In Love and In Danger (Loving)

by Susan Leigh Carlton

  “Yes, I did.”

  “Will you let us do that?”

  “On one condition, that I’m part of the bait.”

  “We can’t do that. We can’t risk that with a private citizen.”

  “I don’t see why not. You do it on TV all of the time. Anyway, those are my terms.”

  “We could get a court order.”

  “I don’t think so. You don’t have a legal right to keep me out of my home.”

  “You watch too much TV.”

  “No, my dad is an attorney. I grew up hearing probable cause, first amendment and all of that.”

  He laughed. He stuck out his hand. “We have a deal unless you have some more conditions to impose.”

  She took his hand. It was warm. She was having the same warm feelings again. “I like this man,” she thought. “No, that’s it. It’s been fun being grilled by the FBI. I did miss the light bulb.”

  “What light bulb?”

  “When you’re sweating someone don’t you put them in a hard bottom chair that’s chained to the floor in a room with a high wattage bulb suspended from the ceiling?”

  “Nah, we only do that with the hard cases.”

  Both of them enjoyed this back and forth casual flirting. “Good night, Matt.”

  “Good night, Rebecca. We’ll see you tomorrow.”

  “Okay. I’ll look forward to it,” she said. He turned toward the door and walked out to his car. She locked the door and stood looking out the side glass. She didn’t care if he saw her. “That was fun,” she said to herself.

  She brushed her teeth and got ready for bed. Her dreams that night were of Matt Ward the man, not the FBI agent. She dreamed they were together, holding hands, embracing and touching and making love. The dreams continued until she dreamed they were rolling off the bed, locked together. She awoke when she hit the floor. She could feel the moisture in her panties. They were wet. “That was a realistic dream.” She climbed back into the bed, hoping for the dreams to continue. They didn’t.

  The next morning as she brushed her teeth and then her hair, she remembered the dream, she smiled. “I wouldn’t mind if something like that happened. It’s been so long, and I really like him.”

  She dressed and went to her car in the garage, carrying a light lunch in a Wal-Mart bag. Her drive to work took less than ten minutes. She parked in the usual place behind the shop. She unlocked the door. She walked over to the alarm box to enter the code. A yellow ‘System’ light was flashing, indicating a problem.

  She hadn’t turned on the overhead lights and the single night light she left on didn’t brighten the room much. As she walked to her desk, she tripped and nearly fell. She had hit the cord of one of her antique lamps that hadn’t been shelved. “That wasn’t there last night,” she said to herself. She turned on the lights for the entire shop. In the increased light she could see things were scattered over the floor. Things that weren’t on the floor last night. Moving on to the front, she found the place to be almost totally trashed. Someone had been in here.

  On the verge of panic, she spun around and ran out of the back door. She punched 911 into her cell phone. “The voice asked, “911, what is your emergency?”

  “My name is Rebecca Turner and someone has broken into my antique shop.”

  “Ma’am, are you okay? Are they still in the store?”

  “I’m okay. I don’t think they’re still in there. When I saw the mess, I ran back outside to call you.”

  “Ma’am, the police are on their way. Where are you?”

  “I’m in the alley back of the store on Chicago Street.”

  “The police will be there in two minutes. Wait outside for them. Stay with me until they arrive please.”

  “Okay, I can hear their sirens now.”

  A police cruiser turned into the alley, its tires squealing on the pavement. The cruiser stopped, two policemen jumped out of the car, leaving the lights flashing and the doors open. They asked, “Are you Rebecca Turner?”

  “Yes I am, and that is my shop over there. The door is open. When I unlocked it and went in, the alarm didn’t sound and a yellow light on the box was flashing. When I turned the lights on, I saw the mess. Then I ran out of the door and called 911.”

  “Is anything missing?”

  “I didn’t stay in there long enough to notice, I was afraid he might still be in there.”

  “Wait out here, until we check it out, and then we’d like for you to see if anything obvious is missing.”

  About ten minutes later, both policemen came back out. “There’s no one in there now,” one said. We think he got in by taking a pane out of the window and then went in through the window. They bypassed the alarm by jumpering the contacts.”

  Rebecca walked through the shop and scanned her inventory. She did not find anything obvious missing. All of the expensive objects were still there. She was sure they were after the music box, which she had taken home with her.

  As soon as the police left, she called the FBI number Matt had left. He wasn’t in but she left a message asking him to call.

  Now, she needed to make the store presentable for any customers that might come in. Now would be a time when she could use some help.

  She received a return call from Matt shortly after nine. He indicated he would be at the shop as soon as the meeting he was attending ended.

  Chapter 6

  It was mid-morning when Matt called. Rebecca told him about the trashing of her shop. “Are you okay?” he asked with a note of concern in his voice.

  “I’m okay. It was done during the night. They got past the alarm and went in through a window according to the detective that took the call. I think they were after the Symphonion.”

  “Probably so. When they didn’t find it, they assumed you had taken it home with you. Did you notice anyone or anything in or about your house?”

  “No, I slept right through the night and the burglar alarm was set. I keep it on anytime I’m gone and also at night.”

  “Are you still up to our babysitting your house tonight?”

