The Midnight Club

by Love, Michelle

  Maceo hesitated, then maneuvered so he could sit on the bed next to her. “I’m not hurting you?” He put his arms around her, and she leaned into them.

  “Not at all.” Her head was on his chest, and he buried his face in her hair.

  “Ti amo, Orianthi.”

  “Ti amo, mio caro.”

  Two boys playing at the edge of the river Arno saw what they thought was a mannequin at first. When they realized it was the body of a young woman, they ran away, yelling, and soon a crowd formed at the riverbank. The body was caught in some weeds, and when finally they managed to fish her out, they laid her body on the cold stone and waited for the police.

  At the morgue, the pathologist confirmed that the unidentified woman had been murdered, her throat cut. From the water and blood in her lungs, he told the police she had been stabbed and pushed immediately into the river, where blood loss and drowning had finally taken her life. “Horrific,” he said, shaking his head.

  Police tried to identify the woman, but after a few days they had to rely on the public, releasing a sketch of her to the news stations.

  Lucia stared in horror at the television, then grabbed her phone. “Yes,” she said. “I know who the woman is. Her name is Cassie.”

  Benoit laughed at Shiloh as she struggled into a T-shirt which stretched over her burgeoning belly. “Nothing fits.”

  Benoit was watching her from the bed as she peeled off her top. “When we get back to Paris, mon amour, we’ll have maternity clothes made for you by all the best designers. I’m sure Lisander would be delighted.”

  Shiloh laugh, finally deciding on a loose-fitting top. “Lisander has better things to do with his time. Did you know Kate is going to move down to Buenos Aires with him?”

  “Already?” Benoit looked surprised, then laughed as Shiloh gave him an incredulous look. “Yeah, I guess we’re not the poster children for taking things slow, are we?”

  Shiloh grinned and came to sit by him. “We are most certainly not. And, you know, Benoit, given what I’ve seen Maceo and Ori go through, I’ve never been so thankful that we weren’t careful. I have never been this happy or excited about the future.”

  Benoit kissed her, placing his hand over the bump in her belly. “Me neither. Look, I think we had better go back to Paris and figure out what to do. You still have your work in Africa, and we have to discuss living arrangements. Shiloh, I’m not wild about heavy security, but I think that until the killer is caught, we need to be extra vigilant. Maceo knows he made a mistake blowing off his security coming here, leaving Ori vulnerable. He’ll never forgive himself for that, and I’m not prepared to make the same mistake.”

  He could see the doubt in her eyes. “I know it’s asking a lot for someone as independent as you. So I’m not telling. I’m asking. Please, let me do this.”

  Shiloh nodded slowly. “Okay. Okay, then, Benoit. God, I hope they get him soon.”

  “Me too, ma chére, me too.”

  When Lucia came to tell him that Cassie had been murdered, Maceo barely acknowledged it. “I don’t care. I really don’t.”

  “The police want to speak to you.”

  “Let them come.”

  They talked to him about his whereabouts the night Cassie was killed, but he answered them in a monotone and, realizing he knew nothing about the murder, they released him.

  “Hey, you.”

  It was a week later, and Ori was getting really sick of her hospital bed. At least today they had let her shower, albeit with a nurse present. She had sent Maceo home for his own shower, a good meal, and some sleep, but now she was bored, having finished the stack of paperbacks on the nightstand.

  She looked up and saw Seth at the door and grinned at him. “Hey, you. Tell me you brought me some contraband.”

  He laughed and held up a cotton bag full of books. “Oh, god, Seth Cantor, you are a life saver.”

  “That’s not all,” he said, bringing up a paper bag. “I have fresh bread, cheese, and some peaches.”

  Ori moaned. “God, that sounds good.”

  “Shall we eat?”

  “Hell, yes.”

  As they ate, he studied her face. “You look brighter. More … awake.”

  Ori yawned immediately, and he laughed. “Sorry.”

  Ori grinned wryly, sipped her soda, and looked at Seth now, suddenly shy.

  “Can I ask you something?”

  Seth nodded. “Anything.”

