London Dusk (A Dawn to Dusk Novella) (7 page)

He paused as he contemplated the question.
"Doubtful. It probably doesn't help that I don't buy into true love, though. Real love, deep love, or true love as you put it has the power to hurt people. I don't have time for that drama. I have an empire to build. I have companionship, and plenty of money to throw at my companions. I don't have time to settle down, marry, or have children. Perhaps one day I'll get to that point, but I am having far too much fun right now to worry about any of that."

I swallowed. He was right - love ha
d the power to hurt. I'd been hurt by Luke, as well as Nicole – two people that I loved. Two months it had taken me to numb myself from it all – but here was Darren and his comments, threatening to bring it all up again. Darren threw walls up around him because he didn't want to be hurt like that. Perhaps that was a good thing.

He rested his hand on my leg
, his eyes dark. "You look as if you have been hurt by love before?"

I had to hand it to him and his powers of observation
, and I shrugged. "Loved and lost."

He smiled
. "When you're with me, you'll never have that problem. That's the beauty of these business arrangements." He was so sure of himself. Confidence simmered beneath the surface, but I had to really wonder what he was all about. He didn't want a meaningful relationship, let alone the possibility of having children, but yet he'd spent his life make a fortune. But for what, exactly? He gave my leg a squeeze that was actually more of a caress. "Shall we go have dinner?"

***

Hours later
, I found myself with my arm looped through his as he led me back into the Savoy. He had taken me out on a super yacht that was docked in the Thames for a secluded business meeting meal. There were other associates of his and their wives and girlfriends there, and they had all sat around talking business. I was initially extremely nervous about getting on a strange boat with him, until I realised it was a business meeting and we weren't actually going anywhere.

After dinner
, when the men continued to talk shop, I ended up getting rather tiddly with a couple of the girlfriends. They asked me how I knew Darren, and I ended up just saying that we'd met through a mutual friend. It was the easiest possible explanation. Whenever I was apart from Darren, I would see him look me over from across the room, almost possessively. It was an interesting conflict, as I didn't ever want someone to ever have power over me ever gain… but there was something dominating about his gaze. It was thrilling, and in a good way. I wondered what this man had in store for me back at the hotel. That was when I realised I had probably reached that point of alcohol consumption where everyone looked gorgeous.

The women were dressed in a similar fashion to me.
Utterly impeccable. I wondered if they had staff to help them look that amazing each time, but I didn't dare ask. There was no way I could look like this unless I had oodles of help. Nicole on the other hand was always very good at it. I wondered if that was one of the things Luke liked about her. He had always been image conscious – where as it was the last thing on my mind. If he was lucky, I would brush my hair before tying it up. If I wasn't going anywhere, he was fortunate if I got dressed or even showered.

But tonight
, I looked like a rock star. Well, sort of. Maybe a rock star's wife. At one point in the night, I'd found myself in the bathroom, taking a selfie. Before I knew it, I had sent it off to Luke:
Look at what you're missing out on,
I texted vindictively. I knew I would probably regret that in the morning, but right now, I just didn't care.

Now that we were back at the hotel
, my worries were starting to run rampant with a mixture of ill-ease and nerves. I should have kept drinking. There was nothing thrilling about the way I was feeling now. I knew what came next. I knew that Darren would expect me to have sex with him. I also knew that if I wanted the money I would have to go through with it. It was not a thought that I cared much for. Weirdly, as we were standing in the mirrored foyer waiting for an elevator to arrive, I couldn't help but notice the drastic height difference between us. Made worse by the sizable heels I was wearing. It made for awkward moments, like when Darren's hand climbed up the back of my skirt and into my g-string so he could fondle me. Tension flooded my system, causing me to sober up even more.

When the elevator arrived a few other people got in with us
, and Darren stabbed his finger at the highest floor and winked at me. The penthouse suite. That didn't surprise me. As people got in and out of the lift, I tried to calm my nerves by taking subtle deep breaths. The closer we got to the top of the building, the more the empty pit in my stomach turned into a great gaping chasm.

It didn
't matter how much booze I had consumed earlier, I now felt stone-cold sober. We got out of the elevator and walked a short distance to a double set of heavy wooden doors. Darren unlocked the door with his card, and held it open for me. It was definitely a suite. In fact, the place felt larger than my whole house. It had high ceilings, ornate, heavy furniture; the place was vast. I crossed the room to the balcony doors, and stepped out into the night to take in the view. It was stunning. The Thames looked dark against the rest of London, which surrounded it with sparkling lights.

I looked down to see if the boa
t we'd been on was still there, but if it was, I couldn't identify it. Everything was starting to look the same. Darren stepped out behind me, and handed me a glass of Champagne, smiling.

"
Lovely, isn't it?"

I nodded mutely
, not daring to speak in case my nerves stuttered out.

"
I always stay here when I'm in London. Not as often as I would like, but often enough. I used to stay at Claridge's, but this place suits me more… they're very discreet here. Unfortunately my business takes me all around the world. I find myself in Australia more often these days. Have you ever been there?"

I shook my head
. "No," I said quietly. One syllable words were my limit right now. I just couldn't help but think of Darren naked now that we were up here at his room. This was going to happen whether I liked it or not. I just had to suck it up.

"
It's an interesting country. They say it's full of criminals, but I have never seen much activity. They have stunningly hot weather depending on where you are, and the people seem to be rather pleasant. Most of my time is spent in Northern Australia. I have a boat there. It makes for good access out to the islands for business."

I drained my glass and
gave him a tight smile. "I might just go use the bathroom."

He gave me a sly smirk
. "By all means." It wasn't until I was walking away from him that I realised where I recognised that look from. His Agency file photo. Unease replaced the nerves inside me.

Just as I reached the bathroom and locked the door behind me
, I heard club music start to quietly play from the suite's stereo system.

