“Without breaking one of your rules about throwing jealous tantrums and demanding to know who that was, I’ll just ask that we’re both clear on the monogamy in this thing we’re doing.”
“It’s not like that,” she told him, wishing she had a better explanation. “He really was no one.”
“You said he was a friend.”
She pressed her lips together in the impression of a smile and stepped out of his hold. No doubt about it, she was rattled, not just from Connor’s visit but from the lies she was telling Lincoln.
When she opened the door Aggie darted out, bypassing Lincoln completely and running straight for the driveway. Lola and Cocoa were clearly agitated in their crates, pacing and sniffing. When she released them, they too ran for the front yard.
Lincoln shook his head, as the dogs all gave up their usual greetings and completely ignored him. “You’re all acting strange,” he pointed out. “What the hell is going on?”
Without answering Sadie headed out the back door, making sure the dogs stayed where they were supposed to. Rarely did they leave the yard, with the exception of Cocoa who liked to roam the woods and brook. They sniffed for a few minutes but quickly came to the conclusion that the threat was gone. Lola found a shady spot in the backyard to lay, Cocoa trotted to her outdoor pen and found a bone, and Aggie joined Sadie and Lincoln on the deck.
“I don’t like being ignored.” Lincoln’s voice was deep, his words short and crisp.
“I don’t like someone prying in my business,” she retorted defensively.
“I showed up to some dude hightailing it out of your yard like his ass was on fire, the dogs going berserk, and you looking like you’d seen a ghost. You can’t really think I’m not going to ask what the hell is going on.”
“His name is Connor. He does some work for me sometimes.” More lies. “The dogs aren’t crazy about him and neither am I. End of story.”
“Did your father really teach you nothing? If you have someone working for you and you don’t like him, fire him.”
She shook her head and went inside, Lincoln following. “It’s not that simple.”
“When you’re the boss, it is.”
Well, there was where he was wrong. She wasn’t the boss where Connor was concerned. He was calling all the shots and she just did as she was told. Eventually, he’d grow up and have enough money to get out of her hair.
“I’ll take that into consideration,” she told him.
When they got to her room, he made himself comfortable on the bed, stretching out, hands stacked on his stomach.
The way he watched her was unnerving. Not only his innate curiosity but the sensuality he conveyed with just a look. Yes, he was annoyed with her; it was very plain to see on his face. His brows were drawn down and his lips a straight, unforgiving line but his blue eyes were alive with heat, watching her every move.
“Has anyone ever told you you’re stubborn?” he asked, his voice low.
“Never,” she lied, relieved to be back in familiar territory.
“If you need anything—”
“You already said that.”
“I meant it,” he insisted. “If you need anything, call me. If you want me to fire someone for you, I will.”
“I’ll handle it,” she told him.
“I don’t like coming out here and finding you scared.” Before she could argue he continued. “You were scared. For whatever reason and I don’t like it. Whoever he is, whatever he does for you, get rid of him.”
He was right but Sadie still bristled. “You don’t get to insert yourself in my life and tell me what to do.”
Lincoln raised himself off the bed, standing to his full height. He took a few steps closer until they were chest to chest. Sadie defiantly stood her ground, hands on hips.
“I’m going to skip the opportunity to make a crack about inserting myself in you and ask when, in the last month, have I ever told you what to do?”
From this close, Sadie thought, Lincoln was much taller than he appeared and he loomed over her. It would have been intimidating if he hadn’t slipped an arm around her waist and pulled her close as he spoke. If his hand wasn’t caressing her cheek as he gazed deeply into her eyes.
When had he told her what to do?
“Just now,” she eked out.
“I’m trying to help you, Sadie.” Her eyes closed as his thumb caressed her cheek. “I’m not trying to be your boss or order you around. To be honest, I’m not really into that kind of thing.” He smiled when her eyes snapped to his. “That got your attention. You live out here alone. I worry about that even if you think I shouldn’t. I especially worry when I see you not protecting yourself like I think you should. If there’s someone in your life that scares you or makes you uncomfortable, get rid of them. End of story.”
He was right. She hated it, but it was the truth.
For months, Connor’s erratic behavior had been escalating. His timeline had increased, and he stopped by, at all hours, making her more than wary of his visits. She was scared. Lincoln had hit the nail on the head.
“You want help firing someone? I’m your guy.”
Her heart swelled despite what her head told her. She liked when he said things like that, when he let her claim him.
“I like this bag you’re packing here,” he said casually, his thumbs still stroking her cheeks. “I think you overpacked though. I have no intention of letting you wear even half of those clothes.”
Sadie pursed her lips and sent him a droll look. “I’m not dragging my ass all the way to the city to be your sex slave all weekend. I expect food and entertainment. For that, I need clothes.”
“I’m supposed to feed you?” He feigned shock. At least, she hoped he was.
“You bet your ass you are,” she confirmed. “And entertain. I don’t want some Netflix and chill weekend. I want Little Italy and the Botanical Garden. I want Cambridge breweries and cannolis from Mike’s.”
She could see Lincoln holding in a smile.
“Too much?” she asked with a slight wince.
