She wasn’t ready to face him. Face the inevitable fighting. They always managed to argue. Every single time. It was getting old.
She disarmed her alarm, then took her time walking to the front door. When she unlocked the door, she didn’t have time to twist the knob herself. The door swung open, making her take a step back.
Stitch stepped inside without asking, which didn’t surprise her, and slammed her door shut.
“Trying to hide from me, shorty?”
“No.”
“You’ve been gone a long time.”
“I was working.” She wanted to ask how long he had been waiting, but the words wouldn’t come.
“We got shit to talk about.”
“Yes.”
“I’ve been thinking about this all night and…” His words died on a whisper.
Maybe it was the way she looked at him. Maybe it was the tears gathering in the corner of her eyes. Maybe it was the way she started to shiver and shake.
Her reaction wasn’t only from the thought he was officially done with her. But from everything. The entire day. The entire week. The stress of everything.
“Shit, Suzey baby. Don’t cry.” One step and she was in his arms. He swung her gently, cradling her close to his chest, and walked to the living room where he sat down. His arms tightened around her, as if he were unwilling to let her go for even a second. “Don’t cry.”
Even as he said those soft words, a tear slid out. She couldn’t have stopped it if she tried. She wasn’t a crier. What did tears ever solve?
But she couldn’t hold them in.
Tear after tear slid out. Silently, but strong.
Stitch held her tightly, his strong arms wrapping around her as if he could shield her from everything. Oh, how she wished that were true.
The silence circled them. Something that should’ve been uncomfortable, yet somehow she felt his comfort straight to the core of her heart. His head tucked over hers, his hands splayed across her back, stroking, soothing. His warm body heat relaxing her.
As her tears fell, he held her. No words exchanged. Nothing but calm, sweet peace filled the air.
That’s all she needed. She didn’t realize this was all she wanted until he gave it to her.
It was crazy scary how well he knew her already.
Minutes passed. Her tears lessened, yet she wasn’t ready to face her problems. The reason why she cried.
Soon, they stopped. Her eyes were dry. He still held her tightly in his embrace, the room silent. The lights were off. The darkness should’ve been eerie and foreboding. It almost helped the peace in a little easier.
“Talk to me, Suzey baby. What happened?”
Besides the part where they always argued, everything else happened. How could she explain? Did she even want to talk about it?
A soft kiss touched her forehead. Reassuring and sweet. She enjoyed this tender side of him. Willing to console her when it probably wasn’t something he did often, or liked to do.
Such a mysterious man. So strong and defiant at times. Controlling and domineering at other times. Sweet and tender. What part was the real Stitch?
All of it. That’s what made him so special. That’s why she didn’t want to lose him. Yet, she didn’t know how to keep him. She wouldn’t be able to until he allowed her to. So far, he’d been keeping her at a distance, not willing to let her get close enough to latch on and keep a firm grip.
“Sweetheart?”
So many different endearments he loved to call her. Even when he called her shorty, one she didn’t particularly like, she could almost imagine it as an endearment. Just one when he was annoyed with her. Right now, calling her sweetheart and Suzey baby, he was worried. Concerned.
Then it all came out. Everything about work. About Newman. About telling Captain Ganderson. Everything but the issues between them. She wasn’t ready to touch that subject.
Hell, she shouldn’t even be telling him half of this stuff. Not that she talked about the murder cases, but even grazing the surface about it felt borderline weird, as if she was betraying her professionalism. But she couldn’t keep it in. She had to tell someone. She had to tell a neutral party.
Maybe telling Dee’s best friend wasn’t that neutral, but she felt like she could trust Stitch. She wanted to be able to trust him.
“I’ll kick Sauer’s ass if he says one mean word to you.”
A real laugh fell out as she tilted her head to look at him. “And how would Dee take that if you beat up her husband?”
“Right now, I don’t care.”
