The Tower (The Tarot Series Book 1)

by Rhylee Davidson

  Eating a high protein breakfast of eggs, turkey bacon, and a vanilla protein shake, Gage isn’t surprised when he is interrupted by the notification alarm coming from his military-issued laptop. Logging in and going through the usual security protocols, he sits back and waits for his next assignment to appear on the screen.

  “Fuck! You’ve got to be kidding me.”

  The name showing on the screen is Richard Jameson, the Senator from New York. The picture that appears with all the background information is that of Katrina’s father. Someone higher up wants him taken out and they are assigning Gage to make the hit. He is provided with a four week itinerary of Senator Jameson’s activities, which means he has a month to plan the job, discreetly make his way to New York, take out Senator Jameson, make it look like an accident, and get out of there undetected. Slamming his fist down on the desk, he yells out, “Fuck, fuck, fuck…now what am I going to do?”

  Kat is out on the beach playing fetch with Max. She throws a piece of driftwood she found along the shoreline and Max runs after it, picking it up in his mouth, and running back to Kat at top speed to drop it at her feet so she can start the process all over again. Kat loves their early morning playtime on the beach almost as much as Max does. Once they finish playing, Kat will take her morning swim, but Max never joins her. Yes, he’s a golden retriever; yes, it’s a breed known to love the water, but Max is just a big ole scaredy cat who hates the water. He doesn’t like to go in the ocean, lakes, pools, hell…he even hates taking a bath. He runs and hides around hair dryers, vacuum cleaners, the sound of fireworks, and thunder. Not realizing his size, anytime he gets scared or wants to snuggle, he takes his giant body and jumps up into Kat’s lap. Just imagine — legs and paws everywhere. He’s such a silly dog; a good dog, but silly, and loved like no other. Before they finish with their morning playtime, her cell phone starts ringing. “Hello?”

  “Hi Kat, it’s Tony. What do you have planned today?”

  “Nothing really. A quick swim, some breakfast, and lying out on the beach. Why, what’s up?”

  “I have an appointment with Alex for my second sitting to get more of my tattoo inked. I was wondering if you wanted to go with?”

  “Hell yes, I wanna go. What time do you need to be there?”

  “Ten. I can pick you up around nine thirty, if that works for you.”

  “That’s perfect, I’ll see you then.”

  Tony arrives right on time, with the convertible top to his Mustang GT down and the matching tonneau cover on. Kat hears him pull up and is out the door before he can turn off the car to go to the door to get her. Taking her hand, he leans over and kisses her on the cheek. Placing the car in gear, they head off to Savage Ink.

  “Tony, Kat,” Alex acknowledges them with a tilt of his head.

  “Hi Alex.”

  “How are you making out with your tattoo, Katrina?”

  “Great. I love it.”

  “Good. While you’re here, why don’t you let me take a look at it and make sure it’s healing properly? Did you use the ointment I gave you?”

  “Yup.”

  “Great. Now let me see.”

  Unzipping her low-rise jeans and opening them, she drops them just low enough for Alex to get a good look at the tattoo.

  Running a finger over it, Alex says, “It looks great. It’s healing really well, but you’ve been out in the sun haven’t you?”

  “Yeah, we had the boat out yesterday.”

  “Kat, you need to wait 3-4 weeks for that. Did you at least use sunscreen?”

  “Yes, I did.”

  “Well, at least you did that. Give it a few weeks and come back when Tony comes in for his next sitting. I may need to give it a touch up.”

  “Okay.”

  “And Kat, stay out of the sun, or at least, keep it covered under a pair of shorts or a skirt if you’re going to be outside or on the boat. And no swimming either for a while.”

  “Damn! Alright, Alex.”

  “Your turn, Tony. Get rid of your shirt, lower your pants and get on the table in room three. It’s time to get to work. I think I’ll do some filling in on the lower part of the dragon first, then take care of that section on your arm.”

  “Sounds good. I’m ready when you are.”

  “Then let’s get started. So where’s Bre today?”

