“I’d love that,” he said, smiling at her. His body was on autopilot as he felt like he was watching from outside himself.
Beautiful woman.
Hot kiss.
And she was asking him out.
This couldn’t be happening.
“Tomorrow?” she asked. “I can meet you at our normal place,” she offered.
Then the ice water was dumped on his hopes and dreams. Chris wanted to be sick.
Shit.
Madeline.
What was he supposed to do? All the lies flooded through his head, but he opted to be honest. This was Elizabeth. He respected her too much.
This was where he manned up.
“I can’t tomorrow, honey.”
“Oh, okay. I didn’t know you were busy. It’s fine. You can pick the date when you’re available,” she offered. “I’ll spend it with my father.”
Chris wanted to reassure her. He wanted to say a million things about how he was only going to do something to help them, but none of it would come out.
Yeah, this wasn’t okay. It felt wrong to lie to her.
“I have a date.”
She blinked twice.
“Oh.”
He heard it.
He saw it.
Chris regretted what he’d just done. He knew in that second, he shouldn’t have told her. He should have said yes, gone home, and canceled with Madeline. It would have been the right thing to do.
He was an asshole.
He’d just hurt the woman he wanted to be with. Heaven help him, but he was a fool.
“I hope you have fun,” she said, setting his hand free as she backed up to put space between them.
Chris wanted to weep as the emotional chasm grew. “Lyzee. Please.”
She touched his cheek. “It’s okay, Christopher. I get it. You deserve a life. I hope you have a good time. I can’t wait to hear all about it. We’ll talk over happy hour next week. If you’re free.”
His heart thumped.
It was all falling apart.
He was only going out with someone else because he never thought, in a million years, he’d get this shot.
Now he’d been given it.
And he fucked it up.
“Elizabeth.”
She took another step back from him, giving herself more space. “Thank you for the roses and cupcakes. I’ll pay you back.”
It was done.
Chris realized it. That window to her was closed. They were back at square one, and he didn’t think he’d ever be able to start again.
He’d had one shot.
And he blew it.
Why the hell didn’t he tell her yes?
What was wrong with him?
Yeah, he knew.
He’d been thinking with his dick.
“For the record, Newton, she’ll never deserve you. You’re a awesome man. Goodbye.”
Elizabeth turned and began the walk of shame home. She’d asked for this. All of this was on her.
She’d kept Chris at arm’s length because of fear of losing him if they crossed that line, and now that she was ready to give it a try, it was too late.
Story of her life.
In that moment, she swore if she ever got a chance to be loved again, she’d never hesitate.
“Elizabeth.”
She stopped walking.
“We should talk.”
She couldn’t do it.
“Lyzee, please look at me.”
When she did, Chris was standing alone beneath the streetlight. His face said it all.
It was pity, or at least that’s how she read it.
“I’ll see you at work tomorrow. I’ll need that autopsy. I’m heading to bed.”
He saw the tears.
“Elizabeth.”
She turned around and walked back toward her townhouse. The entire time, she was thinking about Chris.
This was fate.
It wasn’t meant to be. Here was her sign.
So, she tried to push it out of her mind, but it was so damn hard. Her heart hurt.
What was she expecting?
This was life.
And that’s why she was better off dealing with death.
Her reality sucked.
Once more, here was the proof.
Elizabeth LaRue was unlovable.
He watched her leave.
Chris wanted to stop her, but what could he say? He saw the betrayal in her eyes. He was on a date with her, but still he scheduled another one with someone else.
That had to hurt.
If she did that to him, it would have crushed him, too, especially since she’d made tonight a real date. She’d worn a dress for him.
That said it all.
Shit.
What did he just do?
Chris wanted to rage.
Of course, he screwed this up. Why was he shocked? He’d just damaged the woman he loved.
And now…
He was all alone.
Again.
Chris didn’t see this one coming, at all.
Elizabeth had given him a chance, and he’d closed the door.
For good.
* * * E l i z a b e t h L a R u e * * *
Saturday Morning
He’d called her about twenty times, and each time, it went to voicemail. Elizabeth wasn’t answering him, and he was beginning to get scared.
He went home, and stared at his computer, trying to figure out what to do.
Keep the date?
Cancel it?
Was the damage already done?
The more he thought about it all night, he understood. She was finally coming around, and he’d blindsided her.
Shit.
He was a horrible human being.
Glancing at his watch, she was two minutes late. That couldn’t be good—not when it came to the case. Instead of panicking, he grabbed his papers and got ready.
“Hey, how was your night?” Tony asked.
“Great.”
“Uh, okay. So, was it a real date or dinner with besties?” Tony asked.
Chris was about to tear into him for even telling him about ‘online dating’, but the autopsy door opened, and Elizabeth arrived.
Only, she wasn’t alone.