  “Are you still going to baby sit me?” she asked.

  “Those were your terms, right?”

  “Still are.”

  The phone rang, she only said “Okay,” after she identified herself.

  “That was the alarm company. They just had an alarm from the house. They called and the answering machine answered so they called me. The police are on the way.”

  “Can you close the shop for a while and come with me so we can take a look around?”

  “I can do that.” She rotated the clock hands on her Open/Be Back at sign to indicate she would be back in two hours.

  She went with Matt to the agency’s black suburban. “Do I ride in the back like a perp or do I ride up front?”

  “No, you can sit up front with me.”

  “I like that.”

  When they pulled up in front, there was still a black and white police cruiser in front. They went inside and Matt talked with one of the policemen. Rebecca walked around the house looking. Cabinet doors were open, as were closet doors. Cushions were off the sofa, the drawers to the desk were open. The drop down ladder in the garage that provided access to the attic was also down.

  She went into the basement, which was also used as a storm shelter. Apparently they hadn’t had time to come down here. There was no sign of anyone having been here.

  She walked throughout the single story house and came back to the kitchen where the two policemen and Matt were. “I don’t see anything missing. It doesn’t look as if they were even in the basement.”

  One of the policemen said, “We can dust for finger prints, but I doubt it would do any good. They probably wore gloves. The back door appears to have been jimmied, and I think they probably came in that way. Since there’s nothing behind you but a soybean field, they wouldn’t have been noticed back there.”

  The policemen left, leaving Matt and Rebecca standing in the kitchen. Rebecca
said, “Nothing is missing but this just makes me feel so…so violated. If someone came in once, your feeling of security is gone in the one place you should feel secure.” She wasn’t crying but Matt detected the fear in her voice and her distress.

  Matt put his arm around her shoulder and pulled her to him. She leaned against him and turned her face into the shoulder neck crevice. The strength that she expected was there. His hand was patting her on the forearm. “Don’t worry, you’ll be safe. Is there any place you could stay until we catch this guy?”

  “I could stay with Mom and Dad. I just hate to let someone drive me from my home. I have a handgun that Jason kept in the nightstand by the bed. He insisted I know how to use it and we went to the range several times before he was deployed, so I’m comfortable with it.”

  “Where did he deploy when he was killed?”

  “Kandahar. His Humvee hit an IED. He had just been promoted to captain, and always insisted he be out front. “Lead from the front” was what he always said.”

  “He sounds like he was a good officer.”

  “He was, and he was very brave. He thought West Point had made him invulnerable.”

  “I know that feeling. I graduated from the Point, class of ’06. I got out after my time was up. My wife didn’t like the long term deployments. In fact she didn’t like the Army. I did one tour in Iraq and one in Afghanistan. There are times I wish I had stayed in. That’s water over the dam now.”

  “Jason always wanted to be a soldier even back in the third grade. I knew that was what he wanted to be and I knew it when we were married. He wouldn’t have been satisfied with a mundane nine to five job. I loved him as he was and I still miss him.”

  “He was a lucky man to have you.” He squeezed her shoulder and removed his arm from its position. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have done that.”

  “You have nothing for which to apologize. Besides, I’m not a wife; I’m a single girl who just happens to be in the middle of a mess not of my own making. I appreciate your help. She elevated to her tip-toes and kissed him on the cheek. “Thank you, for being here. Now, let’s get down to business. How are we going to do this? They never show this part on TV,” with a tease in her voice and a smile on her lips.

  “Well, before you distracted me, I was thinking, when you come home tonight, I could come in your car and duck down until you close the garage door.”

  “Did I?” she asked. “Distract you?”

  “Yes you did.”

  “Good. I was hoping to.”

  She looked at him with a mischievous grin. He extended his arms and pulled her close. Then he kissed her warm soft lips, a kiss that was at once, slow and thoughtful, and surprisingly gentle. She responded to the caress of his lips with a kiss that lingered, savouring every moment.

  Standing back, looking at him, she said, “That was nice. I enjoyed it.”

  “I like your plan. I usually lock the door at five and try to be out of the building by 5:30.”

  He said, “Okay, let me take you back to the store and I’ll be back before five.”

  The balance of the day was quiet in the store. Matt showed up at 4:30 and Rebecca locked up at five. In the remaining half an hour, she finished entering the days transactions into her computer and put the cash and checks in the safe. She had given Matt her car keys when he came in. He left the store and walked a circuitous route to the car. He didn’t detect any one watching, nor did the agent assigned to watch the rear of the store. He unlocked the door and got into the back where he stayed out of sight. The windows were tinted and it would have been difficult for anyone outside to see him.

  At 5:20, Rebecca came out of the store, locked the doors and went to her car, keys in hand. She went through the motions of unlocking the already unlocked door and got into the car. She found the keys where Matt had told her they would be and started the car and drove home. Using the remote, she opened the door and drove in and lowered the garage door. Matt got out of the rear door and said, “I think we made it. I wouldn’t expect any action until the lights go out and they think you are asleep.

  She prepared a dinner for the two of them. They ate in the breakfast area. The rear door had been repaired by someone from the agency. She closed all of the venetian blinds in the house and began her normal evening routines.

