by Jane Henry
Paolo listened quietly, again barely restraining his anger.
“You did the right thing, baby,” he murmured. “I’m so sorry you couldn’t reach me. My phone was dead, and Robbie’s had no reception. Where’s your phone? I want to see the messages.”
“The police have it,” she said.
“Sir, I’ll need to see your cell phone,” one of the officers’s said, as he stepped forward. Paolo raised an eyebrow to him. The kid looked like he’d barely be old enough to graduate high school, never mind Police Academy.
“Excuse me?”
“Your cell phone. I’m sorry, sir, but we need to investigate all of her contacts.”
An older officer with hair graying at the temples looked with exasperation at the young officer. He sighed, hitching up his belt. “Take a look at these two,” he chided, waving a hand toward Paolo and Meredith. Meredith was sitting on Paolo’s lap, her arms wrapped around his neck, and Paolo had one arm wrapped around her waist, his fingers entwined with hers. They looked positively inseparable. “That look like a man who’s going to play screwed up pranks on his wife? Use your head, boy. That woman lit up when her husband came in the room. He’s no more responsible for this fiasco than I’m the Easter Bunny.”
The younger officer looked chastened, as he took a step back. Paolo looked at him with a mirthless smile. “You can take my cell and keep it as far as I’m concerned. Piece of crap won’t even work anyway.”
The older officer chuckled, as he retrieved Meredith’s cell. “We need to hold onto this until we can get a specialist to try to track the messages,” he said. “But maybe you can gather something that will help us with this case.”
Paolo took the cell, and scrolled through the messages, his temper rising with every message he read until he could hardly hold the phone still. He let loose a steady stream of curses as he read.
“Who the hell…” he muttered. Then he stopped and looked to Meredith. “He knows what you look like?” he asked. She nodded. “You sent Annalise a picture of you, didn’t you?”
Meredith nodded, her eyes wide.
“They know where you live,” he said. “And you sent her your cell number in a private message on the forum, right?”
She nodded again. Paolo scowled. “Have you been on the forum tonight?” he asked sternly.
Meredith shook her head, eyes wide. “No! You told me—” she paused, when she realized she had a rapt audience surrounding her. “No, I haven’t been on,” she said. Paolo turned to the older officer.
“I need to call a friend,” he said. “The two of us frequent a forum online, and I suspect someone from the forum may have gotten involved here. There’s one particular member who’s pulled shit like this before.”
The older officer nodded. “Make the call,” he said.
Paolo took Meredith’s phone, pulled up Annalise’s number and dialed.
“Hi, Annalise. No, it’s Paolo. I need to talk to Winston, please. It’s urgent.” He paused. “Thank you.” There was silence in the room as Paolo waited. Paolo felt so angry he was still shaking. But he had to keep it together for Meredith. If he could get his hands on that son of a bitch, he’d—
“Paolo?” came the voice on the other line.
“Yeah, it’s me. Listen, we have a situation here.” He filled Winston in as quickly as he could. He heard Winston give a low whistle on the other end of the line.
“Put me on speaker, Paolo. Better that everyone hears what I have to tell you.”
Paolo hit speaker. He squeezed Meredith’s hand as he listened. She smiled wanly at him.
“Meredith, Paolo, and I met on an online forum. A short while ago, there was a security breach. We thought at the time that nothing had been compromised, but our tech guy told me just today that the possibility exists that all private messages might not have been hidden at the time. If Meredith had any identifying information in the private messaging section, it’s likely that a member here may have found her information and used that information to stalk her.”
“Officer Walker here,” said the older officer. “Do you have anyone you suspect has been the culprit? Any way you’ve narrowed it down?”
“We do,” he said. “One particular member had the gall to send what I thought was a threatening message to my wife. The others on the administration didn’t think he’d violated any forum rules, but as moderator I had the ability to track his IP address down. I can see if that IP is linked to having viewed any of Meredith’s messages. It’ll just take a few minutes.”
