Escaping Vegas (The Inheritance Book 1) (13 page)

C
HAPTER
S
IXTEEN

M
adalina gasped against Cole’s lips. It wasn’t protest or even surprise; it was a reaction to the spark of lust that flared hot between them. She tugged on the front of his shirt to bring him closer, closer, until there wasn’t even a tiny gap at their hips, chests, abdomens. As their tongues tangled, she tasted Cole in much more intimate ways. She unearthed a hint of dominance, a sliver of aggression, and a wealth of masculine passion. He was finer than wine yet pleasurably gruff and abrasive, the scrape of his palms along either side of her spine sending suggestive messages straight to her brain:
mine, mine, mine
.

The kiss intensified, becoming hungrier, more demanding. Madalina tugged at his shirt; he tugged at hers. Like the clichéd love scene in a Hollywood movie, a trail of clothing followed them away from the balcony door to the bed, until they fell, intertwined, onto the mattress. He landed first but rolled over until she was beneath him, his teeth scoring her skin while his hands trapped her wrists above her head. Cole worked his way down, leaving marks between her breasts, on her stomach, next to a pelvic bone.

He brought her to a writhing, moaning peak with the expert skill of his lips and his tongue and then started all over again with his body. Sliding his hips between her thighs, he positioned himself above her, elbows braced on the mattress, hands in her hair. The headboard
knock-knock-knocked
the wall in the beginning; by the end, the headboard sounded like a fist on the door, banging, relentless, while her cries and pleas reached a fever pitch.

The crescendo was blinding in its intensity, the fall back to earth as satisfying as any Madalina had ever experienced. In the aftermath of racing hearts and breathlessness, Cole kissed her tenderly, palms cupping her face, his big body tilted just off to the side. One heavy thigh pinned hers down, as if he wasn’t quite ready to give up his dominant possession. Madalina explored the muscles of his shoulder, his back, fingertips traipsing light patterns across his clammy skin. She couldn’t remember any time when sex had been hotter or more satisfying. Not even Allan Vickers, the man she thought she’d marry and have a happily-ever-after with, held a candle to
this
. She reminded herself as Cole dusted kisses to her jaw, her sweaty collarbone, that he wasn’t anything like Allan in the ways that had attracted her in the beginning. He wasn’t the forever type, didn’t want lingering romances or old-fashioned courtship. Cole preferred to be unattached, unencumbered, without strings and promises.

Oddly, in this particular moment, Madalina didn’t care. There was something to be said for fulfilling a desire that had been building for days. They had shared a common need—spectacularly so.

That Cole was everything she’d ever wanted in a lover was beside the point. He wasn’t everything she’d ever wanted in a lifetime mate.

So be it. The memories they had created were worth it.

Cole stared at the dark-haired beauty in his bed while he fastened the button on a black pair of pants and eased up the zipper. She looked peaceful, her cheeks slightly flushed, her body half-hidden under the sheets. The dim lighting created a scene like a painting, all soft and luxurious and decadent. One of her hands had stretched across to his pillow, his memory providing him explicit imagery of what those slender fingers were capable of.

He’d had no lack of lovers in his life, women beautiful enough to be on the cover of magazines (and sometimes were). This tableau was not new or different; only the players had changed. Except there was something about Madalina that made him want to climb back in bed and wake her with more kisses, the press of his body. He wanted to hear more breathless cries of his name, which had sent goose bumps over his skin. He wanted her mouth on his co—

Well, that was a fantasy that would never come to fruition. Not now, not when he was already late. Glancing at his wristwatch, he cringed inwardly at the time.
5:14
. He might not make it to his next destination before sunrise, which would make his task twice as difficult.

Pivoting from the bed after a final glance, he snatched up his duffel bag, left his key card on the table next to hers, and departed the suite.

There wasn’t a second to waste.

By the time Cole reached Lianne’s back gate, he judged he had perhaps fifteen minutes before twilight began tinting the black sky with the first vestiges of light. Gone were the heavy clouds that had dumped so much rain on Southern California; only a few wisps remained, scuttling like ghosts over the city.

Placing gloved hands on the fence, he vaulted into Lianne’s backyard. He landed with a quiet thud of boots in sweet-smelling grass. Crouching to reduce the likelihood of being seen, he traversed the yard to the back door and withdrew a set of lockpicks from his back pocket. Leaving his duffel bag on the porch, he slipped the picks into the lock and, after a few minutes of skilled manipulation, let himself into the house. All was still and quiet. With any luck Lianne was passed out in her bedroom or the couch, dead to the world from cold medicine. He didn’t want to contemplate the confrontation that would happen if she stumbled upon him skulking around her domain.

