I fall back on my ass, crying as he crouches in front of me. My face covered with my hands, I hear his voice. “What is wrong with you?”
I uncover my face, and the words come out before I can think to stop them. “Please, will you let me go home? I-”
His black eyes go cold and a chill runs down my spine. “This is your home. Emily, look at me.” He grips my chin too tightly and jerks my face up. “Remember one thing. I will kill you before I let you go. I bought this house for you, for us. You are mine now. Don’t forget, and don’t ask me again.”
His voice is hard. If not for the fact that I just barfed, I think I’d be sick again. The dead look in his scary eyes tells me that he probably would kill me before he ever let me go.
“Now get up, and clean up this mess.” He jerks his head in the direction of a water hose.
***
This is what I’ve been dreading all day. Bedtime. I’ve spend every moment with him today. Now, he’s crossing the room wearing silky, black pajama pants and no shirt. Of course, that’s because he gave me the matching shirt to sleep in. After my shower, I searched high and low for a pair of regular panties. There’s nothing but skimpy thongs in the drawer though. The idea of sleeping next to him with just a thong between me and him terrifies me.
I know I won’t be sleeping. I’ll have to fake it. Maybe when He goes to sleep I can look around.
Noah gazes at me with a soft look that I want to look away from. He lays down beside me. My heart starts to beat hard. What if he tries to touch me? Wants sex? What if he won’t wait, like we talked about in the tub today? Would he rape me?
My only hope is knowing that he is convinced that he loves me. If I can convince him that I love him and want to wait, maybe he will too. Problem is, I’m so scared of him that I’m having a hell of a hard time pretending to love him.
I cringe inside when he reaches over and touches my hair. Leaning up on his elbow, he watches my lips as he traces them with the same finger.
“My angel, have you thought more about my proposal?”
I forgot all about it. Hard to believe maybe, with this rock on my finger, but I did. If I say yes, he’s sure to believe me, right? I force my eyes to his, and silently tell myself not to bite his finger.
“I have. Ask me again.”
He smiles at me. “Will you marry me?”
“Yes.”
A grin breaks his face open. I force a smile as he takes my face in his hand.
“I love you.”
“I love you, too.”
He kisses me. A deep invasion. I’m sure he thinks he’s being sensual, sexy, but it makes me want to cry. Of course, I kiss him back with as much enthusiasm as I can muster. I feel his hand on my thigh, drifting up to my hip, pulling my body into his. His breathing sharpens, his mouth moves to my throat.
“Do you know how happy I am to have you in my bed?” He pants against my skin. He’s managed to pop two buttons open, pressing hot lips to the exposed cleavage. His tongue darting over my skin.
My heart feels like it’s going to explode as I fight the urge to scramble away from him. If I want to live, I have to pretend that I want this too. I have to be disappointed when I tell him to stop. He palms my breast in his hand, groaning.
“Emily I want you.”
He scoots on top of me, his weight pressing me into the bed. Nothing between me and his arousal but this satin as he presses it between my thighs. He jerks my shirt up. “God, you’re beautiful.”
I let him stare at my body. He’s already seen it anyway.
“It will be better on our wedding night.”
He blows out a breath, leaning over and kissing my stomach. “Are you really going to make me wait? I’ll be jerking off in the bathroom every day.” He laughs, watching my face as he drags his mouth up between my breasts.
I suck in a breath, trying to appear turned on. I bite my lip and wiggle under him. I touch biceps that need to be in the gym.
“I’m sorry. But won’t it be better when I’m all yours, forever?”
He smiles at me, crashing into my lips. “Do you like these panties?” He pops the waistband playfully.
I nod. “They are lovely.”
“You look sexy in them.” He kisses me again.
“I’m glad you like it.”
We end up making out for a while. He lays on top of me and I let him kiss me, run his hands over my body. He laughs when I tease him and slap his hands away from my panties. He’s buying it. He’s having a good time, I see in in the sparkle in his black eyes. He tells me over and over how good I feel, how much he loves touching me, how it turns him on.
