# # #
Lucas called Calaveras Realty again. “Can I speak to Josh, please?”
“Just a moment. Hold, please.”
“This is Josh,” the voice came across the line.
“Hi, Josh. I spoke to you before about that two story house on Nestor Lane.”
“Oh, yeah. I remember.”
“You told me someone had signed a lease on it, but it still looks unoccupied to me.”
“Hmm…well, I don’t know what to tell you. Immediate occupancy isn’t something we monitor.”
“I see. Well, I’m still interested in renting it.”
“I’m sorry, but it is rented. Just because it’s not occupied, as long as the party has paid the rent…. Can I get your name and phone number and what you’re looking for? Perhaps we can find something else to suit your needs.”
“No. This is the only one I’m interested in.”
“Yes, well, if you buy it, you can do as you like, but you’ll have to give the renter 30 days notice.”
“All right. That’s an idea. If I decide to pursue that course, I’ll let you know.”
“Would you mind giving me your…?”
Lucas ended the call. If somehow he could make them think he was buying it, maybe he could get access to the renter records.
The little pickup wasn’t there now. It seemed to come and go at the oddest hours for just an average citizen. He would wait until dark and, if the pickup wasn’t there, maybe he’d have a closer look.
# # #
“So, tell me this again, you’re obsessing over an empty house with a pickup that comes and goes?” Brighton asked.
Lucas counted to three before answering. “There is just something about the situation that bothers me, so I’m going to keep an eye on it.”
“What a waste of time.”
“It’s not like we don’t have a lot of it.”
Brighton put his hands up in acquiescence.
Bill didn’t say anything.
“If it makes you feel better, I’ve postponed the move to camp indefinitely. So I’m not quite as obsessed as you think. I just want to be sure. That’s my job.”
“So we’re not moving up to camp?” asked Audra, who was just entering the room. “I’m not sure how I feel about that. If there’s any doubt….”
“There’s no doubt, Audra. It’s just Lucas’s overly cautious way,” Brighton said.
Audra looked from one man to the other. Brighton was getting pretty bold. Was he losing his trust in Lucas?
She pushed by them both and went into the game room.
“Brighton,” Lucas said in a controlled voice. “Don’t undermine me with our witness.”
“Too late,” he said. “I think you’ve already done a pretty good job of that yourself.”
Later that night, Lucas relieved Bill.
“Are you sure?” Bill asked. “When do you sleep?”
“I think I slept a couple of nights ago,” Lucas laughed. “I’ve got too much on my mind, and I need to feel more alert. I’ll be more on my toes if I’m on watch.”
“Okay, then. If you get too tired after a while, just come and get me. I’ll take a power nap in the meantime.”
Lucas grinned at the thought of Bill power napping. They had replaced the straight-backed chair with a large wingback chair. It was supportive and comfortable without being something you sank into and went to sleep. It made those long watches a bit more bearable.
He settled back into it, leaning his head back and closing his eyes. The second he closed them, he was back in the room with her, reliving their last encounter.
He felt himself swell. How could he not? Every single thing about her intoxicated him. He didn’t know how to act. She deserved compassion, but he wasn’t one to give it. He didn’t want to feel sorry for her and was pretty sure she didn’t want him to.
Trying to force himself not to think about her just made it worse. He knew he needed to be more professional. Why couldn’t he just walk away when he felt her beside him? He was immediately at the brink every time she approached him.
He was able to be fairly professional during the day, but it seemed that when night descended and the temptress came out, he turned into an animal. He knew he could have Bill do the night room check; but, he also knew he wouldn’t.
So, why was he sitting here outside her room now? Especially since he sent everyone else to bed? There was a reason he usually took the earlier watch—the thought of her sleeping alone behind those doors was too much temptation.
Another thought interrupted his reverie. What was Brighton up to? Lucas knew they spent a lot of time together during the day when Brighton was on watch. What had she confided to him? Worse yet, what had he told her?
Why would Brighton even want to undermine me to Audra? Was this a ‘bigger dick’ thing?
Suddenly, Lucas heard her moaning, calling out. He was immediately on his feet and barreling into her room. He stood for a second, getting his bearings. There was no intruder. She was sleeping.
She started again with an eerie sound, and he realized she was having a nightmare.
He closed the door behind him and walked to the bed, turned on the lamp, and gently shaking her to rouse her from the dream.
“Lucas!” she said, sitting up. “You’re alive!”
“I’m right here, Audra.”
She started sniffling, and he realized she was crying. He sat on the edge of the bed. “What were you dreaming about?”
“Oh god. Somebody was in the house, and all of you were dead, well, at least you and Bill were. I didn’t see Brighton. Then, someone was sneaking up the stairs, creeping toward my room. I saw a figure in the doorway….”
She buried her face in his chest and sobbed. He put his arms around her. “It’s okay. It’s okay. We’re all okay,” he said.
“I’m so frightened, Lucas,” she said. “I want to go up to the camp. I just have this sense of foreboding here.”
“Okay,” he soothed. “Just trust me, Audra.”
She lay back down and pulled the covers around herself, turning her back to him.
