by Katie Reus
He continued to block her body with his. A woman who Ivan guessed must be Ruby was talking to a policeman. She gave Julieta a shaky wave when she saw them.
“Yeah,” Ivan said. “He’s a detective. You know Grant Caldwell?” Since she knew Porter, Grant’s brother, Ivan guessed she must. When she nodded he continued. “That’s Carlito Duarte, Grant’s former partner.”
“Is he…do you not trust him?” she whispered, her voice shaky as she looked up at him with surprising trust, letting her arm drop from his waist and putting a couple inches between them.
He didn’t like the distance but gave her space. Eyebrows drawn together, he shook his head. “No, he’s a good detective. Why?”
“You just…you look like you don’t like him.”
“It has nothing to do with him. It’s the fucking situation. I don’t like that you’ve been getting texts like the ones I’ve read or that your place was vandalized the same day. These two things are related and it’s stalker behavior.” And he was worried it was going to escalate even more. Situations like this didn’t go away on their own.
But…the truth was, even if he did like Duarte as a detective, the guy was too damn good looking and he didn’t want Julieta noticing. Caveman? Yes. But he couldn’t help the way he felt. Ivan was straight but even he could appreciate the GQ thing Duarte had going on. Perfect bronzed skin, gray eyes, and model cheekbones. Yeah, he couldn’t even believe he was having these thoughts. But she brought out something primal in him.
Had from the moment he’d seen her in her shop two months ago.
Before she could respond, Julieta’s employee with long, blonde hair hurried over. “I’m so sorry about the store. I know you had plans today, but at least there’s no real damage, just broken glass.” The woman flicked him a questioning glance before looking back at Julieta, as if she was asking who the hell he was.
“You did everything right, Ruby, and I’m just glad you weren’t hurt.” She motioned to him. “This is Ivan. He’s a friend.”
Friend? Yeah, he didn’t plan to be in that category for long.
Ruby’s expression was curious but she nodded at him once then wrapped her arms around herself as she moved closer to Julieta. “This is crazy and so pointless. There’s never any crime here. I can’t believe some asshole did this in the middle of the day either. What if there had been kids around?” Even though she phrased it as a question, it was clear she wasn’t looking for an answer.
“The police will figure it out,” Julieta murmured, but Ivan could hear the insecurity in her voice.
Duarte took that moment to approach, giving them all a polite smile—and a subtle, but appreciative, look at Julieta. Ivan clenched his jaw. She was beautiful. Of course the other man would notice. Didn’t mean he liked it.
Ruby murmured something about cleaning up the glass since she’d already taken pictures for insurance and hurried away.
“Surprised to see you here,” Duarte said to Ivan as he held out a hand.
“I’m with Julieta.” There was an edge to his voice the detective didn’t miss.
He gave Ivan a small, almost imperceptible nod. “Ms. Mederos, I’m sorry about your window, but it could have been a lot worse.”
“Thank you,” she said softly. “Though I’m surprised they sent out a detective for this.”
He shot Ivan a quick look before focusing on her again. “This is a nice area and… Grant Caldwell called me. Said his sister-in-law Lizzy asked him if I could come down here because you two are friends.”
“Thank you. I hope you didn’t go to any trouble, but I appreciate it.”
He nodded again. “Your employee told my officer that you’ve got surveillance inside and outside your shop, correct?”
“Yes.”
“That’s great. We’re going to want a copy of your recordings. There were also a couple witnesses who each got a partial license plate. Combined with the video feed I’m hopeful we can get something useful and wrap this up quickly. Situations like this usually end up being petty vandalism unless you have any former employees who have a beef with you?”
“Well, I’ve received some strange texts the past couple days…” Biting her bottom lip, Julieta looked at Ivan questioningly and he realized she was asking for help.
Duarte looked at Ivan who pulled out Julieta’s cell phone. He swiped in the code he’d memorized and pulled up the text stream from the last number before handing it to the detective.
