The door finally opened, and Blair sprinted toward Leo. The look on his face caused her to stop in her tracks. “Oh, God. I was right. They’ve found me.” When Zach and Emmett strolled in behind him, Blair clutched Andras’s arm for support. She didn’t want to faint again.
“You’d better sit down,” said Leo.
“Tell me what’s going on.”
“Sit down first,” said Leo. His gaze was serious. Blair took a seat on the edge of the sofa, still clutching Andras.
“Blair, Andras and I owe you an apology. We should have believed you the other evening when we were walking around Deer Lake. You did see two men in the woods.”
She let out the breath she’d been holding. There was no sense of vindication. She only felt terror.
“They tried to get in the resort while the fireworks were going on.”
“What? Where are they? Did they get away? How will—”
Leo held up a hand. “They’re still here. We”—he cut his glance toward Emmett, who was grinning like an idiot—“detained them indefinitely.”
“You killed them?” she whispered.
Leo shook his head. “No. They’re not dead.”
“Who are they? Do they work for Frankie?”
“We were hoping you could tell us that,” said Zach.
“What?”
Leo took her other hand. “Blair, we’d like you to come downstairs with us and tell us if they’re the same men who were at your father’s house, looking for you. Or if you recognize them at all.”
“I can’t.”
“Love, you’re the only one in this room who can.” Leo’s voice was soft and tender, in direct contrast to the intense look in his eyes.
Blair rose and followed the men downstairs, still hanging onto Andras’s arm. They walked behind the front desk and started down the basement stairs. In a small room off to the left, two men in dark clothing slumped against the wall. Their hands were tied behind their backs, and their ankles were bound. Handkerchiefs had been stuffed into their mouths, but she’d know their faces anywhere.
“Are you sure they aren’t dead?” she whispered.
“They’re unconscious,” said Zach in a quiet voice.
“Do you recognize them?” asked Leo.
Blair nodded. “Those were the two men in my house.”
“Let’s go up to the office and figure out what to do next,” said Zach.
This time when Andras offered her tea, Blair took it. One sip told her he’d put something stronger in it than honey, but she didn’t comment. She drank greedily, letting the booze warm the chill that had descended in her bones.
“If we kill them,” said Leo, “Frankie will bring a war down on our heads.”
The other men nodded in agreement.
“What about sending them back like this, as a warning?” suggested Emmett.
Andras shook his head. “No. Frankie tried to worm his way in here once before. If we rough up his men, he’ll be all over us like white on rice.”
“Then give him what he wants,” suggested Zach.
Blair blinked several times, staring at Zach. Had she heard him correctly?
“Give him the damn jewelry. Isn’t that what he’s after?”
“He’ll know Blair took it and brought it here,” said Leo. “He’ll kill her.”
“Not if we make it look like his own men found it, then tried to steal it for themselves.”
They nodded slowly, but all Leo did was frown. “I’m not convinced he won’t still come looking for Blair.”
“Then we need to convince him she’s not here, or that she was here but took off again,” said Andras.
“If those two saw her, they’ll just tell Frankie we’re lying,” said Emmett. “They might have been watching the resort for a while.”
“That’s why we have to discredit them in Frankie’s eyes,” said Zach.
“So, how do we pull this off?” asked Andras.
“How did they find me in the first place?” asked Blair.
All four stopped talking and turned their attention on her.
“I’ve been here almost two months. If they knew I was here, they wouldn’t have watched the place for that long. They must have found out recently. The newspaper article that said it was suspected I fled north is almost two weeks old. Someone told them I was here, and it had to have been recently.”
“When they wake up, let’s ask them,” said Emmett.
“What?”
Emmett grinned at her in a way that reminded her of Leo. “Blair, we didn’t really give them a chance to explain anything. Let’s find out what they know.”
“What makes you think they’ll just tell you everything when they come to?”
Zach chuckled. “All the time you’ve spent with Leo and Andras, and you still don’t understand what we’re capable of?”
“We don’t have to use our powers to persuade her, Zach.” Andras’s voice was quiet, but held an edge Blair had never heard. The two men glared at each other, and Blair began to feel uncomfortable. She’d grown so used to the electrical charge in the air that she hardly noticed it anymore, but now it grew to such heights she half expected lightning bolts to start shooting from the ceiling.
“Knock it off, you two,” said Leo. “We need to get to the bottom of this and fast, before Frankie shows up.”
“Then let’s go wake them up,” said Emmett.
Leo turned toward Blair. “Will you be all right waiting in the suite for us?”
She shook her head. “Not a chance. I’m staying with you.”
“We can’t erase their memories, Blair,” he said gently. “If they see you, our plan won’t work.”
“Then at least let me come downstairs and hide someplace where I can listen. Leo, I have to know how they found me. I need some kind of resolution here.”
He looked into her eyes for a few seconds, and Blair was sure he’d insist she stay behind, but finally he nodded. “Okay. But you have to stay out of sight.”
“I will.”
Leo glanced at the other three men. “You okay with this?”
“Sure,” said Andras. “She knows what she’s doing.” He gave her a grin that sent a flood of desire straight to her groin.
