by E L Irwin
Ryler stepped to me, his arm going around me pulling me close. Then he led me over to the couch, and we sat down. I didn’t have long to wonder who he was on the phone with. “Yeah, Detective. I will. I’ll call right now. Just wanted you to know. Yeah. Bye.”
“What’s in the box, Ryler?” My voice was low, choked with emotion.
He took a deep breath, his arm tightening around me, and said, “A note, and… and the carcass of a dead cat. Its color is similar to Josephine, so I just wanted to be sure. This one has been dead a long, long while.”
I wanted to throw up at that. My hand covered my mouth as I tried to control the urge to heave. “This… this is… this is sick.”
“It is sick. In every way, this is sick.” Ryler squeezed my hand gently then said, “I need to call the police, all right?”
I just took a slow deep breath and indicated I’d heard him, too spent to do much of anything else. How had Amber known about my cat? How did she know my address here? Had I ever mentioned Josephine on the blog page? I tried to remember. The box had arrived while Harley was here. And nothing else had happened since she’d left. What if she was somehow involved? Oh my gosh. I stuttered over this thought. What if Harley was Amber? No. No, she couldn’t be. Why would she do something like that? Harley would never hurt me.
“Chief is on his way over. I spoke with Detective Whitaker. He took the report, said to call the local police here.”
“Okay,” I whispered. “What — what did the note say?”
Ryler sighed, shaking his head in controlled anger. “It was pretty simple. It just said, ‘Who will be next?’”
Just then we heard a knock at the door. Ryler went to answer it. Chief looked angry. Cold. His eyes went to me, and I stood up as he approached, then Chief wrapped me in his arms. “You all right?” he rumbled.
Breathing deeply, I inclined my head and just tried to remain calm.
“No, you’re not,” he said as he stepped back to look me over. “You’re frightened. This sicko will not hurt you, AJ.”
“But what about others? What if she hurts someone else? What if it’s you guys?”
“You don’t need to worry about us. Rye and I can take care of ourselves.”
“But what about the others? She’s already proven she’ll hurt them. I just wish I knew what she wanted.”
“And what if you knew, AJ?” Ryler asked. “Would you comply with her demands?”
“No… I don’t know. I just want to know. Maybe it’ll make sense if I knew.”
“Evil never makes sense. It’s just evil. And we have to stand against it,” Chief said.
He was right. I knew he was right. But it was the not knowing that was the hardest. I worried over who this person was, what he or she wanted. And why. Why make these choices? Why take these actions?
Another knock at the door had Ryler going back to answer it. Moments later, he led the officer into the room. “Miss McAdams? I’m Detective Andrews with the Sequim Police Department. I’ve already spoken with Detective Whitaker with the CPD. He’s filled me in on what’s been happening. May I see the box?”
Ryler said, “It’s here, Caleb.” Then he pointed it out to the officer.
Detective Andrews squatted down to look at the contents. He set down a small bag, almost like a briefcase, before opening it and withdrawing a pair of rubber gloves. He then pulled a pencil from inside and began to search through the box, lifting or moving around the things inside it. He worked quietly but swiftly. Several minutes later, having taken numerous photos, he dusted for fingerprints then bagged the contents. He pulled the gloves off and shoved them in his pants pocket as he stood to his feet.
“Miss McAdams,” the detective said as he approached me again. “When did you receive this package?”
I thought for a moment then said, “It was Monday, September the tenth.”
“You sound very certain of the date.”
“I am. The day before, I’d just picked up my best friend at the airport in Seattle. The package arrived the day after she got here. We’d been out hiking when it was dropped off.”
“Why wait until now to open it?”
“I thought… I thought it might be from a new book publisher, maybe soliciting me to read a book for them. They do that sometimes. I was having company over that night, so I put it in the front closet there. I rarely ever use that closet and just forgot about it. I only looked for it because she—”
“Amber, you mean?”
“Yes, Amber. She had asked if I’d received her package.”
“Asked you when, how?”
“Early this morning. It was posted to my blog page.”
