Heart of Light (11 page)

~~~~~~~~~~

J
OSEPH
F
ITZGERALD
STUMBLED
OUT
of his rented BMW after throwing the keys to the valet attendant outside of the Ritz Carlton. He reluctantly made his way back to his suite, surprised to see both the older man with the buzz cut and the rather slimy-looking middle-aged man with dark hair who seemed to bathe in cheap cologne sitting in the living room. The younger man, who had introduced himself as David earlier in the day, had a look of eagerness on his arguably attractive face, licking his lips in a way that made Joseph feel slightly nauseous.

“Where is she?” David asked, a sad expression on his face when he saw that Joseph had returned without the company of a beautiful blue-eyed angel.

“I couldn’t get her to come with me,” he explained as he walked over to the wet bar and poured himself a bourbon. He didn’t offer one to his uninvited guests.

“What?! Why not?!” His voice was pressing and it was clear that he was agitated.

Joseph shrugged. “I don’t know. I had her cornered, but she freaked when I touched her. And then this prick came up to me…”

“Wait… What?”

“It’s the guy I was telling you about before. I sat out on the beach all day, like you asked. He’s the one that owns the house she’s living in. Search the property records and I’m sure you’ll come up with a name. He was there tonight, too. It looks like they’re starting to get a little chummy. Just a few minutes after I left, I saw her leave with him and I followed them to the house. They just sat in the driveway for quite a while. I had no idea what was going on because I couldn’t see into his car, but he finally got out, paced for a minute, and then carried her into the house. I don’t get it. She freaked out when
I
touched her…”

“Wait a second. She let him touch her?” David became concerned. He loved the look of fear on Jolene’s face when he was about to touch her. It made him hard.

Joseph took a sip of his drink. “I guess so. She looked really drunk. She may have just been passed out.”

“Good. That’s good.” David breathed a sigh of relief, hopeful that he could still get off from Jolene’s body quivering beneath him. “Anything else you think I should know about?”

“Nope,” Joseph said curtly. “That’s it.”

David nodded toward his driver and they both got up from the couch and headed to the door. He turned back to face him one last time. “You’re certain about that? If I find out that you’re keeping information from me, you’ll find yourself in Sing Sing with your cousin…oh, what’s his name?”

Joseph’s eyes grew wide.
Who is this guy?
he thought. “How do you…?”

“Oh, I have friends in very high places. We know all about your little problem with underage girls. It was also rather easy to find out that you ratted out your own cousin on gambling and racketeering charges back in New York, isn’t that right? And I’m pretty sure that if there’s one thing a guy in prison hates, it’s a rat, don’t you think?”

Joseph stared at him in shock. He was unsure how to respond.

“So you’ve told me everything, right?”

He sighed in resignation. The guy seemed a bit creepy and he had been reticent to give him too much information. “No. She’s got a job.”

His eyes perked up. “A job? Where?”

“At a beach bar down the street from where she lives. She’ll be bartending there. She starts this Thursday.”

David’s expression turned conniving. “Perfect.”

J
OLENE
WOKE
UP
THE
following morning with a pounding headache. Opening her eyes, she focused on her nightstand, surprised to see a glass of water and a few aspirin set out for her. She shot up in bed, panic-stricken as she contemplated who could have left those. She had no recollection of grabbing aspirin or water, or even how she got home last night. She had been rather drunk, but there’s no way that she would have invited anyone over.

Replaying the night in her head, she tried to remember what had happened. Her mind flashed to all the beer and the multiple tequila shots she had consumed. And then the silver eyes walking through the door of the bar, the cold black eyes of the man who grabbed her, and the kind silver eyes helping her. He called her Jolene over and over again. It warmed her heart. She dreamed of his soft voice calling her name, but she wouldn’t have allowed him to stay the night.

Stumbling out of bed, she held on to the wall as she got her bearings, wishing that the room would stop spinning. Her brain was fuzzy and she wondered how her father could have drank like he did if he felt the way she did right now. She was fairly certain that if everyone suffered from the hangover she was dealing with at that moment, they would step far away from the liquor bottle. Then again, she didn’t know much about addiction.

Focusing her attention back on the nightstand, she swallowed the aspirin before grabbing the water and downing the refreshing liquid. “I am never drinking again,” she said to herself, knowing that it most likely wasn’t true. She had a great time with Elsie, and she had a feeling that last night was just the first of many girls’ nights they would have over the next several months. At least she hoped it would be.

