Seattle Sound Series, The Collection: Books One to Five

by Alexa Padgett

  Jake put his hands on my shoulders. “Be careful. He’s dangerous, mate.”

  I nodded, unable to speak around the lump growing in my throat. I grabbed the back of his head and pulled him in for one last older-brother bear hug before I stepped back. “Right. I’ll be in touch.”

  “Should I let Hayden know you’re sticking around?” Jake asked, his brows pulling down in a scowl. Because he didn’t like the situation with Hayden or because he didn’t want to be emotional? Hard to say.

  I needed to apologize for being such a dickhead to my bandmate and to his girlfriend, who'd reminded me a bit too much of Mila. Not physically, but in her hold over Hayden. I didn’t want to see him go through the same hell I lived through, but instead of expressing any of those concerns, I hid behind a false bravado and torched every relationship that mattered to me. I ran my finger across the piercings in my eyebrow, considering my situation.

  “No. I’ll handle that when I’m ready. Mila comes first.”

  5

  Mila

  Noelle was gone before I woke the next morning. I’d huddled in my bed, too strung out to sleep. Or so I’d thought. Somehow I missed Noelle coming home last night. I’d awakened around 2:00 a.m. and tossed for hours, the images of Murphy’s disdain and Jordan’s lust-filled eyes chasing away my ability to relax.

  I must have fallen back to sleep again because now it was after 8:00 a.m. I bounded to the shower and rushed through getting dressed. Even though traffic would be horrendous, I needed to drive home and feed Alpie. She was sure to be out of fresh fruit. That bird ate mango by the pound, but she wasn’t as keen on her kale and other leafy greens. Smart bird.

  I’d finished drying my hair when someone knocked on the door. I grabbed my phone and my pepper spray. I edged to the door and glanced through the peephole. My moment of elation turned to dread. Not Jordan, but a uniformed officer stood there, rocking back on forth on his heels.

  I opened the door, pepper spray positioned at my waist in case I needed it.

  “Yes?”

  “Mila Trask?”

  “Yes?” I asked again, my heart thudding a frantic rhythm. Who knew I was here? Noelle, of course. And Maura. But a man? No way Noelle would tell, and I didn’t know many people in the city besides my two friends and the handful of people I worked with.

  “I’m Officer Reims.” He held up his badge. My suspicion melted away. I remembered a similar experience, blurred by blood loss and pain. “Your friend, Noelle Markham, was accosted outside the building earlier this morning. She’s been taken to the emergency room. She asked us to escort you there after we go over some details of the assault.”

  “Details of the assault? How can I help with that?”

  “She said you knew the perpetrator.”

  “Oh, God, no,” I whispered, the pepper spray falling to the ground as I clutched the door frame. “No.”

  “Please, ma’am. Come with me.”

  I breathed deeply and nodded. “I just need to get my purse. Where is she?”

  “University. It was closest and she said she worked there. Should take an hour, maybe two, for our interview.”

  I left the door open but still chained and found my purse. I checked my phone. Noelle had texted. At University. Please come with the officer. His name is Reims.

  Relief swamped me, and I settled on the edge of the bed. Noelle mustn’t be too hurt. She also knew me well. I wanted to shut the door on the officer and hunker down in the safety of the condo; my suspicion ran deep.

  After collecting my items, I met the officer, who still stood at the door, albeit with lessening patience. “Can we talk here?” I asked.

  “We could if you want to invite me in. But if we do that, it’ll take longer for me to write up my report and get it to a detective who’ll investigate the case.”

  “Why does the case have to go to a detective?”

  “Because my job is to stop crimes as they’re happening. The detective’s job is to ensure the perpetrator of a previous crime is apprehended after the fact.”

  “But you said you know who attacked Noelle. So what good am I?”

  “You know Jordan Jones. The man who also assaulted you last night at the Tractor Tavern. I need you to give that statement, press formal charges. If you’d come with me to the station now, I’ll get one of the detectives to sit in while I get your statement.”

  “But I’m not in trouble? I thought people were only brought to the police station when they’d done something illegal.”

