Cole: A Romantic Thriller Novel (For The Love Of A Good Woman Book 2)

by Giulia Lagomarsino

  She rubbed her hand over her forehead and took a step back, her voice now contained fury. “I’m tired and all I want to do is go home and go to bed, but this maniac is out there searching for me. Did you know he sent someone out looking for me? She was posing as my mother, but my mother is dead. I can’t lie down and pretend that the world doesn’t exist because I will never feel safe as long as he’s out there. If I run, who will protect me? No one. He’ll keep hunting me until he finds me. I’m scared to put myself in a position of vulnerability, but I’m even more scared that I’ll do nothing and he’ll find me. Guess what? If he can find me, he can find you. Do you really want to be a missing person again?”

  I was starting to think that maybe I should intervene now. Alex was hitting all of Cara’s hot buttons and shoving her fears back in her face, but I could see Cara really thinking about what Alex was saying, so I held back.

  “Tell me. Did he hide you somewhere last time that anyone could have easily stumbled upon you? I was in an abandoned hunting cabin in the middle of the forest. No one would have ever found me. I’m just asking that you talk to Sean again. I know that it’s been a long time, but maybe you’ll remember something and it will help Cole and Sean.”

  Her eyes pleaded with Cara and I felt like we were finally at the tipping point with Cara. I held my breath as I waited for her answer.

  “What you’re asking…you’re asking me to make myself a target again. If he’s looking for you, he may have seen you come here. I’ll be linked to you.” She huffed and looked to the side. “I guess I don’t have a choice. If I want to stay alive, I have to help you now.”

  “I can hire Sebastian to watch over you while I’m not here. He can protect you and make you feel safe.” Sean squeezed her hand and then walked into the other room and called Sebastian.

  I breathed a sigh of relief that we were finally getting somewhere. We just needed something to catch a break. “When Sean comes back in the room, I think Cara needs to tell her story. Alex, are you good to stay for that?”

  Alex nodded and grabbed Cara’s hand as a show of support.

  “Okay. I think I want a stiff drink if we’re going to rehash this.” Cara walked into the kitchen and came back with a bottle of vodka and several glasses. She poured some for her and Alex and offered it to me, but I refused. The girls drank for a few minutes while I sat back and thought about what we were doing. I was going to need to install a security system in my house if we were going after this guy. He clearly was already looking for Alex and Cara was right, he could have seen us coming here. If he did find out about where Alex was, what lengths would he go to to get her back? I knew then that I was going to break a promise I made to himself after I left the military. I was going to get my guns out. I would teach Alex to shoot because there was no way she would be unprotected. Cara should probably learn also.

  “Sebastian is on his way over. He asked that we wait until he gets here so he can hear all the information too,” Sean said as he walked back into the room. They waited about ten minutes before Sebastian showed up. He walked over to me and gave me a back slap and then introduced himself to Alex.

  “Hi, I’m Sebastian. Sean tells me that you and Cara went through the same thing. I’m sorry to hear that, but I’ll help in any way I can.”

  “Thank you. I appreciate it.”

  The girls sat down and Cara told her story to Sean. Sean interjected at times and asked questions. He asked her to be very detailed in what happened the day she was kidnapped. Her story was very similar to Alex’s and there weren’t many details that were different. Honestly, there was nothing that would move the case along very much further, but it did confirm our suspicions that this was the same guy. The only thing left was to get a sketch of Alex’s kidnapper so that we could compare it with the one Cara gave when she was rescued.

  There was a sketch on file at the police station from when Cara had sat with a sketch artist. I hadn’t showed it to Alex yet because I wanted her description first. It would help if she also sat with a sketch artist. If the pictures matched, the police would have a better chance of making charges stick when they caught him. When they finished, I pulled Sebastian aside.

  “I need you to have some guys come out and install a security system in my house. I don’t plan on leaving Alex, but it’ll make me feel better and I’m sure she’ll feel safer too.”

  “I can schedule some guys to come out tomorrow. How much security do you want?”

  “I want everything you’ve got. Sensors on all the doors and windows, sensors around the property, flood lights, cameras around the property, cameras inside the house, and anything else you got. I want it as tight as Fort Knox.”

  “Okay. I’ll go back to the office and put in the orders. We’ll get started on it bright and early. Seven okay?”

  “Yeah, that’s fine. Just let me know what you need and we’ll stay out of your way.”

  “Cole, I know it’s been a long day, but maybe you and Alex can come down to the station and sit with a sketch artist?”

  “I know what you want, but I can’t take her down there. She doesn’t want to put herself out there yet. If she starts walking around town, it’s too easy for her to be spotted.”

  “Alright, how about I get someone to come to you? They’ll be discreet. We need her to sit with someone so that we have it for her file.” Alex must have overheard because she walked over to join in.

  “I thought you weren’t going to file a report yet?” Alex looked at Sean with anger and then pointed her glare at me.

  “I can’t file a report unless you want me to, but honestly, Alex, you just came in here and called my sister a coward for not helping and now you’re not willing to help? You were with him the longest and have the most detail to offer the investigation and you’re asking me not to file?”

