Cat 'N Mouse

by Yvonne Harriott

  “Why go through all of this trouble? It doesn’t make sense,” Sam said thinking out loud. He started pacing the floor, then stopped. “How did he know the unit above was vacant? It has to be someone that works in the building or live on that floor, don’t you think?”

  “Before he was just following her, spooking her. Then all of a sudden he’s running you off the road and issuing death threats?”

  “No. He’d called before. He always seems to call when Alexandria and I are having an argument or in some form of disagreement. It’s as if he doesn’t want her to forget who he is?”

  “That’s kind of hard, isn’t it?” Matt said with a grim look on his face turning from the vent. “I wondered what triggered this latest call.”

  Matt’s glance fell on the bed. His eyes shifted to the vent. His mind was working, putting all the pieces together. Sam knew what was coming next.

  “You slept with her.”

  Sam couldn’t hide the guilt on his face even if he tried. It flashed like a neon sign outside a motel room.

  Matt exploded. “Damn it, O’Malley!”

  “It’s none of your business.” That was his response. End of discussion. He had hoped with all that was happening, Matt would overlook the crumpled sheets, the two pillows with the dent in the middle and the one foot of black sock that stuck out like a red flag from under the bed.

  “None of my business? I brought you here to protect her and now you’ve further put her at greater risk.”

  “Don’t you think I know that?” Sam dragged his hand down his face.

  “It’s obvious you don’t care,” Matt hissed.

  “It was a mistake.”

  “You’re supposed to be a professional.”

  “I get it. I screwed up. I don’t need a lecture from you.”

  “Since you’ve been here, Prescott and I have been at odds. I stuck my neck out for you, but I’m not about to get it chopped off because you can’t keep it in your pants. What is it with you? You wanted a quick fling with the Princess before you head back to Boston. Are you looking for money?”

  “It’s not like that, Matt, and you know it.”

  “Okay. Tell me what it’s like? Are you in love with her? What?” Matt was right up in his face.

  “No!” Sam shoved him away.

  “No?” Matt shoved him back.

  “It just happened. It’s nothing.”

  A noise brought their attention to the bedroom door. Alexandria stood there looking at him and clutching the morning paper. She had the same look of hurt and disappointment on her face as earlier when he’d left her bed.

  She turned the paper toward him with trembling hands, tears shimmering in her eyes. He was on the front page twisting Damien’s wrist looking like a mad man. The caption in block letters read, THE CHOSEN ONE OR IS HE?

  Sam could just imagine what the article said and of course, there wouldn’t be a word of truth on the page. It didn’t matter at the moment what the article said. It wasn’t the content in the article that had hurt her. It was his words.

  “I wouldn’t worry about it,” she said, bitterness laced her voice as she threw the paper at him. It landed at his feet “It’s nothing.”

  She stormed out of the room into the washroom and slammed the door.

  “Sam—”

  “Leave it alone Matt,” he warned.

  • • •

  Most of the time Alexandria didn’t mind the trash printed about her in the papers because it came with being Warren Prescott’s daughter. Her father had his share of enemies. When they couldn’t get at him it became open season on her life, from who she was dating to where she had dinner.

  She had ignored the stories they printed and tried not to let it get under her skin, however, this time she couldn’t because of Sam. She liked him. No. It was more than like, even though she knew it was only one sided. The article had made it worse. It described her as a self-absorbed socialite who showed up at the club with one man and left with another. It ended with she found another trophy for her shelf but telling the readers not to worry for she, Alexandria Prescott would discard Sam like a used Kleenex. How is that for irony?

  She wasn’t looking for a trophy but maybe Sam was. She’d thought last night meant something to him. He couldn’t have made love to her like that and not felt anything. At least that’s what she kept telling herself after he walked out on her. She was wrong. His confession to Matt was clear. He felt nothing and wanted nothing from her.

  Nothing.

