Chapter Ten
I’m watching you again. So close, and you can’t even see me. Fool.
Did you like my new message? I want you to know what fear is like, to realize your life is in my hands. When the time is right for you to die, you’ll know it. But first I want to have my fun, my satisfaction. I want to torment you until you can’t sleep, can’t eat, because the fear is so strong.
Last night, I dismembered Barbie again, but a doll is becoming less and less satisfying. I want the pleasure of removing your real body parts. One at a time. Watching your blood flow out of you. Or maybe I’ll just squeeze your neck in my hands, watching your eyes pop out and your face turn blue.
Pampered bitch. You have it all, and you don’t deserve any of it.
I have to do something about that idiot you hired, but I’ll figure it out. I always do. It just requires a slight change of plans. But I guess I’ll have to stop the emails before someone tracks me down. They’ll probably block your system, anyway. No problem. There are other ways.
And it’s time to ratchet up the fun.
Soon. Soon it will all be clear to you.
You think you have everything. What would it be like for you to have nothing?
I’m watching you.
Bitch!
****
Nick considered them lucky that the balance of the week passed in relative quiet. The office hummed along at a fairly normal pace, if the schedule they followed could be considered normal. He had Tony run point on everything, directing the security teams, coordinating with the IT guys and supervising the research into all the people in Lindsey’s life. That way he could devote himself to Lindsey and whatever was happening around her. They were all uptight—Lindsey, Mark, and Brianna—but they all made a deliberate effort to ignore the tension.
Nick spent one hundred percent of his time with Lindsey. During the day, he was in and out of her office, and at night, he locked them up together in her apartment.
“I want us to stay in town during the week,” he explained, “where I have more manpower, more resources and better containment.”
“And what do I tell Mary?” she asked.
“That you have several new clients with immediate deadlines.” He kissed her forehead. “That’s not far from the truth, right?”
While Lindsey worked each day, Nick read the reports from Guardian on her clients, her friends, her former co-workers in Austin, even the guys she’d dated. Then, leaving nothing to chance, he had both Mark and Brianna checked out. Tony brought him thick reports on both of them that Nick was careful to read away from Lindsey’s curious eyes.
Brianna Moore had been raised in Michigan, her father a paper shuffler at a large corporation and her mother a stay-at-home mom. In their late forties when she was born, they were often at a loss as to how to raise their frenzied, bright, overactive child. She aced her grades in school but took great pleasure in skirting the edge of danger. It was assumed her behavior was more to test her parents than anything else, the report read, because she was never in what could be considered serious trouble.
After high school, she took classes for a certification in business science and was working for a company in Detroit when a fire destroyed her parents’ house and killed both of them. After that, she bumped around the country, working here and there, moving apparently whenever the spirit struck her. She had come to San Antonio looking for new adventures and had shown up at the exact moment Lindsey was advertising for someone.
Nothing out of the ordinary on her social life, just the usual visits to singles bars and a variety of dates. No close friends, but a lot of people took their time establishing those kinds of relationships in a new place.
And nothing that raised a red flag.
And the relationship with Lindsey appeared to be a solid business arrangement. Despite Bri’s nomadic history, Nick was impressed with the efficient way she ran the office.
Nick had been in the business long enough, though, to know red flags often didn’t appear until it was almost too late. It was a major reason he was digging so deeply into the lives of anyone Lindsey crossed paths with.
They also found their answer to Mark’s mysterious lunch dates. Every day, he slipped out the door exactly at noon and returned on the dot of one-thirty, always with a slightly embarrassed look on his face. Tony followed him twice and reported his findings to Nick.
“Well,” he told him, “the guy met the same female for lunch both times. And they always eat at the same place.”
“You think she might be pulling his strings to help her with this?” Nick wanted to know.
Tony snorted. “I’d be damned surprised if either of them conjured up something like this. Think two nerds in love.”
“No femme fatale stringing him along?” Nick laughed at the image.
“Nothing there, boss man,” Tony assured him. “You can cross him off the list. He’s too busy holding hands to do any heavy plotting.”
“Maybe. But I’m not crossing anyone off just yet. Let’s keep an eye on both of them as well as Brianna, just so we know where all the players are. Anything yet on the mother’s nursing home?”
Tony shook his head. “You didn’t say it was a priority so we just got someone loose today to get over there. Is that a problem?”
“No. At least, I don’t think so. Just following up on something that bothers Lindsey. Probably nothing to it, but we can’t afford to ignore anything.”
