His shoulders relaxed and he nodded. “That’s a problem I can easily help resolve. We’ll head back to your place and get some clothes, then come back here. Does that sound okay?”
She nodded slowly. Hesitantly. “Fine. But…I really don’t think that there’s anything to worry about.”
“Fine,” he snapped, not arguing with her anymore. “Come back here simply because I want you here. And you want to be here too.”
She shrugged, not agreeing or disagreeing with him. “Clothes. I need clothes for work tomorrow.”
“We’ll get you more clothes.”
She started gathering up her other clothes, stuffing them into her duffle back. “You don’t need to do that.”
“I do. I need to…”
“Just leave everything here. You’re going to move in with me soon anyway, why not start by leaving clothes here now?”
She laughed and peered up at him over her shoulder. “You’re awfully confident, aren’t you?”
He walked over to her and took her hands, lifting her back to a standing position as he wrapped his arms around her, his hands resting on the small of her back. “Yeah. I’m pretty confident that you’re eventually going to marry me.”
She stilled, startled by his words.
“Does that scare you?” he asked softly, shifting so that he was leaning back against the dresser, pulling her between his legs.
“Yes,” Emily whispered, her eyes darting up to his, then quickly away.
“Why?”
She shrugged, looking at the base of his neck now. “Because it feels…” He waited, wondering what she was going to say. “Because it feels too right, Kurt. This feeling…it can’t last.”
The tension in his body evaporated with her words. She felt it too, he thought with a burst of triumph. But he tempered his triumph with tenderness. She was still wary and he had to respect that feeling. He might not agree, but that only meant that he’d have to prove that they could work.
“Why not?” he asked her gently, touched by her honesty when he knew she was scared out of her mind at the moment.
“Because…it can’t last.”
“Why can’t it last, honey?”
She leaned her cheek against his chest, snuggling up against him. He loved it when she did this. She was so warm and soft and he could feel her breasts against his chest, her heart pounding against his. It was the best feeling in the world!
“Because it’s just too good to be true, Kurt.”
He understood. Survivors of violent crimes tended to anticipate the worst because it had already happened. Getting their hopes up for a happily ever after was just…too dangerous in their minds. It was easier to live in the present and not hope.
“We’re going to talk about this later, okay?”
She sighed and he loved feeling her breath against his bare skin. “Okay,” she finally replied.
“But for right now, let’s get you some clean clothes. We’ll worry about the future later.”
He straightened, then took her hand in his, leading her out of his bedroom. On Friday night, he’d lifted her into his big truck because of her skirt, but over the past few days, she’d switched from skirts to either leggings or jeans. Although he missed lifting her up and taking care of her, he certainly loved watching her climb into his truck. The view from behind was…awesome! Emily had a great ass! She had a great everything, he thought when he winked at her as he closed the passenger side door, then walked around to the driver’s side.
Twenty minutes later, he pulled into the parking lot of her apartment complex, that sense of something being wrong intensifying. She reached for the door of his truck and he put a hand to her arm. “Hold on, Em,” he said, his eyes moving around, surveying the parking lot, the stairs, windows of the various apartments in the building. He looked across the street, trying to figure out what was bothering him so much but nothing seemed out of place. There wasn’t anything that he could point to and explain that it wasn’t right, but he just…the hairs on the back of his neck were standing on end and he’d learned to pay attention to that sensation.
“What is it?” she asked when he still didn’t say anything.
“I don’t know, Em. But over the years, I’ve learned to listen to this sensation. It’s saved my life more times than I can count.”
Emily leaned back in the passenger seat, her hand falling away from the door handle. He sensed her head moving as she searched for something out of place. Looking for something that was wrong.
Looking up, she peered up at her fifth floor window and her stomach muscles tightened with dread. “The curtains in my apartment just moved,” she whispered, her heart pounding as she realized that someone was in her home. Someone had invaded her home again!
“Are you sure?”
She stared up at the window, her eyes narrowing. “No. I’m not sure. But…I think I saw something move.” Emily tried to pull back, to relax. “It might have been my imagination.”
Kurt didn’t wait another second. He pulled his cell phone out of his holder and dialed nine-one-one. “This is Detective Kurt Anderson, Badge number Nine three zero two, requesting back up at this location,” and he rattled off her address. “Possible burglary in progress.”
Emily held her breath as they both waited for the dispatcher to respond.
“I’m so glad that you’re not running up the stairs and bursting in with guns drawn, Kurt,” she whispered, wanting to slide over the center console and curl up in his lap. She wanted his strong arms around her, something to reassure her that everything was going to be okay. But she kept her distance, understanding that he was doing his job now. He was focused, his mind intent on discovering what was going on.
He emitted a disgusted burst of air. “That only happens on television and in the movies,” he replied, his eyes still scanning the area. “Unless there is a danger to life or property, real police officers wait for backup.”
“Would you rush in to save me without backup?” she asked, then held her breath. “Forget I asked that.”
Kurt pulled his attention away from surveying the property and looked into her chocolate eyes. “In a heartbeat, honey,” he vowed.
