The windows on this ground floor suite looked out into an inner courtyard of the hotel. As such, we weren’t able to see out into the main streets, although Jacob assured me we could do so from the office section of where we were.
He stepped out to check, and I could tell he wanted to dissuade me from following, but I was determined. I glanced out into the street to find not much of anything. It was only six a.m., so I didn’t expect much. There were a few cars moving, and some people out and about. The tone was more subdued. Clearly, during the night, many had returned to where they were staying.
In the early morning light, Las Vegas seemed strange with all the neon signs off. You didn’t think much about the rumble of power running in the background until it was gone.
“I’ll take it as a win that people seem mostly calm,” Jacob murmured as he closed the shade to the window. “Let’s see what we can rustle up for food and coffee.”
His palm glided down my back, coming to rest at the dip of my waist and coaxing me into the suite in the back of the offices. He didn’t say it aloud, but I could tell he was concerned about anyone noticing our presence in here.
“What are you worried about?’ I asked, once we were in the back again, and he had bolted the door behind us.
“People do crazy things when they’re not sure what’s happening. Obviously, Darren knows we’re here, so I’m not worried about that. But I am worried about anyone else thinking we might have something they want.”
With the sun rising and its rays angling through the windows, I was able to see the space beyond shadows. It was furnished simply, but luxuriously. The couch was a soft dove gray with side chairs to match. The small kitchen area had an oval shaped island and modern stainless-steel appliances.
There wasn’t much food to be found, as Darren had warned us, but there was instant oatmeal, some granola bars, and coffee.
“How are we going to make coffee?” I asked.
“Propane stove,” Jacob replied with a wink. “It’ll work without power.”
He boiled water and poured the coffee grounds in the bottom of the saucepan, explaining to me that the grounds would settle. In a few minutes, we enjoyed our instant oatmeal and granola bars with coffee.
The quiet simplicity of the morning struck me. Las Vegas had literally felt like a humming, pulsating center of power prior to the blackout. This morning, it felt subdued.
My thoughts kept wandering toward last night with Jacob. Each time, I dashed away from them mentally. I wanted him fiercely. Still.
Yet, I wanted to keep last night encapsulated. Jacob was who he was, and there was no way our lives could match. Not to mention, it was crazy for me to even think he wanted anything more than sex from me. I mean, good grief, he was a billionaire. Not exactly the kind of man who would be interested in someone like me. Not that I was wont to care about money, but I was quite practical.
I was an artist. I made my living and sometimes barely scraped by with whatever project I was working on at the time. I’d been lucky enough to stumble into a few profitable setups with galleries in Bellingham and Seattle. My fabric arts and pottery were my most profitable and seemed to pay the bills, no matter what. My life was a far cry from Jacob’s. Although my brother was friends with him, that was because Aidan worked in security and ran one of the premier companies in Seattle. But Aidan wasn’t like Jacob either. Then, to be fair, I didn’t know a whole lot about Jacob beyond last night.
I sipped my coffee after I finished my oatmeal and looked over at him. “So, what now?”
CHAPTER 11
Jacob
“So, what now?” Ellie’s question echoed in my mind.
I considered our options. We could sit tight, although the idea of sitting in one place when we didn’t know what the hell was going on chafed at me. The other option was to head out and assess the status. Darren and his family lived a good mile away. If we were to go anywhere, that would be the place.
If I were only considering myself, I would definitely leave. Ellie had made it clear she was not interested in waiting here if I left. With the uncertainty of the situation, I could leave and end up having difficulty reaching her again.
I wasn’t much of an alarmist. Yet, I’d seen more than enough and read more than enough dystopia stories to have plenty of grist for my imagination to run wild. Not to mention my expertise with security. I knew quite well there were plenty of issues for us to worry about.
So far, the only concern was we had no power. As for my focus, let’s just say it wasn’t up to par.
