Greg Tenorly Suspense Series Boxed Set

by Robert Burton Robinson

  She couldn’t believe she had ever been interested in such a man. The writing that had days before seduced her, now made her skin crawl. He would force Cynthia to have sex with him so she would have his baby. What kind of sick, twisted mind would refer to that as ‘the fulfillment of my fantasy in Orlando?’

  Then it clicked. “Crow went to Orlando to hunt down Barry.”

  But it could go terribly wrong, she thought. Crow might yell to him from across the street. Barry starts running and leads him into a dark alley. When Crow follows him in, he doesn’t see Barry at first. Then he sees the gun—too late.

  If Crow would only answer his phone. She knew that once his mind was set, there was no stopping him. Crow was on a mission: to avenge the attempted rape of the woman he loves.

  Now she wondered if she loved Crow. Just two days earlier she wasn’t even thinking ‘Crow’ and ‘love’ in the same sentence.

  The question of love could be decided later. Right now, she had to keep him from doing something crazy and getting himself killed.

  She clicked back to the confirmation email, picked up the desk phone, and called Continental Airlines to see if there was still a seat available on Crow’s flight.

  **********

  Greg and Cynthia were in Disney-MGM Studios park, on their way to The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror.

  “I need to stop by the restroom, Sweetie.” Greg gave his wife a quick peck on the lips and walked toward the restroom.

  Cynthia took a deep breath and closed her eyes, bathing her face in the warm Florida sun. It was late February, and 70 degrees in Orlando—about ten degrees warmer than Coreyville, she figured.

  “Nice day, huh?”

  She heard the man’s voice, but didn’t realize at first that he was talking to her.

  “Uh, yes. Yes, it is.”

  “You and your husband look like newlyweds.”

  “Oh, really?”

  “Yeah. I saw him kiss you before he went in the restroom.”

  “I see.” What made this ponytailed guy an authority on marriage? He couldn’t have been over 25, and he wasn’t wearing a wedding ring.

  “Have you two been to the Tower of Terror?”

  “We’re on our way.”

  “Oh, you’ll love it. As long as you don’t have a weak stomach like I do.” He laughed. “Yeah, the first time I rode it I ended up shooting chunks all over the gray-hairs in front of me.”

  “Oh, no.”

  “Yeah, I felt sorry for those poor old ladies. They got mad at me. But then they started throwing up too.”

  “So, they couldn’t handle the ride either.”

  “No, I think it was so much the ride as it was the puke running down the back of their necks.” He laughed. “I’m sorry. I really shouldn’t laugh at those old ladies.” He saw Greg coming out of the bathroom. “Well, anyway, have fun!” He walked away.

  “Who was that?” Greg put his sunglasses back on.

  “I don’t know. But he was warning me about the Tower of Terror. Made me wonder whether I have the stomach for it.”

  “Oh, don’t be silly. I’ve seen you handle some very tough situations. I can’t imagine there’s anything out here that can take you down. Now, me, on the other hand…”

  “Don’t worry, Baby. I’ll hold your hand.” She took his hand and kissed it.

  “Well, then I guess I’ll be okay.”

  She smiled seductively as she slowly licked one of his knuckles.

  “There is one wild ride that doesn’t scare me at all. In fact, I could ride all night long. And unless you want me to hop aboard right now, you’d better quit licking my hand.”

  She stopped abruptly and grinned. “Okay. Let’s go ride the Tower of Terror.”

  They started walking.

  “We’ll save your favorite ride for tonight. It’s my favorite too,” she said with a wink.

  **********

  The ponytailed young man watched Greg and Cynthia walk toward the Tower of Terror. He had raised the pitch of his voice slightly and used a Midwest accent. That, along with his clean-shaven face, the ponytail, and his youthful attire had completely fooled her.

  Now he knew he could walk up to her and start talking, and she would not be afraid of him. And by the time she realized his true identity, she would be his.

