Second Sight (14 page)

Slowly, his body came to life again, wanting the woman in his arms, needing to be inside her. He reached down and took his cock in his hand and placed his other hand on her lower back, gently guiding her down his shaft.

She sighed as she seated herself, and he pulled her close, chest-to-chest. He laid his head against her shoulder, feeling as though he could stay like this with her forever.

As she rocked in his lap, the beauty of sex returned. The harsh fucking had disappeared, and the intense, deep connection of their bodies meeting together took its place.

A few moments later, Ella’s gasps and pants echoed throughout the chamber as her back arched, her body milking his, her walls pulsating around him again and again. Zach found his completion seconds later, the orgasm literally curling his toes and making his whole body shake.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered again.

Although he didn’t understand what for, he decided to let his questions slip away and not ruin the perfect moment they’d created.

Chapter 24

The limousine snaked up to the party, just another one in the long line of sleek black cars dropping off the attendees. Ella inhaled deeply, trying to calm her nerves as she pulled at her hair to hide her scar. She’d taken a lot of care to get her hair just right, and she knew the waves that fell to her shoulders hid it well. However, she still pulled and tugged to make sure. The thought of being in public and having people see it didn’t make her as uncomfortable as it used to, and she knew that was because of Zach. Despite the dark, red line down her face, he still found her attractive, and she needed and appreciated that.

Neither had spoken of the debacle in the hot tub, and honestly, she didn’t know what had come over her. She felt sick because of her actions, for what she’d done. She’d just gone crazy, wanted to hurt bad enough so that the pain would overtake the guilt. It had been a very flawed plan, and if she thought about it logically, the only person that could really have been hurt would have been Zach.

She shook her head to clear her thoughts, as they didn’t even making sense to her anymore.

“We’re going to be fine,” he said.

“How do you know?”

“Because I saw it in my mirror.”

She glanced out the window and ran her hand over the front of her dress. “I hope you’re right.”

“I’m always right, Ella. Always.”

She could help but laugh. “And arrogant. Don’t forget that.”

“And handsome. Don’t
you
forget that.”

Grinning, she took his hand. He squeezed it and leaned in for a kiss.

“And totally hot for you. Don’t ever forget
that
, either,” he whispered, before his lips met hers.

The driver cleared his throat, and she glanced out the window again. It appeared to be their turn to get out of the car.

The night air felt cool on her skin as the driver opened the door for them. She slid out of the car, taking his hand. The last thing they needed was for her to trip and fall and bring any attention to them.

Zach stepped out of the car and smoothed his hand down the front of his tuxedo. The man handed him his walking cane, a prop Zach despised but that Joe thought would add authenticity to their cover.

“Shall we, pretty woman?”

As they walked up the steps, she took it all in. Four large cement columns spanned across the front entrance, while the carvings above featured gargoyles and cherubs; an interesting combination, indeed. She explained to Zach that in French culture, the gargoyle, derived from the old word
gargouille
, meaning throat, held a fascinating story in many cultures. The one she remembered most fluently happened to be that the legendary dragon that lived in the Seine River and terrorized the people of Rouen. The monster was slaughtered by Saint Romanus and set on fire, but the neck and head survived.  The remains were then placed on the side of a building.

“Now, the cherubs are a different story, yet fierce in their own right,” she continued as they walked up the steps and she described the building to him. “In the bible, they were said to guard the Garden of Eden after Adam and Eve were thrown out. It’s said they also held the flaming swords.”

“I thought cherubs were supposed to be cute little things with baby faces and round stomachs. Like Cupid.”

“The Hebrew prophet, Ezekiel, had a vision and described them as having four heads and four wings.  It’s said they are the protectors of God’s domain, guarding it from sin and corruption.”

“You’re totally turning me on, Ella,” he murmured. “You keep talking like that and I want to get downright sinful with you.”

She smiled. “I find it so funny that I can talk about statues and you get all hot and bothered.”

He stopped and turned to her. “You have absolutely no idea.”

As she stared up at him, she saw her reflection in his glasses. She hoped they would both live through the night, and prayed the cherubs would protect them both against sin and corruption, but it was already too late. She couldn’t take back what had been done.

She led the rest of the way up the stairs surrounded by people with sight and also others with walking sticks, canes, and seeing-eye dogs. Zach had been dead-set against involving Savannah, so she sat back in their hotel room curled up on the bed. Ella wished more than anything she could join her.

They really fit in well together, and as she studied the throngs of people, she wondered about this chip the tech company had invented. She hadn’t had time to study up on it like she’d wanted. Judging by the crowd, apparently, a lot of others held interest in it, as well. How many of them would sign up to be the first to have it implanted? How many operations would be successful? She couldn’t imagine wanting something so bad that she would risk having a chunk of plastic and metal implanted in her occipital lobe.

