“That’s terrifying,” she said solemnly. “Utter horror.”
He stood and began to clear the dirty dishes from the table. “I agree but we’ve built this monster and now we have to live with it. If history is any indication, there will be ten other things that are terrifying in different ways within five years.”
He really wasn’t an optimist.
“Was that meant to be comforting? Because if it was, you suck at this. Not good at all.”
“It was so I guess I need to work on my delivery.”
Sighing, she picked up a few of the stray glasses and silverware and followed him into the kitchen. “It wasn’t so much the delivery as the content.”
“I can’t change the content, babe. The truth is the truth.”
“Then next time lie to me.”
The doorbell pealed and Carter pulled his phone from his pocket, tapping at the screen.
“That’s one thing I don’t want to do.” He smiled and tucked the phone away. “It’s Jason. Let’s hope he has good news. We’ll have to tell him about the cameras at the school.”
It was more than Jason. There were two other men with Carter’s cousin, although Mallory didn’t think they were Andersons. They were handsome but didn’t have the same features. All three men had serious expressions which instantly put her on high alert. Her body tensed as they all stood in the living room, her heart beating so loudly she was sure they all could hear.
Will someone just talk already?
Clearing this throat, Jason must have heard her silent plea. “Sorry you haven’t heard from me since this morning but this new case has been unfolding rather rapidly. We’ve been interviewing the victim’s friends and family.”
There was a long pause as if no one wanted to speak. The tension pulled at Mallory’s nerves like a taut bow string that could snap at any moment. She couldn’t take it.
“What new case?” she asked, breaking the heavy silence. “Is that why you’ve brought two friends?”
Jason suddenly appeared to notice that he wasn’t alone. Smiling ruefully, he turned to the two other men.
“I apologize. It’s been a long day. Mallory, this is Wyatt and Zach. They work for me in my consulting firm and are two of my best men. They’re going to be protecting you until this man is caught and arrested.”
Her heart stuttered in her chest and her hand flew to her throat in a protective gesture. She didn’t need two bodyguards. Did she?
“He hasn’t done anything illegal,” she replied. “He can’t be arrested for sending flowers and gifts.”
Jason’s jaw was tight and he glanced at Carter before answering her unspoken question.
“He can be arrested for murder. We have reason to believe he killed a young woman and then dumped her body in the park.”
Black dots danced in front of Mallory’s eyes and her knees turned to water, giving out underneath her. Strong arms caught her before she hit the ground, but she didn’t fight with the dark. Instead she gave into it, welcoming the peaceful oblivion even as voices in the distance shouted her name.
Chapter Twenty-Five
‡
“I’ve never fainted in my life,” Mallory protested as Carter insisted on slapping cold cloths on her wrists and neck while the three other men looked on in amusement. “That’s freezing. Stop it.”
“I’m just trying to bring you around.”
She pushed his hands away and sat up on the couch, having no earthly idea how she’d ended up there. The last thing she remembered… Shit.
“I’m conscious. Do I look or sound unconscious?”
Somehow she managed to peel the offending wet cloths off of her body and dumped them unceremoniously in a heap on the floor. She’d wanted to throw them at Carter but he’d probably retaliate.
“You sound mad.”
“Because you’re getting me all wet and cold.”
The man named Wyatt cleared his throat and then bent down to pick up the wet cloths before disappearing into the kitchen.
Narrowing her eyes at Carter, she turned her attention to Jason and the man named Zach.
“I’m sorry about that. I think I was just on overload. Less than a week ago a man died in my arms and now you’re telling me that you think my stalker is a murderer. My brain simply shut down. Could you be mistaken, I say with hope in my voice?”
Jason grimaced and sat on a chair at the end of the couch while Zach made himself comfortable on the ottoman.
“I wish I was wrong all the time, but I don’t think that I am. Maybe you should have a drink while I tell you all that we’ve learned today.”
As suggestions went it sounded like a winner. Carter jogged off to get her a drink and Wyatt returned from the kitchen with two towels. One for the floor and one for her.
I like him already.
Accepting the glass of amber-colored liquid from Carter, she eyed it suspiciously. “What is this?”
“A fine single malt scotch. It should leave a lovely burn all the way down to your belly.”
“I’ve never had scotch in my life. In fact, I mostly just drink wine on occasion.”
“Honey,” Jason said gently. “This might be a good time to try the harder stuff.”
That didn’t bode well at all.
Her gaze darted between the men. Carter looked anxious and pale. Jason and his two friends looked sympathetic and worried. None of it made her feel any better. In fact, there was a distinct danger of her dinner coming back up. Her stomach churned dangerously, pushing acid up into her throat. She had to swallow and concentrate so as not to be sick in front of these nice men. It was bad enough that she’d sort of fainted. That was a story she wasn’t anxious to share with…anyone. It made her look weak at a time when she wanted to appear strong.
No, she needed to be strong.
Carter sat next to her, his arm around her waist. He felt warm, solid, and encouraging which only made her even more tense. What was about to hit her? Could she survive it? Did she have a choice?
“Frankly, Carter Anderson, my life has gone to hell in a hand basket since I started dating you.”