  36 - FLIGHTS TO ORLANDO

  Chaucey barely caught the 1:15 PM flight on Continental Airlines out of Houston. By the time she found her seat, the door had already been closed and the plane was ready to pull away. There was just enough room in the overhead for her small bag. The teenage boys in the aisle and window seats were thrilled to have a hot chick sitting between them.

  Once they were in the air and the seatbelt sign went off, Chaucey got up and headed for the back of the plane. It was nice to get away from the smothering heat of the testosterone twins.

  There he was—near the back of the plane in a middle seat.

  “Crow?”

  He looked up. “Chaucey?”

  She leaned over and spoke quietly. “Crow, what are you doing?”

  “Going to Orlando.”

  “Because you think Barry’s there?”

  “Yes.”

  The middle aged man in the aisle seat was enjoying a lovely view down Chaucey’s blouse. She sensed that at any moment he might press his face against her cleavage, like a kid at a candy counter.

  When she stood up, his neck stretched impossibly long as his eyes followed her breasts.

  “Sir, would you mind trading seats with me?”

  The expression on his face said he would give up his seat, open the emergency door and jump out of the plane—if that’s what she wanted. “Oh, uh, sure.”

  “It’s 18E. Thank you so much.” She was careful to make her smile friendly, but platonic.

  He got up and began to walk toward his new seat. She sat down next to Crow.

  Then the man came back. “Forgot my headphones.” And before she could get them for him, he reached to the floor, rubbing his arm against her smooth, firm calf. Then he slid his hand across the top of her thigh and unplugged the wire from the armrest. “Thanks.”

  In her mind, she slapped him so hard that he tumbled to the back of the plane and bowled over a couple of flight attendants. But he had given up his seat for her, so she smiled and told him he was welcome.

  Chaucey turned to Crow and whispered, “So, what were you planning to do—just walk up and strangle him? Or maybe you were gonna knock him down and bang his head on the pavement until it split open and his brains fell out. Is that your plan?”

  “No…”

  “You took off work and hopped on a plane without telling me anything. And your dad thinks the two of us are on some kind of lovers’ retreat. What have you been telling your parents?”

  “Not that much really.”

  “Look, this guy is bad news. You could get yourself killed messing with him. What were you thinking?

  “I was thinking that I can’t stand for that cockroach to be running around free after what he did to you.”

  “Cockroach, huh?”

  Crow couldn’t stop himself from smiling.

  “This is nuts, Crow. He’ll never bother me again. So, just forget about it.”

  “But what about Greg Tenorly? And his wife—that redhead at the motel? I called Disney World and found out where they’re staying. I wanted to warn them. But they’re not answering the phone.”

  “Okay. When we get to Orlando we’ll try calling them again. If there’s still no answer, we’ll go to their room and tell them in person.”

  “Good.”

  “And then we’ll catch a flight back home. And you will NOT, under any circumstances, go after Barry Undermine. Right?”

  “I guess.”

  “No. You’ve got to promise.”

  She was waiting for him to say something, but what he really wanted to do was to kiss her. “Fine.”

  **********

  Delta Flight 1595 would begin boarding
any minute. Sandy and Rebecca had just arrived in Atlanta thirty minutes earlier. He sat in the waiting area, watching for her to come out of the bathroom. Just five minutes of separation, and he was already missing her.

  When she came out and walked toward Sandy, he studied her carefully. What was it about her that made him want to be with her so much?

  A little girl was trying to catch up with her mother and siblings when she tripped and fell down and began to cry. Rebecca rushed to her side and reassured her until the mother could take over.

  She smiled and said ‘hi’ to an old man who looked like he didn’t have one friend in the world. Almost instantly the man had more spring in his step.

  How could a woman be so tough and blunt, yet so kind and loving?

  Sandy grinned at her. “Everything come out alright?”

  She punched him hard in the arm and sat down beside him. “You don’t really think Larry is in Orlando, do you?”

  “I hope not, but it’s possible. With the police after him, he’d have to be crazy.”

  “But, as we know…”

  “Yeah. He is crazy.”

