Hard Risk by Sidney Bristol
Chapter Seventeen
West, FL.
Robin’s internal clock knew it was past time to get up, but she didn’t want to budge. She hadn’t been this comfortable and relaxed since the last night at her apartment. She wanted to relish this, especially after…
Her peaceful mental wandering stuttered and a sense of dread filled her.
She clung to the shreds of peace as something warm stroked her side.
Robin was not alone.
That realization brought with it a deluge of reality. She had vague memories of pizza and a lot of beer last night. Groaning, she cracked one eye open and blinked.
A familiar profile filled her vision.
Harper.
Her heart did a leap and twinge in her chest.
He bent his head and pressed a kiss to her stomach then her side. He lingered there as his eyes met hers. The light drifting through the sliding glass door was more than enough to make out his features. Her mind shied away from the bad parts of yesterday, choosing instead to revel in how this man had dropped everything to save her. And most of all? He was still there.
A normal man would have jumped ship. The kind of baggage she came with was too much for most. But not him. Not Harper.
“Morning,” he said in that deep, sleep roughened voice. She’d forgotten how sexy that sounded. “Did I wake you?”
She lifted a hand, running her fingers through his hair. “Maybe a little.”
“How’s your head?”
She pressed her fingers to her cheek. “I think I’ll have a little bruising. Mostly it’s my neck.”
His tone grew grim. “I... I, ah, meant after drinking.”
“Oh.” And here she went making things uncomfortable. “I’m fine.”
There went that moment.
She rolled away from him.
Or tried to.
Harper threw his arm over her hips and hugged her to him. She didn’t have it in her to fight him.
“Hey? Do you want to talk about it?” he asked softly.
He’d asked her the same thing last night, and she’d chosen to drown her trauma in beer and grease. Not the most mature thing she’d ever done, but what the hell?
“No.” Despite his hold on her, she rolled to her back and stared up at the ceiling. It was easier this way. Looking at him distracted her. “I’ve said all that needs saying. I’m tired of talk. I want to do something.”
Harper’s hand slid over her hip to her side. His tough was just firm enough to not be ticklish.
“Hm.”
With his face pressed against her stomach, she felt the vibration of that drawn-out sound. It tickled her insides, curling deeper to awaken other desires. She let her eyes drift shut and focused on the positives. The first time she’d woken up to Harper had been a disaster. Her fault for not setting an alarm, so she wanted to enjoy this moment. With the firestorm she was bringing down on herself, who knew when she’d get another respite like this?
Harper turned his face. She felt his nose on her ribs then his lips. His kiss was so gentle it tickled. She shifted, sucking in her stomach to get away from the touch. He chuckled and slid a hand up under the loose shirt she’d worn to bed. She stopped breathing as his fingers coasted up and over the underside of her breast to her nipple.
And just like that, there was only one thing she wanted to do.
Robin let her eyes drift shut as he drew lazy circles around her areola. Her breath quickened, and she shifted her feet restlessly.
“Anything specific you want to start with?” His feigned innocence was laughable. He knew what he was doing.
“More of that,” she muttered.
“Hm, I think I can do that, but first…”
Harper let go of her breast to once more wrap his arm around her waist. Only this time he rolled, bringing her on top of him. She sputtered a laugh and straddled his hips. His morning wood pressed against her ass, evidence that he was still interested in her. He grinned up at her and pushed her shirt up.
Robin pulled the garment up over her head. His hands were on her breasts in an instant. Only this time his teasing was far more direct. He gently grasped both nipples, rolling the points between his fingers. She groaned and arched her back. A wave of heat swept her body.
Was it her imagination or did Harper’s hands tremble as he palmed her breasts?
She opened her eyes, taking in the scene before her.
He laid there, head tossed back and to one side. His eyes were shut and his mouth twisted into what she might otherwise call a grimace. Under her, his hips shifted.
Robin sucked in a breath and blossoms of light danced in her vision as their sexes ground together. She hadn’t realized she’d moved, but now that was all she wanted to do.
Leaning forward, she braced a hand on his shoulders and undulated her hips.
Harper gasped and his eyes opened. She stared into the dark pools of his gaze, wanting nothing more than for this feeling to swallow her up.
He dug a hand into her hair, pulling her down for a hungry kiss. His other hand splayed on her lower back as he lifted his hips, grinding against her.
At that moment the only thing that mattered was him.
She reached down, pushing at his underwear until she grasped his erection.
Harper made a sound of pain. “Oh, fuck. Babe? No.”