She’d hoped it would lighten the terrible tension that had built up in the room and it did. All the men cracked up, their laughter genuine at this shitty moment in time. Carter dropped a kiss on her cheek and his arm tightened slightly, bringing her closer.
“It might not be me,” he teased. “Maybe it’s you. What was it you said? Correlation doesn’t equal causation.”
It was hard to argue with her own words.
“It’s good that you’re keeping a sense of humor about this,” Jason said. “That’s what will keep you sane in the days to come. Trust me on this.”
Carter had told her that Jason had been kept hostage and tortured by a sadistic drug cartel so he did have some wisdom to share. The frightening thing though was that he was equating what he’d gone through for months to her situation. Just how bad was this?
“Thank you. Now can you please tell me what’s going on? Why do you suspect my stalker of being a murderer?”
It wasn’t Jason who answered but Wyatt. “Our consulting firm has been asked to help out with the murder of a young woman whose body was dumped in the park behind your house, Mallory. We’ve been interviewing the young woman’s friends and family today. They all had the same story. She’d been receiving gifts from a secret admirer. Flowers, candy, and other things. Same kind of creepy notes.”
Mallory’s blood ran cold in her veins, her fingertips and lips going numb. “It could be a coincidence.”
It didn’t even sound like her voice. Instead her words were just an echo in the far distance. Her body was still sitting on the couch but her consciousness had separated from it, hovering just above and simply watching what was happening like a television drama. Right now it was just a story and that poor girl on the couch was someone else. Just a character in this fiction.
The man named Zach shook his head. “Unfortunately, it’s not a coincidence. H
er home was broken into and some lingerie was stolen. Her body was found wearing that lingerie. Believe me, we wish we had better news. But we’re not going to let anything happen to you. If anyone wants to get near you, they’re going to have to go through us, and it’ll be a cold day in hell when that happens.”
Pressing her hand against her chest, Mallory listened for a heartbeat. Yes, it was still beating, which was a shock. She was sure she should have had a coronary episode after hearing what they’d told her.
She was being hunted, played with. By a killer.
This was far worse than some poor man dying in her arms. That was bad enough, but this? How was she supposed to respond? Act? Maybe she should scream and run around. Or faint again. Except that she was wide awake and not even close to passing out. Her body had sucked her consciousness right back in at Zach’s declaration and she was no longer separate. She could feel everything. The sound of each breath, not just her own but of the men as well. Her senses were heightened and she could smell and feel the tension and fear wafting off of them. They weren’t scared of the killer. No, that would be too easy. They were frightened of how she was going to react.
At the moment, there was only one thing she wanted to do.
“Carter, I think I’m going to be sick.”
Chapter Twenty-Six
‡
Nobody circled the wagons like the Anderson family.
After holding Mallory’s hair while she’d booted up her dinner, Carter immediately took charge. Rightly shaken and scared, she’d made a few token protests when he’d began making plans with Jason and the others but it didn’t take much for her to give in. This was about her security and Carter wasn’t about to take any shortcuts.
Within the hour it had been decided that the safest place for Mallory was Dizzy’s former house in Tremont. She and Easton had planned to make some upgrades to the home before selling it but Carter had been crazy busy and hadn’t had a chance to get a crew out there. Now he was glad because he’d packed up their things to move into the home temporarily and he wouldn’t have to worry about a ripped apart kitchen or bathroom.
The house had everything they needed.
Proximity to police and trained medical staff, should the need arise.
Traffic cameras on the roads leading to the house.
No places for a killer to hide like on the ranch. If someone wanted to stalk her, he’d have to do it with lots of people around.
A soon-to-be state of the art security system too. Wyatt had taken charge of that list item and Dizzy’s former abode was being fitted with a technological wonder if the claims of Jason were to be believed. A mouse wouldn’t be able to get into this house without Carter knowing about it.
Jason must have woken the entire Anderson family as well because Dizzy and Easton were showing Mallory around the house while Carter’s parents puttered in the kitchen making casseroles and soup so he and Mallory wouldn’t have to worry about cooking. Carter was getting hungry again from the smell of delicious food wafting from the kitchen. Tiger had taken up residence at the feet of Kathy and Peter, hoping he’d get lucky. He would too because Carter’s mom was a pushover for the dog and was constantly feeding him.
His brothers, Noah and Shane, were helping Wyatt while Zach talked to Jared on the phone about getting the footage from the school today. Everyone had a job and their only goal was keeping Mallory safe and alive.
Everyone but Carter, that was. He was standing in the middle of Dizzy’s eclectic living room and he didn’t have a clue as to what he was supposed to be doing. Activity buzzed all around him and he was frozen in place, unsure as to his next step. His instinct was to make himself useful but his heart wanted to be with Mallory.
It hadn’t been long but he was really falling for this woman. So strong and invincible. She might have wavered when she’d learned she was a target but she’d stood tall after a few weak moments. Moments she totally deserved. But her innate grit and determination won out and now she was trying to take control of an out of control situation. She was asking Dizzy and Easton good questions and keeping an eye on the men installing cameras and sensors all over the house. She might be scared but she wasn’t going to let it beat her.
