Loverboy (6 page)

“He knows where I live, Nick,” she says again. “I just know he does. How did he get my email address? What other information does he have?”

My heart begins to crush for her. In all the weeks of being under my watch, nothing had happened, and I prefer to keep it that way. In all the months of chasing this sadistic nut job, he’d never made contact. Why now? Why Charlie? The look of hurt and confusion is sweeping over her already tired face. It’s a heartbreaking sight to see, and all I can do is move her computer and make a phone call. Some great protector I am. I finish up my conversation, now knowing an unmarked car is coming to Charlie’s apartment to collect the computer. I turn on my phone’s lock screen and shove it back in my pocket.

I walk over slowly to her, placing my hands tenderly on her shoulders to make her footsteps stop. “I will not let anything happen to you, Charlie.” She nods and wipes at her cheek. I fight the urge to hug her again as she stares at me. “They will need to take your laptop,” I tell her.
“They’ll need the email and they have to track the source.”

She nods. “Let them have it; I don’t want the damn thing now.” She tells me, sniffling.

“We have the technology to find out where he sent that email from, Charlie,” I tell her. “We can get him.”

She looks up at me, with brighter eyes. “Really?”

“Really,” I smile. “We can put this guy behind bars and throw away the key.”

She finally smiles.

“This just puts us one step closer. And, by him contacting you, I think this could very well be his screw up. All it takes is one little mistake and he’s caught. How could he have known that you would be on your computer at the very moment he sent that email?” I ask. “He could have very well sent it with the intention of you reading it later.”

She looks down for a moment, biting down on her lower lip. She’s thinking. I remember her habit. Biting her lip means she’s thinking. The wheels in her mind are turning. I have a feeling that I know what’s coming next.
Her eyes finally meet mine again. “What did it say?”

For some reason, I feel a pang of hurt in my heart. I knew she would want to know.
,
I knew she would ask, but I can’t tell her. I can’t hurt her like that when she has been making such wonderful progress. To know the contents of the email, I fear, would crush her. “That’s not important,” I say. “The important thing is he screwed up and we can track him. This isn’t just some piece of snail mail; it’s an email.”

She nods. “But, what did he send? What did he say? There has to be a reason that he would just email me out of the blue, right?”
             

I look deep into her eyes. I can’t repeat the violent words he’d used to describe how he raped her, and the sheer enjoyment he got from her pain. I can’t tell her his closing statement was that she would be next. I can’t stand to look at the photographs myself, let alone tell her how she looked in them.

“That’s not the important part.” I say, again. “What’s really important here is that we can catch him, possibly tonight.”

She wraps her arms around her body and lets her gaze meet mine. “Tell me. I have to know.”

I shake my head, because I can’t. I can’t put her through that pain again. I can’t see her relive the one moment she wants to forget the most.

“Is it really that bad?” She asks.

I manage a slow nod as I lick my lips.

She breaks down, sobbing in such a way I see her knees buckle for a moment. For the first time, I feel the need to be truly protective; not just to keep her from harm, but to comfort her. I hesitate for a moment, and then I wrap one arm around her. An unethical move, but for some reason feels right and normal. Before I can stop her, she throws both arms around me and holds tightly. I pause and take one deep breath before wrapping the other arm around her. She pushes her face hard into my chest as she sobs. Unsure of what to do, I slowly bring a hand up to her hair and let my fingers run through it. She squeezes to me tighter, and I find myself holding to her tighter as well, as though locked in my arms can take away the hurt and the pain that she is feeling right now.

“I won’t let him hurt you again, Charlie,” I say, letting my chin rest on the top of her head. “I promise.”

The knock at the door makes her jump in my arms as she tries to push herself closer.

“Shh,” I say softly and wait.

“Andrews!” I hear the voice of Sergeant Wilson, my boss, scream through the door.

“It’s okay,” I reassure her. “I have to get the door.”