He just sat there for a few more minutes, trying to be a comforting presence but knowing he probably wasn’t accomplishing it.
He got up and turned off the lamp. He stood there until he heard her even breathing, knowing she was asleep.
He went back out and sat down in the chair.
Her dream was kind of strange in an unsettling way, dreaming that he and Bill were dead and Brighton was missing. He had postponed going to camp until he could discern what was really happening around here, but it was time to think more about averting disaster.
He was frustrated. Before, he had always been so decisive, now he was waffling, and he couldn’t afford to. Maybe Brighton’s own sense of trust was being undermined. He wished he could start this whole detail over from before leaving Tucson. How had he lost his edge?
He hated his own mind right now. He had been in thousands of stressful situations without ending up with PTSD; but, he had been over-confident, and his cover had been blown in Nogales. He had been so dogged about capturing Blanco. For the first time, he realized that if he had not failed to get Blanco, none of this would have happened to Audra.
9
“So, I had this dream last night,” Audra said to Brighton, sitting at the kitchen table after lunch. It was her day to cook again, and Brighton always helped cook and clean up. She was munching on chocolate hazelnut wafer cookies.
“Oh, yeah?” Brighton said, looking hopeful. “Was it about me?”
“Sort of, but not really. I dreamed Lucas and Bill were dead and you weren’t around.”
He raised his eyebrow.
“And then somebody was in my doorway. It was one of those dreams where you try to scream, and all you get out is this weird moaning.”
“Maybe it was me in your doorway.”
“I hope not,” she said. “Whoever, whatever, was in the doorway felt very threatening.�
��
“Nope, wasn’t me,” he said. “Then, you woke up?”
“Yeah. Lucas was shaking me.”
“What was he doing in your room?”
“I think I was yelling in my sleep. He must have heard me.”
He reached for her hand. “I wish I had heard you,” he said.
“It’s okay. I’ll just be glad when we’re out of here. There is something really creepy about this place at night. I always feel like I’m being watched, even though my curtains are drawn.”
“Really?” he asked. “We should be making you feel safer than that.”
“Who knows,” she said. “Maybe something weird happened in my room a long time ago, and I’m getting some kind of residual….”
“Residual? You definitely read or watch too much paranormal stuff.”
She shrugged. “Nevertheless, even knowing that you guys are right there, I feel alone and creeped out at night.”
Ha, he thought. Was this a come on? Did she want him so she wouldn’t feel so alone?
She stood and headed for the door to the wine cellar.
“Where are you going?”
“To pick out some wine for dinner. Want to help me?”
He felt himself getting hard. This was definitely a come on.
She opened the door, heading down to the cool dampness, and he dutifully followed.
He stood there behind her while she searched.
She laughed. “Like I have any idea what I’m looking for.”
He reached around her, clasping her in his arms, he whispered in her ear. “I know what I’m looking for.”
She turned around and looked at him, laying her arms against his chest.
Why not? her brain screamed at her. Don’t you dare! It said next. It was like having the proverbial angel and devil sitting on her shoulders. Would he, could he, be satisfied with a great kiss? Completely ignoring all the alarm bells going off in her head, she leaned up to kiss him.
He moved them away from the wine racks and pressed her back into the rock wall. She instantly knew she had made a mistake. This was nothing like the way Lucas touched her. It was as if she were some piece of meat between a dogs paws. His kisses were hard and unpleasant.
He was immediately unbuckling his belt with one hand and unfastening her bra with the other.
She was so fucking naïve, and she knew it. She had thought they would have just a pleasant, titillating make-out session, one to keep them both on edge, but it seemed he was determined to have her right then and there.
He had her bra pulled down and was attacking her nipples, biting them.
She squealed a little and pulled away, but that just seemed to fuel him all the more.
He took her hand, placing it on his rapidly stiffening prick.
“Stroke me,” he whispered into her ear.
She was frozen. She wanted it to stop.
Next thing she knew, he was being pulled off of her and thrown to the floor.
“Brighton! What the fuck do you think you’re doing?”
He didn’t look at Audra as she struggled to refasten her bra and pull her shirt down.
“You are so out of here, buddy.”
“Me? You’re nuttier than a fruitcake. If you try to get me in trouble with the Service, I will tell them about you.”
“Tell them what? That I’m doing my job?”
“How about you waking her up and comforting her in her bed?”
“What the…?” Lucas shot Audra a dirty look. “I don’t have to explain my actions to you.”
“I was invited down here,” Brighton taunted.
Lucas’s jaw clenched. “Get your dick back in your pants.”
Brighton zipped himself up, and then started to get up off the floor. Lucas threw him against the wall and punched him hard in the face.
“You are so cooked, Roberts.” Brighton swung back.
Lucas grabbed the front of Brighton’s shirt, dragging him up from the floor.
Bill came pounding down the stairs. “Lucas! Let him go!”
Lucas stepped back, throwing his hands in the air, Brighton stumbling backwards.
Brighton lunged at Lucas, but Bill prevented him.
“Cool off, you two.”
Bill turned and saw the frightened look on Audra’s face. “Are you okay?”
Without a word, she turned and ran up the stairs. They could hear her running across the kitchen and up the stairs to the second floor. Her room door slammed shut.
