9781631054631ChoiceAffairsSalisbury (18 page)

“That’s not what I had
in mind,” he teased. He ran a hand through his thick hair. “But since you’ll be
grateful for my ass
istance, I’ll be thinking up a way
you can repay me as I clean up this mess.”

“Thank you.”

He turned to head
toward the kitchen. “Don’t try to get out. Glass, you know.” I heard him
chuckle as he left the room.

“You certainly are
being a smart ass, Choice,
” I yelled after him as I
sat back in the water to get warm.

He returned a few
minutes later with a broom and other essentials in one hand. In his other, he
had a bottle of wine with two glasses. He put the clean-up items on the floor
and proceeded to pour
two glasses of wine on the
ledge of the huge soaking tub.

He passed one in my
direction. “Think you can handle this, without assistance?”

“Yes, thank you. I
told you I fell asleep.”

“You mentioned that.”

It dawned on me what
he was implicating. “You must
have had a good vote
tonight. That would explain your mood.”

He had started picking
up shards of glass and placing them in a bag he’d brought. Though he wasn’t
looking at me, he had a naughty grin on his face. Finally, he picked up my
robe. “Will this come
out?”

“If I get it into the
washer, I might be able to salvage it before the wine sets in.”

“
That mean
I have to let you out?”

“Uh, yeah, Apolo, it
does. What are you up to?”

“Nothing.
I’m just enjoying you being at my
mercy.”

“I know where you’re
taking
this, Choice.”

“And where would that
be?”

I giggled. “Oh no,
you’re not going to trick me. Now, please. Help me out so I can get that robe
into cold water.”

“Will you go naked to
the laundry room?”

“Yes, if that’s what
it takes to get out of this tub.”

“Very
well.”
He extended his hand. “Careful. Don’t move.” He lifted me up and deposited me a
good ways away from the tub. Then, he picked up the robe and brought it to me.

“Thank you, I think,”
I murmured, taking it from him.

“You’re welcome. I’ll
finish t
his up.”

The sexual tension was
thick enough to cut with a knife.

A few moments later,
as I was shutting the lid on the washer, I felt his breath on my neck. He
wrapped one arm around my waist, the other near my already charged mound. His
thumb swirled ove
r it. It wouldn’t take much for him
to get me off. Then, he inserted two fingers inside me.

He groaned as he did,
his motions getting me wild with need. “Are you ready, darling?”

“Yes. Please.”

“Please, what?”

“Please, make me come,
Apolo.” I knew, as did
he, that all it would take
would be one swipe of his thumb, and I’d be over the top.

Suddenly, he stopped,
removed his fingers, and backed away. He chuckled as he turned and walked out
of the room.

“That’s so not fair!”

“I know, and don’t you
dare make you
rself come.” I heard his laughter as his
voice became fainter.

Damn man!
He loved playing these sexual tease
games with me. All part of his Dom nature.

I turned out the light
in the laundry room and padded back into the bedroom.

Chapter
Ten

It was a
Wednesday afternoon. Izzie was coming to spend a long
weekend with us. She was interested in moving up to the area and wanted to use
part of our time together to look around at housing. She also wanted to see
what the job market looked like.

Finally, I had
convinced Jacob and Apolo that I was perfectly capable of
driving myself around to do the simplest of errands. I needed the freedom to be
able to do every day, routine things.

So, using the
afternoon, I headed out in the Audi, list in hand. I needed to pi
ck up something for dinner for this first night. Apolo had
another late one, and it would just be Izzie and me. He had conveniently
arranged to have a business dinner with some colleagues. I knew that he was
giving Izzie and me some time alone together so
we
could catch up.

I was so excited she
was
coming,
I’d barely been able to sleep the night
before.
Which meant I was tired.
Which also meant I let my guard down.

Jacob had made sure to
show me how to be aware of my surroundings. He knew I was to some degr
ee, but after the recent incidents, took an afternoon to
give me tips on what to look for. Today, however, I wasn’t paying too much
attention to anything except preparing for Izzie’s arrival.

I was walking to the
car, having left the grocery store. I had f
our
well-filled, plastic bags, and I was oblivious to everything. It was a
gorgeous, crisp fall afternoon.

