Cat 'N Mouse

by Yvonne Harriott

  “What do you mean?”

  “I work for your daughter because she asked nicely.”

  Sam felt a sense of satisfaction when Prescott’s eyes widened in surprise. His jaw clenched. The arrogant bastard didn’t see it coming. However, while he was happy that he’d stuck a blow at Prescott’s ego, it came at a cost. It wasn’t his news to tell. It was Alexandria’s and she responded to the hurt she saw in Prescott’s eyes. Yes, she wanted to stand on her own, but she didn’t want to hurt her father either. The dilemma played out on her face.

  “I don’t care. You’re moving back in,” Prescott said to Alexandria. “We’ll be having dinner shortly.”

  “No! I’ll stay for dinner, but that’s all. I’m going back to the condo. You’re more than welcome to join us for dinner, Sam. Should I tell Mimi to set you a plate?”

  “You can have dinner with your father. I want to talk to Colt about your car.”

  “I’ll be ready to go in an hour, Sam.” She turned on her heels and headed quickly out into the hall.

  Sam was proud of his Princess and wanted to hug her. If he had to guess, that was probably the first time she had ever stood up to her father, especially in front of someone, and Prescott was seeing red. With this new found self-confidence, she would be just fine.

  “I’ll go and find Colt. Excuse me,” he said to Prescott, leaving him to stew.

  Forty-five minutes later Sam looked over at the second patio when the door opened. Prescott and Alexandria came out heading toward the wide umbrella that covered the patio. Prescott pulled out a chair and she sat down. Mimi brought out a tray of drinks a few minutes later. Sam assumed dinner was over.

  Colt had been talking about Alexandria’s car but all conversations came to an abrupt halt when Alexandria and her father stepped out onto the patio. Sam was counting down the minutes. He only had fifteen minutes left and just wanted to get her away from the estate.

  “She’s very beautiful, isn’t she?”

  He glanced at Colt then turned his attention back to Alexandria and Prescott. “I guess.”

  Sam watched as her back stiffened. She folded her hands across her chest and sat back in the chair. Prescott was wearing her down, trying to convince her to move back home. That’s what men like Prescott did. They kept at you until they wore you down and you had no other option but to give in. He couldn’t hear what they were saying but she didn’t look happy. She kept shaking her head.

  He started toward the patio and Colt grabbed his arm stilling his movement “Don’t interfere.”

  He ignored Colt. This was his second warning in an hour and like the first, he ignored it. It was time for him and Alexandria to go. Sam cut across the grass to get to the patio. Prescott stood up from the table as he approached, tightlipped. He looked like he was about to pop a blood vessel.

  “It’s time to go, Alexandria,” Sam said, his voice calm, controlled.

  “Princess?” Prescott’s eyes were begging her to stay and Sam could see she was torn.

  “I’ll call you later, Daddy.” Alexandria pushed her chair back and it scraped against the patio stones. She got up from the table and kissed Prescott on the cheek. “I want to say goodbye to Mimi.” She touched Sam’s arm as she passed him. It was more than a touch. It was a silent thank you. He had arrived just in time.

  When she was out of earshot, Prescott said, “Do not cross me, Mr. O’Malley. You have no idea what I’m capable of.” His voice was low and dangerous. Prescott was flexing his muscles.

  “Funny thing is, Prescott, I do know,” Sam said, his voice equally dangerous. “You’re the bully in the playground. What you should know about me is that I’m not afraid of you. You brought me into her life to protect her and now you’re pushing me out. Why?”

  “You should be afraid of me.” Prescott pushed past Sam and left him standing on the patio.

  • • •

  Alexandria felt exposed.

  Alone.

  She had stood up to her father and he was angry. The first thing she had done when she’d left her father’s office was to call Robyn to see if his check to the Foundation had cleared the bank and it had.

  Since he couldn’t dangle that carrot in front of her any more he would find another way. There would be a fall out from her trying to assert her independence. What that would be, she wasn’t sure as yet.