She had Gabe with her, and he didn’t buy it was a coincidence. She was hiding from him, and he deserved it.
“What do we have?” she asked, sipping her coffee.
He stared at her.
She looked like hell. Her eyes were red.
Jesus.
What did he do?
He’d broken Elizabeth LaRue.
“Can we talk?” he asked.
“No. I have to interview a pimp and a madam today. I need something. Tell me about Cathy McCall and make it good.”
There was no humor in her voice.
There was no gentle.
There was no Elizabeth.
He’d definitely broken her.
Shit.
Tony began, figuring he needed to calm some of the stress around them. He could feel it brewing.
“I compared the bones on the women,” stated Tony. “Wyanet Weston didn’t have any damage to her hyoid or vertebra. She wasn’t assaulted before she was struck.”
She made notes.
“The other three all were, and I can tell you that he used the same wire on all of them. I found little fragments of vertebra in Cathy McCall’s neck that belonged to Bao Yu.”
“So he didn’t clean the wire?”
He shook his head. “No. I wouldn’t be surprised that when the tech team finishes running the wound trace, they find blood contamination from the other victims. He wasn’t neat and tidy.”
This cleared their cops even more. They would have compulsively cleaned it to kill any trace.
They had an amateur.
A scary one, but one nonetheless.
“What else?” she asked, ignoring the way Chris was staring at her. Elizabeth couldn’t do this now. Sh
e felt like an idiot for thinking they could move forward.
He already was, but not with her.
She was embarrassed.
Elizabeth was supposed to be an investigator, and she’d missed this one by a mile. Chris was dating.
It felt like it was behind her back.
She had so many questions, but him dropping that bomb, while on the date with her…it made her feel like she’d been a trial run.
It also hurt that he didn’t warn her.
She never took him as a serial dater.
Elizabeth was licking her wounds.
She’d been up most of the night upset over it. She felt like a fool, a girl, and an idiot. This was what happened when you mixed business and pleasure.
“This person was strong or very angry. He severed all the muscles and cut into bone.”
“He’s probably angry,” she stated. “You have to be to hurt someone like this. Normal people don’t garrote people they meet on the street.”
Chris was watching her.
She wouldn’t look at him.
This was bad.
What if he lost her and it didn’t even take them sleeping together?
What if all it took was this betrayal?
He was a freaking idiot.
When Gabe’s phone rang, he grabbed it. “I have to take this. Livy is still in beginning stages of labor. She told me to come to work, but I wanted to stay home.”
“Go ahead,” Elizabeth stated.
As soon as he was gone, Chris moved closer. “We need to talk.”
“There’s nothing to say. I need work, and I want to make sure I clear your day so you can get out of here at a decent time. You have a date.”
It wasn’t said with malice.
He wished it were so they could discuss this, fix it, and then move forward.
Chris wanted her to be angry.
An angry woman meant she cared. Apparently, Elizabeth didn’t.
She was cold.
Gabe came running back in. “Her water broke. I need to go. Keep me updated.”
She watched him leave, nearly plowing down some tech in his way.
“I guess I’m on my own again,” she muttered.
“I’ll go out with you,” Chris offered. Then they could talk. Then he could explain why he did what he did. This was all on him, and he needed to fix it.
Elizabeth glanced over at him.
Chris looked miserable. He wasn’t wearing a tie, his shirt was shoved up at the sleeves, and he wasn’t his normal tidy self.
Yeah, there no way in hell he was going out with her. All she could think about was the killer, and she wasn’t risking him again by waving him in front of a pimp and madam.
Screw that.
“No. Just give me the update. What did you find on the victim?” she asked. “I have a headache. Let’s just get this over with.”
Chris stared at her. “You can’t go out alone. You’ll get hurt.”
“I’m not your concern. Focus, Doctor Leonard. What can you tell me?”
He dropped the case file on the morgue table and walked away. He was frustrated.
He’d been so damn close.
Jesus!
He wanted to go back in time.
Tony stared back and forth at them.
“Fine. I’ll read it myself.”
She grabbed the file and headed for the door. “Release the victims to the family if you’re done with them, Doctor Magnus. Why make them wait? Make sure we learned everything we can. I don’t want to exhume them later.”
The autopsy door slammed.
Wow.
There was tension there.
He went off to find his co-worker.
“What the hell?” he asked, when he found Chris in the lounge pouring a coffee. “I’m going to guess that last night wasn’t a real date, and you’re pissed off.”
He faced him. “Oh, it was a very real date. She wore a dress, held my hand, and even kissed me goodnight. Elizabeth pulled out all the stops. I was meeting her father as in MEETING her father.”
Tony smiled. “Awesome. You got what you wanted. Now explain why you two are pissy. That’s the part I don’t get.”
“She asked me out, and I told her about the date I have tonight.”
