by E. C. Towers
As if the dual orgasms had only served to arouse her to the woman's needs more, Linda slipped between Dalila's legs to kiss that throbbing clit and gently lick those sensitive lips, so flush and swollen from cumming. They went back and forth, giving pleasure to the other until they had their fill and eventually collapsing into bed together, tangled in each other’s arms and legs.
Dalila took in Linda’s delicious body, glistening with sweat, the moonlight that slipped in between the curtains shining off her curves. Dalila was not even a little surprised that she felt herself getting aroused again, but her eyelids felt unexpectedly heavy and for the first time in months, Dalila slipped into a deep and dream filled sleep.
14
Photographs
“Good morning.”
Dalila heard Linda's voice before she even opened her eyes and smiled, remembering where she was. She inhaled the light lavender scent of Linda’s sheets. It wasn’t a dream. She couldn’t remember the last time she couldn’t wait to wake up.
She slowly opened her eyes and saw Linda looking down at her serenely, holding two cups of coffee in a white silk robe that she hadn’t bothered tying closed.
“Well, aren’t you a sight in the morning,” she smiled lazily, taking the cup of coffee Linda held out to her.
“Oh, I was a sight. So I woke up early and got myself together,” Linda took a sip of her coffee and grinned.
“I’m sure I’m quite a sight right now,” Dalila replied as she ran her fingers self-consciously through her hair.
“You are quite a sight,” Linda leaned and gave her a peck on the lips, “a delicious one.”
Linda sat next to her in bed to drink the fragrant coffee, and Dalila saw a darkness pass over her eyes.
“What’s the matter?”
“Last night was incredible, but I have to put a damper on it now,” Linda said. “There are some things going on around here that are making me think that I might not be safe in my own house,” she shared, fidgeting with her cup nervously. “In fact, I don’t believe it's safe for me to go anywhere.”
Linda recounted the strange and scary events that had happened to her; the blood, the phone calls, the vulgar rose petal message. As Linda told her story, Dalila grew increasingly concerned.
“The worst part is…” she paused, “Jacob told me after all those events that he has seen Tim alive.”
“What?! When?”
“In Puerto Vallarta, the day I left I must have just missed him. He held Jacob at gunpoint and wanted to know where I was. Jacob told me he eventually scared sense into Tim, and they both just took off after that. But with all that’s been happening... the threats… I don’t think Tim may have gone away as quietly as Jacob believed.”
Dalila hugged her, desperately wanting to make her feel safe.
“Please, don’t worry. I’m here, and we’ll find him. He won’t get away with this.”
* * *
He hadn’t expected for Linda to bring her bitch back into the mix, but it didn’t deter him in the slightest. If anything, he took joy in finally seeing her a little rattled. It’s exactly what he wanted to happen. He would have to adjust slightly his plans a little bit to get Linda alone for a genuine confrontation. She would pay for all the hurt she'd left in her self-absorbed wake.
His hands trembled with both excitement and anger. Her payback had been long overdue, and he was thrilled that it was finally time to collect.
* * *
Dalila and Linda poured over the surveillance videos from the past few days, hoping to find a snippet of anyone suspicious roaming around Linda’s house, but they found nothing.
“Do these surveillance cameras tape all night?” she asked, fruitlessly searching the video archives on Linda’s laptop.
“No, they’re motion-sensored. They only record if something activates the infrared scans. But it’s very sensitive; I’ve caught tons of footage of wandering deer in my driveway.”
“There’s no way someone could adjust with the cameras from outside?” Dalila was confused.
How could the cameras catch deer and not a person turning her flowers in mulch?
“That seems impossible. The cameras are hidden, and you can’t see them from the outside. And even if you looked carefully, most of them are up on the roof, and the only way you’d know they were even there is the pinhole opening that the lens spies through.”
“Well, let’s say someone did know about them being on the roof, could they somehow alter the footage that it caught?”
“No. All the video is streamed, captured and saved onto my laptop. Even if the cameras were discovered, the most they could do is break them, and as you can see, they’re clearly not broken.”
She plopped on her couch completely defeated, “I don’t know what to do. I don’t want to bring the cops into this…”
“You already have,” Dalila sat down beside Linda and put her arm around her.
Linda smiled at the sweet warmth, "I’m hoping you’re all I need.”
The low grumble of an engine caused both of Linda and Dalila to rise quickly from the sofa and see who it was.
“Damn it,” Linda muttered as the familiar motorcycle drove up to park on her driveway. Linda was out the door before it even came to a complete stop.
“I thought I told you just to go, Jacob. Why are you here?”
Jacob took off his helmet and immediately took note of Dalila standing on the porch.
“What’s she doing here?”
“She’s here at my invitation. I don’t remember extending the same to you.”
Linda stood in front of Jacob, blocking his path to the house. He let out a long sigh and stared at her with eyes full of regret.
“I know you’re mad at me, Linda. I get that. And I could say a million sorries, and I honestly want to, but that’s not why I’m here.”
“Then tell me,” she replied curtly.
He unzipped his leather jacket and took out a crumpled photo from his inside pocket.