The other man’s eyebrows rose as he looked at it. He scribbled something down in his notepad. “These two came in today?” he asked without looking up.
Julieta nodded, wrapping her arms around herself. “Yes.”
The detective frowned and glanced across the street at the thinning crowd.
“I recorded the crowd as soon as she got that last text, which was just as we arrived,” Ivan said.
Duarte’s head snapped around and he nodded approvingly. “Good. Send it to me.”
“I will.”
The detective looked back at Julieta. “I’d like to talk to you inside where it’s more private. I want to go over a list of any employees you’ve let go recently, anything else strange that’s been happening. Basically anything that might be important.”
“Of course. Ruby told me there was a note or something on the rock that broke my window. What did it say?”
“Ah…it says the word ‘whore’ in red marker. With what you’ve just told me, I don’t think this is just vandalism.”
Julieta sighed, looking suddenly vulnerable. “Yeah, I don’t either.”
Ivan’s protective instincts flared even brighter as he watched her. Whoever had done this wasn’t getting away with it. It took all his control not to pull her into his arms and comfort her, but she needed to tell Duarte everything she knew and Ivan had a couple calls to make. And he wasn’t sure if she’d push him away or not. They weren’t at that level of friendship or anything else yet. “Why don’t you head into your store with Detective Duarte and I’ll be inside in a sec?”
She seemed surprised he wasn’t coming with her but nodded. “Okay.”
As soon as Julieta was safe inside with the detective Ivan pulled out his phone and called the first person he figured could help with the immediate issue.
Vincent picked up on the second ring. “Hey Ranger, what’s up?” he asked, the Ranger reference to Ivan’s Army days.
Normally they gave each other grief about their former military branches since Vincent had been a SEAL before coming to work for Red Stone Security, but today Ivan couldn’t joke around. “Hey, you know Julieta Mederos?”
Vincent had been with the company a lot longer than Ivan. “Yeah, man. Jordan loves her shop. She okay?”
“Not exactly. Someone broke the window at her store today. I’m sure she’s got insurance but it needs to be patched up before tonight.” Which was only a couple hours away. “Since your family seems to know everyone in the city, I figured you’d know someone who could take care of this last minute.”
“My mom’s next door neighbor owns a contracting business. I’ll see if he can send someone down. If not, I’ll do it.”
Ivan smiled, not surprised by the offer. He’d do it himself, but he wasn’t leaving Julieta for a second. “Thanks, I owe you.”
“Yeah you do, and I’ll collect.” His friend’s voice was teasing. “I know the address so I’ll text you when I find someone. We’ll get this taken care of.”
“Thanks. Listen, it’s not just a broken window. She’s been receiving some stalker-like texts too.”
“Shit. Is there anything I can do?”
“Not right now. I’ve just become aware of the texts and I’m going to help her but I wanted to let you know.”
They talked for a few more minutes, and after they disconnected he emailed the video he’d recorded to Lizzy with a brief rundown of what was going on and a promise to call her later tonight. First he wanted to talk more to Julieta. Next he sent the video to Duarte.
As he was sliding his cell into his jacket pocket he received a text from Vincent. Relief slid through him when he read that his friend had come through and someone was on the way to temporarily board up the window frame.
As he stepped inside he found Duarte and Julieta wrapping up. Standing next to a rack of sheer black and pink thongs, she glanced over as he strode toward her. Julieta smiled tentatively. He forced his mind not to wander to thoughts of what she’d look like wearing one of those thongs and nothing else.
“We’re done here so unless you need me I’m going to speak to Ruby again,” Duarte said.
Ivan shook his head. “I’m good.”
Once they were alone, he went against that voice in his head telling him to give Julieta space and gently cupped her cheek. “How’re you doing?”
She blinked in surprise, but actually leaned into his touch for a moment before she pulled back and he let his hand fall. He didn’t want to let go though. No, he wanted to slide his hand through her thick hair and hold her in place as he devoured her mouth with his. “Okay I guess. I just can’t believe anyone I know would do this.”
