It didn’t take a second for Abby to conjure up a satisfactory explanation. Emmett had worked on that case too. He had access to all the documents, and he knew he needed to sabotage Layla if he were to get hired as an associate at the law firm. He must have stolen the documents and cast the blame on Layla. Now he would become the hero of the moment when he found them where everyone would assume Layla had hidden them the night she disappeared.
Was this why Layla had been kidnapped? To keep her from protesting that she hadn’t taken or lost these critical documents?
Abby thought back to the dark-colored BMW that had nearly run her off the road. The driver’s face had been a blur in the night, but Emmett drove a black, late-model BMW.
Abby began to connect the dots.
Professor Miguel drove a red sports car, so he wasn’t the person who had run her off the road fleeing from Jennifer’s house. He might be a plagiarist and promiscuous, but he wasn’t an arsonist or a kidnapper.
Emmett was.
Just as she came to this realization, the doors to the stairs opened and Victor rushed into the basement. He called out her name, not once, but twice.
She ran up and put a finger to her lips in the age-old silent gesture for shut up.
From around the corner, Emmett’s voice grew in intensity. “I’m sure that’s what I saw. Stuffed between two books. But I didn’t touch the envelope. That’s for you to do.”
“Don’t be so melodramatic,” Delphine snapped.
“But Layla took it and hid it. You can see for yourself. She was trying to sabotage your case.” Emmett’s voice had the sound of somebody in a losing argument.
Victor cocked his head at Abby, a look of puzzlement on his face. Trouble jumped down from the book shelf and rubbed against Victor. Abby held the documents in one hand and gestured for Victor to duck behind a book shelf. She wanted emergency back-up if her confrontation went badly.
Delphine and Emmett came around the book stack. Emmett came to an abrupt stop and glared at her.
“How long have you been here?” Emmett asked, stepping close enough to her to get a look at what she held in her hands.
“Long enough to see what you—not Layla, but you—hid in the book case.” Abby didn’t wait for a denial. She handed the documents to Delphine. “I was behind the bookshelves when you two came in. After you left, I saw Emmett pull this envelope from inside his jacket and hide it there.” Abby pointed. “Between those two books. Then he ran off to find you.”
“That is so not true.” Emmett’s face turned a deep coral shade. “You’re lying to protect your girlfriend. Layla’s the thief.”
Delphine pushed between Emmett and Abby and took the documents. She glanced at them before turning toward Emmett. “You’re fired. I’ll be filing a complete report with the Florida Board of Law Examiners and if I have anything to do with it, you’ll never practice law a single day in your sniveling little life.”
“Layla.” Abby spoke too loudly in the library basement and the name seemed to echo. “You just couldn’t stop hurting her, could you? Even now!”
“Oh, yes,” Delphine added after a quick glance at Abby, “I suspect the police would like a word with you over Layla’s disappearance.”
Chapter Forty-Five
Victor stood near Abby while Detectives Rizzo and Kelly handcuffed a stricken-looking Emmett. As Rizzo and Kelly began to escort him away, Emmett paused by Abby.
“Layla beat me out for editor of law review, she beat me out for moot court, and she beat me out for best paper in estate and gift tax. I couldn’t let her beat me again by getting hired at the firm—not when I needed that job.”
“Why this stunt? Why now?” Abby asked.
“Don’t you see?” Emmett stood his ground, looking at Abby as if she were the judge hearing his plea. “When she gets rescued, she’ll be this big hero, with everybody sympathetic towards her, and I’ll never have a chance against her again. What I did was…stupid… and desperate, trying to blame her for tampering with a file. But that’s all I did.”
Rizzo tugged at Emmett. “Save it for the jury.”
Emmett gave Abby one last quick look. “Honest, I didn’t hurt her.”
Abby looked away from Emmett as Rizzo pushed him toward the elevator. Trouble sat quietly, yet protectively, at Abby’s feet. Victor studied Abby a moment to be sure she was all right.
Lucas stopped long enough in front of Abby and Victor to say, “Y’all don’t worry, we’ll get him to admit where he’s got Layla hidden. If he won’t tell, we’ll retrace his tracks and find her. We’ll have her back before you know it.”
