Authors: Frances Randon
She breathed a sigh of relief
when Hagman called and said Zack was on his way up. The elevator doors popped
open and Mo stood for a moment with her mouth twisted, eyes glaring. Zack made
for the sofa. Was she angry Dino had come up? What had he said about Chelsea?
“Dino! I’m sorry but he had a
wheelchair waiting for him. I’m so glad to see you, I’m just sorry that you’re
going to have to witness your friend’s murder. Zack, I told you there’d be a
chair! Meese…” she addressed the security man coming out of the bedroom, “would
you mind?” Meese didn’t bother to suppress his annoyance as he headed for the
elevator.
“He wouldn’t get in the
chair, Ms. Whitman. I told ‘im, didn’t I Zack? I told ya.” Dino looked around
the suite with a whistle setting down Zack’s bag.
“I know who the stubborn one
is, Dino. How’s Angela? I wish you’d brought her. Three of us should be able to
dispose of the body. You didn’t happen to bring some of Chicago’s best pizza,
did you?” Mo asked with a smile. Dino hitched his shoulders spreading his empty
hands with an apologetic look.
Zack leaned back on the plush
sofa, puffing with exhaustion and pain. Mo went over to him leaning down and
kissing him softly. “Hi, Baby,” he panted. She pulled his legs up onto the
coffee table. With a pat on his leg she turned.
“How about a beer, Dino?” She
gave Zack a sharp look. “No beer for you.”
“Nah, I gotta go Ms.
Whitman.” Was he intimidated by the surroundings? She wondered at his apparent
nervousness. “But thanks.”
“Call me Mo, Dino. Please.”
She walked him to the elevator doors. “How do you think he looks, I think he
looks tired. Maybe the ride was too much. I should have gone down…”
“Mo, he’s fine. Take a nap,
buster, you got the lady worried. Thanks again for gettin’ us in to see the
show. We had a great time. Theresa said when she grows up she wants to be just
like you, except she doesn’t want her swing set to be that big and she won’t
marry the devil.”
“Smart kid. Bye Dino. I hope
to see you again soon.”
She turned to see Zack sound
asleep.
Another smash show had the
audience on their feet. It was flowing wonderfully. She and Claude were on good
terms and Deb and the new talent Haaken were feeling more and more confident.
There was a bit of a sour note about Trollie being looked at again by the
police. Roddy had wanted to fire him. Mo didn’t think he’d hurt anyone and just
wanted him to learn a lesson. She convinced the manager to give him one more
chance.
Mo was so happy things had
lightened up with Claude. Apparently he’d thrown over Crystal McCleary but she
seemed to be taking it in stride. Rumor was he had become infatuated with a
coliseum security guard. And she was spurning him! Lourdes Garcia had the great
Claude spitting fire! Couldn’t happen to a nicer guy was Mo’s thought.
The company still grieved for
Ling. The police had finally released her body and after a moving service it
had been cremated and sent to California. The sense of loss wouldn’t stop as
everyone moved on with their lives. But, all and all, things seemed to be back
to normal. Even Misha was in a cheery mood. He had confided in Deb that he was
in love and all his dreams were about to come true. Deb felt it showed in his
work.
Saying goodnight to everyone,
Mo hurried to the car. Hagman was driving tonight and Moore held the door open.
Les Moore, head of the security team, closed her door and climbed in front. She
enjoyed teasing Les about his name and asked him if his middle name was “Half,
Middling, or Somewhere In Between?” Ted Hagman laughed and shut up quickly with
a look from Les. But Les smiled to himself.
In good humor she rushed into
the suite. Zack looked up from his book. He tossed it aside and she ran to him.
Careful of his injuries she crawled onto the sofa and kissed him until they
were both breathless. He held her with his good arm while she slid her hand in
his sweats. “Get enough rest or do I have to give you a sleeping pill? She
squeezed him.
“Good show?” He nibbled her
neck then threw his head back as her hand tickled him.
“Wonderful, perfect!” Her
teeth grazed his neck as he sucked air between his teeth. “And the show was good,
too!
