by Melissa Keir
The shared laughter felt good with each of them enjoying the word games they played. As Betsie sat on the couch, Jonah knelt on the floor and lifted the hem of her dress. Gently touching her left knee, elicited a cry of pain from her but he was able to bend and move the leg without much discomfort.
“Looks lucky for you that it’s only a bad sprain. You’ll live. Put some ice on this, take it easy and you’ll be fine. I‘d better get back to the crime scene before they miss me. I put my cell number on the back of that card I gave you. Feel free to give me a call if the vet comes sniffing around you.”
With that, Jonah closed the door and headed back to his car. To Betsie, it seemed as if all the sunshine drained out of the world.
Chapter Four
After a good night’s sleep, Betsie woke feeling refreshed and ready to get back to work. Sitting around the apartment wasn’t good for her since she kept thinking about poor Johnny. After her morning routine, Betsie stepped outside to find tantalizing Detective Jonah Pigg standing by his car waiting on her. “I thought you’d try to head back into work today and I didn’t want you to walk, so here I’m at your disposal.”
“Thank you. I really can’t afford to miss a day of work. Miss Hildebrand and Mr. Anderson frown on taking personal time. And honestly, I didn’t want to be alone with my thoughts.” Betsie smiled and looked up into Jonah’s eyes.
After the short six-block drive, they arrived at Anderson Trucking. Jonah pulled his car right up front to the door. “What time are you getting off? I plan on being here to take you home too.”
“No that’s okay. I’ll be fine.” Betsie was a strong opinionated woman who didn’t like to rely on others. It was her nature to take care of things for herself. After all, she had learned that she could only count on herself. But Betsie didn’t count on Jonah being as strong-willed as she was.
“I insist. No argument. I’ll pick you up at five o’clock.”
Climbing out of the front seat in a huff, Betsie slammed the car door. Who does he think he is to take over my life? I can do this on my own.
Walking into the office with a scowl on her face, Betsie came face to face with Mr. Anderson, himself. Oops. This can’t be good.
“Hello, Miss Wolfe. I trust that you’re okay. I’m surprised that you’re here at work today. But then again, Miss Hildebrand’s been telling me about what a conscientious worker you are. Thank you for calling the police last night. It must have been horrible for you.” Mr. Anderson looked at her curiously.
“It was horrible Mr. Anderson but thank you for your concern. I’m glad to get back to work and keep my mind off the events of last night.” She put her brightest smile on her face.
“What did the police want to know? Did you see anything that could help them?”
Mr. Anderson seemed very interested in what she told the police. How strange, unless he is worried that I might know something. I hope that he didn’t notice me the other night when that guy was with him talking about the drugs.
Betsie answered with a little white lie after saying a silent prayer of forgiveness. “I’m afraid I couldn’t tell them much. It was so dark and I was so scared. Well, I should head back to my desk and get started with my work. Thank you again for your concern, Mr. Anderson.”
When Betsie arrived at her desk, Miss Hildebrand was rifling through the papers on Betsie’s desk. When Miss Hildebrand noticed her, she quickly walked over and indicated her surprise about seeing her back at work.
“Miss Wolfe, how nice to see that you made it into work today. I was just looking at your desk to see if you had the Templeton file since I thought you might need an extra day off to rest. Wasn’t last night just the most awful thing?”
Handing the Templeton file from the top of her desk to Miss Hildebrand, “Yes it was horrible but I couldn’t sit at home. My mind won’t let me rest with those horrible sights of Johnny from last night. I would rather be at work and doing my job than at home worrying. Well, I should get to work, then. Thank you for worrying about me,” Betsie said with fake sincerity. What was going on with her bosses today? They seem awfully worried about something. I can’t believe Miss Hildebrand was going through my desk. I’ll put it out of my mind for now and concentrate on working.
