3 Bad Guys Get Caught (24 page)

Janet woke up and pulled the covers up
to her chin. The room was chilly, but then it was January and they were in a
Vermont B&B, or to be more precise, The Vermont Inn, a five star lodge that
Katie had selected as the venue for her wedding. Close friends of the couple
had arrived Friday morning in order to have time for the bachelorette and
bachelor parties, which took place Friday night, with the wedding scheduled for
Saturday. The logic behind picking Vermont as the destination for a
bachelorette party was beyond Janet, but Katie had insisted, assuring her that
she didn’t want anything crazy; just a night of drinks and storytelling with
her girlfriends, which was what Janet had planned, renting out a nearby bar. It
was Lisa who had surprised them all with her gift for the bride to be: four
professional skiers whom she’d convinced to make some money on the side as male
strippers. It had gotten rowdy, and the whole shindig lasted until the morning
hours. It was around five a.m. when Janet had crept into bed, careful not to
wake up Dennis who had already been fast asleep. At least he looked to be fast
asleep.

Janet felt his side of the bed, but
found it empty. It was just like Dennis to get up bright and early to show her
up. She checked the clock on the nightstand: it was one p.m. Okay, so it wasn’t
that early after all. She got out of bed and headed for the bathroom. She
washed her face with cold water, brushed her teeth, and combed her hair, making
herself look somewhat presentable.

She got out of the bathroom and was just
about to put on her bathrobe and go looking for Dennis, but the bed looked
awfully inviting, so she jumped back in, telling herself that it was only for a
moment. Just then the bedroom door opened and Dennis walked inside.

“Good morning, sunshine.” He grinned at
her, freshly showered and shaved; he looked very outdoorsy dressed in a thick
wool sweater and a pair of jeans.

Janet lifted up on her elbow to greet
him, “Good morning. Or maybe not so good.” She felt a stab of headache—a
reminder of all the mojitos she’d drunk last night. This again had been Lisa’s
idea, who insisted that the girls have fun before they became fat, pregnant,
and boring like herself. Lisa’s tirade of course was spoken in jest; even at
eight months pregnant, she looked terrific. If the hangover Janet felt this
morning was any indication, there was a good possibility that Lisa was going to
be the best looking female guest at the wedding tonight.

“Here, have a sip.” Dennis placed a mug
on the nightstand.

“What is it?” Janet asked cautiously.
“If it’s some kind of crazy hangover cure like a concoction of raw eggs and
tomato juice, I’m not touching it.”

“It’s hot chocolate.” Dennis sat down on
the bed, his eyes glinting with mischief. “So it sounds like a night of
storytelling with the girls had taken on a wilder turn of events. The truth will
always come out.”

Janet took a sip of the hot liquid,
eyeing him over the cup brim. “You can tell stories and have a few drinks.
Don’t tell me that you didn’t have a few with the boys last night.”

“I’m not the one with a hangover this
morning.”

“Blame it on the mojitos.”

“Mojitos? Now this is getting
interesting. Next thing you’ll be telling me that there were strippers.”

Janet hadn’t planned on telling Dennis
about that part, but her expression must’ve given her away.

“So there were hot naked male bodies,
weren’t there?”

“None as hot as yours and nothing below
the waist,” she said quickly.

“Well now, I’m relieved to hear that.”

Janet took a few more swallows of the
hot chocolate and was feeling revived. “Although a demonstration may be
required, just to be sure,” she teased him.

“Oh, really?”

“Really.”

“All right, you asked for it.”

In what felt like a flash of a second
Dennis got out of his clothes and jumped into the bed next to her.

“Are you sure now?” he asked, his
fingers showering her with tickles.

“Stop!” she giggled, wriggling.

“That wasn’t a clear answer.” His
fingers found more ticklish spots.

“Yes, yes!” She writhed from underneath
him and swung herself on top of him. “What do you say now, mister?” she asked,
grabbing his arms.

