“I will.” Because he had to. Because he wasn’t letting anything happen to her.

***

Gina threw her purse down on the kitchen counter as she entered her apartment, disgusted from thinking about how Julie had floated around museum, being complimented by everyone. They all loved Julie at that party, and what was Gina? Her assistant. Her fucking assistant.

Marco came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her. “What’s wrong, bebe?”

She turned in his arms. “Even you wanted her,” she accused. “I saw how you looked at her.”

“I looked at her,” he said, not even asking who she meant, because he knew. “I touch you.”

“Not tonight you won’t.” She tried to push away from him, but those big strong arms of his held her, one big hand molding her closer.

“I know what you need,” he claimed softly, that damnable sexy accent of his tingling along her nerve endings. “Something special to make you forget how much you hate this woman you work for.”

“I don’t want to forget.” She wanted to remember. Oh yes, she wanted to remember, and she wanted to do something about it.

He slipped a feather light strip of something to her lips and she frowned as it began to melt, pulling back. “What is that?”

“A new kind of pleasure,” he promised. “You will feel me in ways you never thought possible.”

She didn’t do drugs. It had always been her taboo. She didn’t like feeling out of control. But whatever he’d given her began to dissolve on her lips and instinct made her scrape it with her teeth, the sweetness of it drawing a swipe of her tongue.

“That’s ma belle,” he approved, and pressed more of the sliver of sweetness into her mouth and this time she accepted it willingly. It was good and he was just so damn convincing without even trying.

Suddenly she felt warm and wonderful, and wait, was she on the bed? How had she gotten on the bed? And where were her clothes? Not that she cared. Naked was good. Naked with Marco was even better. Her world was spinning, but in rainbow colors where time and space seemed some distant place. Marco was nowhere, yet he was everywhere, kissing her, whispering naughty, wonderful things to her.

“You hate Julie, oui?” he asked by her ear, and his hand was on her stomach, heat seeping into her skin and sending these amazing sensations through her.

“Yes, I hate her.” She rolled over and wrapped her arms around him but then she blinked and everything went blank. She couldn’t remember what she’d said but she was pretty sure that, oh wow, oh, yes....she’d just had the orgasm of orgasms. “Do it again,” she demanded. ”Make me come again.”

“Non,” he declined, his lips on her neck. “Not until you give me something. Remember? That’s how we play this game. I give you pleasure. You give me...something. Now, tell me more about this journal.”

“The journal,” she whispered, trying to remember why she hadn’t told him about it before now. Wasn’t there a reason? She couldn’t think of the reason. This was Marco, the man who made her feel so good, the man she wanted to be rich and naked with for the rest of her life. “The judge,” she whispered, pressing his hand to her breast. “He will pay for it.”

“How much?”

“I don’t know...I thought fifty thousand....” Rainbows floated in her vision again and she blinked them away. “I think much more.”

“And where,” he said, against her mouth, “is this journal?”

“Julie has it.”

Chapter Nineteen

It was early Friday morning, the day of the party, and Luke had yet to get instructions about where to go and when. He sat at a coffee shop several tables from where Julie was meeting with a client, his MacBook open. She’d called in with the flu for two days, and then worked twelve-hour days from his office. Today though, she insisted she had to go by her office for a meeting and to pick up some files. He planned to wait on her in the building.

Luke’s cell rang and he snatched it from his belt and grimaced at Murphy’s number. “Why do I know this is you trying to convince me to take Julie to Arel’s party?”

“I’ve studied this guy for two years,” Murphy said. “He’s got the same mentality gangs operate with. The strong get respect and rise to the top. The weak are destroyed. You told the judge you use Julie to get to her high-powered clients. If the judge shared that information, which considering he’s trying to stay on Arel’s good side, I’d venture that he did, then Arel will want the power you have by the impression that you basically own Julie.”

“So he wants her.”

“He wants the power and the control,” Murphy said. “You make damn sure he knows that she’s yours and hands off. Be good to you, and he’ll get rewarded through you.”

“Great information,” Luke said, “but nothing I’m going to put to use tonight.”

“Two more dead teens last night in Jersey,” he said. “We have to shut them down.” He hesitated. “That missing agent we told you about.”

“Yes?”

“She had two sisters, a brother, and a fiancé. Her name is Lauren Michael. She likes cheese pizza and can eat more than any of us guys, but she’s a tiny little thing. She reads romance novels, but is still tougher than sin, and handles a gun better than most men. Oh, and her father was killed by a drugged-up dude on the street for the twenty bucks he had in his pocket. Bring her home, Luke.” The line went dead.

Luke held the phone to his forehead. Damn it. Damn it to hell. Think man. Think your way out of this. He cut a sideways look at Julie, an ache in his heart just looking at her. She trusted him to keep her safe and he couldn’t fail.

“Mister?”

Luke looked up to find a kid not more the twelve standing beside him. The kid shoved an envelope at him. Luke accepted it. “Who’s it from.”

He shrugged. “I don’t know him but he gave me a hundred bucks.” He took off for the door.

Luke ripped open the card.

If you want to work with me, you need to know the price of crossing me. I can get to you, or your playmate, or your brothers, or anyone I damn well please, any time, any place. Be at the Staten Island Ferry waiting for pick-up at eight sharp and bring Ms. Harrison.

Luke inhaled deeply, the sound of Julie’s voice as she and her client stood up and shook hands catching his attention. He slid the note into his briefcase and shut his computer.

She walked over to him and sat down, hanging her briefcase on the chair. “Did you hear the news? About the two dead teenagers?”

With grim acceptance of where this was leading, he gave a nod. “I heard.”

“I have to go with you,” she said. “I have to.”

Luke knew he’d been backed into a corner, that he had a choice to make and make quickly. He could kidnap her and hide her away someplace safe. She’d hate him, but she wouldn’t be dead. Or he could do something that might also make her hate him, but would keep her alive, as well.

“I got a call today,” he said. “I’m to be at the Staten Island Ferry at eight tonight, alone. Seems Arel didn’t agree with the judge’s guest list.”

She studied him long and hard, seeing way too much. “You’re trying to protect me, aren’t you?”

Her cell phone rang in her hand and she sighed. “It’s Gina. It might be about my meeting that I pray is cancelled.” She answered the call and listened a moment.

“Okay,” she finally said. “I’ll swing by there. I’m close anyway. Tell the partners I might be a few minutes late to the meeting.” She hung up. “Gina’s purse was stolen. She has a key to my apartment from cat-sitting and thought I should have my locks changed. I’m only two blocks from here. I want to swing by and check on things and tell the doorman.”

***

Luke’s bad feeling got worse when they arrived at Julie’s building to find the power was off, and the doorman had his hands full calming tenants and trying to get answers.

He and Julie walked the stairs and when they got to her floor, he took her key and unlocked the door. He held her back and shoved the door open. Everything she owned had been destroyed. The walls were spray-painted, her couches shredded.