Pinch Me [Suncoast Society] (Siren Publishing Sensations)

by Tymber Dalton

  Laura shrugged. “I chopped him off at the knees. I didn’t give him a chance to say much.”

  “Didn’t hit on you or anything?”

  “Nope. Said he just needed some information.”

  “Yeah, I gave him a class schedule.” She looked out the window. “Hey, he drives a Beemer.”

  Laura dismissed the incident and went back to work. She still had several details to finalize for the wedding party. Rob met her at the shop and they went out to dinner. She filled him in on the day’s events, culminating with her visit from Don Kern.

  Rob got “that look” on his face, the one Laura knew meant he was going to delve into super-protective Sir mode. “I really don’t like the idea of that guy in the shop.”

  “He’s a customer.” She regretted saying anything to Rob about the visit.

  “I don’t like him.”

  “Getting jealous are we?” She knew what buttons to push.

  “No. You know me better than that.”

  Yes, she did.

  She smiled. “Don’t worry, Sir. I’m staying safe.”

  He smiled. “Good girl.”

  * * * *

  She spent the rest of the day working on finishing paperwork for the shop. Bill was due to arrive in three days. Laura wanted to spend her time with him, not worrying about work.

  She also knew Rob was counting down the days until Bill’s arrival, glad to have one more set of eyes watching over her. They had no way of knowing if MedicineMan would really attack again or not, but he wasn’t willing to take chances with her safety.

  It also meant they hadn’t gone up to the club or over to their friend’s houses since their return from Montana. They were afraid if MedicineMan was paying close attention to Laura that he might start stalking them, too, as a way to get to her.

  Or as a way to gain information to blackmail Rob and cost him his job.

  Laura settled for lots of phone conversations with Shayla and the others.

  The day before Bill’s scheduled arrival, Laura set out to clean the house. With a young Labbybrat around, it didn’t take long for fur balls to breed under the sofa. The kitchen first, and she worked her way through the living and dining rooms, their bedroom, the spare bedroom, and finally to the office where the greatest clutter accumulated.

  She’d tried to put the missing journals out of her mind, but they were always there, close to the surface.

  What the hell did I do with them?

  For the first time, another answer occurred. What if somehow her attacker had them? But that didn’t make sense. How would he have gotten them?

  Unless he knew what he was looking for.

  Once again that brought her around to the possibility the attacker was someone close to her. And that just didn’t seem possible.

  * * * *

  Rob drove Laura to Tampa to meet Bill’s plane. She took a notepad along to work but got carsick and had to put it aside. By the time they arrived in Tampa she felt better, and when Bill arrived she was overjoyed to see him. They ate dinner with Steve and Carol. The next day, Rob was relieved to leave for work and not have Laura alone.

  Laura decided to take time off from the shop. Probably a good thing, because with the stress she thought she was coming down with something. After dinner that night, she hugged her brother and Rob good night and headed for bed.

  The condo dream returned. This time she started out with the condo clean and tidy, carpet runner in place on the floor. There was a knock on the door and she went to answer it. A voice she couldn’t understand said something, and when she opened the door a black shadow raced in.

  She screamed, waking both Rob and herself. Bill knocked on their bedroom door a moment later.

  Rob went to the door. “She’s okay. Just a dream.”

  Rob blocked her view, but Laura knew from Bill’s stance he held a handgun.

  “Sure?”

  Rob nodded. “She’s okay.”

  Rob closed the door and sat next to her. “Don’t you think it’s time you went back to Dr. Collins or Dr. Simpson?”

  “I don’t have time.”

  “Laura, you’re under a lot of stress. Tomorrow morning, call and make an appointment.”

  Her anger subsided. He was right. Maybe it would help. It wouldn’t hurt. “All right. Fine.”

  * * * *

  The next morning, Rob enjoyed the feel of Laura’s hands on him. In an instant he was awake, kissing her. Apparently Bill was up, too, because he smelled coffee brewing in the kitchen. Suddenly, Laura bolted out of bed and raced for the bathroom. He followed her, worried. She leaned over the toilet, looking green, not actually getting sick.