“Slow down, baby. You know I
have no control when… You. Do. That.” Gently he pushed her hand away. “I
was hoping we could have dessert.”
“You did eat dinner didn’t
you?” She tormented him through the sweats.
“Mm hmm,” He slid his hand
along her bottom as she straddled him. “My sweet tooth is acting up. I have a
hankering for something I haven’t tasted in days. Okay one day.”
They lay in bed feeling their
own hearts pounding through the soothing white noise of their breathing. A long
nap had done Zack a world of good. But Mo had been careful not to let him
overdo it. Too much. The man liked dessert. And she just couldn’t say no!
She lay on the good arm
feeling the warmth of him against her skin. She was in a fog of passion. The
reprieve they had been given pushed all doubt over the edge into some other
place that didn’t exist for them. Time stopped as they lay transfixed by the
nirvana they’d attained. Mo’s mind had literally gone blank as if she had lost
consciousness at the moment she’d peaked with Zack inside her. She looked at
him. He lay with his eyes closed. No man had ever given her so much. Or had
taken so much and in the taking made it an exquisite theft of her very soul.
Loving him was soft and hard, gentle and rough. Together they exposed the
depths of themselves and the heights they could achieve together.
Mo basked in the sensation of
his chest rising and falling as Zack dozed. Quivering little fingers of
sensation teased out the last ebbing throbs of pleasure. Zack had found many
delicacies to feast upon and she in turn had offered him a banquet of delights.
She honestly didn’t know where some of her ideas had come from. New to this
kind of passion, passion centered on a man who consumed her heart as well as
her body, inspiration seemed to flow. There was an invisible arc of energy that
sizzled between them. Her body felt lit from within. Neat trick, she smiled to
herself. If we could just make that work for the show.
“You thinking about your
Cleopatra show?” Zack asked sleepily.
Mo twisted her head up and
met his lazy gaze. “You really do think I’m all work don’t you? I think about
other things. Go back to sleep.
“What do you think about when
I…” He grazed his forefinger on her nipple.
“I’m pretty sure that’s where
I cease thinking.” She turned toward him and ran a hand along his thigh. “I
know where all your thinking takes place.”
“I talked to him but once he
saw you, he stopped listening.” Zack held her against him, enfolding her with his
good arm. A large portion of his upper body was wrapped in bandages but life
had never seemed so perfect. If he could spend the rest of his life holding her
close at night, it would be enough. It would be everything. He pushed
everything else from his mind.
Mo closed her eyes; focused
on the beating of his heart. All else lost in a silky tide of contentment.
“What the hell?” Zack bolted
upright. He heard the elevator doors shut. “Mo?” he called reaching across the
bed for her. He rose searching in the crack of light from the door for his
revolver. He slowly opened the bedroom door and saw a shadow move in the low
light. “Stop. Don’t move.”
“Honey, if I’m going to risk
getting shot every time I need a drink of water I’m going to have to hide your
gun at night.” Mo turned toward him glass in hand. She wore her work out
clothes. She noticed his eyes on her gear. “I was wide awake, I thought I’d
sneak to the gym and work out while you slept.”
Zack set his gun on the
coffee table “It’s not light yet. You couldn’t have had more than four or five
hours.” he yawned and scratched at his bandaged side.
She wasn’t going to mention
another dream had awakened her and forced the doubts back into her mind “I
figured we could have breakfast when you woke up. Why don’t you go back to
sleep. I’ll be back in an hour. Maybe get a little nap.”
“I heard the elevator.” Zack
glanced at the doors.
“My other lover made a quick
exit. I told him you were armed but only on one side.” Mo walked over to him
and held the glass out. “You smell like me.” She whispered. He gave her a
sleepy smile. His hair was akimbo and his face was bristly. Her heart thumped.
He took a hard gulp and set
the glass down. “Why don’t we work out together, then we can both take a nap.
He put his arm around her. “Who was on the elevator?”
“Careful, Baby. Just Meese.
He came up to escort me to the gym. But I wasn’t quite ready. He’s waiting down
stairs.”
“Where would he be
otherwise?” He rubbed his lips lightly on her ear.
