by Ana Medeiros
“You look so hot,” Meredith said in awe.
Using her forearms for support, Tatiana had rested her cheek on the bed. The sounds coming from Tatiana were beautiful to Meredith. She pressed her face between Tatiana’s open legs, licking her from front to back several times. Getting Tatiana’s arousal in her mouth, Meredith concentrated on the tight, small opening displayed to her. The tip of Meredith’s tongue entered Tatiana, whose mix of words and whimpers conveyed how much pleasure Tatiana felt.
Meredith looked up and was suddenly faced with Julian’s green eyes on her and Tatiana. He stood by the bedroom door.
Having Julian’s gaze on them didn’t make Meredith want to move away. Instead, as a new wave of arousal washed over Meredith, it encouraged her to continue pleasuring Tatiana.
He reached inside his sweatpants and pulled out his erection. He started to stroke himself.
Suddenly, Tatiana seized up, and her knees slid further apart on the bed. Her orgasm brought with it loud sobs and, at that precise moment, Meredith saw that Julian found release as well. The proof of it now coated the backs of his fingers.
She wrapped her arms around Tatiana and kissed the side of her neck. When Meredith looked up again, Julian still watched them.
Chapter 23
Ten minutes at The Empty Bottle, a small dive bar in the Ukrainian Village, and Meredith already regretted her decision to be there. She didn’t feel like drinking, and the band playing made her head hurt. It was her birthday and her roommate Tess had convinced her that they should go out for a few drinks. Meredith disliked celebrating it—her mother had passed away on her ninth birthday—and, whenever possible, she avoided sharing her birthday date.
Meredith glanced at the crowd. While she stood, hands in her pockets, everyone around her danced. And Tess was late, which didn’t surprise her. Tess never arrived anywhere on time.
A woman in a leather jacket and heavy makeup leaned in closer to her. “They’re good, right?” she asked.
“Sure.”
Meredith felt her mobile phone vibrate in her pocket. She checked the display—an unlisted number. She hesitated then decided to answer. It was too loud in the bar for a phone call and, since she stood too far from the exit, she turned toward the bathroom. The bar had three single unisex stalls. With its door ajar, one was clearly unoccupied. Meredith answered the phone as she opened the door further.
“Hello—”
She didn’t have time to react.
A hand covered her mouth as she was pushed inside the stall from behind. She tried to scream, but then she was shoved against the wall and all her breath left her lungs.
“Shut up.” A threatening man’s voice rung out as she heard the door slam shut behind them.
As Meredith continued to scream and struggle, the man slammed her once more against the wall. Her calls for help morphed into a cry of pain.
“Listen to me, Meredith.”
Hearing her own name made her go still. He knew who she was.
“Good, don’t move and listen. Stop investigating. Do not publish your article.”
Her breathing came out in loud pants. The panic flooding her body urged her to flee but she forced herself to focus on the low voice by her ear. She didn’t recognize it.
“You’re going to tell Croswell that you’re done. Do you understand?”
The man closed his other hand on her hair, close to her scalp. He pulled hard and Meredith whimpered.
“If you continue, the people you care about will suffer. Your father, Reeve, Tatiana—they will be the ones who face the consequences of your actions. Remember that.”
All of a sudden, the man was gone, and Meredith slumped to the floor. Shaking, she used the wall for support as she got back to her feet and quickly locked the bathroom door.
The shivers rocking her body made it impossible for her to remain upright. Only a few seconds ago she believed she was about become the sixth dead woman in Pam’s folder.
Meredith’s cell phone screen had shattered after being knocked from her hand. Still, she was able to call her roommate.
“Where are you?” she asked as soon as Tess picked up.
“Sorry I’m late, M. I’m on my way. I should—”
“Don’t bother. I’m leaving. Can you stay with me on the phone for a bit?”
“What’s the matter?”
It took everything in her to calm herself. She didn’t want Tess to know what had happened. “I just want to have someone on the line as I walk to my car.”
“OK, cool. I’m here. But why are you leaving?”
Meredith rushed to the exit, pushing through people until she finally made it outside and into the muggy night. Concerned that the man might still be watching her, she quickly scanned her surroundings.
“Are you there?” she asked Tess.
“Yeah, I’m here. You didn’t answer my question. Why are you leaving? Are you sure everything is OK?”
Meredith reached her car, which was parked on the street. She checked the back seat before getting in.
“Uh-huh.” Even at night, the intense heat inside the car made it hard for her to breathe, but she didn’t turn on the AC. She locked the doors. “I’m in my car. Are you home?”
“No. I told you, I’m on my way to The Empty Bottle.”
“I gotta go.”
She hung up and, before she drove away, dialed Julian’s number.
“Can you meet me at my place in ten minutes?” she asked when she heard his voice on the other end. “We need to talk.”
She drove to her apartment, both hands on the steering wheel, her eyes fixed on the road.
When she parked in front of her building, Julian stood by the front steps with a small box in his hand.
As she approached him, she tried to curb her nervousness.