“You do that,” Officer Walker said. He looked to Paolo. “Paolo, is it?” Paolo nodded. “You go take your wife somewhere quiet. After we’ve sorted this out, we’ll come and get you if we have any questions.”
Meredith looked panic-stricken at Paolo, but Paolo nodded his thanks to the officer, and motioned for Meredith to go to den, where she could rest and spend some time with him. It was a forum that could raise a few eyebrows, and Meredith was obviously concerned about the officer viewing it. But it had to be done, and Paolo had no qualms about the police officer’s ability to remain professional and discreet.
Two hours later, Meredith was asleep on the couch. Most of the officers had left, except for the young one and Officer Walker. It turned out the youngest officer was also the most technologically efficient. He and Winston had determined that, as Winston had suspected, Xcavator had left a trail behind him. He’d been reading every one of Meredith’s posts, and Winston had even found a message he’d sent to another user online, telling him his plans to use her cell phone number to freak her out. He must’ve been under the mistaken impression that using a different device from his home would hide his location. It hadn’t. Within an hour, the officer had his location, and had contacted local police.
“They have a warrant to search where he lives, and any incriminating evidence will be used against him,” the officer assured Paolo. “I can assure you, if this is our man, he lives over 1,000 miles from here, and is nowhere near this vicinity. He was merely using scare tactics to make your wife think he was here.”
“Bastard,” Paolo muttered.
“Clearly,” Officer Walker muttered back.
“We’re going to have our men investigate further, and we’ll be in touch. We have all we need for now. I’m glad you were able to reach your friend.”
Paolo nodded, and thanked the officers as they prepared to leave. Officer Walker gave Paolo a steady look.
“You take care of her,” he said. “She’s had quite a fright.”
“You have my word,” Paolo said. “I won’t leave her side.”
The officer nodded, and went to leave as he chuckled. “I suspect with you two, that very well may be the case. You have a good night.”
Paolo locked the door and flicked the deadbolt after the officers left. Meredith was sitting in bed, waiting for him. He’d sent her there as he bid the officers good night, and she’d waited patiently.
“Such a good girl,” he murmured, and she smiled.
“I’m glad you’re not angry with my anymore,” she whispered. He shook his head as he climbed into bed next to her.
“Baby, I wasn’t angry with you. Well, I was, but that was before I spanked your ass.”
She giggled as he held her.
“Just needed some time alone, honey,” he said. “That’s going to happen sometimes.” He raised an eyebrow. “You take a lot out of me.”
She smirked. “Is that right, big guy?”
He gave her a teasing swat as he held her quietly.
Though Paolo was not angry with Meredith, he did still feel pissed. He could beat the shit out of that guy who’d harassed his wife. He felt badly for having left earlier. But then he remembered the look on her face when he came home to her.
Never in their entire marriage had she looked at him like that. Like he was the answer to a prayer. He’d felt the tension leave her when he held her. They’d come so far, in such short a time.
He knew then that what
she needed from him was exactly what he was giving her, his comfort, his protection and the steady dependability she’d come to rely on.
“Hey, where’s my surprise?” she asked.
“Not today, baby,” he said, as he leaned down to kiss her.
She pulled away and frowned. “You didn’t get me cookies at Angelica’s?” He shook his head.
“Your surprise is better than that,” he muttered.
She moaned as his tongue flicked out and touched the sensitive skin of her neck. He shifted as his arousal grew when she moaned.
“Nothing’s better than cookies from Angelica’s,” she murmured, her head falling back as he lifted one hand and snaked it between her legs, possessively, his fingers trailing and teasing.
“Not true, baby,” he murmured. “I’ll show you what’s better,” he whispered. His hands went to her waist, unbuttoning her jeans. He stripped her and she shifted upward, eager to help him. Her jeans fell to the side of the bed and her top went next, as he flung every stitch of her clothing against the wall. He spread his hands over her naked skin and moaned. She was so soft and curvy, and the scent of her was intoxicating. God, she was so sexy.
