CHAPTER 38
LUCKY
The next best thing to having a great show was being able to wash it all off after it was over. Like hot bullets, the water pelted my skin deliciously. I scrubbed off all the makeup, all the sweat, letting it all drain away.
Next, I shampooed all the stiff product from my hair, and then just stood there with my eyes closed, the water washing over me like a warm blanket that I wasn’t ready to get out from under just yet.
The night lay out ahead of me like a sexy promise.
I planned to spend the next several hours devouring Ziggy’s body. Maybe I’d trace every tattoo with my tongue. Or, perhaps, I’d blindfold him, tie him up and make him lie back and take everything I wanted to do to him. He fucked like a machine, a very sexy, very fine-tuned machine that made me never want to stop. Add that to the fact that I couldn’t stop looking at him, that hair, those muscular arms, that hard ass…
My hands ran over my soapy skin and they were his hands…
I closed my eyes and felt the low growl he made right before he tensed up, his warmth spilling into me…
I leaned back against the white marble wall of the shower, a slow smile playing across my lips as I bit my lip, that sexy promise growing more attractive with every minute.
Tempted to linger under the water, I resisted the urge and sped up instead. The sooner this shower was over, the sooner I could be naked and waiting in bed for Ziggy to arrive back with my bracelet.
If he didn’t have that bracelet, then all my sweet little fantasies would come crashing to the floor, because I’d never get over it.
But we weren’t there yet.
I dried off quickly, wrapped my hair in a towel and threw on the thick, cotton robe with the little Bellagio logo on the front.
The suite was huge. Made up of several large bedrooms, each one hidden down its own secluded little hallway, all of which opened up to a large common area, consisting of a sunken living room and fireplace with a large open kitchen on one end. It was lovely — lush and beautiful and modern.
The master bedroom suite was located way in the back, and as I walked out of the bathroom and into the bedroom, I thought I heard the distinct click of the front door.
“Ziggy?” I called out, pushing the towel away from my ear so I could hear his response. Years of loud concerts and overzealous sound engineers had done a job to my hearing.
Silence.
My heart skipped a beat. Had I really heard the door?
“Zig?” I called out again, pulling the belt of the robe tighter around my waist.
Still no answer.
My stomach churned with anxiety as I slowly stepped into the hall.
“Did you find my bracelet?” I asked, my voice shaking as I strained to hear down the hallway.
Nothing.
Fear threatened to grip my heart and I contemplated turning back, running back to my bedroom and locking the door, but the anger I felt towards Nicholai came rushing forward, overwhelming me with the force of its arrival.
With it, came clarity.
Was I allowing this fear to take hold?
Was I allowing just the thought that Nicholai might be nearby grip me into some weak paralysis?
Fuck Nicholai! I thought, as I surged forward, one foot in front of the other until I stepped into the living room, my chin held high, my psyche ready to face whatever I found head-on.
With a slow, trailing gaze, I took in the room, starting at the fireplace on my left and raking over the sprawling sectional, scanning the balcony, and finally landing on the marble countertop in the kitchen.
I froze at the site, my heart coming to a full and complete stop.
Another spray of roses were spread out on the counter, next to a Gods of Chaos cut with Blade’s name embroidered on it, and a note on top, my name scrawled out in a familiar handwriting that I could have gone my entire life without seeing again.
But the rest of the room? Empty.
I could feel he was already gone, that I was alone.
I walked over and picked up the note, opening it slowly, as if in a trance.
I read it with trembling hands.
Lucky,
I know you’re upset. Killing Eddie was necessary. I know you loved him. But it was so long ago and you wouldn’t be YOU if I’d not eliminated him. He was a threat to your future, and you deserved so much better.
You deserved me, darling.
Just like you deserve to die, now that you’ve left me and let that scummy biker into your bed. You both deserve to die, my love. It’ll be bittersweet, but again, it’s necessary, just like Eddie was.
Don’t think you can stop it.
You know I’m much more intelligent and cunning than any of your big, dumb goons can handle. They can’t even keep it together long enough to guard your door, my love.
Enjoy the next few hours, sweetheart.
They’ll past fast and then you’ll get to be with your beloved Eddie once again. That’s ultimately what you’ve always wanted, isn’t it?
All my love.
Forever,
~Nicholai
Falling from my hand, the note fluttered to the floor like a feather, weightless, yet the heaviness of his words threatened to bring me to my knees. In a daze, I walked over to the sofa and sank into it, my head spinning with Nicholai’s words.
I knew he meant every one of them.
He never said anything he didn’t mean.
He never made a promise he didn’t keep.
If he meant to kill us, then he would kill us.