“At least, it looks like I get to go home and that’s more than I expected.” He made his way out of the club but stopped as an older woman stepped out from behind the door of the coat check room.
* * *
“Mr. Sloan. Are you going to wish to continue to pay the rent on that room?”
He shook his head and handed her the key.
“No matter what happens now, I’ll never be back here.”
She nodded and Arsen and Steele went up the stairs and left the building.
As they climbed into the back of his car Steele looked at him.
“So that’s really over for you, Arsen?”
He nodded. “It is.”
Arsen found Steele studying him. He placed her seatbelt on and kissed her cheek.
“That had to have been brutally hard, Arsen.”
“It was and now it’s over. Saved me the work of having it done myself. No big deal, Steele.” He sat back and rubbed his temples.
She knew it was a big deal. A really big deal. So much was happening to this man at one time. It wasn’t fair, in her opinion.
Her hand ran over his leg.
“We should go to my apartment and see if we can find Allen. This needs to stop. I’m getting worried about your mental state, Arsen.”
Arsen pressed the button to roll the window down to the front seat.
“Paul, let’s go to Steele’s apartment. And do you still have that gun in the glove box?”
“It’s there, Boss,” Paul answered.
“Good. I’ll need your help. Make sure you have it on you and that it's loaded, please.” Arsen sat back and ran his arm along the seat behind Steele.
She looked at him with her mouth ajar. “Arsen, you can’t kill him!”
He chuckled. “I know that. Just try to relax. It looks as if we’re going to have one long-ass day.”
Arsen settled back and tried to find the hard man he’d been before Steele came into his life and had him actually giving a shit if he lived or died. If he had freedom or not, and if he could be around to make a new life with her or not.
* * *
Seems like that man has all but disappeared!
* * *
GWEN
* * *
The water was deeper than she ever expected and she’d been without anything to eat or drink the entire time which she thought might have been a couple of days.
Her body was weak and the constant swimming she was having to do in the frigid water was hard and she was fearing she wouldn’t even make it out of the water.
She also found she was going to have to climb up a steep bank once she did get to the water’s edge. The odds just kept building up against her.
Something rough brushed the bottom of her leg and she pulled them both up and paddled her arms faster. The idea there were sharks in the water was one she’d pushed back in order to even get into the water.
It spurred her on to move much faster and ignore the weakness in her arms and legs. The edge was much closer, and she found herself at it. She stuck her hands into the mud wall and hoisted her body from the water.
Once all the way out, she paused and looked back to see if she could see anything. The water was deep even at the edge and she moved up even faster as she saw something coming up to the surface at a high rate of speed.
She made it over the edge and fell onto the high, grassy top just as something sprung from the water and fell back, making a splash. She’d not been able to see what it was, but she guessed it must’ve been a shark.
Gwen lay back on the dry grass and tried to catch her breath. Her heart was beating harder than she thought it ever had in her life.
* * *
“If I lived through that, I can live through anything,” she said to herself.
But as she laid there, it became harder and harder to make herself get up. Her body was giving out on her. With no food and no water, it was without fuel. Any residual energy it did have was just used up swimming, climbing, and freaking out about being eaten alive by a shark.
Her eyes closed.
“I just have to rest for a little while. Just a little while,” she muttered to herself as she fell asleep.
* * *
STEELE
* * *
As they looked all over the apartment, it became obvious Gwen had not been back at home. The blanket was still gone and her phone still right where Steele had left it.
“He’s taken her, hasn’t he?” Steele asked Arsen.
“We need to report her missing.” Arsen took his cell out and handed it to Steele. “Call 911 and tell them your roommate is missing and you believe a parolee named Allen White may have taken her.”
Steele’s hand was shaking as she took the phone.
“What did I get her into, Arsen?”
“Don’t blame yourself. This is entirely my fault. Make the call while I find myself something to drink.” He walked away, leaving Steel alone in Gwen’s bedroom.
After making the call, she found Arsen in the living room. He’d had to go out to his car to get a bottle of Scotch and had it on the table in front of him. A small glass of the amber liquid was in his shaking hand.
* * *
She sat down next to him.
“They’re sending out an officer.” She bit her bottom lip. “Arsen, where could he have taken her?”
He shook his head.
“There’s no way of knowing. I can’t believe we were right here in this tiny-ass apartment when he took her and we didn’t hear a thing.”
The ice rattled in the glass as he lifted it to take a drink. Steele placed her hand on his leg. He was tapping his foot incessantly.
“Arsen, you need to try to calm down, Baby.”
“This is all my fault. I brought all this into your normal life and now your innocent roommate may be dead or ever worse than that. This is what I’ve done to your life, Steele. I should’ve left you alone that night. I could’ve gone home, but I waited for you.” His dark eyes were drooping at the corners as he looked at her. “I’m so sorry.”
