“They checked out Susie as a suspect?”
“They checked out everyone who’s ever worked with you: Susie, Coleman, a dozen actors, and several dozen production assistants.”
The emotion suddenly went out of me like a bubble that hit the wrong edge of a needle. I sank into him, my arms slowly moving around his waist.
“Tell Megan thanks.”
“I will.”
“She knows about all this?”
“She does. She has someone checking out the security cameras.”
“But my cameras would have been disabled with the alarm system.”
“Not the cameras on the neighboring buildings. They might have caught something.”
He brushed the hair from my face, his fingers moving slowly along the curve of my jaw. Then he bent close.
“Trust me.”
Then he kissed me, his lips so soft against mine. I sighed, wrapping my arms around him as I submitted completely.
I did trust him. I still wasn’t sure it was a good idea, but I trusted him.
Chapter 13
Vincent
She melted against me, and I wanted to wrap myself around her, protect her from everything that could possibly hurt her. I hated that this was happening to her. But, again, if it wasn’t, I never would have met her.
I lost myself in her. I shouldn’t have. I should have noticed that she forgot to reset the alarm when we came in. But my hands were sliding under her blouse, and my fingers tips were pressing under the wire at the bottom of her bra. Our tongues were playing together, our temperatures rising back to the same heights they’d reached last night. Reality was something that only existed outside the bubble we were creating around each other.
She had her hands under my shirt, her fingers dancing over my ribs, my spine. She liked to press her fingers into my skin; she liked to use bruising force to pull me closer to her. And I loved it.
I loved the sense of possession that her touch created.
The front door slammed.
I jerked away even as Quinn tensed in my arms, her eyes wide with fear. I turned, brushing my light sport coat out of the way to get my gun out of its holster. I was about to pull it when a woman appeared out of the gloom of the hallways, a large layer cake in her hands.
“Beth!”
Quinn moved around me, rushing to her friend as though she thought I was going to shoot her.
“I didn’t realize you were home,” Beth said, her eyes moving from Quinn to me. There was something in her expression that belied her words, and that made me nervous.
“Come in. It’s okay,” Quinn said, stepping out of the way.
“How did you get in?” I asked.
“My key.” Beth dangled a set of keys from her fingers. “Quinn gave them to me when she moved in.”
“I did. In case she needed to get into the house for anything.”
“I brought you a cake.” Beth set the cake in the center of the table. “I couldn’t help seeing all those cop cars over here Friday night. And then you were gone all weekend. So I brought the cake over to sort of cheer you up.”
“Thank you!”
Quinn offered her a hug, and Beth was clearly excited to get it. She bent low to hug Quinn tightly, almost like a lover. Then she shot me a look that made me wonder what was really going on in that head of hers. She seemed like a mild-mannered woman, but…
“I can’t tell you how much I appreciate your thoughtfulness,” Quinn said. “Olivia will love this cake!”
“Is she at school?”
“Yes.”
“You make sure and save her a nice, big piece.” Beth smiled, but again I was struck by something odd in her smile. And the fact that she shot a glance at me while she was smiling.
There was something odd about this woman.
Quinn walked her to the door, chatting about the cake. She was excited that someone would do something so kind for her. I leaned against the wall and watched, ready to pull my gun the moment it appeared necessary. They hugged again, Beth shooting me one last dirty look over the top of Quinn’s head, and then she was gone.
“Cake!” Quinn said, rubbing her hands together as she came into the kitchen, snatching a knife off the magnetic strip.
“Does she often just walk into your house like that?”
“I gave her the keys like a month after we moved in so that she could bring the mail in while Olivia and I were in Austin settling the last of our business there. She insisted, said it was the least she could do as my neighbor. She’s had them ever since.”
“And you’re not worried about it?”
Quinn shrugged. “She sits with Olivia after school every day and makes sure she does her homework. She’s a friend.”
I nodded, watching her slice through the cake despite the fact that it was only nine in the morning, a little too early for sweets. But then she stopped, disappointed dripping from her pretty face.
“What?”
“It’s got a peanut butter filling.”
I walked over, peeking at the slice she’d cut. Sure enough, the scent of peanut butter was strong enough that I could smell it from a foot away.
“Does she know you’re allergic?”
“Yeah. I told her when we first met.”
Connections started making themselves in my head. The looks Beth shot me, the keys, the message, you’re mine. And this.
“Who would eat this cake if you couldn’t have it?”
“Olivia.”
“Yeah.”
I pulled my phone out of my pocket and pressed the speed dial that would connect me with Dragon offices.
“Vulture.”
Sam answered after a few clicks and rings.
“What can I do for you, Vincent?”
“Do we have some sort of lab that can test a piece of cake for poisons?”
“Sure. Do you have a sample?”
“Yeah.”
“I’ll send someone over.”
“Poison?” Quinn stared at me, as though she suddenly didn’t recognize me. “What are you talking about?”
“Think about it. Why would she bring over a cake she knows you can’t eat?”
