"Yeah, you know, what you do, where you're from—that kind of thing."
"Oh. Not a very exciting story, I'm afraid. I'm thirty years old. I own a dog, a house, and an old SUV. That's about it."
Brody stopped and opened the door to the bar, allowing me to step inside. The air conditioning blasted out the open door as I felt the sweat run down the back of my knees, and I discreetly sniffed my armpits. My deodorant had held. Thank God. Leading me to a booth at the back of the room, Brody sat opposite me and opened the menu.
"What about you?" I asked. "What's your story?"
"About the same as yours," he said, reading the menu as he spoke to me. "I'm thirty-two years old, the proud tenant of the house across the road from you, and I own my own electrical company. Oh…but no pets."
"Girlfriend?" I asked, unable to hide my curiosity. Without answering, Brody put the menu down and studied me. His eyes reminded me of melted chocolate and seemed to have the ability to look right inside me. My pulse accelerated. Feeling self-conscious under his gaze, I picked up my menu and pretended to read it, wishing I'd never opened my mouth.
"What about you? Boyfriend, ex-boyfriend?" So he was putting the conversation back on me then, was he?
"Ex-boyfriend."
"What happened?"
"I don't really want to talk about it, if that's alright." Brody sat forward and folded his arms on the table, studying me even closer. His gaze really unnerved me. I could almost feel the clock ticking off the seconds as he stared. Finally, he seemed happy with my answer.
"Alright," he said, sitting back and picking up his menu.
I spent a very intent five minutes studying my menu. Having lunch with Brody had seemed a good idea when he suggested it, but in reality, being the only other person sitting at this table was breathtaking. All the pressure was on me to come up with witty, spontaneous conversation. That wasn't a strength of mine on a good day, let alone when I sat opposite the sexiest man I'd ever met.
Thankfully, the waitress arrived to take our drink order, giving me a minute to pull myself together. Brody had the same effect on her, but she was much more confident than I was. I watched in awe as she fluttered her eyelashes and flirted with him.
"Do you have that effect on all the ladies?" I asked once she'd left.
"I'm not having it on you." He smiled, and I must say, even though his two front teeth were slightly crooked, it was an amazing smile.
"Yeah, well I'm off men for a while." Liar. If possible, Brody's smile got bigger.
"I met Isaac the other day. He seems like a really nice guy. How long have you two been friends?"
"For about fifteen years," I answered, thankful the conversation had changed direction. "He was in my older brother's year at high school. He came to our house for a party one day, and we became instant friends. I can't imagine life without him, really."
"You're lucky to have a friend like that. What about the other one?" he asked. "Sam, was it?"
"Yes, Sam. He's my younger brother," I said, blushing.
"He's the one you're going to Sexpo with, right?" I could see the cheeky smile he was trying to hide. My blush turned up to full heat.
"It's just a laugh. Sam suggested it, and Isaac and I thought it would be fun. I mean, I don't even have a partner, so I've no need to go."
"I don't know because I've never been, but I'm pretty sure they'll have a lot of 'self-help' products there."
If I thought my face couldn't have gotten any hotter, I was wrong. I'm pretty sure I radiated enough heat to bake Brody to a crisp.
"No…umm…no, no. I'm…umm…not looking for anything like that!" I stuttered.
Brody laughed out loud, a very masculine sound that reminded me how much I missed having a man in my life. Shaking my head to clear those kinds of thoughts, I reminded myself that, while you may get companionship and a warm body to snuggle up to, eventually he would leave you broken-hearted. I looked into Brody's eyes discreetly and noticed the humor mixed with sensuality. There was absolutely no arrogance about him. My heart skipped a beat.
The palpitations kicked up to an anxiety attack when I realized what I had just felt. Brody was a very dangerous man. He had vulnerability mixed with an enormous amount of sex appeal, which was an extremely dangerous combination for a girl who now had a phobia of getting her heart broken.
