Missing Page 5

  “Do you have a few minutes?”

  He blinked a couple of times and finally nodded. “Whatcha need?”

  I frowned, wondering where to start. Finally, I decided just to take the bull by the horns since Junior kept glancing at his computer screen and I knew I was going to lose him if I didn’t make a move. “Do you remember a guy named Jerico that was here last week?”

  He stared at me blankly. “Jerico? A client?”

  “You don’t remember?” I asked glumly.

  He shook his head. “It doesn’t ring any bells. Why don’t you ask Dad?”

  I wasn’t crazy. I knew I wasn’t. But how could I be the only one that remembered Jerico working at the agency?

  “Just one more thing--the other night--the first night I went into the club, No Holes Barred, and my wire went dead. Did you and Bill find anything?”

  He frowned. “Your wire went dead? I don’t remember having any problems on our end. Where is it? I’ll check it out.”

  “Uh--I don’t have it with me. I’ll bring it by tomorrow.”

  He nodded, then glanced at me. “Oh. You need to talk to Dad about that, I guess.”

  Frowning, I left his office and went back to the reception area. I’d just settled in the seat at the receptionist’s desk when the door to Bill’s office opened. A woman preceded him out. I stared at her. It was Mrs. Hutchins, the client with the missing daughter.

  She was smiling.

  Bill was smiling too, though he didn’t look terribly happy.

  I waited until she’d closed the outer office door behind her to barge into Bill’s office. “Something happen with the case?”

  He looked at me glumly. “Her daughter contacted her. Told her she’d met some man and took off with him. Looks like the gig’s over. At least Mrs. Hutchins didn’t demand her deposit back,” he added.

  I sank into the nearest chair. It was a good thing one was handy. Otherwise, I’d have sprawled in the floor. “The woman that was missing?”

  “I just said that, didn’t I? Look on the bright side. You could probably use the rest. I’ll give you a call in a few days if anything comes up.”

  Just like that? I was dismissed?

  That wasn’t the real reason I was so stunned, though. I’d been working for Bill for a while. When he had something for me, I worked, and when he didn’t I only had one paycheck to live on.

  It sucked, but such was life.

  Gathering up my purse, I headed back to my apartment, too numb to think. Nothing really registered in my mind, though, except that the job was done and now there was no reason to go back to the club.

  It had been a while since I’d been home for an entire evening. I wasn’t sure what to do with myself. After pacing a while, I settled on the couch in my tiny living room, turned on the TV and then just stared at it wondering if anything I thought I’d experienced over the past week had actually happened or if I’d had some sort of weird mental episode.

  I’d been too stunned by what Junior had told me, and the discovery that the case was abruptly over to ask Bill any of the questions I’d had in my head, but now it seemed doubtful that would have made any difference.

  Neither Bill nor Junior remembered anything--not Jerico and not the search of the club. Hell, by tomorrow, they might not even remember the club.

  I was tempted to drive down for a look, just to see if I’d lost my mind, but I resisted the urge.

  I discovered the following day when I reported for work that I hadn’t quite escaped the twilight zone. The man sitting in my patrol car when I climbed in wasn’t Jared. It wasn’t Jerico either. Marvin Cohen winked at me. “Ready to rumble, rookie?”

  I didn’t even ask. I knew if I did I’d discover Marvin didn’t know anything about any rookie named Jared. No body else in the precinct would know either, including the captain, who’d assigned him to partner with me only two days before.

  It was a busy day, just the distraction I needed from personal problems. By the end of our shift, we’d handled two domestic disturbances, answered a call on a shoplifter caught at a local boutique, and sifted through three dumpsters looking for a weapon discarded by a murder suspect. We caught a couple screwing in the forth dumpster. Jeez!

  My ass was just about dragging the pavement by the time I crawled in at my door and collapsed on my couch. Despite the shower I’d had after dumpster diving, however, I was certain the stench was still clinging to me and finally managed to get up the energy to drag to the bathroom where I soaked until I was shriveled from the neck to the tips of my toes.

