by Max Hudson
“Don’t go too far.”
Harry waved over his shoulder and headed out into the parking lot. The number stopped calling and then it started up again. Whoever it was calling him was insistent. Harry answered it.
“Hello, this is Officer Bryant.”
“Hello, Harry. Long time.”
Harry froze. He knew that voice. It was one that he had hoped not to hear again. Not after the last time. Not now. Please, not now.
“What do you want, Alex?”
“Oh, come now, Harry.” Alex sniggered. “Can’t I call and see how you are? Have you forgotten what we had?”
“It’s a little difficult to forget.” Harry hissed. He glanced around him, but there was nobody around. Even then, he lowered his voice. “And no, you can’t call me. Aside from the fact I don’t ever want to hear from you again, I’m at work! Someone could walk by!”
“Well, you haven’t got a choice. I’m not going to go away.” Alex paused, a little too dramatically. “Not now.”
Harry’s heart sank. He had hoped when Alex disappeared after turning his life upside-down again that he would never come back. Harry had vowed to kill him if he came back to Houston, and Alex knew that he was serious. Why was he back now? Was Marlene with him? Harry could only hope not. Marlene scared him, always had. She had been an odd person with a vindictive streak, something that drew Alex to her. Harry never wanted to be anywhere near her, and he certainly didn’t want Marlene near his children.
He didn’t want Alex anywhere near him, either, but Alex seemed to forget that warning each time he came back asking for a favor.
“You’ve been gone for three years.” Harry began to pace. “Andrea’s case is closed now, but I can easily get it open again once I tell them her killer is contacting me.”
“No, you won’t.” Alex’s voice was smooth, almost smug. “Because you know what will happen if you say anything.”
Unfortunately, Harry did. Alex had a tight hold over him, and he wasn’t above using this hold to make Harry fall into line. Considering how sadistic he was, it was a wonder he hadn’t used it already.
“What do you want?”
“Well, I can’t ask for a reunion, seeing as it won’t be too joyous on your part…”
“Too fucking right it won’t be.”
“So, I’m doing the next best thing. Which is getting you to do me a favor.”
Harry gritted his teeth. Another favor. He should have stopped this a long time ago. Andrea had told him he needed to or Alex was going to bring both of them down. Harry wished he had listened to her.
“Do you remember what my job is, Alex?” Harry hissed. “I’m not going to risk it again and again because you want me to do a ‘favor’.”
Alex was silent for a moment. Then he tittered. It sounded like he was disappointed.
“Dear, dear, Harry, you keep forgetting. Remember what’s at stake. And how I can change it all for you.”
“Don’t threaten me.”
“You do as I say and I won’t need to threaten you.” Alex’s voice hardened. “But you need to keep remembering what I can do if you don’t do as I want.”
Harry did know. The last time he had said no, he had lost someone close to him. Alex would do whatever he could to get his own way. Even using Harry’s connections as a law enforcement officer. If anyone knew what Harry was up to, he would be arrested and thrown into jail. If that ever happened, he would happily give Alex up.
But his family was more important than his pride right now. Harry swallowed.
“What do you need?”
Chapter Two
Drew looked out of the window at the car parked across the street from Rosalie’s house. His radio crackled as he raised it to his mouth.
“You set up out there, Jason?”
“Just about.” Jason was grumbling. “Next time we do this, you can be the one to sit outside in the cold and the dark.”
Drew laughed.
“You know the rules. You lost the toss.”
“We need to change the rules.”
“When we’re at full capacity, I’ll make sure you’re not doing sentry duty outside.” Drew turned to see their charge walking into the room. “Martindale out.”
Rosalie gave him a shy smile, wrapping her arms around her middle. She had been nervous when Drew and Jason had arrived, which was understandable. She seemed like a nice enough young woman, a little on the quiet side during the day when the two of them were in the room with her.
But Drew could sense something else going on. Rosalie kept giving him sideline glances, each coupled with a shy smile before she lowered her eyes and turned away again. Was she attracted to him? It wouldn’t be the first time, but coming from her, it was making Drew really uncomfortable. His gut said this was something more than a simple attraction, which wasn’t uncommon.
It was probably because of the pandemic and the knowledge that Callow was coming after her. That had to be why he was on edge. He gave Rosalie a smile in return and moved away from the window, letting the curtain fall back into place.
“You okay, Rosalie?”
“I’m fine. I think.” Rosalie shrugged and settled on the arm of her couch. “As well as can be expected, I suppose. What with this virus going on and now this?”
“I understand. It’s making you uncertain.” Drew clipped his radio to his belt. “The pandemic won’t last. We’ll be out and about before you know it. And we’ll catch Callow. He’s not running from us this time.”
Drew was going to make sure of it. Callow had managed to run from them three years ago and left Drew in hospital. He wasn’t going to let that happen again.
“You went after him before, did you say?” Rosalie asked.
“I did.” Drew scowled. “I almost got him, too. Looked him in the eye.”
“What happened?”
“He got away.”
His chest started hurting at the memory. Drew didn’t like things being left unsolved, and Callow’s situation was certainly something he needed to wrap up. Now he was going to get a chance to do it.