  “She had class.”

  “Oh.”

  “Why don’t I give her a call and see if she can meet us here after class?” Digging through her bag, Kat realizes she doesn’t have her phone. “Shit! I can’t find my phone. I guess I left it back at the house.”

  Removing his shirt, Tony throws it on a chair by the tattoo table, then reaches in his pocket and pulls out his cell phone. “Here, use mine.”

  “Thanks.”

  “Can you hang on to it for me while I’m being worked on?”

  “Sure, no problem.”

  “Thanks Kat.”

  Lying down on the table so his back is exposed, Tony waits while Alex sets up his supplies, then cranks up the tattoo machine so he can get to work.

  Removing a small tool kit from the front pocket of a jean jacket, the intruder slides the lock pick out and quickly goes to work on the lock until the tumblers click into place, allowing entry to the house. Not worrying about the risk being taken by breaking and entering during broad daylight, the intruder steps though the door and is greeted by a large barking dog. Side-stepping as the dog leaps forward, the intruder pulls the door shut, locking the dog in the garage. Once inside, the intruder makes haste opening every drawer, cabinet, closet, and canister within the living room, dining room, kitchen and the rest of the first floor. Not finding anything of interest downstairs, the second floor is next on the list to search.

  Looking through each doorway of the second floor, it seems to be comprised of a couple of bedrooms and bathrooms, an office, and a combination ballet studio - workout room. After a quick look through the workout room and what looked like the spare bedrooms, the intruder takes plenty of time going through the office. The desk drawers are searched, nothing but spare supplies and a box of checks. The file cabinet holds a few personal documents with the name, Kat Saunders on them. The computer is hacked into and the history searched. There were links that had been recently used to pay bills electronically, and another that led to a bank account held at a CitiBank branch in New York. Removing an electronic device from another pocket in the same jean jacket, it is switched on and plugged into the USB port on the side of the computer. In mere minutes, the intruder is logged in to the CitiBank account registered in the name of Katrina Jameson. So, she did a shitty job of changing her name before she moved. Wonder who or what little miss perfect is running away from.

  When the office and computer search don’t turn up anything else interesting, Kat’s bedroom and bathroom are the next stops on this tour of homes. Going directly into her bathroom, the intruder slides open the shower doors and inspects the insides. The bottles of Kerastase shampoo and conditioner on the shelf, along with the body wash, are grabbed and each bottle is opened and sniffed. Expensive taste…figures. The linen closet and vanity cabinet drawers and cabinets are searched. Finally, the medicine chest is opened. No prescription drugs, just over-the-counter pain reliever, a jar of ointment for sore muscles, a box of tampons and a box of condoms. Looks like she’s getting fucked regularly, the intruder thinks with a laugh.

  The only room left to search is her bedroom. Starting with the walk-in closet, the intruder sorts through the designer clothes and shoes inside. No surprise Kat has money to burn, just look at this place. A box on the top shelf of the closet is removed, placed on the bed, and promptly opened. Inside are love letters and post cards from overseas signed, Love Derrick. There is a velvet box with a huge diamond engagement ring inside, a few pictures of a good looking guy with brown eyes shot with amber, long eyelashes, short brown hair, and a handsome facial structure. A white envelope holds a wedding invitation that is several years old, announcin
g the upcoming nuptials between Katrina Jameson and Derrick Saunders. The final piece of paper in the box is a funeral announcement of Derrick’s death. The box is closed and returned to the closet. Next are the nightstand drawers. They hold nothing but a few books, a television remote control, a set of keys, a bottle of body lotion, and a personal massage device. Hmm, so when she doesn’t have a man in her bed, she gets off with the rabbit.