Reno called Thursday afternoon. “I’m emailing more information on Lindsey’s clients plus other people she’s come into contact with. I thought it would be a monumental chore, but it turned out to be fairly easy. Apparently, she doesn’t have much of a social life, so we hardly had anyone to check.”
“Yes,” Nick bit off, cursing the fact that his tone might have given something away. “I’m aware of that.”
Reno was silent a moment. “Something going on here you want to tell me about?”
Nick exhaled. “Things are…complicated.”
“Listen, Nick—”
“Don’t say it, okay? I’m on top of things here. And I’d like a more thorough rundown on anyone she had a long-term relationship with, regardless of how long ago it was. You never know when someone will pop loose a screw.”
“Whatever.” Reno hesitated as if he wanted to say more, but he simply added before he hung up, “Let me know if there’s anything else you need.”
“Okay.”
****
Lindsey used the rhythm of her work to keep herself distracted from the situation, still resisting the idea that someone she knew was out to harm her. She was on edge waiting for the next shoe to drop, and she tried to block that from her mind. She finished the Marquez sketches and met with them, put the final touches on two other projects, and met with two new prospective clients. She was hardly in the mood to deal with new people, but the discipline would be good for her.
But at night, with all the alarms set, security outside in place and everyone else gone, she and Nick could relax with each other and explore their growing relationship. They shared childhood stories, likes and dislikes, even argued over television programs. It made Lindsey realize exactly how shallow her previous relationships had been.
They learned each other’s bodies as well as their minds and personalities. Certain touches or caresses could ignite the heat that flowed constantly between them. He was far more experienced than she, and he taught her all the tricks of exquisite pleasure, driving both of them to greater and greater orgasms. She was an eager student, quick to learn. Before long, she was able to torment him as he did her, driving his body crazy while preventing him from that final release until he begged for mercy.
“I’ve never been like this with another woman,” he confessed one night as they lay in each other’s arms, depleted. “Making love with you is unbelievable.”
“Really, now. What about all these other women I’ve heard about?” she teased. “Quinn said—”
“Quinn needs to mind his own damn fucking business,” Nick growled. He turned her face toward him and kissed her so deeply she thought he’d reached her soul. “This is different,” he told her when he could catch his breath. “Much, much different. More than merely giving in to sexual attraction. And don’t you dare forget it.”
Still, Lindsey had no idea where this thing between them was going. The stalker still dominated their lives, creating an artificial situation What if this all fell apart when the stalker was caught and their lives went back to normal? Somehow, she had to prepare herself for that. She’d learned long ago not to put too much trust in anything men told her.
And despite his protestations, when Nick had a chance to think about the whole children thing, it was very possible he’d realize that could be a deal-breaker. That he really wanted children with his own DNA.
On Friday, Nick decided to leave two men to keep an eye on the building front and back, and one in her apartment to give the appearance they were still there.
“Just in case,” he told her as they finished breakfast. “I think we need to change our routine, and I want to install an alarm at the ranch.”
She raised her eyebrows. “You think that’s necessary?”
“I do. In Ruben’s and Mary’s place and the barn, too. We’ll set them up so each has its own keypad, but the main controls will be in your house. Also, I want a panic button in your bedroom.”
“Is that in case I need someone to save me from you?” She gave him a wicked grin.
“No, it’s in case I’m the one who needs saving.” He smiled back at her and covered her hand with his, giving it a light squeeze. “The less exposure you have out there the better I feel.”
“Well, we’ll have to do some tall talking.” She got up to clear away their dishes. “I know how Ruben will react.”
“We have to tell him about the bus incident,” Nick insisted. “If he’s aware that there’s real danger, he’ll want to take every precaution possible. We’ll just say it’s to back him up. I sure don’t want that man to feel I don’t think he can take care of you.”
“You really believe whoever this is will follow me out to the ranch?” Lindsey felt her good humor slip away. “That seems a little farfetched.”
“Nothing about a stalker is farfetched, honey. The only predictable thing about them is their unpredictability.”
“All right. I’ll call Mary and tell her she’d better have plenty of food to feed you.” She turned toward the sink.
She sensed Nick move up behind her. In a moment, he wrapped his arms around her and kissed the side of her neck. “Good. I need to keep up my strength.”
They’d been eating lunch in every day, just as a simple precaution, Nick sending someone on the team for takeout. They ate in the apartment, enjoying the quiet break in the day together. But Lindsey was beginning to get claustrophobic.
“How about going out for lunch today?” she suggested. “I haven’t been outside these rooms in three days.”
