by Brooke May
“Chamberlain, baby, calm down,” Gwen coos, stroking a hand up and down my bare arm. “She was a little ice queen. You need to move on, babe.”
That is fucking it!
“What?” I rip my arm away and grab her shoulders; I don’t care if I’m hurting her. She has been so non-supportive of my hunt for Katie. And now, with her calling me things that only Katie is allowed to use, she’s sending me off the deep end. “Katie is warm and sweet and everything to me!” I let go of her and storm out of the building to my car.
I’m going to find out what has happened to her. I don’t give a rat’s ass that I’m leaving Scott stranded here. And Gwen can go jump off a pier for all I care.
I drive to her parents’ house as fast as my car can take me. Katie was onto something when she suggested I fix this car up. With the way it runs now, I’ll be surprised if I make it to the Cunningham house.
My luck went further down the shitter when the car stalled halfway down their road, causing my temper to escalate. I push it over to the side of the road and take off in a dead run until I reach their gate. The guard isn’t one who I’ve seen before.
“I need to see Katie Cunningham.” I pant as I try to catch my breath while leaning against the guard box.
“Name?” He doesn’t even look up at me.
“Chamberlain Lawrence, I should be on the list.” I know I’m on the list; Fiona made sure of it.
He looks through several pages only to shake his head. “I’m sorry, you’re not. I’ll call up and ask.”
“Thank you.”
He closes the window between us, but I can hear his muffled conversation behind it. I don’t jump when it opens quickly. “I’m sorry, but you are not allowed on this property, Mr. Lawrence.”
“What? That … that can’t be right. Katie … Katherine Cunningham is my girlfriend.”
Now, his face forms a frown. “I don’t know who this Katherine is, sir. I know of Miss Zoey Cunningham, but I only started here.”
He’s new. I step back and run both hands through my hair, looking around in confusion.
What did they do to Katie?
Where is she?
Biting my lower lip to keep from screaming, I walk up to the gates and start shaking them, yelling.
“What the hell did you do to her?” I continue to shake and yell until the guard comes out and pushes me back.
“Sir, I have to ask you to leave.” He looks nervous, especially now that he is standing in front of me, and he sees how I tower over him. “You seem like a nice guy. Please, don’t make me call the police.”
I growl and tighten my fists. “They did something to her,” I plead with him. “I need to find her.”
“I’m sorry, sir.” And he truly looks like he is.
“You tell them—” I point at him, making him shake. “You tell them I will find out what happened to her and I will take her with me.” I glare over his shoulder as a couple of more guards come running down the driveway. I don’t recognize them either.
“KATIE!”
The poor guy in front of me looks like he is about to pass out or piss himself out of fear. “Please, s-sir. I’m asking you to leave nicely before my supervisor gets here.” He looks over his shoulder and then quickly back at me.
“Not until I have my answers.” I stand my ground as the two other men join us, but on the other side of the gate. One is already on the phone. I glare at all three of the men standing in my way and settle my eyes on the smaller one behind the gate. I recognize him. He was manning the gate the day I picked Katie up for our Spring Break week. “You.” I point at him, and he looks up from his clipboard. His eyes enlarge as recognition flashes across his face. “Where is Katherine?”
He shakes his head. “I-I don’t know, Mr. Lawrence. I haven’t seen her since she came home late Saturday night.”
What?
Where was she?
“Mr. Lawrence, please just leave. We can’t help you with anything. Senator Cunningham has given us all strict instructions not to let you on the property.” He walks up to me by the fence and sticks his hand through, offering it to me. I frown but shake it and feel a piece of paper slip into my hand. He gives me the smallest of nods and steps back.
I growl as I, too, step back and give the other two one last look before I turn on my heel and walk back to my car. When I get in, I shoot Scott a quick message to come get me and bring a tow truck. I turn my attention to the paper. In harsh writing, it states:
They sent her away.
What?
Where?
How?
And most importantly why?
XOXO
“COME ON, Chamberlain, just one more.” Gwen rubs up against me at the bar, trying to get me to have another beer. I’m not paying her any mind as I continue to stare at the piece of paper in my hand next to my empty beer bottle.
“No.” I shrug her off.
“Chamberlain,” she whines, causing me to frown.
Where the hell has my friend gone?
Over the past couple of days, she has changed and not for the better. She’s becoming just like all the other girls around me, except for Katie.
I shake my head.
“I’ve got to find her,” I mutter to myself, not minding anyone around me. I have more than enough money in my pocket now that I signed with the professional circuit. Maybe I’ll hire a private investigator to look into what happened to her. I need to get on that. Something keeps churning in my stomach. I thought she would try to reach out to me by now.
“Let’s get out of here, C,” Gwen drunkenly purrs into my ear. “I’ll help you forget all about that little rich bitch.”
She finally did it; I’ve lost all respect for her in a matter of days. This friendship is over.
“Back the fuck off, Gwen!” I stand, causing her to stumble back and fall on her ass. “You don’t get it, do you?” I watch her try to get back up, but her heels aren’t making it easy on her. “I. Love. Katie.” I shout each word. “Nothing will ever make me forget her. Not fighting, not beer, not even you.” I turn away from her as my tears start to fall. I’m done.
