Encountering Evil: Dark Horse Guardians Book Two (19 page)

After about an hour's drive, they pulled into the parking lot and filed into the rustic building. The Lobster Trap was filling up quickly. The tourists were piling in tonight and Ben inhaled the familiar smell of salt air, melted butter and fresh seafood cooking. Their early reservation allowed them to linger and enjoy the evening and the glorious sunset view. An enormous wrap-around deck held an outdoor bar and people sat there to enjoy the view, get a drink and wait for a table. Ben held Lara's chair as she sat down at their reserved spot right near the window. Olivia was smiling, and Don sighed, "God, look at that sunset will ya?" The old Nam vet gazed at the view for a long moment. "No alcohol tonight, Don." Olivia was mothering him; his diabetes was a concern. "Okay, then I'll have a tall drink of water along with a couple of big juicy lobsters!" Rusty and Lillian were drinking ginger ale and watching the families on the beach. Ben noticed Bettencourt was on his best behavior with Monique. Ben winked at him, thinking he'll probably get lucky tonight.

As was his habit, Ben's eyes scanned the room before he got comfortable. He paused for a moment as his eyes rested upon a figure in the
opposite corner of the room.
No, it couldn't be
him
. He focused on the man and woman and immediately recognized Eliot Stone sitting with a shapely young woman who bore strong resemblance to Lara, the girl from the surveillance photos. He only hoped Lara didn’t notice Eliot. Ben was perpendicular to Eliot and made every attempt to block Lara's view. All through the meal he noticed Eliot staring across the room and
knew
the weasel caught sight of Lara. He hoped to God that Eliot had the good sense to mind his own business and stay put. He didn't want that bastard’s presence to change the dynamic tonight for Lara or for him. A few times during the meal, Ben shot a glowering gaze Eliot’s way as a warning.

Ben couldn't help but notice that Eliot was touching the young lady just as he had touched Lara; the memory of that made his skin crawl. Eliot would rest his hand upon the woman as if
he owned her. Then he'd lean in and whisper into her ear. They sat so close he thought Eliot was going to lay her out right there in the booth. But Ben kept his focus on Lara and their friends as they laughed boisterously.

Bettencourt was amusing the table, as usual, with his funny police stories. Monique was intrigued with him. Lara was laughing so hard ginger ale almost came out of her nose. Ben loved her laugh, unrestrained and natural, full of life. When the lobsters came to the table there was a riot of hilarity as each person had their own way of opening up the shells to get the delectable meat. Of course they all had to wear bibs and Bettencourt did an excellent impression of a big baby. Monique and Lara were laughing as if they were at a comedy club. It sort of turned into that. Ben, Don and Rusty made their sidesplitting contributions to keep the ladies entertained.

After a while, Ben noticed that Eliot Stone had slipped out of the restaurant with his stand-in for Lara. And for the first time Ben exhaled a sigh of relief. Lara didn't see Eliot and Ben felt comforted. He didn't want his wife tainted by Eliot's torrid little fantasy with what’s-her-name. In fact, he wanted his wife nowhere
near
Eliot Stone.

~ Eliot Stone ~

Eliot was filled with anger when he saw Lara and the handsome Lieutenant across the room tonight with friends.
How the hell did this strange coincidence occur?
And, he had no idea
why
he felt angry. Cassandra was oblivious to any of it. She enjoyed her meal and flirted with Eliot shamelessly and drank way too much. She had even dared to run her hand up his leg lightly touching his crotch. He laughed but he was observing Lara across the room hoping to catch her eye. Her husband blocked his view intentionally. He caught the look the Lieutenant shot his way once or twice and knew he'd better stay put or there would be trouble.

Back at the motel-turned-condo, Cassandra was now undressed and wearing a provocative hot pink bra and thong. As Eliot stood before her she unzipped his pants. He stuttered for a moment, "The window, do you want me to close the drapes?" Cassandra whispered, "No, I like it open. I want to hear the sound of the waves on the beach. Have you ever done it on the beach, honey?" Eliot couldn't say he had. He couldn't say anything because Cassandra was now kissing him. And, when she wasn't kissing him she was saying erotic things in his ear or sucking on his neck. She pushed him onto the sofa and straddled him. She had undressed him in a hurry and slipped her thong off as he watched her. Eliot was drunk with desire and a few too many dirty martinis. Cassandra did things to him that drove him wild. She gave him a little time to cool off then she came back for more with a vengeance.