  Alexandria was in the solarium when she saw Sam walk Matt out to the elevator. Matt left with four listening devices—”bugs” as he called them—and the snake camera. Something that could have been purchased online he’d said making it hard to trace.

  Matt didn’t even have the guts to look her in the eyes when he was explaining about the devices. Well, she didn’t care what they were or why he was mad at her. She just wanted them out of her house.

  She and Matt had a close relationship. They talked about everything but she was taken aback by the anger toward Sam when he found out she and Sam had slept together. It hurt her feelings when he’d said that Sam was only after her money. It was all about money. In her world, it was always about the money, her father’s money.

  Sam returned to the condo and headed to his room. She stayed in the solarium looking out across the city. And there she stayed for the rest of the day just staring out the window like a lost soul. Apart from calling Robyn to let her know she wouldn’t be at the Foundation today, she kept to herself, wallowing in self-pity. Sam came to the kitchen a few times and looked over at her, but didn’t try to engage her in conversation.

  On his third kitchen run, he ventured out to the solarium carrying two cups of coffee. “Cream and sugar?”

  “I’m lactose intolerant. I buy the cream for guests. I don’t use it.”

  “You can have this one then.” Sam handed her a cup with black coffee

  “I don’t want coffee.”

  He put the cups down on the coffee table and let out a sigh. “We need to talk.”

  “Don’t worry about what happened last night. It’s nothing.”

  She got up to make a quick escape not wanting to be in the same room with him and he knew it. His words to Matt still fresh in her mind.

  “I shouldn’t have said what I did to Matt.” Sam dragged his hand down his face and said on a sigh. “I don’t know what’s happening here.”

  She pinned him with a look. That was the only honest thing he’d said to her since they met regarding his feeling. He was fighting his feelings and loosing the battle.

  “You think I do? I just can’t dismiss it as easily as you can.”

  “For the first time in a long while…” Sam moved toward the window turning his back on her. “It’s different with you, Alexandria, but let’s face it, our lives are very different.” He faced her. “You and I have nothing in common.”

  “I thought we were on the same page last night, that what we shared meant something.”

  “Then it was shattered by one phone call.” He pointed out.

  The anger in his voice when he was talking to Matt had returned. He was pushing her away because of who she was. She wouldn’t accept it.

  “No,” she shook her head. “Don’t you dare use the phone call as an excuse. You couldn’t get out of the bed fast enough.”

  “What about the article in the paper?”

  She watched him. He was like a drowning man looking for any excuse to latch on to because he didn’t want to have feelings for her. She got mad.

  “What’s the matter? Are your feelings hurt because they called you a caveman? I didn’t tell you to break Damien’s wrist. You did that because you were jealous.”

  “I didn’t think you would mind since your daddy had paid pretty boy off to get him out of your bed the first time around.” He hit back.

  Alexandria flinched, but didn’t back down. She knew what her father had done, but didn’t confront him
. He had done it because he loved her yet that hadn’t made it easier to accept. If Damien had loved her, he wouldn’t have taken the money.

  She returned fire. “You had me and if you’re lucky you might walk away with a big fat check yourself.”

  “Alexandria?” The anger faded from his eyes replaced by what she wasn’t quite sure. Confusion? Hurt? Sorrow? She didn’t care. It was about protecting herself now, picking up the pieces and walking away from this train wreck of a relationship.

  “Welcome to my world, Sam. I live this every day,” she said through clenched teeth. “I’m Alexandria “Princess” Prescott. Men date me because they want something and it’s usually not me most of the time. You asked me once why I keep what I do at the Foundation a secret. It’s because that part of my life is real. It’s the part I’m proud of. You see, if I give them what they want then they’ll leave Robyn’s Nest alone.”

  “I’m sorry.”

  “What are you sorry for Sam?”

  Silence stretched out between them as she waited for him to say something. Anything. Once again they were at an impasse. He had nothing more to say, hiding behind the mask he wore and putting distance between them.

