“Oh shit,” Beth gasped.
Vanni watched in horror as she kissed Smiley. She looked desperate and slutty. It got worse when she lifted a leg high enough to hook her calf around the back of his thigh in an obvious attempt to get him to pick her up. He did. That’s when she wrapped her legs around his waist, her skirt hiking up to her thighs in the process.
“No,” Vanni whispered. Memory returned and she wasn’t surprised when she started to grind her body against him. It was horrendous to watch though. It reminded her of a dog she’d once had that humped any leg it could get to hold still.
“No, no, no,” she chanted.
Smiley jerked away from her and tried to avoid her mouth. It didn’t stop her. She buried her face in his neck and his eyes closed. He just stood there allowing her to maul him, except his lips moved slightly, as if he were telling her to stop. She couldn’t remember that part but seeing was believing.
Something happened on the other side of him that the camera couldn’t see but he bowed his back and then spun, pinning her against a black SUV. He seemed to try to stop her from humping him and pulling his hair. He pressed against her, pinning her, but then she grabbed his face to plant her lips over his. It was a good shot of most of her face. Her eyes were closed and she was going to town, kissing the hell out of him.“We have someone on the roof!” an NSO guard yelled—the one positioned at the front of the SUV. He drew his weapon and pointed it at the camera. The person operating it jerked away and the clip ended.
The show returned to the hosts. The woman fanned herself and grinned. “I’d say that was very friendly.”
The man chuckled. “None of my fans ever do that to me. I only get asked for autographs.” He winked. “I’m single.”
“You don’t exactly look like him and she obviously wanted more than his signature. I think you’d better start lifting weights if you want that kind of response from your fans. Did you see the muscles on that New Species?” The woman wiggled her eyebrows at the camera.
“Turn it off,” Vanni whispered.
Beth looked as stunned and dismayed as Vanni felt. “Did you hear what they said? Every station. Oh Vanni. Your parents watch the news and those gossip shows. There’s no way they aren’t going to see this. Even without that skirt on, I knew it was you. Your face showed a few times.”
The phone rang. Both women jumped. Vanni frantically shook her head. “Don’t get it.”
Beth didn’t move. The phone rang four times before their answering machine picked up. It sank in to Vanni that everyone she knew would see that video at some point. That included her friends, family and coworkers. It made her sick to her stomach.
“Vanni?” Her mother’s voice came out of the machine speaker. “Vanni? We saw the news. Was that you? It looked like you. You—”
“Damn it!” her father yelled in the background. “Did you get hold of her? She’s not answering her cell phone. On the news they said it happened at the same hotel where she was staying this weekend.”
“I got the machine,” her mother told him.
“Call Beth. Make sure Vanni is all right!” her father yelled. “Our girl wouldn’t act like that in public unless she was drunk. Do you think she’s all right? What if she went home with him and he won’t let her go? Should we call those New Species people to see if she’s still with him?”
“I’ll call Beth now.” The phone went dead.
Seconds later Beth’s cell phone blared rap music. Vanni stared at her friend. Beth moved. “I’ll tell them you’re safe. They are worried.”
“I can’t talk to them.”
Beth reached into her purse. “Shut up.” She answered. “Hi. Vanni is fine.”
Vanni was going to hyperventilate. The house phone started to ring again. Beth ignored it as she held her cell phone. She met Beth’s gaze.
“She’s here. I went to get her last night. She’s sleeping. She’s fine. Let me have her call you later. The other phone is ringing. I swear she’s safe.” Beth hung up.
The answering machine picked up. “Vanni?”
She groaned. “Carl.”
“Goddamn it, Vanni!” he shouted into the machine. “What in the hell have you done? My father warned me that you were nothing but trash. How the hell could you?” His voice lowered somewhat but his anger was clear. “Do you know what kind of bad press this is going to cause my father? For me? We’re engaged and you screwed one of those creatures in an alley outside the hotel?” He lowered his voice to a whisper. “I could kill you. Someone identified you to the reporters. Shit. Another news crew is at the door. This is all your fault!” He slammed the phone down.
