Obsession (Seven Deadly Sins Book 2)

by Shantel Tessier

  I walk over to a small desk that has a computer on it. A black velvet box catches my eyes. I pick it up and open it slowly. I gasp when I see the diamond ring. A platinum band with a princess solitaire. It’s simple, yet beautiful. Who was this for? Was Brecken going to marry a woman? Maybe the brunette?

  I close it and set it down. Papers scattered over the desk get my attention. I pick one up.

  Missing: Nicole Crawford. Girl vanishes. Car found abandoned …

  I set it down and pick up another one. This one has a picture of the brunette that covers Brecken’s walls.

  Search called off. The authorities believe the young girl has been sold into sex slavery...

  I drop the paper as I gasp.

  “It’s horrible. Isn’t it?”

  I spin around breathing heavy to see his mother standing at the door. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have ...” I say in a rush.

  “No worries,” she says with a soft smile. She looks around the covered walls and sighs. “It was so long ago. I haven’t been in this room in a long time.”

  I frown. “This was Brecken’s room?” I question making sure I’m right.

  She nods. “Nicole was only seventeen when she went missing.”

  “Nicole was …?”

  “Brecken’s girlfriend,” she answers. Then her eyes drop to the desk, and she eyes the black velvet box. “As you can see, she was going to be more.”

  I swallow nervously. He was telling me about this girl in my apartment. The one who was many things to him. The one that was taken. “Is that why he left?” I ask. “To look for her?”

  She shakes her head. “No.” She sighs. “Nicole was Case’s sister.”

  “Oh, my God.”

  She reaches up and picks a picture from his wall. It’s of all three of them; Brecken, Case, and Nicole. They are sitting on the bleachers at the football field. All smiles and happy. “When the police said that they were gonna call off the search, that they suspected she had been sold into slavery …” I think I’m going to throw up. “Their mother couldn’t take it. She committed suicide.” I shake my head as if I don’t believe it. “Her husband, Case’s dad, came home to find her hanging from their banister. He undid the rope, laid her in their bed, and then laid beside her. Where he then shot himself.” Tears sting my eyes. “Case found them there the next morning.” Now, they’re streaming down my face. “Case needed to leave. He needed to get away, and so did Brecken. So they took off together. They left.”

  “And never returned?” I ask, my throat dry. She shakes her head. “What would bring him back to a town that holds so many bad memories?” I ask in wonder.

  She gives me a soft smile as she looks me up and down. “I think the answer is right in the mirror.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY FOUR

  BRECKEN

  We all sit at the kitchen table as we fix our plates. “Thanks, ladies, for making breakfast,” my father says to my mother and Skye.

  “I didn’t do much,” Skye says softly. Something seems off about her. Of course, it could be the fact that we have been up most of the night. She slept a couple of hours on the plane ride here, but you don’t sleep well on a plane. I’m gonna take her to bed after we eat breakfast. I have no problem sleeping the day away with her.

  “Are you from Chicago, Skye?” my mother asks her.

  “No, ma’am. I’m from Michigan,” she says with a soft smile.

  “Oh, do your mom and dad live in Michigan or Chicago?” My mother goes on.

  Skye’s fork pauses over her scrambled eggs. She looks up at my mother. “My parents are dead,” she says with no emotion.

  “Oh, dear.” My mother gasps as she places her hand on her chest. “I’m so sorry.”

  I let out a shaky breath as Skye speaks. “It’s okay. It was a long time ago.”

  “How long ago?” Everyone’s heads turn to me. I can only imagine what my mom and dad are thinking shouldn’t you know this already? This is my chance to get some answers.

  Her eyes look into mine, and they look cold. Void of any emotion, I’ve never seen them like this. “I was six when my mother died. Seven when my dad died,” she answers.

  My chest tightens. No wonder she says people always leave her. She’s been taking care of herself since such a young age. “Who raised you?” my mother asks with concern.

  Skye drops her eyes to her plate and says, “My best friend’s grandmother.” And I know she’s lying. Everything about her tells me she is lying. The way she is staring at her plate, the way her shoulders slouch, and the way she’s breathing. The question is why is she lying about that?

