Spliced

by Robin Leigh Miller

  Ridge had to swallow the emotion welling in his chest. Would the pain ever go away? “It was my honor, soldier.”

  The young man nodded and then left. Ridge turned and limped back into the room holding Cale’s casket. He walked to each floral arrangement and read the cards. They all seemed to come from local businesses and churches. Then he walked to the end of the casket and laid his hand on it.

  “We were supposed to retire together, Easton,” he whispered. “We were supposed to start some dumbass business together or something. You were supposed to keep hounding me about Avery.” They were supposed to do a lot of things that would never happen now. “What the hell am I going to do now?”

  Ridge stood there a few more moments saying a silent goodbye to his friend and then limped away. He had to look one more time. Halfway through the room he stopped and turned, taking in the sight of his friend’s casket with the guards. What he saw surprised him. Both men had tears in their eyes and were swallowing hard.

  “Don’t take friendships for granted,” he told them. “They can be taken away in the blink of an eye.”

  The two guards nodded slightly, acknowledging his comment, before Ridge turned and left the room.

  “Ridge Gates?”

  Ridge stopped in front of a man he’d never seen before. A very serious-looking man. “Yes.”

  “I’m Lieutenant Stone with the South Carolina police. I’d like to have a word with you.”

  Ridge looked at the badge he held in his hand. “You aren’t in uniform.”

  “I’m off duty but I’d like to talk to you.”

  “About what?” God, he needed to get off this leg. Another fifteen minutes and he’d be crawling out of here.

  “Avery.”

  Time stopped. Everything stilled. “What happened? Is she okay?”

  “She’s fine. There are a few things I’d like to discuss with you.”

  “Yeah, sure.” What the hell was going on and why did this guy call her Avery instead of Miss Easton?

  “Could you give me a moment? I’d like to pay my respects.”

  Stone walked past him into the room and stepped up to the casket. He folded his hands in front of him, lowered his head and stood there for just a moment before returning. Ridge frowned.

  “Did you know Cale?”

  “I’m afraid I didn’t have the honor but I know Avery. Come on, I’ll buy you a coffee and you can give that leg a rest while we talk.”

  “I don’t need to give anything a rest,” Ridge snapped.

  Stone smiled. “Save the macho crap, it doesn’t impress me. I don’t much like you at the moment but I’m willing to give you a shot at changing my mind. That isn’t the way to do it. Let’s go. There’s a nice diner down the street. I’ll even give you a ride.”

  Ridge glared at Stone’s back as he walked away. He didn’t want to talk to this guy but something was up for him to come looking for him so he had no choice. Biting back a groan of pain, Ridge followed him to his truck.

  “What’s this about?”

  “We’ll talk when we get a coffee and a piece of pie. I’ve had a busy day and I’m hungry for a nice piece of cherry pie.”

  Ridge rolled his eyes. This guy wanted to play games. Fine. He could play longer.

  They parked; both got out of the truck and walked into the diner. People shouted hellos to the lieutenant as they walked to a back corner booth. Stone ordered for them both and then sat back and eyed Ridge.

  “You take a shot to the face?”

  “Shrapnel,” he answered. “The same bomb that killed Avery’s brother.”

  “Leg too?”

  “Leg too.” Okay, he wanted to play twenty questions, fine.

  “What’s your relationship with Avery?”

  “She’s a friend. Her brother and I were friends for ten years. When we had leave we’d come here and stay with her.” Simple and truthful, easy.

  “Nothing more than friends?”

  Ridge glared. What was this guy’s game? “Is that any of your business?”

  “Actually, it is. But we’ll get to that later.”

  Ridge took a fist to the gut. The air left his lungs. Stone wanted her, or already had her. “Get to the point, Stone. What’s going on?”

  “Ah, thank you, Chrissy,” he said as the waitress set two plates of pie and two coffees in front of them. “That’ll be all.”

  As soon as the waitress left, Stone’s polite smile disappeared. “Avery’s house was broken into today while she was at the airport.”

