Paul smiled, and the two bumped fists.
“I got ya, man.”
Arsen looked out the clear glass doors of the lobby and saw nothing outside. “I wonder if they’ll even come.”
“Gotta give them time, boss,” Paul said and leaned against the wall. One foot he placed against it and fiddled with a pack of cigarettes.
Arsen’s eyes went to it.
“When did you start smoking, Paul?”
“Since I started worrying about you, boss. I give quite a large shit about you, man.” Paul’s eyes looked a little glassy. “I’ll watch over her for you if something happens. I don’t want you to worry about that. I’ll take her everywhere and make sure she comes to see you on visiting days.”
“I hope that’s not necessary, but you have no idea how much it’s appreciated. You always have been an exceptional person, Paul.” Arsen found himself feeling sentimental about so much on that night and early morning.
“I know, Arsen. I know.”
“I’ve been recalling my relationship, if you can even call it that, with Anne Sinclair. I’ve come to the conclusion she kind of molested my naïve young ass back then. She made me something I wasn’t before.” Arsen looked away as he felt kind of sick to his stomach.
“When Steele and I have kids, and hopefully at least one will be a son, I would kill any bitch if she did the things to him, Anne did to me. I mean it. I would kill her.”
Paul nodded.
“And how about what you did to those women, Arsen?”
* * *
Bile rose quickly in his throat as his long-time friend reminded him of what Anne Sinclair had turned him into.
“Yeah, I know. I wish they were here for me to apologize to and get help for. The way Steele helped me. The girl hasn’t even realized it yet, just how much she’s helped me.”
Paul laughed a little.
“If I could turn back time,” he sang with his best Cher impression. “Right boss?”
Arsen chuckled.
“Yep.” He fidgeted a little then said, “Do you think it would be unfair of me to ask Steele to marry me with all this shit over us?”
Paul’s eyes went wide and his eyebrows ran clean up to his dark hairline. “Marriage, boss? You sure you’re ready for that? I mean, you haven’t known her long at all. Not to say I don’t adore her. I do. And I do think she’s good for you. If I can be honest though. I think you need to be sure you aren’t going to hurt her. Make her something she isn’t. You know like you said Anne Sinclair made you something you weren’t.”
A sharp pain stabbed Arsen’s heart. His friend wasn’t lying. Paul was no yes man. That was a thing Arsen had always respected about the man who drove him everywhere he went.
Arsen nodded.
“You’re right, Paul. I should wait. I need to make sure she understands what it is I really want from her. At this point she still thinks I need to be in control of all things, her included, if I’m to be truly happy. That isn’t the case though. It’s far from what I want.”
Paul looked at him with a frown.
“You sure about that, boss? I mean, you and having control over things is your deal, man.”
“It has been. Fuck! It had to be. If you had a clue about what I had to do to get out of evil Sinclair’s clutches you’d have a much better understanding. That woman ruled my ass with a hot mother-fucking poker for nearly four years. All through law school. Then the bitch took credit for all I had accomplished.” Arsen began to pace with the anxiety and anger which began to fill him.
“I suppose that was the final straw when she did that, huh?” Paul asked.
“You would think so, but that wasn’t it. I mean it was part of it, but not all of it. See, when I told her I wanted out of our contract which stated we would be in that contract. Get this shit, forever. And that I needed to move on with my life, she threatened me. Her husband and daughter didn’t know a thing about us. But Mistress Sinclair made sure to keep a video diary of our activities. She assured me her husband would hunt me down and kill me in cold blood without any hesitation.”
Paul frowned. “Um, she was a part of it. Why would he only kill you? He’d probably kill you both.”
* * *
“She had a special skill, the old bitch. She’d managed to record a ton of our conversations. She had me say certain things, I had no idea what she’d do with all that later.” Arsen stopped pacing as he saw the blue Camaro pull to a stop in front of the building.
The windows were tinted so dark he couldn’t see who was inside.
Paul’s hand on his shoulder made his look back as Paul said.
“I guess this little conversation is to be continued, boss. Looks like your five o’clock meeting has just arrived.”
Arsen walked out first and a few seconds later Paul walked out and leaned against the brick wall of the tall building which housed them both. He lit a cigarette and acted as if he was just another dude catching a quick morning buzz before heading out to work as he watched his friend.
The window rolled down and as hard as he tried, he couldn’t see who was driving. Arsen leaned in then stood up and turned back to look at Paul, then got in the car and it pulled away.
* * *
For Fear Part 11
* * *
STEELE
* * *
The sound of the private elevator opening up in the entry room had Steele calling out from the kitchen where she was cooking breakfast, “Arsen, where have you been, Baby?”
“Not Arsen,” Paul said as he came into the kitchen. “I’ve been trying to call him and he’s not answering. Do you know if he left his phone here?”
“Check his office. I know it’s not in the bedroom.” Steele paused her stirring of the scrambled eggs. “Wait. You didn’t drive him? So he took the Jag? Where’d he go without his phone?”