A slow beat of heat hit her, then exploded inside of her chest at his words. “Thank you!” she whispered.
After that, he turned and started looking around again. In the distance, they both heard sirens approach. “Stay in my truck, okay?” he said, but stepped out before she responded, waving to the three squad cars that peeled into the parking lot, stopping at an angle. The officers stepped out of their patrol cars, lights flashing as they approached Kurt. He explained the situation to all three officers and they nodded curtly, then dispersed, each of them moving off in a different direction, all of them attuned to…something. Anything.
Kurt and another officer climbed the stairs to her apartment but they disappeared around the corner. Emily held her breath, watching and waiting. Nothing happened. She wanted to jump out and rush over to him, to find out what was going on. But instead, she stayed put, remembering his comment about how stupid things were on television and in the movies. How many times had she been watching a show and the woman got out of the safety of the vehicle or her home in search of her lover, only to throw herself right into danger? Too many times, she told herself.
But sitting here in his truck, watching and waiting, she finally understood why the women had gone after the men. Because not knowing was driving her crazy!
Finally, Emily watched as Kurt came back into her line of sight. He looked grim and angry, but he was walking upright and didn’t appear hurt. Emily once again reached for the handle of the door, but that’s when the other officer came out, with another man in handcuffs!
“What in the world?!” she gasped. Still, she remained in the truck, but when he looked over at her, she jumped out, needing to know what had happened.
Kurt looked at her as she rushed towards him, catching her in his arms before she could go any further.
“You don’t want to go in there, honey,” he warned.
“What did he do?” she asked, trembling with the realization that someone had been in her home. Someone had been waiting for her? Seriously?
She turned and looked at the man in cuffs, glaring at him as the other officer led him to the back of a police cruiser. He was under six feet tall with dark hair, wearing a tee-shirt and a wrinkled button down shirt over it and a pair of jeans. The sneakers looked worn and tattered and he had a run-down appearance.
“Emily, he…” he was talking to air as she rushed over to the man.
“What did you do?” she yelled at the man, getting close enough to want to kick him. She felt so violated, so furious, that she probably would have done harm to him if she could have reached him. But a steel arm wrapped around her stomach, pulling her back before she could do anything.
Unfortunately, Kurt didn’t pull her away fast enough. She still got a whiff of his body odor. For a long moment, Emily stood there, watching as the police officer led the man over to the police cruiser, locking him into the back of the vehicle. The whole time, the guy watched her with a smirk on his face, his eyes mocking her.
The smell. Emily remembered that smell!
Turning around, she stared up at Kurt, placing a hand over her mouth.
“What is it?” he demanded, instantly knowing that something was wrong. “Em, what’s wrong?”
Pushing against his chest, she raced over to the bushes and…threw up. Bending over, she couldn’t stop the retching as the horror of that scent hit her. Memories of that afternoon, the pain, the humiliation, the pounding against her that never seemed to stop. She hadn’t seen the man’s face as he raped her, smacking her up against the tile wall and ripping her clothes…but she’d smelled him. Emily had tried hard to get that smell out of her nose but for days afterwards, she could still smell the man’s body odor. She’d scrubbed her skin, sobbing when she couldn’t get the scent out of her clothes or her skin or her hair. It had been everywhere, surrounding her and making her gag.
Now that scent was back! After several heaves, there was nothing left in her stomach. Kurt was there, holding her hair back. “Get her some water!” he called out and a moment later, a bottle of water was in her line of vision.
“Not yet!” she gasped and bent over, her stomach heaving once more. But this time, there wasn’t anything left in her stomach to throw up. It was just dry heaves that tortured her.
Taking deep breaths, she tried hard to steady herself. It was hard, but she needed to tell Kurt. Needed to let him know that…that…the man who had been in her apartment…
Her stomach heaved again as the fear of what might have happened hit her once more.
“I’m going to call an ambulance, Em,” Kurt warned.
She grabbed his arm, stopping him from leaving her. “No. Please. Just…stay here with me.”
Thankfully, her hair was pulled back into a band, but Kurt’s strong arms held her steady. When she thought that the heaving was over, she turned and sat down on the curb. But that wasn’t good enough for Kurt. He lifted her into his arms and carried her further away from the smell. A bench was further away and he sat down, holding her on his lap.
“What’s going on, Em?” he asked, his strong arms holding her close.
“It’s him,” she said, the tears rolling down her cheeks as the shivering started. “I think that’s the man who raped me.”
Kurt had been rubbing her back, but with her words, his hand froze. His whole body froze. There was a long silence as her words sunk into his brain. “Talk to me.”
“His body odor,” she told him, her voice a monotone as she thought back to that night. Curling into Kurt, she pressed her face against his neck and his arms tightened around her. “It was the smell,” she explained, sobbing slightly. “I couldn’t see his face because he attacked me from behind. He tore at my close and…hurt me. But I never saw his face. But I could smell him, Kurt! I could smell him and that man smells the same!”
