Run to You

by Lynne King

  “By the look of you, I would say word has got out about me.”

  Lorraine sat herself down next to Liz on the bench. “No, nothing has really been said and no one knows anything, but you know gossip. We were shown photos and one of them looked remarkably like that Irish guy you hooked up with. I didn’t have to say anything. Julie was in like a shot.”

  Liz didn’t know how much she could tell Lorraine but in the end she didn’t care, as her whole sorry plight flooded out. By the time she had finished, Lorraine was staring down at her feet kicking at the grass, unable to look her friend in the face. “Did you see who killed him?” Lorraine quietly asked.

  “No, just voices and if I heard them again I probably wouldn’t recognize them. I was so terrified.”

  Lorraine took a bottle of water from her bag and undid the top. “Want some?” she offered to Liz.

  Shaking her head, Liz felt the sun burning her shoulders and suggested they move to a more shaded area.

  When Lorraine stood up, she stared across at the model boats on the lake. “Did he give you anything, tell you what was stolen or who else he was working with?”

  She was a little stunned by the directness of Lorraine’s questions and the coolness in her tone. “No, nothing except…” she faltered.

  Lorraine pivoted. “Except what?”

  For the first time, she was actually looking directly at Liz, but sunglasses hid what thoughts might be going through her mind. She certainly wasn’t offering up much warmth and support, but then Liz wondered if the roles were reversed, if she wouldn’t be acting the same way. They’d only known each other for three months and what she had just confessed to would test a lifelong friendship.

  “I can’t help you if you don’t tell me everything,” Lorraine snapped.

  “Shaun’s cell phone might hold a clue to who was the last person to ring before he was killed.” Liz stood up and started walking toward a group of trees with Lorraine walking aside her. She started telling her about Gandini’s threats and how Detective Willis was hoping to draw the main man out, as he called him. It felt so good to get it all out, but the one thing she couldn’t talk about was what had happened between Jack and her. Some things were better off not said, especially when she didn’t know herself what had taken place between them.

  “Where is the phone now?” Lorraine asked.

  “Jack took it in for the lab to take a look. They need to get past the security lockout to retrieve any information. It won’t take them long, apparently.”

  “What about the key?”

  “I stole it back and now I don’t know what to do.”

  They came to the pathway Lorraine had earlier walked down and which led to Fifth Avenue and her bus stop. Lorraine came to a stop.

  “Sorry, I shouldn’t have asked you to meet me. In truth, I thought it was a load of rubbish, the rumors I was hearing and wanted to prove it. Now I know the truth, it’s worse.” She pushed her glasses back onto her forehead, her eyes narrowing. “My God, Liz, tell that detective of Gandini’s threats, then tell him you want out. Don’t get involved any deeper in this. If you haven’t been arrested, I would try and leave the US and go home now, before it’s too late.

  “I can’t.” Liz shook her head.

  “Why not, grab your passport, book a flight, and go. Extradition requires proof and from what you said, they have only got what you’ve told them, so stop doing the talking and look out for yourself.”

  A large mixed group filed past, causing Liz and Lorraine to step aside. Lorraine took out her water and this time Liz accepted a sip.

  “What about Gandini’s threats if I don’t help him?”

  Lorraine dropped the empty bottle in the trash. “He’s messing with your mind in the exact same way as O’Riley did by using blackmail and threats. You won’t ever be free unless you put a stop to it now.” She glanced at her watch. “Look, I’ve got to go.” She brought the sunglasses down, covering her eyes again. “Look after yourself.” Her clammy hands awkwardly took hold of Liz’s shoulders and she leaned forward and kissed her on each cheek. Then she was gone, hurrying up the pathway, her blond bob and slender legs attracting several admiring glances.

