Alexander Death(95)

“You're such a gentleman about your kidnapping,” Heather said, and Seth grinned at her. Jenny felt just a twinge of jealousy at the look they shared. Heather seemed a little attracted to Seth, the handsome miracle worker who'd saved her daughter's life.

“You keep driving,” Jenny told Seth while she climbed into the back of her car and stretched her legs. “I hate driving in the city.”

It was four hours to Fallen Oak.





***





Alexander pulled up to the gate of the warehouse. They were in a rundown industrial area just east of Atlanta, off Jimmy Carter Boulevard, and they were driving a large refrigerated box truck with a cartoon pig on the side. The pig had a bib and a crazed, elated expression as he was about to dig into a pile of barbecue. “Larry's Best Pork – Reheats in Minutes!” was painted under the logo.

The truck's original driver was probably still in a rental shower stall at the truck stop, waiting for Ashleigh's promised rendezvous with him.

“Can I help you?” the guard asked, stepping out of the gate booth. He cast a dubious look at the pig on the side of the truck. He was chunky, balding man in his late forties, wearing a black security uniform. The logo on his badge read “SyntaCorp, LLC.”

“We're supposed to make a delivery,” Alexander told him.

“I don't have anything on the clipboard. You sure you got the right place? We're not in the grocery business here.”

“Neither am I,” Alexander said. “SyntaCorp just wanted to keep things discreet.”

“Oh, gotcha.” The guard relaxed a little. “Just hand me your corporate ID card, and I'll swipe it for the records.”

“I have it, sorry.” Ashleigh took a deep breath and climbed over Alexander to smile at the guard through the window. She'd opened the top four buttons of her shirt, and the bait worked—the guard took in the very generous view of her breasts.

Ashleigh breathed out a cloud of spores that looked like pink dandelion heads. They snowed down on the guard's hair, face and uniform, and his mouth gaped open.

Alexander held his breath and tried to avoid breathing in the airborne love charms, but a few landed on his face, intensifying his genuine desire for Ashleigh. It took all his willpower to keep his hands off her—grabbing for her would let her know the charm had worked on Alexander. Although, he thought, he didn't really need to hide things from Ashleigh. They were friends now, and with any luck, they'd be lovers soon. He could probably trust her now. He was kind of in love with her.

Alexander shook his head, trying to fight back those feelings.

The security guard was staring at Ashleigh with a dazed, wide-eyed look.

“Can I see your ID card?” Ashleigh asked, with a fake giggle. “I bet your picture is so cute.”

“Cute?” As if hypnotized, the guard took a plastic card from a sleeve clipped to his shirt. It showed a picture of the guard, looking bored and washed out under fluorescent light.

“Aw, it's just like I thought,” Ashleigh said. “You're so hot, you know that?”

The guard gave her a goofy smile.

“Let's get together tonight,” Ashleigh said. “We have this stupid little errand to do, but then I'm off work. Will you take me for a late dinner? Or early breakfast?” She winked. “Or maybe a late breakfast? We'll have to go to your place so I can change and maybe take a long, hot shower. Is that okay with you?”

“My place?” the guard asked.

“Yeah. You're just the kind of guy I've been looking for.”

The guard glanced at Alexander, then back at Ashleigh. “Um, yeah. Okay?”

“Okay,” Ashleigh said. “Just let us make this quick drop-off, and I'll be ready for you. Get it hard for me, will you? I don't want to wait long. I'm going to give you a screwing like you've never had before.”

The guard gaped at her.

“Oh, you forgot to open the gate,” Ashleigh said.

“Sorry!” The guard blushed and reached inside his booth. The two heavy steel gates swung open.

“Thanks, honey,” Ashleigh said. “You won't change your mind about me coming home with you, right?”

“Oh, no,” he breathed. He was practically panting.

Alexander drove inside the gate, while the guard stared after them like a lonely puppy.

“You're such a charmer,” Alexander said.

“I didn't get any on you, did I?” Ashleigh asked.

“I think we're safe.”

“Pull around to that loading dock,” Ashleigh said. “That's going to be the closest exit, I think.”

Alexander parked, and they used the guard's ID to open the locked door by the loading dock.

The interior of the warehouse was all empty space and blank concrete, except for a rectangular metal structure at the center, which was about the size of an eighteen-wheeler truck.