“What’s this?” Linda snatched up the photograph to straighten it out.
Dalila stepped down from the balcony and ran next to her to see what it was. The picture was blurry, clearly taken at night by a long-range lens. It took Dalila a moment to recognize the picture was of Linda.
“It’s me,” Linda whispered.
The picture was of Linda scantily dressed, sitting in her bedroom chair watching a threesome in front of her. “This is from my yacht. This picture is me in my yacht! How? What is this?” she shook the picture in front of Jacob’s face, desperate for answers.
“I don’t know, but I think you and I both can guess from whose house this was taken.”
"This was shot from far away; from a roof or someone’s balcony,” Dalila said.
Linda crushed the photo in her hand, embarrassed that she had to see it.
“Where did you find it?”
“I was out for a jog this morning, and I saw it among several blowing in the wind on the embarcadero. When I looked, I could see a trail of them down the dock where it’s tied.”
“What!?” Linda couldn’t believe this was happening.
“I picked up as much as I could, but it looks like there’s more flying from the deck of the ship itself, as if they were being thrown overboard by someone.”
“But my yacht is completely shut down. The crew isn’t even there.”
He looked at her silently, waiting for the his conclusion to find its way into her mind. Someone was in the boat.
Jacob hopped on his bike and offered Linda his spare helmet.
“Come on, I’ll take you to your yacht right now. Dalila can follow you in your car.”
“Yes, go,” Dalila told her, “I've just got to change into some jeans and I’ll be right behind you.”
Linda looked at her hesitantly, her big doe eyes filled with so much fear that she couldn’t help but give her a big hug.
“Right behind you,” she whispered into Linda’s ear, “I promise.”
Linda nodded and reluctantly mounted Jacob’s bike.
“My car keys are hanging by the door,” she yelled out at Dalila. “Just follow this road to the highway, exit South Bay Street and make a left and go until you hit the ocean, you’ll see my boat.”
“Got it. Now go! I’ll see you there.”
Linda and Jacob backed out of the driveway and took off. Dalila rushed back into the house, opened her luggage, and quickly fished out a pair of jeans and a plain white, V-neck shirt. She took off the robe Linda had given her and dressed. As she was about to leave, Dalila’s cell phone beeped at her from the floor where it had been left among a heap of clothes that Linda had helped her out of last night.
She picked it up to check her messages,
“Did you make it okay?”
It was Susie. She had completely forgotten to check in with her and now with Linda’s problems coming to light, Dalila really needed to call her back.
Susie answered on the first ring.
“Thank God. I was starting to get worried!”
“I'm so sorry Susie. But listen, I don't have much time to talk, and I might need your help at some point.”
She relayed the facts of the story to Susie, up to the appearance of the photographs.
“So you think Tim’s alive and back at Driftwood threatening Linda?”
“The guy is crazy. He wants to screw with her head and completely ruin her reputation.”
“Let me do some research on him, D. I'll see if there is some way I can track him down and get a timeline of when he left Vallarta and arrived back at Driftwood.”
“That's precisely what I was about to ask you for. Thank you.”
Dalila knew that Linda didn’t want to involve the police, but Susie could be a huge help to nailing down Tim’s location so they could arrest the son of a bitch.
“No problem,” Susie replied. “And hey, be careful. I'll call you back with more information.
Before Dalila left, she went back into the house and grabbed her gun. She slipped it into a side holster and put on a sweatshirt to cover it. Dalila had a foreboding premonition that she might have to use it.
15
Revelations
Puerto Vallarta
“Listen, man, you’ve been duped. She acts like she’s all into you, but the truth is she’s just a tease,” Tim spat his gum out at Jacob’s feet, “which is why I was a bit disappointed you came chasing after her like a dog with his red crayon out when the bitch left me for dead.”
“I was looking for you, Tim, I swear, but..”
“Yeah, you got a good look at her, and poor ol’ Tim went out the window. You don’t have to bullshit me. I get it. I was obsessed with her too.”
Tim pulled out a new stick of gum and chomped on it violently. His usual, laid-back stoner attitude had been replaced with the tension of a trembling angry man on a mission.
“Yeah, she fooled me but I’m done with her, and you should be too. She’s not worth it, man.”
Jacob tried to downplay what had happened with Linda and appeal to Tim’s proud nature, but he wasn’t biting.
“I’m not forgetting shit! Listen, I’ve paid off a few deckhands here, and they’re going to look the other way so I can snag one of these boats.” Tim smiled, “You can come with,” he offered, “but only if you help me track down Linda.”
“How am I going to do that?” Jacob asked incredulously.
“Call her. Sweet talk her. You know what to do, lover boy. Ask her where she plans on going next.”
“There’s no way she’s going to talk to me, and besides, I told you. Linda’s going back to Driftwood.”
“So you say,” he mumbled and squinted his eyes at him. "It seems like you’re still on her side. Are you still hard up for that cunt?”
He squinted his eyes even more, as if he was trying to look into Jacob’s soul and suddenly, he let out a big, boisterous laugh that made him jump.
