“You’re right. We shouldn’t. I guess I’m just impatient.”
He gave her a smile, one he hoped would convey his love for her. “It’s okay. I know you just want to know you’re not going to get hurt, and you won’t. I wouldn’t do that to you, Carly. I can make you one promise: We’ll work it out somehow. I’m not sure how, but we’ll do it. I have faith in us.”
“So,” she asked, her eyes sad, “are we okay?”
“If you are. It wasn’t me who told you to leave me alone. I don’t want to push you, Carly, but I didn’t want to leave. I was just trying to do what you asked.”
“I didn’t want you to leave. I thought you’d be in the living room when I came out of the bedroom, but you were gone. When I went back home a little while ago and so much of your stuff was gone, I panicked.”
“No need. I’m right here. Do you think maybe you need a little break from me?”
Fresh tears sprang to her eyes and she started to cry all over again. “I don’t need a break from you! I need you beside me! Please don’t think that! Oh, I’ve fucked everything up! I’m so sorry!” Then she planted her face on her knees, wrapped her arms around her thighs, and wailed.
Ross scooted down beside her, pulled her up against him, and let her cry. She was a wreck. Too much had happened to her in too short a time, and she wasn’t coping well. Worse yet, she was on the clock and she couldn’t just sit there, but he couldn’t tell her to get going, not in that shape. “Babe? Hey, Carly? Honey? Listen to me. You’re supposed to be at work. You’re going to have to pull yourself together. Everything’s all right between us. I’ll get my stuff together and go back to your house, okay? Just calm down, babe. It’s all right.”
“I don’t want to go back to work. I want to stay here with you,” she said between sobs.
“I know. I’ll be there when you get home this evening, okay? Go throw some water on your face. It’s all okay.”
Twenty minutes later, he had her out the door. The last thing she needed was to get in trouble with Anderson because she wasn’t doing her job. He certainly didn’t want that heaped on her. After she left, he gathered everything up so he could head back to her house.
Their first fight was over, and everything was okay. After leaving a brief note for Michael, he drove back to Carly’s, let himself in, and put his things away. Then he stretched out across the bed and fell asleep.
Chapter 12
Ross roused a little and forced one eye open. It had grown dark outside and there were no lights on in the house. Lights from the street glimmered through the blinds, the curtains still open to the darkness. He stretched just a little and rolled to his other side, wondering what time it was and how much longer it would be before Carly got home. There were some dishes in the sink that needed to be put in the dishwasher and at least one load of laundry in the washer that needed to be dried, but that was no big deal. He closed his eyes again as he decided he’d do it all in a little while.
And then he heard it. He lay there, silent and still, as he listened intently. Sure enough, he heard it again. Someone was in the house. He had a handgun, but it was in his bag, and the bag was still on the sofa in the living room. As he thought about the room where he’d been sleeping, he tried to remember if there was anything he could use as a weapon. He didn’t remember anything like a ball bat or any other stick-like thing. Small chair? No. Nothing like that. There were plenty of books, but he needed a large one, like an encyclopedia volume, and all the books were smaller. A glance upward told him it would be too difficult and noisy to grab the curtain rod, so that was out. What could he use? Going through the closet would make too much noise too. He rolled in silence and dropped to the floor behind the bed, wondering how he could get out of the bedroom and into a part of the house where he could see whoever it was.
In an instant, that changed when the bedroom door opened, and Ross tried to catch a glimpse of whoever was on the other side of the room without being detected. A beam of light swept across the back wall, and he ducked so he wouldn’t be seen. Noises in the area of the closet told him the intruder had come looking for something, and he wondered what it was. There were sounds of papers rustling and boxes being moved, and then a ripping sound.
Ross looked around himself. Nothing. There wasn’t a single thing he could use as a weapon, and he had no idea if the person in the room was armed, so he waited. In no time at all, the sounds of boxes being moved returned, and whoever it was strode out of the room. When he heard the front door click, Ross leaped up and ran straight to it.
