Obsession

by Traci Hunter Abramson

  He chose to leave several feet between them as he leaned back against the desk. She remained in the doorway, looking unexpectedly fragile. He shoved his hands in his pockets, fisting them there as his anger faded and a myriad of emotions replaced it. He wanted her to trust him and knew that nothing less than the truth would give her what she needed and what she deserved.

  “I kissed you because I care about you,” he said softly. “The real you.”

  Her eyes stayed steady on his, but Charlie could see the tears threatening. “I don’t know what to believe anymore.”

  “Believe that I wanted to tell you everything. Believe that I never wanted to hurt you and that it was killing me to have to hide anything from you.” He saw a single tear spill over, and his heart ached for her. She deserved to be happy, to be safe without worries, and he hated knowing that he couldn’t give her those things right now.

  He knew he needed to keep his distance, to put their relationship on a strictly professional level while he was protecting her, but when he saw the next tear spill over, he felt himself wavering. He knew it was a mistake when he pulled his hands out of his pockets, pushed away from the desk, and crossed to her.

  Without a word, he slid his arms around her waist and pulled her against him. A second passed, then two, before her hands came up to encircle his waist. Then she clung to him as she fought off her tears.

  Charlie held her while her breathing steadied and the little tremors working through her body faded. He wanted more than anything for the circumstances to be different. He wanted to be in a position where he could spend time with Kendra and have the freedom to explore the attraction between them. But he reminded himself that if she hadn’t been forced to stay in one place because of the current threat against her, he never would have had any of this time with her.

  Normal life for Kendra meant touring around the country, playing in concerts, and shooting music videos. With his job anchoring him in Phoenix, he was unlikely to ever have a real chance to date her. He started to pull away, only to find her staring up at him, tears still shimmering in her eyes.

  She lifted a hand to his face and looked up at him expectantly. Their faces were close, and he leaned toward her instinctively, hesitating when his mouth was just a breath away from hers. He knew he should resist, knew that even a single kiss would complicate things between them further. Then she closed the distance between them. Her lips brushed against his, and he couldn’t resist deepening the kiss.

  His heart squeezed in his chest, and his emotions tangled as she consumed his thoughts. This was a woman to be cherished and treasured, a woman unlike any he had ever met. She was full of contrasts, of twists and turns that demanded to be explored: fragile one minute and daring the next. Charlie was overwhelmed with the need to understand her and have her understand him.

  A door closed down the hall, and Charlie jerked back. He stared down at her, his breathing unsteady. How had this happened? How had Kendra managed to bypass his defenses? How had she managed to weave her way into his heart?

  “Kendra, I’m sorry. I can’t do this.” He stepped free of her embrace and took another deliberate step back. “I can’t focus on my job if we’re together like this.” He took a deep breath. “You understand that, don’t you?”

  The vulnerability was back in her eyes, but she nodded.

  Footsteps sounded in the front hall, and Ray appeared in the doorway. “If everything’s okay in here, I’m going to go check the perimeter of the house.”

  Again feeling the need to distance himself from Kendra, Charlie stepped toward the door. “I’ll take care of it.”

  Ray’s eyebrows lifted. “Are you sure?”

  “Yeah, I’m sure.” He glanced back at Kendra for a brief moment. Then he turned and left the room, hoping that focusing on defensive measures to keep Kendra safe would help him put his priorities back into perspective. As he donned his jacket and stepped outside, he let out a sigh. Like it or not, Kendra had destroyed the walls he’d built around his heart, and he had no idea what to do about it.

  Chapter 25

  Neal Coramavich stared warily across the table at Jed Burgess. He narrowed his eyes as he leaned forward. “You’re telling me you were in Los Angeles on these dates to attend award shows?”

  “That’s right.” Jed nodded. He tapped a finger on the four dates that investigators had placed him in California.

  “I’m understandably confused,” Neal said, shaking his head. “Why would someone who lives in Pinewood, Arizona, go to award shows in Los Angeles? How do you even get tickets?”

  “About five years ago, a friend of mine wanted to go to the Academy Awards. His son was up for an award, but my friend had just had hip replacement surgery and couldn’t drive yet. He didn’t want his wife to drive all the way from Phoenix to LA, so he asked if I wanted to go,” Jed explained.

  “And this friend would be . . .”

  “William Blake. His son is Sterling Blake,” Jed told him. “Anyway, while we were there, I noticed how every time someone got up out of their seat, someone else came and sat down so there weren’t any empty seats. I asked who they were and found out that there are people who go to the award shows to be seat fillers.”

  “Seat fillers?”

  “Yeah, you know, to fill the seats so that on TV it always looks like there’s a full house at the show.”

  “So you drive all the way to California to fill seats,” Neal said skeptically.

  “That’s how it started. After a few shows, I got to know some people who work backstage. Those connections got me different jobs working at the shows, usually helping the backstage coordinators.”

  “Can you give me the names of the people you worked for?”

  “Sure.” Jed nodded agreeably. “Do you want their phone numbers too?”

  “Yeah, that would be great.” He pushed a pad of paper and a pen across the table, and Jed started jotting down the names and numbers. As soon as he finished, Neal asked, “Was Kendra Blake at any of these award shows?”