  “Why aren’t you married? Lord that came out wrong. I meant to say, you never mention any partners or girlfriends apart from Irina. I don’t even know what you do for work. I apologize for being so self-involved. Can we start again?”

  Seth put his hands up. “Completely understandable. No need to apologize. It’s been quite a ride since I met you, what with … anyway. To answer your questions. There have been women. Just not for a while, and none of them really, well, they weren’t around for long. I’ve never felt the inclination to marry. Never met the right woman.”

  He held her gaze for a beat too long, watching as two spots of pink flushed across her cheeks. She looked away, down at her food.

  “And your job?”

  He bowed his head. “I am lucky enough to be, let’s say, independently wealthy.”

  “That is lucky,” she teased, and he laughed.

  “That’s not to say that I haven’t worked hard; I have, it’s in my nature. I can’t sit still.”

  Ori smiled at him. “I always thought of you as the calm one, the one who the others look to. I know Maceo does.”

  “He’s a good boy,” Seth laughed. “Man, how old did I sound just then?”

  Ori chuckled. “Granddad.” She shifted, suddenly uncomfortable, and Seth noticed.

  “Are you okay? Should I get a nurse?”

  Ori shook her head, smiling. “Don’t worry, just a little stiff. I’m fine, Seth, truly.”

  Seth sighed. “I’ll never forgive myself, Ori. Never.”

  “There’s nothing to forgive,” she assured him. “I didn’t even know it was happening until it did.”

  Seth didn’t look convinced. “Well, I’ll let you rest.”

  “When are you going back to Montreal?”

  “When I’m not needed here.” He got up and kissed the top of her head. “You’ll be okay until Maceo gets back?”

  “Of course. Thanks, Seth. I really enjoyed this. And thanks for the books. You don’t know how bored I was.” Ori smiled gratefully, and he flushed a little.

  “My pleasure. Later, sweetheart.”

  “Later, dude.”

  Ori was soon asleep and didn’t wake even when the nurse came to check her vitals. When the door opened silently later in the afternoon, Ori was so deeply asleep that she didn’t even feel it when the visitor touched her cheek.

  “So lovely …” He stared down at her. I did this. I’m the reason you are here, my darling Ori, do you know that? You weren’t supposed to survive my knife.

  He heard voices outside and slipped out of the room, regretfully casting a last glance at the sleeping woman.

  A doctor passed him and stopped. “Can I help you?”

  The man looked at him without speaking and then turned and walked away. He strode out of the hospital and into the inky Florence night.

  New York, one month later …

  Netta grabbed her keys just as her cell phone buzzed. She smiled when she saw his name on the caller I.D. “Hey, you.”

  “Hey.” Seth’s voice was warm, “How are you?.”

  “Missing you. I’m just on my way to see Alex.”

  “How’s he doing?”

  Netta sighed. “Not great. He’s lost, Seth, utterly lost.”

  She heard Seth’s deep breath. “Look, I’m going to fly down. Nothing’s happening up here. I think I’m needed there.”

  “Always,” Netta smiled. “Hey, did you hear? Ori’s being moved to a hospital in Venice.”

  “I did. It’s great news. I know Maceo is delighted; he called me
last night. Did you know they got married? Right there in the hospital a week ago. Maceo promised they would have a proper wedding when Ori is well enough, but they didn’t want to wait anymore.”

  “So sweet. I must call them. Look, when will you be here? Shall I wait?”

  “No, I’ll be a few hours yet. I’ll meet you at Alex’s.”

  “Okay, baby. I’ll see you soon. Can’t wait,” she said, dropping her voice, her meaning clear, and she heard him chuckle.

  “Me either.”

  Alex Milland had locked himself away in his Vermont mansion, torturing himself, remembering when Ori stayed here, remembering the night he kissed her. There had been something there between them, he was sure. At least, the half-empty bottle of whiskey at his side made him sure.

  Damn you, Maceo … if you think I could hurt that beautiful girl … your beautiful girl …

  He dropped his head into his hands. I don’t know, I don’t know. Did I try and kill her? Was it something I blanked out? Why was everyone else so convinced he’d done it— everyone apart from the police? And Netta. Yes, Netta thought he was innocent.