Last night with Ellie had blown the doors off my heart. Just being near her was its own challenge. My cock appeared to have an opinion about everything—all but yelling that I couldn’t let Ellie out of my sight.
“Jacob?” she prompted.
I sipped my coffee, which came out pretty damn good, all things considered. “Either we wait, or we go investigate,” I finally said.
“Investigate what?”
“The situation, I suppose. Darren, who you met last night, lives about a mile away. With security his specialty, he’s got every potential backup you could imagine at his home. We can walk, and along the way, we might hear some updates.”
Ellie stared at me, her teeth denting her bottom lip, the sight of it reminding me of how her lips felt under mine. A jolt of need hit me.
Fuck me. I needed to get a handle on my body around her.
Her hazel eyes met mine, that swirl of green, gold, and nutmeg almost hypnotizing. She let out a soft sigh, lifting a hand and twirling a lock of her glossy black hair around her finger.
“I’m guessing if it weren’t for me, you would’ve already left.”
After a beat, I nodded. “But you are here, so we stick together,” I said simply.
I was rather stunned at the fierce protectiveness I felt toward her. Considering she was Aidan’s sister, I would’ve felt a sense of responsibility to ensure that she was okay, no matter what. But this was different.
One word repeated on a loop in my mind. Mine. Mine. Mine.
Whether she could sense my internal reaction or not, a pink flush crested on her cheeks, and I wanted to kiss her all over. As intense as last night and this morning had been, everything had been in shades of darkness. I couldn’t fucking wait to have her when I could see everything so clearly.
She started to open her mouth, and I anticipated her question before she spoke. I shook my head sharply. “Don’t even ask. I’m not going anywhere without you.”
Her lips twitched at the corners with a smile. “Okay. Well then, let’s just do what you would whether or not I was here.”
“All right, let’s go to Darren’s.”
We were ready to go within a few minutes. I debated whether to leave my laptop here or not, eventually settling on leaving it here. So far, things seemed quiet, so I hedged my bets the power would be restored and we’d stop back by here later. When we got to the door, before we stepped out of the office part of the suite, I paused and glanced back at Ellie.
She looked fresh-faced and far too wholesome. Not in the sense of experience, but more that life hadn’t been too cold to her just yet. Somehow, she still wasn’t that cynical, not like me.
Her wholesomeness was what made the way I felt about her even more startling. She was mistaken if she thought last night would be our only night. Not if I had my way.
“Stick close to me. Things are quiet right now, but it’s early. If we don’t get some sort of answer about why there’s no power and no cell reception soon, I imagine anxiety might start to peak,” I said.
Ellie nodded. “I’m stuck to you like glue,” she said, so earnestly I couldn’t help but smile. Before I realized what I was doing, I bent low, sliding my hand into her hair to cup her nape and catch her lips in a kiss.
The moment our lips met, it was as if electricity sizzled in the air between us, zinging hot through me and tightening my body with need. Again.
Rattled by the power of my reaction to he
r, I drew back. “Let’s go.”
With her hand held firmly in mine, we left. I had left the laptop in a small safe. Worst case scenario, the offices got ransacked. Best case scenario, the power came back on and we would be back at the penthouse within a few hours.
I led Ellie along a winding route out of this building, purposefully exiting on the far side from where we’d stayed. Once we stepped out onto the street, I was relieved to find the streets mostly quiet, with only a few people walking. In Las Vegas, that was rather typical. Night and day were almost reversed here as far as activity.
That said, the streets were not empty. I paused beside an elderly gentleman wearing the uniform for the hotel, where he stood in front of the entrance. “Any updates?” I asked.
He glanced to me, his gaze inscrutable until he appeared to recognize who I was. There were many downsides to my unexpected success with my business. Perhaps the biggest one was I never knew when complete strangers would recognize me. Further, I didn’t know what that would mean to them.
The man glanced from me to Ellie and back again before shrugging and shaking his head. “Nothing. I’m concerned if we don’t get the power back soon, people are going to start getting stressed out.”
