A Stranger Is Watching

by Linda Randall Wisdom

  He picked up the remote and hit the mute button. The sound on the television was instantly silenced.

  “Which probably has you wishing you’d never met me in the first place,” he stated without an ounce of emotion in his voice.

  Jenna shook her head. “No, I’ve never regretted the time we had together. What I regret is—” She looked down at her hands. She gently ran her fingers over the hand still badly discolored from injuries. She swallowed and looked up. “Do you know how hard it is to stop yourself from even just doodling because those doodles turn into pictures? And you’re afraid someone will notice the doodles and ask why you haven’t considered drawing. How you can’t look at a sunset because you’ll feel the ache of not being able to paint it. Or the pain you feel because you can’t even walk past an art supply store because it will be too tempting to go in. I had to concentrate on writing my new name. I had to remind myself that was the name I answered to and I had a new background to memorize. I had a beautiful loft.” Her words were barely audible. “I left friends I’d known most of my life. I left behind everything I knew...and loved.” Her lips barely moved as she spoke. “If I rebel now it’s because I’m afraid of having my life spiraling out of control again. I’m afraid this time I won’t be able to control it. That I’ll never find me again.”

  “Why did you ask for me?”

  Riley’s abrupt question had her looking up. “What?”

  “You heard me the first time. Why did you ask for me? Why did you insist I come to you? You had the marshal in charge of your case, and Dave was there. Why me?”

  She rubbed the spot between her brows as if rubbing away past pain. “I was in shock, and I had no idea what was going on around me. No one talked to me. I needed something familiar. I chose you.”

  “You had to have known there was a chance I couldn’t reach you immediately. You had two marshals there to handle everything necessary. You wouldn’t have been in any immediate danger,” he insisted. He wanted to know exactly why she called for him.

  Jenna wrinkled her nose. “Obviously, you never dealt with Vince Cameron. I told them if they called Vince I would make a fuss like they’d never seen before. They didn’t listen to me and called him, anyway.”

  “Vince Cameron? They put him in charge of your case?” Riley’s voice rose with every word. “He couldn’t handle relocating a cat much less a person. No wonder you ended up in the middle of the country. I, at least, would have put you in a city with a sizable lake in the vicinity.”

  Jenna chuckled. “It was the beach, not water in general that had my attention.”

  “That’s why it was taken away from you. It was obvious they told you the rules when you entered the Program.”

  She nodded. “Of course. They were very thorough.” She fidgeted with the hem of her dress for lack of anything better to do. “I understand Dave kept tabs on me, but I didn’t learn about that until a few days ago.” She licked her lips. “How long will we have to stay here?”

  “Until I know you’re safe. With all they’re offering around here, I don’t think you’ll get too bored.”

  “Not good enough, Riley,” she argued. “No one knows who the man was. I wouldn’t know him if he stood in front of me. For all we know, he could slip into the hotel and pretend to be a worker here.”

  Riley sat up in one graceful move and shifted around to sit on the edge of the bed.

  “Oh, I think you’d know him, Jen. There are ways of recognizing a person other than what they look like. I bet you’d recognize his voice if you heard it again, wouldn’t you?”

  Riley’s voice was soft, drifting through her mind like a seductive mist. “He was there with you for some time, wasn’t he? He was there telling you what he wanted to do to you. He said lots of things you didn’t want to hear. He wanted you afraid of him. He wanted to inflict pain with every word he said.”

  With each word he spoke, Jenna’s face turned whiter. With each word her eyes grew larger and darker as she stared at him. Horror stiffened her posture to that of a statue.

  Riley hated to see her like this but he had to continue. “Did he keep on talking to you as he broke your fingers, Jenna?” He kept his voice insidiously quiet. “Did he tell you he wanted to make sure you would never paint again? Did he say that was why he was there? Did he keep you so afraid of him, you couldn’t utter a sound? That you were even afraid to scream? You bit your lip to keep from screaming, didn’t you? And you kept on biting it until the pain grew so great you had no choice but to scream.”

