Nosy by Nature Read online

  But Zak ignored her protests, falling into a familiar rhythm as he went back and forth from one cheek to the other. Daphne knew she deserved the spanking she was getting, but that certainly didn’t make it burn any less. It was all she could do to stay in position as he brought the strap down over and over on her poor bottom.

  It didn’t help that Zak was paying particular attention to the tender area of her sit-spots, either. He was definitely doing a thorough job of using the strap. He wouldn’t leave any marks, of course—he would never spank her hard enough for that—but she could already tell she was going to have a very sore bottom when he was done. Which was a good thing, she supposed even as she danced from foot to foot again in protest. That way, she would be sure to remember it for a good long time.

  By the time he was done, Daphne was as tired as she’d been running on a treadmill. Which was a good analogy, considering how much she’d been kicking her legs the whole time.

  Tossing the strap onto the bed, Zak gently began to massage her tender bottom with his hand. Even though his touch made the heat of her bottom feel more intense, she didn’t want him to stop. As she lay there draped over the back of the chair, she realized she really did feel a lot better after the spanking. All the guilt she had felt had completely disappeared.

  “Your bottom must be sore,” Zak said softly. “Would you like me to put lotion on it?”

  Daphne gave him a small smile over her shoulder. “Could you?”

  The corner of his mouth lifted. “Of course.”

  Taking her hand, Zak led her over to the bed. A moment later, Daphne was draped comfortably over her his lap while he rubbed lotion into her very well-spanked, very tender bottom.

  Chapter 7

  Though no longer red, Daphne’s bottom was still a little tender the next morning. Even so, the spanking really had done wonders to assuage the guilt she’d felt. Of course, she would have felt a whole lot better if she had just been able to tell Zak everything, but since that was obviously out of the question, she would just have to be satisfied with the discipline spanking she’d gotten. And that massage he had given her afterward had been absolutely heavenly.

  As they were having breakfast, Daphne found herself wondering if she could somehow tell her husband the whole story about Detective Thompson and the Meradinos without going back on her word to Claire. Being a cop, Zak would be able to help the other couple. But Daphne had sworn to Claire that she wouldn’t say a word about it and she was going to keep her promise. Claire was a good friend and Daphne wasn’t going to lose her.

  As Daphne was unloading the dishwasher after Zak had left for work, she decided she would go over to see Claire later. Besides wanting to see how her neighbor was doing, she also wanted to try to convince the other woman one more time to confide in Zak.

  Putting the last of the dishes away, Daphne left the house and walked across the front yard to Claire’s. As she stepped up onto the front porch, she was surprised to see the door ajar. Her brow furrowing, she wondered if she should knock or just go in. Her curiosity winning out, Daphne gently pushed the door open.

  As she stepped inside, she opened her mouth to call out Claire’s name, but the words froze on her lips at the sight that met her gaze. In the living room, the blonde was sitting on the couch while a man stood over her with a gun. Both of them were so intent on the other that neither noticed Daphne standing in the entryway.

  “You’re going to learn how the Meradinos deal with troublemakers,” the man said. “Now, get your husband on the phone and tell him to come home. And no tricks.”

  Daphne’s stomach clenched. Oh God. The Meradinos had found them. But how? It must have been her phone call to Thompson, she realized. It was the only thing that made sense.

  Her first instinct was to run back over to her house and call the police, but she was afraid to leave the other woman alone. If she didn’t do something to stop Meradino’s thug, Claire probably wouldn’t be alive by the time the cops got there. Without even stopping to think about how impulsive she was being, Daphne quickly crossed the entryway, slowing only long enough to pick up the big vase on the table against the wall. Gripping it tightly in both hands, she lifted the makeshift weapon high over her head and moved purposefully into the living room.

  Daphne had hoped Claire wouldn’t give her away, but as she snuck up behind him, the other woman’s eyes widened in surprise. The man must have seen because he turned to look in Daphne’s direction. Her heart in her throat, Daphne brought it down hard on the man’s head. It shattered into pieces and the man crumpled to the floor like a rag doll.

  For a moment, Daphne just stood there staring down at the man, shaken by what she’d just done. Had she knocked him out? Or was he dead? Oh God, she hoped not. She would hate to think she’d actually killed a person, even a murdering scumbag like that. She wondered if she should check for a pulse, but then decided it would be better if she and Claire just got out of there.

  Her gaze went to the other girl. Claire was still sitting on the couch frozen in shock, her gaze locked on the unconscious man.

  “Come on!” Daphne urged.

  But the other girl just sat there rooted to the spot. Swearing under her breath, Daphne hurried over to the couch and grabbed Claire’s hand, yanking her to her feet. Giving the man still lying unmoving on the floor a wide berth, Daphne pulled her friend out the front door and raced over to her house, locking the door behind them. Breathing hard, she leaned back against it.

  She and Claire would be safe there until the cops came, Daphne told herself. Or would they? What if the guy regained consciousness before the cops could get there and came looking for her and Claire? Even worse, what if there were more of Meradino’s goons out there?

  “Come on,” Daphne said to the other girl. Hurrying into the kitchen, she grabbed her purse and headed for the door that led to the garage.