“That hurt you.” Rosalie murmured.
“Why do you say that?”
“You grimaced when you said it.” Rosalie touched her chest, right above her left breast. “You started rubbing here on your chest.”
Drew hadn’t realized he had been doing that. He dropped his hand, aware that Rosalie’s hand was slowly drifting lower. Was she coming on to him? It was suddenly getting a little hot in here.
He cleared his throat.
“When are you retiring for the night?”
“I don’t know. I’m not sure if I can sleep. I might order some pizza and watch a movie.” Rosalie smiled as her hand drifted over her breast, her fingers sliding down her stomach. “You’re welcome to join me, if you want?”
Normally, a movie with pizza was a luxury for Drew. He spent so much time working out, working or going to his various activities that he barely knew how to sit down and enjoy a movie. And it did sound tempting as it was more than likely going to be a long night. But Rosalie’s strange actions toward him were making him nervous and Drew didn’t want to be sitting nearby and have her practically pawing him.
What was with the sudden change? Was it because she was isolated and needed some company? Or was something else going on? Drew knew he had to keep his distance.
“I think I’ll watch the movie from afar, and I’ll be fine for food.” He started to edge around her toward the door. “Can’t slack on the job.”
“I understand.” Rosalie’s eyes followed him with a coquettish smile. “You know where to find me if you change your mind.”
She really was changing. What the hell was going on? Drew left the room as quickly as he could and out the front door. It was only once he shut the door behind him that he could breathe properly. Rosalie had only been in isolation a couple of days. She couldn’t have gone crazy having to distance herself from everyone already. Considering who she worked with, it must have been a relief
.
This was odd. Very odd. And Drew didn’t want to be anywhere near odd.
His radio crackled.
“How’s it going in there, Drew? What are you doing outside?”
Drew grimaced. Jason was going to find this amusing. He unclipped his radio.
“When you’re in here, Jason, you can deal with Rosalie Muleham’s flirting. Then you can understand why I’m so uncomfortable.”
There was a moment of silence. Then Jason started laughing.
“She’s flirting with you? And you’re freaking out? You’re one strange person.”
“Do you really think her flirting with someone who’s guarding her against a serial killer is a good idea.”
“I don’t see why not. She can’t exactly do anything else. Maybe she wants some company.”
Drew rolled his eyes.
“Then you come in and flirt with her. I know you like to chat up pretty girls, and Rosalie seems your type.”
“Sorry. From the look of it, she prefers you. Anyway, it’s just flirting.”
Drew gritted his teeth. It was going to go more than flirting fast if he stayed inside. He had a gut feeling about it.
“How well do you think that is going to go when it gets back to Martin that I told a stalking victim to back off because I’m gay? You know I don’t broadcast and Martin certainly doesn’t know.”
Jason laughed.
“You freak out about your sexuality too much. Martin is going to understand. And he would be angrier if he heard that you actually gave in to the flirtations and slept with her. Being gay is probably going to be an advantage for you.”
Drew didn’t know about it. Some women didn’t believe him when he told them he preferred men. They kept trying to change his mind, and that would end up with Drew getting accused of something he hadn’t done. It was best to keep it quiet and keep at a distance.
“Just say you’re on the clock. You always are. Or say you’ve got a girlfriend or a wife and they wouldn’t appreciate you looking at another woman.”
“Do you remember the last time I tried that? It didn’t work out well.”
Mostly because the woman didn’t believe that Drew was taken. It had resulted in Drew having to set her away as she tried to kiss him and she went into the office the next day accusing him of attempted rape. Drew couldn’t understand a woman’s mindset when she was rejected. They wanted to get their own back and be petty about it. Drew found it ridiculous.
“Honestly, you seem to bring out the flirty side in women.” Jason chuckled. “They go crazy around you.”
“Crazy as in vindictive, yes.” Drew ran his hand through his hair. “Look, I don’t think I can manage all night indoors. Swap with me.”
“You should’ve let me win rock, paper, scissors, then.”
“That was before I realized Rosalie was going to start coming on to me.”
“You’ve only been inside alone for ten minutes.”
“And I can see it escalating pretty quickly.”
Drew knew he was panicking a little too much, but he was tired of having to keep women at arm’s length. Jason was single and very manly, but he was better at it than he was. Drew just freaked.
“Okay, I can swap. I don’t mind if she starts flirting with me. Although, I have to admit, I was jealous when she turned to you instead.”
“Don’t be jealous.” Drew grunted. “And don’t go jumping into bed with her. Something’s off and I’m not sure what.”
“Something’s off? Do you mean something’s off with Rosalie Muleham?”
Drew looked through the glass of the door. Rosalie was passing through the hall to the stairs. She saw him and gave him a little wave before climbing the stairs, her hips swaying. Drew turned away.
“I’m not sure, but my gut says something else is going on, and Rosalie’s part of it. She’s not as innocent as she’s making out.”
“It could just be that you’re panicking over someone finding you attractive.” Jason sighed. “But I’ll trust your gut for now.”
“Get Mitch to run a deeper background check on her. And then come and switch with me.”
“Will do. Carlyle out.”
