Playing Dead_ A Novel of Suspense - Allison Brennan [95]
Her eyes flashed open and in the black gloom of the bedroom her white pupils seemed to glow. Swallowing uneasily, he didn’t flinch as Rose Van Alden’s body twitched. He didn’t flinch when she reached up and hit his arm, her pitiful attempts unsuccessful. When she tried to grab his hand, Hamilton reached over to stop her, but Jeffrey whispered, “Don’t! You’ll leave a bruise.”
She never got ahold of any part of him. Just flailed about. Her eyes rolled oddly, and then closed. They briefly opened and he stared at death. His heart thudded, his blood pumped hot, but he saw everything with shocking clarity. The moisture on the plastic where her mouth and nose couldn’t draw breath; the knowledge of death in her blue eyes. Her skin, flattened by the plastic, distorted. In the moment of his first kill, he had never felt more alive.
Jeffrey had never told Hamilton and Richie how he felt killing Rose Van Alden. For them, it was a necessary evil. It was about money, not murder.
For Jeffrey, it was about both.
Hamilton was in private practice then. A new attorney with a new law firm, given a handful of clients, including Rose Van Alden. It wasn’t difficult to create a fake will that indicated that upon her death, she intended to sell her property for fair market value and give the proceeds to the Delta Conservancy.
It had been Richie’s idea to create the Delta Conservancy. It was a great place to launder money. Their investor group, solely controlled by himself, Hamilton, and Richie, bought the Van Alden property. The money that went to the estate was then turned over to the Delta Conservancy—secretly controlled by the three of them. They were able to build a sizable war chest, which then catapulted Jeffrey onto the Board of Supervisors. After that, the state house, then Congress. And now his chance at the U.S. Senate.
Brilliant.
His rise had been temporarily endangered when Chase Taverton made a plea agreement with Frank Lowe. How were any of them to know someone had seen them that night?
They’d taken care of those two.
And then came Oliver Maddox.
Also dealt with.
Now Claire O’Brien.
Jeffrey was not going to lose this election, his money, his stature, everything he’d built. He was on the brink of greatness. It was his turn!
Flushed, he leaned forward and put his hands on the dresser.
“Jeffrey?”
He’d almost forgotten that Julie was in his hotel bed. He didn’t make it a habit of keeping his women in bed all night. But they’d dropped Ecstasy last night and fucked like rabbits.
“I have to go.”
“Okay.”
“But first things first.”
“I’m kind of sore this morning.”
“I really don’t care. You want the room all weekend? It’s yours. Spread your legs or I’ll do it for you.”
She complied, because she was a good slut. The drugs messed with his performance. He was hard as a rock but couldn’t get relief. He pummeled her over and over. She begged him through tears to stop, that it hurt. Finally, he withdrew.
“I’m sorry,” she whimpered. “I want to, but—”
He flipped her over and held her mouth shut with one hand. He took her from behind, sweat pouring off his body, wanting, needing, release. He knew better than to fuck around with drugs. This had happened before. But the high had been so good . . .
She bit his hand and he pulled her ear, growling, “Don’t. Or the only job you’ll get is on your back.”
Women should do what they’re told. He remembered Niki in the middle of the woods. The one who tried to screw him over. He remembered taking her against her will. The thrill, power flooding his senses.
When it was over, Julie was crying. Jeffrey rose. He was surprised to see blood on his cock and between her legs.
“Don’t say a word, Julie, or not only will you be out of a job, I’ll send the disk of you sucking my cock to your dad.”
He went into the bathroom and showered. He wanted to be on the road before the sun rose.
Time to take care of another bitch.
TWENTY-SIX
Mitch called Lexie on her cell phone. “Is Claire still at home?”
“This is the third time you