  “You okay?”

  She nodded. “I just had a rough moment there.”

  “You sure? You don’t look good.”

  “I think I’m coming down with something. I haven’t felt good the past couple of days. Or it could have been what I ate last night.”

  At her insistence, he went back to bed. He heard the water running and a moment later she was in bed with him. This time, she didn’t leave.

  He stopped her. “No spanking this morning.”

  When she started to argue, he silenced her. “Sick is different. I’m not flipping you over on your stomach and spanking you.” He kissed her. “Don’t worry, we’ll make it up tomorrow.”

  She teased him and taunted him until he couldn’t hold back any longer. He retrieved a condom from the side table drawer and enjoyed making love to her. Later they got up and showered, taking their time. Rob didn’t have to be at work until later that afternoon.

  Bill sat at the kitchen table with the paper, Doogie at his feet. “Well good morning, folks.”

  “Shouldn’t you have jet lag?” Laura poured Rob and her cups of coffee.

  “I’m fine. Doogie decided he wanted to sleep with me. He woke me up this morning to go out. You guys decided to sleep late.”

  Rob grinned. “Who said we were sleeping?” Laura playfully swatted Rob’s shoulder and he ducked her.

  Then he ratted her out. “I told her last night she needs to make an appointment with Dr. Collins or Dr. Stephens. Can you—”

  Bill gave him a thumbs-up. “I’ll make sure she does it.”

  “Thanks.”

  He nodded. “You better believe it.”

  She’d started a dream journal, writing down anything she thought of or any dreams she had. There wasn’t much she remembered from the night before. She found an empty note pad and jotted down some thoughts anyway.

  After breakfast she left Rob and Bill at the table while she went to get her morning dose of dread, as she thought of it, while her mail downloaded.

  Nothing. After making an appointment with Dr. Collins, who had an opening for the next day, she returned to the living room and sat and talked with Bill, going through albums again, until she started yawning.

  “You okay, Laur?” Rob went to her.

  “Just tired. I’m going to lie down.”

  They watched her go to the bedroom.

  “How is she really?” Bill asked.

  Rob shook his head. “I’m surprised she’s held up as well as she has. Everything’s catching up with her now that she’s slowing down and being forced to deal with it.”

  Rob followed her to the bedroom. She lay on the bed, Doogie beside her. He shooed the Lab off the bed and curled up next to her. “You okay?”

  She nodded without opening her eyes. “I’m okay. Just tired. I’ve been so busy.”

  “Listen. Why don’t you just hire an extra person part-time at the shop and stay home? Write, relax, give yourself some time. You really haven’t had much in the way of downtime since…you know.”

  “No, just the better part of a month in Montana.”

  “Laura, that’s not fair. Not to mention it wasn’t what you could call a vacation. You were under almost as much stress there as you would have been here.”

  Laura kissed his hand, held it to her chest. “I know. I’ve been th
inking about taking some time off anyway. The novel is coming along pretty well.”

  “We can afford it. Don’t worry.” He curled up with her on the bed and she dropped off to sleep.

  He watched, gently brushing a strand of hair from her face. There was still a scar on her forehead, not noticeable unless you were looking for it. It enraged him, always reminding him of the brutal attack, how he should have been with her, would have been with her if it hadn’t been for the accident he had to work.

  Bill looked up from the TV when Rob returned. “She okay?”

  “Yes. She’s just totally exhausted.” He looked at his watch. “Damn. I need to get to work. Call me if…” He didn’t want to finish.

  “She’ll be okay, Rob. She’s tough.”

  “Sometimes she thinks she’s tougher than she really is.”

  * * * *

  Laura slept. Bill checked on her periodically. She seemed restless, disturbed. One time he heard her moan in her sleep and he considered waking her. He let Doogie into the room with her and the Lab carefully climbed up on the bed and protectively curled up next to his mistress. That seemed to comfort her and Bill left her bedroom door open so he could hear.

