by Lee Rose
Dinner was relaxing. Tony sat right next to her and Holly, and Matt across from them. When she picked at her food, he whispered in her ear. “Please eat, sweetheart. You have a lot of healing to do and need your strength.”
She sighed and started eating. The conversation was casual and she found herself laughing and enjoying the dinner. Before she knew it, her food was gone. Tony winked at her and she blushed.
She drank water instead of wine because of the pain pills she was taking. After dinner, they moved to the living room.
“You do realize that the TV is the only thing on your walls?” Alicia looked around the stark room with no pictures. A couch and two chairs were placed in front of the wall.
A stone fireplace covered the other wall. It also had no decorations on the mantle.
“We hear about it every time Jasmine visits. She is itching to decorate the place.” Matt chuckled. He had just picked out a movie for them to watch.
Holly nodded in agreement, sitting next to her husband. “The last time she played it smart and asked Tony. I think he was off in a daydream. He grunted and she took that as a yes. She has plans now.”
“I wasn’t paying attention,” Tony complained with wide, fearful eyes. He was sitting in the recliner closest to the fireplace.
His panicked expression made Alicia giggle. “Don’t worry, she is busy with wedding plans. You got time before she remembers.”
The girls were going into the kitchen to get drinks when they heard the loud sound of raindrops hitting the windows.
“You should just stay,” Holly pleaded as lightning lit up the dark purple sky. “There is a guest room. It’s an ugly night out there.”
A loud crash of thunder shook the windows and bright lightning lit up the darkness. Alicia liked a good storm. It usually helped her sleep. She yawned, exhausted. “You sure?”
“Yes,” Holly insisted. “I am off tomorrow and we can have breakfast and relax. I think both of them have to work the morning shift, so it will be just us. I am sorry I haven’t spent much time with you, Alicia. I neglected our friendship and that made you hang out with Janice. I feel so guilty.”
“You have nothing to apologize for. You have a husband who is your priority, as it should be,” Alicia insisted. “I made the decision to hang out with Janice and Kelly. No one forced me.”
Holly hugged her gently.
They went back into the living room. Holly ran her idea by the men and they agreed Alicia should stay. Alicia called Ray and let him know. “Holly will drop me off at the restaurant after breakfast. I can sit in Alana’s office and do paperwork. I don’t feel up to talking with people yet.”
After the movie, Alicia followed Tony to the back of the house where his room and the guestroom were. Matt and Holly’s room was on the opposite side of the house. She felt a little awkward knowing his room was right across the hall. Hopefully, she would not have a nightmare and disturb him.
“I forgot to ask Holly to lend me a nightgown,” she mentioned awkwardly.
“I can give you a T-shirt.” He looked her over and she felt her nipples harden at his heated look. He gave her an amused look as if he knew she was turned-on. He went in his room and she peeked in. She was curious. His room was very neat, not a thing out of place. He had a bookshelf filled with books, a bed and a dresser, and a La-Z-Boy chair was placed by the window.
“You like to read? So do I,” she told him as he walked to a brown dresser and pulled a drawer open. He searched through it.
“I like mystery and some sci-fi.” He came back with a green T-shirt in his hands and handed it to her.
“Bathroom is across the hall.” He pointed to a door.
Alicia went to change glad for the private moment to gather herself. The shirt reached her knees and smelled as if it had just been washed. She splashed cold water on her face. Her cheeks were rosy in color. It was from being so close to Tony, but hopefully he would not notice. She took a deep breath and opened the door. She wanted to act cool and collective but her stomach had butterflies dancing like crazy.
He was waiting in the hallway for her. He leaned back against a wall with his arms folded across his chest. The hallway was dark, but she could see his features from the glow of the bathroom light. “You look cute.”
She held her discarded clothes in her arms nervously and looked down. “Thanks.”
He led her into the guest room, opening the closed door, and then turned on a small lamp on the nightstand. Alicia set her clothes on a chair in the corner of the room. The room was huge and bare.
