She’s making me fall in love with her.
Her nails grip me as she tightens around me. I know the feeling, the look, and the change in her breath. She’s looking at me with a face that’s a mask of the pleasure that explodes gloriously around her, around us both. Watching her, feeling her makes me fall right along with her, and it’s perfect.
She turns off the water. I don’t move. Nuzzling her, staring into her brown eyes letting my heart feel every bit of it, of her, this moment with her. She looks right back at me, brushing soft lips against mine.
“Emily.” I mutter against her perfect mouth. “Don’t go.”
Her hands on my face cause me to open my eyes.
“I’ll stay until it’s safe.”
Peace crashes into my like a tsunami. “Thank you.”
“Isaiah, is this about him… or about….”
I smile, for a brief moment wondering what to say. “Both. I want you safe. But frankly, this place feels like home now that you’re in it.”
Her eyes light up with something, I’m not sure what. “I know what you mean.”
I hand her a towel, grabbing one for myself. “You want some coffee before bed?”
She smiles, bending to dry off.
“Sure, thank you.”
Without another word, I wrap the towel around my hips and leave the bathroom for the kitchen.
***
Emily
“I need to go get some things from my house.” I call as I shove my clothes into the washing machine.
I didn’t bring that much with me. I was expecting to go home after a couple of days. Isaiah walks up to me, Maxie on his heels. “You want me to go with you? Are you sure you don’t want me to pack up? We can stay at your house for a couple of days.”
I chew on my lip as I close the lid and turn on the machine. “I guess we can, but let me go clean first. It’s probably a mess.”
He grins at me. “I’ll come with you, I can help you.”
I wince. “You don’t understand, I’m a slob. I’ve been trying to be neat here, but-”
With a chuckle, he pulls me into his arms. “Woman, it’s fine. A little mess won’t run me off. Give me time to pack up and we’ll head over.”
A light kiss is placed on my lips, and he walks off, turning to pop me on the butt with a laugh.
As I unlock my front door I already feel a little better. Isaiah stands behind me with our bags, Maxie is busy wrapping her leash around my legs as she dances, eager to be home.
When I step inside, the peaceful feeling vanishes. My chest heaves as a whimper bubbles up in my throat, “Fuck.”
“What’s wrong?” Isaiah steps in behind me. “Holy shit.”
The walls are scrawled with the words Bad Girl in red paint. It’s written dozens of times.
My couch has been ripped to shreds. Someone took a knife to it and destroyed it, along with the matching chair. Stuffing is everywhere. Broken glass crunches under my feet as tears blur my vision.
“Holy God, Isaiah-”
He shoves me out the front door, pulling his gun from his bag. His phone is already on his ear.
“Emily, get outside. Hey, dispatch, I need a unit to 4333 Auburn Run...”
His voice fades as I pull Maxie outside, sitting on the front steps collapsing into tears.
While the police check my house, I call ADT and make arrangements to have an alarm installed.
“Hey,” a manly whisper hits my ears as I hear steps fall on my porch.
The patrol officers just left. Isaiah sits beside me, an arm goes around my shoulder and a kiss on my ear.
“Is it the whole house, or just the living room?” My voice breaks. I turn, looking into his face.
“It’s a mess, baby. I’m not going to lie. We don’t know how he got inside. There’s no signs of break in. Does anyone else have a key? Did you hide one somewhere?”
I shake my head. “No, just you.”
“We didn’t find any evidence that it was him. And we aren’t staying here.”
I stand up. “I guess I might as well get this over with.”
Isaiah takes my hand, halting me with a tug. He cups my chin and tilts my face up forcing my eyes to his. “Just remember what’s important, ok? There’s a lot of damage, but you are ok. We can replace these things, but I can’t replace you. You’re amazing and strong and we will get through this.”
He brushes stray tears off my cheeks with his thumb.
“Why would someone do this?”
“I don’t know, but I promise you, I’ll find out everything I can.”
He holds my eyes with his for a moment, then we walk inside. In the kitchen, all my dishes are broken. I have to hold Maxie to keep her from walking in the glass. Isaiah takes her from me as I push through the front of the house, down the hall.
I feel his hands on my shoulders in the doorway of my bedroom. Bad Girl scrawled on the walls here too. My mattress has been slashed, the mirror over my dresser is broken. Those ugly words are written in paint across my headboard.
My clothes are in the bathtub, bleach has been poured over most of them. I need to get this cleaned up, but I can’t make myself move. Isaiah must sense it, because he pulls me into his chest and wraps me in his arms.
I fall into heaving sobs against his chest. His hands run up and down my back, his whispers touch my ears as I cry against him.
“I’m so sorry.”
Mattress in the trash.
Clothes thrown away.
Broken glass cleaned up, Painters hired for the walls.
Couch and chair in the trash.
We gather up our luggage and head back to Isaiah’s apartment. I hope he gets this son of a bitch soon.
Chapter Eleven
Isaiah
I was calm. There for her. The big strong man, but inside I was a raging mess. Angry isn’t the word.