“Over a damn job.” Delphine muttered as she tucked herself between Abby and Victor. “Destroying all those lives to discredit Layla so he could get her job. I know law students are competitive, but that’s just sick.”
“Lucas—that is Detective Kelly— says they figured out how Emmett got the dead homeless man out of the bathroom.” Victor leaned toward Delphine to explain in a soft voice, not wanting the gathering crowd to overhear. “They found traces of the dead man’s blood in the freight elevator and on a dolly that the librarians use to move books. They’ll be examining Emmett’s car for other evidence.”
“I gather from all I’ve heard that Emmett’s plan was to have the homeless man kidnap Layla and leave that ransom note in the bathroom, no doubt while Emmett created an alibi. But something went wrong.” Delphine shook her head. “That poor man. Killed over such pettiness.”
What about Layla, Victor thought, but didn’t ask Delphine. Instead, he watched Abby as the elevator doors closed on Rizzo, Lucas, and Emmett.
Once the detectives and Emmett were gone, Abby turned to Delphine. “How’s Jennifer?”
“Phillip is with her. She’s still in a coma, but her vital signs are good. I think the doctors are optimistic.” Delphine smiled at Abby. “Thank you for saving her in the house fire. No one will forget what a trouper you’ve been during all of this.”
Abby ignored the comment as her frown deepened. “But why hurt Jennifer? And why try to burn their house down? I mean I get it that Emmett would have access at the office to Phillip’s things. His law school library access card and his prescriptions were in his desk. I get the frame-up. And,” Abby glanced back at Victor, “we can all see the trap he set for Victor, though it certainly wasn’t well done.” She paused, looking from Delphine to Victor. “But why hurt Jennifer?”
“She must have known something or figured something out. Maybe she remembered Emmett borrowing Phillip’s library key card.” Victor spoke, keeping his worried gaze on Abby. She was tough, but how much more could she take? But he also wondered why Emmett would want to hurt Jennifer.
“Well, it’s not over until they get Layla back. What if…I mean he killed that homeless man, didn’t he? Why wouldn’t he just kill Layla too?” Abby wobbled on her feet and spoke with a catch in her voice.
Victor could tell Abby was trying hard not to cry. Trouble rubbed against her leg and hummed an encouraging purr.
“Let me take you home, tuck you into bed. I’ll keep company with Trouble, maybe feed him some salmon while you sleep.” Victor figured Rizzo and Lucas would break Emmett quickly and they’d have Layla back before Abby’s nap was over.
And after that, Victor had some definite and slightly wicked ideas of how to wake up Abby.
The elevator doors opened and Miguel and another professor stepped off and into the crowd. A campus police officer approached the two, probably warning them off. Victor only glanced at them before his eyes focused back on Abby. But Miguel moved to Abby’s side.
“I’m so glad that this is over,” Miguel said. You’ll have your friend back very soon now. I’m sure she’ll be just fine when the police locate her.” He sounded sincere as he rested his hand lightly on Abby’s arm, rather possessively Victor thought, as he glared at the professor. Abby dusted Miguel off with a quick swipe of her free hand, and barely whispered a “thank you.”
Miguel con
tinued to stand by Abby, his expression calmly neutral. “Given all the excitement, why don’t we postpone our date tonight? When Layla is back with us and has recovered, I’d like to take you and her both out to eat in my new car and we’ll celebrate her rescue.” He glanced over at Victor. “You’ll be most welcome to join us, of course.”
Victor wanted to punch the man even though Miguel was being perfectly polite. Obviously, Miguel didn’t know they’d figured out he was a plagiarist.
“We’re all very tired. Let’s just wait and see how it goes.” Abby stepped away from Miguel and hurried toward the elevator, motioning for Victor to follow her. Trouble, who’d been plastered against Abby’s legs, moved along beside her.
Once they were in the elevator, Abby spoke. “Everybody’ll know soon enough about Miguel’s plagiarism. But let’s wait until we get Layla back. That way, she can have the pleasure of turning him in.” Abby ran her hand across her face as if to wipe it clean. “And to think I used to have a crush on him.”
