Unfinished Business (11 page)

She watched as he inserted the key into the lock and slowly opened the door. He then moved aside for her to enter. She had reached the middle of the living room when she turned upon hearing the sound of the door closing behind them. She inhaled. It had been in this very same room three years ago that they had kissed for the first time. It had also been in this room that he had set her straight about a number of things.

Alex sighed deeply. He could tell from the emotions lining Christy’s features that she was remembering their last time together in this room. Tonight he wanted to replace those memories with pleasant ones. He knew it would take more than torrid and heated kisses to make her forget, but at least that would be a start.

“Come here, Christy.”

He watched as she stiffened her spine. “You being here is a mistake.”

“It’s no mistake. Come here.”

She lifted her gaze up to him and he knew she was inwardly fighting him. “Three years ago I hurt you in here, and tonight I want to take some of that pain away,” he said softly.

“And I told you that you can’t.”

“And I’ve asked you to let me try. What do you have to lose?”

“My heart again.”

Overwhelming frustration gripped Alex. Why couldn’t she believe that he wouldn’t hurt her again? Why couldn’t she see that he wasn’t the same man she had poured her heart out to that night? He’d had three years to come to terms with a lot of things, including wanting her.

He sighed as he crossed the room to her. Maybe it was time that she knew just how deep that desire went.

He swept her off her feet into his arms, kissing the gasp off her lips and effectively destroying her resistance. He walked over to the sofa and sat down with her cradled in his lap as he continued to devour her mouth, determined to let her know just how much he wanted and needed her.

Warm pleasure shuddered through Christy when, with his mouth still locked on hers, he began unbuttoning the top part of her dress and with a quick flick of his wrist unsnapped the front fastener to her bra, spilling her breasts from their confinement.

His mouth suddenly left hers and she shivered when she felt his lips slide slowly down her throat before easing lower and letting the tip of his tongue touch the hardened nipples of her breasts, first one and then the other. She inhaled sharply at the contact and closed her eyes as something hot and heavy seemed to pull in the pit of her stomach and spread to the middle of her center.

She blew out a long breath between her lips as he continued the torture, the pleasure, a combination of both, as she pressed her breasts against his mouth, loving the feel of what he was doing to her, as he greedily licked the mounds of flesh that no man before him had ever seen, let alone tasted.

“Alex . . .,” she murmured gently as fire raged through her bloodstream. Something, a sensation she had never felt before, tore through her stomach and was making its way between her legs, the intensity of which was overtaking her senses. And as if he knew just where she was burning, he reached his hand under her dress and expertly moved past the crotch of her panties to slide his finger inside of her. Another first for her.

Christy’s hips bucked in his lap when he lightly began stroking her, making the same small circles inside of her body with his finger that his tongue was making around the nipples of her breasts. Over and over, nonstop, increasing the pressure, easing it, and then increasing it again.

And then it happened. Every part of her seemed to explode in a million pieces, sending her spiraling to a place she’d never been before. She heard herself scream just moments before he covered her mouth with his. She moaned deep within his mouth as sensations continued to rip through her, from the top of her head to the soles of her feet.

He turned her into his arms and continued to hold her gently in his lap while the sensations slowly subsided. Their gazes locked and she knew what she had just shared with him was more special than he would ever know.

Alex took several long, deep breaths. It didn’t take much to see that the glazed eyes staring back at him were in awe at what she’d just experienced. Her response to him had been a touching blend of sensuality and inexperience, which could only mean one thing. He had given Christy her very first orgasm.

That thought overwhelmed Alex and he kissed her again, long, leisurely, deeply, before standing and placing her back on her feet. Holding her soft, warm body in his arms when she’d exploded from the pleasure he’d given her was something he would never forget as long as he lived.

He pulled her closer and rubbed his face against her neck and sighed deeply, loving her scent, every damn thing about her. “Since you can’t have brunch with me tomorrow, how about breakfast?” he asked, kissing the corners of her lips.

“I may not be able to make either. I’m on standby for an earlier flight back to Cincinnati if I can get one. My boss gave me only four weeks to wrap things up with ‘The Patterson Report’ and I need to get my butt in gear.”

He leaned back and gazed down at her. “Need my help? I’m pretty good at finding people and solving puzzles.”

She appreciated his offer but knew the last thing she needed was constant contact with Alex. “Thanks but no thanks. Besides, you have a business to run and the budget I got from my boss can barely cover my expenses, let alone yours.”

Alex decided to let it go for now.
For tonight anyway
. But he had already made his mind up about a few things concerning her. “Come walk me to the door.”

He pulled her into his arms when they reached the door, and kissed her with all the desire and wanting he felt. Releasing her, he opened the door, then leaned against the jamb. He reached out and gently caressed her cheek. “If I don’t get the chance to see you tomorrow before you leave, have a safe trip back to Cincinnati, all right?”