He kissed her. She couldn’t remember the last time they had kissed. It made the conversation they were about to have much more difficult.
“Let’s go in.” She wanted to remain in his arms but if she did she wouldn’t find the courage to speak.
When they were inside the apartment, Julian watched her with concern as she turned on all the lights. She sat on the couch and lit a cigarette. When he joined her, he passed her the small box he had been holding.
“Happy Birthday, Meredith.”
She stared at the beautifully wrapped box. “I was at this bar and”—she took a puff of her cigarette—“this guy assaulted me.”
“What?” Julian moved closer to her. “I’m taking you to the hospital.”
“I’m fine. I don’t need to go to the hospital.”
“Were you raped?”
His calm tone sounded forced to her.
“No, he didn’t touch me like that.”
“Did he rob you? Take anything from you?”
She shook her head in response.
“Did he harm you?”
“He shoved me against the wall.”
“What did he want? Did he speak to you?”
Meredith covered her eyes with her hands.
“What did he say?” Julian insisted.
“He threatened me.”
“About what, Meredith?”
He moved her hands away from her face. He held them in his.
She wanted to tell him—stop, don’t kiss me, don’t hold me, don’t touch me; I can’t hurt you when you’re trying to comfort me—but she couldn’t bring herself to say any of that, nor could she pull her hands away.
“I’ve been hiding something from you.” The expression on Julian’s face made her pause. He looked stricken. She forced herself to continue. “When I found out you were a member of The Raven Room I got the idea of writing an article about it.” She waited for him to say something. When he didn’t, she carried on, “An article about you taking me to the club and my experiences there. To me, it was a perfect way to launch my career—a peek inside of a members-only sex club, which caters to the wealthiest in Chicago. A club that most don’t know exists. B
ut after Sofia’s death, I decided not to go ahead with it. It felt wrong to betray you like that.”
Julian leaned back on the couch, his face tilted toward the ceiling. Instead of spending time trying to decipher his thoughts, Meredith knew she needed to finish. “Lena and Sofia’s deaths made me see that, while I didn’t want to write the article anymore, I needed to find out why they were killed and who had done it. With access to the club and with more information on Lena and Sofia than the police, I could actually make a difference. I figured I’d gather the information and then hand it over to Pam. But then I found out that there were three other women…and the police had covered up their deaths, which meant I couldn’t take what I’d find to them. So that led me back to writing an article. I’ll share everything I know with the public and hope, once the club and the murders are exposed, it’ll make a big enough stir that people will demand justice. The Tribune already said it wants to publish it.”
“You’re investigating the deaths of those women? Sofia’s?”
“Investigating is a heavy word, but yeah, I’m trying to find out as much as I can.”
Julian stared at her. “There’s something else, isn’t there? Please, Meredith, you and I have reached the point that only honesty will do.”
She didn’t hold back—she told him everything she had learned regarding Lena and Sofia’s deaths: the similarities and differences between the two murders, how she had seen Thompson and her stepmom together at the Art Institute, Owen Glendon’s journals and how she believed his daughter might have also been a victim.
Meredith showed Julian the pictures of the four dead women. He picked up the photographs one by one. He studied them for a while. “Where did you get these photos from?”
“My stepmother.” Meredith wouldn’t involve Colton. “I need to ask you”—she pulled the gold necklace with the cross from inside her wallet—“who does this belong to?”
Julian’s eyes widened. Tatiana had advised her not to ask Julian about the necklace, but Meredith couldn’t continue to keep that from him.
“Where did you find that?” His tone was cautious but she also heard indignation.
“In one of your bathroom drawers. I found it when I was looking for a brush the morning Pam and Colton showed up at your place.”
“And you took it?”
“I was worried that if the police searched your home they would come across it…I thought it was safer with me.”
“Why would the police care about a necklace they found in one of my drawers?”
“Lena’s friend told me she always wore a gold necklace with a cross on it. She had seen Lena the day before she was murdered and she had it on her. But when they found her body, the necklace was missing. I was worried the police would think this necklace belonged to Lena.”
Julian flexed his hands into fists, and had he been any other man she would have put as much distance between them as possible.
“Give me back the necklace,” he demanded. “Now.”
“First, tell me who it belongs to.”
“I don’t have to tell you anything.” He extended his hand toward her. “Give it back.”
“Tell me the truth, Julian.”
He gestured to the photos. “You think I did this, don’t you?”
“If I did, we wouldn’t be having this conversation.”
“You had no right to take that necklace from me.” Resentment distorted his features. “And you have no right to demand I answer your question before you give it back.”
“I want us to be honest with each other.”
Julian punched the coffee table and Meredith gasped. The gift box on her lap fell to the floor. She had never seen him so irate. “Don’t you fucking give me that bullshit excuse. You don’t trust me.” Julian rose to his feet. “The necklace, Meredith.”
She pulled back and clasped the necklace to her chest. “Why won’t you tell me?”
All of a sudden, Julian closed the distance between the two of them and ripped the necklace from Meredith’s hands.
