Triple Play Read online

She had no idea what they thought of her now. They were regular players at The Loft, so tonight was nothing new to them, an acceptable and enjoyable sexual indulgence. Though she had enjoyed being bound and fucked anonymously, had come several times in fact, she knew it was not an experience she wished to repeat. All she needed, wanted, was her boys. Unfortunately, their solicitous, but unemotional attendance of her afterwards spoke volumes. They accepted her participation in their plans reluctantly and with coercion on her part. At the time, she couldn’t see past her need to avenge Melanie, but now she wondered if the pain of having everything she ever desired in a relationship, times two, and then losing it would be worth the sacrifice, especially if their seed didn’t bear fruit.

  Ella was just wishing she could call or see Melanie when a knock on her front door startled her, drawing her out of her quiet contemplations. Setting the remote down, she warily padded to the door. She knew it wasn’t Mac or Sam. They would have called her first. She also knew they had her covered, so obviously who ever it was wasn’t a threat. Still, it was after one a.m., an odd time for someone to be calling. Peeking through the peep hole, she was surprised to see Carly from the club standing there.

  “Carly, hi,” she greeted her as she opened the door.

  “Ella, I’m sorry to drop in so late, but I’ve been thinking about you all evening, wondering if you were okay and couldn’t help but stop to check on you.” She shrugged a little sheepishly. “I know it can get pretty intense upstairs.”

  Ella smiled, stood back, and waved her in. She wasn’t Melanie, but it would be nice to just chat with another woman. “I was just watching some late night TV before I turned in. Come in. Can I get you anything?”

  “I’d love a cup of hot tea, if it’s not too much trouble. Will you join me?”

  “Sure,” Ella replied leading the way into the kitchen. “Have a seat. Did you get off early tonight?” The club closed at two a.m., and she assumed Carly usually worked until then. Setting the kettle on to boil, she set down two mugs, placing a teabag in each.

  “Yeah. I had a headache and it had slowed to a trickle so I talked Manny into covering for me. I’ll owe him one, but that’s all right. Thank you,” she replied as Ella set a steaming mug in front of her. “Do you have any milk? I like mine creamy.”

  As Ella turned to retrieve the milk from the refrigerator, Carly quickly emptied a small packet into her cup. Pasting on a smile, she thanked her for the milk. She waited until Ella had taken several sips of her tea before asking, “So, do you want to talk about your introduction into The Loft?”

  “What’s she doing here?” Mac questioned, his irritation coming through loud and clear on Sam’s mike.

  “I have no idea, but she’s going to deter our guy if he’s near. Shit,” he added as he watched Ella invite Carly in. “What the hell is she thinking?”

  “She’s not, dammit. We didn’t cover any ‘what ifs?’ with her and she doesn’t think like a cop.”

  “Because she’s not a cop. Let’s hope they don’t chit chat too long. Maybe I should call her and tell her to send Carly on her way.”

  “Hold on, Sam. Let me run a make on Carly. Something’s not right here.” Mac quickly put a call into the precinct, got a hold of another member of their task force and explained the situation. “See what you can find out about her and get back to me ASAP, Will. Thanks.”

  Ten minutes later, Will reported back to Mac and had both men cursing, reaching for their weapons and heading to Ella’s apartment just as her door opened. Leaning heavily against Carly, she appeared sick or drunk. Or drugged. Before Carly spotted them, Sam maneuvered around the side so he could come up behind them.

  “Let her go, Carly,” Mac ordered, his hand steady as he aimed his weapon at her.

  “I don’t think so.” Carly’s left arm was wrapped tight around Ella’s waist. Bringing up her right, she pushed a small pistol against Ella’s temple. “I thought you were through with her, Mac? After all, you dumped her off after spreading her legs for all your friends. You don’t care about her one way or the other.”

  “And you do? Is that why she’s drugged?”

  “Hell no, I’m just ridding the world of another slut. Now, move aside, or I’ll kill her here and now.”