I suddenly realized this lunch was a very bad idea and decided I should distance myself from him for a while. In fact, I thought forever would be a good amount of time.
I put my menu down and picked up my bag. "I'm sorry, Brody, but I've got to go," I said, standing. I saw confusion replace his laughter.
"I'm sorry, Chloe. I was only joking. I'm sure you're not looking for anything, but a good time. I mean some fun. Not that kind of fun," he stammered. "I'm sorry." He stopped and took a breath. "I didn't mean to embarrass you." He sighed, standing up next to me. This close to him, I had to look a long way up to make eye contact, and when I did, I saw he genuinely meant what he was saying.
"No, it's not that. It's just…well, nothing. It doesn't matter. I promise I'll pay for all the damage to your car, and I really appreciate you being so kind about it." Brody reached out and touched my arm. My anxiety reached the stratosphere.
"It's okay, Chloe. I know you didn't mean it, so stop worrying." He looked down at me and smiled. I felt my resolve to get out of there strengthen. Brody was a heartbreaker, and even though I knew nothing would ever happen between us, he would be far too easy to fall in lust with. "We'll have lunch another day?"
"Yeah, sure," I smiled.
Did you notice I didn't say when?
CHAPTER FOUR
Five days had passed since my attempted lunch with Brody, and I had kicked myself for being such a wimp every single one of them. I mean most girls would have jumped at the chance to have lunch with him, wouldn't they? It was only lunch! What was wrong with me that I couldn't even look at a man without thinking of the pain my ex Jack had caused? At some point I was going to have to actually listen to my counselor and move on. I needed to put it behind me, or I would live a long, lonely life.
I had seen Brody though. Admittedly, most of those views were from the safety of my lounge room window. I mean, I couldn't help it if he just happened to be in the street when I was looking out of my window. Right now though, I was enjoying a visit from Isaac. He sat on my couch stroking Theo, who was only too happy to soak up all the attention. I must say Theo had settled in with me very easily, and not once did he seem to be pining for his old life. I was obviously looking after him okay.
"You know there've been some strange things happening over at Mr. Hottie's house the last few days," said Isaac.
"What do you mean 'strange'?" I asked, pulling my feet up under me as I sat on a chair, coffee in hand.
"Haven't you noticed it? His house is directly opposite yours."
"No, unlike you, I don't spend my whole day staring out my window hoping to get a glimpse of him." Not that I was admitting, anyway.
"I do not spend the whole day looking out my window! I can't help it if I happened to glance that way when he was walking around without a shirt on, and it wasn't my fault he didn't close the blinds."
"Yeah, I'll admit I've seen that one too," I said, smiling.
"Did you see the new car in the street this morning?"
"It'll be Brody's. He's probably using it while his is being repaired," I said.
"No. He's driving that ugly, green SUV. I'm talking about the blue one."
I shrugged. "What's the big deal about a different car in the street?"
"It's not just the car. Do you know what Brody does for a living?" It was obviously a rhetorical question, as he didn't wait for my answer. "He's an electrician. Yet he drives that flashy-looking sports car. Most tradesmen I know drive trucks."
"Maybe that's his other car," I suggested. Personally, I had no idea what the big deal was.
"It's not. Anyway, he says he goes to work all day, and I do see him lea
ve around seven, but there was definitely someone in that house earlier today."
"How on earth do you know that?" I asked incredulously. Honestly, Isaac had far too much spare time on his hands.
"I saw shadows. And I've seen lights flashing at night when I know he's not home."
"Maybe he has a girlfriend who stays over sometimes. His personal life is really none of our business." I will admit I didn't like the idea of Brody having a girlfriend, but as he really was just a fantasy figure in my life, I had no control over who or what he did at night.
"No, no, no. Something just doesn't feel right over there. Not since Betty left. By the way, have you heard from her?"
"No. Should I have?"
"Well, I thought at least someone would be back to collect her mail."
"She probably put a mail re-direction in place."
"She didn't. I happened to be on the street two days ago when Brody got home, and he asked me if I knew where Betty had moved so he could forward her mail."
