by Galen Rose
Miss Heart glared at me when she came out. “Not fair.”
“Nope. It isn’t in my contract to be fair.”
Miss Heart stopped and looked at me. “But it was good, quick brain, smart mouth. I want someone like you in my next book.” She smiled and headed to the table. I groaned to myself. Score one for her too.
While standing a few feet behind Miss Heart, I saw my backup out in the crowd. Jason. Cool. I liked him and we got along well. He was just your average-looking kind of guy that no one never took a second look at. Perfect for what he had to do today — blend. He was also a fourth degree black belt in kung fu. Good, solid back up.
Two hours had passed and my shoulder was beating a bass drum. I had my left arm in a sling and needed a chance to stretch it out and take some aspirin. I couldn’t take anything stronger. Might dull that cat-like agility. I was just about to signal Jason that I seriously needed a break when I noticed a man in a long black satin cape had joined the queue to have their books signed. Now, you don’t see that every day in San Jose. Sure, in San Francisco you see something like that or better any day of the week. He was also wearing a Phantom of the Opera mask that obscured part of his face, and a top hat and tails.
Nope, not something you see every day.
Jason had noticed him as well and moved closer to the man. I moved up to stand next to Miss Heart, who barely registered that I was there. She was deep in conversation with a woman about one of the characters from the book. Jason had managed to get behind the man in line. Once he stepped up to the table he stretched out his hands and with a flick of his wrist a bouquet of fake roses appeared. The crowd laughed and applauded. I had moved almost in front of Miss Heart so that she had to lean around me to see. Mr. Magic then doffed his top hat to her and reached in and pulled out a white dove. He then covered the dove with a cloth and with a wave of his hand it disappeared.
Out of the corner of my eye I noticed Mr. Ray had finally put in an appearance. He was standing off to the side with a photographer. Damn him and the horse he rode in on. The photographer was shooting away when the magic man decided to pull out his magic wand and aim it at Miss Heart. Or what he could see of Miss Heart around me. Jason seemed to think enough was enough when he bumped Mr. Magic, sending him against the edge of the table. I quickly plucked his wand from his hand and as he turned to look at Jason, I hid his wand in my sling. Between Jason’s bumbling apology and my bland look he had no clue as to what was going on. Jason took the man’s arm and offered to buy him a coffee and was moving him along. The applause of the crowd sunk in and Mr. Magic waved his hand to everyone. Thankfully the crowd thought it was just a publicity stunt. Which it was, I was sure of it. I was just as sure that Steven Ray had arranged it. I would make damn sure I had a talk with him later. I caught Steven looking at me so I pulled the wand out of my sling, checked it over carefully, and asked Joan to take it to Mr. Magic. I stared at Steven until he looked away. Yep, it was time for a talk.
The day dragged on and I was finally able to get checked into my room. I was just starting to remove the sling when someone knocked at the door. Thankfully it was Jason.
“Hurts, huh?” he said coming into the room.
“Like you wouldn’t believe.” I pulled it off and tried to straighten my arm. I damn near dropped to my knees as the pain shot down my arm.
Jason slid back the shoulder of his black T-shirt and showed me his battle scar. “Yes, I would believe. A knife in an alley in Thailand. Here, allow me.” His hands turned me around, away from him, and he slowly moved strong fingers along my shoulder blade rubbing at the tense muscles. I pretty much would have given him the world right then.
“Nice job today. I thought we diffused Mr. Magic pretty good.” His hand took my arm and started stretching it slowly. “You think her publicist set it up?”
“I know he did. I plan on having a talk with Mr. Ray tonight after dinner.”
“You want me to come with?”
“No. He is a poodle in Armani.”
Jason stopped and turned me around to look at him. “Poodles still have a bite, you know?”
“Yes, I know. I’ll be careful. I’d talk to Miss Heart but I have no proof he’s done anything. Too bad my assailant wasn’t caught.”
“Yep. Well I’m heading out. My sister lives only a few miles away so I’m crashing at her house tonight. Spend a little time with the family. Bill is already stationed at Miss Heart’s door. You need anything, call. Okay?”
