“We’ll see about doing that, then. Just promise me that if he comes around again, that you won’t open the door. If I’m not around, call the cops.”
She nodded. “How’d he know where I was? I’m so tired of this.” Her forehead made contact with my chest and her hands fisted my shirt.
“I don’t know, but I’ll be damned if we don’t get to the bottom of this soon.”
As Nicole finished up with cooking dinner, I called Mercer and Peters to check in and see what they’d managed to get on Turner and Granger.
“Mercer’s got a hunch about something,” Peters said. “I’ll keep you and Miss Baxter posted in the morning on anything new. Aside from the labs, we’re waiting on a court order to search Lisa Granger’s premises. She might have come in on her own, but she sure as hell wasn’t cooperative when we started asking questions about your girlfriend and her relationship with Granger’s fiancé. She couldn’t deny her relationship with Turner, though.”
“Don’t you need something substantial to get a search warrant?” I asked.
“Yeah, we do,” Mercer said. “Turner decided to be a bit more talkative when he saw the fiancé pop in to pick up his woman. He let a few things slip with his frustration. By the time Turner shut up, we had enough to go to the judge.”
“At least that’s some good news,” I said.
“Is there something else I need to be worried about?” Danson asked.
“I don’t like the way Nicole’s ex keeps popping up,” I said. “Any way we can get a restraining order on the guy? I have a hunch that something else is brewing.”
“We can do that,” Danson said. “Peters and I have been talking. We have an idea I want to run by you.”
After listening to the man, I thanked him, then hung up.
Walking into the kitchen, dinner was served, and Nicole was waiting for me at the table.
“So?” she asked.
“No results on the labs yet.” Her face fell and her features darkened. “Turner did manage to incriminate himself further by pointing the finger in Lisa’s direction, though. Mercer’s only going on a hunch, but Peters said they’ve put in for a search warrant of her property. They’re going to go ahead and get a restraining order done up for Dean, though. We’ll need to go in to sign the necessary papers.”
“So what you’re saying is that they don’t have any answers.”
“Not really. I’m-”
She got up and left the table without another word, or allowing me to finish speaking. Moments later, I heard a door latch shut.
Chapter 51
Letting myself into our bedroom, I heard the water running in the bathroom. There was low music in the background and I smiled when I heard Nicole’s sultry voice singing along to the tune.
I knocked on the bathroom door.
The water stopped. “Come in.”
When I opened the door, Nicole was in the bath, a vast amount of bubbles surrounding her.
I offered her a solemn smile. “Is this what you do when something’s bothering you?”
“Sort of.” She looked away from me.
Taking a seat on the edge of the tub, I said, “Honey, I know there’s little progress right-”
“Look, I really don’t want to think about it right now.”
“Okay.” I grabbed her scrub sponge and poured body wash onto it. “Turn around, I’ll wash your back.”
I ended up taking my sweet time with that sudsy sponge.
When I was done, I leaned over to give her a chaste kiss on her forehead and pulled away enough to study her face. The stress lines had slightly dissipated from her face, but were still distinguishable.
“I’ll wait out there for you.” I nodded my head toward the bathroom door.
“Hmm.” She smiled and wrapped a hand around my wrist.
“What are you-?”
With her other hand gripping my shirt and a swift pull, I didn’t stand a chance. I ended up in the tub with her, clothes and all.
A hearty laugh burst from her. “Why don’t you stay?”
“Why you little…” I kicked off my shoes before I got to my knees to try and get out of the tub.
Her hands grabbed on and tugged my pants. “Let’s get rid of those wet clothes and you can join me.”
“Seems you got laundry started.” I made haste of my shirt and proceeded to help her out by shimmying the material of my slacks from my waist while she pulled on my pant legs.
Once freed of my clothes, I leaned in to shift so I could sit behind her, but her leg came up, resting a foot on my chest and pushing me back. Her eyes glittered with mischief.
Two can play at that game!
I rubbed up her calf, grabbed it and pulled her toward me.
“How about I wash the rest of you now that I’m in here?” I asked.
She slid her body over my lap and wrapped her arms around my neck. “I thought I’d have to work harder to convince you.”
“You know I can’t say no to you.” I pecked the corners of her mouth and ran my hand from her cheek, cupping the back of her neck, my other running from her collarbone, down the front of her body. Her eyes closed and she tilted her head back.
“Where should I start?” I asked.
She moaned when I squeezed her nipples. “There!” She hissed as I pinched them again, a little harder this time. “Yes!”
“I see.” I nipped the side of her neck.
Her hands gripped my shoulders for balance as I tantalized her breasts.
My hands grasped her torso, the muscles of her stomach rippling, her skin twitching as I moved my touch further south.
Her nails dug into my shoulders as I applied a bit of pressure with my thumb and circled her clit.
“Baby, I need you.”
“You have me,” I whispered into her ear. “I’m yours, always.”
Her hips began to ride my palm and I felt a hand of hers gliding down my front to capture my cock. Nicole squeezed before her hand began to slide over my length. Her thumb traced the slit at my tip and I shivered. She lifted her hips and next thing I knew, I was inside her, her legs squeezing me closer, increasing my depth.
