“It’s not a Lladro. It’s worth about fifty times as much, and it wasn’t stolen for its value. It was a message.”
“What kind of message?” Amanda leaned forward on her elbows, worry lines creasing her forehead.
Haylie wrung her hands beneath the table so her friends wouldn’t see how hard she trembled. “He was saying he can get to me. He knows the company I keep, and I’m not safe anywhere or with anyone.”
“Who would haunt you that way? You’ve never made an enemy in your life,” Ashlyn said.
“I made one,” Haylie corrected her softly, “and he just got released from prison.”
“Dear God!” Amanda breathed.
Haylie steeled herself. She knew the questions would come, but she couldn’t leave the Belles in the dark, not if he targeted one of them next. “He’s just trying to scare me, but if he knows about Blake, he might know about you too. Keep your doors locked and don’t provoke him.” She dug the picture she’d printed off the website for registered sex offenders out of her purse and slid it to the center of the table.
Kara snatched it up first. “Monroe? What’s the connection?”
Haylie swallowed hard. “I’m lucky enough to be related to him.”
Kara flipped her phone open again. “This time I’m calling the police.”
* * * *
Haylie checked the locks on all her doors and windows and dialed her mother’s number.
“Hello?” Maureen’s voice tinkled with laughter, a note it hadn’t carried in years. Haylie braced herself. Charm oozed out of Carl Monroe like slime. Only Haylie could see the repulsiveness of it. Her mother was enamored.
“Mom.” Haylie sucked in her breath. She couldn’t call the police without giving her mother fair warning, she couldn’t break her heart like that again.
“Who are you calling for?” Maureen giggled again. “Stop it, Carl,” she laughed softly.
“Mom, it’s me.” Haylie closed her eyes. She’d never get through to her mother with him there. “Can you call me later?”
“I’m sorry, you have the wrong number.” Another giggle before a click ended the call.
Betrayal should become easier to stomach after a while, but it wasn’t. Haylie’s insides churned as her mother’s words rang in her memory. “Just because you broke this family apart, don’t expect me to. How can you live with yourself and the lies you’ve told?”
Haylie slid her back down the wall. Her bare feet stretched out on the carpet in front of her and the numbers on the phone blurred beneath her stare. Minutes ticked by on the antique clock above the stove, and still she couldn’t bring herself to dial the police station.
Kara had given her an hour. If she hadn’t made the report by then, Kara swore she’d report the stalking herself. Kara didn’t bluff, but Haylie didn’t have it in her to live this nightmare again. No one could understand the hell her life had been after her father’s arrest. Living with the secret of what he had done was almost easier. In some ways covering for him was less painful than living with a mother who blamed her for what had happened.
Someone pounded on the door. Lucy barked once but didn’t growl or take his territorial stance. Haylie willed her racing heart to slow. Her father couldn’t have gotten there that quickly, and Kara’s hour deadline hadn’t passed.
The pounding came again followed by, “Haylie, let me in.”
Blake.
Kara had probably called him, and if she didn’t deal with him now, she’d have to deal with him later. She pulled herself off the floor and answered the door.
He grabbed her shoulders as soon as the door swung open. “What in the hell’s going on?” he asked. “It’ll be easier to tell me than the police, and they should be here any minute.”
“No!” She wrenched herself free of his grasp. “I’m not talking to the police! Why can’t you people understand that?”
“What do you think stalkers do when they get bored lurking in the shadows? Don’t pretend this is something you can ignore and it’ll go away.” He blew a heavy breath. “And if that is what you’re thinking, we people aren’t going to wait until they drag your body out of a ditch to file a police report.” He leveled his gaze with hers. “I don’t care if you hate me for the rest of your life, I won’t stand by and let some asshole threaten your safety.”
The compassion she saw in the dark depths of his blue eyes brought fresh tears to hers. She looked away.
“Whether you tell me who broke into your house and my office or not, I’ll make damn sure the police have a lead to follow up.”
Haylie turned back to him. “What do you mean?”
“Your father just got out of prison. He left those photographs at your door. It doesn’t take a lot of deduction to narrow the list of suspects. This obviously isn’t random. Come on, Haylie,” he urged softly. “Fill in the gaps for me. Stop protecting him. He doesn’t deserve it.”
Her mouth opened, but not a sound escaped.
“I saw the pictures, remember.” His voice, already low, dropped even lower. “And I looked up his case. Most of the records were sealed to protect you, but I know what he was convicted of. I know what he did to you. I’m not going to let him hurt you anymore.”
“He can’t do that to me again.” Her voice was so low she wasn’t sure he could hear her. “He won’t kill me. He just wants to intimidate me until I agree to pretend we’re a happy little family.”
She closed her eyes. Blake had researched her father’s trial. Sealed records or not, he knew more than she would ever tell him. And he had seen enough in the photographs to give him a mental picture he’d never be able to wipe clean.
Haylie scrubbed her arms as if she could rub away the seedy shame of her past.
He took her wrists and held firm. “That bastard’s not going to torture you like this. I won’t let him.”
Lucy looked up from his nap under the counter and growled, his eyes on the front door.