Her head throbbing, she slowly made her way down the stairs and into the small kitchen. She needed a coffee like she needed oxygen. It took the one-cup brewer an exceptionally long time to finish her cup of coffee. Finally having a warm dose of liquid caffeine in her hands, she padded across the living room toward the front door and out onto her deck.

Settling down into her lounge chair, she closed her eyes. The gentle ocean breeze cooled her flushed complexion as brilliant silver eyes flashed in her mind. Everything was quiet and peaceful that morning, the only sound that of the therapeutic waves as they rolled into shore.

“Nothing like that first cup of coffee after a night out on the town, huh?”

Jolene smiled at the sound of that voice. It had only been twenty-four hours since the prick showed up and wanted her to leave, but so much had changed in him. She looked forward to the sound of that voice now. It was the calm she craved to chase away her fears.

Opening her eyes, she nodded. “I need it this morning.” Her voice was raspy. “I may have drank a little
too
much last night.” She took a long drag of the hot liquid, willing it to work its magic and take her headache away sooner rather than later. “Incidentally, you don’t have any idea who would have left two aspirin and a glass of water on my nightstand, do you?”

Cam climbed the few short steps onto the deck and leaned against the railing. “We look out for our friends on this island, and part of that service is making sure they don’t wake up hungover.” He winked.

Her mind raced as she tried to remember what happened after she left the bar. “How did I get in my house?”

“You stumbled, rather clumsily, up the stairs and into your bed. Fully-clothed, I might add.” His eyes roamed her body.

She looked down, shocked to see that she was still wearing the halter-top and jeans that she had on the night before.

“Didn’t look in the mirror yet this morning, did you?” He crossed his arms in front of his chest, his dimples popping from the jovial expression on his face.

Jolene’s jaw dropped as she took in the chiseled physique that was clearly underneath his wetsuit, although it did not leave much to the imagination. She hadn’t really had an opportunity or a desire to check out his body before, but now that he was standing just a few feet away from her, she couldn’t help it.

He didn’t have huge muscles, but those that he did have were very well-defined. Jolene licked her lips as her eyes traveled down his body, almost able to make out a faint little V around his mid-section. For the first time she could remember, she grew exited thinking about what lay below his waist. The dread that she normally felt when in the presence of a man was nowhere to be found. In its place was a feeling of desire…of want.

“Come back to me. Where did you go, Jolene?” she heard him call out, his gentle voice caressing her name causing heat to course through her body. She raised her eyes to meet his, noticing that he was smirking.

“You caught me, alright?!” she shouted, her face flashing red in embarrassment. “Yes. I was checking you out, and you want to know what I was thinking? I was just thinking that you have a freaking amazing body. I haven’t even seen you with your shirt off yet and it’s already causing my blood pressure to rise, okay? So now that we’ve got
that
out of the way, can we just go back to me being hungover, still dressed in my clothes from last night, and never discuss this again?” She brought the coffee mug to her lips and gauged Cam’s reaction to her little outburst.

Walking across the deck, he sat in the lounge chair next to her and smiled. “You know what attracted me to you yesterday?”

Jolene rolled her eyes. “Yeah. That I’m the long-lost twin of your long-lost love.”

Cam shook his head, staring out at the ocean before turning back and looking deep into her eyes. “No. That’s what turned me
off
to you. I wasn’t attracted to you yesterday morning. Well, not initially. But when you were heading out to lunch and asked me if I was on medication, I absolutely lost it. You have this fire about you. That’s what I’m attracted to. Your spirit.”

She blushed, trying to hide her grin behind her cup of coffee. She was giddy with excitement at the fact that Cam just admitted he was attracted to her.

“Doesn’t hurt that you have killer legs, either,” he confessed, getting up from the lounge chair and jumping off the deck.

She watched in bewilderment as he strode to his Wrangler, grabbed his surfboard, and made his way to the shore, words failing her once again.

“See you later, Tomorrow!” he shouted, turning around and winking at her.

Jolene closed her eyes and melted into the lounge chair in complete and utter bliss.

