Officer in Pursuit

by Ranae Rose

  He didn’t know why she would be. She had to know by now how crazy she drove him, how badly he’d wanted this.

  He kept coming, his thoughts crumbling as she stroked him with both hands, hard and fast. He came for what felt like forever and no time flat at the same time, and when it was over, he was left reeling.

  As he came back down to earth, he became aware of Kerry beside him – on him, really – her lips against his jaw, her breath rushing against his skin. All he could think was that after what they’d just done, everything between them was irrevocably changed.

  Finally.

  CHAPTER 13

  Kerry was well aware that Alicia planned events – especially weddings – for a living. Still, she was awe-struck by the beauty of the ceremony Alicia had engineered for herself and Liam. Wisteria was always striking, and today, it was absolutely breathtaking.

  The wedding colors were white and gold, with touches of blue here and there. The ceremony was an outdoor one, and everything on the large lawn to the left of the house was a wonderland of white tulle and twinkling lights, enhanced by the faintly brooding October sky.

  There was a small chance of rain, but Alicia had shrugged that off. “We’ve been through a lot worse than a little rain,” she’d said to Kerry, Sasha and Pamela, her cousin, that morning. “I don’t care what happens, so long as we’re married by noon.”

  It was eleven, and the ceremony was starting now. Kerry stood toward the back of the lawn, behind the one hundred white folding chairs that had been arranged in rows on the grass. She was queued with Grey, ready to walk down the aisle with him – an aisle with high arches of white tulle every few feet, glowing with lights tucked into the translucent fabric.

  With ancient trees in the background, swathed with Spanish moss, the scene was like something out of a fairy tale.

  There was no music, just the sound of a light breeze rustling through leaves and moss as Alicia’s mother walked down the aisle, beginning the ceremony, just as they’d practiced the night before. After she took her seat, Sasha and Henry went together, and then it was Kerry and Grey’s turn.

  Kerry drew a deep, silent breath and tried to maintain an appropriately delicate grip on his arm as they took their first steps together. For months – ever since Alicia had asked her to be in the wedding party – she’d feared that her walk down the aisle would remind her of her own wedding, so many years ago.

  It didn’t. As the realization dawned on her, she felt suddenly and gloriously free. This wedding was so unlike her own that she couldn’t identify many similarities. The biggest difference was that she was happy – truly happy. She couldn’t help but smile as she and Grey made their way to their designated spots near the lighted, beflowered arch the ceremony would take place under.

  She was in a daze as the rest of the wedding party entered, dazzled by all the lights and flowers, the sheer magic of the small, bright world Alicia had created. Her attention shifted when Alicia herself appeared, escorted by her father, the last to walk down the aisle.

  She looked beyond beautiful – perfect, like she belonged in the center of the breathtaking scene she’d arranged. Even though Kerry had helped her get ready that morning, she was struck fresh by her beauty.

  Her gown was lily-white and fitted, with wide lace straps that formed an elegant v-neck, leaving her arms bare. Her hair was mostly down and wavy, carefully arranged and decorated with jewels that resembled the lights strung everywhere.

  The best part, though, was how happy she and Liam looked to see each other. Kerry couldn’t remember the last time she’d seen two people look so joyful. To her immense relief, she wasn’t jealous. Any jealousy she might’ve felt was drowned out by sheer happiness.

  Over the past few months, she’d often felt ashamed of the pangs of envy she’d sometimes suffered when she’d seen Liam and Alicia, or Sasha and Henry, together. There’d been times when she’d caught them exchanging secret looks or whispers, and she’d wondered what it might be like to have that kind of intimacy with someone, to really be in love.

  Now, though, those feelings were gone: she was truly happy on Alicia and Liam’s behalf, like a good friend would be. It was such a relief, and the wedding was so beautiful, that her eyes stung as the ceremony commenced.

  By the time Liam and Alicia were declared man and wife, she couldn’t help it anymore – she shed a single, sorrowless tear and smiled.

