Page 28 of Target Me
Avery’s death was an unacceptable outcome on this mission. The problem was that I was becoming increasingly concerned that the reasoning behind it had little to do with her father and everything to do with who she was becoming to me.
11
AVERY
Iwas in a bitch of a mood. My blood ran too hot, and I couldn’t focus on anything past the throbbing of my ass and the corresponding pulse in my clit.
Who the hell was Logan Tanner to get me so worked up and refuse to finish me off?
I thought we were finally past the hot and cold routine. The sensation of being held by the hair, the inability to breathe as he’d held me tightly against his crotch. I could still taste the precum on the back of my tongue. It had been perfect, right down to the way he’d choked me with his cock. I wanted him to do it again. Maybe tied up next time.
I rolled onto my back, my bedspread crinkling beneath me, and tiptoed my fingers down my stomach to tease the top of my panties. I hadn’t bothered to put clothes on after our encounter. If he wanted to hold out, I’d do everything in my power to make him crack open.
Screw it. Feeling undeniably naughty, and somewhat hoping I would get caught in the act, I slid a hand inside the waistband of my panties. I was so worked up, I could get it done and jump straight into the shower before Logan left my father’s office. Sliding my fingers over soft curls, I paused at the top of my slit.
A loud rumbling on my nightstand made me rip my hand away guiltily, and I stared at my cell in confusion for a long second. Did he know? Was he calling to reprimand me? With a shaking hand, I retrieved my cell and accepted the call with the unknown caller ID.
“Hello?”
There was a subtle click, and then the sound of breathing. Sitting up, I re-checked the caller ID to confirm it was still an unknown number.
“Hello?”
Another couple of heartbeats of silence before a voice I’d know anywhere whispered, “Avery.”
“Mom!”
When nothing by silence came back, I checked to see the call had ended.
Ten years. Not a word for ten years, and she calls the same day I have an inexplicable car accident?
Pulling up my recent calls, I confirmed the number hadn’t miraculously appeared and jumped up to pace.
Why make contact now?
A Google search turned up exactly the same shit it had every other time I had looked for her in the last decade. Namely, nothing. She was a ghost. I hadn’t understood it when she first left, but as I got older, it made sense that the only way to escape my father’s influence would be to disappear off the face of the earth.
I glanced at the door, slowing to a stop as an idea formed. Logan was connected. He knew as many tech savvy people as my father. Maybe he could trace the call.
Taking the stairs two at a time, I skidded on the floorboards as I raced down the hall toward my father’s office.Flinging open the door, I found Logan sitting in the same chair I’d left him, talking on his cell in a low voice.
“You’re sure? A woman? I swear, none of this makes any damn sense. Hang on, Avery just came in. I’ll put you on speaker. Uh huh. Yeah, she deserves to know. Yup. Hang on.”
Waving me closer, he laid his cell flat on the desk and pushed a button.
“She can hear you now. Say hello, Avery.”
“Hi?”
“Hi, Avery, I was just telling Logan the red motorcycle that’s been following you is owned by a woman. A Lorna Marshall. Description is five-foot-four, blonde hair, hazel eyes. Date of birth March eighteenth, nineteen seventy-two. The name could be an alias, but just in case it isn’t, is any of that familiar to you?”
A ringing started in my ears, pulling at the back of my eyeballs in a way that made me worry my head could cave in.
“Avery?” Logan’s voice was softer than I’d ever heard it. “Hen, sit down. You look like you’re about to hit the deck. Damon, I’ll call you back. Thanks, man.”
Warm arms wrapped around me, and I felt weightless. The place where my face pressed against warm flesh under fabric was the only thing grounding me. I inhaled deeply, the scent of leather and bourbon so uniquely him, I could have cried.
“Maybe I should get a second consult from the doctor,” he muttered, settling me on his lap.