“You did?” Victor stared at Abby. But no sense of jealousy or mistrust rose in him. He realized with a rush of love and peace that he trusted Abby. His ex-wife’s behavior had left him distrustful, and maybe a tad paranoid. Now that he understood his earlier suspicions arose from his own past, and not from Abby’s behavior, he could heal from the fallout of his first marriage. His newfound trust flowed through his whole body as he put his arms around Abby, hugging her close to him.
A moment later, Victor opened the outside door of the law school and they stepped into the clean, warm air of a Tallahassee September. The magnolia tree by the law school’s side entrance was glossy and green in the intense light. With Abby and Trouble beside him, Victor felt a new life opening for him. With a new faith in Rizzo and Lucas, he believed they’d have Layla safely home in short order.
They walked in silence toward the parking lot. Even Trouble kept quiet. Once they were all sitting in Victor’s pickup, he reached over and took Abby’s hand and held it between his own two.
“I’m sorry I insinuated that you were experienced in the ways of cheating.”
“That’s all right.” Abby sighed. “I thought some pretty bad things about you too.”
“I’ll get some counseling. Something I probably should have done after all my ex-wife did to me. I don’t ever want to mistrust you again.” Victor leaned forward and kissed Abby on the cheek. “I promise.”
Abby squeezed his hand and gave him a tiny, tired smile. “Maybe I’ll go with you to counseling. I don’t ever want to doubt you again either.”
“Let me get you home.” He started the pickup.
“You know, there’re some loose ends and I don’t get the ring and earring—” Abby stated.
“Maybe Emmett planted them—like he did the documents Layla supposedly stole, and the Valium. If Jennifer thought Layla had stolen her ring and earring, that would have done her in for good with Phillip and the law firm.” Victor’s hands tensed on the steering wheel. “Don’t forget how Emmett set me up. And tried to insinuate you were involved by sending him away that night.”
“And I saw him driving away from Jennifer’s when he ran me off the road.” Abby hesitated. “That is, I saw a car like his.”
Trouble meowed, but it was a pensive sound. Victor cut his eyes toward the cat and Trouble looked right back at Victor and held his gaze.
Victor could swear the cat was telling him it wasn’t over.
Chapter Forty-Six
Abby threw down her purse and eyed the inside of her house. It was still a mess. She needed to finish repotting the plants, but a quick look at her aquarium told her the fish were adjusting well to the unscheduled changes in the tank.
Victor stood beside her, an arm loosely around her waist. “I’ll help you finish cleaning up and we can repot the plants. Together.”
She liked the way he said “together.”
Abby turned to him, catching the look in his eyes. With her own, she signaled yes. In case he missed her answer, Abby pulled him to her. She kissed him, tentatively at first, but with increasing fervor as his hands stroked her back, and then dropped lower.
One of her hands inched to his chest, and her fingers found their way inside the exposed triangle at the top of his shirt. She traced a path across his skin before she pulled her hand free and started unbuttoning his shirt. As she began to undress him, his hands cupped her buttocks and his thumb rubbed up and down across the fabric of her pants.
Abby wanted to rip her shirt and pants off. But she made herself slow down. Pulling her lips away from his, she pressed her mouth to his bare chest, making a slow, deliberate path downward and then up again. His chest was covered with sandy blond hair that felt silky under her lips and tongue.
Though she was not usually so brazen, she also wasn’t usually so hungry for touch.
His touch.
Her fingers slipped down to the zipper on his jeans and lingered for a moment. His hand pressed down on top of hers and she felt him rise, hard and long, beneath her fingers.
With his other hand, Victor began to unbutton her blouse. In a moment, they broke apart so that she could slip it off entirely. His shirt hung unbuttoned off his shoulders. As soon as she threw her blouse toward the couch, she pulled his shirt off him. For a moment, she just stood there, appreciating the ripple of his muscles, the flatness of his stomach, and the brush of the sandy chest hair.