  * * * * *

  “Champagne?” Grey appeared at Kerry’s side, holding two crystal flutes filled with pale gold liquid that teemed with tiny bubbles.

  Kerry smiled and accepted one of the glasses. Its stem was delicate between her fingers, its contents crisp and sparkling.

  “You look so good in that dress,” Grey said, dodging a caterer who swept past him, carrying a tray of shrimp to the other side of the reception tent that’d been set up on Wisteria’s lawn. “Blue is your color.”

  Heat crept into Kerry’s cheeks, which was kind of absurd considering what they’d done the night before.

  Thinking about it now seemed to fill her with bubbles, like the champagne. She felt faintly giddy as everything inside her drew up tight, teased by pleasure at the memory of the night before.

  A part of her was still shocked that she’d worked up the courage to initiate a sexual encounter with Grey. She credited her boldness to the fact that she’d simply been so fed up with being afraid, so angry that she was living a half-life out of fear, that she’d been desperate to really live for once. Just like she hadn’t been willing to abandon her home out of cowardice, she hadn’t been able to deny what she’d been longing to do with Grey for months: get close to him, physically and otherwise.

  “Thanks,” she said, “but I didn’t choose it, Alicia did.”

  “Well I like it. Not so much as I like what’s underneath, but still.”

  She definitely blushed this time. Taking another sip of her champagne, she was suddenly overcome with the memory of what it’d been like to wake up beside him that morning, in her bed. It had been bittersweet – mostly sweet, because she was still buzzing with exhilaration, even now.

  A little bitter though too, because eventually she’d have to discover what the future would be like now that things had changed between her and Grey – where to go from here. She didn’t have any delusions about Grey wanting to sweep in and rescue her from her psycho ex-husband, be her knight in shining armor. She didn’t expect him to do that, and didn’t want to drag him into the mess in any case.

  He deserved better than that. She’d just wanted one night – one night of indulgence, one night of pretending she could be like everyone else and share something intimate with someone worth loving. She just hadn’t anticipated how badly she’d crave more when that night was over.

  “Hey.” Grey drained the last of his champagne and set the glass down on a nearby tray. “How about a dance?”

  He was moving toward her before she could reply, placing a hand on her waist.

  A frisson zipped down her spine, making her erupt in goose bumps beneath her bridesmaid dress. She let him escort her to the dance floor at the far end of the tent, let him guide her in a circle in time to the music.

  They were so close that he kept her warm, dispelling the light chill of the October afternoon. It was cooler than usual, but it hadn’t rained – beyond the tent’s canopy, the sky was a pearl-like shade of grey.

  Grey drew her close, so their bodies were pressed together. Kerry knew Sasha was probably nearby and was bound to see, would probably comment on it later.

  She didn’t care. Right now, all she could think about was Grey. Maybe they could have one more night together. A night to take things as far as they’d longed to the night before – do everything, at least once. She yearned for it, just like she yearned for the music to never end. She didn’t want it to change to a fast song, one that would put an end to the way they were dancing, so slow and close together.

  It did end though, and when an impossibly fast-paced
song started up, she suggested that she and Grey grab something to eat from the buffet.

  “Sure,” he said, “I’m a crap dancer anyway.”

  “I don’t think you were crap.” Far from it – she’d loved dancing with him.

  He waved a hand toward the dance floor. “Anyone can dance to a song that slow – it’s all about getting real close and seeing how much you can get away with, friction-wise. A song like this, though…” The beat was pulsing so hard Kerry could feel it in her breastbone. “I kind of have a hard time telling my feet apart. Between me and you, I think all my muscle gets in my way.”

  She grinned. “Wow, what a great excuse. Since you want to skip the fast ones, I’ll just pretend I’m a great dancer.”

  “I bet you are. Your hips are very mobile.”

  She almost dropped the buffet plate she’d just picked up. “Grey! Watch what you say. Everyone’s … here.”