“I say that it wasn’t a very bright
idea.” With one swift move he overthrew her, pinning her beneath him.

“Okay, yield,” she panted, laughing.

“Hmm, I’m not so sure.” He traced the
outline of her neck with his lips, the motions of his hands changing from
tickling to caressing.

“Dennis, stop!”

He looked bemused. “Why? You don’t like
what I’m doing?”

“No!”

“You don’t?”

“That’s not it. I like it, but you have
to stop. The walls are paper thin in here. We don’t want everyone to hear us
having sex! Can’t we just wait until we get back?”

He raised an eyebrow, his expression
growing devastatingly handsome. “I don’t know, can we?” The touch of his lips
grew excruciatingly tantalizing.

She gasped. Her body aching for his, she
leaned into him, pressing herself against the hard muscles of his chest and
stomach.

“Still need further convincing?” he
murmured, his lips igniting her skin as he left a trail of kisses on her
shoulder.

“Oh no, you win.” She tightened her arms
around his neck, wrapping her legs around his waist, and forgetting all about
the paper thin walls.

***

Janet closed the door of her room,
carefully smoothed the folds of her maid of honor dress, and sank into an
armchair. Her hair had been coiffed in an elaborate updo and her face had full
makeup. She had spent the last two hours submitting to the whims of the wedding
photographer. The majority of the attention had fallen on the bride and the
bridesmaids, as the photographer had been intent on photographing them in every
nook and cranny of the inn as well as every patch of the inn’s grounds. The
groom and the groomsmen had gotten off easy and were released only after a
handful of photos, happily retiring for a round of beers at the downstairs bar,
which was where she’d seen Dennis on the way back up to her room. Finally, they
were done for the day; well, at least the wedding party was, but Katie and Adam
still had plenty more photo ops to come as husband and wife. Janet checked her
watch; the wedding ceremony was scheduled to begin at five p.m., and it was
four thirty now. She’d better go and make one final round to see that
everything was ready for the ceremony.

After making sure that the justice of
the peace had arrived, the caterer had everything she needed, and the
centerpieces were in order, Janet went to see if Katie needed anything.

She knocked on the bride room’s door.

“Come in!” Katie’s excited voice carried
through the door.

“Katie!” Even though she had already
seen her friend in her wedding gown, Janet was left breathless again. Katie
looked striking in her sweeping gown. Her hair was pulled up in an elegant bun
and a delicate veil had been pinned to her hair.

“Janet! I’m so nervous!” Katie
exclaimed.

“Where did that come from? You and Adam
are perfect for each other. It’s going to be a beautiful ceremony.”

“I know.” Katie squeezed Janet’s arm. “I
love Adam, and I want everything to be perfect. Did you check on the caterer?
And did the justice of the peace get here?”

“Yes and yes. The centerpieces look
flawless. It’s going to be a grand affair.”

“It’s just so nerve-wracking!”

“What’s nerve-wracking?” Lisa poked her
head into the room.

“Katie’s having pre-wedding jitters,”
Janet explained. “I think you’re the one with the expertise here.”

Lisa smiled. “I don’t know about
expertise, but I was certainly a wreck on my wedding day. I think it’s the
bride’s prerogative: if you’re not nervous, it means you don’t love the guy.”

“That must be it,” Katie agreed. “How do
I look?”

“You look perfect,” Janet assured her.
Katie really did look like the perfect bride; her cheeks were flushed with
excitement and her eyes were full of anticipation for her future as Adam’s
wife. “Come on, Katie. It’s just all this wedding stuff that’s getting to you:
all the preparation, all the running around. Well, now it’s all come together and
it’s perfect, but that’s not really what matters.”

“Of course it matters! Adam’s family and
friends are here. I want everything to be perfect for them!” Katie exclaimed.

“Janet and I made sure that everything
is perfect,” Lisa cut in. “Just like we’ll make sure that everything will be
perfect for Janet and Dennis’s wedding.”

