Crystal Ball

by Laney Kay

  When we got to the room, we set an alarm to meet everyone for dinner, and opened the doors so we could hear the waves and feel the breeze coming off the ocean. Luke and I both stripped off our clothes, climbed into bed, and cuddled up together under the sheet. If you could ignore the small fact that we were here with the FBI to catch a couple of thieves, it was a very nice weekend for a quickie vacation.

  I could feel that Luke was tense, and I rolled over to face him. He looked tired and stressed and I stroked his cheek and kissed him gently. “You okay?”

  He smiled. “I’m fine. I haven’t been sleeping that great and I’ll be very glad when this is all over.”

  “Yeah, me too.” I got the feeling there was something else. “You sure that’s all that’s going on with you?”

  He snorted. “Is that not enough?” I raised my eyebrows and looked at him. He sighed. “Fine. Let me say first, I know how stupid this sounds, but I can’t help it.” He absently ran his hand over me as he spoke. “I actually feel bad about sending Nick to prison.”

  I was incensed and jumped up on my knees. “Are you crazy? After he ran off with your wife, stole $13 million, and left you holding the bag? Luke, he would have let you go to prison without even thinking about it.”

  He rolled onto his back. “I know that. I didn’t say it was rational, I just said I feel bad. I mean, yes, he did all that, but he also took Glenda off my hands. And yes, he left me with a huge mess, but at least I wasn’t in prison.”

  “No thanks to him,” I interrupted.

  “I know.” He shrugged. “Look, it’s just the way I feel. And I’ll get over it, but right now, I feel bad for him. Nick was never a bad guy, but he had bad taste in women and they could convince him to do just about anything. I’m sure he was putty in Glenda’s hands.” He laughed. “And having to deal with Glenda all these years, trust me, he’s had plenty of punishment already.”

  That made me laugh. “I see what you’re saying, but truly, they both hung you out to dry. I have no problem making them both pay for what they did to you.“

  He pulled me against him and hugged me. “Thanks for being on my side, baby girl.” He pulled back and looked at my face, smiling gently. “I love you.”

  I rolled on top of him, kissed him, and squeezed him tightly. “I love you, too.” I dragged my hands down his sides and wriggled against him. “Want to fool around a little and then take a nap? I know a couple of tricks that might relax you.”

  He started laughing, rolled me over, and settled between my legs, kissing my neck until I basically forgot everything except him. As usual, he ran his hands all over my body, down my back, over my butt, between my legs, over my breasts. I started laughing. He raised an eyebrow in question as I snickered. “That cracks me up when you run your hands all over me like that. It’s like you’re taking an inventory of all your favorite body parts.”

  He shrugged and winked. “Hey, I just like to make sure all of my toys are exactly where they’re supposed to be.”

  We both laughed and I hugged him tightly. He kissed me and slid slowly inside me, holding himself still and then he began to move.

  Both of us tend to like fun, sweaty, active, laughing sex, but this was different. It was slow, and sweet, and tender, and very intense. We spent a lot of time looking in each other’s eyes. He kissed me with these slow, deep, wet kisses, and the entire time he just moved against me slowly, grinding against me at the end of every stroke. I could feel every thick inch inside me, and I could feel myself getting closer and closer, but I didn’t want it to end yet. I wrapped my legs around his waist so I could move against him, he put one hand under my hips and tilted me up and pulled me higher against him. He started moving slightly harder. I closed my eyes and writhed against him, rubbing myself against him, just focusing on his big body and the way he made me feel. After a few minutes of that, I could tell we were both getting close, and he told me to open my eyes and look at him. I love his expression when he’s inside me, so intent and focused and like he can never get enough of me. We smiled at each other, he bent over to kiss me, he moved in me one more time, then harder, and that was it for me. I swear, sometimes, I really do see stars and that was one of those times. I could tell he was right there with me. My arms and legs fell out to the side and I splayed out over the bed with him collapsed on top of me. He managed to move his upper body slightly to the side so I could breathe, but both of us fell asleep just like that, with him on top of me and softer, but still inside me.

