Okay, now it was my turn to feel some jealousy. Wasn’t that interesting? I still couldn’t stop the questions, even recognizing I was being overly nosy. I was just proud of myself for not asking about a picture of her to see if she was prettier than me. Dopey, right? “Do you still see her around?”
“Sometimes.”
“What’s her name?”
“Jory.”
“Did you love her?”
“No.”
I could now breathe a sigh of relief. I was satisfied.
Chapter Nineteen
When we resurfaced, it was dark, it was late and we were looking for a quick snack before settling in for the rest of the night. We had toaster pastries on the balcony followed by gentle conversation and the very mundane chore of toothbrushing, which was more interesting for once because we actually did this together.
How weird. Like a real couple.
And with work coming up, I had some very everyday kinds of things to do. I got my clothes ready, checked appointments on my phone, double-checked that the alarm was set and crawled into bed beside Ryder, curling up next to him while he looked at some report on his mechanical thingamajiggy.
I wanted to remember to ask him about it later, because it was really cool and maybe girlfriends could be issued these kinds of cool things, but for the first time in a long time, my body was able to so completely relax that I fell into a deep, dreamless sleep.
The ringing of my cell alarm brought me back to wakefulness too soon, though I did find myself deliciously, protectively spooned by Ryder’s big body. His thick, muscular forearm was anchored across my waist, making me have to stretch to shut off the offending sound in the quiet of the room. I settled back into his warm body once again, wiggling my ass against his cock, as was becoming my custom, and appreciating the growing stiffness I could feel there.
“Stop that,” he groaned against my ear, but he still ground his hips to my backside. “We don’t have time. Or do we?” His arm slid from my waist up to my rib cage, his rough palm caressing and cupping my soft breast.
“We could multitask,” I gasped. Heat shot from the point where he was rolling my nipple between his fingers to my sex, in waves. “Come take a shower with me.”
“Anytime.”
I wasn’t exactly late to work, but I definitely had to rush. It began playfully enough—me washing Ryder and treating his cock like my own personal lollipop while his face took on a look of torment mixed with ecstasy, and then him washing me, his mouth on me like I was the best flavor around, making me buck against him involuntarily with moans. Before long, my legs were wrapped around his waist, and he’d barely slid a condom on—how smart he was to snag one on our way to the bathroom—before he was pinning me to the wall with his thrusting hips.
Technically, I was on time in that I was in front of my office building at eight o’clock in the morning, though Ryder was still plundering my mouth with his goodbye kiss. Or was I doing the plundering?
“I better go.” I pulled away. “Reggie’s probably going to be upset because I didn’t show yesterday.” I took a mirror out of my purse and did a quick lipstick check, wiping away the smudges caused by our lip-lock and reapplying before snapping the compact shut and putting it all away.
“I still don’t see why you need to go to work,” he began, but I didn’t let him get far.
“I told you. I need my job.”
“No, you don’t—”
“I do.” The thought of being entirely reliant on another person was frightening enough to make even my inner punk give me that Scream face. “I’m not going to sponge off you—”
“It’s not sponging.”
This, for me, was nonnegotiable. “Look. Who knows when Frank is going to surface again, and I can’t be that girl that sits at home eating bonbons and watching Judge Mathis. Seriously. He probably knows that I’m with you, and not only that, from what Cynthia told me, I’m working in an office run by the Sunan elders. I’m probably safer than you. I’m going to be fine today.”
“It makes me uncomfortable.” He frowned after a pause. “I can’t protect you if something happens in there.”
“I’ll call. I’ll text. I’ll keep you in the loop throughout the day.”
“Taylor—”
“Just trust me.” My voice was no-nonsense, and I willed him to really look at me and see me. “I’ve been looking out for myself a long time.”
His pale eyes looked into mine steadily before he gave a long-suffering sigh. “All right. I’m agreeing to this because I see your point about the safety of being in the building and because you’re agreeing to update me on things. Regularly. Frequently.”
“Right.” I grinned, though he was still hesitant to let go. Teasingly, I added, “Good progress, sweetheart. We’ll take this in baby steps, and before long, your control-freak tendencies will be a thing of the past.”
“Taylor...” He looked at me with a warning glint.
“I know, I know. Someone’s trying to kill me. Blah, blah, blah. You know I’m totally kidding. I’ll be careful. I promise.”
Reluctantly, his lips quirked. “Anyone ever tell you you’re a smart-ass?”
“Yes. You.”
“At least I’m consistent.”
I noticed he’d smiled a lot more in the last forty-eight hours. Feeling like maybe I had something to do with it made me feel good. Or maybe it was knowing that he loved me. But did I love him? I hadn’t said it aloud and wondered if he recognized that. I wasn’t sure. It was something I wouldn’t say lightly, and definitely not if I wasn’t completely sure I meant it. I mean, I’d only known the guy a week. Was it possible for me to fall in love in a week?
“I’m patient, Taylor. I’m not going anywhere.” Ryder let me know he still had access to my thoughts. I almost put up my mental shield but decided not to. I didn’t want to hide anything from him.
“This is all new,” I stated quietly.
