Forbidden Attraction: A Contemporary Romance Box Set

by K. C. Crowne

  The best I could do was try to get some rest and see what happened in the morning. Perhaps he finally found something.

  “Hello?” Greg’s voice came through the phone.

  “It’s about time you called me back. What part of the end of Thursday didn’t you understand?” I asked.

  “I did my best, but I didn’t have anything for you,” he replied.

  “Do you now?” I prompted.

  “He sent you those emails from the dark web,” he said.

  “So you can’t trace him?” I asked, exasperated.

  “This guy knows what he’s doing, we’ll put it that way,” he said with a sigh. “I’m not going to give up, but I can tell you he knows how to hide, and he is taking steps to make sure they stay hidden.”

  I had an uneasy feeling in my stomach. “Do you think it would help to get the cops involved at this point?”

  I hoped the answer would be no, and I was glad when he confirmed that it wouldn’t help.

  “I’m using the best technology we have available. They’re going to tell you the same thing I just did,” he said with a sigh. “But that doesn’t mean this guy isn’t going to fuck up at some point.”

  That was one thing I really doubted. This guy was covering his tracks too well for me even to consider the fact he might slip up.

  “What do you suggest we do then?” I asked.

  “I would say to keep your girl with you no matter what. Until we know what this guy wants, there’s no reason for her to risk being out in the open. When you’ve got her with you, you know she’s safe,” he said.

  He was right. I told him I would call her right then and have her come back over, and he promised me he was going to get back on the trail. With a sigh, I checked the time. It was after nine in the morning, so I felt comfortable calling her without waking her too early.

  “Hello?” Liz asked, answering the phone after it rang just once.

  “Liz, I want you to come back over here,” I said.

  “Why?” she asked.

  “I called the PI this morning, and he said that he couldn’t trace the emails, either. I don’t feel comfortable with you out of my sight,” I told her.

  “I’m with Cassie, I’m fine,” she said.

  “No, you aren’t fine,” I said. “You need to get your shit, and you need to come back over here.” My tone left little room for argument. Or so I thought.

  “I’m fine,” she replied defiantly. “We aren’t even going to leave her apartment today, so what’s the big deal?”

  I knew she was still pissed off at me for getting her into this in the first place, but it was hard for me not to get pissed off at her in return. She wasn’t listening to me, and I was surprised she found it so easy to defy what I said. She was crying the day before in my office, but now she was refusing to come over.

  “Listen, Liz,” I said. “I’m doing my best to keep you safe, but the only way I can do that with absolute certainty is if I know where you are and what you are doing, and that means you’re going to have to come over here.”

  “You’re not in charge of me,” she said as though she was a two-year-old. “I’m going to have a lazy day here with Cassie, and I’m going to be fine doing it. You aren’t going to tell me what to do.”

  She hung up on me and I threw my phone to the bed in exasperation. I didn’t understand what she was doing, or how I was going to be able to take care of her when she wouldn’t come back.

  Couldn’t she see that I just wanted her to stay safe?

  Chapter 23

  Liz

  I walked ahead of Nick when we got to work on Monday morning. I had a feeling pretty much everyone in the office could sense the tension between us. Some of them had looked at my sympathetically, and some had sneered, figuring I was getting what I deserved for homing in on the boss so quickly. I didn’t really give a shit either way. I was just tired.

  I’d been at Nick’s apartment the entire day before, after feeling bad for being such a bitch to him on Saturday. I knew he wanted to take care of me, but hated being babysat, and I felt like that was exactly what was happening to me. My brother was checking in on me often, Cassie was checking in on me nearly as often, and Nick wanted me to be in his sight twenty-four seven.

  It was annoying, and I looked forward to when it would all be done and over with. But, with the news he got from the PI on Saturday, it didn’t sound like that was going to happen any time soon. I wanted to point out that I had been just fine at Cassie’s place, but I held my tongue.

  There wasn’t any reason to cause any more tension between us. He knew that David and I were both pissed, and I knew he felt bad for putting me in the position that he had. We were both stuck now, and he was trying to fix it.

  Yet, I was still upset because I was the one who had to deal with all the stress of looking over my shoulder. I had no idea what to expect, and I was the one who was targeted. It wasn’t fair.

  I got to my department to find Will had brought McDonald’s for breakfast. It was sweet of him to do, and I was glad that he did most mornings, but there was something about the smell of it right then that just turned my stomach. There was no way in hell I’d be able to eat it, and the more I was in the room with it, the sicker I felt.

  Then, nausea hit me harder than it had in a long time. I flew from my desk to the bathroom, barely making it to the toilet before vomiting. I hadn’t been that sick since a night in college mixing too many different kinds of liquor together at a frat party, and I clung to my stomach as I tried to stay upright.

  Great. I probably got food poisoning on top of all the other shit I’m dealing with right now. This is a really great way to start off a Monday, isn’t it? Fuck.

  There was no way I was going to be able to make it through the day being so nauseous, and the mere thought of going back into the office with the food on the table only made me vomit again. I had to go home. And that meant I had to talk to Nick.

  I splashed some water on my face and noted that my color was off. With a sigh, I swallowed my pride and headed back to Nick’s office. I knocked on the door a couple of times before entering, and he seemed surprised to see me back so soon.