  “Stop it! Just stop it!” She jumped to her feet with her hands held over her ears to keep out the cruel sound of Riley’s voice that brought back terrors she preferred be kept hidden. “I never want to hear his voice again! He was cold and he was cruel and he laughed every time he hurt me. I never want to hear that horrible laugh again.” She kept her eyes open as if she knew closing them wouldn’t block out the images but intensify them. “His hands were cruel and his voice horrible. He liked hurting people. He liked hurting me.”

  “He told you that.”

  She shook her head. She still refused to look at him. Her face flamed with color. “He didn’t have to tell me. I could tell by the sound of his voice. By his body.”

  Riley inwardly winced at the fear written so starkly on Jenna’s face. He hated putting her through this, but he hoped he might be able to find out things others hadn’t. He’d read the report. He’d seen what a small amount of information had been given by Jenna It was assumed because the room was dark and the man wore a ski mask and gloves, she could give them little in the way of identification. And that the horror of that time had left her memory blank.

  He knew better. Jenna had been an artist. A very talented one. She used all her senses in her work, which had always made it more special. He refused to believe she had closed off that part of herself. He had to consider she knew something, but had buried it deep within her memory, out of self-defense.

  “Did he call you by name?” He knew some of the answers, but he still wanted to hear it in her words.

  She nodded jerkily. She wrapped her arms around her body in an attempt to shield herself from the memories.

  “Did he use your real name or did he call you by your new name?” he pressed.

  “My real one,” she whispered. “He used both names at first He said he knew which one was my real one and seemed to enjoy using it more.”

  “What did his voice sound like?”

  It took her several minutes to answer. Even then she could barely speak above a whisper. “Evil.”

  “Did he have an accent?”

  Her brow furrowed in thought. “Not exactly.”

  His senses sharpened. “How not exactly?”

  “He had trouble saying some words. Sort of like a speech impediment.” Her hands jerkily moved over her face as if needing to assure herself she was all right and not back in the nightmare.

  Aha. Something that hadn’t been mentioned before.

  Riley leaned forward. “What words, Jenna?”

  She started to tremble. “I don’t want to say them.”

  He could feel the muscles in his jaw tighten. “I need to know, Jenna.”

  She shook her head, the movement almost violent.

  “I want to find the man.” And kill him for what he’s done to you.

  Jenna didn’t say a word. She just kept shaking her head.

  “Tell me.” He waited a beat. “Jenna, tell me the words.” He remembered a hint of a stubborn streak, but it appeared to have strengthened over time. “Tell me the damn words!”

  He didn’t expect her to spin around and scream words that were so sick and twisted, they even filled him with disgust. Now he knew her temporary captor knew exactly how to frighten her and he did it well. When she finished, she dropped into the chair and buried her face in her hands.

  Riley was off the bed in a flash. He crouched down in front of Jenna and carefully peeled her hands from her face. He wrapped his own hands aro
und them, rubbing them briskly but was careful not to be too rough with her cast.

  “Jenna. Jenna, listen to me,” he said gently. “This bastard has to be found and you’re the only one who can help me. Obviously, no one bothered to ask you the right questions. I know it hurts like hell and I know you don’t want to remember what happened that night, but I need to know. The more I know the easier it will be to find him. What else was different about him?”

  Jenna still refused to look at him. “He liked to rub himself against me,” she murmured. “And he wanted me to touch him. But he never—” she gulped “—he never got aroused.”

  This time Riley closed his eyes. There was no denying she had been up against a sick bastard who enjoyed intimidating women.

  “What about smell. Aftershave? Chewing gum? Breath mints? Anything there?” he asked.

  She closed her eyes, then shuddered. Her eyes popped open and this time she did look at him. “Baby powder. He wore gloves, but I could still smell baby powder on them.” She looked surprised she’d remembered such a minor detail.

