Hunted Love (A Dangerous Kind of Love Book 2) (14 page)

“Because the man’s crazier than his grandpa. He probably heard you like her and is getting his revenge on you by going after her. He’s targeting the girls just like Crazy Charlie did. Same as before.”

“Not the same. The last time was a straightforward hit. Crazy Charlie sent a bunch of guys to kill Patrick’s daughters. But this? Leaving creepy Valentine’s Day cards, following Sarah, who’s not even a part of this, attacking her in the shower. I remember Wade. He was ruthless, but this ain’t his style.”

Nathan shoved himself away from the desk and stood up. “You’re wrong and if you don’t kill Hogan, he’s going to kill me, Kristen, Phoebe, and Sarah. If you care about this girl as much as Brian says you do, you better do something quick, because her days are numbered.”

“There is another option, Nathan,” Jamie said as Nathan unlocked the door.

Nathan looked back expectantly.

“You could tell Kristen and Phoebe what’s going on. You’ve got money. You three could disappear. Let Hogan have this place and—” He bit off the rest of his sentence with a sigh as Nathan stormed out of the room.

CHAPTER TWELVE

Sarah stared up at the coffered ceiling above her head as she absentmindedly petted Rory at her side.

“I think it’s safe to say,” Casey said from somewhere in the kitchen, “it’s not a member of the gym.”

She tipped her head back over the armrest and looked at him. “Why not?”

“Because the creep picked the lock on the back door.” He bit into the sandwich in his hand. “The cops found scratch marks on the door knob.”

Sarah returned her attention to the ceiling. “You don’t know when those scratches were made.”

“If someone broke into my place before then, I’d like to think I would have noticed.”

Rory’s ears perked up suddenly and he hopped down from the couch. He placed his nose against the bottom of the door.

Sitting up, Sarah glanced over at the clock on the mantle. “It’s a quarter to five. Ashton said she might not make it back home until six.” She glanced over at Casey who was standing by the door.

Sarah watched anxiously as Casey pressed his eye to the peephole and Rory pressed his nose to the bottom of the door. It was only when Rory’s tail began to wag that she blew out her breath in relief.

Rory let out a series of excited barks while Casey unlocked the door.

“Who is it?” she asked.

“Mr. Personality,” Casey answered before opening the door. Once the door was open, he blocked the entrance with his body. “Where have you been?”

Jamie looked taken aback for a moment before turning his attention to the room. As soon as he caught sight of Sarah, he visibly relaxed letting some of the tension leave his shoulders.

“We have been waiting here for hours,” Casey said. “You don’t call. You don’t text.”

Jamie knelt down next to Rory who was clambering for his attention. He took a moment to glare at Casey. “I’ve been busy.”

“We have a life, you know,” Casey said, gesturing to Sarah. “We can’t just sit here all day waiting by the phone for you to call.” He crossed his arms, disgust plainly written on his face. “Dinner’s cold by the way.”

With a raised eyebrow, Jamie glanced over toward the plate with the half eaten ham sandwich on the counter.

“You got back just in time,” Sarah said, smiling. “Any longer and you would have had to track us down at the gym.”

“Why would you go back there?” Jamie asked.

“Because,” Casey said, reaching for his coat, “I own the place and I have business to attend to.” He grabbed what was left of his ham sandwich and backed out the door. “Try not to get into trouble while I’m gone.”

“Bye Casey,” Sarah called out as he closed the door. She stood up surreptitiously checking her image in the mirror next to the door. She might not feel one hundred percent better, but as long as Jamie was nearby, she was going to make sure she looked like she did.

A frown pulled at her lips as an image of what she looked like this morning came to her mind. She almost screamed when she looked into the mirror after Jamie had left. Her hair looked like a rat’s nest, her makeup was long gone, dark shadows marred the skin under her eyes and that horrible hospital gown . . . She shuddered delicately, pushing the memory away and glanced back at her reflection.

Much better. Her blonde hair was now shiny and artfully tousled, her makeup had been set to look flawless and natural and a figure hugging light blue knit turtleneck over tan pants definitely made a much better impression than that hideous hospital gown.