Her heart skipped a beat. This felt monumental. As if he just admitted something he didn’t want to admit. Her feelings were more important than his best friend’s? Did he…love her?
Well, she wasn’t going to ask. She wasn’t even going to admit she loved him. Unless, of course, he decided to say it first.
“He better not hurt you.”
She sighed softly. “Sauer would never touch me.”
“Maybe not physically. I don’t give a shit who he is. Nobody will hurt you.”
So possessive. Did she like it? Could she handle this? Something as simple as hurting her feelings and he wanted to beat a person.
“I wish you wouldn’t say things like that.”
“It’s never going to change.”
“I know.” She whispered it so softly, she wasn’t sure if he heard her. When he placed a gentle kiss to the top of her head, she knew he did. A simple gesture that he understood. It didn’t mean he would change.
She didn’t want him to change. Not really. But she didn’t know if she could handle the possessive, jealous part of him.
“Do you think Newman is guilty?”
“I don’t have enough evidence to say either way.”
He shifted a little, his arms never loosening. “That’s not what I’m asking.”
She settled her head on his chest. “I honestly don’t know. I want to say no. But then…he’s been acting weird lately.”
“If he comes near you, you call me.” His arms tightened with a death grip. “Immediately.”
“He’s not—”
“Non-negotiable.”
“What are you going to do? Punch him, even if he hasn’t done anything. Violence isn’t the answer to everything, Stitch.”
“I don’t have to lay a finger on that asshole to let him know to stay the hell away from you.”
“I work with him. It’s impossible not to have contact with him. I’m not afraid of him.”
“Call me.”
“Stitch…”
“You’ll call me.”
She twisted in his arms. “You need to stop this…this…possessive behavior.”
He squeezed her fiercely, kissing her forehead. “And if I don’t?”
Good question. Could she handle it? Did she want to handle it?
“You’re mine, Suzey baby.” His soft words slid down her spine in delicious tingles. “Whether you like it or not.”
Chapter 16
The pounding on the door made him bolt upright in bed. It was like a shot of adrenaline straight into his veins. He shoved back the covers and started to scramble out of the bed when a soft hand on his arm stopped him.
“I got it,” she whispered sleepily.
His eyes narrowed at the beautiful woman lying in bed, half-naked, the sheet covering her lower half, with her breasts on display. If there wasn’t some asshole knocking on the door at four in the morning, he would show her how much he loved her breasts.
“Go back to bed. You’re not answering the door. Especially looking like that.”
She glanced down and grinned. Her eyes tilted back up mischievously. “I’ll put some clothes on. It’s my house, Stitch.”
“Stay in bed.”
He didn’t give her a chance to argue. He swiped his pants and shirt from the floor and dressed somewhat awkwardly, then slid his shoes on and walked out of her bedroom and to the front door with determined footsteps. Halfway there, he realized he di
dn’t zip his pants. He pulled the zipper up gently, considering he left his boxers on the floor, and tried to erase the erotic image of Susan waiting for him in bed. He needed his full wits to deal with whatever asshole decided to knock on her door so late, and then take his fill of her once he got back to bed.
As he was about to open the door, he heard some beeps from the kitchen. A second later, Susan’s gorgeous face appeared around the corner. She was dressed in her flimsy robe, and he had to wonder if she was still naked underneath that, because it did not look like she put on a shirt before tightening the robe around her slender waist.
“You didn’t want the alarm to go off, did you?”
He smirked instead of answering. Obviously, he hadn’t been thinking about the alarm. Just the fact he wanted to ream into whoever was on the other side of the door. He didn’t like being woken up like this. Or that someone felt the need to bother Susan so late. He especially didn’t like her walking his way dressed the way she was.
His hand tightened its grip on the handle and then opened it. He didn’t bother to hide the snarl on his face. “What the hell do you want?”
Sauer blinked in surprise, then tried to glance behind him. “I’m looking for Susan.”