“All right.”

He smiled and then he turned and strolled down the walk-way. Before closing the door, Christy watched as he got into his car. She leaned against the door, inhaling deeply. Giving her heart to Alexander Maxwell for a second time was something that she would not do. No matter what.

 
It was Monday morning and Christy had just returned to her desk after attending a staff meeting when the phone rang. She picked it up. “Christy Madaris.”

“Ms. Madaris, this is Clara Jenkins.”

Christy sat down at her desk. “Yes, Mrs. Jenkins?”

“You told me to call you if I saw her again.”

A knot formed in Christy’s stomach. “Saw who?”

“That girl. You know, the runaway.”

Christy breathed deeply. “You saw Bonita Patterson?”

“No, but I did see that other girl. The one Bonita used to hang around with. Lindsay. She’s back in town.”

Christy picked up a pen and notepad off her desk. “Is she staying at your rooming house?”

“No, but I heard she’s taken a place at the Bottom Lot.”

Christy’s brow lifted. “The Bottom Lot?”

“Yes. It’s a rooming house on the other side of town.”

Christy scribbled the information. “I’ll be coming back to Columbus, Mrs. Jenkins. To talk to her if I can.”

“All right. Do you need a place to stay? I have a nice room I can let you have real cheap.”

Christy smiled. “No thanks, I’ll have a place to stay.”

Moments later Christy hung up the phone. As soon as she let Malcolm know where she was headed and changed the voice mail on her telephone to indicate she’d be out of the office, she would go home, pack a few things, pick up a rental car, and get on the road to Columbus.

Trask Maxwell stared long and hard at his brother, not believing what he was hearing. “You mean you’re actually taking a vacation, time off work that’s not business related?”

Alex smiled as he continued to pack. “Yes. Do you have a problem with it?”

Trask chuckled. “Are you kidding? I think it’s about time you stop playing Sherlock Holmes for a while and enjoy life. So where are you headed?”

Alex sighed. The less Trask knew, the better. “Umm, a number of places. If you need to reach me you can always get me on my mobile phone. Vaughn will be running things in my absence, and I have all the confidence in the world he can handle things.”
I have more important matters to take care of
, Alex thought. He wanted Christy, and he’d be damned if he let anything or anyone stand in the way of him having her.

Not even Christy herself.

He felt that gentle tug to his heart, the same sensation he always got whenever he thought of Christy and how much he wanted her. But he refused to give in to the possibility that he loved her. That was more than he dared to think about at the moment.

Christy parked the rental car and looked around. This wasn’t exactly the best neighborhood, but it was the one Clara Jenkins had sent her to, that is, if she had followed her directions right, and there was no reason to think that she hadn’t.

The house was worn down and probably wouldn’t be missed if it was eventually torn down, but then, the same could be said for all the houses in this particular neighborhood.

Getting out of the car, she glanced around, grateful there was still plenty of daylight left. Rule number one was: Know your surroundings.

She quickly walked up to the door and knocked. “Who is it?” a young female called out.

“Christy Madaris. I’d like to ask you a few questions about Bonita Patterson.”

The door was snatched open immediately and an African-American girl who couldn’t have been any more than fifteen stood before her. “Look, I told you people all I knew. Why can’t you leave me alone and go out and find her?”

Christy lifted a brow, trying to make sense of what the girl was saying. “Go out and find who?”

The girl narrowed her eyes and looked at Christy. “You aren’t the cops or the Feds, so who are you?”

Christy swallowed at the way the girl was glowering at her. “I’m Christy Madaris, a reporter for the
Cincinnati Enquirer
. I’m also an acquaintance of Bonita’s mother.”

The girl’s eyes narrowed even more. “Then why should I tell you anything when her mother is the one who had her kidnapped?”

Christy blinked. “Why do you think that?”

“Because Bonita would not have gone back home on her own, so her mother hired someone to kidnap her.”

“And why would she do something like that?”

“To make Bonita bend to her will. That’s what rich people do when their kids don’t behave the way they want and they feel the need to control them. It’s my guess her mother has her locked up somewhere and plans to keep her that way until Bonita conforms to her will.”

Christy frowned, wondering where the girl had gotten such an idea from. “Did you tell anyone else this theory of yours?”

“Yeah. I told the police and the Feds when they came around asking questions.”

Christy nodded. “And why do you think someone kidnapped her?”

“Because Lindsay saw them take her.”

“Do you know where Lindsay is, so I can talk to her?”

“She won’t tell you anything. When she told the policemen what she saw they didn’t want to believe her, and the Feds weren’t any better. I think Bonita’s mother paid them all off.”

Not bloody likely
, Christy thought. “And you said Lindsay actually saw Bonita get kidnapped?”

