“He’s definitely playing games. I’d love to know why he leaves creepy notes and always uses a different color scarf,” Susan said with a sigh.
“Yeah, like a damn rainbow. Red, orange, yellow, green, bl—” Zeke stopped speaking.
“Oh, shit,” Ben said.
“The scarf tonight was green. Beth’s was red. Ashley’s was orange. Why wasn’t tonight yellow, if he is playing a sick joke and following the colors of the rainbow?” Zeke said.
“Because he already used yellow. We have a dead body out there and we just haven’t been notified yet. Nobody’s found the body,” Ben said.
He knew they were right in their thinking. Now it was a waiting game. Waiting until the call came in for another victim. He prayed they were wrong.
His eyes glossed to the evidence bag stuffed with the green scarf dangling from Susan’s hands, knowing he wasn’t wrong. Rina was supposed to be victim number four tonight, not number three.
Chapter 12
Her skin prickled with unease as she blew out a breath to calm her sporadic nerves. She glanced around. What would her best plan of escape be? The area was deserted. The street, quiet and peaceful. If she ran, she’d have no one to stop her. All she would have to do is run fast and run hard. Or she could simply get back in the car and demand to go home.
“Rina, what’s the matter?” Ben asked, grabbing her hand that was clenched tightly to her side.
“I don’t think your sister will want me here, especially with a crazy psycho out there wanting to hurt me.”
Ben lifted her hand to his lips, gently placing a tender kiss. He wrapped his other arm around her waist, pulling her closer. “My sister likes you. You’re not going to worry about any crazy psycho. Only I am and how I’m going to catch the bastard.”
He produced a small grin, gingerly brushing his fingers on her back in a small pattern. “I’d be helping Zeke right now getting that warrant and pursuing a few leads, but I promised Isabella a tea party. If there is one thing you never do, it’s break a promise with that little girl. She never forgets anything. Someday she’ll have some man bending over backwards to do her bidding without lifting one finger. Sort of the power you have over me.”
“I do not.” She bit her lip to hide her smile.
“Oh, sweetheart, you do.” He snatched a kiss. “I don’t mind one bit.”
She stared into his eyes and forgot about all the escape routes. Not that she found many. Run like hell, or hide in the car. Not very effective escape routes.
A sudden image of last night when Ben made her forget about the horror that entered made her blush fiercely. It was selfish, she knew, but she wanted to go home and have her way with him. It didn’t particularly help with the way he held her either. His hard body pressed to hers in the most intimate way. Curve for curve, fitting perfectly.
“What is that beautiful mind of yours thinking? Because if it’s what I think it is, you better stop,” he whispered, dropping his lips to her neck as he pressed tiny kisses along the curve up to her chin. His lips continued a small path to her lips, sinking his tongue in for a few brief seconds. “We should go inside before I suddenly break a promise to a little girl and whisk you back home.”
“Stop distracting me, Benjamin.” She stepped out of his arms to gather the strength to walk to the front door. She would never make it there otherwise. He felt too wonderful, too tempting.
“Hmm, Benjamin, huh? You make it sound like I’m in trouble.”
“You will be if you don’t keep your hands to yourself during this tea party. I need full concentration. I lose my focus when you touch me.”
“Good to know. Now I’m curious what sort of punishment you’ll dish out.”
Her eyes glided to the funny way he walked as he ventured toward the door, knowing the exact reason why, and laughed deliriously. “Behave. Adjust yourself before you knock. You don’t want them to see how uncomfortable you are, do you?”
“Adjust it for me?” he asked hopefully as he turned around.
Her eyes went round with shock, her hand covering her mouth as more laughter wanted to escape. “You are a devious man. I don’t think I ever truly knew how much you like to tease. It’s not nice. I don’t think Isabella would appreciate me touching you in such a manner. She’s peeking out the window.”
Rina pointed to the window on the left, a curtain pulled slightly, and a small blonde-haired girl poking through. Ben’s eyes trailed that way, his face turning beet red. He offered Isabella a small wave and turned toward Rina to hide the huge bulge in his pants. Another laugh escaped as Rina watched him adjust his pants.
