by Julie Miller
She stood up. He didn’t look mad, more resigned.
“How did you know I was there?”
“Really excellent hearing,” he said. “I heard the click of the door, saw just a shadow of movement as I was opening the front door and realized what you were doing. I had some level of confidence that you’d figure out a way to stay hidden,” he added.
“I did,” she said somewhat unnecessarily.
He nodded. “So you heard everything?”
“Yes. Who is she?”
“Trish Wright. I guess, Wright-Roper now. My brother Bray dated her sister Summer for years. We all thought they’d end up married but it didn’t happen that way. Bray went away to the marines and Summer married somebody else. I appreciate the fact that they’ve still got kind feelings toward the Hollister family.” Cal looked at his watch. “We’ve got less than ten minutes. This time, I really do need you to hide. Will you do that? Please?”
“Tell me your plan first,” she said, not answering his question.
“I don’t have one,” he said. “Other than to get more information out of them than they get from me and to keep you safe. Everything besides that is fluid.”
She let out a loud breath.
“I can’t focus on them if in the back of my mind I’m wondering what you’re doing,” he said.
“Fine,” she said. “I’ll be in the back of the closet, hidden behind the clothes.” She started to walk toward the bedroom.
“Stormy,” he said.
She stopped. “Yes.”
He put his hand on her shoulder, turned her and kissed her. All the emotion of the moment was packed into ten seconds of scorching pleasure.
Then he stepped back. “We’re not finished,” he said.
* * *
CAL WAS ON the porch, swinging in the old hammock, whittling on a stick when the Mercedes Men drove into the yard. He turned the outside porch light on, making it easy for them to see him. He wore an old military jacket that he’d gotten soon after he’d enlisted. After Stormy had gone upstairs, he’d quickly pulled it from his duffel bag. It had seen better days but he’d always been reluctant to part with it.
One car drove in. Two men inside. He figured the second car was probably just over the hill.
Both men opened their car doors. They appeared to be unarmed but Cal figured they had plenty of firepower on them and in the car.
“Hello,” the driver said. He was the man who had done the talking in the hotel. Cal was confident that this was G. On the passenger side was the guy who walked funny, the one he’d coined Bad Knee.
“Hello,” Cal said easily. He kept whittling. Small pieces of wood littered the snow-covered porch.
“Kind of cold to be outside,” G said.
“I’m watching for ’em,” Cal said.
The two men looked at each other. “For who?” Bad Knee asked.
Cal looked up, his eyes darting fast. “The jerks in the woods. I’ll blow this place up before I’ll let them take it.” He held up his knife. “I’m ready.”
“You were in the military,” G said, focusing on his jacket.
Cal nodded. “Just got home. Had to drive through a storm to get here. I told everybody I saw along the way that they were coming.”
The two men exchanged another glance. He wasn’t sure if they remembered him from seeing him by the vending machines. They had barely given him a glance that night. But now, Cal was pretty confident that they thought he was relatively harmless. “Our car is having trouble,” G explained. “We barely got it here. May we use your phone to call for help?”
“I guess,” Cal said, getting up. “You two from around here?”
“Nope. Just passing through,” said Bad Knee.
Cal showed them the phone in the kitchen. As they walked through the house, they looked in every room. Bad Knee was eyeing the upstairs.
“Big house for a single guy,” Bad Knee said.
“My brother lives here, too,” Cal said. “Cried like a little girl about the snowstorm. We had to stop driving and spent the night at a hotel.” He was pretty confident the hotel clerk might have told these two about the man and his brother who had stayed in room 14. “He went to get beer.”
“I see,” said Bad Knee. “We’re in the area looking for our cousin. She ran away from home.”
“I did that once,” Cal said, grinning big.
“It’s not a good thing,” G said. “She’s young. Foolish. Has dark hair. She’s very beautiful,” he added somewhat bitterly.
“She better be careful. They can see in the dark. Like a damn cat,” he said. He took his knife and drew a line down the dark woodwork, marring it. “Ticktock, goes the clock.” He tapped his knife against the woodwork.
The two men walked toward the door.
“You can stay here and wait for a ride if you want,” Cal said.
“No. That’s okay. We’ll be going,” G said.
“You got any matches?” Cal asked.
The driver frowned. “Matches? Why?”
“I got to start a fire. They don’t like fire.”
G chuckled. “Sure. I got some matches.” He pulled a half-used matchbook from his pocket. “Make it a good one,” he added, flipping it toward Cal.
The men walked back to their car, got in and drove off. Cal sat back down on the hammock and continued his whittling. He didn’t move for three minutes. When he was sure the cars had moved on, he got up, walked inside and locked the door behind him. He took off his coat and tossed it on the couch in the living room.
Unfinished business. That was what he had with Stormy.
Halfway up the stairs, he called out her name. “Stormy.”