“She posted the question, asking if you had received her package?”
“Yes.”
“And you don’t have any idea who this Amber person is?”
I shook my head. “No, no I don’t.”
“Miss McAdams, is there anywhere you can go? Anyone you feel safe with?”
“AJ’s going to come stay with me, Caleb.” Ryler turned to me. “Don’t argue. Amber, or whoever the heck she is, knows your address here as well. You’re not staying here by yourself any longer.”
“But, what about Josephine? Won’t she just find me there, at your house anyway?”
“You can bring the cat with you. Shiv won’t mind. If Amber brings the fight to us, to my doorstep, then I’ll unleash hell on her.”
“Go with him, kid,” Chief chimed in. “Trust us on this.”
Unable to come up with any other excuses, I finally bobbed my head in agreement. “I need to pack some things,” I told them.
“Go ahead.” Ryler indicated. “I’ll wait right here. Then I’m taking you to my place.”
Nodding again, I turned and headed upstairs.
It was like the light inside AJ had gone out. Ryler watched her trudge up the staircase and wanted to kill someone. Break something. Once she was out of sight, he turned to Officer Andrews. “What do you think?”
“I think this has strong potential to be a disaster if not handled correctly,” he warned. “I’ll take this back to the office, send it off to be processed. It’ll go to Seattle. That’s the nearest lab. Might take several weeks to get any results back. So, you guys need to keep a close eye on things.”
Ryler and Chief agreed and saw him to the door. “Thanks, Caleb. Keep me posted on what you find out,” Ryler told him before closing the door.
“Speaking of things found out,” Chief said. “You asked me to look into Paul Ashland.”
“Yeah?” Ryler’s gaze sharpened.
“There’s not much, and we had to dig deep, but we did learn a couple things. He’s former military. Served in Iraq a few years after Jake and before you arrived on the scene. He was a sharp-shooter, until he was court-martialed and dishonorably discharged for conduct unbecoming.”
“Interesting. I wonder if AJ knows that about her former roommate?”
Chief just shrugged. “You asked me to check, so I did.”
“Who was your source on this?”
“Samuel Darrante. You saw him at the ride. Him and his new wife. That man has more connections that you could imagine.”
“I’m indebted. Thank you.”
“He said to tell you, if you asked who supplied that information, that his debt is now paid to you.”
Something flashed in Ryler’s eyes as he thought back to that mission, but then he just nodded as they settled back to wait for AJ to finish packing.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Witch Hunt
Ryler unlocked the door to his cabin and swung it wide to let me in. Shiv greeted us as we stepped over the threshold, tail wagging, nose sniffing. Josephine grumbled at the hound’s curiosity from inside her crate. “This way,” Ryler said, patting Shiv and nudging him aside as he led me up to the second floor. “Stay, Shiv,” he told the dog, who sat down obediently with a deep sigh. “My room is there on the first floor. You’ll have the upstairs to yourself. There’s a smal
l, private living room — it’s more of a study, I guess — and fireplace down the hall here at the end.” He jerked his chin to his left then turned to go right. “And your room is here. There’s an attached bathroom.”
The room Ryler led me into wasn’t as big as the one I currently resided in at Jake’s house, but it was still lovely. There was a queen-sized bed, a matching dresser, two nightstands, and a wingback chair. The walls were white-washed split logs, the floors stained a dark color. The bedding, chair, and curtains were all in varying, yet complementing, shades of green. Ryler set my bag on the bed and all of the cat necessities on the floor beside it. “I’ll leave you to it. Get her settled in.” He nodded at Josephine’s crate. “Then, if you want, come on back downstairs, and I’ll make breakfast.”
I blew out a breath and gave him a quick thumbs up. Ryler silently left, closing the door behind himself.
The bathroom was larger than I expected. That was a bonus. I decided to put Josephine’s litter box and bowls in there, rather than in the bedroom. Once I had the box down and filled, I opened the crate door so she could come out. While she inspected her surroundings, I got her food and water bowls set out for her and made sure they were filled.
