Читать книгу Escape to Ecstasy - Jodi Lynn Copeland - Страница 7

“Missing my college graduation last week, I can forgive. Just. Missing Mom’s birthday party last night, no way. Fifty years. That’s old, Claire. One freaking step away from the grave.”

Claire Vaughn lifted her face off her red silk brocade pillow and, with her open eye, glared at the phone in her hand and the chastising voice rattling from the receiver. Damn her natural reflex for answering. And damn her younger sister even more for calling so early. It was barely after seven, and Erin knew she slept till nine.

Claire would never be able to fall back asleep now. Because of Erin, Queen of the Melodramatic, over an hour and a half had been added to her day.

An extra hour and a half to do what exactly? Read the New England Herald, where she’d been relegated to a miniscule online-vendor review column in the last pages of the paper’s entertainment section? Flipping dandy.

Facing the inevitable, Claire rolled onto her back. Hot Stud, her portly white Persian and co-recluse, stretched out next to her on the Victorian four-poster. Scratching the cat’s neck in the manner that soothed them both, she brought the phone to her ear. “Fifty is not old, Er. Besides, Mom knew I couldn’t attend.”

“Wouldn’t.”

“Couldn’t.”

“That’s no one’s fault but your own.”

Claire groaned. It wasn’t enough Erin had to call before the sun was up and royally screw with her schedule, but she was going to detour down the “I know what’s best for you” road again. “This is about the quack again, right?”

“You need professional help.”

“I need a sister who knows how to mind her own business!” Beneath Claire’s fingertips, Hot Stud jumped at the severity of her tone. Finger-kissing the cat’s pink nose, she mouthed an apology.

“I miss you.” Sorrow entered Erin’s voice. “It’s like losing Dad all over again, only worse. I can barely remember him. You…you were someone to envy.”

Low blow, Sis. Dredging up first their runaway father and then her once-flourishing life into the conversation…Once upon a time Claire’s columns had substance enough to garner more than a few front-page spreads and syndication to boot. Not to mention brought in enough of a wage to buy groceries, pay bills, and support her antiquities-buying habit in the same month. “Maybe I do need help. Maybe I’m a regular nut job. Considering I can barely afford to make rent on the peanuts the Herald’s tossing me these days, there’s no way I can swing a shrink’s fee.”

“What if I knew of a place with great credentials and minimal fees?”

“I’d ask to hear the catch.” And why she could hear hesitation past her sister’s sudden exuberance. With their mother working two jobs to make ends meet, Claire had been Erin’s primary caregiver from the time her sister was seven and Claire thirteen, and it left her with those all-hearing ears generally reserved for parents.

Erin sighed. “I know you’ll never believe me, but the whole world isn’t out to get you, Claire. These guys are good. Their healing rate top notch. Just give them a try.” After pausing—no doubt for effect—she added a pleading, “For me.”

Ah, hell. The effect paid off, pummeling Claire in the belly with illogical guilt. She pulled in a heavy breath and then let it whoosh out. “All right. Fine.”

Maybe she’d only imagined her sister’s hesitation because of the topic under discussion. Even if she hadn’t, and guilt or no, they both knew she would cave to Erin’s appeal. Sooner or later, she always did.

The obvious positive to caving this time around was that therapy sessions could prove worthwhile. Some of the things Claire left behind in the wake of The Incident six months ago, she would never miss: relying on short skirts, low-cut blouses, and killer heels to earn her the same stories her male colleagues got in their standard wear, for one. But then there were things she did miss: the smell of the New England shoreline after a rainstorm. Handpicking her fruits and vegetables from the vendors at the Saturday morning farmers market instead of relying on her elderly neighbor’s taste. Sex that wasn’t of the autoerotic variety.

Yeah, not having that last one definitely sucked.

Not so long ago she’d been dating and doing one of the most affluent attorneys in Massachusetts. Then the side effects of The Incident set in and he’d bailed on her, saying he dealt with too many victims during the day, he didn’t need one in his bed at night. Now the only male who ever saw her, naked or otherwise, was Hot Stud.

“Killer.” Erin’s jubilant grin sounded in her voice. “I’ll call their office as soon as they open at nine.”

Maybe these guys wouldn’t be so bad; they were smart enough to start their day at a respectable—“Office?” The word invaded Claire’s mind and snapped past her lips. Fingers stalled on Hot Stud’s neck, she sat up in bed, stomach lurching. “This is something I’d have to leave the apartment for? Because if it is, I think you’re seriously forgetting the point of why I need to see a shrink.”

“Trust me, there’s no way I could forget The Incident—as you insist we call it—that made my sister go from sexy, sassy reporter extraordinaire to an ain’t-getting-no-lovin’, ain’t-getting-no-nuthin’ recluse.” Erin exhaled audibly before adding in a voice that sounded a little too foreboding for Claire’s comfort, “You don’t have to go to their office. They’ll come to you.”

