Dangerous Kisses (16 page)

As he continued to circle, eyeing her, she wondered how a seemingly nice personality could harbor such a monster. Were she and his other victims substitutes for a woman in his past or did he simply hate women? So many questions, but would she live long enough to discern the answers?

Bart stopped circling and stepped so close she could feel his warm breath. But it only made her colder. He forced her into the cabin, and her hope for rescue spiraled downward.

Once inside, he ran his fingers down her arm. "You were the most challenging of all."

She shrank away from him.

"Now, don’t be so shy. You and I both know it’s a lie. Why, right here on this very boat, in that very bed, you whored yourself to that cop. Why don’t you learn?"

She forced herself to speak, hoping that the longer she kept him talking the more likely it was she’d be found. "Learn what?"

"That men like him don’t ever give you what you deserve."

"What do you mean by that?"

He pinned her against the wall and ran his hand over her hair. "You pretty girls. You never look at the real men. No, you always wanted the jocks, the men with bigger egos than brains. You women are always griping because men don’t look farther than your physical appearance when you all do the same thing."

"I’m not like that."

"Aren’t you? It didn’t take you long to hop into bed with the big, handsome cop."

She hated how he twisted what she and Jake had shared into something ugly, but she’d die before she explained to him that it was love that had led her to Jake’s bed and not his good looks.

"So, you see, I have no choice but to teach you a lesson, that you should look at the man beneath the physical appearance."

"Is that what happened? Did some girl dump you for another man?"

He laughed, a mirthless, faintly evil laugh that made her skin crawl in an attempt to get away from him. "No, no one dumped me. They never even looked at me. But they do now. They look at me and know that I hold their lives in my hands."

His hands, the ones with which he’d killed poor Stephanie, Maggie and Jess, slipped into his pockets, pulled on latex gloves. She struggled against him until his hands locked around her throat. But he didn’t squeeze, just emphasized his point by pushing upward.

"I’m going to enjoy taking you in this bed where he defiled you. I’ll make you wish it’d been me all along."

She might die, but by God she was going to die fighting. She shoved against him and lunged for the stairway, but he caught her by her hair and threw her on the bed. Before she regained her breath, he was on top of her, pawing at her clothes. She fought each invasion until he backhanded her.

When the stars cleared from her vision, she noticed him placing a silver-wrapped chocolate candy on the battered nightstand. Blinding fear sliced through her and she struggled even harder against him.

"That’s it, fight me. I’ll enjoy it more."

She didn’t let him bait her. Her only hope was to get away. She’d jump in the lake and take her chances. If she drowned, at least she’d wash away the scent of him as she floated downward.

Even when he pinned her arms above her head, she tried to kick herself free.

"I can’t wait to see Radley’s face when he finds your body on this island, this place where he thought you were his."

Unable to free herself, she inhaled deeply and did the only thing left that might save her. She screamed.

****

Jake crept through the brush and trees, careful to make as little noise as possible. The fact that Watkins had taken Sydney in broad daylight announced he was tired of waiting, and that made him even more dangerous. Jake and Kevin had borrowed a canoe and paddled to the opposite end of the island, keeping the trees between them and his boat the entire time. If Watkins saw or heard them coming, he would kill Sydney and flee.

The other officers standing by on shore might catch Watkins, but Jake would have failed to protect Sydney, failed to tell her how much she meant to him and how big an idiot he’d been.

When his boat came into sight, he turned and held his index finger to his lips. Kevin nodded. But Jake forgot stealth when the scream pierced the air.

That son of a bitch!

Jake nearly flew to the boat, Kevin only a couple of steps behind him. Jake launched himself onto the deck and down the stairs, barely making contact with half of them. Behind him, he heard Kevin yelling into his handheld radio, "Move in, move in!"

When Jake reached the cabin, Watkins had Sydney pinned on the bed, his hand on her throat. Her eyes were impossibly wide, her mouth open and gasping. Blinding rage propelled him toward her attacker. He threw Watkins halfway across the room, then stalked over to punish him for what he’d done to Sydney, to all those other innocent women. He punched and punched until Kevin managed to pull him off. Jake’s rage still beat like a living thing, willing to rid the world of the beast before him.

"Do you feel better, Detective?" Bart asked from his position on the floor.

"Shut up!" Kevin ordered as he jerked Bart to his feet and handcuffed him.