  I sat down in my kitchen with a scratch pad and a tuna fish sandwich later and scribbled down all of the questions running through my head. Underneath those, I wrote down the very little I’d discovered from ‘questioning’ Jerico. I puzzled over what little I knew until I had a blinding headache and finally gave it up for the night.

  A week passed in pretty much the same way. In a sense, I fell back into a familiar routine, and that helped, but the questions just refused to go away. One thing I finally settled in my mind was that everything I thought I knew was real. It sounded crazy, even to me, that I could take that attitude when I was the only person who remembered anything. Still, I wasn’t off my rocker. I damn sure hadn’t dreamed everything that had happened to me at the club.

  In the first place, I distinctly remembered the ‘day after’ and the discomfort I’d felt wasn’t from a dream. It was from having sex when I wasn’t used to having sex because I hadn’t in forty fucking forevers--and never like that.

  In the second, I was more miserable than I’d ever been in my entire life, suffering withdrawal from a man, and no dream, no matter how real it might have seemed, would have that effect on me--unless I was a basket case.

  So, if I accepted that that was real, how had Jerico managed to make everybody else forget his very existence? And what had Jared--if it had been Jared and not Jerico--been doing posing as a cop?

  Clean up.

  Mrs. Hutchins had reported her daughter missing. There’d been an investigation underway that had connected her disappearance to the club. Of course, it would have been closed when Mrs. Hutchins reported that her daughter had spoken to her and she was no longer considered missing, but maybe they hadn’t known that? Or maybe they hadn’t wanted to take a chance that any information about the club would linger in the police’s hands?

  It seemed a little farfetched, even to me, but then what else could it be?

  Almost another week went by before I got the chance to check my theory. Sure enough, the files were clean, gone, vanished. There wasn’t a single trace that a report of a missing person had ever been filed at all, no mention of the club, none of the background checks--and the guy that had supposedly been handling the case didn’t remember anything about it.

  The more I thought about it, the more certain I was that I needed to go back to the club for answers.

  All right, so it also happened that I missed Jerico with a desperation that only got worse with every day that passed.

  I wanted to see him, just one more time. I could use the ‘mystery’ as an excuse.

  I parked my car in the same spot I’d used the only two times I’d ever been to the club. I’d passed it on a regular basis in the past couple of weeks, debating with myself each time and never stopping.

  I wondered if Jerico knew I’d been driving past the club like a stalker.

  I hoped not.

  But then, maybe there was no Jerico?

  My knees were weak and I was shaking with nerves by the time I finally gritted my teeth and got out of the car. I almost lost my nerve three times between the car and the door of the club and when I finally reached the door I simply stared at it for a while, trying to decide whether to go in or not.

  I knocked before I completely lost my nerve.

  The panel slid back at once, which was a tremendous relief all by itself since I’d begun to doubt that the club even existed.

  I glanced at the door man whe
n I went in. To my surprise, he looked pleased to see me. His smile broadened at the expression on my face and he gestured toward the end of the hall, as if encouraging me.

  I don’t know why, but that one thing seemed to remove all the doubts that had been plaguing me it seemed forever, not just about what I’d remembered, but about Jerico. Because one of the reasons I’d been so reluctant to go back to the club was that I was afraid it had been real, but Jerico might not be particularly pleased to see me again and I didn’t think I could handle that.

  As before, the main room was crowded when I opened the door at the end of the hall and went in. The music was rocking, the dancers gyrating. My heart picked up the beat of the music as I made my way around to the stairs and slowly climbed them. The bouncer at the top of the stairs nodded, and, as the doorman had, held his hand out as if encouraging me, or perhaps pointing me in the right direction?

  I was a little puzzled, but dismissed it as my gaze settled on the sign--galactic dates and mates. My heart fluttered uncomfortably and I grew short of breath as I moved toward it.