  Mac saw Sam moving in quietly behind Carly and knew they would only get one chance at taking her down. Both men were prepared to act when Ella surprised them all by driving her elbow sharply into Carly’s stomach, causing her abductor to double over and loosen her clutch around her waist.

  “Mac!” Ella cried out as Carly’s gun went off and she felt a searing pain in her arm as she dove for the ground. Mac and Sam fired simultaneously, both hitting Carly, who was dead before she hit the ground.

  “I’ve got you, Blondie.”

  Sam’s worried voice permeated the fog clouding her brain and slowing her senses. Her arm burned where the bullet had grazed her, and she was starting to feel nauseous from whatever drug Carly had slipped into her tea. Thank God she had become suspicious of Carly’s actions before she had drunk the whole cup.

  “I’m okay,” she managed to croak as Sam checked her pupils and then her arm. Mac knelt beside them and the concern in his blue eyes warmed her. “Carly?”

  “No. I’m sorry, baby, we had no choice.”

  Ella felt tears threaten and didn’t know why. Carly had been a serial killer and was responsible for Melanie’s attack. She had really fooled them all, especially her. “Just so you know, my days as a super agent are over. I’m going to stick with nursing,” she managed to slur as she heard sirens approaching and felt herself slipping into unconsciousness.

  “Damn right they are,” Sam grumbled as he lifted her in his arms and handed her over to the paramedics.

  “That could’ve ended a lot worse,” Mac said as they watched the ambulance drive off and turned to wrap up their crime scene.

  “And it could have gone a lot easier if she hadn’t invited Carly in, hadn’t drunk whatever she gave her, and hadn’t tried to help us by attacking Carly. That woman needs a fucking keeper,” Sam griped in frustration.

  “Two.”

  “What?”

  “I said,” Mac stated emphatically, “she needs two keepers. Do you really think either one of us can handle her single handedly or that either one of us is going to step aside?”

  Sam looked at his partner and best friend for a minute before smiling and slapping him on the back. “Looks like we have some things to discuss and maybe some vacation time to put in for.”

  “Works for me, but I think that time is going to have to wait a week or two until we get this case wrapped up. We still have a lot of unanswered questions that will need some closure.”

  “Yeah, unfortunately, with our suspect dead, some of them may remain unanswered.” They joined the crime scene unit in the hopes of piecing together the actions and motives of Carly Stanton.

  ***

  It was late the following morning before Ella woke and was back to her normal self. She vaguely remembered the ride to the hospital and the pain and indignity of having her stomach pumped. Her doctor had just left and she was grateful to learn that she had ingested only a minute amount of the date rape drug, the same one that had been responsible for several deaths and Melanie’s coma. Her arm had needed a few stitches and would probably leave a small scar; but, all in all, she had been extremely lucky and an end had been put to Carly’s madness.

  A rap on her door drew her attention as a female police officer peeked in. “Ms. Ward? I’m Officer Daniels. I’m here to take your statement. May I come in?”

  “Yes, of course,” Ella answered as she struggled to sit up. She tried not to let her disappointment show that Mac and Sam had not come personally to speak with her.

  “You have a guest waiting for you, so I’ll be quick. Detectives McIntyre and Shadetree gave a detailed account of what went down last night, so I just need you to fill in on what transpired between you and the suspect before leaving your apartment.”
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  Ella waited while she took a seat and got out her notepad, wondering who her visitor was. Probably someone she worked with, she thought, as no one else knew she was here yet. She slowly recounted everything she remembered about last night, including pretending to be more drugged than she actually was until she knew Mac and Sam were there to take charge. Reliving everything made her realize how lucky she was and how dumb some of her actions had been. She didn’t need a ton of bricks to fall on her to show her she wasn’t cut out for police work. She accomplished what she had set out to do, find the person who had so badly injured her best friend, and it felt like a huge weight had been lifted from her shoulders.

  “That should cover everything,” Officer Daniels said with a smile as she closed her notebook and rose to leave. “You were very brave, and I hope your recovery will be quick.”

  “I’m supposed to be released this afternoon. It seems I make a better nurse than I do a patient,” she said ruefully.