Murderous is more accurate.
Flying into a rage isn’t what she needs, so I swallow it all. I take her back to my apartment where she flops down on the couch, defeat all over her face. The light gone from her eyes.
Falling to my knees, I rest between her legs, my head in her lap and my arms around her waist. Her hands move into my hair.
I hate seeing her this way. Crying, upset, sad. When she is happy it makes me feel like everything in my life is perfect.
I’m falling in love with her.
She’d probably tell me I’m crazy. It’s only been a couple of weeks. But hell, when it’s right, it’s right. I feel like she’s a force of nature, like thunder.
I sit up and move in close to her face. Her eyes search mine, my heartbeat picks up. “I want to have sex with you in the bathtub.” I mutter close to her lips.
She smiles. “Sex is your answer for everything.”
“Is that a bad thing?”
She laughs. “No, it’s my answer for everything too.”
I touch her lips with mine. “This is why we are perfect for each other.”
She follows me to the bathroom where I start the water and add some soap for bubbles in the garden bathtub.
She leans on the counter watching me. “How did you ever find an apartment with a bathroom like this? It’s glorious.”
As the tub fills, I move to her, grasping the hem of her shirt. She gives me a crooked smile, lifting her arms so I can pull her t-shirt off. She returns the favor, tossing my shirt aside.
I run my fingers through her hair, her brown eyes soften. “I’m completely crazy about you.”
She bites her lip, running her hands over my chest. “Well, you’re half right.”
I laugh, she unbuckles my pants. My heart slams against my ribcage when her fingers brush my stomach. Leaning over, I kiss her. She responds with a slow eagerness that makes my blood rush in my ears. The feel of her tongue curling around mine as we finish stripping each other down is enough to make me forget my own name.
When we are laughing together and water is splashing out of the tub, I look up
into her eyes as she straddles my hips and I know that I love her. No doubt. No fear. I think I have since that moment in the coffee shop when she spilled her coffee on me. It’s why I was so heartbroken when she ran from me.
But we found each other again. When I’m with her and she’s touching me, looking at me like I’m the only thing she can see, I forget everything else.
“You belong to me.” She smiles down at me.
I grip her hips. “Every part of me, baby.” My words come out raspy as she shifts.
Good God, I love this woman.
***
I stare down at the address scrawled across the notepad sitting on my desk, telling myself that I need to stay away.
16841 Gates Creek.
I pocket my keys. I don’t need to go. I need to stay here and work on the other cases that I have piled on my desk. I need to return the list of phone calls from citizens asking for follow-up information on their cases.
I walk out the door leaving the files and messages behind. Slip my phone into my pocket and my sunglasses onto my head.
I’m going.
Of course, when I get to the address there is a big gate around the property. I pull up, hit the button on a box and a voice comes across asking me who I am.
“Detective Penrose, Katy Police.”
There is a silence, then the gate opens. I pull into a long paved driveway. Cypress trees line either side as I drive up, finally reaching the front of a huge house.
Business must be good.
When I get to the door, it opens before I can push the buzzer. I was expecting his help to answer the door, since people like this don’t seem to ever have the time to open their own front doors.
I’m greeted by the unsmiling face of Noah Burrell. His black eyes greet me with a smugness that makes me want to laugh in his face. Black hair and tanned skin making his yellow golf shirt pop.
“Detective.”
“I need to have a few words with you. Can I come inside?”
He steps aside. I step in. The house smells of antiseptic and looks unbelievably clean. Black and white floor clicks under my shoes, echoing in the big room. He leads me to a sitting area, everything is white. The couches, chairs, the shaggy carpet.
“Can I offer you something?”
He sits across from me, spreading his arms across the back of the loveseat. I meet his eyes.
I want to hurt him.
“No. I’m here to tell you that I know it was you that got into Emily’s house and destroyed it. I don’t know what you think you’re doing, but you need to stay away.”
Noah leans forward, clasping his hands. Elbows rested on his knees.
“Are you here to charge me with a crime?”
“No, I’m not here officially.”
He glares at me with hate in his freaky eyes. Who the hell has black eyes anyway? Are they real or is he trying to freak people out with some funky brand of contacts?
“Then I think you best watch what you say.”
“I’ll get to the bottom of this. Have no doubt. Back the hell off, Burrell.”
He smiles at me. It’s a cocky, fuck you of a smile. “You have no idea, Detective.”
“Then why don’t you enlighten me?”
He laughs, standing up and stepping closer to me as if he’s daring me to stand up. I rise slowly, we are eye to eye. I have to tell myself to breathe. Remind myself not to put my hands on him.
“I don’t owe you a thing. I don’t appreciate you coming here making accusations.”
I take a step. We are almost nose to nose. His breath smells like coffee.
“I’m telling you, if you fuck with her again, if you come near her, if you even fucking say her name I’ll come back and make you sorry that you ever did.”
His eyebrows go up, then he smiles. “I’ll remember that next time I speak with your Sergeant.”
“As long as you remember.”
We stare each other down for a moment before I turn and walk out the door. Time to go see Caroline now.
