Chapter 23

On the day of the party, he woke up early. He wanted to go outside and check things out and also make a few calls.

Looking over at the beauty next to him, his heart full of love for her, he knew deep down that something was going to go down tonight. He would have to be alert and on guard at all times.

He slipped quietly out of bed and dressed in a hurry and went downstairs. It was early, and he wasn’t expecting anyone to be up yet, but going into the kitchen for coffee, he found Douglas there.

“Sir, I wasn’t expecting you to be up so early.”

He walked over and saw that there was a pot of coffee already made, so he poured himself a cup.

“Well, it’s going to be busy around here before the party starts, and I want to make sure everything is secure and safe for Roxie.”

“Do you think the killer might be here tonight?”

“I think it’s a possibility, and I’m going to make sure nothing happens to her. You would tell me if you saw anything or anyone suspicious, wouldn’t you?”

“Of course I would. Miss Greene is a lovely young woman, and I’d hate to see her get hurt. So if there’s anything I can do, just ask.”

“There is something you can do.”

“What would that be?”

“I want you to help me keep an eye on her, and if you see someone who you think might be bothering her or a potential threat to her, let me know right away.

“Also, if something were to happen and I had to deal with it, I want you to take her somewhere she’ll be safe until I get to her. Can you do that for me?”

“Yes, sir. I can.”

“Thanks, Douglas. I’ll just leave you now to do whatever it is you are doing.”

He went outside and checked things out, making sure the lights and the decorations were secure, so that nothing could fall on Roxie or the other guests.

Seeing that everything was in order, he headed inside to make some calls.

Chad had said he would send one of his men over to help out, so he wanted to call and confirm that the man was still coming.

Roxie stretched and rolled over onto her side, her hand moving to his side of the bed. Not feeling him next to her, she opened her eyes and sat up.

She laid back down and closed her eyes, thinking about last night. He’d been asleep but having one of his bad dreams.

Tossing and turning and making moaning noises, and not the sexual ones, but those of one who is in pain.

She heard the door opening and sat back up. Her heart skipped a beat when she saw him. It always did whenever he was around. “I woke up and you were gone. I missed you.”

He went over and sat on the bed. “I couldn’t sleep, so I went down to check on things.”

“You were having another bad dream last night.”

“I’m sorry. Did I keep you awake?”

“No. Once I put my arms around you, you calmed down. You really should talk to someone about what you went through during some of your missions.

“I understand you might have had to do things you didn’t want to, but it was necessary to help those who needed your help and to save your own life.

“I also know there are things you haven’t shared with me, and I hope someday you will.”

He lowered her back down onto the bed. As he lay on top of her, he ran his hand up her arm and intertwined his fingers with hers.

“I have told you just about everything. I don’t want to burden you with all of the details.”

“It’s not a burden when you love someone. You can tell me anything, and I will not judge. I just want to be here for you if you ever feel like talking about it, or if something is bothering you.”

“You really are one amazing woman, and I promise that I will start opening up more to you, but I think that right now we should take a shower and go down and have breakfast.

“You have a very busy night coming up.”

She gave him a sexy little smile as she licked her lips. “I think we have time for a little bit of fun first, unless you’re too worn out from last night to perform again.”

A smile crossed his face. His shaft was already hard and pressing against her. “Does it feel like I’m too worn out?”

He didn’t give her a chance to answer, as his mouth clamped over hers in a passionate kiss, and it wasn’t until an hour later that they finally got up and showered together.

Claudia was busy instructing the staff on what to do during the party, before, and after.

Later, before changing for the party, she made sure the caterers had everything she asked for. She even had to take a look for herself.

The staff was so glad when she finally left. Not one of them liked her. She treated them badly, always ordering them around and not once ever saying please or thank you.

Later: Dexter was already in his suit, waiting for Roxie to get dressed. She had one of the maids helping her with the dress.

He offered to help, but she insisted that she didn’t want him to see her in it until she had it on. Also, apparently doing up the back would be difficult for him.

He chuckled to himself, knowing he would have no problem removing the dress from her later that night.

While she was getting ready, he gathered up the things he would need: his gun, his earpiece to talk to the other guards, among other items. He looked at his watch and shook his head.

He never understood why it took women so long to get ready, when a man could be ready in ten to twenty minutes.

The young maid came into the bedroom from the changing room. “Miss Greene will be out in a few minutes. She’s asked for you to wait here for her.” She then left the room, smiling as she walked out.

He sat down in the chair, crossing his right leg over his left one, checking his watch again. It had been another ten minutes since the maid left, and Roxie was still not out.

He was about to call out her name, when the door opened, and she entered.

He got to his feet, staring at her. Her dress fit her body to a tee. She wore the earrings her father had given her, and she wore her hair down.

She had just the right amount of makeup on. That was one of the things he loved about her: she never went overboard. Then again, she was beautiful without makeup to begin with.

“Well, how do I look?”

It took a few minutes for him to find his voice.

“Roxie, there are no words to describe how beautiful you look. You look like a princess, and I think I’m going to have a rough night keeping the men off of you.

“I ought to handcuff you to the bed and not let you go to the party.”

She giggled. “You can do that another time. Right now we should head downstairs. But first, will you help me with my necklace?” she asked, holding up the diamond chain.

He took the necklace from her hand and stood behind her. “This is a really lovely necklace,” he said as he placed it around her neck and did it up.

