Gemini Men: Caught Part 11

The waitress's smile widened, and Toni knew exactly what she was feeling. Mesmerized by the intense focus in Ethan's teal blue eyes. A little dizzy, off center. Like she'd just been whacked upside the head.

That was a good a.n.a.logy: Ethan's charm = head injury. Best to be avoided if at all possible. And, she reminded herself, she had much more important things to worry about than who Ethan was flirting with and why.

"I'm wondering if you can help us out," Ethan said to the waitress.

"I'll do whatever I can," she said.

Yeah, I just bet you will.

"We're looking for a friend of ours," Ethan said, holding up his BlackBerry with Toby's picture on the screen. "Have you seen him?"

The waitress studied the screen and gave a short laugh. "Yeah. He's up in the VIP section." She pointed to the back of the club where a staircase snaked its way up to the second level. "Holding court." She quirked a bleached eyebrow at Ethan. "He offered to make me a movie star, if you can believe it."

Ethan's eyes crinkled as he smiled. "Is that so?"

The woman leaned in, all but propping her enhanced cleavage on her tray and serving it up to him. "Yeah, but he told me I'd have to get naked, and I told him I only do that under the right circ.u.mstances."

Toni rolled her eyes and elbowed Ethan in the ribs.

"Thanks. We really appreciate your help."

The waitress placed a tanned, French-manicured hand on Ethan's sleeve. "I'm off at three."

Toni curled her hand around Ethan's bicep and insinuated herself between him and the waitress. The woman looked up, startled, into Toni's face. "He'll be busy."

Toni could almost hear the waitress's sigh of longing over the pulsing beat of the music as they made their way across the club.

"Getting territorial?" Ethan asked, yelling over the din of the music and the crowd.

"Just trying to keep you on task," she snapped before preceding him up the wide metal staircase to the VIP level.

The bouncer moved to stop them, and Toni smiled and batted her heavily lined eyes. "We're supposed to meet a friend up here. He told us it would be okay."

"Who's your friend?"

"Toby Frankel. But you might also know him as T-Bone."

The bouncer gave her an a.s.sessing look. Evidently he liked what he saw, because he unhooked the velvet rope and motioned Toni and Ethan past.

It was quieter up here, the music and noise muted, the air tinged with the scent of expensive booze and cigarette smoke. Rail-thin, expensively dressed women lounged on velvet-upholstered banquettes while beautiful men with professionally tousled hair pretended to be interested in every word that came from their heavily glossed lips.

As they moved through the crowd, Toni could feel eyes on them, a.s.sessing, wondering who they were, why they were here, were they worth knowing.

They spotted Toby, holding court on an overstuffed red velvet sofa in the back. His table was full of vodka and champagne bottles and he was surrounded by five girls in various stages of inebriation, all vying for Toby's attention.

Her stomach sank as she saw that Kara wasn't among them.

Toni didn't see the appeal of his s.h.a.ggy hair, youthful gawkiness, and scraggly goatee. "No accounting for taste," she muttered. In three long strides she was at his table, leaning down to say h.e.l.lo.

But before she could get a word out she was grabbed from behind, pulled hard against a beefy male chest, muscle covered with a thick layer of padding. "What do you want, woman?"

Toni jerked against his hold, but though the guy was heavy, he was strong, his grip tight on her upper arms.

She had the impression of s.p.a.ce moving, striped fabric, and suddenly she was free. Silence ripped through Toby's corner of the club and Toni turned to see the guy who had grabbed her, a big white gangsta wannabe, wearing baggy jeans, a football jersey, backward cap, and chains.

Ethan had him pinned to the wall, one big hand fisted in the guy's s.h.i.+rt as he held him several inches off the floor.

"You don't touch her, ever," Ethan said, his look and his tone promising severe injury. "Got that?"

An utterly inappropriate, purely feminine thrill pulsed through her at the sight of Ethan acting the cold, hard protector on her behalf.

Toby and his feminine entourage stared, wide-eyed. Toni looked behind her and saw the bouncer making his way over. Time to rein in her champion before they caused a scene. She slid a hand over his shoulder. "It's okay." Ethan gave the guy one last look of warning before releasing him.

"s.h.i.+t, man, I'm just watchin' out for my bro."