  Ridge suppressed a look of surprise even as his gut tightened and the urge to fly out of the diner and to her ripped through his body. “Robbery?” Was she okay? She had to be upset.

  “Nope. Nothing taken. No, this was a message.” Stone took a bite of his pie and waited.

  “I don’t get it. Why would someone break into Avery’s house and not take anything? What kind of message?” Where was she? He had to find her. Oh God, Avery. He should have been there with her.

  Stone pulled out some photos and spread them across the table. Ridge fisted his hands as he looked at the vile destruction of Avery’s home. Picture after picture showed shredded and busted furniture. Who the hell did this?

  “This is where it gets scary,” Stone said as he laid out photos of her bedroom.

  “What the fuck?” Nooses made from sheets hung from her ceiling fan. The entire contents of her closet were tossed in shreds around the room. Each picture burned fury red-hot in his gut. “Who did this?”

  “I was hoping you’d have some insight,” Stone said, taking another bite of pie.

  “Me? You think I did this?” He’d rather cut off his limbs than hurt Avery like this.

  “Her friend Cindy offered you up.”

  Ridge snapped his gaze to Stone. “She would.” Especially if Avery told her about the night they’d shared.

  “Yeah, Cindy isn’t exactly a big fan of yours. Avery already alibied you for the airport. I was thinking more along the lines of what you know about her brother. What exactly did he do in the military?”

  Ridge stared at the photos. Thank God she hadn’t been home when they’d broken in. “She has an alarm. Didn’t it go off?”

  “No. As a matter of fact we checked with the security company. They have her code being punched in while she was at the airport.”

  “No one but Cale and she knew the code.” This didn’t make any sense. Who’d be after Avery? “Where is she?”

  “She’s fine, Gates. I spent the day with her. Helped her clean up and I have repairs underway. You need to answer my questions. What did her brother do in the military?”

  He’d spent the day with her? Helped her clean her house? What else had he done with her? Ridge’s gut tightened to the point of pain. He’d put his hands on Avery. He could see it in the man’s eyes. Damn it, it was his place to take care of Avery, not this guy.

  “Get past the jealousy routine, Gates. We don’t have time for that. I need to find out who’s terrorizing Avery and as much as I don’t like it, I think the answers are with you. Now, either you or her brother was involved in something and she’s paying the price. So help me, God, if I find out it’s you and you’re withholding information that could get her killed, I’ll bury you.”

  Ridge swallowed the urge to pound the guy in the face. What right did he have acting as Avery’s protector? He’d give this guy his answers and then he’d go to Avery and not leave her side until this bastard was locked up. “I’m nothing but a grunt. I pound the dirt, follow orders and that’s the extent. Cale, he was Special Forces. What he did when we weren’t assigned together, I don’t know. I will tell you this. You better find this bastard before I do because if I get my hands on him, I’ll make him sorry he ever drew breath.”

  “You’ll do no such thing. Unless you want to do time, you’ll give me any information you have and let me and the department deal with it.” Stone pulled a card out of his pocket and slid it across the table. “My number. If you
come up with anything, use it. Finish your pie. It’s the best in town.”

  Ridge stared at the plate. What the hell was up with this guy? He chewed his ass out all but blaming him for Avery’s trashed house and then wanted him to eat with him. Glaring at this cop, he wondered what else lay behind his perfect face. Picking up his fork he cut a big piece and jammed it in his mouth.

  “They smashed everything,” Stone said quietly. “I do mean everything. Her dresser, mirror, even her toilets. That’s a message, wouldn’t you agree?”

  “Yeah, but I don’t have a clue what it’s about. Believe me, if I knew I’d tell you. She’s been through enough, she doesn’t need this.” Ridge plugged another bite in his mouth.

  “She doesn’t need to be alone, either,” Stone said, putting his fork down and sipping his coffee. “I plan on making sure she isn’t.”

  The words were a warning. Ridge slowly folded his hands and stared at the man across from him. So, he thought he had a shot with Avery. “She isn’t alone, Stone. I told her that today, at the airport as I held her when Cale’s body was delivered. Where were you?”