“You never said if you’ve let anyone go recently?”
“I…fired someone a couple months ago. Right after I met Mina actually. I wasn’t supposed to be working the day you two came in, but because he’d called in sick, again, I had to cover his shift.” Her dark eyes filled with doubt. “I still can’t imagine him sending me those texts though.”
“What’s his name?” Ivan demanded.
She opened her mouth then shook her head. “I don’t think I should tell you.”
His eyebrows raised in surprise. “Why not?”
“Because you look as if you’re ready to kill someone.”
“I’m not going to touch the guy.” Yet. He kept that to himself though. “Red Stone has resources the police don’t. I just want to help.” And keep her safe.
“Okay, but only if you promise not to do anything stupid because I really don’t think he’s involved. River Aguilar is the last person I fired. Before him I haven’t let anyone go since I opened almost three years ago.”
“River?”
“Yeah, I know. He told me his mother was a hippie type. Not that he’s that much different. He was always late and more often than not I’m pretty sure he was high. He’s actually the only man I’ve ever had work for me, but he applied and seemed eager to work. I hired him because I thought he’d appeal to my female clientele, but he was more trouble than he was worth. I fired him two months ago so why would he start bothering me now?”
Ivan lifted his shoulders casually. “Maybe he hasn’t been able to find a job since you let him go and he blames you for his problems. Or maybe he’s just fixated on you. Even if he’s not the psycho bothering you, it’s a starting point.”
“I guess.” Her gaze trailed to the window and she looked back at him, almost apologetically. “Listen, it was really sweet of you to come with me, but you don’t have to stay. I’m going to call one of my brothers and see if I can get this window boarded up and—”
“It’s already taken care of. I know you’ll likely need to go through your insurance company to get the glass replaced but I’ve got someone coming to patch it for now. They’ll get it done before nightfall.”
Her mouth opened a fraction, her eyebrows drawing together slightly as if she didn’t know what to say. “Thank you, that’s…just, thank you.”
He nodded, not wanting her thanks. “It’s no big deal.”
“It’s a big deal to me. You just saved me a huge headache. Listen, I feel like we got off on the wrong foot before and I’d really like to take you to dinner tonight as a thank you. My family owns Montez’s Grill, a restaurant the next block over so we wouldn’t have to go far.” Her voice shook and the words came out in a rush, as if she’d been practicing them.
Dinner with Julieta? Hell yeah. “I’d love to. But you’re not paying.”
She pursed her lips together but that wasn’t even up for discussion. He might have no experience with relationships but he wanted to take care of her any way he could.
Chapter 4
As he cruised by Julieta’s house for the sixth time, he made a vow that this would be the last. One more drive-by wouldn’t hurt. The street was quiet and she should be back in another hour or so.
The police shouldn’t have taken more than a couple hours to question her. But she’d have had to get her shop window fixed or patched. He’d forgotten to factor that in. Damn it. He was just wasting his time right now. He wouldn’t get another sighting of her today. His jaw clenched and he tried to bury his rage and lust whenever he thought of her.
She was so fucking hot he couldn’t tamp down his lust though. For a while he’d even thought she might like him. She’d always been so friendly to him, smiling openly as if he meant something. Then because of her, he no longer had a job and no way to see her anymore. Not without being obvious.
He wondered if she was just playing hard to get with him. Some women did that. Said one thing, but meant another.
He rubbed a hand over his crotch, but stopped at the sight of Julieta’s two-door car coming down the road toward him. Maybe he’d get to see her after all. Adrenaline slammed through him, making his entire body tremble.
Keeping his gaze forward, he maintained a slow speed and tried not to look at her. His windows were tinted so it didn’t matter because she wouldn’t see him. But he didn’t like the urge he felt, like he needed to see her. If he didn’t keep control of himself, he got sloppy and forgot things.