Startled, she didn’t try to stop him when he stormed out of her apartment. The unwrapped gift box stood, forgotten, on the floor.
Chapter 24
Julian stepped into the 12th District police station. He disliked everything about the place—the dirty white walls needing a fresh coat of paint, the faint musty scent that mixed with the smell of strong chemicals used to wash the floors, the smug expression on the faces of the cops who came and went through the main doors.
He had called Pam that morning to set up the meeting, but as he walked down the hall toward the closed door of her office, he paused. His palms were sweaty. Returning to the station brought him memories of the time right after Sofia’s death. During the days he had been in a jail cell, he had felt fear and confusion, but stronger than that had been the overwhelming sense of loss. The recollection reinforced his decision to speak to Pam. Even though the man had threatened the ones closest to Meredith and not her directly, she was the one in danger. He had to put his anger regarding the necklace aside and do anything in his power to protect her.
Julian didn’t knock. He opened the door and stepped inside. “I want to keep this brief,” he said, standing across from Pam’s desk.
After everything he had learned from Meredith the night before, he had considered what to do next. He didn’t know if Meredith had decided to give up her article. He feared she wouldn’t be able to and would find herself further embroiled in her amateur crime investigation.
“If you hadn’t mentioned Meredith I would have had you thrown out the door.” Pam leaned back on her chair, her arms crossed over her chest. “It must be important for you to show up here.”
“Meredith is planning to publish an article.”
Pam didn’t look as surprised as Julian expected her to.
“You know about it,” he said.
“I’d hoped she had given up on the idea.”
His previous dislike of Pam paled in comparison to the new hatred he felt toward her. In that moment, he vowed to destroy what she clearly loved the most—her career.
“She has information that she says she got from you,” he said. “Information that she’ll put in her article.”
“What information?”
“About four women who were found dead in their beds,” he continued, making sure he kept his voice low. “Sofia might have been the fifth, but her death was ruled a homicide and, according to Meredith, hers differs from the deaths of the other women. She showed me photographs. There were police reports too, but I didn’t get to see those. Meredith said the four women were killed by drug overdoses but that you covered it up and ruled their deaths accidental.” Julian paused, watching Pam closely. “Have you done that?”
Pam rushed toward Julian. “Shut up.” She pointed a finger at him, only a few inches away from his face. Pam was shorter than him but it made no difference. Her rage turned her into an imposing force. “We don’t operate like The Raven Room.”
Julian was surprised she had openly mentioned the club. “You’re out of your depth here, Sung. I don’t give a fuck what you and your lackeys are up to but you have to stop involving Meredith in your investigation.”
“She’s got nothing to do with my investigation. I have no idea how she got her hands on those files.”
“What have you been telling her?”
“Nothing!” Pam raised her voice, but after glancing at the door nervously, continued in a lower tone. “If you hadn’t taken her to the club, none of this would have happened.”
“The club is not in the business of killing women.” Julian tried to control his anger but his tone remained biting.
“How do you expect me to stop her? She won’t listen to me.”
“I want Meredith out of Chicago.”
“What else did she say to you?”
Julian remained silent.
“Fucking tell me.”
“That you and Thompson are friends. Or maybe even more than f
riends. Which explains why you’ve been working so hard to pin Sofia’s death on me.”
Pam shook her head.
“Meredith has to leave Chicago,” Julian insisted.
“Why don’t you tell her that?” Pam asked. “You have a stronger hold on her than anyone. This is the worst thing that could happen. All I ever wanted was to protect her…and now this.”
“You say you want to protect her—this is your chance. Use whatever means available to you to make sure she gets as far away as possible from Chicago and stays there.” He watched Pam pace her office. “If they are actual homicides, I’m not the guy who killed them.”
It was Pam’s turn to sneer at Julian. “I know you didn’t kill those women, Reeve. But I’ve seen what you do at the club. You’re far from innocent.”
Taken aback by Pam’s statement, Julian didn’t know if she spoke because she had something on him, or if it was an attempt to test him. “You have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“I bet Sofia and Tatiana do. Too bad one is dead and the other is missing.”
Julian had to leave Pam’s office. He was afraid of what he might do otherwise. “I’m not the only one who knows about the article. Meredith needs to be out of Chicago by the end of the week.”
Chapter 25
“I’ll go.”
Grace stood in Julian’s kitchen, getting ready to leave Seth and Eli. Julian worried Grace would somehow find out about Tatiana’s presence but he also knew he could use Tatiana’s help when dealing with Seth and Eli; his training as a child psychologist fell short when it came to entertaining and comforting two nineteen-month-old boys. Tatiana appeared to do just fine merely by smiling at them, which secretly irritated Julian.
“Good,” Grace replied. “We’re having dinner at Maggie’s at seven. I’ve heard great things.” She approached Julian and her hands came to rest on his shoulders. “It’s time you and Pete put this squabble to rest.”
“Does Pete know I’ll be joining you?”
“Does it matter?”