Skin Deep

by Daniels, A. J.

  She smiles through her tears. “Thanks, but you know me. I’m a suffer-in-silence sort of girl.”

  “How’s Chris handling all of this?”

  She shakes her head. “No sixteen-year-old should have to find their parent like that. He pretends he’s okay; hiding behind video games and working on his car, but I know he’s not. How can he be?”

  “Give him time. He’ll come around eventually.”

  “I wish he would just open up to me. We’ve been best friends practically since he was born. We’ve always been closer than other siblings, but he won’t even talk to me about how he feels. The only time I’ve seen him cry is at the funeral. I mean, I’m not saying he has to cry but I want to know what he’s feeling, what he’s going through. I want to help him. I want to be there for him.” She sighs and drops her head. “Lately, it just feels like he’s shut everyone out.”

  He rubs his hands up and down her arms. “He probably still needs time to process it all, but you’ve said it yourself: the two of you are close. So I’m guessing when he’s good and ready to talk about it he’ll be the one to bring it up. From the little I’ve seen, Chris seems like he’s a private person. He likes to keep things close to the chest. Don’t be surprised if he never wants to talk about it, but he’ll work through it in his own time and in his own way.”

  “I just feel guilty.” She softly leans her head back onto his shoulder, and he sees fresh tears streaming down her cheeks.

  “Why do you feel guilty?”

  “Because I wasn’t here. I wasn’t here when he found our dad dying in his bed. I was across the country. I should have been here.”

  “Danielle, your dad wanted you to be safe from Adam.”

  “I know.” She looks at him with sadness in her eyes, and at that moment he wants to wrap her up in his arms and protect her from the world. “I wasn’t there for Chris and I should’ve been. No sixteen-year-old should have to watch their parent die.”

  “You shouldn’t have had to see that either.”

  “No, but I would’ve preferred it to be me rather than Chris.”

  “You can’t protect him forever, Danielle.”

  “I get it. I do. But he’ll always be my baby brother, and I’ll always want to protect him from the darkness of this world.”

  “Spoken from experience.”

  “Yeah, sorry about that. I didn’t mean to dump all that shit on you.”

  “I like that you did. I just wish you hadn’t had to go through all that shit in your past. And if I ever cross paths with Adam I’ll kill him.”

  She laughs softly, and it’s the most amazing sound he’s heard all week. Standing up he brushes the sand off his jeans before offering her his hand and helping her up.

  “Come on, let’s go get some ice cream. Double fudge cookie dough?”

  “A man after my own heart.” She grins.

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  “YOU SHOULD MOVE IN,” Parker states, caressing her arm as they’re relaxing in bed on a late Sunday morning in August with the sun streaming through the open curtains.

  With his help she was able to progress through the beginning stages of grief. It has only been a month since the funeral, but during that time she hasn’t touched a bottle of Jack or picked up a razor.

  It’s progress. Two years ago she would’ve given in to the depression and desire to self-harm. But not this time. This time she was surrounded by people who loved and cared for her and who’d always be there to drag her out if things got dark again.

  She has him to partly thank for that. Whenever she found herself starting the downward spiral all she had to do was seek him out, and he would be there with arms wide open, ready to give her whatever she needed. Whether that was just to feel him engulf her in a hug or someone to whom she could vent her frustrations.

  The random long-stemmed roses she’s found around her apartment and in her car didn’t hurt either.

  “I should?” She smiles.

  He tugs her closer and places a soft kiss on the top of her head. “Just say yes.”

  “And if I don’t?” she asks playfully.

  “Then I might just have to tickle you until you do.” He laughs.

  She pulls back to look at him. “You wouldn’t.”

  He grins and raises an eyebrow in response then flips her onto her back and straddles her legs.

  He attacks the most ticklish parts of her sides and under her arms. Before long she’s immersed in a fit of laughter so hard she can barely breathe.

  “Okay! Okay!”

  “Is that a yes?”

  “Yes! Just please stop.” She laughs.

  Parker grins triumphantly, moving back to his side of the bed.

  “You don’t play fair.” She lightheartedly smacks him on his chest.

  “Who said anything about fair, babe?”

  “Meanie.” She sticks her tongue out at him.

  His eyes darken. “If you’re going to be sticking out your tongue, Danielle, I can think of better ways to use it.”

  Heat creeps up her cheeks just as his phone beeps on the bedside table with an incoming message. He picks it up reading the text.

  “I gotta go, babe,” he states, climbing out of bed and locating his jeans on the bedroom floor.

  “What’s going on?”

  “Looks like they found another body.” He places a quick kiss on her lips before pulling a shirt over his head. “I’ll call you when I know more.”

  “Okay.”

  …

  Parker flashes his badge at the uniformed officer before moving under the yellow tape and walking over to Jay, who’s hunched over the naked body of a young female.

  Her dark hair is fanned out around her shoulders, her dark eyes widened in shock. Ligature marks are visible on her wrists and ankles.

  “What do we have?”

  “Twenty-five-year-old female. Driver’s license says Ashleigh Berg. Suspected sexual assault, but we won’t know for sure until the coroner does an autopsy.”