Suddenly, I felt a
hand on my elbow. I jumped at the unfamiliar contact, and as I looked around,
someone else was in front of me, stopping me dead in
my tracks. Anthony. Trying to gather my wits, I saw the person holding my elbow
was none other than my brother, Tom.

“Hello,
sis.
Now, don’t panic on me and do something stupid like scream. All I want to do is
have a little chat with you.
Tony,
too.
Give
Tony your bags, and come with us.”

“I’m not going
anywhere with you!” I hissed. I desperately, but without panicking, looked
around for anyone even remotely close by. Sadly, they had picked the perfect
moment to close in.

“I don’t see where you
have much o
f a choice.” Tony took the bags out of my
hands as Tom steered me to an awaiting rental car. He opened the back door and
pushed me inside. I quickly moved across the seat, only to have Tony block me
from the other side. I was trapped and at their mercy.

“W
hat the hell do you two pathetic snakes want?”

“Tsk, tsk. Is that
anyway to speak to your own brother and brother-in-law?”

“I’ll speak anyway I
want. Now, for the last time, what the hell do you want?”

“For one thing, you’re
going to convince your husband
to quit snooping into
our lives. The next thing you’ll do is tell him to call off the forensic
accountant he’s got snooping around.”

“It’s his business. I
have no say in these matters. Oh, and by the way, what were you two and Don
Turner doing entering the
building on a weekend right
after us?”

“See? I told you she
is smart, Tony. She knows everything Apolo does.”

“Yeah, I figured, or
he wouldn’t have involved himself with her.”

“Can I go now?” I
asked. “And you never answered my question.”

“No, we’re not
finished, and no, I’m not answering squat for you. What you
will do is get Apolo to get rid of the accountant, or your sex life is going to
be out there for everyone to see, and uh, hear. You’ve got forty-eight hours,
Caiti.”

“Even if I did try and
convinc
e him, he’s not going to give into blackmail
or extortion. That’s what this is—a shakedown. What are you trying to do? Get
into his financial accounts and rob him blind, Tom?”

“Shut up, Caitlyn. I’m
telling you for the last time. You’ve got forty-eight hou
rs.” He nodded to Anthony, who slid out of his seat. He
picked up my bags, which were now on the ground, along with my purse, and
thrust them into my hands.

“You’re messing with
the wrong man, Anthony. You know your brother better than to try tampering wit
h what’s his. Now, if you two will excuse me, I need to get
home and take a shower to get this slime off of me.”

I walked as fast as I
possibly could to the Audi, tossing the grocery bags in the back seat. Not
wanting either man to think I was in a state o
f
panic, I slowly got my cell out of my jeans pocket and laid it in the console
between the front seats. Rather than call Apolo or Jacob right then, I started
the engine and backed out of the parking slot. I noted the rental car they had
placed me in was g
one.

I turned on the in-car
phone and told it to dial Jacob as I pulled out onto the busy Washington
street
.

“Mrs. Choice, are you
okay?” answered Jacob’s firm voice.

“No, I’m not. Do you
know who I just had the unexpected pleasure of talking to?
Anthony a
nd Tom.
And it wasn’t nice. They’re going to
try and blackmail,
extort,
whatever you want to call it.”

“I know.”

“You know? How do you
know?”

“I’ve been following
you all afternoon.
Apolo’s orders.”

“Well, what if they
had tried to take me off?”

“I would’v
e had them penned in, Caitlyn. Tell me exactly what they
want.”

“What they want is for
Apolo to get rid of the forensic accountant.
Like yesterday.
If he doesn’t do it in forty-eight
hours, they’re going to release tapes of our private life.”

“Okay. I’m ri
ght behind you. I’ll escort you to the penthouse, and we
can talk further.”

“Sounds
good.
And Jacob?”

“Yes,
ma’am?”

“Thank you. Even if I
thought I had the afternoon to myself, it’s nice to know you were close by.”

“It’s my job, and
you’re welcome.”