“I don’t know. Maybe she forgot.”
“Or she didn’t want you to eat it. She wanted Olivia and me to eat it.”
“Why? Why would she want to hurt you or Olivia? She adores Olivia.”
“But Olivia’s in the way. Just like I am.”
She tilted her head slightly. I could see the war going on inside of her. She didn’t want to believe it.
“I might be wrong,” I said, moving close to touch her. “I hope I am. It just…it seems suspicious.”
“You are wrong.”
“Then the test will prove it.”
She moved into me, pressed her face to my chest. “She’s my friend.”
“I know.” I kissed the top of her head. “It’s been a rough day already, hasn’t it?”
She sighed hard against my chest. Then she pulled back and looked up at me.
“Vulture?”
“It’s a code name. Makes it simpler to get through to the right people when I call in to the office.”
“Seems appropriate. A vulture often symbolizes purification. Rebirth. I think that’s something that we both want. A new beginning.”
“How do you know that?”
She laughed. “I read. A lot. Lot of down time on a movie set.”
I brushed my fingers over the side of her face. “You are full of surprises.”
She reached up and kissed me gently. “You have no idea.”
I groaned, finding it nearly impossible to resist the urge to pick her up and carry her upstairs. But her safety had to come first.
I gently extracted myself from her just as her cell phone rang. She was immediately engaged in a conversation with Susie, slipping out the new French doors Megan’s team had put in to replace the flimsy ones that used to be in this room, to stand on the back deck. I bagged up the piece of
cake and shoved the rest down the garbage disposal. Then I wiped down the table and sink. I didn’t want to take any chances.
I looked up and watched Quinn talk, tension written all over her as she stood casually against a rail, her hand in her pocket. She was so beautiful it almost hurt to look at her.
I hoped, for her sake, that I was right. That it was Beth. But I also found myself hoping I was wrong, not just to save her from the loss of a friend, but because the longer it took us to find the real stalker, the longer I could stay here, at her side. But I couldn’t be selfish. Not this time.
Chapter 14
Quinn
“She’s such a wonderful little girl.”
I glanced over at Olivia where she was reading a book to PJ, Cole’s nephew. PJ was running around, smacking the book with a toy truck in an attempt to get Olivia’s attention. But Olivia continued on, not really paying much attention to the toddler.
“Your son is beautiful.”
Amber smiled, her cheeks glowing with a lovely blush. She was a pretty girl, about my height with light brown hair. And she was loved. It was so obvious in the way she and Cole looked at each other that they were deeply in love. I was almost jealous. But it also filled me with hope. If they could find love like this, maybe it was possible for me, too.
When Cole invited us over to his place for dinner, I didn’t really want to come. It was a little awkward. Olivia and I were clients of Dragon, not friends. But now I was glad we’d come.
“It goes by so quickly, doesn’t it?”
“It does. Just yesterday he was waking me up in the middle of the night, wanting to nurse. Now he wants to do everything for himself.”
“I remember. Olivia still insists on doing most things herself.”
Amber groaned. “So it doesn’t change?”
“No. Sorry.”
She just shook her head, a mock sadness in her eyes. But she was so clearly proud and in love with her child that it overshadowed everything else. I could remember that. In fact, I still felt that way when I looked at Olivia.
Vincent and Cole came into the room, platters of food in their hands.
“It’s time, Olivia,” Vincent called.
She immediately jumped up, nearly knocking the baby over in her rush to come to the table. Cole set down his burden and went to scoop PJ up in his arms. PJ laughed as Cole swung him up toward the ceiling and then caught him. I saw fear cross Amber’s face, but Cole was laughing. So was Olivia.
“He’s a daredevil,” Cole announced.
“Just like his uncle,” Amber said. “Do you know he likes to go parachuting? Scared the life out of me, watching him fly so high above the water like that.”
“I tried to get her to join in, but she refused.”
“I like having contact with the earth, thank you.”
“What’s the fun in that?”
We settled around the table and helped ourselves to the most incredible spaghetti and meatballs I’d ever had. Cole proved himself to be an impressive cook. Olivia sat on one side of me, and Vincent on the other. He leaned close to me while Cole and Amber were busy with the baby, his lips brushing my temple.
“You okay?”
I smiled. “I’m good.”
“Yeah?”
His concern was touching. I nodded, wanting to touch him, to kiss him, but Olivia was leaning close, begging me to cut up her meatballs. When I turned, I caught Cole watching us. He smiled when he saw me looking, but the smile didn’t reach his eyes.
“Have you ever been to the science museum, Olivia?” Amber asked. “I took PJ there a couple of weeks ago and he got a kick out of some of it.”
“No. Mom promised to take me soon.”
“We’ll have to do it together. A play date.”
“That’d be great.” Olivia glanced at me, the excitement in her eyes contagious. “Can we, Mommy?”
“Of course.”
“What’s that song you were singing in the car, Olivia?” Cole suddenly asked. “It was really pretty.”
Olivia blushed. “Candle on the Water. It’s for our concert in a couple of weeks.”
