Chapter 21
Twenty-One
Travis left for the grocery store at seven o’clock, hoping to get out and back before the media gathered at their post outside the gate for another day of watching “Triana,” which was the silly code name they had given them.
Only two photographers manned the gate, both of whom snapped photos of him leaving.
Travis wondered how they could stand the boredom of waiting hours for people to do something interesting.
At the store, he stocked up on what they would need to hibernate in New Hampshire for a few days.
He took the groceries to the checkout counter and glanced with trepidation at the tabloids, still finding it hard to believe he saw his own face looking back at him.
Reaching for one of them, he winced at the huge front-page photo of him kissing Liana before Tom and Justine’s wedding.
“Oh, she’s going to love that,” he muttered, tossing the paper onto the conveyer belt. “Nice move, North.”
He returned from the store and stashed the cold food in a cooler with ice and put it with the other grocery bags in the back of one of the North Point SUVs.
Beck pulled into the garage in his truck. “Are you guys ready?”
“Let me go get Liana. She’s moving slowly this morning. We’ll be right down.” He took the elevator to his condo and went into the bedroom. “Ready, sweetheart?”
“Uh huh,” Liana said with a big yawn as she zipped her bag.
“You brought some jeans and a sweater, right? It gets chilly up there at night, even in the summertime.”
“Uh huh.”
He hugged her. “Sorry we had to get up so early. I wanted to get out of here before the reporters showed up.”
“No problem,” she said, another huge yawn rattling through her.
“You can sleep in the car,” he said with a kiss to her forehead. He picked up their bags and whistled for Dash. They took the elevator to the garage, and Beck held the passenger door for the dog while Travis stowed their bags in the back of the SUV.
Travis opened the back door for Liana. “After you.”
She got in, and he followed.
“Why don’t you lay down, and then I’ll lay next to you,” Travis suggested.
When they were settled, Beck tossed a blanket over them.
The moment they were in the dark under the blanket, Liana was hit with a fit of the giggles. “This is so ridiculous.”
The absurdity of it also struck Travis, and they were both laughing by the time Beck started the car.
“You guys better cut it out or I’ll be laughing, too, and then all of this will have been for nothing when the reporters realize I’ve got other people with me.”
Travis fumbled around until he found her face with his hand and held her still so he could silence her giggles with a deep kiss.
“Oh, jeez,” Beck groaned when he heard them kissing. “I think I preferred the laughing.”
Travis laughed against her lips, but when he began to pull back from her, Liana wound her arm around his neck and held him in place.
“We’re through the gate with no one noticing,” Beck said.
When he was greeted with silence, he said to no one in particular, “Thanks, Beck. That’s good news.
We’re glad to hear we made a clean getaway.
” Greeted by more silence, he sighed and mumbled, “I feel like I’m back in high school or something. ”
Beck drove them off the island to a prearranged spot along Route 24 where another North Point employee waited for him in a second car. “All right, you two, time to come up for air.” He got out of the car and knocked on the back window. “You’re on your own.”
“Thanks, Beck,” Travis called. To Liana, he said, “Are you going to let me go?”
“Not yet.” She pushed her hands into the back pockets of his jeans and anchored him to her.
“What are you up to?” Travis’s amusement turned to desire when she skimmed her tongue over his ear. “Liana . . .”
“Want to know what else I’ve never done?” she whispered.
“I’m almost afraid to ask.”
She tilted her hips provocatively. “In a car . . .”
Travis swallowed hard. “If you’re going to have sex in a car, sweetheart, you’re better off doing it in the dark and not on a major highway.”
“It’s dark where I am,” she argued.
“If we ever got caught—”
“I thought you liked taking risks,” she said, sliding her hand into the front of his jeans.
He gasped when she stroked him.
“Come on,” she pleaded. “You wouldn’t deny me, would you?”
Knowing he could deny her nothing, he shook his head. “No.”
“Do you have a condom?”
“Wallet,” he managed to say as she unzipped him.
She tugged his wallet out of his pocket and handed it to him.
He pushed the blanket aside to get enough light to retrieve the condom.
