by Kai Andersen
Tara’s face closed. “His sister.” She turned and walked briskly away.
Adrienne alternately walked and hopped to keep up with her. “He never mentioned your name.”
“He wouldn’t. I’ve been estranged from most of my family for almost five years now.”
Adrienne gasped. “Why?” Perhaps, she shouldn’t wonder. After all, she’d run away from her own father. Well, stepfather.
“Why? I can’t tell you.”
All right, it was none of her business, but she was still confused. “He’s only been at the company for two months. So, how did you --?”
“My mother and I keep in touch, without their knowledge.”
“Please, can you walk slower?” Adrienne gasped, her chest heaving. “I’m still not feeling so well.”
“Of course.” Tara immediately slowed and laid a compassionate hand on Adrienne’s arm. “I’m sorry; it’s just that I ...” She was silent for several long moments. They walked companionably, side by side. “How is Jake?”
Without being an empath, Adrienne knew that this lovely young woman missed her family and wanted to know how they were. “He’s the greatest boss, but don’t tell him I told you so. He may be one of the top management, but he doesn’t have any airs, and he doesn’t mind getting his hands ‘dirty.’ Do you know that he created the presentation slides for our latest project for me? That’s the kind of boss he is -- helpful and very hands-on.” Adrienne gave an inward chuckle. Tara just didn’t know exactly how hands-on her brother was being.
* * * * *
Adrienne took a cab to the office. Her car was mangled beyond repair, and she’d have to buy a new one. Or not. She remembered the horrifying incident and shuddered. She’d probably never get behind the wheel again.
She’d wanted to talk to Jake immediately, but his office was empty. Even Marcy wasn’t around. Then she remembered; it was time for the monthly meeting of the different division heads, of which Jake was one, with the directors of Creative Minds.
She reached her office and sank gratefully behind her desk. She sagged against the chair and closed her eyes. Her body felt as though it had been battered and beaten many times over. In a way, it had. A massage would be good tonight ...
Someone was trying to kill her, but who? Her threatening caller? She shuddered. But why? He wanted to know where David was, right? How could he get the information if she died?
She didn’t know how long she’d been sitting there with those thoughts going round and round her head when the phone rang. Maybe she had drifted off for a few minutes as well. She picked up the receiver and answered briskly. “Hello?”
The dark voice she had come to associate with her worst nightmares came over the line. “You aren’t too shaken from the accident, are you?”
“Why are you doing this? Other people could have been hurt!”
Evil laughter reached her ears. “I don’t care about other people. Tell me what I want to know; where’s David?!”
“I told you, he’s not here! Why won’t you believe me?”
“I’m tired of your lies!” He snarled. “You can bear to be without your beloved brother? Don’t play that game with me, girl. That’s not what I was told.”
Told. Someone told him all about me and David.
The menacing voice continued. “This is your last chance! Where’s David?”
Adrienne was shaking. How should she counter this? What should she say? However she answered him, she was doomed.
“No answer?” The threatening voice asked.
Adrienne hadn’t realized that some time had passed.
“Don’t say I didn’t warn you,” he said, “and be prepared for the consequences.”
Click. Adrienne was dismayed to discover she was still shaking terribly. Jake. She wanted to tell Jake. She wanted Jake to hug her close and make her feel safe. She wanted Jake to think for her and tell her what to do, what she should do to keep David safe.
She hurried out of her office and went to Jake’s. Marcy was still nowhere in sight, but oh thank goodness, Jake was in the office. Through the slightly open door, she could see him on the phone. She was about to announce herself when she heard him saying, “Yes, she has a brother. She told me so yesterday. I don’t know where he is right now; I didn’t get a chance to ask. I don’t think she would’ve told me now, anyway.” He paused. She continued to listen in mounting horror. “Don’t worry, I’m working on it. I’m sure that once I’ve gained her trust, she’ll tell me everything. I’ll bring both of them to you then. Yes, I’ve got everything under --”
Adrienne backed away, one hand fisted to her mouth. She blinked, suddenly blinded by tears.