She shook her head. “Don’t! Don’t do that! You’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me, Arsen!”
With a roll of his eyes, he said, “I am the worst thing that’s ever happened to you. One day you’ll look back at this time in your young life and think what a nightmare it was and how lucky you are I got sent to prison and out of your life.” He took a long drink.
* * *
Steele stood up and wagged her finger in his face.
“Stop that! I will never look back and be thankful if you’re taken from my life. Not ever! Please don’t even think like that. Now I guess I need to point out that we now have another person of interest to get the police on.”
He laughed.
“They’re not going to think Allen killed those women. Not just because he might have kidnapped your roommate. That doesn’t make any sense. Sorry to let you know that. But it’s true.” Arsen took the last gulp of his drink and sat the glass down.
A knock came at the door and Steele went to open it. A small, male officer was at it. He smiled at her like he was there for something nice instead of horrible. “Good afternoon, Miss Gannon. I heard you’re missing a roomie.”
“Gwen was kidnapped by a man who should’ve never been released from prison. Allen White is the man’s name. Your department should know where you can find him. I suggest you get on that.” Steele led him into the living room.
His eyes went to Arsen. He smiled. “Hey, I saw you earlier. That’s some stuff you had in that room.” He looked back and forth between the two and his gaze ended on Steele. “You let him do that to you?”
Arsen cleared his throat.
“Please don’t do this right now. Her roommate, who is also her best friend, is in more danger than you can imagine. We need your help.”
The officer looked a little apologetic.
“Yeah, sorry. Um, where did you see her last?”
Arsen went
over and placed a hand on the small man’s shoulder. He made the officer look like a dwarf next to his tall and large frame.
“I’m going to need you to take out your pen and notepad and write these things down. This is a serious matter and I need you to treat it as such.”
Steele looked at Arsen and saw his body and mind were worn out. She went to his side and ran her arm around his waist.
“Sit down, Baby. I’ll make sure he does the right thing. You rest. It’s been a terrible day for you.” She took him to sit back down and poured him another glass of Scotch. “Drink this and relax. If you see I’m not giving him enough information, then you can chime in.”
He took a sip and gave her a nod.
“I’ll be right here, Baby. I’m sorry. I really am.”
The officer had his pen and pad out and asked.
“Who saw her last?”
* * *
“I did,” Steele said. “Arsen and I spent the night here and had met her new boyfriend. He’s an old client of Arsen’s. Arsen lost his case, and he went to prison but managed to get paroled. And I want you to take this down as well. It’s extremely possible Allen White murdered the women Arsen is being charged with.”
The officer’s brown eyes went wide.
“What?”
Steele nodded and Arsen sighed. Arsen said, “Just worry about finding the young woman for now. Don’t let anything else get into your head, except finding her before it’s too late. He’s not a quick killer. He takes his time. There’s still a chance she’s alive somewhere. Please tell me someone has some type of tracking device on him or his car.”
“I’ll find out.” The officer walked towards the door. “I’m going out to the car to call in some more officers to help with this. Just sit tight folks. This is probably going to take some time.” He left them alone and Steele went to sit by him.
“You know this is out in the open now? This thing you and I have.” She leaned her head on his shoulder.
He nodded and kissed the top of her head.
“So be it. I don’t think we were really fooling anyone, anyway.” His arm wrapped around her, holding her tight to him. “I love you and I never meant to hurt you, Baby. Seems no matter what, I’m doomed to hurt women.”
“You are not. Stop beating yourself up.” Steele stayed in his arms as the officer came back in.
“We’re going to need you to go to the station and give us your fingerprints, Steele. We already have Arsen’s and Allen’s on file. I assume you both have been in her room and touched some things?” he asked.
* * *
They both nodded.
The officer gave them a weak smile. “Okay, then. After we make the calls to her family to be sure she’s not with any of them, we’re going to get all we can from here. You’ll have to stay somewhere else in the meantime, Miss Gannon. But we’ll need to know where that is. I need you to understand that along with Allen White, you both are persons of interest in this case. No leaving town.”
Steele sighed and took Arsen’s hand.
“So, off to the police station we go and I’ll leave all my information there. I’ll be at his address if you find out anything.”
The officer gave them a wave.
“Get down there and we’ll get working on this right away.”
Arsen took Steele and led her away from the apartment. She looked back as she got into the back of his Suburban. Part of her knew if she’d never gotten into the car she was getting in now, this would not be happening.
As Arsen got in next to her she found herself falling into his chest and sobbing. “I don’t know what I’ll do if he’s killed her, Arsen!”
“Shh.” He held her tight to him. “Don’t think like that. Just have faith she’s going to be alright. We have to keep thinking positive.”