I looked at him questioningly. Something didn’t sound right in his voice. “Okay. What’s up?”
“Nothing.”
“You’re sure?”
He nodded and headed to the door. “Sleep well.” His cell phone was ringing as I started to close the door behind him so I caught a first few muttered words of, “Jesus, Sean. I just saw her.”
Sean. No wonder Jason had seemed solicitous. Well, I would have to deal with him later. Right now I had just enough time to splash water on my face and head to Miss Heart’s room for dinner. I had just gotten on the elevator and pressed the button to go up when Steven Ray stepped on. The doors had barely closed when he turned to me. I was leaning against the back corner as he closed the gap and got in my face. “Look, sweetheart. I think you need to take a chill and let me do my job.”
He smelled like one too many martinis. I had him by a good two inches so he had to look up at me.
I sighed. “Is your job getting Miss Heart killed?”
“Of course not. You just don’t understand the need for publishity,” he slurred.
“No, sir. I don’t understand the need for your kind of publicity.”
He stepped back and hit the stop button. I blew out a breath and went to move forward to hit the start button. Steven placed his hand on my chest and shoved me back. “I am not done talking with you Elaine.”
“Yes, sir, you are. My name is Laney Murphy. I work for Woo Security and for Miss Heart. You lay a hand on me again sir and I will put you down on the floor so fast you’ll think this is the Tilt-a-Whirl.”
Of course he had to prove me wrong. Of course he had to try to shove me back. He never connected. I grabbed his soft hand and twisted the little finger until I had him kneeling on the floor and squawking like a chicken. Keeping hold of his pinky, I hit the start button and when the door opened up for the fourth floor I let go of his finger. “We’re done with this conversation, Mr. Ray.” I got out and headed down the hall to 413.
Dinner with Miss Heart, who now insisted I call her Amelia, was a quiet affair. Her assistant, Joan, was staying in the second bedroom and had arranged for room service. Miss Heart — Amelia — spent several hours picking my brain about who I was and my past. I’d have to give her credit. She knew what questions to ask, and I answered them as honestly as possible. As I was getting ready to leave I took a deep breath, and then told her about my suspicions with Steven.
She leaned back in her chair. “Joan has said as much to me. I hate to let him go. He’s been my publicist since the beginning. My beginning and his. We were both nobodies when we met, but we both had a dream of what we wanted. He has done well for me and for himself in ten years. Maybe I need to have a talk with him. Tomorrow is my last Bay Area date, then we head to Los Angeles. I’ll talk to him when we get down there. Thank you. I appreciate your honesty.”
I left her room for mine, nodding to the night security. I was tired and couldn’t wait to sleep. I got to my room, locked the door, then made a careful inspection of the whole room. Not that it took much to do that, but I was feeling paranoid. Once I had changed into my sweats and T-shirt I sat down to call Sean. I went right for the heart of the matter as soon as he said hello.
“Did you ask Jason to keep an eye on me?”
“Well good evening to you too, Laney.”
“Did you ask Jason to keep an eye on me?”
“I heard what you said the first time and yes, I did.”
“So, what, I can’t take care of myself?”
/> “I’m sure you can, but I wanted to be sure you were safe.”
“Do you do that for all the people you work with?” I was mad and I really didn’t need to be. I think it was all based on on principle and pride. I didn’t wait for his answer. I hung up on him and turned the ringer off on my cell phone. Childish, I know, but I didn’t want that as an answer. I needed to hear that he thought I was a capable woman. That I could handle this job and take care of myself. He wasn’t saying that. If he was, then I wasn’t hearing it. Between my shoulder and Sean, I slept terribly that night. Thankfully, the next day was a short lecture with questions and not a signing. By two o’clock, Jason and I were heading back to Woo. I closed my eyes and pretend to sleep and Jason let me. Once back at Woo though I had barely sat down at my desk when Chase called me into his office.
“Mr. Ray has lodged a complaint against you. He said you attacked him in the elevator without provocation.”