Jake. It was really Jake.
She shook her head. And to think she would have gone to him --
The knife of betrayal sliced deep, piercing to her bone. Foolish, foolish Adrienne.
But how could it be Jake?
The cry came from her broken, shattered heart. A strong cry of denial and disbelief.
Had their sweet lovemaking all been a ruse, to get her to open up to him, to tell him her most intimate secrets? She remembered him questioning her about David, in the car, before she had deliberately distracted him.
What about the evil-voiced man who’d been calling her? Is that who Jake was speaking to now? Were the two of them in cahoots? One to make her so scared she’d break down and run to the one person whom she’d learned to trust?
She shook with silent, hysterical laughter.
Only, they wouldn’t have counted on her overhearing their incriminating conversation. Coincidence was a marvelous thing.
She shook again, while chills penetrated her entire body. Could Jake have been behind the wheel of the Toyota? Could he make love to her and then ... kill her? He didn’t seem like a cold-blooded man, and yet ... he was a werewolf, wasn’t he? Didn’t wolves kill without conscience or remorse?
She shuddered.
Jake’s voice caught her ear. “Now Marcy, tell me all that you know about Adrienne.”
Adrienne was doubly shattered. So, her earlier suspicions were right. Her heart cried out. Marcy ... how could you do this to me! You’re supposed to be my friend! As Marcy’s voice filtered through the gap in the door, only one question reverberated through her brain. Why are they doing this to me?
Adrienne stumbled back to her office in a daze. A band of pain, like steel, constricted around her heart, squeezing tighter with every second.
Someone brushed past her, almost knocking her against the wall. “Oh, I’m sorry.”
Adrienne’s sharp ears caught a sob. She looked closely at the girl who was about to dash away. “Tielan? What’s wrong?” She caught hold of the girl’s arm. Adrienne chased away her own anguish and drew the other woman into her office. She made Tielan sit on one of the chairs in front of the desk, while Adrienne took the other, choosing to sit beside the young woman, rather than put a desk between them.
Tielan was sobbing uncontrollably, her head buried in her hands. Heart filled with pity, Adrienne reached out a hand and awkwardly smoothed the girl’s hair. She was reminded of the times when she did the same thing with David. “What’s up, Tielan? Can I help?”
Tielan shook her head. Her sobs became louder.
Adrienne pulled out a few pieces of tissue from the Kleenex box on her desk. She pressed them into Tielan’s hands. “Here, wipe your face and blow your nose. You’ll feel better.”
Tielan did as directed. Soon, her sobs subsided into hiccups. She wiped away tears that still rolled down her cheeks. “I’m sorry, boss. It’s just that my mom’s in a coma for several weeks now, and dad’s out of job and -- and --” She wrung her hands helplessly, her eyes downcast.
Adrienne could guess the problem. She asked gently, “Are you having financial difficulties?”
Tielan glanced up and nodded. “The hospital is asking for the next installment payment. We kept praying that Mom would wake by now, but she hasn’t --” The word ended in a sob.
Adrienne gave her an impulsive hug. “There, there, Tielan. Things can only get better. In the meantime ...” She stood to get her bag and wrote a check. She tore it off from the checkbook and handed it to Tielan. “Here, is this enough? Take it. That way, you can concentrate on taking care of your mom.”
Tielan reached out, and then snatched her hand back and shook her head. “I -- I can’t.”
Adrienne pried one of Tielan’s fisted hands open and placed the check in her open palm. “Sure you can. It’s a loan; I’m not giving it to you. You can pay for it slowly, in installments.”
Tears ran down Tielan’s cheeks again. Her fingers closed over the check. “Thank you, boss, thank you.”
“Don’t mention it. The important thing now is for your mom to get well.” Adrienne fully expected Tielan to dash off, but she sat there, worrying a length of her pale blue skirt. Adrienne ventured a guess. “If you need to take the rest of the day off, you have my permission.”