Taking a few moments to simply breathe and settle myself, I stood before the mirror in the bathroom and studied my reflection. My hair was longer, needing a trim once more. Stress and worry were taking their toll; pale, almost bruise-like stains now resided under my eyes. And my skin seemed sallow. I needed sunshine, heat, the sound of the ocean waves. I needed Amber — or whoever had killed Mrs. Carson and was now threatening me — to be behind bars. And sleep. I could probably use a good amount of sleep as well.
My belly rumbled then, reminding me that I also needed food. So, I told Josephine to stay, and I left, closing the door behind me. From below, I smelled coffee and bacon, and my stomach again roared in answer. All right, I’m going, I grumbled back to it. Following my nose to the kitchen, I found Ryler standing at the stove, tending to the bacon as well as a pan of eggs he was scrambling.
Apparenlty hearing some silent sound, he turned to me as I entered the room. His blue-gray eyes flared with some emotion that flashed in and out before I could read it properly. Then he indicated the steaming coffee mug sitting on the table.
“Thank you.” I moved toward it and sat down. Shiv waited until I was seated before coming to greet me. And as he stood beside me, tail again wagging, I marveled at how massive he was. His back was taller than the table. He put his large head onto my lap, just letting it rest there, as if he was trying to comfort me. I let my fingers drift over him and comb through his thick, wavy fur, feeling a little of the tension begin to ease.
Ryler brought me a plate and fork and set them on the table in front of me. Then he brought a small glass of orange juice and a napkin. I waited to begin eating until he sat down as well. Shiv sighed deeply then lay down under the table, hoping, I was sure, for any wayward pieces. “You’re not afraid of the kitchen, are you?” I asked Ryler as I took my first bite. Everything was cooked to perfection.
“Not afraid of much, really,” he replied, also eating.
“Thank you.” I said after a moment or two. “For… for everything. For… the coffee, bacon, the eggs, letting me and Josephine crash at your bachelor pad.”
Ryler chuckled at that. “Well, you don’t exactly make it difficult.” A heat was there in the tone of his voice, an implication. One I wanted to explore. He looked up at me then, those storm-tossed eyes turning a liquid silver. My breath stuttered in my chest, and I felt jittery, as if I needed to move, wanted to move. Toward him. I wanted to climb into his lap, curl up there, and breathe him in. I wondered if this was how Josephine felt when she’d head for that patch of sunlight then stretched and curled into it, just absorbing its heat. At this point, I doubted I’d be shocked if I began purring.
“Um, so… what do we do now?” My voice came out way lower than I’d anticipated, almost sultry. Clearing my throat, I continued, “About Amber, I mean?”
Ryler studied me quietly then said, “About Amber… we wait. And hopefully flush her out. There’s no sense in rushing into a witch hunt when we don’t even know who all the players are. So, we’ll wait it out.”
“All right.” I rolled my shoulders, trying to ease some of tension I was feeling there.
“You can set up your workstation wherever. Here, on the porch, upstairs. Whatever works for you.”
“Okay.”
“I’ll be in and out all day. Not far — in case you need me. But you won’t be tripping over me either.”
“You don’t have to. Don’t leave because of me, Ryler. I don’t want to run you out of your house.”
“You’re not. Trust me. I have work to do. And I figure you probably want to work as well. And…” He blew out a sigh. “…if I stay away, you’ll have more opportunity to accomplish that work. Because if I stay here… if I stay, I’m going to spend a fair amount of time doing all the things taking place in my head right now.”
Heat stabbed through me, and I shivered. “Okay,” I breathed, not sure just which okay I’d been agreeing to. Okay, he should go? Or, okay, he should stay.
Ryler stood to his feet, taking his plate with him.
“I’ll do the dishes,” I said as he reached the sink.
He ducked his head, not meeting my eyes, as if maybe he didn’t trust himself.
Standing, I finished the last bite of bacon and carried my plate with me. Ryler stepped back, giving me room.
“The soap is here in the dispenser. Towels are in the drawer there, third from the bottom.”