"I know men like you. It doesn’t matter that I didn’t kill her. I’ve touched her, and right there in your bed. She’s soiled to you now. You’ll never touch her without thinking of me."

It didn’t matter to Jake that he heard the other officers invading the boat above or that Watkins was cuffed. He still turned around and hit him in the face with such force that Bart fell back into the floor, out cold and nose bleeding.

Jake ignored the jolt of pain that shot up his arm and crossed to Sydney. He pulled her into his arms and cradled her face against his chest so she wouldn’t have to look at Bart anymore. She shook with her tears, and he wrapped a blanket around her back."Shh, honey, shh. It’s over. He can’t hurt you or anyone else ever again."

She clung to him in desperation, and he gently rocked her. Those words he’d promised to tell her didn’t seem appropriate at the moment. Now that she was safe, he’d be free to tell her anytime — the right time.

The guys carried Bart’s still unconscious form up the narrow stairs, leaving only Kevin behind."You two okay?" he asked.

Jake nodded. "I’ll come in later to deal with everything."

Kevin glanced down at Sydney. "Take your time. I can handle things."

When Kevin left, the two of them sat in silence, Sydney’s tears slowly fading away. "I was so scared," she finally whispered.

"I know, honey. But it’s okay now."

He held her for a long time before she pulled away and went to the bathroom to exchange her ripped blouse for one of his sweatshirts.

When she came back, she curled up in his arms. He simply held her until she was ready to talk. She had to give a statement, but he’d be the one to take it. He wanted to spare her a trip to his office and the questions of other reporters.

Gradually, she told him everything, from the moment Watkins had grabbed her to when she awoke and was forced onto the boat while still groggy. About how she fought and searched in vain for some way to escape. For what she’d been through, she gave a remarkable account, and he loved her even more for it.

"I don’t even know how he got me out of the building," she said.

"In a mail cart. Rolled it out just like he did every day."

For several minutes, they sat. Quiet. Just holding each other.

Eventually, however, they had to leave. Jake had to go in and do what he could to make sure this case was rock solid, that Bart Watkins never breathed a free moment of air again. And Jake needed to get Sydney out of the boat, away from this cramped cabin that had come close to being the last thing she ever saw.

As he guided the boat away from the island, he called his mother. After the trauma Sydney had endured, he wasn’t about to leave her alone. His mother could provide a woman’s ear and the mother’s comfort Sydney needed. He told her to meet them at a different marina farther down the lake. The marina where he normally docked would be filled with TV crews, and he wasn’t sure he wouldn’t deck someone else if they hounded Sydney.

Jake continued to cradle Sydney as they rode with his mother to her house. But when he placed a kiss on Sydney’s forehead and left her with his mother, she didn’t object. She even seemed to like the idea of spending time with his mother. Good sign.

He headed back to his mother’s car, determined to get his portion of the casework done as quickly as possible. As he slid into the driver’s seat, he glanced back at the tidy little house that had always been home to him – even after he’d moved out. A plan started forming in his mind. He shoved the car into gear. The faster he got his work done, the quicker he could put his plan in motion.

Sydney sat on Lou Anne’s front porch, enjoying an abnormally warm November afternoon. She bit her lower lip in concentration as she worked on the cross-stitch pattern. She’d never been very domestic, but Lou Anne’s completed and framed cross-stitch patterns had caught her imagination. Jake’s mother was more than happy to have an eager student.

She glanced at the pattern again, one of a baby black bear with his nose in a honey pot, to count her squares.

"Hey there, Sydney."

She glanced up to see Mr. Robinson from next door waving at her. She waved back, smiled and watched as the nice older man took Buster, his well-fed basset hound, out for his daily constitutional.

In the two days she’d stayed with Lou Anne, she’d met more neighbors than she had during the nearly two months of living at her apartment. She’d thought this type of community atmosphere would be impossible in a growing city, but here it was, friends and neighbors right out of a 1950s television program.

She liked it, and she almost dreaded going back to her impersonal apartment complex. Maybe she’d be fine. Maybe she’d just needed the comforting atmosphere at Lou Anne’s in the hours after her ordeal. She still shuddered when she thought of Bart’s hand around her neck, but for the most part she’d pulled herself back together.

Thanks to Jake.

