The Opium Room (17 page)

He put his hands on his knees and closed his eyes. Then, he heard Lea’s angelic voice. Was it his imagination? She was murmuring something. He couldn’t make out the words. He was too drunk.

“Did you hear what I said?” Now her voice was right behind him. No, maybe she was leaning down into his ear. It was
that
close.

He battled against his altered senses, opening his eyes. He turned in slow motion and could see the outline of her figure. He’d recognize the curves beneath the soft cotton dress anywhere. His head was too heavy to lift and look into her eyes, but he could smell her. The peppermint. It was Lea.

“God, I’m so glad to see you,” he said, putting his hands on her hips and dropping his cheek down onto her chest.

Lea shoved him with the sharp tip of her fingernails. “Get away from me, you bastard.”

The room whirled around Fox. “What the hell are you talking about?” He still couldn’t focus. Everything was a blur.

“Sh–should I go?” Lael asked from the other end of the bar.

Fox didn’t turn around. “Yes, go. Get the hell out of here.”

Fox heard keys hitting together and the clanking of Lael’s shoes, followed by the sound of the elevator going down.

“Your secret’s out,” Lea said. “I know all about you and Jill.” Her voice was breaking. Was she crying?

“No, babe, it’s not like that,” Fox said, finally looking up, trying to focus on her features and not the blinding light.

“Don’t you dare lie to me!” Lea balled a fist and pounded it against his shoulder.

He fought the urge to slap her with the back of his hand. She had no idea what she was talking about. None. She raised her fist to hit him again, and he caught her by the wrist. “Don’t.” He willed himself off the chair and somehow managed to make his way across the room.

Lea was right on his heels. “Where are you going? Don’t you walk away from me.”

“Shut up,” Fox said without turning. He flipped the switch on the elevator door that prevented it from opening.

“Oh, the nerve!” Lea hollered, “you think you can cheat on me and then talk to me that way?”

Flames of fury grew within him. He spun around, caught her by the neck, squeezed hard enough to make a point. “I’m a dangerous man, Lea. Don’t test me.”

His vision was still blurry, but he could see Lea slowly blinking, felt her adams apple bob beneath his grip. Her voice was calm. “Go ahead, kill me. Prove that you’re just like your dad.”

—Lea

Even when Brandon cheated, Lea never wished she would die. Yeah, sometimes that seemed like a better alternative, but she knew eventually the pain would go away. Fox’s betrayal, however, was one that she’d never recover from. She’d had a taste of real love. And as fast as it had come, it was gone. She had to come and see for herself what a two–timer he was.

She was going to make it easy for him. “Go ahead,” she urged. “Kill me.” She meant it. If he was half the man his father was, it wouldn’t be a hard. “Put your other hand on my neck and squeeze, you pussy.”

Fox’s big, black eyes widened. She’d never seem them so dark. The look in them sent a shiver up her spine. Adrenaline rushed through her. Was this was it felt like the moment before death?

“I could if I wanted to,” Fox panted in her face, the whiskey so pungent on his breath, it made her dizzy. Her stared at her a moment longer and abruptly let go.

He bent down. She gasped. Was he reaching for a gun? Had he changed his mind on the method he would use? He hoisted her from the floor, carried her over his shoulder to the bar.

They fell hard onto the bar. She noticed that Fox had kept his arm around her when they went down, absorbing most of the impact. Why didn’t he let her back break against it? He’d already hurt her emotionally, might as well do it physically, too.

“Damn it,” he swore into her ear, and bit down on her neck as his hand went under her dress, tearing off her panties. “Don’t you know how fucking much I love you?”

Tears flowed from Lea’s eyes. “Get away from me, you bastard,” she yelled, struggling against him.

He stood up straight. “Is that what you want? You want me to leave you?”

Yes, yes she did. Why wasn’t her mouth saying that?

“I don’t think so.” Fox took off his belt, tossed it aside. Unzipped his pants. He leaned onto her, pushed his tongue deeply into her mouth. Lea tried to fight it, biting down on his tongue.

“I won’t,” Fox said, “let you leave me. Do you understand?” His eyes were filled with something… tears, perhaps. Or maybe they were glazed from the drinking. She wasn’t sure, but his voice had certainly cracked.

