by Paige Sleuth
Lucy glanced at Kat, a puzzled expression on her face. Kat gave her head a slight shake. She would have to explain her suspicions about Melody escaping from an abusive relationship later.
“I didn’t mean anything by it,” Lucy assured Melody. “I just thought if you were single, maybe you’d want to hang out tomorrow while all the couples are out celebrating Valentine’s Day.”
Melody didn’t reply, and an awkward silence stretched between the three of them. Kat struggled to think of a neutral topic, but her mind had gone blank.
After a long moment, Lucy clapped her hands together and started walking backward toward the elevator. “So . . . I’ve got to get going if I don’t want to be late for my lunch. See you later.”
“Bye, Lucy,” Kat said. “Have fun.”
Melody hesitated a second before she said, “See you.”
Lucy mashed the elevator button, seeming to heave a sigh of relief when it dinged right away. She stepped inside, disappearing out of view behind the closing doors.
As though he’d heard the elevator chime, Remy poked his nose into the hallway. Melody scooped him up before he could go anywhere, prompting the cat to release a small mew of discontent.
Kat grinned. “Looks like he wants to explore some more.”
Melody stared at Kat, a blank expression on her face. Kat was seized by the sudden urge to retreat into the safety of her apartment. Melody’s unease was contagious. Even Remy had started squirming.
Kat inched farther down the hall. “I should be going.”
Melody jerked forward. “No, wait. You said there was a break-in?”
“That’s right. But Larry chased the guy off before he could get past the lobby.”
Melody buried her face in Remy’s fur and murmured, “He’s here.”
Kat’s brow furrowed. “Who’s here?”
Melody gasped, and her head snapped up. She seemed startled that Kat had heard her.
Kat hesitated a second before asking, “Melody, are you in trouble?”
“Trouble?” Melody squeaked.
Kat spread her palms as she closed the distance between them. “I’m not trying to pry, but, well, you and I both know I saw what happened to your eye.”
Melody didn’t say anything, but her lower lip quivered.
“If you escaped from a bad relationship and the man you ran from is after you, maybe you should go to the police,” Kat suggested. “In fact, I’m dating a police detective. He’ll help you. I promise.”
Melody hugged Remy closer and scooted back into her apartment. She was like a scared rabbit, and her jumpiness made Kat second-guess her decision to bring up her abuse. Melody’s feelings about her situation were obviously very raw.
Kat sighed. “Well, I guess I should get going.”
“Wait.” Melody fiddled with her door for a moment before holding it open. “You can come in if you want.”
Kat did her best to mask her surprise at the invitation. She wasn’t sure she wanted to accept, but it was clear Melody could use a friend. What kind of person would she be if she turned her back on a young woman in need?
As soon as Kat cleared the threshold, Melody set Remy down and closed the door. Kat’s stomach tightened when she observed how Melody expertly flipped the locks on both the doorknob and the deadbolt at the same time. She had a hunch her jittery neighbor was used to securing doors quickly.
Before Melody could catch her staring, Kat redirected her attention to her surroundings. There wasn’t much to look at. The living area didn’t contain a single piece of furniture. Whatever Melody had run from, she must have done it hastily. Kat hoped she at least had a bed.
Melody led her into the apartment. “Sorry there’s nowhere to sit.”
“It’s all right.” Kat dragged her tongue across her teeth before asking, “Is there anything I can do to help you?”
Instead of answering, Melody followed Remy’s progress as the ginger cat jumped onto the windowsill and crawled behind the closed venetian blinds.
“I mean, I’m not sure what I can do, but I can listen at least,” Kat said.
Melody picked at the choppy ends of her bob, and a vision of the hair dye she had spotted in one of Sheila’s grocery bags flitted through Kat’s mind. Come to think of it, Melody’s hair color looked an awful lot like Ravishing Raven. Did that mean she and Sheila did, in fact, know each other? Kat hoped so. Melody looked as if she could use all the allies she could get.
Melody lowered her hand and twined her fingers together. “I don’t really know where to start.”