By the time he got there, no one was in view through the small glass in the door. Moving quickly around the house, he closed every blind and curtain, then started turning on lights. If the intruder was still somewhere in view of the house, they’d know someone had been there while they were inside, and that was exactly what he wanted.
With the house secured and lights on, he went back to the bedroom and opened the closet doors. Nothing seemed amiss, but that couldn’t be right. And what had that ripping sound been? There was no paper strewn around and no fibers on the floor. He moved a couple of boxes, not sure why they’d needed to be moved. He’d just about given up when he noticed something.
A piece of tape stuck out from the wall, and Ross checked it. Sure enough, there was more than one piece—there were several, and they all seemed to be holding something to the wall. He peeled at the other pieces of the tape, and pretty soon, they were all loose. As soon as he gave it a little yank, a piece of wallboard about the size of a greeting card fell out.
Ross felt around inside it. It was just a small cavity, but a lot of things could’ve been hidden in there. He wondered what it could’ve been, but he didn’t wonder who had been in that bedroom. Eric. There was no one else it could’ve been.
He had no intention of telling Carly what had happened, but he’d be telling Agent Livingston and Ranger Chambers. All he could do was wait for them to contact him, and he hoped it was soon. Eric was up to something, of that he was certain. But what?
Ross rinsed everything in the sink, then put it all in the dishwasher. In a few minutes, he’d started the dryer, and the towels that had been in it were folded and put away. Rummaging through the refrigerator, he found a frozen pizza in the freezer compartment, and that would be good enough to eat when Carly got home. He’d just settled down to watch a little TV when his phone rang. “Hey, babe.”
“Hi. I just had a second and I wanted to tell you I love you.”
He smiled. “I love you too, babe.”
“Do you want me to bring you anything when I come home?”
“Just your cute, sexy little self.”
She giggled. “Awww. Thank you. I love you, Ross, and I’m really, really sorry about earlier.”
“Babe, I told you before, it’s okay. Everything’s fine. I wasn’t trying to leave you. I was trying to do what you asked.”
“I know. Hey, I wanted to ask, has Eric been over there tonight?”
How did she know? What the hell was he supposed to say to that? “I haven’t talked to him.” Well, that wasn’t a lie. He hadn’t. And he didn’t know positively that it had been Eric. Pretty sure, but not positively. “Why would you ask?”
“I drove by earlier and the house was dark.”
“Yeah. I fell asleep.” Where was she going with her question?
“I could’ve sworn that was him leaving my neighborhood, and the only reason he would’ve had to be there was if he’d come to the house.”
“He didn’t knock on the door.” That too was no lie, but he was sure the intruder had been Eric. That was no coincidence.
“Weird. I can’t imagine that he would’ve come over there and not tried to start some trouble of some sort.”
“Does he have a key to the house?”
“No. He didn’t live there. I got the house after we broke up.”
So how had he gotten in? That was a question Ross couldn’t answer, but he’d sure as hell be looking at th
e knob and lock as soon as they hung up. “Oh. Well, I just wondered if he could’ve come in without me knowing it.”
She let out a nervous little laugh. “The only way he could’ve done that was to break in.”
“Would he have done that?”
“I don’t know why. There’s nothing there that he’d want, except to make trouble, and you didn’t hear from him, so that wasn’t it.”
“True.” Ross’s mind went in twenty different directions. He’d come for something specific, and whatever it was, it had been hidden in the wall of that closet.
“If you can’t think of anything we need …”
We. He loved that word. “No, babe. Can’t think of a thing. Just you with me. That’s all I really want.”
“It’s all I really want too. I’ll be home in a bit. Bye, baby.”
“Bye, sweetie.” He held the phone after they’d ended the call and tried to quiet his thoughts. Damn Eric. The next afternoon, that asshole was going to get a big surprise, courtesy of Ross McEvers, and he wasn’t going to like it a bit.