“Yes. No one knew Lindsay was there, but she watched as two men grabbed Bonita and put her in a car.”

“And she didn’t try to help?”

“She was afraid to do anything. She ran all the way here and told me, but when I got there it was too late. They were gone.”

“And you told all of this to the police?”

“I said I did, didn’t I? Look, I’m not answering any more of your questions.”

Christy heard the increased agitation in the girl’s voice. “Will you at least tell me your name?” At first she wasn’t sure that the girl would do so; then she said, “Tiffany.”

Christy nodded again. “Look, Tiffany, I don’t know why you believe what you do, but I know for a fact Morganna Patterson did not have her daughter kidnapped and is not holding her hostage somewhere until she comes to her senses. If you witnessed a kidnapping, then it wasn’t one Bonita’s mother orchestrated. I believe someone else might have taken her. I’m going to be in town for another day and would love to talk with you and Lindsay about Bonita’s disappearance.”

Suddenly the door opened wider and another teenager appeared by Tiffany’s side. She was holding a baby in her arms, a little girl who appeared to be slightly over a year old.

Instead of saying anything to Christy, the young woman spoke to Tiffany. “I told you something wasn’t right with that kidnapping. I don’t care what those FBI guys claimed.”

Christy stared at the girl. “What FBI guys are you talking about?”

The girl turned and met Christy’s curious stare. “I’m Lindsay, and I’m talking about the men who investigated our claim that Bonita was kidnapped, and who came back later and said she was unharmed. We know that’s a lie, but unlike Tiffany, I don’t think it was her mother who snatched her.”

Christy lifted a brow. “And who do you think did it?”

Lindsay met her gaze and held it. “An organized group called the Body Snatchers.”

“The Body Snatchers?”

“Yes, that’s the name the runaways gave them. Last year when I was in Philadelphia, there was a rumor of a group of men who went around kidnapping teenage girls to ship overseas.”

Christy frowned. She’d never heard of such an organization. “And the Philadelphia Police Department knew about this group?”

Lindsay nodded. “Yes. Word had begun spreading among the runaways to be careful. I heard the organization was expanding to other cities, including Columbus. When I returned here, I warned Bonita about them and told her to be on her guard. Then a few months later, she told me about this guy trying to talk to her. She didn’t have a good feeling about him, and he asked a lot of questions, wanting to know about her family and how close she was to them and if they stayed in contact. When she described him to me, he sounded like one of the men the runaways were told to avoid.”

Christy lifted an arched brow. “Who is he?”

“Don’t know but he started coming around the car wash and always drove an expensive car. Bonita wouldn’t listen to my warning and continued to talk to him. She was determined to find out any information she could to take to the police in case he was one of those snatchers.”

“Did she go to the police with her suspicions?” Christy asked, her words coming out automatically.

“Yes, but they didn’t believe her, so I convinced her to call Detective Mark Tyler in Philly. He was involved in investigating this organization.”

“Detective Mark Tyler?”

“Yes, but you can’t talk to him.”

Christy lifted a brow. “Why?”

“Because he’s dead. Word on the street was that he asked too many questions and the Body Snatchers arranged his death.”

Christy stared at the girl, disbelieving. “Someone had him killed?”

“Yes.”

Christy felt goose bumps form on her arms.
The Body Snatchers
? When she got back to her hotel room, she would get on her laptop to see what she could find out about them.

“Look, lady, we’ve told you enough already,” Tiffany snapped. “Probably, more than we should have so just leave us alone.”

The door was then slammed shut in Christy’s face.

Later that evening Christy checked into her hotel room more confused than ever. After taking a long, leisurely bath she slipped into her bathrobe, put her hair in a ponytail, and decided to check her messages on her mobile phone. She blinked in surprise to find that two were from Alex, and the deep, husky sound of his voice sent shivers through her. It didn’t take much to close her eyes and picture him as she’d last seen him, when she was standing in her parents’ doorway after he had thoroughly kissed her.

She didn’t want to think about all the other things he had done to her that night as well. He had looked so sexy, had smelled so good, and had used his hands, mouth, and fingers like a born expert.

She sighed deeply as she placed her phone back in her purse, deciding not to return his call, although a part of her wanted to. With his connections with the FBI he could check to see if they knew of or were investigating an organization called The Body Snatchers.

But she wanted to do her own research, and tomorrow she would return to Cincinnati and make a few calls to see what she could find out about Detective Mark Tyler.

It was almost eleven o’clock by the time Christy had powered down her laptop and gotten into bed.

A man sat in a dark sedan in the parking lot of the Sheraton Hotel. He pulled out his cell phone and dialed a number. “This is Ford. She’s in her room for the night. Do you want me to keep an eye on her to make sure she leaves? He nodded. “OK. I’ll keep in touch.”

He clicked off the line, then sat back and watched in the darkness.