Dangerously in Love

by Kimbrough, Michele

  “She’s not here,” Adam said to the men. “If she were, I would have heard her scream or run when I fired the gun. She’s not here. I’ll meet you at the car.”

  Adam stood over Hill and said, “If I catch you even looking at my wife, I’ll kill you. Thanks for the beer.” He patted Hill’s face—more like two light slaps—then tucked the gun into his belted waistband and left.

  ***

  Hill rubbed his hand over his face and sighed with relief. He looked beside him and saw two bullet holes in his sofa then looked around at the mess Adam’s sidekick had made. Hill picked up one of the beers and guzzled it down. His hands were shaking, his heart racing. He yelled and hurled the empty beer bottle across the room where it shattered into a flurry of pieces onto the floor. He couldn’t calm down. He was still shaken. He guzzled another bottle of beer, hoping it would at least settle the trembling. It didn’t.

  Remembering that Gabe and Ty had cleared all of their stuff from the Church residence because they’d finished the project, except for the final walk-through, he went to the truck to unload it. He hoped keeping busy would calm him down. And it did. After he removed the last thing from the truck, he noticed a briefcase. It wasn’t his. He thought that maybe it was Gabe’s or Ty’s. He threw it back in the truck so he wouldn’t forget to give it to them.

  Back inside, he cleaned up the mess that had been made and took out the trash, including the sofa. He put the sofa in the parking area until bulk trash day. That done, he collected the two fragmented bullets from the plaster in the wall and repaired the holes. He put the bullet fragments in a container and placed it on the shelf along with the shell casings.

  23

  Sunday morning, Hill was still reeling from Adam’s visit the day before. He wanted revenge but knew he couldn’t win against Adam—especially not with his staff of armed bodyguards. No, he knew that would be a losing battle. But the one thing he did have that Adam feared losing was Caitlin. He wanted to see Caitlin and, dammit, nobody was going to stop him. Not even Adam. Hill decided he would go to see her . . . at her house and while Adam was in town and at home. But first, he went out for breakfast at a restaurant not too far from the Church property.

  Knee deep into his buttermilk pancakes with apple butter and butter pecan syrup, he smelled the sweetest scent, followed by the sound of a sultry voice. It wasn’t husky but bordered on heavy. He recognized it. When he looked up, he saw it was Amelia Morales, the spitting image of Caitlin. He’d thought she was just passing through on her way to Spain, but apparently, she had decided to stay a little while longer.

  “Hi Hill. May I?” she asked with her arm extended toward the seat across from him.

  “Sure. Why not.”

  “You must live nearby.”

  “No, I work nearby,” Hill countered, with a mouthful of pancakes.

  The waitress came by to ask Amelia if she’d like anything. She nodded and ordered coffee. Hill asked for a refill.

  “So what gives me the pleasure,” Hill asked, wiping his mouth with the paper napkin.

  “I was passing by and saw you, so I thought I’d stop in—you know, after that scintillating moment we shared,” she said in jest. Hill didn’t see the humor. As a matter of fact, he was so focused on his plan of action to see Caitlin that he hardly focused on Amelia. She leaned in close. “Whatever you’re thinking about doing, don’t,” she warned. The waitress returned with a fresh carafe of coffee and set it on the table after pouring a cupful for Amelia and refilling Hill’s cup.

  “I don’t know what you mean,” Hill said.

  She took a sip of her coffee and seemed startled by its awful bitterness. “Hill, Cate isn’t who you think she is.”

  “Who is she then?”

  “She’s dangerous.”

  Hill chuckled. Amelia didn’t. She stared at Hill stoically.

  “I’m serious. Do you think Adam frightens her?” She waited for Hill’s reaction, but he just sipped his coffee. “He doesn’t. Adam is child’s play for her. She. Is. Dangerous. Hill, watch your back.” On that note, she placed five dollars on the table and stood. She kissed Hill’s cheek. “Be careful, Hill. You don’t know what you’re dealing with. As I said, she isn’t who you think she is.”

  He watched Amelia slink out of the restaurant.

