The Darkest of Shadows (25 page)

Lawrence got a phone call from Walter late that night when we were attending the theater to say that BTWK, through Whiteman’s Lawyers, had increased the offer on the casino.

He and I had spent most of the afternoon in conference with the other casino development owners, trying to gauge their motives and see if one of them was vying for greater ownership rights. But we were all a bit stunned to discover that Lawrence wasn’t the only one to have received the offer. Each of the other three investors had received a similar offer, but for much more reasonable sums, probably in line with the actual value of the investment. Only Lawrence’s offer was outrageous.

The other investors confirmed their commitment to the project, and all but one of them had already declined the offer.

Walter was told to reiterate the earlier rejection of the proposal, and then Lawrence gave him a quick rundown of what we had discovered that afternoon. Walter could use that information to help track down who was so keen on buying the development.

We were attending a mostly private intimate party with friends on New Year’s Eve. The party was being held in a magnificent penthouse apartment overlooking Central Park, which would give us amazing views of the fireworks at midnight. There were probably only about a hundred people at the event, and they fit easily into the space. There were lots of extremely wealthy and affluent people in attendance, accompanied by equally beautiful partners. It was usually easy to tell which one the money came from; that was the least attractive side of the couple, or the oldest. There were a few exceptions, but they were usually models or movie stars out with their equally famous partners.

It was different than any other event I’d been to. This party, partly because it was held on the highest floor of the grand building, was very informal and relaxed. Part of that atmosphere, I thought, came from the fact that tonight, in this room, all the people were of a similar stature in life. They all had money, lots of it; they were all successful in their chosen careers; and they were all powerful. There were no reporters, there were no people wanting to do business, and there were no small up-and-coming investors who wanted to rub shoulders with their more successful peers. This was a level playing arena, and it was also somewhere place, I quickly learned, where Lawrence made no effort to hide our relationship.

From the moment that we stepped off the elevator, his arm sat gently on my hip and rarely moved. There was no one left in any doubt that we shared an intimate relationship, and truthfully I didn’t care. That was another amazing thing about that group of people—none of them judged or even seemed to care what anyone else was doing, which made me wonder how many of them were with their girlfriends instead of their wives.

Charlie and Frost had been left on the ground floor, where they would apparently meet up with the other security personnel in a private bar on the second floor of the building. This type of function didn’t need personal security. No one was allowed inside who might be a danger to anyone else.

I was wearing a stunning red cocktail dress that hung loosely off one shoulder. It fit like a second skin around my waist and was relatively short, and it dressed up perfectly with a big chunky belt that rode low on my hips.

The dress had been a gift from Lawrence; apparently, that and a beautiful set of ruby earrings that I was currently wearing were the reason for his trip out yesterday morning.

“How do you like the party?” Lawrence asked me, as we stood near the window so that I could see the lights of the city.

I stepped closer to him, and his arm spread over my lower back, pulling me close against him. “I like that we don’t have to hide here,” I told him truthfully. It was almost like another world. “I didn’t realize that places like this existed.”

He nodded and then kissed me, right there for anyone to see. “I think I’d go insane if I didn’t have parties like this,” he told me, his lips only inches from my own. “These people are more my friends than any of the other people that you have met before. These people don’t give a shit about who I am or what I can do for them. They have their own billions and their own ass lickers. Here, I’m just Lawrence.”

I kissed him back. Here we were safe, and it was wonderful. “Whose actual party is it?” I asked, as he pressed me back against the window, the warmth of his body a startling contrast to the coolness of the glass behind me.

“Felix.” He nodded over his shoulder toward the piano, where an elderly gentleman sat talking quietly with a woman.

“This isn’t like a kinky party, is it?” I asked cautiously. “They aren’t all going to start having sex in the middle of the lounge, are they?”

Lawrence laughed. “Like I’d share you.” He grinned, then added more seriously, “No, Lilly, not everything you see here is real. Some of these people are genuinely happy in their relationships. What you see, regardless of the age differences, are probably their wives or husbands. But then, some of what you see are affairs or indiscretions, and those are better kept in private, where they belong.”

