Eleven
Screaming was one of the last things I remembered before passing out. That, and crimson streaks across every surface, lifeless eyes staring back at me, and the sight of internal organs that should never see the light of day. It was too much at once and my mind shut down in terror at the scene in front of me. I gulped air, trying to catch my breath as the room spun. I fell to my knees in a puddle of blood, my legs unable to bear my weight. Lifting my hands, I saw they were dripping with blood; I wiped them on my shirt trying to get it off. I tried to crawl toward the foyer for help just before the lights went out, but I never made it. I laid face down in a pool of blood when Kasey found me.
***
Consciousness came back bit by bit when I heard a familiar voice shriek my name. My eyes fluttered open slowly as the same voice, one I’d known for half my life, screamed, “Send an ambulance, I need an ambulance at Om-Klahoma Yoga studio at 303 North Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard. One of my employees is dead and my friend, Nicola Royse, has been stabbed. Oh God, I think she’s dead, just like Toni,” Kasey cried out, her breathing irregular as she panted for air. “Oh, Jesus, Nicola please don’t die . . . Oh God, I think, I think I’m gonna, I think I’m gonna pass out, there’s so much—”
My muddled brain registered Kasey’s body landing with a thud, but I continued to lay there trying to regain my bearings. I heard the sound of sirens in the distance and told myself that was good, help was coming, Dallas would be here soon, and he’d know what to do.
The sound of screeching tires told me help had arrived. I rolled over and tried to sit up. When a firm but soothing voice ordered, “Don’t move, ma’am, help is on the way,” I shook my head to explain I wasn’t hurt. “Please get my friend and me out of this room.”
“We have to wait for the ambulance, you have to be checked out,” he argued.
“I’m not hurt,” I wailed. I could feel Toni’s blood seeping into my clothes and I started to shake.
Then I heard him, Dallas had arrived. He barked out “Where the fuck is she?” and my tears fell harder. One minute a nice officer with concern in his eyes was hovering over me and the next Dallas was in my face, panic etched in his honey-colored eyes.
“Nicola? . . . Where the fuck is the ambulance?” he roared as he scanned my blood-covered body.
“I’m not hurt, it’s, it’s not my blood,” I cried out, “Please, help me up I don’t want to be in here.”
Dallas scanned my body once more, then nodded; convinced I was telling the truth. Without concern for his own clothes, he picked me up from the floor, held me close in his arms as I buried my head in his neck, and bawled for all I was worth.
He mumbled, “I’ve got you, baby, you’re safe,” before ordering someone to help Kasey to her feet and get her out of the crime scene. Dallas felt like safety, protection from the world at large. I tighten my hold around his neck and drank in his scent as I tried to block out what I’d seen.
I heard the sound of a door swinging open and looked up to see he’d taken me into the ladies locker room. He’d taken me into the ladies locker room. When he sat down on a bench and tightened his arms around me, I finally took a deep breath.
“Jesus, Nicola, I thought you were dead. When I heard the call over the police ban—” he paused mid-sentence; his control seemed to slip now that we were alone.
“There was so much blood,” I whispered.
“Don’t think about it.”
“I was coming here to apologize for being an awful friend. I thought Kasey was in her office. I, I just walked in and—” my voice broke and the hiccups finally came while I tried to push the sight of Toni out of my head.
“Did you see anyone?” he asked as his arms tighten around me.
“No.”
“Was the door unlocked?” he continued.
“Yeah, that’s why I thought it was Kasey. She opens and Toni closes.”
“That means she was killed last night after her class before she could leave. Do you know what time they close?”
“Um, nine, I believe. Toni usually stays behind and wipes down the mats after everyone leaves.”
“Nicola, this is the second stabbing victim you and your friends have known. I don’t have a good feeling about this. Can you think of anyone that you and your friends have come into contact with that may hold a grudge?”
Until that moment, I hadn’t remembered Melissa’s murder, and Toni’s body lying on the floor covered with blood came rushing back in, only it was Melissa’s face I saw.
“Did Melissa die like that,” I whispered as my body began to shudder.
“Are you cold?” he asked in a concerned voice when the shuddering turned to full-blow shaking and my teeth rattled together.
“No,” I replied, feeling light-headed.
“Nicola, you’re going into shock,” Dallas stated in a no-nonsense voice looking around the room.