“Okay, let’s put our mind into tea party mode. Otherwise, I’ll never survive. Stop enticing me.” He pointed a finger in her face, telling her he meant business.
Not one to normally start their sexual encounters, but unable to resist, she clamped her mouth around his finger and slowly drew back as she swirled her tongue around.
“Don’t put your finger in my face…unless you want me to do that again.” Her face lit up with excitement. “Tea party mode commence.”
She walked around him and continued on the pathway to the front door. When she noticed he hadn’t followed her, she glanced at him and asked in a sweet, soft voice mixed with mischief, “Ben, are you coming?”
He adjusted himself one more time, then walked toward her with determined strides.
“You’re going to pay for that,” he whispered in her ear and knocked soundly on the door.
Before she could respond, the door whipped open, and a petite, blonde-haired little girl stood with her hands on her hips.
“What you doing, Uncle Ben-Ben? It took you a really, really, really long time for you to come to the door,” Isabella said. Her eyes zoomed to his hands. “Where’s my cookies? You promised.”
“Keepin’ you on your toes, darling. Just wanted to make sure you remembered.” Ben winked. “I left them in the car. This is Rina. Why don’t you escort her inside?”
Isabella squinted her eyes, assessing Ben like a suspect. “I think you forgot. Lies are bad, Uncle Ben-Ben. You say so.”
Ben looked sheepishly at her. “You got me, Bella. I plain forgot. This beautiful woman next to me distracts me so easily. Forgive me, angel.”
“As long as you brought chocolate chip cookies and not peanut butter.” Her eyes never wavered, glaring at him for all she was worth.
“I would never bring peanut butter cookies. You’re gonna make a great detective one day, angel,” Ben said with a charming smile.
“I learn from the best.” She smiled wide, her glare instantly disappearing. She snagged a quick hug from him, then pushed him backwards. He barely moved an inch from her little push. “Get the cookies. We can’t start until we have them.”
She turned to Rina. “Uncle Ben-Ben’s right. You’re boot-iful. I wanna show you Princess Dolly.” She grabbed Rina’s hand and pulled her inside.
Rina followed obediently, grinning at Ben as he winked at her and made his way back to the car. She had a feeling this would be the best tea party she ever attended. Isabella would make sure of it.
She was dragged with a tiny hand until they landed upon a white table with different colored legs. Pink, purple, yellow, and orange. Each color standing out brightly and decorated with splatters of crayon and marker. The table was set with four place settings. One plate, one cup and saucer, a napkin, and a spoon all nicely displayed in an arrangement that made Rina smile. She wondered if they would be drinking real tea and if she would have to raise her pinky as she drank. That’s how she always drank her tea when she had her lovely tea parties as a child.
Although, she never had four place settings for real people. It was always her dolls that made up her list of guests. It was a rare moment when her father would join her, even as she begged and begged him to just have one sip.
Here was Ben, making sure nothing got in his way to have a simple tea party with his niece. He would be a wonderful father. He was the total
opposite of her father. How sad. Her father could use some tips from Ben on how a father should act.
“You can’t be sad at a tea party. Why you sad?” Isabella asked, holding a bedraggled doll in her hands.
Rina turned her eyes away from the table to the little girl standing next to her. She pulled a smile out of nowhere and pushed those depressing thoughts away. “I was just thinking it’s been a long time since I was invited to a tea party. I miss them. Thank you very much for letting me join you today.”
“I like you. You very nice.” Isabella beamed with excitement as she held up her doll. “This is Princess Dolly. Can she sit on your lap? She wants to.”
Rina took the doll from Isabella’s offered hand. The doll looked to be hand sewn, made with a strong fabric. Her face was painted on, or whatever Rina assumed you used on cloth, with a button for a nose. Her hair was made with braided yarn; a dark brown color that she could see was getting worn. She wore a pink dress with white stars sprinkled all over. On her feet, black booties, also made with fabric, were sewn on with care. She wondered who made it for her, suddenly jealous. No one ever made her anything with such delicacy, such love, such care.
