Page 73 of Under Her Skin

Bertie understood immediately. “Where areyou?”

Christo told him, and Bertie told him to stay there. “I’m coming to getyou.”

In an hour, Christo was on a plane to Arizona where Bertie booked him intorehab.

Noosh buriedherself in her work after that strange, wonderful, terrible night. She’d told Allison she was dropping the story about the BDSM clubs, and although Allison had questioned her about what had happened, Noosh kept it to herself. She felt wrecked by the experience, but at the same time, she couldn’t stop thinking about her mercurial lover. Who was he? In moments of weakness, she closed her eyes and remembered the feel of his hands on her body, his mouth against hers, his cock thrusting deep inside her. She shivered, the pleasure all still too real for her. But thenafterward…

Stop thinking about him,she told herself now.It’s been a month.You’ll never see him again.She dragged her attention back to the meeting. They were brainstorming ideas for the next year’s stories and so far, Noosh hadn’t heard athing.

She blinked and focused on what Allison was saying. “Something I was thinking about was the next generation of New York’s crime families. A lot of them are eschewing the old life and branching out on their own with legitimate businesses. I’ve heard the reaction from the old timers has been…mixed, to say the least. I’d like to focus in on three or four of the heirs who have brokenfree.”

“Any ideas on who and how?” Seth, one of the station’s head honchos, lookedinterested.

Allison nodded, her grey eyes serious. “A four-part series. I interview each of them, ask them the hard questions about how they feel about their family mob connections and why they chose to break free. Hang on, I have a list here.” She dug around in her notebook. “Richard Viera, Dominick Octavo, Christofalo Montecito, and Helena De Vito. Those are the names I came up with through very basicresearch.”

Seth nodded, and Noosh wrote down the names, glad of something else to concentrate on. “I like your thinking, Ally,” Seth said and nodded at Noosh. “You’ll work together with Allison onthis?”

Noosh smiled gratefully. “Loveto.”

Allison winked at her. “And then, we can’t ignore that it’s election year next year. With any luck, we’ll get the candidates in for aninterview.”

“Will they want to be associated with such a cutting-edge show as yours?” Felix, a snide show runner who loathed Allison and her talent, interjected, but Seth waved hishand.

“We’ll get the ones who have enough guts, the ones who willingly go on Colbert. They’re the ones we want. Harper, Seagram, Papps – they’re the ones we want – or don’t want, in the case of some ofthem.”

“Destry Papps would be a get.” Allison conceded, and Noosh’s heart sank.God, no.She knew instantly she’d be calling in sick the day Destry came into the station. She found that her fingernails were digging into her palm, leaving deep welts, and flexed herfingers.

After the meeting, she hunkered back down in her cubicle and worked her way through the paperwork, immersing herself in admin work. It was only when Allison came by her desk that she looked at the clock and realized it was past eightp.m.

“Hey, kiddo, time you went home. But before you do, I’ve been thinking. You know, this mob-heir thing – this could be the thing you take the lead on, and I’ll tell you why it could be interesting. You’re not from New York or even the States. Your perspective as an outsider could be the thing that makes them open up to you. What do yousay?”

Noosh gaped at her boss. To be asked to lead such a huge story was incredible. “I don’t know what tosay.”

“Say yes,” Allison grinned, then her smile faded. “Noosh, you deserve this, and there’s something else... I don’t know what happened to you at that club, but I know something did, and I feel bad. I encouraged you to go, and whateverhappened– “

“Whatever happened, happened,” Noosh interrupted her. “It’s not yourfault.”

There was a long silence. “Who washe?”

Noosh struggled for a moment to find the words, and decided the truth was the only way to go. “The most incredible man I’ve ever met. And the most damaged. Not a goodcombination.”

Allison patted her shoulder. “I’m sorry, honey. I’ve known men like that. They’re instantly addictive, like sugar or heroin, but so, so bad foryou.”

Noosh nodded but looked away from her boss’s gaze. “Iagree.”

“Anyway, sweetheart, go home and we’ll talk more about this in the morning. The mob stories, I mean, although you know you can talk to me aboutanything.”

Noosh smiled at her. “I know. Thanks, I’ll see youtomorrow.”

On the subway home, Noosh indulged in another fantasy about her mysterious lover, imagining him turning up at her apartment door, begging for her forgiveness. Would she make him beg? Noosh smirked to herself. Probably not – one look at those green eyes of his and she would cave.Pathetic,she told herself, but still visualized pulling him into her apartment, tearing off his clothes and fucking him until they were bothexhausted.

At home, she took a long soak in the bathtub, indulging the fantasy some more, her hand between her legs, caressing her clit, imagining it was his tongue on her. She shivered through a mellow orgasm before pushing thoughts of himaway.

Maybe some people were just meant to be experienced once in a lifetime, she told herself, as she pulled the comforter over her shoulders and settled down to watch thetelevision.

Noosh never knewwhat woke her. Whether it was the sound of the television, which was still on, or the sense of someone being in the room with her. Noosh opened her eyes and froze. A dark figure was standing next to her sofa bed. She barely had time to try and make out his or her features before whoever it was shot her, the flash of the muzzle lighting up the room as he pumped three bullets into Noosh’s belly, the sound muffled by asilencer.

Noosh gasped, stunned. The pain hit her full force she knew one thing for sure as she lay bleedingout.