  Officer Reims crossed his arms over his chest. “Have you, Ms. Trask? Done something illegal.”

  I shook my head.

  “Then you have nothing to worry about and everything to gain by helping us find the man responsible.” He stepped back so I could lock the deadbolt and then he led me to his police car. I stared at it, nervous, but he opened the passenger door. He grabbed a black bag and what looked like a traffic ticket book. There was one of those traffic guns as well. Arms full, he tipped his head toward the now-clean seat.

  “Didn’t figure you’d want to sit in the cage.”

  “C-cage?” I asked.

  “Back seat. Where we put suspects. But you’re not one, and I don’t think you’re going to shoot me.” He narrowed his eyes, his lips set in a stern line. “Don’t.”

  Unsure how to handle this man, I settled in, ignoring my clammy palms.

  After dropping his equipment into the trunk, Officer Reims settled into his seat, radioed his dispatcher, and started the vehicle. The ride to the police station took longer because of the building traffic, but we made it in relative quiet, Officer Reims asking if I was comfortable once before lapsing into silence.

  “Do you know what happened to Noelle?” I asked.

  “She was attacked.”

  Not the loquacious type. I wrapped my hands around my phone, willing it to tell me more. It, too, remained silent.

  “Oh! I need to let my boss now what’s going on. Do you mind if I make a call?”

  Officer Reims frowned, his eyes darting toward me like I was insane. I took that as an affirmative. I told both Dr. Cahill and the staff coordinator Noelle was at the hospital and the police wanted me there, too.

  I tucked my phone back into my purse as we pulled up in front of the building. I started to open the door, but Officer Reims, said, “Hold tight. I’ll escort you.”

  I dropped my hand back to my lap and waited for him to lead me to the entrance. Together we walked into the modern glass-and-brick main campus building. My knees shook but I made it into the building and through a series of doors before Officer Reims settled me into a conference room that was more sterile than the one at my hospital. The long table gleamed in the fluorescent light, the weak sunshine a nonexistent light source.

  “I called ahead for the detective, but I want to let him know we’re here. Help yourself to some water.” He motioned toward the bottles on the table. Then he was gone. Unsure what to do, I grabbed a bottle and took a long sip. I wandered over to the windows and stared out.

  The clouds were low, gray. People streamed into the building, some in blue uniforms, others in dress clothes. I turned to face the door as it opened.

  “Thanks for coming, Ms. Trask. I’m Detective Jim Davenport.” He held out his hand and I shook it, my gaze staying steady on his light brown eyes, a shade or two lighter than his skin. Letting go, he gestured toward the table. I settled into the chair he held out, taking in his neat, mint-green dress shirt and pinstripe blue-and-green tie. He settled into the head chair next to mine and we were still the same height.

  Officer Reims sat into the chair across from me, reaching down the table to snag a couple more waters. He passed the first to Detective Davenport before uncapping his own.

  “Why don’t you start at the beginning, Ms. Trask.” Detective Davenport suggested. “The first time you met Jordan Jones.”

  I dropped my purse next to me onto the floor, folded my hands on the table, and launched into the story no
one had ever believed.

  More than three hours later, Officer Reims once again opened the passenger door to his vehicle. Another thought occurred. “Is this normal? I mean, you escorting me to the police station and now the hospital like this?”

  Officer Reims’s neck reddened but he’d already put on his aviator glasses so I couldn’t see his eyes. “Not normal. To the police station, yes, but normally we’d let you head over to the hospital on your own. While we were meeting, your boyfriend called the department, alerting our chief to your history with Jordan Jones. Since we were sifting through the details of yours and your friend’s attack, both with matching descriptions, Chief Bennett sent orders through my sergeant for me to escort you around today.”

  My boyfriend? I let that slide for a moment, more interested in reassuring myself Noelle wasn’t injured. Officer Reims took my elbow and led me through the hospital and up the elevator. At the door to one of the rooms, he ushered me in.

  My heart rate escalated and my mouth dried up faster than an Outback stream. I was three feet from a man’s broad back. Jordan? Here? I stumbled back. But no, that hair. The tall, lithe back tapering into narrow jean-clad hips . . .