“I love the way you fill me.” She nipped my jaw. I thrust into her and watched her eyes darken. “I love the way you hold me, like I’m the most precious thing to you. The way I respond to you is like nothing I’ve ever felt. I love the way you react to whatever it is I do to you.” I moaned when she ground her hips into mine and tightened her pussy around me. “Yeah. Like that.”
“Nic…” My voice sounded strangled from desire. “You’re killing me here.”
“Definitely like that. I love it when you take charge, but damn, do I love it when you give in.” She rotated her hips. “You know what I love the most?” I grunted. “I love the way you love me.” She pulled away to look at my face, her movements halting altogether. “So many times you could have just given up on me, on us, but you didn’t. You’re an amazing man, Michael. No one’s ever been able to make me feel this way. You infuriate me to no end. You make me laugh when I need it. You always know what I need before I even figure it out. You love me for me.”
“Where are you going with this, honey?”
“I’m just stating how I feel, handsome.” She pulled my face to hers and pecked the corner of my mouth. “Now kiss me and let me take care of you instead of it being the other way around. I need this.”
The moment our lips met, her hips gyrated over mine. My arms tightened around her, with my hands fisting her hair, keeping her close. Her arms surrounded my shoulders and I reveled in the feathering of her fingers over my spine, the feel of her surrounding me as we soaked each other in.
“Don’t stop,” I begged, letting her do as she wanted.
She kissed my nose, my eyes, and my cheeks. I felt her muscles tightening around me and she pulled away enough for our eyes to meet.
She came undone, taking me along for the ride. Her mouth connected with mine in a sensual crash to bring us
down from our high.
“Feel better?” I asked over her swollen lips.
“Much.” She nuzzled my nose. “What do you say we get out of here?”
“I can’t think of a better thing right now than you, me, a bed, and some sleep.”
I had a feeling that the next week was going to be our toughest one yet.
Chapter 52
As predicted, things progressed from bad to worse as a new week dawned.
On Monday, I woke up to a slaughtered cat on my front step.
On Tuesday, my car’s tires were slashed and someone had taken a dislike to the front garden – every bloom having been beheaded, torn apart, and scattered to litter the front lawn.
On Wednesday, the precinct called us with the worst news yet.
After obtaining a subpoena and going through Lisa’s and Turner’s financials, they were able to find irrefutable proof that Lisa was the mastermind behind the arson and Turner was her puppet. The forensic results were in, linking them further to the case. By then, however, Turner’s bail had been posted, and the man was walking free.
Lisa may have been on premises during their search on Wednesday, but at some point, the woman had given them the slip, further proving her guilt.
It was just Nicole’s luck, that when the authorities finally had answers, they weren’t able to locate Lisa or Guy. Even odder was when they delivered Dean’s restraining order as well as to question him about his fiancée’s whereabouts, the man couldn’t be tracked down either. Stationing officers at each of their residences and places of work had turned up nothing. All three had fallen off the grid.
With everything going on with Nicole, instead of working from home, my sister had returned to her CFO role as of Monday. It allowed me to come and go with more ease from the office. Danica seemed happy to be around, but I knew that she preferred to be at home with her husband and their new babies.
As for Nicole, the woman proved her stubbornness in negotiations. She managed to convince me that she should come back to work on Friday. I have to say that I was relieved, because work was piling up, and it would be easier to keep an eye on my girlfriend instead of having her be at home alone.
Later than her usual arrival time on Friday morning, Nicole called me from home, in hysterics. I cursed myself for not pushing to drive the both of us in, but I had understood her need to reclaim her independence.
Rushing home and barging through the front door, I found my house in shambles. The smaller furniture was overturned and an assortment of glass, crystal, and frames lay shattered on the floor.
I swallowed the panic that stirred my gut and pushed down the bile that was quickly rising in my throat. “Nicole!”
“Upstairs!” Her voice was muffled, strained with sobs.
Taking the stairs two at a time, I found our bedroom door shut and locked. “Honey, it’s me, open the door.”
I heard the shuffling of furniture before the latch popped and she opened the door to throw herself into my arms.
“What the hell happened?” I asked.
“Someone was in the house.”
“I see that, but how the hell did that happen when I asked you to lock the door and set the alarm when I left?” I sighed. “Did you not do that?”
She shook her head. “I didn’t think. God! You weren’t gone for very long and my phone rang. I came up here to get it, and next thing I knew, someone was in the house, trashing the place. They tried to get to me, but I shut myself in here,” she gestured toward the bedroom, “and locked the door.”
I noticed that my dresser was askew. “You moved that thing in front of the door?” The thing could barely be moved by me alone, it was so large. She nodded into my chest. “Did you call the cops?” She shook her head. “Nicole.” I grumbled. “Fine, I’ll put the call in right now.” I reached into my back pocket for my phone.
“I know it’s them.”
“Did you see them?”