  We must have been exhausted, because when the alarm went off that evening, we were still in the same position. My first thought was that I hope we weren’t permanently stuck together. Yuck. I really needed a shower. I was still half asleep, and when Luke moved off me to go to into the bathroom, I rolled on my stomach to stretch and pulled the pillow over my head. A couple of minutes later, I heard the toilet flush, the water run in the sink, and the door shut, and then I felt Luke get back onto the bed. I pulled my head out from under the pillow and winked at him over my shoulder before I dropped my head back onto the pillow. He smiled, crawled on top of me and kissed my neck. Unlike me, it was pretty obvious that all of him was wide awake and ready to go, and our high level of grunginess didn’t seem bother him at all. I grumbled. “Fine. But you’re going to have to do all the work, and you’re going to have to hurry.”

  He laughed. “Deal.” He got up on his knees, pulled my hips up in the air, and moved behind me. It was fast, furious, and a great way to wake up, I have to admit.

  Whoever says they don’t like quickies must not be doing it right. I don’t know, I always kind of think of sex like that old joke about sex being like a pizza. When it's good, it's really good. When it's bad, it's still pretty good. We had just enough time to take a shower and get dressed and meet everyone downstairs in the restaurant.

  Lola smirked when she saw us. “Hmmm, y’all look well rested.”

  I ignored her, but Luke winked at her. “Thanks for noticing, Lola.” She winked back, and the hostess came to seat us at our table. As we walked toward the table, Sara grabbed my arm and looked at me, then questioningly toward Luke. I nodded, letting her know he was okay. She smiled, squeezed my arm, and went to sit next to Mark. When we were seated, Mark ordered us a bottle of wine and we settled in for a nice dinner. We had a couple of hours until we had to meet Bella and Agent Prince, so we decided not to discuss any business until they joined us. We just laughed and talked and enjoyed our dinner and each other’s company.

  We were upstairs in Lola’s suite by eight o’clock, and we had just gotten settled when we heard a knock on the door. Lola opened the door and Agent Prince, Bella, my dad, and a man we didn’t know came into the room. Prince introduced him as Agent Mike Spencer and we all sat down.

  Prince started the meeting by giving us an update. “Well, it looks like everything is going according to plan. Glenda and Nick have confirmed their flights and their rooms and are due in tomorrow night. We checked with the airlines and neither of them have declared a weapon in their checked luggage, so that’s not an issue.”

  Lola was curious. “Bella, have you heard anything from them?”

  Bella snorted. “Oh, yeah. I texted all of the organizers and participants to make sure they had everything they needed and Glenda texted back and asked if we could make sure she had a few special items, specifically a bottle of chilled Champagne, a fruit basket, some chocolate truffles, oh, ‘and please make sure the linens are all white and I prefer Egyptian cotton’.”

  We all laughed as Bella shook her head in disgust. “I was thinking, who does she think she is? J-Lo? This is a damn charity event, she’s not performing at the Grammy’s.” She sighed. “But what I actually said was, that I would be thrilled to take care of that for her, and I was so excited they were able to do this with us.” She shrugged. “Truth is, I’ll kiss her ass as much as it takes to get her here and make sure this goes off without a hitch.”

  Mo clapped and cheered. “Yay, Bella! Way to take
one for the team.”

  We all laughed as Bella took a bow. “Yay, me. But all kidding aside, it looks like they’re going to be here, as expected, and they don’t suspect a thing.”

  Luke looked at all of us around the table. “Before we get started on a final plan, I’ve been thinking. Although embarrassing them would be a whole lot of fun for me, I think we should do whatever is the easiest and the least risky.” He looked at Bella. “I don’t want to do anything to screw up your fundraiser. Maybe we should just arrest them as soon as they show up to do the walk through that afternoon. It wouldn’t be as embarrassing as arresting them in front of their friends, but I’m sure we could still have a little fun with it.”