Paul ducked out of the kitchen and went down the hallway to Arsen’s office. Steele followed and saw Paul pick the phone up off the desk.
“Here it is,” he said as he turned back to her.
His dark hair lay across his shoulders in waves. Not his usual look. Paul always kept his long hair pulled into a low cue and kept it neat at all times. He was clean shaven that night Steele first slipped into the backseat of the Suburban. Now he had a light beard, unkempt.
* * *
“Paul, you okay?” she asked as she watched him tap away at Arsen’s cell phone.
“Yeah, why?” he said as he stared at the phone.
“You look a little off. Your hair, your face. And do I smell cigarette smoke?” she asked as she looked him over and sniffed the air.
His blue eyes moved to look at hers.
“It’s just that I’m getting more and more worried about Arsen.” He turned the phone around and showed her the message Arsen had received earlier that morning. “He left with whoever it was who sent this message asking him to meet them this morning. Arsen just got into the car with a wave of his hand and they drove away. I didn’t get to see who it was.”
Steele’s face went pale.
“Was it a man or a woman?”
Paul shook his head. “I didn’t get to see a thing. The windows were tinted a dark black.”
“What kind of car was it?” she asked.
“A blue Camaro.” Paul pushed the button to call the number that was all sevens. A recording came on telling him that was not a valid number and he pushed the button to end the call. “Just as I thought. That number isn’t anything we can track him by. I should’ve chased his ass down and made them stop.”
Steele let out a sigh.
“Paul, don’t blame yourself. The man thinks he’s ten feet tall and bulletproof sometimes.”
Paul let out a laugh and walked out of the office.
“You don’t have to tell me that. I know that man better than anyone. He’s hard headed and completely self-destructive at times. What he did with women was…” He shut up and glanced at Steele.
Her cheeks had turne
d pink with embarrassment.
“I know. It’s okay.”
Paul reached out and touched her arm as they walked back to the kitchen.
“He’s different with you, Steele. He’s better with you.”
She nodded.
“I wonder why he would take off with someone.”
* * *
Steele gestured for Paul to sit at the table. He took a chair, and she brought him a cup of coffee.
“Thanks,” he said as he picked up the sugar bowl and put a couple of spoonfuls into the cup.
Steele made up two plates with eggs, bacon, and toast and took them to the table and sat across from Paul. After taking a bite of the eggs and a sip of her coffee, she asked, “Do you think Arsen can truly be happy with a vanilla woman like I am?”
Paul looked at her and smiled.
“You aren’t vanilla, Steele. I like to think of you as a brilliant variation of flavors. A little chocolate, a touch of vanilla and some spicy cinnamon.”
She smiled with the compliment. Then her cheeks turned scarlet as she thought about how many things she’d done with Arsen while the man across from her drove the car, a mere rolled up window between them.
Steele shook her head with the memories of all she’d done with the man in the back of that car. Her panties went damp with the thoughts which had flashed through her mind.
* * *
“It has occurred to me you know a lot about our sex life, Paul,” she said as she looked at her plate, not daring to meet his gaze as she felt him staring at her.
He laughed.
“I wear headphones, Steele. I have no wish to hear what goes on in the back of the SUV.”
She breathed a sigh of relief, but the fact was he knew what they were doing in the back of that car and that was embarrassing to her.
“Paul, do you think I’m a trampy slut?”
“Look at me,” he said with an air of authority she knew he’d learned from Arsen. She raised her head and did as he said. “You are no tramp, Steele. I could tell you weren’t one of those girls when I first saw you in your boots and jeans. You and he clicked. You had something. I know you would never have done what you did without that spark that instant connection you two had from the very start.”
“That night. Was he really waiting for me?” she asked then sipped her coffee. “It seems impossible to me. He’s so damn good looking. I just can’t imagine Arsen Sloan sitting in a car waiting for any woman to come outside.”
Paul laughed.
“I was surprised by him saying he wanted to wait for you. You’re right, he’s not the kind of man to wait on a half chance with a woman. He’s the guy who goes in takes who he wants and the women are grateful for the time he gives them.”
Steele looked away.
“He’s had more than his fair share of women, hasn’t he?”
Paul cleared his throat.
“I shouldn’t have said that. Please have that stricken from the record.” He laughed.
Steele did too.
“Paul, I can’t help worrying about where he is right now. And who he’s with. And what the fuck they’re doing.”
Paul shook his head.
“I’m sure it’s just a person who can help him find out more about the murders, Steele. He’ll be back before we know it and hopefully he’ll have some great answers that will get him out of all this shit he’s in.”
“It wasn’t Anne, was it?” Steele’s eyes were beginning to shine with unshed tears.
“It wasn’t her car.” He said, making her feel a little better.
* * *
She didn’t trust that woman at all. She knew she had a certain hold over Arsen because of all the abuse and she was afraid of Arsen reverting back to his old self. It had been a fear she’d had since she found everything out about the complex man.