She nods. “I’ll just,” she pauses. “I’ll be back,” she says, and heads down the hallway where she disappears into the bathroom.
             

I walk to the door, unlocking each deadbolt and lock that has been newly placed on the door. Sergeant Wilson storms in furiously. He wastes no time in getting down to business, though for some reason, I still feel Charlie wrapped tightly in my arms. His eyes narrow in on me. “What was in the email?” He asks.

“Very detailed paragraph about her time with him,” I explain as I unplug the computer charger from the wall. “And, photographs.”

“Of her?” He asks.

I nod slowly, and find my thoughts traveling back to her; I can still smell her. Sweet, like a mix of vanilla and honey. I shake out of it long enough to listen to my boss.

“Sick son-of-a-bitch,” he breathes. “She didn’t see them, did she?”

I shake my head. “I wouldn’t let her.”

“Good work,” he says, taking the laptop from my possession. “I’ll get this back to the team, and I’ll phone you as soon as we know something. This has to be it, Andrews. This has to be his fuck up.”

I nod. “I hope you’re right.” I finally realize that I am talking to my boss, who came all this way to pick up a computer. “Why didn’t you send someone else?” I blurt before I can shut my mouth.

“Been stuck in the office, needed to get out,” he tells me. “Besides, someone has to check in on you, pretty boy.” He lets out a deep laugh.

I make a sour face; he has to know that I don’t appreciate the nickname, and I certainly don’t appreciate him implying that something would be going on in this apartment. I sit on my ass for a better part of the day until Charlie offers to feed me. Then, I at least try to make myself useful and help her in the kitchen, though at times I can tell my lack of knowledge in the cooking department may be starting to drive her nuts.

“Aw, don’t get your panties in a twist,” he teases again. This time I make a face that if looks could kill I would have a winner. Boss or not, there are boundaries. His expression changes as he tucks the laptop under his arm and he heads for the door. “Be on your toes, Andrews.”

I nod as I watch him rush down the stairs and head for the door. We are on a timer now. If given enough time they could easily poke into Charlie’s email and find out where the email was sent from. A location can lead us straight to him. I take a deep breath and peer around in the hallway before shutting the door and taking the time to carefully lock each deadbolt.

I head down the hallway to see the bathroom door is now open and completely empty. I continue a few more steps, seeing her bedroom door is now wide open. I peer
in, and see that Charlie is now sitting on her bed, leaning up against the head board with her knees up to her chest.

“Are you alright?” I ask.

She looks a little worn. Her eyes have dark circles under them. She’s a little shaky, and I can tell she’s having a rough time with the email. She’s a sad sight to see, sitting on her bed, her lips turned down in a frown while they quiver just enough for me to see.

She nods. “I think so.”

“This could be it,” I remind her. “We could have him.”

She nods again and purses her lips. She’s fighting tears, and she’s honestly doing a good job at it. “How did he get my email?” She asks.

I shrug. “I wish I had an answer,” I tell her, making my way into the room to sit at the edge of her bed. “I’m still here with you. No one is going to get passed me, unless I let them.”

Her eyes meet mine again for a moment, and before I knew what was happening, she lunges forward, throwing her arms around me and her body into me. This time, I
relax and wrap my arms around her. She accepts my arms, and I feel her sigh as she seems to melt into me. The warm and sugary smell of vanilla comes up to my nose again as I rub a hand up and down her back. This is clearly against what I am here for; clearly it wouldn’t be allowed, but Charlie seems so at ease, it’s difficult to push her away. “I won’t let him get you,” I say.

She nods as I feel her head on my shoulder. “I trust you, Nick.”

I smile. “That’s good.”

I feel her breathing begin to slow and her muscles loosen up as I continue to let my hand rub her back.

“Thank you,” she says, softly.

“For what?” I reply.

“For everything,” she says. “I know this isn’t normal. But, you’ve been here so long,” she tells me. “I just feel close to you; I feel safe with you.”