“You’re singing in a concert? Wow! We have a real celebrity on our hands, Vince.”
“We do,” Vincent agreed, leaning across me to touch Olivia’s arm.
She was beaming, loving the idea of being the center of attention.
“When is it?” Amber asked.
“A couple of weeks.”
“The third,” I said helpfully. “Late in the evening, I think.”
“You can come.” Olivia said it so quietly that I was the only one who heard her. I leaned close and whispered into her ear, “Say it again.”
“You can come.”
Amber smiled widely. “Yeah? I’d be honored to see you sing in a concert.”
“We’ll make a whole night of it,” Cole added. “Take everyone to dinner afterward.”
I thought Olivia was going to bounce up out of her chair and float to the ceiling like a balloon filled with helium. I was happy to see my child so happy, but this heaviness settled in my chest. What if they found my stalker by then? Were they making promises to my daughter that they couldn’t—or wouldn’t—fulfill?
I glanced at Vincent, and he seemed to understand exactly what I was thinking. He changed the subject, drawing attention away from Olivia. But it didn’t matter to her. She was still beaming when dinner was over and she helped me carry our dishes into the kitchen.
“Do you think we could go to the museum with Amber and PJ?”
I set the dishes carefully in the middle of the sink and turned to regard her. “Olivia, you understand that all this is temporary, right? We talked about that.”
“I know Vincent will move out when that man stops writing you letters, but that doesn’t mean we can’t be friends, does it?”
I touched her face, wanting desperately to protect her from the realities of life. Everything was temporary. My father’s desire to be part of a family was temporary. My mom’s devotion to me and her determination to do the right thing was temporary. My stepfather’s respect for his role in our family was temporary. Even life.
“I love you, baby,” I said softly, pulling her against my chest for a long moment. But then she wanted to go play, pulling away from me before I was ready.
Temporary.
I stood there for a long time, scraping the leftovers off the plates, trying to tell myself that it was going to be okay. They promised to come to the concert. They wouldn’t forget. But after that…I wasn’t sure what would happen then, and I didn’t know how to prepare Olivia for the inevitable.
Or maybe it was my heart I didn’t know how to prepare.
When I ran out of excuses to hide out in the kitchen—the plates scraped and rinsed, the counter wiped down, the dishwasher partially loaded—I headed back to the dining room. But I overheard Cole and I had to stop. I knew it was wrong to eavesdrop, but I couldn’t quite help myself.
“What’s going on between you and Quinn?” Cole asked.
I couldn’t see Vincent’s face—Cole’s either, for that matter. They were still at the table, just beyond my line of vision.
Vincent was quiet, refusing to answer too quickly. But Cole knew him. He was patient, waiting for the answer that he knew would come eventually.
And it did.
“She’s my target. I’m watching over her.”
“Yeah, well, living with a beautiful woman day in and day out can lead to things happening.”
“I’m a professional, Cole. You know that.”
“I do. But I also know about your past, and I know how complicated things could get if you get involved with Quinn. Just…be careful, brother.”
“I’m always careful.”
“You still getting letters?”
Letters?
“Twice a week, regular as clockwork.”
“What do they think they’re proving, writing to you all the time?”
Vincent made a soft sound, l
ike a sigh. “It’s not them anymore. It’s her mother. She’s determined not to let me forget what I did.”
“What Sydney did? She was the one behind the wheel, brother.”
“And I was the one who let her get the keys, the one who picked the fight with her in the first place.”
“Let me tell Megan. She could talk to the woman.”
“No. I don’t need Megan fighting my battles for me. Besides, if it makes her feel better, it’s the least I can do.”
“Five years. That’s a long fucking time to put up with that sort of thing. It was an accident.” There was a brief silence, then I heard Cole push away from the table. “I’m going to get a beer. Want one?”
I turned around, busying myself with a pot I’d left sitting in the sink.
“You don’t have to do that,” Cole said, surprise in his voice. I guess he forgot I was still in the kitchen.
“Just trying to help.”
“I’ll get it later. Or leave it for the housekeeper.” He pulled a couple of beers out of the fridge. “Want one?”
“No, thank you.”
“We have wine if you’d like some of that.”
I smiled, wondering if he thought all porn stars were drinkers. And then I chastised myself for immediately going there. I did drink. Occasionally. Just not tonight.
“No, thank you.”
He closed the refrigerator and started to go back out of the kitchen. But then he stopped and turned to regard me for a long moment.
“This situation is a complicated one. Having this person stalking you, and then someone like Vincent moving into your house and taking over your life. It’s overwhelming. And sometimes feelings get confused.”
I crossed my arms over my chest and regarded him, wondering where this was going.
“Vincent’s been through a lot. He doesn’t really need complications in his life.”
“You’re his friend.”
“We’ve seen things together that no person should have to see.” He waved the beers around a little. “He’s saved my life. I’ve saved his. We have a connection that will always be there.”
VINCENT (Dragon Security Book 2) Page 11