She snatched her hand back. “I’m sorry!”
Harper was quicker. He made a grab for her hand, lacing their fingers together before sheepishly grinning up at her.
“You have nothing to be sorry for. I’m the one about to explode.”
Heat exploded on her cheeks. “O-oh…”
He sat up, almost rocking her onto her back before he hugged her to him.
Harper tipped his chin up. “Kiss me?”
How could she resist him?
Robin cupped his face with both hands and set her lips against his. She suckled his lower lip, letting her mouth soften as he took control.
One thing was certain; he was good for her ego.
“So what do you say? Want to do something?” he asked against her lips.
“Yes. Condom?”
He let go of her and reached for the nightstand. Robin sat down on the mattress, using the moment to divest herself of her panties. Harper was a rush of movement. She heard the rip of a condom and saw his boxers go sailing off the bed. Then he was reaching for her. His grin was hungry like she was the only thing he ever wanted.
There were faults with their relationship, but she’d never doubted his attraction to her. For the first time in her life, she wasn’t self-conscious about carrying a little weight or that she was brown where other girls were pink. With Harper, she was just herself. And herself was desirable.
Robin was falling in love with him. She had been for a while.
She straddled his hips and stared deep into his gaze without a single shred of doubt coloring this moment. They weren’t perfect, but she loved him for sticking by her. She loved him for hanging on, for walking the tight-rope of her family and this absurd situation. She loved him for treating her like she’d always wished to be treated. As a priority and not an afterthought.
Robin lowered herself onto his cock. She groaned as he slid within her.
They had to do this more often.
“Oh my—fuck. Robin… God.”
She grinned at his tortured words. A thrill of feminine power raced through her.
He gripped her hips and thrust up, driving his cock deeper. She gasped and pitched forward, catching herself before she covered him.
Harper lifted his chin. She thought he might kiss her, but then he spoke.
“There is no pussy better than yours.”
A mix of heat, embarrassment, and pride swirled through her at his words.
He rolled his hips, grinding his pubic bone against her clit. A ripple of pleasure shook her, and she pushed up.
This would be quick, and then maybe she’d get to take her time.
Robin pushed up, bracing her hands on his chest. Harper’s hands coasted over her hips, stomach and breasts, but his eyes remained locked on hers. There was no hiding his desire.
His eyes went wide. “Shit—Robin?”
She grabbed his hand and pulled it down to where their bodies joined.
That was all it took.
He cupped her mound, his fingers sliding over her slick skin to find her clit. His head tossed back on a long groan and his hips shot up, but his fingers never faltered. She closed her eyes, surrendering herself to the moment and the feel of him. Not just his body, but how they fit together in every possible way.
It was like she’d found something she didn’t know she was missing.
A tightness low in her stomach expanded swiftly.
Robin opened her mouth, but her words were stolen. It felt like leaping into still water with bubbles racing over her skin. Her insides seemed to vibrate pleasure as he stroked her.
She let herself fall forward into his arms and knew that this was a once-in-a-lifetime love. She didn’t know how long he was with her or how it would turn out, but for now, in this moment, she loved him with her entire being.
Harper wrapped his arms around her and buried his face in the crook of her neck. He kissed her damp skin then smoothed her hair back to take her mouth.
“Fuck,” he groaned against her lips. “That was the best way to wake up.”
“I have to agree.”
A hell of a lot better than running around looking for her clothes.
He tapped her nose with a finger. “Hungry?”
“Sure.” She lifted a hand to her neck to touch the charm he’d given her but found it was gone. “Where’d my necklace go?”
“Hm? Oh, remember? It got caught in your hair and you took it off last night. I bet it’s still in the living room.”
“Oh…”
She vaguely remembered that, but not very well. Hadn’t her hair been up? She must be confused.
Robin eased away from him, separating their bodies. She shivered and flopped on the bed next to him, wrapping herself in the sheet.
“You want the bathroom first?” Harper asked.
“Not yet. I want to lay here for a moment longer.”
He leaned over and kissed her cheek. “I’ll be fast.”
She turned her head and pulled him back down for a kiss. That weird tension was gone between them. She hoped this relationship outlasted her family drama because she wanted the chance to be with him like this more often.
Harper bounded off the bed and began pulling clothes out of his bag. “Hey, did Jessica make it home okay?”
“You know, she never replied after saying she was checking out.” She rolled over and grabbed her phone.
Robin had made the tough decision to leave it off at Harper’s urging. The rationale made sense. If Uncle Daar really was dangerous, her phone could easily give her away. It was so strange to be without it and all the little dopamine hits scrolling social media gave her.