Toni rolled her eyes and turned back to Toby, who slouched arrogantly against the sofa cus.h.i.+ons. His lanky frame was draped in an oversize polo s.h.i.+rt, his left wrist adorned with a Rolex that cost twice as much as Toni's car. Two girls snuggled up to him, one on each side. Toni had no doubt that their pictures would be front and center on T-Bone's Treasure Chest come morning.

"Sorry about that," Toni said, making eyes at Toby and his would-be bodyguard. "I'm a friend of a friend and wanted to come over and introduce myself." She leaned over the table, far enough to make sure Toby got a good, thorough look down the front of her dress. "I'm Toni."

He shot her a boozy smile. "Why don't you lose the guy, Toni, and pull up a chair?"

She forced a smile. "Do you think we could go somewhere a little quieter?"

Toby shook his head. "Can't leave my own party."

Ethan came over then and leaned down to whisper something in Toby's ear. Toby shot a wide-eyed look at his faux gangsta friend, who held up both hands as if to say, "Not me, man."

The girls shot each other uneasy looks, and Ethan smiled. "You don't mind if we catch up a little, do you?"

The girls warily shook their heads as Ethan pulled Toby to his feet. If you weren't looking too hard, it looked like Ethan had a friendly hand on Toby's shoulder, but from the lines etched on Toby's face and the limpness of his right arm, Toni could tell that Ethan had him in some kind of Vulcan death grip.

Ethan steered Toby through the crowded club, across the flash and trash of the casino to the bank of elevators leading to the guest rooms.

"What floor?"

"Uh, twelfth," he said, and swallowed hard. "What's this all about, man? Whatever it is, I'm sure we can work it out." He reached for his wallet but was stayed by Ethan's hand.

"We have some things to discuss," Ethan said. "It's best we wait until we have some privacy."

Toby shoved his hands in his pockets, his shoulders slouched. He tried to look all cool and calm, but under the odor of liquor oozing from his pores, Toni could smell something else. Fear? Guilt? Christ, what if he really had hurt Kara? What if they were too late?

A bead of sweat rolled down Toby's face, but his mouth was still set in that smug sneer. "If I owe you money, bro, I'm good for it. Or if there's something else you need, I'm sure I can get it."

Ethan didn't reply, just pinned Toby with that razor-sharp stare until Toby started to squirm like a little kid about to wet his pants.

They got out on the twelfth floor and followed Toby to the end of the hall. Using his keycard, he opened the door to-hands down-the nicest hotel suite Toni had ever seen. Already trashed by Toby and his friends, of course, but still.

"Is there anyone else here?" Toni asked, praying Kara would walk out of one the suite's bedrooms.

"No," Toby said. "We were all down at the club."

Toni did a quick sweep of the suite just in case. No sign of Kara, or anyone else for that matter.

Her shoulders slumped as she walked back into the sitting room. Toby was sprawled in a lounge chair where Ethan had evidently pushed him and was now looming menacingly, fists clenched.

"I'm only going to ask you once," Ethan said. "Where the f.u.c.k is Kara Kramer?"

"Kara? Is this what this is about? s.h.i.+t, I thought you were one of Shorty's guys-" he broke off as Ethan shot him a warning look. "I haven't seen Kara for weeks. Not since she caught me in bed with the chick from my calc cla.s.s."

Toni folded her arms across her chest and widened her stance, as menacing as a micromini and platform heels would allow.

Ethan's mouth went dry as the s.h.i.+mmery fabric pulled tight against her legs.

"We know you planned to meet her on Friday."

Toby s.h.i.+fted his gaze between Ethan and Toni, looking for the friendlier face, coming up short. "Yeah? So?" Toby started to get out of the chair.

Ethan stopped him with a flat hand to the center of his chest. The kid bounced off the back of the upholstered armchair. "So she left her house at about two on Sat.u.r.day morning and hasn't been seen since. We think you might know something."

"Are you the cops?"

"We hear she flushed your stash when she found you in bed with that girl," Ethan pushed. "You were p.i.s.sed. Maybe you wanted to hurt her, teach her a lesson."

The kid's face went pale. "I swear I don't know anything."

"Was she dealing for you?" Toni asked, coming to stand beside Ethan. "She cost you money-maybe you wanted to get even."

Toby shook his head. "I don't even deal anymore. You can't prove anything."