  His elbow brushed hers as he lifted steamed crab legs from a dish with a pair of silver tongs. “So? Everyone who knows us knows I’m into you. And personally, I can’t wait until they realize we’re sleeping together.”

  She glanced from side to side to see if anyone was paying any attention to them.

  No one was.

  “Technically,” she said, her voice whisper-quiet, “we’re not.”

  He shot her a sideways look. “We’ll fix that tonight.”

  Her heart leapt, and all of a sudden, as she doled out pea and cucumber salad onto her plate, she was hot and tingling all over. “Will we?”

  “If you can turn me down now, I wasn’t as amazing last night as I thought.”

  She hastily grabbed a few crab legs and some steamed potatoes. “You were.”

  “Do you want to go to my place or yours, then? After we stop at the drug store on our way out of here.”

  “I chose last night, so it’s up to you this time.”

  “Great. We’ll go to my house, and I’ll show you my personal dungeon.”

  She nearly dropped her plate. “You mean like—”

  “Just kidding.” He grinned, looking way too pleased with himself for having shocked her.

  “You know, I wouldn’t have thought you’d get that joke, just a few days ago,” he said. “But you’re not as straight-laced as you seem at first. I realize that now.”

  They settled at a table a few yards from the dance floor, one that was empty save for a satin clutch someone had left on its surface. “Okay, that’s enough of this kind of talk,” she said. “You’re going to shock someone’s great-great-aunt into a heart attack.”

  He unrolled his silverware and took a bite of potatoes, saying nothing more about dungeons or trips to the drug store. Instead, they ate in silence for a minute, and then he reached under the table, laying a hand lightly above her knee.

  She couldn’t help but think of what it would be like to finally, really have sex with him. She was aching for it already. Despite her worries about the future and how hard it would be to relegate this kind of intimacy with him to her past, she couldn’t deny the sheer force of her physical desire.

  She’d never craved anyone like this before, and it was a rush – one she’d pay the price for later to revel in now. It was a bittersweet sort of freedom she’d never allowed herself before.

  “Want to go for a walk?” Grey asked when they’d finished eating.

  “It’s raining,” Kerry said, looking past the crowd and out at the plantation grounds. A fine mist was finally coming down.

  “No it’s not. Or if it is, it can’t be that bad. I see someone standing by the house, and she’s not running for cover.”

  Kerry craned her neck to look in the direction he was gazing, and for a split second, what he’d said and what it meant didn’t register.

  Then it did.

  “That woman in white, by the porch?” she asked. “Is that who you’re talking about?”

  “Yeah.”

  Kerry’s heart sank, sending a tidal wave of alarm washing over her. The woman was terribly familiar in her long white dress, with her dark hair untouched by the rain. Untouched by everything, even the passage of time – more than a century.

  Elizabeth.

  “Oh no,” she breathed, not wanting to accept that Grey could see her too. “Shit.”

  Grey had never seen Elizabeth before. But now that he’d gotten closer to Kerry, suddenly he could see the ghost that everyone considered a harbinger of life-threatening danger.

  What had she done?

  * * * * *

  Kerry felt like an invader in Grey’s home, an intruder contaminating him with her problems, the danger that might’ve followed her from Kentucky. The royal blue skirts of her bridesmaid dress shimmered beneath the kitchen lights, and she felt out of place in the beautiful gown.

  The reception had gone on late into the evening. It was after dark now, and her excitement over the night was diminished, once more, by fear.

  “What’s wrong?” Grey asked. “It’s like you’ve been walking around on eggshells for the past several hours.”

  She looked up at him – his handsome face, his dark eyes, which immediately locked with hers. “I’m dragging you into my troubles. I’m endangering you.”

  His expression made it clear he thought she was being melodramatic. Oh, how she wished that were true. “Hey, you haven’t dragged me into anything. I came willingly – pun intended.”

  She couldn’t laugh. Her good humor was locked up inside her, bound by horror over what she’d done.