Now that was a bit odd. Betty had been gone for nearly two weeks now, and I knew she was always fastidious about getting her mail. It was almost a paranoia she had about someone else opening her letters. I remembered one of her letters had been mixed up with mine one day, and when I took it over to her, she grilled me about whether or not I had steamed it open.
"I don't know, Isaac. What are you suggesting?"
"I'm suggesting we go over there and check it out. I know he's at work now and doesn't usually get home until four, so we've got a good hour up our sleeve."
"We can't go over there and snoop around, if that's what you mean." I stared at my friend. He definitely needed to stop watching daytime television for a while.
"Don't you want to know if he's doing anything shady?"
"Shady? Who are you, Isaac? My mother? That's something she would say." I was rewarded with a cushion thrown at my head.
"Fine, I'll go on my own then, and when I catch him doing shady business, I'll be the hero." Isaac stood and placed Theo on the couch.
"You're serious about this, aren't you?"
"Yes. We live in a really nice neighborhood, and I, for one, don't want that to be spoilt. Even if he is incredibly hot."
"What are we going to do? Just march over there and demand to know who's there?"
"Well…we'll knock on the door, and if someone answers we'll ask for a cup of sugar." Isaac smiled, obviously thinking he was a genius for thinking up such a cunning plan. As much as I didn't want to do this, I couldn't let my friend go alone.
"Fine, but if we get caught, you're coughing up the money for my bail."
As we walked across the street, I noticed the blue sedan Isaac had been talking about and admitted to myself I had never seen it before either. Other than the new residents, not much changed on this street. People here really liked the status quo.
We opened the gate leading to Brody's house, and I could feel my heart pounding against my rib cage. I scolded myself for overreacting. Knocking on someone's front door wasn't exactly a crime. Maybe I was more afraid of who would open the door. Visions of some beautiful woman, seductively draped in Brody's bedsheets, rushed to mind as I stood behind Isaac and waited while he rang the doorbell.
After what felt like an eternity, no one came running to answer the door. Great, now we could go home. Problem solved. Isaac was not so easily satisfied though.
"Let's go around the back and check it out."
"What? What if Brody comes home? What if his girlfriend really is in there?"
"Then we'll tell her I'm looking for my cat."
Damn. That sounded plausible. I had hoped we could just go home. I should have known better though. Once Isaac had something in his head, there was no stopping him.
Brody's home was a brick, single-story, detached house built around the early 1940s with a small front and back yard. Creeping along the side, we made our way to the back. This yard was almost as ordinary as the front, with nothing but lawn covering the entire area. The only plants in sight were sprawling up the side of the house, obviously attempting to give the occupants some privacy from the neighboring home. As I noticed how spectacularly overgrown the plants were, I remembered Betty hadn't been much of a gardener. The land sloped downwards towards the fence, and this meant the windows there were higher than in the front. To see into these windows we needed something to stand on.
"Give me a hoist up," said Isaac, motioning me over to the window he was standing beneath.
"Are you kidding me? There is no way I can hold your weight!"
Isaac stood ramrod straight and put both hands on his hips, his lips drawn in a very tight line.
"Are you saying I'm fat?" he demanded.
"No," I said, quickly reassessing my tone. "I was merely saying you are a very tall male, and I am a very short female. I'm not very strong, you know." Of course I was saying he was fat, but there was no way I was saying it to his face.
"Good, because I'm not. I just have very large bones."
"Why don't you check if you can see through the back door?" I suggested, waving towards the stairs running up the back of the house. I tried to distract him, before I got the lecture on how he had inherited his bone structure from his mother's side of the family.
"Good idea. Follow me."
If my options were to stand out here in the open all on my own or stick close to the building, where hopefully anyone on the inside looking out wouldn't be able to see me, I was going to follow Isaac. Also, maybe his bulk would shield me, and whoever was in there wouldn't even know I was here. For such a large guy, he was actually very light on his feet.