“You can tell me who you’re running from. If you want to, that is.”
Melody paused to draw in a breath. “It’s my boyfriend. Or, I guess he’s my ex-boyfriend now.”
“Does he know you’re here?”
“No. At least, I don’t think so. But if he broke in . . .”
“It might not have been him. There was another break-in this morning, at a floral shop a couple blocks away.”
Melody’s face brightened. “Really? So this has nothing to do with me?”
Kat lifted one shoulder. “Nobody knows anything for sure at this point.”
“CJ wouldn’t rob a shop. He’s only interested in me.”
The way she said it gave Kat goosebumps.
Melody paced around the empty room. Her movement must have caught Remy’s attention. The cat poked his head through the blind slats and meowed.
“Except, if CJ did find me . . .” Melody halted in the center of the room and looked at Kat. “But how could he have found me?”
“Larry said you emailed him your rental paperwork,” Kat said, her mind churning through the possibilities. “Could CJ have gotten into your email?”
Melody shook her head. “Nothing was sent to Larry from my usual account.”
Kat figured that meant Melody Jones really was an alias. She had probably established a second email under her assumed name to facilitate her getaway.
Remy slithered out from behind the blinds and hopped onto the floor. He scampered over to Melody and meowed, more urgently this time.
Melody lifted him up. “Remy’s a fraidy-cat. CJ used to . . . Well, he wasn’t always nice to him.”
Kat couldn’t prevent her gaze from drifting toward Melody’s left eye. Makeup might have successfully concealed the damage there, but Kat had already seen what lay underneath all that foundation. Clearly cats weren’t the only creatures in danger of being on the receiving end of CJ’s cruelty.
“Melody,” Kat said gently, “you need to tell the police about CJ.”
Melody grimaced. “Don’t you think I have?”
That surprised Kat. “And they didn’t help you?”
“They granted me a restraining order once.” Melody rubbed her cheek against Remy’s fur. “Fat lot of good that did. CJ just got all his friends to harass me.”
Kat leaned against the windowsill. “You should talk to Andrew, Detective Milhone. He’s one of the good guys. He’ll know what you should do to make sure CJ doesn’t hurt you again.”
Melody lifted her head. The sight of tears streaming from her eyes wrenched at Kat’s heart. Having never been in an abusive relationship herself, she couldn’t imagine what Melody must be going through.
Remy tipped his face up and licked Melody’s damp cheeks. She kissed his head before wiping the rest of her tears away with the back of one hand.
“The police can’t help me,” she said. “They have to obey the law. CJ doesn’t. And he’s determined. He’ll do whatever he wants and whatever he thinks he can get away with to keep me with him. My best bet is to make sure he doesn’t find me.”
Her dull tone turned Kat’s stomach into a hard, leaden ball. “But you can’t run forever. If he’s as determined as you say he is, he’s bound to find you eventually.”
The scrape of the deadbolt turning brought their conversation to a screeching halt. When the doorknob rotated a second later, Kat froze in disbelief.
She didn’t know who was letting th
emselves in, but from the look on Melody’s face it was clear she wasn’t expecting anyone.
CHAPTER TEN
The door flew open, and a tall man stepped into the room. Although the twenty-something had a strong jawline and a well-muscled frame that even a bulky black coat couldn’t conceal, his hard, dark eyes and menacing scowl offset any of his attractive qualities.
But Kat found it difficult to focus on his face when she caught sight of the object gripped in his right hand. It was a pistol. And it looked real.
Melody drew in a breath that seemed to suck all the oxygen out of the room. “CJ.”
The man’s smile was all teeth. “Hello, Casey.”
Judging from Melody’s lack of surprise, Kat deduced that Casey must be her real name. And it was obvious she wanted nothing to do with CJ. She clutched Remy closer and inched away from the door.
Melody’s back hit the wall, forcing her to stop moving. “What are you doing here?”
CJ kicked the door shut and approached her. “Surprised to see me?”