She looked into his eyes and saw that he was giving her much the same appreciative gaze.
“May I?” he asked as he reached for her bra.
She nodded. He unsnapped it and flung it toward her blouse. “Perfect,” he said, and ran his hands over the soft mounds, with his thumbs flicking the nipples ever so lightly. Abby arched her back, pushing herself closer to him and increasing their skin-to-skin friction.
His hands traced patterns up and down her bare back, sending ripples of sensation everywhere he touched, as his teeth nibbled gently on her bottom lip. She opened her mouth and his tongue slipped in.
Abby once more reached for the front of his pants. But even as she struggled to undress him further, his fingers tugged down her zipper with exquisite slowness. Once he had her pants unfastened, she stepped back and kicked them off, glad as she did that something had told her earlier to wear a lovely peach-colored matching set of bra and panties.
Before she could work his pants free, Victor had his fingers under the lace edge of her panties, trailing along their bikini lines. Her breath was coming fast as she yanked harder at his pants while he bent his head to her breasts and began to suck on first one nipple, then the other.
Later, Abby stood in front of her dresser with her back to Victor, who sat on the edge of her bed. Her whole body still tingled from their lovemaking and she wore only a loose cotton shirt. Her robe would have felt too heavy against her bare skin with her body’s newly heightened sense of touch. Earlier, they had barely made it to her bedroom, leaving a trail of her panties and his pants and boxers along the hallway. She could feel Victor’s eyes on her and it made her skin flush.
As Abby swept her hair into a loose ponytail, Victor rose off the bed. He moved behind Abby, wrapping his arms around her and the thin shirt she wore. He wore nothing and the strength in his bare arms as he held her tempted her to toss her shirt on the floor.
Victor nibbled at her ear as he put one of his hands over the front of her shirt and rubbed the soft fabric against the skin on her stomach.
She pressed back against him, arching her body, as delightful shivers shot through her. Throwing that damn blouse to the floor was feeling like a better idea all the time. Their love making—and the nap afterwards—had refreshed her, but not nearly as much as her acceptance that this was the man she loved. Her body had never before responded to another’s in quite the way she had just a couple of hours before. A small smile flirted about her lips as she realized her body had known she was in love, even if her emotions had still held out some doubt.
But that doubt w
as gone now.
Her shirt began to slip a bit under Victor’s hands. Abby felt the warmth of his breath on her neck. His fingers continued to rub the fabric against her bare skin, creating a pleasurable sensation of heat and tension.
Trouble, who had had the common decency to make himself scarce the last two hours, ran into the room. After a decisive jump to the top of the dresser, he looked at her with piercing eyes. Trouble meowed in a distinct pattern of sounds, like he was explaining a matter of some importance to them.
Abby sighed. Trouble was right, she needed to check on Layla. The romantic moment was over. For now.
“I’ll call Lucas and see if they’ve found Layla.” Abby expected Victor to protest, but he agreed.
She hurried to the living room and dug her cell phone out of her purse. Victor followed. Expecting to hear only good news, she called Lucas—she had his number memorized by now. Without bothering to say hello or identify herself, she asked breathlessly, “Have you found Layla?”
“No.” Lucas paused. “We’re tracking Emmett’s whereabouts and his haunts, and we have a team at his apartment and going over his car. But he keeps denying he took her.”
Abby said goodbye and ended the call. As she gave Victor a worried look, Trouble knocked her purse over, spilling its contents about the couch and floor.
“Somebody’s jealous,” Victor said.
“No, he’s trying to tell me something.” Abby looked at the mess scattered about. “What, Trouble? What do I need to see?”
With his nose, Trouble butted a black flash drive out of the pile of items on the couch.
Abby picked it up. “I found this in the umbrella stand by the elevator. I really don’t think it’s Layla’s because she always used pink flash drives. I was going to check anyway. But,” she paused, looking embarrassed, “I just forgot about it, with…you know.” Her face burned with a blush.
“Even if it is Layla’s, it’s probably just more drafts of her law review.”
Trouble in Tallahassee (Familiar Legacy Book 3) Page 18