Tempting His Heart

by Dawn Sullivan

  “No,” Sloane cried out as she leaped to her feet. Noticing the clock on the wall read 3:45, she looked around wildly for her phone. “Where’s my phone? I need to call Creed, now! He can’t go home. It’s not safe.”

  “I already called him,” Ryder said from the doorway. “He and Cassie are on their way here.”

  “Please,” Sloane insisted. “Please make sure. Someone has been in Creed’s house. He can’t go there.”

  Looking at her in concern, Ryder took out his cell phone. Before he could place the call, they heard Creed’s voice as he and Cassie came through the front door. Not thinking twice, Sloane flew down the hall and into his arms. Her body shook uncontrollably as he tried to pull back, but she refused to let go.

  “Cara, why don’t you take Cassie up to our room and she can help you pick out the outfit you want to wear when we go to see Uncle Justice,” Charles said from the kitchen. Sloane heard his voice, but she still refused to remove her arms from Creed’s neck. He wasn’t fighting her. He just held her closely to him, gently rubbing a hand up and down her back.

  When Cassie left the room, Creed bent down, slipping an arm under Sloane’s legs and lifted her into his arms. Crossing to the couch he sat down, cuddling her close. “Tell me what happened,” he said as he slipped his fingers into her hair, gently massaging her scalp.

  Slowly, Sloane sat up on his lap and inhaled deeply. “When I got to your house my mom called,” she said as she tried to get her thoughts in order. “We were talking about you,” she remembered. When he looked at her questioningly, she ignored him and continued. “I noticed the door was open a little, but I thought I must have somehow not closed it all the way this morning.”

  “Go on,” Creed encouraged her when she stopped. “You didn’t leave it open?”

  Shaking her head, she said, “I went straight to the bedroom you gave me because I was going to hang up my shirt for tonight and then take a shower. But the door was shut. I knew I left it open this morning, Creed.”

  “Please tell me you didn’t open it, Sloane,” Creed demanded.

  Shrugging guiltily, she told him, “Trust me, I wish I hadn’t. I’m so sorry about your pretty bedroom, Creed.”

  “Dammit Sloane,” Creed roared. “I don’t give a fuck about the bedroom!”

  Sloane jumped in fear and cringed away from Creed. In her heart she knew he would never hurt her, but her subconscious told her differently. “Creed,” Charles said quietly, “you need to calm down, son. You’re scaring her.”

  “Shit,” Creed rasped as he gently pulled her back into him and kissed her on the cheek. “I’m so sorry, Angel. It just scares me to think what could have happened to you.”

  Crying, Sloane trembled as she remembered how the bedroom looked. “The curtains and bedspread are shredded,” she told him. “He wrote on the wall.”

  “Was there a note this time?” Creed asked as he went back to gently massaging Sloane’s neck and shoulders.

  “I don’t know. I didn’t look. I ran as soon as I saw the room,” Sloane admitted. “I was so scared.” Allowing herself to relax in Creed’s embrace, she felt her eyelids droop heavily. “I’m so tired,” she whispered. “I don’t know why, but I can’t keep my eyes open.”

  “The adrenaline’s wearing off,” Caiden said from the doorway where he and Katy now stood. Sloane hadn’t seen them arrive, but she was glad they were there. She was starting to feel safer with the amount of people around. “She needs rest, Creed.”

  Nodding in agreement, Creed stood with Sloane in his arms. “I want you to take a nap while Katy and I go check things out.” Sloane wanted to protest, but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t open her eyes.

  When she felt herself being lowered into a bed, she whispered, “Please, call my Mom, Creed. She’s frightened. I was on the phone with her the whole time.”

  “I will,” Creed promised as he tucked her in. “I’ll be back as soon as I can.” Sloane drifted off to sleep as the door clicked shut, thankfully shutting out the horror of the past hour.

  Chapter 15

  “What in the hell is going on?” Katy questioned when Creed made his way back into the living room where his family waited impatiently. “We need to figure out who this son of a bitch is. He’s escalating quickly; jumping from leaving a black rose to actual violence. Who knows what would have happened if Sloane had walked in on him.”

  “Tell me something I don’t know,” Creed growled as he slammed his fist down on the back of his dad’s recliner.

  “Don’t go breaking my furniture,” his father grumbled. “Get this handled, Creed. I don’t want to see that girl living in fear anymore.”

  “Neither do I,” Creed told him, his hands gripping the back of the chair so he didn’t hit it again. “I need Sloane’s phone. She asked me to call her mother.”

  Taking the phone out of his pocket, Ryder tossed it to him. “Good luck, man. The woman was pretty upset when I talked to her earlier. I wouldn’t put it past her to be on her way here already.”

  “What a way to meet her parents,” Caiden teased. When Creed turned on him, Caiden held his hands in the air. “Hey, it was just a joke.”

  “I don’t have time for fucking jokes,” Creed snarled. “Someone is threatening the woman I love. I’m not going to wait around to find out who it is.” Ignoring the shocked expressions on his family’s faces, Creed scrolled through Sloane’s phone finding the last number that was received and hit the call button as he stalked out the front door.

