Hunting Lust (Orion the Hunter Part Three) (24 page)

We all just sat still in shocked silence for a few seconds.  Then Lucas reached back and asked to see the photographs again.  He studied them and then looked me in the eye.  “Issy, I know that we didn’t say that we would be exclusive for this month so you can tell me.  Did you have sex with Chad last week, or at any other time?”

Tears came from nowhere and began to stream down my face as I shook my head.  My throat was seized by sobs so I mouthed the word ‘no’ to him.  Angel however, launched into a tirade of how tears might work with Lucas but they wouldn’t work with her.  She got out of the car and stormed off with Chad hot on her heels.

I felt ill.  How could there be photographs of me having sex with Chad?  We’d never, ever even flirted, never mind thought about having sex.  I looked at the photographs again.  In between sobs, I managed to tell Lucas that the first one was genuine and that I was comforting Chad in a purely friendly and platonic way.  I stared and stared at the second, my eyes not believing what I was seeing.  I noted the blue streaks in my hair so I knew that the photograph was taken within the last three weeks … but how could it have been taken at all?  It was impossible.  I did my best to convey this to Lucas.

He picked up the photograph and peered at it closely.  Then he looked at me squarely in the eye.  “Issy, if you say it can’t be real, then it must be faked.  Let’s go and find out.”

He drove to the Orion Building and we took his elevator to his office.  He marched out across the lobby and into what can only be described as a command centre.  A large room was dominated by screens, computers and other futuristic devices.  There were six people working in there – even at that time in the evening.

I was taken over to a man who looked vaguely familiar.  He was introduced as Carter. 
Ah, Lucas’ go to guy.
To my horror, Lucas showed him the photograph and asked him to prove that it was faked.  He also said that it might be worth dusting it for prints although ours were all over it now too.  I could have died of embarrassment.  Just then, my cell rang.  It was Chad calling to tell me that Angel was threatening to throw my things out of the window if I didn’t come and get them.  He said that she was refusing to let him in to the apartment.  I told Lucas that I needed to go so he told Carter to let him know as soon as possible.

We dashed back to my – no, Angel’s apartment.  Lucas began to quiz James about the identity of the person who’d hand delivered the envelope.  James said that it was a man, dark hair, probably in his thirties and that he was unremarkable. 

We got up to the apartment and were confronted by a near hysterical Angel.  Neither of us could get her to calm down enough to listen to us.  Lucas told me to go and pack whatever I needed for a few days and to pack anything valuable to me – just in case Angel went through with her threats. Tears of frustration rolled down my face the whole time.  I was hurt that she believed that I would do such a thing and frustrated that she wouldn’t listen to me.  We’d been friends for so long.  She should’ve known me better than that.

Just as we were leaving, Lucas reached out and calmly held Angel’s arms.  “Angel, I know you’re hurting right now, but I guarantee that photograph’s a fake.  Looking at it closely, I know that it’s my body in that photograph and I think I know when it was taken.  It was taken on Saturday – don’t ask me how someone took a photograph of me and Issy in her bed, but they did.  If you’d looked closely enough, I’m sure you would have realised that wasn’t Chad’s body.  Somebody has faked that photograph by superimposing his head on my body.  Do you have any idea who and why that would happen?”

She looked at him and curled her lip.  “You poor, poor man.  You believe anything she tells you or just what you want to believe.  You can’t get a girlfriend, you social freak, so when one falls into your arms, you’d do anything to keep her.”

I gasped in shock at her cruel words but Lucas just shrugged, let go of her and walked to the door, shaking his head.

Back at Lucas’ I wasn’t hungry so he fixed himself a snack and we curled up on the sofa.  I kept going over and over everything.  I couldn’t understand who would want to hurt Angel.  But then, as Lucas pointed out, all four of us stood to get hurt from the fallout from that photograph.  The intended target could be any one of us or even all of us.  With no motive to go on, it was difficult to say but I noticed that Lucas seemed very distracted all of a sudden.

We went to bed early and he just held me, all night long.  Several times during the night, I woke up crying and he soothed me, stroking my hair … just like Angel used to do.

The next morning, I decided to work from Lucas’ apartment.  I was finalizing details for the second apartment at Mini Dakota and I didn’t need to be in the office for that.  Lucas went down to see Carter for an update.  He’d retrieved the envelope from his car and given that to Carter the night before – for handwriting analysis and possible finger printing. 

He came back at around 8am, looking very worried.  He said that Carter had proved that the photograph was a fake but that it was a professional job.  He was very concerned that we didn’t know who the intended target was exactly and even more worried about how the photograph of us having sex had been obtained.  He said that he’d asked Carter to pay Angel a visit to try to get her to see sense and that he’d sent Chad a text informing him of the update.

Then, his cell rang and a very terse conversation ensued with Lucas snapping questions and answers.  He said that he’d got to go into the office for a while and then he raced out.  Things were getting really weird. I tried to call Angel but her cell went straight to voicemail.  I called the reception desk and spoke with James who informed me that Angel had left for the airport with a large suitcase, earlier that morning.

When Lucas came back, he looked tense and tired.  Apparently a malicious email had been sent to every one of Lucas’ employees and business contacts.  What’s worse, it had been sent from Lucas’ own email address and was signed by him.  Yet another fake, it transpired.  He had his team of techie wizards on the case and was confident of tracking down the security breach and the perpetrator.  He proudly informed me that he’d recruited some of the world’s most infamous hackers to come and work for him.  He paid far more than the US government did for a similar role, making it worth their while.