“I would love to have her sit with me. She’s beautiful. Just like you.”
“I knew you’d love her. See, Momma, I told you.” Isabella turned her head to smile proudly at Erin, who shrugged with laughter.
“You sure did. Like you always do.” Erin walked over to Rina. “It’s nice to see you again. I’m glad you’re joining us.”
“Are you sure?” Rina had to ask. She wouldn’t want herself here if she were in Erin’s spot.
Erin laughed. “I’m sure.” She bent down toward Isabella. “We need our tea. You’re our hostess. Why don’t you grab it from the refrigerator?”
“But of course,” Isabella said in her most debonair voice she could manage. Which to Rina’s ears was quite well. Isabella ran off toward the kitchen.
Erin watched her run, then turned her attention to Rina. “I’m not mad at you, or Ben, really. Hell, I don’t even hate your father for what he did. After the anger wore off, only sadness entered. My dad’s always been there for me, guiding, teaching, explaining the ways of life. He’s never done anything like your father did, but I understand. He’s protecting you in the only way he knows how.”
Erin sighed, her eyes glancing at the table that was set so perfectly. “He doesn’t need to protect you from Ben, obviously. But he doesn’t know that. I wouldn’t wish Isabella away for the world, but sometimes I wish my dad would’ve protected me from her father. He really destroyed me.” Erin glanced back at Rina. “Nobody is taking my little girl from me, especially when it’s a lie. I’m not worried anymore and neither should you.”
“Friends?” Rina asked tentatively, holding her hand out. She wouldn’t worry if Erin wasn’t going to.
“Friends.” Erin grabbed her hand and squeezed with a huge smile. Her smile dimmed for a moment. “You make Ben happy. You hold his heart like no woman has before. Don’t hurt him, please. I’d hate to have to hurt you.”
“It’s the last thing I’d ever do. I promise.”
***
Ben stood in the foyer, hidden behind the wall. He was the protector, the one who made sure his sisters were taken care of. He’d never in his life had one of his sisters try to protect him. At least, not that he was aware of. The sad reality, he felt like he needed it a bit this time.
Rina loved him, expressed it in every way she knew how. With her words. Every time he said the three little magical words, she would repeat it back. With her actions. Moving her hands over his body that said she loved him without having to say the words. With her looks. The way her eyes glanced his way, the love shining within the depths.
Yet, she never said the words ‘I love you’ first. She waited patiently for him to speak them. She never initiated contact in an intimate way with him unless he started it, except their first time together when he climbed into the bed and she was already gloriously naked. She tried so hard to hide her looks, to hide the love she felt for him. Just like she held her feelings from him for over three months. Three months lost because she was scared to let go, to do something for herself for once.
He had Rina, but he didn’t know for how long. He still worried when the day would come and she’d give in, walk away, because she was just too scared to keep fighting.
He needed to show her why they were worth fighting for. He wouldn’t make walking away from him easy. If she did, he’d make damn sure she struggled doing it.
***
Ben opened the door and let Zeke in. “How’d the day go?”
“Busy. How’d the tea party go?”
Ben closed the door, then walked into the living room. “Good. You know Isabella. She always throws an excellent tea party. Rina was tense at first, but she quickly relaxed. Isabella doesn’t let anyone be sad at a tea party. Rina and Erin got along well.”
Zeke sat on the couch next to Ben. “Good to hear. I made a little headway.”
“Did you get the warrant and the records?”
“Yeah, I saw my dad first thing in the morning. I went to the boutique, got the credit card records, which let me tell you, is going to be a pain in our ass. It’s long. Too long. I made the manager go back six months, just to be safe.”
“Whatever we have to do. What else did you do?”
“With the help of Officer Spencer, we interviewed some of Rina’s neighbors about last night. A neighbor two doors down, a night owl or something. She happened to be awake when the man ran to his car. She caught the last three digits of the plate as it sped off. One, five, six. It’s a start.”
