
Gio hid his closed fists in his hand, and resisted the urge to answer her question with a quick comeback. He sensed the moment was wrong. Just looking at his brother’s face, he knew something was going on between these two that was oh so right. The chemistry between the two of them was electrifying. The air around them charged. He could tell just by looking at his brother that he felt it too. He looked at the woman more closely. She was stunning, exotic looking in an understated way. You would never make the assumption she was a high priced call girl from looking at her. She oozed class, and sex appeal. Unusual. Definitely a woman his brother would find intriguing. A real puzzle. And Andreas loved puzzles. He usually tried to avoid them in his choice of women, but this one was different. His brother couldn’t avoid her, he was welcoming her into his home. This woman, even though the timing and situation were horrible, might be just what his brother needed. Yup, he would keep his mouth shut, for now.
“Let’s head up, Lisa?” Gio indicated upstairs. Lisa nodded and quickly followed him out of the room.
“Good night,” Bella whispered as she and Blaze left.
Andreas and Catarina continued to lock gazes, ice blue eyes on fire meeting molten silver.
Sighing Ronnie muttered, “I’ll wait in the hallway for Nikko,” to no one in particular, and added an eye roll as she passed the only couple left in the room that hadn’t even glanced her way.
The spell he was under broke when Andreas heard Ronnie’s heels on the tile making a quick retreat. “Have him bring Catarina’s things to my room. I’ll sleep in my office.”
And then there were two.
Chapter 10
Yearnings
After leaving Catarina ensconced comfortably in his room, Andreas made his way down to his office. It was comfortable enough, had a sofa, and even a small bathroom. No shower, but he could wait until morning.
The first thing he did, however, was boot up his computer and once again scour the internet for some kind of information on Catarina Stone. She was still an enigma. His buddy Mark at the station hadn’t turned up anything either. He did say that because she was from out of the country he might have better luck looking internationally. That was what he was doing now. As he glanced at the clock, he realized he had been at it for over two hours. All his searches of Catarina Stone, and Cat Stone, and Amsterdam had turned up nothing. Having the city she grew up in he felt sure he would be able to find something there, but he had come up with absolutely nothing. Simple fact was that no one was that invisible, and it bothered him. Even a name mentioned in a high school event showed up these days on the internet. No one could be that invisible unless they were not using their real name. He had found many Cat Stones, Katrina Stones, Catarina Stones, but none of them were her.
He was going to have to call in some favors if he wanted to learn more about her, and it was obvious after tonight that her past was not up for discussion. After giving up on the internet, he stretched out on the sofa. He knew Romeo was after him. It was her insistence that her past, before coming to the United States in 2004 at the age of 19, was negligible that bothered him. He wanted to rule out that Romeo wasn’t targeting her; that he wasn’t someone from her past.
* * *
Even after his late night, Andreas was up early as was his custom. He freshened up as best as he could, and then put on on his running shorts and a simple black razor back t-shirt he’d found in his gym bag. He also grabbed his Adidas off the floor of his study. Making his way into the kitchen he filled his large water bottle, the one he carried with him when he ran, and then he made his way outside off the back of the living room onto his large terrace that overlooked the Bay. He put on his running shoes there, enjoying the still cool enough morning before the heat of the day returned. He needed to stretch and then he would run his usual 10k. He liked to run each day. It cleared his head, kept him in shape, and made his doctor happy.
As he began to stretch out his limbs, he watched the sun come up from behind the house, and when he twisted he saw her. Catarina. She was upstairs on his balcony that overlooked the swimming pool and bay. She faced the ocean and from this angle he could see her clearly. She took no notice of him. He watched in fascination as she began to move, doing stretches of her own. Her hair, so thick and glossy, billowed about her in the morning breeze. He watched as she scooped it up off the nape of her neck and tied it up with something. He hated to admit it to himself, but that simple act made him slightly disappointed. The girl was stunning. Her hair was so thick he couldn’t help but imagine what it would be like to touch, to pull. He had never seen anyone like her before. Her skin was pale, pink and cream, her hair a rich dark brown, her lips red, and not from lipstick. He had noticed last night she did not wear much makeup, only light tones that enhanced her natural beauty. Her grey eyes were dull one moment, and then in an instant sparked with intensity, but revealed nothing. The woman did not have a tell that he could pick up on. Her face was a mask of few lines and gave nothing away. He had to admit he was attracted to her. Just shaking her hand in the office yesterday, he felt the heat between them. Last night, after she agreed to stay, he could not get the image of her in his bed out of his mind. She had showed no signs of interest though. None that he could tell. The look she gave him was one of someone studying a person. He too was schooled at revealing nothing. With four brothers around he learned to mask his emotion, hide his feelings. He always needed to be the strong one. The one in control.
Her arm swept the sky as she reached for something, yet nothing. She was obviously doing Pilates or Yoga. But the shapes her body made as she moved had him mesmerized. Even from this distance he knew her body was perfection. Her dress last night had revealed her shapeliness, even though she was covered with just a hint of cleavage showing. He had taken it all in. All of her in an instant.