  Riley nodded. “He wanted to keep his hands dry. Anything else?”

  She closed her eyes, then opened them. “His breath smelled like licorice. As if he’d recently eaten some. Otherwise, he was cool, calm and collected. He didn’t even sweat.”

  He muttered an oath under his breath. “He was a true professional. Nothing to give him away except for the baby powder and licorice. A couple of points most people might not remember. You told them you thought he was about six foot one, one hundred eighty pounds and all muscle.”

  She nodded.

  “Good.” Riley slapped his thighs and rose up. He reached out for her hand and pulled her to her feet. “I know you won’t believe me, but talking it out will actually make you feel better. There won’t be as many bogeymen in the closet for you to fear, because you’re bringing them out into the open.”

  She tipped her head back to look up at him. “When you say he’s a professional, you mean he was paid to do what he did. That he might come back again.”

  “He was a professional. He was paid to hurt you. Something tells me there’s more to it than just terrorizing you. Yes, he will try to find you again,” he said bluntly.

  “Don’t sugarcoat the news, Riley,” she said sarcastically. “You’re telling me the guy is the type to keep on looking until he finds me, and next time he might kill me.” Her voice rose to a dismayed squeak.

  “You don’t need to worry. Because if he does manage to find you, he’ll have to go through me, and that’s exactly what I’d like him to do.”

  With those words, Jenna had a glimpse of the tough cop Riley must have been. She wasn’t sure she cared to ever see it again.

  He gently brushed her bangs off her forehead and guided her over to the bed. It didn’t take much urging for her to lie down and relax. She was positive she’d never sleep again and even told him so. She was wrong. Within moments, she was sound asleep.

  When she opened her eyes a couple hours later, her first sight was of Riley seated in the chair she’d been sitting in earlier. His fingers were pressed together in steeple fashion, his gaze looking at something she couldn’t see. He smiled at her.

  “It seems we both skipped lunch. How does an early dinner sound?” he asked, coming out of his self-imposed trance.

  Jenna pushed her hair away from her face as she yawned. She sat up. “What time is it?”

  “Almost five.”

  She swung around until she sat on the side of the bed. “I would think this resort believes in continental hours for dinner.”

  “The resort caters to all its guests—breakfast, lunch and dinner are offered around the clock. Rumor has it there’s a kitchen for each meal,” he explained.

  Jenna tried to calculate the cost of staying in a resort that catered to the guests on such a royal level.

  “How much is this costing?”

  Riley grinned. “Don’t worry, sweetheart, you don’t have to come up with the scratch.”

  “Good thing, because our stay would have been over the moment we stepped inside the lobby,” she said wryly. “You’re lucky Sassy packed something appropriate for dining out.”

  “There wouldn’t have been a problem if she hadn’t. There are plenty of shops in the lobby for anything you need. Since we might be here for a while, you might want to do some shopping for a few more things to tide you over. Don’t worry, all the costs are covered,” he added.

  Jenna shook her head. “Why would the government be willing to go to these lengths to protect me? Not to mention the expense. It’s not as if I was an important witness in the first place. Steven Grieco might have been a criminal, but he wasn’t on the top ten list. So why all this attention?”

  Riley didn’t say anything for a moment. He looked off in the distance, then turned back to her.

  “What makes you think he wasn’t all that important?” he asked in a soft voice.

  She looked surprised by his question. “Why? Well, because he’d never been charged for anything before.”

  “Who told you that? The state’s attorney?”

  Jenna nodded uncertainly.

  Riley’s chest expanded as he breathed a deep sigh. “Jen, Grieco hadn’t been charged before because he either bought someone off or made them disappear before any charges could be filed. He was a master at making witnesses disappear. If we hadn’t moved as swiftly as we did, he would have made you disappear, too. Any crime boss worth his salt can still operate even while sitting in a Federal penitentiary. I’m not surprised that he put the word out to have you found. He probably did it as soon as his conviction came in. I admit I don’t understand why it took so long. For now I’ll just worry about the fact that they did find you.”

