Red Red Rose (21 page)

I
found a tree wide enough around to offer protection and close enough to the
road that he’d have a hard time trying to come up behind me. I kept a constant
watch in the direction I’d come from, scanning and listening and waiting. After
a few minutes, I got the sitting duck feeling again and knew I had to move. He
wasn’t going to play into my hands. Seemed he was always three steps ahead of
me.

I
made a quick dash for another large tree close to the road back in the
direction I’d come from. Keeping my footsteps as light as possible, I continued
to move from tree to tree, circling back, my eyes scanning ahead and above. I
reached the first partial clearing I’d come to and quickly found cover. I
waited there a moment, still listening and searching, my frustration growing
with each passing second.

I
didn’t know where to go from here. He could easily be trying to lure me in to a
trap, or circling around at this moment, planning to come at me from behind. It
seemed no matter what direction I headed into, it could play right into his
plans. He could still be up in the trees for all I knew. I looked up at the
tree I was using for cover, trying to decide if I could take a page out of his
book, but those branches were too high and too spread out for my much shorter
reach.

Nope,
climbing wasn’t going to work for me, but I wasn’t anxious to forge back into
the denser wooded areas. I thought about screaming and then hiding to see if
that would draw him out, but I quickly discarded that thought. It seemed a
little too devious, and if he was close by he would know what I was doing. I
also didn’t want to chance someone else hearing and coming running.

I
decided to circle around toward my original point of defense, planning to cut
through all the way to the far border and work from there. My gun was at the
ready and my eyes were doing constant sweeps, high and low. Still, I missed the
pile of fallen branches until it was too late. By the time my eyes had
registered that there was something odd about them and I started to spin back
around and aim my gun, he’d already uncovered himself and was sitting up, gun
pointed, finger on the trigger, and then a paintball drilled me right between
the eyes of my mask.

I
lowered my gun in defeat and he rose up and started brushing off the needles,
twigs and dirt. We both tugged off our masks at the same time, only where he
wore a pleased expression, I knew mine was anything but.

“That
was fun, and now I’m starving.”

“Why
don’t you eat a banana, freakin’ monkey,” I grumbled.

“Hey,
nowhere in the boundaries did you say I couldn’t go up a tree.”

I
let out a defeated sigh, “I know. I’m just bitter. I’d hoped to put up more of
a fight, not make it so easy for you.”

He
stalked toward me slowly, and then grabbed me by the waist. “I wouldn’t say you
made it easy, sweetheart. It wasn’t exactly a walk in the park climbing through
the trees.”

I
tipped my chin up. “How did you know where I was?”

“You
were easy to track most of the way. I followed your trail right to where the
ground started sloping up, and I could tell you’d tried harder to cover your
tracks. I knew you couldn’t be too far and were probably set up, lying in wait
for me to charge after you. I climbed the tree to scope things out, and that’s
when I spotted what looked to be the perfect hideout. I knew that’s where I’d
go if I was you, because it offered the best advantage. That’s when I decided
to move through the trees and wait for you to pop up. And you did.” He grinned.

I
gave him a light shove and stepped out of his hold. “Next time, I’ll be
prepared for your damn jungle ninja skills.”

He
let out a soft chuckle and hooked me around the waist again. He hauled me flush
against him. “I look forward to hunting you again, but right now I’d like my
prize.”

“Then
let me go and I’ll buy lunch as promised.”

“Not
that prize,” he said slowly, letting his gun fall to the ground. His arm
tightened around my waist and I could feel every hard ridge of his body
pressing into all of my softer curves. He knocked my mask from my head entirely,
and tossed his in the dirt beside it. The cocky, playful grin was gone and I
could see desire pooling in his eyes as he lowered his mouth to take mine in a
hard kiss.

His
other hand knotted in my hair and I let the strap of my gun slip from my
shoulder and join his on the forest floor. I reached my hands up to grab onto
his biceps as my heart rate spiked and he coaxed my lips open with his and
deepened the kiss. My fingers curled around his arms, digging in, and he
crushed me to him, kissing me so hard that my back arched and I bent slightly
backward. He was the only thing holding me up, and then both of his hands were
sliding down my back, caressing over my bottom and grabbing the backs of my
thighs. He scooped me up and I wrapped my legs around his waist, lifting my
hands to cradle his face.

I
gently nipped at his lip and then bit down harder tugging and releasing. A soft
groan slipped from the back of his throat and his hands slid along my thighs
and backside, sampling a feel of my body over my pants as he returned the
favor, biting at my lips, and then scraping his teeth seductively along my jaw
to my neck. I tipped my head back and he began kissing and biting and all I
knew was lips, tongue, teeth and heat.