Scott is standing by my side, giving me a knowing look. “I’m here to help you with anything you need; you know that.”
“Good.” I nod to him. “Let’s go get my girl.” We walk out of the bar and never set foot in there again.
Chapter Ten
Chamberlain
“EARTH TO CHAMBERLAIN, Scott center here!” Scott waves a hand in front of my face and whistles right in my ear. “Snap the fuck out of it, man!”
I shake out of it and focus back on him. “I’m not giving up. Not then and sure as hell not now.”
“I could have told you that.” He laughs. “Go get her, Predator, and don’t come back without her and that little girl of hers.” He continues to laugh as he walks off and introduces himself to a few girls who were hanging around watching us.
Some things never change.
By a freak accident, I managed to find my girl when no one I hired to do the job could do it. When Scott and I left that bar, we never gave up hope that someday Katie would come back to me.
With a set determination, I leave Scott at the gym. He can find a ride back to the hotel with someone else, probably with one of the girls he is sweet talking. I head back and change my clothes before I take off to Katie’s house. I memorized the address and had it programmed into my phone’s GPS.
I don’t know exactly what I am going to do, but I’m sure it will come to me. I arrive at her house and sit at the corner, just down the block, watching. I don’t care how long it will take me to get her alone, but I will be talking to her.
XOXO
“You’re really starting to freak me out, C.” Scott leans back in his seat as I collect my keys and phone to head out the door. Today is the day I will get Katie alone. “Just talk to her, like you did the first time. This whole creeper thing is just wrong and borderline psychotic.” He pretends to shiver.
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Tuesday, after I parked myself at the corner by her house, I sat there until she came out with the lady who opened the door the other night and took off.
I followed them like the creeper Scott is accusing me of being. Katie made several stops at different places for the lady to run in and then back out. They were gone for an hour, and when they returned, I parked at the corner again and watched them disappear into the house.
Katie’s friend stopped by after that, and Katie didn’t leave again for the rest of the night. Around ten, I gave up and headed back to the hotel to pass out only to wake up bright and early and do it all over again.
“Shut up.”
“I’m serious, man. Be the man you were when you asked her out for the first time. It worked then, so I’m sure it would work now.” He rocks his seat back and forth on two legs. If I wanted to waste time, I would kick the legs out from under him.
“I’ll try today.” I hurry out the door, not waiting for his reply.
It only takes me fifteen minutes to get back to her house. Katie is just walking out the door with Marissa when I pull up. Katie is wearing black workout capris and a loose, white tank top while Marissa is in pink tights and a tank top, with a white tutu. They both look incredible. She gets Marissa settled into her seat before getting in and driving off.
I duck quickly as she heads straight toward me. “Dammit, Scott’s right.”
I am a creeper.
When I know they are far enough way not to see me, and no one is watching from the house, I start my car and follow them while trying to look like I’m not. I follow them for a while and nearly lose her car, but my luck seems to be improving. They pull into a dance studio parking lot where Katie leads Marissa in, and from where I can see, it looks like Katie is not only instructing our daughter but also a very small group of little girls around the same age. I smile; she never gave up teaching little ones to dance.
I park and watch them, thankful for the big windows looking into the studio. Of course, I parked far enough away not to look like a creep, but I’m close enough to see them clearly. It makes my heart soar and ache at the same time to watch my girls together. They are truly in sync with one another—the perfect mother/daughter pairing. I may have just learned about Marissa, but the little girl who looks like her mom and has my eyes already has my heart.
I watch for an hour, transfixed. Soon, all the other little girls leave with their parents, but Katie and Marissa stay and dance around by themselves. Katie picks Marissa up and tosses her into the air, catching her and spinning them around, laughing with their heads thrown back in joy.
I want to be a part of that. I want them in my arms, laughing and smiling at me. I’m so engrossed in watching them that I don’t realize a police officer is standing next to me until he taps on my window. I snap to attention and roll down my window.
“May I help you, officer?” I smile up at him.
He doesn’t return my smile. “I’m going to have to ask you to leave, sir.”
“Why?”
“You—” He gestures to our surroundings. “Are you a pedophile, sir?” That’s when I notice all the kids running around.
Crap.
“What?” I choke. “No, God, no!” I quickly look back to see Katie and Marissa are still dancing. “I’m just waiting to pick up my wife and daughter.” I point at the building. “They hate it when I come in.” I roll my eyes. “Something about girl time?”
A sympathetic understanding crosses his face before he finally smiles. “I have three daughters myself, so I know how that goes.” He laughs. “Sorry about that.”
“No problem.” I hold up my hands, relieved he bought it.
Scott is never to hear a word of this.
“You have a nice day.”
“You too.” I wave him off. He gets back into his cruiser and drives off just as Katie and Marissa grab their bags and head out. I duck so they can’t see me, and we are off again. I follow them back to the house and wait only a few minutes before Katie comes back out in the same clothes and takes off again.
I never thought I would be that creepy guy so obsessed with a girl he’d follow her around. I laughed at guys like that, and here, I’ve turned into one. Again, Scott is right. Not that I will ever tell him that.
