by Cassia Leo
He lets me go abruptly and gets to his feet, holding out a hand to help me up. “We should find Steve.”
I turn away from him so I can breathe onto my hand, checking my breath as I get to my feet on my own. My breath smells fine.
Why didn’t he kiss me?
Ugh. I totally misread him.
He probably has a girlfriend. Heck, he’s probably gay with a gorgeous face and body like that. I always pick the wrong guys.
“Did you dig that hole yourself?” he asks as I turn around to face him.
I stare at the ditch, where the leaves and netting have collapsed into a heap. “Obviously, a girl can’t be too careful these days,” I reply, unable to hide my frustration as I think of how the holes didn’t seem to deter the burglars. “They trashed my house. It looks like they took a sledgehammer to the walls.”
“They what?” he asks, sounding far angrier than I would expect for a guy who won’t even kiss me. “Never mind. Let’s go grab some flashlights and look for Steve.”
It takes us a couple of hours, but we find Steve in one of my booby-trap holes.
“Steve!” I exclaim with glee as I jump into the ditch with her and give her a suffocating hug.
“Do you want to file a police report?” Colton asks as I examine Steve for injuries.
“No,” I reply quickly. “No, I doubt they took anything of value. A police report would be more trouble than it’s worth.”
“Are you sure?” he asks, fixing me with a skeptical glare.
“Yes. It doesn’t look like Steve is hurt, so there’s no reason to press charges. Getting burgled is just the cost of living out here in meth country,” I say, my anxiety ratcheting up higher with every excuse.
“Yeah, it’s a good thing this hole was here for Steve to hide in. Did you really dig all these holes yourself?” he asks, cocking an eyebrow.
“Some of them were here before I moved in,” I reply.
They weren’t.
I dug both of those booby-traps. And there’s a bunch more of those — as well as more guns and money — hidden throughout the property.
“All right, Stevie. You’re looking good. Is it time to go home?” I ask as I rub her sides vigorously. “Thank you so much for helping me find her.”
“Don’t thank me yet. I can still leave you both in that hole,” Colton replies, laughing when my eyes widen with fear. “I’m kidding. Give me the dog.”
Back at the house, he insists on helping me clean up the broken dishes and drywall. Despite him constantly proving his benevolence, I watch Colton closely, making sure he doesn’t snoop in my belongings.
Paranoid.
I think that will be the title of my next song.
“You should probably sleep at my house tonight,” he declares as he tosses the contents of the dustpan into the waste bin under the kitchen sink, as if he’s making a casual suggestion. “I’ll go to the hardware store first thing in the morning to get some security cameras and deadbolts and stuff.”
I look at him like he’s crazy. I’m about to ask if he’s trying to get in my pants when I remember his refusal to kiss me earlier. Mr. Nice-Guy, who claims he’s “anything but sweet,” probably wants to make sure I sleep soundly tonight…alone in his bed while he sleeps on the couch.
I let out a huge sigh, unable to hide my sexual frustration. “Okay.”
He chuckles. “That didn’t take much convincing.”
I glare at him like a teenager who’s just been informed they’ll have to spend the night at Grandma’s house without their cell phone. “You can’t tell, but inside, I’m brimming with excitement. I’ll go get my jammies.”
After a few hours spent searching for Steve and cleaning up my house, it’s nearly nine p.m. when Colton and I set off across my backyard toward his cabin. I have a strong urge to fill the silence with a joke as we walk across the dry grass, but I manage to control myself.
As we pass through his backyard, I notice a shovel and some timber on a small patch of dirt near his dock. Maybe he’s planning to build me a wooden coffin and bury me there.
His back porch is nicer than mine, but I do remember him hammering away at it recently. He’s wasting no time making this cabin a home. I find myself feeling guilty as a sad thought crosses my mind: Maybe I could get over not having a family anymore if Colton would just kiss me.
Pathetic. That should be the next song I write after “Paranoid.”