“What do you say we quit with the cock fights and get on with the picks, guys?” Shelley Lawrence breezed through Ecstasy Island’s administration area door and into the first-floor meeting room. Thick, yellow client informational packets rested in the crook of the healing resort manager’s arm.

Chris Cavanaugh tossed back the coffee in his Styrofoam cup in preparation of being called up front for first pick from the incoming, all-female client batch. A requisite week—time intended for regrouping and relaxing—had passed since the previous batch of women left. The way the bullshit tall tales and ensuing laughter and groans from the men seated at the tables around him came to an abrupt end, he wasn’t the only one anxious to get back to work. He got along fine with most of the guys who called the private island home. Still, things got boring fast when the odds were a dozen males for every female, as was the case during their off week.

Shelley lined the packets up on the ledge built into the front wall. Photos of past clients interacting with the staff during far more enjoyable gatherings covered the wall above the ledge. Wall-mounted TVs dominated the corners.

Leaving over a dozen women to stare out from the photo taped to each packet, Shelley turned around. She met Chris’s eyes briefly, her smile as painfully tight-looking as her blond ponytail, and then glanced away. “Nic, you’re up first.”

Say what? The coffee cup compressed in Chris’s hand. Speculation filtered through the room as every eye in the place outside of Shelley’s zeroed in on him.

Coming to his feet two tables away, Niccolo Lombardi sent him a “take that, shithead” grin. “’Bout damned time.”

Irritation speared through Chris, but he didn’t bother to voice it. Nic was one of those guys who didn’t care what others thought. Not even Treah Baldwin, Ecstasy’s owner, since Nic figured he was too hot of a commodity to lose. According to Nic, his self-proclaimed Italian Stallion good looks were all it took to get a woman interested and his equally self-proclaimed godlike skills in bed were all it took to have her forgetting whatever fears resulted in her coming to the resort to beg for his touch.

Keeping his expression neutral, Chris waited for the group of men to gather at the front of the room and Shelley to return to the back of the building. Tossing the smashed coffee cup into a nearby wastebasket, he headed for the admin door.

“Going to piss and moan to big brother?” Nic goaded from behind him. “Seems to me there isn’t anything to piss and moan about. Can’t hardly blame a guy for not wanting a murderer heading up his team.”

Irritation turned to a fierce clenching in Chris’s gut. Slowly, he met Nic’s smirk. Punching the dickhead in his too-pretty face was his first instinct. Since meeting his taunt with violence would make him look guilty as hell, he refrained.

Wearing a smirk of his own, he asked quietly, “What do you think you know?”

“Enough. More than enough, cazzo.” Nic clapped a hand to Chris’s shoulder. “Let me know when you’ve got my cabin cleaned out.”

Like hell he would. Knocking Nic’s hand away, Chris pushed through the admin door. Irritation rekindled only to quickly become panic.

Fuck. How could Nic have found out?

Quickening his steps, he moved down the short hallway to Shelley’s office. The resort had been converted from a turn-of-the-century bed-and-breakfast and rental cabins when Treah bought the place and the accompanying five-mile-around island eight years before. All but Shelley’s office and cabin, that is. Both retained the original pastel hues and vintage furnishings that typically matched her personality.

Today, her mood wasn’t coming off so cheerful. She sat at a rosewood rolltop desk, attention fixed on her laptop screen and posture stiff. “What’s going on, Shell?”

Her gaze flicked to his, brown eyes narrowed. “I’m just the messenger around here. Whatever it’s about, Treah wants to see you.”

“Before or after I stand in a damned line to get the bottom of the barrel?” Technically, it didn’t matter to him which woman he spent the next three weeks with. It was simply a matter of principle that, as the resort’s head healing coach, he got the choice cabin and first pick from the monthly clientele. So long as he was being technical, technically it wasn’t Nic being given first pick of the women that was champing at Chris’s ass. Not after that damned taunt.

“Now,” Shelley responded tersely.

They’d been friends as long as they’d been coworkers. Any other day Chris would have asked what crawled up her ass to put her in such a pissy mood. Today, thanks to Nic the Dick, he was feeling rather pissy himself. “All right. Thanks.”

Not expecting a reply, he continued down the hall to where a large receptionist area opened up. The space was decorated in the same cool shades of blue, green, and brown, with natural wood trim, as the remainder of the resort. The occupant of the space, Gwen Davis, Treah’s sleep-in personal assistant, was anything but cool in a tiny black skirt and an equally tiny siren-red top.

