by K. L. Donn
After signing all the paperwork, they were waiting for Coop to get their truck when the police stopped them wanting a statement about what happened the night before. Once that was finally finished, they were able to go home.
There they sat in front of his house with Emily curled up, sound asleep in his lap. Climbing out he made his way up the front steps, passed Creed and Linc, who were sitting on the deck poring over the files they had on Emily and who her stalker might be since they seemed to be no closer to finding him than the day before. They were running background checks on every man she had come in contact with since moving from her hometown, Olds to Lincoln, Nebraska.
So far they’d found out that she was just as reclusive then as she was now. He wasn’t shocked, not really. Emily had this aura about her that made you want to know her and be close to her. As soon as you looked into her eyes, you could see she would welcome you with open arms… but only after you proved yourself worthy of her trust. He didn’t even think she knew that’s how she was. He found it oddly sweet.
It also made him wonder if she was like that before? Did she make you prove your trustworthiness before letting you into her life? Would she have been more open to him and Cooper? Or would she have been closed off? He wished he knew the answers to some of those questions. All he could hope for was that she’d stay open-minded about a relationship with them after they found her stalker because they would. They would get her, her life back, and she would remain in theirs.
Laying her down on the sofa in the living room, he placed the afghan he had on the back of it around her before going back outside to see what they’d come up with.
As he stepped out onto the deck, he pulled the door over behind him; not closing it all the way so they could hear her if she woke and needed one of them. Looking at his friends— closer to him than any brother could be— he knew they’d help him keep Emily safe or die trying.
“How’s she doing?” Linc asked him with a frown marring his face.
“She’ll be out for a while. They gave her some pain meds before we left the hospital. But I’m worried. She hasn’t really digested things the way I figured she would. There’s been no crying, no anger, nothing,” he explained.
“She’s empty, Dane,” Coop said flatly, looking at the door behind him like he was seeing through it and watching her sleep. “You can see it in her eyes that she’s ready to give up. There’s no fight left in her.” Frustration was laced in his harsh words. It was true, though. He knew it. Hell, they all did.
He was so pissed off and frustrated with the whole situation. She was their fucking woman and yet, they were helpless at the moment. The information was slow in coming and he felt like they were missing something. “We’re missing something. There has to be more. This guy can’t be this fucking good!” He raged.
Roughly pushing his hands through his hair and closing his eyes to try and calm down, he felt Coop come over to him and grab his arms. They always had this closeness. From the minute they met, they’d clicked. They shared a bond not many would ever experience. He knew it sounded corny as fuck, and maybe some people thought they were lovers, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. They had love for one another but not sexually. It was purely platonic like brothers, but not.
Looking down into his friend’s worried eyes, he knew what he was going to say without him having to utter a word. Nodding his head at Coop’s silent question of whether he was ok or not, he let out a deep breath and sat down.
“You good?” Creed asked meeting his eyes.
“Yeah. Do we have anything new?”
“Henry went missing three days ago. I don’t know if he’s here or on vacation or just walked away, but I’m tracking his financials as we speak.” Creed explained, reading something on his laptop. “Those murders I was telling you about, though? It was some gruesome fucking shit, man. Those girls…. They didn’t deserve that torture. The guy that did that was sick, like something is mentally wrong with this person.” He explained with disgust written across every feature on his face.
“Do you have the files for them?” Coop asked sounding slightly shaky about seeing something like that if it had Creed so shaken up.
Tapping a few keys on the laptop, he handed it over to Coop who immediately looked paler than mere seconds before. Plopping down beside Dane, he let out a harsh breath before showing him. Looking at the screen in horror, he was immediately saddened that those girls had to go through something like that.
Gashes all over their bodies, gaping wounds along their limbs, their faces a mask of pure agony. They’d been tortured for what could have been minutes or hours. The worst was the slashes across their breasts, blood dripping down their sides, staining the ground beneath them. Every girl was the same, too. Every slice, in position and length, exactly the same. Which made him wonder, “OCD?” He asked out loud.
“I was thinking the same. Or at the very least, something similar,” Linc said quietly.
“Fuck,” Coop said echoing everyone’s thoughts.
This guy was fucked in the head six ways from Sunday and their girl would be too if they didn’t put him to ground fast.
Waking up from a stab of pain in her hip, she looked around realizing she wasn’t at home like she thought they were taking her. She was in a very modern looking living room, laying on a sofa that felt like she was being cocooned in soft cushioning. The room was comfortable, lived in but missing anything personal. Typical bachelor pad, she thought smiling, and also wondered if it was Dane or Coop’s home? Or maybe they lived together? Thinking about it was giving her a headache because the more she thought, the more she realized she really didn’t know very much about the guys.
Getting up slowly so as not to hurt her hip anymore, she went in search of them. Taking no more than a handful of steps, she heard voices coming from the direction of an open door. Quietly walking over to it she listened for a moment. They sounded angry, really angry if Coop’s cursing said anything about it.