A sharp knock was followed by, “Harper County Sheriff’s department.”
“You can do this.” Blake released her to answer the door.
Haylie trembled on the sofa as Officer Levitt introduced himself and Blake welcomed him inside.
After repeating the scant details of the case Blake had already given him, the officer shook his head. “I’m afraid there’s not much I can do here, other than file a report so that you have record of suspicious events in case anything escalates. The pornography does warrant arrest, if we can find someone who saw him either leave it at your door or in the immediate area when it was left. Of course, you’d have to turn that over as evidence.”
Haylie shuddered and swallowed the bile that rose in her throat.
Blake put his arm around her shoulder. “Can’t you arrest him for breaking and entering?”
“I understand your frustration, Mr. Sheridan. But without sign of forced entry either here or at your office there’s not much to go on, especially since there doesn’t even seem to be anything missing.” He nodded to the figurine on the table between them. “Are you sure there’s nothing else that might have been taken?”
Haylie nodded.
“This wasn’t a robbery,” Blake said, obviously working to keep his patience in check. “Not in the traditional sense.” He rubbed his palm along Haylie’s arm. “This was an act of intimidation. If you can’t do anything about the unlawful entry Haylie would like to file a trespassing charge. That should be enough to convict him of a probation violation.”
“Do you have any witnesses that saw him here?”
Haylie shook her head.
“We can arrest him, but a conviction would be a long shot. The child pornography would have been our easiest way to nail this guy, especially if he’s got a prior, but since there’s no evidence that you’re willing to turn over…” Officer Levitt held his palms up. “I’m sorry. The best I can do is promise to show up if he comes back and you call us out.”
Haylie closed her eyes and sat as cold and lifeless a
s stone.
“Are you positive you can identify the man who came to your door, Miss Monroe?”
“He’s her father!” Blake didn’t bother to hide his impatience. “Of course, she can identify him.”
Officer Levitt sighed. “I’ll turn in my report tonight and I’ll interview some of your neighbors to find out if anyone has seen him on the property. Other than that…”
Blake stood, prompting Officer Levitt to take his leave.
“For what it’s worth, Miss Monroe, I believe you. I patrol the area and I’ll keep an eye out for anyone matching his description. In the meantime, keep your doors and windows locked and be aware of your surroundings when you’re coming and going from the parking lot.” He handed each of them one of his cards. “Call me at the station if you remember anything that might warrant an arrest or you notice anything else missing.”
Haylie nodded her thanks, but couldn’t trust herself to speak. Her tongue had locked down. She’d said too much already. The repercussions would be dire. Her father would know what she had done as soon as his probation officer called. He may already know. Not much slipped past Carl Monroe.
“Kara’s on her way over,” Blake said. “She’ll stay with you tonight.”
“I don’t need a babysitter.”
“You need a bodyguard,” he countered. “At least until we figure out how to get this asshole back behind bars where he belongs.”
“I thought you tried to keep people out of jail.”
“Not this again.” He walked away from her and ran his hands through his hair. “Am I going to have to turn prosecutor to get any respect from you?”
She blew a hot breath from her lungs and bowed her head. “I don’t want to fight with you.”
“Makes two of us. We’re on the same side here.” He crossed the distance between them and pulled her in close.
Her muscles uncoiled in his arms but the ache in her chest almost consumed her. She missed him so much it hurt to breathe
“I’m not going to turn over the pictures without your consent, but we have to turn them in.”
She spoke into his chest, hiding her face in shame. “All those pictures were used as evidence in his trial. And I can’t prove he left them here. Even fingerprints would be compromised now… not that he would have left any.”
Blake’s hand warmed her back. “But if we can find a witness that saw him here, use phone records to prove he’s called you, and turn the photographs over to the police, the circumstantial evidence will start to stack up. For someone like him who’s already on parole, sometimes that’s enough to get a judge to see things our way.”
Haylie knew enough about the justice system to know Blake was being hopelessly optimistic. And he was too good an attorney to not recognize the same himself.
“All we have to do is wait for him to screw up, and he will,” he continued. “The combination of his mistake and any little bone we can throw to the prosecutor will get him back behind bars.”
An all too familiar blackness began creeping around the corners of her mind and she shook her head to clear the fear away.
“What is it, honey?” he said, stepping back to look her in the eye. “What am I missing here?”
She blinked back the tears that threatened to fall. “Officer Levitt will see the pictures. His supervisor will see them. Who knows how many other cops will take a look.” She muffled a sob. “They’ll see me.”
A long minute of silence passed, and then he took her in his arms again. “We’ll hold onto the pictures for as long as we can,” he finally said. “Nobody has to see them yet, and if we can get enough evidence against him, we won’t use the pictures at all.”
Kara flew into the condo without the courtesy of a knock, but she stopped short when she saw Haylie in Blake’s arms.
“Looks like a ‘let’s kick this stalker’s ass’ party.” She gripped an overnight bag over her shoulder and a six-pack of Sam Adams hung from her fingers. “Who wants a cold one?”
Blake backed away from Haylie and dropped his hands to his sides. “I’d better go. Call me if you need anything, and lock up behind me.” At the door he turned back and addressed Kara. “Use common sense, even if she refuses to. And call the police if you so much as hear the floor creak. You’ve got my number.”