She carried the scent of lavender and lemongrass when she came to bed after her shower, and when he looked up from between her thighs, she was the most beautiful thing Ross had ever seen. It had never occurred to him how amazingly sensual a woman’s breasts looked from beneath, and yet they did, heaving and shaking as he lapped at her. When he was buried inside her ten minutes later, he was overwhelmed with the aroma of her shampoo, her soap, and her arousal. Deep, slow strokes made her groan, but fast ones made her cry out. He loved both. The concept of having too much of her didn’t exist. There’d never be enough if they lived together for a hundred years.
He stopped abruptly. He knew what he wanted. “Come on. Up you go. Elbows and knees, baby. Yeah, just like that,” he said with a smile and slapped her ass as he moved up behind her. The minute he took the first stroke in, she let out a loud cry. “Uh-huh. That’s it, babe. Ummm. Oh, girl, you look so fucking amazing.”
Her hands crept outward and she clutched the sheets. That was a sight that only made Ross harder than ever. “Oh, god, babe. Uhhh, yeah. Oh, Ross, fuck me, baby. Feels so good. Mmmm.”
Her spine. Her shoulder blades. The curve at the bottom of her ribcage. The tapering of her waist that flared at the top of those voluptuous hips. Her body was like a masterpiece by one of the old masters, a work of art, finer than Rodin’s sculptures and Raphael’s paintings. Watching his cock disappear inside her made him feel powerful, whole, and wholly masculine. To fuck a woman like her once in a lifetime was a privilege, but every night for the rest of his life, an answered prayer. Making love with her made him feel complete. “You okay, babe?” he asked as he powered into her over and over.
“Oh, Jesus, Ross, yeah. Better than okay. You’re amazing. I want it, babe, I want it soooo bad. Please? Please, Ross, give it to me?”
Maybe ten more thrusts. That was all he thought he had left, but he managed twelve before he lost his resolve and his release filled her as her channel pulsed around him. He hadn’t asked her about condoms in the beginning. He hadn’t felt the need. Apparently she hadn’t either. There’d been this unspoken understanding between them, one that said it had been a long time since they’d been with anyone else and it would be a long time until they were with anyone else—very likely never. He wasn’t interested in anyone else, not their smile, not their laugh, not their mind nor their body. Carly. She was the only one who’d slake the thirst that started low in his belly and filled his body with need.
He fell to the mattress, then pulled her into him, her back to his chest. As soon as his arms locked around her, her hands closed over his and she sighed. That was all he really wanted—her satisfied and relaxed. His lips found the base of her neck and he planted a little kiss there just to hear her purr. “Good, baby?”
“So good, babe. So, so good. I’ve always liked sex, but god, you turn it into an art form.”
“So I’m a raging sex god, huh?” he asked and snorted.
“Actually, yeah—you are. It’s pretty damn amazing. If anything ever happened to you, anybody after you would be a huge disappointment, I’m positive.”
“What’s going to happen to me?” he asked in pure sarcasm.
“Oh, I dunno. Maybe you die from too much sex?”
Ross burst out laughing. “I love you, crazy girl! Nobody’s ever made me laugh the way you do.”
“Then my work here is done,” she said through her own laughter and turned her head just enough so he could see she was looking at him from the corner of her eye. “I’ve been thinking about this morning.”
“What do you mean?”
“About what we were talking about.”
“You shouldn’t be thinking about that. Just think about tonight, and then in the morning, think about the morning, and don’t think about the afternoon until the afternoon, Carly. Don’t think too far ahead. Just enjoy it and let us bond, okay? That’ll tell us what we need to do.”
“I get it. I do. But I know this. I’ll do whatever I have to, but I’m not willing to lose you either. I can’t. If I do, that’s it for me. I’m not interested in ever looking for anyone else. You’re it for me, Ross.”
“Don’t say that. Something really could happen to me, an accident or something, and I’d want you to go on and be happy.”