His hand fondled her breast and she gasped as he pulled one supple nipple into his mouth.
“You’re going to climb on top of me,” he murmured. “And I’m going to show you what’s better.”
“Climb on top of you?” she whispered. “You mean, like straddle you?”
“No, baby,” he whispered. “Like this.”
He propped pillows behind his head and lifted her hips, giving her a gentle nudge and positioning her so that she straddled his face. She squealed, but he gave her a swat.
“Do it.”
He had never been able to get her past her insecurities enough to try to please her in this way, but it was time she trusted him, and there was no place better to push her boundaries than in bed.
“You’ll like this, baby,” he promised, before he pulled her hips down and flicked his tongue. She gasped and shifted, but he held her hips firmly above him and wouldn’t allow her to pull away. One hand reached for her breast, tugging her nipple and flicking as his tongue continued to twirl and flicker lazily.
“Oh my God,” she moaned, squirming above him as he sucked and her hips bucked. She fell on her forearms, as he probed and teased, alternating little flicks of his tongue as he grasped both nipples and kneaded. It didn’t take her long until she was moaning his name as she came, her hips bucking and he held her steadily until she practically fell off of him. He let her go, and she lay next to him, helpless to move.
“Told you,” he murmured.
“Nope,” she whispered, her eyes squeezed shut. “Not better than Angelica’s cookies.”
“You want a spanking for lying?” he asked with a teasing swat and a chuckle.
“Give me a minute, please,” she moaned. “I have to recover. Then you can have your wicked way with me.”
“I’ll have my wicked way with you anytime I want, woman,” he muttered, giving her another swat.
“Damn right, handsome.”
He reached for her hand and kissed her fingers to his lips.
Chapter Five
Meredith woke several times in the night, but each time, Paolo was by her side. He’d brush her hair back, tuck the blanket in and whisper a soothing, “Shh, baby.” She’d close her eyes and fall back asleep. She couldn’t be afraid anymore. Not when Paolo was home. Not when he was there. And with the knowledge that she was in the safest place possible, she fell back asleep easily.
When she woke the next morning, Paolo was awake beside her.
“How long have I been asleep?” she asked as she sat up. “And how long have you been awake?”
He chuckled. “Morning, sunshine.”
She smiled shyly. “Morning,” she whispered. “Was that all a bad dream yesterday?”
He shook his head. “No, baby, but soon it will be. I just got off the phone a short while ago with Officer Walker. His men in Raleigh tracked down your stalker. It was easy. The guy left a trail a mile wide. He still even had all the “sent” messages on his cell, to your number.”
“No way,” she whispered.
“Yes way,” he chuckled.
“Winston helped them track him down?”
“Yep.”
She looked at Paolo with wide eyes. “You’re not going to like… do something rash to retaliate?”
He chuckled again. “Like go find this kid’s bicycle he has parked outside his mama’s basement door and slash his tires?”
Her eyes widened even further. “He’s a kid who lives in his mom’s basement?”
Paolo nodded. “Just about. He’s still in college, getting kicks by harassing women online. But that’s going to come to an end now.”
“Good,” she said. “Paolo?”
He nodded. “Yeah, baby?”
“Do we have to keep talking about this now? Are there lots more questions left? I don’t want to think about that anymore.”
He gave her a long look, his eyes softening. When he spoke, his voice had lowered an octave as he pulled her over to him. “C’mere,” he murmured, pulling her down to his chest. She sighed as she sank down.
“You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to do,” he said. “I’ve got this covered. I’ll answer any questions necessary. The officers are fine. Officer Walker is a good guy, and he’s on this case. He didn’t even make any comments about the forum.”
She sat upright. “Oh my God! The forum! So Officer Walker knows you spank me!”
Paolo laughed out loud. “If he took the time to snoop around, yeah, probably. But don’t worry about that, honey. He’s been completely business-like, and for all you know Officer Walker spanks his own wife.”