He sat down and put his head in his hands.  In that moment, I realized that the target of the fake photograph was Lucas.  It was too much of a coincidence for it to be anyone else.  The knowledge that someone was trying to hurt or harm him in some way made me feel fiercely protective of him.  I crawled up onto his lap and put my arms around his neck.  I lay my head against his muscular chest and just held him.  I was floored by what he said next.

“Issy, someone is obviously out to cause me problems.  At the moment, we have no idea who or why or whether they might attempt something else.  I think it would be safer for you if we ended our month trial a week early.  I don’t want you to be dragged into this any more than you have been already.”

“But Lucas, that’s madness.  Someone is obviously trying to cause you distress.  Do you really want to end the trial early – would you be making that request if it wasn’t for this nutter?” I raved.

“No, of course I wouldn’t,” he cried.

“Well then, you’re just playing into their hands by changing your plans because of them.  Inconveniencing yourself, just in case.”

He laughed.  “Inconveniencing myself?  Issy, if I have to lose you, it will feel like someone has ripped my heart from my chest and thrown it into the fires of hell.”

I blinked at the strength of his reaction – I knew he was developing feelings for me but I had no idea that they were so strong. 

He continued.  “Issy, part of me wants to send you away to keep you safe and the other part wants to keep you here with me, where I can keep you safe.  I just don’t know what to do for the best.”

I had goose bumps break out all over my skin.  “Lucas, whoever it is, they know where I live.  They’ve spied into my bedroom.  With Angel gone god only knows where, I would be on my own in my apartment.  If it’s okay with you, I think I’d rather stay here with you.”

I moved over and wrapped my arms around his neck.  “Besides, Mr. Hunter, I’m getting quite fond of being around you.  You know how you asked me to think of how you could adore and worship me?  For me to be in your life long term?  Well, I actually can’t imagine you not being in my life anymore.  I can’t imagine not waking up entwined with you every again.  Or being dominated by you to the best orgasms of my life.”

He looked at me and I could see fear and apprehension in those midnight blue eyes.  “What are you saying, Issy?” he whispered. 

“I’m saying that I want us to continue as we are, not just until the end of the month but indefinitely.  If that’s okay with you?”

Incomprehension and then enlightenment played with his features, leaving him with a smile.  “Do you mean that – really?”

I returned his smile and felt like a weight had been lifted from my shoulders.  “I actually do and nobody is more surprised about that than me.”

He pulled me onto his lap and hugged me.  I mean really hugged me so that I could barely breathe.  He didn’t show any signs of letting go any time soon either. 

“Oh Issy, you’ve made me the happiest man alive, do you know that?” 

I just smiled.  “Lucas, I can’t promise you forever but I will promise you that I will try.”

He held my face in his hands and returned my smile.  “That’s all I could hope for,” he said, kissing the tip of my nose.

The rest of the week was like a rollercoaster.  There was still no sign of Angel and it was decreed by Carter that whoever was out to get Lucas was a professional.  On the other hand, things at Mini Dakota were going swimmingly and Lucas and I were still enjoying spending time together.  Hell, we were living together – albeit temporarily.

Friday afternoon arrived and it was time for us and the band to get our flights to Florida for their next festival appearance.  Scott didn’t need his drum kit thankfully as all the bands on one stage were using the same kit.  Chad and Travis had their guitars and moaned like hell when they were told that they couldn’t keep them with them as hand luggage.  Travis’ rants about insurance and legal action of any loss or damage occurred
could surely be heard throughout the whole airport.  People kept staring but Lucas just kept mouthing ‘rock star’ and they seemed to understand.  It made me giggle.  Scott kept himself to himself and was even quieter than his normal self. 

There were two extra members to our boarding party – members of Lucas’ security team.  He stressed that it was purely precautionary but that he and Carter thought it was a good idea.  I thought it was a little OTT myself but if it relaxed Lucas then it was a good thing.  The flight was uneventful, except for Travis and Ethan’s competition to get off with a flight attendant, which was fairly entertaining for everyone except the flight attendants who were extremely flustered by the time we landed.  On his way out of the cabin, Travis grabbed one and kissed her as though her life depended upon it.  The way she sagged at the knees showed how she felt about it.  The boys cheered and even Lucas laughed.

We reached our hotel just as night fell and Lucas insisted that they all went to their rooms and got a good night’s sleep.  He promised them as much drunken debauchery as they could manage tomorrow night, after their gig, but nothing before.  He asked one of the security detail to enforce it so when Travis and Ethan sneaked back down to the bar, they were intercepted and escorted back to their room. 

The next day dawned, bright and warm.  Two cabs took us, the instruments and more free printed tee-shirts to the festival site.  Lucas efficiently sorted us our passes and then took the guys away to show them the stage and backstage areas where they could leave their instruments.  I was left with the security detail.  I decided to go and have a coffee.  I invited them to join me but they refused so I was left sitting on my own, nursing a cappuccino. 

Thankfully, the guys weren’t too long and we all sat down to eat bacon sandwiches with yet more coffee.  They were to perform half way through the festival, again on one of the lesser stages.  Lucas’ cell began to ring as he was munching on his sandwich.  He checked the display, frowned and then hit the key to connect the call.  His expression quickly became one of concern and anger.  He hung up the call abruptly and scowled into his coffee.  When I asked him what was wrong, he tried to pass it off but I’d learnt that with Lucas, you needed to persist a little.  He was used to being by himself and doing everything alone.  So I persisted.