Identity Crisis(92)

‘There was,’ both Garrett and Kendra said in unison.

The man nodded politely. ‘There’s just no real way of knowing until we get some daylight and can go back and do a better search. If he was there, he’s long gone by now. We’ll go out at first light, before the rain sets in, and if he left so much as a hair on a branch we’ll find it,’ he said.

‘You make sure you do,’ Ellis said. ‘This is my home, damn it. It’s safe, off limits to the world. I hire you to keep it that way. Now take care of it.’





Chapter Twenty-Three

He shoved his way into the Ford Focus, not bothering to take off his wet boots. They were only a minor discomfort, barely registering in the scheme of things. The forced march down the hill had cooled his rage and left him exhilarated, feeling justified, purified, and almost untouched by the whoring he had just witnessed. He had reminded himself all the way down that he had known what he’d find, that he had known what the two of them would be up to there on the ground behind Ellison Thorne’s mansion, and it wasn’t star-watching.

Oh, he’d seen the whole thing, from their arrival with blankets and goodies, to their little argument, to the first thrusts and moans of their passion. He had forced himself to watch. And with the night vision goggles, he could see every detail. He had forced himself to watch and he had forced himself to hold his lust, to sublimate it, to save it back for her. It wasn’t time yet. It was an exercise in patience, in waiting, in pushing his feelings back far enough that he could do what he had to do and not let emotions interfere. It was also his way of reminding them that he could get to them anywhere they went, even on the private property of Garrett’s powerful brother. It was a reminder of how helpless they were and how completely in control he was.

He started the car and headed back toward Portland. His work here was done. The time was getting closer, but he wasn’t quite ready yet. As he drove the car down the winding road, he replayed the view of the two of them stumbling blindly through the woods, unaware of the fact that he could see everything. Everything. It delighted him that he had been so close behind her when she fell. She sensed him there and had just looked over her shoulder when she tripped. He saw it all happening, saw the root she caught her foot in, saw her lurch forward just as he had reached out to touch her.

A bold move on his part, and he would have done it, could have done it, just brushed her shoulder, maybe her cheek; just let her hear him breathe before he vanished into the dark. She would have been terrified, and totally blind to the danger she was in. The thought made him hard, and he absently laid his hand against the fly of his jeans where his erection stirred. The whole incident had aroused him so, even as the sight of Thorne fucking his Tess had enraged him. But this time he held his control. This time he didn’t falter. His time would come. She would pay, and pay dearly.

When she had fallen and winded herself, he decided on discretion. There was so little challenge in frightening her when she couldn’t run, when she was helpless. There was no sport in that, and besides, he had gotten what came for. He’d proven his point. She was his for the taking. And when the time was right, he would take her. And no one could stop him.

By the time security stumbled into the woods, he had already found the stream and, just to be on the safe side, had waded it back down to the road below where his car was. The woods had been dry. There had been no rain for several days. There would be no tracks, nothing for them to find. And even if they did it wouldn’t matter. They’d never find him in time.

He pulled his hand away from the absent stroke, stroke, stroke of his hard-on and took deep, even breaths. He was in control. Complete control, and even his lust he could hold until the time was right.

When he was calm again, and his arousal had settled to the soft buzz of satisfaction from a task well done, he stopped at an all-night grocer as he entered Gresham. He bought eggs, milk, and a couple of steaks. He was pretty sure there was a skillet in the apartment. He was starving, and the steaks would be a treat, a way of celebrating how close he was, a way of savoring the night’s encounter.

Kendra found Garrett in the bathroom leaning over the sink. At first she thought he was being sick until she saw the blood. It was all over his shirt and drying on his face. He was gingerly examining the cut along one cheekbone. She’d cleaned herself and changed into her yoga pants and a T-shirt Dee had let her borrow.

‘You all right?’ she asked. A stupid question, but it made him aware of her presence, and they were all a little jumpy after what had happened tonight. She hadn’t wanted to sneak up on him.