Acid traveled from his stomach to his throat. Adrenaline pumped, and Dylan smashed his fist through the wall as he witnessed their almost naked bodies embracing. The heart-shaped box dropped and the chocolates scattered across the floor. Anger pulsated through his body. He wanted to beat the hell out of him. Dylan wanted to grab Brad from the bed, grab him from her arms and slam him against the wall.
“I’m so stupid!” He shook his head. “I am so stupid! He won, Brad won.”
He smashed the flowers into the trash, slamming the door behind him as he rushed out of the house.
*Bradley*
The commotion woke Brad. “Shit!” He popped up out of bed. “Shit! He must think we…” He ran after Dylan.
“Dylan, it’s not what you think! Damn!” He was too late, where was he?
Bradley paced. “Damn it!”
Nicole finally awoke. “What’s wrong?”
“Dylan saw us sleeping together and must think I…Dammit!”
“He must think…?”
“I’m not wearing my shirt—you’re wearing that, we were holding each other and we were in bed together. Dammit!”
“Why would he care?”
“Dylan, Dylan is your boyfriend. He is one of my best friends. Dylan…”
“Dylan? I don’t remember.”
“You don’t remember anything? You were so in love with him.”
“I don’t remember. I don’t remember anything. I remember you, Bradley. I remember holding you.”
“Don’t do this to me. You are making it so hard to be loyal.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Stop saying you are sorry! I have to find Dylan. I have to explain everything. You just need to spend more time with him. You will remember!”
“Bradley, if I’m in love with him, why is it I remember you so vividly?”
“You stayed with me for a while. I held you when you almost died. I comforted you when Steve was stalking you. You are mixing up adrenaline for something else.”
“You saved me?”
“I was there, Nikki.”
“What happened?”
“I’m pretty sure that is why you have amnesia. I don’t think we should talk about that right now. What do you remember?”
“I don’t know, I remember snow, I remember your chest and seeing you in the moonlight. I remember the comforting sound of your heartbeat and I remember being with you, you holding me and I remember liking it.”
God I want to kiss her. This is all I ever wanted. I want to grab her and kiss her. But Dylan is like a brother.
“You loved him Nicole, you really loved him.” Brad got dressed and searched for Dylan. He had been gone for what seemed like an eternity. Bradley finally found him sitting in a nearby bar and ran over to him.
“It’s not what you think at all!”
“You were in bed together, I’m not stupid.”
“Nothing happened. She was confused. She remembers the intensity of the being stalked and remembered me.”
“You were in bed together.”
“I swear, nothing happened! When we were hiding in the snow, I held her. I used the warmth of my body to keep her alive. She remembered my heartbeat. She said it comforted her so I held her. That is what you saw. Dylan, I know I told you I’m in love with her. But I never have done anything about it. When she stayed here with me, she talked about you all the time. She is in love with you.”
“She doesn’t even remember me!”
“So make her remember, make her fall in love with you again! You did it once, she really loved you!”
“What if she doesn’t fall in love with me again? What if I lost her?”
“All you can do is try. You’re like a brother to me and I promise I will do anything I can to help you get her back. But if you don’t even try, you don’t deserve her and I will do everything in my power to have her fall in love with me.”
“I love her, Brad. I really love her. But she never told me…” He paused; his finger encircled the glass of Bacardi. “Brad, she never told me that she loved me. Not once did she say that she loved me.”
“Trust me, Dylan, she does.”
Chapter 19
*Chris*
“Hey Dylan, I’m no longer off grid. I’m in town today for a few hours but have to fly out again.” Chris began his message. “Have you heard from Emily? Her cell is disconnected and there is no answer at the house. I won’t be available for a three weeks or so, but give me a call this weekend if you can. I heard you’re no longer on the slope. Are you back in Washington State? Anyway, if you talk to Em, tell her I miss her and I’ll be home soon. This is the number to get in touch with me. My other number is burned. Tell Nikki I say hi. Talk to you soon.” Chris stuck the phone in his pocket.
He got back to Alaska but hadn’t been debriefed and really wasn’t supposed to be in contact with anyone yet. He didn’t see the harm though. He wasn’t on anyone’s radar anymore. He couldn’t wait to spend a little time with Emily before his next assignment out of town.
The FBI didn’t waste any time getting in touch with him when he got back. “We found another one.” Chris wasn’t an agent and it wasn’t an official contract, but Chris wanted this bastard caught, as much as they did. This sick bastard killed helpless women practically in his backyard--less than an hour from his home. For two years the officials had been trying to catch the serial killer, over two years and over twenty innocent girls dead. And now, men were showing up as well. Were they connected? They had heard Chris was one of the best and asked him to unofficially join in the investigation whenever he came back to town.