“At four o’clock in the morning? Go home to your wife.” He leaned in closer. “Stay the hell away from Susan, especially if you have nothing nice to say to her.”
Sauer looked confused with a mixture of shock. “I’m always nice to Susan. I should say the same to you. You hurt her, and you’ll answer to me.”
“Are you threatening me?”
“Maybe I am.”
Before he could throw a punch in Sauer’s face, even though he knew it’d be a terrible idea, hurting Deena in the process, a soft hand pressed against his chest and made him step back.
“Is everything okay, Sauer? What’s going on? You never show up like this.”
He hated the fear he heard in her tone. Fear that Sauer would hurt her? Or something far worse? The unknown grated on his nerves, making him jumpy as hell.
A slow sigh escaped as Sauer ran a hand through his hair, his eyes darting from him to Susan and back to him.
“We found Newman. We had a cop car staked out at his house and he finally showed up around two. The officer called Captain Ganderson, who then called me, and we knocked on his door together. Needless to say, the conversation didn’t go well and…” Sauer’s face twisted in horror.
A shiver rippled across Susan’s body. She obviously didn’t want to hear what he was about to say. He wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her closer. She didn’t hesitate to grip his arms, as if she was sinking to the bottom of the ocean and he would keep her afloat. Keep her safe. He would. No matter the cost.
“Sauer? And what?”
“We had to take him in for questioning. He’s refusing to talk. He hasn’t admitted to anything, but his silence isn’t…” Sauer’s eyes squeezed closed as a dose of pain shot across his features. His eyes popped open. “I don’t want to think he’s guilty, but he’s not giving me a choice right now. Why would he do this?”
“Some people are assholes.”
Sauer’s eyes whipped to his. Susan also twisted her head to gaze up at him. He shrugged. It was the truth. Sometimes there was no rhyme or reason. People just did something because they were an asshole.
Susan leaned into him some more as she turned back to Sauer. “What do you need from me?”
Sauer lifted his hand, the tremors clear as day as he held out a piece of paper to her. “It’s a warrant for his house. I need you to come with me and process…process any evidence we might find.”
She nodded and took the paper from his hand. She tried to walk away, to get out of his embrace, but his hold on her didn’t weaken. If anything, he tightened it. He didn’t want her to leave. He knew he had no right to stop her. This was her job. But after last night and the things she shared about Newman, he didn’t want her to have anything to do with this. How dare Sauer keep bringing her into the mix. How dare he think it was okay to come to her house at four in the morning, rip her out of his arms, and make her leave him.
She tried to twist around, but instead of letting her do that, he twisted instead, his back now to Sauer.
He lowered his mouth to her ear. “Don’t leave.”
“This is my job.”
“You don’t want to leave. Someone else can deal with this shit.”
She trembled slightly. He was right. She didn’t want to leave, and he wasn’t going to let her.
“Stitch, I have to. It’s my job.”
“Screw that. You don’t have to.” He dropped his arms and turned around, shoving Sauer back. “Go home. She isn’t leaving.”
“Watch it, Stitch,” Sauer warned as he righted himself before falling on his ass, something Stitch wished would’ve happened.
“What are you going to do about it, Sauer? Huh? Fight me? Take your best shot.”
“I don’t know what your problem is lately, but I’m not going to sit here and take it. How about you leave. I’m not sure I want you at Susan’s house.” Sauer took a step closer.
“It’s not any of your damn business.” His fists clenched.
“I’m making it my business.”
“Stop it. Both of you.” She shoved between them, putting a hand on both of their chests to make them step back. She turned to Sauer. “Let me get dressed. I’m coming with you.” Then she turned toward him. “Knock it off. This is my job.”
“Even if you don’t want to do this. Screw your job. That Newman asshole scares you. Someone else can take care of this.”
“He doesn’t scare me.”
He cocked an eyebrow. “Yeah, keep telling yourself that, but that’s not how I heard it last night.”
“Do I have to ask you to leave, Stitch?”