  Fed up she said, “I didn’t get much sleep last night. I’m going to lie down for a while.”

  “Do you still want me here?”

  Get out of my life!

  Alexandria stared at him for long while wanting to voice what was in her head. He knew what she was thinking but remained quiet. It may have been the right thing to say for sanity sake, but it wasn’t the smart thing to do. Someone wanted her dead. The only person that was standing between her and death was Sam.

  “Yes, I still want you here. You said you could find the coward that’s doing this. Find him and you’re free to go.”

  He nodded.

  “Are we still having our self defense lesson this afternoon?”

  “Yes. We should still….”

  She left him talking to himself in the solarium.

  • • •

  Sam knocked on Alexandria’s bedroom door a little after six that evening and she opened it right away. She was expecting him. It was time for her self-defense class.

  “I’ll be out in a minute,” she said closing the door.

  By the time he set up the solarium with the mats, she emerged out of the bedroom with a hand towel over her shoulder, dressed in a white tank top and running shoes. Shorts exposed tanned shapely legs. Twisting her hair in one with a hair clip she said, “Let’s get started.”

  She did her warm up as he’d showed her a few days ago and she was ready. No smiles. No playfulness.

  He started with a review of what they’d done a couple of days ago and she remembered everything which impressed him. He held back, waiting until she was comfortable with him because every time he touched her she flinched. Perhaps he should cancel the session. That thought went out the window. She lunged at him strong and aggressive.

  “Take it easy,” Sam said after thirty minutes of dodging and blocking her hits. He didn’t want to hurt her. Hell, he didn’t want to end up in the hospital either. Her response was a sidekick that was a near miss to his groin.

  “Alexandria!” He straightened, looked at her hard look and then pulled back. Had that kick connected, his ability to father a child would have been in question.

  “Sorry.”

  After that warm apology she came at him again and had he not sprung out of the way, walking upright would have been a thing of the past.

  Enough!

  He retaliated back by sending her to the mat, hard. He thought he hurt her, but she sprung to her feet wiping sweat from her face with the back of her hand, more determined than ever, and pissed.

  She was on the warpath fuelled by an adrenaline rush brought on, no doubt by the stalker and their earlier argument. It was a dangerous combination. It was almost as if she was in a zone. The smell of sweat and soft musk made him remember how she felt against him naked…

  “Maybe we should call it—”

  His words were cut off when she rushed him again. Sam caught her in a firm grip against his body turning her, her back to him as his hand slid slowing across her flat stomach. He wasn’t prepared for the heat from that simple contact.

  Alexandria jerked away but his arm slid up her body, elbow locked around her neck. Damp curls clung to her neck. The smell of faint musk tickled his nostrils. His lips were close enough to…

  It all happened in a split second. She yanked at his arm and followed up with a sharp elbow in the sternum. He stumbled backward. She finished him off with a back kick to his gut and he landed flat on his backside, winded. He didn’t know who was more shocked, she or him.

  She grabbed her towel on the chair and dragged it across her face, her chest heaving.

  “Now we’re done.”

  She threw the towel at him and walked out of the solarium.

  • • •

  Find him and you’re free to go.

  Sam mulled over Alexandria’s words the following morning while making coffee. He felt as though he needed to be doing more than getting his butt kicked. If there was a butt kicking he deserved, that was it. She called the shots. They were through and it wasn’t just the self-defense session. Whatever had developed between them was over. Maybe it was for the best.

  He had made a promise to her and had not fulfilled it. Instead, he had gotten distracted putting her in further danger. As much as he wanted a repeat performance of last night, having her hand explore his body or kissing her until she begged him to stop, he wasn’t going to go there again. Couldn’t go there again. He needed to keep his promise and at least give her back her life

  After checking in with Jamie about the timeline on the information on Prescott, he’d decided to make himself useful until Alexandria joined him. He combed through the police report about the incident at the hotel. He wasn’t having any luck getting a copy so he’d asked Matt to pull some strings. The report confirmed it was animal blood the bastard had thrown on Alexandria. They also confirmed it was the blood stolen from the animal blood bank. Big surprise. He had already figured that one out.

