His Wicked Pleasure (10 page)

~*~*~*~

Kristie took a deep breath and walked up to the podium. She smiled at the crowd and made sure to give as much eye contact as possible. When it came to anything to do with the media, or handling a crisis, Kristie was the one front and center. Her late great grandfather groomed her since she was a little girl.

“Welcome everyone,” said Kristie with her huge Rossi smile. “Thank you all for coming on such short notice. I’m extremely happy to report that Rossi Co. is doing just fine.” Kristie looked up and smiled at the paparazzi, nodding at a few of her favorites and continued.

“To begin, I want to put all your worries at ease and remind you that it’s business as usual for Rossi Co. I absolutely love what the Rossi name stands for...”

A loud crack tore through the air and Kristie stumbled back as something slammed into her shoulder, spinning her with such a violent force that she bit her tongue. Blood filled her mouth as a burning pain filled her arm. She gave a gut-wrenching scream as the world swam in her vision.

People froze for a brief second and then all hell broke loose as the journalists began screaming and running away from her. Kristie’s mind spun as she tried to get her focus again and she noticed her uncle racing towards her. Looking down at her arm, she screamed again as she saw the blood covering her sleeve...and then she collapsed to the ground with a loud thump as blackness overtook her.

Kristie’s uncle reached her just as she landed. Screaming at the top of his lungs, he searched in the general direction of the gunshots, “Someone call an ambulance.”

~*~*~*~

Paul looked at his watch and noticed it was after six in the evening. It was definitely time to call it a day. “Dude, let it go. I don’t see anything in the files and there are other things we can be doing. We can stop by and see the girls.”

“Yeah,” said Declan stretching. “I can’t find anything either.”

Standing up, Declan closed up the room and then they walked to their trucks together. “I’ll see you at their house,” said Paul with a smile as he moved towards his vehicle.

Declan got in his truck, started it up and drove out of the Naval base. His mind was racing and wouldn’t shut down. Deciding he needed distraction, he turned on the radio and realized it was still set to Kristie’s favorite station. It made him smile instantly.

He pulled in front of Kristie’s house and navigated up the long driveway before parking. He found Paul standing at the door waiting. “I don’t think they’re home yet.”

“Oh,” said Declan noticing the smell of freshly mowed grass that lingered in the air.

Paul walked around the back and opened the backyard gate where he found a bunch of neatly tied trash bags lined perfectly near the garbage. “Nope, they’re not back there.”

Declan had his cell phone out and was calling Kristie, “Straight to voicemail. I hope she’s all right,” he said as his stomach clenched with worry.

Paul tried Lorie again, this time her phone rang. “It’s ringing.” Paul began pacing back and forth and, finally, Lorie answered the phone.

‘Hello,’
she answered between sobs.

‘What’s wrong baby?’
Paul asked with anguish in his voice.

‘It…it’s my sister Kr..Kristie’
cried Lorie as she sobbed hysterically into the phone.
‘She’s be…be…been sh…shhh…shot.’

‘Wh…what?’
demanded Paul in a shaky voice not sure if he heard correctly. He rubbed the back of his neck while he paced back and forth.
‘When? How?’

‘Today,’
cried Lorie unable to stop crying. Doing her best to breathe, she switched the phone to her other ear and took a deep breath and let it out slowly.

‘Oh my god this is awful. Where are you?’

‘I’m at Rossi Co.,’
cried Lorie between sobs.

‘Don’t move. I’m coming to get you.’
Paul ended the call and turned to Declan with the look of sheer horror etched across his face.

Declan watched his friend pacing and he felt the knot in his stomach twist tighter. The feeling that something bad had happened grew stronger.

“No. No,” said Declan as he placed both hands on his head. “My gut was right. Something terrible has happened?”

“We need to go. Now!” exclaimed Paul as he ran towards his truck. “It’s Kristie.”

“What?” asked Declan, it felt like a knife was stabbing his heart repeatedly. “What about my girl?” asked Declan scrambling into Paul’s truck.

“Put on the news. I need for us to listen because I think Lorie said Kristie was shot.”

Declan couldn’t speak, couldn’t think, couldn’t begin to fathom what Paul just said. Without thinking, he reached out, turned on the radio and searched for a news channel.

“Kristie Rossi of Rossi Enterprises, Rossi Industry, and sole owner of Rossi Co. has been taken to an undisclosed hospital in the New York area. It is believed she was shot today while addressing the press regarding rumors surrounding her company. We have no other details to report.”

Paul felt his heart break as he turned to his best friend and saw the utter devastation on his face. Not knowing what to say, he started the engine and headed towards Rossi Co. to pick up Lorie.

Chapter Nine

Declan watched as a defeated Lorie walked out of the building with Paul. He jumped out of the truck and patiently waited for them to approach, even though he wanted to meet them to find out the details.