  I couldn’t argue with Sean. As much as I wanted to protect Alex, we wouldn’t make any headway on the case without her report. This was a big break that we needed. I turned to Alex and grabbed her hand.

  “Sweetheart, I will do everything in my power to protect you from him. Sebastian is going to come out to the house and set up a really tight security system and he’ll be monitoring the house at all times. We need this.”

  She looked into my eyes for a minute and then turned to Sean. “You’re right. I need to file. Go ahead and file my statement, but try to keep it as quiet as possible.”

  There was a knock on the door and Sean went over to answer it. I pulled Alex in for a hug and smelled the vanilla shampoo she had washed her hair with. After a few washes, her hair looked a lot healthier and I couldn’t stop touching it. I rested my chin on top of her head and placed a kiss against her temple.

  “I promise you that I will protect you from this asshole. He will never touch you again.”

  She buried her face in my chest and took a deep breath. It felt good to hold her and know that she felt comfortable in my arms. I wanted to take her home and hold her all night. I had started thinking about taking things to the next level with her, but I knew it was too soon for that. She had been through something terrible and she needed time to recover, both physically and emotionally. I would settle for kissing her until she was ready.

  “Cole.” I looked over and saw Sean jerk his head for me to come over. I released Alex and walked over to Sean. Alex followed me and I could tell Sean didn’t want her there.

  “What is it?”

  “Alex, could you give us a minute?” Sean looked extremely uncomfortable and he tried to hide the package behind him, but Alex saw it.

  “What’s that box? Is that why you want me to leave?”

  Sean didn’t say anything and I knew that whatever was in that box was not good.

  “You don’t need to see this, Alex.”

  Alex stared him down until Sean swore and brought out some latex gloves. He lifted the box and brought it over to the coffee table. By this time, everyone in the room had gathered around to see what was in the box.

>   “Is that for me?” Alex’s voice was shaking and I wished that she had never known about the box.

  “It was dropped off here by an independent courier. He had instructions to give it to whoever answered the door. He wasn’t actually the one to receive the package, so I’ll need to call the main office to get more information on that. It’s addressed to Little Lexi.”

  I felt Alex slump against me and I was sure she was going to pass out, but she rested against me for a minute and then steeled herself to see what was in the package.

  “Go ahead and open it, Sean,” she said with a shaky voice.

  Sean looked to me for confirmation and then nodded and lifted the lid. Inside the box was a thick rope attached to what looked like a metal ring and pole. It was full of mud and I suddenly realized that this was what Alex was attached to during her captivity. Alex let out a pained gasp and turned into my chest and started sobbing. I picked her up and carried her down the hall to a guest bedroom and shut the door. I was fuming and I wanted to go find this guy and murder him. I laid her down on the bed and held her as she cried. She was shaking in my arms and I was pretty sure she was recalling her time in that cellar. I rubbed her back and held her tightly, trying to think of anything that would help her calm down. We were in there for a good half hour before she had calmed down enough to say anything.

  “I want to go home. Please take me home.”

  “Sure, sweetheart.” I started to get up, but then I turned back to her. “Alex, I need you to know that I will do anything I can for you. You’ve come to mean a lot to me and…I won’t let anything happen to you. I need you as much as you need me. We’ll get through this together and then we can try to make something real here. Is that something you want also?”

  She nodded and I leaned in and gave her a soft kiss on the lips. When I started to pull back, she grabbed my shirt and stared into my eyes. Then she leaned forward and kissed me. She opened her mouth slightly and I took the invitation. My tongue slid into her mouth and I got my first taste of her. I knew I could never go back now. One kiss would never be enough. Our tongues tangled in a gentle caress and then turned heated. I had to pull back before I mauled her. I wanted more, but this was not the place and I had to be sure that she was in the right frame of mind. I kissed her once more and then took her hand.

  “Let’s go home.”

  CHAPTER NINE

  Alex

  Over the next week, I hung out around the house. I didn’t really want to go anywhere and be seen. When Sean opened the box and took out the rope that I’d been attached to for the better part of five months, I broke down. I had been doing a good job of holding it all in and staying strong, but then reality crept in. He knew where I was. That was the only reason he would send that. Sean hadn’t found out anything in the week after receiving the package. The courier that had delivered it had no knowledge of the person that dropped it off. He didn’t match the description that Alex had given, so he must have been hired to drop it off at the mail center.

  Sean came to us two days later and told me that the woman that had been searching for me was found dead. It turns out, she was a mother in her fifties that had been estranged from her own child. Her daughter had come to claim the body and said that her mother and her hadn’t spoken in five years. Perhaps that’s why she was so willing to help that man.

  Cole was very patient with me. He sat by me and held my hand or let me lay in his lap while we watched television. He had done a lot over the week to show me that he cared for me. I had a hard time believing it at first. I was getting better, but I still felt dirty and I couldn’t see how he would want me, but he told me one night that we were both broken souls trying to learn how to live again. It made me feel better that he saw himself the same way. I didn’t want him to have that pain, but it made me feel like we were more connected.