Remy wiggled out of Melody’s arms. When his paws hit the floor, he took off down the hallway. Kat considered doing the same, but what would that accomplish? At best, she would trap herself in Melody’s bedroom. At worst, CJ would shoot her before she even lifted her foot off of the carpet.
CJ jerked his chin toward Kat, and she stiffened. “Who’s this?” he asked Melody. “Another cousin? What’d you do, bring the whole fam?”
Melody paled. “Wh—why would you ask me that?”
CJ’s eyes narrowed. “You think I don’t know Sheila came here with you?” He scoffed. “Like you’d ever have the guts to leave me on your own. You’re weak. Always have been.”
Melody lifted her hand up to her throat. “Where’s Sheila? Did you hurt her?”
“Not yet.”
Sweat beaded on Kat’s forehead. The implication of his statement was clear.
“I saw her leaving earlier,” CJ continued, “so I knew you had to be close by.”
“How did you get in?” Melody asked, her voice practically a whisper.
“I walked through the door.”
“How did you get the keys to Melody’s apartment?” Kat asked.
CJ squinted at her. “Melody? Who’s Melody?”
“I mean Casey,” Kat amended.
“Oh, you got yourself a new name, huh, babe?” CJ chuckled. “Did you think that’s all you’d need to do to get away?”
“How did you get Casey’s keys?” Kat asked again, praying he would focus on her instead of poor Melody.
“I lifted them from that old guy downstairs. Wasn’t so hard once I put him out of commission.”
Kat’s heart rate spiked. “Are you talking about Larry?”
CJ glared at her. “I didn’t stop to ask the dude’s name.”
“What did you do to Larry?”
“Conked him on the head.” CJ mimed a pistol-whip with his gun. “Guy was fixing the damage I did earlier. Old man like that should know better than to leave his back turned.”
Kat yearned to run and check on Larry, but she knew CJ wouldn’t allow her to leave. He had to figure the first thing she’d do would be to call for help. Besides, being hit with a gun couldn’t kill someone, could it? It would be painful, but fatal?
Before she could dwell on the question, CJ took another step toward Melody. Kat’s brain screamed for her to do something, but the gun in CJ’s hand had her paralyzed.
What she needed was a weapon of her own, something to even the playing field. Her eyes roamed around the empty room, despair creeping in when she remembered that Melody didn’t own anything.
“How’s it feel to see me again, baby?” CJ asked Melody.
Melody didn’t say anything. She continued to huddle against the wall, and Kat’s blood turned to ice just looking at the terror etched on her face.
A smile played at the corners of CJ’s mouth, as if he enjoyed seeing his effect on his ex. “Bet you thought you’d escaped, huh? Bet you thought you could skip town and be safe.”
Melody’s eyes shone with unshed tears. “How did you find me?”
“It took some digging. I had to get one of my buddies to hack into your computer. He found some stuff on Cherry Hills in your Internet history. Seemed like a good place to start looking for you.”
Melody sagged against the wall, her hands clenching and unclenching as her lower lip trembled. She seemed stricken by the realization that she hadn’t covered her tracks as well as she’d thought. She had probably assumed having Sheila handle all their leasing paperwork would make it impossible for CJ to find her.
“Wh—why did you come?” Melody stammered.
CJ snickered. “What did you expect, I’d come home to find out my girl of two years had ditched me and opt to let her get away with it? You know that’s not how I operate, babe.”
Melody let out a sob as the tears started flowing. CJ’s eyes took on a self-satisfied glint, and Kat racked her brain for something to say that would divert his focus away from Melody.
“How did you know to find her here?” she asked. “Don’t tell me you checked out every apartment in Cherry Hills.”
Her question had the desired effect. CJ shifted his attention to Kat. “I got lucky,” he said. “After I fled that flower lady’s shop, I cruised by here just as Sheila was leaving. I couldn’t believe it when I saw her strutting around, proud as you please. She always was stuck-up.” His eyes darkened as they swung back toward Melody. “I should have figured that know-it-all cousin of yours had something to do with this little getaway. She never could keep her big nose out of our personal business.”