Lorie looked up as she neared and her red-rimmed eyes filled with fresh tears as she began sobbing. Taking the few steps towards her, Declan opened his arms and welcomed her with a huge hug. Wiping her eyes, Lorie sucked in air and said, “I don’t know anything. I’m stuck here handling things while Kristie’s lying in a hospital bed.”

Taking a moment to digest Lorie’s words, Declan asked in a shaky voice while helping Lorie into Paul’s truck. “What’s going on? Your sister owns Rossi Co?”

“Yes. Kristie owns Rossi Co., and part of Rossi Enterprises and Rossi Electronics,” Lorie wiped away a stray tear. “Last time we spoke, she was meeting Paolo to go over the photos for some magazine article. I had no idea anything was wrong. She didn’t confide in me if there was something wrong.”

Declan took a moment to digest the information and leaned forward. “I don’t understand why your family doesn’t have security. You own a freaking empire for God’s sake.”

Lorie sobbed again and Declan felt a pang of guilt for snapping at her, “We’re not show offs. We’re humble people and do all we can to stay level headed...nothing has happened like this...until now.”

Declan looked at Paul for a moment as he navigated his truck into Lorie’s driveway and said, “I need to let the commander know what just happened here. Not only is Kristie my girlfriend, she’s also a person of interest and I need to protect her.”

“Call him,” said Paul as he watched Lorie pull tissue from her purse.

Declan nodded and closed the door before he took a few steps away.
‘Evening Commander Thompson, do you have a few minutes?’
asked Declan tapping his foot nervously on the ground. Taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly, he continued.
‘I have something I wish to discuss with you and I’m not sure how to do this.’
Declan was filled with nerves-worried about Kristie, worried about what his commander would say, worried about whether he would have enough time to care for her before his next mission. Feeling his head pound, he looked up to the sky and waited for his commander to respond.

Fearing the worst, the commander replied,
‘I have time. Go ahead.’

‘Okay. Have you been watching the news today?”

‘Yes,’
replied the commander not sure where the conversation was going but letting out a breath, he listened.

‘Good. Did you hear about Kristie Rossi being shot today?’

‘I did,’
replied the commander in a confused voice.
‘It’s all over the news.’

Declan felt his heart rate pick up speed as a storm of bees took up residence in his stomach. Rubbing the back of his neck as he walked up and down the Rossi driveway, he continued.
‘Kristie Rossi is my girlfriend and I need to be with her. I can’t even think straight right now.’

‘Lieutenant, you handle your business. If I need you, you’ll be close enough for me to reach you.’

‘Really?’

‘If there’s anything you should need, you have an entire unit at your disposal. We are here for you.

While Declan called the commander, Paul pulled Lorie into the house and said softly, “We need to talk.”

Feeling a knife plunge into her heart and stomach at the same time, she sucked in a breath in an attempt to pull herself together. “Okay.”

“Is there somewhere we can go so we’re not going to interfere with Declan’s call?” asked Paul in an even voice.

“Yes. Come with me,” Lorie said as she tried her best to keep from falling apart and making things worse.

Paul followed her through the kitchen, past a few different doors and down a staircase of about ten stairs to some sort of family room. Taking a seat on a huge, brown couch, he took Lorie’s hand in his and said, “Listen. I haven’t been completely honest with you.”

Her skin paled and she gasped as she pulled her hand away from him. “Don’t finish. Just go. Leave.”

“What? I haven’t even told you what I have to tell you,” said Paul feeling his heartbeat quicken. Looking at her beautiful blue, now bloodshot, eyes, he moved her light brown hair out of her face and said, “I adore you. Please let me continue.”

“If you’re married, don’t bother,” she said while attempting to stand up.

Paul pulled her back down and hugged her tightly as he placed a kiss on her lips. Taking either side of her face in his hands, he said, “If there’s one thing you need to know about me Lorie it’s that I’m one hundred percent loyal. I would never do something like that.”

“Oh,” said Lorie letting out the breath she was holding.

Taking a few short breaths and letting them out, Paul said, “I do work for the government but it’s more than that.” He paused for a moment thinking how to explain and decided blurting it out would be the best way with Lorie. “I’m a Navy SEAL and have been for over six years now.”

Feeling her stomach summersault a dozen times, Lorie looked at Paul with his pale blue eyes, thick, dark blond hair, and full lips—all she wanted to do was kiss and hold him tight. “I see,” was all she managed to say since kissing him at that moment, while her sister’s fate was unknown, just didn’t seem the right thing to do.

Declan stood there waiting for Paul and Lorie to walk back outside.

“So, what did the commander say?”

Declan rubbed his jaw as he thought about everything he would have to do in the next few days. “He said that as far as he’s concerned I’m nearby and knows how to reach me if he needs me.”