“Is this man Alexander Clark?”
Wiggins wrinkled his nose while he studied the picture. “Uh, hair is similar, but the face is a bit off. Is James in some kind of trouble?”
“That's what we're trying to determine,” Howard said vaguely. “If you find any of Clark's paperwork or think of anything that would allow us to get in contact with him, please give me a call.”
He handed the other man a card.
“Sure, sure,” Wiggins said. “Anything I can do to help.”
As sincere as the man had seemed to be, Alexis was wondering if he wasn't covering for James Walker.
10:45 AM
Howard sighed as he slumped into the booth of a local diner on the west side. Alexis sat on the other side of the booth. She looked about as disappointed as he felt. The investigation at the trailer park had led him to suspect that Alexander J. W. Clark was, in fact, James Walker. Of course, he couldn't prove any of it. All the information they had gathered was just not strong enough to even hold the guy, let alone convict him. And they needed some strong evidence to push past the politics that Chief Johnson was likely to throw at them if they brought this to anyone's attention.
“So,” Alexis said.
“So,” he mimicked.
“What are we going to do? Everything we get on Clark is circumstantial or just plain coincidental. It would never fly in court, and you'd have the chief of police on a warpath.”
Howard sighed.
“We keep digging. We keep looking until we get this guy. If he's as dangerous as we think he is, he's got to be stopped before more women get hurt.”
They paused their conversation while a waitress took their order. Neither ordered anything but coffee. Howard wasn't exactly hungry with all the information they had found.
When the waitress left, Howard continued, “I think our next move is checking on the fire department's report for that fire. I would love to see if arson was suspected. It would be too convenient that a place that could have had James's fingerprints or any other kind of evidence burst into flames. And I'm not entirely sure that Wiggins was telling us the whole truth.”
“I was thinking the same thing,” Alexis told him.
Howard stared back at her for a moment. The only thing that was making this side of the investigation any better was the fact that he was doing it with Alexis. It had been nice spending time with her, even if she had been keeping her distance. And why did she have to look so freaking beautiful all the time?
Keeping the conversation moving, Howard continued, “I wonder if Wiggins was in on the fire. He said he got insurance money for it. Maybe James paid him off to keep his mouth shut?”
“If that's so, we'll never get anything out of Wiggins. Did you see how he clammed up when he saw the picture?”
“Yeah, and I don't think he's going to call me back about any paperwork that he suddenly found.” Pausing for a moment, Howard said, “Also, did you realize what school we passed on the way to this place?”
“West,” Alexis said solemnly.
“Do you think it's a coincidence that Clark—James Walker, whatever—rents a trailer less than a mile away from the school Freya worked at? And he started renting it a month before he started dating her? Lord, that is sick. I bet he had his eye on her before he even introduced himself.”
“I don't think it's a coincidence,” Alexis replied solemnly. “But the courts would say it was. It's not enough.”
“I know. I know,” Howard grumbled.
The conversation stopped as the waitress brought them their coffee.
When she was out of earshot, Alexis asked, “So where do we go from here?”
“Number one thing would be checking the records at the fire department and seeing what the suspected cause of Walker’s trailer fire was. Also, didn't you say that you had some more information yourself?”
“Yes!” Alexis said, her face brightening a bit. “I almost forgot with all of the crap that has happened this morning...I talked with one of the lawyers on the divorce case for Andrew Johnson and his ex-wife, Melissa Johnson, although her name is now Melissa Crane. She changed her name back about a year ago.”
“What did you find?”
“Apparently, she didn't know about the illegitimate child until a couple of months before she filed for divorce. By then, he was a very grown man, so she decided to try and forgive Johnson for his indiscretions. She even tried to meet Alexander to see if she could salvage a relationship with Johnson's son.
“Johnson had been apparently paying money to James's mom to support him and already had a pretty good relationship with him, even if it was on the low-down. But anyway, when she met him, she said quote, ‘That he was the spawn of Satan,’ and wouldn't have anything to do with him. Eventually, she got so distraught that she filed for divorce a month or so later.”
As he processed the information that Alexis had just given him, all he could say was, “Damn.”
“I know,” she agreed. “But seriously, Greene, you can't tell a soul. It was supposed to be attorney-client information, but my friend was gracious enough to disclose the information.”
“That was awful nice of her,” Howard commented.
“Him,” she corrected. “And you can't say a word to anyone else.”
“Sure...That was very friendly of him, by the way. Why exactly did he give you this information?”
“Uh...” Alexis stammered. “We may have dated for a while.”
Howard snorted. Jealousy suddenly overwhelmed him. Of course, Alexis had dated since they had been together. She was a woman—an attractive woman to boot. It would be silly to think that she hadn't been with other men since him. And frankly, Howard couldn't be mad, except at himself, because he was the one who had pushed her away. At the time, he hadn't been ready for a commitment, but now...Lord, all he wanted was for Alexis to be his forever. He had made such a terrible mistake by pushing her away.
“Whatever,” was all he could come up with. “I'll keep my mouth shut, but I do think one of us should contact Mrs. Johnson—or Ms. Crane—and see if maybe she could identify James Walker. Also, we should see if we can track down the birth mother as well.”