I crept behind him, grabbed onto his belt, and followed him up the stairs trying to be as quiet as possible. That, however, was difficult after I heard a distinct noise coming from his back end.
"Oh my God! Isaac, what crawled up your ass and died?" I whispered, dropping my hand from his belt and waving it in front of my face.
"Sorry. I have a nervous stomach. I can't help it."
"Well, maybe snooping isn't something you should be undertaking!" I snapped, thinking how I would much rather be home, snuggled up in my armchair with Theo on my lap.
"Would you be quiet? We're supposed to be sneaking." He had the gall to chastise me when he was the one causing all the commotion.
Reaching the top of the stairs, I watched as Isaac leaned forward, trying to hear any noises coming from inside. I was barely able to see the door with his backside in my face, let alone hear anything coming from beyond the closed door, so I stood back and waited.
"I can't hear anything," he whispered. I shrugged.
"Well then, nothing weird here. Let's go home." I turned to walk down the stairs, but Isaac grabbed the back of my shirt and pulled me towards him.
"Not so fast, missy."
Damn. I reluctantly stepped back up behind him and watched as he put his ear to the door. Surprisingly, as soon as his head touched the door, it creaked open. My heart rate picked up as Isaac stared back at me with eyes the size of saucers. He turned towards the door and pushed it all the way open.
"Hello?" he called. "Is anybody home?"
Silence. He turned back to look at me again. I put my hands up in a what now gesture. Taking a step forward and over the threshold, Isaac called out again.
"Hellooo, it's Isaac from across the road. Brody, are you here?" He waited a beat. As yet, I had not moved a muscle. "I don't think anybody's home. Let's take a quick look around."
"No! You can't just go into somebody's house. There are laws against that kind of thing. It's called breaking and entering," I said sarcastically.
"Well, the door was open, so we didn't break, did we? We're just entering. Anyway, I think I saw Kitty run in the door when it swung open."
Humph. Everyone on the street knew Isaac damned well didn't own a cat, but since he was already making his way down the hallway, I quickly thought the situation through.
"I think I'll stay out here and keep a lookout.
Just in case Brody comes home early," I called after him.
Minutes later, it felt like I'd been standing there alone for hours. I looked at my watch. It was already three thirty. Brody would be home soon. I tapped my foot. I hated being the one standing out here not knowing what was going on, but I would also hate being in there feeling the apprehension the situation caused. I gave a frustrated sigh and decided I should follow him. Safety in numbers, right?
I took a step towards the door, but then thought better of it. No, staying outside would be safer. But then, I couldn't let my friend do this alone, could I?
Before I could make a final decision, I heard a high-pitched scream fill the quiet afternoon air. Isaac.
Without another thought, I ran into the house and down the hall, searching for him. I had no idea what had happened or what would greet me when I found him, but I could not stand outside and leave my friend when he needed help. Rounding the corner to what I thought was a guest room, I skidded to a halt, slamming into Isaac's back. Well, at least he wasn't hurt.
"What the hell, Isaac?" I yelled, pushing away from his back and moving to the side of him. It was then I saw what had caused him to scream. Sitting in the middle of an otherwise empty room, was a woman tied to a chair. She had tape across her mouth, and she did not look happy. Not that I blamed her.
"What the…?" I stuttered, my brain taking a second longer than necessary to process what I was looking at. "Is anybody else in the house?" I asked, my heart hammering against my rib cage.
"No. I don't think so," whispered Isaac.
The woman looked crazier by the minute and mumbled something through the tape.
"Why is she tied up?" I asked.
"Well, I don't know, do I!" snapped Isaac, looking anxiously around the room.
"What should we do?" I asked. This was not what I'd expected to find when Isaac suggested we snoop around Brody's house. To be honest, I thought the shadows he'd seen were just figments of his imagination.
"Untie her," he said, pushing me towards the woman.
"No! You!"
"I'm not untying her. What if she's dangerous?"
Killer Unleashed Page 3