Tragic Desires (19 page)

“
Everything. Your favorite foods, places to eat, vacation destinations, what you to do relax. I want to know Drex. What he loves to do.” I place my other hand on top of his.

He suddenly stands and busies himself with removing our appetizer plates and bringing our salads.
I mull over what could be going through Drex’s mind.

He interrupts my thoughts. “It’s not what you think
,” he says as he sits back down.

My eyes meet his and I try to read
him, but he’s so good at covering things, I come up empty.

“What I think is that whatever it is must be bad enough to make the fun-loving man
who just sat here a minute ago vanish like that.” I snap my fingers.

“There is so much shit, Gemini.”

“Like there isn’t with me?”

“Yeah, but it was out of your control.”

“You know, I know this guy who made a great point earlier. He told me that people make all sorts of mistakes and they shouldn’t have to pay for them forever. I happen to agree with him.”

“The mistakes were pretty fucking bad.”

“Were they all your fault and done intentionally?”

“No.”

“So move on.”

He laughs. Not a carefree laugh but a sinister one. “I wish it were that easy.”

I need to inject humor into this situation. “Okay International PI of Mystery, whenever you’re ready to talk, you know where to come. I’ll be right here with open arms and willing ears. And if you need a shoulder to lean on, I’ve got you covered there too.”

He looks away and I can see his throat working as he swallows. Then
he nails me with a dark look and he says, “You got it. And just so you know, one day I may need those arms, ears, shoulders, and the rest of that body of yours to ease my pain.”

It’s one of those moments that
implants in my memory and I know I’ll remember this day forever. I push my chair back and quickly move to his side. Then I’m crouching next to him as I take his face in my hands. “I’ve got you on this, Drex. Whatever it is. I’ve got your back. You understand me?”

H
e pulls me onto his lap and hugs me tightly. “Yeah, I understand.” We stay like this for a bit and when he finally releases me, he smiles. “You have a way of bringing my walls down, Gemini.”

As I brush my hand through his hair, I say, “I don’t really mean to. I only want to know you, Drex.”

“You already know me better than most. You just don’t realize it. Now let me grab our main course before it gets cold.” He moves to stand but I stop him.

“Let me get this,” I say, as I retrieve the rest of our meal.

Throughout dinner, I watch him for clues, subtle hints at who he is, but he gives nothing away. Conversation is about me, my issue at hand, about the food or what our next steps are on Tuesday. He’s reticent to talk about himself. It makes me wonder why I never noticed this before. He never talks about growing up, his family, where he went to school. It’s as if he didn’t exist before me. Was I so immersed in my own problems that I didn’t see it, or is it that he is so good at dodging questions?

When
we’re finished and the plates are cleared, he turns on soft music and pulls me against him. I think he’s going to kiss me, but instead he says, “I’ve wanted to do this since the first night I saw you.”

“What’s that?”

“Dance with you.”

“I didn’t take you for a dancing kind of guy.”

“I’m not, but I want to move to the music with you in my arms, feeling your body against mine.”

I
t feels so nice. He guides me around the room, his muscles beneath my fingers tensing and relaxing as his body sways to the tempo.

“Gemini.”

“Hmm?”

“When I’m with you, you’re all I can focus on. And it worries me.”

“I don’t know what to say to that, Drex. Do you want us to be apart from each other? I can get my own place.”

“No! Then I would have to put
a team of guards on you, and frankly, I don’t trust anyone to watch over you as well as I can.”

I smirk. “Is it because you have an ulterior motive?”

His expression turns dark and I’m surprised by it. “No. I worry about your life, Gemini. I’m concerned someone will kill you. You need to take this threat seriously.”

“I do take this seriously. My God, what do you think I’ve been doing?” I stiffen and pull away from him
, out of his arms. “Do you think I’ve been poring over all that information on the Internet for kicks and giggles? I’m scared out of my wits. I’m scared someone’s going to hurt you or your men too. Fuck, Drex.”

