by Katie Knight
“Agreed,” Demetri said, stroking her scalp as they both drifted off to slumber.
Sixteen
Knock. Knock. Knock.
The sound startled Demetri awake. It took him a minute to figure out where he was, who he was holding in his arms. Once he did, his body tensed even more. Diana. They’d slept together. She was here, with him, squatting in this house where they didn’t belong.
Slowly, so as not to wake her, he got out of bed and pulled on his pants. The knocking grew louder, more insistent, as he tugged on his T-shirt too. He crept over to the window and peered out past the edge of the blinds to see a squad car parked near the curb, along with the realtor whose picture was on the For Sale sign he’d hidden downstairs in the living room.
Dammit.
They’d been busted. He knew he should’ve been more careful, kept them both inside with the lights off to conceal their presence, but it had felt too good to play house with her. He looked back once more at her still snoozing on the bed, and knew he had to tell her what he was going to do.
With as much care as he could muster, he shook her shoulder gently, brushing the hair away from her face as she moaned and tried to bury her head under the pillow. “Diana, sweetie, you need to get up.”
“What?” she said, her voice groggy. “Why?”
“The police are here,” he said, wincing as she bolted upright, her brows knit and her hair sticking out adorably in every direction.
She huffed out a breath, blowing the strands from her eyes, then placed a hand on her baby bump, her expression fearful. “Are they going to arrest us? I don’t want to go to jail.”
“No,” he said, leaning in to kiss her softly. “Well, I mean yes. They’re going to arrest me, but not you.”
“Huh?” She frowned at him, wrinkling her nose. “I need coffee.”
“Me too, but there’s no time.” He straightened and tossed her clothes to her. “Besides, you shouldn’t drink that with the baby. Herbal tea’s better. Caffeine free.”
Diana stuck her tongue out at him as she tossed the covers aside, then ran past him naked into the bathroom. Demetri threw his hands up, exasperated, but she just shrugged and closed the door halfway. “Sorry. Pregnant, remember? Nature doesn’t just call—it bellows.”
He stepped away to give her some privacy while he worked through his plan. He’d answer the door and turn himself over to the cops, giving Diana a chance to escape through the back door. With luck, the police would let him off with just a fine for trespassing, since he had no prior record. Maybe he could use his military service to garner some sympathy too. They could meet up later and take off somewhere new. Where, he wasn’t yet sure. But he’d figure it out. Perhaps the guys at Bratton Security would have ideas. Speaking of which…
Demetri took out his phone and thumbed in a quick text to John about the situation, then shoved the device into his back pocket before putting on his shoes. Diana came out of the bathroom a moment later and he did his best not to watch her while she got dressed, though it was difficult.
Making love to her last night had been a fantasy come true. Honestly, he’d spent many a night since their first time together, reliving those moments. How she’d looked, smelled, tasted, felt. Now he had a fresh crop of memories to keep him company while he sat in a jail cell for the next few hours.
Once she was dressed and ready, he took her by the shoulders and explained what he needed her to do. “I’ll answer the door and distract them. You need to go out the back and hide until you see them take me away. Call John and have him pick you up. I’ve texted him already and he’ll be expecting you. Don’t go anywhere else and hurry, okay? Harris is still out there and after you. The guys will keep you safe until I’ve dealt with the cops, all right?”
She nodded, then hugged him tight. “Please be careful. I don’t want to lose you again after I just found you again.”
His heart tugged despite his resolve to keep his emotions out of this, and he squeezed her back. “I’ll be fine. You take care. And watch out for the baby.”
“Our baby,” she said, slinging her bag across her body and heading for the back door.
“Our baby,” he repeated, his throat tight.
He waited until he heard the back door close behind her, then headed for the front door where the cops were escalating their threats.
“Police! Open the door and show yourself or we will break it in!” More pounding followed.