  Sam was also waiting for a return call from Matt. He wanted to ask about Colt, Prescott’s security man. The initial background report that Matt had provided only gave minimal information about the man. A military man by training was all the file indicated then classified written across the page What the hell did that mean? Wasn’t he entitled to know since he was protecting Prescott’s daughter? Every time he asked about Prescott or anything to do with the man, Matt became evasive.

  Edward Cain, the security guard at Alexandria’s condo, also had a military background. Dishonorable discharge. Apparently he didn’t like taking orders from his superiors. Interestingly enough, he started the job the same day Alexandria moved into the condo. Since leaving the military, it appeared that he’d kept out of trouble. Cain didn’t even have so much as a parking violation. No one had seen Cain since the day Sam had moved into Alexandria’s condo. He’d checked. The bells were going off loud and clear in his head. What were the odds that Cain and Colt were in the military together? It surprised him that Matt didn’t think anything of it. He hadn’t mentioned it anywhere in his report.

  There were full reports on Robyn and Dennis Anderson. Robyn graduated from an Ivy League medical school. Robyn wasn’t kidding when she’d said Dennis had hounded her through school along with her family and friends to get next to her. Robyn’s mother had wanted to file harassment charges against him. Yet she ended up marrying the guy. Dennis seemed on the level. Maybe he was just a lovesick puppy. He did eventually get the girl, but was he happy with the girl? Robyn seemed to care a great deal for Alexandria. Was he jealous over his wife’s relationship with Alexandria?

  Mimi was a different story all together. She was a singer in France before she began her long employment with the Prescott’s. Her husband died shortly after they arrived in America. The file hinted of a relationship with
Prescott but maybe he was reading more into it than there was. He also wondered if Mimi was around when Prescott’s wife died. That was worth knowing. The one thing he observed was that she seemed to genuinely care for Alexandria.

  Sam’s eyes drifted toward the closed bedroom door. He heard her moving around and knew she would be out soon. He thought she would be happy being ‘Alexandria Prescott’. Most people would trade places with her in a heartbeat. Just goes to show that the grass is not always greener on the other side.

  Maybe he should have been straight with her and told her the truth last night. But what was the truth? That he wanted more with her, but was scared to death of falling back into that dark place that he’d crawl out of. He was an ex-junkie trying to live his life one day at a time and had nothing to offer her. His life was screwed up and she needed someone who could keep her in the lifestyle she was accustomed to. The truth was that he just didn’t measure up. Not by his standards or her society.

  The bedroom door opened and she walked out with the cordless phone glued to her ear. Smiling.

  “I’m sure, Robyn. No, stop worrying. I’m fine, really. I want to get out of the apartment. Besides, I have too many things to do today.” She laughed. “I don’t know. I’ll ask him.” She glanced at Sam sitting at the counter. “See you in a bit.”

  Sam stared at her because he couldn’t help himself. No bling today, just simple pearl earrings. Her hair was swept off her face into a ponytail. No designer red carpet outfit, just a simple linen white pants suit. To say the woman loved wearing white was an understatement. Did she realize that everything she owned was either white or red?

  Today was all about the gala.

  He handed her a cup of coffee, black, when she joined him at the island. He remembered she drank a special kind of milk in the red carton. They were out of it and he added it to the grocery list on the fridge.

  “Good morning,” was followed by, “Did you sleep well?”

  “Fine,” Sam lied. He’d lain there all night wanting to jump right back into bed with her, if only to hold her when she’d cried out in her sleep. Yet, he’d remained where he was and waited until she was quiet again. He’d even sneaked into her room to ensure she was okay. He’d found her lying across her bed, sheet kicked off. He covered her up again and went back to his room.