"Or maybe she was going to rat you out for posting nude pictures of underage girls on your Web site."

"Kara's eighteen."

"Not until September she isn't."

"She told me she was. I took her word for it." Toby sat back in his chair, lip curled in a sneer. "Besides, you can't be sure it's her, not with her face blocked out."

Toni c.o.c.ked her head and gave Toby an almost pitying look. "Here's a tip. Almost nothing you do online is anonymous anymore. Remember that when you're luring drunk girls to your room and promising to make them stars."

Toby swallowed hard and looked up at them. "Kara was into everything. She tries to act like a good girl, but she's into all kinds of s.h.i.+t. She wanted to do those pictures. She liked the idea of doing it behind everyone's back. Especially her dad. Did you know he bought her a Mercedes after she signed the pledge? She loves driving around in that car, still getting away with everything she can."

"Too bad the courts won't care about any of that when you're charged with statutory rape," Toni said.

Toby snorted. "Can't get me there. I never even f.u.c.ked her."

Now it was Ethan's turn to snort. "You expect us to believe that?"

"It's true, man. She had this whole virgin thing going, like she was some good girl."

"Yet she let you post nude pictures of her for everyone in the world to see?" Toni's voice dripped with skepticism.

Toby shook his head. "Don't ask me. Who knows what b.i.t.c.hes have going on upstairs, you know?" He risked a conspiratorial look at Ethan.

Ethan didn't so much as blink.

Toby's eyes scuttled away. "Anyway, she liked the idea of everyone thinking she was all straight, while she was out partying and posing for the pictures and stuff. But I never used her face, I promised I wouldn't and I never did."

He gave Toni and Ethan a self-righteous look, as if somehow that made him honorable.

Ethan backed up a few steps, a headache creeping up his neck as all the c.r.a.p of the day finally caught up with him. "So you didn't meet her the other night?" But he already knew the answer.

Toby shook his head. "I was a little late and I thought she'd already gone back inside or taken off without me. She didn't answer any of my texts, so I figured she was being p.i.s.sy and blowing me off."

"Do you have any idea where she would go, who she might be with?" Toni asked.

Toby shook his head. "No clue, man. I swear on my life."

Another f.u.c.king dead end.

They'd been chasing their tails for two days now, missing something, he just didn't know what.

Now they were five hundred miles from home, no closer to finding Kara. f.u.c.king great.

Toby stood up from his chair, but before he could move for the door, Toni stepped in front of him.

In her heels, she towered over him by nearly half a foot. In that dress, she looked like some kind of avenging Amazon straight out of The Matrix.

"Remember what I said about not being anonymous, Toby," she said, her voice laced with menace. "I'll be keeping an eye on you."

She turned and strode for the door, all swaying hips and long, lean legs.

Ethan felt his irritation start to drain away as he found himself mesmerized by the s.h.i.+ny, clingy nothing of her dress. Two sc.r.a.ps of silver fabric that left most of her body bare. Held together in the middle by a few links of silver chain. Held up over her b.r.e.a.s.t.s by straps about as wide as a human hair.

Every smooth inch of skin, every soft curve and lean muscle was on display. Nothing was left to the imagination. Not the soft curves of her b.r.e.a.s.t.s. She couldn't be wearing a bra.

He looked at her a.s.s, at the material of her skirt-f.u.c.k, might as well have been a belt, as it barely covered her-as it s.h.i.+fted and clung. No lines, no bulges.

No evidence of panties whatsoever.

He was rock hard, raring to go, just as he had been from the second she walked out of the bathroom.

She stepped inside the elevator, pushed the down b.u.t.ton, and leaned back against the far wall. Her arms were folded across her chest, one knee bent as she braced her foot against the wall. He wondered if she had any idea what she was doing to him with all that bare, silky skin, smoky, made-up eyes, and her mouth. Her mouth was killing him, lush, painted red, giving him all kinds of visions about what it would look like sliding over the head of his c.o.c.k.

Those red lips parted, said something his l.u.s.t-fogged brain didn't quite catch. "What?" He said, shaking his brain back into focus.

"I said I really thought I knew her," Toni said. "But the more I find out, the more I realize I have no clue what's going on in her life."

"You knew her. You said yourself, she trusted you-"