I nodded my agreement because I was indeed in shock. I figured he was looking for a blanket and when he didn’t find one he came up with a better idea to warm me up. Without a word, he grabbed my neck, pulled me to his lips, and kissed me. The shaking subsided and moved into tiny tremors of lust as his tongue swept the recesses of my mouth. Plunging in and chasing mine, then retreating as I chased his back, moaning at the unbelievable feeling he was evoking. One arm wrapped around my lower back and the other braced my neck as he bent me slightly taking his fill. When the door banged open and Kasey barged in, we pulled apart and looked toward her. Tears were running down her face, so I broke out of Dallas’ arms and ran to her. We collided, burst into tears, and I wailed, “I’m so sorry Toni is dead, but I’m so fucking glad that wasn’t you.”
“I thought you were dead too,” she wailed back.
The sound of women screaming caught our attention. We pulled apart and I looked back at the door. “The girls have arrived,” Kasey sniffled.
“How’d they know so soon?”
“When I woke up from my nap, I saw you were gone and thought you’d been taken away in an ambulance. I panicked and called Angela who called Janeane and Kristina. The girls were already in downtown heading for work so they headed straight here. It wasn’t until after I’d hung up and was waiting at the door for them to arrive that an officer informed me you weren’t hurt, but in the bathroom.” Kasey explained through her own hiccups.
Dallas walk up behind us and I was about to ask him if we could see the girls to reassure them we were all right when an officer poked his head in and replied, “Uh, detective, we have a problem out front.”
Dallas’ reply was swift, “I bet you do.”
***
The next few hours were a blur. Dallas allowed me to shower before we headed downtown to the station. I had on a pair of Kasey sweats, which were too long for me; I had to roll them up at the cuffs and sleeves. I looked like a kid playing dress up in my mother’s clothes.
Statements had to be given and questions had to be asked of us, including Angela, Janeane, and Kristina. They’d put each of us in a different interrogation rooms, given us coffee, and then probed our memories for what seemed like hours. Of course, none of us could think of anyone we knew, who had a connection to Melissa and Toni. We were acquaintances, they were employees, and neither the girls nor I had hung out with either one of them except at work, therefore the notion that any of us might know the killer seemed far-fetched.
At one point, Agent Parker made an appearance, but after I’d seen what had happened to Toni, all thoughts of working with the FBI were gone. I liked to do my part, but the reality of what someone with a sick mind could do had shaken some much-needed sense into me. Even remembering how I opened the car door to stop a criminal made me shake my head at my stupidity. Everything that had happened in the last twenty-four hours came rushing to me like a speeding train and one thing had become abundantly clear. I’d ignored Dallas’ warning, pooh-poohed him off as an arrogant man, who liked control when, in fact, he wasn’t being arrogant (well he was but not in this case), but was concerned for my safety and had no problem voicing that concern in no uncertain terms. He was, in fact, right to be concerned. I was wrong about my opinion of him, wrong that I wasn’t putting myself in danger working for the FBI, just plain wrong about everything. Between hurting my friends and turning my back on Dallas, thinking I knew better than he did, I felt like a worm. No, a slug, one who leaves a slimy trail wherever it goes, letting everyone know they’ve been there but making them cringe at their sliminess.
That was what I was thinking when Dallas walked back into the interrogation room, carrying paperwork for me to sign. I wondered, as he approached the table, if he was done with me. He’d kissed me in the ladies locker room and I was hoping that meant he hadn’t lost interest. Then again, he’d kissed me to calm me down when he thought I was going into shock, it could have meant nothing other than concern for my health.
Hell’s bells, what if he doesn’t forgive me?
When he dropped a release form on the table, handing me a pen and instructing me to, “Sign the bottom so we can get you home,” I smiled weakly, I was as nervous as cat around a bunch of rocking chairs waiting for him to say something more. I grabbed the pen he’d handed me and noticed my hand was shaking. I took a deep breath to calm my nerves, but it didn’t work. As I tried to write, my hand still shook, giving away my state of mind. Before I could finish signing my name, however, his large warm hand closed over mine, and he leaned in placing his other hand on the table boxing me. I felt the heat from his body surrounding me, and his warm breath in my ear as he whispered, “I promise you, whoever this guy is, he won’t come anywhere near you, I’ll protect you.”
God, he was such a great guy, which made me feel even worse about walking away from him last night.
“I’m an idiot,” I answered in reply.