She was laughing herself now. “He does not!”
“You don’t know that,” he said with a laugh. “But really, baby, it’s fine. Don’t worry about it anymore. I’ll handle as much as possible, okay? And now I want you to get up and get ready for the day. I told you last night I had a surprise for you.”
She sat up. “I completely forgot about that!” The doorbell rang and her eyes widened. “Is that my surprise?”
He shook his head as he laughed. “No, that’s probably the cell I ordered for myself and had overnighted.”
Her face fell. “I totally convinced myself you got me cookies from Angelica’s.” Her lip drooped in a pout. He took her by the arm, rolled her over and gave her a playful but stinging swat.
“You and the friggin’ butter cookies. Stop your pouting, little girl, and go get yourself ready like I asked you, or there’s more where that came from. I have a better surprise than butter cookies, but if you don’t get that ass moving, you’re going to get that ass spanked.”
She scooted out of the bed, giggling the whole way. She felt light as a feather. Happy. Content. And incredibly curious what the surprise would be.
***
Meredith frowned as she followed Paolo’s instructions. “You’re taking me to the microbrewery?”
“Maybe, nosy,” he responded. But he said nothing else. As she pulled into the parking lot of the microbrewery, she spied a few cars parked in the lot.
“Oh, wow, look, there’s one all the way from the north,” she said. “That’s awesome. They must really love their beer.”
He merely smiled as he gestured for her to go in.
She pushed his wheelchair up the ramp, and hit the handicap button to open the door at the very top.
“Go to the bar, honey,” he ordered, pointing a finger in the direction of the bar at the back of the small establishment. The front part housed the shop, where samplings and purchases could be made, and there was a small restaurant and bar in the back. They never went to the bar area.
“What on earth is at the bar?” she asked.
“Meredith,” he growled, as they rounded the corner that led to the restaurant entrance.
“Ohh, I know that ki
nd of growl,” came a sweet, high-pitched voice at the bar. Meredith spun and looked. She dropped her purse to the ground as her hands came to her mouth in utter shock, as a little, attractive blonde woman raced away from the side of the man she was standing next to, laughing as she ran to Meredith and threw her arms around her.
“Annalise?” Meredith whispered. “I never thought… Oh my gosh,” she said, her eyes filling with tears as she hugged her friend. The women were laughing and crying as they hugged, and the man standing next to her shook hands with Paolo. Annalise let Meredith go, took her by the hand, and dragged her over to the tall, gray-haired man with ice blue eyes Meredith recognized immediately as Winston.
“Winston?” she asked. She looked suddenly shy, as she said his name. “Is Winston okay?” she asked Paolo. “Am I supposed to call him… I don’t know…”
Paolo laughed and said, “Call him Winston.” Meredith flushed as she put her hand tentatively out to Winston, who ignored her hand and pulled her into a big bear hug. Meredith squealed, gasping for breath, as Winston embraced her. His voice was deep and mellow when he spoke.
“Pleasure to finally meet you, Meredith,” he said softly.
“You two came all the way down here to visit us?” she asked. Winston grinned, and jerked his chin at Paolo.
“He didn’t tell you anything?” he asked, and Meredith shook her head.
“You know I didn’t,” Paolo said with a chuckle.
“It was a conspiracy!” Meredith said, catching Annalise’s eyes.
“Oh, I don’t know anything either,” Annalise said with a smile. “But I’m told there are plans for us, and with these two, I bet that means there are good things to follow.”
Meredith’s eyebrows rose. Paolo chuckled, as Winston gestured for Annalise to go sit at the small round table ahead of him. He pulled out a chair and moved it to another table, and Paolo waited for Meredith to take a seat, then pulled up to the table himself.
“You two will definitely like the plans we’ve made,” Paolo said. “But first, let’s get something to eat. I read online that they’ve got one of those million degree ovens, and their steak and chicken are fantastic. The bread is handmade daily, and you know all about the what they’ve got on tap.”