“You kicking me out, shorty?”
Her eyes narrowed to little slits, something she liked to do when he called her that. He knew she didn’t like it, which was probably why he did it. What an asshole. Why couldn’t he control his temper with her?
She stepped closer, her hand on his chest was heavy as she pushed him a little, not enough to make him move back, but enough to make a point. “I don’t want you to leave, but you need to stop acting like this.”
Lowering his head, his mouth brushed her ear. “I’ll never stop acting like this. Not when I can see how much it’s hurting you to do something you don’t want to do.”
“It’s my job.”
Every time she said that, this time in a gentle whisper, he wanted to pound something. The wall. A face. Anything to unleash the anger those words made him feel. She shouldn’t have to do something she didn’t want to do, job be damned.
She stood on her tippy toes. A soft kiss landed on his neck. “You should know the feeling. Having to do your job when you don’t want to sometimes.”
“What the hell does that mean?”
“Your wrist.”
He jerked back in surprise. No way. She couldn’t know how much his wrist had been bothering him. He hid that. He didn’t let anyone see how much it bothered him.
Pain shimmered within the depths of her eyes as she walked around him and into the house, presumably to change. He hated every step she took.
“What’s your problem?”
His gaze slowly connected with Sauer’s. “Right now. You’re my problem.”
If he didn’t walk away, he was probably going to do something he would regret. Something that would have Deena pissed at him…and Susan.
A flash of anger glittered in Sauer’s eyes. “I don’t think you’re the right person for Susan. Do her and yourself a favor, and leave her alone.”
Just like when he was growing up, he felt useless. Like a nobody. Like he wasn’t ever good enough. Deena’s husband, a man he never had a problem with, a man he wanted to like because he was her husband, crossed the line. He hoped Deena forgave him. Because nobody talked to him that way.
A fist wen
t flying right into Sauer’s jaw. He went down hard, stumbling down the two porch steps and landed on his ass. Sauer was quick to get back up on his feet and dodge the next fist he tried to land on his face.
He surprised him some, even though Deena warned him Sauer knew how to fight. When a punch hit him near his left eye, he tried not to cringe from the pain, instead, threw one of his own punches back.
Back and forth they went. Dodging blows, taking punches, and grunting in earnest as they fought on Susan’s front lawn. He didn’t attempt to slow down his assault until he heard a voice screaming from behind.
The terror and aching pain in the scream had him stopping immediately, backing away from Sauer even though he wanted to pound him into the ground until he couldn’t walk. That’s how high his anger was.
Sauer retreated from him as well, touching his cheek and swiping his hand down his side. Probably making sure his gun was still there. He had never touched a gun in his life. He didn’t need to. His fists were all he needed. He wasn’t stupid enough to grab a cop's gun, no matter how pissed he was.
Susan didn’t hesitate to walk right up to him and shove him hard. “What is wrong with you?”
“What? You think I started this?”
“Okay.” Breathing heavily, she looked between them. “Who threw the first punch?”
Well, if that’s what she wanted to count starting it, then he was guilty. But that’s not how he saw it. His silence, apparently, was answer enough. Her brows dipped low, the anguish visible in her eyes.
“Violence isn’t the answer, Stitch.”
“It is when someone threatens me. You want me out of your life, Susan? That’s what that jackass wants.” His hand whipped toward Sauer. He had to ignore the pain as he did. “I guess I’m not good enough for you. Shit. Maybe he’s right. When have I ever been good enough?”
Jamming his hand in his pocket, finally cringing from the pain, he wretched his keys out and climbed into his vehicle without glancing at her once. If he did, he might cave and beg her to stay home. To work this shit out.
Maybe she didn’t want to work it out. She didn’t even try to stop him as he backed out of her driveway.
Maybe it was never going to work out.
Yet, again, he wasn’t good enough.
One Taste of Sin (A One Taste Novel Book 4) Page 16