Looking out the small crack in the open door, she had a direct line of sight to the laptop sitting between Coop and Dane. What she saw had her gasping in shock. Oh my God, the poor woman. Is that what my fate’s going to be? she wondered, not realizing she’d made so much noise that they had all heard her and came rushing to her side thinking she was in pain, not expecting she was terrified and distressed at what she had seen.
Emily looked up at Creed knowing he’d tell her the truth; whereas, her men would try to hide it from her so she wasn’t more despondent than she felt. “He did that, didn’t he?” She questioned, motioning towards the now upturned laptop with tears streaming down her face.
At his nod, she broke. The tears came hard and heavy. She felt this weight take hold of her chest and she couldn’t breathe. Her lungs seized and her heart started pounding so fast she thought it would explode from her chest. This can’t be happening. Hearing a blood-curdling scream pierce the air, it took her a minute to realize it was coming from her.
Feeling arms wrap around her and bodies on each side, she knew Dane and Coop were sitting on the ground holding her, but the tears wouldn’t stop and she didn’t see an end in sight. Every part of her was hurting for those girls, the pain they must have suffered, and the fear they must have felt knowing they were going to die. That they would never see their family or friends again.
“I can’t, I just can’t. Those girls, they didn’t deserve that. They were better. Why is this happening? Why is he doing this to me?” She rambled, not really expecting or wanting an answer, but she needed one. Needed to know why he’d targeted her. A thought occurred and she whipped her head around to stare at a very uncomfortable looking Linc and Creed. “When?” she asked brokenly, knowing they’d know exactly what she was asking.
Looking to each other and then down to Coop and Dane, they hesitated before answering her. Seeing the guys shake their heads at them she shouted, “When?” Needing to know if it had happened before or after he’d fixated on her.
When Dane grabbed her chin, she was reluctant to look at him, needing the answers his friends had. Glaring at him she waited, holding her breath to find out. “After,” he said softly, voice full of regret.
Watching Em try to cope with this new information that her stalker is quite possibly a serial killer, sadist, and rapist was one of the hardest things Coop had ever had to do. Feeling her little body shaking in agony between him and Dane, he was back to feeling helpless again, just like after she got shot. He was fucking sick of it!
They needed to get their shit together and find this asshole so she didn’t keep going through shock after shock.
“Hey, Em, maybe you can help us? Tell us more about your life before,” Linc asked her.
“No fucking way,” Coop growled out. She didn’t need to be going through anymore bullshit. She needed to rest. To heal. He needed to take care of her, and he couldn’t do that if she were stressing about this asshole.
“Look, man, I know you wanna wrap her up in bubble wrap and think she’ll be safe. But this needs to happen. She needs to be included to know what’s going on,” Linc said forcefully.
“He’s right,” Dane said beside him, reluctance strained his voice.
Turning to look at the man he considered more of a brother than a friend, he had to wonder if he’d lost his fucking mind! You know they’re right, Coop. Shit. Fucked if they did, fucked if they didn’t.
Looking down at Emily’s soft face, he ran a finger down her beautiful cheek and searched her gorgeous green eyes to see where her head was at and If she could handle it. Leaning her face into his hand and giving him a soft smile, she nodded in answer.
“Fuck. Fine. Let’s get this shit done,” he said gruffly, standing up and pulling Emily with him.
Reaching down and grabbing the laptop he dropped upon hearing her, he slammed it shut, thrusting it at Creed before she had a chance to see the horrifying images again. “She doesn’t see any more of that shit!” He wouldn’t budge on that. She had enough to deal with that she didn’t need to see those girls in her nightmares, too.
At everyone’s nod, he relaxed slightly. Sitting and placing her in his lap, he wrapped his arms around waist, careful of her injury and nuzzled her neck whispering, “Baby girl, you smell like heaven.” Sucking on her neck lightly, he looked down to see he’d left a mark. Smirking when she blushed, he looked up meeting Dane’s eyes. The heat and desire reflected back at him had his cock straining to be inside their woman.
They fed off each other’s arousal when they were with a woman together. He knew that when they finally had Emily, owned her heart, body, and soul that anything before would pale in comparison to what they would feel with her. She would complete them. Make them whole.
What Dane had done the day before by grabbing his hand and swiping his fingers across her lips with her juices still on them, was the most sexual thing they’d ever done together. He wouldn’t lie, it was fucking hot as hell. He felt a spark go up his arm and straight to his already hard cock, and it wasn’t from Dane touching him. It was the look on Emily’s face as she followed his hand and the kiss they shared afterwards. Nothing gave him more pleasure then seeing her receive hers, whether it came from him or Dane.
Emily, wiggling in his lap, had his cock standing at attention again. “Baby.” He growled low in her ear. Eyes still on Dane, he could see him fighting back a smile. Narrowing his eyes on him, Dane glared back. Turning his head to get back to business, he gave her hip a squeeze to refocus her as well. “Later baby, you’re ours.” He promised.
Spending the rest of the day peppering Emily with questions about her work, school, and anything else they could come up— only stopping to eat dinner— he didn’t feel like they were any closer to finding out who her stalker was than when they started. Emily spent most of the day rotating between sitting on his lap or Dane’s, rarely sitting anywhere on her own. He knew they both felt the need to have her as close as possible, and he felt better when one or both of them had their hands on her.