She looked up at me. “No, but I know there was more than one person. I heard them talking. They knew who I was. They said my name.” She broke down again.
I pulled her into my chest and kissed the top of her head. “Okay.” I ran my hand over her hair. “It’s okay, I’m here.” And enough was enough.
Chapter 53
Mercer and Peters had been and gone with our statements, along with the CSI team. I had sent Nicole to our bedroom to lie down an hour ago while I tended to the crew of investigators.
After tackling a few work-related issues, and despite my unsettled stomach, I fixed us a light snack rather than a lunch.
Nicole’s arms came around me as I was setting everything on a serving tray.
“What are you doing out of bed?”
“I can’t stay up there.”
I turned and wrapped my arms around her. “In that case, what do you say that we get out of town? Peters said it was fine as long as we stayed somewhat local, and I have just the place in mind.”
She shook her head. “We can’t. We’ve got work and what about-”
“I hate to ruin that picture perfect work ethic of yours…”
“…but you’re the boss.” She rolled her eyes.
I kissed the crease in her forehead and said, “I see that you’re learning.”
A few hours later, the car was packed and we were ready to go after I put in a call with Mercer and Peters, letting them know we were taking them up on their recommendation to get out of Dodge. With them in the know as to our whereabouts, a plan was put in motion.
“So, where to?” she asked, buckling herself in.
“It’s a surprise.” I smiled. “I think you might just love this.”
I hadn’t allowed her to help me out with packing the car. We drove for a few hours before I pulled down an old dirt road.
“This isn’t one of your hiking expeditions, is it?”
I laughed. “Wait and see. We’re almost there.” I was surprised she didn’t recognize the area, but then again, a lot had changed over the years.
I watched from the corner of my eye as Nicole squirmed in her seat beside me, the mixture of excitement and anxiety exuding from her.
Fifteen minutes off the main road, there it was in all its glory.
“Oh, my God!” Her hand squeezed my thigh. “I’ve forgotten about this place.”
“Welcome to the Withers family cottage.”
“But I thought your dad sold it?”
I snorted. “He did, but Danica and I bought it from the owners a few years ago. We kept it under wraps because we didn’t want Dad to know about it. He hated this place, but Dani and I loved it. So did Mom.”
“We used to have so much fun here,” she said. “I have so many memories of this place.”
“Me too.” I chuckled at the mental picture rolling about in my mind. “I remember a certain girl who was too busy admiring my chest to hand me a bottle of water.”
Nicole groaned and got out of the car. “You were mean.” I followed her retreat and waited for her to say something else. “It was a good thing you had your looks back then.”
“That was the last summer before we moved away,” I pointed out.
“Yeah.” She sighed and looked up to take in the whole of the place and smiled. “It’s still as beautiful as I remember.”
“Come on!” I pulled her to the cottage’s door and opened it.
After taking care of the dinner dishes, I found Nicole standing out by the beach with a blanket wrapped around her. The sun was setting and she looked at peace for the first time all day. Trying not to freak out that she was out by herself when the Detectives had told me to keep her in my sights, I slowed my rushing pace to a walk, wrapping my arms around her when I got to her.
“What are you doing out here by yourself?”
She pressed her body into mine. “Just taking it all in.”
“Are you okay?”
“Yeah.”
“You sure?”
She hesitated. “I think so.”
Not convincing. I turned her so she faced me. “What is it?”
“I’m sure it’s nothing but paranoia what with everything that’s been going on.”
“Meaning?”
She sighed. “I feel like I’m being watched. Kind of like that night with the fire.”
My body stiffened. I hugged her tighter to me. “Let’s go inside.”
She nodded and started for the cottage.
I took a long scan at the surrounding woods and debated.
I really should tell her.
“Hey,” I felt her hand on my arm, “are you coming?”
“Yeah.” I wrapped an arm around her shoulders and started us toward the deck.
“Is everything okay?”
“It will be.”
She stopped in her tracks, gave me an assessing gaze and her lips thinned. “What’s going on Michael?”
She was on to me.
Chapter 54
“I know something’s up,” she said as we entered the cottage.
I locked the sliding glass door behind us and stared at the lake, taking a deep breath in preparation for what I was about to tell her. “Nic…”
“Michael, what’s going on?”
“I thought it was a good idea.” I groaned and ran a hand through my hair. “Maybe I was wrong.”
“Wrong about what?”
“I should have told you from the beginning.” I looked down, guilt ever consuming.
“Michael, you’re freaking me out here, what the fuck is going on?”
“Peters thought it was a good idea that I take you away for a couple of days. He said that it might help him with finding-”
“Are you trying to tell me that I’m bait?”
“To put it mildly,” my gaze met hers, “yeah.”
“So me feeling like I’m being watched…?”
I nodded. “It’s most likely one of Mercer’s guys but it could be-”
Her face turned a bright crimson. “How could you?”
“Mercer and Peters thought it better that you didn’t know,” I said. “I wanted to say something, honey, believe me, I did.”
Play Me to Infinity (The Broken Men Chronicles Book 3) Page 18
