Girl Five: Bound (A Maya Gray FBI Suspense Thriller—Book 5)

CHAPTER ONE This was the happiest night of Clarissa’s life! Well, no, obviously not. That was going to be when the wedding actually rolled around, and she got to be Mrs. Neushauer, she and Hank joined together forever at last. When he’d gotten down on one knee at the restaurant, Clarissa had almost fainted with excitement. Tonight was still pretty good, though, partly because she and her friends were in the most exclusive bar in the city, being served drinks by hot bar staff, partly because those drinks had just started to create exactly the right kind of buzz, and partly because of how jealous all of her friends sounded right now. “How did you get Hank Neushauer to agree to marry you?” Mary asked, with a slightly irritating note of disbelief. Then again, she’d always been kind of a b***h. She was tall and Botoxed to within an inch of her life, even though she was barely twenty-seven. “Did you have incriminating photos of him or something?” Clarissa laughed at that. “I didn’t have to get him to do anything. He proposed to me out of nowhere. He said he’d been thinking about it for a while now. Ever since that trip we took to Monaco.” “Monaco is beautiful,” Juliet said. She was the sweet one of their group, shorter, red-haired, and just putting on a touch of weight, not that Clarissa would dream of saying anything about it. Not until she’d had a couple more drinks, at least. “How would you know?” Sandy asked. She was of middling height, with dark skin and hair, always dressed in the latest designer fashions. “When have you ever been to Monaco?” “I went there when I was traveling,” Juliet insisted. “You know, just for a night or two.” She looked wistful. “Oh, meet a special guy there?” Sandy asked. “Or a special girl?” Clarissa was pretty sure that half the reason Sandy hung around with their group was that she thought she was going to get Juliet into bed one day. Certainly, her friend went kind of red at the suggestion. Maybe there had been someone. “Why are we talking about Juliet’s love life?” Clarissa demanded. “I’m the one who just got engaged.” She got to both play the Good Samaritan saving Juliet and bring the attention back to herself. This was her night. “Does Hank know what he’s getting into?” Mary asked. “He’d better know by now,” Clarissa replied. “Besides, it’s just the right time to do it.” “Oh, you’re ready to settle down, are you?” Sandy asked, with a snort, as if the thought of Clarissa doing that were simply impossible to imagine. “Maybe,” Clarissa said in a defensive tone. “I could settle down if I wanted to.” The others laughed at that. “But do you want to?” Juliet asked. “Hell no,” Clarissa said, and waved at one of the waiters in the bar. “Another round here!” He came over with the drinks, giving Clarissa an appreciative smile as he did so. Plenty of other guys in the room were looking her way too. Well, maybe some of them were looking at her friends, but Clarissa wanted to believe that it was mostly her. “I bet you could take home any guy in the room right now,” Mary said. She probably meant it as a compliment, but Clarissa guessed that she was also trying to cause trouble. “I’m about to be a married woman!” Clarissa pointed out. She saw Sandy give a one-shouldered shrug. “So enjoy your last nights of freedom.” It was tempting, obviously. There were plenty of hot guys there, and it wasn’t as if Clarissa intended to be completely tied down, just because she was marrying Hank. Even though she really did love him, and genuinely wanted to spend her life with him. At the same time, though, she knew that if she did anything in front of Mary, pictures, and probably video, would make it back to Hank before Clarissa could even start to get her excuses in order. “And will any of those guys buy me a ring like this?” Clarissa replied, flashing her engagement ring for probably the hundredth time that night. Diamonds sparkled the same blue as her eyes, glittering under the lights of the bar, catching the glare of small spotlights set around the room. Her friends cooed over it. They knew expensive when they saw it. They might make fun of the idea of settling down, or being limited to just one man for the rest of their lives, but they knew what a ring like this cost. Clarissa knew as well as anyone that you couldn’t put a price tag on love, but she was pretty sure that her friends had managed to put one on the ring. “Shots?” Sandy suggested. Clarissa shook her head. “I should get going. I have a meeting with a wedding planner in the morning.” “You’re going to be such a bridezilla,” Mary said. “That’s the plan,” Clarissa replied, forcing a smile. She tried to imagine what kind of horrible bridesmaid’s dress she could get Mary into for this. That thought lent a genuine edge to the smile. “Anyway, I’ve got to go.” “Are you sure?” Juliet asked. “We’re just starting to have fun,” Sandy said. Clarissa waved off their token efforts to get her to stay, heading for the front of the bar. She collected her coat and started out into the night, back toward where she’d left her car. She was pretty sure she was fine to drive. Probably. She’d only parked a little way from the bar, out on the street, so Clarissa walked to her car, high heels clicking on the sidewalk as she hurried. She was almost there when she saw a man approaching, a hooded top pulled up so she couldn’t see his features. For a moment, Clarissa was puzzled. Was this some guy who’d seen her in the bar and wanted a last chance to try to hit on her? Then she saw the knife, and realized what this had to be: a mugging. Clarissa held up her hands, the diamond ring catching the light of a street lamp. “Look, whatever this is, I’ll—” The man didn’t say anything, just stepped forward, grabbing her. His right hand pumped forward, and Clarissa felt the impact of it. It felt like she’d been punched in the chest, but she knew in that moment that she’d been stabbed. The man drew his arm back and stabbed her again, then again. Clarissa wanted to scream, but suddenly she didn’t have any breath, she couldn’t get any air. She felt her legs going weak, and collapsed to her knees. From there, she fell onto her back on the sidewalk, staring up at her attacker. He still didn’t say anything, or maybe Clarissa couldn’t hear it. The whole world was closing in around her now as he knelt beside her. He just watched her, looking down at her as if he could see the life ebbing out of her. Clarissa wanted to ask him why. She wanted to tell him that he had to let her live, because she was going to get married. She didn’t have the strength for it, though. All she could do was lie there, staring up, while the blackness closed in and claimed her.