He kissed her again, softer, but with just as much passion. His lips moved to her neck, her breast, and back up again. “I would never cheat on you, Lea. Never.” Listening to his words, she hadn’t even felt him slowly sliding into her. She cried as her hips moved against him while her legs begged her to get up and leave. She couldn’t believe his lies. That’s all they were—lies.

He wiped her face. “Stop crying. Whatever happened to make you believe such a thing? I’m going to make right.” He wrapped his arms around her back and lifted her up onto him. Looking into her eyes, he said, “Listen to me. I love you. I love you.”

This was all wrong. So wrong, yet it felt right. She didn’t know why she so easily believed him. It must have been his eyes. They weren’t dilated like Brandon’s always were when he lied about his love for her. What had begun as frenzied bodies flailing about, fighting against one another, had slowed to a soft, peaceful kind of love that she only knew with Fox. She quietly conceded, accepting the love she once knew.

And never wanted to forget.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

The kaleidoscope of light shining through the skylight above Fox’s bed was amazing. His bed was amazing. So comfortable, more so than the bed at Hypnotic. Lea never thought she’d see the inside of his home. Especially after she’d found out that Fox had been alone with Jill. She was sure he’d been cheating. In her anxious state, she hadn’t heard Karrigan say that Erickson was in there too. Now she got it.

Fox stroked her arm with the back of his hand. “What are you thinking about?”

“About last night. I feel like such a fool to accuse you like I did. Talk about jumping to conclusions.”

“It’s okay. Sorry you had to see me so tore up. If I’d known you were coming, I wouldn’t have had so many drinks. I wouldn’t have needed a drink at all.” He pushed back the covers, sat up. “Want breakfast?”

“I’d love some.”

“Let’s go downstairs.”

Fox’s home was stunning. The staircase curved beautifully along one wall. The expansive ceiling seemed to never end. So much open space, yet still so warm and welcoming. She could easily see herself becoming the lady of the house.

In the kitchen, Fox asked, “Pancakes and bacon sound good?” as he pulled some pans from an overhead hanger.

“Sounds great. You gonna cook for me?”

“I wouldn’t have it any other way.” Fox turned on the gas stove and started mixed the batter.

Sitting at the kitchen table, Lea put one leg beneath her. A few minutes passed as Fox cooked, and Lea could tell he was deep in thought.

“Listen,” she said, “I want to apologize for accusing you of cheating. I’m just an insecure biddy, I guess.”

Fox put a pancake and strip of bacon on a plate and set it in front of her. “Don’t worry about it. After all you’ve been through with your ex–husband, it’s only natural for you to have doubts about relationships.”

“I know, but still I was wrong,” Lea said, and picked at her food with her fork. She was still in Fox’s T–shirt from last night. The smell of him was more potent than the food in front of her. When Fox came back to the table, he set his own plate down and walked to her side to hand her a glass of orange juice. As he began to walk away, she grabbed him by the wrist. “What can I do for you to help with this situation with your dad? I know it’s eating you up.”

Fox pulled a chair in front of her. “I’m okay. I’ll handle it.”

“You’re not okay. You talked more during our sex last night than you have after. I can tell he’s never far from your mind.”

“You know me well, Lea. I swear you’re my soul mate. I’m mad as hell that all this shit with my dad is happening now when I’d rather dedicate my time and attention to you.”

“So, let me help you take care of the situation. Let’s see… You said Jill is your sister, and her mother, you think, gave your dad the poison to kill your mother. Right?”

“Right.”

“But you can’t be sure of that because there is no solid proof, right?”

“Yep. My hands are tied. I may never know the truth.”

“But there has to be somebody who knows. What about the butler at the mansion? He can’t tell you for certain that Roman is responsible for your mother’s death.”

“No, he never saw anything. He only overheard him on the phone with Bobbie the night of Mom’s death saying some very incriminating things.”

“Is there someone else who was close with your father or your family who may know? I mean, if your father had a butler and a gardener, surely there were others who worked at the mansion.”

“Oh my God, there is one more person now that you mention it. Our housekeeper Britta. She prepared the meals. But there’s no way she would have purposely gone along with a plan to kill mother.”

“Why didn’t you ask her when you were there?”

“She’s in the hospital. She has cancer. I need to pay her a visit. Britta’s a good woman and she was like a mother to me.”

