Blood Kiss (Savage Security Series Book 1) (8 page)

She laughed. “Did you really think you had to tell me that?”

“I didn’t want to regret not telling you.” He slammed the magazine back in place and handed her the gun.

“So I haven’t impressed you with my gun knowledge?”

“Oh, you’ve left a definite impression,” he smirked. “That’s why I told you not to look down the barrel of a gun.” His shoulders shook as he laughed.

“Careful,” she warned. “I’m holding a loaded weapon.” She decided that she liked him laughing. She liked the tiny laugh lines that formed around his eyes when he smiled. She had a feeling he didn’t do it enough.

“Now rack the slide and remove the bullet,” Mike said, watching her.

Alisha gripped the slide and pushed the gun forward with her other hand and let the slide pop back in place. Then she pulled back the slide and tipped the gun so the round fell safely onto the counter. She repeated this process until the magazine was empty.

“Good, do it again,” Mike said.

“I just did it, like fifteen times,” Alisha groaned and pointed to the bullets that lay scattered on the counter.

“Yes, and now you’ll reload the magazine and do it another fifteen times,” he replied. “This needs to become second nature to you.” It was clear that this was all new to her, and he strongly believed that anyone with a weapon needed to be competent and knowledgeable concerning the weapon’s use and maintenance. He was happy to help her master these skills.

She gave him her best evil eye and started loading the magazine. She knew he was right. If she was going to own a gun then she needed to be proficient with it.

He watched her as she worked the bullets into the magazine. It was obvious that if her life ever depended on doing this quickly, she would be in serious trouble. He hated that she was in this position. No one should ever have to fear for their life, but that wasn’t reality. In the real world, life was messy and constantly threw challenges at you. He was glad that she was facing this challenge with courage and self-determination.

She smiled up at him when she finally pushed the last bullet into the magazine. She popped the magazine into place and started clearing the chamber

When she finished discharging all of the bullets from the chamber, he said, “Load the magazine one more time and pop it into the grip. That way it will be ready for you.”

Alisha nodded. This time it was easier to load the magazine. She was getting the hang of it, pushing down and sliding in the new bullet. There was definitely a rhythm to it.

She popped the magazine into the grip and set the gun on the countertop. “Not bad,” she congratulated herself with a smile. That was the fastest she’d loaded the magazine yet, and she really didn’t want to go through that process again.

He nodded and his mouth formed the slightest smile. “That was good. You did well that time.” He leaned against the counter and crossed his arms over his chest. He forced himself to stay there, against the counter, when what he wanted to do was slip his arms around her waist and pull her to him. But he needed to focus on the problem of the stalker before he worried about the ‘pleasure’ side of their relationship. “What scared you last night?” he asked.

Alisha walked over to the patio door. “I heard a crash and looked out the window.” She shifted the blinds so she could peek out. “My flower pot fell. When I looked outside, all I saw was the neighbor’s cat. It must have knocked into it somehow.”

“Hmm,” Mike mumbled. His gut told him that the cat was innocent. Cats were known for their grace.
Had the guy been brazen enough to sneak onto the patio? Had he tried to look through the windows?

Alisha pulled open the door and stepped onto the pavers. Mike was right behind her, followed by Forrest. His tiny nails clicked against the pavers as he circled around their legs. Then, with a bark, he sprinted as quickly as his little legs could carry him across the grassy backyard towards a squirrel.

One of the patio chairs was out of place. It screeched as Alisha scooted it to its rightful spot at the bistro table. The sound reminded her of the first noise that scared her last night.
How had the chair moved? A cat couldn’t move the chair?

She glanced at Forrest as he barked at the base of a tree. The squirrel was safe and scampered along a tree branch, almost as if it was taunting Forrest.