I
wound my arms around his neck and breathed deeply through the pleasure he was
stirring up inside of me. One hand came up and tugged at the collar of my
hoodie, exposing more of my neck. He bit down harder and I squeezed my legs
around him as a shudder rocked through me. His mouth broke from the sensitive
flesh at my throat and then his lips found mine again and everything intensified.

One
hand snaked up the back of my sweatshirt and shirt, his rough fingers pressing
into my spine as if he was my puppet master and I could do nothing but let him
own me. My heart thrummed louder and louder inside my chest, I could feel each
beat as it threatened to burst free. I craved to feel his warm skin beneath my
fingers, but was denied that touch, and instead wove my fingers in his hair, knocking
his beanie off and pulling strands free from the tie that held his locks back.

 I
met each thrust and stroke of his tongue with my own. It was one hell of a kiss
and as we both neared that breaking point where it wasn’t going to be enough,
he brought us down slowly. The kiss became softer and lighter, less needy and
desperate. His fingers gently trailed down my spine, sending another shudder
through me, and then he slipped his hand free. Both hands went to my waist and
his lips stilled over mine. He rested his forehead against mine, and we stayed
like that for a moment, our eyes closed, just breathing each other in as we
came down from the kiss.

My
chest rose and fell rapidly and my senses spread out, letting the rest of the
world back in, and then when I thought he’d keep me there forever, he gently
set me back on my feet. His hands came up and curled around the back of my skull,
his thumbs caressed along my jaw and he brushed his lips over mine a final time
before he let out a deep breath and took a small step back. His eyes still held
me captive.

“Remember
this moment. If you ever start to doubt me or doubt what this is between us,
just remember this right here.” He took my hand and set it over his chest,
holding it there. “Remember that it was real, that what you felt was real, and
that it was sure as hell real for me.” His voice was softly pleading, and the
tiniest bit of sorrow and maybe even fear slipped through the cracks in his words.

Uncertainty
tugged at my brow. “Why would you say that?”

“Just
please, no matter what happens after today, or how messed up things might seem,
just don’t doubt that what I feel for you is very real.”

“Okay,”
I muttered, still not understanding, but as soon as I said the word, Spencer
seemed to relax. He let go of my hand and then bent to grab our discarded gear.
He slung both guns over his shoulder and held onto the masks and his hat.

I
remembered Em’s jacket, which I’d left back at the fallen trees. “I need to go
back for Emily’s coat,” I told him and we both hiked back to that spot, only the
jacket wasn’t where I’d left it.

I
looked all around, thinking I might have kicked it or tossed it without
realizing in my hurry to escape when I was under fire. Spencer helped me to
search the area, but after a minute I knew it was gone. “I know I left it right
here,” I insisted.

Spencer
took another look around. “It’s possible something dragged it off. Maybe a
raccoon. Or,” his features darkened, “there could be vagrants out here.”

That
seemed the more likely explanation, and as pissed as I was about the jacket, I
really didn’t want to bump into any tweekers. My eyes darted around, not seeing
anyone, but still not trusting that we were alone out here.  

“Let’s
just get out of here. I’ll buy her a new jacket.”

If
she comes back.

No.
When.

It
was late in the afternoon when Spencer pulled his truck into my driveway. I
glanced at my house, my empty house, and thought about how much I didn’t want
to spend the rest of the day in there by myself. I flicked my gaze back to
Spencer who was watching me, probably waiting for me to make some kind of move
to get out of his truck. When I just sat there, he picked up on my reluctance.

“What’s
up?”

“It’s
so quiet in there. Too quiet. I can turn the TV on or have my music playing and
it does nothing to break it up.”

He
looked like he understood, but he didn’t offer to come in with me, or invite me
home with him. I knew he wouldn’t. He’d wait for me to ask, to make sure it was
my choice, what I wanted. And it was.

“Do
you have to be somewhere?”

“No,”
he answered.

“Would
you spend the rest of the day with me?”

His
answer was to shut off the truck and slip the keys into his pocket. Then he
climbed out and came around to my door, pulling it open for me and offering his
hand to help me climb down. “Go ahead and I’ll grab your stuff.”

I
got inside and shut off the alarm and then he came in carrying my bag of gear. We
both kicked off our dirty boots, and I told him he could set the gear by the
closet and I’d worry about cleaning and putting it away later.

I
abandoned him in my living room while I changed out of my combat clothes and
cleaned up. We wasted the rest of the day on the couch playing cards and
watching TV re-runs. I killed him at cribbage but then he regained his dignity
at poker and rummy. When dinner time rolled around and he still hadn’t gotten
up to leave, I offered to make us something to eat. He insisted on helping. I
pulled out everything to make tacos, but when he saw my jar of salsa, he took
it from me and put it back in the fridge.

“You
can’t have tacos without homemade salsa.” He proceeded to rummage through my
fridge and came away with just an onion. He pulled his keys from his pocket.
“I’ll go to the store, is there anything else you need?”