****
Eight hours later, Betsie had gotten a lot of her work done and kept her mind busy. She hardly noticed the time passing. She’d decided to eat lunch at her desk and kept working to avoid any gossip with the other secretaries. However, her leg had begun to throb around lunchtime, so she took some medicine and rubbed her knee for a bit. The pain left as quickly as it came.
Without the pain to bother her, Betsie finished her work for the day and actually accomplished a lot. Best of all, her mind was freed from the horrible events of yesterday.
Grabbing her jacket and purse, Betsie walked out the door of the office to head home. Not seeing Jonah’s car, she decided that he must have forgotten and started home. Her leg made walking slow, but she was glad that she didn’t have to rely on anyone.
Just as she was rounding the last block and could see her house, Betsie heard an engine roar behind her. She turned, looked and noticed a black sports car with silver trim heading her way. What’s that guy doing? That looks like the same car that was in the garage last night when Johnny got shot.
She looked frantically for a way to escape the oncoming car. Where could she go? Seeing a large maple tree near the curb, Betsie hid behind the tree, knowing that if the car tried to hit her, it’d be damaged from the impact with the tree.
Hyperventilating from fear, she heard another loud engine sound coming from behind her. Glancing behind her, she noticed Jonah’s tan sedan coming toward her and blocked the black car from getting any closer to her. The black sports car swerved quickly to avoid hitting the sedan and with a squeal of tires sped off down the street.
Jonah slammed his car in park and jumped out, grabbed Betsie and pulled her close. “What the hell were you doing walking home? I said I was picking you up.”
Betsie fainted from shock, hitting her head on the sidewalk as she fell. Jonah picked her up in his arms and cradled her against his chest.
Thank goodness I got here in time. My little wolf is getting into trouble lately. My? Did he really think of her as his? His feelings for this little pixie were strong. He couldn’t believe that he’d only met her yesterday and already he wanted nothing more than to protect her from the cruel world.
It’s obvious that someone wants her dead. This has to do with Johnny’s death. But why? What does she know? What did she see?
Kissing her forehead, Jonah decided that she needed someone to watch over her. But he was working on the case; he couldn’t be with her twenty-four-seven. Then a thought came into his head… he had the perfect people to watch over her.
Betsie’s eyes fluttered. A soft moan escaped her lips.
Waking up in a Jonah’s arms could become a craving, Betsie thought. “Thank you for coming to my rescue. You’re like a knight in shining armor. I thought I was going to die. Ouch, my head hurts. I think I must have hit it when I fainted.”
Checking the bump on her head and with his temper barely in check, Jonah responded, “It looks like a minor bump, are you dizzy? I told you that I would pick you up. Why were you walking home?”
“I didn’t see you when I left work, so I thought you’d forgotten. I never dreamed that this would happen.” Tears filled her eyes. “I’m not dizzy just feeling horribly frightened and like an idiot for fainting.”
Jonah wanted nothing more than to take away her pain and fear. “I think that this is all related to Johnny’s death. The police have been watching Anderson Trucking for a while because of a suspicion that something strange was going on there. You seem to be a target and I can’t be with you every moment of the day but I do have two people that I trust with my life who can. They’re my brothers, Marcus and Luke. They used to work for the police department but started their own private detective office with me as t
heir silent partner. They can watch over you.”
“But Jonah, I really don’t want to have someone else interfering with my life. I like being independent, doing what I want when I want. Having two guys shadowing me and living with me will be uncomfortable for me.”
“I know that this wasn’t a random attempt on your life and they won’t stop until you end up like Johnny. So humor me. Besides, I’d rather that you move into our home so we can protect you better. We’ve plenty of room and the best security system.”
Knowing that she was in over her head, Betsie agreed.
Chapter Five
After helping her pack up her belongings, Betsie’s frustration had turned to resignation. She couldn’t have four people living in her apartment but she really hated relying on others. What if they didn’t have the tea she liked to drink when her throat was sore? What if she needed that extra blanket that she kept in the box at the end of her bed for when she was cold? It felt too permanent to be leaving her home. It wasn’t as if she was going on a vacation. She was being forced to leave her home because someone was trying to kill her. With that thought, a chill went down her spine.
