and tucked his wallet into the rear pocket of his pants.
Instead of stepping aside to let Adrian pass, the officer cleared his throat and motioned to another official, a stout, bald man in a black trench coat.
“Mr. Antoli,” said the grim-faced detective as he approached. “You were acquainted with Luke DeChambeau?”
40
The Fifth Favor
Chapter Five
“But if he’ll agree to see me, why can’t I go back?” Billie paced the office, too restless to sit after her editor had motioned to the loveseat for a third time. “You still haven’t given me a solid reason.”
Nora Richmond leaned back in her desk chair, rubbed a weary hand across her well-plucked brows and exhaled. “Oh, for Christ’s sake. Fine, Billie. I’ll tell you the truth, and then will you drop it?”
“It depends on what it is.”
The editor jolted forward and met Billie’s gaze, her brown eyes dark with concern.
“You’re a real pain in the ass, you know that? You can’t finish the interview because one of the escorts died last night. Fell off a fourteenth floor balcony.”
Billie’s heartbeat hitched and stumbled. “Not Adrian.”
“No, Adrian’s alive and well…and being thoroughly questioned by authorities. It was his condo balcony the guy fell from.”
Stunned, Billie could only sit there. Then she shook her head. “They think Adrian had something to do with it? As in, he helped the guy over the balcony?”
Nora’s pen tapped a restless rhythm on the desk. “Did he mention someone named Lucien during your interview?”
Billie couldn’t think. “I don’t know—maybe. He talked about a few of the other escorts, but I’d have to go back through my notes to give you names.”
The chair squeaked under the editor’s lanky weight as she swiveled toward the window and stared out over H Street’s bumper-to-bumper, midday traffic. “Apparently Adrian was tangled up with this Lucien guy. Rumors bounced around the club over the nature of their friendship, although Azure claims they were good friends—nothing more.”
“Adrian’s heterosexual,” Billie said flatly. The warmth of his embrace, the steel press of his arousal against her stomach as they danced had been too certain. She straightened from her slumped position against the wall. “He told me he was.”
Nora’s snort of laughter was her only comment, to which Billie replied, “Damn it! I have no reason to doubt him! I asked him point-blank if he was bisexual, and he said…he said he doesn’t sleep with men.”
“Hmm. Sounds noncommittal to me.”
“You should know for yourself, Nora.” It came out more bitter than she’d intended, but suddenly the thought of her editor—her friend—paying Adrian for sex twisted her stomach in funny little knots.
41
Shelby Reed
Nora had once said his lofty fee was a small price to pay for heaven. Billie hadn’t exactly asked how Nora knew heaven could be found with Adrian. She didn’t need to.
The forty-year-old senior editor of Illicit magazine was a true hedonist, joyful and unashamed in her pursuit of ecstasy. And Adrian was certainly the man to provide it.
Nora swiveled back and gave her a hard look. “Why are we even having this conversation? Azure’s shut the door in our faces. You’re done with Adrian and Avalon, Billie. There are other escort services to pinpoint. Plenty of hungry boy-toys waiting to spill their stories for print. You’re not desperate.”
But desperation was a good description for the tightness that constricted Billie’s chest. The half-written story throbbed for more. More Adrian, more of his darkness, his sensuality, his raw, carnal effect on her. It would bleed through the paper and into the reader’s senses if she could only finish the article. It was Adrian’s story, and she was in over her head, too deep to pull out now.
She mentally waved aside the additional realization that she actually liked him.
“Billie?” Nora’s voice held a warning edge. “The idea was
Instead of stepping aside to let Adrian pass, the officer cleared his throat and motioned to another official, a stout, bald man in a black trench coat.
“Mr. Antoli,” said the grim-faced detective as he approached. “You were acquainted with Luke DeChambeau?”
40
The Fifth Favor
Chapter Five
“But if he’ll agree to see me, why can’t I go back?” Billie paced the office, too restless to sit after her editor had motioned to the loveseat for a third time. “You still haven’t given me a solid reason.”
Nora Richmond leaned back in her desk chair, rubbed a weary hand across her well-plucked brows and exhaled. “Oh, for Christ’s sake. Fine, Billie. I’ll tell you the truth, and then will you drop it?”
“It depends on what it is.”
The editor jolted forward and met Billie’s gaze, her brown eyes dark with concern.
“You’re a real pain in the ass, you know that? You can’t finish the interview because one of the escorts died last night. Fell off a fourteenth floor balcony.”
Billie’s heartbeat hitched and stumbled. “Not Adrian.”
“No, Adrian’s alive and well…and being thoroughly questioned by authorities. It was his condo balcony the guy fell from.”
Stunned, Billie could only sit there. Then she shook her head. “They think Adrian had something to do with it? As in, he helped the guy over the balcony?”
Nora’s pen tapped a restless rhythm on the desk. “Did he mention someone named Lucien during your interview?”
Billie couldn’t think. “I don’t know—maybe. He talked about a few of the other escorts, but I’d have to go back through my notes to give you names.”
The chair squeaked under the editor’s lanky weight as she swiveled toward the window and stared out over H Street’s bumper-to-bumper, midday traffic. “Apparently Adrian was tangled up with this Lucien guy. Rumors bounced around the club over the nature of their friendship, although Azure claims they were good friends—nothing more.”
“Adrian’s heterosexual,” Billie said flatly. The warmth of his embrace, the steel press of his arousal against her stomach as they danced had been too certain. She straightened from her slumped position against the wall. “He told me he was.”
Nora’s snort of laughter was her only comment, to which Billie replied, “Damn it! I have no reason to doubt him! I asked him point-blank if he was bisexual, and he said…he said he doesn’t sleep with men.”
“Hmm. Sounds noncommittal to me.”
“You should know for yourself, Nora.” It came out more bitter than she’d intended, but suddenly the thought of her editor—her friend—paying Adrian for sex twisted her stomach in funny little knots.
41
Shelby Reed
Nora had once said his lofty fee was a small price to pay for heaven. Billie hadn’t exactly asked how Nora knew heaven could be found with Adrian. She didn’t need to.
The forty-year-old senior editor of Illicit magazine was a true hedonist, joyful and unashamed in her pursuit of ecstasy. And Adrian was certainly the man to provide it.
Nora swiveled back and gave her a hard look. “Why are we even having this conversation? Azure’s shut the door in our faces. You’re done with Adrian and Avalon, Billie. There are other escort services to pinpoint. Plenty of hungry boy-toys waiting to spill their stories for print. You’re not desperate.”
But desperation was a good description for the tightness that constricted Billie’s chest. The half-written story throbbed for more. More Adrian, more of his darkness, his sensuality, his raw, carnal effect on her. It would bleed through the paper and into the reader’s senses if she could only finish the article. It was Adrian’s story, and she was in over her head, too deep to pull out now.
She mentally waved aside the additional realization that she actually liked him.
“Billie?” Nora’s voice held a warning edge. “The idea was
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