  Liz was in no hurry to return to her apartment and those four walls, so she carried on walking through the park thinking over what Lorraine had said. After walking aimlessly for miles, she ended up sitting in an ice cream café and ordering a large strawberry-ice milk shake. On a table near her was a young mother with a toddler seated at the table and a baby in a stroller. A man left the counter and joined them. Obviously he was the father by the attention he was giving them and how the mother smiled and looked at him. She remembered that look—it was the same one her parents had for each other and for their two daughters. Up until then, her life had been secure, safe and then they were cruelly snatched away and her whole world fell apart. Simon had helped but she had never fully committed herself to the relationship and certainly never considered children. The engagement had been all Simon and she had simply gone along with it. What she knew now was they never had that look and never would have. Did Jack and she have it? Yes, briefly, she had felt it and knew he had too, but now the trust had gone and so was the look.

  Finishing her shake, Liz stood up and smiled at the toddler. Yes, she would like children one day and a husband and everything else to make her life normal and secure. She doubted that day would ever come.

  The walk back was a hot and slow one. By the time she reached her apartment, four hours had passed since her disappearance. The police car was gone, but Jack’s car was in its place. She was not looking forward to this as she climbed the stairs, the humidity making the camisole stick to her perspiring skin. Her feet were aching and all she wanted now was to step under a cool shower, not have a confrontation which, going by the amount of messages left on her cell phone, was about to happen.

  Entering her apartment, she came face to face with Jack’s angry onslaught. Banging his fist against the wall, he came toward her in two huge strides. Then taking her roughly by the shoulders, he shook her so hard she thought her head would snap off. Her hat did.

  “You stupid little fool. Where the hell have you been?”

  She fought back the tears welling up. She had expected him to be angry but never this. The fury in his face had her convinced he would strike her any second, making her cry out he was hurting her.

  Realization of how he was behaving entered his face. He released her shoulders and stepped back. “I’m sorry.” The anger was still in his tone as a muscle twitched in his cheek, his voice now controlled and harsh. “Are you going to tell me where you’ve been for the last four hours?”

  Liz walked past him and into the kitchen. “I went for a walk.” She put the kettle on to boil and spooned some coffee into a mug. “I didn’t realize the time and anything was better than stuck here, waiting for your damn hourly checks.”

  He came up behind her, close enough for Liz to feel his breath upon her neck. “Who did you meet with?”

  She spun round and found herself up against his chest, her defiant gaze meeting his. “No one.”

  A cynical smile appeared. “You lie so easily, Liz. I’m beginning to wonder where the lies end and the truth begins. Did you lie about not sleeping with O’Riley, I wonder?”

  The heat hadn’t diffused and, in fact, she could feel perspiration beads trickling between her breasts, the camisole now clinging to her like a transparent second skin. She noticed Jack’s gaze had lowered and she wasn’t the only one feeling the heat. Is that all he felt for her, lust? She moistened her lips with her tongue, her words slow and challenging. “What if I did? You said yourself, it made no difference.”

  His hand reached out and gripped her chin, and for a second she witnessed anguish sweep over his features. “Tell me, did you?”

  She shook her head, shaking his hand away at the same time. “I’ve already told you, but I’m a liar, remember.” Her hand roughly pushed him out of her way.


  Coffee was no longer a priority. Cooling off and getting away from the sexual tension building up within was. Going into the bathroom, she gathered her hair up into a ponytail, twisting it round into a topknot and securing it with pins. Stripping off her clothing she stepped into the shower cubicle and brought the spray down to shoulder height. The water cascaded down her shoulders and back, her hands on the cold tiles pressing her body to it.

  She didn’t hear the cubicle door open and close, but she did feel the rush of cool air on her skin and heard the movement from behind. His hands covered hers and slid them up the wall and then his body closed in against hers. The effect sent her nerve endings tingling, her nipples hardening with anticipation. He was so hard and ready. His cock that she had sucked every delicious inch of was pressing between the cleft of her buttocks. No words were spoken, his mouth busy caressing her shoulders and up under her hairline to suck gently upon her earlobe. She kept her fingers spread out upon the tiling when he removed his hands, bringing them down stroking her skin and then coming round to clasp her breasts, his thumbs working their magic. Squeezing and then pulling gently on her hard nipples, the tingling had become sparks as her legs began to buckle. Her body quivered as a hand fell away from her breast and smoothed a pathway down her stomach to the throbbing wanting between her legs. The rubbing of his palm against her soft mound and the flicking and teasing of his fingers was too much, as a small cry escaped her lips.