“Emily, tell me about Henry Stubbs,” Creed suggested, finally getting to who they thought might be her stalker, but he still felt like it was too easy. The guy had a fixation for sure. But it was for the world to see. Her stalker was too meticulous, too quiet. Stubbs was too clean. He didn’t have the personality for it.
“Henry?” she asked. “I don’t know. He asked me out a couple times. I didn’t like him like that, though, so I always said no. Wouldn’t have been fair to lead him on, right?”
“Did you know he had photos of you on his hard drive and all over his house? He followed you around for what looks like it could have been a few weeks. Taking pictures anywhere he could.” Creed explained to her.
“Oh.” She breathed out. “I had no idea. I mean, he was pushy and one of the other girls I worked with told me was obsessed with me, but I didn’t really believe it. Why would he; I’m nothing special? Plus, he never gave me the creepy guy vibe, ya know?” She told them, disbelief written in every line of her face.
“Nothing special, huh?” Dane questioned with a dark glint in his eyes, full of promises for her.
“Christ, you two, curb your dicks for a bit and let the girl breathe.” Linc laughed.
Groaning in embarrassment, Emily got off his lap with a whispered “good night” to everyone before going inside.
Holy crap sticks! Talk about testosterone overload! Shit! She laughed to herself while walking inside. Taking a peek over her shoulder, Linc and Creed had huge smiles on their handsome faces. They were like polar opposites. Creed was the epitome of tall, dark, and handsome; his eyes were as dark as night, his inky black hair was cut in a sexy faux hawk that never seemed mussed or had a hair out of place, and his chiseled features were like hard granite. Full lips, a crooked, probably broken more than once nose, and the constant five o’clock shadow he had going on made him every girl’s walking dream man. And those muscles, oh those muscles. Panty melters for sure! His shoulders were wide and defined, his entire body was the total package.
Linc was every bit as masculine and sexy. His hair was a shade lighter and also longer, in a constant messy disarray that was oddly cute. His eyes were like a deep pool of sand. They were so light, almost golden, maybe? But they were happy and alight with laughter and humor. She sensed he had secrets, though, that maybe not everyone knew.
Looking at Dane and Coop had her blush intensified, the heat and desire in their eyes made her knees weak with lust and had her soaking her panties in seconds. Turning around and rushing up the stairs, she realized too late that she had no idea where she was going or sleeping.
Not worried about it, she decided to explore. They had a lovely home, the walls were all a nice calming cream color. They had random photos scattered up the hallway on the staircase, which brought a welcoming feel to it. Reaching the top she saw there was a photo of Dane, Coop, Kenney and her brothers dressed up for Halloween as stormtroopers that had her laughing out loud. Now knowing who probably brought any of the décor into the house, it had to be Kenny.
She enjoyed the plush feel of the thick carpet on her bare feet walking up the stairs so much that when her foot landed on the cold hardwood floor she yelped from the coolness of it. A shiver up her spine had her moving forward to find a nice warm shower, hopefully. With two doors on the right, one on the left, and one at the end of the hall, she moved forward opening doors as she went.
Opening the first door on her right, she immediately stepped back and closed it. Who knew they were so disorganized? The room contained boxes upon boxes of stuff, with other things just strewn about. Like someone had just tossed everything in there and left it. Moving to the next door she found a washroom, functional, but again like everything else bland and screamed bachelor pad.
Deciding to just go to the door at the end of the hall, she opened it and let out a gasp of surprise. Now, this is a room for a woman. It was gorgeous. A four-poster bed surrounded by a sheer white lace curtain with large light pink and purple or
chids stitched into it draped over the top and flowed down the sides. Leaving the end open and inviting, just waiting for her to crawl in. Big fluffy pillows piled two or three high were thrown around the top, and a gorgeous white duvet blanket decorated with the same design as the curtain was splayed across it.
Looking around the rest of the room, she noticed the two tall white chest of drawers with a matching dresser and mirror set between them, up against the opposite wall. There was also a huge walk-in closet with the doors wide open. Taking a peek inside she noticed it was empty, but she could probably turn it into another room, that’s how huge it was.
Along the other wall near the window was a sitting area with two overstuffed black leather chairs and a fireplace sitting in front of them for warmth. Having the crisp snow white plush carpet in the room made it feel warm and welcoming.
Deciding to forgo the shower for now because she was exhausted from answering questions all day and still sore from her injury, she stripped down to just her bra and panties, placing her other clothes in a pile in the corner and climbed into the welcoming bed.
Burrowing under the covers and plopping down on the mountain of pillows, she let out a sigh in comfort, thinking the only way to make the moment even more perfect was if Coop and Dane were in bed with her.
“We have to fix this. Her emotions are like a revolving door. One minute she’s open and the next she’s closed tighter than a seal. I hate seeing what it does to her,” Coop said watching Emily go back inside.
“She’s got a fire in her. Give her more credit. When this ends, you guys will have your hands full.” Creed taunted them.
