CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Angel
THE MEETING WENT exactly as expected. Bones and I had climbed out of the Hummer and followed Father's associates into a warehouse where we inspected a load of new computer processors. I made the opening offer and, as the old man had predicted, they hemmed and hawed about it being too low. I shrugged and started walking away. They countered. The cycle repeated a few times before I gave them my final offer. They told me they'd need time to see if they could find a higher bidder. I gave them twenty-four hours.
Once we were back in the Hummer, I checked my phone and saw that I had a text from Markie.
"Thanks for the beautiful roses. I'm allergic, but it was a really sweet gesture."
"What roses?" I asked aloud.
Bones's brow furrowed. "Someone sent her roses?"
I called the hotel manager, but he knew nothing about the flowers. Freaking the fuck out, I burned rubber toward the hotel, calling Markie.
She was fine. Hearing her voice settled my nerves, but only slightly. I needed to see her. To see for myself that she was okay.
"Why the fuck would someone send her roses?" I asked.
Bones shifted in his seat, and turned to look out the window.
"What?" I asked.
"I have a theory."
I eyed him. Bones always had a theory, and usually it was the craziest shit I'd ever heard.
"Don't look at me like that. It's solid."
"Okay. Talk."
"Well, you know I looked into her background. Her parents were cops."
Shit. I swallowed. "And..."
"She was going for her bachelor's in criminal justice, probably following in the footsteps of her old man. Straight A's, professors fuckin' loved her. She had a long-term relationship with some guy, they break up, and she suddenly drops out of school and leaves the country."
"Lots of people drop out, Bones." Then what he said really hit me. "She had a long-term relationship?"
"Yeah, some guy in Idaho. We're talkin' fuckin' high school sweethearts."
Goddamn. Bones had dug until he hit bedrock on her. "So they broke up. Shit happens."
He shrugged. "What if the boy went psycho and she fled the country to get rid of his crazy ass?"
Seemed like a pretty big stretch to me. "She's been in Africa for a year, Bones. And she didn't go home."
"No, but she did have the orphanage pull a background check on her. If I can find this shit out, he can find her. What if he was watching for her? Just waitin' for her ass to come back."
As much as I hated to admit it, he had a point. A crazy point, but a point nonetheless. Chances were good that the two of them had just went their separate ways. Still, Bones could usually sniff out when something didn't smell right.
Worried, I pressed the gas pedal to the floor. I don't think I breathed again until she opened the door. Then my breath caught for an entirely different reason. She was wearing a goddamn bathrobe! And judging by the eyeful of cleavage it showed, nothing beneath it. I had to get the fuck out of her room or I was going to attack her. And I still had to figure out where the flowers had come from.
"Any note or anything?" I asked Bones as I entered our suite.
"Yep, but you aren't gonna like it." He held a card up.
I plucked it out of his fingers and read it.
You're sexy as fuck. Tell your boyfriend he should watch your fine ass more carefully.
"What the fuck is this?" I asked.
Bones shook his head. "No clue."
"Call the manager. See if the hallway cameras caught anything."
"Already on it. He's looking them over and the second he finds anything, he'll send it to your phone."
I nodded. "Markie's gettin' dressed then we're getting out of here. We need to keep eyes on her until we leave."
"Agreed." Bones propped open the door and looked up and down the hall.
Seconds later, Markie came in dressed up like every man's wet dream, her tits stretching the fabric of her blouse while her skirt promised easy access and I couldn't wait to get those boots around my fucking neck.
"Is this okay?" she asked, gesturing at her outfit.
She looked so self-conscious and sweet, I grabbed her hands and pulled her into me and breathed her in. She smelled so damn good it took everything in me not to carry her back to my room and forget dinner.
"Yes," I whispered against her neck. "You look fucking amazing."
She trembled.
I draped my left arm over her shoulder, my right hand dropping to the pistol in my pocket, and we headed out to eat.
We ate at a Mexican restaurant, and then danced to mariachi music for hours. Bones sat at the booth watching us while he sipped water and soda as he monitored my phone, waiting for a message from the manger. When he tapped my phone on the table and nodded to me, I knew he had something, so the next time Markie went to the restroom, I headed back to the booth.
"What do you got?" I asked.
He handed me the phone and I played the video. The bastard wore a hoodie and kept his head down, like he knew the cameras were there. He knocked and moved to the side of the peephole. Nobody answered, so he set the flowers by the door, and then split. The whole thing took less than a minute.
"He knows what he's doing," Bones observed. "You gonna show it to Markie? See if she recognizes him?"
"By his build? No, she won't be able to identify anyone from this. And what if it's someone fuckin' with me? I can't bring her in on this. We're just gonna have to keep her close until we head home."
"What if she's not innocent?" Bones asked. "What if she's in on this... whatever it is? What if she's playin' you?"
I glared at him, not liking where his line of questioning was going.
"Don't look at me like that. You know I gotta consider all the fuckin' options, Angel. Her parents were cops, don't forget."
I hadn't forgotten, and I knew Bones was just doing his job, but I still hated it. If Markie was dirty, it was going to seriously fuck with me.
* * *
When Markie returned from the restroom, we headed back to the hotel. The sun had gone down, and a cool breeze had picked up. I parked in the garage and came around to Markie's side, opening the door for her.
"You owe me a walk on the beach," she reminded me as she jumped down, her skirt flaring slightly around her thighs.
Bones speared me with a look. He didn't like the idea of me being out in the open when something was going on, but there was no help for it.
"All right, let's go," I said.
