Andreas sighed. No, he didn’t blame Aliya for leaving, or Cat for pushing him away. Reflecting back, he remembered it had been shortly after Aliya’s phone call that he made the decision to move to Florida. Get out of that line of work. He wanted more for his brothers than that. He didn’t want them to experience what he had—a relationship destroyed by the job. He never told them about Aliya and the baby. That he kept to himself. His own private grief. His alone.
He threw back his drink and finished it. His family was in jeopardy again; so was Cat’s life, and the lives of other innocents. All victims of this killer. Being drawn to Cat could cloud his judgment, and even though he had never experienced such a powerful attraction to a woman before, he vowed to himself to keep it professional. The look in her eyes had reminded him of Aliya. She had that same look when she had given him back his ring. He had let her go. He would let Cat go too.
He stripped down to his boxers and climbed onto the sofa. It was late and he had much to do the next day. He needed to find out why Romeo was after Cat. He needed to catch this man. But despite the determination to put Cat out of his mind, sleep would not come. Her grey eyes called to him and he couldn’t get the thought of her upstairs lying alone in his bed out of his mind.
* * *
When she came into the room, all his thoughts, promises, and vows of last night dissipated. She took his breath away, as she greeted him and Nikko. Her look of panic was gone, and she wished him good morning with a warm smile on her face.
“Would you like some coffee?” he asked, getting up to pour her a cup from the sideboard if she wished.
“No thank you, Andreas. I am fine. I have had enough for today. I had a cup earlier with Bella before she left for work. She is charming.”
He nodded his agreement. “Bella is an angel. Perfect for my brother, Blaze.”
“All of your brothers’ wives are well-suited for their mates,” she whispered, gazing at him under dark lashes.
Seeing her sitting there, making polite conversation, the need to be near her overpowered him. He was drawn like a moth to the flame. Completely forgetting his brother’s presence, he walked towards her, and was happy when she did not flinch or back away. Her fears of last night had dissipated. He sat next to her. “The police will be here soon.”
Nikko just watched the entire exchange. His brother had forgotten he was there the minute this woman walked into the room. It was like he was a different person. He had never seen Andreas smile at a woman. And it shocked him. Floored him actually. He was shocked to say the least. This, whatever it was going on between these two, was completely unexpected. Andreas had dates, usually long leggy blonds. He took them out, took them to bed, and then never saw them again, but Nikko instinctively knew something was different this time around. Clearing his throat, he reminded everyone he was in the room. Both eyes locked in on each other, but not saying a word swung up to meet his. “I’ll wait for the police in the hall. Give you a moment. I’ll let you know when they arrive.”
“Thank you,” Andreas replied to Cat’s. “Very good.”
Neither of them looked his way. Nikko shook his head as he walked out of the room wondering if Andreas was going somewhere he shouldn’t. Wondering if Cat was a woman he could pursue. Or should pursue? He thought about broaching the subject with his brothers. But sensing they needed some time to talk before the police arrived, he acted the good brother and just slipped out. Andreas was a big boy, and he could handle whatever was going on for now. He had always been their leader, the one who kept them focused, and Nikko still had confidence that Andreas would handle this too.
When Nikko shut the double doors, Cat broke eye contact and looked away, but just for a moment.
“I must apologize,” she muttered while meeting his eyes once more. The blue of his eyes reminded her of the summer sky. So crystalline, and so soothing. She could feel herself getting lost in them. Their depths were endless.
“For what?” he asked, turning his head to the side to gaze directly at her.
Sighing once more, she explained. “For my reaction last night.” He saw the turn of her mouth. It was slight, but he sensed it was a sad smile, one of disappointment.
He cleared his throat, then wet his lips. “Cat, can I ask you something personal?” Andreas could not hold back. Her reaction had kept him awake half the night. That and other less innocent thoughts of her. Her eyes narrowed, but she nodded after a brief pause. “Why did you pull away last night so abruptly? When we were upstairs?”
Again there was that soft sigh, and he knew then that this was how she expressed her sadness. Knowing he shouldn’t, but his body had a mind of its own when she was near, he softly took her chin in his hand and steered her face back to his. “I would never hurt you,” he whispered.
Her eyes widened at his choice of words. What did he mean?
“I would not use you either. I think we both feel there is something between us.”
“Yes,” she agreed pulling her chin out of his hands but not looking away. She was having a difficult time fighting her attraction to this man. But having never felt these emotions, confused her. She examined him, his face, his earnestness, and then she took him in. All of him. He was a strong man, handsome, protective. So unlike any man she had known. One moment his eyes were fierce, and then the next he was gazing at her like that, seeking something, exploring her, and trying to see inside. It frightened her like nothing ever had. His kiss last night startled her. She had not been intimate in quite some time. After her years as a slave, and because sex had been something used by men to debase her, she had chosen her clients very carefully. She was making her way in the world the only way she knew how. She had no formal education other than what she had learned from her great grandmother and in primary schools. She had read vociferously, and studied people until her brief placement into foster care had entitled her to an education.