He knew from his earlier visit that Lianne didn’t have an alarm system, giving him less to worry about as he crossed her small kitchen and reached for the cabinet doors above the refrigerator.

I’ll put it in that little cupboard above the fridge.
Lianne’s words echoed through his mind as his gloved fingers sought the dragon. If she hadn’t changed her mind and hidden the thing elsewhere, he expected to find it just where she’d said.

His fingers bumped into something small and hard. Glancing across the kitchen to make sure Lianne hadn’t come in, he wrapped his hand around the dragon and liberated it from its hiding place. He could tell by the shape—arched back, thick head, broad feet—that he had the right piece. Closing the cabinet, he backtracked to the door, exited onto the porch, and bent to tuck the dragon between the folds of his clothes. The material would provide a necessary cushion.

Clicking Lianne’s door closed, cheek twitching as the sound resonated through the early-morning mist, he gripped the straps of the bag and, on stealthy feet, recrossed the yard, vaulted the fence, and sank into the cover of the trees. The dark clothing he wore from head to toe would help hide him in the shadowy canopy until he had to break cover across the golf course.

Those minutes when he was exposed in the open would be the most dangerous. He made it to the Jaguar with no trouble. Setting the bag on the passenger floorboard, he climbed into the driver’s seat and got the hell out of there.

Determined to alter the current course of events, Cole drove away into the night.

C
HAPTER
S
EVENTEEN

M
adalina woke to bright rays of sunshine streaming into the room. She blinked against the glow while she stretched, groaning when several prominent aches made themselves known.

Not all of them were from the accident the day before.

Although she ached, she also felt glorious. Cole hadn’t held back with his passion, and she imagined she could still feel his weight atop her, the scratch of his whiskers, the rough pads of his hands. Her breasts were sore from his handling, and she was positive her skin bore marks from the possessive press of his fingers.

Her life might be in tatters, but one night with Cole had eased some of the strife and stress. She felt positively languid.

Sitting up, she glanced through the suite, one hand pushing back the disheveled strands of her hair. It felt like a lion’s mane, unruly and untamed.

“Cole?” She didn’t see him in the dining area or the living area or even in the small kitchenette. He was probably in the bathroom or getting them something to eat. After another stretch and yawn, she climbed out of bed and sauntered across the suite to the bathroom, thinking she’d surprise Cole in her birthday suit. Maybe he would still be in his, too, and she would get a clearer picture of him now that it was daytime. Her memories were filled with images of bulky muscles, sleek hips, and broad shoulders—most of it in shadow.

Touching the bathroom door, she watched it swing open, the interior empty and dark. Quirking her lips, she snapped on the light and entered. Before anything else, she had business to take care of.

When she emerged fifteen minutes later, she was still naked and towel-drying her hair. “Did you get breakfast?” she called into the suite, sure that Cole would be back by now.

There was no food on the table or the granite countertop in the kitchenette. Perhaps he’d gone off-site for breakfast rather than going downstairs.

Something about that idea didn’t feel right, however, and it wasn’t until she’d passed by the kitchen table for the third time that she noticed the second key card next to her own. She touched hers, then touched his, her frown deepening. Why would he have left his card behind? He needed it to get back into the suite. Unless he knew she would open the door for him.

It just wasn’t a Cole thing to do, she argued with herself. He was too cautious to let himself out with no way to get back inside.

Then she realized his duffel bag wasn’t sitting beside her own. A spike of fear and some other ill-defined emotion slid down her spine. Suddenly inspired to be quick about a search, she looked everywhere in the suite, from the tiniest nook to the most unusual cranny.

Cole’s things were nowhere to be found. Every item he’d carried in last evening—except the key card—was gone.
He
was gone. She found no note, no explanation, nothing to tell her why he hadn’t even bothered to say good-bye. Digging her purse out of the duffel bag, she fished out her phone, hoping against hope to see a message or voice mail. Maybe he’d taken the time to enter his contact information and acquire her number during their brief separation.

With only 18 percent battery life left, she scanned her inbox, dismayed to find no texts from Cole.