  “Did you try calling Greg again?”

  “Yeah. His cell phone is still off. But I left a message on their room phone.”

  “I thought you were afraid that leaving a message about Larry would spoil their honeymoon?”

  “Well, after a little more thought I figured Cynthia disappearing again would spoil it even more. And Greg would kill me if that happened and I hadn’t even tried to warn him.”

  “So, we’ll go warn them about Larry—and then what?”

  “I don’t know. Grab a room somewhere and—“

  “—wait a second. Grab a room? As in a single room for the two of us?”

  “Sure. Why not? No sense in paying for two.”

  “Okay. Now I see what this trip is really about.”

  “We can get two beds, if you like.”

  “If I like?”

  “Strike that. We will get two beds. Okay?”

  “Right. One to put our luggage on and the other for you to put yourself on me.”

  He smiled slightly. “No, not at all.”

  “You dog,” she snarled, but only half-seriously.

  “Yes, I am a dog. I’ll admit it. And as such, I will jump your bones at any time of the day or night. But only if you want me to. I’m a gentleman dog.”

  “Really? A gentleman dog. Now I’ve heard everything.”

  “And I know many commands, such as ‘stay,’ ‘fetch,’ ‘rollover,’ and ‘pounce.’”

  “Pounce. Is that the one where you—“

  “—yes. So, don’t say it now, in front of all these people.” He grinned.

  “Sandy, you are one sick puppy.”

  He laughed. He certainly was one sick puppy. And he was in puppy love. Or maybe even people love.

  **********

  Sandy and Rebecca stopped off at the restrooms and then headed for Disney’s Magical Express. Their plane had landed at 5:38 PM—right on schedule. The free bus ride would deliver them to Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort, where Greg and Cynthia were staying.

  “Won’t be long now. It’s only 35 minutes,” said Sandy.

  Then they saw the lines.

  Rebecca said, “Yeah—once we actually get on a bus.”

  They had been standing in line for just a few minutes when she noticed Sandy staring at the most beautiful woman in the room. “Why don’t you take a picture?”

  “I think I know her—and him. But I can’t place them.”

  Rebecca took a closer look. “That can’t be Chaucey Reed.”

  “Yes! That’s it. And that’s her neighbor.”

  “Or boyfriend.”

  “Nah. He couldn’t be a boyfriend,” said Sandy.

  “I wonder if they’re here for Larry. Let’s go find out.”

  Before Sandy could try to stop her, she was ducking under roped aisles to get there. He followed her, feeling guilty all the way, knowing that at any moment some tired, irate vacationer with four young kids would holler, “Hey, you! No breaking in line, Buddy!”

  “Thanks for saving our place, Sis.”

  When Chaucey felt the arm around her shoulder, she nearly elbowed Rebecca. But she recognized the face from somewhere. And the guy seemed familiar too.

  Rebecca spoke more softly. “We’re Greg and Cynthia’s friends. We were with Greg the other night at your apartment.”

  “Oh, yeah. So, that’s her name—Cynthia.”

  “What are you guys doing here?”

  “Crow read Barry’s latest chapter and thought he had come here to Disney World.”

  “Yeah,” said Rebecca. “That’s the reason we’re here too.”

  “Barry’s gonna be sorry he ever messed with Chaucey,” said Crow.

  Sandy said, “By the way, his real name is Larry. Larry Luzor.”

  “How appropriate,” said Chaucey.

  “Yeah,” said Rebecca. “But it’s spelled L-u-z-o-r.”

  “I don’t care how you spell it,” said Crow. “I just want to teach him a lesson he’ll never forget.”

  Chaucey grabbed him by the arms and made him look her in the eyes. “You mean you want to catch him and hand him over to the police. Right, Crow?”

  “Okay. Fine.”

  Rebecca whispered into Crow’s ear. “Yeah, and while we’re waiting for the police to come, I’ll give him a swift kick in the groin.”

  Crow pictured it and grinned.