He scrubs his face and sighs. “I’m sorry. I don’t know why I’m acting like an ass other than the fact that I
’m uneasy. Those men have to realize you’re with me and I’m afraid they’ll show up here one day. So we need to be more aware of things … be more on guard and such.”

“What do you want me to do? How can I help?”

He rolls his shoulders and says, “I don’t want you to go anywhere without a bodyguard.”

“Okay.”

“But right now, I want you to kiss me.”

Wow.
Rapid change of gears. I slowly approach, trying to read his expression. His hands are fisted and I don’t know if it’s because he’s frustrated with me, the case, or with himself. I place my hands on his shoulders and lean in to touch my lips to his.

“No
, Onyx, kiss me like you mean it. Like the world’s gonna end and this is your last chance.”

“Why are you talking like this? You’re scaring me.”

“Because I want your passion. I want your aggression. I want to feel you, Gemini. All over. I want to know that I’ve gotten into your blood as much as you’ve gotten into mine.”

“
Drex, how can you even doubt that?”

“Show me,” he demands.

I do and when we come together, it’s with everything we both have burning within us. All the fire and lust we feel explodes. What is it about us? Every time we come together, it’s as if a fuse ignites and sets off an eruption of sexual energy that we can’t control or get enough of. And it’s always different. He’s demanding, rough, and gentle, all at the same time as he lifts and carries me to the bedroom. Our mouths are greedy for each other and I think how strange it is because it’s almost as if we’ve been apart for months.

Right before I fall asleep
, I hear him say, “It will always be this way between us, Gemini. I’ll never get enough of you.”

A
nd what I
told her is true. There will never be enough of Gemini to satisfy me. She’s completely invested in and mindful of me. She’s deep in my blood, on my mind, everywhere, and that’s what has me the most troubled. My shrewdness is gone. The clarity has disappeared and I’m not thinking the way I need to be. My dick has taken over and things need to change.

But I don’t want them to. Gemini hasn’t the slightest idea of what she does to me. I
’m a fucked-up mess over her. When I move her away from me, she moans in protest and it makes my dick jerk. I groan in response. I always give in to my needs, and to hers. But who am I kidding? It’s impossible not to. If I had a mind to, I could take her again, right here, right now. And I know she’d be all over me, just as much as I would be her. But I’ll wait. We need sleep.

I pull her against me.
We fit, like puzzle pieces. As I drift off, I try to count the things about her that turn me on, but there are just too damn many of them. I shut my mind off and let sleep claim my body.

In the middle of the night, something fires up my senses. At first, as I
lie there, I’m not sure what it is. Gemini breathes softly next to me, snuggled into my side. A brief scan of the room doesn’t reveal anything in particular, so I tune in my hearing. There’s not anything I can pinpoint, but I learned long ago not to ignore these feelings. I gently move Gemini, trying not to disturb her slumber, and ease out of bed. I walk to the door and glance down the hall to see if anything’s amiss. All looks good, so I head back to the window to check outside. That’s when I see it. There’s an SUV parked right beneath my window, and it’s not one of mine.

“Shit! Gemini, get up. Now
!” I yell.

She sits up, confused.

I’m already pulling on my discarded pants.

“What’s going on?”

Tossing her my button-down shirt, I yell, “Hurry! Now! Get dressed. We gotta get outta here!” My urgency lets her know I mean business. “Back door. When we hit the alley, go right and run like hell!”

“I don’t have shoes,” she yells.

“Neither do I. Let’s go!”

Then I say, “Security,
code red. Activate alarm,” as we run down the hallway.

We bust through the back door and hit the alley. By the time we
’re halfway to the corner, the warehouse erupts in a fireball and knocks us about fifteen feet down the street. The noise is deafening. Pushing myself to my hands and knees, I look to see if Gemini is all right.

“Are you okay?”
Gemini cocks her head and looks at me like she doesn’t understand me. “Gemini, are you okay?”

