Chapter Fifteen
Fifteen minutes later, bouquet of flowers in hand, Kat walked up to the third floor, stopping dead in her tracks when she saw the uniformed officer sitting outside Jessica’s room. She waited a bit, debating whether she’d be able to gain access, finally deciding it was worth a shot.
“Investigator Collins,” the officer greeted, negating Kat having to introduce herself.
Again, Kat didn’t correct him. She was becoming exceedingly grateful for Emma’s story. Part of it anyway. Because if hadn’t been for Emma airing her entire life, it would have made investigating this case a hell of a lot more difficult.
“Officer—”
“Chapman,” he supplied before Kat could read his nametag. “Ms. Adams’ is awake if you’d like to go in.”
“Thank you.” She gave him an easy smile as she walked into Jessica Adam’s room.
Jessica was awake, eyeing Kat suspiciously, or trying to, until she seemed to recognize her. Her left eye was swollen shut, her right eye barely a slit. It was painful to look at her. “Glad to see you’re awake, Ms. Adams,” Kat said, at a loss for words. “I’m Katherine Collins. You up for answering a few questions?”
“You were the one on the news.”
“I was,” she confirmed before changing the subject. “You have a restraining order against your husband?”
Pain filled Jessica’s face as she reached for the water on her tray. Bruises wrapped around her throat and Kat could see the individual finger marks. “A lot of good that did. Has he been found yet?”
“Not that I’ve heard,” Kat evaded. “But the police are doing everything they can.”
“Yeah, well. I hope when they catch the bastard, they’ll finally throw his ass in jail and keep him there.”
“You think the restraining order set him off?”
“I assume so. I never saw him, never talked to him,” Jessica’s voice was scratchy and hoarse.
“You didn’t?” Kat repeated.
“No,” she croaked, pausing to take a sip of water. “I was folding laundry. He attacked me from behind.”
“Are you sure it was him?”
“Who else would it be?” If Jessica’s eyes could have widened in surprise, they probably would have.
“This may seem a little off-subject, but did Emma Anderson recently contact you?”
“Who?”
“Emma Anderson, the news reporter from Channel 6.”
“No. Why would a reporter contact me? And what does this have to do with Jeff nearly killing me?”
Was her body suddenly tense? From something other than pain? “We’re not sure.” Kat debated how much to reveal. Enough to get her to talk, yet without giving anything away. “Do you remember Karen Jones?”
“Karen?” Jessica breathed in deep before letting it out slowly. “Now there’s a name I haven’t heard in a while.”
“You remember her?”
“Of course I do. It was such a tragedy. Karen and Greg truly loved each other.”
“They broke up, didn’t they? Before they were married?”
“Yeah. During Christmas break, from what I gather.”
“Do you have any idea why?”
“No. It surprised all of us at the time.”
“What about before the semester ended? Is there anything that stands out? And problems?”
Jessica seemed to think about that for a moment, her eyes taking on that distant stare as she considered the past. “No,” she said slowly, shaking her head slightly, probably as much as her injuries would allow. “Nothing out of the norm. We were busy studying, Karen especially. I did manage to convince her to hit a party or two, but other than that, she pretty much had her nose in a book.”
Kat’s heart picked up a few beats. “Could she have met somebody else at one of the parties?”
“Karen? God no. She was devoted to Greg.”
But the awful truth was Karen had cheated on Greg. So much for that devotion…
“What about Greg?”
“Greg was the same. Studying constantly. His mother would have killed him—” Jessica’s lips twitched in an attempt to smile. “Poor choice of words. His mother would have been on his case if he didn’t bring home a 4.0.”
“So what happened the following semester?”
“Karen was miserable. But Greg, he was beside himself. He kept coming to us, begging us to help him get her back. Eventually, Karen agreed to see him again, I think because of all our constant urging. A month later they were married. It was enough to make your head spin. But then it all made sense when Karen finally confided she was pregnant.”
“Did she seem happy?”
“Happy? I don’t know if I’d say happy. More like resigned, maybe. They were different, their relationship was different, I mean. As if all the fun of being a young couple had been ripped from their relationship and now they were suddenly expected to make adult decisions. They were still in love, you could still see that between them, but...they were just different. It’s hard to explain.”
“I heard you played matchmaker.”
Jessica tried to smile again, but settled for a nod. “Greg and I only gone on a couple dates and I was desperately trying to figure out how to break it off without hurting him. He was a little too nice for me. At least back then. Now I’d welcome the chance for nice.
“Anyway, one of my classes ran late and when I walked into the dorm, they were laughing over left-over pizza. The rest is history, as they say.”
Kat asked the same question she’d been asking everyone, even though she already knew the answer. “Do you think Greg killed her?”
“No way,” Jessica said, giving her head a slight shake. “Greg loved her, and she loved Greg. My money was always on the mother.”