“It belonged to my mother. I found it in the box that we brought up from the basement. It was in her jewelry box. I can’t believe that they put it down there.”

He put his lips against her neck, placing feather-light kisses all the way down to her shoulders. “You smell and taste good enough to eat, which I will do later tonight.”

Laughing, she turned around and gave him a little shove. “Sometimes you can be such a beast, and you’re just going to have to wait.”

When they got downstairs, the place was already swamped with all of the guests that had arrived.

As they went from room to room, he was not pleased to see that there were more than a hundred and fifty guests. He knew there were close to three hundred people.

Making their way outside, they spotted Claudia. He went over to her. Taking hold of her arm, he pulled her over to the side, out of everyone’s earshot.

“Do you want to tell me what the hell is going on here?”

“Whatever are you talking about?”

He still had his hand on the small of Roxie’s back.

“I told you no more than a hundred and fifty guests, and it looks closer to three hundred. You have any idea how difficult it is to do my job and protect your stepdaughter?”

“Mr. Sinclair, just relax. I’ve had Thomas hire a few more security guards. Now go and enjoy the party. Have a drink and mingle,” she said as she walked away.

“I would like to strangle that woman with my bare hands,” he said, growling.

Roxie nodded her head. “Try living with her for the last ten years. Let’s go get a glass of champagne, and I’ll introduce you to some of the people that I know.”

He went and got her a glass of champagne and stood back watching her as she talked to some of the women who seemed to be admiring her dress.

He took this moment to speak into his earphone and ask the other guards if they were noticing anything out of the ordinary.

Satisfied that everything was going accordingly, he went back over to Roxie, placing his hand on the small of her back.

She turned to look at him, smiling from ear to ear.

“Mrs. Cain loves my dress and has asked me to design one for her. If I do a good job, she will spread the word, and I’ll get more women wanting me to make one for them too.”

He smiled at her. He so loved seeing her happy like this. “I’m sure before the night is over you’ll be getting more orders.”

He saw Carson and Cathy walking over toward them. “Your friends from work have arrived.”

He stepped back to let her enjoy herself, watching her from across the room. Meanwhile, his eyes roamed over the room, watching for anything suspicious.

He rolled his eyes when he noticed Claudia talking to Sandy, the woman who was supposed to be Roxie’s friend, the one who had hit on him.

He was certain Claudia invited her just to cause trouble. Sure enough, she walked over to him.

“Mr. Sinclair. It’s so nice to see you again.”

“Miss White. What are you doing here? I’m sure Roxie didn’t invite you.”

“No, it must have slipped her mind, so Mrs. Greene was kind enough to call me.

“My, you look sharp in your suit, and those dark sunglasses make you look sexy. Roxie is a lucky girl, having a hunk like you protecting her.”

“I’m working, so go away and enjoy the party.”

“Yes, I should go over and say hi to her. Maybe later we could steal a dance or two. That is, if your little girlfriend will allow it.”

“It wouldn’t be up to her, but to be frank, I have no desire to dance with you. Find someone else to latch onto,” he said, looking away from her.

He kept his eyes on Sandy as she made her way over to Roxie.

An hour had gone by with no problems, until he happened to see a man in his late fifties rushing toward Roxie.

He was a short, bald man, and seeing that he was reaching into the breast pocket of his jacket, he raced toward them, speaking into his earpiece, telling the other guards to follow suit.

Pushing people out of the way, he grabbed Roxie’s arm, pushing her behind him as he pulled out his gun and aimed it at the man.

“Stop, or I’ll shoot,” he yelled, causing everyone to stop what they were doing.

Two guards appeared, grabbing the man and pinning his arms down.

“What’s going on?” the man cried out in fear.

“Search him,” Dexter instructed the two men, his gun still raised. He only lowered his gun when the guards said he was clean.

Roxie moved around, placing her hand on his arm. “Dexter, what are you doing?”

He kept his eyes on the man. “I saw you rushing over to Miss Greene, and I thought you were reaching for a gun. Why the hurry to get to her?”

“I just wanted to give Miss Greene my business card.

“My wife loves her dress, and I wanted her to design some dresses for her and my daughters,” he replied, his hand shaking when he reached into his pocket and took out a card.

“I’m so sorry,” Dexter said, knowing everyone was watching and listening.

“You should be. You damn near gave me a heart attack,” he snapped, handing Roxie his card. “Miss Greene, here’s my card. Give me a call when your troubles have passed.”

“Thank you, Mr. Barns. And again, we’re sorry about the misunderstanding.” When Mr. Barns left, she walked away, knowing Dexter was following her.

“Roxie, wait.”

She stopped when she got to the entrance of the door. “You scared that poor man half to death. Mr. Barns is a friend of my father’s, and he’s going to be furious at you for what you did.”

He grabbed her arm and pulled her inside. “I thought he was reaching for a gun, so I’m not going to apologize for trying to protect you.

“This is why I didn’t want a lot of people here. Too many people to watch over, which makes it harder to keep you safe.”

Her voice softened. “I know, and I’m sorry. I didn’t know Claudia was going to invite so many after you saying not to.

“She even invited Sandy, so it looks like I’m going to have to protect you from her,” she said, smiling at him.

“We’ll protect each other,” he said, pulling her in for a kiss.