  “Tell me what you want, Elizabeth,” he whispered hoarsely against her ear.

  “You bastard, I want you inside me, now,” she screamed.

  In an instant, he had swung her body round to face him, his hands clasping her buttocks and lifting, her legs wrapping around his thighs as he entered her. The thrust brought exquisite relief and a rush that needed satisfying more and more. Arms encasing his shoulders while her face buried into his neck. Faster and faster he moved inside of her, his fingers pressing into the cheeks of her bottom, as each thrust seemed to drive further and further into her inner core. She felt delirious once again, crazier and crazier with the cool spray from the shower intensifying every fiber of her being. It was a mind-blowing ecstasy trip. Higher and higher she rose to the edge of the precipice.

  At the same time as she went over the top, so did Jack, his body shuddering against hers and if he had cried out anything, she wouldn’t have heard above the sound of the shower and her own cry of release.

  She felt him withdraw and slowly unwound her legs and arms as her feet touched the floor of the shower tray. The light-headed unsteadiness was nothing compared to the strange feeling of embarrassment and reluctance to look him in the face. What if he had that countenance from this morning, one of cold indifference? Perhaps what had just taken place between them was pure lust, proof to him she was available to take whenever he wanted to. That she was an easy lay and if she was like that with him, why believe having sex with Shaun O’Riley never happened. She knew the reason, but would he?

  Gently a hand lifted her chin. “Liz, look at me.”

  Slowly, she raised her eyes and felt his fingers encase her face, the blue intensity of his gaze giving her the answer she so desperately sought. His lips moved against hers, slow and intoxicating, with the message his kiss conveyed.

  When he finally broke away, he still held her naked body to his, the water unable to quell the sizzling warmth transmitting from one to the other.

  “I don’t think I’m ever going to be able to let you go,” he whispered.

  “Then don’t,” she murmured back, seeking reassurance from his lips once again.

  Chapter Sixteen

  “Grab anything you might need for the foreseeable future and then we’re out of here.”

  Liz stood with her hairbrush in her hand and accepted a freshly brewed cup of coffee from Jack. She had at least slipped on her panties and a baggy T-shirt while he still stood with a flimsy towel wrapped around his waist. His glistening chest and broad shoulders was a sight she could never get enough of and very distracting.

  “Are you going to get dressed first?” She smiled.

  “Only if you would like me to. No, seriously, I’m taking you back to my place and I’m informing my captain that your involvement in all of this is over. You know nothing and witnessed nothing. I’m not going to risk your life any longer.”

  She stared back at him stunned. It was the best news she had heard of late and whatever was responsible for this latest change in Jack’s thinking, she couldn’t be more thankful. At last she could feel there was a chance of getting her life back, that there was light at the end of the tunnel. It also meant she was no longer questioning his motives.

  “What about finding out who was behind the bank heist and Gandini’s threats?” She started sipping her coffee.

  “It was never going to work using you to try and lure out someone we can’t even be 100 percent sure exists. For all we know, O’Riley, aka Connor set it up alone and had no idea one of the boxes belonged to Gandini until afterward and then it was too late.”

  “What about his phone conversation?”

  Jack shrugged his shoulders. “Perhaps you heard wrong and he was talking to a fence arranging to get rid of the stuff. Anyway, your involvement ceases and I want you in a secure place where I can keep an eye on you night and day.” Placing his empty cup down, he strolled over to her and took a clump of her loose hair in his fingers and twined it around his hand.

  Her gaze met his. “What about Gandini? He knew where to find me before. What will stop him coming after me again?”

  “There won’t be a second time. Trust me, I will deal with Gandini. Now get your glad rags on. I’m taking you out to dinner. How does Chinese sound?”

