Randolph had often told her that she should leave her patio light on at night to illuminate the area, discouraging anyone who might be looking for an easy apartment to break into. It was a habit she had gotten into, but now that she peeked out, she realized the light was no longer on. What a dumb time for it to burn out. Still not seeing or hearing anything, she decided that drinking wine at night caused strange dreams, and she relaxed.
Stepping away, she jolted as another sound came from the patio. Pressing her shaking fingers against her lips to quiet her breathing for fear that any noise might give her away, she leaned forward again to peek through the curtain slit.
Even with the security light not on, she could barely see a man standing on her patio, right at the sliding glass door. The moonlight gave just enough illumination for her to spy dark pants, dark shirt, and a dark cap. He lifted his glove-covered hand to the door, and unable to stay quiet, she cried, “No!”
He jerked around, saying, “Mierda,” before turning away. She bolted toward her nightstand, grabbed her phone, and dialed 9-1-1.
An hour later, sitting on her living room sofa, Randolph at her side with his arm around her, she had described what she heard and saw to a policeman. There had been no break-in, no fingerprints on her door, and she knew from the way the police were speaking to her that they either did not believe her or had no evidence to pursue an investigation.
“You don’t have a bulb in the light fixture outside,” one of the policemen said as he entered her living room through the sliding glass door.
“I do, but it must have burned out,” she protested.
Shaking his head, he repeated, “No, ma’am. There’s no bulb there at all.”
Frustrated, she knew the light had been working before. Giving up on that argument, she said, “Well, maybe he took it or something because it was there.”
“Ma’am, had you been drinking last night?”
“Just a few glasses of wine, but I hardly see what that has to do with anything!”
As the police left her apartment with a promise to increase their patrol of the neighborhood, Randolph walked down the hall toward her bedroom. Assuming he was double checking her room even though the police had just been there, she walked into the kitchen and filled a glass with water. Drinking thirstily, she set the empty glass into the sink and gripped the counter.
As Randolph walked back into the room, she looked up and said, “I know what I saw. I know what I heard. It sounds crazy, but he mentioned a place I had just been to… Mérida”
He lifted his hand, holding her phone, and said, “Darling, I believe you. Now you need to tell him.”
She stared at her phone for a couple of seconds, not understanding what Randolph was telling her. Reaching for her phone, she barely had it to her ear when she heard, “Why did you not call me after you called the police?”
Her eyes popped open wide as she stared in incredulity. “Walker?” Shooting her gaze back over to Randolph, she watched as he shrugged, feigning indifference to her glare before he moved to her sofa and settled in.
Putting the phone back to her ear, she said, “The police just left. I haven’t had a chance to do anything, much less even think to call you.” Glancing at the clock on her stove, she added, “It’s almost three o’clock in the morning, Walker.”
“Babe, the time of day or night is irrelevant. Some fucker tries to break into your apartment, I should be the second call you make after police.”
Shoulders slumping, she did not reply, not having any idea what to say. The events of the past hour continued to play through her mind, and as the adrenaline begin to wear off, she felt very tired.
“Julie? Babe? Please tell me what happened. Your neighbor only gave me the basic information, that someone was on the patio and you called the police.”
She looked over, and Randolph was motioning with his hand for her to come to him. Walking over, she plopped heavily onto the sofa and leaned her shoulder against his.
“I woke up, thinking I heard a noise on the patio. I couldn’t imagine that someone was there considering that I keep my patio light on. I also didn’t want to move the curtain to peek out and possibly be seen—”
“Good thinking!”
Continuing, she said, “At first I didn’t see anything, and realized my patio light was off. Then I heard another noise. A man, all dressed in black, moved to the sliding glass door that leads into the living room. I was so scared, I shouted ‘no’ when I ran to get my phone to call the police because he ran away. The weird thing was that he mentioned the place we had been in Mexico.” She gasped, “Oh, God, Walker, what does that mean?”
