The Lost Seal: A Seal Romance

by Bell, Victoria

  Her love for him was like a flame growing bigger and burning brighter. She couldn’t remember a time when she didn’t love him at all. She had always known that his cheeky smile and annoying demeanor was meant for her to fall in love with. She ought to thank Edward for bringing them together. She guessed fate had a different say when it comes to their life.

  They broke apart from each other before they packed up everything that was work related. Tonight, would be the first time that they wouldn’t make love. It wasn’t because neither one of them didn’t want to. But because Lauren could tell that he didn’t want to break the comfortable silence that was stretched between them. It was a great one, the space that grew. It made her think about the times when things were different.

  If only circumstances were different. If only life was easy and it was just something that they could deal with no problems. But those things would stay as just that. What-ifs.

  “We’re getting close to the ending of this story,” Joshua said as they laid on the center of his bed, playing with her hair.

  “I think we are too,” she agreed before adjusting her position so she could look at him. “You’re thinking way too much about this case. You need to take your mind off of it for tonight.”

  “I’m trying to,” he said with a smile before leaning down to kiss her. “But it seems that my brain won’t switch off.”

  “Don’t worry too much,” she said before caressing the side of his face. “Everything will work out itself, and we’ll get this story pulled through. Our hard work’s going to pay off, Joshua. Just have faith in yourself.”

  “And in you,” he said before pulling me closer in his arms.

  They snuggled until she felt his breathing evened out. He was fast asleep within a couple of minutes. She stayed there, merely looking at the rise and fall of his chest. Whenever Joshua was asleep, it was as if he didn’t have a care in the world. Everything seemed okay to him when his eyes were closed, and taking a rest. But with those amazing orbs opened, sharp and watchful as always, it made him look stressed out and always on the move.

  Sleep didn’t come easily for her though. Lauren was swamped with questions that were only growing by the minute. She had so many questions that didn’t have enough answers. She even tried to take her mind away from it, but it kept coming back. They had to play this game right. If they made a single mistake, it would be game over. Everything they had worked on will crumble into pieces and could put Elijah into a sticky situation. They could possibly lose their jobs if they weren’t careful. So much was at stake, and there were not many options to choose.

  A yawn slipped out before her eyelids began to flutter closed. Sleep was finally taking her again, and she let herself be pulled. There were so many things to think about, but there was always tomorrow. There was no need for her to worry about it now, not when she had Joshua wrapped around her, keeping her safe from anything that would scare her.

  Chapter 11

  A few days passed by before they both realized they were losing time. They had to finish the story that they had started, and without the killer captive, then everything that they had worked on would go to waste. The only way to solve this mystery was to have the talk with Ben Lincoln that Lauren had been anticipating. She didn't want to come near him or even think about getting close to him. In her eyes, he was nothing but a murderer who had no heart killing his own flesh and blood.

  "Do you really think it's necessary to do this?" she asked Joshua as they sat in his car.

  He was looking at the house where bushes were starting to peek through the back. Long grasses met her gaze as she looked around. There were dead plants everywhere. His porch was slowly being eaten away by some insect that was more than happy enough to eat his whole house away. His home looked as if it hadn't been lived in for months or even years if she had to say so. Something about it made her flesh break out into goose bumps.

  "Edward is giving us a certain time to finish this story, Lauren," Joshua said as he turned his head to look at her.

  "And if we don't finish it?" she asked with her heart thumping.

  "Then I'm afraid we're both out of jobs," he said with a shake of his head.

  She cursed under her breath silently, wishing that circumstances had really been different. She had to steel herself just so that they could keep their job, and maintain a good image in the journalism world.

  "All right," she said before nodding in determination. "Let's go in."

  "Wait," he said before grabbing her hand. "Settle down for a spell. I want to talk to you."

  "What is it about?" she asked, turning to face him once more.

  "I want you to be extra careful, okay? Even if I'm with you, I want you to be watchful. Make sure you pay attention to every action or body movement that Ben is going to make. I'm pretty sure he has some sort of mental disorder that I didn't properly look on. Just be aware, all, right?"

  She nodded before he leaned forward and kissed her. They got out of the car, hand in hand as they headed toward the entrance of the house. "Here we go," he said before knocking on the door.

  It opened after a few moments. A man in his early thirties appeared in front of them, looking like he hadn't bathed in days. He didn't smell exactly, but his looks were enough to show that he hadn't kept up with his hygiene. She tried not to wrinkle her nose in disgust. Though, Joshua didn't show so much finesse as he made a face. One that Ben Lincoln hopefully did not see.

  "Who are you people?" he asked, grumpily. "If you are one of those people who are offering TV cables, then I'm not interested. You both can get lost."

  He was about to close the door on them, but Joshua held out a hand, stopping it from shutting in their faces. "Wait! We're here to speak with you, Mr. Lincoln. About something very important."

  "Who are you?" Ben Lincoln said as he stared at the both of them in disgust. "I don't want to hear whatever you two want to say. You're just wasting my time."