The drive downtown into Houston takes me forty minutes. I spend half of that talking on the phone to Emily, but I don’t tell her what I’m doing. I don’t know what she would say. I don’t want to be talked out of this.
Caroline is the manager of the Southeast Texas region of Noah’s company. The office is in a high rise downtown.
The ninth floor. I step off the elevator and into an office directly across the hall. A perky blonde sits behind a desk. Her eyes drift over me before she smiles and asks to help me.
“I need to see Caroline Brown.”
“Do you have an appointment?”
I pull out my badge. “Tell her Detective Penrose needs to see her.”
Her smile flickers, and she picks up the phone.
Fifteen minutes later I’m sitting in Caroline’s office with a cup of coffee is in my hand. Caroline eyes me, shifting and fidgeting just enough to tell me that she’s nervous.
A picture of her and her fiancé, my college buddy, sits on her desk.
“What’s up, Isaiah?”
“Emily told me that you came to see her the other day, that you two had an argument.”
She crosses her arms defensively. “I don’t see what that has to do with the police.”
“I don’t know how much you two have talked since your engagement party, but she and I are dating. And I think you might already know, but your boss is causing her some problems.”
She glances around the room, pick up a pen and starts to fiddle with it.
“Well I’m happy for you two. I still don’t-”
“Don’t lie to me. I know what happened. How much did he pay you?”
The color drains from her face.
“I don’t know what you mean.”
“You think I can’t find out? Let me tell you something, Caroline. Noah is stalking Emily. I think he is dangerous. I assume he must have given you a pretty, large chunk of money to get you to screw with her head like you did. Not to mention this job. I’m concerned for her safety.”
She blinks at me. “What? You think he would hurt her?”
“I don’t know what he’s capable of. Let me show you something.” I pull up the pictures I took of Emily’s house on my phone and lean on the desk.
Her mouth falls open, a soft sound like a squeak comes out of her as I flip through the pictures.
“Oh God. Did he do this?”
“I can’t prove it, but I suspect he did. Now, you look at this and tell me that we are dealing with a stable man. I want the truth, and I want it now. Tell me what happened.”
I put my phone back in my pocket, sitting back in the leather chair. She watches me, breathing funny for a moment.
“Am I in trouble?”
That figures. Let’s not worry about Emily, who’s dealing with a nut.
“Depends on what you did. Being a liar isn’t usually against the law.”
Our eyes meet across the desk. I see defiance for a moment in her face, then it melts into something else. Maybe self-preservation.
“Isaiah, I didn’t think he would go this far. If I knew he was like this I never would have...,” she pauses, taking a breath. “He came to me and offered me this job and a signing bonus if I would help him out and do what he said. I signed a non-disclosure agreement, I can’t tell you more or he will sue me.”
“If you don’t tell me something very bad might happen. I need you to be honest with me, Caroline. This is off the record, I’m not here in any official capacity.”
Tears brim in her eyes. I wonder absently if she is one of the dozens of women that I’ve come across that turn on the tears thinking that it will make me go easier on her. I’m so far past caring if she cries I could laugh in her face.
“He could take everything I have.”
“He could kill Emily.”
Her face pales once again.
“Caroline, what did he tell you? Did he give you any reason for what he asked you to do? I know what you did,
I just need to know why.”
She shakes her head. “No. He just told me that he would take care of me if I take care of him. He promised me that he didn’t mean any harm. He told me that he loves her.”
My heart stops beating. This is what I was afraid of but convinced myself that it would be something else. I lean forward, placing my elbows on her desk.
“How can he love her? He doesn’t even know her.” My voice is low, but somehow still harsh.
“They talk all the time. He sees her every day. I thought that maybe...,” she trails off, her voice breaking on a sob.
“There is something wrong with him, Caroline. How could you believe that making her think she was crazy would be anything other than hurtful to her? How could you give someone with that kind of messed up mind access to her? Did you let him into her house?”
She shakes her head. “No! No I swear. I gave him her phone number, that’s all. He never asked me to do that.”
“But you would have for the right price, am I right?”
She doesn’t answer me. I find it stunning that someone could do this to another human being for something as common and dirty as money. I shouldn’t be, I see it all the time. People kill, lie, betray for the almighty dollar every day. Most of the files sitting on my desk have a motive related to money in one shape or form.
“If anything happens to her, you are partly responsible. I hope you know that. I hope the money was worth it. And I really hope that he doesn’t come after you when all this is over.”
I stand up. She balks at me, unmoving as I head for the door.
“Isaiah, will you tell her that I’m sorry?”
I turn, my hand on the door knob. “No, I won’t. Because you’re not. If I find out that you are more involved than you are letting on, and anything happens to Emily, I won’t hesitate to charge you with a crime.”
I walk out the door, leaving her crying behind her desk.
***
Noah
“Tell me what you found out.” I stare across my desk at Able, my private investigator.
He tosses a file across my desk. “Not much really. I followed him and dug around all week long and didn’t come up with much.”
Crazy Love Page 8