  Still, most of the time I was lost in my head. I didn’t speak a whole lot because I wasn’t sure what to say. I felt numb and it was like I was sinking deeper in quicksand everyday. How do you get past the fact that a murderer is out to get you and may find you at any moment? There was one thing that I had figured out over the past week, hiding in Cole’s house was not helping me. I felt like I needed to start living again or I would suffocate from fear in this house. I had a problem though. I hadn’t had a job in a long time and when I did, I only stayed for about a year. I didn’t even have any possessions. I had no idea what had happened to my stuff from my old apartment. I was living off of Cole and happy to have his help, but it was starting to feel wrong. I had been here a little over two weeks and I was much better. I was still extremely skinny and really needed to put more weight on, but that would come with time. So now the question was, what did I do until this psycho was caught and I could move on with my life?

  I was lost in a chaos of thoughts when I looked up and saw Cole staring at me from the bedroom doorway. It was ten o’clock in the morning and I had just laid here trying to come up with a solution to all the questions running through her mind. He had come to check on me several times and I had just stared at the wall. I was having trouble bringing myself to carry on a conversation. I needed to get out of this funk.

  “You want to tell me what’s going on in your head, sweetheart?”

  “I’m just wondering, now that I’m doing better, what am I going to do? I think I need to start doing something.”

  “What do you mean? You want to get a job?” Cole walked into the room and sat down beside me on the bed.

  “I don’t know, but I don’t think that sitting around here all day is helping. I think I need to get out of the house.”

  “But you’re safe here. Every time you go out of the house, you put yourself in danger.” His voice was laced with anger and I knew it was only because he wanted to keep me safe.

  “I’m safe here, but I’m not living my life. If I stay inside, I let him win.”

  He stood abruptly and looked like he was about to explode. “If you go outside, you let him win because he will hunt you and find a way to get to you. You won’t be safe in a car, walking down the street, or even in a crowded room of people. It was luck that you escaped last time. Do you think he would give you any opportunity to do it again? You’re naive if you think you can stay safe if you leave this house. Who’s going to protect you? I can’t be with you every second of the day. All he would have to do is lure you away for a few seconds and you would be gone. I would never see you again. I can’t have that responsibility hanging on my shoulders. I can’t live the rest of my life knowing that if I had kept you here, you would have been safe. I can’t deal with losing you, so if you think it’s so important to go out and risk your life, you’re going to have to do it on your own.”

  He stood there fuming and when I didn’t respond right away, he left the room. No doubt, he was expecting me to promise to stay locked up in this house until the psycho was caught. I just couldn’t do that anymore. As the week had gone on, I felt like I was sinking into a depression. In reality, this guy would probably find me and take me again. I had to be honest with myself about that. The longer it took for Cole to realize that, the harder it would be on him. I needed to explain to him what was going on in my head.

  I got up from the bed and went in search of Cole. He was standing on the back porch, staring out at the woods. I opened the door and then went to stand behind him, sliding my arms around his waist. It was cool outside, so I snuggled into his back.

  “I didn’t mean it. I won’t ever abandon you. I can’t lose you, Alex, so please don’t ask me to willingly put you in a position to be be hurt.”

  “Cole, I can’t just sit around until this guy is caught. No one knows who he really is. All we have to go on is a picture. He’s avoided the police for so long, I don’t think he’ll ever be caught. What am I supposed to do in the meantime?”

  Cole turned in my arms and held my body to his. “I don’t have all the answers, but you leaving the house doesn’t seem like the right one.”

&
nbsp; I pulled back from his chest to look up at him.

  “Cole, I think there’s something that you need to really consider.” He started shaking his head before I even spoke. He knew what I was going to say. “In all likelihood, he will take me again. It could even be right from this house. Do you really think that sensors and alarms are going to stop him from coming in and taking me? You can’t stay here forever with me. You and I both have to leave eventually. Do you want me to end up like Cara? Never leaving the house and becoming so angry at the world that I don’t see anyone? I don’t like the idea of making myself vulnerable either, but maybe we could use this to our advantage.”

  He pushed away from me with a huff and walked away, scrubbing his hand down the back of his neck. “I can’t believe you would even suggest it. I tell you I can’t lose you and you suggest that we make you bait to trap this sicko. It’s like you’re not hearing a word I say.”

  “Or maybe you’re not hearing me. We have to come to some sort of agreement here. I can’t stay here forever, Cole. I can’t live the rest of my life wondering if today is the day he’s coming for me.”

  We both stood in silence for a while trying to come up with a solution. Finally, Cole stepped forward and took my hand in his. “If I agree to you going out and getting a job, you have to be trained to use a gun first. I get to be the judge of when you’re ready. Also, I will be the one to pick you up and drop you off. You will be around someone at all times. You aren’t allowed to go to a break room or bathroom by yourself. If I tell you it isn’t safe to do something, I need you to listen to me and follow my instructions. I also want to put a tracker on you.”

  “You mean you want to put a GPS chip in me like a dog?” I smirked at him and then stood on my toes to kiss him. “I can do all that. Remember, I still have to find a job, so it’s not like I would be leaving the house tomorrow.”

  “Alright. Let me make some calls and we’ll work on getting you a gun.”