Page 24

Chapter Twenty

K eith was spent. All he wanted to do was get rid of the bimbo lying in his arms and go back to his room, shower, and read a bit before falling asleep, the altercation with the bodyguard last night a distant memory.

But he couldn’t forget. His gut still hurt, but he put aside the pain—for now.

Whatever her name was had been fun while it lasted.

She was more enthusiastic after receiving the Tiffany gift he gave her, but she still had visions of a tomorrow.

What she didn’t get was that there was not going to be a tomorrow and definitely no more tonight—for her.

Snoring slightly, she snuggled a little into his arms, rubbing her breasts against his chest. Ugh . Enough already. He moved over, but she didn’t wake up. He shook her gently, but she still didn’t wake up. Then he slapped her ass lightly and shook her again. Maybe he shook a little too rough.

She woke up, barely opened her eyes. “What’s wrong, baby?”

“Time to leave. I have a meeting in the morning.”

Grumbling, she got out of bed, found her clothes and put them on.

Gathered her purse, looked around, then picked up the blue box and put it in her purse.

She slammed the door as she was leaving.

Good riddance. Keith lay there for a few minutes, feeling claustrophobic in the smaller room, got up, showered, dressed and closed the door.

Got into the elevator and pushed the button to his condo.

The soothing ocean vista hit him the minute he opened the penthouse door. He needed a drink. As he crossed over to the mahogany bar, he saw a figure lounging on the sofa in the living room. He stepped back. What the hell?

“Hello, Keith.” That sultry voice. Hillary.

“Hillary, what the hell are you doing here? Better yet, how did you know where to find me?”

She sat back in the chair and smiled at him. She patted the space next to her.

“Come sit down, love. And we’ll talk.”

Damn. Talking wasn’t good—ever, especially with Hillary. Keith walked over and sat in a chair across from her.

“Explain.” He crossed his arms over his chest.

Hillary wore a Cheshire cat smile that indicated she was up to something. And what was going on with her hair? She’d dyed it and cut it shorter. She also had an outfit on that looked eerily like one Claire owned. In fact, she looked a lot like Claire. Why?

How did Hillary even know he was in Florida?

He hadn’t mentioned where he was going, just that he would be away on business for a couple of days.

And how did she know about this particular hotel?

She’d never been here. He got this hotel condominium a couple of years ago.

Never told anyone, he thought. Better yet, how did she get in?

He was going to have a serious talk with management after he sent her packing.

“Keith, it’s no mystery that I love you.

I want you.” She hesitated. “As to how I knew you were here, I see the maintenance bills and put two and two together. Beautiful place, by the way.” She gave him a wide grin.

“Plus, the air charter called, something about a discrepancy on the bill. Tim and I had a nice conversation.”

Keith shook his head. It was his own fault for allowing Hillary to take care of the bills, although she must have had access to his computer to find this hotel.

And the next time he saw Tim, well, he wouldn’t be feeling too good.

The immediate problem was Hillary. She was too smart for her own good, and it was time to let her go. Permanently.

“So how did you get in?”

She gave him a look that said, Man, you are a dummy . Well, maybe he was.

“That was a no-brainer. I simply said I was your wife.”

“You still have to show identification.”

“Again, no problem. Claire left her purse at the office one day, and I borrowed her license.” She cackled. “Remember, she thought she lost it?”

This conversation was getting weird. Keith remembered that day when Claire said she lost her license. Not that Claire drove anywhere, but she needed it for identification. He had punished her for her forgetfulness.

Hillary patted her hair, oblivious to the fact he hadn’t answered. “Do you like it? Claire doesn’t know it, probably doesn’t care, but I also borrowed a few pieces of her wardrobe.” She shrugged. “With the hair and clothes, I just added sunglasses, and voila, I’m Claire Willis.”

Keith tried to process all that Hillary was telling him, but none of it made sense.

“Why?”

“Because I love you. We’ve been together for three years.

You’ve made love to me in your penthouse, you bought me a condo, clothes, took vacations with me.

I help you with your ‘special projects,’” she air-quoted.