She did have one from Lianne, however, with a timestamp of 7:49. It was now 9:14. The layers of purse and duffel must have muffled the chime of the incoming message.

All Lianne’s text said was: 911. 911. 911
.

Oh no.

Frantic, heart racing, Madalina dialed Lianne’s cell phone. While it rang, she dragged out pants and a shirt from the duffel bag. Fresh underwear and a bra landed atop the jeans. Lianne answered on the third ring, already talking.

“Oh my God, get over here right now! Someone broke into the house during the night while I was passed out on Nyquil!”

“Wait, what? Someone broke in? Are you all right? Was it the Chinese men?” Madalina swept the swami-style towel off her head and started yanking on clothes, holding the phone trapped between her shoulder and ear.

“I didn’t even know it happened until this morning. I don’t know who it was—probably the people who have been after you, since the dragon is gone!” Lianne sounded fretful, panicked.

A jolt of shock made Madalina’s fingers tremble. “What do you mean, the dragon is gone?”

“I decided to move it this morning after I took my medicine. When I got into the cupboard—it wasn’t there! I’ve looked everywhere. I
know
I didn’t move it after you two left, so it should have been there. Then I discovered my back door was unlocked, and I know
for sure
I tripped the bolt behind you guys. Someone came in, took the dragon, and left.” Lianne sniffled, then coughed, still caught in the throes of her cold. “You and Cole need to come back immediately. Maybe you’ll see some kind of clue I’m missing.”

A terrible, terrible sinking feeling settled in. Madalina’s fingers trembled harder, and she thought she might cry. With effort, she said, “Cole’s gone.”

Ten blocks east of Lianne’s house, in a different hotel room on the ninth floor, Cole held the stone dragon up to the light. It was a most innocuous-looking piece of rock, he decided, as unassuming in the flesh as the descriptions he’d been given. Made to sit on all four feet, the dragon had a blocky head, an arching back, and a tail that curved around its flank. There were faint indentations that might once have been scales along its sides, now worn down to the merest impressions. The open jaw sported only two lower and two upper teeth, blunt arcs that appeared as worn as the rest of the dragon. Mottled dark gray and white, the piece was small enough to sit comfortably in his hand. Two beady red eyes were the only other spots of color on the entire thing. It was also heavy, most assuredly solid stone.

“So this is what I’ve spent the last three years of my life looking for,” he muttered. It was definitely not as detailed as some of the items he’d sought. Not as exciting. What
had
been exciting and unexpected was the advent of the Chinese agents. Cole hadn’t realized they were onto the dragon’s whereabouts, which reminded him to never underestimate an adversary.

Setting the dragon on a table, he fished a cell phone from a briefcase he’d taken from the trunk of the Jaguar. Cole dialed the first number from a short list of contacts.

“Yeah?” a gruff voice said on the other line.

“Thaddeus, it’s me.”

“Find it?”

“I have it in my possession as we speak.”

“Excellent. Any problems?” Thaddeus asked.

Cole hesitated. He had the dragon. All he had to do now was deliver it to the buyer, except the acquisition hadn’t gone quite as planned. The problems Thaddeus meant had more to do with the agents than anything else, yet the specific problem Cole had involved Madalina—and a little guilt. Maybe a lot of guilt.

“Cole?”

“Yeah, uh. Well, a faction of Chinese agents showed up unexpectedly in Vegas. Nearly compromised the whole deal. We knew they were after the dragons, but I didn’t realize they were so close to this one.”

“Did you shake them?”

“For now.”

“Good. Are you on your way back?”

“Not yet. I just got my hands on this thing.” Cole pressed his lips together as he remembered Madalina’s attachment to it for sentimental reasons rather than monetary ones.

“The sooner the better, brother. You want me to fly Brandon out to meet you?”

“Nah. I can handle the agents.” Even if they’d given him the slip once in taking Madalina, the men wouldn’t have such an easy time wresting the dragon directly from his hands.

“I sense hesitation.”

“Of course you do, Thaddeus. You’re freakishly good at reading people. It’s annoying.” Thaddeus, Cole’s oldest brother, had an uncanny way of knowing when something was wrong. All their life, Thaddeus had been able to pick up on all of Cole’s moods. Not just Cole’s, but everyone else’s moods, too.

Thaddeus laughed. “So what’s the hesitation? Thinking you can find a buyer who’ll give you more than the one we’ve got on tap? Maybe see what the Chinese government will give? That could get messy.”