  ***

  Hill arrived at the rear edge of the property where his truck couldn’t be detected. He brought his tools as a cover, just in case. He grabbed his metal tamper, the one Adam had used to break his rib, and hurriedly walked along the massive property, shielding himself behind trees and structures along the way, until he arrived at the bungalow. He didn’t know if Adam monitored Caitlin’s incoming calls, so he hadn’t tried to text or call her. Still, he needed to somehow get her attention. But how? He could have pretended to work in the yard, but that would just alert Adam to his presence, and then he’d be watching like a hawk. So how could he get her attention? This was an all-around bad idea that he hadn’t thought through—making it not only a terrible plan, but reckless. And yet, he didn’t care.

  He heard water splashing. It could have been the waterfall spilling into the pool, but it sounded more like someone swimming. He peered around the side of the bungalow and saw Adam looking out the window. He seemed to be looking for something. Hill wondered if there was any way Adam could see the truck from the window, but Caitlin had told him it couldn’t be seen. He’d have to trust that.

  Then before he had to think about it any further, Caitlin strolled along the granite pathway he had made for her—donning a sheer sarong to conceal her thong bikini. She’d just left the pool and was heading to the cabana. Perfect. Hill waited until Adam walked away from the window, then jogged to the cabana and entered on the opposite end. When she emerged through the sliding door, Hill grabbed her and pinned her in the corner, kissing her fiercely.

  “Hill,” she managed to say between kisses. “What are you doing here?” He was still kissing her, and she tried not to submit, although she’d periodically cave. “Adam’s here, you know.”

  Hill nodded. “I had to see you, Cate. I need to feel you. I can’t deal with knowing that he’s touching you.”

  “Adam doesn’t touch me, Hill. He has too many other women he touches.”

  Hill cupped his hand around her behind and pulled her against his hardness. “Damn, you look good in this . . . this . . . bikini. I want you now, Cate.”

  “We can’t . . .” she began, but Hill kissed her before she could say another word. His hands explored all the crests and curves of her body, reveling in the softness of her olive skin.

  “Hill, Adam could be on his way here. You know how he is.”

  But Hill ignored her. “I want to feel you, Cate. I need to feel you,” he said, kissing her, his tongue toying with hers. He gathered a handful of her hair and pulled her head to his, kissing her harder, biting her lip, sucking her neck, outlining the shell of her ear with his tongue.

  “Why don’t I meet you at your place?” she asked Hill between gasps and moans and kisses.

  Hill slid her thong down her shapely thighs, around her calves and, when he reached her ankles, she stepped out of them. Working his way upward, he kissed her legs between her thighs and unzipped his pants, releasing himself from their confines. He was so hard, aching with desire. He lifted one of her legs over his shoulder and rolled his tongue in the juncture of her thighs. She threw her head back, pulling him closer to her.

  “You taste so good,” he said, gently caressing her sweet spot with his tongue, sucking, licking, grasping her gently between his teeth, his tongue brushing her. She squirmed and swiveled her hips, pulling his head in harder, closer.

  He stood up, kissing her navel, then her chest, then her neck on his way up. He helped her onto her knees, spreading her wide enough to take him. Slowly, gently, he pressed into her and pulled back again. Then he pressed a little further and pulled back slowly. Then further, until he was slick with her desire.

  “Yes?” he ask
ed.

  “Yes, Hill. Yes.”

  He got up and sat on the bench, pulling her to him. She hoisted her sarong high enough to straddle him, working him inside of her with smooth glides of her hips. She slid up and down, grinding on him for a little while. She saw his eyes roll back and his mouth drop open. His hands grasped her waist, pushing her down on him as he went deeper, gyrating inside of her, impaling her with pleasure, making her body quiver and quake. “That’s it, darlin’,” he said. “Keep it up,” he said.

  She couldn’t help herself, she got caught up in the moment and asked, “Is this what you want, baby?” He nodded, biting his bottom lip, his eyes closed, hips thrusting, grabbing her so tight, she could hardly move. “Here you go, baby,” she said, swerving and grinding on him. “You like that?” she asked.