  “Well, your friend out there will be happy to hear you’re being released so quickly. Thank you again.”

  Officer Daniels had no sooner left than a small tornado came barreling through the door. With a squeal, Melanie threw her arms around Ella and toppled into the bed with her.

  “Oh my God!’ Ella exclaimed, crying and kissing her friend exuberantly. “What are you doing here?”

  “And where else would I go upon hearing how my best friend risked her life to find the person who assaulted me?” Melanie grew serious as she looked hard at Ella. “I can’t believe you did that, Ella. When your detectives showed up this morning at the safe house and told me the whole story, I demanded to be released immediately and brought here. Of course there was the red tape to wade through, and probing my memory again about my ordeal, which seemed to take forever. And nothing’s changed. I still have no memory of anything after I got home except Mandy and I fighting, again. She left and then nothing. I don’t even remember this Carly from the club.”

  “Maybe not remembering is a good thing, Mel. I wish I could forget last night. I’ll admit this to you only, when I realized she had drugged me, I was scared to death. Not even knowing Mac and Sam were near and would intervene at any time was enough to ease my fears.”

  Melanie clasped her face and kissed her softly. Ella tasted her tears and knew she wept out of fear and gratitude for her. Ella kissed her back, her lips clinging, her tongue dancing with hers. Their hands automatically danced over each other’s breasts with the comfort and ease of familiarity, eliciting a hunger that left them both ravenous.

  Giggling against her mouth, Ella pulled back enough to whisper against her lips, “We can’t do this here.”

  “Are you sure?” Melanie questioned mischievously as her hand found its way under her gown. Her soft palm on her naked breast felt so good Ella couldn’t stifle a moan, making Melanie chuckle.

  “No,” she sighed regretfully. “But Mandy already resents me, Mel. I don’t want to cause anymore trouble between you two.”

  Reluctantly, Melanie pulled back and took a seat by her bed. “Yeah, you’re right. I guess I’m going to have to decide if I’m staying with her or not. But, Ella, I’ve always been up front with her about us. She knew from the beginning that we just played around, that we we’re best friends first and occasional lovers second and that that wasn’t going to change.”

  “I know, hon, but she really loves you. We’ll always be best friends, but we can put the sex aside for a while until you decide where your relationship is going with her.”

  “I guess you’re right. Your decision wouldn’t have anything to do with the two hunky detectives you’ve been screwing the past few weeks, would it?”

  “Unfortunately, no.” Now it was Ella’s turn to become weepy. Irritated with herself, she swiped her hand over her eyes roughly.

  “Okay. Spill it. Every sordid, upsetting detail, and then I’ll go rack some balls for you.”

  Ella laughed. The picture of petite Melanie taking on her boys was rather humorous. She told Melanie everything, giving her intimate details of each sexual encounter and ending with how she had been stupid enough to fall for both of them knowing their relationship was temporary.

  “I think you’re selling yourself short,” Melanie said after she had heard everything. “What makes you think they wouldn’t want to continue seeing you?”

  “They’ve never even hinted at anything beyond solving the case. And after last night…”

  “What about last night?” she asked when Ella paused. “Are you sorry you did it?”

  “Honestly, no. It led to catching that psycho, Cindy, and it was exciting. I’m not saying I’d repeat the experience, once was enough, but being fucked anonymously, with an audience, was highly erotic and pleasurable. I lost count of how many times I came.” Recalling the feel of those hard cocks filling her, hands and lips fondling her breasts, mouths against her lips, was enough to fuel her senses and ignite her passions all over again.

  Melanie smiled at the sight of her hard nipples against her gown. “I see that. So, you must think Mac and Sam have a problem with your performance.”

  “That’s just it,” Ella sighed. “I don’t know. I wouldn’t have thought so, after all they’re regulars at the club, and I assume have indulged in other such scenes with other women. But they were so quiet and aloof on the way back to my apartment, I felt they were glad it was over.”