  “All this began because I was in the wrong place at the wrong time,” she murmured, feeling the cold shock of fear well up inside her again. She dragged her pillow toward her and hugged it tightly against her chest. “You’re basically saying that his men could find me here. That man who found me before could turn up here.” Her teeth started to chatter.

  “He was very clever. He used your real name. He wasn’t out to kill you, just badly frighten you. Which he did,” he murmured under his breath. “He was playing with you, Jenna. The way a cat plays with a mouse. He could then sit back and wait awhile. He knew the authorities would be brought in and that was fine with him. He’s probably a very patient man. He knows they’ll relocate you and he’ll be around to get an idea where you’re going. That way he can attack you again. He’ll want you to think that no matter where you go, he’ll be there. He wouldn’t want you to relax. His getting off on you being scared of him. Grieco chose the perfect person to terrorize you, because the man made sure you’ll have nightmares for many a night. He’s the kind of guy who wants you to be so afraid you’ll welcome your death when he feels the time is right. He wants to be in charge, Jen. We’re making sure that doesn’t happen.”

  “No safe haven. Always looking over my shoulder.” The horror of that night was again reflected in her eyes. “Never sleeping well. Always having to be on guard. It’s not a good way to live.”

  “You’re right, it’s not,” Riley agreed. “But it’s a good way to turn an adult into a whimpering child afraid of their own shadow. He’s a formidable opponent because he’s very clever. Who knows how long he’d been staking you out before he struck.”

  She couldn’t sit still any longer. She jumped up and threw the pillow to one side. It bounced off the bed and fell to the floor unnoticed.

  “You think he will follow me here. In fact, you hope so. I’m nothing more than a goat tied to a stake. As far as you’re concerned, I’m nothing more than bait!” In a furious fit, she stooped to pick up the pillow and threw it at him.

  He easily deflected the soft missile.

  “I may be a bastard at times, but I’m not that callous a bastard.” He directed a level look her way. “If he does show up here, we’ll have the advantage.�
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  “Oh really?” Her tone dripped sarcasm. “And what advantage do we have?”

  Riley grinned. “Because, Smitty, I’m teaching you to kick butt.”

  Jenna wrinkled her nose. “I took a self-defense course, thank you very much. In case you can’t tell, it didn’t do me much good.”

  He shot her a wry look. “That’s because I wasn’t the instructor.”

  “It must be hell to be so perfect.”

  He ignored her droll tone. “What I’m saying is, what I’ll be teaching you is fighting you learn on the streets. You’re going to learn to use your feet, your fingers, nails and elbows. You’ll learn to fight dirty and use whatever is available to best your opponent.”

  Jenna stared at him, taking in the words. “I’ll do whatever it takes.”

  Riley nodded. “Good.”

  He stretched his arms over his head. “I’m starved, and I’m sure you are, too. Do you want the shower first or shall I take it?”

  “I’ll take it.” She swept past him as she walked to the dresser and withdrew articles of clothing. She walked into the bathroom and firmly closed the door behind her.

  “And here I was going to ask if you’d care to share,” he murmured. “I guess you wouldn’t.”

  Riley realized his mistake the moment he stepped into the bathroom after Jenna vacated it. The air was still warm and steamy, fragrant with the scent she’d used on her skin. He felt as if she was wrapped all around him.

  He found a large jar of body cream sitting on the counter and picked it up, opening it and sniffing the contents. The heady aroma of spice and vanilla brought back memories of lazy afternoons they’d spent in bed. He dipped a finger into the contents and rubbed it between his fingers. He thought it was specks of mica that had given his skin a sheen. He sniffed his arm. He preferred the fragrance on her skin.

  He turned on the shower and stepped inside, shutting the glass door. By closing his eyes and gritting his teeth, he was able to withstand the icy water without swearing up a storm.

  The last thing he wanted Jenna to do was know just how much she affected him.