  “Oh, you poor thing.” My mom reaches over and grabs my father’s hand. She squeezes it. I can only imagine what my mother is thinking. She’s gonna pray for her. My mother believes in the power of prayer. She’s a Christian, who believes all people have the ability to be good. But I don’t believe that way. I’ve been the one praying on my knees, and my prayers never were answered. I’m proof that not everyone has good inside them. My parents know I’m an undercover cop. They don’t know I’ve killed, though, and they don’t know I’ve been shot. I keep what I do in Chicago very private. It’s better that way.

  “Your best friend,” my mother goes on. “She and her grandmother live in Chicago.”

  Skye’s shoulders stiffen, and she looks up at her through her lashes. “They have both passed as well,” she says roughly. “It’s just me,” she adds as if my mother could possibly think of anyone else to ask.

  “Oh, my gosh, I am so sorry.” My mother sighs heavily. “It must be so hard being alone,” my mother says softly.

  “She’s not alone,” I say without thought. “She has me.” Everyone turns to look at me, and I smile because it’s true. This woman has me, and she’ll have to pull her gun out and kill me in order to get me to leave.

  We finish breakfast, and as Skye is taking plates to the kitchen sink, I see her yawn. “Hey, I think we’re gonna lay down for a few hours,” I tell my parents.

  “I have to help your mom do the dishes,” Skye says turning the water on.

  “Oh, no, no, no.” My mother waves her hand in the air. “Go get some rest. Maybe we can go out after you guys wake up.”

  I try not to flinch at the sound of that. Out? I don’t wanna go out. I wanna stay locked in this house with Skye.

  I grab Skye’s hand and pull her down the hallway. I pass my old room, refusing to look at it. Just because I’m back doesn’t mean I want to go down memory lane. I enter the last door on the left. It’s their spare bedroom, and I sigh in relief when I see it has a bed in it. Thankfully, my parents haven’t redecorated much in the last thirteen years.

  Skye starts to remove her clothes instantly, crawling under the covers while I’m kicking off my shoes. Once I get undressed, I crawl in behind her. I wrap my arm around her and pull her back into my front. She surprises me by turning in my arms and facing me. “Why did you come here?” she asks softly.

  I reach up and push some brown strands behind her ear. “I told you, it’s safe.”

  Her eyes fall to my chest, and her nails lightly trace my tattoos. “Why would you want to come back to a place that holds so many nightmares?” she questions softly.

  I place my hand under her chin and lift her head to where she has to look me in the eyes. She’s been in my room. She had to have. What else would make her ask that kind of question? “Did my mother tell you?”

  She nods. “And I went into your room. I saw the newspaper.” She swallows. “The ring ...”

  “Case?” I yell as we run off the ballfield. I’m sweating and exhausted from practice, but a huge smile is on my face.

  “Yeah?” he asks running his hand through his wet hair that is covered in sweat.

  I come to a stop and smile. “I’m gonna ask Nicole to marry me,” I blurt out.

  “What?” he asks wide-eyed. “Are you serious, man?” He laughs and then throws his arms around me pulling me in for a hug. “That’s awesome.” H
e pulls away. “We’re gonna be family.” He laughs.

  “If she says yes.” I laugh nervously.

  “Of course, she will. She loves you.” We start to walk off toward the field house. “When are you gonna do it?”

  “I bought the ring last night. Your parents are having everyone over for dinner this Friday. I was thinking about asking his permission then and asking her next weekend. That way I have a week to get up the nerve.”

  He laughs.

  That dinner never happened. We had a game that Friday night, and when we got back to his house, the police were there. She had been taken.

  I let out a long breath. “I’m not worth torturing yourself over, Brecken,” Skye says getting my attention. “You should have never brought me to a place that you’re trying to run from.”

  “What are you running from?” I ask changing the subject.

  She looks away and licks her lips. “Nothing.”

  “Why are you lying to me?” I ask confused. “Haven’t I proved to you that you can trust me?” I ask.