  Nothing is off limits. The intruder wants to know what she wears to bed, thumbs through her underwear drawer, even lies in her unmade bed. Getting up off the bed, the intruder strolls over to the chair in the corner of the room, which is adorned with a leather Ducati bike jacket. Picking up the jacket, the intruder sniffs it, inhaling a deep breath. The unmistakable scent of Gage Pantere fills the uninvited guest’s nostrils. Distracted by a buzzing sound coming from the top of the dresser, the jacket is quickly dropped to the floor. The noise emanates from a cell phone lying on the dresser. As it’s picked up, a text message from someone named Bre appears. Rec’d ur email. Leaving class now. C u at Savage Ink in 10.

  Scrolling through several text messages, the intruder comes upon a conversation between Kat and Tony. The date of the messages appears to be the same night that Kat and Gage spent together.

  Laughing out loud, the intruder quips, “Time to fuck with Gage.” And in the next moment, all the text messages between Kat and Tony declaring their love are forwarded to Gage. Deleting the evidence of the sent text, the intruder looks in the mirror and grins.

  “Let the fireworks begin!”

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Pacing back and forth, Gage mutters, “What the fuck is this?” Furious, he reads a second time through the text messages Katrina mistakenly forwarded to him.

  “I can’t believe the first thing she wanted to do after I fucked her was text Tony Moretti.” In a mocking voice, he reads part of the text message aloud, “Did he hurt you?”

  “I should have made sure he couldn’t get his ass up off the ground! Then they profess their love for one another? What the hell? If she loves him so much, why did she invite me back to her house to spend the night in her bed? Why did she let me make love to her so many times and in so many ways? Why did she yield to me over and over again, allowing me to do every dirty little thing I could think of to her?” Now even more enraged, Gage spits out, “Screw her, I got what I wanted! She can have Moretti, if that’s who she wants. He obviously can’t keep her satisfied or she wouldn’t have done all those nasty things with me. He must be a lousy fuck. What do I care? She’s nothing to me.”

  He throws his cell phone across the room with such force it hits a wall, shattering the screen into a thousand pieces. Because you have feelings for her you idiot! Oh and nice work, now you need a new phone, dumb ass.

  New phone in hand, Gage leaves the store and places a call to The Pit. One of the cocktail waitresses answers, “Good afternoon, The Pit, this is Lissa.”

  “Lissa, it’s Gage. Something came up and I won’t be in tonight. Can you make sure we have enough staff scheduled, the bartenders keep the bars fully stocked, check in the liquor delivery that’s due to arrive soon, manage things, and close for me tonight?”

  “Not a problem. I don’t have anything going on after work tonight anyway.”

  “Thanks. And hey, make sure you keep one of the bouncers with you while you’re closing up, and he walks you to your car. You know my rule, no chick left behind.”

  Laughing, she answers, “Yeah I know your chick rules…I’ll take care of it. Enjoy your night off.”

  Ending the call, Gage hops on his bike and heads to Kat’s house. He is pissed and he is going to let her know it. He’s decided to confront her about the text messages and find out how she could go from screwing him and inviting him back to her house, to professing her love to that bastard, Moretti. Pulling up at the end of the driveway, Gage switches off the bike and heads towards the wide open garage door where the sound of Chevelle’s Face to the Floor is pounding out of a set of speakers. Inside sits a 1968 Camaro Super Sport with its hood up. Bent over the side of the car, wrench in hand, wiggling her ass in the air to the sound of the music, and singing at the top of her lungs, is Katrina. She has no idea she has company. Standing back and admiring the view, Gage forgets the intended reason for his visit.

  Watching her intently, his hands begin to sweat, his throat becomes dry, and an intense need for her grows by the moment. Itching to touch her and taste her, he enters the garage, walks up behind her, leans over, and presses his hard cock against her ass. Flicking out his tongue and sliding it along the folds of her ear, he whispers, “Did you miss me?”

  Heart pounding and taken by surprise, Katrina snaps her head up, coming within inches of smashing Gage in the nose. Steadying her, he spins her around and grins.

  “Hey it’s okay, it’s only me.”

  Inadvertently placing her right hand over her heart she shouts, “You fucking idiot! You scared the shit out of me. I thought you were some fucking freak or rapist. You’re lucky you’re not wearing a wrench in the side of your skull right now.”