“Then let’s do it. I’ll go with you.”

“Really? You want to get thrown into the fire right along with me?”

“I want to, Fox, yeah. I want to be part of your life whether it be good or bad. That’s what people who love each other do.”

Fox stroked her cheek. “I love you, Lea. You’ve changed my game, given me a reason to settle down into a more suitable lifestyle. I promise, after I get all this shit squared away with Roman, I’m going to make you my wife.”

Lea gulped, tears fill her eyes. She didn’t know what to say. But she hoped that what he said hadn’t been a slip of the tongue. If he really meant that, she would happily give marriage another go.

Lea heard Fox’s cell phone buzz. Fox stood and answered the call.

“Foxworth Kemp.”

“Yeah.” A long pause. “Now’s really a bad time. Can I call you later?” He paused a beat. “Yeah, I promise. Bye.”

“Who was that?” Lea asked.

“Jill.”

“Oh.” That name didn’t arouse her suspicions anymore. Fox had explained everything to Lea last night. She still couldn’t believe that Jill was his long lost sister and she had simply wanted to get to know him. Lea felt foolish for the way she’d confronted him at the bar. Fox had learned from Jill even more incriminating news about Roman, and that’s why Fox was drinking to begin with. His suspicions that Roman had something to do with Frances’s death had been validated by Jill.

“What’d she want? She find out more about her mother?”

“No, I think we’ll never know more about Bobbie than we already do. Especially since she too is dead now.”

“Well, what then?” Lea looked past Fox’s shoulder at the clock on the wall. “It’s early.”

“She said she has something to talk to me about—that she might have uncovered more damning evidence on Roman’s involvement.”

“Why did you tell her you’d call her back later? Don’t you want to know that information?”

“Lea, she may be my sister and all, and I’m sorry she got pulled into this predicament, but still, I knew her as a business associate before I knew she was my sister, and let’s just say, I never thought she was the brightest bulb. You get my drift?”

“So, you think she’s an airhead?”

“Uh, yeah. But let’s just keep that between you and me.” Fox laughed.

“All right. Your secret’s safe. But do me a favor, huh?”

“Name it.”

“Call her back later. Give her a chance. She may know something.”

“All right, babe.” He leaned in a gave Lea a kiss. “For you, anything.”

—Fox

On the ride to the hospital, Lea reminded Fox that he was supposed to return Jill’s call. The things we do for love, he thought, as he dialed her number on his cell. He looked over at Lea and gave her a wink.

Jill answered on the first ring. “I think I’m on to something,” she said.

“What’s up?” Fox asked.

“I’ve done a little internet research about your mother’s case. Do you recall hearing the name Earl Branson?”

Fox thought for a moment. “Doesn’t ring a bell.”

“He was a witness called by the prosecution during your father’s trial.”

One more witness that Roman had paid off, Fox thought. A lot of good he or any other witness did for the prosecution. Roman got acquitted.

“What’s the story about him, Jill, and hurry and get to the point, because it eats me up to even think about that monkey trial.”

“Earl Branson ran a pet cemetery.”

“So?”

Fox looked over at Lea and rolled his eyes. Lea mouthed,
be nice.

“Pet cemeteries have incinerators, right?”

“I suppose they do.” Fox could see now where Jill was headed with this and he was surprised. She was headed in the right direction.

“Fox, I’m not as educated as you are, obviously, but I’d be willing to bet that Earl was somehow connected to your mother’s disappearance. Her body was never found, and he had an incinerator. You get what I’m saying?”

A smile tugged at Fox’s lips. Fox got it from the word incinerator. Jill’s determination and passion, Fox thought was… cute. He reminded her of Karrigan. This whole thing with Jill may turn out for the best. Karrigan never had a mother, but now she had gained a sister.

Roman was soon going to pay for all the hurt he’d caused his sisters, his brother, himself, and his mother.

And the time would come before the sun set on the horizon.

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

Britta wasn’t doing well. At least, that’s what the head nurse told Fox before she let him go to her room for a strictly five–minute visit. Any longer, and she promised to come kick him out. Fox opened the heavy door to her room and slowly peeked in. Britta was barely recognizable. The once plump woman was now a feeble, elderly form. Fox remembered her big, boisterous laugh and the way she would hug him so tight as a young boy that he’d almost feel like vomiting.