Chapter 6
“Hey! Hey! Easy there, Faith.”
Recognizing the voice, Faith turned around, stammering, “Landon?”
He had been passing by the building and had recognized her car in the empty parking lot. It was more the fact that he didn’t think it was very safe to be alone in a building, rather than just simply wanting to see her.
Her delicate profile in the dimly lit room had him thinking of a fragile flower, standing alone in a field.
The fear in those beautiful brown eyes had him halting, “You couldn’t have been that scared of me. What’s wrong?”
“What? Nothing?” Her eyes skittered away from him, and she immediately knelt down to gather the evidence that had struck a chord in her.
“What is this?”
He was kneeling next to her, studying one of the photographs he had picked up.
“Nothing!” Faith made a grab at the picture, not able to hide the quiver in her eyes. “Just a harmless prank. Just a prank.”
The way she repeated those words had his eyes narrowing.
“Faith.” His firm fingers held her chin, forcing her to meet his gaze, “What is going on?”
The panic in his eyes told him that this was a delicate situation.
“I said it’s nothing.”
His jaw tense, he helped her up, and said, “At least let me walk you out.”
“Yeah.” Her whole body was trembling, he realized and a surge of anger swept through him. Something about these photographs had frightened her badly, so much so, that there was not a hint of that sassy woman he had met today.
She was willing to take his offered protection and didn’t give two damns about it. And that meant something about these photographs had made her feel unsafe and vulnerable.
“My bag. Where is it?” Faith looked around. “Keys.”
She was muttering under her breath, her mind going in circles at what all these could mean.
“Here.” Landon handed her the black purse that she carried everywhere with her. He picked up the untouched food containers, and put them in the discarded bag they had come in.
Hand on her back, he guided her to the elevator.
She was silent throughout, her fingers clutching onto her purse so hard that they were white.
“Why- why did you drop by?” Faith asked, trying to distract herself.
“I was calling you to find out when we should meet tomorrow, but your line wasn’t connecting. So, I dropped by to see if I could catch you before you left.” Landon lied, easily.
As, he walked her to her car, he put a gentle hand on her arm, “Faith.”
“What?”
“Why don’t you let me drive you home? You don’t seem to be in a condition to be driving anywhere.”
Faith studied him and thought about driving back to her house, being all alone had her uneasy with the thought. “But my car is here.”
“I can have somebody tow it to your place.”
Faith swallowed, “I appreciate it.”
His car smelled like him, wild and masculine. The seats were leather and the engine purred like a well fed cat.
“You have a nice car.” She offered, trying to be polite.
“She’s a beauty, isn’t she?”
“She?”
The sheepish look on his face had her smiling.
As they drove back in silence, Landon tried to put her at ease, “You know, when I was young, there was this burger joint that me and Roger used to sneak to, late at night. Pop’s knew us and he would always call our parents. But while they drove up there to yell at us, Pop would serve us these big beef burgers with a chocolate milkshake and he would say ‘Enjoy your last meal, boys.’”
Faith suppressed a smile at the innocence of that story, and couldn’t help but imagine him as a young boy, “Why would you sneak out at night for those burgers?”
Landon gave her a solemn look, “Because those burgers always tasted best at night.”
Faith couldn’t contain the chuckle, “You’re exaggerating.”
“I am not. Look, there it is.” He pointed towards an animated sign of something that closely resembled Santa Claus. The place itself was brightly lit. “Now, can’t you imagine sneaking in there in the dead of night and enjoy a hot burger with fries, and some sweet sweet milkshake to wash it all down.”
Faith turned to stare at him, “You’re just trying to tempt me like the devil.”
Landon shrugged, “I mean your chinese has gone cold. And here I’m offering you a substitute which is making my mouth water. It’s your choice.”
Now, Faith’s mouth was starting to water, “I mean.” She begrudgingly admitted, “I am hungry.”
“Oh, great!”
The car took a swift U turn, making Faith grab onto her seat in terror, and they were parked outside Pop’s Joint in under one minute.
Landon helped her out and despite being a modern woman of the twenty first century, the move had butterflies fluttering in Faith’s stomach.
“Let’s see if this place is as good as you say it is.”
“A word, Faith.”
The serious look on Landon’s face had Faith pausing, uncertainly, “What?”
He placed a hand on her shoulder, his blue eyes intent, “The restroom here really smells. So, please don’t lock me in there.”
At Faith’s scowl, he roared in laughter and flung his arm around her shoulders, teasingly, “I’d prefer the storage unit. It’s got all the ice cream.”
“You’re incorrigible.” She muttered, delighting him.