She nods. Her hands rub her head
and I can see her hands are scraped, but we don’t have time for this. I pull her to her feet. “Come on. We gotta move.” She gets up but I can tell she’s dizzy when she stumbles and falls.

“My head
!” she yells.

I carry her to the corner
, where I deem it’s safer, to wait for someone to help us. My legs fold beneath me as I collapse and we end up on the curb, my arms coiled around Gemini as she rests in my lap. I pull the shirt together and try to button it. She’s naked underneath and didn’t have time to do the buttons. My head tells me we need to run, but my legs won’t move. I try to stand, but fall back on my ass.

Her hands frame my face and when I look at her, tears streak her cheeks.

“Hey, babe, it’s okay. You’re fine. We got out and everything’s good,” I lie.

“No! Drex
, this is not good. You almost died because of me. Your house is in ruins because of me. You’re covered in blood.” Then her mouth is on mine and her hands are in my hair. She stops and her hands are everywhere, on my chest and my abs, and then I get it—she’s looking for wounds.

“Hey, Gemini,
nothing major other than cuts and bruises. I promise, I’m good.” I point to myself so she can see I’m fine.

When she’s satisfied I’m not mortally wounded, she breaks down. She
speaks but I can’t understand what she’s saying because she’s sobbing too hard. She’s in shock, and I recognize that she needs medical attention, but right now, I can only try to soothe her.

P
olice cars and fire engines swarm the area, along with an ambulance. Huff isn’t far behind. Two police officers approach us and immediately start to question us. It’s apparent Gemini is in no condition to answer them and I act like I’m bewildered by everything. The cops are the last people I want involved so I let Huff handle them. He knows what to do because we’ve worked with them before. He’ll make them think it could be someone we’ve been investigating.

T
he paramedics push everyone aside and try to take Gemini away from me, but she screams and won’t release me.

“Sir, she needs to let us examine her,” one of them says.

“You can examine her right here.”

“No
, sir, we need to get her inside the vehicle, where our equipment is.”

The truth is, I can
’t move right now—I’m pretty positive I’m in shock too. The thought of her dying shoots ripples of fear through me like I’ve never known before.

“
Help me to my feet. I’ll carry her there.”

Two of them assist me and
I walk her to the waiting ambulance on trembling legs. I sit on the gurney that awaits us and they put us both inside.

“This is not what we normally do, sir.”

“I don’t give a damn what you normally do!”

He doesn’t say another word
but slides the bed into the ambulance and takes our vital signs. He gets all our information and then tells me that Gemini is in shock. I want to scream by this point because I already know that, but I try to remain calm. I tell him about her post-concussion syndrome and that she was complaining about her head. I also tell him her name is Mindy Simmons. Her arms are still latched onto me like a vise, so I whisper that everything is going to be fine.

“Hey, babe,
can you hear me?”

She lifts her head and looks at me. “Yeah, but don’t let me go
.”

“I won’t, Mindy.” I want to make sure she understands I’ve used her alias. She nods.

The paramedic asks questions and she answers, but her voice is muffled because her head is buried in my neck.

“Mr. Wolfe, is there any way you can get her to release you?”

“I doubt it. We need a blanket. I’m sure she’s cold.” They cover her up.

“We need to start an IV on her and check you too.”

“You’re gonna have to work around us,” I tell him.

“Can you lie down, sir?”

I tell Gemini, “Babe, you have to lie down. Okay?” She nods, so I lay her back onto the narrow bed while she continues to hold me.

“Babe, you’re gonna have to let me go.
The medics are getting pissed off at us.”

“I don’t care. I’m not letting you go.”

“What are you gonna do when we get to the hospital? Look at me—you’re safe. You know that, right?”

“I’m not concerned about me. It’s you I’m worried about.” Then she starts
sobbing again. I swing my legs onto the bed and roll on my right side, pulling her next to me to make as much room as I can. I catch the eye of the medic so he can give her something to calm her down.