She didn’t answer. He walked into the room, strode over to the closet and ripped the clothes out of the way. Held out a hand and hauled her out of the small space. Once she was out, in one smooth movement, she wrapped her arms around his neck, her legs around his waist, and kissed him for all he was worth.
He could have kissed her all day. But all too soon, she unwrapped her legs and slid down his body. He was painfully aroused and he doubted that she wasn’t fully aware of the fact.
“I was scared,” she admitted, her hand resting on his chest. “I thought you might kill them.”
“I would have,” he said, “if it had been necessary. But the other two would have come looking for them eventually and then I’d have had to kill them, too. Even though I really wanted to beat the crap out of them for what they did to you, it just didn’t seem like the most prudent action to take right now. They’re a clue to your identity. The more we ultimately learn about them, perhaps the more we learn about you.”
“I appreciate your restraint,” she said, sounding half serious, half amused.
Restraint was not ripping her clothes off and taking her with her back against the wall. He shrugged. “Maybe they’ll give up.”
She shook her head. “You don’t really think that, do you?”
“No. I bought us a little space. They’ll be back or we’ll run into them somewhere along the way.”
“But they won’t be back right away.” Her tone was suggestive and he could feel hope rise in his chest. But this was too important to have any potential misread of the situation.
“I want to make sure I’m clear here,” he said, his damn voice cracking. “I want to take you to bed, Stormy. And if you don’t want that, we need to stop. Now.”
She moved the hand that had rested on his chest to the back of his neck. She pulled his head down, met him halfway, her lips still wet from the earlier kisses. When she stuck her tongue into his mouth, he felt the answering surge in his body. When the kiss ended, she pulled back just a little. “Don’t stop. Please don’t stop.”
“Just so you know, we’re about one m
inute shy of doing this on the floor versus on a soft mattress.”
She threw her head back and laughed. Then she jumped and wrapped her legs around his waist one more time.
* * *
HE CARRIED HER into his old room, gently dumped her down onto the mattress and fell in beside her. And it took almost no time for them to be naked. And for him to be inside her.
It was...amazing. He had his hands under her rear and his strokes were long and purposeful and she was just this close to—
She came explosively, her internal muscles clamping down.
“That’s my girl,” he murmured in her ear.
And when she was finally spent, he spread her even wider and went deeper. Minutes later, he tightened, groaned and emptied into her.
Or rather the condom. He had had the good sense to have one in his pocket.
“That’s my boy,” she said, slightly modifying his comment. She patted his back, which was damp with sweat.
He smiled against her shoulder. He was careful to keep his weight off her. After a minute, he said, “That was pretty fast. You okay?”
“Wonderful. Thanks...uh...for having protection.”
He shifted, withdrew and rolled to his side. He pulled on her hip, turning her, so that they were facing. “I need you to understand something,” he said. “I’m a young, single guy. So I keep some condoms in my bag. But I need you to know, I don’t...” He stopped and shook his head. “I don’t go through that many,” he finished.
She wanted to laugh but he was so serious. “I get that, Cal. You’re not promiscuous. I...I don’t think I am, either.”
In fact, it felt as if she’d used some muscles that didn’t get used all that much. But it had been worth it. And while it had been fast, it hadn’t been too fast.
Truth be told, she’d have let him take her on the floor.
Now she couldn’t wait to share with him what had happened while she was in the closet. “I remembered something,” she said.
* * *
HIS HEAD SNAPPED UP.
“It was hearing the voices. The one who said that it was a big house for one person.”
“That’s the guy with the bad knee.”
“Yeah. That makes sense. Remember that I told you about the ghost. And that I was afraid of him. It was him. He’s the ghost.”
Cal propped himself up on one elbow. “How do you know?”
“He’s the one who drugged me. Shots in the arm. After I saw the wedding dress in the corner of the room, he gave me a shot. When I woke up, I was wearing the dress and my head hurt. I didn’t realize it was a veil until they let me up. I tried to pull it off and he slapped me.”
“I should have killed him,” Cal said.
She patted his arm. “That’s my boy,” she said, repeating what she’d said earlier.
He managed a grudging smile.
“Anyway, then he dragged me down some hallway. I tried to resist but they’d put these stupid shoes on me and I couldn’t get any traction. But I saw the way he walked. The way he swung his leg from the hip. I think...” She stopped, closing her eyes. “I thought he was a ghost but he was just a stupid man wearing a sheet that he’d cut eye and mouth holes into. He never wanted me to see his face.”
There was only one reason for that. They hadn’t intended to kill her. Drug her, yes. Keep her captive, sure. But they weren’t going to kill her because one of them intended to marry her.
It was a crazy plan. And didn’t seem well thought out. What did they think she was going to do once they got complacent and stopped drugging her? Be happy that she’d been forced into a marriage?
No. That wouldn’t happen. They would know that she would run the first opportunity she got.
Unless there was no place to run.
Where had they intended to take her? Why?
There were so many questions. But it was good to finally have some solid proof that there hadn’t been any plan to kill her. Maybe that would work in her favor if they found her.