When he kept laughing, she shoved at him, “Oh, stop it!”
“Don’t be mad.” Landon tried to say, but he was still snickering and she turned her head away, saying disdainfully, “Boys.”
“Brown? That you?” An elderly man peered out from the kitchen. “Don’t tell me I need to call your – Did you sneak a girl into my fine establishment?”
“How’ve you been, Pops?”
“This arthritis is killing my hip, but it’s been good. Who’s your girl?”
“I’m not his girl.” Faith spoke up, her brows knitting together.
She noted that Landon didn’t backup her claim. Instead, he led her to a table and as she sat, “This is Faith. She’s handling the project for the refurbished homes for the SEALS.”
Pops exited the kitchen. Wiping his hands on a towel that hung from the pocket of his apron, he peered at her, “That’s a mighty fine job you’re doing, Faith. One of my boys is working on the construction crew. You would be the lady who helped him carry some of the equipment out of the truck?”
Landon blinked.
Faith’s cheeks turned slightly red, “He had hurt his back the other day. I could see it was difficult for him. It was not that big a deal.”
Pops smiled knowingly.
That’s not what his son had said.
This little lady in front of him had been reverently described by his boy as looking like a warrior princess with a fierce look in her eyes. He said she had rolled up her sleeves and then spent an hour helping him empty the back of the truck.
Ronnie was half in love with her.
Too bad, he didn’t have a chance.
By the look in the Brown boy’s eyes, the boy was also fascinated by this wisp of a woman.
“We’ll have two of your specials, Pops. And two chocolate milkshakes.” Landon seated himself at the table, across from Faith.
“So, you like to get your hands dirty, huh?”
“It was just once,” Faith protested. She lowered her voice, “Ronnie had slipped the other day on the stairs. He was supposed to be on bed rest. What would you have done?”
She looked so defensive that Landon had to laugh. He liked her. She was kind and warm and when someone crossed her, she would act like a territorial kitten, fur all ruffled up.
As he smiled at her scowling face, he could almost envision her sprawled over the black satin sheets of his bed, all drowsy eyed and sleepy, smiling at him. More than just the blood going to his cock, he felt a contentment at that image. And that made him a little unsure.
Faith eyed the man sitting across from her, warily.
He was looking at her like one would at their favorite dessert and she wondered if he knew she was not on the menu.
She was glad she had let him talk her into coming here. She had desperately needed a distraction from the pictures she had just received. Landon had not pushed the issue and she was grateful for that. However, when he had offered to drop her home, a part of her had relaxed.
She wasn’t ready to go home.
She felt like her privacy had been invaded. One of the pictures had been of her leaving her house.
She wouldn’t feel safe there.
Taking out her phone, she excused herself, and walking towards the ladies room, she rounded the corner, and once out of sight, she leaned against the wall, letting out a deep breath.
Quickly turning on her phone, she started looking for nearby motels. Maybe she could ask Landon to drop her at one. Let him assume what he wanted to.
Her attention on her phone, she didn’t notice the man approaching her till he was right there.
“Why are you looking at motels?” Landon demanded.
When Faith jumped, he felt some remorse, but shoved it down. This wasn’t the time for that.
“Faith.”
The difference in their height was noticeable.
He was a large man, standing at more than six feet, while she was a mere five one. So, as she looked up at him and ran a nervous hand through those pretty brown curls, he realized she was more spooked than she had let on.
“I’m just-“ She trailed off, not knowing what to say. If she admitted the photos had frightened her, he might ask her more questions, and…And what?
Landon boxed her in with his body and whereas that might have pissed her off on any other day, the sheer heat that radiated from him made her feel safe and protected, and so she was horrified when she felt her eyes burn.
“Are you-“
“I’m not crying!” She growled at him, cutting him off and scrubbing her eyes. The glare directed at him dared him to say different.
“Fine. Then why are you looking at motels, Faith?” His gaze remained steady.
“For a friend,” She glared at him. “Not that it’s any of your business.”
He glared back at her, irked at her stubbornness, “Or maybe those pictures you hid in your purse have you running scared?”
Faith’s lips trembled before she firmed them and shoved at him, “So what if they have? I’m not going back home! Whoever sent these knows where I live!”
It enraged Landon to see the fear in those beautiful eyes that she was trying to mask with misplaced anger.
“And you think this person won’t be able to track you down to some motel?” He snapped at her.
Faith let out a shuddering breath, all the fight leaving her body. She let the wall take her weight as she let out a defeated breath, “It’s nearing midnight and I just found out that I might have a potential stalker who knows where I live and where I work. Do you have a better suggestion than hiding out in a motel for tonight?”