“Tell me what you see, Ella. I can feel the excitement in the air.”

She nodded as they stood in line to be let in. “Yes. There are more people here than we originally thought there would be. My guess would be about three hundred or so.”

“Are they blind?”

“A lot of them are. There are also quite a few people with sight here. I’d say it’s about an equal split.”

“Have you seen anyone who resembles our target? Or his target?”

She glanced around again looking for David Foust, the guy from Group Nine, or the Iranian, Ahmed Ahmadi. She’d committed both faces to her memory, but didn’t see anyone that resembled either. “No. No one that is standing out to me, anyway.”

They waited in silence for a few moments while the line moved. When they reached the door, Ella presented their invitation.

“Welcome, Mr. and Mrs. Johnson. Thank you for coming, and please enjoy yourselves.”

“Thank you,” they both murmured, and then, they stepped inside.

Ella realized she didn’t mind being called Zach’s wife, and a wave of guilt rolled through her.

“Tell me what you see,” he whispered.

She glanced around the crowded entryway and maneuvered them through the throngs of people. When they reached the main hall, they stopped.

“The tables are placed in four long rows down the length of the room. There’s about eight feet between each of them.”

“Keeping it simple for the blind instead of having them weave in between round tops.”

“Yes.”

“What else?”

“The room is decorated in black and white, the tables all have black cloths with white dishes and napkins. It looks very nice.”

“And?”

“At the front of the room, there’s a stage with a couple of long tables set up there, and a microphone.”

‘That’s where all the important company people are going to be seated.”

“That would be my guess.”

“Okay, lead me through the room, and tell me when we hit the end of the first table.”

She did as he asked, and his brow furrowed in concentration. He must be counting steps. “We’re here.”

“Good. Do the same for the next.”

When they reached the fourth one, he smiled. “They laid those out with mathematical precision.”

“They’re working hard to keep things easy for their guests.”

“Yes. Happy guests will mean more money when they take this chip to the market. If they made getting around this place difficult, people would remember that and subconsciously may not be as willing to undergo such a risky operation. But, if the company can show they sympathize with a blind person’s plight …”

“I agree. They’re catering to the sightless very well.”

“Let’s continue our exploration, please.”

She walked him to the front by the stage, and then they retraced their steps to the back of the room. As she led him to the left, they entered another large chamber. Portable bars stood in all four corners, and a dance floor had been set up in the area farthest away while light jazz wafted through the speakers.

“I take it we just found the dance floor?” Zach asked with a grin.

“Yes, we did.”

“Is anyone dancing?”

“Not yet.”

“I can’t wait to get you out on that floor a little later, Ella, but for now, let’s go claim our seats. I’d like to sit on the tail end of one of the tables, preferably one with our backs against the wall.”

They returned to the dining area, and Ella led him over to the far table that met his requests.

As they sat down, a waiter appeared and asked for their drink order.

“White wine, please,” she said.

“Whiskey. Neat. No ice.”

They waited for their drinks in silence as she scanned the area.

“Do you see our Iranian friend?”

She shook her head. “No. I don’t know how this is going to play out, Zach. There’s just so many people here.”

“If my vision in the mirror was correct this morning, I do believe we will be sitting close to him.”

“What did you see?”

“I saw this room. When you walked me through it, the layout is exactly what I anticipated it would be. Unless I’m turned around and we should be at the other far table, Ahmed Ahmadi should be sitting about four seats up from us.”

“You saw him, as well?”

Zach nodded. “Yes.”

“Did you see anything else?”

“Like the murder happening?”

“Did you see that?” she asked with a gasp.

“No.”

The waiter returned with their drinks, and she took a long sip of wine as she tried to calm her nerves.

A few moments later, a man walked out on stage and up to the microphone.

“Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for coming. If you could each find a seat, we’ll begin our presentation in ten minutes, and then we’ll serve dinner.”

Ella looked around the room again and saw Ahmed Ahmadi approaching their table. He appeared to be around five-foot-eight with a thin build, short, thick black hair, and a heavy black beard. She placed him around thirty years old. His male companion stood larger and wider, and Ella guessed him to be either a bodyguard or a friend. They certainly didn’t look as if they could be related. Ahmed sat down, exactly four seats up from them, just as Zach had predicted.

“He’s here,” she whispered. “Right where you said he’d be.

An older couple sat down across from them, and Ella smiled. The woman wore sunglasses while her husband helped her with the chair.

“Hello,” Zach greeted them.

“Hello.”

“I trust you’re both enjoying your evening?”