  Joshua had to stop him again from shutting the door. They had his attention now as the possible murderer stared at them with his head slanted to the side. "We're here to ask about your cousin, Elisa, Mr. Lincoln. Now if it's not much of a bother to you, we'd like to run a few questions that we hope you could answer."

  Something changed in his face, and he became serious. So serious that it began to frighten Lauren to her bones. What if this man really had killed his own cousin? What would they do then? Running for their lives would be the best option once he turned into some sort of psycho.

  "I don't have time for this," Ben said but made no move to close the door.

  It was her turn to talk to him. "Please, Mr. Lincoln. If only you could answer a few questions that we have, then we'll be on our way."

  The man looked her over for a long time before he finally stepped aside as if letting them in. She held onto Joshua's shirt as they made their way to the living room. His house was just the same as the outside. It was messy, and piles of dishes were piled in the sink.

  "If you're here to accuse me of murdering my cousin, then you're right," Ben said as he sat opposite them, saying the words that had just come out of his mouth as if it was something that didn't bother him.

  "We're not exactly in the position to accuse you that," Joshua interjected before intertwining his fingers together. "But we do want to ask what truly happened that night."

  Ben smirked, glancing at him with that awful smile that made Lauren want to back out. "You really want to know what happened. Well, I came over to her house and killed her and her kids. I wanted her inheritance, and since I got so little, I thought I would plan such crime and do it. There are your answers."

  Something was making Lauren think that he was treating this so lightly. It was almost like he wasn't the one who didn't kill his own cousin. It was impossible. No one in their right mind would kill another human being. Unless there was a strong motive that would really push them into committing such horrible act.

  "I don't believe a word you just said," J
oshua said. "Let's cut through the bullshit, shall we, Mr. Lincoln? That way we both could go on our separate lives and forget about this little meeting we're having right now."

  "You reporters are too nosy," Ben said as he shook his head. "Always wanting to know who committed the crime. Always wanting to make the best story until it makes it into page one. Well, you two listen well because I am not about to repeat myself. If you missed something that I said, then too bad. I ain't planning on repeating."

  "Go on," Joshua urged.

  "Everything that you were speculating is right," Ben said as he practically admitted that he was the murderer. "But there are some things that everyone is wrong about. The world thinks that I'm some psycho who killed Elisa because of her fortune. Sure, it seems like a great motive to do such act, right? But it's not strong enough for me. If I was to kill, then it would be for a greater purpose. Not just for some money and property lot that I won't even need anyway."

  "So why kill Elisa?" Lauren asked.

  "I didn't," Ben said straightforwardly without hesitation.

  She narrowed her eyes, unable to believe the bullshit that was coming out of this man's mouth. But somehow, even if she thought about it, Lauren felt that there was a hint of honesty in his voice. There was more to a story than anyone was letting on.

  "What do you mean you didn't kill her?" Joshua asked, sounding very curious as she felt.

  "Me being at home is enough of a clue," Ben answered with a roll of his eyes. "If the police really think it me who killed my own cousin, then I'd be behind bars right now again, right?" They nodded. "Well, they don't have good evidence actually to prove that I killed my own blood."

  "You're not making any sense, Mr. Lincoln," Joshua said with a frown on his face. "The police believes that you were linked to the crime scene. You were adopted into Elisa's family and were entitled to some of the inheritance. But the thing is, it's only a small fortune that went to your name. The majority went towards your cousin."

  "Look, as much as that story sounds great with me killing Elisa," Ben said as if this was just a massive joke to him. "I am sorry to disappoint, but I truly and honestly didn't kill her. I wasn't interested in her fortune that much. Sure, I was a little bit but what could money possibly buy that would forever make me happy? Money won't always save everything that we want. It can't bring back the people that died, can it? Killing her for the inheritance is the most bullshit of a story I've ever heard."

  " Who do you think killed her?" her partner challenged, seeing if Ben would take the bait.

  A serious look had crossed over Ben's face before he stared them straight in the eyes. "Why don't you ask the person who knew her so well?"

  "And who might that be?" they both asked in unison.

  Ben smiled mockingly at the gesture before waving a hand away. "You'll have to ask yourselves. You guys have been playing the detective. And if you two are smart enough, you'll figure it out."

  They left his house with more questions. None of their previous assumptions had been answered. Rather, more questions had been added up to the equation. She didn't exactly understand what Ben had said. What did he mean by the person who knew her so well? The only thing that came up to her mind is Elisa's family. That included her aunt, Elijah, and Ben. But everything seemed to be linking back to him. There was no way that anyone in her family could have done it but him.

  He was playing a mind game with them. It was starting to get to her head, to the point that it made her question everything they had worked on. But what if Ben was telling the truth? What if he actually did not kill Elisa and the kids? Then who could possibly do it?

  She was going crazy.

  "Going there wasn't helpful at all." She said as they got back inside the car. "Ben is playing a game with us, and he has the upper hand here. We don't know what his next move would be if we're not careful."

  "He's not that smart himself," Joshua interjected before pulling out a recorder from his pocket. "Everything that he said was recorded by this. If we play it out, you would notice that he had admitted killing her twice in a row. Or maybe a few more times before he denied killing her."

