Jewels and Panties (Book, Four): Twisted Love

by Brooke Kinsley

  "Here," he said, reaching into the minibar for a bag of ice.

  He knelt down beside me and pressed it to my face to sooth the heat. It felt like being kissed heaven. This is what my relationship with him was always like. One minute he'd be destroying my life, the next he'd be repairing it, placing me up on a pedestal before kicking it away from under me.

  "My darling Fay... How could you anger me like that?"

  I cried harder and lay my head on his lap.

  "Take this," I said and reached across the floor for the fallen notebook.

  Placing it in his hands, I kissed his fingers and let my salty tears fall into his palm.

  "Your name's in there. All the names are in there. All of them. Keep it safe. Or don't keep it at all but I can't have it any longer."

  He nodded and bent down to kiss my forehead.

  "You've done well," he said before removing the bag of ice. "Now go the hospital, will you? That thing on your face isn’t making you any prettier.”

  Chapter Twelve

  Lincoln

  She appeared in the kitchen doorway looking as though she'd been through the wars.

  "The Buick wasn't that bad was it?"

  She forced a laugh and planted a fierce kiss on my cheek.

  "I've missed you so much today."

  Crawling up onto my lap, she wrapped her arms and legs around me and hung on for dear life.

  "Are you okay, honey? Did you have a bad day?"

  "Like you wouldn't believe. What about you? How was surgery?"

  "Surgery was great," I said. "But the detective in my office on the other hand was not."

  "Oh dear. Sounds like we both had a horrid time."

  “At least we're back home and together now.”

  She climbed off me and ruffled my hair and I found myself grinning like a schoolboy.

  "You know. I think when all the craziness has blown over and we've got some time we should go on holiday," I said.

  "Really? I haven't been on vacation for so long."

  "I don't remember what it's like to not work every God given minute," I sighed.

  It was true. The only traveling I'd done recently was for work.

  "How about a couple weeks somewhere tropical? Jamaica maybe. We could snooze on the beach all day and make love all night."

  "Ooh I like the sound of that," she smiled and leaned over behind me, sliding her hands down the front of my sweater.

  "Or maybe we could go to Milan and spend all day shopping."

  "Well what kinda girl could resist that?"

  She moved away and walked over to the refrigerator, bending down to peruse the bottom shelf. The halo like glow shone around her silhouette displaying the full curves of her waist and hips.

  "You know I really would like to spoil you," I said. "I get the impression you've never had much of that in your life."

  She stood up and tied her wet hair in a bun, the loose strands around her ears softening her face. She looked like an off duty European princess with sharp but fine features and dazzling eyes.

  "What makes you say that? For all you know Craig could have spoiled me rotten."

  We both kept a straight face for a few seconds before both laughing.

  "You mean the guy that pissed your life savings away on poker. Yeah, I doubt he knew how to treat you properly."

  She was still laughing when I took her in my arms and pressed her up against the refrigerator.

  "I mean it. I want to spoil you."

  She blushed and glanced away.

  "Hey, look at me."

  Holding her jaw gently, I pulled her gaze back to me.

  "What's got you so embarrassed?"

  "Notembarrassed just... have a lot on my mind."

  Her eyes flickered with a hint of anger. It looked as though she'd had a rough day.

  "Talk to me," I urged, my hand still lingering on her face. "Tell me what happened."

  "Youwouldn’t believe me," she said, her face scared.

  "Try me."

  Shifting out of my grasp, she walked over to the double doors that openedout onto the balcony and watched the darkness sink down low over the mountains.

  "It feels like we're so far away from everything out here."

  "Only a few miles away from the city and we may as well be in another country."

  "Another universe rather."

  She turned round and began fiddling with a loose thread on her sweater before pushing her thumb into her mouth and nibbling on her nail.

  "I met someone today."

  "Oh?"

  "A woman. A crazy but amazing woman called Norma. She had children and..."

  She trailed off as she struggled to find the right words. I tried to help her along.

  "She had children and..."

  "Phaedra killed them," she blurted out. "That's what she thinks happened."

  "Jesus Christ."

  We both stood in silence with only the sound of the rain punctuating the silence, the raindrops battering against the windows like sheets of gravel.

  "You went back to the house, didn't you?"

  Her eyes remained fixed on the floor.

  "I did. I had to. I needed to see where Jet died."

  "Why?"

  "I don't know..."

  Thoughts of Jamaica and Milan faded fast.

  "We have bigger problems," I said.

  "How can we have biggerproblems? You had nothing to do with killing her."

  "But the police think otherwise. They found her panties. My prints were on the bag.”

  She visibly panicked, her body jerking as she leaned against the wall.

  “O-Oh, God,” she stuttered. “We’ll never be able to explain that.”

  “Money can explain a lot of thing,” I said. “And I have a lot of money.”

  Chapter Thirteen

  Detective Berger

  Bosworth, I always knew there was something about him, always knew he was up to no good. I'd see him slinking around those charity parties like he owned the place, like he was the savior of the entire medical industry. Should have known he had dirty secrets.