  Dates and mates--what was it that Jerico had said about the club rule? Twice was nice, but--no, that wasn’t it. Twice are dates, thrice are mates?

  I frowned as I reached for the door. Dates and mates. Pausing, I turned to look down at the dance floor below. No holes barred. I’d never really considered the name before. It was just a club, I’d figured, and like most clubs where people socialized, there was a whole lot of screwing going on, with some people searching desperately for a mate, and others just looking for a lay.

  Something tantalized me about that, but I couldn’t quite grasp it. Finally, I simply shook it off and opened the door.

  The corridor was crowded tonight. I threaded my way through, my heart trying to beat me to death, my mind pure chaos. I’d begun to think I was going to be disappointed and Jerico wouldn’t be there, waiting for me, like he had been before.

  It was stupid to think he would be, I knew. In the first place, it had been more than two weeks since I’d come. In the second--well, I tried to be a realist. It was very doubtful that he’d ever been waiting for me. He’d probably just been looking for a likely candidate for the night.

  I froze when I saw him, too petrified for several moments even to move. He was leaning against the wall at the end of the corridor, his arms folded over his chest. He looked pensive. I was just wondering if I should retreat again and forget the whole thing when he looked up and saw me.

  He came away from the wall at once and started toward me. I couldn’t tell anything about his expression though, whether he was glad to see me--if he meant to show me the door.

  I wasn’t really a member after all. I’d used the missing woman’s code to get in.

  I was still debating with myself when he stopped in front of me. His cologne drifted over me, bringing back memories that made me quake inside.

  I saw his throat work as he swallowed. “I thought you wouldn’t come.”

  Something warm blossomed inside me that was more than just desire. “I wasn’t sure if I should.”

  He lifted a hand and brushed his fingers lightly over my cheek. “And now?”

  I had the sense, suddenly, that there were undercurrents surrounding me that I didn’t understand. He seemed so serious--and nervous. I searched my mind, trying to capture the elusive idea that never quite coalesced and finally said the first thing that popped into my head--the truth. “I missed you.”

  He smiled faintly. “Not half as much as I missed you, I think, or you would have come sooner.”

  Without waiting for a reply, he caught my hand and led me to the end of the corridor. A thrill of excitement went through me. The moment he dragged me inside, he gathered me close, kissing me hungrily. Full blown desire rushed through me and I kissed him back with a need that matched his, reacquainting myself with the feel of his body.

  To my surprise and disappointment, he broke the kiss just about the time I was getting really wound up, catching me by the shoulders and setting me slightly away from him. “You’re certain?”

  I blinked at him in confusion. “About this? Yes.”

  He examined my face. “You don’t understand, do you?”

  “I don’t understand a lot,” I responded a little tartly, vaguely disappointed that he seemed to want to talk when I had other things on my mind. Of course, I’d told myself it was answers I was after but deep down I knew I didn’t particularly care what the answer to this puzzle was. I just wanted Jerico.

  He frowned, releasing me. “This is Galactic Dates and Mates.”

  “I know that.”

  “It’s a matching service.”

  I blinked. Slowly, the words began to actually make sense. “Is that what you meant? Twice are dates, thrice are mates?--Wait a minute! Mates? As in--paired? Married? Till death do us part, and all that stuff?”

  He looked angry. “That is what this is for, what it’s all about. The social club is fine for flings, but the services here are for those looking for their soul mate. The concept was mine, but of course we’ve improved and extended the service. There is someone for everyone, but not everyone can find that someone--sometimes because they haven’t the opportunity to look for them.” He shrugged. “Although naturally everyone has their own concept of pairing, their own customs or rituals--when two have been together twice and feel the draw of passion, they know what they want. I know what I want.”

  I simply stared at him while that sank in, grappling with the idea that he actually wanted me--permanently. I’d never had a real proposal before. Actually, I wasn’t completely certain this qualified as a proposal, but it certainly felt like one. “Me?” I asked a little weakly.