“Exactly my concern. We’ll be back this way later,” I added, turning and heading in the direction of Darren’s place.
Ellie was quiet as we walked, but I could practically feel the questions tumbling in her mind. She finally spoke. “When do you think something will come on?”
“No idea. We’re going to pass a police station on the way to Darren’s. I’m guessing if anyone’s got their generators up and running, they will. It won’t surprise me if Darren does either.”
Ellie nodded, giving my hand a squeeze. I kept telling myself as we walked that perhaps my response to her was heightened by the uncertainty of events around us. Every time I told myself that, I remembered the heated joining of our bodies.
Ellie’s head came just above my shoulders, yet her stride was long and she had no trouble keeping up with me. The police station was where I had recalled, but there was a line outside despite the early hour. I immediately angled to the opposite side of the street. Glancing to Ellie, I said, “No need to stop. I can hear their generators, and Darren’s probably already been down there anyway.”
I tried to ignore the tension building inside, but it was difficult. I didn’t like uncertainty. In fact, my entire career, regardless of my reasons for stumbling into it, was built to create contingencies to avoid uncertainty.
I hoped like hell when we got to Darren’s, his backup power was working. If I were back in Seattle, I would’ve already had power to my computer. We turned onto the street where Darren’s home was. Although he lived in downtown Las Vegas, he was in a small gated and highly secure community, set back off one of the main thoroughfares.
As I saw the entrance come into sight, I contemplated how to alert him we were here. Blessedly, we didn’t have to. He approached from across the street, waving to us with a dog at his side and the leash looped in his hand.
We paused to wait. “Hey there, man,” I said as soon as he reached us.
Darren grinned. “Morning. Figured you might head this way. Just out walking one of my daughter’s dogs from the shelter where she volunteers. When the power went out last night, she brought this guy home.”
A smile stretched across Ellie’s face, her features softening as she looked down at the dog. The dog in question was a shaggy brown mutt, as best I could guess.
“Oh, hi.” The joy was evident in her tone as she stroked her hand along the dog’s back. “What’s the dog’s name?” she asked, glancing up to Darren.
“Chocolate. Nice to see you when it’s not dark,” he offered with a wink.
“You too. Did they find places for all the dogs?” she asked.
“As far as I know. My daughter volunteers there to walk the dogs. We took two. The other one is a tiny little thing, and she can barely walk in a circle in the yard. Chocolate and I decided to take a longer route,” Darren explained.
Chocolate appeared as enamored with Ellie as I was, rubbing his head on her knees and tail wagging madly at her side.
“Any luck getting power here?” I asked.
“Of course. Our generator’s working fine.”
Ellie straightened, and I noticed the tightness in her features ease. I hated to think she was worried and was taken aback by just how much it mattered to me that she didn’t worry. At all. I wanted to wall her off from anything.
“Anyway, follow me,” Darren said. He glanced to Ellie. “Want to be in charge of Chocolate?”
Ellie’s answering smile was like a ray of sunshine, casting light straight into my cynical heart. My sister’s story was well-known. Not because I chose to make it so, but because people were nosy as fucking hell. After my sister didn’t accept a second date with a wealthy doctor, she ended up dying in a car accident. So did he. In the very same accident. To this day, no one could prove he intended to kill her, but I knew he had. I had seen the messages he sent her.
They had met over a dating app. She did all the right things to keep herself safe on their first date. She met him in a busy, public place and took a cab to get there. He shouldn’t have been able to find out where she lived, but he did. So, I developed another app that created layers of protection around online communications and ways to protect yourself. I wasn’t the most trusting guy after what happened to my sister.
Ellie was like a bracing breath of fresh air. Even though she had lost both of her parents, and even though she had an ex who cheated on her with a friend, she was still hopeful and still open.
Darren handed her the leash. “You and my daughter can bond over your shared love of all things dogs.”