Blair huddled behind the door outside the room where Frankie’s men were tied up. She peered through the crack and watched Emmett take out the handkerchiefs then throw buckets of water on the men. At first they only groaned, but when they began to sputter and blink, she moved away from the door crack to listen.
“What the hell…who are you? What’s going on?”
“Shut up,” said Zach. Blair shivered at the tone in his voice. “We ask the questions, you answer.”
Blair didn’t need to be in the room to know all four men were using their powers at the same time. The air became hot, and she felt the same fogginess she’d experienced in Leo’s office the first time they made love to her. By the time these four were done with Frankie’s men, they’d be lucky to remember their own names.
“Who do you work for?” asked Zach.
“Frankie Fillipone. And when he finds out what you’ve done—”
“How did you know Blair Lorring was here?” asked Andras, his voice uncharacteristically sharp.
There was silence for a second then a different voice answered. “A telephone call.”
“From whom?”
“Dame whose husband, George Stanton, does business with Frankie.”
Blair clamped a hand over her mouth as she realized whom he meant: Elizabeth Stanton. She knew Frankie? Blair began to tremble.
“Who did the dame call?” Leo’s voice was tinged with alarm.
“Don’t know. But next thing we know, Frankie orders us up here.”
“Get Gregory. Now,” said Leo.
Blair watched Emmett run up the basement stairs. It wasn’t possible. Gregory hadn’t ratted her out. Why would he? Mrs. Stanton must have done this on her own, but why?
“How did this dame kn
ow Blair was here?” asked Leo.
“Told you, we don’t know. We were ordered up here to find her and the jewelry, so we came.”
“They don’t know anything else,” said Zach. “Let’s proceed with our original plan.”
Blair wanted to know what Zach was going to do next, so she moved slowly until she could once again peer through the crack in the door.
Zach, Leo, and Andras squatted in front of the men, whose eyes were locked on Zach’s face. Their expressions were slack jawed and their gazes clouded over, as if they weren’t actually looking at Zach. Zach spoke in a low, monotone voice, and Blair had to fight to keep from falling asleep herself. He was hypnotizing them.
“You came up here. You found the satchel full of jewelry. You realized it’s worth a fortune. You decided to take it for yourselves. Do you understand?”
Both men nodded and murmured something Blair couldn’t understand.
“You asked about Blair Lorring and were told she was here, but then she took off with a couple pieces of the jewelry the day after she showed up. A guest overheard her say something about fleeing to Philadelphia. No one has seen her or heard from her since. Do you understand?”
Again, they nodded and muttered incomprehensible words.
“When you wake up, you will return to Chicago and go straight to Frankie Fillipone and tell him this story. You will never again return to Fox Lake or Lilith’s Playground. Do you understand?”
The men agreed.
Blair heard footfalls but didn’t have time to hide. Emmett bounded down the stairs, followed by Gregory. His hair was tousled, and he looked like he’d been sleeping in his clothes. Emmett frowned when he saw her peering into the hallway, but said nothing. Gregory merely looked confused.
“What the hell is going on?” asked Gregory, as he and Emmett entered the room. “I was busy with—”
“Be quiet,” said Leo. “Let us finish first.”
Blair didn’t peak through the crack in time to see what they did to Frankie’s men, but she assumed they rendered them unconscious again because both slumped against the wall again, their eyes closed.
Leo grabbed Gregory by the throat and slammed him up against the wall. “What the hell did you tell Elizabeth Stanton about Blair?” Leo’s voice was full of rage.
“What the fuck are you talking about?”
“Elizabeth Stanton.” Leo punched each syllable. “You were fucking her. She made a phone call to those two—who work for Frankie Fillipone, by the way—and then they came up here looking for Blair.”
“I swear to you I said nothing. Anyway, Elizabeth checked out two days ago.”
There was a few seconds of silence, during which Blair felt the anger coming off Leo in waves. “Mrs. Stanton is never welcome at this resort again. Is that clear?”
“Leo, I swear to you, if I’d had any idea what she’d done—”
“For your sake, Gregory, I hope you’re never proven wrong about that.”
Chapter Nineteen
Before Frankie’s men woke up again, Leo explained he would drive them back to Chicago and dump them in an alley behind one of Frankie’s clubs. He’d also make sure they were found with the jewelry. Blair had wanted to come along, but Andras convinced her to stay at the resort.
After Leo left, Andras called the police and told them they’d caught two of Frankie Fillipone’s men inside the resort during the fireworks with the satchel of jewelry in their possession. They’d checked the rest of the property first, which seemed to satisfy the policemen’s questions about the time lag. Andras told them the men had fled with the loot.
Blair suppressed a smile as she hid in an office behind the front desk and listened to Andras and Emmett talking to the cops. They had the men eating out of their hands in thirty seconds flat. A reporter for the Tribune and a photographer showed up almost as soon as the police arrived, and Andras told them the same story. The men had broken into the safe in his and Zach’s office, taken the jewelry, and fled.
When the reporter asked why they’d kept the jewelry in the first place, Andras’s voice was full of tragedy as he told them how Blair had shown up almost two months ago with the satchel, asking if she could hide out. They’d told her no, of course. The next morning, they discovered she’d taken a few of the pieces and fled. One of the guests had overheard her say something about having friends in New York City, and no one had seen or heard from her since.