~~~~~~~~~~

A
NTHONY
F
ALCONI
WAS
WOKEN
from thoughts of his beautiful Jolene by a knock on the door as he sat behind his desk. “What is it?” he barked.

“Boss, it’s me.”

He grew anxious, hoping that Ralph was able to follow through with his plan of action. “Come in.”

The door of the suite swung open and a short, stocky man entered the living room, dragging a frightened girl who didn’t look a day over twenty. “Is this her then?”

“Yeah. It’s that bitch maid’s daughter.”

A smile crept across Falconi’s face. “Good work, Ralph. Does she know she’s here yet?”

“I don’t think so.”

“Good. Let’s keep it that way. Let it be a surprise when she comes to clean the room and her only daughter is locked up here. I’m sure that’ll give her something to consider next time she even
thinks
about helping one of the other girls escape.”

“Why don’t we just off the bitch?”

“Patience, Ralph. She took what was mine, and now I want her to suffer, just as I am suffering without Jolene.” He slammed his fist on the desk, his eyes aflame with fury. “Maybe, if you can’t get the girl’s father to disclose where my Jolene is, this will motivate
her
to tell me.”

Taking a deep breath, he tried to control his anger and turned his attention to the girl at Ralph’s side, his temper waning as a sly expression crossed his face. “You know, I’ve never had a black girl before.” He got up from behind the desk and walked toward where the petite woman was bound and gagged, her entire body shivering. “There, there,” he said in a calm voice. “You’ll be just fine, as long as you do precisely what you’re told. And if you don’t, say good-bye to Daddy Dearest.”

He ran his finger across her face and caressed her cheek. Bringing his mouth to her ear, he whispered, “I’ll let you in on a little secret, though. I’m going to kill him anyway. And maybe you, too. I bet you’re going to look absolutely beautiful tied up on my bed as you draw your last breath.” He flicked his tongue, tasting her soft flesh.

A tear fell down her face and she tried to shut it all out, not wanting to think about what the two men holding her captive had in store for her.

E
VERY
DAY
WAS
THE
same for Gregory Matsen. Every lead turned out to be a dead end. Did he really expect to find anything after over a decade? Still, he never gave up hope. Some days were better than others, and he was thankful to have a strong support system in place for those not-so-good days.

“Hey, Greg,” a tall blonde in her early fifties said when she saw him enter the coffee shop in the Chicago suburb of Elmhurst.

“Hey, Laney.” He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her slender body into his. “Thanks for coming. You didn’t have to.”

“I know. But I’m glad to be here to support you. I know it’s not easy.”

He sighed, running his hands through his dark, graying hair. “No, and today’s pretty hard on me. I’ve been back here for over a year and I still can’t find anything. Maybe I should have stayed in Houston.” He looked around the empty coffee shop, frustrated with life. “What if she…?”

“No,” Laney interrupted. “You needed to come back. It’s better that you be where it all started. There was nothing in Houston for you anymore, and you were wallowing in your own pit of self-loathing.”

“But what if they find something…?”

“Then I’ll know about it, Greg.” She placed a hand on his shoulder, trying to soothe his fears as she stared into his emotional and concerned blue eyes. “I’ve already spoken with a few of your friends from the Coroner’s office down there. Dr. Woodall was so glad to hear from me. He’s worried about you, but I’ve assured him that I’m keeping my eyes on you. He knows to call me if something turns up. I’m monitoring all the databases, as well. If anyone finds something, we’ll know. I promise you.” She grabbed his hands in hers, gently caressing his knuckles.

“Okay, everyone,” a voice interrupted. “Meeting’s about to begin in the next room.”