Chapter 5
Chapter Five
Lincoln
Z ara’s ingenuity was impressive. For a woman on the run, she’d done a good job of covering her tracks without doing anything illegal. I’d spent the day hacking more systems than I could count and finally came to the conclusion that it was really her using her passport.
I’d gotten a brief glimpse of her in a security video getting off the flight from Albania to Greece before running to board another flight to Italy. She took a train to France and a ferry to England where she finally caught a flight to New York. I’d managed to get into the video feeds at JFK, but from what I could tell, she got in line for customs and never came out.
That was where I lost her. So, all I knew was she made it into the U.S. early this morning, and there was no way to tell where she went from there. The idea of letting Colin know that if we’d started looking even a day earlier we might have caught her at the airport was daunting. I’d known the man long enough to say he wouldn’t take it well.
He’d beat himself up and become even more obsessed with finding her. I’d already had to send him away once because his constant questions and pacing slowed me down. Putting off the conversation wouldn’t make it easier, so I went looking. He was probably in the gym taking out his frustration on a punching bag.
My own obsession with this woman was growing by the minute. I needed to keep a clear head, but each new glance I got of her, was making it harder to stay detached. Her fear as she moved around wasn’t faked. I’d spent way too long watching her sleep on the video from the train. I still didn’t know if she’d purposely worked with the Albanian mob but I was sure she was running from them.
Growing up in the world she’d been born into couldn’t have been easy. I wanted to believe that, much like me, she’d succeeded despite her adversity. Our obstacles had been different. Her struggles had been financial, whereas, I had escaped the cold, calculating world of my adoptive parents and the golden spoon they’d often tried to entrap me with.
We’d both carved our own lives out by choosing to walk the difficult road rather than the one the world had laid out for us. The more important difference in our stories was instead of finding friends and a family in college, like I had, she’d been alone.
Mind you, I hadn't been able to escape the mandatory social events my parents made me attend to show off how benevolent they were for adopting me. But with Colin and Declan’s support I hadn’t wavered from my chosen path. Without that I might not have had the strength to pave my own way. How much harder had it been for her to stay on course?
Her social media was sparse at best and didn’t contain any information that would have indicated she had a close friend or relationship. She followed a few famous people, mostly chef’s, and I wondered if she was an amateur cook. She had only one follower, and it was someone from the staffing company she’d worked for right out of college.
Like Colin, I didn’t like the idea of her being alone, and on the run. In a way, it was damn good she had her skill set from her younger years as I doubt she’d have been able to run at all otherwise. Assuming that this was all legit and she was truly in trouble and not in cahoots with the Albanian mob.
Telling Colin what I’d found in thirty minutes wouldn’t make it any easier than telling him now. Problem was I didn’t know where to look for her next. I’d put alerts on her credit cards, bank accounts, and email but somehow I doubted someone with her history and so obviously on the run would be that dumb.
As I pushed open the door to G&H’s private gym, a blast of loud hard rock music hit me like a wall. The heavy bass reverberated through the floor like a racing heart. Colin had turned down the lights and the few overhead fluorescents were casting long shadows across the room.
I spotted him immediately, his frame was illuminated in one of the pools of light as he pounded away at a heavy bag with a ferocity that was unmistakable. His fists connected with the bag in a constant rhythm, each punch echoing through the room with a dull, steady thud that I could hear even over the music. Sweat dripped from his forehead, his expression a mask of focused intensity.
The tension radiating off him was undeniable, his frustration evident in every powerful strike. My cell phone vibrated in my pocket. I pulled it out and read Rafe’s name on the display. I wasn’t on call for the club tonight, and it was too early for that anyway. I grabbed the stereo’s remote off the bench and killed the music.
The silence was almost deafening in its contrast. Colin paused, breathing heavily, his fists still clenched as he turned to look at me. I held up my phone, showing him the screen before I hit answer.
“Hello?”
“Hey, it’s Rafe. Do you know where Colin is? He’s not picking up his cell.”
I looked over and saw that my friend’s phone was sitting on a ledge near where he’d been working out. The idiot probably hadn’t heard the call over the music. “Yeah, he’s right here. I’ll put you on speaker.”
I hit the button as Colin used his teeth to pull off the tape from his hands.
“What do you need?” Colin’s voice was harsh.
“You guys know a woman named Zara Foster?”
Colin and I looked at each other with mirroring expressions of surprise. He recovered first. “Yeah, why?”
“She showed up at Midgard about fifteen minutes ago looking like she’d had a run in with a truck, or a wall maybe. I think someone hurt her badly by the looks of the fading bruises on her face.”
“How did she even find the club? We’re not publicly listed on any of the paperwork.” My suspicion must have been obvious because Rafe chuckled.
“Apparently, Colin wasn’t paying attention. Instead of giving her one of his business cards, he gave her a VIP pass to the club.”
“Fuck.” Colin cursed and sped up his motions to pull off the tape.
“You can say that. I think she might be a little shell-shocked by the decor. I left her in Dottie’s company, while I stepped into the back to give you guys a call.”
I wanted to groan. Dottie was a wonderful and vivacious woman, but she loved to talk. God only knew what stories she was telling Zara right now. I hadn’t even met the woman, but I felt a bit sorry for her.
“Keep her there, we’re on our way.” Colin sprinted toward the changing room, leaving me alone with my phone.
“We should get there before the club opens at seven but be careful. We think she has people after her who wouldn’t hesitate at collateral damage. Hopefully, she wasn’t followed, but don’t take any chances.”
“All right, I’ll keep an eye on her till we open. You are going to tell me what’s going on eventually, right?” Rafe might not be one of the original circle but we’d known him back in college, having met him at one of Erik’s infamous sex parties.
