The memory of what he’d found inside her house today had the vein in his temple twitching and all the muscles in his body tensing up. He wished he hadn’t gone in again this afternoon, but he liked visiting. It brought him closer to her. He’d spent hours practicing his lock-picking technique so he could go in whenever he wanted. Finding the spare house key in her kitchen drawer had been an unexpected bonus. He’d made a copy and than returned the original in case she ever went looking for it.
Today he’d made his usual rounds of the townhouse. He’d grabbed a bottle of sparkling water in the kitchen before checking the Internet in her office. He liked scrolling through the sites she visited. It gave him ideas of what she liked and what interested her. When he’d finished, he’d moved upstairs. He always left her bedroom, his favorite room, for last.
The condom wrapper on her nightstand changed everything. He’d known Raimono had spent the weekend, he’d seen him leave this morning. Until he spotted the evidence, he’d convinced himself their relationship hadn’t progressed that far.
He knew deep down on some level, Allison felt the connection between them. He’d seen the way she looked at him. Talked to him. In fact, he remembered every word from their last conversation in December. She only needed time to recognize her feelings for him.
Damn you. Don’t you know you belong to me, Allison? How could you let him touch you like that? Spoil you like that?
Pushing away from the window, he paced. He would’ve made her happy, if she’d just given him the chance. Now, they both needed to die. Raimono first. This time he didn’t care if she witnessed his death or not. And he’d handle it himself. He didn’t want some dumb punk messing up again. Besides, he wanted the satisfaction. No, he deserved the satisfaction after what Raimono did. With him gone, he’d take Allison up to his house in Maine and show her what she could’ve had if she’d picked him instead. Once he finished with her, he’d get rid of her too.
First he had a few more things to get in order. This weekend though, he’d get what he wanted. He’d waited long enough. Yes, he’d have everything he needed by the weekend.
Chapter 14
“Can you teach me to use a gun?”
Rock’s hands stopped on his belt buckle. “What?” It sounded like Allison said the word gun.
“I want to buy a gun and learn how to shoot it. I already checked. In Virginia, you don’t need a special license to purchase and own a gun. So will you teach me?” she asked again from where she sat cross-legged on her bed.
“What aren’t ya telling me?” They’d never discussed her views on gun ownership and she never commented on the pistol he often carried. However, Allison owning a gun made about as much sense as him owning ballet slippers. If her thoughts had turned in that direction, something had to have happened today because yesterday she’d been ready to call Elite Force and get rid of Connor and Neil.
“I think someone has been in the house.” She gripped her hands together and played with the heart-shaped emerald ring on her finger. “This morning after you left, I went to check my email before Connor and I went to the office. The browser was open. I always close the browser when I finish on the computer.”
That wasn’t much evidence. Her expression however said she had more.
“And you know how the deadbolt wasn’t locked on the back door last night when we came in? I asked Connor, he said he checked all the doors before we left yesterday and it was locked. So how did it get unlocked? And the lights were on when we came in last night. The only explanation is if someone was in here after we left yesterday.”
She made a damn good argument. If Connor said he’d checked the doors, then he had. “What about the alarm. It should’ve gone off if someone came in.” He’d watched her turn it off when they entered the house. “Does anyone have the code besides you?”
“Derek and the security technician who came out to check the system when I moved in.” She shrugged. “And I guess the woman who used to clean my apartment when I lived in Providence because I used the same code here. But Francine doesn’t know where I live. When I moved, I didn’t tell her where I was going.”
He doubted some cleaning lady from Providence would be breaking into Allison’s house, but it didn’t mean she hadn’t sold the information, because someone else out there had the number. That was the only explanation if someone had entered the house and not set it off. “Are you positive no one else has it? What about an ex?” Mr. Teeth, the ex-boyfriend, he’d met the night at Siena came to mind. She’d mentioned how reluctant he’d been to accept their relationship was over. It wouldn’t be the first time a guy had gone off the deep end when the woman he loved didn’t return his feelings.
Allison went from wringing her hands to drumming her fingers on her legs. “Yeah, I guess him too. We were together a long time and he had a key to my apartment. But he wouldn’t know how to pick a lock and get in.”
He disagreed. With enough patience and practice, anyone could learn to pick a lock, even a guy like her ex-boyfriend.
“Besides, my cousin Leah said Charles is seeing her friend Miranda Bergman.”
Her announcement didn’t cross Allison’s ex off his list, but evidently it did hers. For now, he’d keep his thoughts about Mr. Teeth to himself. “That it? Nobody else?”
“Nope.”
Although unlikely, someone could have guessed the number. “First lets change the code. Then we’re calling the cops.”
Allison’s lips parted, and he just knew an argument was about to follow.
“Sorry. It’s time we get ‘em involved. If someone is coming into the house, they need to be in the loop.”
Her sigh almost knocked him over. “You’re right. I know you are. I just hate calling them.”
The sadness and fear in her voice melted into his heart, becoming a part of him. “Don’t worry, Ally. I won’t let anything happen to ya. Promise. Soon we’ll get the bastard stalking you.”