“Better than I did.” Ben sighed. “Anything else?”
“Quit beating yourself up. That’s all I got done today. I figured we can start fresh tomorrow. We should talk to Rina later about her habits and go from there. Dee’s going to bring Zoe over in another hour or so for ‘girl time’. I’m pretending to be at work still.” Zeke grinned at the ploy to get Zoe over to Rina’s. “I hope she’s not too exhausted for this party.”
“Is she okay? Here I am, always worrying about Rina and not asking about Zoe.”
“She’s fine. She just overworks herself. She dotes on Brina while she’s awake, and the minute she goes down for a nap, she’s bustling around the house to get everything done she couldn’t while Brina was awake. It wears her out. I don’t want her going back to work. I think it’s just going to add unneeded stress. Not to mention, I told her I’d be bringing her to and from work until this bastard is caught. Of course, that scared the shit out of her.”
“With good reason. Maybe we should carpool. I’m driving Rina to work as well.”
“We’ll meet at their office, leave one of our cars there, and drive to the precinct together. How about that?”
“I like that plan. Have you told Zoe you don’t want her working?”
“Not really.”
Ben chuckled. “Remember all those misunderstandings you two had last year that could’ve been avoided with simple communication. Haven’t you learned anything, buddy?”
“I remember,” Zeke replied sarcastically. “I told her she doesn’t have to work.”
“Try telling her you don’t want her to work. There’s a difference.”
“Okay, Mr. Know-it-all, I can see you’ve talked to Rina, yeah?”
Ben shifted on the couch, rubbing his knee with agitation. “Yeah, we’re good. I just worry how much it’s taking a toll on her, the tension between her father and her. I know it’s still there.”
“It will be until he comes to his senses.” Zeke slapped him on the back and stood up. “It’s a party for my wife. I guess I should pitch in and help. Let’s see what Rina needs us to do.”
“Good luck with that. She’s already kicked me out of the kitchen twice for trying to help.”
Ben couldn’t hold in his smile. He knew why she kicked him out.
“I know that look. Perhaps with a r
eferee in the kitchen you’ll manage to keep your hands to yourself,” Zeke said with a chuckle.
Ben clapped him on the back. “I don’t know, man, it’s pretty damn hard. I can see you calling a personal foul against me.”
“Personal foul?” Zeke looked shocked. “What the hell you going to do, knock me on my ass if I prevent you from touching her?”
“You never know. She makes me want her, especially when she moves around the kitchen reaching for stuff or bending over. It doesn’t take much.”
Zeke laughed louder. “I know what you mean. It’s a nice feeling, isn’t it?”
Ben looked him in the eye. “It is.”
They walked into the kitchen. Rina was busy at the sink washing fruit. Ben walked over to her and wrapped his arms around her tiny waist. “Can we help yet? Zeke really wants to since it’s a party for Zoe. You’re not going to deny him, are you?”
She leaned against his chest as she let the water run over her hands. “I think it’d be easier to get things done with you two out of the kitchen.”
Ben lowered his mouth to her ear. “What can I possibly start with him in here with us?” He nibbled her ear and pressed a few kisses on her neck.
“That.” She opened her neck to give him better access. Realizing what she was doing, she moved her head forward and turned to look at him. “Stop distracting me, Ben. You two can start moving the things from the fridge into the dining room. People should start arriving soon.”
He sighed, but gave her a delightful smile. “If I have to.” He pressed another kiss to her neck before backing away.
“I almost called unsportsmanlike conduct there,” Zeke said with a twinkle in his eye.
“Learn your football, can’t call that when contact is involved.” Ben walked to the fridge, pulling it open.
“Oh, yeah, personal foul.” He couldn’t stop laughing, even after Ben shoved a pasta salad bowl into his stomach.
“Rina asked that we set up the table. Go.”
“Sure thing, Ben. After you. You know how I hate it when you make me go first all the time.” Zeke shifted the bowl into his left hand, holding out his right hand for Ben to lead the way.
One Taste of Love (A One Taste Novel Book 2) Page 15