  “Kendra?” His eyebrows lifted, but then he nodded. “Sure. She’s always at them.”

  “Always?”

  “Well, yeah.” He nodded again. “She always goes if her dad’s up for an award, which is just about every year, and she usually gets at least one nomination for the music award shows.”

  “Were you in LA for either of these two dates?”

  Jed leaned forward and read the dates on the paper Neal shoved in front of him. “This date doesn’t look familiar, but I might have been in California for the one in February. The Grammys would have been right around that time.”

  “I see.” Neal tried to size up the man across from him and couldn’t. He was offering information, apparently without censure, and he didn’t act like a man who had anything to hide. Neal had no idea if he was really that good an actor or if he was really as clueless as he seemed. “Have you ever met Joslyn Korden?”

  Now his eyebrows drew together. “The model?”

  “Yes, the model.”

  Jed shook his head. “No, I can’t say that I have.”

  “What about this woman? Lacey O’Riley.” Ray slid a DMV photo in front of Jed.

  Again he shook his head. “Who is she?”

  “Can you look at these photos and see if you might have seen any of them?” Neal slid four more photos across the table as he considered the information Jed had already given him and twisted it to suit his purposes. “They might have been at one of the award shows you were at.”

  “If any of them were there, I didn’t notice them,” Jed said after studying the group of photos. “But like I said, the last few years I’ve been working backstage. I didn’t really get a chance to see many people out in the crowd.”

  Neal nodded, gathered up the stack of photos, and slid all his notes into a file. “I’ll be right back.”

  He walked out of the interrogation room and entered the viewing room adjoining it, where Elias was watching through the glass. �
�What do you think?”

  “I think this guy is clueless.”

  “Yeah, but do you think he could be lying?”

  “I don’t think so. I don’t think he’s our guy, but I do think he’s given us another angle to consider.”

  “The award shows?”

  Elias nodded. “Five out of six of the murders were committed around the same time as one of those shows. See if there were any similar events on that other date.”

  “What about him?” Neal jerked a thumb toward the glass separating the two rooms.

  “Make sure you have good contact information for him and then let him go.”

  * * *

  Kendra rolled over in bed and stared at the faded blue-and-white-striped wallpaper. After her talk with Charlie the night before, she had unpacked her belongings in her bedroom and found herself working on lyrics as she let her emotions settle. Charlie had checked in with her after he’d finished looking around outside but then had left her alone with her thoughts. She suspected he needed some time alone as well.

  Her chest was still tight with anticipation as she tried to figure out what to expect over the next few weeks. As unrealistic as it was, she wanted the illusion back. She wanted to pretend that she was safe and that Charlie was with her because he wanted to be. The way he had kissed her last night made her think that his feelings for her were genuine.

  He must have withdrawn from her because his professional integrity wouldn’t allow him to explore the sparks that kept snapping between them—at least, she hoped that was the reason. She didn’t know whether to wish for this situation to drag on so she could stay with Charlie indefinitely or to hope that life would return to normal so she could see what would happen once he was free to shed his professional armor.

  What would it be like, she wondered, to feel safe and loved and content?

  She shook her head and blew out a breath. She tried to think of the last time she had really felt that way, quickly realizing that she had to go all the way back to her childhood. When she’d turned twelve, her father had decided it was time to teach her about the real world, about how everyone wanted something from people like the Blakes and that danger was everywhere and had to be combated.

  Since then, she had never felt completely secure, and now she also didn’t know whom to trust. She wanted to trust Charlie. She wanted to believe what he had told her the night before. But she simply didn’t know if she could.

  He had been the only bright spot in this whole ordeal, this nightmare that she’d put a time limit on. Ray Underwood had tried to be up front with her, explaining that a month might not give them the time they needed to track down the leads Charlie had turned up—leads he had uncovered by talking to her, by pretending to be her friend. That still grated at her, the way she’d thought he was such a good listener while, in reality, he had been interrogating her without her knowledge.

  Still, she was realistic enough to consider that if he could figure out who was after her, this nightmare would finally end.

  After she showered and dressed for the day, she walked down the hall and heard Charlie’s voice.

  “Do we have enough to hold him?” Charlie asked as she approached the office door. She glanced inside to see him holding his cell phone to his ear as he paced the narrow room. “Okay, then e-mail me the Burgess interrogation as soon as you get it.” He paused again and then nodded to the empty room. “Thanks.”

  Kendra waited until he hung up before asking, “Were you talking about Jed Burgess?”

  Charlie turned to face her, his shoulders tense and surprise evident on his face. He seemed to debate how much to tell her before he let out a sigh and nodded. “A couple of agents picked him up last night in Flagstaff.”

  “Why?”

  “Because he was in California at the time of several of the murders.”

  Her eyes widened. “You think Jed could be the Malibu Stalker?”

  “We had to at least check it out.”

  “That’s crazy. I mean, he’s a little weird, but I don’t think he’d ever hurt anyone.”

  “Serial killers often look completely normal while living their everyday lives,” Charlie told her. “It’s my job to consider all possibilities in order to find the man behind these murders.”