He’d started with us at club Midgard in the office and quickly moved into assistant manager and since Erik had become busy with Sif and she was now manager at Valhalla, it made sense for Erik to be there and for Rafe to take over as GM of our first club.
He’d earned our trust in him over the years, and I wasn't the only one who’d said “Finally!” when Erick announced Rafe’s change in employment status. Thing was, it might not be safe for him to know more than I’d already told him.
“If I can, it’s her story to tell. I don’t think we even know half of it yet.”
Colin insisted on driving to Midgard. While we were weaving through the city streets at dangerous speeds, I filled him in on what little I’d learned. Once I’d given him the whole story, I took a breath.
“So what now?”
Colin’s frown confirmed all my worst fears. “What do you mean, what now? We protect her.”
“Just that simple? We still don’t know why she is running or if she’ll want us to protect her. Maybe she just needs some money before she ducks out. Are we going to the feds to get her witness protection? We don’t know, but even if she needs protection, I think we should set her up with one of the bodyguards in a safehouse outside of the city.”
“I’m protecting her. If you don’t have the stomach for it you can bail.”
Colin’s words hit me like a knife to the gut. I wasn’t the one who lacked guts. “Fuck you. Did something happen between you and the woman that you didn’t tell me about?” Colin’s hands gripped the wheel tighter but I didn’t back down. “You are so blinded by your obsession that you can’t even think clearly. There is a reason bodyguards aren’t supposed to get personal. Are you going to risk her life by insisting on doing everything yourself? Is this some fucked up mission to absolve yourself of what happened in Iraq?”
I knew my anger had taken things a step too far even as the words tumbled out of my mouth. Our last mission in Iraq had scarred us both in ways that still hadn’t healed. Throwing that in his face was cruel, but it had to be said. Since our discharge, I’d pulled away from the world, and he’d become reckless in his need to help anyone and everyone. Normally, we balanced each other out, but something about this situation had us both reeling.
Colin whipped into a parking space, and I was surprised to see we were already at Midgard. He panted as he gripped the wheel. His knuckles were white from the strain of holding back his temper. It wasn’t often that he let this side of himself see the light of day, but when he did, it took a lot for him to ease down. I knew it was part of his PTSD as much as the nightmares and aversion to going out were part of mine. With a few cruel words, no matter how true they were, I’d pushed him over the edge.
“I’m sorry.” I meant the apology though it was bitter against my tongue. “Let’s get her somewhere safe and find out the whole story. Promise me you will try to think about what is best with a clear head?”
“Fine.” Colin stepped out of the car, and I saw him shake off his temper and slowly regain control. We did some reconnaissance to ensure she hadn’t been followed and used the back entrance for the club.
The music was on low as the club hadn't opened yet and we could faintly make out the sounds of Dottie’s high-pitched voice and the deeper, gravelly one belonging to Rafe. At the end of the hall that led from the offices to the play space we stopped in unison. There she stood almost glowing in the dim light. The pictures hadn’t done her justice.
Zara’s clothing was rumpled, but it did nothing to hide the graceful curves. She reminded me a little of Raia, Erik’s woman in the classic line of her body, but that is where the resemblance ended.
Where Raia was tall, with very pale skin and a massive crown of dark hair, Zara, was smaller, with blond tresses that spilled over her shoulders. There was something in the way she moved about the space, touching different pieces of equipment, her brow furrowed as she examined them that made me think of a curious cat.
She didn’t so much as walk like regular people, she glided. Had I not known her history, I might have believed she’d had a background in dance. When she bent over to take a closer look at the straps on the St. Andrews Cross, her skirt slid dangerously high and tightened across her ample backside.
I stifled a moan. She had goods that, the more I observed, the more I wanted to sample. I could see now why Colin had an instant attraction to her. She was lovely in every way, but more than that, there was something about her that made my dick hard.
She stopped at the shibari station, and my hardness grew to a painful throb. She was checking out one of my particular kinks. Seeing her brushing fingertips over the coiled ropes set off an image of tying her on her hands and knees so her ass was high in the air and completely exposed to me.
Colin would tease her mouth with his cock, while I flogged her sexy ass from behind. Colin would whisper dirty words in her ear and run his hands over her skin. I’d change up my flogger for a paddle and brighten her pale ass into a deep ruby red. She’d cry out but I’d run my finger along her slick seam and play with her hardened clit. Her cries would morph into moans of pleasure.
She’d get close to orgasming, but we wouldn’t let her, alternating the pressure and pushing her toward an edge we wouldn’t allow her to leap from. When she cried out no more, we’d scoop her up and carry her to a private room.
I’d grip her hair and shove my cock in her mouth. Oh, the vision of her plump lips wrapped around my hard dick and those baby blues peering up at me, had me almost coming undone. She’d bounce on Colin’s cock while he played with her nipples. He’d clamp down on a hardened peak and she would come undone, crying out from the intense pleasure.
We’d switch and?—
“Did you hear me?”
I shook my head pulling back to the present to see Colin frowning at me. “Uh, no.” I licked my lips.
“I said whoever put those fucking bruises on her face is going to pay.”
He was right, when I got past the fantasy, and my natural attraction for her, and Zara turned toward the light, I could see the bruising on her face. I’d burn the fucker and his empire to the ground when I got my hands on the man who’d done this to her.
But those thoughts fluttered to the ground and scattered at the recognition when she saw Colin. She took a few steps toward us, then hesitated before straightening her back and looking him in the eyes. The chemistry between them was almost palpable. I wanted her to look at me that way too.
“Did you mean it when you said you would help me?”
“Of course. Anything you need.”
We were so screwed.