  I shouldn't have done what I was about to do, and the chief would string up my ass if he knew what I was up to, but curiosity got the better of me. I found myself waiting until it got dark before driving out toward his house. There had been rumors circulating for years about how he'd built his gargantuan, futuristic palace into the side of the mountain and I suppose there was always a part of me that wanted to see it in real life, maybe even be a little inspired by it.

  But I'll be honest, I didn't know what I wanted to do when I got there. All I had was a haphazard plan that maybe I'd catch him out once I'd arrived. Maybe I'd see something, hear something or find some incriminating evidence no matter how seemingly insignificant.

  Pulling up outside the gates, I looked up and saw they were impenetrable.

  Why was I so naïve to suppose I could just drive in here? Idiot.

  Parking out of the sight of the camera in the deep darkness of the trees, I climbed out and stepped into the forest. My shoes instantly sank into the mud and leaves. Glancing over my shoulder, I saw the moonlight shine off the side of the car. Ifthere was ever a chance to change my mind and turn back it would be now.

  "Fuck it," I said to myself. "Let's do this."

  I traipsed on through the mud with only the dim glow of my phone's flashlight leading the way. Somewhere out in the night a fox shrieked. For a moment my imagination ran away with itself.

  Was that the screams of his victims? Was that another girl being murdered?

  The fox emerged in front of me and looked into my eyes for a second before running away, scared.

  Soon, the edge of his property came into view as the steep slope of the mountain began to emerge beneath my feet. It was becoming more difficult to maintain my balance and I stumbled a few times, grabbing hold of nearby shrubs as their thorns dug into my fingers.

  When at last, I could see a back door come into vi
ew through the branches, I crouched down low. From the side, I could just about make out the sight of a balcony to the edge of the kitchen. It was the only room in the house where the light was on and, vaguely, I could just about make out the shape of two people talking and pacing back and forth.

  I narrowed my eyes as the rain began to fall. It was getting harder to see by the minute and I cursed myself for being such a reckless rookie. As the rain fell even heavier, I realized I should never have come out here. Taking a step forward, I slipped in the mud but managed to cling onto a nearby tree for balance as my feet sank deeper and deeper into the soil.

  "Fuck..."

  Goosebumps crept over me. At first I put it down to the wind, rain and high altitude but as I looked up, my heart felt as though it had dropped.

  He was looking right at me. Bosworth stood in the doorway looking down into the forest. I hoped he maybe heard a noise and was looking out past me at some point in the distance, but even from here, the look in his eyes was unmistakable. He darted back into the kitchen and slammed the door closed. A moment later the light went out. He was on his way down here.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Dana

  The chief was sipping on his coffee when I sauntered in and dropped the file on his desk.

  "What's this?" he asked as he rubbed his tired eyes.

  He could have been a handsome guy if he worked any other job and managed more than two hours sleep a night. There were fine, almost regal features on that face and a good head of onyx, black hair. He had eyes the color of a Celtic whirlpool, deep and green. I always imagined that under that suit of his he had a solid, mature body and arms that could choke me out if I asked him nicely.

  Except today he looked as though he was on the brink of a heart attack.

  "I did you a big favor. I got you what you asked for?"

  He reached into the top drawer of his desk and pulled out his reading glasses. Sliding them up his nose, he transformed himself into an old man, stooped over the file as he flicked through the pages.

  "Jesus, Dana you rockstar! You should have been a spy. I could kiss you. I really could."

  I wished he would. There was no greater turn on than power and in this place he had all of it.

  "Where did you get this?"

  Perching on the edge of his desk, I ran my fingernails over his name plaque, my red acrylic tips lingering on each letter of the words Georgie T. O'Hanlon.

  "Swiped it right off his desk," I explained.

  "You broke into his office?"

  "No, believe me. He invited me in."

  He scanned his eyes down the page and tutted.

  "That bastard sure keeps meticulous notes. He's got the backgrounds of every single girl in the house and pretty much a full blown biography of that Phaedra woman. Are you sure he didn't notice you take this?"

  He was balls deep down my throat when I knocked it off his desk into my bag with his eyes rolling back in his head.

  "I'm pretty sure," I said. "He didn't see a thing."

  Georgiesmiled, a rarely seen expression that seemed to diminish his smoldering, masculine arrogance.

  "Wait, what's this?"

  Reaching the back of the file, he found a plastic folder. Inside it were photographs taken outside the Waters’ House.

  "Looks like Berger's been doing a little surveillance on the side," I said as I walked around the back of the his seat and lay my hands on his broad shoulders. “Who’s that?”

  I pointed at the last photograph in the pile. A young man with high cheekbones and fiery eyes was stepping out of a black Mercedes. He looked like a Calvin Klein model.

  “That’s Lincoln Bosworth,” said Georgie.

  I gave him a blank look.

  “You’ve never heard of him?”

  I shook my head and he rolled his eyes.

  “Jesus, really? He’s a billionaire.”

  “Ooh really?” I leaned forward to see better.

  The mysterious man in the image was becoming more attractive by the second.

  “What’s he got to do with what Berger’s investigating?”

  The chief frowned.