At some point, he gets up and disappears into the bathroom. I jerk my shirt down, turn the lamp off, and curl up under the blanket. Maybe if he takes long enough he’ll believe I’ve gone to sleep.
My eyes closed, I slow my breathing. Laying on my side, I hear him come out. I feel him get into bed, press up against me. His hand on my ass, rubbing it. I don’t budge. His face in the back of my neck, he eventually snakes the hand around and cups a breast, relaxing against me.
I wait what feels like hours. I hear soft snores coming from him when I finally get up. If he wakes, I plan to tell him I got hungry or had to pee or something. He rolls onto his back, still snoring as I slip out of his grip.
Now, to find that phone. Isaiah must be worried sick. I saw Noah empty his pockets into the top, right hand drawer.
On tiptoe, I move. I slide the drawer open and will my eyes to see in the dark. I can’t quite make anything out, so I reach in and feel around. I feel a wallet, money clip. No keys, damn it. He must have them hidden. Then I feel it, a phone. I push a button and see it’s mine, right beside his. Mine is still holding a charge, so I take it and tiptoe out of the room.
***
Isaiah
I lay in bed staring at Emily’s empty pillow. Burying my face in it to catch the scent of her shampoo, I feel tears well up in my eyes as my phone notifies me of a text.
I grab it, maybe Patterson found something. Then I laugh. It’s almost midnight.
My heart explodes at Emily’s name on my screen.
“Isaiah, are you there? I don’t know where I am, he won’t tell me. I’m not hurt, but he wants me to marry him. We are in this little house and seems like we are in the woods by a lake. I don’t see anything I recognize. I’m scared to call, he’s asleep. Are you there? Please be awake.”
What if it’s him? I text back with shaking hands.
“Who is this?”
“It’s me, baby. Emily. He’s asleep. I found the phone.”
“Fuck... are you ok? Has he hurt you? Call 911.”
“I can’t tell them where I am.”
“Can you call me?”
“I’m scared to. I don’t want to wake him up. I don’t know where he’s keeping his car keys either. He hasn’t hurt me. Can’t you find me?”
Tears fall, my shoulders shake. She’s alive.
“I’m trying. We talked to a lot of people today, no one could tell us where he went. Said he was going off to get married. I’m going to find you. Tell me everything about where you are.”
She shoots off a long text describing everything about the place. The remote surroundings, no neighbors. Then I get an idea.
“Send a text to 911. Just tell them the truth, but you don’t know where you are and ask them what city or county that your text reached. Every city has their own 911. It will tell me where to start looking if they can’t find you.”
She agrees. Tells me she loves me in case she doesn’t get back to me.
I’m pacing fifteen minutes later, wondering if she got caught or the battery died. I can’t text her unless she texts me first, knowing she would clear the messages so he doesn’t find out if he catches her.
“I’m back. Ellis County.”
“I take in a breath. That’s just south of Dallas County. What did they say?”
“They are going to have a deputy search the ar
ea. Said without an address it’s the best they can do. I told them my name. She said I’m missing.”
“We will find you, I promise. I’ll be getting in the car as soon as I hang up and heading to Ellis County to find you. I can visit the county clerk’s office in the morning and request his records, maybe get an address for him.”
“You have to hurry. He thinks we are engaged, he got me a ring. I’m scared he’s going to want to go to Vegas soon. I told him I won’t sleep with him unless we are married. I was trying to keep him off me without making him angry.”
I’m shaking so bad that I can’t hardly text her back. She’s smart.
I’m going to kill this bastard when I get my hands on him.
“Good thinking. I love you so much, baby. Do what you have to, stay alive. I’m coming.”
“What do I do if he wants to go to Vegas? If you don’t get here in time?”