He opens the back door, and his kitchen lights automatically turn on. “Welcome home,” he says with a smile that makes my skin tingle.
I shake my head. “Do you have motion-activated lights?”
He waits for Steve to enter, then closes the door behind us. “You never know when your hands will be too full to hit the switch.”
I swallow hard to keep myself from asking him to hit my switch. I’m about to remark on the lack of sofa and the pile of tools and lumber in the corner of the living room when he suddenly yanks off his T-shirt.
“Gotta take a shower. I’m still covered in grease,” he proclaims. “You wanna join me?”
I cock an eyebrow. “Excuse me?”
He laughs as he heads toward the hallway. “Make yourself at home. There are snacks in the cupboard, water in the fridge, cozy mattress in the bedroom,” he says, pointing at an open doorway next to him. “I won’t be long.”
I let out a sigh as he disappears into the bathroom and I hear the shower turn on. He didn’t give me enough time to think about joining him.
I beckon Steve away from the tools in the corner and head for the bedroom, where I drop my overnight bag on the bed. Is it a coincidence that my house gets broken into and my smoking hot neighbor — who only has one bed and no sofa — offers to let me spend the night?
I’m about to grab my bag and get the hell out of there when I hear the shower turn off. I decide to sit on the edge of the mattress looking like a complete idiot as I wait for Colton.
He enters the bedroom with a towel wrapped around his waist, exposing his abs and the top of the V-shaped groove in the muscles that disappear below the terry cloth. His tanned skin glistens with beaded moisture, and the grin on his face tells me he knows he looks good enough to devour.
“Just grabbing some clothes and I’ll be out of your hair,” he declares as he pulls some gray boxer briefs and a white undershirt out of a dresser in his closet. “I’m gonna get the rolling cot out of my garage and sleep in the living room. If you need anything at all, I’ll be right out there.”
Even if what I need is a good hammering?
“I’m sure I’ll be fine,” I reply. “Thank you for letting me stay here.”
He smiles at me as he stands in the doorway looking like a Greek God. “I just want you to feel safe. Goodnight, Jo-Jo.”
I barely manage to suppress my nervous laughter. “Goodnight, Co-Co.”
10. King
Present Day
Agent Stanley’s frustration with me is growing along with his suspicions. His angular face is a slightly darker shade of pink now, and a new line has formed between his ginger eyebrows. His jaw is set, and he appears to be gnashing his teeth, almost like he’s geared up on cocaine. Maybe it’s finally time for Bad Cop to make an appearance.
But I’m not worried. Not one single bit.
Once you’ve been bitten by a tiger, a mosquito bite doesn’t hurt.
I allow myself to think about that tiger, but only briefly. I let myself smell the gasoline and Garrett’s burnt flesh. Let the panic rise in my chest for just a brief moment, then I shut it off like a leaky tap. No use crying over spilled milk…or gasoline.
“Why wasn’t the break-in reported to police?” Stanley asks, his pink face taut with anger.
I shrug. “She didn’t want to report it.”
“And you just went along with it? You weren’t worried about your house being so close to a house that had just been broken into?”
I shake my head. “I’m not the worrying kind.”
“Clearly,” he mutters,
pushing his chair out as if he’s going to stand, but he doesn’t. “Any idea who may have broken in? I mean, did Izzy seem upset or surprised she’d become a victim of such a terrifying crime so quickly after moving into her new home?”
I let out a sigh. “She looked scared, but I tried to reassure her she was safe.”
“How would you know if she was safe? Obviously, knowing what we know today, she wasn’t safe. So why would you tell her that?”
I chuckle. “I was trying to set her mind at ease. There’s no use in making her panic.”
He shakes his head. “Maybe you should have let her panic. Maybe then she wouldn’t be missing, huh?” He stares me down for a moment. “You don’t seem to give a shit that your neighbor, who you clearly cared for, is missing. Her blood is all over the scene of the crime. That doesn’t mean anything to you?”