  He nodded and pushed hard into her, thrashing his body against hers on the limited space of the narrow bench. She felt the sensations of his explosive pulsations inside of her as he yelled out, “Aaahhh, yes!” Sweat beaded on his forehead, and his body went limp. She leaned in to kiss his lips. Hill pressed against her shoulders, pushing her back a little so he could look into her eyes. He knew right then, in that moment, what he wanted to do—no, what he needed to do.

  “How do you call me—on the phone?” Hill asked.

  “I use my Google Voice app. Why? What’s going on?”

  “What does that mean, Google Voice app? I mean, can your husband or anybody trace the calls back to me?”

  She shook her head. “No, the app rings to my phone showing my Google number, not the caller’s number. And when I make outgoing calls, I call through the app. None of my outgoing calls show up on my phone bill.”

  He was ecstatic at first that she had been so clever and careful, but it also disturbed him that she was so calculating. Even down to the phone calls she made.

  “From the very beginning?” he asked. “I mean, you’ve always called me from your Google Voice app?”

  “Yes. That’s the number you have for me. You call my Google Voice number.”

  “Why do I get the impression you’ve done this many times before?”

  “No, Hill. I’ve never done this before. I just know Adam. He’s smart and calculating—and always thinking ahead. I had to think ahead of him from the first time that I called you—even if it never amounted to anything between us. I’d never want him to find out about you—about us. Why all the questions? What’s going on, Hill? What’s happened?”

  He rested his hands on her waist and pulled her a little closer, pressing his forehead against hers. He whispered, “We’re going to kill him.”

  24

  “Are you sure, Hill?” Caitlin asked as she stood, retying her sarong that had come undone.

  “I am.”

  “Why the sudden change? I mean, why do you want this now?”

  Hill stood, removed the condom, and zipped his pants.

  “I’ll discard that,” she said, taking the prophylactic from him.

  “You asked why? Because it’s what you want, Cate” he said. “And I want it, too.”

  Hill leaned against the wall, one foot crossed over the other, contemplating what would happen next. He couldn’t believe he had devolved to the point of not just wanting to commit murder, but looking forward to it. What had happened to him? He broke his pensive gaze and stared at Caitlin who stood beside him looking satisfied. She would finally get what she wanted—Adam’s money. And Hill would finally get what he wanted—her. It was a win-win situation, Hill thought.

  He pushed himself away from the wall to stand in front of Caitlin. He pressed his hands over her shoulders against the wall behind her, leaning his weight into them and looking down into Caitlin’s eyes.

  “There’s no turning back,” he said.

  She nodded. “I know.” She thought for a moment then said, “Come back tonight. We could do it then. I’ll leave the side door unlocked for you. I could drug his drink to make him too weak to fight back.”

  “Okay. Tonight then. Midnight.” Hill leaned in for another kiss. But a sudden noise distracted him. He heard it very clearly. It was close. It sounded like bare feet slapping against the granite. The sound approached rapidly, and Hill hardly had enough time to react. Caitlin heard it, too.

  “Hill, you have to go. That’s Adam.”

  Hill pulled her to him, kissing her passionately, untying the sarong to get one last feel. “I don’t want to run and hide.”

  “But you have to, Hill. He’ll kill you. I’m sure of it.”

  Hill kissed her again as if there were no tomorrow. Adam rounded the corner and entered the cabana just as Caitlin rewrapped the sarong around her waist.

  “What are you doing? What’s taking you so long?” Adam asked.

  “I was meditating,” she said just as she noticed the condom wrapper on the floor near the bench.

  “Since when did you start meditating?” he asked as he surveyed the cabana suspiciously. How about having some lunch in town. We haven’t done that in a long time.”

  “I thought you’d be busy, Adam.” She walked toward the bench, stepped on the wrapper and slid her feet under the bench when she sat down.

  Adam rubbed his mouth. “I’m never too busy for my wife. Come. Let’s go.”