Not that he intended to let that happen.
But bullets killed and something could happen to him. “Listen,” he said, “I’m going to get you my brothers’ phone numbers. You need to memorize them. If something happens to me, go to them. Brayden Hollister. Like I said before, he’s DEA and one tough son of a gun. He’s in New York. And Chase Hollister. Detective with the St. Louis Police Department.”
She put her hand on his arm. “Don’t worry,” she said. “We’re both going to be okay.”
She’s very beautiful. That was what G had said. It was the same thing he’d said to the hotel clerk. In his gut, Cal knew that this was the man who had not only purchased the wedding dress but had also been the one who intended to marry Stormy. When he’d described Stormy, there had been deep emotion. Not love. Obsession, perhaps. Tinged now with a heavy dose of anger.
A dangerous combination.
“Maybe it’s time to go to the police,” he said. “Your memory is coming back. You’ve got enough to tell them.”
She shook her head. “I can’t trust the police.”
“Why?”
“I don’t know. But in my heart, I know that to be true.”
He could call Chase. Maybe Chase could put some feelers out, see if there was any information within the law enforcement world circulating about Stormy.
But Chase had his hands full. Someone he loved was testifying at a murder trial. Cal wasn’t going to ask him to put his own interests second again in favor of Cal’s interest. He just wouldn’t.
The Mercedes Men surely wouldn’t be back for at least another couple days. He’d give Stormy another forty-eight hours and then they had to do something.
“I should get up,” she said. “It’s close to eight. You’ve got to be hungry.”
“You bet,” he said, leaning down and nuzzling her pretty breast.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Cal was very talented with his mouth. No debating that, she thought, as she cracked eggs in a bowl. She was making French toast for a very late dinner.
It had been an amazing day. It seemed only fitting that the day had culminated with several hours in Cal’s bed.
She was slightly sore and deliciously satisfied. It was a nice combination.
“Hey,” he said, coming up behind her. He was freshly showered and he smelled of soap and mint from the toothpaste he’d used. He wrapped an arm around her waist and turned her to face him. Then he kissed her.
“Your French toast will burn,” she said, pulling back.
“I don’t care,” he said.
She gave him a gentle push. “I think we need to go back and see Pietro. He wasn’t happy that I knocked on his door. That must mean something.”
“It’s probably worth a try.”
She flipped three pieces of French toast onto a plate. She handed it to him.
“Thank you,” he said. He waited until she’d gotten her own serving and sat down at the table before he cut into his food. “Good,” he said between bites.
She could probably feed him dog food and he’d be appreciative. She took a bite and chewed slowly.
“I need to ask you something,” she said.
“Okay.”
“Don’t ask me to hide in the closet again,” she said. “I don’t think I can do it. I need to be able to help.”
He looked her in the eye. “I understand. I do. But I’m not going to let you get hurt. I can’t.”
“I feel the same toward you,” she said.
He seemed to consider that. Something changed in his eyes. She saw a bleak look of what might have been disgust.
“I’m sorry,” he said. “I made a mistake.”
She’d wanted him to understand, not to be defeated. “I understand, I
do. It’s just—”
“I need to tell you something.”
Something in the tone of his voice told her that this was her opportunity to be strong for him. “I’m listening,” she said.
“I told you that my stepfather wasn’t a nice guy. That was an understatement. He was a mean bastard.”
She kept her mouth shut. She’d sort of figured that.
“I haven’t always looked like this,” he said.
That made her smile. “You weren’t born six-two and 200 pounds?”
He shook his head. But he seemed to have relaxed just a little. “I didn’t hit my growth spurt until college. I was thin as a rail in middle school and high school.”
She wasn’t sure where this was going.
“Chase was three years older and a foot taller and seventy pounds heavier. But he was still no match for Brick.”
Things were becoming clearer.
“Brick used to beat him,” Cal said. “Sometimes badly.”
Her heart broke for the young boy he’d been. He’d had to have seen that. Probably had to worry that he was next.
“He didn’t hit me.”
“That was good. Right?” she asked.
“You know why? You want to know why?” his voice rose.
She wasn’t sure she did but she figured he was going to tell her. “Why?” she asked softly.
“Because Chase made a bargain with him. Brick could beat on him all he wanted. Chase wouldn’t fight back and he wouldn’t turn him in. In exchange, Brick was to keep his hands off me.”
Oh my. “I think your brother must have loved you very much,” she said finally.
He ignored the comment. “You know how I found out? Brick told me. He and my mother came to my college graduation. The college that Chase had paid for, sometimes working three jobs at a time. And that was my present from Brick Doogan. He told me the truth.”
“Why?”
“Because I think he knew that it would tear Chase and me apart. And that made him happy.”
“Did it? Tear you apart?”
“I was so angry with Chase. So angry with myself that I hadn’t been smarter, that I hadn’t seen what was happening. That I’d ignored the clues that I’d seen. Because I was afraid.”