“That’s right!” Katie chimed in. “We’ll
see if you’ll be as calm then, missy! Oh, I can’t wait!” she clapped her hands.

“Why don’t we focus on the wedding at
hand,” Janet said. She knew that Katie and Lisa were only fooling around, but
their words had struck a nerve. She would be a liar to deny that seeing Katie
in her wedding dress didn’t make her wonder what it would be like if she were
the one with the white veil adorning her hair and Dennis were the groom,
waiting for her to join him by the altar. This was Katie’s day, and that was
what Janet was determined to focus on. For she already had many things to be
thankful for; she may not be walking down the aisle in the near future, but she
had Dennis’s love. The memory of their lovemaking from this morning still
tingled her skin and was the only assurance she needed to be reminded of how
deep their connection was. It wasn’t just sex either; the intense events they
had been through the past few months proved that Dennis was someone who would
be there for her no matter what; he was her confidant and her partner. A shiny
ring and a piece of paper wouldn’t change the way they felt about each other.
“Katie, you and Adam are the only ones who matter,” Janet reminded her friend.
“So just forget about everyone else and enjoy your day.”

“That’s right,” Lisa chimed in. “We’ll
take care of the rest.”

The door opened and Katie’s mother
entered the room. “Katie, it’s time!”

Katie clasped her hands, her face
flushing. “I know, Mom. I can’t believe it’s actually happening!”

“I can. You and Adam are perfect for
each other. Now, you wouldn’t want to keep the groom waiting, would you? I saw
the poor fella on my way here, and he looked like a nervous wreck.”

Katie jumped up from her chair. “That
means he really loves me! Let’s do this.”

The next few moments had a dreamlike
quality to them, as Janet joined Dennis and together with the rest of the
wedding party they walked down the aisle. Then they took their positions on
either side of the flower-covered arch. The groom was already up there, and
Janet couldn’t help smiling at the anticipation on Adam’s face.

The bridal march chords sounded, and all
the guests turned around, waiting for the bride. Katie looked like a vision as
she glided down the floor (it took several training sessions for her to learn
how to properly walk in her gown, but the training had more than paid off),
escorted by her father who, looking distinguished in his tuxedo, was beaming
with pride. When they reached the head of the aisle, her father kissed Katie on
both cheeks. “She’s yours now,” he said to Adam, retreating to take his seat.
The look on Adam’s face was the look every woman dreams of seeing on the face
of the man she loves; he looked at Katie as though she were the most beautiful
woman in the world and for him, she was.

As the justice of the peace conducted
the wedding ceremony, Janet eyed Dennis out of the corner of her eye and was
stunned by the emotional expression on his face; he looked like he was the one
about to get married. She knew how sensitive he was about the topic of
marriage, and she wasn’t going to push him. Every relationship was unique, and
so was theirs. Dennis was not the kind of man to throw around “I love you’s” at
every turn. In fact, he had only said it to her once: after their passionate
lovemaking the night the FBI raided Kovar’s casino and Dennis had cracked Anton
Kovar’s safe. Once had been enough, for Janet only needed to look into his eyes
to know what he felt in his heart.

“I now pronounce you man and wife,” said
the justice of the peace. “You may kiss the bride.”

There was much cheering and applause as
Adam drew Katie into a long, passionate kiss, tilting her back in his firm
embrace.

The wedding march sounded, and Adam
reluctantly pulled himself away from Katie. The newlyweds proceeded down the
aisle and the wedding party followed. Katie turned around, holding up her
bouquet, “You’re next,” she mouthed to Janet. Janet lowered her eyes,
pretending not to see her. She glanced up at Dennis, worried he might’ve seen
Katie’s gesture; if he had it hadn’t perturbed him because she felt his fingers
tightening around hers, his eyes growing soft.

“I’m going to see if Katie needs any
help,” Janet said to Dennis when they reached the hallway. “The reception is
going to begin in a few minutes.”