  She saw her thong on the floor near the linen storage unit. She stood, wide-eyed with her mouth agape as she saw Hill reach out and grab the thong. Adam turned around to see what Caitlin was staring at. When he didn’t see anything, he looked her up and down. “Are you coming?”

  Caitlin looked back at Hill, who was hidden behind the portable linen storage unit, pissed that he had to hide at all. “Yes,” she said and followed Adam out of the cabana.

  ***

  Hill was humiliated that he had to cower like some teenager hiding from a parent. But they had a plan, and that trumped any bad feelings he had right now. Sweet revenge plus the bonus of winning Adam’s woman and money.

  Knowing he had a small window in which he could make it back to his truck, he would have to hightail it across the property. But he didn’t want to run. He didn’t want to hide. He despised the idea of doing either. And if he had to, he was willing to fight. But he knew for damn sure that he wasn’t ducking and hiding anymore. He strolled out of the cabana, not bothering to look back, hoping he wouldn’t be seen. Yet, if he had been seen, he was ready to stand his ground. He walked across the property as if he owned it until he arrived at his truck.

  25

  Hill contemplated his plan. His conscience, which he continually ignored, screamed at him. He could hear his mother admonishing him, “Hilton Allyn Parker! Don’t you dare!” His mother believed in God’s will. She would say, “Everything happens for a reason. There are no accidents.” So that meant it was no accident that Rosemary had recommended Hill’s landscaping service to Caitlin. It was no coincidence that they fell for each other. And there was a divine reason why he felt compelled to murder Adam. At least that’s what he surmised.

  Then another of his mother’s ‘life lessons’ came to mind, “Every action has its consequences— whether good, in the form of reward, or bad, in the form of punishment.” What would be the price for killing Adam? Prison? Hell? Maybe even losing his own life? He shook his head, pushing all of that out of his mind. The only things he wanted to recall were the two gunshots that still rang in his ears and the scent of gunpowder that had filled his living room. Adam had threatened his life, and Adam needed to pay. Adam Church was a monster who needed to be exterminated.

  Thinking back, his father used to tell him that it was okay to let his opponent think he was a weaker or lesser man. Being underestimated was a good strategy to gain the upper hand, to knock someone off kilter. Of course, the judge was talking about arguing a case. Hill realized that he had underestimated Adam and the lengths to which he would go to protect his possessions. Because of that, Hill was at a disadvantage. But all of that was about to change tonight.

  Dressed in black, Hill turned off t
he lights and stood in front of his full-length mirror, checking to make sure he’d fade into the darkness. Satisfied, he looked at his watch. Eleven o’clock—time to leave.

  ***

  Hill cut off the lights as he turned onto the gravel pathway. The night was so quiet that he feared the heavy engine of his Ford F250 and the crunching gravel under its tires would alert Adam to his arrival. He turned off the ignition after parking the truck near the front entrance. The Ford made too much noise in all of the stillness of the night to pull in any further. He sat in the truck, trying to settle his nerves, taking deep breaths and remembering the two bullets he’d dug out of his wall—he mustn’t forget his anger. He couldn’t let his conscience override what he needed to do.

  As he slipped his trembling hands into the leather gloves, he repeatedly told himself to ‘man up’. He had the upper hand, the element of surprise—he was the ‘unexpected’. Hill pulled on a Lycra skull cap and took one more deep breath. As he stepped out of the truck, the gravel crunched and shifted under his black Nikes. He reached into the truck bed to grab his sledgehammer. Leaning against the side of the truck, his heart raced, pumping adrenalin through his body. His breaths came in unsteady bursts. He closed his eyes, trying like hell to brush away his fear, hush his conscience, and forget about all the things that could go wrong.

  He swiftly made his way across the property, concealing himself behind the trees and structures, until he reached the bungalow. There weren’t any lights on in the house, but the two large men who had accompanied Adam to his warehouse were posted at the back of the house. This was an unexpected development. They’d never been there before. What was going on? Hill pressed his back against the bungalow, peering around the corner and trying to figure out what he should do. He knew he couldn’t take on two armed men with only a sledgehammer. He slid down into a squat, waiting, hoping the men would shift to the front of the house soon.