  She was very aware of Matt’s presence. Remembering the kiss from earlier in the day, she really wanted to continue the experience. She changed out of her work clothes and donned a light blue robe. She returned to the kitchen.

  Matt was sitting on the sofa, and she went in with two glasses of wine and some cheese and crackers. She sat on the sofa beside him. He took a sip of wine and dropped his around her shoulders and pulled her close.

  She could taste the wine on his lips as he kissed her. The touch of his lips sent a shockwave throughout her body. Her response to the touch shocked her. Warmness was now spreading throughout her body. She hadn’t even had any wine yet. Her lips parted in response to the probing of his tongue, inviting it in. A soft moan escaped her lips. An inner voice was telling her she needed to stop this and stop it now. She ignored the voice and kissed him back.

  Wrapping her arms around his neck, she pressed against him, crushing her breasts against his chest. His tongue traced the outer edge of her lips. She quivered with the soft tenderness offered by his kiss.

  Breathless, she pulled back and gazed at his face, showing light colored stubble of growth, her bright blue eyes studied the strong jaw line and his gold flecked green eyes that sparkled with interest.

  “If he’s watching us, then he’s getting his money’s worth,” she said.

  Matt sat on the sofa. Taking hold of her arm, he pulled her onto his lap. She put her arms around his neck again. She pulled back slightly and he bent his head to kiss her, this time with more passion. He moved his hand between the buttons on the robe and found the bare flesh of her breast. She gasped when she felt his warm fingers on the sensitive skin. He took the nipple between two fingers. It became instantly erect. She felt her body respond to the passion she felt. She shifted her position slightly and felt his maleness against her thigh. Unbidden, her body was humming like a finely tuned machine. This machine was self-lubricated. She could feel the moistness as it increased along with her passion. The intoxicating musk of his body wafted over her.

  His hand backed out of the robe and unbuttoned the front of her robe, the hand returned, moving and exploring. Inside her panties he found the moist, silky hair that guarded the entrance to her inner core. She spread her legs slightly, granting permission to enter. A finger entered, exploring the moist, wet interior that was the essence of Rebecca.

  She pulled back. “What’s the matter,” he asked. “Did I hurt you?”

  “No, no you didn’t hurt me.” Then she said, “Let’s go into the bedroom.”

  He stood, sliding an arm under her bottom and carried her into the bedroom. He gently laid her on the bed. He removed the holster containing his Glock and placed it on a chair, just within reach of the bed. He unbuttoned his shirt and placed it on the chair over the Glock, soon to be joined by his socks and trousers. She watched as he pulled his undershirt over his head, revealing the dark curly hair on his chair. Her eyes widened taking in this fine physique of a man. He never took those green eyes from her as he slid his shorts to the floor and stepped out of them.

  She stood and shed her robe. Just as she had watch him shed his shorts, he watched her slide her panties to the floor. Her eyes were fixed on his face, trying to determine whether he approved of the woman before him. His hoarse whisper broke the silence. “My God, you are beautiful.” He reached his arms out for her and she eagerly moved into them. She flipped the covers back with one hand while her other hand grasped the large swollen limb that was his manhood. She stroked it gently, her eyes closed. She heard the rip of a covering and the movement as a sheath slid over the hardened member that she wanted inside her. He rolled her to her back and mounted her. His hand moved his
cock over the entrance to her vault, teasing, touching her clitoris, moving over it. She arched her back and thrust upwards, wanting more of the cock, begging, needing and wanting. Timing the movement, he met her up thrust with a downward thrust of his own. A loud “Ahhhhhh” escaped her lips, as her legs wrapped about his hips.

  Chapter 7

  “Now doesn’t this present a lovely picture of our tax dollars hard at work?” Matt saw the sneering face of the widely hunted Ricardo Valdacci. He gathered himself for a leap for his Glock. “Don’t even think about it. I’ll drop you before you get halfway. I assure you, I am an expert with this,” he said in a calm voice. “And the lovely Rebecca. I must admit you are even lovelier than I first thought, but then you had most of your charms hidden.”

  She reached for the coverlet. In the same calm voice, he said, “I don’t think so. I rather like the view. Now where is my merchandise?”

  She stood defiantly before him. “I don’t have it. I turned it in when I saw the bottom had been opened. I saw what was in it and turned it in to the FBI.”

  “I know it isn’t at the shop. I searched it and I searched the house. You didn’t bring it when you came in the house. “Rebecca, are you lying to me. If you lie to me, I will shoot this fine specimen of a man you seemed to enjoy so much.”

  “I’m not lying. I turned it over to the FBI after you tried to take it from me in the restaurant.”

  Matt said, “She’s telling you the truth, Valdacci. It has been turned over to our lab for analysis. Neither of us has it.”

  “Then you had better conjure up a way to get it back, or you die and so will the lovely Rebecca. She will not die before she has experienced all of my charms and ministrations. I will get my product or I will get my pound of flesh.” His laugh was one filled with triumph. He knew he had won.

  “You have one hour to get my merchandise here or deliver $100,000 to me. One hour. The clock is ticking, I’d suggest you get on the phone and get things moving.”