  Stone grinned. “Why didn’t she want you called when we arrived and found her home destroyed? Oh, wait, could it be because she doesn’t have a fucking clue how to get hold of you?”

  “You’re walking a fine line, Stone. Avery isn’t a toy to be played with.” If this guy thought he could move in while she was suffering and score points, he had another thing coming.

  “Really? You’re one to be talking. Blowing in, fucking her like a tramp and then gone like the wind. Who’s playing with her?”

  Ridge reached out and fisted his hand in Stone’s shirt, dragging him halfway across the table. Nose to nose, Ridge laid it all out so there wouldn’t be any misunderstandings. “What’s happened between us isn’t any of your fucking business and what happens from here on out isn’t any of your fucking business. You don’t ever talk about her like that again or I’ll make sure you don’t ever talk again. Are we clear, Stone?”

  “And you get this through your head, Gates. That woman is hurting and most of the hurt is coming because of you. Either cut her loose and stop dangling her or step up and be a man. As of now, she has options. Keep that in mind.” Stone pulled out of his grip and smoothed his shirt.

  “She’s always had options,” Ridge whispered, confused by what Stone told him.

  “No, she hasn’t. Open your damn eyes, man.” Stone flopped a twenty on the table and slid from the booth. “She’s staying at a hotel tonight. I don’t know which one so don’t ask. It’s been one hell of a day and she needs some peace so don’t go hunting her down. I want to know where to reach you, Gates. If anything happens again I want to know where the hell you are and what you’re doing.”

  Ridge rattled off his address and phone number.

  “Christ, man. Does she even know you’re living that close to her?”

  “No and for now I’d like it to stay that way,” Ridge snapped.

  Stone muttered a few curses. “You need to make a choice. Either claim her or cut the line. She doesn’t deserve this.”

  Stone left the diner and Ridge confused and reeling. Avery had been violated and threatened but why? What if she’d been home? If the bastard was so intent on destroying her, he could easily have ended her life. That possibility made Ridge’s blood run cold and put the fear of God in his soul. Avery gone—it would kill him.

  The thought had him almost running from the diner. Stone said he didn’t know where she was staying and for some reason Ridge believed him. Stone may want her, but he was a straight-up man. Damn it, where was she?

  His truck was parked only a block away. It took him twice as long to make the quick walk, but nothing would stop him. Ridge jumped in his truck and—what? Where would he go? Churning with worry and need for Avery, he pounded his fists on the steering wheel. Damn it, where was she?

  He could check all the hotels within a five-mile radius. She’d be staying close to home, and why wasn’t she staying with Cindy? He knew why. Avery liked her independence. Cindy tended to smother. No, Avery would opt to stay where she had space.

  Jerking the truck into drive, Ridge pulled away and began his search. Stone didn’t want him tracking her down—too fucking bad. It seemed like hours before he finally pulled into the parking lot of a small hotel and spotted her car. Relief rushed cold and fast through him. He could go to the desk and request her room number and then knock on her door, but he wasn’t sure that was such a good idea.

  Now that he’d had time to think, Ridge decided Stone might be right. A little time and peace would do her good to process the events of the day. Still, his need to see and hold her ate away at his insides.

  Pulling the card Stone gave him from his pocket and his cell, Ridge dialed.

  “Stone.”

  “You swear she’s okay,” he snarled in the phone. “She isn’t hurt? I’m sitting in the parking lot of her hotel and I can easily check for myself. If you’re lying to me, Stone, I’ll kill you with my bare hands.”

  “Yeah, I figured you’d track her down. I swear on my life, Gates, she’s not physically hurt. She’s probably exhausted and an emotional wreck but not physically harmed in any way. Look, she has my number and promised to call if she needs help. If I hear from her, maybe I’ll call you.”

  Ridge’s temper flared but he contained the outrage of hearing Avery would call Stone rather than him. Of course she couldn’t call him because he never gave her his damn cell number. He just kept fucking up left and right.

  Ridge closed his eyes and clenched his teeth. “If I found her this easily, whoever broke into her house today could find her.”