“Marry him if you have to. We can get that annulled. I’ll find this place. If you are gone when I get there, I’ll head to Vegas. If you can, leave me a message. I’ll break into the place if you’re not there. I’m coming for you baby. Look for an opportunity to run away.”
“Please hurry. If I have to marry him, he’ll expect me to have sex with him. I’m scared he’ll really hurt me when I reject him. I just heard a noise, I have to go. Please hurry.”
I stare at my phone for a full thirty seconds before my head comes back to me. Then I roar and put my fist through the sheetrock in my bedroom wall. If he touches her, if he hurts her.... I just can’t think about it.
I have to keep my head clear. I can’t let myself think about that right now. I can’t find them if I’m focused on the wrong thing. Blood drips from my knuckles as I toss my phone onto the bed.
Time for a road trip.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Noah
I roll over in bed and Emily isn’t beside me. I surge of panic bubbles within my chest. My first thought is to remember that my car keys are locked securely in my study. Code lock on the door and a second key lock on the drawer.
Maybe she got thirsty. I get up and walk slowly into the living room, finding her in the kitchen. She’s over the sink with a glass of water. The black, silk top hangs to her knees, rolled up cuffs halfway up her arms. The sight of her bare legs and mussed hair makes me grin. Judging by last night she will love what I have in store today. She sees me and sets down the glass.
“I woke up thirsty.”
“Get enough water? Come back to bed.” I tug on her sleeve.
She smiles a small smile at me, nodding.
After a trip to the bathroom, I walk into the bedroom and see her curled up in the dark under the blankets. Being cautious, I check my drawer. Both phones in place. Blowing out a breath of relief, I close the drawer quietly and get back into bed.
After waking, making coffee, I enter my study. I woke up before Emily, so it leaves me time to get some work done. I open my email and start to answer one after the other. Some I refer to Alex, running the show while I’m away. Others I refer to district managers like Caroline.
Thinking of Caroline irritates me. I told her I’d pay her to be available for me, but turned out that I didn’t need her after all. Short of asking her to be my alibi for the night I killed Julie. I tap my pen on my calendar for a moment. Maybe not such a bad Idea. Glancing at the clock, I see it’s almost ten in the morning. She should be in her office, or visiting stores at this hour. I dial her cell phone.
“Caroline here.”
“Morning, sunshine,” I laugh, sarcastically.
“Noah, I thought you were on vacation.”
“I am. I’m calling in my favor anyway.”
“Which is?” Her voice goes up an octave.
“Where were you night before last?”
“At home. Gary was out of town for a conference until last night.”
I smile, leaning back in the leather chair. “That’s perfect. I need you to say you were with me, should anyone ask you.”
“Um…. all right… what were we doing?”
I grin. Getting my money’s worth and annoying the hell out of her is so easy.
“We were at my house, in bed. From about seven until early the next morning.”
She starts to cough and sputter. I chuckle. “You want me to say I was at your house having sex with you? Are you kidding? I’m engaged.”
“I don’t give a shit. I gave you a lot of money. I can take it back, fire you, and ruin you for any other job in this field in the whole state. Your fiancé isn’t my problem.”
“But if he finds out… Noah… come on. Can’t we have been in a business meeting or something? How am I supposed to convince anyone that….”
“That you wanted to fuck me? Oh honey, I’m sure you can do it. You can lie with the best, doll face. You got it?”
A sigh. There is a tremble in her voice when she finally answers me. “All right. If anyone asks I’ll tell them. If I have to make up details….”
“You’ve never been to my house. I’ll call my housekeeper, she will let you in so you can look over my bedroom and the house in case you have to give up details. Make sure that you touch things, lay in the bed, go through the bathroom. The housekeeper will be following you so don’t think about doing anything funny in my house. Got it? You go today. If you don’t, I’ll do just what I said.”
“Okay. Noah, why do you need an alibi?” her voice is small.
“I said no questions. Just do it. Tell me you understand.”
“I do.”