  Everything she had, money, the condo and the car, all belonged to her father. He had given her everything she had ever asked for, but as she pulled away from him, all of that could be easily taken away. What would she do then? Who could she lean on?

  Sam? No. He would leave when the threat was over. She wasn’t sure if she was strong enough to stand up by herself. Robyn always said she could. Sam had hinted at it too, but at the end of the day, it all came back to her. Was she strong enough to stand on her own two feet? Or would she fall flat on her face?

  “Are you okay?” Sam asked as he opened the door of the SUV for her and closed it when she settled in. He was looking at her funny. Perhaps he thought that she would fall apart. She just felt numb.

  “It’s been an extremely long day,” she said, not looking at him. If she looked at him she knew she would want him to hold her. He wouldn’t and would push her away. She couldn’t handle that. “I just want to go home and crawl into bed.”

  They arrived at the condo half an hour later and she mumbled a goodnight to Sam. After her shower, she called her father to tell him goodnight. Conversation was strained and awkward, but she called because she had said she would. He asked her to come home. She said no.

  Alexandria crawled into bed after she hung up the phone, but sleep didn’t come quickly. When it did, it came in separate scenes. It was like watching TV with someone constantly flipping the channel.

  It was a birthday party, her party…with lots of pink heart-shaped balloons, and a big cake in the shape of a princess, because she was a princess. Daddy said so. Her mother was laughing and then she began to cry. Daddy made her cry. She started crying too. Daddy said seven year olds didn’t cry.

  “She can cry if she wants to,” Mommy said, throwing a glass at daddy. He ducked and it smashed against the wall, showering the patio with pieces of glass. A piece caught his cheek. It bled.

  Blood.

  Daddy retrieved a pink bicycle from the garage. It had chrome handlebars, fenders and a chrome bell. Streamers from the handlebars blew in the wind as he walked toward her smiling. Pink balloons floated up in the air.

  “Happy Birthday, Princess.”

  The party finished, but mommy was still crying. Daddy left because he couldn’t stand to see mommy cry.

  It wasn’t his fault he had to work so much. He kept yelling at mommy, which made her cry harder.

  Rain.

  Hard rain.

  The thunder roared above like a slow moving train rumbling down the track. Lightning lit up the room. Alexandria sat up looking over the side of her bed for her Winnie the Pooh slippers, but she couldn’t find them.

  Her mother and father were fighting again. She was scared and wanted Mimi. Another rumble of thunder and she slipped off the bed, pulling her blanket behind her. She didn’t want mommy to cry any more.

  When she opened the bedroom door, Mommy was standing at the top of stairs fighting with a man.

  “Mommy!”

  Lightning lit up the hallway like someone had turned on a one hundred watt bulb, and mommy went over the…

  Alexandria jumped up out of her sleep. She couldn’t breathe. When she heard the thunder, she clutched at the sheet pulling it up under her chin.

  Shaking.

  The lightning lit up the bedroom and she threw the covers back and ran from the room.

  • • •

  Sam opened his eyes when he heard the thunder. Alexandria was standing in the hallway, half way between her bedroom and the living room, terrified. The thunder roared above and she jumped about ten feet off the ground.

  He’d fallen asleep on the sofa just in c
ase she needed him. She was visibly upset when they’d returned from the estate. She looked like she’d seen a ghost.

  “I thought you left. You weren’t in your room.”

  “Come here, Princess.” Sam sat up in the sofa and stretched out his hand toward her. She hurried to him.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “Nightmare.”

  He laid back down, making space for her on the sofa as she stretched out beside him. Her night shirt, some kind of satin material and white, was long enough when she was standing, now exposed long, tanned legs up to her waist. He pulled the light blanket from over the arm of the sofa and threw it around them. Out of sight out of mind. Not so.

  She was shaking and he wrapped his arms protectively around her waist. Her hair smelled of a floral scent, jasmine or something along that line. Again, the need to protect her overwhelmed him.