“I’m supposed to be in my first class in half an hour, but I won’t be able to concentrate anyway. I’m staying home today. At least until Arsen makes it back.” She got up and put her empty plate in the sink.
Paul followed and asked, “You want me to hang out here with you?”
She turned with a smile.
“Would you? That would be so nice of you, Paul. It would help me not to get all crazy and jump to conclusions. I have to admit the pictures going through my mind of Arsen in a hotel room with Anne, or anyone really, keep coming in and haunting me. I love that man and jealousy is a thing which is nearly constant in me for him.”
“I assure you he’s not doing anything like that. I’m more worried he’s put his trust in someone who’s out to hurt him.” Paul took her by the arm and led her to the living room where they sat on a plush sofa.
“That is worse than what I’m thinking,” she said and sighed. “There is just no good scenario is there?”
He shrugged his wide shoulders.
“Well, there is one. He could be with someone who is helping him get to the bottom of all this shit.”
She nodded in agreement.
“That would be so fucking fantastic.”
The bell chimed with a call from the doorman and Steele made her way to the small box beside the elevator.
* * *
“Yes?”
“There is a Detective Fontaine to see Mr. Sloan.”
“Send her up,” she said then sighed. “Fantastic.”
Paul was behind her as she turned.
“What do you think this is about?” he asked.
She shook her head.
“No idea. It just keeps getting better and better around here.”
They waited for the detective and in a few minutes she was stepping off the elevator with a paper in her hand.
“I need to see Arsen,” she said.
“He’s not here at the moment. What’s that?” Steele asked as she gestured to the paper. “And what about my roommate, Gwen?”
“A warrant for his arrest for the other two women’s murders is what this is,” she answered. “We have officers looking for her, that’s the best we can do with no leads yet. Where is Arsen?”
Paul answered, “He left about five this morning with someone in a blue Camaro.”
“Five?” Fontaine asked. “That was quite a while ago. Doesn’t he have his phone? Let him know I need him back here ASAP.”
Steele sighed and walked towards the living room.
“You may as well come in and have a seat. He left his phone here. He’s been gone five hours now. Hopefully, he’ll be back soon.”
The detective sat down and crossed her long legs, the red pencil skirt raising up a bit and showing more of her leg than Steele thought was professional.
“How long does he usually take, Miss Gannon?” she asked.
Steele looked at her with a confused expression.
* * *
“Pardon?”
“To fuck?” Her cold eyes stared into Steele’s.
Paul laughed and sat down near the detective as Steele sat on the sofa across from them.
“Whoa. I better stay close to you Detective. This one here can be a real hell cat and I don’t want you to get hurt. You should really watch what you say.”
Fontaine’s eyes ran up and down Steele who was nearly a foot shorter and thinner than the tall woman.
“This little thing? She couldn’t hurt a fly.”
Steele knew she was being baited so her temper was even.
“Fontaine, you cannot goad me into a fight. Sorry. I’m worried Arsen has put his trust into someone he shouldn’t have. Perhaps you could find out who the hell that car belongs to? You do have the hook up to get that accomplished, don’t you?”
Paul smiled.
“Good thinking, Steele.” He turned to the detective. “The building has cameras out front. The car should show up on them at five this morning and you could get the plates and call them in. Then we’ll at least have a name for who he’s with.”
She nodded.
“Do you know why he would leave with this person?”
“Someone sent him a text from a fake number. It said they needed to talk. I suppose he found it was someone he knew. And someone he trusted enough to get into the car without saying a word to Paul.”
The detective laughed.
“Arsen should trust no one at this time and no one should trust him, either. The man is now being accused of all three murders and you, my dear girl, are quite the idiot for being alone with him so much. I get it, the man is a God. He has it all. Wealth, the body, the great looks. That hair is something I dream about.”
Steele smiled.
“It’s soft and silky and smells like Heaven. I love tangling my hands up in it when his mouth is making me climax.”
Fontaine’s brows went up high.
“Touché, Miss Gannon!”
* * *
“I told you, a hell cat,” Paul said as pink flushed his tanned cheeks.
“Speaking of your sex life with the accused murderer,” Fontaine said with a smile covering her red stained lips. “How rough does it get?”
Steele leaned up and gave the detective a smile. “Oh, it’s hot. But he’s never hurt me.”
“Perhaps you have a higher pain threshold than others,” she said as she uncrossed her legs and leaned back on the sofa.
Steele shook her head.
“Quite the opposite. I have a very low threshold for pain. He’s very gentle with me. He’s the kind of man who finds out what a woman wants and gives it to her. He’s kind of magical that way. Knows what I want before I do.”
“So, you aren’t worried he’s out there right now spanking some helpless female into submission because he can’t do that to you?” she asked. “People like that have needs, Miss Gannon. Maybe you don’t realize that.”
* * *
Paul cleared his throat.
“Okay, this is my boss and good friend you’re talking about Detective. I need to remind you Miss Gannon here is a law student and an intern for both Tanner Goldstein and Arsen. She is not to be treated the way you’re treating her.”
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