With a key, he led us through the back gate into the complex. All the while, Ellie murmured to Chocolate and occasionally replied to Darren and I, adding as we approached his front door, “I foster rescues in Seattle. My last dog passed away about six months ago, so I’ve been trying to decide when I’ll get another one.”
Darren grinned. “Well, be prepared for my daughter to try to sweet talk you into keeping Chocolate.” He paused at a corner. “So, you live in Seattle, like Aidan?”
Ellie nodded. “Sure do.” She paused, concern flashing in her eyes. “I’m sure he’ll be worried about the blackout.”
“Oh, I’ve already talked to Aidan. Told him I saw you last night,” Darren commented as he led us along a winding walkway.
“You did?” Ellie asked, her gaze swinging to Darren. “Does he have any idea what’s going on?”
CHAPTER 12
Ellie
Darren turned down their driveway, answering me as he fit the key in the door. “Little bit, all we know is what happened. We don’t know the source.”
“What happened?” Jacob asked. “Some kind of electrical grid shut down is my guess.”
Darren nodded as he closed the door behind us, just as a tiny, ancient-looking Chihuahua walked gingerly into the entryway from an archway off to the side.
Chocolate gave a little tug on the leash, but I held firm and looked up to Darren. “Is he okay to be loose now?”
“Oh yes, he’s friendly as can be and surprisingly gentle.”
Unclipping the leash, I watched as Chocolate trotted over to the tiny Chihuahua, who froze in place while Chocolate gently nudged her with his nose.
I wanted to take them both home. Clearly, they had a good place to stay for the time being, and somehow, seeing the dogs had settled me inside. Animals were my passion. I had fostered them for years and was constantly struggling with the urge to adopt every one of them.
Although I was watching the dogs, I glanced over when Darren responded to another question from Jacob. “Yep. The electrical grid and cell towers shut down throughout Las Vegas, but it was only on the Strip where generators were sabotaged.”
“How the hell did you get through to Aidan?” Jacob asked.
�
�With the generator, our Wi-Fi works just fine.”
Jacob chuckled. “Of course, wasn’t thinking.”
A woman stepped out into the hallway. She was stunning, with rich nutmeg hair and bright blue eyes. She was dressed casually, in sweatpants and a T-shirt, and smiled when she saw Jacob. “Jacob! Darren figured you would find us this morning. Come on back. I’m making breakfast.”
“We had coffee and oatmeal on your own propane stove in that apartment, but a real meal would be great,” Jacob replied.
The woman approached me, holding her hand out. “Hello, I’m Sarah,” she said with a warm smile, shaking my hand.
“I’m Ellie. Thank goodness I ran into Jacob last night. I don’t know what I would have done if I hadn’t.”
Sarah nodded. “I’m glad you found him too. Come on back, you can meet our daughter, Dee.”
We followed her through the archway with Darren gesturing for us to walk ahead of him. We passed through what appeared to be a sitting room and down a short hallway that led to a kitchen. Windows looked out over the backyard and a teenage girl with her mother’s coloring sat at the counter on a stool, her feet swinging.
“Chocolate!” she exclaimed as she slid off the stool and hurried over to greet the dog. The Chihuahua stopped beside me as Chocolate scurried over to meet the girl. I paused to kneel down beside her. Her face was all gray and her once black hair was mostly silver now. She sniffed my hand and nuzzled my knuckles when I rubbed them under her chin.
“What’s your name?” I asked the little dog conversationally.
“Janice,” the daughter replied. After greeting Chocolate, she walked across the kitchen to scoop Janice up in her arms. The small dog immediately burrowed into her chest, letting out a contented sigh.
Sarah glanced from me to her daughter with a smile. “This is Ellie, Jacob’s friend.” Pausing, she looked to me. “And this is Dee.”
Dee smiled. “Nice to meet you. You like dogs?”
“Most definitely. I foster them for a rescue program in Seattle.”
Blackout: A Romance Anthology Page 53