  To her relief, this time Claire obeyed, following her out to the garage and getting in the car. Daphne’s hands were shaking so badly that she could barely get the key in the ignition.

  “Where are we going?” the other woman asked as Daphne backed out of the driveway a moment later.

  Daphne glanced in the rearview mirror to make sure they weren’t being followed. “To the police.”

  “We can’t!” Claire exclaimed, turning to jerk on the door handle. Fortunately, the doors had automatically locked already and Claire was too addled to even realize it.

  Daphne looked at her friend in disbelief. “Claire, that guy back there was going to kill you. Of course we’re going to the police.”

  Claire was shaking her head, but had given up on the door. “No! I don’t trust them. Any one of them could be dirty.”

  Daphne gave the other girl a sharp look. “Zak isn’t a dirty cop, Claire. You can trust him.”

  The other woman flushed. “I didn’t mean Zak. It’s the other cops I’m worried about. Who knows how many of them could be on Meradino’s payroll? And even if they’re not, once Thompson shows them evidence that John and I were involved in money laundering, then nothing we say will convince them otherwise. It’s better if John and I just leave.”

  Daphne made a right turn as she glanced at her friend. “No, it won’t. If you run, then Thompson and the Meradinos will only track you down you again. But if you stay, then Zak can help you get out of this mess.”

  “I won’t go to the cops, Daphne. Neither will John!” She gasped. “Oh God, John! I have to call him. I have to tell him that Meradino’s found us. They could be on their way to his office right now. They could already be there.”

  Daphne had been so concerned with getting herself and Claire out of there that she hadn’t even considered that some of Meradino’s men might have gone after John. “Calm down, Claire. We’ll call him. I’m sure Meradino’s thugs wouldn’t go after John in an office full of people. That’s why they wanted you to call John and tell him to come home.” At least she hoped that was true. “But first, we need to find someplace to go
that’s safe, okay? My parents are out of town on vacation, so we can go to their house. We’ll call John and tell him to meet us there. And we can have Zak meet us there, too. Would you be willing to talk to him without any other cops around?”

  Claire said nothing, and for a moment, Daphne thought the other woman would refuse again, but then she finally nodded. “Maybe. But I’d have to ask John about it. If he says it’s okay, then we’ll do it.”

  Daphne let out a sigh of relief. Reaching into her purse, she pulled out her cell phone and handed it to the other woman, then listened as Claire explained to John about Meradino finding them. From what Daphne could gather, John wasn’t any keener on the idea of talking to the cops than Claire had been, but after several moments, the woman managed to convince him it was the only choice they had. Telling John to hold on, Claire asked Daphne for her parents’ address, then gave him the information before hanging up and handing the phone back to Daphne.

  Daphne immediately dialed Zak’s number and was relieved when he picked up the phone right away.

  “Honey, it’s me,” she said. “I need you to meet me at my parents’ house right away.”

  “Why? What’s wrong?” Zak asked, concern evident in his voice.

  Daphne glanced at Claire. “I can’t really talk about it on the phone. Can you meet me? And don’t tell anyone where you’re going.”

  He didn’t even hesitate. “I’m on my way.”

  Daphne flipped her phone closed. “Zak’s going to meet us,” she told Claire. Reaching out, she gave the other girl’s hand a squeeze. “It’ll be okay, Claire.”

  Though Claire nodded, she didn’t look convinced.

  “I take it that wasn’t Thompson holding the gun on you back there?” Daphne asked.

  Claire shook her head. “It was one of Meradino’s thugs. But from what he said, Thompson is in town, too.” She shuddered. “That must have been him I saw in town yesterday. I don’t know how he possibly could have found us, though. John and I have been so careful.”

  Daphne said nothing. How could she admit to Claire that she was responsible for the drug cartel finding them?

  Daphne’s parents lived in a rural area almost an hour west of Virginia Beach, which meant that once they turned off the highway, it was back roads the rest of the way. Being off the main drag made Daphne a little nervous and she was glad when they reached the big, two-story house.

  Not wanting to hang around outside any longer than necessary, Daphne hurriedly led the way up the front steps and onto the huge wrap-around porch. She had barely unlocked the door when she heard an SUV pulling into the driveway. Terrified that Meradino’s thugs had caught up with her and Claire, she whirled around and was relieved to see Zak getting out of the truck. He must have driven like a mad man to get there so fast. Then again, he did have the benefit of flashing lights on the dash.

  It was obvious from the questioning look Zak gave Daphne that he was surprised to find Claire with her. “What’s going on?” he asked as he strode up the walk.

  Daphne pushed the front door open. “I’ll explain when we get inside.”

  Once they were in the house however, Daphne realized it would make more sense for Claire to tell the story.

  “Actually, I think it would be better if Claire explained it to you,” she said. “Why don’t we go into the living room? We need to sit down for this.”

  Without waiting for a reply, Daphne led the way into the living room. Claire took a seat in one of the big, overstuffed chairs while Daphne and Zak sat down on the couch.

  Even though Zak must have heard hundreds of crazy stories as a police detective, it was obvious he was stunned as Claire explained about the Meradino family and the whole money-laundering scheme she and John had uncovered back in Miami. Zak was even more surprised when Claire told him about Detective Thompson and their suspicions about him.