“Lindsey,” he began.
“You’ll be right beside me,” she pointed out. “Just for a change, please? I’m going nuts. We’ll even take extra bodyguards if you insist.”
“I insist. But I just want you to know I’m not too happy about it.”
Craving Mexican food, she decided on La Fonda, just off Loop 410. Nick was agreeable, but when they went to the underground garage, plans for lunch disappeared.
Someone had maliciously attacked Nick’s SUV, which was parked in its usual spot near the stairs. The windshield and side windows were smashed, and the side view mirrors completely ripped off. The tires were slashed, and the body had been viciously keyed. Looking at Nick’s face, Lindsey was stunned by the visceral rage she saw.
“Stay right here,” he commanded in a tight voice.
With a visible Herculean effort, Nick managed to get himself under control and walked around the vehicle to fully assess the damage.
“There’s something inside here,” he said, looking in the driver’s side. He pulled his handkerchief from his pocket and reached in and lifted out a piece of paper.
I’m watching you, too. Beware the eyes. They are all around you. You cannot save her.
If it hadn’t been evidence, Nick would have crushed it into a tiny ball. “So they want me, too? Well, bring it on. I’ll be ready for them.”
He took out his Nextel cell phone/walkie talkie and spoke into it quietly. In seconds, a young man in a gray suit came jogging down through the garage.
“I’m sorry I didn’t see any one, Mr. Vanetta.” He stopped next to Nick. “I thought I heard something at the other end of this floor and went to check it out. They must have created a diversion to draw me away.”
“Ya think?” Nick snorted. “From now on you stay with the vehicle. And keep your eyes open from wherever it’s parked.”
“Yes, sir. This won’t happen again.”
“Damn straight it won’t.”
Nick speed dialed his office and got Reno on the horn, relating what happened to him. His partner received the information with a quiet that belied his fury.
“You watch your ass,” he told Nick. “This is getting very ugly.”
“No worry on that score. But I may need to tighten up the security arrangements.”
“Whatever you need, just let me know. I don’t take kindly to someone threatening my partner. Have Tony pull the tapes from the security cameras, although I’d guess whoever this is would have made sure to conceal his face.”
When Nick walked back to Lindsey, she was standing near the damaged vehicle, looking both scared and angry. He cradled her cheeks in his hands and scanned her face. “Are you okay, honey?”
She sighed. “I’m fine. What did the note say?”
“Nothing you need to see. Believe me.”
She jerked her head away and curled her hands into fists. “Don’t bullshit me. I’m not some hothouse flower. Tell me exactly what it said.”
He swallowed a smile. His little spitfire wasn’t going to be cowed by anything. Good for her. He watched the anger flash in her eyes as she listened to him.
“So he’s after you, too. This is too much.” She shoved her hands in her pockets. “Now you’ll be in danger, all because of me.”
“Lindsey, I’m paid to be in danger, remember? And we still don’t know what this is really about.”
“Except it sounds very specific.” She pointed toward his vehicle. “This isn’t just collateral fallout from the job. This is very personal.”
“Only because it centers around you,” he told her. “It isn’t the first time I’ve had this happen with a client, and it won’t be the last. “
“I don’t want you hurt because of this.”
He could see that, despite the anger, she was fighting to hold herself together. Heat surged through him that had nothing to do with sexual awareness. It was the first time since he was an adult that he could remember anyone except his parents caring about him this way. Damn! Maybe something good was coming out of this after all.
“I can take care of myself. Promise.” He walked her back to the elevator and nodded at one of the gray suits waiting for him. “This is Angelo. I want you to go upstairs with him. Go into your apartment and wait for me. You can fix us a couple of sandwiches, since our lunch trip is out for today. I have some things to take care of, and then I’ll be up.”
“I think I’ve lost my appetite.” She moved into the elevator, leaning on the door to keep it open.
“You have to eat. We both do. No time to get sick.” He put his hands on her shoulders and forced her to look at him. “We’re leaving for the ranch right after I get done. Tell Brianna you have some personal business to take care of that came up suddenly and get her to change any afternoon appointments you have. I didn’t see much on your calendar, anyway.”
“Only one appointment, and she can move it. Oh, Nick. When will this end?”
“Soon, sweetheart. Believe me. Now go on with Angelo.”
****
To Lindsey, it seemed to take forever until Nick was back upstairs. Angelo lounged unobtrusively in the background, eyes ever alert, listening through the ear bud comm, obviously monitoring what was going on with the other members of the team. She cleaned up the files on her desk and arranged her sketches on her worktable for Monday. Then she buzzed for Brianna.