  A soft, thready voice answered his call as Creed climbed into his truck. “Mrs. Murphy,” Creed said, “this is Creed Caldwell.”

  “Oh thank God!” the woman responded on a sob. “Please tell me Sloane’s alright, Creed.”

  “Your daughter’s fine,” he promised as he put the truck in reverse. Seeing his sister jogging down the stairs, he waited for her to jump in the truck before taking off down the road toward his house. “She’s a little shook up, but she’s resting right now at my parents’ house.”

  “You take care of her, Creed,” Sloane’s mother demanded. “You take care of my little girl.”

  “I would do anything for your daughter,” Creed told her as he stopped his truck in front of his house. “Anything.”

  “I know,” she whispered. “The way she talks about you, I knew it right away.”

  “I have to go, Mrs. Murphy,” Creed said reluctantly as he stepped out of his truck. “I promise I will have Sloane call you later tonight. I won’t let anything happen to her.”

  “Please, call me Carole,” Sloane’s mother responded. “Thank you, Creed. Thank you for taking care of my baby.” Hearing the line go dead, Creed quickly put his phone away. He glanced over when Jace and Cody pulled up beside him, but said nothing as they exited their vehicle. Drawing their guns, the officers waited for direction from Creed. Removing his own Glock from its holster, he directed them using brief hand signals.

  Jace made his way around one side of the house, while Katy went around the other. Cody followed Creed up the porch steps and in through the front door. After quickly clearing the living room area, Creed made his way to the master bedroom while Cody went down the hall to Cassie’s room and the spare bedroom. Jace and Katy came through the back door, clearing the kitchen area, before moving swiftly down into the basement. When it was evident there was no one else in the house, the four of them met in the spare bedroom where all of the damage had been done.

  Creed’s hands curled tightly into fists at his sides as he stared at the words that were painted on the bedroom walls. “Are we sure Sloane’s ex is in prison?” he asked, keeping tight control of his anger. Heaven help that son of a bitch that had done this when Creed found him.

  “Yes,” Katy responded as she walked over to the dresser on the far wall. “I had them send me all of the information on the man in prison along with his photo. It’s Jake.” Pointing to the top of the dresser, she added, “Looks like we have another note.”

  “
I’ll get the kit,” Jace said as he quickly left the room. He was back within minutes, donning gloves before picking up the note. Opening it, he read, “Your soul is blacker than I thought, you unfaithful bitch. I give you how many years, and this is how you repay me? This is your last warning.”

  “Seriously?” Katy groused. “If it wasn’t my best friend we were talking about, I would laugh at this asshole’s choice of words.”

  “He said he gave Sloane years of his life,” Creed contemplated out loud. “How many other men has she been with for over a year besides Jake?”

  Looking at Creed in surprise, Katy responded slowly, “None. Creed, Jake is the only man Sloane has ever been with. She never dated seriously before him, and she hasn’t been with anyone since she found the courage to leave him."

  “Then who the hell is this bastard and what does he want with Sloane?” Creed was pissed. Someone had broken into his home, his private sanctuary, the place where his innocent nine year old daughter lived, threatening both Creed and Sloane.

  Creed was done playing nice. He was going to hunt this bastard down. “Jace, I want this whole room dusted for prints. Bag up anything and everything he could have touched and send it to the crime lab in Dallas. I’m done. This son of a bitch is messing with my family and I’m going to take him down.”

  “You got it, boss,” Jace promised as he placed the letter back in the envelope and put it in a bag. “I’ll get it all.”

  Walking over to the closet, Creed opened the door and frowned when he didn’t see any of Sloane’s clothes hanging in it. Looking around, he didn’t see her suitcase, either. “Where are Sloane’s things?” he wondered out loud.

  “Probably under the bed,” Katy said absently as she gazed in concentration at the writing on the wall.

  Glancing under the bed, Creed saw Sloane’s suitcase slid just out of sight. “What the hell did she put it under the bed for?” he groused.

  “What, would you rather it had been on the bed? Then she probably wouldn’t have any clothes left,” Katy responded as she moved closer to the wall.

  “Well, no,” he answered. ““I figured she would hang her clothes up and use the dressers. She is living here now.”

  “For how long?” Katy asked sarcastically. “She probably thinks it’s just for a couple of days. Don’t read anything into it, Creed. It’s something we all used to do when we stayed at each other’s places. It kept things clean and out of the way. We saw it as a respect thing.”

  “Oh,” he said as he watched Katy stop just a couple feet from the wall. “What are you thinking, Kat?”

  “He went with black and red again,” she said softly as she gazed at the words written on the walls. “Black for her soul, red for his bleeding heart.” Looking at Creed, she went on, “I have a feeling he’s done this before, Creed. I don’t know why, but I think he has. Look at the way the words flow. They are written perfectly like he’s done something like this several times. It’s spray paint. Shouldn’t it be messed up somewhere? I don’t know a lot about it, but when we used to jack around as kids, the cans wouldn’t spray consistently all of the time like this. This is perfect, like he’s an artist or something.”