Once the device powered on, she tapped her messages.
Nothing.
No text. No voicemail. No email.
“That’s strange,” she muttered.
“What?” Harper stepped around the bed.
“I have nothing from Jess. I’m going to call her. She’s probably too focused and forgot to reach out.”
Harper continued to stand there, clothes in one hand, completely naked.
Jessica’s phone didn’t even ring. It went straight to voicemail starting with the always cheerful, “Hey! This is Jess.”
“Hang up,” Harper snapped.
Robin reacted immediately, jabbing the end call button. “Why?”
His face had darkened, and he scowled at the floor now.
“What’s going on?” she asked.
“Call the hotel and make sure she checked out. I’m going to get dressed and throw together some food.”
“Harper, wait.” She sat up. “What do you mean? What aren’t you saying?”
He paused at the door, looking at her over his shoulder. “I don’t want to scare you…”
“You’re already scaring me.”
“Is it normal for Jess to not reply to your calls or messages?”
“No, but when she’s in deep with a project—”
“You think given what’s happened she wouldn’t get back to you?”
“Shit…”
Harper didn’t even try to comfort her or talk her away from the scary ledge. “I’m going to make some calls myself. Find out from the hotel if she’s left yet or not.”
Damn it.
Robin called Jessica’s phone again, but when it went to voicemail she hung up.
It wasn’t like Jessica to be difficult to get ahold of.
But no one besides the two of them knew Jessica was helping Robin. Unless Uncle Daar was far more dangerous than Robin realized.
Shit. What had they gotten involved with?
Thursday. Hilton Garden Inn, Miami, FL.
Harper managed to shave off a good half hour of drive time by pushing the speed limit. That wouldn’t have been possible if they’d waited later in the day.
Fucking hell.
He should have sent someone to the hotel. They’d all been focused on Robin to the exclusion of Jessica. That wasn’t smart. Not at all.
The others were spread out. Samuel had stuck close to Harper and Robin. Baruti and Logan had opted to return to Miami with the goal of keeping their eyes on Daar.
God, they’d fucked this up.
Robin nervously bounced her knees. She shifted every few minutes.
What a shit way for the morning to go.
He knew his time with her like this was growing short. Very soon something would happen and his true role would be revealed. He’d just wanted one day to themselves. One day for it to all be perfect. Was that too much to ask for?
Clearly it was.
“How much longer?” Robin asked.
“We’re almost there.”
Jessica had never checked out of the hotel. That was pretty damning news.
Why hadn’t they grabbed her, too?
Because Harper’s focus was Robin. There hadn’t been room for anyone else in his head.
“What are we going to do?” she asked.
He drew in a deep breath. He’d already explained it to her twice, but stress did funny things to people.
“I have some friends who should get there the same time we do. I want you to stay in the car while we go upstairs and check out Jessica’s room. When we know something, I’ll call you.”
Harper wasn’t expecting good news given his experience with other people Daar worked with.
The parking lot at the Hilton was mostly full, but he found a bit of pavement marked with emergency stripes. Most importantly it was close to the fence. Harper glimpsed the surveillance van pulling along the curb, which meant Samuel would be there to watch after Robin.
“Stay here, okay?” Harper said.
He couldn’t tell her that Samuel would be watching over her the whole time. That would only bring up uncomfortable questions when he needed her complete trust.
“Lock the door until I come back.” Harper reached across and dragged her to him for a kiss. “I won’t let anything happen to you or Jess, okay?”
Those were some big words he wasn’t sure he could carry through on, but he was damn well going to try.
Harper got out, locked the doors, then he turned his back on Robin. It was one of the toughest things he’d done in a long time leaving her like that. But he did it because she needed him to.
He jogged toward the front of the building.
Baruti and Logan were waiting for him in the breezeway in front of the hotel. They fell in behind him and together they went to the front desk. Jessica had thought to leave a key for Robin and with a little smooth talking Harper was able to get that same key.
None of them spoke until they were in the elevator heading up.
“How was last night?” Harper asked.
Logan glanced at Baruti. The bigger man sighed and rubbed a hand over his shortly trimmed hair.
“The Suleiman’s left in the middle of the night,” Baruti said.
“What?” Harper yelped. “You let that happen?”
“No one let anything happen.” Logan narrowed his gaze. “Best we can tell they left on foot by way of the beach. They also left most of their luggage and the two dogs.”
“No.” Harper shook his head. “Saaina would never.”