“It used to be Matt’s room, but he moved bedrooms when he and Holly married. More privacy,” Tony explained.
Alicia sat on the king-size bed and yawned. “I’m exhausted. I hope I don’t have another nightmare.”
Tony sat on the edge of the bed. He put his arm around her shoulders and pulled her close to him. He was warm and she wanted to snuggle against him. She had missed him so much the last few weeks.
“I can sleep here with you. No hanky-panky,” he offered.
She tilted her head and pouted. She loved teasing him. He was so serious most of the time. “Why no hanky-panky, Deputy Smith? What if I like hanky-panky?”
He frowned seriously, trying to see if she was teasing him or not. “Because you’re injured.”
“Fine. Leave the lamp on. The dark bothers me,” she admitted, not understanding why. She had never been bothered by the dark before. The thunder was relaxing her, and the sound of the rain hitting the roof. She stood up and pulled the covers down.
He stripped down to his boxers. Now she knew he wore boxers and not the tight, white kind. She wanted to smile but held it in. He was a golden tan color and his body was sculpted like a work of art. It reminded her of one of those museum statues. A loud boom of thunder sounded in the sky. He pulled her into his arms after he got in. “I got you, sweetheart. Tonight you can rest.”
She snuggled close to his warm body. She laid her arm on his stomach and was glad when he didn’t protest or push her away. She’d had sex with John, but it had been quick and in the dark. He’d always gotten up afterward. He didn’t stay and talk to her. She should have seen that as a sign, but she had been so naïve. “Can I ask you something?”
“Sure.”
“Did you sleep with Dee?” she whispered, blinking back some tears. Jealousy hit her hard. Dee was skinny and pretty.
She felt his lips on her hair.
“No. I regret the kiss we shared. It was quick,” he promised, his voice deep and firm. “I shouldn’t have done that to you or her.”
She yawned and fell asleep, feeling relieved. Maybe there was hope for her and Tony.
* * * *
Tony stared up at the ceiling, trying to think of something to count. Alicia was snuggled next to him like a small kitten. He could hear her breathing and was glad she could rest. If only he could, too. He liked the feel of her snuggled against him. He’d never felt comfortable sleeping with women once the sex was over, but he felt good having her here. He knew he had a lot of ground to make up because of his stupid mistake with Dee. He had just been so confused, but now he was sure he wanted Alicia in his life. He just had to be patient.
He wasn’t sure how long he lay still, afraid to move and wake her up. The hard rain helped to relax him. The thunder had moved out of the area. She started moaning and moving, and he caressed her hair softly, hoping to calm her down.
“How could you, Janice?” she cried. He could hear the pain in her voice. He wanted to ask her what Janice had done. He tried to soothe her but his mind was racing. What had Janice done? Had Janice been involved with Novak? He wanted to wake her and ask, but it would be dangerous. She moved again, making more noises. Suddenly she sat up sobbing. “Oh god, no.”
“Alicia, you’re dreaming again.” He soothed her, rubbing her back softly with his hand.
“No. I remember something.” She looked sad and scared at the same time. He could see her face since he left the lam
p on. “Janice and I were arguing before we left the club.”
Tony let her talk. He held her and could feel her body trembling. He pulled the cover tighter around her. She lay back down on his chest and he liked the feel of her there. He tried to be patient and let her talk.
“She was so drunk. She came up to me and told me she was scared of this man she had hooked up with a couple of times. She thought he was out of town, but he showed up.” She paused for a second to catch her breath and gather her memories, and then stared off into the distance as if thinking of that night. “She said the last time she stayed at his house with him, she stole some drugs. She didn’t think he’d notice. He did.”
“Shit. Did you see him?” He could see where this was going. He wanted to jump out of bed. Instead, he stayed still and let her finish. His heart was pumping and filling his body with adrenaline.
