All The Pieces (Pieces of Lies 3) (11 page)

So much for letting nature take its course.

I now wanted to be the obstacle, the roadblock, the unnatural element that was going to prevent Lenorah getting to the point she needed to be. I was absolutely against this idea and what Len was going to do tonight. She had managed to talk me down from calling her Dad and going completely ape-shit and hunting down this Hamilton fucker for putting her through this, but she did remind me it was ‘her’ choice and ‘her’ decision and that I had made it clear that I was here to help and support her and wouldn’t get in her way. It only compounded my hatred towards Josh further. He was the reason she was doing all this. He was the reason she was mixed up in the Lappell in the first place.

She assured me Clint would watch out for her at the party tonight, and that she wouldn’t do anything that she was fundamentally against. That there was no other way to get to Josh except to entertain this Hamilton Brooks douche-bag to try and find out what he wanted. I knew she was right, but it should have been me going with her tonight. It should be me keeping her safe. Me. Not Weston.

Since Delia had said it was like a scene out of
Eyes Wide Shut,
I couldn’t get that scene with Tom Cruise at that mansion, out of my head. It’s all I could imagine, and thinking that Len was walking into something like that, was hurting me to the very depths of my bones. At least in the world I came from, we worshipped and valued the women we really loved. We didn’t treat them as if they were game pieces to be toyed with and used solely for pleasure. The idea of Len being in that position this evening was making my stomach churn and my trigger finger feel all sorts of twitchy. I couldn’t brush away the very bad feeling I had about tonight.

“You really need a map of this place to get around,” Tess said as we rounded another corner down a hallway in the mansion. I was walking behind Tess and Clint to go meet up with Len before heading out. I also wanted to make sure she was level-headed enough to deal with anything that might be thrown at her this evening. She had to have a clear mind when dealing with these kind of people. She needed to be able to run from anything that could potentially hurt or be of danger. Hopefully she wouldn’t let her emotions get in the way and Clint could make sure things didn’t get out of hand. I hated feeling helpless in this situation. I was not used to having so little control.

“It’s not too much further,” Clint said as he reached for his bow tie again. It had been the third time he had reached for his neck and readjusted his bow tie on his tuxedo as we started walking from one end of the house to the other. I could tell he was really fucking nervous. That didn’t help put my mind at ease; it only made me sweat more for Len.

“Where is Norah exactly?” Tess asked Clint. Clint appeared to be walking even faster now as I consciously had to pick up my feet to keep pace behind them.

“She’s getting ready in Delia’s room. She should be all set to go. But we have to leave soon. It’s already getting late.” Clint tugged again at his neck.

This time Tess noticed it too. “Are you alright Clint? That’s the millionth time you have adjusted your bow tie.”

His hand made another jerking action at his collar. “It’s just hot. Very, very hot. Are you guys hot too?”

Yep, he was already freaking out. We both shook our heads no in response.

“You’re going to do fine Clint. I’m sure you will protect Norah the best you can,” Tess assured Clint. I loved how this Tess chick was just as clued in as I was. Our thoughts appeared to be on the same wavelength, although she seemed much more optimistic about Clint’s abilities than I was.

“Yeah well, your best better be fucking good enough,” I said speaking to Clint’s back. He straightened his stature at my words but didn’t respond. I shouldn’t have sounded so threatening but I wanted to be the one to escort her. I should be the one watching out for her. I shouldn’t have to rely on her ex-boyfriend to be doing what I had specifically come to Europe to do.

Tess swung her head around and eyed me. “Clint is going to do great Samuel. He doesn’t need you to remind him what’s at stake here. Why don’t you try being supportive for a change? He really doesn’t need your high and mighty crap. He’s a good guy. He’s strong and he cares for Norah. I have full belief that he will protect her with his life. Now stop being so...you. It’s just making things worse.”