Walking her to his room last night had been torturous at best. After she finished her wine, and they talked a bit more, Andreas took her upstairs to show her the way, and to grab the things he would need for the night. The perfume she wore intoxicated him. She waited silently by the door while he gathered some things, and then thanked him as he walked out for being a gracious host. He had bowed out. Her whole demeanor was alluring and sophisticated. But yet he could not for the life of him figure her out. She wasn’t flirtatious, but oozed sex appeal. She was stunning, but did not flaunt her beauty. She was like no woman he had ever known.
Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, realizing he was still staring at her, at half mast no less, he decided to head out on his run. The last thing in the world he needed was for one of his brothers to catch him here. He would never hear the end of it.
* * *
Cat knew the instant Andreas was no longer watching her. She had continued her exercise throughout the time he watched her from down below. From the instant the sliding glass doors below opened and she heard the faint hiss of the glass in the early morning until she heard his feet slap softly against the pavement as he began to run, she had sensed his nearness. Even though she did not make eye contact, she knew the moment his eyes saw her. Her body already warmed up from her moves began to burn. The blood to pump more quickly. Her body, so long dormant, became alive. She knew it was attraction. She was attracted to this strange man who looked at her so oddly. Catarina had never felt these things before especially around someone of the opposite sex. Her body and mind questioned why she felt this now. Perhaps, it was the fear she felt with this murderer on the loose that had her other senses heightened.
The timing could not be worse. Her future and livelihood were once again at stake, and not only her own life, but the girls who worked for her as well. She just continued to do what her body needed to stay in her best physical form while he continued to watch her from below. She would have to put thoughts of Andreas Marino and her body’s reaction to h
im out of her mind. Her body wouldn’t be the one to betray her. He was an exceptionally fine specimen of a man. His rugged good looks, his chiseled face. It was like some of the statues she had seen as little girl, when her Grandmamma Sophie, and Grandpappa William had taken her to the Rijksmuseum to see the art. His body reminded her of the statues of The Two Temple Guardians. His physical form was perfection. His dark hair and skin all appealed to her. It was like he was carved from stone.
She chanced a glance down the road and watched as he ran away, along the trails that bordered the island. He was easy on the eyes. He was very interesting. She knew men, well. She knew what they liked and what they desired. She could see it in their eyes and in the flaring of their nostrils, the movement of their facial muscles. But Andreas did not show the normal signs of men. She shrugged her shoulder. Perhaps, he was gay? Yes, that could explain it. And it also made her laugh inside. It would figure that the first man she ever found attractive would be gay. She shrugged and changed her stance to the other leg, shifting slowly to give each muscle a good stretch while the movement was made. Ah, Ongelofelijk! He was gay! But then on a good note, she though whimsically, she need not fear him either.
Chapter 11
Holy Shit!
The first thing Andreas did when he got back to the office was to put in a call to a friend in Virginia. One of his friends had left New York to go work for the CIA. He hadn’t spoken to him in years, but was hoping he could get him some information about Catarina. A twinge of guilt hit him. Her life was her own and private as she had reminded him more than once. And this was not what she had hired him to do. But he would keep the information to himself. Despite her feelings, this case was personal for him—extremely personal. He needed to catch this monster and put that part of his past to bed. And, if it helped him to keep his family and her safe from Sal Mazzelli then he would do it, and apologize later if need be.
“Hell No, if it isn’t Andy Marino. As I live and breathe,” the boisterous voice on the other side of the phone boomed into Andreas’ left ear. “How are you man? And what do you want? People from the past only call you when they want something,” he barked running all his words together as he had always done.
Andreas laughed. Connor McGee was a 250 pound Irishmen who was rock hard, yet the biggest teddy bear you could ever meet. But his computer wizardry had landed him a great job in the CIA analyzing data at twenty five. He found it hard to imagine the bear behind a desk, but he was a bear. A teddy bear, and a grizzly. Maybe bigger.
“You haven’t changed have you?” Andreas started. But knowing the man was busy, he cut to the chase. “And yes, I need a favor.”
“Nope, I haven’t changed and neither have you. Still got your boxers in a bunch and it’s all business. All the time. What do you need?”
Appreciating Connor getting right to business, Andreas jumped in. “I’m working a case. I think it’s connected to my parents’ deaths.”
The man’s gravelly voice punched through the air waves. “Whatever you need, and whatever I can do.”
“Thanks man.” The whole precinct had supported him in his investigation before. “But, I need this just between you and me for now. I’m not sure if it’s anything.”
“Okay man. Give it to me straight.”
“I need information on a Catarina Stone. Came to the US in 2004 or 2005. Went to business school here. She is thirty, thirty-one. From Amsterdam. That’s all I got.”
“That’s not much. But her coming here from another county is a start. I will see what I can do, but with no numbers I can’t promise anything.”
He heard the man typing on a computer already. “I understand. Find out what you can.”
The typing stopped. “How do you think she is related to the earlier crime? She wasn’t even in the county when your parents were killed, right?”
“Yeah, I know, but I got a feeling. Just run it anyway. Let me know as soon as you find something.”