# # #
She jumped on the bed, burying her face in a pillow. What would Lucas think? Thank god he got there when he did; she didn’t know how she would have gotten away from Brighton.
But what did it look like from Lucas’s viewpoint? Probably exactly what it was—that she had teased Brighton just like she teased him, and Brighton was taking her up on it.
Didn’t anyone educate you on what happens to a woman who’s a chronic tease? Lucas had asked her. She was learning the hard way.
She just wasn’t admitting the truth to herself—she really wanted it and being cooped up with three men was making her crazy. She wasn’t blaming the situation, but couldn’t she reasonably expect to be safe?
She knew she could except when everything about her said, “Fuck me.”
# # #
The three men were in the entertainment room. Lucas was leaning over the billiard table his fists clenched, his knuckles resting on the table. He felt like he was losing control of everything.
“Let me ask you again in case you didn’t hear me the first time,” he said, having regained control of his voice, “What the fuck were you doing?”
“I think that should be fairly obvious. I’m not going to make excuses.”
“I don’t care if she took all her clothes off and laid down in front of you, you don’t touch her. Good god, man. How long have you been in the Service?”
Brighton just looked at him, steely-eyed. “Like you haven’t touched her yourself.”
Lucas straightened up to his full height. Surely she hadn’t told him anything. But then, why would he expect that she hadn’t?
“Is that why you’ve been undermining me to her? To try to break her down?”
“I don’t need to. Like I said, you’ve done a fine job of that yourself.”
“But you have. I’ve heard you. Who knows what you say when you’re alone?”
“Who knows what you say when you two are alone,” Brighton rejoined.
“Stop it. Both of you,” Bill intervened. “Have we all gone mad around here? Do I need to call and have myself made captain of the detail and send you guys packing?”
Although it pissed him off, Lucas knew Bill was right. However, if he let that happen, both of them could kiss the Service goodbye.
# # #
Despite his best efforts, Lucas could not sleep. He got up and dressed, took his pistol, holster, and binoculars and went out to do another perimeter check. Nothing, nothing, nothing. It was the nothingness that made him nervous. It was almost like a void, like something waiting to suck them in. It had been a long time since he had felt such dread.
Sometime later, Bill got up and walked to the entertainment room where the TV was blaring as a DVD played. He opened the door to say something to Brighton, but he wasn’t there. He knocked on his room door. He didn’t know what he’d say if he came to the door, but he’d think of something. Bill knocked again, but when there was no response, he eased the handle and cracked the door open.
“Brighton!” he said in a loud whisper. “What the hell are you doing, buddy?”
Still no response. Bill hoped on one hand that he was just sleeping, while on the other hand realizing that nobody should be sleeping that soundly on a gig like this. Bill swung the door open and waited. He heard nothing, so he walked on in. Brighton wasn’t in the room or on the can. Where the hell is he now?
Bill knocked on Lucas’s door and told him about searching for Brighton. Lucas came out, checking the entertainmen
t room and Brighton’s bedroom and bathroom himself.
They walked downstairs, and Lucas walked out onto the front porch. Across the street, he saw the red cherry glow of a cigarette end.
“He’s across the street, smoking.”
“It takes 7 minutes to smoke a cigarette. I’ve been looking for him for 20.”
Lucas shrugged and went back inside, Bill following him.
They were both standing in the front hallway when Brighton came in and asked, “What’s up, guys?”
“Where’ve you been this time?” Bill asked, “And don’t tell me the can or out smoking. I’ve been looking for you for 20 minutes.”
Brighton stood there, mouth partially open, looking back and forth between Bill and Lucas.
“Why do I get the distinct impression that I’m facing the Inquisition?” Brighton asked. “Are you just trying to get me in trouble, Taylor? I’m not the one under watch here, if you recall.”
“There are pretty tight rules, if you recall,” Lucas rejoined, “one of which is that you don’t just disappear for any amount of time without letting someone know where you’re going.”
“Are you serious? Do I have to tell you when I take a shit or smoke a cigarette?”
“He’s not kidding when he says he’s been looking for you for 20 minutes. I’ve been looking for you for 10,” said Lucas.
“I’m just walking around. Checking things out. Getting the lay of the neighborhood,” responded Brighton.
“Fair enough. But just so nobody gets their knickers in a knot, tell us when you’re going for a smoke or a stroll,” said Lucas.
“Aye, aye, Cap-i-tan,” Brighton said.
“We’re a team here, Brighton, whether you like it or not. For Audra’s safety, for everybody’s safety, we have to work together,” said Lucas.
Brighton said nothing more but nodded his assent as he headed up the stairs.
# # #
“Did it ever occur to you,” Bill asked Lucas when the two of them were alone, “that Brighton might be trying to throw you off the track of something else?”
Lucas swung his head to look at Bill, feeling alarmed. “Like what?”
“I don’t know. The whole thing just makes me uneasy.”
“Well, imagine that. You, Audra, and I all feel uneasy with the situation, and Brighton is the only one who doesn’t. He’s also the only one who wants us to stay here.”
BILLIONAIRE BIKERS: 3 MC Romance Books Page 49