“I doubt that, but why don’t you tell me why you think you’re an idiot.”
I turned my head, looked up into those intense honey-colored eyes, and let it all hang out.
“First off, I’m a terrible friend because I put my work before my oath not to do research without the girls. Then I labeled you as arrogant and bossy and maybe even a little bit bullheaded, when, truth be told, all you were trying to do was keep me safe. I’m used to controlling my own life that I put my own needs above those of my friends, and then you, this great guy, who was only trying to protect me, and I walked away from you last night as if your feelings didn’t count. Not only am I an idiot, but I’m a slimy slug leaving a trail of goo wherever I go.” Dallas chuckled while I drew my next breath, then I let it out in a gust of mortification.
Definitely an idiot.
“I’d say the fact that you realized all that and are willing to admit you’re wrong means you’re not an idiot.”
“Maybe,” I responded, then took another deep breath and rushed out, “I’m sorry I walked away from you last night. I’ll understand if you’re not interested anymore, but I hope more than anything that you’ll reconsider.”
Dallas stared at me for a moment, not giving anything away with his blank expression.
His reply to my question . . . “Sign the paper and I’ll take you home.”
Right, I guess I had my answer. He’d protect me if I needed protection, as for the other; I’d screwed that up by being an idiot.
We drove to my house in silence. Dallas seemed to be mulling something over if the way he was biting his lower lip was any indicator. I could see from my peripheral that he looked at me a few times, while I kicked myself for being so stupid. I needed to get my car, but the police had cordoned off the whole block until they could finish investigating, which is why Dallas was taking me home.
When he pulled his car into my driveway, I grabbed the handle and opened the door. When I turned to thank him for the ride, he was peeling his large frame out of the car so I jumped out as well.
“Thank you for the ride, Dallas,” I told him as I came around the front of his car. When he stuck out his hand and mumbled, “Keys,” I stared at his large hand.
“Nicola, give me your keys. I’m not about to let you walk in there without checking first.”
Nodding, I pulled them out, dropped them in his hand, and followed him up my steps and into the house when he opened the door.
“Stay here and don’t move,” he ordered and this time I listened. It didn’t make sense that someone was after the girls or me. But nowadays, who really knew who you pissed off just driving down the street. And after seeing Toni laid out that way, I wasn’t about to argue.
It took him more than ten minutes to check my house thoroughly and when he was done, he came back into the foyer and handed me my keys. He looked down at me; his honey-colored eyes with their flecks of green studying me.
“Which bathroom did that asshole touch you in?”
“Um,” I responded, confused, and then figured he needed to know for their case against him. I dropped my purse on my oak entry table and said, “This way.”
When I reached the bathroom in my master bedroom, I stood to the side and motioned him in. Before entering, he looked around my room and took in my king size, rod iron bed that was dressed out in a floral print and a lace bed skirt, my soft pink walls with a hint of coral to them, and the frilly coasters that I’d draped over my lap shades. He also took in the antique chest of drawers in a warm honey oak and my overstuffed floral chair with its down pillows that I sunk into while I read. I’m sure if he wasn’t already done with me, the site of all that frilly, floral romance that I’d created had him thanking his lucky stars he gotten out while he still could.
When he turned back to me, I noticed he’d rolled both lips between his teeth, which told me he was trying to keep from laughing. Whatever, I liked my room and since I lived alone, I didn’t have to worry if some macho-man detective liked it or not.
“Show me where you were standing when he came in,” he finally asked so I walked into the bathroom and stood at the counter.
Dallas moved in close behind me and stared at my reflection for a moment, holding my eyes. Awareness spiked between us—dark and hungry. Without warning, he buried his face in my neck and his hands came up to my breasts kneading them gently as he ran his tongue up my neck.
“Is this what that bastard did to you?” he whispered.
My breath hitched as he pinned me further into the sink, his teeth grazing my shoulder, my neck, his tongue trailing its path, soothing the skin. He pulled his hands from my breasts and I mourned their loss as he pulled one side of my sweatshirt off my shoulder. He began the same sensual trail with his mouth as one hand grabbed my hair yanking my head sideways. The other found its purchase on my breast again, his strong hand stirring my body to life as he continued his attack on my neck.
My legs went weak as his mouth moved from one side of my neck to the other, his hand still kneading and working my nipple, my hair still held tight in his firm grip.