“What am I?” I asked.

“You are whatever you want to be,” he replied. “Nothing here will hurt you.” I stared into his eyes for a long while, reading the truth of what he was saying.

“How often do you get to go to something like this?” I asked finally.

“There is usually a good chance one of us will hold a party every few months.”

“So how come this is the first time you’ve been?” I was confused. I’d been with him for a while now, and we definitely hadn’t been to anything like this.

“I could hardly have bought you before.” He smiled at me. “My friends knew that I had things going on, and that I would catch up when I could. People don’t ask questions here, Lilly, not unless you go seeking advice. No one judges, and no one interferes in your business. It’s a very select group of people. Senators, Congressmen, State Attorneys, CIA officials, and some of the biggest names in business, much bigger than me. This is an invitation-only gathering. We all know that at any time, if any of us is in trouble, there are people to call who will help. You can’t buy that in my world. We all acknowledge that we are different, and that we are easy targets; but this is a safe environment, and we protect what is ours.”

“I understand,” I told him, my hands reaching up to steady his face before me. “I’m glad that you bought me here.”

“I’m glad that you are able to be here with me,” he returned. “This society is important to me; some of my best ideas have come out of a late-night conversation with one or more of the people in this room.”

“I’m glad you have these people to call on. It must be difficult to never trust anyone,” I said.

“I trust you.” He smiled at me with such a look of longing that I totally forgot what I had said, and then he was kissing me in a way that made the skin on my body tingle.

“Lawrence, must you do that in the middle of the lounge?” a voice interrupted us, and with my face burning an unbecoming shade of red, Lawrence turned to greet the newcomer.

“Henry,” he announced and shook hands enthusiastically with a handsome man about his age. “God, it’s been ages since I saw you.”

“That’s because you took yourself off doing God knows what.” Henry grinned back. “Now, introduce me to this lovely lady, who by the looks of it belongs to you.”

I shot Lawrence a raised-eyebrow look for that unusual reference, but he laughed. “I wish, my friend.” He slapped Henry on the back. “This is Lillianna Owen, and if she would allow me to own her, I would be the happiest man alive.” He seemed so genuinely happy to be with this man that I laughed, too.

“Pleasure to meet you Henry.” I stretched out my hand, and it was immediately engulfed in a much larger one.

“The pleasure is all mine, my dear.” Henry drew my hand up and placed a soft kiss on the back of it.

Lawrence laughed. “Get off. Must you always try and steal what’s mine?” he said accusingly, but it was easy to see that he was joking.

“That’s because you always have the best toys, Lawrence,” Henry countered. “I’m jealous, especially of this one.”

Lawrence pulled me against his side. “Don’t listen to a word he says.” He tried to sound serious but failed. “He’s only got two interests in life, making money and having women.” Henry nodded, so I would know Lawrence told the truth. “He thinks that every woman is madly in love with him and secretly wants him. He believes it’s a travesty if he can’t make all their dreams come true by giving them an opportunity to spend a whole night in his company.”

“Seriously?” I asked, amused and a little horrified by the picture.

“Women love me.” Henry shrugged in response. “I aim to please.”

“Well, this woman has enough to deal with putting up with Lawrence, so you can keep your dream-fulfilling to yourself,” I announced, and Henry burst into laughter.

“She is different, Lawrence,” he said in surprise.

“You have no idea,” Lawrence countered.

Lawrence and Henry spent the next hour ribbing each other in a way that only old friends can. They had an ease about them that spoke of familiarity and genuine warmth. It was easy to tell that these two considered themselves equals.

“So what do you do, Lilly?” Henry asked at one point.

A slow smile spread across my face, and Lawrence laughed at my grin. “She’s my assistant,” he answered instead.

“No kidding?” Henry sat up straighter on the lounger, leaning toward where Lawrence and I sat opposite him.

“As astonishing as that is for you to grasp, Lilly is my Personal Assistant,” Lawrence explained.