Once her IV is started, they
put something in it to sedate her. There’s a knock on the ambulance door and a police officer sticks his head inside, wanting to ask questions again. I tell him he’s going to have to do it at the hospital. Then Huff is there and I tell him to meet us at the hospital too. The medic shuts the doors and we’re on the way.

“Mr. Wolfe, I need to check you out
.”

“I’m fine. It can wait.” Right now, Gemini is my main concern. I want her to be cared for first.

“No, sir, it can’t. You need to let us examine you. Ms. Simmons is resting now.”

I give in to their pestering and a few moments later,
they examine me.

“Sir, you’re bleeding. We need to determine the location of your injury.”

They explain that I have glass and metal in my arm and back. Funny, I hadn’t even noticed. I’m glad Gemini didn’t see it during her inspection. She would’ve been even more freaked out. I glance at her
, glad that she’s drifted off.

“How bad is it?” I ask.

“All of them are superficial, except for one. We’re going to leave it alone and let the doctor in the emergency department handle it. You’ll need to be X-rayed to determine the depth.”

“Okay.”

I hear him on the radio telling the triage nurse at the hospital that he’s coming in with a patient with a possible internal injury.

A
team awaits as we’re wheeled inside. I’m sent to one room, Gemini to another. They bring in a portable X-ray machine and quickly get that taken care of. I’m still wondering why I’m in no pain. A few minutes later, the doctor tells me I need surgery to have the shrapnel removed, as it’s quite deep and they’re afraid it may have caused some damage to my left lung.

“
Why doesn’t it hurt?”

“
You’re most likely compensating.”

“I need to see my girlfriend
before.”

“That’s not advisable. We’re prepping the OR right now.”

“Then send in my friend, Huff. He should be right outside.”

“I’ll look for him, but Mr. Wolfe, if he’s not here, we need to move. This is quite urgent.”

A few seconds later, Huff shows up. “I’ve gotta get this thing taken out. Make sure you keep her calm. Don’t let her know how severe this is. She’ll fucking freak.”

“Drex. I’m sorry, man.”

“Just take care of her for me. Lie if you have to. And you know how to handle the police.”

“
Don’t worry about her or the other. She’ll be fine. I’ll make sure of that.”

“Thanks.”

The nurse says, “We have to go now, Mr. Wolfe.”

And then I’m being wheeled into the OR
, bright lights fading as I fall under.

When I wake
, it seems like I’ve only slept for two minutes. Anesthesia sure is weird. The nurse checks on me but I want to know how it went. She says the doctor will be in right away.

I’m so damn sleepy
, I can’t stay awake.

“Mr. Wolfe? I’m Dr. Wilson. The surgery went great. Just a minor tear to your lung, but you’re all patched up now and should be good to go.”

“I can go home?” My mouth feels like cotton. My throat is scratchy.

“Um, that would be a big no. You had quite an injury. The repair was simple, but nevertheless, you have to heal. You’re on IV
antibiotics, you have a chest tube in to prevent your lung from collapsing and to remove the blood from the area surrounding the injury. You’ll need to stay here for a while because of that.”

He’s telling me these things and I feel like I’m watching a movie.

“You’re kidding, right?”

“No, Mr. Wolfe, I’m not. You’re a very lucky man. Just rest for now and let that anesthesia wear off.”

“When can I see my girlfriend?”

“As soon as you
’re awake and we move you out of recovery.”

“Can you let her know I’m fine?
But just tell her it was a scratch and you had to stitch me up. She’s gonna freak.”

He chuckles and says, “Ok
ay, I’ll let her know.”

The next time
I wake up, I’m in a room. It’s dark and Huff is sitting in the chair beside the bed.

“How do you feel?”

“I was better before the surgery.” My chest, back, and arm scream at me.

“Hit that little button,” Huff says.

“What button?”

“
Here.” He picks up a little gizmo attached to my IV pole. A line running through it goes into my arm.

“What
’s that?”