She had taken advantage of that while waiting tables at a campus restaurant, and had pursued a business degree. Her degree helped her to start her escort service. She combined the two things she knew how to do together. It had taken her a year to get her business off the ground, and then she met Sandy. Her first girl. She had introduced her to another girl who needed help. Then she expanded her business. But relationships with men had never been something she pursued unless it was in the line of work. Men, she did not trust. That was why she screened her clients so carefully. In that first year, her and her two girls had sex on occasion with their clients, but once her business began to grow, she learned to take on a better class of clients. And she did well; they all did.
But most men in her experience, never thought of the woman’s enjoyment. It had meant nothing to them. In fact, she had learned to block it out after a while. She allowed her mind to float away, and to think of beaches, sunsets, clouds, and the sky. Things she remembered fondly from childhood. But when Andreas held her, when he touched her face, she could not think of anything but the man before her, the beat of her heart accelerating, the way her nipples puckered and heat flooded through her. This was something she was not used to when embracing a man. And she was afraid. What if he was like all the others? She feared giving in to her feelings because she didn’t want to be disappointed.
He was still waiting for an answer, gazing down at her with kind eyes, and passion. Both were there. She studied him. How to explain that to him when he looked at her this way? She did not know. But he was still there, looking at her like that, and she felt he deserved some kind of explanation. “I am . . . feeling things when you touch me Andreas, and it confuses me.” She saw the relieved expression cross his face.
“I thought I had scared you away,” he confessed, eyes still searching hers, hand reaching out to hold hers.
“I do not scare very easily. I have been through a lot. Just confused. My mind tells me we need to step back from this attraction we feel. It may cloud our judgement. But my body tells me other things. I did very much want you to kiss me last night
. But I panicked.” She stopped short, cleared her throat and then continued. There was a tremor in her voice. “I don’t want it to be like before . . .”
This woman puzzled him beyond measure. Her frankness and genuineness all appealed to him; her reactions were so different from the women he had been involved with before, but he could not argue against her logic. He had been having the same thoughts himself. “It makes sense to do that,” he agreed. “To step back. If it makes you feel any better, I have thought the same things, and felt the same way.” He didn’t know how to respond to her other statement yet. Like before?
“You have?” she asked, searching his eyes for clarity.
“Yes, I want to focus on the job, and I will. But when I am near you, I . . .,” he searched for the right words not to scare her, not to push her away. Knowing her experiences before him he suddenly knew what she had meant, and he picked his words carefully. He wanted to say the right thing. “I have this overwhelming feeling of wanting to take care of you. Make you happy. I can promise you this, it would be incredible between you and I, and I would make sure to take care of you in all ways.” Her eyes lit up, a spark of life in their depths, but she said nothing. A weight lifted from his chest because he just knew he had said the right thing.
He wanted to try again, and kiss her, and show her how a real man kissed. He began to lean forward, and he gazed at her lips. She was leaning in towards him, her small tongue darting out to lick them. He was almost there, a breath away, forehead to forehead, his lips slanted over hers, and he pressed his mouth to hers. He groaned and felt her tremble as his hands cupped her face. He pulled back to see her eyes, and they were half-closed and smoky grey. “Again,” she breathed and he pulled her closer, and did it again. For her. But this time he licked across the seam of her mouth. He took his time, and she opened for him, just a bit. Her hands fluttered to his chest, and he felt a surge of pride and power. She was letting him do this. Letting him claim her lips. When her tongue tentatively met his, he felt the heat, and she must have too, as a tiny moan of pleasure escaped her throat.
He was about to scoop her up into his arms and teach her all about kissing, but his brief moment of bliss was cut short. A slash of bright light filled the room from the double doors opening and Nikko entering followed by three other men. The investigators had arrived.
Chapter 16
Exposed
The police had not stayed long. Their questions bothered Andreas. He instinctively felt something was wrong and when the evening news came on, it became apparent what that was.
Gio had come into his study to tell him.
“You got to watch the news, bro,” he thundered past him and clicked on the television that was embedded in the far wall unit of Andreas’ home office. He clicked the start over feature for the eight o’clock news.
The Tampa Madame and the Tampa Serial Killer were displayed across a screen behind the anchor’s desk. “Police have no leads on the serial killer who has already victimized three woman in the Bay Area. But today, they once again questioned the woman who came forward revealing the relationship between the victims.” Now Cat’s picture was displayed across the screen. He stood abruptly. They had revealed her name to the press. “Police chief Reynold’s released this statement an hour ago. So far we have only one person who has come forward with information. The press has been calling her the Tampa Madame. One of her names is Catarina Stone, but her birth records show her name at one time was Kat Stenen. The three murders and all the information the police gathered keep leading back to Miss Stone. We have been conducting a wide investigation, and so far we have no other clues in the case. We want to warn the public at large, that anyone connected to Miss Stone may be at risk. Our investigation keeps bringing us back to her. A detailed investigation reveals that Miss Stone came to the country a known prostitute and resumed this same career here. Originally from Amsterdam, her known addresses have been Iraq, Lebanon, New Jersey, Maryland, and Florida. We also know that similar murders have occurred in some of these locations, but we are fairly certain this crime spree is related to the murders a decade ago that happened in the New York metropolitan area.”
