An Unintentional Affair (The Affair Series Book 1) (9 page)

Monday night, Adam knew
I was addled emotionally. He tried to calm me down as best he could. We sat in
a hot bath together, and he just held me. He didn’t even try to arouse me. He
knew my life was in turmoil and would never be the same. He carried me to the
bed and slid in between the sheets behind me. I wept quietly, and he held me
tight until I eventually fell asleep.

Tuesday morning when I
woke up, Adam was already up and on the phone. He wrapped up his conversation
and came over to sit next to me on the bed. He leaned down and gave me a gentle
kiss on the forehead. “Did you sleep okay?” he asked.

“I had crazy dreams. I dreamt
that my boss was involved in this art theft scheme, and…oh, wait, that really
happened, didn’t it?” I covered my face and let out a small scream. “Urghhh. This
can’t be happening!”

“I talked with the guys
who’ve been on watch at the studio. No sign of Clint yet. I have to go to the
gallery and meet an agent to see if we can find any evidence that will help
point to Clint and Sam when we finally catch up with them. There is an APB out
for the van.”

“What should I do?” I
asked. There was no point in going to the studio. Sinclair Studios would be
history any second. What a waste.

“Do you have anything personal
at the studio that you need to get?”

“There are a few things
there that I would like to pick up if I can, but it’s not absolutely necessary.”

“Well, if you want to
go, I can give you the phone number of one of the guys on the stake out. He can
go in with you.”

“Let me think about
it.” I wasn’t sure I really wanted to go there.

I mulled it over while
I took a shower. Adam slipped into the bathroom. His naked sculpted body sent a
wave of arousal through me. “You’re so beautiful,” he whispered as he wrapped
his arms around me and nibbled at my lips. I could feel all the tension in my
body fall away in his embrace. We held each other and kissed under the steamy
water. Adam lathered his hands and gently rubbed my back, pulling me into him.  Every
nerve ending was standing at attention. He knelt down to bathe my legs. Pushing
my feet apart slightly to open my stance, he slowly worked his way up my
thighs, inching his way to my sweet spot. He worked with both hands, massaging
and moving his fingers in and out of me. I braced myself on the walls of the
shower so my weak knees would not fail me as the orgasm exploded through me.

“Oh, Adam!” I cried as
he stood up and sheathed himself. He lifted my arms up to his shoulders, and wrapped
his arm around my waist, drawing me to his lips for a longing kiss. He bent his
knees slightly and thrust himself inside me, moving up and down slowly while his
lips pecked at mine in rhythm with his movements. My heart was pounding and I gripped
his shoulders, bracing myself for the next wave of ecstasy that was pushing
through me. His head tilted back and hands squeezed my ass as he came hard. We
both went limp in each other’s arms, embracing under the warm water cascading
over our skin until our heartbeats began to slow.  “Emily Ryan, you’re a strong
woman. You
will
get through this.” he said softly.

“I’m glad you think so,
but I’m not feeling very strong at the moment. I’m not really sure what I feel.”

“I’m worried about you,
and I want to help take this weight of the world off your shoulders. I know
it’s a lot to deal with, and it isn’t easy. There’s a lot to consider.” He said
and kissed me tenderly.

I shrugged, “I know
there is. I’m not exactly sure where to start…but I’ll figure it out,” I said, beginning
to resign myself to the situation. “I guess I’ll go to the office, and get
what’s there. I’m sure there’s something I’m forgetting about.”

We dressed and went our
separate ways. As I climbed the stairs from the subway, I called Joe, who was
one of the FBI agents on stakeout.

“Joe here.”

“Hi, Joe, this is Emily
Ryan. I know Adam Com-”

He cut me off. “Yeah, Emily.
Where are you?”

“Just down the block. I’m
walking toward the building now.”

“I’ll meet you out
front.”

As I approached the
building, I saw a man getting out of a black sedan down the block. That had to
be Joe. “Emily?”

“Yes. Hi, Joe” I held
my hand out to shake.

He shook my hand
brusquely and said, “Let’s go.” As we took the elevator up, I could feel him
looking at me. “You okay, Ms. Ryan?” he asked.

“I think so….”

The elevator door
opened, and it was obvious that the door to the studio was slightly ajar. Joe
looked at me, wide-eyed, and held his arm out, indicating that he wanted me to
stay back as he pulled out his gun. He walked up to the door, slowly listening
for any sounds from inside. Nothing.

He pushed the door open
and yelled, “FBI!” The place was ransacked – everything rifled through and
turned upside down. What the
hell
was going on? There had been no sign
of Clint coming back here. Who could have done this?

Joe looked around
throughout the office and the warehouse. I walked through slowly once he had
determined no one was there. The old darkroom door was standing open, and I
could see all of the packing supplies from the paintings Clay had sent over, and
materials to repack. Joe walked in and grunted. Instantly, he was on the phone.
“Adam? Joe. We have a problem.”

**

I was in the back of
the black sedan dodging and weaving through the streets before I had a clue
what was happening. I finally realized we were heading toward the hotel. Joe
spoke to me calmly. “Emily, I need the keys to your apartment. I’m going to get
you situated back at Adam’s room, then check your place to see if there’s any
sign that anyone’s been there. Adam’s on his way back to the hotel, too.”

I was numb. I dug through
my purse and found my keys. “This one is for the downstairs door, and this one
opens the apartment. 3B,” I said, handing him two different shaped keys.

“Okay. Is there
anything there you need?” Nothing came to mind immediately. I shook my head.

Joe walked into the
lobby of the hotel with me and secured a key from the front desk. When we got
up to the room, he held out his hand again, telling me to wait until he checked
it out. A moment later he reappeared and opened the door for me. “Adam should
be here shortly, and I’ll check in with you two after I’ve been to your place.
Don’t answer the door for anyone.”