Wow. I do admire a girl who isn’t scared to bite back. I could understand now why Len and Tess were such good friends. Not only did she have spunk and swear like a sailor, she was calling me out for being a shit. If this was a different situation, I think I could actually like good ol’ Red. I decided instead of scowling at her, to give her a sexy wink. I knew it would get under her skin, and I kind of enjoyed being able to do that. She rolled her eyes and glared back.

“Alright, alright Red.” I grinned at Tess. “Weston, just don’t let Len out of your sight, okay? And...if you do that, I’m sure that you’ll do...fine.” It was the best supportive speech I could manage.

“That’s better,” Tess said. She tried to keep her face looking hard, but I saw the corners of her mouth turn up ever so slightly. She thought she had won.
Oh Red. I let you have that one.

Clint sucked in a breath, seemingly more confident as he stood tall, stopping at a door . “Thanks Sam, I will protect her with everything I’ve got, don’t worry. You can trust me to do this.”

I patted his back once in a show of ‘support’. I needed him to be at his best this evening and I should be more encouraging and not so negative as Tess had pointed out. Better to keep him confident than scared.

He twisted the doorknob and we all pushed into the room simultaneously. Thinking back now, we probably should have knocked first.

There was Lenorah, standing on a small stool, in front of three full-length mirrors, wearing nothing but a black lace bra and panties. The lingerie was so sheer that you could clearly see the intricate black embroidery running along the edges and through the lace. They were complemented with black garters hooked to thigh-high black stockings. She also had dark red lips, dead straight hair, and she had on six-inch black heels. The sight was enough to make me get instantly hard in my pants. And her breasts.
Whoa!
They were pushed up to the maximum because they looked much bigger than normal. The sight was jaw-dropping.

“FUCK ME!” I yelled out, almost unable to think clearly after I said it. The vision of Len had knocked the air right out of my chest. I know I must have sounded like a pervert, but I couldn’t help saying it when I saw her. It was such a natural reaction and I couldn’t keep it at bay. It had been a long time since I had seen her in next to nothing and it was such a sensationally erotic sight that it forced the words to explode from my tongue.

Len hadn’t expected us to come barging into the room the way we did, because she bent down and tried to cover herself up with her hands, which looked kind of silly considering her hands couldn’t cover anything at all. She blushed and turned back around, looking for help in the opposite direction.

“Sorry. I didn’t mean to say that out loud,” I said, shrugging towards Clint and Tess. Again, Tess was glaring at me, like she wanted to wrestle me to the ground. I tried not to keep looking at Len, but I couldn’t peel my eyes away. Clint shot me another disgusted look. “Yeah right, Weston. Like you aren’t thinking it too,” I shot back at him. I didn’t want him to think he could make me look bad. He may have been all manners and chivalry around her, but he still desired her. Hell, from what I saw on the plane, the guy was still very much in love with her, so I was certain he was thinking the same as me. I just couldn’t internalize my emotions the way he could.

Delia emerged from an adjoining room holding a long caramel-colored fur coat. “Sorry guys, show’s over.” Len smiled at her as she quickly put the fur coat on, buttoning it up at the front so we no longer had our peepshow.

“Wait, wait, wait,” I said as something registered in my head. “So...where are the rest of her clothes? Her dress?” Len turned away from me and my questioning face. “Don’t you dare tell me she’ll be walking around that party only wearing what is underneath that coat.”

Delia stared at me blankly, not responding.

“Well?” I asked.

“You just said don’t tell you if she will be walking around in just her lingerie,” Delia said flatly. “It’s the dress code for the ladies of the evening, and it’s the only way she’ll get Hamilton’s attention and get a meeting with him in private.”

“What? You’re kidding right? No, no...NO!” Was I the only one who thought this was all kinds of wrong. “NO, nup. We are calling this off right now. I’m calling your Dad. We are going back to New York. We are leaving Joshua Hollows behind. NO!”

Len stepped off the stool and walked over to me. Her arms were crossed and she had a hard look in her eyes. I hadn’t seen her this angry since the last time I saw her face to face in New York.