“You
don’t have to do that. The jar stuff is fine for tonight,” I tried to protest,
but he just kissed me on the forehead and said I’d thank him after I’d tried
his life-changing salsa. I rolled my eyes, but let him go. While he was gone I
started prepping everything else. When he returned with his supplies, I observed
the master at work while the meat cooked. He didn’t use any form of
measurements, just threw bits of this and that in the food processor.

When
he was done, he reached in one of the grocery sacks and pulled out a bag of the
best tortilla chips. He tasted the salsa first and then dipped a chip and
brought it to my lips. I opened and let him place it in my mouth before biting
down.

I’d
doubted him. I shouldn’t have. It was good. Really, really good. I couldn’t
remember having ever had better salsa, not even at my favorite Mexican
restaurant.

“Damn,
you should be bottling that stuff.”

“It’s
even better when you cook it first, but it’s good even prepared quick.”

I
didn’t have a dining table, so we dished up and sat on the stools on the backside
of the island counter. After dinner he helped me with all of the clean-up and
then we retreated to the living room. He settled onto the couch, stretching out
all six feet and some odd inches of raw, masculine beauty before my hungry
eyes. He grabbed my arm and pulled me down with him, my back against his chest.
I relaxed into him and he grabbed the blanket off the back of the couch and
draped it over us, before snatching up the remote and finding a movie on. We
watched Ryan Reynolds and Sandra Bullock in The Proposal. He’d never seen it,
and I’d never heard him laugh so much as he did during the scenes with Betty
White, especially when she and Sandra Bullock were dancing in the woods. His
laughter vibrated through the both of us and I hoped we’d have more nights like
this one.

“You’re
like a heated blanket,” he teased after a while, sitting up and stripping off
his sweatshirt before letting me snuggle back into him, where I fell asleep
during the second movie.

I
didn’t wake until I felt him shift beneath me and then scoop me up into his
arms. I let out a sleepy little sigh, and he kissed my forehead and then
carried me to my bedroom. He laid me on the bed and tucked the covers around
me.

“Go
back to sleep. I’ll set the security system on my way out and I’ll see you
tomorrow.” He briefly kissed my lips and then left me in bed. I heard the beep
that meant he’d armed the system and the front door open and closed. The red
lights of the alarm clock on my night stand told me it was just after midnight.
I drifted back to sleep and slept until the alarm clock woke me at five.

I
went through my usual morning routine, but my mind kept playing over the day
before, putting a smile on my lips that was usually absent until several cups
of coffee kicked in and worked their magic. I found myself wanting to text him
good morning, but restrained myself. I didn’t know what time he got up in the
mornings, but it probably wasn’t this early. I remembered I hadn’t gone to bed
with my phone last night because Spencer had carried me to my room. Usually I
charged it at night, which meant it was probably dead. I found it on the coffee
table in the living room at twenty-two percent. That was enough to get me to the
shop where I could plug it in.

I
also noticed I had an unread message from an unknown number. I was slightly
disappointed that it wasn’t from Spencer, but then reminded myself it was
doubtful he was awake. I opened the message and then snorted a short laugh, because
whoever sent the message had clearly intended for it to go to someone else.

I’m
thinking of you tonight, baby.

I
thought about shooting a reply to let them know they had the wrong
baby,
but
decided not to. Whoever it was would probably be embarrassed. I deleted it and
finished getting ready so I would have time to swing by Sweet Indulgence and
pick up this morning’s order.

I
hadn’t even made it out the door when someone knocked. Before turning off the security
alarm, I peeked out the skinny strip of window beside the front door and saw
Clint with Shep standing outside the outer porch door. I disengaged the alarm
and then opened up the doors.

Clint
took me in and Shep immediately started nuzzling my hand with his nose until I showed
him some love. “Good, I was hoping I wouldn’t be catching you on a morning off
and waking you up.”

“Nope,
I’m up. What do you need?” I rubbed behind Shep’s ears.

“Do
you have a minute or are you in a rush?”

“I’ve
got a minute if you and Shep want to come in.” I held the door open and Shep
wasted no time brushing past me, and his master followed. I led them to the
kitchen where I finished brewing a cup of espresso and filled my travel mug.
“Can I make you one?” I offered.

“No
thanks. I don’t want to keep you. I just wanted to stop by before I head to
work to let you know that I was coming home late from Seattle last night, and
when I passed by your place I noticed someone was parked out front. I circled
around the block but by the time I passed by again they’d left.

“Oh,
that was just a friend who hung out late.”

He
visibly relaxed. “Oh good, I wasn’t sure what to do. I didn’t want to come over
here and wake you if it was nothing, and I wasn’t sure if I should call the
police and have them come check out the neighborhood. I decided not to since
whoever it was had left, but I just thought two o’clock in the morning was a
strange time for someone to be out. I had a hard time falling asleep last night
worrying about you over here.”