Her smiled wobbled, but she didn’t cry or give any other indication of the fear he knew she felt. “We’ll do our first gun lesson after we call the cops.” Rock grabbed her hand and pulled her up. “Do ya know how to change the alarm code?”
“The user’s manual is in my desk. The technician who came out changed it for me but said it was easy if I needed to do it again.”
“It’s usually easy.”
They grabbed the manual from the office and trekked down to the basement. Although a different model than the system his parents had, the directions for changing a code were the same. “What’s the code now?” Rock asked, opening the control box mounted on the wall. In order to make any changes, they had to enter the current code first.
“0723.”
“Your birthday is your alarm code. Didn’t the tech tell you not to use a number like that?” Mannaggia, anyone with a computer and Internet access could find her code.
“He said to pick four numbers. So I did. I never told him it was my birthday.”
Damn idiot. “Pick four new numbers. Don’t use a relative’s birthday or part of your social security number. The best alarm codes and passwords are random.”
“Four random numbers, huh?” She nibbled on her thumbnail while she thought. “How about 0325.”
Rock repeated the number in his head. “Sounds like a date.”
“I know. You said it couldn’t be a birthday. It’s not. Besides, I have good memories of that date.”
Whatever. If she wanted some random date for a code, he’d let it go. He punched in the new number, but something about it bothered him. “Why March 25th?”
A corner of her mouth twisted upward and she sighed. Rock rolled the date around in his head. He cringed when it came to him. “The hockey game.” How’d he forget that date?
She gave him a poke in the shoulder. “You almost found yourself on the couch tonight, Captain Raimono.”
“Nah, you’d never send me there. You’d miss this too much.” Rock pulled her against him and pressed a hard, hot ki
ss on her lips. She opened for him right away and her tongue slipped into his mouth, again showing him that her passion rivaled his.
Not now. He couldn’t make love to her in a cold basement. If he kept kissing her like this, he’d forget why and lower her to the rough concrete floor then strip her naked. “Ally.” His voice echoed off the walls. “We still need to call the cops, and you wanted want a gun lesson. We gotta stop and get those things done.”
She paused, her lips pressed against his neck. Then she exhaled, her breath a warm whisper across his skin. “Right. I forgot. My phone’s upstairs. Do we need to go somewhere special for the gun lesson?”
She was stalling. No doubt about it. Allison could stall all she wanted. Nothing would change his mind about getting the cops involved now. Rock shifted back. Her body pressed against his made thinking difficult. “Today we’re goin’ to review gun safety and stuff so we can do it in the kitchen. If we have time Wednesday or Thursday, I’ll take you to the range for some actual shooting. Come on upstairs. You’ve got a call to make.”
***
Allison wished she knew more swear words. None of the ones in her vocabulary did justice to the current situation. A stalker. She had some crazy person following her around, breaking into her house, going through her things, and even taking the time to use her computer. She’d read about such things happening, but she had never dreamed it’d happen to her.
Before her talk with Connor this morning, she’d written off everything as mere coincidence. She’d kept telling herself her imagination had been overacting and Rock was being overprotective. When Connor confirmed the deadbolt on the back door had indeed been locked when they left for the office, she’d realized she could no longer deny all the evidence. While she may have forgotten to turn off a light or two, Connor would never forget to lock a deadbolt before they left. And now the police were about to get involved and make the situation even worse.
Out in the foyer, she heard Rock’s voice as he greeted the officers the department sent over. When the doorbell rang, he’d insisted he answer even though they were expecting officers. She’d never had a boyfriend so protective and concerned for her safety. Having him around so much was the only bright side to this whole terrible situation. Even before the day the bullet flew through his window and he protected her without a thought to his own welfare, she’d suspected she’d loved him. Everyday since then had only reinforced her belief. Best of all, she knew he cared about her. No one acted the way he did if they didn’t care deeply.
“She’s in here.” Rock’s voice grew louder as he led the police toward the living room where she waited.
Two men entered the room behind Rock and her immediate thought was talk about an odd couple. Both men appeared to be close in age and were dressed in a similar fashion, however that was the only thing they had in common. While both appeared fit, one of the officers had to be close to seven feet tall because he towered over Rock while the other gentleman wasn’t much taller than her. And while the shorter man didn’t have a single wrinkle on his face, he also didn’t have any hair in his head, unlike his partner who had short, dark hair and a neatly trimmed beard.
“Good afternoon, Miss Sherbrooke. I’m Detective Wilson and this is my partner Detective MacLean,” the taller of the two men said, extending his hand toward her.
“Nice to meet you. Please sit.”
Both men took seats opposite her on the sofa while Rock sat next to her and reached for her hand.
“Miss Sherbrooke, on the phone you said someone has been following you. How long have you suspected this?” Detective Wilson said, getting right down to business.
“Since the first week in February.” Talk and get it over with, Allison thought before telling him everything about the night of her car accident.
The detective asked her numerous questions about that night; then they asked what other events made her believe she had a stalker.
“Have you received any gifts or strange phone calls?” Detective MacLean asked, taking over the questioning.
