The Midnight Club

by Love, Michelle

  He smiled and hugged her. ‘Deal. Let’s just enjoy what we have now?’

  She felt his phone vibrate in his shirt pocket. ‘Thought you turned that off, big guy?’

  ‘Sorry.’ He pulled it out and glanced at the screen, his expression darkening. ‘Shit.’

  ‘What is it?’

  ‘Nine-one-one from Cal. I have to call him back.’ His smile was apologetic.

  She scrambled to her feet, held out her hand. ‘Let’s go back to the house; I can give you some privacy there.’

  She left him in the living room and went back to her studio, shutting the door behind her. The day had left her feeling oddly bruised. Maybe it was the thought of going back to Seattle. She hated feeling like this, she loved her home city with a passion, thought it the greatest place in the world. Except maybe this island, she considered with a grin. She could really get used to the solitude and safety of this place. She marveled how much her life had changed in such a short time. Ten years from virtually homeless to a luxury island. She chuckled to herself. Don’t get too smug.

  A knock at the door. She looked up as Sam opened the door, his face grim and set. It made a spike of icy cold anxiety sting her stomach.

  ‘What is it?’

  ‘We have to go back to Seattle. An artist is making noise about your work and not in a good way. She says you plagiarized some of her pieces.’

  Isa’s hackles went up. ‘What the fuck?’

  Sam nodded. ‘Quite. But she’s been smart and gone to all the right people to start a rumor. We have to go home now and start damage control or your work, Zoe’s gallery, my reputation, we’ll all be tainted.’

  Isa felt her whole body go still. ‘Who is the artist?’

  She knew even before he said it, the way his eyes flashed with anger, the way his voice took on a low, dangerous tone. She knew.

  ‘Casey Hamilton.’

  The first blow was the always the sweetest, the popping of flesh under the knife, the wide-O of the victim’s mouth as if the searing pain of being stabbed was somehow a surprise.

  Isabel-Two was no different. He killed her slowly, driving the knife deep into her abdomen the way he would stab Isa, enjoying the hot pump of blood on his hands. This girl had no fight in her – he expected Isa would fight back, refuse to die quickly, take every blow, every stab until the very last moment.

  Isabel-Two died too quickly for him to fully imagine what murdering Isabel Flynn would be like.

  But, for now, it was enough.

  Isa slept on the flight home, cradled in Sam’s arms. He could not sleep, too keyed up, angry, ragingly angry if he was honest. Fucking Casey. Damn her all to hell; she wouldn’t ruin Isa’s career. Sam knew, realistically that her claims could be easily dismissed; it wasn’t that which bothered him. It was the revelation of his and Casey’s marriage that would invariably come out in the press. He’d gone to great lengths after the divorce to remove any reference to it online – at great expense. It wasn’t easy to find out they’d been married, but it was possible.

  Why the fuck hadn’t he told Isa right at the start? What the hell had he been thinking? He was nearly forty – did he think she would be surprised by a previous marriage? He’d just been thrown by Casey turning up to the gallery at that time. He didn’t want her anywhere near Isa, didn’t want to taint this new, all-consuming love with the mistakes of his past. He sighed and felt Isa shift; her lips press to his throat. She smiled up at him sleepily.

  ‘Hey, you.’

  He ran the back of his finger down her cheeks, marveling as always, at her dewy beauty, the love in her eyes. Did he deserve her? Sam swallowed away the question and kissed her.

  ‘You know…there’s a bedroom at the other end of this cabin…’

  She grinned. ‘I like your thinking, sir. Let’s keep our island bubble going for just a little while.’

  He carried her to the bedroom, kicking the door shut behind him. She stretched as he laid her on the bed, grinning and yawning at the same time. She looked so adorable he moved on top of her, caressing her through the light cotton of her summer dress, kissing her mouth, tasting her lips. He moved down the bed, pushing her dress above her waist so he could bury his face in her soft belly, feel it move up and down as she breathed. His fingers twisted into the sides of her panties, tugging them down so he could have kissed down her abdomen and take the tiny nub of her clit into his mouth. Isa shivered and gasped, reached down to stroke his head, her fists clenching and unclenching in his short curls.