After an exhausting sweaty hour, Eliot was spent. He ran his hand over Cassandra's long dark hair as she rested her head upon his chest. Breathing heavily he was trying to regain his strength and composure. She had drained him. Cassandra whispered, "Next time, honey, we’ll do it on the beach. It's
wild
." He couldn't even contemplate that right now. He stroked her hair and let his hand travel along the curvature of her back. She had the same shapely rear end that Lara had. But she didn't smell like Lara. And her voice wasn't like Lara's. "You are beautiful…" he whispered to Cassandra. “I want to see you again. Soon.” Fifteen minutes later, Eliot was dressed and he left a thousand dollars on Cassandra's kitchenette countertop. There was no lingering goodbye. She was in a drunken stupor and asleep. With his parting gaze he pretended she was Lara as he softly closed her apartment door.

On the drive home Eliot replayed the evening over in his mind. The sensual pleasures Cassandra performed were amazing. He never had that kind of sex in his life. His ex-wife wouldn't even
do
some of those things. And, the women he dated since his divorce were prim and proper. They'd never perform such acts with him. Cassandra moaned and groaned and delivered her delights with such enthusiasm. He wondered if Cassandra had as much pleasure as he did or was she just performing for him? He pushed the thought away and relived the heady pleasures one by one in his mind as he drifted off to sleep in the backseat of the Bentley. He remembered he called Cassandra "Lara" once or twice, but doubted she'd recall. She had consumed a massive amount of alcohol.

~ Lara ~

Lara never had such a fun night out with friends laughing. She was grateful to Ben for making everything so perfect. Even the fresh strawberry shortcake was delicious. As they dropped off the gang, the limo pulled in front of the pink Victorian and Ben tipped the driver generously. They were immediately greeted inside by a very happy English Bull Terrier who needed his
evening walk. They quickly peeled off their clothes and got into running gear. Ben slipped the leash onto Einstein and they were strolling through the neighborhood on a silent summer night. Lara squealed, "Look there are fireflies!" She and Ben sat in the porch glider and watched the fireflies after their walk with Einstein. Using the garden hose, Lara had given the canine a big bowl of cold water on the porch. He drank like he'd never seen water before then plopped at their feet heaving his dramatic bull dog sigh.

She felt Ben's hand on hers, "Did you have a good time tonight?" Lara rested her head on his shoulder, "Yes, the best night of the summer!" She couldn't stop smiling. Then he asked another question, "Lara, would you like to go to Prince Edward Island during the week of the 4
th
of July?" She bolted upright and looked at him with wide eyes, "Of course I would
love
to, Ben!" She had seen photos and heard stories about the cottage on the ocean with nine acres of privacy. She couldn't wait to see the place in person. Ben continued as if preparing her, "The cottage is rustic. There aren't many people there on the beach. I don't want you to get bored. Einstein loves it. It was his first home with me." Lara gave him a little smile, "I'd not be bored with you around. My schedule has been grueling. I’d love to have a few days of downtime.  I'll have to arrange for Tony and Ralph and Monique to pitch in for those days I will be away." Ben smiled, "When we visit my family in Newton Massachusetts on the 4
th
of July for the family cookout, I'd like to spend one night there with them, then take Moshe and Rachel along with us to the cottage. It's a hell of a long drive, ten hours to be exact."

Lara was already on her phone texting Monique and Ralph and Tony to make sure they could cover for her while away. Ben laughed at her enthusiasm, "One more thing…" he hesitated and took a deep breath, "I'd like to ask Sienna if William could join us for a day or two…if you feel comfortable with that." Lara was exuberant in her response, "Yes! That would be great!" She noted the expression of relief on Ben's handsome face. She had been e-mailing William since they'd met last April in Toronto and had developed a wonderful relationship with Ben's nine year old son.