With a deep breath, Demetri yanked open the door and hunched his shoulders to make himself deliberately look smaller and less threatening to the shorter officers. Hands up, he knelt and lowered his head. “Sorry, officers. I needed a place to stay last night and this was vacant.”
Two cops immediately took him into custody, handcuffing him and hauling him outside, while two others went inside to search the premises with the realtor.
After the officers read him his rights, they led him down to the waiting squad car. Along the way, he made sure the sleeve of his T-shirt rode up to display his SEAL tattoo. As they loaded him into the backseat, one of the officers spotted his ink.
“You Navy?” the cop said, gaze narrowed on his right bicep.
“Yeah. Got some PTSD issues from the war.” He rubbed his unshaven jaw against his shoulder, glad he hadn’t bothered to comb his hair or brush his teeth. The unkempt appearance would only help his story. “Hard to keep down a steady job, so I’m homeless at the moment.”
The officers exchanged a look then closed the back door, sealing off their conversation from him. A few moments later, though, he saw them talking with the realtor and the other officers in the front yard, pointing at him periodically. No one except him noticed Diana crouching behind the neighbour’s bushes next door, thankfully. Finally the realtor nodded, and the two cops returned to the car. Their partners did the same. As they pulled away from the curb, he saw the realtor pounding the For Sale sign back into the ground out front as Diana headed down the sidewalk in the opposite direction, looking like she was just out for a leisurely stroll.
Demetri breathed a sigh of relief and hunched back against the vinyl seat, relaxing as much as his handcuffs would allow.
The cop driving caught his gaze in the rear-view mirror. “She’s not going to press charges. Told her your story. Thank you for your service, man.”
He nodded, feeling both relieved and guilty. PTSD and homelessness amongst veterans was a real problem and nothing to play games with. He made a vow then and there that once all this mess was over with, he’d look for ways to donate and volunteer for causes to help out his less fortunate brothers-in-arms. But first, he needed to get back to the task at hand—catching Franklin Harris and keeping Diana safe. Demetri lifted his chin slightly. “I can go then?”
“Yeah,” said the other cop from the passenger seat. “We’re still going to take you in to the station, make sure you get a bath and a good meal before we let you back out on the street. Maybe get you in contact with the local homeless shelter. Okay?”
“Okay. Thank you.” That was good. He could get more information for his efforts later. Plus, he did need a bath. And food. That would give him much-needed energy for later. With that problem solved, he turned to the next item on the list, where to go next. Staying in Atlanta wasn’t a good idea, since Harris had been here and could probably track them around town again. But they needed to stay relatively close by, to keep in contact with the guys at Bratton. The cops had taken his phone when they’d frisked him earlier, so he had no idea if John had gotten his text or not. Once he got to the station, he’d get the device back, though, so he could figure out their next move.
By that night, Diana sat beside Demetri on a passenger train headed toward Baltimore. They were about halfway through their fourteen-hour ride. At least they’d eaten at the station before boarding and there was a club car where she could get snacks.
She stretched and rolled her stiff, swollen ankles, slipping her fingers into Demetri’s atop their shared armrest. “Wel
l, so far we’ve tried cars and hotels and squatting in strange houses. Want to tell me why we’re heading to Maryland next?”
He took a deep breath, staring out the window as he had for most of their trip so far. “It’s home.”
“Huh?” She gave him a confused look. “You’re from Baltimore?”
He sighed, then looked over at her at last. “Yes. We’ll be going to the house where I grew up. My parents were the ones who bought it, but when my parents died, my aunt moved up to take custody of me—she didn’t want me to have to leave my home. Around the same time I became a SEAL, stationed in Virginia, she got a great job offer in Richmond and ended up moving down there, too. The house belongs to me—it always has; my parents left everything to me in their wills. Aunt Rebecca told me that it was my decision as to whether or not I wanted to sell it once we’d both moved out. I wasn’t ready to let it go, so we just closed the place up and contracted a caretaker to look after it. I haven’t been there in years.”
“Oh, Deme.” She leaned her head against his shoulder.