“I can’t be happy without you. I won’t be happy without you. We’ll make this work somehow, okay? Promise me?”
He hugged her tighter and kissed her shoulder. “I promise you that we’ll make it work somehow.”
“That’s all I need to know.” With that, she snuggled back into him and sighed. Ross lifted a hand and stroked her hair, knowing she’d be asleep in just minutes. He would be too. But for that little slice of time, it was just him, her, and the sparkly, glittering thing they were growing between them in the darkened bedroom. He knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that it would be bright enough to light the way for the rest of their lives.
He had to wait until Carly left for work the next day. Every minute he hadn’t been beside her, he’d thought about how he wanted to approach it, and he’d formulated his plan.
So when he strode into the county attorney’s office, he was primed and ready. He’d rehearsed it a dozen times, every way it could go, and he knew he had it locked in. “May I help you?” the young woman at the front counter asked.
“Yes. I need to speak to the county attorney.”
“Is he expecting you?”
Ross gave her the sweetest, most innocent smile he could muster. “Oh, I have to believe he is.”
“Uh, okay. Just a minute. What’s your name?”
“Nightmare. Ross Nightmare.”
She gave him a look that told him she thought he was nuts. You just go on thinking that, sweetheart, he wanted to say as she disappeared into the back. When she came back, Eric was right behind her.
“Well, hello there, Mr. Cross!”
His brow wrinkled as though he didn’t know who Ross was. “And you are …”
“You don’t recognize me? I’m the guy who was watching you last night when you broke into your ex-wife’s house.”
Oh, yeah. Eric hadn’t expected that, he could tell. “Would you like to step back here into my office to discuss your ridiculous, outlandish claim?”
“Nope. Just wanted to show you that I found your hidey hole. I don’t know what you had in there, but I have every intention of finding out. So in case you decide you want to do that again …” Ross pointed to his own eyes with the index and middle fingers of one hand, then toward Eric. “I’m not blind, Cross, and I’m not stupid either. Don’t come back in that house. Next time, I’ll take a picture of you there and we’ll see what law enforcement has to say about that.”
“Mr. Cross, do you want me to call the sheriff?” the young woman asked.
“No, Destiny. I’ll take care of this. Mr., uh, what did you say your name is?”
“Ross Nightmare. Because I’ll be your biggest one.”
“Let’s just step outside, Mr. Nightmare, and finish this discussion.” Eric led the way and Ross followed. Just as they cleared the doorway, Eric grabbed Ross and threw him up against the outside wall, then leaned into his face, glaring the whole time. “You have no idea who you’re dealing with, McEvers.”
Ross’s voice was measured and even, but it was packed with venom. “You’re right. I don’t. Nobody does, I suspect. But that’s okay. We’ll all know soon enough who you really are. So watch your back, Cross, or whatever your name is. We’re coming for you. If I were you, I’d get the hell out of town. Now. And don’t come back.”
“You don’t scare me, asshole, but you should be scared of me,” Eric spat.
“I’m not scared of anybody, least of all you. If you ever bother Carly again and I find out, god help you.”
Eric backed up and grinned. “Oh, yeah. Right. Watch your back, McEvers.” Without another word, he shot back through the office door and disappeared.
Ross was pretty damn happy. Eric knew he wasn’t in hiding anymore. Now the waiting would start. He really expected the next person he saw would be Charles Anderson.
No disappointment there. By the time he got back to Carly’s house, the sheriff’s car was sitting out front. Ross just pulled up in the drive, got out, and meandered toward the house. He was almost to the porch steps when he heard Anderson say, “Mr. McEvers? A word?”
“Yes, sheriff?” Ross answered in his best innocent voice.
“I just got a call from the county attorney. He said you were there harassing him?”
Ross walked straight up to Anderson. He didn’t invade the man’s personal space, but he was plenty close enough. “He was in this house last night.”
Fighting For Carly Page 13