“Do we have a problem here Samuel? Because I thought you were here to help me and not get in my way.”

“But Len...”

“But nothing. I’m not happy about this either, but if this is how I get to see Hamilton Brooks, then this is what I need to do. He has Josh. He is the only way to him. Or have you forgotten why I’m here and why I’m doing this in the first place?”

“Yes, I know...but you shouldn’t have to do this. You shouldn’t be mixed up with the Lappell or Josh or anything with these ridiculous fucking people. And you shouldn’t have to get naked to get to speak to this guy. This is just disrespectful. It’s wrong. WRONG! WRONG! WRONG! You shouldn’t have to play their games. And what’s more...”

I felt a hand on my shoulder, trying to stop my ranting. It was Clint. I was beginning to get really emotional and I didn’t even know it. I hadn’t realized how quickly I had gone from forgetting why I was here, to tossing it all out the window and letting my own fears and emotions surface all at once. Clint gave me a look like I should be remembering everything I had already said to him. He didn’t have to remind me. The look said it all.

“Sam calm down. I’ll be there. I will protect her. I will watch over her. Don’t worry. But you need to think of Norah and what she needs to do. Relax. I’ve got this. She will be safe with me. I will make sure of that.” Clint’s voice was cool, calm and collected. He stood tall, no longer tugging at his bow tie or looking frightened. No fear in his eyes. Now that he was in the room, Clint had changed from the scared person in the hallway, to looking like he was in complete control. It was as if something had flipped his switch from weak to powerful. Was this Len’s influence? Did she bring out the man in Clint instead of the boy? Fuck! I didn’t want to believe Clint, but I did. I had to. I had to believe he would keep her safe and protected. He looked like...well...another version of me in that moment. Fierce and strong. Ready to throw himself in front of a gun for her if he had to. Len then looked at Clint and smiled at his confidence and understanding. Suddenly it became clear what Len saw in this guy. She made him a better person. She brought out something strong and endearing that spoke to her as a woman. Clint then looked to Len and smiled back. Their connection was still there, burning brightly. I suddenly felt very small and insignificant. It was clear to me now why she had fallen for this guy. I think...no, I knew...I had grossly underestimated Clint Weston.

Our limo pulled up outside a set of large steel gates at an estate about an hour’s drive from Richmond. A formally dressed man holding a hand-held fingerprint device was at the entrance. The windows rolled down and he looked in at Norah and then to me. He lowered the device and I pressed my thumb over the scanner. It turned green and the security guard motioned to the limo driver to enter the grounds.

The trip here had been very quiet with Norah barely looking my way. There was no conversation. It was just awkward air between us at the opposite ends of the limo. Now as we got closer to the mansion, her gaze was directed at me, like whatever she had been thinking about on the drive had finally won its way out to being brought up. I stared back, hoping she would talk and say whatever it was she was thinking. I wanted nothing more than to immerse myself in deep and meaningful conversation with Norah for hours on end, but I didn’t want start a conversation I knew couldn’t finish before going to an event like this. Right now, was not the right time for me to become an emotional waterfall. I had to allow Norah to prepare mentally for what we may have to do at this party. I couldn’t be selfish. I just hoped she was comfortable enough to say whatever it was she was thinking. Her lips parted, then closed,  then parted again.  
Here we go.

“Clint, can I ask you something before we go in there?” She sounded as if it had been weighing on her mind for some time, even before this limo ride. There was so much sadness in her voice.

“Yes. Ask me anything.”

Truth be told, she never had to ask a question like that. I would always and forever be honest with Norah. The truth was the only way to get back into this girl’s heart. I was her open book. There was only one thing I was not telling her, but it wasn’t my secret to tell, nor was it the time. That time would be very soon, and I was no in no rush to get there. If I could, I would freeze time right now, so that moment would never arrive. Thankfully, Norah diverted my mind off that particular line of heart-wrenching thinking.