“It’s okay.” He settled farther down in his seat, bracing his knees against the seat back in front of him. He was so tall, his long legs far out-measured the space provided. Still, he’d not complained once about it, regardless of how uncomfortable he must be. “It should be a safe hideout for us. And if Harris does manage to follow us there, it gives me an advantage, since I know the place like the back of my hand.”
They rode on in silence for a while, until curiosity got the better of her. “Tell me about your aunt. You starting living with her when you were six, right?”
“Aunt Rebecca is awesome. She turned the house back into a home, gave me a life back again. She’s been my rock all along. That’s why it was so terrifying to get that first threat and see the pictures of her. She’s been hidden away in a safe house for a few weeks now.”
She laid her head on his chest, soothed by the deep pounding of his heart. “What’s your house like?”
“Eh, nothing special. Mid-century ranch. Three bedrooms, two baths. Clean and functional, but nothing special. Why?”
“Just wondered.” Diana shrugged. “Thanks for sharing that with me.”
“You’re welcome.” He kissed the top of her head, then rubbed her back, the clack-clack of the train wheels on the track making her drowsy. “Thanks for listening.”
“My pleasure.” She yawned and closed her eyes, intending to rest them for only a second, but ended up falling asleep in Demetri’s arms, dreaming of what it might be like to live in his childhood home and be a real couple someday, with their own baby to raise.
Seventeen
This definitely wasn’t the homecoming he’d had planned.
Demetri stood in the front yard of his childhood home early the next morning and stared at the front of the house. An expected barrage of happy memories assailed him—playing ball here with his father, the faded superhero symbol on the side of the tree house in the big old oak nearby, the tiny herb garden beside the porch his mom had planted one summer when he’d been about five.
The neighbourhood was just beginning to stir, birds chirping as the sun rose and they headed toward the front door. He couldn’t help noticing those stupid herbs seemed to be growing way better now that no one tended to them.
Guess some things grow better wild…
His chest tightened a bit at that thought, but he shoved it aside. No time to get all mushy now. He had a woman to protect and a killer to catch. He fumbled beneath a heavy cement planter, searching for the spare key they’d always stowed there. He unlocked the door while Diana snooped through the herb garden.
“Is this fresh dill? Oh, and parsley too. Rosemary, thyme, tarragon. Wow, what a nice selection.” She straightened and followed him up onto the porch. “I was trying to grow some at my place back in Virginia, but wasn’t having much luck.”
He scoffed and tossed her bag aside, then flipped on the lights. Thankfully, they had kept the utilities turned on. “It’s probably mostly weeds now. Best to tear it out and start fresh.”
The words came out harsher than he’d intended and Diana blinked at him a moment, looking like she wanted to ask him more about it, but then blessedly let the matter drop. She followed him around the house as he checked the rooms.
“It’s nice,” she said, inspecting one of the bedrooms after he’d checked it. “Clean and tidy.”
“There’s a service that comes in.” He walked into the kitchen and checked the fridge. Empty. At least there was ice from the ice maker. He got out two glasses from the cabinet and fixed them each a glass of ice water. They could order food later. Get some groceries delivered too. Diana would need to eat soon and he was getting a little hungry himself. But first…
He walked back into the living room and closed the drapes, blocking out the harsh sunshine and also any nosy neighbours…or more sinister watchers. Then he turned to Diana, who was lingering in the kitchen doorway. “Make yourself at home. Relax. I’m going to take a shower and get cleaned up. Don’t let anyone in.”
While he was in the bathroom, Diana did a bit of snooping. He’d said to make herself at home, after all. Plus, she was restless after sitting on the train so long. She needed to move to burn off some of her excess energy.
She went back to the bedroom she’d been looking at before. Just down the hall from the master suite, it was smaller and cosier. The perfect size for a nursery, actually. She went in and turned on the light, staring around at the empty space, pictured the walls painted a nice soft yellow instead of the beige they were now, maybe a crib against the far wall, a rocking chair by the window. The changing table could go opposite the crib, and a small dresser beside it.