Tielan glanced up with startled brown eyes. “No, it’s not that, boss. It’s just that ... I’m so ashamed of myself.” The last words came out in a rush. “I was the one who put the beautiful box in your office the other day, the beautiful box that turned out to contain something so ugly.” She hung her head and whispered. “I’m sorry.”
Adrienne was taken aback. Tielan had never come across as cruel and sadistic. “You did that? You killed ...”
Tielan reared back in alarm. “No, no.” She shook her head vehemently. “I only delivered the box. A man called and told me that if I were to deliver a box to your office, I would be handsomely paid. I needed the money, and I saw no harm in doing it.”
“You saw this man?”
“No. He would call me and tell me where to get the things. Like, for the black rose, he told me to go to this eatery and the package would be on the seventh table to the right from the entrance.”
Adrienne swayed. It was him, that evil, disembodied voice. He’d gotten to her subordinates. Would it be a surprise if he got to Jake, too? The sharp pain of betrayal returned full force.
Tielan touched her arm. “Are you okay, boss?”
Adrienne pasted a smile on her lips. “Come to think of it, no. I think I’ll call it a day. See you tomorrow.” She slung her bag over her arm and hurried out of the room.
“Wait!” Muffled footsteps came after her. “Ms. Lee, can you get home okay? What happened to you?”
Adrienne stifled a sigh of impatience. She didn’t really want to talk now. She wanted to go somewhere quiet so she could think. She turned. “What do you mean?”
Tielan’s reached out to touch Adrienne’s cheek.
Adrienne winced. She’d forgotten the bandage. “I was in a slight accident.” Tielan’s eyes grew round and worried. She kept glancing at the bandage. Adrienne hastened to reassure her. “Nothing major. I wouldn’t be standing here if it were, right?” She waited for Tielan to nod before continuing. “But I’m still shaken from the experience. I think I’ll go home and rest.”
* * * * *
Jake gripped the phone tightly, though he wanted to throw it across the room. “And I still say you’ve got your information wrong, Jared. The person you’re looking for isn’t Adrienne. It’s not possible!” He rushed on, not giving Jared the opportunity to talk. “Just because Adrienne’s also from Edinburgh doesn’t mean she’s the person your client is looking for! What?! You want to come and talk to her? Absolutely not!” He slammed down the phone and muttered, “Crazy!”
He looked up to find Marcy gazing at him with a quizzical expression on her face. “What?!”
“Do you always talk to your brother like that?”
“Only when he’s being obnoxious and stupid.”
She laughed. “Or when the topic’s Adrienne, who is so absolutely pure and innocent that no wrongdoing can be attributed to her.”
I wouldn’t exactly call her innocent, he thought wryly, as images of the previous night flashed through his mind.
Marcy sobered. “What’s this all about, Jake? Why did you ask me to tell you all that I know about Adrienne? Why is your brother looking for her anyway?”
“We’re not sure he’s looking for Adrienne. He’s looking for someone who came from Edinburgh.” Jake rubbed a hand across his face. A headache was starting to split his head. “I didn’t even know Adrienne was from Edinburgh.” He was sure his bewilderment and confusion were reflected in his face and tone.
Marcy glanced away. “She didn’t want anyone to know. It slipped out once, when we went drinking.”
“Really?” Jake stared at his secretary. A feeling of dread bloomed in his chest.
How well did he know Adrienne? What if she was the one Jared sought? Was she some petty thief after a pretty bauble, or had she stolen something of more value? Like the man’s son, perhaps, and was holding him for hostage? A son named ... David?
He shook his head, appalled at himself. He was jumping to conclusions. He stood and strode abruptly out of the room, calling out over his shoulder, “I’m going to Adrienne’s.” He had a burning need to see her, to find out the truth, once and for all. He could use his psychic ability to sense if she was lying or not.
Her office was eerily silent, although the lights were on. He couldn’t see her black handbag, which usually rested on the table beside her computer. He stood perplexed in the middle of the room.
“Mr. Woolf.”
He turned around and saw one of Adrienne’s subordinates in the doorway, the one who’d been in the office with her during the black rose incident. “Yes?”