  “Yes but …”

  “But what?” I run my knuckles down the side of her cheek. “What won’t you tell me?”

  She closes her eyes, and she takes a deep breath when she opens them, her eyes are watery from unshed tears. “I’m running from a past I’m trying to forget just like you.”

  I sigh not knowing if I should believe that or not. “Your parents?” I ask as I run my hand through her hair. “You were so young …”

  “I don’t like to talk about it, Brecken,” she whispers, interrupting me. “There are just things that are better left buried.”

  I flinch at her words, at the irony in them. Both of the things we are trying to forget are dead. Well, Nicole’s body was never recovered, but it’s been thirteen years now. Somewhere out there is what remains of her, and I doubt that is much.

  I saw firsthand what Case went through when he lost his parents, and he was eighteen. I can’t even imagine what she went through at six and seven. Do kids that young even understand death? I try to think back when I was six and seven, and all I remember is my dad throwing a football around in the backyard with me and my mom baking cookies.

  I’ve seen her heartbroken and at a very low place after she found out about Tiffany’s death. I never stopped to think that maybe she had been there before. If she had lost someone she loved. Someone she counted on to be there for her.

  I wrap my arms around her and pull her to my chest. I hear her sigh as she throws a leg over mine, and I lean in to kiss her hair. “I’m right here,” I say in case she’s forgotten it since I told her last.

  “I know,” she whispers. “And if I haven’t already told you, thank you.” Her lips softly kiss my chest, and I feel my heart swell. “Thank you for all you’ve done for me, Brecken. It’s more than anyone else ever has.”

  I hold her tighter as I imagine this lost little girl left behind in a world full of hatred. A lost little girl left alone to fend for herself. It’s starting to make sense. The way she tries to be brave. The way she pretends she can take care of herself. Because she’s never had any other choice. Until now, that is. I’m here, and I don’t plan to go anywhere.

  ***

  I wake to my ringing phone. I pull away from Skye’s body and reach over to the nightstand. I answer when I see it’s Jet. “Hello?” I say, my voice rough from sleep.

  “Were you sleeping?” he asks.

  “Yeah,” I whisper as I rub my eyes, not wanting to wake her. “We didn’t get here until six this morning,” I inform him. He doesn’t ask where here is, and I don’t offer any more information on it.

  “Then I’ll make this quick,” he says before taking a deep breath. “They sent a unit to Skye’s apartment first thing this morning. They found gas cans. Four of them.”

  I sit up and run a hand down my face trying to wake up. “Gas cans? What does that prove?” I look around the room as light filters through the window. It can’t even be noon yet.

  “It leads them to believe that she was the one who set Tiffany’s car on fire and the fact that it looks like she has moved out and left own doesn’t help her case.”

  “Shit!” I hiss.

  “What is it?” Skye mumbles as she turns over to face me.

  “It’s Jet,” I tell her. She sits up, her eyes half closed, and she stretches as she yawns. I put Jet on speakerphone. “Go ahead,” I tell him.

  “It’s not much, but it’s enough for a warrant,” he says frustrated.

  “Fuck!” I growl.

  That gets her eyes open. “A warrant for what?” she asks.

  “Your arrest,” I answer.

  “What? How can they do that?” she asks in a rush.

  “I said that they could have been planted there. They are saying there was no signs of forced entry. It had to have been her.” He sighs. “It looks as bad as it sounds.”

  “Does anyone have a key to your apartment?” I ask looking over to her.

  She shakes her head. “No. But we never found Tiffany’s purse, and she had a key. Maybe whoever killed her took the keys.”

  “That’s very possible.” Jet agrees with her. “But we can’t prove that.”

  She falls back down onto her back as she looks up at the ceiling. “Did you locate Robert for me?” I ask him, and her head snaps to the side to look up at me.

  “Why are you looking for Robert?” she demands.

  She needs to know. I can’t keep that from her anymore. She is being framed for murder, after all. “Because I was told that he was seen out with Tiffany.”

  “What?” she snaps sitting back up. “When?”