~ Ben ~

Preparations were being made for Ben's entire clan to meet in Newton Massachusetts at his parent's large family homestead. Ben was wondering how his new wife would react when surrounded by his extended boisterous family. As he got to know Lara, he understood she lived a quiet solitary existence as a child and even as an adult. Lara had never celebrated the 4
th
of July like
this
, he smiled to himself knowing it would either go very well or very badly. Packing his gear into a rented Cadillac Escalade he realized most of the luggage was Lara's. He watched as she filled suitcases as if she was going to Alaska for an expedition. Ben laughed, "We
do
have stores on Prince Edward Island, you know…" She was cramming shoes and clothing into a canvas bag. "Oh darlin', you won't need all of that. It's a simple place. All you'll need are flip flops and a bathing suit and a few T-shirts."

Ben finally convinced her to pare down to one bag and they left early to avoid the pre-holiday traffic, after dropping Einstein off with Professor Harris. Ben thanked his uncle as he stood in the doorway
of the old colonial with the ever-present “for sale” sign on the front lawn. "Einstein misses you!" Ben chuckled as he gave his uncle the leash. The English bull terrier whined with excitement to see the professor who had been his dog-sitter for part of his puppyhood. For Ben, it was good to see Harris and Einstein together and happy again. He suspected Harris missed his canine companion. Ben was disappointed that his uncle couldn’t join them for the reunion in Massachusetts, but Harris had a concert to perform for the 4
th
of July and it was something he did every year without fail.

Arriving in Newton Ben zipped through the main street turning left, then right, and finally driving along Fieldstone Drive, a long tree-lined street. He parked in the driveway of an enormous green and purple Victorian with a wrap-around porch. Lara's eyes lit up, "Oh Ben, it's lovely!" He knew she'd like the architecture because she always gushed over Victorians. But this Victorian wasn't renovated, it was nearly all original. What money his parents had went into raising and educating seven children. Although Ben didn’t grow up in poverty, his father had been the sole support of the family and they
lived on a tight budget.

Seeing the old homestead flooded Ben’s mind with memories of his childhood. Going to work with his father when he was five years of age. That was his first memory. He wanted to be like his dad – tough, stoic, manly, a protector and defender of doing the right thing, a man of honor and respect. As he walked toward the house, Ben took a quick mental inventory of how he’d measured up to his father, but realized that his life had taken such a different path than his dad’s. They shared the same values and many character traits, but Ben knew that his life experiences were vastly different
from his father’s. And, even though some of those experiences were terrible, they also served to toughen him up while at the same time making him softer. Ben compared himself to a piece of leather: tough and durable; the more abuse endured the softer and more pliable it became. However, the strength remained, even though the leather took on lines and imperfections and lost its shiny luster, it never lost its durability.

What Lara didn't know was that his SEAL team had arrived earlier and were boozing it up in the backyard planning to spend the night. As he walked Lara through the house he spent his childhood in, he watched her eyes light up, "I want to see
your
bedroom, where you slept as a boy." Ben grimaced and knew he would have to go through the narrative of his childhood, which was boring to him. But to make Lara happy, he took her upstairs to the last bedroom on the left. The twin bed he slept in as a boy was still there with the same coverlet from Ireland. Many items in the room harkened back to his Irish roots. And, he laughed to himself as he watched Lara touch a blarney stone and a framed four-leaf clover and a tattered teddy bear. Embarrassed, he wondered why his mother saved all of these things.

Ben silently observed Lara as she went through the room which now served as a tiny museum dedicated to his life. She scrutinized every certificate and first prize ribbon on the wall. She read them off aloud, "Track and Field, Martial Arts, Honors for every subject imaginable. Your mother kept
all
of these – amazing!" She picked up each framed photograph and Ben briefly recounted the story behind it. One photograph of Ben with a beautiful dark-haired girl intrigued her. But, Ben plucked it out of her hand and soon she was distracted by the noise in the backyard. Ben's old bedroom overlooked the expansive lawn dotted with mature oak trees. "What's going on out there?" Lara glanced at Ben quizzically. "Oh, let's go see," Ben pulled her by the hand as he dropped their luggage in the room.