  “I still don’t understand how Meradino found us, though,” Claire said when she had finished.

  From the corner of her eye, Daphne saw Zak give her a knowing look and she felt herself flush. Her husband didn’t voice his suspicions in front of their friend however, much to her relief.

  “Claire, this is way bigger than a Virginia Beach detective,” he told the girl. “The Feds are going to have to be called in on this. Not only can they offer you and John witness protection, but they’re the only ones capable of taking on this drug cartel.”

  Claire looked like she was about to cry and Daphne opened her mouth to say something to assure the other girl, but Zak spoke before she could do so.

  “John will be here soon and you’ll be safe here until I can get something worked out with the Feds. But I’m going to have to get back to the station and start working this,” he said. “I’ll get hold of the district attorney in Miami. He should be able to get the ball rolling.”

  Zak turned to look at Daphne. “Could I speak to you in the kitchen for a minute?”

  Daphne nodded reluctantly, knowing exactly what he wanted to talk to her about. He was going to ask how long she had known about this and why she hadn’t told him. She could only imagine how he was going to react when he found out that not only had she known about it, but had been responsible for the Meradinos finding John and Claire.

  Telling Claire they would be right back, Daphne led the way to the adjoining kitchen. Since her parents’ house was older, it had separate rooms and not an open floor-plan like most newer ones did, which meant she and Zak could talk without fear of being overheard. Regardless of that fact however, Zak kept his voice low.

  “How long have you known about this? And even more importantly, did you do something that led the Meradinos here?” he demanded as she put her purse on the counter.

  Daphne chewed on her lower lip as she avoided his gaze. God, her husband really did know her well. “I’ve had my suspicions for a couple of days. But I couldn’t tell you because I’d been...well...sort of snooping again.”

  Zak folded his arms across his broad chest and gave her a hard look. “What do you mean, sort of?”

  Daphne gave him a sheepish look as she began to explain about finding their neighbors’ wedding album in the trash.

  Her husband’s eyes went wide. “You dug through their trash?”

  “Of course not! The box of albums was right on top.”

  “Oh, that makes it okay then,” he muttered sarcastically, then let out a sigh. “Go on. And don’t leave anything out.”

  She told him about finding the receipt with Claire and John’s real name written on it and her subsequent call to the photographer to check it out. Though Zak’s jaw tightened, he didn’t say anything until she got to the part about calling Detective Thompson.

  “You did what?” He was incredulous. “You didn’t want to tell me about it, but you were willing to talk to a detective from another whole city?”

  Daphne looked up at him from beneath lowered lashes. “I thought I should get all my facts straight before I told you. So, I called Thompson and pretended to be a reporter. I told him I was doing a story on the drug cartels and that I had come across Claire and John’s name in my research. He told me that Claire and John were the ones behind the money laundering and that they had been killed when their boat exploded while they were trying to run from the authorities. I didn’t know he was a dirty cop. I did my best not to tip him off, but apparently it didn’t work.”

  Zak gave her a scowl. “Obviously. Is this what you didn’t want to tell me last night?”

  She nodded. “I know that I should have told you, but I promised Claire I wouldn’t say anything.”

  His brow furrowing, he held up his hand. “Wait a minute. I missed something. You confronted Claire with everything you learned? And she what? Just confessed that she and John were on the run from the mob?”

  Daphne shook her head. “No. It didn’t happen like that. I had already decided I wasn’t going to say anything about I’d learned, but then Claire thought she saw Thompson in town yesterday and she was so ups
et that the whole thing just kind of came out.”

  Zak shook his head. “And you didn’t think to tell me any of this even after that?” When she said nothing, he sighed. “You do know that after this whole thing with Claire and John gets straightened out, I’m going to spank you so hard that you won’t be able to sit for a week.”

  She looked at him in disbelief. “But you already spanked me for all of this last night.”

  Zak clenched his jaw. “That doesn’t count,” he growled. “Because if I had known what I was spanking you for, then I would have done it a lot harder.”

  Daphne opened her mouth to tell him that wasn’t fair, but the look Zak gave her silenced any protest.

  He ran his hand through his hair. “I need to get to the station so that I can start working on this. I don’t like the idea of you staying all the way out here by yourselves though, so I’ll have some uniforms come out and sit on the house.”

  She nodded. “How long will it take, do you think?”

  Her husband reached out to gently caress her cheek. “It’s going to take a while. At least a day or two. I’ll get out here as soon as I get everything set up, but until then, I want you to stay inside and keep the door locked. Don’t open it to anyone except John and the uniforms I send over.”

  She nodded her head again. “I won’t.”

  “I’d better get going.” Lowering his head, he kissed her gently on the lips. “I love you, even if you do have a bad habit of snooping.”

  Daphne felt a small smile curve her lips. “I love you, too.”

  He gazed down at her for a long moment. “I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

  After Zak had left, Daphne went back into the living room to find Claire pacing back and forth in front of the fireplace, chewing worriedly on her thumbnail. At Daphne’s entrance, she stopped.