  “Do you want to talk about it?”

  “I started having this dream after I moved away from the estate.”

  “What’s the dream about?”

  “It’s always the same. It’s raining and the thunder is loud like tonight. The lightning lights up the hall as I come out of my room and I see,” she drew in a sharp breath, “a man pushed my mother over the banister.”

  “You witnessed your mother’s death?” Sam raised up on his elbow, looking down at her.

  “No. Daddy said it was a dream, but it seems so real, Sam. I was seven at the time. It’s entirely possible. I don’t know.”

  “Did you see the man’s face?”

  “That is assuming what I saw was real, no. Just his hands when he started toward me.”

  She started trembling again and he held her until she stopped. The living room was dark except for the light shining from the hall. She was quiet for a long while and he thought she had fallen asleep.

  “Why did you decide to work for me instead of my father?”

  “Because you asked me.”

  She shook her head not buying his argument and turned to look at him. They were almost nose-to-nose. The lightning lit up the room. A smile played on his lips.

  “I’ve asked you for a lot of stuff and you’ve not complied.”

  “I didn’t want your father bullying you.” Sam stroked her hair. It felt like heavy silk against his hand. He loved the copper tone of her skin. If he shifted an inch, their lips would touch. He knew what her lips felt like against his…soft, full, sexy and, oh yeah, sweet. As much as he wanted to indulge at the moment, it wasn’t the right time. At the mention of her father she became quiet, sad.

  “He’s my father and he loves me,” she said. It sounded like she was trying to convince herself.

  Who was he to tell her Prescott didn’t love her? His love may be twisted but it was still love. Twisted love was better than no love. His old man didn’t care whether he lived or died.

  “Did your father love you?”

  He didn’t see that question coming and hesitated for a moment before answering.

  “Never knew him.” That one meeting where he gave the man money didn’t count, he thought to himself.

  “What about your mother?”

  “What about her?” His arm instinctively tightened around her waist because he knew what she was going to say next.

  “She must’ve loved you since your father didn’t care.”

  “I was the product of a one night stand and became an inconvenience for her. I received a letter from her friend that she died last year. End of story. No real loss since she wasn’t much of a mother.”

  He hadn’t meant for it to sound bitter, but that’s how it came out. He had survived without his part-time mother and non-existent father. So what if he was screwed up. They can take some of the credit for that.

  “That’s sad. I think you’re a lot of things, Sam O’Malley, but an inconvenience is not one of them.”

  She settled into the crook of his arm and yawned, pushing her buttocks back into his groin. Heat raced through his body and he suppressed a groan. Well, he tried to any way and she laughed out loud.

  “Behave yourself or I’ll send you back to your bed.”

  “I bet if Rebecca, Ms. Queen-of-everything-there-is-to nip-and-tuck, was lying next to you instead of me, you wouldn’t be threatening to send her back to bed.”

  Sam burst out into laughter. “I’ve no interest in Rebecca.”

  He thought he heard her say you better not or something along that line. Moments later he heard her deep even breathing. She fell asleep with a smile on her face and her buttocks exactly where it was.

  It was an hour before he carefully untangled his legs from hers and got up. He had to force himself to get up. She was so warm and soft and smelled so pretty. He had to climb over her and as he did, she pushed back further into the sofa and mumbled as if missing his presence.

  Sam thought about her dream. What if it wasn’t a dream? What about the man that was stalking her and her recurring dreams? Could the two be connected? If so, then her father would be involved. What if he was trying to prevent her from remembering her dream? She did say the dreams started when she moved out of the estate. He reached for the cordless on the kitchen counter and punched in the number.

  “Jamie Wright.”

  “Hey, it’s Sam O’Malley.”

  Sam had worked with Brooks Investigations back in Boston and was hoping for a little help on a background check. Jamie worked for Marklynn Brooks who ran the agency. He’d helped Marklynn find her missing sister and was hoping to cash in an IOU.