The phone line was silent for just a few seconds before Walker asked, his voice carefully measured, “Mexico? What the fuck? Did you tell the police that?”
“Of course, I did, Walker,” she snapped, wondering why he sounded so cold. “It seemed to just give them one more reason to think that I had dreamed up the entire incident. There was no evidence of somebody on my back porch by the time they got here, so I’m not sure they even believed me.”
“What place did he mention?”
“He said ‘Mérida’,” she replied.
The phone line was silent again for just a few seconds, only this time when Walker spoke, his voice was soft but firm. “Are you still with Randolph?”
“Yes, he’s sitting right here.”
“Okay, babe. Here’s what I want you to do. Get your shit packed together. Clothes, shoes, toiletries, whatever you need. I’m calling Drew and we’re coming to get you.”
“Do you think that’s necessary, Walker? I’m already planning on flying to see you at the end of the week.”
“Babe, I’m holding onto my shit here because I want to get you safe, and right now, am wishing I could jump through the phone line.”
She smiled slightly, realizing his steady voice was him trying to stay calm when he was really worried for her.
He continued, “So, yes, I think it’s necessary, and that was before someone tried to break into your apartment. Just think of it as we’re moving your vacation up a few days.”
She closed her eyes and tried to think of a reason why she should not go ahead and let him come get her but came up blank. The reality was she really wanted to see him. Wanted to feel his arms around her. Wanted to have him kiss the top of her head. Sighing, she said, “Okay.”
“I want Randolph to stay there while you’re packing everything up, and then I want you to go to his place until I get there.”
A protest was on the tip of her tongue, but she remained silent. She did not really want to be alone and figured that Randolph would not let her stay in her apartment by herself anyway.
“Okay,” she repeated. Then adding for good measure, she said, “You know you’re not always going to get your way, don’t you?”
“Only when I think you might be in danger,” he responded, his warm words soothing over her cold body. “Text me when you get settled into Randolph’s apartment, and I’ll let you know when to expect me to get there. If you have any other incidences, call the police again and then call me immediately.”
Giving her promise, she disconnected before tossing the phone to the coffee table. Randolph shifted slightly, his arm curling around her shoulders, giving her a hug.
“Before you start fretting, let me just say that the way that man acted when I told him what had happened has solidified in my mind that he’s a good man for you.”
She twisted her head and looked at him, and said, “I know he’s a good man.”
He shook his head and said, “You’re not hearing what I’m saying, Julie. He’s a good man, but he’s also a good man for you.” Giving her shoulder another squeeze, he stood and held out his hand to assist her from the sofa. “Now, let’s get some packing done.”
Five hours later, Walker walked through Randolph’s front door, immediately scooping Julie into his arms. With his powerful embrace wrapped around her, she felt safe for the first
time since she first looked out of her window. Closing her eyes, she pressed her cheek against his chest, his steady heartbeat filling her with comfort. When he pressed his lips to the top of her head and kissed her, she felt complete. They stood like that for a moment until she was aware of murmurings in the room.
Leaning her head back she smiled up at Walker and whispered, “Hey.”
“Hey, back,” he grinned, this time leaning down to capture her lips in a soft kiss.
She stepped back, seeing Drew chatting with Randolph, and immediately greeted him as well.
“Is this all your stuff?” Drew asked, bending to grab her two suitcases. When she nodded, he hefted them and with a chin lift toward Randolph headed out the door.
She introduced Walker and Randolph, listening as Walker thanked him for being such a good friend and Randolph waving away his thanks, insisting that he was thrilled to have her heading to Maine a few days earlier.
She moved into his arms, hugging him goodbye. He kissed her temple and then leaned in to whisper, “I’ve now seen him with you, I can amend my former statement. He’s not only a good man for you, he’s the right man for you.” She blinked away the tears that threatened to fall, and as she moved back into Walker’s arms, Randolph called out, “And Drew? Now that man could be the right man for me!”