She caught Jamie checking her out as he played with Rory and smiled to herself. A much better impression. She spun around and looked back down at him, not too terribly surprised when he jerked his attention away. “Hungry?”

He glanced back at her. “What?”

“Are you hungry?” She gestured to the kitchen counter. “I don’t think Casey ate
everything
in the refrigerator.”

He rose to his feet, bringing Rory up with him. “You should be in bed resting.”

“I’ve been resting all day long. I feel fine now.” She walked into the kitchen. “Come on, I’ll make you my extra special ham salad sandwich. People rave about it,” she promised him as she reached into the refrigerator pulling out the ingredients. “What have you been up to?”

“Visiting old friends.”

“Anyone I know?”

“I spoke to Nathan for a while and then went out to Bellemeade to talk to Kristen and Phoebe.” He set Rory back down and followed Sarah into the kitchen, watching as she made him a sandwich.

“How are they?”

“Kristen wasn’t there. Phoebe and Brian were though. The poor kid’s scared to death. I don’t blame her. She showed me a copy of the Valentine’s Day cards she and Kristen got. I was kind of afraid to leave her alone, but then Brian said he was going to move into Bellemeade until this mess is over.”

“That’s good.”

“After I left them, I spent the rest of the afternoon looking for a place to stay.”

Taking a plate from the cabinet, she frowned. “I thought you would be staying here. What if the guy who attacked me comes back?”

“Don’t worry, I plan on sticking close to you for the time being, but I still need a place of my own.”

Sarah reached into the drawer for a knife. “But then you’ll be gone again, so why bother?” she asked spreading the ham salad onto the bread with jerky movements. She glanced up at him in surprise as he took the knife from her.

“You’re getting more of that stuff on the counter than on the bread,” he said, taking over. “I wasn’t planning on leaving again.”

“No?”

“No.” He laid the knife into the sink. “Knowing you, you’ll just get into trouble again, so I might as well stick around.”

She crossed her arms. “I beg your pardon? I’m not always in trouble.”

“Yes, you are,” he said with a chuckle. “You’re like a jinx.”

Her eyes widened.

“I'm shocked you’re still alive.” He slapped a piece of bread on top of the sandwich. “I’m shocked
I’m
still alive. Just being around you makes me nervous.”

She took the sandwich away from him. “Are you seriously saying that I bring you bad luck? Name one time—”

“New Year’s Eve,” he said reaching for the sandwich.

She held it away from his reach. “Name another.”

“Last August.”

She looked at him in surprise. “What happened last August?”

“Those two goons Nathan had around before Moose and Danny showed back up beat me up because of you. They didn’t like the way I—” He paused, suddenly cutting off whatever he was about to say.

“They didn’t like the way you… what?”

“I don’t know,” he said, as he tried to take the sandwich from her.

She leaned back, holding the sandwich out and away from him. “They didn’t like the way you what?”

“Are you going to let me eat?”

“When you tell me why they beat you up, I will. It’s my kitchen, my food, my rules.”

“Fine, they didn’t like the way I was looking at you. Happy?”

She brought her hand down and handed him the sandwich. “They didn’t like the way you were looking at me?” She took a step closer to him as he took a bite. “Just how were you looking at me?”

His eyebrows drew down as he looked at the sandwich in his hand. Swallowing, he mumbled, “I don’t remember.” He made a face at the sandwich before setting it back down on the plate and grabbing a glass of water. “It happened last August.”

“I remember them,” she said. “I visited them in the hospital around that time.” Her eyes narrowed. “I don’t remember you getting hurt though.”

“Well, I did.” When she looked doubtful, he added, “They got a few good licks in. It still hurts.” He held up his right hand as he took a drink. “Look, you can still see the marks they left on my knuckles when I hit them.”

“Oh, you poor baby,” she cooed taking his hand and playfully pressing a kiss to his knuckles. She froze. What had started out as playful quickly turned into something else, as Jamie’s other hand snaked around the back of her neck and threaded through her hair. Moving closer to him, she glanced up through her lashes as he moved his other hand to her head, pushing her hair back away from her face before using it to hold her head in place.

Her lashes fluttered closed as he leaned forward and kissed her, gently at first and then more passionately as time wore on.