Chris reached the small clearing in the forest and saw the body lying there. The female victim couldn’t have been more than twenty years old--similar in type to the other bodies that had been found. Judging by her small frame, she was easy to overtake. Chris walked over to the brunette lying in the leaves. Her dark hair outlined her face and her blank stare showed the terror she felt right before her death.
The girl’s arms were crossed over her body deliberately like the others, however there were signs that her arms had been duct-taped together before she died--perhaps bound so she couldn’t fight back. The stem of some type of flower was taped in her hand but the head of the flower had been removed. This was new. What did it mean? Was it some kind of clue?
The victim’s shoes had been removed; Chris bent down and lifted her leg. From the lacerations and blood stains on her feet, he realized she had been running, perhaps trying to escape, but it seemed the unknown subject let her run in order to hunt her. There were signs of broken branches and clothing torn on the trees that led him to her body.
Lying almost naked, Chris found the girl’s panties ripped off as if the struggle excited the subject and he grew eager to rape her. It seemed he raped her before he took her life. He noticed her bra had been cut off and laid on the ground beside her. The rest of her clothes were missing. Perhaps he forced her to run through the area in only her bra and underwear in the cold Alaskan air.
On her body, the scars where the blade traced her skin were surface cuts--almost as if he had tortured her slowly to watch her pain. He examined her leg. The suspect had carved some kind of symbol into her thigh. What did it mean? He looked closer, it looked like numbers. Yes, numbers. Chris took a picture, hoping they would provide some kind of clue.
Studying the body more closely, he realized she had a missing ring, by the discoloration on her finger, perhaps taken as a trophy. From the lack of paths in the forest, it seemed perhaps the victim had been kidnapped and brought to this location like the other girls--to be hunted.
Chris searched for the missing dagger and remnants of the spool of duct tape. The subject left little evidence behind. There were no signs of foot prints. The fact that her mouth had been cov
ered with duct tape this time, it is possible there were others in the woods that may have witnessed some kind of struggle if she screamed or perhaps the criminal’s methods were evolving. The crime scene was organized. Many organized criminals have a compulsive disorder. Chris noticed signs of this disorder in the meticulous manner the crime scenes he investigated were so similar.
The criminal followed almost ritualistic behavior when he committed his crime. It seemed all the girls had been kidnapped from some location, bound, almost stripped and set free to be hunted down. The subject showed signs of high intelligence by his careful methods. He taunted the law enforcement without leaving enough clues to catch him. Over twenty bodies found in this manner. The bodies seemed to be coming more frequently. There had to be something here. There had to be another clue.
Chapter 20
I watched him, trying to make everything just right. How could anyone so perfect have been mine?
~Nicole Carlise
Obsession and Sacrifice
Tiffany Carmouché
*Nicole*
Frustrated, I sat on the couch, my memory still lost somewhere and my legs not seeming to get any stronger.
“I don’t understand. It’s like there is nothing. Nothing! I can remember random stupid things, but why can’t I remember my own daughter? Dylan, will I ever see her again?”
“Brad and I are doing everything we can to find your parents. We will find Jessica. We will do everything we can to find her. I have a friend who will be able to help us when he gets back in town. If anyone can find her he can.”
“Does it make sense that I miss her even though I don’t remember her?”
“It sure does baby. She is an amazing little girl. “I just don’t get how I can recall unimportant stuff but I can’t remember how to walk? Why don’t I remember you? It seems like everything important is what I forgot. ”
Dylan sat next to me. “It will come to you, Nicole. Just give it time. A little over a month ago you weren’t even conscious, so on my end you are doing amazing.”
“Will I ever be able to walk again?” I felt defeated; when I stood today, my legs were being really difficult. They had a mind of their own. I could barely balance and a pain shot through them, a pain that I hadn’t felt before. “I feel like I can’t do anything.”
“I think it’s about time we get you out of here. You have been cooped up for too long. Would you like to go out to dinner?”
“Out like a restaurant? I think I would like that very much.” I smiled, excited to get out of the house for a bit. What would I wear? Where was he taking me? Was this a date?
Dylan knew my legs were really bothering me so he picked me up and carried me to my bedroom. “So, what would you like to wear?” He opened my closet doors.
“I don’t know, you pick it out. You know where we’re going.”
He pulled each piece of clothing out as if he were modeling it himself, putting it up to his chest to exhibit my choices. “There is this, this brings out the mocha in your eyes.” His sexy smile sent a chill up my spine. He pulled out an eggplant top.
“And there is this, it has a nice neckline. I must say you look stunning in this one.” He presented it and went to grab another, pulling out a really sexy lace negligee.
“This?” He lifted his eyebrow. “No, I guess we will have to wait on this one.” He blushed, returning it quickly to the closet, grabbing another hanger. “And, we’ll put this back too.” He returned it quickly as well.
“This one.” He brought it over, holding a pink cashmere sweater up to me. This is perfect.” He handed it to me then returned to the closet and grabbed a pair of pants that would go with it, a pair of shoes and a cute little purse. “This should be adorable.” He handed me the selection.
