* * *
Cole stepped out of his office and leaned against the frame, watching as Katherine Chastain left, her long, shapely legs carrying her with a grace that was smooth and natural. Damn, the woman had a body just made for sin. Her curves were meant to be explored and tasted. He grunted softly and shook his head at himself in disgust before turning and walking back through the door and over to his desk, firing up his laptop.
Cole scowled when a quick search of Katherine Chastain came up with not much more than just an article or two announcing the opening of her shop, Perfect Pottery. It was as if she had just appeared on the radar a little over two years earlier. What the hell?
He grabbed his phone and dialed, determined to find out just who this woman was. For some reason, he just couldn’t let it go.
“Sherriff Dunlop,” the gruff voice spoke, and Cole couldn’t help but smile sadly.
“Hey, Ray,” Cole said, forcing back the memories that came flooding back in a rush the moment he heard the sound of his friends voice on the other end of the line. He wasn’t about to go there.
“Cole?” He could hear the genuine affection in his friend’s tone, and it helped to chase those ever present demons away.
“Yeah, how’ve you been, Ray?”
“Fat and ornery,” he laughed, “You know, the usual. Figure I’m too old and set in my ways to change now. I take it that this call means Katie came to see you?”
Katie? Cole thought, his scowl deepening. No, that gorgeous creature that had sat in his office was no Katie–she was a Katherine. Beautiful, elegant…desirable… Shit!
“If you mean Katherine Chastain, then yes.”
“Hmmm, so she took yet another name I see,” Roy mused distractedly.
“Just what the fuck is going on here, Ray? Who in the hell is this woman?”
There was a long pause on the other end, and Cole felt his jaw tightening. Why this woman had set him on edge he didn’t know, but she had, and damned if he wasn’t strung tighter than a spring about to snap. To say that she had piqued his interest was a sad understatement.
“She thinks that she’s being stalked…again,” Ray said finally, and Cole could hear the doubt creeping into his friend’s voice.
“And you don’t think so?” he asked, tapping his fingers on his desk.
“Damn it, Cole. I just don’t know. I mean, the guy that put her through hell is rotting away in a cell for the rest of his damned, miserable life. What are the chances that she’s picked up another nut-job stalker? And…one with supposedly the same fucking MO? I mean, she’s beautiful and all, but come on. What in the hell are the chances?”
Cole swiveled in his chair and looked out the window, thinking that it would be quite easy. The woman was breath-taking, and probably got a whole hell of a lot of unwanted attention.
“Just who in the hell is she?” Cole asked again, as if the question had been directed to himself, and not to Ray.
“It’s a long ass story,” Ray sighed, “and I’ve got a meeting in about five minutes. I just wanted you to check it out to ease her mind. Maybe just sweep her house to make her feel better. Just as a favor to me. Katie’s been through a lot, and I want to help her all I can. I care about her; she’s a good kid. But she’s been through more shit in her short life than most of us have in our lifetimes. Listen; if you really want to know who she is… do a search on Katie Philips. You’ll get your answers. Thanks to that bitch we call the internet,” he huffed. “I’ve really got to run, but it’s been nice talking with you, Cole. It’s been… way too long.”
“Yeah, thanks Ray. I’ll see what I can do,” Cole replied distractedly, his mind already working. “Talk to you soon.” With that he set the phone down and typed in Katie Philips.
***
Half an hour later Cole was still sitting at his desk, glaring at the computer screen, his jaw tightened in anger, staring at the newspaper headlines in front of him as he drummed his fingers on the top of his desk.
Nineteen year old Katie Philips being led from the courthouse after testifying at her mother’s murder trial.
The photo showed much younger Katherine, with straight, strawberry blond hair, and not the deep chestnut that she was now, being led down the steps of the courthouse by Ray. The poor kid looked terrified. She was much thinner now, yet much shapelier, but there was no mistaking those eyes, or those full, perfect lips and cute, pert nose.