“You’re leaving early?” The woman tilted her head, a questioning look in her eyes.
Lindsey nodded and gave her the story she and Nick had concocted. “Before we could leave for lunch, I got a call on my cell. I have to take care of some personal business with the ranch. Cancel my three o’clock, and tell Mark I’ll meet with him on Monday.”
“Everything okay, Lindsey?” Bri’s sharp eyes took inventory of her face.
“Yes, fine. Everything’s fine.” She hoped her voice sounded calmer than she felt.
“Okay. I’ve got plenty to keep me busy. Don’t worry about that.”
“You and Mark can cut out early, too, if you want,” Lindsey told her. “It’s been a tense week for everyone. Go have a drink someplace.”
“Thank you. We’ll see.” Brianna stood up and gave her a brief hug. “You just take care, okay? See you Monday morning.”
Lindsey locked up the drawers of her desk before going into her apartment. She changed into shorts and a loose shirt. She had no idea what Nick planned to do, since there weren’t any casual clothes for him here, and he wouldn’t do too well at the ranch in a suit. Finally, she scrounged around in her kitchen and fixed peanut butter sandwiches and milk. She offered food to Angelo, too, a watchful figure in the background, but he shook his head.
“I’ll catch something later,” he told her.
“I hope you like childhood comfort food.” She smiled at Nick when he finally came upstairs.
He took the plate and glass and laughed out loud. “Are you kidding? The only thing I can’t live without is peanut butter. My mother thinks it’s a staple of every diet.”
He wolfed down the sandwich and milk, put his plate and dish in the dishwasher, then threw toiletries into his shaving kit. The only clothing he took was his dirty laundry.
“We’ll stop by my house so I can pick up some more clothes and ditch this stuff,” he told her. “Let’s go. I hope you said your goodbyes in the office because I want to leave from the apartment.”
“Any special reason?”
“Yup. The door from your apartment opens into an opposite hallway leading to the back elevator, right? So it’s hard for anyone to tell if you’ve left. Angelo’s going to hang around and see if anything catches his eye.” He took her arm. “Let’s get out of here.”
He triple checked the alarm before hustling her out to the elevator. When they got to the garage and he walked to his parking spot, she stopped, speechless.
“What exactly is that?” She pointed.
The shiny SUV had been replaced by a dark green pickup truck, dusty and with its share of dents.
“That, sweetheart, is our new transportation. I’ll fit right in at the ranch, don’t you think?” His eyes were twinkling.
“You have got to be kidding.”
“Nope. It’s part of the company fleet. They towed the SUV and sent it out for repair. This one would be very hard to damage. Also,” his voice dropped conspiratorially, “don’t let its looks deceive you. The doors are reinforced steel and the windows are all bulletproof glass. I’m not taking any more chances.”
“Unbelievable.” She couldn’t take her eyes off the truck. “Nick, how did this person know that was your vehicle, and what you’re doing here?”
“He’s obviously been paying closer attention than we realized. I briefed the team staying behind on what to look for while we’re at the ranch. We’ll see if they come up with anything.”
Nick threw their small cases in the space behind the seats, then helped her climb up into the truck. “We’re going to take a little scenic tour on the way to the house. I’ve got someone riding tail behind me to see if we draw anyone’s interest. My phone number is unlisted so they’d have a hell of a time finding out where I live. I don’t want to make it easy for them by leading them there.”
Lindsey’s head was spinning. So much had happened in such a short time, but she was impressed by the speed with which Guardian operated and their firm grasp of the situation.
She was actually glad they were going to the ranch. Maybe she could get Nick to go through those boxes with her, the ones she’d already opened as well as the ones still shut tight. With his investigator’s mind, he might spot things she had missed. Or know the questions to ask. Tomorrow. Tomorrow she’d approach the subject with him. Maybe drag him up to the attic with her.
Nick muscled the truck expertly through the traffic, cruising around the streets downtown, then heading East on I-35, exiting and doubling back. They had passed El Mercado, the Mexican Marketplace, and driven west for a few exits on I-10 when Nick’s little communicator beeped.
He pressed the walkie/talkie button. “Yeah? Good enough. Thanks.” He disconnected the phone and laid it on the seat next to him. “We’re clear,” he told Lindsey. “We’ll run by my house and then head on out.”
The house smelled of lemon and mint and something else indefinable but pleasant. As before, it was immaculate.
“Have you been sneaking out during the day and cleaning your house?” she asked.