“Good. If they ask for anything else, I’ll tell you this. I like rough sex. I like women that like rough sex. You and I worked late that night and one thing led to another. We had some drinks, scotch, and ended up having sex.”
“Fine.”
I laugh. “Bye, lover.”
“Bye.”
I blow out a breath. That’s done. Now to set up my plans for today. I open up the internet and proceed to book us a flight to Las Vegas for this afternoon. Afterwards, I get up and pack two bags for us, sure to be careful with the slinky white gown I’ve chosen for Emily. She sleeps in the middle of the bed, laying on her stomach. The curtains are drawn as I watch her from inside the closet, tossing clothes for both of us into the suitcases.
She’s finally going to be mine. By tonight I’ll be married to her, inside her, and she’s going to beg for me to do it again and again.
God, I can’t wait.
***
Isaiah
It’s a long drive. Even longer when you leave in the middle of the night, and you haven’t slept a wink. I down the last of my coffee with a double shot of espresso as I pull into the parking lot of the Ellis County Courthouse. I called the clerk from the road, and she was more than happy to pull the files for me and put my name on them when I did a bit of flirting with her.
I walk into the county clerk’s office. It’s empty except for the brunette behind the desk. She’s staring at a computer screen through glasses. Looks to be in her thirties. The sound of the door draws her attention up, her eyes drift over me and a smile hits her face.
“Hi, are you Abby?” I grin, leaning casually on the counter. I lift my sunglasses, placing them on my head and I meet brown eyes.
“Yes, I am. Can I help you?”
“Well, you’ve already been so helpful. Frankly, I’m a bit hurt that you don’t remember me. We spoke on the phone this morning.”
Recognition hits her face and a shy grin pulls her lips up. “Oh, you must be Detective Penrose?”
I stick out my hand. “Guilty. Call me Isaiah.” I wink.
She takes my hand, a blush coming to her cheeks. “How could I forget? Isaiah.” She giggles.
I watch her pull a manila folder off of her desk and open it. “Well, I’m glad that I’m memorable.”
She blushes again. Her gaze drifts over my face, down my chest and back up. I’m wearing a plain blue T-shirt with POLICE across the front. My gun belt, with my badge hanging off
the side. When I find Emily, I want to be clearly marked as a cop.
She slides a single page report across the desk to me. “Is this what you were looking for?”
I take it. It’s got one address on it. Not being familiar with this county, I’ll have to Google it. I look up at her with a broad grin.
“It is. Thanks, beautiful. Do I need to sign something?”
She shakes her head. “No, don’t worry about it. It’s open records anyway. How long are you in town?”
I fold the paper carefully. “Just today. This investigation is moving fast, sweetheart. Thanks again, you don’t know how much you’ve helped.”
I walk backwards towards the door. She gives me a “your welcome” and I head back to the car.
My phone tells me it’s one fifteen. Google tells me that the drive to this address will be about forty five minutes. My heart rate picks up speed and my mouth goes dry at the thought of finally finding her.
The drive takes a little longer, thanks to a big accident on the freeway. I sit, immobile for close to thirty minutes before traffic finally starts to crawl again. As a police officer, you would think that I would show patience, understanding the process of accident investigation, closing down a busy street, getting vehicles moved off the roadway. Normally, maybe so.
Not today.
I slam my fist on the wheel and let a stream of filthy words break from my lips. When every moment counts, when I’m so close I can taste it, I get this crap.
My phone rings. I glance over, hoping for Emily. It’s Patterson. I left her a somewhat garbled message at four am this morning as I was gathering up my stuff to leave.
“Hello.”
“What in the hell are you doing? Your message….”
I proceed to tell her the whole story. Emily’s phone call, where I am, and the info I got from the county clerk.
Patterson sighs loudly. “You better go over there with cops, Isaiah. Don’t get yourself killed.”
“I don’t have a warrant. I don’t need cops to knock on a door.”
Crazy Love Page 18