Had this been Demetri’s room when he’d lived here? Her heart pinched at the thought of it. She’d had several days to process his family’s sad story since he’d first told her in that fancy hotel room—but seeing the house now, imagining little Demetri living through all those tragic events, made it all seem doubly real. No wonder he was the way he was. Not cold, exactly, but distant. With Demetri, she always felt like she got only so far with him emotionally, before hitting a wall. The wall of his past.
With a sigh she left the bedroom and went back to the living room. There were obvious gaps in the furniture, places where various things had clearly once stood. Based on what Demetri had said, she figured his aunt had downsized somewhat when she moved to Virginia and had decided to leave behind the furniture that wouldn’t fit comfortably in her new, smaller space. Eyeing the TV, which seemed like a throwback to 1992, she figured that maybe the aunt had also left behind the things she’d wanted to update.
Diana stared at the flickering screen without really seeing it, trying to imagine what Demetri must’ve have been like as a kid, before the tragedy struck. Imagined his brown gaze warm and welcoming, not polite and aloof as it was these days so much of the time. The only instance where she’d seen those walls come down had been last night in bed. When they’d made love together again, he hadn’t been aloof at all. No. He’d been hot and ready and so very wanton. Her body still tingled from his touch and if she closed her eyes, she could still picture the look on his face when he’d climaxed inside her. So free and focused and fierce. That Demetri was the man she longed to have with her all the time. The man she could easily fall in—
Whoops.
Diana put a quick kibosh on those thoughts. Falling for Demetri wasn’t part of the plan here. He’d sworn to keep her safe and catch the man after her, but he’d never once indicated he wanted a serious relationship after this mess was finished. Sure, he’d promised to help her with the pregnancy, but the things he’d offered had seemed more like what she’d get from a friend, not from a partner.
She sighed and rested her head back on the sofa. Nope. She needed to keep her wits about her and her heart out of this. No matter how much she might wish things were different, they weren’t. This wasn’t some fairy tale and Demetri wasn’t some prince, ready to marry h
er and live happily ever after.
The sound of the shower shutting off had her straightening in her seat and focusing on the TV again. The last thing she needed was for Demetri to find her out here daydreaming about him again. Instead, she pulled out the burner phone he’d given her and Googled what restaurants nearby delivered. Her stomach was grumbling and she wanted to be ready to order when he came out here again.
While sounds of Demetri bumping around in the bathroom echoed down the hall, Diana swallowed hard and forced her mind away from the bedroom nursery, away from Demetri’s traumatic childhood and her silly fantasies about the future, and focused on the here and now. Until the killer was caught, she and her child wouldn’t be safe. That had to be her top priority. Afterward, there’d be plenty of time to miss the man who’d haunted her dreams for months. For now, she needed to keep her head on straight and work together with him to keep herself and their baby alive.
Eighteen
Later on, Demetri did his best to stay busy so he wouldn’t think about how nice it might be to have Diana around all the time, even after all this was over. Because that was would be crazy. He sighed and continued putting away the groceries they’d ordered. He didn’t do love, didn’t do commitment, didn’t do this… whatever this was they were doing right now.
He liked his freedom. Liked his walls. Liked his space and the safety of his isolation.
Except, as Diana brushed past him to put the yogurt containers in the fridge, he couldn’t help thinking that being here, playing house like they were an old married couple, was pretty darned great. Kind of like how it had been for his parents, before all the bad stuff happened.
No. No, no, no.
Not great. He swore to himself and turned away to shove boxes of crackers and veggie chips and nuts and other healthy snacks into the cabinet. To combat the warm fuzzies threatening to engulf him, he concentrated on the memories of his life after losing his dad. All the days his mom had barely been able to get out of bed. Having to fend for himself come mealtime. The loneliness, the pain, the heartache.