“That’s bullshit.”
“He also said you broke his finger.”
I sat there and said nothing.
Chase sat back in his chair looking at the report. “Did you?”
“No, I didn’t. I did twist the little sucker around though to get his attention.”
Chase sat forward in the chair, setting his elbows on the desk and steepled his hands under his chin. “I see.”
“Do you?”
“Well as a matter of fact I do. The elevators have video cameras. I am having a copy of the incident sent to Mr. Ray’s attorney.”
I sat there quietly. “Laney. Next time something like that happens please let me know when it happens. I don’t like surprises.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Go home. You look like crap.”
I nodded and got up. I felt like crap. I walked out of Chase’s office and past Sean’s desk. We glared at each other but said nothing as I got my suitcase and headed to the bus stop.
As I was crossing the parking lot heading to the corner, Sean came up behind me and took my suitcase from my hand, walked back across the parking lot, and tossed it in the back of his Jeep.
Oh for Pete’s sake. I walked over and reached for it to get it out. He grabbed it and a tug of war ensued. “Fine!” I let go and turned to walk off to the bus stop. Sean growled in exasperation, picked me up in his arms, and dumped me into the front seat of this Jeep.
“Woman, if you try to get out I will haul you back and tie you in,” he said through gritted teeth.
I’ll be damned. Of course I got out and he went to grab me, ducking under my swing and pushing me against the side of the Jeep. “Damn woman. Hold still a moment.” We had drawn a crowd of Woo employees who were exchanging money. I stopped and fired off a few declarative sentences about his manliness that would have made a sailor blush. Sean just grinned and kissed me hard.
“God, I love your temper.” Every time I tried to say something he kissed me until I gave up. I could only hold out for so long against how I felt.
“Laney, I only asked Jason to check on you because I was worried. Okay? I didn’t mean that you couldn’t handle yourself. My God, you’ve already proved that several times. I just don’t want anything to happen to you. Can I give you a ride home?”
I nodded and he picked me back up and set me down in the Jeep to the applause of our coworkers.
Over the next few weeks it was business as usual at work, but with Sean and I things took a turn toward the budding romance that was between us. The ladies at work teased me that my desk looked like an arboretum because Sean was always giving me flowers. I surprised him one day with a picnic dinner to watch the sunset over the ocean. I still hadn’t said those three magic words, but I was closer to it now. Hell, I still could barely admit aloud that I liked him. I told myself it was only lust, but I knew I was deluding myself. Again.
I had not had any more contact with James. I didn’t even know if he was still in town and I didn’t try to find out. I thought it best to let sleeping dogs lie. My shoulder was healing and I tried to push it further every time I managed to get some gym time, which was not often enough for me. I felt good. Life was good. Simply put, I was content. Something I don’t think I had been in many years. I was happy and the desperation of the past year was gone. If I dare say, I had hope, a powerful feeling in itself.
One packed Saturday at Muldoon’s, with Tommy down two waitresses due to illness, I tended bar, Sean filled in, and Molly helped Jacob in the kitchen. Tommy had an Irish band in that night. A lovely voiced singer name Mary Donovan was making her debut that night. In short, the joint was jumping.
Several times during the evening I caught Sean watching me, and at one point glaring at me like old times. Of course I knew why. I was flirting with a guy at the bar. Granted, I had no idea who the guy was but he was cute and I was in a good mood. Besides, after Sean made several unnecessary trips to the bar the guy got the message that he was poaching. It didn’t stop him from flirting but he now knew that it wasn’t going anywhere. It was after closing and I was in the basement stocking shelves when Sean walked in. He closed the door and leaned back against it.
“Hey. Long night, huh?” I said trying not to smile. I could tell he was pissed and jealous, and God help me I couldn’t help but enjoy it. I kept right on restocking though.
“You enjoy tonight?” he asked, the anger simmering behind his words.
“Well it was hard work, but yeah, I had a good time tonight.”
“You enjoy fawning all over that guy?”
“Which guy?”
My first mistake was not looking at Sean to see how far I was pushing. The second was keeping my back to him.