The horizon was starting to grow light by the time Blair crawled into bed, alone. She’d insisted on waiting until Leo had returned before attempting to sleep. She dreamed about being chased through alleys and around lakes, and when she woke it was nearly noon, but she didn’t feel as if she’d slept more than an hour, at most.
“There’s someone here to see you.” Andras’s handsome face loomed over her. “We’ll give you a few minutes to get dressed.”
“Who’s here?” Blair’s heart began to pound, until Andras smiled.
“Gregory wants to apologize.”
“What? Is he drunk?”
Andras laughed and pulled her into a tight embrace. As tired as she was, images of making love to him flitted through her mind. “No, but this is a huge moment in history. You won’t want to miss it.”
Blair dressed and walked into the sitting room. She watched Gregory’s face as he spoke to Leo and Andras. It was unusual not to see his characteristic smirk. What could have happened in the space of a few hours? He turned toward her when he heard her approach.
“Blair, I take full responsibility for what Elizabeth Stanton did to you.”
“Why did she do it?” Blair took a seat across the room.
“She didn’t set out to expose your whereabouts to Frankie. One of her husband’s associates telephoned to read her a cable from her husband. While she was on the telephone with this business partner, she made an offhand comment about her necklace disappearing. The man began to ask questions. When your name came up, he cabled George Stanton, who in turn instructed him to let Frankie know you were here. They didn’t know the jewelry was here. They were looking for you and assumed if they found you, they’d also find the loot.”
Blair looked from one man to the other. “How do you know all this?”
“I spoke to her on the telephone this morning.”
“Why did this business partner of Mr. Stanton’s start asking questions?”
“Mrs. Stanton still believes her necklace was taken.”
“But how did my name come up?”
Leo cleared his throat and glared at Gregory. Blair’s entire body went numb.
“I’m afraid that was my doing as well. The day Mrs. Stanton’s necklace reappeared in her room, she pestered me about which chambermaid had cleaned her suite the day before. I found out it was you, but I had no idea she’d use that information in this way, Blair. Honestly, until all this happened I’d forgotten about her damn necklace.”
All Blair could do was continue to stare at Gregory. How was she supposed to react to this information? Did they expect her to forgive and forget?
“You have to understand,” Gregory continued, “she was only a guest. Fucking her meant nothing to me. But when I thought she’d ratted you out, I had to do something. It’s my fault she had your name in the first place. That’s why I telephoned her this morning. You won’t have to worry about Elizabeth Stanton any longer.”
“Why not?”
“Mrs. Stanton will be sailing from New York City in a matter of days to join her husband in Europe for an extended vacation.”
“I don’t understand.”
“I explained to Mrs. Stanton that we won’t be intimidated by Frankie Fillipone, and the safety of our staff is more important than um…certain skills she happens to possess. Then I assured her that I wasn’t above sending a cable to her husband overseas, informing him of the adventures his wife has been having in Fox Lake. She believed me and agreed to keep her mouth shut.”
“How do you know you can trust her?”
; Gregory smirked. “Because I made sure she understood that her husband isn’t the only person who would find out what she’s been doing up here while he was out of the country.”
Blair wasn’t convinced, but what choice did she have? “I hope you’re right.”
“I am.”
* * * *
Blair sat on the lawn at the edge of Deer Lake and watched the sun set. Leo sat on one side of her, and Andras on the other. She’d spent the rest of the afternoon in her room alone, thinking about everything that had happened during the past two months.
Through all the lies and fear, only one thing was certain. She was in love with Leo and Andras. But was it real? She’d grown so used to the odd things that occurred when they were around that she couldn’t tell anymore if they used their powers to seduce her or if the almost constant lust she felt for them was real.
And even if it was, could she ask them to give up their supernatural status for her? It didn’t seem fair. She couldn’t leave. Even if she wasn’t now forced to hide from Frankie and his men, there was nothing for her in Chicago. There hadn’t been since her mother had died.
“Why did you tell Frankie’s men I went to Philly, but you told the Trib I went to New York?”
Leo grinned. “Keep them guessing. Frankie will be so busy trying to reach out to contacts all over the eastern seaboard he won’t be worried about Fox Lake, Illinois any longer.”
“Do you think he believes his own men tried to steal from him?”
Leo nodded. “I wouldn’t be surprised to see an article in the paper a few days from now, sensationalizing their mysterious deaths.”
Blair shuddered. She leaned into Leo’s strong embrace. She felt safe and protected, exactly as they’d promised her she would be. What a strange twist of events her life had taken since that fateful night she’d tried to run away from Lenny. If someone had told her two months ago she’d be fleeing to an exclusive resort where she’d have the sexual adventure of a lifetime with two mysterious men, she’d have laughed.
Her musings reminded her of the night she and Andras had dinner outside, when he tried to get her to tell him what she wanted to be. She suddenly knew the answer to his question. It had been right there in front of her all this time.
Seducing the Chambermaid [Notorious Nephilim 2] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) Page 15