* * *
Two hours later, he got a text from Connor. The message read, “Put paper in your fax machine. I hit the mother lode.”
Palms sweating, Andreas went out into the reception area. Angela was quietly working away. She looked up when he came in. She must have noticed a change in his demeanor. “You okay?” she gave him an odd look.
“Yeah fine, I have a fax coming in. Kind of personal.” Angela’s eyes rose sharply. Andreas rarely kept anything from her.
Angela made a snorting sound. “Since when do you have anything personal going on?” When Andreas didn’t take the bait, Angela rolled her eyes, and exhaled in disgust. “I’ve got an errand to run. I could do it now,” she offered lamely.
“Yeah, do it,” he replied distractedly, as she watched him put paper into the machine. A lot of paper.
“Want me to do that first?” she asked as she saw him tear out several pieces he had bent by accident.
“No, I got it,” he replied still focusing on the task at hand.
“Whatever,” Angela replied and grabbed her purse from off of the floor beside her. “I’m taking my lunch too.”
“Fine,” he waved her off.
Slamming the door behind her, she thought, Andreas was a cranky SOB most of the time, but that, well, that was just weird.
* * *
Angela was just returning from her errand when Andreas grabbed the file of papers and stuffed them into his drawer. The fax machine had gone quiet after forty minutes. He read as it came out of the rack. There were news clippings, foster care reports, school records, request for refugee status, a birth certificate sent from Amsterdam, psychologist affidavits, notices of sealed testimonies, articles about grand jury indictments, and an FBI investigation, protective custody relinquishment reports, immunization records, a medical examiners report, and naturalization paperwork. He read each report as it came out of the printer, the only problem was it was in the name of one Katy Stenen. It confused him as hell at first but he was beginning to connect the dots when the final document printed, thankfully before Angela returned, and it was a request for name change, and it was signed by a judge. Katy Stenen had become Catarina Stone.
From what he could tell from his quick scan of the documents, this woman had gone to hell and back. And survived! And now she was the target of a serial killer. Couldn’t she catch a break? Fuck! He hadn’t really known her, but now, he wish he could un-know some of the shit he just read. Working vice for all those years, he had seen what he thought was the worst of what humanity had to offer, but what Katy or Catarina had gone through from her teenage years until she turned nineteen? Fuck! She was a child. He didn’t have all the paperwork, but he could tie it together fairly simply. The paperwork was dated from 1999 to 2004. She lied to him about when she came to the country though. She’d been in America since she was fourteen.
From what he could gather, it seemed she had been a sex slave, brought to America in a box trailer along with several other girls from the Middle East. How she ended up there wasn’t clear. But apparently she was brought to the United States in 1999 according to her naturalization papers. That would have made her fourteen. The medical report was a physical and treatment plan dated the year 2003. Four years later. The psychologist report had been to age her out of foster care which she was put into, and then removed a month later due to aging out of the system. The newspaper articles showed an FBI task force taking down several homes being used as fronts for prostitution in the state of Maryland. Inside they found sex slaves. Young girls kidnapped from around the globe and who had been held in captivity for God knows how many years. One article claimed the girls were as young as nine and as old as 40. The owners and operators were arrested and charged with countless crimes that included operating a prostitution ring, kidnapping, slavery, torture, rape, violations of countless state codes and statutes. She had not been deported though. Research showed her deceased father was an American, a soldier from the first Gulf War who had expatriated to Holland. She was allowed to remain in the coun
try under refugee status, and then later granted citizenship due to her record of birth. The psychologist’s report indicated her family was deceased. Father deceased in 1985 the year she was born. Her maternal aunt and grandmother deceased in 1987. Her mother deceased in 1988. Her maternal grandparents deceased in 1994 when she became a ward of the state. Homeless for three years the report stated, and Andreas quickly calculated. She would have been 12. Then the words he did not want to see appeared. Kidnapped 1997. Then transported to America in 1999. A slave at twelve! Fuck!
Could his mind erase any of what he had just read? He really needed a drink. This woman, how in the hell had she survived it all? He couldn’t fathom the strength it took to endure what she had endured. Survive? And she had! It was miraculous.
But even though he felt horrible for what she had been through, he couldn’t help but wonder. How did Romeo fit into her life? Perhaps she was right and her past didn’t matter, and it was him whom Romeo was targeting. She just managed to get in the way, seen at a chance event they both had been to. But he was killing her girls, and he left her that note. In ink, a warning, not blood on the wall. No one else was warned in advance. Just her. Why was this monster targeting her? Was it Romeo? Was it some other monster from her past using the old murders to strike fear into the town, a copycat? If it was Sal, wouldn’t he have reached out to him instead, baited him once more like he had done before.
Fuck it all to hell! He was going to get a drink. He thought learning about her past might bring him some clarity, some answers. All it did was create a whole new fucking set of very complicated questions.
Chapter 12
Exploring the Attraction
“Mr. Marino,” the sensual voice called through the receiver.
The Bounty Hunters: The Marino Bros.: Box Set Page 76