“Thank you.” This is the first time I’d dressed up since…since I could remember. “Do you mind helping me to the bathroom?”
“Of course not.” Dylan walked over to pick me up. I put my arms around his neck as he lifted me. He carried me to the bathroom, putting me down in the chair in the corner of the room, close to the tub.
He brought the clothes to the bathroom and hung them up on the back of the door and turned on the water for me, checking the temperature with his hands. Under the sink he found a bottle of bubble bath. As he poured it in the Jacuzzi tub, the sweet aroma of vanilla rose filled the room and he laid a fresh towel by the double basin, setting everything out for me so I wouldn’t have to fumble through things alone. I watched him, trying to make everything just right. How could anyone so perfect have been mine?
He opened the drawer and pulled out the blow dryer and a brush. “If you need anything, just call.” He closed the door behind him as he left the room.
I sat there for a moment. He knocked on the door. “You decent?” he asked before opening the door again. “I thought you may like these.” He entered with a few candles and set them on the ledge of the tub. Dylan lit them and turned on the Ipod.
“Relax and enjoy, Nicole. You deserve it. I’ll make reservations for six thirty so you have plenty of time to just soak.” He closed the door behind him.
I closed my eyes and listened to the music echo through the room. The smell of vanilla rose filled my nostrils as I picked up a handful of bubbles. They crackled in my hands. Taking a deep breath, I opened my eyes. The candles flickered as I began pulling the sweat shirt over my head and sliding the pants off my body. Using the walls for support, and descended into the water. So warm. The bubbles tickled my body as I lay there. As the jets from the tub gently massaged my body, the bubbles grew even bigger. I closed my eyes and escaped into the peace.
When I hobbled out of the bathroom, Dylan came over to greet me in case I needed anything. I loved the way he looked at me. It made me feel beautiful. I felt like someone important today.
Chapter 21
*Dylan*
When they arrived at the restaurant the maitre’d quickly escorted them to their table despite the long line of people, waiting to be seated.
Dylan struggled to keep his hands off Nicole even when she lounged around the house in sweats. So Beautiful. I wish she would remember the two of us together. He wanted to tell her how much he loved her, but what good would that do?
The waiter brought out the menus and handed them to the couple. Nicole glanced over it and seemed overwhelmed. She shrugged, putting it back on the table. “I don’t remember what I like.”
The corners of Dylan’s mouth lifted. “We haven’t been here before. Do you want me to order for you?”
“I think that would be a good idea.” She bashfully accepted his offer.
He closed the menu, knowing exactly what he would order. When the waiter came to the table, Dylan leaned over and whispered something in his ear. Before long, multiple waiters came out with numerous plates, adorning the table with a little bit of everything on the menu. Nicole looked up questioning Dylan with her eyes as they continued to bring samples to the table.
“You are trying to get me fat.” She shook her head in disbelief at all the food in front of her.
“I thought the best way to find out your favorite foods is to have you try everything on the menu. I got a sample of everything and whatever you decide is your favorite, we will get more of.”
“You ordered everything?”
“How are you going to know what you like, if you don’t try everything?”
“You’re crazy. You’re too good to me Dylan, you and Bradley are so good to me.” She put her hands on the table, and he covered them with his, stroking her hands with his thumbs.
“Truth is, Nicole, I wish I could do more.” His parents cut him off because he didn’t leave her. It didn’t matter to him. He loved her. She was worth losing every penny. He still had the money he had saved from working on the slope and from some of his investments, b
ut her medical bills were high and the money was disappearing. He wished he could give her all she deserved. He wanted to spoil her.
Her eyes were so hypnotic. He wished he could look into her soul. He would give her anything she wanted. He loved the way her eyes lit up when she spoke.
“So shall we begin?”
“What is this?” Nicole put her fork in the first plate.
“The Caprese appetizer, it is a fresh, giant mozzarella ball.”
She took it in her mouth and made a face as if it assaulted her tongue, swallowing deliberately.” She leaned over toward him. “I don’t like that one too much.”
He lifted his hand and one of the waiters swept it away before she could give it another thought. He smiled. Her adorable enthusiasm captivated him. He enjoyed watching her taste buds discover a new world and he loved how honest and animated she became.
“and these?”
“Those are Alaskan King Crab legs.”
She leaned over the table again. “How do I eat them?”
He brought his chair next to hers, and taking the little fork, he scooped the meat out of the shell. Dipping it in melted butter, he brought it to her lips.
“Mmm, I loovve this!”
Chapter 22
“I don’t know, maybe because I like thinking about you. I like remembering things with you. I like being with you.”
~Nicole Carlise
Obsession and Sacrifice
Tiffany Carmouché
*Nicole*
Obsession and Sacrifice (Alaska #2) Page 9