  “Looks as though he thinks he’s involved in the girls’ murders.”

  I stroked the side of his neck but he ignored my touch. Taking out the photographs, he slid them into his top drawer before handing the file back to me.

  “I want you to take this to someone and I don’t want you to tell a soul. I mean it. You understand?”

  “Of course I understand, chief,” I purred into his ear. “I can keep a secret.”

  He reached around the back of his seat and caressed my thigh.

  “I know you can, sweetheart. You’ve always been a good girl.”

  Secreting the file into my purse, I looked out the window at the blustery, winter weather. I hoped he wasn’t sending me anywhere too far away. I wanted to be curled up at home on the sofa, with a man preferably, or at least some chocolate and good movie.

  “I need you to head over to Broadwood.”

  “Erm..excuse me? That place is a –”

  “Don’t be a princess, Dana. You’ll do as you’re told. I want you to go to the Waters’ House.”

  I froze.

  “I’m not going anywhere near that place. It gives me the creeps just thinking about it.”

  “Dana who the fuck is the boss in this department!”

  I flinched as he yelled. He’d never lost his temper with me before and I looked down at the floor as I blushed.

  “Sorry, chief. I’ll go right away.”

  He saw me to the door and gave me a peck on the cheek as he handed me my coat.

  “Ask for Phaedra. She’ll know what to do with it.”

  I nodded.

  “Ask for Phaedra,” I confirmed. “Okay. I’ll be back soon. Keep your lap nice and warm for me.”

  “It’ll be steaming hot. Now get outta here.”

  Chapter Fifteen

  Etta

  “Fuck. No… Are you seeing what I’m seeing?”

  He slammed the light off and ducked down low beside the window.

  “Look down there,” he pointed into the forest.

  I squinted but couldn’t see a thing through the rain.

  “There’s nothing there.”

  He pressed me up closer to the window.

  “Down by the wall.”

  The hairs on my neck stood on end and I shook myself to make sure I wasn’t imagining it.

  “What the fuck?”

  Two legs stuck out from the darkness. There was the almost metallic sheen of a leather jacket being drenched by the rain. Above it, a pale face was faintly illuminated by the moonlight

  “Whois that?”

  He shrunk into the shadows as if sensing we noticed him.

  “Remember that detective I mentioned earlier…”

  “How the? What the hell is he doing here?”

  “I don’t know but I guess it’s not on official business. Stay here. I’m heading outside.”

  “Linx, no!”

  I followed him down the stairs almost blurting out ‘call the police!’ but I knew we couldn’t do that. What were you supposed to do when the prowler on your property is the police?

  “Lincoln please, don’t hurt him!”

  “I’m not going to hurt him but I am going to find out what he’s doing here. He better have a fucking good explanation or I’m calling the chief.”

  He turned and kissed me before flinging open the main door. Wind and rain blew into the hallway lashing our faces. There was a yelp and a heavy thud as Lincoln cried out in pain. At first I thought he’d been injured by the storm but then I saw the silhouette in the doorway.

  “What are you doing here?” I screamed as I fell to my knees.

  Lincoln was clutching his stomach and gritting his teeth.

  “Bastard suckerpunched me,” he said as he climbed to his feet. “Berger I’ll fucking kill you.”

  He pushed him in the chest and a scuffle br
oke out with the two of them jostling each other.

  “Kill me, eh? What like all those poor girls?”

  “Shut the hell up, Berger. Don’t act like you care about any of them. You probably paid half of them to blow you. You think I haven’t heard the rumors?”

  The detective lurched forward clutching Lincoln by the front of his shirt.

  “Get off him! Both of you, break it up,” I cried.

  They were evenly matched in height with the both of them pressing their faces up to one another.

  “Get off me, Berger. Or I’ll have to hurt you.”

  “Are you threatening a police officer? That’s a federal offence, you know.”

  “Fuck you,” Lincoln spat.

  Without warning, the detective punched him square in the jaw and he reeled back clutching his face before aiming his own fist into Berger’s nose. It burst open with blood cascading down the front of his shirt.

  Enraged, he lunged forward with pure hatred in his eyes. It was then that I saw a flash of metal at his side as he reached for his gun. I panicked and picked up the nearest object, a vase with a solid golden edge. Before he could take another step, I aimed it at his head. It smashed on impact raining porcelain shards like razor blade snow.

  The detective stumbled, stunned into silence. The gun fell to the ground and slid along the floorboards. Then Berger collapsed, his heavy body slapping against the wet floor as he landed with a stream of crimson blood flowing from his head like an exploding hibiscus flower.

  In my hand, lay the bottom of the vase. I stared at it as though I was looking at someone else’s hand.

  “Jesus Christ, Etta.”

  Lincoln pulled me close to him as we both looked down at the detective.

  “What have I done?” I asked, dropping the remaining piece of vase to the ground.

  “I think you killed him,” said Lincoln as he dropped to his knees to grab Berger’s wrist. “Etta, I can’t feel a pulse.”

  Bonus Chapters

  A Doctor’s Touch

  Jewels For Panties Series

  Book Five

  (Chapter 1 -3)