After a grueling day of testimony in the trial of the killer of her mother, Jennifer Philips, murdered last October 13th in their home, Katie Philips shocked spectators when she testified that she didn’t believe that Stewart Camden, age twenty, had committed her mother’s brutal murder. Or that he had been the one stalking her for the past three years, starting when she was only sixteen.
After a frantic call from Miss Philips stating that the man that had been stalking her was in the house, police arrived to find the neighbor, Stewart Camden, standing over her mother’s brutalized body, holding a bloody knife, his clothing covered in her mother’s blood. Mr. Camden has refused to speak, only saying that he was only trying to help.
Ms. Philips had been terrorized since the age of sixteen, and she and her mother had begged for authorities to help, but to no avail. Katie Philips was found cowering in a closet, in shock, as her mother lay brutally murdered downstairs.
Testimony in the case continues Monday at nine a.m.
Cole clicked on another article, his body growing cold.
Killer of stalker victim’s mother found guilty!
Stewart Camden was found guilty of murder this morning with a possible sentence of death in the brutal slaying of Jennifer Philips, aged 43. Daughter Katie was not in court during the verdict – still insisting that Camden could not have been the one who murdered her mother. During her testimony, Miss Philips testified that Camden had always had a crush on her – but was completely harmless. Miss Philips insists that the true murderer is still out there.
The sentencing phase for Stewart Robert Camden will begin next week to determine if he will be put to death…
***
Cole leaned back in his chair and swiped his hand over his eyes. Holy shit! This woman had been through hell and back.
“Hey, Mac,” his partner, Ben Richards, stuck his head into his office, “Days over, man. Let’s go get a drink. The old lady has book club or some shit, so I’m free for a change.”
Cole looked back to his screen and shook his head. “Not tonight, Ben,” he muttered, finding himself unable to take his eyes off of the picture that had accompanied that last article. It was of a smiling Katherine and her mother. Two stunningly beautiful women locked in a hug, laughing, happy. Gorgeous.
“Would this have anything to do with that hot little number that came in to see you today?” Ben asked with a smile that made Cole’s skin crawl.
Cole’s reputation was notorious, and Ben couldn’t help but to live vicariously through him. Being married, it was all that he could do, and Cole usually had no problem with it. If the man got his rocks off from hearing Cole tell him about his escapades, who in the hell was he to judge? But this time, it ruffled his damn feathers.
“That is none of your goddamned business,” Cole ground out, not knowing why he was more than a little bit pissed off at his partner’s choice of words. They had discussed Cole’s many conquests over drinks many times. Because she’s not a damn conquest, his inner voice whispered, she’s different, and he felt his scowl deepening.
“Awe, come on, Buddy,” Ben laughed, trying to look wounded. “Throw a guy a bone, will ya? She was one hell of a looker. Man, I tell you, if I wasn’t married I would have been falling at her feet.”
Cole shut down his computer and stood, grabbing his suit jacket from the nearby chair. He stormed to the door and pushed past Ben. “She’s a potential victim, asshole,” he ground out as he strode down the hall…that muscle in his jaw twitching dangerously.
Chapter 2
Katherine walked through her liv
ing room and plopped down on the sofa, a glass of wine held tightly in her grip. She sighed wearily and took a sip, letting the alcohol warm her belly and calm her frayed nerves. After her meeting with Detective McKenzie, she had rushed home and barricaded herself inside, making sure that all windows and doors were firmly locked. She just couldn’t shake off the chill of the house. She felt violated. She huffed to the empty room and wondered when in the past nine years hadn’t she felt that way?
She hadn’t realized that being asked how she knew Ray was going to bring everything rushing back to her in such a soul stealing wave – but it had. She took another sip from her glass and shook her head, trying to chase those ever present shadows away.