“I know. I understand. I’m hoping that when all this is over with Ranik, we’ll have some time to get to know each other.”
“Yes.” I breathed easily, though I still had concerns about his family.
“They have nothing to do with us,” he said firmly.
“I don’t want to be the thorn that keeps you guys apart,” I said anxiously. “I couldn’t do that to you or to them. You’ve all suffered so much as it is.”
“Then it will be up to them to make sure we all get along.” He kissed my cheek gently, mindful of my freshly applied lipstick, before getting all bossy and directive again. “I’ll be in contact at lunch. Don’t leave the building before then and make sure your phone is with you no matter where you go.”
“I’ll keep it with me even in the ladies’,” I assured him. I put my mental shield back up, strangely becoming accustomed to protecting myself from mind reading. Who’da thought?
Concern for my work attire and careful coiffure had prompted Ryder to borrow Sy’s sports car. After getting out of the car, even with the threat of a Reggie-style thrashing hanging over my head, I sauntered into the building with a big grin on my face.
Thankfully, Reggie wasn’t in sight, and I was able to get myself organized at my desk once again. Apparently, Reggie hadn’t come in the previous two days either, and there were nearly a hundred messages and voice mails to respond to. Some of them I could handle, as they dealt with business I was responsible for, and the rest I updated on the phone list, which I was eventually able to print out and place on his desk. I went through the mail, I phoned in orders for scripts to be copied and I messengered client samples from our video and script library. This was hours of catch up, during which I promised myself I would never be absent again.
It was nearing noon before I realized that I still had not seen nor heard from Reggie. No wonder I’d been able to accompli
sh so much in such a short time. A feeling of strange creepiness crawled over my skin. Why wasn’t he here? And why hadn’t he called me? That was absolutely not like him. I called our human-resources manager, Elaine.
“Any word on Reggie? Is he sick or something?”
“Not sure, Taylor.” Elaine’s crisp, usually no-nonsense monotone actually sounded concerned. “He was gone the last two days, he hasn’t called in and he isn’t picking up at his home or on his cell.”
“Maybe he got hurt at home. Do you think the police should do a quick check on him? Make sure he doesn’t need medical attention?” Part of me was afraid the police would find a body at his residence.
“That’s a very good idea. I’ll let you know if they find out anything.”
I felt better after having done that. I grabbed my cell phone to call Ryder and update him, and I noticed my newly charged phone had updated to include a missed call. Someone had called me while I’d been on Te’re. Tapping the various touchscreen options, I was able to pull up Reggie as the missed call. My phone was indicating that he’d left a message.
Double creepy.
“Taylor, I won’t be in for a few days. Take care of Paul’s meeting, and I’ll get with you later.” His voice sounded serious. Heavy. Or did it? Was I reading into it because of my own frightening experiences? But I also knew that Reggie never took time off.
My desk phone rang, pulling me from my thoughts. Taking a deep breath, I answered, “Reggie Mason’s office,” for the hundredth time in the day already.
“Taylor? Is that you?”
“It is. Who is calling?”
“It’s Paul.”
“Paul!” The Paul whose family was friends with Frank. I felt a sense of caution as I asked, “What’s going on? Reggie’s not going to be here this week, but he asked me to hold the meeting anyway, so we can sign off on the contract for legal.”
“Yeah. That’s what I’m calling about. I need to meet sooner.”
“Sooner? You mean like sooner than two o’clock?” I frowned.
“I mean like right now. I’m going out of town for a while, and I’m not sure when I’ll be coming back.”
“Oh. Well, I’m limited in how far I can go. I don’t have a car available to me right now.”
“Why don’t I pick you up, and we’ll grab some sushi down on Sunset?”
I was immediately uncertain. Where did Frank figure into Paul’s life? When I tapped into Paul’s mind during our lunch meeting, he’d felt pretty innocent. Did I trust my intuition? I did. I truly didn’t think Paul was an evil guy. I knew that Ryder had told me not to leave the building, but I also knew how important it was to Reggie to sign this guy. And he’d asked me to handle it all in his absence. I didn’t want to screw this up because I still needed the job.
“You still there?”
“Yeah, I’m here. Okay. When are you coming by?”
“I’m already outside the building.”
“Wow. You don’t mess around. Let me get your file and make some copies of the contract, so I can go over it with you. Can you wait for five or ten minutes?”
“Sure.”
I tried calling Reggie, but he didn’t pick up. Quickly I left a brief message regarding the change of plans.
Knowing that Ryder was going to protest and try to make me wait for him to arrive and accompany me or something silly like that, I sent a quick text telling him what was happening and where I was going to be. His response was almost immediate.
Wait for me! I’ll go with you.
Rolling my eyes, I responded by texting him that there was no time and that I needed to head out. I had let him know what restaurant I was going to be at, though, which I figured was a good compromise. I didn’t mind if he joined us there. My phone buzzed again with his response, but I ignored it. I just wanted to get this done, and I was not about to engage in a texting argument with my...what? Boyfriend? Lover?
I smiled as I thought about what to call him, feeling okay with the designations for the first time ever. Life really was looking up.
