Page 68 of Under Her Skin

Noosh was still thinkingabout Allison’s words as she took the train home to her studio apartment in Queens. The 7 train was crowded and sweaty, and by the time she opened the door and dropped her bag on her floor, Noosh was exhausted. Coming from London, she was used to the hassle and annoyance of the Tube, so the actual train journey didn’t bother her, just the amount of people.Then why did you move to one of the most crowded cities in theworld?

Todisappear…

Noosh pushed the thought away and stripped off her clothes. She thanked God she didn’t have to wear a suit to work, that her usual uniform of blue jeans, t-shirt and Chuck Taylor’s was accepted office attire. She didn’t own anything that could be described as formal wear, except for the ruby-red dress she had worn for her graduation. She loved that dress. It had been a gift from her parents – her parents who had loved and supported her throughout her education, cheered her on, and scraped together their money to buy the designer dress for her. Noosh had worked and paid for her degrees with loans and grants – her parents would never have been able to afford to pay for itthemselves.

Noosh had been born into a working-class family and had been brought up without wanting anything other than the food they provided and the love that they shared. In a modest two-up, two-down house out in the suburbs, both her parents worked as bank clerks and made sure that, even without the material things some of her classmates had, Noosh wanted fornothing.

To their credit, she had grown up with a strong work ethic, and their pride in their daughter knew no bounds as they watched her graduate with top honors from one of London’s most prestigiousuniversities.

Then it had all come crashing down. Noosh had been targeted by a powerful man who had set out to make her his – whether she wanted him or not. It had almost destroyed her. Now, she could hardly stand to think hisname.

Noosh steppedinto the shower and turned on the hot water, enjoying the feel of the spray cleansing her tired skin. Her whole life now was work. Maybe Allison was right – maybe she should get out there, experience a little more of what this beautiful, vibrant city had tooffer.

Supper was a bowl of cereal and then she fell asleep on the couch, not bothering to pull a blanket over herself. It was early fall in New York, still stifling hot on some days and Noosh wriggled uncomfortably in her sleep until she awoke at three a.m., sitting bolt upright. The thin drape at her window was billowing in. She’d left the window open. God, she never did that…ever.Notsince…

Noosh skittered over to the window and slammed it shut, forgetting about the hour. She sent a silent apology to her neighbors upstairs. If only this studio weren’t on the first floor, but the rent had been perfect for her budget and beggars couldn’t be choosers. And baking in the heat of the non-air-conditioned apartment was a small price to pay for hersafety.

After moving to her bed she found she couldn’t sleep. She tried to read but by four had given up on that and was cleaning the apartment – again. She called it her ‘Monica time’ after the character fromFriends– cleaning relaxed her, gave her time to think, to try and order her life a littlebetter.

She thought back to what Allison had said. Sheshouldcheck out one of those clubs. The thought both scared and excited her.Next week,she told herself.Next week, I’ll go and see what gives in those places.She blew out her cheeks. Yep, it would take a week to get her courage up, but she was determined to do it now. Finally, as the city began to wake, she fell asleep again and slept in until mid-morning.

Senator Destry Pappsalways woke at 5 a.m. sharp to begin his day. A six-mile run was followed by a shower then a breakfast of oatmeal and a protein shake, and then he was down in his office by 7.30 a.m. It had been his routine for at least a decade now, waking up in his Georgetown townhouse, a block from hisoffice.

At fifty-three, Destry, a native of New York, had lived his entire life in politics. Following in his father’s footsteps, he had become the senator for the District at thirty-eight and had remained in office for nearly two decades. He’d carefully planned his ascension through the party ranks and now he was, at last, going for the bigjob.

There was nothing Destry wanted more than to become President of the United States, and for the last couple of years he had been clearing house, ironing out anything that could stop him from realizing his goal. People were paid off, offered roles in his cabinet. His lovers, of which there had been many, had been vetted, and even his ex-wife, Telly, had been paid off to keep their dirty laundry private. Destry had no doubt that one day Telly would come to him with something more that she wanted from him, and it would be understood that whatever it was, Destry would provide it. But that was fine withhim.

He checked his reflection out now. Tall, stately, with dark hair shot through with silver at the temples, he knew his handsome face was his ticket to getting what he wanted and had always used it. His patented ‘aw-shucks’ charm worked on the voting public as well as it did with his bedpartners.

There was only one part of his life – as yet, a private part – that he reflected on with anger and resentment. The time in London, the time he’d seenherand felt his whole world shift. That dark, thick wavy hair, those large chocolate-brown eyes, that full mouth. Destry Papps had pursued Anoushka Taylor with the subtlety of a wrecking ball, and even his closest advisors had been scared by his passion for the girl. She was thirty years the Senator’s junior, a grad student, and an unknownquantity.

What Destry knew and no one else did was that Anoushka – his Noosh – had resisted his charms at first, had expressed doubts over their relationship. At least, she did until he wore her down, first by love-bombing her, promising her that he would give it all up for her, and then when she showed signs of independence from him, he’d shown her in an entirely different way that had nothing to do withlove.

She’d escaped him, finally, disappearing from London entirely. He’d tracked her down, though, to a cottage in the north of England. Destry had made sure Noosh knew how angry hewas.

He thought of her now, how she’d cringed away from his rage, and he smiled. He could still feel her skin under his fingertips, her mouth on his as he took her. He’d told her then, “If you ever leave me again, I’ll kill you.” And he had meantit.

Then Noosh did the unthinkable and tried to commit suicide. Her parents, those seemingly weak fools, had spirited her away from the hospital in the middle of the night, and Noosh had disappeared – for real, this time. But she was there, out in the world somewhere and ready to use his behavior against him at the most critical moment. That couldn’t be happen,obviously.

Which is why he had sent his best men out to scour the globe for her. There had been sightings – in London, in Mumbai, where her mother hailed from, in Sydney. Destry’s gut instinct told him that she was somewhere in plain sight, but it frustrated him that she was so wellhidden.

“Come out, come out, wherever you are.” Destry closed the door to his office and flicked on his computer. He ignored the hundreds of emails and instead clicked on his private folder. Photo after photo of her, always with that haunted look in her eyes. Broken. Beautiful. He traced the outline of her face and sighed. “I can’t let you live, my darling. Not without me. Never without me.” He closed his eyes, imagining his hands around her throat, squeezing, or driving a knife deep into her gut as she begged for her life. His dick hardened, and he wondered if he could risk jerking off before his assistant got into the office. He heard someone moving in the outer office and sighed, closing the folder. “Another time, mylove.”

He picked up the phone and called his Head of Security. “Anynews?”

“No, Destry. We haven’t found anything on where she mightbe,”

“Jesus…she’s just one woman, for fuck’s sake. How hard can itbe?”

His employee apologized. “I promise we’ll find her, it just may take sometime.”

“I’m announcing my candidacy in two weeks. I don’t want anything spoiling that moment. Find her. That’s all I ask of you. When you do, I’ll take care ofher.”

“Boss, if I find her, I’ll end her. There’s no need foryou…”

“No,” Destry said, interrupting him. “I’ll be the one to kill Anoushka.Me. Just tell me where to findher.”

He hung up the phone and smiled to himself. He could hardlywait.