I smile.
,
“That’s what we wanted all along.”

My phone ringing makes her slowly, and reluctantly,
move back. I fish it from my pocket, sliding the answer key and pressing it to my ear. “Please tell me you have great news.”

“He was at the campus library,” Sergeant Wilson wastes no time. “Tracking him was no problem.”

“That’s good, that’s not too far,” I say. “Do we have him in custody?” I ask.

I can hear the let down in his voice. “No, and no one saw a damn thing. Even the person next to him can’t remember a damn thing, and he’s been on that computer for three hours for research.”

I slouch for a moment, and right away, Charlie picks up on my body language as her head drops. “We have to find him. I don’t know how much more she can take. And, besides that, it’s getting harder to keep her out of the media.”

“I really appreciate your concern, Andrews,” he tells me. “But, you just remember your place in this case. We’re doing everything we can.”
             

“But, you don’t see her every single day; you don’t
see what she goes through. I do,” I snap. “Maybe more needs to be done!”

He’s quick to interrupt. “We’re doing our jobs, I suggest you do yours.”

Before I can say another word, the phone goes dead. I mutter a few curse words under my breath as I stuff the phone back into my pocket. I let out a deep breath as I look at Charlie. I don’t want to tell her. What I want to tell her is that he’s in jail and she’s safe. Instead, she already knows the bad news. Her sad eyes meet mine, and I shake my head. “I’m sorry, Charlie, I really thought we had a chance.”

She nods. “It’s okay. I know they’re working as hard as they can.”

I nod. “You should get some rest, you look exhausted.”

She gives me a funny look, one that I had never seen before. Suddenly, a rush a red floods her cheeks. “Could I ask you a favor?”

“Sure,” I reply.

“Could you stay in here tonight?” She asks.

I drop my mouth. “Oh, Charlie, I don’t think that’s such a good idea. I mean, that completely goes against protocol. I’m sure there’s something huge against that.” I shake my head and feel a little awkward. “That’s…that has to be crossing a line.”

“Please?” She begs. “I just feel so safe with you, and being close makes me feel that much safer,” she admits.

I look at her, and, even though making her feel safe is hard to resist, I shake my head. “I just don’t think it would be a good idea.”

“I know it’s a lot to ask, but I really don’t sleep that well,” she admits. “You know that. And, for some reason, being close to you relaxes me.”

I think back for a moment about how, as I held her, I physically felt her body relax and her breathing slow. She had a point. “Okay, I’ll do it if it will truly help you sleep. I’ll pull a chair in here or something,” I say. “But, you absolutely cannot breathe a word of this to anyone, you hear me? No one can find out about this. It would be my ass in hot water, and I would probably have two assholes the next day.”

I can see the tears beginning to brim her eyes as she smiles, so wide that if I was standing I would have probably fallen over. “Thank you so much, Nicky, you...” She stops suddenly, her mouth dropping and her cheeks filling with a rather cute shade of pink. She smiles nervously. “I’m sorry. I don’t know why that came out that way.”
             

I think for a moment. “It’s okay. I’ll just be back in a moment,” I tell her, getting up to head for the living room.

I take a quick seat on the couch, staring blankly at the colorful cartoon on the television. It’s a lot to take in, for some reason. She didn’t do anything wrong, she called me by my own name, but the tone in her voice… It’s hard to put my finger on what really happened, because I don’t know. I know we’re been in this apartment for a while and for some reason, somehow we’ve managed to get a little close. Close enough to hug, close enough for her to feel truly safe with me. The situation all around is different, what would be wrong with adding one more thing to the loop. If she feels safe with me, I should feel grateful. She’s been to hell and back, and me making her feel safe is a compliment. So why did I have to walk out of the room? My mind is quite the mess as I make myself shake out of it. I hear the hallway creak, and within a moment, I feel her hand come down on my shoulder. I turn to look up at her and immediately smile.