Christian values had been instilled throughout Chris’s youth. Hard-knock ones had been forced down his throat during his time in detainment. Both resulted in him making his fair share of vows. Thou shall not covet thy brother’s woman wasn’t one of them. Since Treah wasn’t his real brother and Chris didn’t want Gwen beyond the occasional look, he took advantage of the fact she stood with her back to him, stuffing folders into a three-high row of cabinets, and let the toned, tanned legs extending from the hem of her skirt to her spiked black heels work their soothing magic on his nerves.

Only, damn, the view didn’t even touch his anxiety. “Hey, Gwen.”

Brushing two-toned strands of blond and brown over her shoulder, she turned to flash a shiny red welcoming smile. “Morning, Chris.” She pointed in the direction of Treah’s adjoining office. “He’s expecting you.”

“Great. Thanks.” With a parting nod, he went to Treah’s closed door. Worry and anger mounted as he shoved it open with the flat of his palm. Treah was the only one on the island who knew Chris’s past. While Treah wasn’t his real brother, he was as close to family as Chris had these days and he couldn’t see the other man selling him out.

Unless he’d caught some major hell for employing an ex-criminal in a business that centered on human interaction and ultimate trust.

Nah. He couldn’t see him doing it even then. Still, his heart pounded like a jackhammer as he stepped inside the office and closed the door.

Treah didn’t look up. Between the lack of acknowledgment and the way he sat at his desk—the fingers of one hand speared into his short, black hair while the others gripped the edge of the folder laid out on the desktop—something was definitely up. Even from ten feet away, Chris could feel the tension rolling off his body.

Since losing his brother, Chris’s one-time best friend, to a cellmate’s rage seven years ago, Treah didn’t sweat the small stuff. Whatever was up, it had to be bad.

Chris moved to the edge of the desk, attempting to get a look at the folder’s contents and see if they revolved around him. All he could see from this side were hand-scribbled notes and numbers.

The thrash of his heart eased a little, and he pulled out one of the chairs tucked under the visitor side of the desk. Turning it around, he straddled the back of the seat. “What’s the deal, man? Nic’s ready to clear out my cabin and move his shit in.”

“Nic’s an asshole.”

Running with that topic held real appeal. Unfortunately, that wasn’t going to get him answers. “An asshole who just accused me of being a murderer.”

Treah looked up to reveal fatigue lines wearing on his face, making him appear older than his thirty-five years. “Christ, I don’t know where he got that information.”

Chris knew Treah would never have sold him out, and still the confirmation was incredibly relieving. “If my past leaking out isn’t why I’m here, what is?”

Treah closed the folder on his desktop and pushed it aside. “Someone’s been sneaking onto Gwen’s computer and fucking with the accounting files.”

“Fucking with them how?”

“In a way that takes money out of my pocket and puts it in theirs.” He scrubbed a hand over his face, bringing Chris’s attention to the dark stubble lining his jaw and upper lip. Treah was meticulous about shaving; his facial hair came in patchy and he hated to look anything but his best. Obviously, he was talking more than a few dollars to have him this consumed.

“I’ve been up since five going over the books, trying to find some pattern and getting no goddamned where. I don’t have time to deal with this shit, Chris. I have a morning flight out for the Pacific branch opening. Earliest I can be back is Friday. That’s if the batch of healers Mona picked out performs as well in person as they claimed to during their interviews and training.”

Chris had met Mona—the woman Treah hired to manage Ecstasy Island’s second location, which was due to open tomorrow afternoon—when he flew down to help with training last month. She seemed plenty competent. Even so, if it would ease Treah’s anxiety, he would be happy to oversee things down there the next week. “You want me to go down there for you?”

“Yeah. But it’s not happening. That would raise too many eyebrows, get people speculating something’s wrong. I just need you to keep your eyes and ears open here. One thing you can count on with this group is their need to brag. Sooner or later, someone’s going to get mouthy. I want you there when they do.”

“You really think anyone’s going to be shooting the shit with me after Nic opens his big mouth?”

“We’re not the only ones who think he’s an asshole, or know how much he feels insulted to be ranked second to you. Most of the guys will figure he’s talking trash in an attempt to get you canned.”

“Maybe.” Probably not. Still it was possible, hopeful even, and Chris would take what he could get in that department. Of course, it would be a hell of a lot easier to remain hopeful if he had more to do than sit around with Nic’s taunt eating at him. “Until I get the info you’re after, I sit around on my ass clientless?”

“Shit, no. I’m already losing money. I can’t afford to have your ass getting paid for sitting around.” Treah lifted a thick, yellow packet from the corner of his desk and handed it to Chris. A cute mid-to late-twenties brunette with spiky bangs and huge baby blues smiled at him from the photo taped to the front.