He shook his head and leaned in, his lips pressed hard against hers in a searing kiss.
He was smiling when he pulled back. “No. Just right.”
10
Sadie had lied. She didn’t need to be entertained at all while they were in the city.
If anything, she entertained him. She’d dragged him to restaurants he never would have stepped foot in, either too small or too unknown. They’d visited city gardens he hadn’t even known existed and seen a silent film starring actors he’d never heard of. There was nothing Sadie wasn’t willing try.
She may have talked a lot about staying out of Boston, but the city’s energy still ran through her veins.
With a raised hand and a sharp whistle, the woman knew how to hail a cab.
She wasn’t fazed by honking horns or crossing busy streets, and though she lived differently now, she held a true appreciation for his townhouse.
It had weighed on him all week—how would she react to seeing his home. She was no stranger to multi-million dollar properties but his was new to her. Would she like the modern lines in the old home or would she think them out of place? Would she see the professional decor and discount how it fit into his personal style?
He shouldn’t have worried. He should have trusted the Sadie he knew to see his home for what it was. His refuge in an otherwise sterile existence. She’d touched things. Picked them up and inspected them, feeling her way around.
He looked over at her in the passenger seat as he drove them back to her place Sunday evening. She looked serene, her eyes closed as the air conditioner blew her blond hair against the seat, cooling the July heat that filtered in through the car windows.
“You’re staring,” she said, never so much as cracking an eyelid.
“Just thinking about you naked.”
She smiled then, half her face quirked up. “You didn’t get enough of that this weekend?”
&
nbsp; Not even close. They’d spent hours in bed. He’d seen her spread out on his bed, her pale skin glowing in the moonlight and it hadn’t been nearly enough. He’d seen her midday, lit up by the afternoon sun, bent over his couch, and it hadn’t been nearly enough.
He’d taken her as she sat on his kitchen counter and in the master bathroom’s soaking tub.
He wasn’t sure he’d ever had so much sex in his life in one weekend.
When he felt himself stir, the thought of her beneath him again too much for his imagination, he chuckled, “No.”
At the word, Cocoa lifted her head from the backseat and sent them a confused look.
“Not you, my good girl,” Sadie assured her. “You’re a good girl.”
“She looks so sad,” Lincoln commented.
The big chocolate lab had been in her glory all weekend. They’d taken her and Gordon on walks around the neighborhood and to the dog park. They’d bonded over roughhousing with toys in Lincoln’s house, but more importantly they, like Lincoln and Sadie, had slept together at night.
Lincoln shifted, uncomfortable with the guilt he felt. He’d separated the inseparable. He was fully expecting to return home at the end of the night to a trashed house. Gordon had not been happy that Cocoa was leaving and he’d made it clear with loud barks and pitiful crying.
“She is sad. We just ripped her away from her boyfriend,” Sadie pointed out. “She’ll be fine once we get home. Seeing Aggie and Lola will help.”
“I have a feeling Gordon won’t be so forgiving when I get home.”
“He’ll be happy to see you,” she offered. “Give him a popsicle.”
“A bribe?”
“Absolutely.” She laughed. “Whatever works.”
After a few minutes of silence, Lincoln spoke. “We seemed to make it in and out of the city unscathed.”
It was a topic they’d avoided almost all weekend. That and her mystery visitor from Friday. Those things existed somewhere in both of their peripheries but they’d both left them untouched for the weekend.
They’d been better for it, concentrating on being together and learning what made each other tick.
There were things he found completely compelling about Sadie. Things like her noteworthy singing voice and her love of American history. She’d taken note of numerous historic sites in the city, telling him tales of revolutionists and rebels. He’d never imagined her to be so interested in such an academic subject proving once again, he continued to underestimate her.
He was beginning to annoy himself. He kept telling her that she was a different person than she used to be, yet there he was, still holding her in those same confines.
“It helped that the city was empty,” she commented, breaking him out of his reverie.
“It did,” he agreed. There had been no concern of running into someone either of them knew, both of them confident those people had all fled the city for the beach. “It helped that we spent so much time at home.”
“You keep bringing up sex,” she pointed out. “Is there a reason for that?”
“I can’t stop thinking about it,” he told her honestly. “Can you?”
He let out a relieved breath when her face turned up into a secretive smile. “I may have thought about it a time or two.”
“I was thinking I probably need to come in for a few minutes before I head back to the city.”
One perfectly arched brow lifted. “Is that so?”
“Yeah. At least, get a drink and rest for a minute or two.”
“Rest,” she repeated.
“If rest is a euphemism for making you come, them yes. I need to rest. Desperately.”
She laughed that loud, bawdy laugh he loved to hear. “I would never say to no to resting.”
When he pulled into her driveway, not ten minutes later, they both had their minds on the bedroom. While there hadn’t been much more conversation between them, there had been looks. Heated looks that said more than any words could.
His mind elsewhere, Lincoln looked up at Sadie’s house, his brain taking a moment to process what he was seeing. She followed his gaze and her sharp intake of breath felt like a punch to the gut.
The door to her house stood wide open, the wood surrounding it broken and splintered.