  Prince and Spencer looked at each other and shrugged, and Prince spoke up. “Bella, Luke, it’s up to you. The truth is, I don’t think this will be a risky arrest, no matter what we choose to do. There’s never been any indication that either of them are dangerous, they don’t have any weapons, and there are three of us, plus the regular hotel security if we need them, so we don’t have to worry about them getting away.”

  Lola offered a compromise. “Maybe we could have the best of both worlds. Bella, you’re recording this, right? Agent Prince, what if y’all arrest them during the walk through? Y’all handcuff them, read them their rights, and while they’re standing there, Luke, you can walk in and say a quick hello. People are going to wonder where they are, so maybe that evening, Bella can show the clip of them being arrested and tell everyone what happened.”

  Luke shrugged. “Sounds good to me.”

  Prince clapped him on the shoulder. “If that’s what you want, that’s what we’ll do. But I personally am going to make this as uncomfortable as possible for them. I’ll make sure when we handcuff them, we put them both on the floor. As prissy as she is, you know she’ll hate it. Then, you can say whatever you want and we’ll head out to the airport.”

  Bella smiled. “Y’all are going to miss a great party.”

  Prince winked at her as he grinned. “Bella, I have no doubt, but I promise we’re going to have our own party back in New Orleans with these two.” His smile faded. “We all lost something in Katrina, and we get special enjoyment out of dealing with assholes who profited from others’ misery.”

  I turned to my dad, eyes wide. “Dad, you’re staying for the party, right?”

  I must have sounded more than a little panicked, because he put his arm around me and gave me a quick hug. “Of course. Your mother would kill me if we didn’t stay for the party. You don’t have to worry, I’ll keep her off you for the evening.” He leaned over to whisper in my ear. “But, you know she’s not going to leave you alone until you’re married again, so you might want to keep that in mind.”

  “Ugh.” I rolled my eyes, he laughed and kissed me on the top of my head. He turned to Prince and Spencer. “Y’all just text me the time and place to meet you and I’ll be there.”

  Agent Spencer smiled and stood up. “Will do, Clayton.” He turned to Prince. “Ready to go?”

  They waved goodbye and left with my dad.

  The next morning, we met for brunch and spent the rest of the day hanging out at the pool, taking naps, and reading. We had dinner together, and all of us turned in early. That night, I don’t think any of us slept very well. I know Luke and I didn’t.

  The morning of the gala looked to be a beautiful day. Agent Prince had texted us all the night before and told us to meet downstairs for breakfast at seven-thirty so we could finalize our plans. Luke and I woke up at around five and couldn’t go back to sleep, so we made some coffee and went out on the balcony. We wrapped ourselves in a blanket and lazily fooled around a little while we watched the sun come up.

  I was sitting on his lap, cuddled against his chest, and we were quietly sipping coffee, watching the sun creep above the water. I’m not a huge beach fan, way too much sand in weird places for me, but I love watching the water. I turned to look at Luke’s face and was glad to see he looked relaxed. “Nervous?”

  He kissed my nose. “Nope. I’ll be glad when this is over, though.”

  I nodded. “Me, too. I want everything to get back to normal. I don’t think I’m cut out for international intrigue.”

  He smiled and kissed me then put down his coffee and put his arms around me, hugging me close. We sat like that until the alarm went off at 6:30. We went inside, took a shower, got dressed, and went downstairs to meet everyone for breakfast.

  When we got to the restaurant, everyone else was already there, including Prince and Spencer, Bella, and my dad. Everyone was nibbling on pastries and drinking coffee, and I gratefully grabbed what seemed like my eleventh cup of coffee as we took the two remaining seats between Lola and Harrison. Lola slapped a croissant on my plate, Luke grabbed a bagel and we settled in.

  Prince smiled at us. “Well, the good news is that Glenda and Nick got in last night, right on time and with enough luggage to dress the Kardashians. They checked in, they ordered room service, and they left a wake-up call for 9:30. We had already installed a microphone in their room to make sure there are no surprises, and I can say with a pretty high degree of certainty that they don’t suspect a thing.”