  He spread the soft lips of her sex, running his tongue along her slit until it dipping into her sex. He could feel her blossom, swell, and moisten at his touch, her soft moans and sighs telling him she was getting unbearably excited. His cock strained against the heavy denim of his jeans, but he wanted to make her come before he fucked her, using his tongue, his hands. God, when she was like this, trembling, her body soft with love, trusting him entirely, he could only see her, think about her.

  ‘Sam…’ She came, her back arching from the bed as she shivered and moaned. He moved up the bed to kiss her as she caught her breath, freed his ramrod cock from his jeans, pushing her legs apart. She nodded, excited and groaned as he plunged into her, his thrusts measured, controlled. Her hands clamped onto his ass, and he felt her spread her legs wider and wider to accommodate him. He kissed her roughly as his strokes became quicker, their eyes locked on each other’s.

  By the time the plane touched down at Seattle’s busy airport, they were exhausted, sated. Isa lay in his arms, and he was alarmed by the tears that sprang up suddenly in her eyes.

  ‘What is it, sweetheart?’

  She dashed away the tears with a hand. ‘Sorry. It’s just… the minute we step off this plane, others will be in our lives again. It won’t be just you and me anymore.’

  He wanted to comfort her, wanted it more than anything but he couldn’t. He knew exactly what she meant, how she felt because he was feeling it too. Out there, out in the world, there were people who wanted to take her away from him. And he was terrified he wouldn’t know how to stop them.

  Cal was chatting with Seb and Zoe when they got back to Zoe’s house. After the hugs and kisses of greeting, Zoe bore Isa off to the kitchen while Sam took Cal aside.

  ‘You went to the island?’

  Sam nodded. ‘Sorry I didn’t tell you, but I wanted…’

  ‘Hey, dude, no harm, no foul. I think it was a good idea.’

  Sam sighed. ‘What the fuck does Casey think she’s doing?’

  Cal rolled his eyes. ‘Who knows? Wants to make trouble for you and Isa. What does Isa say about her?’

  Sam rubbed his hands through his hair. ‘Not much. She keeps asking me if I know Casey.’

  Cal went still. ‘You still haven’t told her?’

  Sam shook his head, and Cal gaped at him. ‘Dude… what the hell? After all this time, the woman you love still doesn’t know you were married before?’

  Sam was speechless, sat down heavily into a chair. ‘I know, Cal. I know.’

  Cal chewed on his lip for a long moment. ‘Look, it’s not my place but…’

  Zoe stuck her head into the room. ‘Sorry to interrupt boys. Sam, honey, I think Isa just wants to go to bed for tonight. She’s exhausted. Cal, why don’t you stay tonight and we can all talk about this in the morning.’

  Cal looked at Sam, and they both nodded to Zoe.

  In the kitchen, Sam could see that Zoe was right; Isa looked as if she was about to fall asleep at the counter. He kissed her temple.

  ‘I’ll take the cases up then come get you.’

  She murmured her agreement, and he grinned at Zoe. ‘Be right back.’

  He climbed the stairs and unlocked the door, nudging it open with his shoulder.

  The smell hit him immediately as well as the miasmic hum of flies. His heart started to pound, and he flipped on the lights.

  The involuntary sound that roared from his mouth when he saw her sounded like the howl of a wounded anim
al.

  The dead girl was tied to a chair in the middle of the living room, stripped to her underwear, soaked with her own blood.

  The girl looked so much like Isa that the message was obvious. This is what I’m going to do to her. For a moment Sam was frozen with horror, unable to take his eyes from the ragged stab wounds in the girl’s abdomen, the hilt of the murder weapon protruding from her ruined body, the blood, so much blood that covered the floor of the apartment. He was so frozen he was a second too late in turning, stepping in front of Isa as she burst through the door, having heard his shout. Too late. She saw the dead girl and Sam could see the shock, the terror and the horror in her eyes.

  ‘Oh my god….’ Her legs gave way and Sam caught her, yelling at Seb and Cal to help him. The two young men burst into the room; skidding to a halt when they saw the scene.

  ‘Jesus…’ Cal turned and threw up when he saw the girl’s body. Seb stood utterly still. His dark skin gray with shock.

  ‘She looks like my sister.’ His voice was so faint they hardly heard him. Isa buried her face in Sam’s chest as he curved his arms protectively around her. The stench of blood mingled with vomit now, and Sam jerked into action, dragging Isa back out of the door, yelling at the two men to follow him.