“Oh, shit. Have you fallen for her?” Jacob grinned. “Like father, like son, I guess,” Tim winked.
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Let’s just say you wouldn’t be so hard-cocked over Linda if you ever found out what happened between her and your dad.”
A sly smirk appeared on Tim’s face as he examined the shock on Jacob’s face.
“My dad doesn’t know Linda. We didn’t even live in Driftwood, so don’t try to use that shit to get me on your side.”
“You underestimate Linda’s influence and money,” Tim sneered. “Your dad worked for a tech company that she owns, you idiot. I know all about him and how he left you and your mom.”
“If you don’t fucking tell me what you’re talking about soon, I’m going to kill you here myself,” Jacob growled. “Gun or no gun. I don’t give a shit anymore. You better start talking.”
“All right, all right!” Tim held his arms up in mock surrender and chuckled. “Well, when I was sprung on that bitch, I used to watch her parties through my deck with my telescope. I figured out that one of the lower hull windows looked right into where all the action was,” Tim smiled as he wistfully reminisced. “Man, I about yanked my dick off, I was jerking it so hard after I found that little peephole.”
Pretty soon, I got a better telescope and saw things that went straight to the ol’ spank bank.”
He tapped his head and beamed.
“But pretty soon, that wasn’t enough. I wanted to be able to see Linda whenever I wanted, and since the bitch never invited me to one of her parties, I bought a camera with night vision that could take pictures AND video.”
“So what does you being a sorry ass creeper have to do with my dad?” Jacob insisted, growing more and more disgusted at the thought that he had ever considered Tim a friend.
“Well this “sorry-ass creeper” started seeing some familiar faces in the crowd, regulars, higher-ups, you know, important looking people getting sucked and fucked, and I thought to myself wouldn’t it be a shame if the newspapers found out about this?” Tim exposed his crooked yellow teeth and tried to smile, but it ended up looking like a snarl.
“I took pictures of them, video, and did some research on who they were; most of them were married, like your dad.”
“My dad?” he stumbled on his words, not knowing if Tim was fucking with him or not.
“Yeah, your dad. He never got to touch Linda; she just watched him while he fucked other girls. But, oh boy! He wanted to!” he laughed. “He tried to swing that dick in front of Linda’s face as much as he could. Your dad was a regular, so I did my research on him and found out about you and your mom. Then as luck of lucks would have it, you showed up at one of my friend’s parties.”
“You’re lying. My dad cheated on my mom with my stepmom, not anyone else.”
He realized how ridiculous that sounded as soon as it came out of his mouth.
“Right, because cheaters never lie, right?” Tim chuckled.
“I figured I’d buddy up to you, get you laid by those sister sluts so you’d introduce me to your dad, and then I could easily find my way into those parties to get laid.”
“But alas,” Tim wailed dramatically, “you’re a momma’s boy, and you hate your dad! Wah!”
Tim shook his head in disgust, “I should have figured out a long time ago that you were useless.”
Jacob was seething, his issues with his father came bubbling up to the surface, and he felt rage spreading over him like a bucket of hot water that had been dumped on his head.
“So, you’re still mad at me?!” Tim spat in his face. “You still want to protect the bitch who facilitated your dad’s cheating, who made him leave you?! Leave your mom, who killed herself over it?! Linda killed your family, dude! Killed your childhood! And you’re sitting there being mad at me? She killed your mom as well as he did!”
Jacob exploded and grabbed Tim by the scruff of his tiny neck and squeezed. His face turned pink immediately, eyes bulging as he struggled under Jacob’s vice like
grip on his throat.
“Liar!” he roared before letting him go.
Tim coughed and wheezed gulps of air, trying to get his breath back.
“If you don’t believe me, I’ll show you. I’ve got tons of pictures of your dad giving the sausage to the kind of girls that make the bitches you’ve fucked look like dogs.”
Tim lost his breath again and flew into a violent coughing fit.
“Never mind. Fuck you, then. Find your own fucking way home. It doesn’t matter anyway. I’ll find her myself, and I’ll expose her and all the other rich assholes like your dad who think their shit don’t stink. Everyone’s going to know that Linda and your dad were the ones responsible for your mom's suicide.”
Tim turned and looked at Jacob with disgust one last time.
“And everyone else is going to know that you didn’t do anything about it.”
16
Vantage Point
“Where are you going?!” Linda yelled at Jacob over the deafening sound of his motorcycle.
He had just zoomed past the exit to the bay and kept barreling north on the highway.
“I need to show you something you might be interested in!” he yelled back.
Linda shook her head in frustration.
“Take me to my yacht now, Jacob!”
Either Jacob didn't hear her or was purposely ignoring her as he kept riding forward until passing another two exits. He looped around side-streets and, for a moment, Linda thought he might have been heading back to the docks. Instead, Jacob drove into a residential area where he eventually pulled into one of the driveways to park.
Linda jumped off the bike before it came to a full stop in front of a two-story house with overgrown weeds surrounding it. She ripped off her helmet, furious at Jacob for this unexpected detour.