She didn’t feel safe, she realized with a stiffening of her body. She knew that he was out there…
I’ll be seeing you…she felt herself shudder as that damn song swirled around in her head. It wasn’t bad enough that she heard it every night in her nightmares – no, now it was invading her waking thoughts as well. Damn! When would this just end? She hadn’t felt safe in such a long time. The last time she was completely relaxed and happy was when she had been sixteen years old, before…
Katherine shook the memories away, and gulped down the rest of her wine, hoping to ease her shattered nerves. It was never easy bringing up the past, but today…Detective McKenzie had made it so much harder. He affected her in a way that had been completely unexpected. She felt as if he would make her safe…protect her. And, she found that she wanted that. It had been so long.
“Oh, for God’s sake!” she blurted out to the empty room and felt her cheeks heat. God! Maybe she was crazy, just like everyone had always thought.
He most likely hadn’t even believed her anyway. And, once he talked to Ray…she was sure that he would think that she was merely just jumping at things solely in her mind…just like everyone else in her life always did.
For some reason that Katherine could not even begin to comprehend, what the Detective thought mattered. Maybe it was something in his eyes, and as much as she fought it, something happened to her when he had touched her. For the first time in a very long time, she felt alive. She didn’t experience that all too familiar fear at being touched. She didn’t feel like the walking dead. He was ruggedly handsome; his firm jaw and perfect lips were unsettling. He was large, yet he didn’t intimidate her. He merely brought on the desire to get close to him. To have his arms wrap around her.
She brushed the thoughts away and curled up on the sofa, much too drained to even begin to try and figure out what the hell was going on. She could feel her eyelids growing heavy and was just about to doze off when there was a sharp knock on her door, jerking her from her sleep instantly.
Katherine gasped as she sat straight up, her body tensing immediately as her eyes shot to where the sound had come from. She glanced at the clock and saw that it was well after eight. She wasn’t expecting anyone, and she felt that familiar fear rising up in her. Call the police her mind screamed at her. Get help!
She was about to reach for the phone when she heard that familiar, smoky voice from the other side of the door, and her heart slammed in her chest with the force of an atom bomb. What in the hell was he doing here?
“Ms. Chastain,” Detective McKenzie called, rapping once more, and Katherine jumped up and walked over to the door on legs that were beginning to shake.
Katherine released the locks and pulled the door open, and immediately felt herself tremble when her gaze met his. She couldn’t help it; it just seemed to be a natural reaction when this man was near her. His very presence caused a yearning deep down in the depths of her soul. But a yearning for what, she just didn’t know. All she knew was that this man standing in front of her didn’t make her quake in fear like every other man that got too close to her did. He actually calmed her.
He loomed in the doorway like a force of nature, standing well over six feet tall, and his broad shoulders filling the opening where the door had been just a moment before. He had rolled up his shirt sleeves, exposing his thick, muscular forearms.
The man was definitely a force to be reckoned with. He exuded power and strength. Yet, he didn’t scare the hell out of her, and she silently wondered why that was.
“Detective,” she stammered, trying hard not to stare at him as he stood there, his eyes not leaving hers. “What…what are you doing here?”
“May I come in…Katie,” he said, and she felt her entire body instantly stiffen. Yes, he had certainly done his homework, she thought with another shudder, and quite quickly at that. She nodded with a sigh and took a step back, motioning him in.
As he walked past, she caught a whiff of his scent; strong, spicy…all man, and she cleared her throat, trying hard not to let him do this to her.
“I don’t go by Katie anymore,” she whispered, her voice laced with a stubborn conviction, and just the tiniest hint of sadness. “She no longer exists.” She hadn’t been Katie in years, she thought with a furrowing of her brows. She would never be Katie again.
***
Cole turned and found her not two feet behind him, her eyes large and sparkling in the light from the entryway, and all he wanted to do at that moment was pull her into his arms and hold her. He settled on fisting his hands at his sides instead. Easy there, cowboy, he silently warned himself. You’re just here to talk to her. Nothing more.