Nodding at his instruction, I picked up the sponge. Turning the hot water on, I started the sink filling with soapy water. When I turned to wipe off the table, I saw that Ryler was already gone. Making quick work of the table, I washed and dried it before the sink was even full. Next, I took several paper towels and laid them in the frying pan to soak up the grease from the bacon. Then I scraped the plates clean into the trash.
I washed quietly, lost in my thoughts, and was just setting the last dish onto the drying rack when Ryler was suddenly at my back, leaning into me, carefully pressing me into the counter. His arms made a cage around me, holding me in place, one on either side of me. His breath gave me the slightest of warnings, just before his mouth touched against the back of my neck.
“Mmm, woman…” he growled, making goose bumps rise. “I told myself I’d stay away. Give you space. That I wouldn’t do… this. And yet… here I am.” His nose traced the shell of my ear, breathing me in, continuing his thoughts, “Why is that, do you think?”
Answers were impossible to come by as Ryler’s hands loosened their grip on the counter and smoothed themselves over me, around me. One splayed across my middle, the other moved northward to cup around my throat, angling me for better access. This was heaven and hell. Torment and pure bliss. His mouth, his teeth, as they nipped at me, made my knees weak, made my blood boil. If he hadn’t been holding me up, I’d have been a puddle on the floor. How he made me feel this, want this, with everything else going on… I hadn’t a clue. I just knew that I wanted him. Needed him.
Ryler spun me around then, his mouth finding mine. Hot hands came up to hold me, lift me, until I was on the lip of the sink. My choices were to sink into what remained of the wash water or glue myself to him. There was no choice, really. I glued myself to him, plastered and wrapped myself around him. This wasn’t gentle, wasn’t sweet. It was pure need. Need brought on by too much… too much longing, too much pent-up emotion and tension. So much tension. Feeling like I was on the verge of an explosion, I said his name, whimpered it, more like. Maybe it was the sound of my voice, maybe it was something else, but Ryler locked down.
He didn’t pull away. No, my legs were still around him, arms still clinging to him. My breath still ragged. One of his hands was gripping my thigh, hitching it, holding it to him, the other held the back of my neck. His mouth had stilled just below my ear.
One kiss. Two. Slowly, ever so slowly he moved until his mouth was over mine. Forehead against forehead, we let our breaths calm. That explosion morphed into an implosion as reality returned. As my lungs tried to swallow down air.
Against my mouth he breathed, his voice hoarse. “One day… one day, this won’t be for the wrong reasons. One day, everything will align properly. But as much as I want you, right here and right now…” He growled low in his throat, sending a tremor through me. “…I won’t take you out of desperation or fear or pain. It’ll be for the right reasons, or it won’t be at all, AJ.”
My heart and my mind accepted what he was saying, appreciated the respect, the sentiment in his words, even as my body cursed him in seven languages. Even as my body whimpered and cried in near agony.
By slow degrees, Ryler released me, until we were no longer touching. His eyes searched mine. He must have seen what was still burning in my gaze, because Ryler backed away several steps until he came up against the table, bumping into it. “Don’t look at me like that, AJ.” His nostrils flared, his jaw clenching. “Don’t make this harder than it already is. I’m trying to do the right thing here.”
I opened my mouth to respond, but he cut me off. “Just… let me do the right thing.”
The desperation in his voice was so potent that I simply nodded, knowing that things could jump the track so easily. That all I had to do to reignite this already highly combustible flame was to look at him with the heat still burning me from the inside. Let him see that need, that desire, and there’d be no stopping us this time. We’d be lucky if any furniture was left standing.
Sliding from the counter, I turned from him, reached into the sink to drain the water, then squeezed out the sponge to dry.
“Thank you,” Ryler said.
And I understood what he was thanking me for. Taking a deep breath, I faced him again, hoping my emotions were well in-check and not written all over my sometimes too-expressive face. Indicating I’d heard him and agreed, I dried my hands on the towel then wiped the counter down with it.