“I agree,” Alexis said, taking a sip of her coffee. “You check up on the fire department. I'll see if I can handle Ms. Crane. I'll see if she has any contact information on Alexander's birth mother, although it's a long-shot, considering that the woman had an affair with her ex.”
“Sure, great,” he told her, though he didn't feel that great. Between the new information about Walker and the information about Lexie's dating life, Howard would be in a foul mood for the rest of the weekend.
8:13 PM
Freya lay in bed, Brian sitting beside her. It had been a long day, though she had barely done anything but lay in bed. The storm—or tornado—as it was being reported on the news had taken a lot out of her. Excluding her time as a captive under James, it had been one of the more frightening nights of her life. And her foot still hurt badly. It had puffed up even more than it had been before.
This was the first time that Brian had been able to sit down with her for an extended period. He had been perpetually busy with Dr. Franklin, the insurance people, and her father, whom he had discretely contacted to say that both of them were okay.
She felt both relieved and anxious. There had been a lot left unsaid between them since he had found out about what had happened to her. She was still reeling from his kiss the night during the tornado. A man had never kissed her in that manner: tender, demanding, and passionate. Brian had told her time and time again that he had cared for her, and he had so gently told her that he didn't care about what she had been through. It was hard to believe, even as sincere as he had looked. From what she had known, Brian Ash wasn't the type to stay with flawed women. He had dated perfection—women like Sydney Grace came to mind. Why was he taking care of her when he could literally have any woman he wanted?
“Whatever you're thinking about, stop,�
�� Brian said from beside her, his voice low, almost hushed.
While she was trying to think of some excuse, he swung his arm around her shoulders. She tensed for a moment at the sudden contact. She could feel the strength from his arm and the warmth of his body. Freya's first reaction was to panic, but after a few moments, she eventually relaxed. She liked his touch. It was gentle and made her feel safe. After he had rescued her from the guesthouse the night before, she had felt that she could trust him. She had never thought that she would ever be able to trust any man who wasn't her father. Brian had proven her so wrong.
They had been watching a movie in the guest room that she had been staying in. It was a comedy (apparently, Brian had realized just as her father had that she wasn't ready for anything more serious), but she hadn't been paying any attention to it. The only thing that she could concentrate on was the fact that Brian was lying right next to her in bed with his arm around her. Every time he shifted even slightly, her heart seemed to flutter just a little bit.
It was odd to feel the stirrings of attraction again after so long of being so afraid of any kind of intimacy. Brian was a beautiful man, an alpha male. His body was the example of male perfection: strong shoulders and back and a chest that tapered down to a lean waist and hips. She could feel his strength just with his arm flung casually around her shoulders. And his smell drove her crazy. He smelled clean and male with a hint of leather and spice.
Freya was apprehensive though. What exactly did she mean to him? Yes, he had told her that he cared for her, but that didn't mean much. Would he even want any kind of relationship with her? Brian Ash didn't seem like the kind of guy who did long-term relationships, and that was the only thing that Freya had ever wanted out of a man. Besides, she hadn't exactly been the best company. She was nothing but drama for him at this point. Why would he even want a relationship with her? Then again, was she even ready for a relationship?
“Hey, are you okay?” Brian asked her.
Blinking, she realized that the movie had been over for a while now, and she had just been staring into space.
“I'm fine,” she lied.
She wanted to talk to him about everything, but she also didn't exactly want to scare him away with relationship crap. She had never been good with that kind of stuff. Freya had always tried to date for the ultimate purpose of marriage, which scared a lot of men away. That was probably why she had been a virgin up until six months ago.
“Is your ankle hurting you? Would you like more ice?”
She sighed.
Why did he have to be so sweet?
“It's doing much better. Maybe I'm just a bit tired?” She told him.
It was at least a half-truth. The doctor had delivered her birth-control pills like he said he would, but it was weird to be off the rest of the pills. She didn't quite know what she felt—more alert, maybe? She supposed she would have freaked out without them if Brian hadn't been with her. She felt safe with him. He had been an Army Ranger, hadn't he?
“Maybe I should leave you alone and let you get some sleep?” He asked her. “I know I've been running on empty, and I ‘coaxed’ the insurance adjuster to come out tomorrow morning, so I can get the house repaired as soon as possible.”
“Yeah, sure,” she told him.
She honestly didn't want him to leave, but she already felt as if she had been needy and clingy enough with him.
Let the man have some time away from you, she told herself.
Getting up from the bed, he told her, “My bedroom is across the hall if you need anything.”
Freya's chest tightened. There was something about Brian sleeping a room away that made her heart flutter.
“There's a toothbrush, toothpaste, pretty much anything you need in the connecting bathroom.”
Suddenly her heart seemed to sink.
How many other women had spent the night here? She wondered.
She had seen his track record.
“Yeah, thanks,” she told him, feeling suddenly down. She wished she had her anxiety meds with her.