“Very much so, thank you,” the man said. “We’re very excited to hear the presentation.”

“How long have you been blind, if you don’t mind me asking?” Zach asked.

Ella turned to him, surprised he’d be so forthright with the woman, yet, she should be getting used to it by now. The older woman grinned and answered without hesitation.

“I lost my sight about ten years ago. Diabetes.”

Zach nodded. “I’m sorry to hear that.”

“And what about you, son?” the man asked.

“I’m new to this. I’ve been blind for just over a year.”

“I’m so sorry to hear that,” the woman said. “What caused it, if you don’t me being nosey?”

“Not at all. I was part of a government experiment. It happened deep in the jungles of Guatemala.”

The couple gasped and went silent as Ella almost choked on her wine. What was he doing?

Suddenly, Zach threw his head back and laughed. “Just kidding. I was in an accident, but the other story sounds much more exciting, doesn’t it?”

Their tablemates relaxed and chuckled. The lights dimmed, and a screen dropped from the ceiling on the stage.

Ella shook her head and turned toward the presentation.

“Thank you all for coming,” the man on the stage said. “My name is Alfred McDay. I’m the owner of McDay Industries, and I’m very excited to be here with you tonight.”

Chapter 25

Zach sighed. Although Mr. McDay must possess a brilliant mind, he thoroughly lacked public speaking skills. He’d lost interest in the speech about ten minutes in, and he wondered how many others felt the same way.

McDay droned on, and he fought the urge to go to sleep. He actually would love another whiskey, but he stayed put. He may be bored, but he certainly wouldn’t be rude to the man, and he needed to be firing on all cylinders to complete his task. No more whiskey for him. Although, as they sat in the back of the room, he doubted he’d even be noticed if he stood and went to the bar. In that case, maybe he should go to the restroom and splash a little cold water on his face to wake himself up.

He sat back in his chair and crossed his arms over his chest, finding it odd that the presentation involved a slide show, which half the audience couldn’t see. Waiters had come around a while ago and given out Braille pamphlets to the blind people so they had something to peruse while they listened to this boring man continue his speech. Zach had been through the full thing, and by page two, he knew he held no interest in the procedure.

Would he love to be able to see again? Sure, he would. But he wasn’t about to go under the knife and have some goddamned chip that fired off electricity to neurons, supposedly making sight a reality, implanted in his brain. Also, even if he could see, he’d still have to wear glasses because nowhere had he read anything having to do with eye color returning. Of course, there were always transplants for that. He shook his head—it all seemed too complicated, and it just came down to the fact that he wasn’t signing up for anything experimental. He’d had enough of that crap. He reached behind him and found Ella’s knee, giving it a squeeze.

He still had questions for her about that night in the hot tub, but they’d been so busy getting ready, both stressed about this night. He didn’t need to complicate everything with his queries now. Maybe later.

What would happen to them after this night? If everything worked out the way he’d planned, they’d walk out of this function without a scratch. The truth of the matter spelled out that he wanted to see where this thing between him and Ella led, if they had a future together. But, how did he explain that one to Joe?
Hey, man! I’ve been banging your former lover! I want to stick around and see where this goes with her. You cool with that?

He knew very little about Joe, but one thing he remained very certain of—Joe played with the big boys on the big field, and he had to be a formidable, strong, intelligent opponent against them to still be alive.

If Joe wasn’t cool with the whole Zach and Ella thing, he could make Zach’s life very difficult and unpleasant.

He sighed. What to do? First, he needed to concentrate on killing someone.

The lull he’d been in disappeared as the energy in the room changed. He sat up in his chair and concentrated.

“I’ll be right back,” Ella whispered, and he nodded.

Mr. McDay kept talking about the amazing things his company would be doing for the blind.

A few moments later, he heard a thump, then a gasp a few seats up, and his spine tingled. The murmurs from his area of the table broke through McDay’s monotone voice. Something had happened.

“He just fell off his chair.”

“Someone needs to call 9-1-1!”

“Call an ambulance!”

“What’s wrong with him?”

He turned and felt behind him, realizing Ella hadn’t returned. If he had a million dollars, he’d bet half of it that the Iranian had just been murdered, and Ella, his eyes, was nowhere to be found.

A hand landed on his shoulder, someone’s breath hot on his cheek.

“Zachary Johnson, if you know what’s good for you, you’ll stand up very slowly and not make any trouble,” a man said. “My bosses at Group Nine want us to have a little chat.”

Anger tore through him as he realized what had just happened. This fucker had somehow killed the Iranian without drawing attention to himself, and had now come after him.

One question went through his mind—how had he known Zach was even here?

His short list of answers made his gut churn.