The house phone rang immediately. Vanni realized tears were running down her face. Beth turned off the ringer and answering machine. The cell phone blared rap music again. Beth cursed and turned it off.
“Vanni? Look at me.”
She wiped at her tears. “This is a nightmare, right? I’m still in bed?”
Beth sat down on the floor and hugged her. “It’s going to be all right. In a few days this will blow over. Someone else will do something to get their attention.”
“Do you think they have more footage they didn’t show yet?”
“I don’t know but it’s going to be okay.”
Vanni pulled away. “How? How can it be?”
Beth had tears in her eyes too. “We’ll get through this.”
“Everyone is going to see that. How am I going to leave the house? Go to work?”
“I don’t know.” Beth sniffed. “Look on the bright side.”
“I’m afraid to ask what just popped into your head, but what? I’m desperate.”
“You don’t have to make any phone calls to tell people you aren’t marrying Carl. I think it’s a given.”
Vanni leaned forward and hugged her again. “Not funny. Try again.”
“Okay,” Beth whispered. “The reporters are annoying the shit out of Carl. He threatened to kill you so I hope they give him hell.”
“Not helping.”
“I don’t know what else to say.”
“Me neither.”
A good minute went by. Beth spoke again. “Did you have sex in that alley?”
“Inside the SUV.”
Beth unwound her arms and sat back. She lifted a hand in the air. “High five.”
Vanni just stared at her blankly.
“Bucket list, remember? Sex in a car.” Beth kept her hand up. “Bright side. That’s one thing you ticked off yours.”
“Oh Beth.” Vanni shook her head. “That’s so wrong.”
Beth lowered her arm. “Work with me here. I’m trying. Otherwise we’re going to cry and stay huddled on this floor.”
“Is that so bad?”
Someone pounded on the door. Beth got up, walked over and peeked out the peephole. She cursed and backed up as the person pounded again.
“Miss Abris? Travanni? Could we please speak to you for a moment?” The voice was muffled through the door.
Beth turned. “It’s a lady with a cameraman.”
Vanni clawed her way to her feet and ran into the bathroom. She got violently sick. Her life would never be the same.
* * * * *
Smiley had been ordered to Fury’s office. He had no idea why but knew it was urgent. The door was wide open and Fury waited inside.
“You better sit.”
“I’m fine standing.” Smiley stiffened his spine. “Has Vanni been found?”More Species entered the room, including Jericho. The grim look in the male’s eyes had Smiley rethink the offer of taking a seat. He stepped a few feet over and dropped into a chair. He really hadn’t expected to be told Vanni was dead. It was his worst fear. It seemed as good as confirmed. Bile rose but he swallowed it down.
“She’s dead?” He managed to get the question out.
Jericho shook his head. “No.”
Smiley could breathe again.
“Last night there was a human on the roof of the hotel.” Fury rounded his desk and sat. He lifted a remote and turned on the television. “Were you aware of that?”
Smiley nodded. “Yes. I heard Shane shout it out and I moved Vanni inside the back of the SUV to get her under cover in case it was a sniper.”
Fury pushed a few buttons. “This is playing on all the stations. Prepare yourself. The male had a video camera and apparently sent it to anyone with an interest. Here’s one I recorded off the television. I missed the beginning of it but it’s enough.”
The video wasn’t the best quality but it was clear enough, even in the dim alley, to make out details. Smiley squirmed in his seat. It was uncomfortable having a replay of such a personal moment displayed in front of so many males. It also angered him.
The clip ended and a white-haired news anchor took the lead. “The woman in the alley has been identified as twenty-seven-year-old Travanni Abris.” A picture of Vanni and a blond male flashed on the screen. They were smiling. It returned to the anchorman.
“You might recognize the man pictured in the photo with her as attorney Carl Woods, son of Pastor Gregory Woods of the Woods Church. The Woods Church has been a frontrunner in the campaign to shut down the NSO. We’ve been unable to reach Miss Abris for a comment. She’s gone into seclusion at her home.”