Before he left, he leaned over and kissed her lightly on the cheek. Even after he had left the room, she could still feel where his lips had gently brushed against her skin.
Chapter 15
Sunday, June 7
1:10 AM
Freya woke up in a cold sweat. She had had another nightmare about James. It had been as if she was there again, being hurt, being tortured, being violated. There would be no way that she'd get back to sleep any time soon. Her body was aching from the nightmare, and her heart seemed like it was pounding a mile a minute.
Throwing off the covers (though most of them had already been kicked off during her nightmare), she swung her feet to the side of the bed. It still hurt to put weight on her foot, but she could manage it if she went slowly. Hobbling to the connecting guest bathroom, she didn't even bother to turn on the light. Instead, she found the faucet and splashed water on her face. She hated being so weak. She just wished that she could put the past behind her. Instead, James kept coming back to haunt her.
She debated trying to go back to bed, but the thought of being by herself at this point made her skin crawl. Her mind would want to go straight back to thinking about what James had done to her, and she couldn't deal with that right now.
My bedroom is across the hall if you need anything. Brian's voice popped into her mind.
She couldn't.
The thought of going into Brian's bedroom made her feel faint. Going to his bedroom meant that she wanted something that she couldn't give—at least not at this point. She just couldn't go there right now.
Freya trudged back to the guest bedroom and tried to lie down again. She lay down for a few moments, only to sit back up again. She needed her meds, she realized. They were the only thing that would allow her to deal with this alone.
But why deal with it alone? It was the little voice in the back of her head. He wants to help. She cringed. But he's eventually going to tire of your issues.
Yeah, he was going to get tired of her. There were only so many damaged goods that Brian Ash would be willing to put up with.
She was about to lie back down again when she finally sat up and succumbed to her desires, regardless of how ridiculous they were. She needed Brian right now. It didn't even matter if he got angry at her for invading his bedroom at this point. She limped out of her room and into Brian's bedroom. The door was half-closed but not latched and shut.
From what Freya could see in the darkness, the room was much larger than the guestroom she was staying in. Brian's bed dominated most of the room, most likely a king-sized bed. The whole room smelled like him: fresh, clean, and male. She could make out his figure lying on the bed, but she wasn't sure what to do. Should she wake him up? Just slump down into the bed and let him figure it all out later?
Suddenly, before she could decide, Brian's body sat up. A light suddenly snapped on—the one on his nightstand—and Freya almost jumped out of her skin. She yelped and then stumbled back onto her bad foot. Tears involuntarily fell at the pain.
“Freya, what's wrong?” He asked her, jumping from the bed.
He was in nothing but a pair of black boxer-briefs. His body looked like that of a Greek statue: chiseled abs, stunning chest, strong arms, and well-muscled thighs. For a moment, she forgot about her nightmares and could only stare.
“Baby, you're white as a ghost,” he told her, making his way around the bed. “What happened?”
Moving in close, he wrapped his arms around her. Even though she was pretty much naked underneath her sweatpants and over-sized t-shirt, and well, he was almost naked, she didn't freak out. The strength of his arms made her feel much better. They stayed that way for a long, long time.
Suddenly, panic now gone, she felt silly for rousing Brian out of bed. The nightmare didn't seem so real anymore.
“What's wrong?” He asked her again, his voice softer, his arms still wrapped around her.
“I...I...”
She stammered. What exactly was she supposed to tell him? That she was really a big baby who couldn't take care of herself? “I'm so sorry for bothering you. It was nothing...I'll leave you alone.”
“Like hell it was nothing,” he said firmly.
He lifted her chin with his hand so that she was looking straight at his face. There wasn't any showing of annoyance, just concern.
“Tell me...I know something scared the shit out of you.”
“I...I had a nightmare,” she finally told him.
His arms hugged her a little tighter.
“Baby, I'm sorry. You know he can't get you, right? There's no way he's getting past me.”
She nodded but still didn't feel much better. The nightmare was still fresh in her mind.
“Seriously, Freya,” he told her, his voice turning to a low growl. “You remember I told you that I was a sniper?” She nodded meekly. “If that man gets near you again, I'm putting a bullet through his head.”
Her eyes widening, she asked, “And you have a...weapon...here?”
For some reason, the thought of Brian being armed was both frightening and comforting.
He smiled and said, “Well, I didn't want to freak you out. Some people don't do well knowing that I am well-armed, but I have a small arsenal here.”
“Oh...” She told him, trailing off.
Freya suddenly felt a lot safer. Brian would protect her, she realized. As long as she was with him, James would never even be able to get her.
“That freaks you out, doesn't it?” He asked.
Realizing that she hadn't spoken in a while, she told him, “No that makes me feel...safer actually.”
“Good,” he said. “Now, let's get you back to bed and off your foot. You shouldn't be on it right now.”
Brian began leading her back to her bedroom, still in his boxer-briefs, helping her.
“Wait,” she said, stopping them before they left his room.
She felt awful about asking. She honestly didn't know if she could ask this, but she didn't want to be alone at this point. And she wanted so desperately to stay with him. She was starting to feel stirrings of something that had been locked away for a long time.
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