“Your coffee, Sir.”
Aiden smiled his thanks at the buxom waitress, then admired her rounded backside as she walked away. The sway of her hips brought another smile to his face as he pictured his hands digging into her flesh while she rode him through the night. I might have to come back here for a visit after I'm done, he told himself, still watching the waitress as she leaned across a table to clean it. Shaking his head to clear the cock brain, he turned back to his laptop and the Internet search he had been doing.
Having ruled out several Charlie Garcia's who were the wrong age along with a few who had died, he had ended up sitting at a café in Hastings, eyeing up the waitress while working a hunch. He had found a Charlotte Garcia who was the right age but, according to records, had been adopted out of the United States at nine years old, under the name of Maria Jacobs.
Tapping away at the keyboard, Aiden did an internet search on Maria Jacobs and scrolled through the results.
Former Miss World and billionaire mogul found dead in apartment…
Aiden read the article that had caught his attention and smiled. His hunch had paid off. According to the article, socialite Sylvie Jacobs was murdered in a home invasion, along with her billionaire husband, Mark Townsend. Their eight-year-old daughter, Maria Jacobs, had been found hiding in the closet and, with no living family, had ended up in care. After another quick search, Aiden learned that there were no witnesses to the murder, but ten years later, an arrest was made, but charges were later dropped.
It has to be her, he thought.
Searching for social media accounts, Aiden found a profile and smirked. Almost everything he needed to know was right there on his screen. Charlotte had a workplace listed, a public friend list, public photographs and had even posted about attending a public event later in the week. Closing the laptop, Aiden chucked his coffee down his throat and grabbed his rucksack. Making eye contact with the waitress he had been mentally undressing, he pointed to the cash on the table and blew her a kiss as he left the café.
A short while later, Aiden walked into the small tattoo shop owned by Charlotte and began to browse the images on the wall. Making his way across the shop floor, he checked the walls for security cameras.
“Can I help?”
“I’m not quite sure what I’m after, buddy,” Aiden told the dark-haired young man. “I’m thinking of something large and unique. Maybe a back piece leading to the chest, but then I think I should do it the other way around. Just can’t seem to make my bloody mind up.”
“I hear you. Have a chat with Charlie. She'll help you figure it out.”
“Is she around?” Aiden flicked through a portfolio while eying the wall. The dark-haired man had entered the shop floor from a room behind the counter, but Aiden couldn’t find the door.
“You just missed her. She left a few minutes ago. No more bookings for today. She has some for tomorrow, though, so if you can come back, she’ll be here all day.”
“Oh, okay. Do you not do tattoos then?”
There you are! Aiden walked towards the counter to get a better look at the door that was almost entirely hidden by images of tattoos.
“Me? I wish. I can’t draw for shit. I do metalwork. If you fancy a piercing while you’re here, you can step into my office,” he said, thumbing to the hidden door.
“Maybe another time, but thanks. I’ll pop by tomorrow and see Charlie, right?”
“Yea, Charlie. I’m not here tomorrow, though. I only come in on Mondays and Fridays.”
“Got it,” Aiden said, reaching the door. “Monday and Fridays.”
Adjusting his rucksack, Aiden left the tattoo shop and walked towards the seafront car park. He had barely passed a few stores when a scent like no other hit him like a tidal wave. It was the sweetest, most seductive smell that he had ever come across. Stopping in his tracks, Aiden looked around. He had no idea what he was looking for. He just knew he needed to find it because if he didn’t…
Oh, God. No! I have to find it. Where is it coming from?
Crossing the street, Aiden froze. A curvy woman with bright red hair was standing by the side of a black Range Rover, loading shopping bags onto the back seat.
“Charlie,” he mumbled.
He had no idea how he knew, but he had to make sure that he was right.
Find the smell. You have to find the smell…
Aiden rolled his eyes as he pushed the wailing voice out of his mind. The smell could wait. He had work to do. As he walked towards the woman, he purposely bumped into an elderly man who was walking past.
“Terribly sorry. I wasn’t paying attention,” Aiden said, grabbing the man's hand.
“Oh, no harm done, young man. I was always rushing around at your age, too.”
Aiden smiled as he dodged around the stranger and scanned the car park. It was practically empty, but he couldn’t kill her there.
The smell. It’s here. Please. I need it…
His breath caught in his throat as he got closer to the red-haired woman. Her scent filled his body with a feeling he had never felt before.
Go to her. I need her. We need her…
Shaking his head, he tried to clear his thoughts and looked for somewhere he could shift. He needed to confirm it was Charlie so he could follow her, but he couldn’t shift in an open car park.
I have to go to her. I need her.
“Would you like some help with that?”
“Oh, I'm okay, but thank you for offering,” she said.
Aiden's entire body came alive all at once as the woman turned to look at him. He wanted to trace every line of the tattoos that covered her shoulder and spread over her chest. His fingers twitched to tangle themselves in her long red hair, and his heart begged to be lost in her caramel eyes.
“You’re welcome. Have a lovely afternoon,” he said.
The voice in his head cried with pain as he turned and walked away from Charlie Garcia, the most beautiful woman he had ever seen and the woman he was supposed to kill.