On the drive to Jonah’s house, he tried to regale her with stories of his brothers’ antics from their youth. Marcus was the joker in the family and loved nothing more than to tease his brothers. He was always setting up practical jokes for them to fall for. Luke was the serious one who shared a passion for justice just like Jonah.
Hearing about his brothers, Betsie learned more about Jonah too, like how he felt that he had to take care of his brothers since the death of their parents in a car accident when Jonah was only twenty-one. And that it was because of this tragedy that all three boys entered the police academy to make a difference in the world. By the time they’d arrived at his house, Betsie felt that she knew both brothers’ personalities and could tell that Jonah loved and respected them both.
As the car slowed in front of Jonah’s house, Betsie took in the details of the two-story home with a beautiful front porch. The house looked inviting with ferns hanging from the porch. Parking in the driveway, Jonah helped Betsie out of the car. “I’ll come back to get your things in a moment. I want to introduce you to my brothers and show you around first.” he said, nervously.
The front door of the house was ornate with stained glass in an art deco style. A wide and accommodating entryway was adorned with a small cherry table where keys and gloves littered the table top. Sitting in the living room were two men who bore a strong resemblance to Jonah. They stood as she entered the room, and gave her a smile. Both men had dark hair like Jonah’s but one wore his hair short in a buzz cut, the other had longer hair that trailed down his back which he pulled back in a ponytail. Each man had Jonah’s blue eyes, yet one of the brothers had more laugh lines around his eyes and mouth. That must be Marcus, she thought. He looks like he doesn’t take life too seriously. The other man looked like he carried the weight of the world on his shoulders. But his large shoulders looked like they could handle it. It’s obvious that he worked out a lot. His body was built like a brick wall.
“Betsie, these are my brothers, Marcus and Luke.”
“Pleased to meet both of you. Jonah’s told me a little about you. Thank you for your help. I don’t want to be an inconvenience.”
“I’m Marcus. Jonah didn’t tell us that you were so beautiful. Now I can see why he’s so protective of you.”
“And that makes me Luke. Don’t worry Betsie, we’ll protect you. No one will harm you with the Pigg brothers protecting you.”
“Now that you have finished introducing yourselves and not scaring her away with your teasing, Marcus. Why don’t you go gather her boxes of things from the car? Make yourselves useful while I show Betsie around.” Marcus shoved Luke in front of him and out the door.
With his hand on the small of her back, he led her around the living room to the stairway. The warm feeling from Jonah’s hand had Betsie’s face turning pink. She forgot to breathe for a minute thinking about Jonah’s hands on other parts of her body. He’s got such strong, large hands. Yet he’s so gentle with me.
Betsie could see the strong influence of the three men in the designs of the house. Looking like an effort had been made to at least clean the place, Betsie smiled as she walked with Jonah. It was apparent that he was very proud of his home.
Walking up the stairs, pictures of smiling families and precocious boys lined the wall. Pausing to admire a photo of the three boys of around early teens, Betsie stopped on the stairs. “Jonah, this picture’s so cute. It must have been wonderful growing up in such a close family. I know you said that you lost your parents and had to take care of your brothers, but look at the love evident in your eyes. My sister hardly has time to even check in with me. Growing up, we competed more than supported.”
“Yea, we loved to challenge each other to different things, but whenever something happened, we all had each other’s back. No one was going to hurt my family without paying for it. I guess that’s why I went into police work, having had to deal with the death of our parents. Let’s get you settled into your room.”
Down the hall at the top of the stairs, Jonah drew Betsie into the last bedroom in the hallway. “This is my room, but I’m going to be bunking with my brother, Luke while you are here. Make yourself at home. The bathroom is right across the hall and clean towels are under the sink.”