“She’s going to be okay. We’re not going to let anything happen to her.”
That was Jason, who had paused from his work with Wyatt.
“She’s terrified and I can’t say that I blame her. Why is this happening? Do you think he saw her on television?”
Jason took a drink of water from the bottle he’d been carrying around. “That’s my best guess. We’re trying to find out everything we possibly can about this guy. Hopefully we’ll have some forensics in the next few days. Jared is working through the night trying to dig up any information as to whether there have been other murders with the same signature, and I’ve got Zach working on a profile. We’ll get him and he won’t get within a quarter mile of your woman. He’s not expecting this and he’s never had to deal with it. There’ll be no waltzing into Mallory’s life and turning it upside down. That shit is over. Now he’s fighting an army and his odds suck.”
What Jason said was true. This killer had never come up against anyone with any sort of defense, let alone the fortress they were building around Mallory. He really didn’t stand a chance.
“So what do you need me to do? Help Wyatt?”
Jason smiled and shook his head. “You stay glued to Mallory. She needs you and that’s the only way you’ll feel confident that she’s safe. I know what I’d do if it were Brinley.”
But Jason and Brinley were husband and wife. Carter and Mallory… They were dating and they liked each other. He wasn’t ready to call it love. It was wonderful, though.
“It was Brinley, and you did a decent job of keeping her alive.”
A gentle touch on his arm and the smell of vanilla alerted him to the fact that Mallory had joined him along with Dizzy and Easton.
“Did something happen to Brinley, too?”
Jason’s nostrils flared at the memory. “Something like that. It turns out that she bought a house right next to mine where a murder had taken place about twenty years ago. Evidence was hidden in the home and the killer wanted it back.”
Mallory’s eyes widened. “Oh my God, did he get it?”
“No,” Jason replied grimly. “We set a little trap for him but I had my men guarding Brinley while we did it. She came through this. Dizzy was fine, and you will be too.”
Oh hell. He shouldn’t have mentioned Dizzy. Damn.
Mallory’s brows elevated as she turned to her new friend. “What happened to you?”
Easton was nervously shifting on his feet but Dizzy simply smiled and linked her arm with her husband’s. “The man in the house next door turned out to be a serial killer and I witnessed one of his murders. I called the police but no one believed me because he hid the body in a hard to find crawlspace. But Easton did. He protected me and now that man is behind bars.”
“And the house is empty,” Carter added. “Because no one wants to live in a house where someone was murdered.”
Mallory had turned her amber-colored eyes on him. “I said it was you, and you said it could be me…but dude…it’s you. Are you listening to this? The Anderson family must have some kind of curse on it. Everywhere you go murder and mayhem follow. Are there any more stories in your family like this?”
Carter’s red cheeks and the embarrassed expressions of his brother and cousin told the truth. Her mouth had fallen open and Dizzy was openly laughing.
“What in the ever-loving hell?” Mallory said, exasperation in her tone. “This is not funny.”
“It’s kind of funny,” Dizzy said, trying to keep a straight face. “The Anderson family isn’t cursed but being a part of it means there is always something happening. Never a dull moment but it’s totally worth it. We only get the murder and homicide thing every now and then.”
“I’ve gone my whole life without the murder and homicide thi
ng,” Mallory declared, hands on hips. They now had an audience. Wyatt, Zach, and Shane had joined them. “What else has happened in this family?”
Carter was afraid if he didn’t answer that she was going to explode. Her face was a crimson shade and she looked furious.
“We weren’t keeping anything from you,” he finally said. “None of this is a secret. It’s all public knowledge.”
“Pretend I don’t know any of it.”
Jason cleared his throat and was the first to speak. “West’s wife Gigi was on the run from her stalker ex-boyfriend, and Travis’s wife Aubrey got caught up in a murder in Florida. She was a suspect for awhile but then cleared.”
Zach sighed heavily and rolled his eyes. “Leann was a target at her high school reunion. I was her bodyguard.”
Shane looked around and shrugged. “What? Arden was never in any danger. Her grandmother is a killer but that’s it.”
All eyes went to Wyatt, who seemed surprised that anyone was looking at him.
“I’m not even an Anderson,” he protested. “What happened to Toni was a complete coincidence. It was that damn haunted house she bought.”
Pressing a hand to her forehead, Mallory turned to Noah who had come into the room to see why all the noise had died down. “Are you dating anyone?”
A wrinkle appeared between his brows and he shook his head. “No. Why?”
“Good. Keep it that way. You Anderson men are cursed.”
Things weren’t looking good for the future of Carter’s relationship with this woman.
“I think I missed something,” Noah replied slowly, his gaze darting around the room. “What’s going on here?”
“Just a little stroll down memory lane,” Shane said with a grin. “Don’t worry, Mallory. We haven’t lost anyone yet and we’re not going to start now. You’re safe and this guy isn’t going to get anywhere near you.”
Carter was going to take great pleasure in helping put this asshole behind bars where he belonged.
Road to Danger Page 13
