He looked at his handy work one more time, and was about to leave when he heard a scream. It was coming from next door. Catarina. His eyes widened. His nostrils flared. It must be her. She had come home. She must have gotten his message. He scrambled to the closet. He pulled out the now dry putty, and knelt, eyeball to the wall. Yes. There she was. His cock got hard. But then someone else was with her. A man. He nearly choked and had to swallow the bile threatening to come up. She had never had a man in her room before. Who was he?
He could not make out what they were saying. But he was holding her. He saw red once more. Who was he? Who in the hell was touching her? They turned together, his arm wrapped around her back supporting her. NO! Not him. Not him! God no, not him. He pressed his eyes closer even though it was the most painful thing in the world to watch. The man was touching her, pressing her body into him. He saw the man inhale the scent of her hair, and Sal felt the fires of hell burning him alive. It could not be! Not him. No, not him.
He began to cry; the tears of fury blinded him, and he had to wipe them away. Pulling back he used the rolled sleeve of the old man’s sweater to wipe away the moisture. When he stopped to look back through the hole, they were gone. Sal knew that instant as he pulled back and stood after crawling out of the closet, the world had gone crazy and fate was against him. There was nothing and no one he hated more the man he had seen in that room with Catarina. No one. Not even his father. The man that held Catarina had destroyed him once. That man was in all of his worst nightmares. It still boggled his mind that he had been standing in that room with her.
As he tramped towards the exit in the Burbank’s apartment, he vowed that this time Andreas Marino would lose it all. Not a trace of Marino blood would be left on the face of the earth. Andreas and his entire family would pay.
He felt the dry heaves come upon him, and he tried to breathe through it. But it didn’t work. He wretched once, right beside the old man’s body by the front door. Wiping his mouth with the sleeve of the sweater he wore, he glanced through the peephole and saw Andreas and Cat stepping into the elevator across from him. He counted to ten with his head pressed up against the door, then he fled. Walking out the door, he locked it behind him, and took the stairs using the emergency exit to escape outside onto the streets below. He needed just one thing right now, he thought, while his fury warred with his deep despair. Just one thing. A plan.
Chapter 15
A Kiss
Andreas called in to let Angela know he would be late and Blaze would be handling his appointments that morning. He and Nikko waited at the house for the police to arrive and it was well after midnight by the time they left. He had called them in the lobby of her hotel, and informed them he was bringing her here, to his house. They had dispatched a car to the scene, taken photos, and the crime scene investigators had done their thing. The detectives had come here after seeing the scene for themselves.
Andreas knew the man who had arrived to question them, it was a Detective Ortiz, and he promised to follow up with them in the morning and let them know what had been found.
At the crack of dawn, Ortiz had called to let them know he would be stopping by around ten to discuss matters further, but he had spoken to the security people who had been in her apartment and the wait staff at the restaurant confirming the times they had been there. Ortiz told him another detective would be coming with him as well, the one handling the murder investigation of the Tampa woman. They wanted to talk about last night, and to see if Catarina could recall anything else that might help the progression of their investigation.
Andreas and Nikko were drinking coffee in the study discussing the need for tightened security around the house, when Cat walked in. She looked amazing, as usual. Refined, elegant, but that quality of mystery surrounded her and made her even sexier to him. But he did notice the darker circles under her eyes. It was obvious she had not slept well. This latest incident hit close to home. Her sanctuary had been breached. The place where she felt the safest.
She gave him a smile as she entered the room and he patted the seat next to him. As she approached he could not help but notice the woman she was. Her thick lustrous hair was tied up in a complicated twist, held in place with small gold clips. Her trendy silk, off-white jumpsuit hugged her figure whispering along her lean shapely lines without clinging. Slits from the shoulder to the wrist along the sleeves revealed a hint of the honey skin below. He couldn’t take his eyes off of her.
Last night, she was hurt, but when she threw herself into his arms he felt something. Something more than lust. He felt it yet again when she gave him a less panic stricken hug at his bedroom door after he walked her up so he could retrieve a few things for himself. The hug was friendly and quick, and then she pulled away and thanked him for being there. He was about to leave when he saw the tormented look in her eyes, and he could think of no way to make it go away other than a kiss. It had been something he wanted to do most of the day. The urge overpowered him and he stepped closer, and stooped down. He didn’t know what possessed him other than the thought, but as soon as his lips touched hers she pushed back. He saw the look of confusion in her eyes, and she backed up clasping her hand over her mouth.
“I’m sorry . . .,” he muttered taking a step back realizing the moment had been wrong. Cat turned her head away and simply closed the door softly behind her. He stood there rooted to the spot for a moment in frustration feeling like a fool. He turned on his heel and left. He really hadn’t expected that. It was a complete shutdown. They had both admitted their attraction to each other, and the rejection stung even though his mind knew the timing had been all wrong.
After making his way down to his study, he poured himself a drink. Memories came flooding back to him. When Aliya, his ex-fiancee, left him he understood. Fear made her run. Fear of his job, fear of the crimes he investigated and even before his parents had been killed, the threatening letters Romeo sent him scared her off. She ended their engagement and went off to Vegas to pursue her dancing. He didn’t blame her in the least. He understood, and was actually glad she escaped. He loved her, but it hadn’t stung as badly as he thought it would. He thought back to their time together; she had just moved into his neighborhood, and was six years younger than him. Meeting her at a block party they hit it off. He proposed on a whim, a year later just after he made detective. She was a young 21 but said yes. They were in wedding preparations when he was put on the Romeo case. The notes terrified her, and then she asked to end it. He had to let her go. Maybe Cat felt the same way. Until Romeo was caught, she was terrified to become involved with the man who had a vendetta against him.
Andreas poured himself another drink. Aliya, her long brown hair, and hazel eyes. She had been such an innocent. He hadn’t thought about her in a while. Not since he found about his nephew, Johnny. When he was first informed he was an uncle to a nine year old, he remembered his last conversation with Aliya. When she called him she was drunk, feeling guilty and told him that when she got to Vegas, she found out she was pregnant. She ended the pregnancy without letting him know first. She begged his forgiveness.
He swallowed past the lump in his throat thinking about it. He had just buried his parents two weeks earlier. He supposed she had heard, and felt guilty for leaving him, but he lied and said he understood, and to forget about him, and live her life, happy and safe. But knowing that he could have had a child was his second biggest regret in his life. His first had been not catching Romeo. Until he did, he would never be able to have a normal life.
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 a
ny 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.
The Bounty Hunters: The Marino Bros.: Box Set Page 79