Nick laughed. “I have a housekeeper who comes in three days a week, four if I need it. Sometimes, when I’m on a job, I don’t see my house for weeks or even months. I’d never leave it unattended that long, and I also don’t have a lot of time for housework. She does my laundry, too, in case that was your next question. And shuttles my suits back and forth to the cleaners.”
“She sounds like a gem. I hope you pay her well.”
“You can bet on it.” He was on his way upstairs. “Come on and keep me company. We’ll be just a few minutes.”
His bedroom was exactly as she’d imagined after seeing the rest of the house. Large, floor-to-ceiling windows added plenty of light to the room; the wood flooring was brightened with colorful scatter rugs. The king-sized bed, with its chocolate comforter and abundance of pillows, dominated the room. Rows of photographs completely filled a small table next to a big easy chair.
Lindsey was startled when a muscular arm slid around her waist.
“You didn’t get to see the bedroom last time,” he whispered. “Today isn’t the time, but we’re going to initiate that bed pretty soon.”
“I’ll bet that’s been the scene of some pretty hectic acrobatics,” she teased.
Nick looked at her with a tight expression on his face. “Just so you know, I’ve never brought a woman into this house before. You’re the first one who’s ever been here. I never wanted anyone here before. This is the part of me that’s private. You’re the first woman I’ve wanted to share it with.”
She swallowed hard, and her voice dropped to a whisper. “Thank you for saying that.”
He touched his lips lightly to hers before setting her away from him with determination. “If we keep doing that, we’ll never get out of here. Just sit over there like a good girl, and I’ll make this quick.”
She wandered over to his dresser, drawn by a framed photograph of a large group of people. “Who are all the people in these pictures?”
He had yanked a suitcase from the closet and was stuffing clothes into it. “My family. My sisters and brothers and their respective spouses and children.”
“Are you the only single one left?” she asked inquisitively.
“That’s me. I think my mother’s given up on me, although my sisters haven’t.”
“I’m curious. You have to know Quinn gave me the rundown on your reputation. Why haven’t you ever married?”
“Never found a woman I wanted to wake up with in the morning. Every morning.” He was beside her again, giving her another quick kiss. “Until now. Okay. I’m ready.”
She stared at him, trying to figure out what his words really meant.
Don’t make too much of it.
“What?” He frowned. “Come on, sugar, we have to move.”
He’d changed into jeans and a T-shirt, exchanging his polished boots for jogging shoes. He carried a large duffel bag in one hand and a thick aluminum briefcase in the other, using the briefcase to urge her into motion. Before they left, he checked his alarm system, making sure everything was set.
“That’s a pretty complex system,” Lindsey commented, watching him.
“I’m away a lot,” he told her, “so I installed a high-powered system that I’m pretty sure no one can figure a way to bypass. Only my housekeeper and the agency have the code.”
Despite all the twisting and turning they’d done on the way to his house, Nick still kept checking the rearview and side-view mirrors, sometimes even doubling back around a block just to check the traffic. When he was satisfied they were clear, he finally headed toward the Interstate.
“Did you call Mary and tell her we were coming out?” he asked.
“Sure did.” Lindsey swallowed a grin. “I think she started cooking right away.”
Nick laughed. “Whatever else happens, I’ll be well fed by the time this is over.”
“Is that all?” she asked, suddenly shy.
Nick reached over and captured her hand, linking his fingers with hers and placing their hands on his thigh. “No, sugar, that is far from all. Believe me.”
Please make it so. Please don’t let this be just another fast ride with a bumpy end.
She hated to realize how much of that, just like the stalker, was really out of her control.
“By the way,” he said, “I’ve got someone working on the nursing home angle. I figured if we went in there and started asking questions, everyone would clam up the way they did with you.”
“So what are you doing?”
“They had an opening for an orderly, and one of the guys on our staff was a medic in the military. Reno pulled a few strings, and he got the job. Now he’s busy making friends and sucking up gossip.”
“I just know there’s something no one’s telling me,” she told him. “My mother was almost ready to come home when this happened.”
“If there is, we’ll find out about it. You can count on that.”
Ruben was on the porch, leaning against the railing, watching them as they drove up. When they got out of the truck, he came down to meet them. “About time you remembered where you live, little one.”
“Just had a really busy week, Ruben. That’s all.” She stepped into his hug. “Everything’s okay. Honestly.”
His eyes searched her face at length, looked over her head at Nick, then he shook his head. “We’ll see. Best you get yourselves a cold drink, and we’ll sit out here for a while. You can tell me what’s put that terrible look in your eyes.”