  “I don’t know. Rusty didn’t have much to go on.”

  “Who the hell is Rusty?” she demands.

  “A guy that I know,” is all I say.

  “No,” Jet answers my question. “I haven’t found him. That fucker is harder to find than I thought.”

  She turns to face me. Her dark green eyes narrowed. “You should have told me that you were looking for him. I could have helped you. I just saw the idiot the other night after work,” she growls.

  Excuse me? “Who did you see?” I demand.

  “Robert.” My jaw tightens. “When I got off work early. I walked outside, and he was sitting next to your Range Rover. He said he had been calling me and asked if I had been paying my phone bill because it was shut off. I told him that I changed my number. Jumped in your car and left.” She shrugs.

  “Why didn’t you tell me that?” I growl.

  “I’m sorry,” she snaps. “I didn’t know it was important.” She takes a deep breath. “Maybe if you had told me you thought my ex had been seen with my best friend, I would have asked him about it,” she adds with bite.

  “I’ll keep trying,” Jet says with a sigh. “Is there anything else that we’re missing?” he asks as she just stares at me with anger. I like it. “Anything you guys are forgetting to mention?”

  We both answer at the same time. “No!”

  We can’t really do much from here, a little town in Texas. I need to get back there. I need to get my hands dirty in order to get answers. The only thing is Skye. She is the reason we left there. Is there a way I can do what I need to do while having her there with me? There has to be. “We’re gonna head back,” I say. She still stares at me, but her eyes widen at that.

  “What?” Skye asks in shock. “They’re going to arrest me.”

  I shake my head. “They can’t arrest you if they can’t find you.”

  “And just where do you plan to hide me?” she demands, crossing her arms over her chest. I look down to realize that the covers are down by her waist, exposing her perfect tits. I lick my lips imagining getting them hard.

  “Give me twenty-four hours,” Jet says. “I’ll see what I can do.” He hangs up.

  “What the fuck was that?” she demands as I drop the phone to the bed.

  “Say it again,” I say as my cock hardens. The way she growls fuck turns me
on.

  “Say what?” she snaps. Her dark green eyes are narrowed and her hair a tangled mess. Her face is free of makeup, and she looks gorgeous. She reminds me of the first night I met her in the parking lot of Seven Deadly Sins. She had fight. She wasn’t going to take no for an answer. I like my women feisty, and after everything she has been through in this last week, she still has it.

  I reach out and place my hand on her breast. “Brecken.” She uncrosses her arms and slaps my hand out of the way. “No!” she snaps. “If you think …” I reach up and wrap my hand around her throat before shoving her down onto her back. She sucks in a breath as she arches her back. I climb on top of her, straddling her hips. “Brecken,” she breathes as her arms go above her head. She presses her palms against the headboard as she swallows. Her pulse quickens under my hand.

  “That’s right, baby,” I say, watching her nipples harden just as I wanted. “Tell me what I want to hear. What you want me to do to you?” I reach up my free hand and cup her breast. It’s so firm in my hand. The perfect size. I move my fingers and pinch her hard nipple.

  “Brecken.” She cries out my name this time, and it’s the sweetest sound I’ve ever heard.

  “Yes, baby?” My fingers let go of her nipple and travel down her ribs and flat stomach. I love how pure she is. No tattoos. No belly ring. It’s as if she has never been touched. I’ve never even seen her wear earrings. I shift so she can spread her legs for me. She does so without me even having to ask. “Good girl,” I say, and she whimpers.

  My hand tightens around her throat; her hands leave the headboard, and she places them on my wrist. She tries to pull it away, but I hold on to her neck. She looks up at me as her mouth opens to suck in a breath. I’ve cut off her air, and she bucks her hips. I smile at her—a cocky smile—as I say, “God, I love how you look when you can’t breathe.” Her eyes are half closed and her mouth partly open. It makes me want to fuck those lips. Feel that tongue slide under my cock while she gags.

  I slide a finger into her, and she’s soaking wet. “It turns you on as much as it turns me on, doesn’t it?” I ask, knowing I’m not gonna let her answer.