This time, she heads to a grocery store that isn’t far away. This is my chance. I’m finally going to get her alone. I park farther away from her and follow her in. I’m playing with my phone so it doesn’t look like I’m stalking her even though I am. I grab a basket while she goes for a cart. I go a different direction, so no one catches on to what I’m doing and warns her or better yet tries to stop me.
I walk around, grabbing some random crap to dump into the basket and find her again. Her back is to me as I walk down the aisle.
“Why are you following me, Chamberlain?” I’m sent into a state of shock as Katie’s question rolls over me with her back still to me. She doesn’t sound upset or stressed or even angered with me.
“How?”
She laughs.
Oh, how I’ve missed her laugh. It is sweet with just a hint of husky. “Chamberlain, you’re a big guy.” She finally looks over her shoulder at me, sending her hair flying over her opposite shoulder. Some blond wisps of hair fall over one of her eyes. “It isn’t that easy to conceal yourself.” She smiles warmly at me. That smile gives me even more hope that we will be fine. That she will finally talk to me.
I’m getting her back.
“Besides, my father is running for president. I have to watch for reporters and others who are trying to find dirt on him. I don’t want any of that in my daughter’s life.” She tilts her head. “Are you going to answer me or continue to stare?”
“Can I do both?” I walk up to her, close enough to feel her presence but not too close to scare her away again. “Can we please talk?”
“May.”
“It is May, Katie.” My eyebrows knit together in confusion.
She laughs again. “No, Chamberlain. You are supposed to ask, may we talk, please?” Her eyes are teasing. She turns back to her cart. “And we are talking.”
“No.” I hurry after her. “I mean really talk.” I grab the side of the cart, caging her between my massive body and the cart. “Please, don’t run anymore.”
She sighs. From boredom of dealing with me? Because of my constant, relentless pursuit of her? I’m not sure. But when she sinks into me, I know it is none of those. She, or her body, has missed our connection just as much as I have. “I think it would be foolish if I ran again.”
“You mean it?” My body aches to hold her. I have to bite my lip to stop from kissing her neck.
“Yes.” She sighs again and starts pushing the cart again. “But not here, please?” she whispers. She looks around, and I know we have gathered an audience, but I don’t give a shit. I never have when it came to Katie. I will do anything and everything to prove myself worthy of her.
“Whatever you want, baby.” I can’t contain myself anymore. It has been far too long since I’ve felt her soft skin against my lips. Lightly, I brush my lips up the column of her once creamy neck and plant them just under her ear. Goose bumps form under my touch while Katie lets out a staggered breath. “I’ve missed you so much,” I whisper against her ear.
I want to say so much to her, but I won’t. Not here. Hell, if I wanted to go against her plea not to get into anything here, I would drop to one knee and ask her to marry me right here in the middle of a grocery store next to the cereal.
Chapter Eleven
Katie
“JUST A FOOL” by Christina Aguilera and Blake Shelton blare through the radio as I drive myself to the museum where I’m meeting Chamberlain. I need to keep my composure. I’m going to get the answers I have wanted for a long time and answer anything he asks of me.
For far too long. I just accepted what I saw, and now, I’m questioning what I saw and what I missed after the crowd flared up. I woke up this morning questioning whether
I’m doing the right thing. I still crave and desire Chamberlain, and he clearly does with me as well.
My fingers linger on the spot on my neck where his lips were again. I had almost talked myself out of meeting him when Marissa came running into my room feeling better and dancing around my room.
“Daddy?” She had rested her head on my shoulder; her little fingers found my hair and then proceeded to twirl.
“Yes.” I kissed her forehead and got us both ready for the day. “You behave for Aunty Karmin,” I said good-bye to her and Karmin when I left. I had to explain to her last night that I had to meet with him first because I wanted to make sure he was nice, which I already knew he was when it came to kids.
Now, I’m almost there, and my nerves are hitting me full force. How many nights have I laid awake trying to figure out what happened to Chamberlain and myself? The what-ifs going through my mind for the past four years.
What if my parents didn’t send me away … would Chamberlain and I be fine?
Would I have been raising Marissa with him, or would I still find myself alone?
I need to stay focused on getting my answers even though I’ll probably end up hurt all over again. That’s what scares me; this time, I’m not the only one who will be hurt.
I pull into the parking lot and find Chamberlain already here. He is leaning against his car; his thick arms crossed over his chest, and his jeans-clad ankles are crossed over one another. He looks—so—good. I pull up next to him and park with my mouth hanging open.
He looks incredible. He always has. It hurts knowing that all this time he has been traveling and getting female attention, and he was unattached. But this isn’t my fault. It’s his.
He watches me as I get out of the car, and his smile stops me from getting all the way out. It’s the same one I fell in love with, the one he only ever gave me—a hint of devil-may-care, all-American boy, a half predatory snarl, and of course, his dimple popping.
“Hey.”
He kicks off his car and strides around to take my hand, enveloping it like old times and causing the same feelings to stir within me. Whenever we went somewhere, we were always touching one another. He raises my hand to his sexy, pouty lips and places a light kiss on the top, sending the butterflies in my stomach into a frenzy.