  But I don’t know. Alex despaired; there had been times when he had experienced such violent jealousy over Maceo and his betrayal with Viola, only to then meet Ori. Why did Maceo deserve all the good luck?

  “Fuck you, Bartoli. Fuck you!’ He threw his glass against the wall and gave a feral howl of rage.

  “Alex?”

  He spun around to see a shocked looking Netta watching him. “How long have you been standing there?”

  “Long enough. Alex, this has to stop. You need to stop drinking; you need to talk to Maceo …”

  “Why the fuck should I? He won, Netta, he won everything. She is everything …”

  “Alex!’

  Alex stopped ranting, shocked by Netta screaming at him. She came to him, her entire body trembling. “This is not healthy, Alex. This, this is why he thinks you stabbed Ori. The old if I can’t have her’ thing. Ori is not a possession, Alex Milland. She chooses to be with the man she loves, Maceo. Grow up and deal with it before you do something you regret.”

  Alex stared at her for a second and then he crumbled. “God … god, Netta …”

  He slumped into his chair, his face in his hands. Netta, still reeling from his outburst, hesitated before sitting on the arm of his chair and putting her hand on his shoulder.

  She made him coffee and put him to bed. Alex passed out almost immediately, and the sudden silence made Netta feel lonely and sad. She tried to talk herself out of crying but when Seth arrived, past midnight, and she saw his questioning face, she burst into tears.

  Seth let her cry herself out. Then, as she wiped her eyes, she told him about what had happened. Seth listened, then kissed her forehead as she snuggled into his arms.

  “Sweetheart, I think we have to face the fact that Alex needs help. Serious professional help.”

  Netta was quiet for a time. “Seth … I am beginning to think that ….”

  “He might have done it?” Seth finished, and she nodded, tears in her eyes.

  “If he did, then he wasn’t in his right mind, Netta. We need to get him help first, and then we’ll deal with the repercussions of what happened in Italy.”

  Netta closed her eyes. “Seth … what would I do without you?”

  “You’ll never have to know, darling.”

  Later, after she and Seth had gone to bed, after they made love and Seth was asleep, Netta lay awake. After a few minutes, she got up and went to grab a glass of milk from the kitchen.

  She sighed. Maybe Seth was right. Alex needed help, badly. His reaction tonight about Ori … she would talk to him, she decided, and ask him to seek help. She poured the rest of her drink down the sink and padded back to the bedroom. Sliding underneath the covers, she curled herself around Seth’s sleeping form and closed her eyes.

  Ori was walking now, tentatively working with the new clinic’s people. “You were lucky that your spine wasn’t compromised,” they told her, but every step was agony. Still, the sooner she could prove to them that she was getting better, the sooner she could leave and go home.

  Go home to my husband, she grinned to herself, looking at the simple white gold band on her ring finger.

  Maceo had kept his promise; they had married in a simple ceremony in the chapel of the hospital with Lucia as their—weeping—witness. Simple vows, but the love between them had radiated throughout.

  “Shame we have to put off our wedding night,” she grumbled later, as Maceo helped her back into bed. He grinned.

  “Believe me, mio caro, I too am looking forward to the day I can take this beautiful body to bed.”

  Ori giggled at his face. “You’re talking about your own body there, aren’t you?”

  Maceo laughed. “Well, of course. No, I mean this body,” and he ran his hand up her inner thigh, so close to her sex that she sighed happily.

  “Higher,.” she said, gazing into his eyes, and smiling, Maceo began to caress her, his thumb stroking her clit through her panties, then slipping inside them to stroke her. Ori wriggled happily, wincing when she pulled on her abdomen.

  “Sssh, mio amore, just lay back and let your husband take care of things.” His voice was a husky whisper. Ori closed her eyes and let Maceo stroke her into a mellow orgasm, endorphins flooding her system.

  Afterward, they lay together on her bed and slept, determined to spend their wedding night close.