The bathroom
's décor was just as opulent as the rest of suite with a rich velvet upholstered Louis chair, gold gilded framed mirrors, and black marble countertops. My hands started shaking, and I leaned against the vanity, taking deep breaths. I had no idea what I was in for, but there was something about that smile that had put me on edge. If I had to put my finger on it, I would almost say it was sadistic.

There had been nothing listed in
the sexual preference area of his file. But something about the way he'd looked at me felt dangerous. I would just have to roll with it. I had come this far, and what's a little sexual variety in the greater scheme of things? After all, I would be paid a great sum of money, and I had been assured that he was a very valuable client.

I rifled through my handbag and retrieved the Rescue Remedy to squirt
a whole lot more on my tongue. I was tempted to down the entire contents of the bottle, but knew that I could need more later. I straightened up and stripped off the jacket I was wearing. It was too hot in this stuffy bathroom. I gazed at myself in the mirror. "You can do this, Mack," I spoke quietly at my reflection. "You can totally do this. Millions have done this before you and for a lot less."

I turned on the faucet and filled up a glass with water and drank it back. A
n unfamiliar sound met my ears. A split second later, I heard a thud. I froze. "What the fuck?" I whispered. After a few moments of straining to hear, all I could distinguish was the sound of the music playing. I crept over to the bathroom door and inched it open.

There was a man standing in the room.
Holding a gun.

My hand flew to my mouth. I could see Darren on the floor
, unmoving. I swallowed, feeling every heartbeat, but containing myself. Seemed the higher dose of rescue remedy was actually working. I quietly closed the bathroom door, but not without hearing a slight click as the latch fell into place. I didn't dare turn the lock because that would make even more noise. Biting my bottom lip, I could hear my blood pumping through my system as I looked around the bathroom for some place to hide. I ran to the vanity, sweeping the handbag contents off the counter and back into my bag. The only place to hide in was the shower. I grabbed my white jacket, removed my shoes, and went and stood in the shower, pulling the opaque glass door closed as quietly as I could – hoping that he wouldn't be able to see me through it. I looked at the shower's white tiled walls and then down at my white dress, swallowing. I had to hope that either the killer wouldn't come in here, or I would blend in.

I was trying not to breathe too loudly. All I had to do was
wait until the man had taken whatever he wanted and left. Then I could call in hotel security or whoever it was that dealt with these things. I swallowed. I should have turned off the bathroom light.

I wasn
't cut out for this. I had seen my parents die, but my mind had blocked those memories as they were too traumatic. Other than them, I had never once seen a dead body. Even when my grandparents died, it was closed casket. I pursed my lips together. There had been a lot of blood around Darren. Adrenaline was ramping me up, making me want to run. I looked around the bathroom, but there were no windows anywhere. This was an internal bathroom that only had an extraction duct.

I did not want to die. I couldn
't.

I wondered if he was gone yet. I
reached for the shower door and was about to open it when I heard someone walk into the bathroom. I shrank away, with my back against the wall.

I could see a fuzzy silhouette of the man through the opaque door. He was tall.
Dark hair. Dark clothing. I didn't dare breathe as he got closer to the shower. I braced myself, slowly raising a shoe in one hand; it had a particularly nasty stiletto heel on it and was the only thing I had to defend myself if push came to shove.

F
reezing water blasted out of the showerheads, drenching me. I screamed.

The door was suddenly thrown open
, and I found myself staring into an amused face. With a gun pointed at me. He shut the water off. I couldn't believe I hadn't noticed the shower faucets were on the outside. I wanted to smack my head with stupidity, but instead, I stood there drenched, fury filling me as I stared right into the eyes of the man that had killed Darren.

"
Stay right where you are," he said, his voice silky as his eyes assessed how waterlogged I was. I couldn't tell what nationality he was. He was almost African looking, but then he also looked Mediterranean, or even maybe from the Middle East somewhere. His accent was most definitely a Londoner's, though. His eyes weren't dark. They were golden. And they were entertained as they assessed me.

That pissed me off
even more. "Honestly and truly, does it
look
like I'm going anywhere?"

He
cocked a surprised eyebrow at me, his eyes never leaving my face. "Who are you?"

"That's none of your goddamn business." I threw him my haughtiest look. When he smirked at me, it infuriated me even more. "Who the hell are
you
is more to the point!"

He shrugged
, a dangerous grin spreading across his face. "I can be whoever you want me to be."

I glanced at the gun
. "Are you going to shoot me with that thing?"

He looked like he was weighing up his options. That probably wasn
't a good thing. "I haven't decided yet. I'll ask you again, who are you? Give me a reason not to shoot you."

"
I can be whoever you want me to be." I threw the words back in his face. He barked with laughter, baffling me. I didn't know what was compelling me to be so defiant with him, but facing the barrel of a gun had instilled indignation in me that I'd never experienced before.

He sighed
, still shaking with amusement. "Fine." He reached out and grabbed my arm and pulled me from the shower. "You can come with me, and we'll talk about this along the way." He held out a towel.

I shrugged his h
ands from me, snatched the towel, and got to work towelling my hair off, and semi-drying my soaking clothes. I was grateful he'd let me dry myself, maybe it meant he wasn't quite as barbaric as I originally thought. I bent down to put my shoes on. "What? You're not going to kill me?"

"
Not yet," he muttered as he waited for me to get my shit together. He held the door open. "Don't even think about doing anything stupid, or you'll be dead in a split second."

I couldn
't help it. I walked over to Darren… or what remained of Darren. I sighed deeply and swallowed hard. "Oh god," I murmured. It was odd, but a part of me was relieved. There had been something a bit off about him, and I was glad I didn't have to have sex with him. But seeing him dead on the floor was kind of a surreal experience.