We dro
ve the last few blocks to the apartment building. I looked
in my rear view a few times to find Jacob right on my tail in a non-descript
Honda. I was sure he and Apolo were in communication, unless Apolo was in the
middle of something. Somehow, I doubted an
ything
would interfere with something involving me. For once, I truly was grateful
Apolo was so overprotective.

As I parked the Audi,
Jacob slid the Honda next to me. He had told me to wait and let him look around
before I got out of the car. He opened my
door, and I
got out. As I was doing so, Jacob was already taking out the bags of groceries
and other items. He walked next to me as I headed toward the lobby elevator.

“You knew they’d try
to pull something, didn’t you?”

“Yeah, Anthony’s
always had a flare
for the dramatic. You okay?”

“Outside
of being mad?
Yeah, I’m good.”

“Apolo said he’d call
you as soon as he gets a break.”

“I’m fine, really.
What really pisses me off is that the three of them want it all without working
a lick.
That,
and the fact that
they’re willing, ready, and able to rob Apolo of whatever
it is they want.”

“Well, that’s not
going to happen.”

“How’s
that?
You calling
the feds in now?”

“Yeah.
Apolo wanted to try and keep it
internal, but now that they’ve actually abducted you… Even though it was just
to talk in a car, they took you against your will.
 
It’s gone beyond trying to keep it a
private, family matter.”

“Don’t expect me to
talk either
of you out of it because Tom and Anthony
are family. I won’t. Whatever you two decide, I’m with you.”

“When he calls, we’re
going to make some decisions.”

“Jacob? Did you know
it was Tom who put the surveillance equipment in the house?”

“I had a good inkl
ing it was him.
Only
because of his background.
Out of the three, he’s the only one who
possesses the knowledge to carry something like that out.”

“Which makes me wonder
why he chose the other two?”

“Don has a grudge with
Apolo. Anthony is jealous and want
s what his brother
has.
Pretty simple.”
Finally upstairs and in the penthouse,
Jacob followed me into the kitchen after doing a walkthrough. “Bo’s going to
pick Izzie up.”

“Is he? Why? Because
you want to play guard dog here with
me,
or because the two of
them have eyes for each other?”

He laughed. “A little
of both, I guess.”

“You want a cup of
coffee, Jacob?”

“Naw, I don’t want to
trouble you for anything, ma’am.”

“It’s no problem, and
I’m happy to show you how to use the coffee maker.” I giggled. “It mak
es one cup at a time. You know the kind.” I showed him
where everything was at, though I was sure he already knew.

The phone rang, and I
moved to get it. It was Apolo. I left Jacob his task and walked into the living
room.

“Hi,” I said.

“You okay?”

“Like I
told Jacob, I’m just mad. I hope you’re going to involve
the feds, Apolo. This is getting out of hand.”

“I agree. Jacob has a
close contact at the bureau. He’s going to tell them what’s going on. It may
put a damper on your evening if they want to talk to
you.”

“I don’t care, and I
doubt Izzie will, either,” I replied. “Apolo, did Jacob tell you Tom…Tom is
going to release all the intimate footage if you don’t comply.”

“He told me, and I
won’t be blackmailed, Caitlyn. Not by Tom, not my brother, or Don Tur
ner. No one is going to threaten us, or attempt to extort
money from me. If he releases anything, my people will be on it, doing damage
control. It’s not the end of the world. This ends now. You know it. I know it.”

“We’ll get through
it.” I stayed silent
for a minute. Then, a thought
occurred to me as Jacob entered, coffee mug in hand. “Apolo, do you think that
senator is somehow involved?”

He said nothing for a
few moments. “It’s possible. It could benefit him, though I’m not entirely sure
what role he st
ill plays, or if he does. Is Jacob
near? I need to give him the go ahead. I just wanted to speak to you about it
before I did. Make sure you’re okay. I love you, Caiti, and I’ll see you and
Izzie a little later.”

“I love you, too.
Please try to get home as
soon as you can.” I handed
Jacob the phone and went back into the kitchen to organize things for dinner.

* * * *

“Izzie!”
I squealed as I met her at the
elevator. The two of us hugged for what seemed like forever. I hadn’t realized
until this afternoon how much I missed her. I pulled back to study her. “You
look great. Come on in.” I took her by the hand and guided her into
the living room.