Alicia nodded. “That night I did for the first time. She never introduced us to him before, but he came to ask her to dance a few times. Janice was crying that night in the bathroom. She said he was a cruel man who ran drugs through all the small towns around here, and she admitted to doing them. I got angry and yelled at her. I was so focused on my depression that I didn’t notice her behavior was due to drugs. I was mad at her and myself. After all that shit Holly went through, I was worried it might be the same guy. I was terrified. I wanted to call you.”
She sobbed into his shoulder and he rocked her back and forth.
“I would have come for you,” he swore, and he would have. He admitted he was weak enough that any sign of her wanting anything to do with him again and he would have been there like a flash.
“I was hurting over the thought of you being with Dee.” She sobbed. “I figured you’d just tell me to call Noah and leave you alone.”
“Never.” He swore, kissing her head. Damn, he wished she had called him. He would have prevented Novak from hurting her and Janice.
When she had calmed down some, he asked her what happened next.
“I told Janice to act like she could barely walk. My legs were shaking and I was so terrified. I had the bouncer help us out the door so he couldn’t follow. He was sitting at the bar under a light and we locked eyes. I got a good view of him. We got in the car and headed for home,” Alicia continued. “I made her promise to go with me to see Noah. I told her he would protect us both.”
“That’s when the car behind you hit you?” He guessed.
She nodded. “I still can’t remember anything after that.”
“It’s a start. We can draw up a picture of this guy and see if he is Novak or not.” His mind was racing with so many thoughts. He knew he would not be able to sleep, but she needed to sleep. “Get some rest, baby girl. You are safe. No one will get past my alarms.”
She gave him a shaky smile. She leaned over and kissed his lips lightly. He knew she meant for it to be a small, light kiss, but he was not one to let opportunity escape. He put his hand behind her neck to hold her in place. He heard her gasp of surprise as he opened her lips with his tongue. His cock was as hard as steel and he didn’t want to scare her. Her small hands caressed his chest. She looked dazed and he couldn’t help but feel smug. She desired him and he felt hopeful. They had a chance to work things out.
“Wow, that was worth the wait,” she whispered. She smiled at him and he caressed her back with his hand.
“It was amazing, but I knew we had chemistry from the moment our eyes locked that night we met,” he admitted. “I should have kissed you that night.”
She laid her head on his chest and he heard her sigh.
“I wish you had.”
She fell asleep within seconds. He wished it would be so easy for him to sleep. He lay awake thinking of things to make sure Novak paid dearly. When he did fall asleep, he had a smile on his face.
Chapter Eleven
Noah borrowed the police sketch artist from Morehead the next morning. Alicia called Kelly just in case she remembered something. Shawna Nelson held up the final drawing. Alicia nodded and shivered a little. His eyes were cold and scary. She felt like this man could walk into the station at any moment and kill them all.
Tony had stayed with her the whole time. His hands on her shoulders felt comforting to her. She wanted to believe he was doing it because he cared about her, but she wasn’t sure. Part of her was afraid to hope.
“I think I did see his eyes once. That is why I felt so frightened of him.” Kelly frowned, looking scared. Helen was entertaining Kelly’s son while they worked on the sketch.
“He came to the table once to ask Janice to dance. I remember looking into his eyes and thinking she was crazy for hooking up with him,” Kelly whispered. “I had forgotten that.”
“That is Mario Novak,” Noah said with satisfaction. “At least we now know for sure who we are dealing with. We just have to connect him with Janice’s death.”
Kelly stood up. She looked troubled. Noah offered to have a guard park in front of her house.
“My aunt invited me to stay with her in Austin for a while. I think I will,” Kelly told them.
She turned to Alicia and looked at her with remorse. “I hate leaving like this with no notice, but I can’t let anything happen to Dylan. He is all I have.”
Alicia hugged Kelly. “I understand. I want you and Dylan to be safe. Later, when this is all over, you can come back to work.”
“Thank you, Alicia. Stay safe, please.” Kelly gave her one last hug. Greg walked Kelly and her son out to her car.