Alisha made her way to the pile of soil. She knelt to pick up the pieces of pot, but suddenly fell backwards onto her butt. Her breath came out in pants. Shock overtook her. “Look! Look!” she cried, pointing at the scattered soil. Her heart thundered in her chest as her mind imagined horrifying scenarios. She fought back the images to keep them from dragging her into a sea of fear.

Mike rushed to her side. He knelt beside her and followed her eyes to the words scrawled in the soil on the pavers.

Who is he?

Anger flashed through Mike. The monster had seen them together last night. That meant that he probably knew she’d bought a gun. He probably watched them at the gun range, and then he’d followed her home.

Mike placed his hand on Alisha’s shoulder and gingerly moved her face so that she was looking at him. He hated what he saw: fear, terror, hopelessness. “You’re okay. We can handle this,” he soothed. He never should have gone to the bar last night. He should’ve stayed with her.

Her breath came out in large bursts and puffed against his face. Her heart pulsed against her chest and echoed in her ears. She’d been foolish to think that the gun and Mike would discourage her stalker. All she’d done was make him mad. Mike couldn’t be with her constantly. He had responsibilities. She had responsibilities. It was just a matter of time before her stalker would get her.

“What can we do?” she asked, already knowing that the answer was nothing.

Mike knew the situation wasn’t helpless. He needed a little more time, and then he’d have more information. He decided to come clean. “Alisha, please don’t be mad,” he said calmly. “I’m only trying to help.”

She looked at him; her eyebrows knit together. “What do you mean?”
Had he done this? Why?

“I told you that I’m in security. Sometimes I find people. Sometimes I protect people.” He stroked his finger down her arm, but she pulled away and scowled.

“What did you do?” she asked.

He’d give her the space she needed. She was scared. “Last night I made a cursory assessment of your house.”

Her breakfast was clawing its way up her esophagus.
Had she added to her problems by allowing Mike into her life? Was he just as bad as her stalker?
“You were here?” she squeaked out.
He’d spied on her.

“You have to realize that as beautiful as your house is, it’s a stalker’s paradise.” He looked around at the backyard and the overgrown bushes and trees in the tree protection area. “Look around. A tree protection area lines your backyard from your neighbors. A massive privacy hedge runs between your house and your side neighbor.”

Alisha looked at the sections as he talked, realizing that he was right.

“A sidewalk is on the other side of your house and leads right beside the tree protection area. There are opportunities to hide all around your property.” Mike scrubbed his hand down his face and thought. How much should he tell her? It would probably increase her fear, but it may help her understand. “Can we finish this inside? It’s going to be long story.”

Alisha stared at him, not sure what to do. She didn’t want to go inside with him. He’d spied on her. What kind of man had she let into her life?

One look at him and she knew she’d lose if he tried anything. She didn’t know what he wanted to do to her in the house, but she felt vulnerable out here. What if her stalker was watching her right now? He’d been on her patio last night when she was scared, or perhaps that had been Mike. “Did you do this?” She pointed to the message scrawled in the soil.

Mike sat next to her on the patio pavers. He scanned the trees in her backyard. He didn’t see anything suspicious, but he kept his eyes alert as he talked. “No. that wasn’t me.” He pointed to the broken pot and soil. “This isn’t the first time a stalker has touched my life. When you showed up yesterday, scared and needing to protect yourself, I couldn’t help but get involved.” He looked at her, hating the fear and mistrust in her eyes. “I failed last time. I won’t fail again.”

Alisha noted the way his jaw pulsed when he paused. She didn’t like the pain she saw in his eyes. “What happened?” She especially didn’t like hearing that he’d failed.

“I was overseas, stationed in Afghanistan. My family was here, living their normal lives. I called home when I could, not that that was very often.” He gave a weak smile. Talking about this with Alisha was easier than he thought. It almost felt cathartic to bare his soul to her. “Sometimes I’d talk to my sister. Sometimes I’d get my parents.” He repositioned himself, bending his legs and clasping his hands around his knees. “They never told me what was going on. So I did nothing to help.”