“Oh. Why would you do that?” he asked.
“Because I’m an idiot. She’s angry with me. I can tell. I hurt her. After the kiss, I told her about another woman.”
Tony didn’t believe someone could be this naïve. Who in their right mind would tell one woman about the other one? Someone needed to teach Chris Leonard how to date multiple women at once.
“I don’t think she’s pissed. She seems like the person who would tell you when she’s mad. Did she?”
“I want to forget about this. Not only did I lose my best friend, but that door is now closed.”
Chris did something very un-Chris like. He threw his coffee mug against the wall, and it shattered.
Tony stared.
He didn’t know what to say.
“Maybe you should call off the date.”
Chris stared at him. “Why? I’m going to be alone a lot anymore. Now I have nothing but time.”
Tony opened his mouth.
Then he closed it.
“Uh, if you think that’s what you want, then maybe you should go.”
Clearly, it was not. If he wanted to date other people, he wouldn’t have just smashed his coffee mug, and he wouldn’t look this worked up.
Tony was staying out of it.
“What’s the worst that can happen? It’s a date. I’ll take her out, get her tipsy, and then score. Who knows when I’ll get another shot at a woman?”
Just saying all of this hurt his heart, but he wouldn’t look like a big pussy in front of his co-worker.
It was time to pretend he was okay. Plus, he was pissed off. Elizabeth blew off his calls, she didn’t bring him coffee, and she walked away.
He pulled out his phone and called Madeline. “Are we still on for tonight?” he asked.
He listened to her reply.
“Great. Seven at the bar. I’ll be there.”
When he hung up, he felt better. He was just as upset as Elizabeth. He could do angry too.
Heading out to the autopsy suite, he saw it.
Moving closer to the table, there sat a candy bar.
And a quarter.
On the folder, she’d drawn a heart and scribbled a message.
‘Knock her dead, Newton. I hope you find what you’re looking for. I love you. I can’t wait to hear all about it.’
The anger was gone.
She forgave him.
“What’s that?” Tony asked.
“She came back. That’s her peace offering,” he stated, picking up the quarter and candy.
“That’s weird.”
No, it was just right. They would be okay. Later, he would talk to her. Tonight, he’d go, have a drink, and then tell Madeline goodnight.
Maybe he still had a chance.
“She’s telling me to go.”
He stared at him.
“I just told you that. Do I get the candy?” he asked.
Chris tucked it away.
From her, it was different.
It meant all the world. He’d get through tonight, and he’d fix what he broke.
For her.
And for him.
He’d get them back on track.
Chapter Eight
W hen she left the morgue, she was pissed and hurt, and then she realized she had no right to be any of that. Chris wasn’t hers. It was as simple as that. If she tried to be a bitch over this, she’d lose what was left between them.
One of them had to bridge the gap, and he’d stood by her through so much. This was the least she could do.
Did it sting?
Yeah, it did, but that was on her. Elizabeth let the opportunity slip through her fingers. From here on out, they would only be friends.
If she let ang
er control her, or jealousy, she’d lose his friendship, and that was her fear from the start. So, she opted to celebrate his happiness. She opted to pretend it didn’t hurt, and she wasn’t upset that she’d missed the boat.
What if he’d been the one?
Well, it was too late to find out. That ship had sailed, and now it was time to regroup.
So, she headed back in to apologize, and he wasn’t there. So she’d done what the old, sane, logical Elizabeth would do. She’d leave him a message.
When she was done, she actually felt better. Later, she’d text him to make sure his date went off well, and she’d let it go.
He mattered too much.
On her way back out, she was hit with something she didn’t expect.
One of the vice detectives was standing there.
Crap.
Kaleb Williams was waiting for her.
“Yo, LaRue!”
She kept walking. Elizabeth ignored the media outside the gate as it took pictures of her. She was too busy to care what they thought about her. Besides, if she stopped, someone would get hurt.
Them.
All of them.
“What do you want, Kaleb?” she asked.
“I want to help.”
She stared laughing.
It wasn’t the good kind.
“You threw my ass under the bus,” she stated. “You had your boss tell my boss I was incompetent, and you have the balls to sashay yourself down here to ask to help?”
“Yeah, that sounds about right.”
“NO.”
She unlocked her Fed ride.
“What if I gave you something to work with to help solve this? What if I went in all the way and gave you my information?”
That had her interest.
“What kind of information are we talking about?” she asked.
“People of interest.”
She was running out of suspects. If it wasn’t the cops, and it wasn’t the captain, she didn’t have much left to go on, and she’d need something.
If she tanked this case, her job was over. The media would have her for breakfast, lunch, and dinner all in one day. Her face would be in the headlines, and she’d disgrace her father.
Stalked by the Past: An FBI Flashback Novel. (An FBI Romance Thriller Book 17) Page 24