  "But we're still not sure who did it though. I'm afraid that we're going back to square one, Joshua. What are we going to do?" The stress was starting to weigh down on their shoulders. It was so much to carry, and they didn't deserve this. They had been so sure of who was the murderer in the beginning. It could only be Ben Lincoln, no one else. But there was still a possibility that they could commit a mistake. What if he was right but ended up in jail anyway?

  "None of these are making any sense at all," she said.

  "He's playing a careful hand with us, and we can't let him be in the upper hand for a long time," Joshua said as he slid his recorder back in his pocket.

  "Maybe it was a bad idea to agree to this," she mumbled as he put the car into drive. They didn't speak at all but merely stayed silent. It wasn't a comfortable one, but at least it gave them time to think about their next move.

  They had to move quickly and pull themselves together. If they didn't catch the right person, then she was afraid that the killer would even come after them at the end.

  Chapter 12

  Joshua woke up the next day with Lauren in his arms. She was still fast asleep; her eyelids fluttered closed. Her breathing was even as her breasts rose and fell against the silky cover. He merely observed loving every minute that he spent with her. He couldn't remember a time when he didn't adore her. Lauren had always been a greater part of his life. His world revolved around him along with other things. But one thing that he couldn't live without was her.

  She was everything to him, and Joshua wouldn't be able to survive if something bad happened to her. Hence why he had been trying his best to keep her out of the case as they dug deeper into the massacre case. He should have scared her off as soon as he had the chance. But Lauren was too stubborn, hard-headed little wench that would never back away from a challenge. Besides, Edward had put them together for a reason. And she would never be happy with just playing the side role. She wanted the whole part with him, and that was something that he admired about her.

  He positioned his head to the side, taking her in admiring her. Loving her with his eyes and merely contented just to watch her. Her eyelashes were long and laid against the surface of her cheek, showing off her youth, her innocence that had pulled her in the first moment he had seen her.

  He could still remember the first day that they had met. She wore a floral dress that hugged her curves in the right places. Her hips had swayed every step she made. Her hair soft, long and called out to him. Especially those pair of eyes that had haunted his dreams for a long time. Joshua had always known that she was out of bounds. Adam had never really brought his sister up to him. Probably for fear of being attracted Joshua being attracted to her. But not a single warning in his head had stopped him from falling for the one woman whom he thought he couldn't have.

  He was breaking the brother code by seducing Lauren. She had been an innocent. She still was, but Joshua was glad that he had been her first. The thought of any other man touching her drove him insane. It made his vision red and made him want to kill any man who had tried to get to her bed. But he had nothing to worry about now. She was his, and he didn't plan on letting her go. They were in this together, no matter what happened.

  He had to get into her head that he loved her. He knew she felt the same way even if she didn't say it. She was probably afraid, waiting for him to make a move. But he couldn’t let himself reveal his true feelings. The last time he had told a woman he loved him; she hadn't felt the same way. Lauren was different for sure as he felt the love that oozed out of them. There was no need for them to voice it out right now. It wasn't the right time or the right place to be telling their feelings to.

  But as soon as everything was fixed, he was planning on making his forever. She would be bonded to him eternally and would not be able to break away from the bond they would make. He
might seem possessive, but it was because he protected those who he cared for. Those he loved dearly and held close to his heart.

  Instead of waking her up, he let her sleep for a bit. It was still early anyway, probably around five in the morning. He slid out of bed, careful not to wake her up. She was safe and sound in his apartment. He looked down at her, looking so comfortable in his bed. She belonged there, in his bed, in his kitchen and every corner of his house. Letting her go would be one of the biggest mistakes he would ever make.

  He got dressed before slipping out of his apartment. Closing the door gently behind him, he pulled the hood of his shirt over his head before jogging down the stairs. He had set up a meeting with one of his good friends back in college. James Reed was a computer expert and could literally hack any sort of information that the police might have about Ben Lincoln. And he could also pick a lock if he was just given a chance to inspect the kind of lock he had to pick. James would also play the role of the lookout once Joshua managed to get inside Ben's house.

  He was trespassing but poking his nose around wouldn't hurt. As long as he could find some sort of evidence that would show that he killed the Crimsons. He wasn't exactly going to take anything inside, but rather just get a single thing that would lead it all back to Ben. Time was running out, and they had to play this out right. Otherwise, he and Lauren would end up in jail than Ben Lincoln.

  He dialed James’s number before placing it on his ear. It rang a few times, but he didn't pick up. His friend was probably in the process of getting geared up, so he didn't want to bother him. Deciding to call later, he slipped his phone back into his pocket before continuing to jog along the road.

  It was still dark, but the sun was definitely starting to pull through. The wind met his face with a cold blast. He pulled his hoodie tighter around him, reveling in the warmth it brought to him. There weren't many people around. Most were the elders who took an occasional walk along the sidewalk. Joshua had his mind tied up in their next plan, although he couldn't help but worry about Lauren as well. She would be safe if he stayed back home, but there was still a part of him that nagged at the idea of leaving her there. Alone.