The pit grew in her stomach. The anger and pain etched in his face told her that there was no happy ending. She just wasn’t sure she was ready for the painful reality he was telling her. “What’s your sister’s name?”

“Amy,” he said almost reverently. “When I left, she was dating a guy named Rob. I’d met him. I didn’t like him. He was controlling and condescending,” Mike sneered. “I told her the warning signs that I’d spotted, but she didn’t care. She thought Rob’s need for control was because he loved her so much.” He scoffed and shook his head.

Alisha fought back the tears building in her eyes. She’d already figured out the ending, she just waited patiently for him to get there. “Did they break up?”

Mike breathed deeply, trying to clear the painful lump building in his throat. “Rob’s affection finally turned violent. He’d rage and scream at her if she failed or disappointed him in any way.” Mike looked into Alisha’s eyes. He wanted to get lost in those beautiful blue eyes. He wanted to forget every nightmare that haunted him. “I never knew that he did that stuff. I would have done something about it.”

“But you weren’t around? You were half a world away. What could you possibly do?”

A gruff rumble sounded from his chest. “I had friends here who would’ve taken care of this problem for Amy. They would have talked to Rob. Help him understand that it was in his best interest to leave Amy alone.” Mike shook his head and stared at the tree line. “One time I called and she told me that they broke up, but she never told me that he stalked her after their break-up. He left her gifts, followed her, and confronted her, declaring his love. He was sick in the head, only she didn’t realize it until it was too late.”

“I’m sorry, Mike.” Alisha rubbed a tear out of her eye with her knuckle. After hearing his story, she knew he understood what she was going through. Now she also understood his motivation to help her. It was a deep rooted need to right a wrong that wasn’t even his fault.

“When they broke up, she moved in with a friend, Julia.” He scoffed and shook his head. “Poor Julia, she got dragged into this mess too.” Mike stopped talking and went inside his head. Telling Alisha about this dragged up the emotions that he’d successfully tamped down. He knew he needed to deal with this, the guilt and sorrow from loss, but confronting those feelings was overwhelming. He wasn’t used to feeling out of control. He lived his life in nice, neat boxes. But the loss of loved ones shreds those boxes until pain litters every aspect of your life.

It was obvious that this was hard for him to talk about. He radiated stress and pain. “He hurt them?” Alisha prodded. She wanted to hear it because she knew that deep down he needed to say it. He needed to admit what happened and confront it.

Mike nodded. “Yes. Rob broke into their apartment and held them hostage. A neighbor saw him force his way into Julia’s place, so she called the cops. The cops arrived, but he’d already started terrorizing Amy and Julia. Rob finally put a bullet in Amy’s head, and when he turned his gun onto Julia, he fell dead at her feet. A SWAT sniper killed him.”

Alisha sat in shock as she listened. A seed of fear blossomed into a dangerous weed that overwhelmed her mind and shut down her thinking.
Was this going to be her fate? Was she just waiting for her stalker to decide to kill her?

Mike saw her shut down. He knew that would happen; he wished he could stop it. Stop the fear from festering and overtaking her. He scooted closer to her, his shoulder touching her arm as she faced the house and he faced the backyard. “This time it’s not going to end that way.” He stroked her arm. He wanted to comfort her. He wanted her to know that she wasn’t alone in this. “We’ll get him,” he said softly.

She knew he was talking, but all she heard were indiscernible mumbles. Her time was limited.
How could she stop someone whose identity she didn’t even know?

“Alisha,” Mike said softly. He stroked her arm, trying to break through to her. “I promise that I will protect you.” Even as the words left his mouth he knew he shouldn’t promise such a thing. There were no guarantees in life. All he could truly offer her was his best effort. He stroked her skin and goosebumps pebbled her flesh. “Let’s go inside. I can tell you more.”

“More?” she stared into his eyes, searching for hope and honesty.
Could he really keep her safe? What could he tell her that would protect her?