  “Murphy?” I asked, my voice cracking.

  He turned quickly, his eyes snapping quick images of me before he wrapped me in his arms and pulled me tight against his chest. “You worried me.” Murphy’s voice hit my ear but so did the rumble in his chest, and déjà vu slammed through me.

  “Why are you here?” I asked, confused.

  His lashes were long and dark. They were straight with no curl, giving him a sleepy look. I used to smooth those dark brows before I kissed him in the morning. His nose was a tad too long. Still the most handsome man I’d ever seen.

  “I phoned the police department to talk to one of the detectives. He told me your friend was here.”

  “But—”

  “Hey, Mila. Sending Murphy Etsam to check in on me kind of makes up for your scary-mean stalker.”

  Much as I didn’t want to, I extricated myself from Murphy’s embrace and went to Noelle’s side. “I’m so sorry. Are you okay? What happened? Where are you hurt? How bad is it?”

  “First, I’m pretty much fine. He scared me pretty bad, and I sprained my wrist, but otherwise, no problem. Second, that creepy asshole waited outside my building. He must have followed you after all. Well, probably me since I came in after he’d been detained and I wasn’t particularly stealthy about it. Still, I’m so glad you went to my place since I have door security.”

  “Outside? Waiting for you?”

  Noelle threw me a pitying look. Her blue scrubs were wrinkled and her left wrist was bandaged. A bruise bloomed, red and angry, under her eye.

  “No, sweetie. He was waiting for you.”

  I turned to Officer Reims, who hovered at the door. “So you know, we consider him armed and dangerous now that he’s attacked Ms. Markham,” he said.

  “You’ll find him? Put him in jail?” I asked. “And you’ll tell me when that happens?” The mere idea of Jordan in jail weakened my knees. God, I needed to believe the police would finally take care of him, keep my friends safe. Relief swept through me, making me lightheaded. I wouldn’t have to keep running.

  “You’ll be contacted as soon as he’s apprehended,” Officer Reims affirmed. “But in the meantime, it’s probably not smart for you to go out alone.”

  Constant company appealed much more than disappearing, trying to start over again.

  But a word Office Reims had said lingered in my mind, causing the panic to build in my stomach again. “Armed?” I asked Noelle.

  She shuddered. “He came at me with this big knife.”

  I squeezed Noelle into another hug, my heart racing at what could have happened.

  “I’ll make sure she’s not alone,” Murphy volunteered. My shock was echoed in his rapid blinking and the tightening around his mouth.

  I stiffened. “No way.” The words tore from my throat. I couldn’t handle being near Murphy for five more minutes, let alone days. Seeing him, here and now, made my heart clench. Much as I wanted to be over him, I wasn’t.

  Noelle gripped my wrist and pressed her lips to my ear. “You’re going along with him hanging out with you,” she whispered. “If for no other reason than your stalker-uncle attacked me, and I’m asking you to. But there are other reasons, not least of which is talking to Murphy like you’d planned.”

  She released my wrist. I never planned to talk to him. I wanted to watch him sing that awful song, flinging my words back at me with cavalier disdain so I could decimate my heart and never love anyone but Alpie and Noelle again.

  Murphy was mucking up my plan—with Noelle’s blessing. My eyes darted back and forth as I touched the middle of my top lip with my tongue. I didn’t want to be alone with Murphy. Not while I was so raw and rung out from worrying about Noelle not to mention my own scare with Jordan. The cuts on my neck itched, reminding me how much worse the situation could have been.

  I inched away, preparing to dart from the room. Murphy must have sensed my desire to get away because he touched me. Just three fingers on my shoulder. Noelle’s eyes widened as I melted. I always did when it came to Murphy, the cheating rat-bastard. Except . . . except we weren’t together when he decided to bed all those bloody women. We weren’t together because I broke up with him. There’s a man from my past. I need to sort things with him if I can ever truly be with you properly. Bloody damn Murphy for taking me at my word.

  “Let me do this for you, Mila. I have the resources to speed up the process so the police can find him. I have a few days until I need to leave. And . . . and we need to talk.”