Nick lifted his duffel and Lindsey’s small case out from behind the seats.
Ruben took them out of his hands. “I’ll take these upstairs. You folks go get some of that lemonade in the fridge, and we’ll have us a nice little chat. And I want the truth, niña. You hear?”
As casually as she could, Lindsey said, “You can put both of those bags in my room.”
Ruben looked at her, his face totally impassive. He nodded and headed back to the house, but not before Lindsey saw a faint smile twist his lips.
Damn.
Am I making a mistake? This whole thing seems to have happened so quickly. So easily. Am I just another notch on his bedpost, despite what he keeps saying? I’m vulnerable and he knows it. Is he just taking advantage of that fact?
Lindsey shook herself mentally. She was going crazy with all these questions, and she had no answers to any of them.
Suck it up and enjoy it. Just enjoy it.
Mary fussed over them in the kitchen, hugging Lindsey and even Nick. Then she fixed a tray of cold drinks and cookies and insisted on taking it out to the porch herself.
By that time, Ruben was back outside leaning against the porch rail, a hard look on his face. He waited until Lindsey and Nick sat down with their drinks and Mary was back in the house before speaking. “Okay. Give. What’s happened?”
Lindsey let Nick do most of the talking since he could deliver it more concisely and in greater detail. She sipped at the lemonade while Nick gave him all the information he had.
“I wish I had more to tell you,” he said. “We’ve covered everything and interviewed dozens of people, and we still don’t know any more than we did in the beginning.”
Ruben nodded his head. “All right. What’s up next?”
“I want to install a full security system here at the ranch,” Nick told him.
Ruben arched one eyebrow. “You think whoever this is will try to get to her here?”
Nick shook his head. “Not necessarily. It’s a lot harder out here. I just don’t want to leave any base uncovered.”
“Barns, too?” Ruben asked.
“Everything.” He studied Ruben’s face. “Including your house. It only makes sense,” he insisted, as Ruben began to object. “Someone who takes the time to learn this setup could sneak into your place, knock out the two of you, and then get to Lindsey.”
Ruben grudgingly admitted Nick was right. “But I want to be with your men when they come out so I can learn exactly how it’s done.”
“Absolutely,” he assured the other man. “They’ll be here first thing in the morning. And I mean first thing. They like to start their day early, and this will be a time-consuming job.”
“I’ll be waiting for them.” Ruben’s face and tone said he’d be ready for anyone trying to hurt his niña, too.
“One other thing,” Nick said. “I’m hoping you and Mary can help us with this. We’ve pretty thoroughly checked out everyone Lindsey has come into contact with since she opened her office and even some of the people she knew in Austin. So far it looks like a dead end, but we’ll keep looking. That leaves only her past, which she seems to have no information on.”
Lindsey twisted her hands together in her lap. Her past had always been a mystery to her, too. Her parents had avoided all her questions about other relatives, where they had come from, why they had settled here. She hadn’t pushed them, since they seemed so determined to focus only on the present. But now they were both gone and she was facing a crisis in her life.
She gave Ruben a hard look. “We’ve been through this before, Ruben. I want answers to my questions.”
“It’s hard to have much of a past in Cibolo.” Ruben danced around the question. “When you sneeze, everyone knows you’ve got a cold.”
“I understand that. But somewhere, somehow, there’s something we need to find out. Things people in Cibolo probably know nothing about. Any little clue you can think of will help. You have to know something.” She hated the desperation n her voice, but since her mother’s death, her past had become an obsession.
The front screen door slammed, making Lindsey jump. Mary was back on the porch, wiping her hands on a towel and fixing her gaze on all of them, Ruben included. Lindsey had to press her lips together to keep from laughing. When she got going, Mary was a real virago, a force to be reckoned with.
“Nobody gets dinner until I know what’s going on,” she told them. “I know something’s up, and I don’t intend to be left out of it. So let’s have it.”
Lindsey swallowed a laugh and looked at Nick. “Better do what she says or you’ll starve to death.”
“No problem. I’ll talk all night as long as it gets me Mary’s cooking.”
Lindsey listened quietly, watching Mary’s reaction as Nick went through it again, repeating everything he’d told Ruben, answering Mary’s questions as best he could.
“We’ve checked everyone on the list Lindsey gave us,” he repeated, “but we’ve hit a blank wall. We even sent people to Austin to check out her connections there and came up empty. Like I told Ruben, I’m beginning to think this has to do with Lindsey’s past. It’s very strange that there are no relatives out there. Everyone has family somewhere. And what about personal history? How come there’s no trace of the family before they bought this ranch?”