I
frowned. “Two o’clock? Are you sure about the time?”

“Yes,
like I said I was coming home from Seattle and I didn’t get out of the city
until midnight.”

“What
kind of vehicle was it? A big black truck?”

“No.
A car. Black and sporty looking. I didn’t get a good look.”
Dammit, that
sounded like Nathan’s car.

“And
it was in my drive?”

He
started to pick up on my worry. “No, parked on the street in front of your
place. It wasn’t your friend was it?”

I
shook my head. “No. He drives a truck and he left just after midnight.”

“I
knew I should have called the cops. At least reported it and had them do a
drive-by of the neighborhood.”

“It’s
okay. I think I know who it was. I’ll take care of it.” I was beginning to
think James was right and that I did need to get the police involved. Sitting
outside my house in the middle of the night was definitely crossing a line, and
he’d already crossed a few.

After
Clint and Shep left, I tried calling Spencer, hoping he wouldn’t mind that it
wasn’t even six yet, but he didn’t answer. My stomach sank. I wanted to talk to
him. I needed his reassurance, or maybe I just needed him.

I
made sure the alarm was set when I left the house, but I still couldn’t shake
the creepy feeling I had. The sun wasn’t up yet, and the dark did little to
help that feeling. By the time I got into work, I’d managed to shake it off. I
planned to call Detective Parker, I wanted an update on the case and hoped he
would be able to give me some advice on how to handle my stalkerish situation,
because that’s clearly what it was turning into.

I
hoped Spencer would be in this morning. I was sure he’d have an opinion on
Nathan being outside my house last night. Around nine, I got a message from him
that he had work stuff to handle, but he would try to be in later. The shop was
extremely busy and Reggie and I were both working to get Tiffany up to speed,
so I didn’t take the time to text him back.

It
was almost noon when a group of ladies from an office a few blocks away came in
on their break, and I couldn’t help but hear the conversation they were having.
Apparently Dana Winters had been found this morning. Reggie heard them too.

“Do
you want me to turn the news on?”

I
shook my head. “No, I really don’t think I can deal with it this morning.” But
I couldn’t escape it. I couldn’t stop wondering if anything had been left with
the body. Another business card or some other clue that tied Emily to the
killer.

By
three, Spencer still hadn’t stopped by and to make matters worse, Mitch didn’t
show up for his shift and wasn’t answering his phone. I was able to get Cassie
to come in and once again she was dropped off by Will. She bounced in
cheerfully, until she caught on to the mood in the shop. I wasn’t the only
somber one. Cassie hadn’t heard the news yet. She blushed when she said she and
Will hadn’t left bed all day until I’d called. I sort of wished I could lock
myself away from the world in my bedroom with Spencer and just ignore
everything but him. It would be so nice to escape, if even just for a little
while.

I
left Cassie and Nina in charge up front and went to the office. I tried calling
Spencer first, but only reached his voicemail. I didn’t leave a message. He’d
see that I called. Next I called Detective Parker. At least he answered, and
after asking him if they’d discovered anything when Dana was found, he informed
me that he’d been about to call me and then requested that I stop by the
station tonight when I got off work or in the morning. Reggie was opening the
next day so I let Detective Parker know I would be in first thing the next day.
I hoped this meant they had something.

When
I closed up the shop, I regretted not telling the detective I would stop by
tonight. As late as it was, I didn’t think I’d be able to sleep with so many
questions running through my brain. I went home and discovered a large bouquet
of roses on my porch. The sight of them soured my stomach. It had been a few
weeks and I wasn’t happy he was back at it. I supposed it beat coming home to
find him waiting on my porch. Rather than take them inside, I just scooped them
up and threw them out into the yard. I was sick of Nathan and this whole day.

I
went in and avoided the news, but called my mother. Not surprisingly, she was
anxious with worry and I could tell she’d been holding herself back from
calling me all day. Before we hung up she insisted that I call her the moment I
left the station in the morning.

Then
I tried James. I was surprised to reach him as he’d already left the state, and
was currently somewhere else in the country or world. He didn’t say where, but
did let me know he’d talked to his parents who had to make their own visit to
the police station today. He said they didn’t learn much, only that they were
asked to identify any items as belonging to Emily. They told him it was
clothing, but they were unable to say for sure if any of it was hers. I figured
that’s what Detective Parker wanted me for. I would know.

I
promised him the same thing I had my mother, that I would call him after my
chat with the detective and let him know what was up. Even if I had to leave a
message on his voicemail, he wanted to be kept up to date and said if I didn’t
get him, he’d call me back as soon as he could. A third call to Spencer went
unanswered, yet again.