“Well, that certainly explains why you have been so absent lately.” Henry grinned knowingly at Lawrence.

“Shut up, Henry,” Lawrence warned in a low voice.

“I’m not saying anything.” Henry held up his hands in surrender and sat back on the lounge. “But a true friend would share stuff like that.”

“Stuff like what?” I wasn’t following.

“Never mind,” Lawrence warned, his hand resting on my leg.

“Stuff like what, Henry?” I asked more firmly.

Lawrence sighed. “Why is it that you are always getting me into trouble?” he groaned at Henry, then rolled his eyes and explained, “Henry wants to know where I managed to find a PA who is not only beautiful, but available.”

Henry didn’t even try to look embarrassed. “I’m just jealous,” he replied to my frown. “My assistant is a five-foot-five, forty-year-old Scotsman. I’d much rather look at you all day.”

Lawrence laughed. “Don’t believe him. Duncan has been with him for fifteen years now and has one of the most extraordinary minds I’ve ever met. Henry would be lost if Duncan ever got enough sense to leave him and come work for me.”

Henry nodded. “That’s true.”

“So if Duncan came to work for you, then what would I do?” I asked sweetly.

“Oh, I could think of something,” he assured me, and gave me a long, hot kiss.

“Please,” Henry drawled. “I’m surprised you two get any work done at all.”

Just then the room erupted into movement as everyone rushed to the windows, and the countdown to midnight began. We followed the mass of moving people until we had our own piece of the view.

“Ten, Nine, Eight, Seven, Six, Five, Four, Three, Two, One. Happy New Year!”

My happy new year consisted of a very long, luscious kiss and a fair amount of body rubbing against a very cold window. But I wouldn’t have been anywhere else for the world. I tore myself away from Lawrence to watch the fireworks that lit up the sky over Central Park. Lawrence wrapped his arms around my waist and stood behind me.

“You are beautiful,” he whispered in my ear, as I gasped at a particularly lovely display of light.

“Thank you.” I leaned back against him, amazed at how much I had enjoyed this evening and how much I was looking forward to being with Lawrence when we got home, just the two of us.

“I’m just going to use the bathroom,” I told Lawrence later. We were sitting with Henry and a group of other gentlemen and their wives; the evening was winding down, and everyone was relaxing around the rooms, talking quietly in small groups.

“Do you know where it is?” he asked, and started to rise.

I pressed him back into the lounge. “I know where it is. I’ll be back in a sec.” I gave him a sweet smile and walked off toward the side of the room where I thought the bathrooms might be.

I never did end up finding the bathroom, which was a shame, because I really needed to go. I turned down a long corridor, and then another, and came face to face with a man who was dressed like the serving staff.

“Oh, sorry,” I said, when I nearly bumped into him. He had been waiting just around the corner, and I hadn’t seen him at first.

He looked at me strangely for a moment and then moved as if to walk around me, but instead he stepped to one side; and the next thing I knew, there was a cloth over my mouth, and he was standing behind me dragging me down the hall.

I screamed, but the cloth muffled the sound and then my head started to spin, and a strange, bitter taste filled my mouth. My legs buckled, and then I remember nothing for a long while.

.

Twelve

Lawrence started to grow impatient and he checked his watch again. Surely it didn’t take twenty minutes to use the bathroom. Even for Lilly that was extreme. He didn’t want to panic; maybe she had run into someone and got to talking.

If that was the case, then why did he have a sick feeling in the pit of his stomach?

“Henry,” Lawrence said, as he rose so abruptly that he stalled the conversation around the group.

Henry rose to stand beside his friend, instantly alert. “What’s up?”

“Where’s Lilly?” Lawrence said flatly, and without waiting for an answer, he strode off in the direction Lilly had walked earlier.

The bathroom was empty, as was the corridor and all the rooms in between. Henry alerted Felix with a sharp nod, and shortly thereafter, security filled the rooms. Charlie and Frost were beside Lawrence seconds later.

“What’s wrong?” Charlie asked. “Where’s Lilly?” he glanced around the groups of people, trying to find where she was.