Page 34 of Vicious Vows

“I can go get you something,” he offers, but I’m already halfway into the hack.

The cameras were all set up by me and Dale, and he’s such a buffoon, I’m not even sure why Luke hired him. I easily tap right into the feeds, set them on a loop, and start the playback.

“That’s okay. I need to stretch my legs. You stay here and watch this. If something happens, just call me.” I pick up my phone and wave it in the air at him before shoving it into my right pocket. “I’ll get a glass of juice and be right back.”

Luke furrows his brow as he sets the wine bottle and stemware on my desk then sits down in my chair. “Don’t be too long.”

I’m out the door and on my way to the kitchen as fast as I can without drawing suspicion. Luke is already drinking at eight p.m. Most nights, he has his first drink around ten. He says it’s to help him sleep. Tonight, he must either want to sleep early, or he is more stressed. I vote on the former, since he doesn’t seem stressed at all.

In the kitchen, I step into the pantry and quickly search the boxes of medication. He has a few in his medicine cabinet upstairs, but only pain relievers. What I’m looking for is the sleeping tablets I know he has on hand. He offered them to me a few times when I was restless after first marrying him. I dig through the cupboard, trying not to make a mess, and find the half-empty box behind a box of allergy medicine.

“Perfect,” I say, grinning to myself as I see the medication is in tablet form, not capsules. It makes my job easier.

I glance at the clock mounted above the sink, realizing I’ve already been gone four minutes. I have to make this quick, so I get a small glass of juice and then search for the pestle and mortar I know the cook has in here somewhere. I saw it in the dishwasher one morning when I came down for coffee. But the damn thing evades me, so I resort to taking a fork from the drawer and crushing the tablets on the island. The white powder residue easily wipes up on the palm of my hand as I swipe the crushed pills off the table onto my palm and put the powder into my left pocket.

Feeling a bit less anxious that I’ll be caught, I drop the fork into the sink and take my glass of juice back to the office. Luke meets me halfway up the hallway with a scowl on his face, and I hold up my cup of juice. “Couldn’t find the glasses,” I tell him with a stern smile. If I act too happy, he’ll be suspicious, so I sigh and drop my shoulders as I pass him.

He follows me back to my desk where nothing at all is happening, including nothing with the cameras. I have to leave them this way, so I sit on pins and needles praying no one comes or goes while we’re here. If Luke realizes the cameras are on a loop, he’ll know something is up and he won’t let me out of his sight.

Next, I set a new loop to record the pathway from the office to the kitchen, one that doesn’t have me on it, and set that to play, then enact part two of my plan. I yawn deep and long and stretch my arms over my head. It causes Luke to take notice and stand behind me with his hands on my shoulders.

“Maybe you should rest. It’s been a long day for you.” His fingers are magic, finding the tender places on my neck that ache from tension. I don’t want him to stop, but I do want my plan to work right. So, I nod and close the windows on my computer and look up at him over my shoulder.

“You’re right,” I mumble, keeping with the act of sadness and despondency, though my chest is now filling with hope. “Take me to bed?” I ask him, lacing my fingers through his. I know it’s early for him to sleep, but even on nights when he sits up drinking while I retire early, he always holds me for a few minutes.

“Of course I will,” he says as I stand.

Luke escorts me toward our room, his drink in hand. There is just enough there to mix the crushed pills with so long as he doesn’t indulge before we get to the room, so I keep him talking.

“You think we’ll find him? I’m really worried.” I lean on him, resting my head on his shoulder, and he puts his arm around me.

“We won’t stop until we do.”

I keep an eye on this whiskey glass every step of the way. “You said your men are out searching?” I wonder which men he has out there. Vic is here, Tony too. Dale is worthless, only a tech guy, and Chris has to keep the casino running smoothly. He has more men than I’ve met, but I don’t trust any of them. I need to do it myself.

“They are,” he says, nodding, and we turn into our bedroom.

Now comes the tricky part. I have to get this medication into his drink and let it dissolve before he drinks the rest, and he’ll want to watch me undress. My hands shake as I pull the T-shirt up over my head, then shimmy my jeans down to the floor, careful not to let any of the powder spill. When he sets his drink on his nightstand, I breathe a sigh of relief.

“I’ll be right back.” Luke kisses my forehead before heading to the bathroom. And though he leaves the door open while he takes a piss, I have just enough time and boldness to do the deed.

I snatch my jeans and carefully turn the left pocket out, dumping the ground-up tablets into my hand. Then I crawl across the bed and drop the powder into his whiskey, using my finger to stir it. I’m tempted to lick my finger clean, but I stop myself. I can’t afford to let anything even so much as delay me from my task, and I’m in the middle of folding the covers back as Luke reappears in the room.

“Have I ever told you how incredibly sexy you are?” he asks, coming up behind me and grabbing my hips.

I’m on all fours on the bed, and he stands beside it, the perfect height to take me from behind, but I have to focus. His hands smooth across my skin, sliding beneath the silky fabric of mypanties as he bends over my torso and kisses the sensitive spot between my shoulder blades.

“Not tonight,” I tell him. It’s the only time I’ve ever rejected his physical advances, and I don’t even feel guilty for doing it. If he gets his heart rate up, the pills will take longer to kick in.

“I understand,mia cara, but tomorrow, you’re mine.” He smacks my ass hard and then rounds the end of the bed as I lie down and pull the covers over my body. I’m still wearing my bra, which isn’t normal, but he says nothing about it as he climbs into bed still fully clothed. Tonight is a night he’d most likely hold me for a short time then go back to his office, but for my plan to work, he has to stay here.

“Hold me?” I ask, snuggling closer to him until my body splays along the length of his. He lies down, but first he drinks the whiskey, every last drop of it. And when his body curls around mine, warming me, I breathe him in deeply. When he wakes up and realizes what I’ve done, I know I’ll have a punishment so severe our relationship, tender and budding as it is, won’t survive.

I’ll never be able to think of him the same way if he hurts me. And he’ll never trust me again. But Will is too important to me to do nothing and trust that Luke will keep his word. He’s a criminal, and a mastermind at that. I’m foolish to think he will ever be anything other than that. I have to keep his occupation in mind when my heart starts to feel attached to him.

“We’re going to stop the Russians in their tracks. I’m going to get your friend back for you.” His kisses on my forehead are precious treasures I cherish, but my heart is weighed down by heavy emotions. I’m angry with him for not doing more, but now I see that he does at least care enough to try.

“Will deserves to have someone fight for him. He got dragged into this when he was innocent of it all.” I splay my hand on his chest and feel his heart beating beneath my fingertips. The steady thrum of his pulse comforts me. It might be the last time I’m able to lie here with him for a while, or the last time ever if his enemies catch me. But I’m not afraid.

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