Alicia stood up and rubbed her arms. She felt stressed and frightened. How the hell had partying to get her mind off Tony turned into such a nightmare? She had to remember what happened that night. “Now what, Noah? I now know it was Novak behind all this. I also remember someone else with him, but when I try to think who, my head hurts.”
She felt sick to her stomach knowing the man who had kidnapped Holly was out there somewhere and possibly watching them. He had killed Janice and kidnapped her.
Noah hugged her. “Now you go to the restaurant and leave the rest to us. We will find him, Alicia.”
She looked at Tony. She felt heavy with worry. She wanted all of this to be over. “Will you give me a ride to the restaurant? I feel like being around my family.”
He agreed and told Noah he would be back. They walked out of the station. He kept his hand at her lower back. She remembered that hot, steamy kiss they shared last night. She wanted to ask him what it meant, but she had fallen asleep on him. Now she just felt so troubled with thoughts of Novak and her missing memory.
The rain had cleared up and the sun was out. She felt like she was walking in a daze. The honking of a car horn startled her. It was a driver waving hello at Tony. She let out a sigh. She had to stop expecting someone to jump out from behind every bush or tree.
“Next week is Halloween,” Tony said as he opened the door to his truck. “Matt and Holly are forcing me to go with them out to Henderson Farm and pick out pumpkins.”
Alicia laughed as she buckled herself in. She had forgotten about the holiday. Usually she was all into the holidays. “They are forcing you, huh?”
He nodded solemnly. “I don’t do holidays, and neither did Matt, until now. I guess I will help carve pumpkins. Want to join us?”
“Sure, when?” She wanted to spend more time with him. Maybe she was supposed to die with Janice, but fate had given her a second chance. If that was so, she wanted to spend as much time with Tony as possible.
She didn’t tell him Holly had invited her that morning at breakfast. She wanted to see if there was hope for them to build something solid. She hated the thought of having her heart broken again, but she really loved Tony.
“Wednesday, around six.” He pulled onto the main street.
“Okay. I love going out there. Now that Carlos is a little older, he might like a pumpkin.” She smiled, thinking of her nephew. She looked down at her cast and sighed. She hated being unable to use her arm. She was used to always be
ing busy. It was how she dealt with her emotions. She just didn’t give herself time to think and dwell on the sadness of her life. “I doubt I can carve one. Maybe Noah will, or Adam and Liam.”
“We can do one together,” he insisted and parked in front of the building. He got out and went to her door, then helped her down. It was close to lunchtime and the sidewalks were crowded. Some people waved at them. Alicia knew the gossipers would be discussing why they were seen together again. “I’ll walk you in.”
Her mom was at the hostess station putting clean glasses away. She greeted Tony with a friendly smile. She hugged her daughter. “Noah told us you remembered that bad man.”
Alicia nodded blinking back tears. “Yes, Mama. It’s a start.”
“Call us if you see any strangers or feel uncomfortable,” Tony told them both, giving Alicia his “I am serious” look.
“Of course we will,” Alicia assured him. “I am going to work in the back so I don’t frighten people.”
“You don’t look that bad.” Tony leaned down and kissed her cheek. “I will call you tonight.”
After he left, her mother looked at her. “Are you two dating? Should we be checking this man out? He must be okay if he works for Noah.”
Alicia laughed. Her mother didn’t look bothered by the thought of her dating Tony, despite his age.
“We are friends again, Mama. With all that is going on, that is enough. Maybe later things will develop. You should know I already have feelings for him.”
“I have eyes, mija.” Her mother smiled gently and led her to the back office where Alana worked. “Your sister has Carlos with her today. He will cheer you up.”
Alicia beamed and opened the door. She loved being with her nephew. His smile and joy always cheered her up. “There’s my baby.”
Carlos was in his mobile playpen playing with his toys. He grinned at Alicia and held his arms up. Alicia picked him up. She sat in a chair and gave him a big hug, making him giggle. Alicia held him close and kissed his cheek and neck until he giggled again. His hair was dark black and soft, and smelled like baby shampoo.