“I guess you might call them strange. I’ve gotten some calls where no one talks, but I can hear them. And I did get one gift at work. A bear with candy was delivered. The card didn’t have a name on it.”
“Do you still have it? Or know where it came from.”
“Sorry, no. I threw it away, Detective. The card didn’t have a store name on it either and the receptionist at work didn’t remember anything about the delivery person when I asked.”
Across from her, Detective MacLean frowned and jotted something down on his notepad. “You mentioned someone has been in your house. Can you tell us more?”
A shiver skated down her spine and she shook. Rock squeezed her hand before he released it and put an arm over her shoulders, pulling her close. While the gesture didn’t change the situation, it did stop the trembling as the warmth from his body seeped into hers. More than anything, she wanted to snuggle closer and stay there forever. The two detectives in the room kept her from doing anything more than enjoying the sense of security Rock provided.
“When we came home yesterday, I noticed the deadbolt on the kitchen door was unlocked.” Allison filled the two men in on every thing from her conversation with Connor to the fact that she found her internet browser open when she went to use her computer. In response, they began with the same question as Rock, who else knew her alarm code. And just like Rock, they immediately mentioned her ex-boyfriend as the possible stalker.
“Detective MacLean, I’ve known Charles Perkins for a long time. We share mutual friends and I know he’s moved on. He’d never do something like this. It’s not him.”
Both detectives exchanged an unconvinced look with Rock.
“We can check for fingerprints, but there’s a good possibility you smudged any the intruder may have left. That’s assuming he didn’t use gloves.” Detective Wilson spoke up this time. “Have you already changed the alarm code?”
“Did it before we called ya,” Rock answered. So far he’d remained on the quiet side. The only time he’d spoken had been when she’d told the detectives about the shooting at his apartment.
“Under the circumstances and considering who your family is, you shouldn’t be living alone, Miss Sherbrooke. I recommend you either have your bodyguards here around the clock or stay with someone?”
“Detective Wilson, she’s not alone. I’m here.”
The detective’s expression didn’t change, but he nodded and added the information to his notes. “I suggest installing some surveillance cameras. I’m surprised the security company that installed your system didn’t recommend them considering your uncle is the President.”
“The system was here when I moved it. The company who verified it worked properly suggested I upgrade and add some cameras, but I haven’t gotten around to it yet.” At the time, upgrading seemed low on her priority list, and adding cameras was just another thing to make her different from her neighbors. Already her family name and list of relatives did that enough.
“We’ll look into it tomorrow,” Rock answered before she said anything.
“Is there anything else we should know? Even what seems like an insignificant detail might be helpful,” Detective Wilson said.
“I’ve told you everything.”
Detective Wilson closed his notebook. “It’ll take a while to dust for fingerprints. Let me get the gear from the car, and we’ll get started. We’ll also need to search the entire house. It’s not unheard of for a stalker to hide in an attic or a crawl space.”
Even Rock’s warmth couldn’t prevent the tremor that went through her body when he mentioned the possibility her stalker had been living in the house all this time.
“It’s gonna be okay,” Rock whispered in her ear.
Oh, how she wished she shared his confidence right now. “Please do whatever you need, Detective Wilson. And if you need something, just ask.”
“We appreciate it, Miss Sherbrooke,” he said before he looked
in his partner’s direction. “Be right back, Liam.”
***
He didn’t lie. It took forever. Allison watched Rock close and lock the door behind the two detectives. When they’d arrived, the sun had remained on the horizon. Now a full moon hung in the sky.
“Still want a lesson or do ya want to wait?”
What she wanted was to wake up from this terrible dream, but since that wasn’t an option, she nodded. “The sooner the better.”
Rock cupped her face and looked her in the eye. “Nothing is going to happen to ya. I won’t let it. Don’t forget that,” he demanded in a voice that left no room for argument. “Come on, let’s go in the kitchen.”
I love you. More than anything she wanted to say the words. He deserved to know how she felt about him. If she told him now though, would he believe her or would he think she only thought she loved him because of everything going on. They hadn’t known each other long. He might not believe two people could fall in love so quickly. Wait for a better time. Tell him when there is not some crazy person breaking into the house and following you around.
She watched him pull the pistol from his holster and place it on the table. She didn’t have anything against weapons. They served a purpose. She’d just never had any need or desire for one. The events of the past few months made her reconsider that. Still she couldn’t believe she stood in her kitchen about to have her first gun lesson.
“First rule and, according to my dad, the most important one: always treat any gun you come across as loaded. Second rule: don’t touch the trigger unless you intend to shoot. Third rule: never point at something you don’t want to shoot.”
Allison nodded in agreement. He hadn’t asked a question, but it seemed like the thing to do.
“There are a lot of different models, but the basics are the same.” He picked up the dull black pistol again. “Unless it’s a revolver, bullets are held in a magazine. The number of bullets in a magazine will vary depending on the size of the gun and the bullet.” Rock pointed to a tiny little button not far from the trigger. “This is the magazine release. It lets you take the magazine out. Every gun has one, but they’re not all in the same place.” He handed her the magazine.
Protecting The Billionaire Page 14