Typing in names and dates, I printed out one of our standard contracts and created a client folder to be added to the file cabinet. It was only as I stepped outside of my office building that I realized I hadn’t asked Paul what kind of car he was driving. Scanning the street, I figured it wouldn’t be hard to spot him, especially since he was watching for me and supposedly already there. But no one honked. And I saw no one who resembled Paul: tall, dark blond, lean, sort of scruffy clothes. I walked back toward my office building and leaned against one of the stone pillars in the shade, trying to stay out of the direct heat of the summer sun, and contemplated my predicament.
Now what? Nothing. That was what. Did I need to go back up and call him? Maybe I had him on my smartphone calendar app with his phone number. That would be just like me. I could be seriously organized when I wanted to be. But what was up with this sudden trip?
The longer I stood there, the longer I had time to entertain some misgivings. How was it that I nearly got snagged off the street, Reggie turned up missing and Paul needed to get out of town immediately? I didn’t think such things were coincidental, and we all had the same terrorist as our lowest common denominator. Was I truly being foolish? If this was a movie, would people be screaming at me from the audience to get back in the building? I was starting to freak myself out. Life was seriously getting too spooky for Casper.
Just when I was getting ready to head back in, a large hand grabbed my arm in a strong grip and yanked me behind the pillar.
I yelped my surprise.
“It’s just me.” Paul gave me a half smile that seemed altogether forced. He looked past me and scanned the street as though looking for someone.
“Everything okay?” I offered the question hesitantly.
“Dandy.” But his smile had become a grimace. “I’m parked around the corner.”
Around the corner was a euphemism for nearly half a mile away. I could feel my feet chafing in my heels, as these were not shoes made for long distances covered quickly. I was on the verge of complaining, feeling where a few blisters were going to bleed soon, when he said, “I’m right there.”
A black luxury SUV was parked midblock.
Sitting felt wonderful, though the silence that followed as we drove through the streets felt awkward. Keeping my shield in place, I opened my mind fully to Paul, trying to get a sense of what was happening here. Waves of fear and anxiety rushed through him and crashed over me, engulfing me, almost like heavy weights on my shoulders. He was on the run. Flight. But he didn’t want to give up completely on the dream he’d finally found for himself. Writing. He wanted to somehow preserve that, keep that foot in the door. His thoughts were scattered and rushing without sequence, making it impossible to follow what was happening with him.
I began to have my second set of misgivings about this meeting, but I reminded myself that we were going to a public place. Everything was going to be fine.
“I hope Sushi on Sunset is okay with you,” he murmured.
“Fine.”
“It’s quick, and at this time of day, it will likely be a little quieter. We can do business, and I can make my flight.”
“Where are you going?”
“Here we are.” He pulled into a space on the street, ignoring my question. I’d seen the answer, though. He was going to the Cayman Islands for a while, so he could lose himself and whoever was going to come after him for what he’d done.
What had he done? That was the million-dollar question. I knew I needed to let Ryder know what was going on, so I took my phone out and immediately saw the text he’d left me before I ran out of the office.
Wait for me!
Feeling guilty, I texted him as we got out of the car while Paul fed quarters into the meter. I let him kno
w in shorthand script that I thought Paul was in trouble and that he was on the run. I told him that I was sorry I didn’t wait. I told him again what restaurant I was at. He didn’t get back to me, which had me believing that maybe he was on the way, but it would take time coming from the beach. Traffic was a bitch no matter what time of day in L.A.
The back table, away from the crowd, was what Paul requested. He did another scan around the restaurant and looked out the windows, which was starting to get me worried. Who had he pissed off? What retribution was he expecting?
“Two waters,” Paul told the waiter who approached and looked at me expectantly. “Know what you want?”
Actually, I hadn’t even looked at the menu. Good thing I’d been to the place a time or two. Obviously, Paul was ready to leave like five minutes ago. I ordered udon with shrimp and vegetables.
“Make that two, and bring the bill immediately. I’m going to be in a hurry.”
“Yes, sir.” The waiter moved off quickly, reacting to Paul’s sharp tone.
“I get that you need this to happen now. I have the contract here. I can go over it with you.”
“Let me sign it.”
I put the file on the table and quickly explained the major points before pointing to the few places he needed to initial and sign. Reggie wasn’t here to sign, so I couldn’t get copies to him yet. Paul was fine with that and handed the paperwork back to me.
Food arrived at the same time as the bill.
“Okay, so how do I get in touch with you?” I asked, trying to eat quickly.
“I’ll send you a post-office box when I’m settled. I’ll be moving around for the next few years, so I’ll just check in with you every few months, either by email or by phone.”
“Paul, what is going on? Why are you in such a...a...panic?”
He looked at me a moment, as though stuck for what to say. And that’s when I got the goods. The memory of a conversation between his father and Frank came tumbling out of his mind.
“This is the big time,” said Paul’s father. He was an older man with slickly styled gray hair that was smoothly combed back, wearing a beautifully tailored business suit. Almost giddy with delight, he paced behind his desk in his large, opulent office with dark, rich wooden paneling and large windows overlooking downtown Los Angeles.
Quicksilver Dreams (Dreamwalkers) Page 37