“Aw, Jonah. I’m sorry that you had to give up your room.” said Betsie but secretly in her heart, she was happy to be sleeping in Jonah’s bed. Having dated only a few men, and being a preacher’s daughter, she didn’t have a lot of carnal knowledge about men. But Jonah made her feel things that she hadn’t felt before. She wanted to feel if his lips were as soft as they looked and if he tasted as good as he smelled.
“Don’t worry. Being the last room in the hall gives it some protection so that if anyone were to get into the house, they would’ve had to get by all three of us in order to reach you. Besides, I sort of like you in my room.”
Blushing, Betsie didn’t know what to say to that since his thoughts echoed her own. She took a good look around the room. A king sized bed dominated the room. However, other than the bed, and desk, the only furniture was a comfy looking chair by the window. Above the desk was a shelf filled with awards and medals for sports, while more smiling photos of the Pigg family sat on the desk.
Grabbing Betsie’s hand, Jonah pulled her out into the hallway. “I’ll have my brothers bring your boxes and suitcase up later so you can get unpacked. You’ve seen the living room and my room, now I want to show you the kitchen. It’s my favorite room in the house.”
Heading back down the stairs, through the living room and toward the back of the house, Jonah held her hand the whole way. When she got a look at the kitchen, Betsie’s eyes grew wide. She didn’t expect that a bachelors’ home would have such a fully equipped kitchen. The kitchen was beautiful with black granite countertops and stainless steel appliances. The cupboards were distressed to look old but the rest of the kitchen shined like it was brand spanking new.
She watched in awe as Jonah went through each and every cupboard to show her where things were found. He even went so far as to open the oven and refrigerator. There was a ton of food available, everything that anyone could ever desire. “This is my favorite room because of the food. Us, Pigg men, love to eat! And after coming home from the station, I don’t want to have to run to the store, so we always make sure that there is plenty of food in the house.”
Not wanting to embarrass Jonah, Betsie covered her mouth to hide her laughter but her eyes were a dead giveaway. Jonah loved looking at the way her lavender eyes lit up when she smiled. Laughter had a way of animating her face, making it come to life like the difference between a painting and a movie. “Hey, don’t laugh at me,” he said with mock irritation, then bent down and kissed her lips lightly. “That’ll teach you to laugh at me. Let’s go sit down and we can go over your new routine.”
Listening to the Pigg boys talk about lookouts, transportation details, and protection was like watching three little bears play on the carpet. It was obvious that everyone’s opinions mattered. They all brought something to the conversation but argued the different points without care for egos. After hashing out what they thought was the best plan, they presented it to Betsie.
“I’ll be the one to drive you to and from work each day,” Marcus explained. “I’m going to wait outside your office all day. Don’t worry, you won’t see me. But I’m there just in case you need me, or get the idea to leave early or later. This’ll allow Jonah to continue to work on the case at the station and not worry about you becoming a road pancake.”
“Since he has the day duty and transportation, I’ll be the night watch,” Luke replied. “My job will be to watch the house during the night hours and take care of anything that seems suspicious. I’ll be sleeping when you are at work, Betsie, so I can be fresh for the night.”
“And my job other than continuing to work on who’s behind this murder, I’m going to be here each evening to keep my brothers from boring you to tears!” stated Jonah with a grin. “But if we haven’t made it clear, you don’t get to leave this house without one of us. We want to make sure that this guy makes another attempt on your life. It also would be best if you didn’t tell anyone that you’re here under protection. We wouldn’t want people to think we do this for everyone.”
“Naw, only the pretty ones get this protection, right Jonah?” Marcus teased.
“This is going to be hard. I’m used to being independent. Now I’ve got to lie about my life. I don’t like to have to rely on you or your brothers but I know that my life is on the line. Watching that car coming towards me was horribly frightening. You’d just better get the case solved quickly so that I don’t have to live here long!”
Chapter Six