“Downstairs.” Mo stroked a
hand along his good arm.
“Then no harm done.” He
pulled her into the bedroom.
Roddy watched Zack watch Mo.
Zack was gazing in wonder while she somersaulted once, twice, three times and
was caught by Claude hanging by his knees. “Hep!” She gave a little shout as
she was thrown off again. This time spinning a mid air pirouette and catching
the other trapeze. Her body was a fluid kind of strength. Disciplined yet loose
and free. Zack thought he could watch her forever as she soared and spun and
swung. He closed his eyes a moment remembering the agility of her body as they
made love in the hours before dawn. He had almost forgotten his condition she
made it so easy for him with her imaginative postures and cooing
encouragements. He was lost in a reverie of sighs when he heard Roddy’s voice.
“Zack! So you couldn’t stay
away you love us so much!” Roddy leaned down to Zack in a wheelchair and shook
his hand landing a kiss on each of his cheeks. It had seemed strange at first
to Zack, but with so many performers from so many parts of the world he’d
gotten used to a variety of greetings.
Thanks for your concern,
Roddy. It was really nice for you all to send flowers and cards. How are you?”
“I do much better than you.
You shot in the leg too?” Roddy surveyed Zack’s lower limbs.
“No, but I will be if I get
out of this chair. Doctor’s…” Zack jerked his head upward “…orders.” He winced
his regret at the movement.
“I would not defy her if I
were you. I am glad to see you Zack. What they tell you. You going to be okay?”
Roddy smoothed his comb over with a look of sympathetic curiosity.
“I’m thinking about going
into show business, Roddy. I’ve developed a new talent. You can get someone to
throw magnets at me and I catch them without using my hands. But they better
have good aim. I’ve got a plate holding my clavicle together. Kinda close to my
head, so aim’s important.
Roddy’s eyes bulged even more
than usual. Zack laughed. “Okay, I guess it’s just not classy enough for your
outfit.” Roddy broke out into laughter into which he incorporated a couple
Italian epitaphs.
“Serious as a heartbeat,
Zack, I want to talk to you.” He looked up at Mo and yelled. “I take your
patient, Momo, he safe with me.” He turned Zack in his chair and rolled him
towards the corridor, greeting and encouraging, or berating, performers along
the way. He gave Meese a look that said, “Keep your eyes peeled.” In the office
he settled in with a brandy. Zack figured why the hell not, and had one of his
own. “I have the proposal for you. You are young. Oh, no doubt about you get
well. You strong man. Have you never considered a different job? I get the
feeling you not so happy being the policeman.”
“What are you getting at,
Roddy?” Zack gave him a searching look. “It’s not like you to beat around
the bush…be indirect.”
“We, the company, meet about
show and whole situation. The company decide to form own security team. Not
unhappy with guys you hire but the expense! Mo and whole company worth it, of
course. But we travel months and months, city to city. All the world. We say it
more practical to have… how you say?... in house, security. Security that
travel with us to save expense, true. But we don’t have to find best people
each city. Saves time. And the loyalty. Relationship with company very
important. Most time I don’t handle the business. Focus on performers.
Make sure everybody in top form. But I am in charge what happen on tour. I say
I choose. I work show with the hands on.”
“So you want to create an in
house security team? To travel with the show?” Zack sipped his brandy. Roddy
had mentioned hiring him but he had not taken it seriously. He had been waiting
to get back to the homicide department and sloughed it off as a joke. Now look
at him. “If you need a list of people I can help you with that. I know some
good guys. Lots of experience in police work, but looking for something more.
But I guess you want people based in Montreal.”
“Are you looking for
something more, Zack?” Roddy sniffed a cigar with his eyes closed with the
pleasure of it. Then he looked seriously at Zack.
“You mean me? I might think
about it if things were different. But look at me, Roddy. Kind of useless right
now.”
“You would consider to leave
the police?” Roddy’s brows furrowed quizzically then his face broadened into a
smile. “I want you, Zack. You head security team, you manage, you hire, you
take charge of all security business. You pick your team. You travel the world
with us.”