She took it from him. “Let me.”
Travis fell back on the seat and gritted his teeth when she rolled on the condom.
She wiggled against him in the tight space as she removed her shorts and panties. “This is so exciting,” she whispered, her violet eyes sparkling in the early morning light.
He was filled with love for her as he brushed the hair off her forehead and tipped his head to find her lips. Shifting so he was between her legs, he kissed her deeply as he entered her.
She arched into his thrusts and pulled her legs back to give him better access.
“Liana,” he groaned. “You’re making me crazy.”
She laughed and clutched his back in encouragement. “Be crazy, Travis,” she whispered. “Let go of all that control you’re so proud of.”
Her words fired his passion, and he could feel the sweat pooling on his back as he pounded into her.
For the first time in his life he cried out when he came, at the same instant she did.
“Oh my God,” he said when he had recovered the ability to speak.
“You’ve put some sort of spell on me, haven’t you? ”
She giggled. “It must be the same spell you’ve put on me.”
He drew back to look at her. “I love you, Liana.” The words tumbled out before he could stop them.
She gasped.
“I know I wasn’t supposed to, but I do.”
Under him, she struggled to sit up.
Travis used a tissue to get rid of the condom and pulled his clothes back on while Liana did the same.
When they were dressed, Travis glanced over at her and found her face set in an unreadable expression. “Would you say something? Please?”
She looked up at him with violet eyes shining with tears. “I love you, too.”
Travis thought he would die from the relief of hearing those words from her. He reached for her. “Really?”
She nodded against his chest.
“For how long?”
“Almost from the beginning. What about you?”
“Since I saw you in that pink monstrosity at Enid’s wedding, and you were so worried about your mother.”
She sighed. “What are we going to do?”
He kissed the top of her head and hugged her tightly for a long moment.
“Right now we’re going to kick Dash out of the front seat so we can go to New Hampshire.
We’ll figure out the rest later.” Tilting her chin up he kissed her.
“I love you. I’ve been dying to say that to you for days, and I can’t tell you how good it feels to be able to say it now. ”
Nibbling on her lip, she looked up at him. “I’m scared.”
“Of what, sweetheart?”
“Of hurting you, of disappointing you, of so many things.”
“How about we do this for now—let’s just take today and tomorrow to enjoy being in love without any worries about what happens next. Can we do that?”
“Yes,” she said with a firm nod. “Yes, we can.”
Running through his to-do list on the way back to North Point, Beck made a mental note to talk to his staff about a couple of things he wanted to try to catch the vandals.
He also needed to check in with the local police to see if they had gotten anything off the film they’d confiscated after the fire.
They needed a break, and hopefully they’d get one before anything else happened.
Navigating the long access road that led to North Point, he couldn’t believe what he saw outside the gates. The media mob had easily tripled since the day before. “Jesus,” he muttered. He couldn’t imagine making a living by hoping for a glimpse of a celebrity.
Approaching the mob, he slowed to a crawl and laid on his horn to get them out of the street.
“Freaking idiots.” Glancing to his right, he gasped as he made eye contact with the beady-eyed, dough-faced man from the mug shot Tripp had faxed to him.
Beck slammed the truck into park, leaped from the car, and pushed his way into the crowd.
Unfortunately, they pushed right back.
“What the hell are you doing?” one of them cried. “Get your hands off me!”
“Get out of the way!” Beck shouted, pushing his way past the outraged photographer.
The rest of them closed ranks around their colleague and refused to let Beck through.
Scanning the nearby thicket of trees and brush, he reached for his cell phone and dialed 911. “This is Peter Beck, chief of security at North Point,” he said as loud as he could. “I just saw a level-three sex offender wanted in New York City among the press gathered outside our gates.”
Suddenly the mob wasn’t so resistant, and he was given access to the back of the crowd.
By then, though, Spector had managed to meld into the mix.
Despite a frantic effort, Beck couldn’t find him amid the hundreds of photographers and reporters.
Sweating profusely, he searched every car in the long line of vehicles parked along the road.