Kat stayed another five or ten minutes, but didn’t learning anything new. She made her escape when another visitor knocked on the door. Kat turned to see an explosion of balloon and flowers and a glint of gold. Kat said her goodbyes, leaving her number on Jessica’s side table, asking her to call if she thought of anything else.
Everything seemed to be pointing toward Greg’s mother. Which meant Kat should take the file from the private investigator with a grain of salt. Because Anne Radcliffe could have pulled out anything that may have incriminated herself or her son. And what about the DNA report? Anne could have lied, possibly to be relieved of any responsibility toward the baby. And Kat didn’t have a clue on how she’d go about verifying the report’s authenticity.
Outside, the heat and humidity smacked her in the face as soon as she stepped through the hospital doors, made worse from the asphalt parking lot where she could see the heat rising from the surface. The sun so bright, it blinded her. Reaching in her bag, she pulled out her sunglasses, spots dancing in front of her eyes.
Which is how she missed him.
Kat stopped short. Stephen leaned against Ethan’s car, the sun glinting off his black hair. The sight of him sucked the air from her lungs the heat hadn’t already stolen. He’d taken off his suit jacket and rolled up the sleeves of his white shirt in deference to the cloying humidity, which only seemed to accentuate the powerful aura surrounding him.
The sun melted everything between them, leaving only blistering heat, burning it brighter, stoking the fire as the rest of the world disappeared. It was like seeing him for the first time again, this effect he had on her despite everything they’d been through. Desire, hot and instant, slammed into her, so powerful it knocked her back a few paces.
The barely discernable shake of his head and oh-so-sexy smile had her pausing mid-step before moving forward instead of back. Like her own, Stephen’s expression was hidden behind sunglasses, but it didn’t matter.
Because she knew.
Knew without a doubt that same fierce need she was feeling would be mirrored in his. Could see the overwhelming desire his body wasn’t capable of hiding, could feel the burn on her body as if it were his hands. And once she started taking those first steps toward him, she couldn’t stop. Didn’t want to stop. Not when every instinct urged her to run toward him.
She was reduced to a quivering mess and he hadn’t even touched her. Something he was so very good at, she remembered. By the time she’d closed the short distance separating them, she was imagining him naked, could nearly feel the heat from his body as he moved over her, under her. Could feel his hands gripping her waist, powerfully controlling her movements, slamming her body down on his as he thrust up until she was screaming his name, bringing pleasure she’d never imagined.
“Where’s the tracking device?” she whispered, finding it impossible to hide the need in her voice.
“Strip,” he growled, his demanding tone low and sexy, igniting that fire even higher. “And I’ll show you exactly where I planted it.”
She laughed, a low and throaty sound she couldn’t believe came from her. Stephen groaned, pulling her into his body, sliding his hand down her arm.
And stole the keys from her hand.
***
“Get in,” Stephen ordered, opening the passenger door. “I’ll drive.”
“You set me up!”
He ignored her, pushing her into the car and shutting the door before climbing into the driver’s side.
“Did you not wonder why it was so easy to get into Jessica Adams’ room?” he asked as he backed out of the spot.
Kat groaned and Stephen couldn’t help but laugh. “The officer on duty? He was already warned you’d be coming. Called as soon as he saw you.”
Kat huffed out a breath and glared in his direction. “I take it you’ve talked to Alex.”
“I have.” If a two-minute conversation counted as talking. “And you, baby girl, are in a shitload of trouble.”
“Oooh, I’m scared.”
“You should be,” Stephen laughed again, giving her a wicked smile as he pulled out of the parking lot, before sobering so she would know he was serious. “I won’t fight with you about this, so I’m only going to say it once. Do not go off on your own again, okay? And whatever your fascination is with Jessica Adams? Let it go.”
Not what he’d been planning on saying. But it was a discussion they needed to have. Because when Alex had given him the rundown on Kat’s whereabouts yesterday? A cold, paralyzing fear had nearly consumed him. And now, knowing she’d ignored every threat Alex had issued? He wanted to shake some sense into her. Or better yet, wrap her in his arms and never let go.
“And?” she huffed.
“And what?”
“Any other demands?”
Stephen glanced over when he reached the stop sign and took off his glasses so she could watch his eyes slide over every inch of her body, waited until she started squirming in her seat. “An entire list of them.”
Kat laughed, the seductive sound going through him. “And if I don’t comply?”
“Trust me,” he said, keeping his tone as light as hers. “You won’t like the consequences.”
“Is that a threat?”
“It’s a promise.” How easy it was sliding back into this with her.
“Of what, exactly?” she scoffed. “Kidnapping me? Tying me to your bed?”
Stephen smiled, a wolfish grin that let her see everything he wanted to do to her. “You know, sweetheart, that’s the second time you’ve mentioned that. A fantasy, perhaps?”
He heard her gasp, that quick intake of breath. “No.”
“No?” he laughed. “You wouldn’t be lying to me again, would you? Because I think you’d love nothing more than being tied to my bed, having me ravish your body, feeling my hands and mouth all over that soft hot flesh of yours, touching and kissing you everywhere, powerless to stop me.”