  “I mean it. If my ex-husband has found me – and I think he has – you’re in just as much danger as I am. He was always so jealous, so possessive. He’d flip out if he thought I was seeing anyone.”

  “I think it’s a big leap to assume that since someone slashed your tires, it had to be him. Anyway, I don’t care. Honestly, I thought last night was worth dying for, and I haven’t even been inside you yet – not really.”

  “That’s not funny. And it’s not that big of a leap. You know that old paper I found on my porch?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Well, I think that was how he tracked me down. I think that was him letting me know he knew where I was.” Realizing that Grey could see Elizabeth had set the wheels turning in Kerry’s head, and she’d come up with a scarily possible idea of how her ex might’ve tracked her down.

  “Really?”

  “Think about it – no one’s bothered me for three years. Then hell rains down on this county all summer, pushing it into the national media. I steered clear of the reporters, but that picture… I never knew about it. And the caption beneath it identified me by name. The article mentioned that I work at Wisteria.”

  Grey frowned. “So you think he was just waiting all this time, and headed down here as soon as he heard your name in connection with the fire at Wisteria?”

  “Yes! It’s exactly the kind of thing he’d do. You know, I haven’t told anyone where I’m living. Not even my own parents or sisters. And I don’t do social media, or anything that might attract unwanted attention… I clean rooms at a bed and breakfast, and nobody notices the people who clean. I was invisible, and it was perfect, until the fire.”

  Her voice cracked, but she held Grey’s gaze without wavering, willing him to understand the importance of what she was saying.

  “It’s like I said last night,” he replied, “if he really has come here, he’s walking into a trap. I won’t let him hurt you. Jeremy and the police won’t let him hurt you – it’ll be all right.”

  “I appreciate you trying to make me feel better, but burying my head in the sand won’t do any good. Anyway, I’ve been worried about myself for the past three years – I never stopped worrying. It’s just that now, I’m worried about you too.”

  Grey’s expression hardened, and for the first time during the conversation, Kerry dared to hope he was taking her seriously. “He doesn’t have any claim to you. And if he shows up and needs someone to drive that point home, I’ll be glad to do it.�
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  Kerry shook her head. “See? I never wanted to drag you into my mess, to risk you getting hurt. What I did last night was impulsive and reckless. Selfish. I’m sorry, and I wish I never did it.”

  For a long time, Grey didn’t say anything. It occurred to Kerry that she might’ve hurt him. That hadn’t been her intention, but putting a little dent in his feelings was nothing compared to putting him in Brad’s line of fire.

  Grey had no idea what a raging, asshole nut job Brad was. There was no way he could know.

  Kerry knew things about Brad – about what it was like to be trapped in that kind of relationship – that only those who’d lived it could. She wished she could wipe those things from her memory, reboot her mind, but she couldn’t.

  Brad had changed her, and she didn’t want him to change Grey.

  “Do you wish we hadn’t done what we did because it made you unhappy,” Grey eventually asked, “or because you think you need to protect me from your ex-husband?”

  Her heart skipped a beat. “What we did made me happy. And it was so good to be happy, even if it was just for one night. It’s not that I didn’t like it, it’s that I’m afraid of what us spending more time like that together might lead to. Yes, I want to protect you. If you knew him like I do, you’d understand.”

  Another thought that’d been haunting her all day struck her again now. “If he’s been snooping around my house and spying on me, he might have already seen us together. And if he did, believe me, he’s mad about it.”

  Maybe that was why Grey could see Elizabeth, all of a sudden – maybe Brad had seen her and Grey together. Maybe that was why he’d slashed her tires. Kerry didn’t dare mention the ghost to Grey; she knew he didn’t believe in stuff like that. But she did, and her fear was legitimate, regardless.

  Grey still didn’t seem worried, and Kerry began to feel hopeless. “Please listen to what I’m saying, Grey. When I say I’m scared of him, I mean I’m scared for my life. And I’m scared for yours too.”