  A shell-shocked Zoe called the emergency services and as they waited, a silence between them until Isa could stand it no longer and walked out into the night. Sam caught up with her as she stood, looking up at the open door of her apartment. He put his arm around her shoulders, could feel the tension in her body. She didn’t say anything, didn’t look at him.

  ‘Isa…’

  ‘I wonder what it will feel like.’

  Sam shook his head, not understanding, and she turned to him, her eyes bottomless pits of sorrow and resignation.

  ‘When he does that to me. I wonder what it will feel like.’

  He pulled her into his arms fiercely before making her look him in the eye. ‘I’ve told you this before, now listen to me. I will never, ever let him anywhere near you. You will never know what that,’ and he jerked his head towards the apartment and the dead girl, ‘feels like.’

  ‘Seconded.’ Cal came out of the house behind them and took her free hand. ‘Nothing’s gonna happen to you we don’t know about, sweet cheeks.’

  Isa squeezed Cal’s hand, leaned into Sam. Sam kissed her temple, looked over the top of her head to his brother. ‘It’s time to shut this asshole down. I mean it, every resource we have, we’re going to use.’

  Cal nodded. ‘Got it.’ He pulled his cell phone from his hip pocket and walked away from them to make a call. Sam’s arms tightened around Isa, as a police cruiser pulled up to the curb.

  ‘Honey… go tell Zoe and Seb to pack some things. You’re all going to the city.’ He pulled away and started towards the police offer stepping from his car. Isa stared after him.

  ‘Sam?’

  He turned as she spoke. ‘For how long?’

  Sam’s face hardened into sharp angles, his eyes haunted and angry. ‘For as long as it takes to make you safe again, my beautiful Isabel. As long as it takes…’

  Chapter 3

  BREAK ME

  Hey, beautiful.’ Cal kissed her cheek, pulling off his jacket and sitting in the chair across from Isa. She smiled at him, her face wan and exhausted. It had been a nightmarish few days since they’d found the murdered girl in her apartment; hours and hours of police questioning, invasive samples were taken and they had to endure endless meetings about their future protection.

  The heavenly bubble of her and Sam’s island haven was a million miles away and a lifetime ago. Since the girl was found, since Isa had seen what her stalker intended to do to her, she hadn’t been able to sleep, been able to function as herself. The homicide detectives had been skeptical of her claims she didn’t know who would want to kill her; under Sam’s insistence, she’d given them Karl’s name. The voicemail she’d gotten from her ex-boyfriend after the police had questioned him – well – she’d kept it to herself and just deleted it. She didn’t blame Karl for being furious; she was angry too. Whoever this fucker was, he wouldn’t win.

  But the fight to keep positive was wrecking her. Wrecking them all. And then there was Casey Hamilton and the fact Isa was convinced Sam knew more about her than he was admitting too.

  Isa smiled at his brother now, for the first time noticing how little he resembled Sam. While Sam’s handsome features were all angles and Greek-god-devastating, Cal’s were softer, more malleable. His dark auburn hair had Sam’s curl rather than color, but his hair was longer, wilder. It suited his more casual demeanor.

  He grinned at her appraisal. ‘Hey, if you’re looking for an affair, I just want you to know, I’m up for it.’

  She chuckled, knowing he was kidding, and grateful for his attempt to cheer her up.

  ‘Always,’ she said, then leaned forward, her face serious.’ Look, I have something to ask, and I know it’s entirely inappropriate to go behind Sam’s back but…’

  ‘What is it, honey?’ Cal’s eyes, usually so merry, became wary.

  Isa took a deep breath in. ‘Casey Hamilton.’

  She saw his eyes darken and he looked away from her gaze. Dread began to build in her stomach. ‘Cal? Please. I don’t want you to betray a confidence but I need to know why she's such a pain in our collective asses.’

  Cal drained his beer. She’d deliberately picked a bar that she knew he liked. At lunchtime, it was almost empty, the barman silently cleaning glasses, the faint jangle of the radio in the background.

  ‘Isa, look, you need to talk to Sam.’

  She wanted to burst into tears. ‘So, he does know her.’