  “How is the Sunshine State, and what are you doing up at this ungodly hour?”

  “Hot. I’m on a job and was looking for some help.”

  “What kind?”

  “Background. Extensive background check. I mean everything you can get your hands on. Have you heard of Warren Prescott?”

  “Who hasn’t? He’s a heavy hitter in corporate mergers and acquisitions.”

  Sam hadn’t until he moved to Florida, but didn’t say anything.

  “Someone is stalking his daughter.”

  “You’ve moved up in the world.”

  “If that’s what you want to call it.” Sam’s gaze fell on Alexandria on the sofa just as she kicked off the blanket. Remembering how her legs felt intertwined with his, he turned away from the distraction. “Also, I need any information you can find out about his late wife’s death. It happened twenty years ago.”

  “Are you serious?”

  “Afraid so.”

  “What do you want with a twenty year old stiff?”

  Sam filled Jamie in on the last couple of days.

  “You think Prescott has something to do with the stalking?”

  “People do strange things in the name of love. He’s the center of her world and I want to be absolutely sure before I accuse him of anything. Can you keep this quiet?”

  “When you start poking around with the likes of Warren Prescott, someone is bound to notice. I’ll do my best.”

  When Jamie hung up the phone, Sam heard another click on the line. He turned the phone over and used his thumb to pop open the slot where the battery was located.

  “What the…”

  Chapter Ten

  Alexandria stretched inching back into the sofa. No Sam. What did she expect? Disappointed, she pushed up off the sofa and got up to brush her teeth.

  The hall washroom door was ajar and she peeked in as she passed. Sam’s gun was on the sink and she could see his silhouette through the frosted glass shower door. It appeared he’d just gotten into the shower. He turned toward the bathroom door as if sensing her presence and she drew back against the wall holding her breath. She didn’t move until she heard the shower then raced to her room.

  She had hoped he would’ve been out of the shower by the time she returned to the kitchen fifteen minutes later but he wasn’t. If he asked if she was lurking outside the washroom door she could always plea temporary insanity.

  The smell of strong coffee filled the air. Sam had set
the automatic coffeemaker. She hated his coffee. He liked it strong and drank it with a gallon of cream.

  As she reached for the carton of orange juice in the refrigerator, her eyes drifted toward the washroom. Steam floated into the hallway. In her mind she could picture him standing under the shower the water cascading down his body…powerful arms. He’d carried her in his arms, held her in his arms.

  Since meeting him, she kept imagining what it would be like to be with him. But he kept her at arms length. Last night was the closest they had ever been together, laying next to each other and she wanted to get even closer. How was she actually going to do that when he kept pushing her away?

  “Hi.”

  Alexandria jumped about ten feet almost spilling the orange juice. She didn’t even hear him come out of the washroom.

  “Are you okay?”

  She nodded putting the juice back in the refrigerator and closed the door. He had on his jeans. It was zipped but not buttoned. He rubbed his wet hair with the white towel he had around his neck. His eyes were dark, intense, staring at her.

  It was as if there was some kind of magnetic force pulling her toward him. Her legs took on a life of their own. She floated toward him. It had to be because she didn’t feel her feet touching the floor.

  She wanted to touch him. Needed to touch him. She stopped in front of him and her hands, like her feet, couldn’t be controlled.

  His skin was damp, hot against her hands. She rose up on the tips of her toes and his hand circled her waist, holding her against him. Lips met lips. Tongues were reintroduced.

  Their first kiss was nice, but this was incredible. She felt like she was floating away. He took his time slowly exploring her mouth while his hand burned across her skin. The nightshirt was getting in the way and she wanted it gone along with his jeans.

  She liked the way he smelled, all male. Liked the way he felt, hard and smooth rolled into one. His muscles tensed under her touch.

  “I’m sorry.” He pulled away. “This can’t happen.”

  “Why?” Sam shook his head and turned to walk away, heading for his room. “Don’t walk away from me.”