At the last second he looked over, but it wasn’t her driving. Disappointment filled his veins, the darkness inside him spreading through him in a surge of rage. The woman behind the wheel had dark hair and looked Hispanic but it definitely wasn’t Julieta. Frowning, he slowed even more and looked in the rearview mirror to see the woman pull into Julieta’s driveway.
The vehicle behind Julieta’s car did the same, the truck pulling up to a stop next to it. He couldn’t see the driver, but a moment later the truck reversed then turned back in his direction.
He immediately turned down one of the side streets that would loop back around by her house. The subdivision was in one of the older, established neighborhoods and had multiple signs proclaiming they had a neighborhood watch. He had a plan if he got stopped by anyone. He’d just say he was lost and looking for the name of a street similar to hers. It was in the next subdivision over so it was believable.
When he looped back by her house, the car was sitting in the driveway, which wasn’t normal for Julieta. She always parked it in her garage. Her friend must have been dropping it off. He wondered why, but didn’t care as he parked across the street and hurried over to her driveway.
He was taking a risk, but it was dusk now, and he decided to use the cover. His entire body was shaking with a mix of fear and pure adrenaline as he reached her car. If her friend had left the car for her, she’d have likely left Julieta’s keys somewhere. He quickly searched on top of all the wheels and behind them, only pausing to glance around the neighborhood to see if he was being watched.
Huge bushes blocked him from her closest next door neighbor but that didn’t mean the ones across the street couldn’t see him. When he came up empty, he tried the driver’s side door and was surprised when it opened.
His palms were damp as he hurriedly searched her car, checking under the mats, in between the seats and… Bingo. He grinned as he pulled up one of the cup holders in the back console and found a set of keys tucked under the holder. It had been slightly higher than the one next to it and if he hadn’t been looking so intently, he might have missed it. She had a little frog charm dangling from the set.
There was a hardware store in the small shopping center two miles from here. It wouldn’t take him long at all to get a copy of her keys made then return them.
This was a sign that he was supposed to find these keys, he was certain. Now he had easy access to her home and work. He figured h
e’d tease her a little more before he made his move. It wasn’t like he had anything else to do thanks to her. And the anticipation of waiting until he got to fuck her, for her to be completely at his mercy, was the most intense adrenaline rush. Hardly anything compared to it.
* * *
For the tenth time in as many seconds Julieta wondered if she’d made a mistake bringing Ivan to her parents’ restaurant. They weren’t working tonight and the place was within walking distance of her store, which was the only reason she’d originally suggested it. But now she realized her cousins and maybe even her brothers would be here.
Of course they would get the wrong idea considering she’d never brought a date with her to the restaurant before. Not that this was even a date. Just a thank you. The truth was, she didn’t want to be alone right now and she always felt safe at her family’s place.
Strangely, Ivan made her feel safe too. Safe and a whole lot of other things she didn’t want to be feeling. For months she’d been living with the impression that he didn’t even like her. But after what he’d said in the elevator and the protective way he’d been acting since then it was clear she’d been wrong. She had no clue how to act now that she knew he more than just liked her. That maybe…he was attracted to her as much as she was to him.
As they walked down the quiet sidewalk she cleared her throat. “I didn’t even think to ask if you had other plans tonight. Don’t feel like you need to have dinner with me.”
Ivan snorted softly but didn’t look at her as he continually scanned the street and sidewalk for danger, his body language clear that he was ready for any potential threat. “There’s nowhere else I’d rather be,” he said with quiet intensity.
The truth lacing his words stunned her. She didn’t know how to respond and was thankful when they reached the front door of her family’s restaurant. The place spanned two streets because it was on a corner, with outside table seating normally on both sidewalks. Tonight only one side was open because they were renovating the other. No surprise, the limited outside seating was already packed, likely because of the beautiful October weather. The ten round tables situated under either awnings attached to the side of the building or beneath individual umbrellas, were filled mostly with couples. Soft Latin jazz pumped through hidden speakers on the patio as people talked, laughed and drank. Peacefulness welled up inside her at the sight and just like that, she started to relax. “This is it.”