* * * *
“Does he have court in the morning?” Kara asked, pulling her beer down to her lap and aiming the remote at the television. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen him run away from you that fast.”
“I don’t know what his schedule is. But I don’t think I’m as appealing to him as I used to be.” Haylie swallowed the knot in her throat. She couldn’t blame him. She didn’t blame him. She would let him use their argument in front of the jail as an excuse if he wanted to, but she knew the truth. She had always known what his reaction would be if he found out about her past. Men like Blake didn’t want women like her.
“It looked like you two had made up when I got here.”
She lifted her beer to her lips. “No. He just didn’t like the idea of someone breaking into his office and my house.”
“Maybe he didn’t like the thought of somebody messing with you.” Kara stopped channel surfing, and settled back with her eyes glued to the bare-chested men volleying a ball back and forth in a tournament on the beach.
“Let’s talk about something other than Blake.”
“Alright.” Kara drained the last of her beer and powered the television off. “Tell me what you did to piss this stalker off.”
“Talk’s overrated.” Haylie got up and opened the cabinet she kept her movies in. “Chick flick or action?” The phone interrupted Kara’s answer. “You choose,” Haylie said on her way to the get the cordless off the kitchen counter.
Maureen Monroe greeted her in a whisper.
“You shouldn’t have to sneak around to call me, Mom.” Anger took a backseat to the disappointment that weighed heavily on Haylie’s chest.
“I’ve only got a minute. He’s in the shower,” Maureen said. “I’m sorry about earlier. Did you need something?”
“No.” Haylie bit back the truth then changed her mind. She had to do this, but it would be better to do it in person, and it’d take longer than a minute. “Can you come see me? Tomorrow?”
A long minute of silence passed while her mother no doubt weighed the possibility of getting caught. The act of visiting her only daughter would be traitorous. Loving the man she married, no matter what he’d done to her child, was loyalty. That’s the way it worked in Maureen Monroe’s world. Haylie had accepted those facts, but it was still a bitter pill to swallow.
“I don’t know,” Maureen finally said.
“Mom. Please.” Haylie bit down on her bottom lip hard enough to taste blood. “I need you to come.”
“I’ll try.” Maureen drew in a sharp breath then said in a firm tone, “I’ve told you damned telemarketers to stop calling. I’m on the do not call list!” The phone clattered and a dial tone hummed in Haylie’s ear. Her father had gotten out of the shower.
Haylie swallowed the resentment lodged in her throat and braced her elbows on the counter. She should just let her father tell her mother whatever he wanted to. She’d only believe his side of the story anyway. But Haylie couldn’t do that, she had to at least try to make her mother understand. Deserved or not, loyalty was a hard habit to break.
“Didn’t get the maternal gene, did she?” Kara pulled two more beers out of the refrigerator. She popped the tops off and walked one over to Haylie. “You don’t need no stinkin’ mama.” Then in a serious tone, she added, “That’s what you’ve got Belles for. Drink up.”
Haylie tapped her bottleneck to Kara’s and gulped the cold beer like a lifeline.
* * * *
“Just tell me you’re ok and I’ll leave you alone.” Blake’s deep voice flowed straight through her. Haylie pressed the phone hard against her ear and gripped the pillow beneath her head.
“I don’t want you to le
ave me alone.” She bit her bottom lip and closed her eyes. She shouldn’t tell him that. It wasn’t fair to either one of them.
“You push me away every time I get too close.” His breath hit the phone. “I can’t do this anymore.”
Her heart stopped. He had never given up on her before.
“I just want you to trust me, Haylie. Not to make me pay for what your father did to you. I need to know every time you get scared or I screw up, you’re not going to run away.”
“I’ve never been able to talk about what he did to me. Not with anyone.”
“He sold your virginity and then distributed the video and photographs as porn. I know what he did to you. I don’t know why you couldn’t tell me that.”
“I was afraid I’d lose you.” Hot tears flowed down her cheeks and her voice caught. “I knew I would disgust you.”
“Disgust me? Honey, your father disgusts me. You break my heart.”
Haylie sobbed into her pillow. Blake knew everything. There were no secrets between them. It felt like a dam had burst inside her. Emotions she’d held back for most of her life rushed out in a roar, and behind the fury, a peace she couldn’t remember ever feeling before settled in her soul. She wiped her tears away and steadied her breath. “I guess I’m a pretty big mess, huh?”
“You’re the most incredible, beautiful, sexiest woman I’ve ever known. And I want to be with you more than I’ve ever wanted anything. There’s nothing we can’t get through together, if you let me in.”
“You really still think I’m sexy?”
“Sexy?” He groaned. “I need to be inside you so bad right now I can’t think straight. If I were there right now…”
“Tell me what you’d do to me. Where would you touch me?”
“Tonight, I don’t think I could hold back. I’d sink so deep into you I couldn’t see or hear or feel anything but your wet pussy around my cock. Your soft body moving against mine. The sounds you make. The way you touch me. God, Haylie, I swear sometimes when I’m inside you I forget how to breathe.”
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