  “I thought your job was to protect me.”

  “That too.” Charlie nodded. “But it certainly won’t hurt for me to stay in the loop and do a little research over the next few weeks.”

  “You don’t really think it’s Jed, do you?”

  “He was in the right place at the right time to be our guy, but my boss doesn’t think it’s him.” Charlie shrugged, cautiously shifting behind the desk, as though trying to keep a barrier between them. “I should be getting the report within the next hour or two.”

  She nodded absently and sighed. “Exactly what are we supposed to do here for the next month?” She waved a hand at the front window, looking out at the long driveway that led to the main road. The closest house was at least a half-mile away and was one of only a few scattered in this part of the foothills outside Cave Creek.

  “I’ll do my research. You’ll write your songs.” Charlie offered her a little smile. “You can beat up on me in backgammon and pretend to lose to me in gin rummy.”

  Her eyebrows lifted. “And tomorrow?”

  “The same.”

  “Look, I understand you have your work to keep you busy, but as much as I love writing music, I’m starting to get cabin fever. I really need something to break up the monotony.”

  “Like what?”

  “Going for a run, watching a movie.” She shrugged. “Something.”

  “Kendra, this isn’t like the Witness Protection Program, where they set you up with a new identity somewhere and you start a new life,” Charlie said gently. “The whole idea is to keep you out of sight. Most people know who you are. Just going to the grocery store is a security risk.”

  “I understand that, and I’m not trying to be difficult. Really, I’m not,” she said. “But I’ve already gone almost two weeks without being able to go anywhere or even work out. I’m going to go stir crazy if I just sit around here all day.”

  “I don’t know what to tell you,” he told her. “I thought all of this was explained to you when you agreed to protection.”

  She let out a little sigh and nodded. Then she switched gears. “What about a treadmill or an exercise bike? I’ll pay for one.”

  Charlie seemed to consider her idea. “Actually, that’s not a bad idea. I’ve got a decent treadmill at my apartment. Let me see if Ray might be willing to pick it up on his way over here tonight.” His lips curved up into the beginnings of a smile. “It might help keep both of us sane.”

  “Thanks, Charlie,” Kendra said. Then she asked, “By the way, where is Ray?”

  “He left about an hour ago. He’s only going to be staying over here at night so I can get some sleep.”

  Her eyebrows lifted. “So he’s basically our night guard?”

  “Pretty much. Unless we need him over here sooner, he’s planning on spending his evenings with his family, and then he’ll come over after his kids go to bed.” He gave her a reluctant smile and then asked, “Since I made dinner last night, does that mean you’re making breakfast?”

  Humor danced in her eyes, and she wondered how such a simple question was able to put her more at ease than all his explanations had from the night before. “I guess I could do that.” She paused and then added, “As long as you promise to help with the dishes.”

  “Deal.”

  Chapter 26

  Charlie looked out the office window, surprised to see Ray pulling into the driveway even though it was only four o’clock in the afternoon. He also felt an unexpected wave of relief. Keeping tabs on Kendra was easy enough. Security equipment was set up outside of the safe house, and Angie had already called in to let him know that her surveillance hadn’t shown anything unusual.

  The challenge was trying to maintai
n a professional distance from Kendra. He wasn’t sure what he had expected of her this morning, especially after he’d kissed her and then retreated so quickly, but he certainly hadn’t expected her to act like nothing had happened between them.

  The tension he’d been expecting had quickly dissipated, but every time he looked at her, he felt edgy. And he knew it was his own fault.

  Charlie opened the door and walked outside to see that his treadmill was in the back of Ray’s truck. “Hey, Ray. I didn’t expect you to make a special trip to bring this over.”

  “Neal offered to help me load it up at your place, and I didn’t want to pass up on his offer. I wanted to give you an update anyway.” He jerked a thumb at the treadmill. “Do you want to get this unloaded first?”

  “Sure.” Charlie moved with him to the back of the truck, and together they muscled the bulky machine up onto the front porch. They were able to utilize the two wheels on the bottom to push it into the house. Kendra appeared as Charlie maneuvered the treadmill through the front hall. He glanced up at her and asked, “Where do you want it?”

  She motioned to the living room. “How about in there, facing the TV.”

  Charlie nodded and rolled it into place as Ray and Kendra exchanged greetings.

  “How’s Sarah doing?” Kendra asked Ray about his daughter, concern evident in her voice.

  Ray immediately grinned. “She’s doing great. According to her last scans, she’s cancer free.”

  “I’m so glad.” She laid a hand on his arm and gave it a friendly squeeze. “She’s so darling.”

  Ray’s grin widened. “We think so.”

  Kendra glanced over at Charlie. “Have you met Ray’s family yet?”

  Charlie nodded, touched by her obvious concern for Ray’s little girl. Before he could answer, Ray spoke for him.

  “We had Charlie over for dinner about a month ago, and Sarah announced after he left that we needed to adopt him.”

  A giggle escaped Kendra. “Adopt him?”

  Charlie rolled his eyes, oddly embarrassed. “She just wants me around because I give her piggyback rides.”