“Did he touch my pussy?” he growled suddenly as his hand left my hair and moved south cupping my core over my clothes. I inhaled sharply, my head slamming into his shoulder, while the heat from his hand and the tantalizing way he worked my nipple had me grinding against his erection.
“Dallas,” I moaned as his finger found my clit through the fabric and began to work it with the precision of a man who knew his way around a female body.
“I’m gonna make you forget he ever laid a hand on you,” Dallas whispered. “You’re mine now. I’m the only one who touches this,” he rolled my clit to make his point, “or touches this,” he pinched and then rolled my nipple, making me groan, “Or tastes those sweet lips,” he finished and turned his head to capture my lips.
My head was spinning by the time his hand moved up and in between my loose sweatpants and panties, his fingers hitting its mark twice before they disappeared further between my folds. Dallas hissed, “Jesus you’re drenched,” and drove his fingers in and began a torturous tempo. He kept his thumb on my clit while his fingers played my core like a fine instrument, all while I whimpered my approval.
Without warning, he growled low and withdrew his hand. I cried out at the loss before both hands tugged my sweatpants off and pushed my shoulders down so I was leaning over the sink. Then he kneeled, spread my legs, and put his warm mouth right where I need it most.
His tongue went to work and I closed my eyes, relishing the feel of his facial hair against my silken skin. I was so primed from his hand that it didn’t take long for his tongue to bring me to completion. I cried out when I climaxed, but I could still hear Dallas grunt his approval as he kept at me until a second wave erupted like lightening in a summer storm.
When my legs sagged with exhaustion, Dallas flicked my clit one more time, causing a tiny tremor of arousal. He nipped the inside of my thigh, my butt, kissed my hip, then rose from the floor and pulled me to him. When I sagged against his front, he picked me up and carried me to my bed, laying me gently on the covers as I caught my breath.
He didn’t lay down with me. Instead, he grabbed the blanket off the foot of the bed and draped it over my half-naked body before sitting down on the side. Dallas ran a hand through my hair until I opened my eyes. When I looked at him, I felt a warm flush run up my neck. He must have caught the color rising to my cheeks because he grinned a half-grin as he watched my face turn pink.
“You still think I’m not interested in you?” Dallas asked as he leaned down, cupped my face with both hands, and kissed me twice before pulling my bottom lip between his teeth.
“I’m beginning to see the light.”
“Good, ‘cause I have to get back to the office. But I didn’t want to leave before I had your full attention.”
“Oh, you have my attention, detective,” I assured him as I wrapped my arms around his neck.
“I want you to stay here today and keep your alarm on. I’ll get someone to bring your car to you. I don’t know how late I’ll be, but once I’m done, I’ll come to you.”
“Do you really think that someone is after us, or are you just being cautious?”
“Right now I’m not ruling anything out. Promise me you’ll stay here with your alarm engaged.”
“Ok, I’ll stay put today. But I have a book club signing I have to go to tomorrow that I can’t cancel.”
“We’ll work something out for tomorrow. I just need time today to sort through this mess,” he explained.
“Ok,” I acquiesced since he was being accommodating.
Smiling at how easy he gained my cooperation, no doubt, Dallas kissed me once more before rising from the bed. I sat up and wrapped the blanket around my waist saying, “Hold on I’ll walk you out.” I ran to the bathroom and grabbed my lacy panties from the floor. Once I’d pulled them on I turned to leave, and I found Dallas leaning against the door, his eyes focused in the vicinity of where my ass had been.
“Jesus, I didn’t see what you were wearin’. I’d have taken you hard against the sink if I’d known.
I looked down and saw my black lace boy shorts that sat low on my hips and made my butt look curvier than it was. “These old things,” I teased as I sashayed past him looking for my robe. I got about a foot past him when a strong arm grabbed my waist and hauled me back into a large erection.
“You feel this?” he hissed in my ear as he grabbed my hand and placed it over his steel-like erection “I have to spend the rest of the day with that ass burned in my brain and the taste of you in my mouth. When I come back tonight you’re gonna help me work it out.”
Alrighty then . . .
“Um, you’re pretty sure of yourself,” I answered, wishing later was now.
“Babe,” he replied, “You give me a couple of hours and I’ll make that sweet body of yours burn.”
“Only a couple of hours?” I scoffed.
“For starters.”
“Really?” I asked in awe.
“You better fuckin’ believe it.”