  Laura felt sucked down into the depths of her dream. She knew she was dreaming, and that was the extent of the control she had. It was the apartment again, before the attack. This time was different. The rooms were dark and possessed an unearthly quality that never came through before.

  The knock on the door. Thunderous, wall-shaking. The fear hit her and she realized that no matter what she did she would open that door. Despite turning to run her feet betrayed her and she slowly moved toward the front door.

  Suddenly, Doogie appeared at her side, calming her. He growled at the door, bearing his teeth, something the gentle dog never did before. Taking comfort in his presence she willed herself to reach out and grab the doorknob. The door swung open.

  Nothing.

  Doogie pushed himself in front of her, between her and the open doorway, still growling.

  Laura stepped back and closed the door. Doogie pushed into her arms and licked her face.

  The scene changed. Still the apartment. The otherworldly aspect was gone and it was back to before the attack. Once again there was a knock on the door. Doogie looked up and gently took her hand in his mouth, leading her away from the door.

  The rear door swung open, the shadow filling the doorway. Doogie bristled, advanced. Laura tried to hold him back without success. The dog stalked the shadow, and when he reached the back door he leapt, attacking. The shadow blew apart and the door slammed shut. Doogie walked back to her wagging his tail and letting her stroke his ears.

  That’s when she woke. Doogie looked over at her. She smiled, petting his head. “Good boy.”

  His tail thumped once on the bed.

  * * * *

  Laura retrieved her dream notebook and wrote furiously. The dream was so different from what she’d had before. Maybe Doogie’s presence had something to do with it.

  She wouldn’t take any chances.

  Bill cooked her dinner and they watched TV. Laura sat in listless silence.

  “You want to talk?” He knew she’d had rough dreams that afternoon.

  “No. It’s just the same old stuff.”

  “You’re so stubborn, sis.”

  “Doesn’t it run in the family?”

  He laughed. “Yes, it does. And you got a heaping share.”

  Chapter Thirty-Six

  Laura woke before dawn. She walked to the living room and peeked through the blinds. She found out she used to jog. Not religiously but usually once or twice a week, preferring early morning when the sun wasn’t hot.

  Before.

  She used to go to work and take out classes, dive by herself on pleasure trips, enjoyed her lifestyle.

  Before.

  She used to take long walks with Doogie, enjoyed taking him to the dog park, loved riding around.

  Now, she felt like a hostage, always looking over her shoulder, feeling guilty and resentful at the same time because everyone she loved felt responsible for her safety.

  Doogie woke up and walked to her side. He nuzzled her hand.

  “Gotta go out?”

  He wagged his otter tail.

  Her robe hung over the back of the bathroom door. She slipped into it and put the gun in the pocket, knotting the belt around her waist to keep the gun’s weight from pulling it down.

  She slipped the leash on Doogie and turned off the alarm before they went out the back door. It was nearly dawn and she cautiously looked around the yard while Doogie sniffed the ground. Every sound, every movement set her on edge. She smelled the methane from the rotten vegetation in the mangrove swampland on the other side of the trees, heard a raccoon rummaging in the brush, a mockingbird sounding off in a nearby tree.

  “C’mon, Doog. Get it done.”

  “Laur?”

  She jumped at the sound of Bill’s voice. “Yeah?”

  “You okay?” He was barely awake, and had Rob’s gun in his hand, held along his thigh.

  “I’m fine. Just walking the brat.”

  “Want me to finish up with him?”

  At that moment Doogie decided he was done and led Laura back toward the house. “I guess not.”

  He locked the door behind her and reached down to pet the dog. “Rob wouldn’t like you going out there by yourself.” He reset the alarm.

  “I’m going stir crazy.”

  Her appointment with Dr. Collins didn’t trigger any new memories, unfortunately.