Someone had been in her house.
“Call the police and stay here,” he told Sadie before he cautiously edged to the front door, leaving her in the car.
There were no signs that anyone was in the house. He could see into the living room, stuffing from the furniture strewn across the floor. All of Sadie’s pictures and books were tossed about carelessly, but there was no movement anywhere.
Still, he was relieved that Sadie was in the car. If he did come across an intruder, he wanted her as far away from that threat as possible. When he turned she was sitting in the passenger seat, phone to her ear.
Lincoln picked his way through Sadie’s house as quietly as possible. The hardwood floors were scratched, someone going out of their way to take a screwdriver to them. Her bookshelves were bare, everything that usually lived there either on the floor or carelessly thrown in the fireplace. Not burned, but covered with soot and ash.
In the kitchen, the refrigerator stood open, all its contents scattered around the room. Broken dishes filled the sink, the window above it shattered.
Who would do something like this to Sadie?
Lincoln squeezed his hands into fists to keep his temper in check. Who could hate Sadie so much that they’d come trash her house like this? Anyone who knew Sadie knew her home was her sanctuary. It was a clear violation of something she held dear.
More angry than cautious, he made his way through her makeshift office and took in the papers scattered everywhere.
Doing his best to be silent he climbed the stairs.
Best he could tell, there was no one in the house. The upstairs was still as he went, room to room, checking for intruders. While there was no sign of anyone still being in the house, they still made their presence known. It lingered in the bathroom where the frilly, white shower curtain lay, ripped and useless on the floor. In Sadie’s bedroom her closet had been torn apart, clothes laid in heaps on the floor.
Lips pursed, chest tight, Lincoln sucked in a calming breath as he stood over the bed.
Whoever had been in Sadie’s room had laid out nearly every matching set of lingerie she owned. It had been done with care, making sure each piece had a match.
It had been done with malice.
Logically, he knew the police needed to see this. It was a clear threat to Sadie. Not just the break in, as if that was enough, but this display was a direct threat in his eyes.
“Linc?”
“Don’t come up here,” he called, hurrying back down the stairs.
“I’m not.” She was still outside when he rounded the corner, looking small and broken. If he hadn’t been fuming before, he was now. Hunched over, arms wrapped around herself, Sadie’d had something stolen from her today.
He wouldn’t stand for it.
“The police are here,” she told him, pointing to the lone squad car in the driveway.
“That’s it?” he growled. When her haunted eyes met his, he reeled it in. “I’m sorry,” he said, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her into his arms. “I didn’t mean to snap at you.” He kissed the top of her head and grabbed her hand, heading for the police cruiser.
They hadn’t even come in with lights or sirens. What kind of emergency management did they have in this town?
The officer, who stepped out of the car, couldn’t have been more than twenty-two.
“Sir,” the kid said to Lincoln with a nod. “Your house was broken into.”
“Not my house,” he corrected, his voice harsh and commanding. The young man took notice, standing at attention. “It’s Sadie Charles’s house and yes, there’s been a break-in. Her home’s been vandalized.”
“You went in?” the officer asked, taking out his notebook.
“I did.” Even though he knew he shouldn’t have. “Whoever did it is long gone.”
“I’m going to document the scene. A detective has been called in but it’s a Sunday. She might be a while.”
“I don’t care where your detective is,” Lincoln told him. “Get her here. Now.”
“Sir,” the kid argued.
“Lincoln,” Sadie pleaded.
“You get her here now or I start making some phone calls. I guarantee you don’t want to hear from the people I can call. The state’s attorney general being one of them.”
The young officer’s brows drew down. “I’m just telling you what they told me.”
“Get back to them with what I told you,” Lincoln said. “There’s a threat to Sadie’s life here and it’s fairly obvious. If your department isn’t equipped to handle her safety, I’ll call someone higher up until I find someone who is.”
She was shaking when he pulled her into the circle of his arms.
“What does that mean? There’s a threat to my life?”
“Someone came into your home and trashed your things, Sadie. They went through your belongings.” He didn’t want to tell her about the underwear. It was such a personal violation; he didn’t want to be the one she remembered telling her about it for the rest of her life. The only other options were to let her see it unprepared or letting a stranger tell her about it. “Someone went through your lingerie,” he told her quietly. “Laid it out on your bed for you to see. Someone’s sending you a message.”
“Connor.” The name was no more than a whisper on a breath, but Lincoln still heard it.
“The guy who was here the other day?”
She hadn’t meant to say his name out loud, that much was obvious. She shut down, separating herself from him as if she hadn’t said it, but there was no taking the information back. Now that he knew Sadie viewed the guy as a real threat, Lincoln would make sure whoever this Connor was, he didn’t get near her ever again.
“You can go,” Sadie told him for the tenth time.
The police were just finishing their crime scene investigation, the detective telling Sadie she’d be able to go into the house within minutes. She kept telling him he could leave, and he wasn’t sure if he should be insulted that she didn’t want him around or annoyed that she didn’t think he’d want to.
No Love Left Behind (Boston Billionaire's Club Book 1) Page 12