Kat cleared her throat. “How come you broke into Flowers by Barbara?”
“I knew Casey was using the store as one of her hideaways.”
“Huh?” Melody blinked away her tears. “Why would you think that?”
“I saw that ugly cat of yours in the window there yesterday. So I waited until closing time and snuck in. All the cat’s stuff was there, but you weren’t. But I knew you’d be back. I was gonna wait for you, but I had to hightail it out of there when that lady showed up.”
Melody’s forehead furrowed. “I don’t understand. How could you have seen Remy at a florist’s? He’s been here with me the whole time.”
“He didn’t see Remy,” Kat interjected. “He saw the shop owner’s cat, Tulip. Except for the white patch on Remy’s chest, they look very similar.”
“Are you kidding me?” CJ glared at Kat. “You’re telling me I broke into that store for nothing?”
“That’s what I’m telling you.” Kat derived a smidgen of satisfaction from the peeved look on his face, but it vanished quickly when she remembered how they would have been a lot better off if CJ had gone on thinking Melody was taking refuge at Flowers by Barbara.
CJ glowered at her for another second before he smirked. “Well, it wasn’t a complete waste. I took off at just the right time to catch sight of Sheila. Imagine my shock when I saw her. I nearly drove my car off the road.”
Melody swallowed hard. “That’s when you tried to break in here the first time?”
“Yeah, but that old dude saw me and yelled something about calling the cops. I had to hide out until the coast was clear and I could try again. This time I made sure to shut the old guy up first.” He sneered at Melody. “Seems you’re turning me into quite the criminal.”
A flash of anger seared through Kat. “Don’t blame her for your actions. You deserve to be in jail for what you’ve done to her.”
CJ’s nostrils flared. “What do you know?” He swiveled toward Melody. “Tell your friend here how good I am to you. Tell her about all the presents I bought you.”
Melody gaped at him. She was trembling so violently that Kat wouldn’t be surprised if her knees buckled.
CJ balled his gun-free hand into a fist. “Tell her.”
“CJ bought me presents,” Melody choked out.
“Nice presents,” he added.
“I never hit her unless she deserved it.” He took a threatening step toward Melody. “And I can tell you, she’s definitely got a few slaps coming to her after this stunt she pulled.”
Melody whimpered and slid down the wall.
CJ bent over to flick a lock of hair away from her face. “I like what you’ve done here. Is a new name and haircut all you thought it would take to get away from me?”
Melody yelped, and for one brief second Kat thought CJ must have pulled her hair. Then she caught sight of Remy, doing a double take when she realized the cat was relieving himself on Melody’s foot. She hadn’t even noticed him reenter the room.
CJ jumped backward. “What the—”
Melody stayed as still as a statue. Kat could tell from the way she kept looking at CJ’s pistol that she was doing her best not to make any sudden movements while her angry ex-boyfriend held her at gunpoint.
CJ sneered at Remy. “You let that animal do that to you, and you call me abusive?”
“He’s been feeling in—insecure lately,” Melody stammered.
“Well, it’s disgusting. I should teach him a lesson or two about what happens to filthy animals who don’t have enough sense to use a litter box.” CJ swung the gun toward the cat, his index finger creeping toward the trigger in what felt like slow motion.
Without thinking, Kat lunged across the room and hurled herself at CJ. A deafening boom sounded in her ear as they both toppled over. She hit the carpet hard, the air whooshing out of her lungs.
She lay there, stunned. She thought she heard someone scream, but the sound was warped, as if she were listening to it while submerged under water. She was vaguely aware of an orange blur streaking past her as sparks flashed in her eyes.
Not sparks, Kat amended, but glass. CJ must have shot out the window.
She propped herself up on her elbows, relieved when the movement didn’t bring about any pain. Her ears were still ringing, but she could live with that. Besides, her hearing seemed to be returning. At least, she thought it was. Yet the room was eerily silent as Melody stared at CJ and CJ gawked at the shattered living room window.