  Gage laughs loudly. “I didn’t mean to scare you. Just surprise you. You looked so cute bent over the car singing, wiggling your ass in time with the music. I couldn’t help myself.”

  “Well next time, try! Otherwise, when I put a dent in your head with a wrench, I’m going to say…oops, so sorry, you looked so scary sneaking up behind me, I couldn’t help myself.”

  Still laughing, Gage reaches over, turning down the music, and pulls Kat into his arms.

  “Now that you’ve totally freaked me out, what are you doing here, Gage?”

  “I have the night off and thought I’d drop by to see if you’d like to get together and go to dinner. We can take a walk on the beach and catch the sunset or hit a movie afterwards, if you’d like. I guess I should have called first, huh?”

  “No, it’s ok. Like I said, you just caught me off guard. I’m actually starving and would love to go to dinner, but first I really need to finish putting my new plugs in and head covers on. If my NOS is delivered on time, I’m planning on racing again this weekend.”

  Giving her a kiss on the nose and sliding the wrench out of her hand, he chuckles, “Just in case you get any more ideas about that wrench and my head. Now here, let me help you so you can get finished quicker. Hand me the ratchet and a sixteen-millimeter socket. I’ll take out the old plugs and install the new ones. Grab the gapping tool and gap the plugs at 42.”

  “Wow, you know all of that right off the top of your head?”

  Shrugging his shoulders, Gage answers, “Yeah, I know my way around cars, among other things.”

  Once they are finished, Kat runs upstairs to take a quick shower while Gage washes up in the utility sink in the laundry room. While she is dressing for a casual dinner, he heads towards the kitchen to take the dog out before they leave. On his way through the house, he catches the faint scent of something familiar. It couldn’t be, could it? Was someone or something else in her house? The unmistakable scent of something that is not quite human, not quite beast wafts through the room, then it is gone. Drawing a deep breath through his nostrils and into his lungs, he doesn’t detect anything strange. The scent, if he hasn’t imagined it, dissipates as quickly as it has come.

  A few minutes after he returns with the dog, Katrina enters the room in a pair of super low rise jeans that barely cover her ass crack, high heeled shoes, and a low cut shirt that hangs about three inches above the top of her jeans, leaving a good portion of her new tattoo showing. Slung over her shoulder is a black Ducati bike jacket that Gage recognizes as his.

  “I believe this belongs to you,” she says, holding it out to him.

  Extending his arm and accepting the jacket from her, he answers, “You would be correct. Thanks, I was wondering what happened to it.”

  “You’re welcome. You left it here the other night.”

  So that must be what I picked up the scent from…my own jacket, h
e thinks, smiling. “Ready?”

  “Yup, let’s go.”

  Sitting across from one another in a corner booth at a popular beach seafood restaurant, Kat and Gage finish off a bottle of white wine while their dessert is being served. Once the waitress leaves, Gage takes a bite of his pie, smiles and says, “This chocolate silk is delicious. Here, you have to try a bite.”

  Reaching across the table, he places his fork with a bite-sized portion of pie on it between her lips. Taking his hand in hers, Kat gently guides it away from her, allowing the pie to slide off the fork and into her mouth. Swallowing, she extracts the fork from his hand and places it on the table. Feeling tipsy and totally uninhibited from all the wine she drank, Kat pulls his hand towards her face, presses her lips to it in a gentle kiss, then runs her tongue along the length of it, drawing his index finger into her mouth, licking and sucking on it. Staring at her, his eyes widen in shock, then glaze over with desire.

  “Mmm, the pie is delicious, but you taste better,” she says, looking up at him.

  Sucking in a breath, Gage gets partially out of his seat, and leans over the table. Placing his face to hers, he runs his tongue along the outside of her lips. Tilting his head, he takes her mouth in a sensual, hot, wet kiss. She moans into his mouth, and quickly responds like a starving animal. Breaking the kiss, Gage puts his lips to her ear and breathes out in a desperate whisper, “Let’s get out of here.”