He’d known exactly what she needed and had brought her to Lou Anne’s, giving her his own mother to replace hers. He’d spent a lot of hours at work since Bart’s arrest, but she didn’t mind. She used the time to relax, something she hadn’t truly done in a long time, and to come to terms with the fact that she and Jake would never be a couple. He cared, of that she had no doubt, but he just wasn’t the settle down and make babies kind.

She finished a row of yellow stitching and glanced up to see the subject of her musings turning the corner at the end of the street. She couldn’t help the extra thump her heart gave. She guessed that reaction would always be there.

She watched him step from the car, every wonderful, sexy inch of him. He smiled as he climbed the porch steps.

He leaned against the square, white column of the porch support. "I see Mom finally found a protégé."

"I like it. I’ve never tried anything like this before."

"Think you could tear yourself away from it for awhile?"

"Maybe. Why?"

"Let’s go for a drive."

Her pulse quickened at the mystery swimming in those dark eyes of his. She took her supplies inside and told Lou Anne they’d be back later.

"Have fun, dear," came Lou Anne’s chirpy voice from the kitchen.

Jake didn’t say anything as he drove east out of town, then down a series of narrow lanes. The trees grew thicker with each turn.

Her curiosity finally trumped her patience. "Where are we going?"

He stopped in the middle of the road and pointed out the windshield. "There."

She glanced forward and saw a cute little cottage. When she looked back at Jake for clarification, he only let off the brake and pulled into the driveway. A stone walkway led to the front porch where a white porch swing drifted in the slight breeze. Large bushes that promised vibrant colors in the spring hugged the side of the house.

"What do you think of it?" Jake asked.

"It’s beautiful. Who lives here?"

"Nobody, but it’s for sale."

Before she could ask why he was showing her a house, he stepped from the car. She followed. He clasped her hand in his. "Let me show you around." Her heart beat faster at the possibilities flying through her head.

They first circled the outside of the house, then went inside through the side door.

"I know it’s small, but I don’t think I’ll get much out of a fifteen-year-old boat."

"You’re selling the boat?" What was going on? Only weeks ago, he’d maintained he liked living on the boat because it gave him freedom. Had what happened on it two days ago tainted it for him? Had Bart been right?

"I’m thinking about it. It’s kind of cramped for two people."

Two people? She didn’t dare hope. "You’re getting a roommate?"

"I hope to." He looked at her with an intensity that made her want to melt.

He walked slowly toward her, each step boosting her heart rate. When he skimmed his fingers over her cheek, her heart almost burst from her chest.

"I was under the impression that husbands and wives live together," he said, his voice low and seductive.

"Husbands and wives?" Her words sounded breathless and hopeful.

The teasing in his eyes grew serious. "I love you, Sydney. I should have said it before, when I first knew, but I was scared to. I was so afraid of hurting you."

She stared at him, trying to comprehend the words she was hearing. He loved her. Had he really said that?

"But then Bart took you, and I was terrified I’d never get the chance to tell you."

"Oh, Jake." She reached for him, pulling his mouth down to hers.

He wrapped her in his arms and kissed her deeply, with such feeling she nearly cried. But she was done crying. From now on, she was determined to be happy.

She pulled away slightly. "Are you sure? This is crazy. We’ve not known each other that long."

"I’m positive. I’ve wasted too much time alone. I don’t want to waste anymore."

Her heart swelled. "Me neither."

"Does that mean you’ll marry me?"

"Yes, I’ll marry you, Detective Radley."

He picked her up and spun her in a circle, making her squeal in delight.

"We don’t have to get this house if you’d rather live somewhere else," he said.

She kissed his lips lightly. "No, it’s perfect."

"That’s what I thought."

Love filled Sydney nearly to overflowing, and she kissed Jake more deeply. When he set her on her feet, she couldn’t help teasing him. "I hope you don’t think that since I’ll be sleeping with you that the police department will get any special treatment from the paper."

"Of course not." He backed her slowly against the wall. He lavished her with kisses, stealing her breath. "But I feel it’s my duty to try to convince you otherwise."

His hands pulled her closer, revealing exactly what affect she was having on him.

"It might take an enormous amount of convincing," she said, enjoying the banter.

"Then we’re both in luck."

She laughed, then followed him toward their future.

###

Thank you for purchasing this book. I hope you enjoyed it.

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Trish Milburn lives in the South with her husband and spends what little free time she has reading, watching TV and movies (Is that her TiVo smoking?), hiking, taking road trips and valiantly fighting the weeds in her flowerbeds.

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