  My spine snapped to attention when his voice cracked. Sure, now that he’d seen Jordan attack me, he wanted to talk. Anger sizzled along my nerve endings and I stepped away from him. Better the anger than the deep despair.

  “I’m not sure I have anything to say to you,” I said. “And I definitely do not want your help.”

  “Well, I sure as hell have questions for you,” he snapped back.

  “Because of the report in the paper this morning? Too little interest way too late, Etsam.”

  He breathed out through his nose, his nostrils flaring. “My mum flew here to see me,” he said, his voice quiet. He swallowed hard as his eyes shadowed with pain. “I-I didn’t know.”

  My anger faded, replaced by the same soul-deep sadness emanating from Murphy. After all this time, he finally knew why I left. And he was here, asking me to talk to him.

  Noelle slipped her arm around my shoulder, pulling me closer to her side as I sagged under the weight of his words and the emotions they evoked. I hugged her back with my right arm, desperate for some support. Noelle, my rock, the one person who didn’t ask a million questions about my motivation and integrity. Well, her and Alpie. They were the only ones I needed.

  “You better take care of her,” Noelle said in her best nursing voice. I dropped my arm and gaped at her. “She’s been through a lot since your breakup and she deserves to be happy and safe.”

  “Noted,” Murphy said.

  He shifted in so I felt his body heat against my side. He smelled like my happiness. Home. That was stupid. And ridiculous. Murphy couldn’t be what I’d imagined any more than I was the same girl he’d loved. I was different. Broken. And Murphy played his part in destroying me.

  “Would that work, Officer?” Noelle asked. She slid off the bed, cringing slightly as she landed. “Shit, that hurts,” she hissed.

  “You’re sure it isn’t broken?” I asked.

  “I have the x-ray to prove it,” Noelle quipped. She smiled and her eyes glinted. “I punched him in the nuts. It’s worth the sprain to know he’s running around with bruised balls.”

  “Good on ya,” Murphy said, his voice low. “I’d like to get in a few myself.”

  “We don’t advocate assault, Mr. Etsam,” Officer Reims said, but his voice didn’t hold much censure.

  “He
said he’d like to, not that he would.” I glanced up at Murphy. A mistake. That tiny smile lifted the corner of his mouth while his gunmetal eyes glinted with humor. They’d always reminded me of the ocean just before a storm. All the pictures of him over the last year showed his icy gaze. But here, now, his eyes were filled with warmth.

  “Mila will keep me in line. Always has.”

  Murphy winked and Noelle moaned softly. I understood her distress. Hell, he affected me the same way.

  “Turn off the charm, Etsam,” I said. “It isn’t going to work.”

  “Oh, it’s working,” Noelle simpered.

  “Well, I gotta go,” Noelle said.

  “Whoa!” I said. “Where do you think you’re going?”

  Her widening eyes expressed concerns for my stupidity. Maybe I was stupid. “I’m going to finish my shift.”

  “But your wrist,” I said, my voice as feeble as my will whenever Murphy was involved. Noelle couldn’t leave me. I turned on my most pleading expression.

  “I’ll get some pain meds and some help,” she said, waving her good hand in a dismissive gesture. “Don’t worry about it. I’ll call you later.”

  “I want you to stay with me. That way I can be sure you’re safe. And you can help me.” I finished the last words a breath above a whisper.

  She gripped my shoulders. “Until your uncle’s caught, I think I’m going to keep a real low profile. He can’t be happy I tried to emasculate him.”

  “Wish you managed,” I whispered. Murphy stiffened behind me. Dammit. Not his business.

  Noelle cupped my cheek as her eyes found mine, steadying me. “Would’ve been too late, sweetie.”

  Too late—for my baby and for my happiness. I wiped away the tears clinging to my lashes. No point in letting them fall. They didn’t change the past.

  Nothing could.

  6

  Murphy

  Mila walking into the hospital room a few minutes ago about brought me to my knees. Her voice, usually so confident, dripped with hesitation. And her eyes . . . bloody hell. Those brown eyes were muddied with fear and shock. Because of me or her uncle, I wasn’t sure.