Don’t fall for this asshole’s tactics. Don’t let him rile you up.
My jaw is clenched as I force myself to keep my mouth shut. Stanley and I stare each other down for a long, tense moment, my vision swirling with anger at his accusation. He has no fucking clue how much I care for Izzy. He has no fucking clue how much I regret.
The muscles in his face slacken as he seems pleased to have riled me up. “Did she easily agree to have a security system installed by you?”
I look away and stare at the drab gray wall for a change. “I guess.”
“So you knew the security code for the alarm?”
“No, sir.”
He shakes his head. “Well, do you know why the cameras weren’t operational the night she disappeared? I mean, we got footage every night up until last night. We got you two going in and out of that house every day up until Thursday. Izzy’s alone, coming and going out of the house on Friday and Saturday. Then, poof, she’s gone, and there’s no footage from yesterday. Seems pretty fucking convenient, don’t you think?”
“Actually, I think it’s pretty fucking inconvenient, but what do I know. I just want to find my fucking—friend.”
He smiles. “Your friend?”
I don’t respond.
He nods. “Seems like she was a lot more than a friend… Seems you two were getting pretty close… Care to elaborate on the nature of your relationship? Was it sexual?”
11. Izzy
August 3rd
I wake to find a note on the pillow next to me, Colton’s pillow. It reads:
At your house installing sec sys & new locks
My heart explodes into a hard sprint. Is Colton looking for the suitcase?
Jumping out of bed, I quickly get dressed in the T-shirt and shorts I arrived in last night. Then I fetch Steve from where she’s conked out on a rug in Colton’s living room.
The morning sunlight blazes in the clearing between my house and Colton’s. The glare on the lake burns blue spots into my vision as I race home. I burst through my back door, across the kitchen, and tumble into the living room, where I find Colton standing next to a keypad near the front door.
He looks up from his phone and smiles. “Good morning, sunshine,” he says in that drop-dead sexy country boy accent. “You’re just in time. I just finished setting up a temporary code for your security system. You can log into the manufacturer’s website to change the code. You just have to—” He tilts his head as he looks at me curiously. “Are you okay? You look like you just saw a ghost?”
I clutch the cramp in my side and nod. “I’m fine. Just… Just worried that… Just thought you might need a hand.”
He cocks an eyebrow as he steps toward me. “I installed glass-break detectors on all the windows,” he says, sidling up next to me so he can show me his phone screen.
He smells freshly-showered with a hint of salty sweat. The smell is intoxicatingly crisp and warm all at once, like cozying up next to a fire after a day on the slopes. His forearm bumps my arm as he sidles up next to me, and it sends a current of electricity crackling through me.
My shoulders suddenly feel weak, like I couldn’t lift my arms right now if my life depended on it. My legs have turned to jelly, and I lock my knees to keep myself upright.
Holy crap. Colton is my kryptonite.
“I also installed contacts on all the doors and windows and motion sensors in the living room and kitchen,” he continues, tapping something on his phone. “Anyone tries to get in here when the system is armed, an alarm will blare, and you’ll have forty-five seconds to disarm before the authorities are automatically contacted.”
Forty-five seconds to disarm? More like five seconds and one long whiff of his manly scent.
He steps sideways and shoots me a funny look. “Are you sure you’re okay?”
I shake my head as I attempt to break the spell. “What the hell is that smell?”
He chuckles as he lifts the collar of his gray T-shirt to his nose to take a whiff. “Is it me? It might be me. I’ve been sweating up a storm.”
“Yes, it’s you. I mean—No! Actually, yes. But no, you don’t smell bad. It smells good. Is it, like, some kind of cologne or something? What is it? It’s driving me crazy.”
He laughs again as he lets go of his shirt and steps closer to me. “It’s Versace Eros. You want me to get you some?”
Only if it comes with a big side of Colton.
“No, thanks,” I reply, making no attempt to put more distance between us. “You could’ve woken me up, you know. I would have helped you install all of this. So what’s the temporary code?”