The chief made to leave the podium. Andreas was enraged for Cat. Yes, what he said were truths, but he publicly outed her in the guise of saving anyone who had ever come into contact with her. Andreas began to pace.
“Where is Cat?” he asked of Gio who appeared just as agitated as he felt.
“Doing laps in the pool.”
“She hasn’t seen this yet?”
“No.”
“Fuck.” His fist slammed the wall and then he slammed the doors closed on the wall unit hiding the television from view.
“You going to tell her?” Gio gave his brother a consoling look. He remembered all too well when the woman he loved had been dragged through the media circus.
“I have to. She’ll see it as soon as she turns on the television, or opens her computer.”
“Okay.” Gio’s hand swept nervously to his hair. Then he wiped his palms along his pants while Andreas paced. “Andy?” he asked.
“What?” Andreas snapped still deep in thought. He needed to explain this to Cat, and he didn’t want to scare her, or hurt her.
“Andy, look at me.”
Andreas stopped pacing and looked at his brother. He saw the frown, the suspicion. He repeated his earlier question, but this time laser eyes focused on his brother. “Um, I know there is something going on here between the two of you. We’ve all seen it.”
“And?” he snapped.
“Andy, for what it’s worth, I think she is a great girl. But she runs an escort business, and she was a prostitute. I, we, just don’t want to see you get hurt.”
He was flabbergasted. “I, we, you have been discussing this?” Andreas saw red. He began to approach his brother. “First,” he poked his taller brother by an inch in the chest, “she is a good girl. Second, she may have been those things in the past, but since when do we hold people’s pasts over their heads. Third, you have no fucking clue what she has been through. Four, I am a big fucking boy. Lastly,” another poke to the chest. “Butt the hell out.”
Despite his brother’s tirade Gio did not back down. His answer was simple. “Hey, that’s not what I meant.”
“Well, what the hell did you mean?” He stood toe to toe with his brother.
“Make sure you are talking. We all like her, but you know secrets can destroy you. I just want to know she is being honest with you.”
“I already knew about this. Not that it is any of your business, but she was a sex slave. Not a prostitute by choice. Don’t believe everything you hear on the news. You of all people know how they like to twist things.”
“You care for this girl?”
Andreas nodded.
Gio felt remorse and sudden guilt. His brother hadn’t told him much of what was going on with Cat. He knew there was something there, he just hadn’t known how much feeling there was behind it. He felt like an ass. He had come here to warn his brother. “Shit,” he spoke the word softly. “I got your back. We all do. And we like her. We really do. Go, talk to her. She’ll need you. I’ll tell the others to back off.”
Andreas nodded, knowing he had over reacted. Gio would have done the same thing. He gave his brother a smile, reassuring him it was okay, and then set off to find Cat.
Gio watched his brother leave. More than anyone, he wanted his brother to find something, someone to love. He wasn’t sure Cat was it. But he knew better than to say that now. His brother’s reaction told him all he needed to know. He was falling for her, and falling hard.
Chapter 17
Behind Blue Eyes
It had been days and nothing. She still wasn’t back. Each night that week he had come around ten o’clock and using his key slipped into the Burbank’s apartment, and each night he waited for her to come home, but she didn’t. The smell of the bodies was becoming more apparent even though he had turned the AC on high to prev
ent them from decomposing too rapidly, but still he returned to find her. He regretted leaving the message in her bathroom knowing he had probably scared her away. But he just hadn’t been able to resist.
His urge to maim and kill was coming again. He could usually fight it. He could usually push it back for a while. But Thanksgiving was just days away, and he had nothing to be thankful for. Nothing. His father, and Andreas had taken all the joy out of his life. All of it. His father rotted in a prison cell still. If he could get to him, he would kill him too. But Andreas, he wasn’t so safe. He had been able to find out where he lived. But getting onto Anna Maria Island wasn’t easy. The bridge, the gate keeper, the security was tight. Only parts of the island were accessible to tourists. Where the high end residents lived, security was provided, and he was sure the security at Andreas’ home was even tighter. He found out where his brothers lived, and checked them all out. It had not been an easy feat. Using the city busses and walking was his only means of transportation right now. He needed to get a car. He also needed to get a gun.
The only time he caught a glance of one of the Marinos was when he had been sitting across the street at the bus stop waiting for a bus on Nebraska Avenue. He was fifty yards away from the front of their shop. It had been Nikko, the youngest. He had gone in alone and had not stayed very long. He had just been getting on the bus when he saw him run out. He hadn’t wanted to stay long. It was a risk going there in broad daylight. But since, he had gone back twice more. The only other person he saw was a middle aged woman going in and out. Must be the secretary; she always took in the mail when she arrived.
Maybe he would go after her he thought, as he crept out of the closet, disappointed once more. It would satisfy his blood lust until he could figure out a way to get to one of them.
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