“I know about most of your dealings and work you do. Basically, I do everything for you. I do it because I love you. ”

She gave him a harsh squint, her lower lip quivering. “Now, I want to know if you’re going to divorce Claire and marry me. It’s time to make a decision.”

Marry Hillary? Ah. No.

Hillary was fun. A distraction. A conquest. She was almost as devious as he was. She was gorgeous and killer in bed, but his heart was with Claire. Claire, who didn’t want him anymore. But he would change her mind. Claire would come back to him.

“Hillary,” he said softly. “You knew the score when we started our relationship. Why now?”

“I want more. I want to be the woman on your arm at events, the woman you’re proud to be with, the woman you come home to.” She wiped a tear from her eye. “The woman you love.”

Think. Hillary knew too much. She could blow up everything he was involved in. The legal and not so legal. He needed to be smart. And he wished that he’d seen the crazy in her eyes before. He needed to handle her with kid gloves.

He got up to sit next to her, rubbed her arm and purred in her ear. “Baby, you know I love you. Seeing you tonight was a surprise, but let’s talk in the morning and figure out where we’re going. I promise to make everything right.”

Tears were flowing down her face now, and he gently wiped them away. He nuzzled her neck. “Come to bed with me. Let me make love to you.”

She gave him a small smile. “I would love to, but I have a headache and need a cup of tea. It’s been a long day.” She stood up and reached into her purse and pulled out a bag. “Have one with me. I brought the special tea you like. Then we can go to bed and fuck our brains out.”

A cup of tea wasn’t what he wanted, but she was a fantastic fuck, and he felt himself getting hard. He needed to appease her, so he agreed. Hillary busied herself in the kitchenette and came back with two cups of tea.

She handed one to him and then sat across from him.

“Perfect,” he said, sipping the tea. It was an interesting blend, one that he hadn’t tasted before. He took another sip. Hillary smiled at him. He felt lightheaded. The day had been so stressful, he guessed he needed the rest. He took another sip and felt his throat swelling. What the hell?

“Hillary.” His voice sounded strained. “What’s in this tea?”

“Do you like it?”

“Something’s wrong with it.” He looked at her and saw multiple Hillarys smiling at him.

“I made it just the way you like it. It must be your imagination. Take another sip. You must be tired. Then we’ll go to bed.”

Keith took another sip, then tried to put the cup on the table. It slid out of his hand. Broke into pieces.

He could hardly breathe. Then the itching started. Welts formed on his arms and face. His throat felt like someone was strangling him. He slipped down on the sofa.

“Something … something wrong.” He struggled with the words. “Get EpiPen.”

She rushed out into the bedroom. By the time she got back, Keith was on the floor, his body covered with hives. He scratched feverishly with one hand as he clutched his swollen throat, desperately trying to get some air.

“Give me the shot,” he hissed weakly.

Hillary sat in the chair, taking her time to open the EpiPen.

“Shot.” His voice was weak.

She stared at the partially unwrapped EpiPen and then at him.

“Well, Keith,” she purred as she turned the pen around and around. “I don’t think so. ”

“Please. I’ll give you whatever.” His voice sounded tinny; he was gasping for breath. “Please.”

Hillary pulled the lever on the pen. Thank God. His ordeal was almost over. “Hurry.”

Then she pushed and laughed as she watched the liquid shoot out.

Keith groaned. Why was she doing this? His heart pumped wildly, out of control. He clutched at his throat. He was weak, couldn’t move.

“You must be wondering why I’m not giving you the shot.

Well, I realized when you left to come down here to chase that bitch that I was never going to be anything more than a good fuck for you.

I would always be the one in the background.

I don’t want that. A little, well, a lot of bee pollen ground up in your tea solves my problem.

” She cackled. “If I can’t have you, you can’t have Claire. ”

He feebly reached for her. The tightness in his throat made it impossible to move. He could only watch as Hillary shoved the empty syringe and paper, the pieces of broken cup, and her cup into her purse. Then she walked out the door and never looked back.

His chest tightened like a vise grip. He tried to gulp in some air but couldn’t. The pain was unbearable.

The legs of the coffee table were the last thing he saw before blackness took over.