Page 3 of The Midnight Club
Maceo’s eyebrows shot up. “You know your paintings”
Ori nodded. “I majored in art and I worked for a while as a curator”
Maceo was impressed, but he was still distracted by her body. He could smell her scent— perfume, soap, clean laundry and fresh air. He wondered how her cunt would taste and how it would feel. He shot a quick look in through the French windows … could he take her here? Suddenly being inside this beautiful woman was all he could think about.
He blinked, trying to concentrate on what she was saying. He smiled as she stammered to a halt, suddenly noticing his scrutiny. “Orianthi, would you care to have a late supper with me tonight?”
She grinned, and her smile made his cock thicken painfully. She really was gorgeous. But she shook her head. “Mr. Bartoli, I should tell you. I’m staying with Lucia Fernando. She and I are best friends and let’s just say … your reputation precedes you. Thank you, but no”
She nodded, half-smiling, and went back inside, leaving Maceo staring after her.Remind me to fire Lucia,he thought to himself, knowing that a) he would do nothing of the sort; he couldn’t function without Lucia running his business and b) … that whoever she was, the girl called Orianthi had just laid down the ultimate challenge to Maceo Bartoli.Get her into bed or die trying.Maceo grinned to himself and went back into the gallery to rejoin his friends.
They saythe first time is the hardest. They say it gets easier the more you kill. Yes, he had found that to be true. Killing Viola had been life-changing, along with that surprise in her eyes as he shot the crossbow bolt into her at point blank range and the horror. Then there was her blood, carrying her lifeless body to the edge of the river and dumping her in, watching her blood mix with the water. He had never felt such peace.
And now he knew he would do the same to any woman that the Midnight Club grew attached to or fell in love with. He would kill them all. He stared at the girl in the mauve dress. She looked like Viola too— dark, sensual, curvy. He hoped she would stay away from the Club and away from them all. Otherwise … it would be her death sentence.
Alex Milland rolledover onto his back and sighed. No sleep again. Three a.m. He considered, then grabbed his phone. He knew one of his friends would still be up—well, he knew Maceo would also be up and fucking some hot girl he’d picked up at the opening. Alex grinned to himself. Maceo was a machine. He could turn his feelings off. Maceo was an expert at that, and Alex envied him for it.
No, he could call on Seth, the calm center of their group. Quiet, fiercely intelligent, and with an empathy that somehow the rest of them lacked, Seth was Vancouver’s answer to Bill Gates. He was a brilliant mind but, Alex knew, also a solitary one. And, to Alex’s own benefit tonight, Seth was also an insomniac. He sent Seth a text message, and sure enough, a reply came back almost immediately.
Bar is still open.
He found Seth sitting at the bar, nursing a glass of scotch. He looked exhausted, but smiled at his friend, sliding a bottle of Johnny Walker Blue over to him. “How’re you doing, Alex?”
Alex shrugged. “Existing”
Seth nodded in sympathy. “I’m sorry, man. I can’t even imagine. They still haven’t a clue who murdered Viola?”
Alex sighed. “No. I can’t get my head around it, Seth. I just don’t get it. I just don’t know what it would take for someone to do that to Viola, man. She was kind and loving to everyone. Such a fucking waste”
“I hear you, brother”
Alex took a slug of scotch. “I tell you, man, never again. No more long-term things. I don’t think my heart could cope”
Seth studied him. “Alex … you can’t let this stop you from being happy ever again”
Alex gave a humorless laugh. “Look who’s talking”
“That’s different,’ Seth said shortly. “Irina cheated on me. Not the same at all. I just haven’t the time for relationships. I can get a quick fuck whenever I need it; why bother with the rest?”
“Cold”
“Not cold; smart”
Alex sighed. “Where are the others?”
“Not being smart”
Alex chortled. “God, you really did get up on the wrong side of the bed today”
Seth rubbed his face. “I just want some damn sleep, man”
“I know how you feel”
Seth put his arm around Alex’s shoulders. “I’m sorry, buddy. You must miss her. We all do”
An hourlater Alex was back in bed, listening to the rain fall outside. He closed his eyes, but he could only see Viola’s pale, gray face. Dead. Her body so still on the mortuary slab. The detective asking him to identify her.
Alex pushed the thought away and finally, rolled over at six a.m., falling asleep.