  Looking closely, Creed saw she was right. He’d never really noticed anything like that before, but the more he looked, he wondered how the hell the guy had gotten it to go on so flawlessly. He obviously had a lot of experience. “He took his time,” Creed realized. “This is a masterpiece to him. Somehow, he knew we were gone and that he would be able to finish it.” Walking over to the wall, he looked at the heart painted at the end of the word bitch. “He knows my schedule. He’s been watching me.”

  “Yes,” Katy agreed. “He has. But, Creed, Sloane’s only been here for just under a month. And for the past two weeks, your pattern changed because of the danger she was in.”

  As understanding dawned on him, Creed whispered, “This could have nothing to do with Sloane. He could be after me for some reason.”

  “Yeah,” Katy agreed. “Or it could be some psycho that has stalked Sloane for years, but never showed his perverse attentions until she started seeing you.” Shaking her head, Katy glanced over at him. “Look, we need to get out of here, Creed. Jace and Cody are going to have to take care of this. I know it’s our job, but we have a family obligation tonight. Family needs to come first this time. This guy’s not going anywhere, and I think getting out of here for the night will be good for all of us, especially Sloane.”

  “Fine,” Creed agreed as his gaze fixated on the heart, “but when we get back, we are finding this bastard. I don’t know if he is after me or Sloane, but we need to find him quickly. Who knows what he is capable of?” Looking around the room again, Creed cursed. “I’m not leaving Jace and Cody here alone, though. Either the family is going to have to leave now without me and I’ll catch up, or we will all have to be late to the rodeo.”

  “You can go now, boss,” Cody offered. “Jace and I can handle things here.”

  “I have no doubt you can handle it,” Creed told him, “but I want to be here until everything is bagged up and gone. This is my house, my personal space.”

  “I get that,” Jace said as he continued tagging and bagging the evidence in the room. “Grab some gloves and let’s get this done.”

  With all four of them working, everything was loaded into the vehicle and they were ready to go within the hour. Going back into the house, Creed packed an overnight bag for himself and one for Cassie. Picking up the bag Sloane had left in the hallway along with her suitcase, he left his house and went back to his parents. When he got there, Sloane was awake and in the shower. Leaving her things on the bed, he went into another room and changed quickly. When he was ready, he went in search of his daughter to have her change into the outfit he’d brought for her. She was excited, and could not stop talking about the rodeo. Feeling guilty that they were going to miss most of it, Creed promised himself he would take both Cassie and Sloane to another one soon.

  When Creed and Cassie were ready, they went to wait in the living room for Sloane. The playful banter between his siblings was a cover for the emotions they were all really feeling, but they needed it right now.

  At Cassie’s gasp of wonder, Creed swung around and his jaw dropped. Sloane stood shyly in the doorway, her long dark hair framing her face in soft curls. The subtle makeup she wore accented her sparkling eyes, high cheek bones and full, kissable lips. She was wearing a hot pink, form fitting shirt that said Rodeo Princess on the front, tucked into a pair of jeans that molded perfectly to her body. A pair of dark brown cowboy boots with light pink on the tips and up the sides and a belt with a glittery heart buckle completed the outfit. She was absolutely stunning.

  “Alright,” Charles said as he rose from his recliner. “It looks like we are all ready. Let’s get going.”

  As everyone left the room to get their overnight bags, Creed walked up to Sloane, cupping her face in his hands. “You are so beautiful,” he whispered before lowering his lips and kissing her softly on her beckoning lips.

  “Come on you two,” Katy urged from the doorway, her eyes glowing with excitement. “We need to go! I can’t wait to see Linc!”

  Slowly pulling back, Creed looked down at Sloane. “We’ll finish this later,” he promised, loving the blush that stole across her cheeks. Gathering their bags from by the door, he went to load them in the back of Caiden’s SUV. They were all riding together for the trip to Austin. It would be a tight fit, but he was looking forward to holding Sloane next to him all of the way.

  Chapter 16

  Sloane stared in awe at the huge arena before her. She’d been to several rodeos in the past. Her parents had taken them to at least one a year when she was growing up, normally more. However, none she had been to compared to the arena she was sitting in now. The place was large and fascinating, the entertainment spectacular. It was almost enough to take her mind off what she’d gone through earlier in the day. Almost, but not quite. She couldn’t stop
thinking about what she had seen, or the fear she had felt at the time. Talking to her mother on the way to the rodeo helped some. Being out of town for the night also helped. But being next to Creed, having his arm around her all of the way to Austin, was what helped the most. With Creed, she felt safe and loved, and she needed that right now.

  They had made it just in time to watch a couple of events before the bull riding. Now it was time for the bulls, which was the last event at the rodeo. Sloane squeezed Creed’s hand tightly as the loud music streamed through the speakers while the bulls were being readied behind the gates.

  The music stopped suddenly as the announcer’s voice came on. “We have a good competition for you tonight, ladies and gentlemen. There are several very talented riders competing for first place. Last night, Linc Caldwell swept the competition. Who thinks he will take it again tonight?” Sloane grinned widely as the crowd started chanting Linc’s name.