“And, no,” Treah continued, “I’m not going to start pulling your picks for you either. This week was a no-brainer. She’s got that innocent-bystander/believes-she’s-scarred-for-life thing going that you can never resist.” Amusement lightened the gravity in his eyes and tugged at the corners of his mouth. “If that isn’t enough to convince you, her sister swears she’s a hellcat in bed and way overdue for a scratching.”

Typically, the victim type was Chris’s favorite. Healing them served as a form of penance he would never get to make to the man he’d personally helped to become a victim. Now, with the sins of his past threatening to become common knowledge, a client with an intimacy issue or some other low-complexity fear would have been ideal—a distraction from his worries without stealing his thoughts completely.

Treah’s pick might be both more difficult to cure and harder on Chris’s peace of mind, but he wasn’t about to turn her down. Not when doing so would make it seem Nic’s words had disturbed him to the point of being unable to do his job. And not when he owed Treah his eternal gratitude.

Since The Incident, Claire had had too many nightmares to count. None had morphed from terror-filled dream to horror-packed reality. Not until now.

She emerged from sleep instantly. Felt the hands on her bare upper arms just as quickly. Nausea did a slow roll through her belly.

What the fuck? What the fuck!

Erin. Please be Erin playing some stupid, overblown trick meant to somehow magically fix her.

Not able to find her voice past the lump of fear in her throat, Claire tested the hands on her arms. Her sister was smaller than her by a good three inches and twenty pounds. She could easily shake off Erin, particularly with the gut-punch of adrenaline currently on her side. These hands didn’t budge with the shaking of her arms. These hands were far too big and strong to be Erin’s. As her eyes adjusted to the shadows made by the moonlight bleeding through the fine lace of her bedroom curtains, she could see the profile of the person attached to those hands was far too big and strong to be Erin’s, as well.

Too masculine.

Claire’s pulse tripped into hyperdrive. He’d pulled back the warmth and weight of her covers and sheets at some point. She wore only cotton shorty pajamas—not enough to keep her warm on their own through the chilly May night. Sweat beaded on her skin regardless.

Panting for breath, she moved her arms again. This time no simple shaking, but shoving upward with both them and her knees as hard as she could manage…which wasn’t all that hard at all. It was as if she had as little control of her body as her voice. Like she’d been drugged.

Oh, God. She’d been drugged. Rendered helpless. Impotent.

What was he going to do with her? Who the hell was he, even, to get past her state-of-the-art security system?

“Who…” she managed in a low, throaty voice that wasn’t hers.

“Relax. There’s nothing to fear.”

Easy for him to sound calm when he wasn’t the one under the influence of something undoubtedly illegal, about to have God only knew what done to him by an unseen stranger. Anything at all.

Anything like taking her out of this apartment. Hell, no. “But…”

The hands at her arms pulled up, lifting her into a sitting position. One of the hands moved away and an arm came around her back, supporting her body as he slid her to the edge of the bed. “Your sister sent for me, Claire.”

The words whispered near her ear, calm again, gentle as the way he was handling her. Gentle because this was exactly what she first thought it. Erin playing some stupid, overblown trick meant to somehow magically heal her. The anxiety clawing at her belly lightened. Her sister tended to think in sensational terms, but when it came down to taking action, Erin tended toward the straitlaced side.

They’ll come for you.

Aw, crap. The momentary ebb in panic flowed into a tidal wave of bile-rising anxiety as Erin’s words from the previous month returned. Claire thought her sister had forgotten about the so-called top notch yet somehow amazingly cheap professionals almost certain to cure her when she hadn’t brought them up again. But Erin had neither forgotten them nor was she taking a straitlaced approach. She’d had Claire scheduled into their books. And they’d come for her, just as her sister promised they would—with that ominous note in her voice.

If Claire survived this night, Erin was going to die.

The arm at her back tightened. A second one slid under her legs. Together they lifted her away from the safety of her bed. Against a hard body. A body that started moving from nearly the second she was settled in its owner’s arms.

Claire’s breath wheezed out, leaving her mouth dry and her throat achy and tight. He was moving toward the bedroom door. Moving through it. Down the hall. Her heart kicked lightning fast against her ribs. Tears stormed to the backs of her eyes.

She tried to move again, to struggle. Such a futile effort. She was so powerless. Not just an innocent bystander this time, but an immediate victim to be killed softly, slowly. One step at a time.

How could you, Erin? “Plea…don…”

“Shhh…” Soft lips feathered across her forehead. “Close your eyes and sleep, sweetheart. Everything’s going to be all better real soon.”

No, dammit, it would not be all better! Because he was still moving. And she wasn’t. She could barely think now. Barely breathe. Barely hear Hot Stud’s hissing and her captor’s not-nearly-so-gentle curses that followed.

Good boy, Claire thought groggily, maliciously. Tonight, you bite his balls off. Tomorrow, I’ll feed you Erin, one rotten inch at a time.