  “I asked you to come back to me.”

  “But--I wasn’t even sure I remembered that. I didn’t remember anything afterward, not even getting back to my place.”

  “Then--you didn’t come to consummate the mating?” he asked a little stiffly.

  I supposed it wouldn’t sound terribly romantic if I confessed that I’d come in hopes of getting my brains fucked out, but now that he’d put the idea in my mind that I could have this, have him, on a permanent basis I discovered I had been thinking along much the same lines all the time. Of all the things to base a significant relationship on, mutual desire seemed to make the most sense--to me, at least.

  I moved closer to him. “Actually, I think I did. I just didn’t realize that was why it was such torture to stay away.”

  He simply stared at me for several moments, as if he was examining what I’d meant. Finally, both relief and desire lit his eyes and he pulled me close and covered my mouth with the dizzying heat of his own. The desire that had been simmering just below the surface caught, enflaming both of us as our bodies merged at that one point. His taste and scent engulfed me, driving all thought from my mind. Purest animal instinct took over. My senses focused inward, channeling the pleasure of his touch and his nearness until it began to pool inside of me, building, expanding, feeding off of itself and, at the same time, feeding his need.

  When he pulled away at last, it was only to strip me of the clothing that thwarted the need to touch skin to skin, to feel the texture and heat of each other. He caressed my flesh as he uncovered it and I shivered as every nerve ending came alive at his touch, quivering, sending minute jolts of sensation through every pleasure center.

  I was so dizzy with desire I was hardly aware of the words he whispered against my skin.

  “We are grateful that the force that creates all things in this universe saw fit to bring you into our path. We desire you above all others, with all that we are. We will cherish you as our soul mate, accepting and understanding that the differences between us are not insurmountable but the spice that seasons a relationship.”

  He stepped away from me then and began to remove his own clothing with the fumbling haste of need. I stared at him, wondering if what he’d said was part of the ritual and I was supposed to say something in return
. My brain was hardly functioning, however, and I finally said the only thing I could think of that encompassed all my feelings for him. “I love you.”

  I sensed a presence behind me only moments before two arms slid around me. Startled, I turned into his embrace. I didn’t actually register that it was Jared until his lips covered mine. The difference between the two was subtle but distinct all the same. My waning desire, suffering from my separation from the stimulus of touch, flamed before my mind caught up with the situation and my reaction was slow because of it, and because I was so caught off guard.

  I pushed him away, glancing toward Jerico, almost fearful of his reaction.

  “I did something wrong?”

  Jerico looked at me questioning before his gaze moved to his brother. As stunned as I was, it was only the beginning. When Jerico opened his mouth, the words that emerged were like no language I’d ever heard in my life. Discarding the last of his clothes, he pulled me close, sliding his hands over me in a way that seemed intended to soothe more than arouse.

  Pulling me with him, he settled on the disappearing, re-appearing bed that I finally realized was some sort of hide-a-bed, though I couldn’t figure out how it managed to appear and disappear without a sound.

  I found I didn’t care either. I was still confused about the fact that I’d found myself with both Jared and Jerico and not only were both naked, but it seemed neither of them were surprised by the situation.

  Unresisting, I allowed Jerico to pull me between his legs so that I was facing Jared, my back resting against Jerico’s chest. Wrapping his arms around me, he kissed the side of my neck. My body reacted instantly to his touch, nerve endings sparking tiny jolts of electricity through me. My nipples came erect, pulsing with blood to make them more sensitive still.

  Moisture gathered in my sex as he caught each of my legs in turn and lifted it, hooking my legs over his and spreading my thighs wide. He coasted his palms along my inner thighs as Jared settled to watch.

  Vaguely uneasy with the situation, I still couldn’t deny that I was also aroused in a way I never had been before--and curious. Jerico murmured low, against my skin as he nipped the sensitive flesh of my neck, but as before, the words were incomprehensible to me.