Drew clipped his radio back onto his waistband and leaned against the door, staring out into the dark. It was winter, so the nights drew in quicker and darker than summer. It was also very cold, and Drew was aware that he wasn’t wearing his coat, the wind whipping around him. He would wait until Jason was back before retrieving his coat. Being in the same house as Rosalie was setting off alarm bells.
She was up to something. It could be everyone was on edge due to the pandemic, but Drew had a feeling that she was trying to do something else. As of right now, he couldn’t afford a distraction.
Not while Callow was out there.
***
It was half an hour before Jason arrived at the front door. Drew had given in and gone inside to get his coat, thankfully not bumping into Rosalie. He could hear the water running. Either she was taking a shower or a bath. Jason would love having an image about her naked in water. It didn’t raise a thing with Drew. If she had been a man naked in the shower, that would have been another matter.
Drew grimaced. He shouldn’t be so scared of a woman flirting with him. As Jason had told him, he should be flattered, but the moment a woman saw him more than just a friend Drew found himself panicking. He had no idea why he would be like that, but it always came around. It made Drew feel like a complete idiot.
Not that he had much of a love life to focus on. Drew’s fiancé had left about a month after Drew and Callow faced off. Drew had just got back from his physio session to find Jack packing. He had claimed that he was fed up with being second to his job and that Drew would do better to marry his job. Drew had tried to point out that he wouldn’t be back to work for at least twelve weeks and they could use that time for themselves, but Jack had stuck to his guns. Of course, now knowing that Jack had been cheating on him with one of his soccer teammates, Drew knew why he was eager to leave, and his shooting had been the perfect time to leave.
His trust of people went downhill after that. Drew found himself focused on his job instead of a personal life outside the gym. It was over a year before he realized that he hadn’t even thought about dating. But the thought of going into the dating world with his trust issues made him balk. It was much easier to be on his own.
Easier, but still lonely.
After what seemed like an age, Jason appeared out of the darkness, hurrying across the lawn and up the steps. Drew scowled.
“What the fuck took you so long?”
“I had to deal with the cops. There was a sudden change of the guard that nobody was told about.” Jason shook his head as he handed over the car keys. “Don’t ask. It had to take a couple of calls to have it confirmed.”
That was all they needed. Drew sighed.
“Just be prepared for a pizza delivery. And don’t eat anything.”
Jason arched an eyebrow.
“You think it’s going to be poisoned?”
“The way things are going, I wouldn’t be surprised. Also, don’t take anything from Rosalie. Only eat or drink something you’ve prepared yourself.”
Jason stared at him. Drew knew his colleague must think he had gone mad with the way he was acting.
“You really are paranoid.”
“You’ll thank me for it later.” Drew headed down the steps. “Have fun.”
He was looking forward to sitting in the car, nice and warm, where he wasn’t going to be disturbed by a woman who seemed to be using this as a ploy to get a man into her house without worrying about the current isolation. Drew wouldn’t be surprised if that was the case. But he couldn’t exactly turn around and say that this was the case. Callow stalked his victims and killed them on the third day in their home. This was the third day, and they needed to be sure that the bastard wasn’t going to get to Rosalie tonight.
On his way to the car, Drew slowed when he saw someon
e loitering across the road by a tree. They weren’t moving, focusing their attention on Rosalie’s house. As Drew peered closer, he saw the uniform. This was more than likely the police officer who had just come on duty. Drew had to make sure; for all he knew, it could be Callow.
He crossed the road and approached the cop, hand on his gun. As he got closer, Drew could get a better look at his face. Slim in the face and clean-shaven, there was something vaguely familiar about him. It was like Drew had seen him before.
Was it Callow? The more Drew looked at the cop, the more he thought it was the serial killer. He withdrew his gun and pointed it at the cop.
“Don’t move.” He barked. “Hands where I can see them.”
“What…?” The cop jumped, staring at the gun as Drew advanced slowly on him. “What are you doing?”
“Don’t talk. Hands where I can see them. And don’t think about going for your gun.”
Drew watched as the cop slowly raised his hands, his eyes never leaving Drew’s. That was when Drew felt a bolt of something fierce hit him in the gut. He had bright green eyes, a color Drew had never seen before in someone’s face. They were stunning, and they were unblinking as Drew neared him.
It wasn’t Callow. Callow’s eyes were dark brown, almost black. He could be wearing contacts, but the body shape was wrong. Callow was well over six feet, as tall as Drew, with a slim, compact figure from his days running track during high school. This guy had a similar body shape, but he was much shorter. At least five-ten. Contacts he could have been wearing, but Drew didn’t think even someone as clever as Callow could shrink himself five inches.
“I want you to reach into your pocket and bring out your badge with your warrant card.” Drew lowered the gun a little, but not much. “And then hold them out to me so I can read it.”
“Okay, I will.” The cop paused. “Only if I know you’re not going to shoot.”
“Just do as you’re told.”
“By whom? You need to identify yourself as well.”
Even with a gun pointed at his face, the cop was brazen. Drew found himself liking it. He shook himself. Not now. It wasn’t the time. He reached for the badge clipped to his belt and held it up.