  Smoothing her tongue over her top lip, Liz mouthed the word “delicious.” His lips brushed against hers and then she felt a gentle slap on her rear. “Dress now before I change my mind and satisfy my hunger with other means.”

  Playfully, she snatched the towel away from around his waist and ran off into the bedroom laughing, knowing Jack was right behind her.

  It was an hour later that they finally left her apartment carrying the same case she had arrived with. At Jack’s insistence, she wore a black satiny dress with shoestring straps encrusted with zircon that took on the appearance of genuine diamonds. As Simon had purchased it for her, she knew its true value. Who it came from held no emotional connections, seeing she had never worn it for him or anyone else. It had simply been packed up with the rest of her meager belongings when she had left. The soft material against her naked skin minus her panties heightened the inner sexuality Jack had brought out in her. Wearing black stilettos on bare feet completed the look, and when she stepped out of the bedroom and Jack’s eyes widened in appreciation and desire as he let out a low whistle, it had nearly delayed their departure yet again.

  This was only her second visit to Chinatown, the last time accompanying Lorraine as she shopped for herbs and spices. It was early evening and Canal Street was bustling with locals, tourists, and all forms of noisy polluting traffic. Brightly lit shop fronts displayed their wares of colorful china vases and Eastern souvenirs to fast food of Malaysian beef jerky and dumplings. Then there were the numerous fish stands with everything edible taken from the sea and shoreline. In the slow moving traffic, Liz had a perfect view of the street vendors dishing out their rice noodles and briefly, the cooking smells rose above the exhaust fumes, increasing her hunger. She glanced up at the skyline and could see in the distance the Mahayana Buddhist temple with its giant golden Buddha. Turning off Canal Street, Jack entered a side street closed off to the general public and finally parked in the rear of an establishment she guessed he was a regular of. It was confirmed straight away when they entered and were immediately greeted by an elderly, smartly dressed Chinese man.

  “Mister Willis, what a pleasure to see you, and with such a beautiful companion by your side.”

  When he had delivered a few more complimentary remarks in impeccable English
and Jack had smiled and laughed back, they were shown to a private booth away from tables full of mainly Orientals.

  “This is where the locals come because the décor might be a bit tacky, but the food more than makes up for it,” he whispered across to her. “Mister Ling, the owner who greeted us owns many restaurants, some very upmarket, but it is only this one you will ever find him in.”

  “You are obviously well known here?” Liz peered at him above the menu.

  He smiled. “I worked this area years ago and sort of stayed in touch. Let’s say we’ve helped each other out in the past. Are you ever going to take that jacket off?”

  A waiter had already tried to take it off her and despite being rather hot, she felt overdressed or underdressed considering the nature of her attire. However, it was pretty private where they had been seated, so Liz slipped her jacket off her shoulders and hung it on the back of her chair. “Happy now?”

  He threw her a wink and said, “100 percent. I bet the last guy you wore it for proposed marriage on the spot.”

  “This is the first time I’ve worn it, but the guy who purchased it for me had asked for my hand already so I guessed he wanted to improve the gift wrap.” The sharp retort had slipped out, but then she couldn’t understand Jack’s gibe, because that was what it felt like.

  His hand reached over and took hold of hers. “I’m sorry. It was meant as a compliment, and you should have told me. I would never have suggested you wear it if I had known.”

  “No, I’m fine. I like the dress. That’s why I kept it and as for who gave it to me, well, it was his loss that he never got to see me in it, not mine, Jack.” Her eyes glanced down at his hand still covering hers. “Why have you brought me here? It’s as if we’re on a date, which is pretty bizarre since I’m meant to be a witness or whatever, under police custody.”

  “First, I don’t make a habit of sleeping with witnesses under my protection, so this has nothing to do with my job. Second, as we’ve already done the sex part, my bringing you here is, I guess, the part we skipped, getting to know each other first, so yes, let’s call it a date.”