"I gotta go change into my swimsuit first."
Bones stared at her. "The water's freezing. You can't swim in that icy shit."
She squared her shoulders. "I've never been to the ocean, Bones. Don't think for one minute I'm not gonna swim in it while I'm here. Besides, I'm sure the lakes back home are way colder."
We followed her to the room and I slipped into mine to grab my jacket while she changed. Markie emerged moments later wearing a shirt that barely covered her ass, a jacket, and flip flops. Her legs were toned and tanned, and I couldn't stop watching her out of the corner of my eye as we headed for the beach.
Bones kept his hands in his pockets, and I knew it had nothing to do with the cold. His head was on a swivel and he was ready to draw the instant he saw anything.
The second our feet hit the sand, Markie paused. "It's so gorgeous. Race you to the water," she said, beaming me a smile.
The girl was crazy. Chuckling, I shook my head.
She ripped off her jacket, flung the shirt over her head, and sprinted to the water. I stared after her in shock, partially because of what she was about to do, and partially because of the bikini she was wearing and the way her round ass moved when she ran.
"Holy shit," I said, running a hand down my face. "Fuckin' perfection right there."
Her feet hit the water and she let out a loud whoop, turning to smile at us.
"It's only a little cold!" she shouted. "Come on!"
Yeah right. Shaking my head, I waved for her to go on without us.
She took a few more steps into the water, then her arms flew over her head and she dove right in.
"As perfect as crazy can get," Bones said. "I don't like this, Angel. We're too exposed. Any mother-fucker could pop us from a dozen different spots."
Nodding, I kept one eye on Markie and the other eye scanning the area.
Markie swam for maybe ten minutes before emerging from the water, hair plastered to her body, water dripping from her luscious curves as she rubbed her arms for warmth and ran toward us. Her fine tits were bouncing, and my retinas felt like they were about to catch fire from staring so hard. Before she reached us, I remembered my manners and grabbed her shirt and jacket, shaking the sand off them. I held them out to her, and she put them on.
Still, her lips were turning blue.
"Come here," I said, opening my arms.
She shook her head. "I don't want to ruin your suit."
I grabbed her hand and pulled her against me, tucking my suit and jacket around her. It felt like being next to a goddamn ice cube.
We hurried into the hotel and Markie tried to pull away from me to head into her room, but I wasn't about to let her out of my sight.
"Let's go get you warmed up," I said, holding her close as Bones opened our room and slipped inside.
After Bones cleared the room, we went in and I turned on the fireplace, got her a towel for her hair, and poured me and Markie each a glass of wine while she took off her wet shirt and jacket and slipped into my bathrobe. Bones went into his room and Markie sat on the sofa in front of the fireplace. Carrying our glasses of wine over, I sat beside her and pulled her against me. She let me hold her as we sipped wine and talked until she warmed up.
Her body felt so right against mine. I brushed aside her hair and kissed her neck. Her breathing quickened, and she relaxed against me. Holding her, I listened to stories about the crazy shit she'd done with the children in Africa. Markie ziplined on some raggedy old rope, went for walks in the bush where the wild animals were, and often had to hide herself and the children from Boko Haram soldiers. With each story she told, my respect for her increased.
"I should probably get some sleep," she said stretching as she stood.
The bathrobe pulled apart far enough for me to get an eyeful of cleavage. Damn she had great tits. Just the brief glimpse of them instantly made me hard.
"Here, I'll walk you to your room," I said, standing.
I tapped on Bones's door and let him know we were going next door.
"Hold up," he said. Opening his door in sweats and a T-shirt, he held out his hand. "Give me your room key and I'll check it out first."
She looked from me to Bones. "Is that really necessary?"
I shrugged. "It helps him sleep at night if he knows everyone's safe."
She handed over her keycard and Bones walked out the door.
Holding her hand, I led her into the hallway, where we waited for Bones. A few minutes later, the door opened, and he stepped out.
"All clear. I'm gonna open the door between our rooms," he said, handing her back her key. "You need anything, you know where to find us."
"Thanks," she replied, looking confused.
Bones nodded and headed back into our room. No doubt my friend would be watching through the peep hole to make sure I was okay.
"Is something going on?" Markie asked. "Bones seems like he's on edge."
"He's always like that when we travel." It wasn't a complete lie. Bones did tend to stress and hover even more than normal whenever we were away from Vegas.
Nodding, she leaned against the door, resting her hand on the handle. "Thanks for dinner, dancing, everything. It was nice." Her eyes drifted to my lips. "Really nice."
Placing my hands on the door, on either side of her face, I leaned in. Our lips brushed. Hers were soft, warm, and welcoming, I couldn't get enough of them. I moved closer and deepened the kiss. Markie opened her mouth to me. I'd never been much into kissing--it had always seemed like unnecessary foreplay--but with Markie, it was different. I enjoyed it. I could do it all day. She tasted like sweet wine and smelled like a tropical paradise. Her hands wrapped around my waist and pulled me against her. Surprised to see her so aggressive, I stepped up my game. My hand went to the back of her neck and held her steady.
Suddenly her body bucked forward, shoving me away. Cheeks pink and lips swollen, a combination of desire, fear, and regret spinning in her bright blue eyes, her hand flashed the keycard in front of the lock and it clicked open.
She pushed open the door and leaped backwards, over the threshold of the room.
Damn. She was going to ice me out again. "Wait."
She took another step back and lowered her head.
"Sorry, Angel, I can't," she whispered, her voice husky.
"Why not?" I asked.
Before I could answer, she closed the door.