  37 - DAY AT DISNEY

  It was nearly 7:00 PM. Greg and Cynthia had spent the entire day at Disney-MGM Studios.

  “You still want to do room service for dinner?” He opened the door to their room.

  “Yeah. That sounds fine. But I’m not very hungry right now.”

  “I understand.” He smiled slyly. “We’ll play around for a while. That’ll work up an appetite.”

  “Actually, I don’t want to play around right now.”

  Was she kidding? It was only the second day, he thought. She can’t be bored with sex already.

  Cynthia put her arms around him, pulled him close and looked deep into his eyes. “I don’t want to play around. I want to get serious.”

  “Okay…I’ll try to do better. Just tell me what you want, Baby.”

  “No, Silly. You’re doing just fine. Perfect, in fact.”

  “Then, I don’t get what you’re talking about.”

  “I want to have your baby.”

  Greg gulped. “Well, I want to have your baby too—I mean, I want to have a baby with you too.”

  She smiled. “No protection tonight.”

  “No argument here.” Greg was ready. More than ready. “But I thought you wanted to wait a while to have kids.”

  “I thought so too. But then I realized today that there’s no reason to wait.”

  “Really? When did that happen—during the Beauty and the Beast show? Were you thinking that even though I’m a beast we can still live happily ever after and our children will turn out okay? Or, did you figure it out when we were free falling in the Tower of Terror? Maybe you realized life is short, so better have the kids now—before we get in a freak elevator accident.”

  She stuck out her tongue and then smiled. “I don’t know. I guess I was being cautious because my first marriage failed, and I wanted to be sure. But you’re no Troy. I was so glad I didn’t have kids with him. But, now I’m ready. No doubts. I want Greg Tenorly to be the father of my children.”

  “Children?”

  “Two kids—like we talked about.”

  “Yeah. A boy and a girl would be great.”

  “Or maybe three or four.”

  “Whoa. Three or four? I don’t remember talking about that.”

  “Well, that’s just a contingency—you know, in case we don’t get a boy and a girl with the first two.”

  “So, do you have any kind of limit in mind, Mama Tenorly?”

  “Limit?”

  “Yeah.
Suppose we have four boys and you still want a girl. What’s the cutoff number? Six? Eight?”

  “It wouldn’t take that many tries…surely.”

  Greg looked as if he had just watched a monster truck demolish his prized 1965 Bonneville. His libido had suddenly been rendered undrivable. How would they support that many kids? How old would they be when the last one finished college?

  “It’s okay, Sweetie,” she said. “We don’t have to think that far into the future.”

  His head was nodding along numbly in agreement.

  “We definitely want to have at least one child, right?”

  “Yeah.” He seemed to be coming back to the present.

  “So, let’s just think about that one child when we make love tonight.”

  “Okay.” The juices were beginning to flow again. “I can do that.” He began to smile.

  “Great. So, why don’t you go ahead and take your shower? I’m dying of thirst. I’m gonna go fill up our ice bucket. You want a soft drink?”

  “No, thanks. Ice water sounds great.”

  Cynthia walked out with the ice bucket.

  Greg went into the bathroom. He turned on the shower and began to undress, thinking about the prospect of several little redheaded girls running around the house. They would be so cute.

  “Daddy, could we please go to Dairy Queen tonight?”

  How would he ever be able to resist them? He’d say ‘Yes’ to everything. But that would be okay, because Cynthia would say ‘No’ when necessary.

  “Daddy, will you buy me a car?”

  “Dad, I want to go to Harvard.”

  Ouch. But they would be so sweet—just like their mommy.

  And what about boys? He could roll around on the floor with them, play football in the yard, and practice throwing a baseball. Gee—they would want cars and college too. But it would be nice to have at least one of each. A sweet little girl with long, shiny red hair and a cute, but tough, little boy with…

  Greg frowned at his balding head in the mirror. Well, maybe the boy would have his mother’s hair.

  **********

  Cynthia pushed the button, and ice cubes began to rumble out of the machine into her bucket.