  “Any witnesses?” He looks around the deserted parking lot of the visitor’s centre.

  “None.” Jay straightens up from the body and inclines his head towards a sign in the distance. “You see what I see?”

  “The Alberta border,” Parker states.

  “This was just the dump site.”

  “You think she was killed over the border?”

  Jay hands him the evidence bag containing the victim’s driver’s license. “The address on her driver’s license is an Alberta one.”

  “Gentlemen.”

  Parker and Jay nod their greeting as the coroner approaches them.

  “Bryan, tell me you can give me a time or cause of death,” Jay begs.

  “Well,” Bryan starts, bending down and examining the body, “the body is still in rigor mortis. So I’d say she’s been dead for less than thirty-six hours. As for the cause of death, I won’t have an answer for you until I can examine her more fully.”

  “Sergeant!” a uniformed officer yells from across the parking lot.

  “Call us as soon you have something, Doc,” Parker says before turning and heading back towards the parking lot.

  When they catch up to the officer their gazes follow the direction he’s pointing to.

  “Tire tracks,” Parker states.

  “This is a visitor’s centre off the main highway coming into B.C. There could be lots of tire tracks in this parking lot,” Jay states.

  “Centre’s been closed for a number of years There’s no reason for anyone to stop here with a diner about five more minutes down the road,” the officer informs them.

  “Get forensics and get a casting of the tire track,” Parker demands.

  …

  “I can’t believe you’re moving in with him,” Kat says, taping another box closed.

  “I know. Never thought I’d be doing it again.” she walks around Kat to place another box by the door so the guys can take it down to the truck.

  “It’
ll be weird not having you here.” Alice places another box on top of the one Ashley put down.

  “It’s not like I’m moving far. When Parker goes over to Mike’s to watch the game I expect you ladies to be ready for hours of Criminal Minds and wine.”

  “Deal.” Kat and Alice laugh.

  “I’ll also be taking full advantage of that pool,” Alice adds.

  “Definitely,” Kat agrees.

  “Is this the last of it?” Parker asks, walking through the front door.

  All three women turn as him, Mike, and Jay lift the three boxes by the door.

  “Yes, thank you, guys.”

  “I seriously need to get me one of those.” Alice hooks her thumb over her shoulder, looking back at Ashley.

  Ashley laughs, “Well two of them are single.” She bumps shoulders with Alice.

  Kat chokes and starts coughing while folding the rest of Ashley’s clothes.

  “You okay, Kat?” Ashley and Alice look worriedly at her.

  “Yeah, fine.”

  …

  When they get the truck unloaded and Ashley’s boxes put in their respective rooms the six of them plop down on Parker’s black, leather, L-shaped couch, each with their own beer.

  “Gotcha’s?” Mike asks from his seat on the recliner.

  “I’m in,” Alice answers enthusiastically.

  Kat nods. “Me too.”

  Parker and Ashley exchange a knowing look before he turns his head to Mike. “I think we’re going to call it a night.”

  Mike groans. “You already sound like an old, married couple.”

  “Come on, babe,” Jay says, offering his hand for Kat to help her up off the couch.

  Ashley’s eyebrow raises at the endearment.

  “Babe?” Ashley whispers into Kat’s ear when they’re hugging goodbye at the front door.

  Kat just shrugs and grins before following the other three out of the door.

  “What was that about?” he asks, coming up behind Ashley and slipping his arms around her belly.

  “I’m not entirely sure.”

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  HEARING THE FRONT DOOR open and close she grabs her other stiletto and tries to put it on while hoping out of the downstairs bathroom to greet Parker.

  “Hey, I thought I was meeting you at the restaurant.”

  “Hello, Ashley.”

  Her body instantly freezes at that voice and she slowly lifts her head, praying he’s not really standing in front her right now.

  She has to be dreaming. There’s no way he’s here in BC. At any moment her alarm is going to go off and she’ll wake up alone in the bed she shares with Parker.

  But when her eyes meet the midnight ones of the man standing at the front door she knows this isn’t a dream.

  “Adam? What are you doing here? How did you—”

  “I told you I’d have you again, Ashley,” Adam says as he reaches behind him and turns the lock in the door, then the dead bolt. “And I always get what I want.”

  The way he says her name has the hair on the back of her neck standing up, and her blood pumping in fear.

  Memories of lying on the living room floor of their apartment while Adam landed kick after kick to her ribs invade her head, and she starts shaking. Her eyes glance over to the alarm box by the door.

  When she moved into Parker’s house, he and Jay insisted they get the thing installed, especially because Jay hadn’t been able to track down Adam’s whereabouts.

  Jay had added a feature where if a certain button was pressed on the keypad or in the app on her phone, it would send an emergency SOS signal to his and Parker’s cell phones. Installing it was a good idea in practice but right now it’s not coming in handy since she’d forgotten to reset it after entering the house earlier.

  “You’ve been a bad girl, Ashley,” Adam says, stalking closer to her. “Pretending with that other man. But I know you, Ashley.”

  He successfully backs her into the far wall of the living room, cutting off her only exit. The stench of stale whiskey and cigarettes coming off him is enough to make her gag.

  “You’re drunk.”