Laughing, she waved goodbye as Walker led her down to the rental SUV. Within the hour, they were in the air, flying to Maine. And she wondered once again if her life was ever going to fit back into her planner.
32
Several hours later, Drew guided the plane to an easy landing at the airport near Brunswick which was not too far from where Walker lived.
Walker looked at the seat next to him and stared at Julie in the early morning light. She had fallen asleep about an hour out of Florida and had not woken up, even during landing. Drew taxied to the private hanger that LSI rented, and Walker debated on trying to wake her up or carry her to his SUV.
“I didn’t want to say anything unless she was sleeping, man,” Drew said as he unbuckled himself from the pilot’s seat, twisting around to look at Walker, “but who the fuck do you think was at her house?”
Walker shook his head slowly and said, “I’ve got no fuckin’ idea. If it wasn’t for the man calling out the town in Mexico, I would’ve easily thought it was just a random burglary. Maybe someone who thought she was still gone, although she’s been home for almost two weeks.” Scrubbing his hand over his face, he felt his rough stubble, and worry pulled at him.
“You going to take her back to your place, or do you want her to go to the safe house?” Drew asked.
“I’m going to take her back to my house and let her sleep for a couple more hours,” Walker said. “Tell Mace that I’ll be in this afternoon and bringing her with me. Until we know what’s going on, I don’t want to leave her alone.”
Drew climbed down and opened the door to the cabin. Trying not to jiggle her, Walker unbuckled her from her seat and bent to pick her up. Julie’s eyes fluttered open, and she looked around in sleepy-eyed surprise, obviously trying to figure out where she was. When her gaze landed on his, she said, “Oh, are we here? I must have fallen asleep.”
Scooping her up into his arms, he chuckled. “Babe, you’re so exhausted you’ve been crashed for over two hours.”
She tried to protest, saying, “I can walk, you know.”
Hugging her tightly, he replied, “I know. I just like having you here.” Drew followed behind with her bags before giving them a wave goodbye.
“It’ll only take us about twenty minutes to get to my apartment,” he said. Shooting a glance toward her, he added, “I thought we could get a couple more hours of sleep, and then I need to go into my work.”
She turned and looked at him, her voice soft, and said, “That’s okay, Walker. I know you need to work. I’ll be just fine at your place—”
“Oh, hell no, babe. I don’t want you out of my sight unless you’re with someone I trust.”
She stared at him, her brow crinkled in worry. “Really? Do you really think I’m in danger? I mean maybe it was just…I don’t know…random?”
“Sweetheart, I don’t know what to think. But I think we’re taking a big chance if we just assume that it was a random break-in attempt. But don’t worry. The people I work with will already be looking at things by the time we get there. Hopefully, we’ll have an answer soon.”
Reaching over, he engulfed her cold hand in his much larger, warmer one. Hoping to take the frown from her face, he added, “Just think of it this way. We can start our vacation together sooner.”
That earned him a grin which he accepted readily. He drove through an older section of town, parking outside a block of brick apartments. After assisting her out of his SUV, he reached into the back and grabbed her bags. They were not heavy, but it also looked as though she had not packed light. Inwardly grinning at the thought that she might be staying for a while, he ushered her into the front door after entering the security code. Immediately to their right was the elevator, and with a short ride up to the third floor, he led her to his apartment.
Entering, he set her bags down but suddenly found himself unsure what she would think of his space. The wooden floors were clean but slightly worn. The outer walls of the rooms were exposed brick, and the inner walls were painted a basic white.
She walked around slowly, her gaze taking in everything. She moved past his kitchen, through his living room with its comfortable but clearly masculine furniture, and over to the large picture window that overlooked a small park behind the apartment buildings. Wishing she would say something, he stood rooted to the spot, his palms beginning to sweat.
Suddenly, she whirled around, and with a wide smile announced, “I love your place.”