  “Yeah, I know. That’s why I’ve had a little chat with the employees of the hotel. If anyone comes asking about her or looks suspicious, I’ll get a call.”

  A fresh blast of anger shot through Ridge’s system. “You fucking lied. You said you didn’t know where she was staying.” If Stone were standing in front of him right now he’d lay him out with one hard punch to the head.

  “Relax. I did the same thing you did. I just found her quicker.”

  Ridge ground his teeth together. He didn’t know whether or not to believe the bastard. Stone clearly wanted Avery and at this point, Ridge believed he’d do anything to keep him away from her.

  “She has a tough day ahead of her tomorrow,” Stone said on a sigh. “Let her try to get some peaceful sleep tonight. Go home, Gates. You need some rest as well.”

  Ridge wrapped his fingers tightly around the steering wheel. “I’m touched you care so much.”

  “Yeah, that’s just the kind of guy I am. If I hear from her I’ll let you know.”

  Stone disconnected. Ridge stared out the windshield toward the hotel. Tomorrow he and Avery would talk whether she wanted to or not. He’d make sure she understood Stone was trying to move in on her and it wasn’t acceptable. Then, he’d give her his cell number, address and anything she needed to contact him.

  Ridge put the truck in gear and slowly pulled out of the parking lot. He didn’t like leaving her there alone, but Stone had a point. Tomorrow would be one hell of a bad day and she’d need all the rest she could get. Come tomorrow night if she couldn’t sleep in her house, she’d damn well be sleeping in his where he could keep an eye on her.

  Slightly content that he had at least a partial plan in mind, Ridge headed for home.

  Chapter Seven

  Freshly showered and feeling slightly human, Avery slipped into her new silk panties and wiggled them over her hips. Basic black seemed to be theme for her life recently—black panties, bra, dress and shoes. She went with a simple dress, buttons all the way up the front and short capped sleeves. Nothing fancy for a cemetery.

  After she left the boutique yesterday she went to a local department store and grabbed her favorite brand of jeans, some simple shirts and tanks and a pair of sneakers. She liked to dress up but she also liked to dress down and working in the house today c
alled for dressing down.

  After she dressed, she packed up all her new belongings she’d purchased yesterday and hauled them out to her car. God, she’d gone overboard. Hair dryer, cosmetics, combs and brushes, toiletries, even items she’d never owned before were stuffed in her bags. It must be true what they said about shopping acting as good therapy. She’d therapied herself right out of a thousand bucks.

  “Can I give you hand?”

  Avery jumped, dropped her bags and began backing away until she saw Stone reaching out for her. “Oh my God. Where did you come from?” Her hands shook as she tried to gather her belongings.

  “Sorry. I wanted to see you before you headed out, check on you, make sure you were okay.”

  He gathered her things and stuffed them into her trunk.

  “Thanks. I’m fine. It takes more than a break-in to push me over the edge.”

  “Yeah, but you’re dealing with more than a break-in,” Stone said, reaching out and cupping her cheek in his hand. “Say the word, Avery, and I’ll go with you today. You shouldn’t do this alone.”

  His warm hand against her flesh, gentle and not altogether right. Not wanting to insult him, she smiled and placed her hand over his. “I won’t be alone. Ridge is riding to the cemetery with me, but thank you for the offer. You’re very kind.”

  Stone dipped his head and smiled. “I stopped by the funeral home yesterday and paid my respects. I have to say, it was impressive to see the guards standing watch.”

  Stone didn’t know Cale, yet he’d paid his respects? Could this man be any more sensitive? “Is there no end to your kindness?”

  “It just felt like the right thing to do,” Stone chuckled as he removed his hand from her cheek and let it drift down to her shoulder. “I ran into Ridge Gates there. I got to see the changing of the guard.”

  Avery leaned against her car and crossed her arms under her breasts. “You questioned him?” Damn Cindy and her pushy ways.

  “A little but since he was with you yesterday I didn’t angle the conversation in the direction of suspect. I simply informed him of the situation and asked him to let me know if he had any ideas on who did this.”