“Mr. Norman Westrich is the only buyer I’ve come across who will offer two million for it. The Chinese government won’t pay a dime. Not when they feel like they already own it. They’d rather take it by force—as I’ve recently seen.”

“I’m still sensing hesitation . . .”

Cole picked up the dragon, turning it this way and that. After a lengthy, contemplative silence, he finally said, “I think I’m wondering if the source I tapped for this dragon might have information about the other three.” It was the truth, and it wasn’t.

“Did the source—who is it, again? You and Brandon worked on that. I don’t remember specifics.”

“A woman named Madalina—”

“Oh yes. Now I remember. Go on.”

“Yeah, Madalina.” The name rolled across Cole’s tongue. He could still taste her, had a head full of memories and scents and marks on his flanks from her nails. Her cries still echoed in his ears.

“She get under your skin?”

“A little bit.” Cole didn’t bother lying about that part; Thaddeus would pick up on his conflicted state of mind no matter how hard he tried to hide it.

“What makes you think she might know more about the other dragons? Did she bring it up?”

“No. She doesn’t even realize what this dragon represents. Her grandfather left it to her when he died, so she’s attached for sentimental reasons.” He paused, then added, “
She
might not know where the other dragons are, but I couldn’t help but wonder whether her grandfather did. I mean—he had this one in his possession.”

Thaddeus was quiet while he listened. After a few moments, he said, “It’s possible. I have to admit—we haven’t found a single lead on the other dragons so far. I’d exploit any possible connection.”

“It’s possible that I’ve burned this bridge. Madalina should be discovering any second that I was the one who took the dragon out from under her proverbial nose. And she won’t be happy.” Especially after the night they’d just spent.

“Did you sleep with her?”

“I did.”

“That might complicate things, yes. But we’ve got two million reasons of our own to get that dragon to Westrich, so in my mind, that’s a priority. We can do some research when you get back, see what we dig up about this grandfather. Did you get his name or anything?” Thaddeus asked.

Two million reasons.
Indeed. Cole wanted the dragon for money, Westrich wanted the dragon for his collection, Madalina wanted it for nostalgic reasons, and the Chinese agents were determined to get it back to help complete the original set of nineteen. Four dragons were missing from the original set, and Cole had one in his possession.

In truth, he knew it wasn’t the money that made him hesitate. It wasn’t the threat of the Chinese agents breathing down his throat. He loathed the thought of Madalina hating him for what he’d done and what he was about to do. Yes, he’d seduced her. The desire hadn’t just been one-sided, however, and he thought it might have happened no matter what his plan of action had been. But snatching the dragon out from under her after ascertaining its whereabouts would not endear him to her. He had no doubt that Madalina was going to make all the wrong assumptions, and probably a few right ones. He’d taken the dragon—just not for the reasons she might first suspect. His entire mission hadn’t gone to plan, and it was about to veer even farther off course.

“Cole?”

Thaddeus’s question ripped him out of his reverie. “Yeah.”

“Did you get the grandfather’s name?”

“No. We were interrupted every time I started to steer the conversation around to the grandfather. The agents have been keeping us on the run.”

“You know, it’s not like you to get caught up. What’s really going on? I mean, I know you’re not without compassion, but I’ve never known you to put someone’s sentiments above business. Not in a matter like this.”

Cole fell silent. He couldn’t easily define his feelings. He wasn’t sure
what
he felt other than nagging guilt and fierce determination to get the agents off Madalina’s back. “I’m not caught up,” he said first, mildly defensive. At the same time, he considered whether that was the whole truth or a knee-jerk reaction.

“Are you sure I shouldn’t send Brandon down there? He’ll knock some sense into you,” Thaddeus said.

“What I haven’t told you is that I didn’t offer Madalina money for the dragon. I didn’t buy it; I
took
it. I meant that literally when I said it earlier. My original plan went out the window when I discovered that she refused to consider giving the dragon back to the Chinese and that the agents were willing to abduct her to get what they want. Everything has taken a sideways shift. My priorities have changed.”

“No wonder you think you’ve burned that bridge. You need to take it back to her, explain the whole situation, and—”

Cole cut Thaddeus off. “I’m taking the dragon to the agents. It’s the best way to keep Madalina safe. Things have become more dangerous here than I’m comfortable with, and since she won’t do it, I will. Speaking of keeping her safe, I need the information on that antique site where she listed the dragon.”