“Ms. Lee’s gone home for the day.” She twisted her fingers together. “I’m worried about her. She’s been in an accident.”
The blood drained from his face. “Accident? How badly was she hurt?”
“She seemed okay, except for the bandage on her cheek. But she didn’t look too good. I don’t know if there are internal injuries or what --”
Jake didn’t stick around to hear more. He ran out of the room, stopping by his office momentarily to get his keys. He flipped open his mobile phone and dialed her house. Holding it to his ear, he took the lift down to the parking lot. The phone kept on ringing. Damn! She wasn’t home yet. He flipped through his address book. Shit! He didn’t have her mobile number. He shut his phone and jumped into his car. He’d take the route she usually did on her way home. God, he hoped she didn’t meet with another accident.
He made it to her apartment building in ten minutes, faster than he’d ever traveled the same distance before. He pushed on the lift button once, twice, three times, willing the lift to get to the ground faster. The numbers on the panel lit up: twenty-five ... twenty-four ... twenty-three ... twenty-two ...
Jake hit the button one more time. With an exclamation of exasperation, he sped toward the stairs, and took them two at a time. He was winded and breathing hard by the time he reached the seventh floor. He veered toward the right and staggered to Adrienne’s unit.
Funny. Why was the door ajar?
A chilling thought came to him. Could a burglar have been in the apartment and Adrienne, coming home so early, had interrupted the thief’s nefarious activities? She could be lying inside, tied up and afraid! Worse, maybe raped, murdered --
Stop! All those morbid thoughts wouldn’t help her.
Jake pushed the images out of his mind and took a deep breath, calming his racing heart. He quietly pushed the door wider and walked in on swift, silent feet. Times like these, his werewolf nature came in handy. Maybe he would be able to surprise her attacker, get the upper hand and rescue Adrienne.
He heard a moan coming from the direction of her bedroom. God, had he hurt her? Knocked her out maybe? Or was he raping her?
He quickened his pace, skirted around the dining table and tiptoed down the hall.
The bedroom door was open. He peeked in.
And the bottom fell out from under him.
Chapter Ten
Lucien’s oiled hands moved sensuously over h
er body, kneading and dissolving the knots of tension. He was very good at finding the tight spots. His fingers hit a particularly nasty knot in her right shoulder.
Adrienne felt it unravel. It should have relaxed her, made her lethargic and languorous. Instead, her shoulders wound up even tighter. Tears threatened to seep out from under her closed lids.
How could Jake do this? While he made love to her, had he been plotting her death? The trauma of her morning accident paled in comparison to the pain of his betrayal. His treacherous, honeyed tongue ...
She couldn’t believe he would deceive her. Not like this. She’d read him differently, and she was a pretty damn good judge of character.
The absolute worst was that she still liked him, all right, loved him, even. Which made the pain of his betrayal run that much deeper.
Lucien and Paul were waiting for her when she had arrived home. For a moment, she’d frowned upon seeing them. She couldn’t remember if she had called them or not. But since they were there on her doorsteps, she decided to have a quick massage. Maybe it would help make her feel better.
It didn’t.
“What’s wrong, Adrienne?” Lucien asked from above her. “You’re too tight.” His stiff cock brushed against her backside. “Maybe some sex would relax you.”
“Yes,” Paul chimed in, his hands soothing as he massaged her scalp.
Adrienne felt something brush over her lips, repeatedly, insistently. She knew it was Paul’s cock. Her heart cried and shed tears of blood. She didn’t want Paul’s cock. She wanted Jake. She wanted Jake to hold her and tell her that she was wrong about him, that he had never deceived her, that his feelings for her were true and genuine.
“C’mon baby, open your mouth,” Paul cajoled.
“N--”
A fat cock shoved into her mouth. She choked.
“What the hell’s going on here?!”
Jake. Her heart clenched with pain. She couldn’t let Jake see that she knew about his treachery. She couldn’t let him win the game. She had to keep David and herself safe from him.