  Cal hesitated before giving one sharp, angry nod. ‘But please, Isa, hear him out. Don’t jump to any conclusions, and make any rash decisions. He loves you, God, he loves you so much. He’s already on edge every waking moment, thinking he’s going to lose you to this maniac. Don’t let a waste of space like Casey be the reason for him losing you.’

  Isa stirred her black sugarless coffee unnecessarily and said nothing. Cal reached over to take her hand. ‘Isa, I swear, it’s not as bad as you think it is. But, to be fair to him, I can’t tell you more than that.’

  She sighed. ‘Fair enough.’ She rubbed her face in frustration. ‘Cal, I just don’t know what’s happened to me. I have no job, no home, and someone wants to kill me. Is this some kind of universe-balancing thing – I find the love of my life, so there has to be some kind of price?’

  Cal didn’t know what to say, and she smiled softly at him. ‘Sorry. Let’s talk about something else. I hear you, and my brother are getting a place together?’

  Cal grinned, relieved at the change of subject. ‘The penthouse is a bit crowded with five of us. Plus, with you and Sam always humping away…’

  ‘Cal!’ But she giggled, blushing furiously, then her grin turned wicked. ‘Not always.’

  They both laughed, and the relief of it made them both relax. Cal signaled the bartender for another beer. ‘Look, we just thought we might as well get a place together, give you and Sam some space. Zoe’s off to stay with a friend too, isn’t she?’

  Isa nodded. As much as she loved her family around her, she was looking forward to some alone time with Sam. Despite Cal’s joking, they hadn’t had sex since they’d all moved to the Levy’s luxury penthouse the night the murdered girl had been found.

  Isa checked her watch now. If she caught Sam alone now, she could change all that. Something in her was telling her to grab every last moment with him – in case the killer got to her, and they ran out of time. Cal was watching, an amused look in his eyes and she blushed again.

  ‘Might just skip on home,’ she said casually, and Cal chuckled.

  ‘Good move. You get yours, little sis.’

  He was still laughing and his face was red as a berry, then she fled the bar with a backward wave of her hand.

  Sam ended the call to the art dealer and gave a hiss of frus
tration. He’d been trying to lock down Casey’s whereabouts all morning, determined to confront her. He’d asked around – her claims that Isa had plagiarized her work were being soundly rejected by most of the Seattle art community – they knew Casey’s personality well. Still, it left a bad taste in his mouth. He was sure Casey was doing it to cause problems between Sam and Isa – well, she got her wish. He’d tell Isa this evening, admitting he hid things from her. He really didn’t want this hanging over him too.

  An image of the dead girl flashed into his mind but instead of the girl’s face, he always saw Isa, bound to that chair, dead, butchered. He leaned forward, rubbing his eyes, trying to erase the images from his brain. He started as he felt a hand on his shoulder then sighed as her lips pressed to his cheek. He hadn’t heard her come in.

  ‘Hey, you.’ Isa slid her hands down his chest, nuzzling his neck. He reached around for her, pulled her onto his lap, and caught her mouth with his. God, she tasted so good, faintly of coffee but always of Isa, sweet, fresh, his. His hand found its way under her shirt, his fingers gliding over the soft skin of her belly.

  ‘God, you’re beautiful,’ he murmured and heard her soft laugh. She ran her fingers through his short curls.

  ‘Take me to bed,’ she smiled as she pressed her lips to his.

  He didn’t hesitate. In the bedroom, they stripped each other quickly and fell onto the bed, frantically reaching for the other. Sam took her nipple into his mouth as she wrapped her legs around him, reaching for his cock and stroking it until he groaned with pleasure, the weight of it heavy in her hands, hard and ready. He wanted to taste her first, prolong the anticipation, and moving down her body, his mouth hungrily exploring every curve of her, the ample breasts, the silky skin of her belly, and the deep hollow of her navel. His tongue rimmed the edge of it and gratified, he heard her gasp with pleasure. He pressed her legs apart and then his tongue was on her, in her. She was so wet, her arousal making the flesh of her labia rosy pink, the nub of her clit pulse with the expectation of his mouth. He nipped it gently with his teeth, felt her tense and orgasm quickly. He looked up then, smiled at her, her body undulating with breathlessness, with sheer abandon. He hitched her legs around his hips, teasing her with the tip of his cock, feeling the slickness of her sex. She kissed him, feverish, her breath coming in quickening gasps.