When the police arrived a short time later, he filed a formal report and showed them a photo of the man he was looking for. As he was finishing up with them, he took note of a buzz circulating through the growing crowd.
“Is Jessica Stone staying at North Point, too?” one of them asked.
Beck turned toward the voice. Making an enormous effort to keep his face blank, he said, “No, she isn’t.”
“We have reliable information that she’s staying here,” another said.
“She’s not.”
“And you would know?”
“I know everything that goes on here.”
The local cop used a bullhorn to let the reporters know they were expected to stay out of the road and away from the North Point gate. “Anyone who creates an obstruction or nuisance will be arrested,” the cop added.
Beck shook his hand. “We appreciate the help.”
“No problem. Never seen anything quite like this in these parts.”
“No kidding.”
Beck got back in his truck and dialed Mike Tripp on his cell phone. “I saw him,” Beck said without preamble. “Spector. He’s here at North Point where we’re hiding Jessica. I lost him in a mob of photographers and media, but I saw him. I know it was him.”
“I’ll issue a warrant and get with your local folks. I may come up there myself if it comes to that.”
“How in the hell would he know she’s here?” Beck asked, his heart racing as he parked at The Tower.
“No idea, but I’d love to get my hands on whoever told him.”
“So would I,” Beck said from the elevator. “I’ll check in with you later.”
He let himself into Jessie’s apartment and went right to the bedroom where she was curled into a ball in the middle of the bed.
Propping his hands on the doorframe, he hung his head with relief and exhaustion.
His mind raced with plans and scenarios and ideas.
He needed to get her out of here, but he couldn’t leave North Point.
Not with the vandals still on the loose and Travis away.
And how would he have a minute’s peace if he couldn’t see to Jessie’s safety himself?
“Hey, you’re back,” she said, yawning. “Come here.”
Beck went to the bed and stretched out next to her.
“Did Travis and Liana make a clean escape?”
“Uh huh.”
“You were gone a long time.” She snuggled up to him. “And you’re hot and bothered.” Her lips coasted over his jaw. “I’m the only one who’s allowed to get you that way. So who is she, and how can I kill her?”
He forced a smile and stared up at the ceiling, trying to decide how much he should tell her.
“Peter? What is it? You’re rigid with tension.”
“We need to talk.”
She went still in his arms. “I thought we resolved all that.”
“Not about us.”
Her body relaxed against him.
He rolled over so he was on top of her. “I’ll never leave you, Jessie. So don’t ever, ever, ever worry about that, okay?”
She ran her fingers through his hair and brought him down for a kiss. “Okay.”
“I don’t want you to panic or freak out or anything. . .”
“Is that why you’re lying on top of me?” she asked with a saucy smile.
“One reason.” He took a deep breath and leaned his forehead against hers. “Baby, I saw Spector outside the gate.”
She gasped. “No. That’s not possible.”
“It was him. I know it was, but he got away before I could grab him.”
“He can’t be here,” she said, a hysterical edge creeping into her voice.
“Listen to me.” He kissed her. “Are you listening?”
Big blue eyes flooded with tears as she nodded.
“He’s not getting in here. Every one of my staff has his photo. I swear to God he won’t get to you.”
Her body trembled beneath his. “I’m scared.”
Beck slid his arms under her and held her tight against him. “There’s nothing to be afraid of. I promise you. I won’t let you out of my sight. No one will ever hurt you. Not ever again.”
“I should leave. I should go somewhere else. I’ll fly to Tahiti or something.”
“That’s an option,” he said, swallowing his own panic. He couldn’t very well force her to stay at North Point knowing her stalker was outside the gate, but how could he let her walk away from him, even temporarily, when she was in danger? “If you want that, I’ll arrange it.”
“Only if you come with me.”
“I can’t, honey. Not now, and especially not with Travis out of state.”
“Then I’m not going, either.”
“I hoped you’d say that.” He watched a different look come over her face, a gutsy courageous look that warmed his heart.
“I’ll stay here, and we’ll get through it together.”
He pressed his lips to hers. “That’s my girl.”