  “Well, I think you should quit worrying about them and let me take you home so you and I can get our lives back to normal. I’m going to think positive and believe they were more concerned for you and what might happen because of that little ceremony, and rightly so. Every time I think about how close you came to getting really hurt, it makes me sick.”

  “You’re not the only one. I say we leave the police work to the cops, and we go back to being ordinary citizens.”

  “I couldn’t agree more.”

  It took Mac and Sam over a week to close the case on Carly’s four homicides. The quick background search done the night of Ella’s attack revealed Carly had moved to Chicago shortly after her ex-boyfriend’s new lover was found murdered in a park, the victim of an overdose of the same date rape drug found in their victims. An interview with Michael Weston revealed he and Carly were into a Dom/sub relationship; but, when she had refused to participate in a public orgy at a popular club in New York, he had dumped her and took up with a new girl who was willing and eager to do whatever he demanded of her with whomever.

  Michael admitted he thought Carly might have had something to do with Pam’s death, but there had been no evidence to back up his suspicions other than she had taken their breakup very hard and resented his new relationship. A search of Carly’s car the night of Ella’s attack revealed a thermos of tea laced heavily with more of the same drug, enough to cause death. She also had several different objects including a baton and a glass pop bottle that had been used to rape her previous victims with. They concluded she was taking her anger out on unsuspecting women who reminded her of Michael’s betrayal.

  “She was a real piece of work,” Mac said as they were leaving their captain’s office after giving their final report.

  “Yeah. There’s no telling how many lives she would have destroyed if we hadn’t set her up, including Ella’s.” Just the thought was enough to make Sam shudder.

  “Speaking of our girl, what do you say we get her and fill her in over breakfast. I’m starving.”

  Sam stopped before getting in his truck and eyed Mac seriously. “Is she?”

  “Is she what?”

  “Our girl.”

  Mac ran his hand through his long hair, sighing deeply. “We haven’t had time to discuss it.”

  “You know, that condo we were looking at is still available. It’s three times the size of any of our apartments and the rent was doable when we were talking just the two of us.”

  Mac’s eyes lit up with Sam’s proposal. “True. And, with a third roommate, it would even be more economi
cal than our apartments.”

  Sam smiled, catching on. “Big garage, a yard, all the comforts of a home.”

  “Nice area, centrally located so none of us would have a long commute to work.”

  “Think she’ll go for it?” Sam was worried she was thinking they had deserted her. They had been so busy trying to connect all the dots on this case, neither one of them had had the time to contact her in the last week. They both had to fly to New York for interviews with Carly’s ex and with the NYPD, which took them several days.

  “We can talk her into it,” Mac stated with confidence.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Ella maneuvered the small sailboat back into its slot at the marina with practiced ease. For the past five years, she had been coming to one of the secluded campsites along Lake Michigan during the summer to get away from the stress of the big city and her job. The quiet solitude soothed her, the fresh, clean air rejuvenated her and the boating and hiking invigorated her. She took the time every few weeks to spend a few days by herself, or with Melanie, and usually enjoyed the quiet, peaceful time away from everyone and everything. This time, however, she was finding little comfort in her usual activities and no reprieve from the heartache she had hoped to leave behind.

  Jumping up onto the deck, she strode to the office and turned in her slip. “Thanks, Mike,” she said as she waved to the owner of the small marina and boat rental.

  “See you tomorrow?” Mike asked.

  “Probably early, and then I have to head back. About nine, okay?”

  “I’ll have her ready.”

  The walk back to her camp was less than a mile, and Ella enjoyed the trek through the woods. It was cooler with the trees blocking most of the sun, but she had gotten warm out on the lake and the shade felt good. Dressed in shorts, tee shirt, and tennis shoes, she had managed to get her exposed arms and legs some much needed sun; but, with her fair skin, she had to be careful not to overdo. She wondered what Sam and Mac were doing and then quickly shoved thoughts of them aside. She wished Melanie were here with her to help keep her mind off the end of that relationship, but she had told Melanie she was going to give her some time and space to either work out her problems with Mandy or end the relationship, which left her to brood alone.