She laughed, a mocking laugh he didn’t buy for a second. He knew better, could see the awareness, see her squirming in her seat. “I meant, no, I never mentioned it before. That was you.”
“Was it?” He shrugged. “A fantasy of mine then, I guess.” He looked at the road again, encouraged by the flush of her face. “But don’t go on as if you don’t like the idea, because I can see that you do. What else?”
“What else, what?”
“Another fantasy of yours.”
“That one was yours,” she repeated. “I don’t have one.”
“Again with the lies,” he admonished. “You must have at least one. You forget how well I know you, Kat, pretending you’re all sweet and innocent.”
“I was sweet and innocent.”
“Innocent maybe, but certainly never sweet.” He laughed again when she gaped at him, loving their sparring, feeling lighter than he had in weeks, even as everything else crashed around him.
But Alex was alive. Safe. And Kat was back in his life. Everything else, he’d handle. Hopefully.
“That’s on you. You’re the one who corrupted me.”
“Not in all the ways I wanted to,” Stephen laughed, Kat’s answering smile warming him more than anything else could have. “Yet.”
“You’re such an ass.”
“So you’ve mentioned. Doesn’t make you any less crazy about me, does it?”
“More like you make me crazy.”
Which was good enough for him, at least right now because that said so much, didn’t it? And the need written all over her, the way she couldn’t take her eyes off him? Perfect.
Their light mood abruptly shifted when he pulled onto his street. Like yesterday, news vans were lined up in his driveway, despite the fact he hadn’t stepped foot inside the house. Today, the reporters were joined by more picketers, demanding his job. He looked over at Kat, saw the tension replacing the brevity of moments ago. Damn, he hadn’t wanted her to see that.
Inside her bag, Kat’s phone rang. Stephen tamped down his irritation. No doubt it would be Ethan and he couldn’t help but wonder if Ethan was still tracking her. He forced the tension from his body, desperately trying to hang onto the light teasing mood as he drove up his neighbor’s driveway and shut off the car. They sat in silence for a minute until Kat held out her hand for the keys.
Stephen shook his head and got out of the car, sliding her keys into his pocket before opening her door.
“I need to get home.”
To Ethan? “I’ll bring you after Alex leaves.” He didn’t wait for a response, just grabbed her hand and led her through the woods.
“Alex?” Kat hissed. “You’re throwing me to the wolves?”
“Just this once,” he promised. Instead of taking her into the house, he brought her down to the dock he’d recently added, replacing the one that had been washed away five years ago when Hurricane Irene had hit the area. It had given him something to focus on during the long six weeks he’d been without her. Not that he had a boat, but he enjoyed sitting on the dock, watching other boaters racing up and down the river.
“It’s beautiful,” Kat breathed.
“So are you.” Stephen slipped his arms around her, pulling her against him and rested his chin on top of her head, reveling in how she felt so perfect in his arms. As if she were made for him. Yesterday, when she’d walked, he’d wondered if he’d ever get her back into his arms.
Testing the waters, he turned her around, pushing a strand of hair away from her face, the backs of his fingers brushing her cheek. Need still filled her beautiful green eyes, bringing so many memories rushing back. How she melted against him, the scorching desire she unleashed in him, taking him to heights of passion he’d never known existed before her.
Yesterday he’d vowed not to touch her until things were right between them, but one look at the need in her eyes blew that out the window. Until her eyes clouded, doubt and confusion warring with the passion that was slowly fading.
“Don’t,” Stephen whispered softly, sensing the direction her thoughts. He pulled her closer so she could feel the full impact of his body, the heat emanating from him. He moved his hand under her hair, cupping the nape of her neck. “I swear to you, Kat, I will never walk away from you again.”
Then he kissed her, his first taste in six weeks, sending him over the edge in an instant. Hunger like he’d only known with her tore through him, her scent filling him, surrounding him. And when she opened her mouth, he groaned in triumph, couldn’t help but devour. Desperate, he ravaged, demanding her response and shaking when she whimpered, finally melting against him.
Surrendering.
Tightening his hand in her hair, he changed the angle of their kiss, plunging deeper as he crushed her against him with his other. Powerful longing, an almost violent need to be inside her, bordering on desperation.
A boat honked on the river, reminding him where they were. Breathing heavy, he slowed the kiss but couldn’t stop himself from going back for more, especially when Kat tighten her fingers in his hair, unwilling to let him go. Jesus, he’d been a fool.
“Stay with me tonight,” he whispered in between pressing his lips against hers. He was done giving her time, done being patient. She wanted him. Just as desperately as he wanted her. Nothing else fucking mattered. “Give us time to fix this. Fix us.”
Before she could answer, her phone went of again. She didn’t remove it from her bag, but squirmed out of his grip all the same, still breathing heavy, her mouth still swollen from his even as she denied his request, slowing shaking her head as Alex came into view behind her.