When Ruben and Mary exchanged glances, Nick caught the signal that passed between them.
“What is it? Something? Anything?” He studied each of them. “You have an idea, don’t you?”
Ruben shook his head. “Lindsey, baby, maybe it’s time for you to go through all those boxes upstairs. The ones you’ve been avoiding. The ones your mama refused to deal with. She and your daddy are both gone now. Whatever secrets you find can’t hurt them anymore.”
“You think there are secrets up there?” She stared at Ruben.
“I think you need to look at what’s in those boxes,” he said, his voice firm.
“What boxes?” Nick asked.
“There are some old cartons up in the attic,” Lindsey told him. “My mother would never open them. She kept saying it was old junk and to forget about it. In fact, if I remember”—She wrinkled her forehead.—“one of the things she said when she had her heart attack was, if something happened to her, take everything and burn it.”
“Didn’t you think that was strange?” Nick asked. “What if there might be something in them you’d want to see? Like old photos? Or family information? You said you didn’t know anything about your family history. Maybe there’s something in there for you to find.”
She chewed on her bottom lip. “I don’t know. I guess I figured if there was anything important in the boxes, Mom would show it to me. And what could there possibly be in my family’s past that would make someone come after me like this?”
“Not to be crass,” he pointed out, “but what about your trust fund? Anything there? Anyone who might think they deserved it more?”
She shook her head. “I’m an only child. My folks didn’t have any siblings that I know of. Quinn manages the trust for me, and I don’t think he’s trying to bump me off or whatever.”
“Okay.” Nick stood up. “Let’s have dinner and leave all this for tonight. I think it would do us both good to turn in early. Tomorrow, the techno twins will be here with a crew. I’ll have some work to do with them, but after lunch, we should get those boxes down.”
“All right.” Lindsey sighed. “If you think we’ll find anything. I guess I’ve just been putting it off for too long, anyway.”
“Do this, Lindsey,” Ruben said again. “It’s past time.”
Mary shooed them out of the kitchen when dinner was over, and Lindsey started up the stairs. When she looked over her shoulder, Nick wasn’t behind her. “Coming?”
“I’ll be up in a minute.”
She guessed he was planning to tour the perimeter with Ruben, making sure everything was as secure as possible until the alarm system was in. Probably even afterward.
In the bedroom, she turned back the spread, folding it neatly at the foot of the bed. She put Nick’s suitcase on the valet stand in the closet, stripped off her clothes, and headed for the bathroom. When the water in the shower was good and hot, she stepped inside and began to lather herself with the soap. She closed her eyes, letting the water cascade over her. Her knee was still a little sore, and she was wound as tight as a drum from the day’s episodes.
The door slid open, and the bar of soap was lifted from her hand.
“I think this is my job,” Nick said in a low tone. “You just relax.”
For a moment, Lindsey was tempted to tell him to back away, that she wanted to shower by herself. Again, that anxious feeling that this was too much, too fast, and too smooth raced through her. Deliberately, she swallowed her misgiving, convincing herself if it all crashed, at least she’d be happy with the memories.
She leaned forward, bracing her arms against the shower wall. Very gently and very slowly, he began to lather her back, tracing light circles on her shoulders and down her spine and making her shiver. Carefully he soaped her buttocks, letting his hand roam easily over her curves.
Her inner pulse began to thrum, and she tried to turn toward him, but he murmured in her ear. “Don’t move.”
He slid his hands down her legs and farther down to her feet with the same circular motion, then he used his fingers like feathers, tracing the insides of her calves and thighs. She had never thought her body had so many erogenous zones, but with Nick, each inch of her body came alive. Suddenly, his hand, slick with the soap, slid into the cleft of her buttocks, slowly rubbing, teasing. The walls of her sex flexed and contracted as need spread through her.
Then he turned her to face him and began the same process in the front, massaging her breasts and the tight pink nipples with his soapy fingers. Then down to her navel where the tip of one finger circled it. His fingers moved with the barest of touches into that soft area of her folds, his soap-slicked thumb finding her sensitive nub while two fingers easily penetrated her.
Her body felt liquid, formless, and the throbbing deep inside her intensified. She could hardly stand and had to clutch Nick’s shoulders for support.
“Now your turn,” he whispered, handing her the soap.