“Like I said, you’ll have to log into the manufacturer’s website,” he says, showing me the website on his phone. “Once you log in, you can change the password and email on your account. Once, you install the app on your phone, you can reset the security code.”
I pull my phone out of my pocket and navigate to the website in my browser. “What’s the username to log in?”
“It’s my email address,” he says, then he rattles off a Gmail address for me to enter.
“The password?”
He doesn’t respond right away, so I look up to see what he’s waiting for. Our eyes meet and my breath catches in my throat.
He smiles as his eyes remain locked on mine. “JoJoMa. One word. No spaces. All lowercase.”
I let out a soft chuckle. “Jojoma? Like Yo-Yo Ma?”
“It’s just temporary,” he clarifies, turning his attention back to his phone.
I sigh as I type “jojoma” and tap enter to begin the process of changing the email address and password on my account. “Is there a monthly monitoring fee for this system?”
“You’ll have to contact the customer service number to activate the system and talk about that. The packaging said the system comes with six months free monitoring, but you’ll have to verify that. Do you want me to install the security cameras I picked up? If not, I can easily return them?”
I look up at him and cock an eyebrow. “You’re not going to ask me to pay you back for this system? How much did it cost?”
His gaze travels down my face, lingering briefly on my lips before he pulls back up to look me in the eye. “Actually, I was thinking you could just repay me by going fishing with me on the lake?”
A warm sensation spreads through me, and I can’t stop a goofy grin from forming on my face. “Are you asking me on a date?”
He chuckles. “Well, you’ve already slept in my bed, young lady. I figured we oughta share a meal at some point. Have you been fishing on Rhodhiss Lake yet?”
My smile disappears as I realize what he’s asking. “Nope,” I reply, trying to keep my tone even. “There’s probably gators in there.”
He shakes his head. “I’m not asking if you want to go diving for clams with me.”
My eyes widen at the innuendo.
He laughs again. “Not what I meant. I’m just asking if you want to hang those pretty legs off the dock and toss in a line. That’s all.”
I glance down at my bare legs and smile. “You think I have pretty legs?”
He tilts his head as his blu
e eyes bore into me. “I think about your pretty legs a lot.”
My stomach does somersaults inside me. “Well, you’ve convinced me. I think we should definitely go fishing.”
He flashes me a gorgeous smile. And as I follow him outside to say goodbye — for now — I have a hard time focusing on the words coming out of his sexy mouth. But it’s not just the butterflies in my belly and the pulsing ache between my legs distracting me. It’s our impending date.
I’ve never been fishing in my life. And I’ve sure as hell never gone fishing off a dock where I’ve tied a suitcase full of money to the pylons.
12. King
August 4th
I plunge the shovel into the hardened dirt about twenty feet from the water’s edge. The mineral aroma of fresh earth mixes with the briny smell of warm lake water and reminds me of summers in Tennessee. I inhale deeply, savoring the nostalgia like a fine wine.
When this job is finished, I’ll be lucky if I’m not in federal prison. Hell, I’ll be lucky just to be alive. I have to enjoy these small pleasures while I still can.
Today, I’m digging the ditch and shaping the walls for a new fire pit. After spending most of yesterday installing a home security system and new door hardware at Izzy’s house, it’s nice to get back to work on my own property.
It was almost too easy to get Izzy to agree to let me install a “security system” in her home. And my early-bird schedule, which I never could shake after leaving the military, made it all too simple to get the system set up and running before she woke yesterday morning. Not that she isn’t entirely without her doubts about my motives.
When Izzy woke in my bed yesterday and found a note saying I was at her property installing the security system, I’m pretty sure she panicked a bit. She arrived at her house with Steve about half-past eight looking like she’d seen a ghost.
I quickly set her mind at ease. She even took the bait when I distracted her from asking about the cost of the system. Ultimately, she thanked me profusely for helping with her “security crisis.”