“She wouldn’t have a choice if Daar forced her,” Baruti pointed out.
Harper blinked at the two.
Damn.
“What aren’t we seeing? What else is going on?” Harper asked as the elevator dinged on their floor.
They left that question unanswered and proceeded down the hall. He stopped at Jessica’s room before he was truly ready. He swiped the card anyway and pushed the door open.
“Holy shit,” Logan muttered.
Harper stared into what looked like a disaster zone.
The folding closet doors were off the track and lying across the entryway. The bathroom mirror was shattered. Clothes and debris were tossed about everywhere. The mattress sat half off the box spring.
“Gloves,” Baruti muttered.
Harper accepted the latex before picking his way into the room.
“She put up a fight,” Logan said.
Everything in Harper wound tight.
They’d missed something. He didn’t know where or how, but Daar was aware of the girls investigating him. Maybe he just found out, but he knew.
He turned toward the hotel door. “Robin…”
A distant pop, pop, pop sound made the hair on Harper’s arms stand on end.
As one, the three men sprinted for the door.
It was a blur. All of it. Harper was the first to turn toward the stairs because the damn elevator would take too long. He dimly heard Baruti yelling Samuel’s name over and over again.
Harper took the stairs two and three at a time. It was Logan who simply vaulted over the railing onto the lower landing leaving them all in the dust.
Let her be alright, Harper prayed.
He knew better than to wish gunshots were anything else. They’d all been in enough tense situations to know that noise and that it rarely meant anything good.
Harper burst through the emergency exit. By some stroke of luck, it put them out around the corner from the parking lot. He dashed to where he’d left the SUV.
He rounded the corner, and the scene spread out in front of him. His gaze went to the SUV first, and the shattered windshield. The passenger seat was empty. His knees wobbled, then gave out, sending him to the pavement.
“Sammy!” It sounded as though the force of that one word ripped Baruti’s vocal chords.
Harper’s gaze swung left to where Logan crouched over the other agent, his hands stained red.
“No. No!” Harper yelled and pushed to his feet. “Samuel? Robin!”
Something in him broke in that instant. He knew Robin was gone and that he’d failed her. He’d failed everyone.
This was on him.
Thursday. Miami, FL.
Daar paced the dingy hotel room. He had a tenuous hold on the situation and it was slipping. Something needed to go very right very soon.
Where was Peter? Why hadn’t he checked in yet?
The plan was for him to go by the hotel and watch for a little while on the off chance Robin came to check on her friend. That was hours ago. So where was he?
“How much longer are we going to be here?” Cassim asked.
If he didn’t stop talking Daar was going to banish Cassim to the adjoining room with his wife. Saaina would not shut up about the damn dogs and Daar’s patience was nearly at its end. She was lucky he hadn’t killed them out of spite. Dirty little mongrels. He was already contemplating wiping the slate clean of the lot of them and being done with this song and dance. It wasn’t like he needed his brother and if his niece could turn on him like this, what other purpose was there?
The laptop.
Daar needed that and then he could burn the rest to the ground.
Outside an engine cut off.
He frowned at the windows, listening to a door open and shut.
“Amaar?” Daar called out.
Amaar never glanced up from his laptop. “It’s Peter.”
Daar breathed a sigh of relief. He was grateful that Amaar had put the camera in the window, giving them a clear view of the parking lot.
The door opened and Robin staggered inside followed by Peter.
Her gray tank top was smeared with a splotch of dark color. She went to her knees, staring up at them with wide, fearful eyes.
So she knew what she’d done.
Good.
“Is it hers?” Daar asked.
Peter quickly closed and secured the door. “No. She had a badge following her. I took care of him.”
Daar nodded. “Good.”
Robin stared around the room. Her chest moved in quick, short bursts. At this rate she’d pass out soon from hyperventilating and shock.
A new rage twisted Daar’s insides. He went to a knee and grabbed her by her ponytail, jerking it down so she had to look him in the eye.
“I had such high hopes for you,” he snarled. “And then you had to go and do whatever this is. What are you planning? Out with it.”
She tried to cower away from him, but he held her in place. “Nothing. I don’t know.”
“What were the cops doing following you?”
“They weren’t. There were no cops. At least… I don’t know. I saw him once outside Harper’s apartment. I don’t know him. I swear. Honest,” she insisted. Tears streamed down her face.
Something banged on the wall. “Robin? Robin, is that you?”
The other girl, Jessica, appeared in the doorway. Despite her wrists and ankles being bound, she’d found a way to shuffle around.