* * *
Please let them find her in time!
* * *
ARSEN
* * *
It seemed like time was always against them. It took hours for Steele to be fingerprinted at the police station. And then the two found themselves waiting to talk to Detective Fontaine.
She’d been assigned to this case as well. Something which Arsen knew was pissing Steele off.
“Does no one else work here?” she asked as they sat in little chairs on the other side of her little desk in the little room they’d been placed in.
Arsen patted her leg.
“Maybe this is for the best.”
The door opened and in came the detective.
“My, oh my! So nice to see the two of you again. Imagine my surprise when I heard Arsen was staying at the apartment the night that a young woman went missing. Well, I was flabbergasted. Then I see he had an alibi as he was in your bed, Miss Gannon. And here I thought you were just his assistant. You assist him in many ways, don’t you, Dear?”
* * *
“There’s no reason to act that way, Fontaine,” Arsen said as he ran his arm around Steele’s shoulders. “This poor girl is going through hell. Let’s try to be professional, shall we?”
She made a little huffing sound then gestured to them and said, “How long has this been going on?”
Arsen answered, “We met the night before I found out this one was part of my legal team.”
“And you swept her off her little, young, innocent, and very vanilla feet, didn’t you, Arsen?” The detective sat back in her chair and watched the couple as they held onto each other. “You seem very close now. Not so much this morning. But now, you two look like you actually love one another.”
Steele wasn’t even looking up. So not like her to take this woman’s crap and Arsen felt he was the reason for that.
“Please try to remain professional, Fontaine.”
“Do you two have a contract?” Her words had Steele looking up.
Arsen tightened his hold on her. It was he who answered.
“No.”
He prayed Steele would not tell what she considered to be the truth. Their contract was no more real than Santa Clause. He never meant it to be real and was just waiting for her to say she didn’t want it any longer and he’d tear it up.
* * *
Now the damn thing might really be a problem, fake or not.
Steele asked, “What would it matter if we did?”
Fontaine’s eyebrows went up.
“The man you’re all hugged up on might be a killer of his submissive partners, Miss Gannon. It wouldn’t be in your best interest to get into that with him. Nor in his best interest to get involved with anyone in that way. At least not until this is all figured out.”
“He’s innocent,” Steele said as she glared into the detective’s eyes. “I need you to stop fucking around with us and find my friend. Can you just do that, please?”
“You forget that you two could’ve been the ones who have her or have killed her. I need to know what kind of things have been going on. Did you guys ever have like some threesome with Gwen or foursome with her and Allen White?” The detective smiled at Steele.
Arsen ran his hand over his face as he felt Steele’s body go tense. He tried to hold her down as she stood up.
“Now you listen to me, you fucking bitch. I do not like you, not one fucking bit. The fact you came onto the man I love is a thing that has me wanting to beat the shit out of you. So, now you know that he and I are together, I better not even see you wink at him or I’ll tear you a new one.”
“Physical threats?” Detective Fontaine asked with a wink.
* * *
Steele placed her hands on the desk and leaned in close. Her tone was low and even as she said, “Physical promises, bitch. We’re leaving and you need to go find my friend. My boy here is a very good lawyer and if she’s found dead because you were fucking around with us so you could get your rocks off on our sex life, it’s you who’ll be sorry.”
Arsen got up and ran his arm around Steele’s waist, picking her feet up off the ground.
“She can be a real Pitbul
l, Fontaine. Do yourself a favor and find her friend and don’t ask us about what it is we do anymore. You know where we’ll both be. Let us know the moment that you find Gwen.”
* * *
He took Steele out of the room and placed her on her feet once he shut the door between the two women.
“I hate her,” Steele said under her breath.
“Really? I could not tell that,” Arsen said with a sarcastic tone.
Leading her out of the police station he took her to where Paul was waiting by his car.
“You guys ready to go home?” he asked as Steele got in.
Arsen gave him a nod.
“Please, Paul.”
Please don’t let anything else go wrong today!
* * *
STEELE
* * *
In a tub full of hot water, Steele leaned her back against Arsen’s muscled chest. He took a glass of red wine and placed it to her lips. She sipped it then he took a sip and set it back down.
“It feels good having it all out there. I’m relieved.” Arsen ran his hands through her hair. He’d washed it and conditioned it and she was feeling much more relaxed after his pampering.
She rolled over in his arms and placed her lips on his. Then looked at him. “Are you really glad? I mean this is a lot for you now. A real girlfriend and a real relationship on top of all the other crap. You think it’s what you really want?”
He pulled her over him, and she found his hard-on pressing to her.
“Want a ride?” He smiled.
She slipped over him and slid down his long shaft. She moaned as he filled her.
“That feels amazing.”
Billionaire Games Page 48