He grabbed my arm, spinning me around and into his arms. His hands, like a vise, gripped my arms as he held me against him.
“You’re just jealous!” I said.
“You’re damn right I’m jealous!” He locked my wrists behind my back with one hand and his other hand grabbed my hair as his mouth blazed a trail down my throat. I tried to get free but it only made him growl and hold me tighter. I had no idea that this much passion was inside him. I felt like the tide was pulling me under. His teeth scraped along my jaw. No matter how hard I tried to fight, something hard and hot built up between us. I wrenched my wrists free and threw my arms around him. His hands moved restlessly over my body. His hands set fire to my skin they slipped under my shirt, molding my flesh. It had been far too long for both of us. Now, was all I could think. Right now.
His breath was hot as he touched his tongue to my ear, moving to my ear lobe, then down to my neck. His teeth nipped along my neck then he bit down harder, and I felt myself falling into a raging firestorm. His breathing was as hard as mine, both of us struggling for some nameless release. His hands moved up to cup my face as he drew in a deep breath and tried to gentle his kisses. God help me, I whimpered. I did not want this to stop. He put his head to mine, tenderly kissing my closed eyes. His breathing labored, “Laney, please, let me take you to bed.”
Since I knew he could take me just about anywhere right then, I nodded. It was time. There was no reason not to. He stepped back and held out his hand to me. Restocking could wait.
The bar was locked up and everyone off to their beds. Nerves hit me like a million butterflies in my stomach as we stepped into my room. I turned to lock the door, as Sean came up behind me. He pulled me back against him, lifting my hair away from my neck. He didn’t kiss my neck, but allowed his breath to travel up to my ear. His hands slowly unbuttoned my shirt and lightly traveled along my stomach, over the curve of my breasts to my shoulders, removing my shirt. My knees were already weak and I was slowly losing any sanity I might have had. I tried to reach back to touch him but he gently took my arms and placed them at my side. “Let me.” was all he said.
His fingers danced up my back sending shudders rippling along my spine. His breath trailed across my shoulder and then my back as his fingers unbuttoned my jeans. My hands ached to touch him but he still wouldn’t let me. Once my sho
es and jeans were off he turned me to face him. “Ever since you went to see Madame Elise I’ve been dreaming about what might be under those clothes. God, Laney, you are so beautiful. Every time you have your hair up I want to pull those pins out and run my hands through it.”
Keeping my eyes on his, I reached out to touch his face. I wanted to remember every single detail of him — the softness of his hair, the rough shadow of beard on his face, the way he looked at me, never wavering or faltering as my hands slid under his shirt and discovered hard planes of muscles and smooth skin. He moaned, his eyes closing, when my fingernails slid down his back and my hands went to his hips. He reached out to touch me but I shook my head. This was my voyage of discovery and I wanted no distractions. I pulled his shirt off, my mouth following its ascent upward from his stomach to his chest. Time took on a whole new meaning as I explored his body. Eventually we found the bed as the heat between us built up again. Body to body we met, both reaching again for some plane of existence that would grant a release from the exquisite torture we both endured at each other’s hands.
We spent most of Sunday in bed sleeping or making love. As we lay entwined late Sunday night I knew I had never felt contentment like this. I could want for nothing more in my life but to have this moment over and over. Why I didn’t tell him I loved him then I didn’t know. Some wall still stood in the way and I could not get past it. I sighed and trailed my hand along his chest. Neither one of us could seem to get enough. There was still so much to see and feel, to taste and savor. I wanted it all and for now I would take my fill.
Chapter Eleven
A few days later I was on a job in San Jose when Mike showed up with Jason. I smiled at them as they walked across the office courtyard I was in, but my smile faded as I noticed the grim look Mike had on his face.
“Hey, guys. What’s up?” I tried to keep my heart from racing. Nothing to gain by getting anxious until I knew what was going on.
“Laney. Jason is going to take over for you. There has been an accident. We — I — need you to come with me.” Mike reached out to take my arm but I backed away from him.