Lindsey didn’t think she could function, as weak as she was from his ministrations, but Nick clasped his hand over hers and placed it on his chest. She took a deep breath to steady herself and began soaping his chest, running her fingers through the dark mat of curls as she lathered them. She smiled at the hiss of his breath that escaped as her fingernails grazed his nipples, spreading soap on them and brushing it away.
She paused at his navel to trace the indentation, the tip of her finger fitting into it exactly, then following the fine hair of his groin until she reached the darker tangle and then… His erection was so huge and enormous that she could barely grasp it with her slippery hands.
Creating more lather, she spread it on him slowly, gently teasing him with her fingernail. His whole body shuddered at her touch. When she placed one hand on his chest, she felt the heavy beating of his heart.
Shaking from desire, she thought she would burst out of her skin. She didn’t know how much longer she could do this. Just the feel of his skin beneath her hands made her hotter than a pistol.
Without warning, a low growl burst from his throat. “Enough.”
He rinsed them both quickly before helping her out of the shower and drying them with big towels. Then he lifted her and carried her to the bed. The minute their bodies hit the cool smoothness of the sheets, they were on each other like wild animals, touching, teasing, and twisting together. Every time he touched her skin, tiny flames licked at it, searing it. His eyes, when she looked in them, glittered with desire.
His lips came down on hers, and his tongue thrust past her lips and teeth into her willing mouth, licking at the soft skin. She reveled in the feel of his big body covering hers, surrounding her, and she rubbed her breasts against the thick hair on his hard-muscled chest. When he eased one nipple between the knuckles of two fingers and squeezed gently, heat speared all the way to her hungry sex.
His hot, wet mouth pressed a kiss between her breasts, then he trailed the tip of his tongue along the length of her abdomen, tasting the tiny drops of water that still nestled in her navel and clung to the dark, golden hair covering the entrance to her sexual heat. Groaning with desire, he nudged her thighs apart and laid his palm over her mound, feeling her dampness, stroking the fold, sliding his fingers into her wetness, and stimulating her inner walls.
She was hot, so aroused she could barely breathe.
“Your skin is so soft, so sweet, and your body so hot. I’d like to fuck you forever, bury myself in you, fill you so your muscles are clenched tight around my cock.” He nipped the lobe of one ear. “Want to kiss that sweet ass of yours, run my hands over it, squeeze it. Drive my cock into it and fuck you there until you scream.”
His words made her burn as desire rose fast and furiously. With Nick she’d reached a level of sensuality that was totally unexpected, and she reveled in it. She moved restlessly against him, wanting him to fill her, to give the kind of satisfaction no other man had ever been able to elicit.
She moaned as the need built higher.
Pressing her against the mattress, he levered her knees apart, and she arched upward, her body silently begging.
“Now,” she pleaded. “Please, Nick. Please now.”
His strong fingers tilted her hips to give him deeper penetration, and he entered her with a long, slow push. She was wild, wrapping her legs around him, hooking her feet onto his back to lift herself and move with him to the rhythm. She stretched to accept him, pulsing around his thickness, a wave of pure lust sweeping over her so strong it consumed her.
The only sounds in the room were the point and counterpoint of their breathing and the slide of skin against the cotton fabric of the sheets. When their climax hit, it grabbed them both at the same time, shaking their bodies, creating a dark whirlpool that sucked at them.
They lay for a long time afterward, holding each other until their breathing slowed and eased. Finally, Nick slid to one side, still holding her cradled in his arms, pulled the covers over them, and settled her more comfortably against his body.
“I will always take care of you, Lindsey.” His voice covered her like melted chocolate. “Do you believe me?”
She hesitated only a second. “Yes. I do.”
At least I want to. But what about love? Is that in there anywhere? Never mind. I’ll enjoy what we have.
She sighed and relaxed against him.
He kissed her forehead and her cheeks, and still holding each other, they fell asleep.
****
Where are you? How did you slip away?
I want to make sure you know I’m always, always watching.
Do you lie awake at night, filled with fear? Is your mind racing to figure out who I am? You cannot imagine the degree of suffering I wish on you. Can you feel the hate?
I will reveal myself sooner or later, but not until you are crazed with terror. Shall I cut you with my knife, hundreds of tiny cuts so you bleed slowly? Or shoot you in your arms and legs so you can’t move while I do whatever I want to increase your pain.
What you have now will be nothing. Your money can’t save you, and neither can that asshole who thinks he’s protecting you. I have eyes on you both. You think you’re so smart. Just wait. Soon you’ll know. Then I’ll have the upper hand.
Bitch!