  Bella was nodding her head. “I agree. They called me when they got in last night to ask me what time we’re meeting for the run-through and I told them I’d meet both of them in the lobby at 11:00 and we’d walk over to the ballroom together. Glynn said no problem and they’d see me then.”

  Prince looked at my dad. “Clayton, let’s head over there after breakfast to check everything out. We’ll need to make sure all of the doors are secured except for the one that Bella’s going to use when she brings them down. We’d also like you to drive us to the airport afterwards and wait with us until our flight, if you don’t mind.” My dad nodded and told him that would be fine.

  The rest of us looked at each other and then we looked at Prince expectantly. Lola asked, “What about all of us?”

  Prince looked at Bella. “Didn’t you say there’s a conference room that you’re using as an office and storeroom during the event?” She nodded and he continued. “No windows?” Bella nodded affirmatively again. “Y’all can wait back there. Bella already has it wired so she and the other organizers can see what’s going on when they’re not onstage, so y’all can actually see when we arrest them.” He looked at Luke. “Luke, once you see we have the handcuffs on them, you’re welcome to come out and say whatever you need to say. Actually, all of y’all can come out. I just don’t want them to see any of you until they’re actually under arrest.” We all nodded in understanding. No one wanted to be the one to screw this up.

  We ordered breakfast, and as soon as we finished, Prince, Spencer and my dad left to do their preparation at the ballroom. Bella hung around long enough to tell us good luck and that she’d see us later and took off for her room. That left the rest of us sitting there. Harrison and Mark convinced Luke to join them for a quick workout in the gym and all of us ladies ended up in Lola’s room on her balcony overlooking the ocean with a pitcher of mimosas. We figured a pitcher would allow us 1-2 mimosas each, maximum, so we wouldn’t have to worry about being loud or tipsy, which, as Sara pointed out, wouldn’t be good for an international caper. Obviously.

  We were staring at the ocean, drinking our mimosas, each lost in our own thoughts. Lola broke the silence first. “Hey, Daisy, any idea what Luke is going to say?”

  I was confused. “Say about what?”

  “Say to Glenda and Nick. What the hell do you say to people who totally screwed you over and left you swinging in the wind? People you trusted? You’re standing over them while they’re lying on the ground in handcuffs. You have an opportunity to say whatever you want. What do you say?”

  I took a sip and thought about it, then I just shrugged. “Hell if I know. What would you say?”

  Sara snorted. “I wouldn’t say shit. I would jump on their handcuffed bodies and tear their asses up. I’d…”

&nbs
p; I looked at her with a deadpan expression. “You’d kill them with your bare hands like you did that copperhead and then hang their bodies on the fence so their friends would know what you do to people who try to mess with your babies?”

  Sara gave a self-satisfied smile. “Exactly! I’d give them a message they’d never forget.”

  I rolled my eyes and finished the last of my mimosa in one big gulp. “Which is exactly why you will not be left alone with them. We want the rest of their lives to be extremely long and ugly, not extremely short and painful.”

  Sara shrugged. “Tomato, tomahto. So long as there’s plenty of pain, I’m fine with it either way.”

  Mo hugged Sara and kissed her cheek. “I’m very glad you’re on my side.” She stood up, left the rest of her mimosa on the table, and waved to us all as she went inside. “Meet y’all downstairs in a little bit then we’ll go meet up with Prince and Spencer.”

  We all said it sounded good and left for our respective rooms. When I let myself into our room, I could hear Luke singing in the shower and went into the bathroom to brush my teeth. I called out a greeting and was reaching for my toothbrush when he turned the water off and jerked the curtain open. He winked at me. “Hey baby girl, would you hand me a towel?”

  I handed him a towel, and I heard him ask me a question, but I was having a hard time concentrating. Damn that man looks fine without clothes. I realized I was standing there staring, not listening, when suddenly a snap on my hip startled me. “Ow!” I rubbed my hip ferociously.

  I realized he’d popped me with the corner of his wet towel. “Hey, I was asking you a question, goofy. Did you hear what I said?”

  I was sulking, rubbing where he’d hit me. “No, I’m not listening to you, you big jackass. Why’d you pop me?”