  “I’m always drunk, Ashley. Ever since you ran away from me.”

  “You put me in the hospital the same night you got engaged, or did you forget?” She knows she’s playing with fire right now and she should be fucking scared of this monster but she’s not.She’s surprisingly calm. She won’t allow him to hurt her anymore. She’s spent the majority of the last couple years in fear of this man and she refuses to let him have that much power over her now. She refuses to be a fucking toy he plays with. “I’m not scared of you—”

  Adam’s eyes are completely cold when he smirks and wraps his hand around her neck, slamming her back into the wall. She can feel the warmth of his breath on her cheek when he leans in.

  “You should be,” he whispers lightly, dragging his nose up her jaw and licking her bottom lip.

  Instinctively she moves her head to the side but immediately his hand leaves her neck, grabs her face, and moves it back so she’s facing him once again. “You’re going to regret ever walking away from me, Danielle. You’re mine. And I don’t like sharing what’s mine.”

  “I’m not yours, Adam.” She stares at him defiantly. “I’m not some possession. Now, let me go.” She pushes against his chest.

  “I’ve watched you with him.”

  He’s still leaning into her with his one hand propped up on the wall, blocking her in while his other hand strokes along her collarbone. Goose bumps rake down her body, not out of desire but fear.

  She knows what Adam’s capable of and as much as she’s told herself she won’t show any fear of this man, her body is betraying her. All she wants to do is run away screaming but she can’t.

  His fingers continue to stroke lightly up and down her collarbone. She shrinks back at the touch. It doesn’t matter that two years ago she used to crave that same touch. But it’s not the same. Back then it was her drug of choice ; she craved it. She needed it to be able to forget about the issues that were constantly plaguing her.

  But now, now it was underlined with something sinister and she wanted to recoil in disgust.

  “He seems quite fond of you. It’s too bad he won’t get to enjoy you for much longer.”

  His hand skims lightly down her arm, and she feels a small prick on the inside of her elbow. She looks down just in time to see him placing a needle back in his jacket pocket.

  Her head starts to feel heavy, her arms and legs numb. He catches her and picks her up before her body can hit the floor. Panic races through her.

  “Don’t worry, the paralysis is only temporary. If I wanted to kill you, Ashley, you’d be dead already. You’ll start to gain some control back in about twenty-five to thirty minutes.”

  Adam gently lays her down on the couch and covers her with a blanket. “You see, Ashley. This was just to prove you can’t run from me. You might be able to change your name and your appearance, but you’ll never be able to hide. I’ll always find you.”

  Adam smirks and then gets up, moving out of sight, but she can hear him walking around the kitchen then towards the front door before his footsteps are moving back to the kitchen.

  Before long his face appears above her, and his hand goes back to its assault on her collarbone before roaming down to her breasts. She inwardly cringes, wishing she could move but nothing happens when she tries wiggling her fingers for what feels like the fiftieth time.

  “I think I’m going to rather enjoy watching that boy toy of yours die,” Adam says before his face and hand disappear. “I’ll let you enjoy what little freedom you have left because I’m coming back for you, Ashley, and you’ll be mine. He won’t be able to save you.”

  Tears steak down the sides of her face as she hears the front door open and click shut. Adam’s words play on repeat as she lies on the couch, staring up at the ceiling, unable to move.

  She has no idea what Adam has planned for either
of them, but his words echo in her head.

  He won’t be able to save you . . .

  When the drug has worn off enough for her to move her arms and turn her head a bit, she tries to reach for her phone on the floor beside the couch, but something on the coffee table catches her eye.

  Sitting in a vase filled with water is a single red rose. It looks exactly like the ones she’s found in her condo and on her car. Her blood runs cold.

  Adam.

  Adam left all those roses.

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  “DANI! DANIELLE!” PARKER YELLS as soon as he pushes open the front door and scans the entry into the living room.

  When she didn’t show up at the restaurant on time he figured she’d been held up at her office on campus grading freshman papers, but when twenty minutes passed by without a text or phone call he started to worry.

  Twenty minutes turned into forty, and he knew something wasn’t right. Dani always called or texted if she was going to be even five minutes late.

  Body raking sobs sound from the kitchen, and he runs in that direction without hesitation. She’s sitting on the kitchen floor with her back pressed to the cupboards, her knees drawn up to her body. Her arms are wrapped around her legs with her forehead resting on her knees. A garbage can filled with red roses sits next to her.

  “Dani?”

  Her cheeks are tear stained, and her black mascara is running down her face when she lifts her head at his voice. “It was Adam.”

  His stomach drops, and dread fills him. His eyes quickly scan her from top to bottom looking for any injuries, but there are none. “What was?”

  She points to the garbage can filled to the brim with roses, some of which look like they’ve been dried. “I thought it was you. I thought you were the one leaving a single, red rose in random places where you knew I’d find them that’s why I kept them. But it wasn’t you; it was Adam.”

  “Are you okay? Did he hurt you?”

  She sobs even harder, her entire body shaking from the intensity. “He drugged me.”

  He shrugs out of his suit jacket and places it on the kitchen counter, then he sits down next to her and pulls her into his arms.