Blowing out a breath he had not realized he was holding, he met her smile with one of his own as he stalked forward. Wrapping his arms around her, he kissed the top of her head and said, “I know you’re exhausted, but do you want to eat something before we try to take a nap?”
She shook her head, and said, “No, but I could definitely use the bathroom.”
While she was in the bathroom, he brought her bags into the bedroom. His apartment had one large master bedroom and one smaller one that was set up with the daybed as a sofa, a desk in one corner, and a few weights in the middle of the floor for when he felt like a workout without going to the gym. He definitely wanted to share the bed with her but also did not want to make any assumptions.
As she came out of the bathroom, he rushed, “I want you to have this bed, and if you’d rather sleep by yourself, I can take the daybed in the other room or the sofa.”
With a sweet smile curving her lips, Julie walked over and encircled his waist with her arms, once again placing her cheek on his chest. “I’ve been waiting to share a bed with you since you were at my place." Leaning her head back, her grin widened, and she added, “But as tired as I am and as much as I want to be with you, I’d even take the back of the Jeep.”
Throwing his head back, he laughed. "No worries, my bed is much more comfortable than the Jeep.” A few minutes later, his words proved true as they fell asleep, curled up in each other’s arms in his large, king-sized bed.
Julie had no idea what to expect from Walker’s workplace, but leaving town and driving out into the country was not what she expected. After he turned down a long drive that meandered through thick woods and popped out at the edge of a lush, green meadow, the ocean in the background, a tall, white lighthouse next to a large, white, red-roofed house was a total surprise.
For a moment, she stared in stunned silence as he parked his SUV next to the house alongside other SUVs, trucks, and a few motorcycles. Finally coming out of her stupor, she swung her head around, finding Walker looking at her, a questioning gaze on his face.
“This is amazing, Walker!” she enthused. “I had no idea that the Lighthouse Security was actually going to be at a lighthouse.” Swinging her head back around
so that she could view the ocean down below what appeared to be a cliff behind the house, she repeated, “Amazing. Absolutely gorgeous.”
He reached over and took her hand, then said, “Before we go inside, let me explain how this will work. We’ll be meeting with some of my other coworkers here in the house. If I know the woman who runs the place, she’ll probably have food ready for all of us. They’ll want you to be comfortable. I want you to be comfortable. The only thing that’s important is your safety.”
She smiled softly, his concern touching. “Don’t worry about me, Walker. I’m good.”
He leaned over, kissing her lips gently. A sigh slipped from his lips, his warm breath washing over her face. “Waking up with you and knowing we needed to get here, not having time to make love to you the way I really wanted, was hard. Now, kissing you may have been a mistake because all I want to do is take you back to my bed.”
Her gaze dropped to his lap, noticing the bulge at his crotch. Unable to hold back a grin, she laughed as he shot her a warning gaze. He adjusted himself before climbing down from the SUV and assisting her down as well. With fingers linked, he walked her into the house.
Entering, she should not have been surprised at the number of people inside considering how many vehicles were parked nearby. But seeing the hustle and bustle of large men and a few women moving between the kitchen and a door leading to outside tables, she found herself pressing closer against Walker’s side.
Recognizing a familiar face, she smiled at Babs who elbowed her way through the mass of men, pulling her in for a hug.
“Good to see you again, Julie,” Babs said. Turning toward the crowd, Babs stuck her fingers in her mouth and whistled loudly, effectively bringing quiet to the group.
Shaking his head, Walker laughed. “Everyone, I’d like you to meet Julie Baxter.”
An older, stocky woman with short gray hair, warm eyes, and a bright smile came from behind the counter. Shaking Julie’s hand, she said, “I’m Marge Tiddle, housekeeper here. Over there,” she nodded toward a man with a twinkle in his eye and his gray hair cut military short, “is my husband, Horace. Welcome to the lighthouse.” Looking at Walker, she said, “Take her on outside. Might as well introduce her to everyone before we sit down to eat.”
Walker: Lighthouse Security Investigations Page 18