  But with the way she was feeling, she finally let Bill talk her into seeing her general practitioner about her other symptoms. Her regular doctor was out of town, so she had to see one of his partners, whom she’d never seen before. The doctor examined her, including taking blood work and a urine sample. After he was finished, Bill returned to the exam room to wait with her.

  The doctor walked in with her chart and smiled. “Congratulations, you two.”

  Bill and Laura looked at each other in confusion. Bill spoke first. “Sorry?”

  The doctor smiled at him. “You’re going to be a father.”

  Laura’s jaw hit the floor but Bill recovered first. “Uh, this is my sister, not my wife.”

  The doctor blushed. “Oh, I’m sorry, I thought—”

  Laura shook her head. “I can’t be pregnant. I had my period a few weeks ago.”

  The doctor was still trying to recover from his error. “I thought the nurse said you were married, Laura.”

  “I am married. My husband’s at work. My brother is visiting us for a few weeks. Are you sure? I mean, I had my period.”

  The doctor nodded. “Yes, we’re sure. It’s not uncommon for a woman to have one or more episodes that look like periods in their early pregnancy.”

  Laura did the math and closed her eyes. “Crap.” She’d be about five weeks along, or less.

  Bill reached over and took her hand. “I thought you guys wanted—”

  “We do. We did. Then we decided to wait for a while, see if they can catch the psycho first.”

  “Oh.”

  She looked at the doctor. “Oh, god, I’ve had wine—”

  The doctor smiled. “As long as you’re not doing any drugs or smoking or anything like that, chances are, the baby’s fine. Since you’re here, let’s do an ultrasound and some more blood work, okay?”

  She nodded, numb. The doctor left to order the tests and she looked at Bill, her eyes wet. “What am I going to do?”

  “I’d say the first thing is to tell Rob.”

  She closed her eyes. “He’s working until tomorrow. Double shift.”

  They quietly waited until the doctor and nurse returned. An hour later they were finished, but the doctor recommended she not do any diving considering the fairly recent trauma she’d been through.

  “Better to err on the side of caution,” he said.

  * * * *

  Bill waited for Laur
a while she checked out and made a follow-up appointment for a few weeks later. He browsed a fishing magazine in the waiting area when he heard a man’s voice speak Laura’s name.

  Bill looked up and saw a man in a suit emerge from the back. Laura visibly bristled.

  “Oh, hello,” she said.

  Bill stood, waiting for a cue she needed him to intercede. The guy looked like a salesman, probably a pharmacy rep. Two others had come and gone earlier while they awaited Laura’s turn.

  The nurse behind the counter handed Laura an appointment card and some paperwork. “Mrs. Carlton, do you want any brochures, or need a referral to a Lamaze class?”

  “No, that’s okay. I’ll get that from you next time.”

  The nurse turned to the man. “Hi, Don. Didn’t see you come in. I thought you weren’t due until next week. Did you need anything else?”

  He smiled, but Bill didn’t like the look of him. “No, I’m okay, Della, thanks. I was in the area, thought I’d pop in. Tell the doc I’ll stop by next week to see if he needs anything.” He turned to Laura. “How are you?”

  Laura forced a smile. “I’m fine, thank you.” Then she turned back to the nurse. “Am I all set?”

  Della nodded. “Yes, we’ll see you back in three weeks.”

  “Thank you.” Laura turned to walk away. “Nice seeing you, Mr. Kern.”

  Bill fell into step beside her and sensed her agitation. In the car he quickly locked the doors once they were inside. “Okay, sis. What’s that about? Who was he?”

  She filled him in. “Customer from the shop. It unnerved me seeing him there until I remembered he’s a pharmaceutical sales rep. And Englewood is a very small town.”

  “So he’s just creepy?”

  “Yeah, but apparently he’s got a girlfriend now. Sara said he brought a woman in with him for a dive last week.” Laura groaned and smacked her leg. “I can’t dive!”

  “What?”

  “I’m supposed to run the check-out dives this weekend. I can’t do water classes. Crap!”

  “Why?”

  She looked at Bill. “Duh. What’d the doc just say?”