It felt strange to be
alone in Adam’s hotel room. I was very nervous and wished Adam would get back. I
went to the bedroom to get farther away from the door. Curling up on the bed, I
turned on the TV for a diversion. There was a special news bulletin on.

“…body has been found
at the photography studio of Clint Sinclair. The victim has been identified as
an employee of the studio, but his name will not be released until his family can
be notified. Clint Sinclair has not been located yet. This is a picture of Mr.
Sinclair.” A photo of Clint flashed on the screen. “Another person of interest
in this case is a bicycle messenger, Clay Orwell.” Clay’s picture took the
place of Clint’s. “The FBI believes he may have ties with the Mob. Anyone with
information about either of these men is asked to call 800-555-4567.” 

I clicked off the TV in
disbelief. As I sat there, stunned, my phone rang. It was Bec. “Hey,” I answered,
with no energy or emotion.

“Em, are you okay?!
What the hell happened?!”

“Oh, Bec, it’s so
crazy. I don’t even know what’s really happening, or where to start to try and
explain it. Adam’s investigating it and helping me…it’s kind of a long story.
I’m sorry; I can’t even think straight right now. Can I call you later?”

 “Sure. I’m just
worried about you. Please call me if there is
anything
I can do for you.
I mean it, sister.”

“Thanks, Bec. I’ll call
you. Love you.”

“I love you, too, my
friend. Be safe.”

I was totally dazed. I
really didn’t know
what
to do next. Something caught my eye. It was Adam
standing in the doorway to the bedroom.

“Sam?” I asked.

He nodded. “They also
found Clint’s van at a rest stop on the Turnpike. There were signs of a
struggle, but no Clint. The stuff from the van was thrown all over the place. It
looks like all the equipment is there. The table you described with the
compartment where they hid the painting was open, but of course…no painting.”

Adam’s phone rang. “Yeah,
Joe….Uh-huh….Okay, thanks.” His voice was very somber. He sat down next to me
on the bed, wrapped his arms around me and kissed me gently on my forehead. He
cupped my cheek and looked into my eyes. “They’ve been to your apartment. Joe
said it looks very much like the office, ransacked.”

I couldn’t move. I
looked up at Adam, tears welling up in my eyes. “What do I do now? You know
these guys - they’ll find me no matter where I go.” My thoughts wandered to my
sister and my parents. I panicked. “Is my family safe?”

“Emily, we have a plan.”

**

Adam had ordered some
food, since neither of us had eaten all day. Of course he included a bottle of
red wine, knowing it might calm me down a little. I wasn’t really hungry, but I
picked at some of the cheese and fruit. Adam sat down next to me on the couch. “You
can’t stay here,” he said calmly.

I stared at him for a
minute, thinking he was throwing me out. I bolted from the couch, and began
pacing and crying. “Adam, I have nowhere to go! Please don’t do this to me. At
least let me stay tonight until I can -”

He stood up and grabbed
me, stopping me in mid-sentence. “You don’t understand. We’re setting you up with
a new identity. You can’t stay here or anywhere as Emily Ryan. You aren’t
safe.”

“
What?!”
I
couldn’t believe what I was hearing.

“Emily, these people
will stop at nothing to silence you if they think you know something - and
obviously they do, considering what your apartment looks like.”

I fell back down on the
couch, completely numb. He sat down and put his arm around me. After a moment I
could tell he was crying, too. I looked up at his enormous blue eyes, and tears
began streaming down his cheeks. It suddenly hit me. He wasn’t going with me. There
was a knock on the door. Adam seemed to be expecting it, because without hesitation
he opened the door. A man walked in carrying a video camera and a small tripod.

“Emily, this is Dave,”
Adam announced. “He is going to record your testimony, any details you know about
this case.” Adam was turning the club chair around so it faced into the room as
Dave went about setting up the camera. “Just take your time, and tell me
everything you can remember, whether it was from yesterday at the gallery or any
time before that. Anything you think might be relevant.”

I was still in shock
from his pronouncement that he was setting me up in witness protection. I
wasn’t sure I could speak let alone give coherent testimony. “Can I have a few
minutes to make some notes so I can try to remember as much as possible?” If
he’d only told me sooner Dave was coming, I might have been a little more
prepared.

Having this to
concentrate on was actually beginning to me calm down. I tried to replay in my
mind how the events of the shoot day had transpired. The table exchange, Clint
distracting me, Sam’s sleight of hand switching the art. All the odd little
things from the last few months that never seemed significant before were all
beginning to make sense. “Okay, I think I’m ready.”

Adam kissed my hand and
said, “I know you’ll do great, sweetheart. I’ll be right here, so just talk to
me. Forget about the camera.”

Dave hit “record” and
walked over to me with a Bible. “Please state your name.”

“Emily Ryan.”

“Hold up your right
hand and place your left hand on the Bible.” I obeyed. “Do you swear to tell
the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you God?”

“I do.” This ritual
threw me off. It took me a minute for me to compose myself. I took a sip of
water, but what I really wanted was another sip of wine. That would have to
wait.

**

I talked for almost an
hour and a half. Adam interjected a question now and then but mostly, he just
let me talk. When it was all over, I was totally spent. As Dave packed up the
camera, Adam handed me a glass of wine. “You did great,” he said, hugging me.

“Thank you. I needed
that.”

“I thought you might,”
he said, trying to muster a smile.

Dave was just about out
the door when Adam got another call from Joe. They had Myra. She was about to
get on a plane to Switzerland, but they caught her before she could board. She said
she hadn’t heard from Clint since he left for the office Monday morning. Seems
she was talking up a storm and was a wealth of information, too.