Landon stared down at her, “Come with me.”
“Excuse me?” Faith blinked.
“You can spend the night at my apartment.”
Faith stared at him, “I don’t even know you. What if you –“ She left her sentence hanging.
He liked that she had enough self preservation about not going off with a man she had just met a day ago and he told her that.
“Everyone knows me. You can drop a message to your friends. Let them know. Maybe that will make you feel safer with me.”
“Well, I don’t feel unsafe with you,” Faith muttered, blushing. “I wasn’t trying to imply.”
“You can take the bed. I’ll sleep on the sofa. And tomorrow we can go to the police.”
In the meantime, he intended to hit up a few of his own contacts to track this bastard down.
Faith rubbed her arms, and mumbled, “This sucks.”
Landon couldn’t help but rub the pad of his thumb against her cheek, and give her an exasperated smile, “You’re absolutely adorable.”
She looked so startled by his words, that he took advantage of her surprise and herded her off to their table where Pops had just put their burgers, “It’s decided then.”
***
The burgers had been nice but Faith had been too churned up to actually taste them.
As she followed Landon through the front door of his apartment, she found herself hesitating.
He held the door open for her, expectantly, and she sighed, giving in.
It wasn’t a huge apartment but it was well kept and sparse.
“You like to live lean.” Faith commented, slowly.
“Well, yeah.” Landon replied, stripping off his black leather jacket and tossing it over a chair that he had. “I come here once a year so I don’t need much.”
As he rifled through the storage closet for extra blankets, Faith studied the room.
A long couch that was situated in front of a huge television screen was the only thing that seemed to have been chosen with care. Otherwise everything seemed to be Ikea bought. A small table with two chairs. The kitchen was small and located in the far corner.
Faith clutched onto her bag, nervously, “Are you sure this is okay, Landon?”
Landon walked over to the couch and dumped a pillow and a blanket on it, before turning to her. He raised a brow, “Nobody in their right mind would come after you with a Navy SEAL protecting you.”
Faith blushed and refused to meet his eyes.
One minute she was all feisty and the next she would blush like a virgin. Landon shook his head, hiding his grin.
“You take the bed.”
“I can sleep on the couch,” Faith protested. “I’m small so it wouldn’t be an uncomfortable fit.”
Landon studied her and wanted to tell just how perfect of a fit she would be to him, but insteads he bit his tongue, and just pointed towards the bedroom. “I want to be between the the door and you.”
Faith paled, “You don’t think…”
She trailed off.
Landon frowned, “I like to be prepared for the worst. Whoever this bastard is, he’s not getting his hands on you.”
Faith swallowed.
The bed had black sheets that were smooth to the touch and for some reason their texture had Faith’s cheeks turning red. When she had run her hand over them, the heated gaze on the back of her neck had her slowly turning around to see Landon watching her from the doorway.
His voice had been thick with an emotion she didn’t want to identify, as he had handed her a large white T shirt, “Here. If you want to change into something more comfortable.”
He had left her alone, closing the door behind him with a final click.
As she lay on the bed, Faith found that she couldn’t sleep. This sense of safety was but an illusion.
Somebody had been following her. Watching her. And they wanted her to know that they were watching her.
For how long?
Faith forced herself to sit up, and let her legs dangle from the side of the bed.
How long had he been watching her for?
Had he been in her house?
Had she ever truly been safe?
Or alone?
Reaching out, she grabbed the dreaded envelope that stuck out from her purse.
Sitting cross legged on the bed, she placed all the photos in order, and tried to recall the dates, times events for each photo.
There were fifteen photographs in all.
As she started arranging them in order, her heart started beating faster, as she realized the timeline was running farther and farther back.
It took her a while but finally she was staring at the first photo.
The picture showed her sitting in a café with a guy, wearing a yellow dress.
A dress that she had lost.
That had to be a coincidence, right?
But, as she studied each and every picture, she could pinpoint small things that had gone missing after that day.
Like the pearl earrings she had worn on her meeting with the Board of Directors of her firm.
Her finger touched the picture and her blood ran cold.
This guy had been in her house.
He had touched her things.
Had he been there while she slept?
Scared, angry, terrified, she tossed all the photos onto the floor, and curled up in a ball, letting her tears flow.
She was so scared.
The strong arms that wrapped themselves around her had her curling into them, sobbing.
“Faith.” Landon’s voice was firm, soothing.
“He was in my house.” Her voice trembled. “Oh, God. He was in my house!”
Hearing the terror in her voice, Landon wrapped himself around her, letting her ride out the fear and tears.
The cold rage that built up in him was a deadly force.