“So, I take it that you spoke to, Ray?” she asked with a sad little laugh, and he felt his gut clench. There was way too much sorrow in her voice and it caused an aching in him that he had never experienced before. An ache to make it go away…to see her smile, make her laugh. The woman was liquid sin, and he could only imagine what it would be like to see her eyes shine with happiness instead of the look of a cornered animal. That look in her eyes that was nothing less than haunted.
“Briefly,” he replied, trying hard to keep his thoughts on the matters at hand. “But, I did some checking on my own.” She nodded and ushered him into the living room. She should have known. Her life had been front page news.
“Would you like some coffee, Detective?”
Cole spotted the blanket and empty wine glass near the sofa and gave her a small grin. “I’d love a glass of wine if you have one.”
“Aren’t you on duty?” she asked, her eyebrow quirking up in surprise. It was so damned sexy that he felt his body jump to attention. Christ! And, she didn’t even seem to get it. The woman was every man’s freaking walking, talking wet dream; and she didn’t even realize it. She was completely oblivious to that fact. It was as natural to her as breathing.
“No, I’m finished for the night,” he replied, his gaze going to those wonderful bow shaped lips of hers. He couldn’t help but wonder if her mouth would taste of Merlot. “I just thought I’d stop by on my way home to check and make sure that everything we secure.” It wasn’t a complete lie, he told himself. He had just left the station, with the full intention of going straight home, but the need to see her had been so damned overwhelming that he found himself outside of her house. But he would keep that last part to himself.
“Have a seat, Detective. I’ll only be a moment.” With that she glided into the kitchen as he sat down on the sofa. Shit! He could freaking smell her! That sweet, flowery scent that smelled like heaven wafted up from the couch as he sat down, causing his body to snap and crackle as if electrically charged. He noticed the pillow and blanket, and wondered if she slept on the sofa instead of her bed. The vision of her perfect features relaxed in sleep popped into his head and he grunted. He really needed to rein himself the hell in.
***
She returned a few minutes later and held out a glass to him, taking a seat in the chair opposite from where he sat, and a part of him wished that she had chosen to sit down beside him. His eyes moved over her body with rapt interest. She wore an old, worn t-shirt and flannel pants, her delicate, tiny feet bare, and he thought that she looked as beautiful as if she were wearing an evening gown. She was beautiful in a
way that was natural and absolutely breathtaking.
“Aren’t you having any?” he asked, eyeing her empty glass.
“No. I’ve already had one,” she said, her voice so damn low and husky that he felt a shiver run along his spine. “If I had another I’m afraid that I’d pass out right across your lap.”
***
Oh, shit! Katherine cringed as the words left her mouth, not liking the image that they produced at all. She blushed to the roots of her hair when she caught sight of the grin playing across his amazing mouth, and it caused her arms to break out in goose bumps. He had a sexy as hell smile; straight, white, perfect teeth, full lips. Oh, God! She had to stop this!
“I could think of worse things,” she heard him mutter under his breath, and she felt a tightening in her chest. Why was this man getting under her skin? Why was he having this effect on her? Why wasn’t she trembling in fear and trying to run?
“Why are you here, Detective?” she finally choked out. “Did you come to see if the unstable freak show was running around the house talking to crazy stalkers that don’t exist? I’m sorry, but I’m not wearing my tin foil hat tonight.” Her words were clipped, throaty.
***
Cole studied her quietly for a moment, a part of him angry as hell to hear her talk about herself that way. His gut was telling him that she was anything but crazy. Shit! This woman was getting into his head, and fast.
Yes, he silently admitted to himself, there was that instant attraction to her that he felt-that chemistry…but there was also something more. There was just something so vulnerable, yet strong as hell about her, that he found himself drawn to her in a way that he had never been before. It was a pull that was damned hard to ignore. It wasn’t just the physical, although a man would damn well have to be dead not to be attracted to her. No, he wanted to get to know her; find out what made her tick.
I'll Be Seeing You Page 2