Robin lurched toward the door. “Jess!”
Daar hauled her back. “Oh, no you don’t.”
Her gaze remained on her friend. “Jess, are you okay?”
“Don’t you fucking touch her, you Crypt Keeper bastard,” Jessica shouted.
Peter moved before Daar could tell him to. Peter grabbed Jessica and pulled. She toppled off balance onto the floor.
“You bastard!” Jessica raged.
Peter ignored her and dragged her over to Daar. Robin reached for Jessica immediately, wrapping her arms around the other woman.
“Are you okay? Did they hurt you?” Robin asked when she should be far more concerned about herself.
Daar reached behind him and drew the gun from the waistband of his trousers.
It was time for answers.
He leveled the barrel at a spot between the two women.
“Someone had better explain to me what you’ve been doing.” His tone was colder than ice.
Robin clutched her friend to her chest and stared at Daar with wide eyes while Jessica glared daggers. It was no surprise which one of the two was the driving force. It didn’t hurt any less to know that his own flesh and blood had betrayed him. After everything Daar had done, this was the result?
“Y-you killed my mother,” Robin stammered out.
Daar blew out a breath.
That was the reason?
Damn it.
She knew. Or more likely, she suspected.
“How do you know I did that?” Daar asked, keeping his tone calm.
Robin licked her lips. She wasn’t falling to pieces yet. There was still a backbone in there.
“A week before Mom died the two of you had a fight,” Robin said. “I don’t know what it was about, but I remember you threw a big, crystal candle holder at her. If it weren’t for Grandma being there, I don’t think you’d have stopped.”
Daar’s eyes widened. “You were there?”
Robin nodded. “I was hiding in the drapes.”
He blew out a breath. “That’s hardly proof. I wasn’t in the country.”
“I know. I don’t have proof, yet, but I know you killed her. You toasted her death with Dad after the funeral. You said, I’m glad I never have to hear her voice again and that it should have happened sooner.” Robin’s voice rose with each word. She wasn’t quite yelling, but it was close.
Daar shook his head. “Why? Why did you have to be there?”
All his ideas, his plans, he’d wanted to find a way to bring Robin into the business. And that whole time she’d no doubt hated him, because he had killed her mother. Not with his own hands, he was smarter than that.
Peter caught his gaze, his mouth set in a grim line.
Now that Robin and her friend had seen Peter, there was no going back. If she dug back far enough, he was willing to bet there would be evidence of Peter’s presence near their home prior to the murder. The cops hadn’t connected him because at that point there wasn’t anything between Daar and Peter.
The chancellor had recommended Peter to Daar for just that job.
“Don’t say anything else,” Cassim demanded.
Once the pieces began to connect, everything else would fall into place.
Robin turned her head. “And you knew. Did you ask him to do it? Or did he do it as an unspoken favor?”
“Shut up, Cassim,” Daar muttered.
“Don’t tell me to shut up.” Cassim pushed up off the bed and scowled at Daar. “You just kidnapped my daughter after dragging us here. I will not be quiet. Leave the past in the past.”
Daar closed his eyes for a brief moment. “Why did you have to screw this all up?”
“Me?” Cassim gasped.
Daar bent closer to Robin, ignoring his brother. “You were my one hope. My one damn hope for this family and now you’ve fucked it all up. Why couldn’t you leave well enough alone? Why are you so much like your mother?”
“Here now, what are you saying?” Cassim growled, no doubt taking offense to Daar’s words.
Daar pushed to his feet and locked his gaze on Cassim. It was time to be done with the act and move on. “Where is the laptop?”
Cassim blinked at Daar. “What?”
“The laptop. The laptop you hid in a New York City safety deposit box under Saaina’s name? Hm? I know about it. Where is it?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Cassim claimed. “I will not be spoken to like this. Daar, you will put that gun down now or I’ll make you regret it. I’ve had enough of this nonsense. Don’t forget that I am in command here.”
Daar lifted the gun and shot. The first bullet was therapeutic. With one little squeeze he released himself from a lifetime of responsibility and grief. The second one was selfish, because he wanted Cassim to gone. Daar needed to be free of that weight.
Cassim pitched backward, sitting on the nightstand before slumping sideways.
Shrill screams rent the air as the two girls clutched each other.
“Peter? Restrain Saaina. If Cassim didn’t know what became of the laptop that means she does. Amaar, start the van if you will? We’ll be leaving.”
For too long Daar had lived according to the will of others and all it had gotten him was grief. Today that stopped, and he lived for himself.