So lost in his kiss, Sarah didn’t realize someone was knocking on her door until Jamie pulled away from her. He backed up a step, breathing heavily. “Are you expecting someone?”

Sarah blinked, trying to remember. “Oh, yeah, my sister, Ashton,” she said breathlessly, “but she has a key.”

She started for the door but he pulled her back. “Ask who it is first?” When she did, Emily answered.

Sarah gasped. “The book club meeting.”

“The what?”

She lifted her hands to her head. “I completely forgot I was hosting our book club meeting tonight. I didn’t even read the book. Hurry, let them in,” she said running around the kitchen gathering snacks and serving plates together.

Jamie picked up Rory and opened the door as four girls walked in. They looked at him in surprise as they greeted Sarah.

Jamie started to close the door when two more women arrived and quickly made themselves at home.

Within moments, the formerly quiet apartment was a bustle of activity and noise. He slipped the dog leash off the hook near the door and reached for Rory. He touched Sarah’s sleeve as she walked past. “I thought I would take the dog out for a walk.” He glanced back into the room. “You look like you’ll be safe enough in here.”

She slipped her hand through his arm. “How about I introduce you to a few friends first.”

He took her hand into his and smiled softly down at her. “Don’t worry about me. Go visit with your friends. I’ll be fine out here,” he said stepping out into the hall.

“I don’t want you by yourself.”

“I’m not. I’ve got Rory.” He glanced down the hallway as the elevator dinged. “Besides, I see an old friend.”

“Oh really,” she said stepping into the hallway in time to see Casey step out of the elevator. “He’s your old friend?”

“Oh, the best.”

Sarah frowned. “I wonder what he’s doing back here so soon.”

“Hey,” Casey said, anger coloring his voice as he approached Jamie, “I just spoke to the police. They’re looking for you.”

“Why?” Jamie asked warily as he exchanged an uneasy glance with Sarah.

Casey stopped a few feet away with a menacing looking scowl across his handsome face. “Someone called in an anonymous tip an hour ago that you were lurking around the back alley behind my gym last night.”

“They’re lying,” Jamie said angrily. “I wasn’t anywhere near the gym. I don’t even know where it is.”

“Casey, Jamie didn’t attack me,” Sarah said lowering her voice as she glanced over her shoulder back at her apartment. “Did you tell the police he was here?”

“No,” Casey admitted reluctantly while continuing to stare at Jamie. “I don’t trust anonymous tips.” He turned to Sarah. “Your sister’s right. How do you know it wasn’t him? You didn’t see the guy who attacked you.”

“No, but he spoke to me. I didn’t recognize his voice.”

“You’re absolutely sure?” Casey asked.

“Casey, I know Jamie’s voice. It wasn’t him. The guy last night had a really deep gravelly sounding type of voice.” She shuddered. “I’ll never forget it.”

The tension suddenly left Casey’s body and he smiled. “Well, that’s a relief.” He thumped Jamie on the arm good-naturedly. “Had to make sure, dude. Didn’t want to leave her alone in case you turned out to be a crazed maniac. Her sister’s kind of scary. She’d probably have my head if I let something happen to Sarah. Well, I’ve got to get back.” He started to spin on his heels, but stopped short as Jamie pulled on his arm, dragging him back inside the apartment and towards the kitchen.

*  *  *

Emily’s face lost all color as Sarah told her and her other friends what had happened to her. She pressed a hand to her mouth as the other women looked at her in shock and disbelief. “I shouldn’t have left you last night.”

“Emily, how could you have known what would have happened?”

“I just feel so bad.”

“There wasn’t anything you could have done, Em.”

“Yeah, but I feel so bad, running off like that.” Emily pressed her hand to Sarah’s arm. “I want you to come stay with me.”

“Em—”

“No, I’m serious. I don’t think you should be alone.”

“She’s right, Sarah,” Zoe Mitchell, one of her oldest and dearest friends said. “You shouldn’t be alone. I’d take her up on her offer.”

“I can’t believe what the world is coming to,” Terry Phillips, another of their friends remarked with a sad shake of her head. “Maybe Emily could stay here. This place is big enough.”

“That’s really not necessary,” Sarah said. “I’m not alone. Ashton’s here.”