Kurt pulled her closer, his mind working through all of the details. He and the other officer had gone into Emily’s apartment. There had been fresh scrapes on the door and frame where someone had jimmied the lock so his instincts had been right. His instincts had come through one more time. As soon as he and the uniformed officer had stepped in, weapons drawn, Kurt had seen the man. He’d been slicing up her clothes! Damn it, her entire wardrobe had been sliced to shreds! Her dishes were shattered again and the man had written “Mine” on the walls in red paint.
So Emily saying that the man in custody had also been her rapist all those years ago…it made sense! He’d somehow found one of his victims and came back to haunt her! Damn, he wanted to kill the bastard with his bare hands.
“Em, was a rape kit done on you at the hospital?”
“Yes,” she replied, wiping her eyes again. “Yes, but there were no matches in the system.” She pulled away and his heart ached at the tears staining her cheeks. “Can you get a court order to obtain his DNA? I’m sure that it will match, Kurt! I know that’s the man!”
“Yes,” he replied, trying to soothe her, but who was going to soothe him? He felt murderous! “I’ll have someone pull that file and we’ll get a DNA test done immediately. If it’s a match, then we’re gonna nail him!”
Emily listened to Kurt and was stunned. Then she threw her arms around his neck, hugging him tightly. “Thank you!” she whispered, closing her eyes. His arms wrapped around her as well and she clung to him.
“For what, Em?” he asked, rocking her slightly.
“For believing me,” she replied, and let out a soft cry, but she wasn’t sure if it was a sob of happiness, relief or…sadness that she would have to remember all of it again. Probably all of the above, but she didn’t care.
Epilogue
“Daniel Mitchell,” the judge called out.
Emily’s fingers tightened on Kurt’s as her rapist stood up in court next to his lawyer. There were six other women, some with families, some alone, all of them waiting with trembling anticipation as the judge looked down at the piece of paper with ruling by the jury. The judge handed the paper back to the bailiff who brought it to the foreperson on the jury.
There was absolute silence as the entire courtroom waited. The judge straightened his glasses on his nose. He shuffled some papers on his desk. He then looked at the jury. “How do you rule on the first count of aggravated rape?” the judge asked.
The jury forewoman looked down at the paper in her hands, then at the man standing, awaiting the verdict. “On the first count of aggravated rape, the jury finds the defendant…” there was a long pause and Emily’s fingers tightened again, her whole body tensing with anticipation. “Guilty,” the forewoman said.
There was a long spill of emotions as all the women in the courtroom sighed with relief. That was the charge for Emily and she covered her mouth as another sob burst out. Kurt pulled here closer, hugging her and the overhead lights flashed off of the diamond ring on her finger.
Vaguely, Emily heard another “Guilty.” And another. Daniel Mitchell was convicted of all six counts of aggravated rape. All of the other survivors in the courtroom that day were awarded a small bit of justice. There was no relief though. This man had raped each of these women with a violence that had devastated their lives. Most likely, there were other women who had suffered at this man’s hands, but they hadn’t come forward. Perhaps they would in the future. Perhaps not.
Emily leaned her head against Kurt’s shoulder, sending up a silent prayer to a God that she hadn’t believed in for so long. She’d lost faith in God at sixteen. But God had put Kurt Anderson in her life and finally, she was healing. It had been ten years, and she’d lost faith. But she believed now. Not just in God, but in the police. In the justice system. In life!
“You okay?” Kurt asked.
Emily looked up into his eyes. “Yes. I’m more than okay,” she told him and smiled through the tears. “I love you.”
> “I love you too,” he told her, and ignoring protocol, he pulled her up and almost carried her out of the courtroom. When they were finally alone, he pulled her into his arms and kissed her. “I love you and I hope…”
She stopped him because she knew what he was going to say. He wanted to protect her from what had happened to her so long ago. From the pain she still felt every once in a while. “I love you,” she whispered again.
He stopped, looking down at her. A moment later, he pulled her into his arms, kissing her until she melted against him. “Damn, woman!”
She laughed, feeling free! “I love you too,” she whispered again. “Take me home, Kurt.”
And he did!
Excerpt from Tangled Hearts
Release Date: December 25, 2019
Tangled Hearts is a stand-alone story that I wrote for a woman opening her own bookstore. Just as a funny side note, my mother asked me to include the cat, “Tip”, who sleeps in a flower pot. She’d stepped into a bookstore near her house and saw a cat sleeping in the sunshine, completely smothering the plant underneath him. I loved the idea, so I incorporated the idea in this story. The other cat’s personality, “Hermi” was created by a reader I converse with online (Thanks LH!). It’s not exactly as she’d suggested, but I hope I didn’t let her down with Hermi’s antics.
As always, thank you for reading my stories. I write for you, the reader, and hope that my words meet your expectations. If I ever fall short, please don’t hesitate to send me a note at [email protected] and let me know. (If I’m in my writing “cave”, I might not get back to you immediately, but I love hearing from readers!)
And now…for the excerpt!
Get “Tangled Hearts” Here!
Olivia breathed in the intoxicating scent of dust, books, and wood. Was there anything better than a good book? Nothing! Not alcohol, sex, or anything else could transport a person from one’s problems like a book could.
Endearing Seduction (The Diamond Club Book 12) Page 8