  Now, Ori reflected on everything that had happened in the last year. So much pain, but so much joy. New friends, old enemies—new enemies. She thought about Alex; unlike Maceo, she still wasn’t convinced that he was her attacker. She kept returning to the killer’s kiss. Alex had kissed her before, and she couldn’t quite reconcile the two. It simply hadn’t felt the same.

  You’ll make yourself crazy thinking like that. She shook her head. Maceo had kept Cassie’s murder from her for weeks, and it was only when Lucia let it slip that she had been shocked to find out about it. Maceo hadn’t been pleased and had dismissed Ori’s questions.

  “No one knows who she was meeting that night; whoever it was who killed her,” Maceo said, had done them all a favor. Ori was a little shocked at his callousness, but when she asked Lucia about it, Lucia was equally hard.

  “She came to here to find out if you were dead, Ori. She was hopeful. She was never your friend. She probably just got caught up with the wrong guy.”

  But it bugged Ori. What if Cassie had known who stabbed Ori? Or was working with him?

  She asked the questions of her psychiatrist, but the doctor was more interested in how Ori herself was dealing with the trauma of being an almost-murder victim.

  “I’m fine,.” she told him. “I’ve accepted it.”

  The psychiatrist didn’t seem convinced. “You’ve been through more this year than most do in a lifetime. Give yourself time.”

  Now Ori was desperate to get back to her life. She felt as if she could barely remember her home, her home with Maceo, their private hideaway. Too many people were in and out of her life here. She knew Maceo felt it too. She asked the doctor when she would be released, and they prevaricated until she thought she might break and yell at them. Ori knew her injuries would take months, years, to completely recover from but she was getting antsy. She asked Lucia to bring her some work, and although Maceo objected, she told him firmly that she was going to do it regardless. It made her feel as if things were settling back to normal.

  She also missed Seth’s company. In a strange way, he felt like an older brother, a confidante, someone she could tell anything to. He emailed her from Montreal with funny stories and pictures, and Ori knew Maceo was grateful to his friend.

  Three weeks after she had transferred to the Venice clinic, the doctors gave her the good news; she could be discharged. Ori was overjoyed, and when Maceo came to pick her up, she threw herself into his arms.

  “Now, don’t get carried away,” the doctor warned, grinning.
“You’re still healing, so just take it easy.”

  Ori rolled her eyes, but Maceo nodded, taking the doctor’s words seriously. Ori sighed. “Yes, but how long before we can …?.”

  The doctor smothered a grin. “You’re good to, um, go—if you take things slowly.”

  Maceo was still laughing as he drove her home. “You are insatiable.” Ori was grinning.

  “I want to have sex with my husband; is that so bad?”

  “Not bad, not bad at all,” Maceo winked at her.

  The apartment did feel strange, but Ori couldn’t care less. She dragged Maceo into the bedroom and started to pull his clothes off. Maceo took her by the shoulders. ’We’re doing this slow, okay?”

  She grumbled, but Maceo insisted, and to his credit, he made it one of the most sensual experiences of her life. Burying his face in her sex, his tongue lashing around her clit then plunging deep into her, he made sure she was entirely ready for him when his rock-hard cock plunged into her. Ori moaned happily as they began to make love slowly, Maceo being careful not to strain her tender muscles. They drove each other to orgasm and then collapsed happily.

  “At last,” Ori breathed, and felt Maceo’s deep laugh rumble through his chest.

  “I know what you mean. Bella, nothing will ever separate us again, I swear it.”

  “Agreed. Agreed times infinity,” she smiled up at him. “I love you, Mr. Bartoli.”

  “Ti amo, Ori, ti amo.”

  Kate told her employer that she was leaving and he nodded sadly. “I thought when you met Mr. Duarte that this might happen.

  Kate looked upset. “I’m sorry, Gerry, but we just decided to live together in Buenos Aires. I’ve been scouting positions down there; it’s just easier for me to move than Lisander.”

  “I know,” Gerry said with a smile, “and please don’t apologize for being happy. It’s too rare in this world.”