  “What’s going on?” he asked, his voice laced with concern.

  “I’m sorry,” I told him. “But I’m really sick. I don’t know what happened, but it came on suddenly. Will brought breakfast for everyone, and the smell of it set me off.”

  “Yeah, your color doesn’t look all that great,” he said. “Do you need to go home?”

  I nodded. “I really would stay if I could, but the thought of doing anything with makes me want to run back to the bathroom. I must have gotten the stomach flu or something.”

  “I’ll call my security guy to come to get you,” he said.

  I wanted to tell him that it wasn’t necessary, and I would rather go back to my own apartment and just lie in bed all day, but I knew it was no use. He didn’t listen to me when I told him I wanted to be alone, so there was no way he was going to let me go home by myself now.

  “Okay,” I said. “Will you also do me a favor and go get my things from the other room? I don’t think I can walk past that food again without losing everything I have left in my stomach all over again.”

  He walked over to me and pressed his hand to my forehead. “You’re clammy, but you don’t feel like you have a fever or anything.”

  “I’m sure I must have just eaten something that didn’t agree with me,” I said with a shrug. I hadn’t had anything for breakfast, and I really didn’t eat much the day before, either. I had been so tired all weekend; nothing had really sounded good to me.

  I nibbled on a few things when I was at Cassie’s, but the wine didn’t even sound appealing when she offered it. I’d mostly just eaten crackers and light things here and there. But there was no arguing with the fact that I was more nauseous than I had ever been in my entire life.

  Clearly, something hadn’t sat right.

  Nick walked out o
f the office, but he was quick to return with my things, and it wasn’t long before his security man was at the door.

  “I want you to take Liz home,” he said. “And I’ll pay you extra to sit with her today.”

  “That’s not necessary,” I tried to argue, but Nick gave me a look.

  “You are sick as a dog, and you know you can’t be alone right now. I’m not going to let you sit vulnerable in that apartment. I don’t care what you do with yourself, but you’re going to be doing it with someone there to watch you,” he said.

  “Fine,” I said with a shrug. I felt too sick and tired to even argue with him anymore. I turned to follow the security guard through the door, but I was once again hit with intense nausea. Running as fast as I could to the bathroom, I got sick all over again.

  It didn’t make any sense to me, but I was just eager to get home. At this point, I just wanted to crawl into bed and forget about the day. Sleep was what I needed more than anything, and I knew I was going to be back to my old self.

  I told David I was leaving sick on my way by, and he told me to call if I needed anything.

  “Are you going to Nick’s place?” he asked, and I nodded.

  “He’s going to have the security guard supervise me today,” I told him.

  “Good, I don’t want you to be alone, either,” David said.

  I wanted to argue with him, too, but ever since he had heard I was being stalked, he had gotten as bad as Nick with me being with someone at all times.

  He was freaked out about the whole thing, and he wasn’t going to let me out of his sight, either, if he could help it. He trusted Nick was going to watch me when I wasn’t at our place, and I could go to Cassie’s, but that was about it.

  With a nod, I followed the guard out the door and into the car. He then drove me back to the apartment to rest for the day. I knew the key code on the door, and I let us both in, then I gave him a look.

  “You can sit out here and watch tv, or you can eat something, or you can do anything you want to do, but I’m not in the mood to talk, and I’m just going to lay on the couch,” I told him.

  “Do whatever you want. Nick just told me to stay and keep you company,” he said.

  “Okay,” I said. “Great.”

  I turned something on the tv, and I ignored the guard for the whole day. He was on his phone and did various things around the house, but I was too sick to really talk to him. I had to run to the bathroom several times during the morning, and I was certain it was going to get worse before it got better.

  But, by late afternoon, I was feeling a lot more human again. I even thought I would be able to make it back to the office the next day. I wasn’t dreading Nick getting home as much as I thought I would be, and I was more than ready to let the guard get out of my hair.

  He was a nice enough guy, but I didn’t want to talk, and having someone in the apartment. I didn’t know very well wasn’t how I wanted to spend a sick day.

  Nick got off early to come see me, and he brought soup and juice.

  “I thought you might want something light after you were sick, but if you don’t feel up to it don’t feel obligated,” he said.

  “I think that actually does sound good,” I told him. “Thank you.”

  “I’ll heat it up, and you get in bed,” he said.

  “Really, I’m feeling a lot better than I was this morning. I’m sure I’m going to make it to work tomorrow, and you don’t have to baby me anymore,” I tried to protest.

  All my arguments turned out to be pointless, however. He wasn’t going to let me argue with him now that he was home, and since the guard was gone, I felt more comfortable in less clothing. After I took off my bra and changed into an oversized t-shirt, I crawled into bed in Nick’s room and waited for him to bring the soup.

  “I thought we could do nothing and watch movies tonight,” he said when he appeared with the steaming liquid. “What do you say?”

  “I think that sounds great,” I said with a grin. “Get a little bit of normal back into our lives.”

  “Just like old times, right?” he said with a smile. He turned on the tv and let me pick something to watch, and for the first time in a while, I felt relaxed. It was as though we were back to being good friends, able to hang out and not worry about the cloud of doom that was hanging over my head.

  I was feeling better enough to eat the soup, and I felt better still when I finally got the rest of it in my stomach.

  “I’m sure that wasn’t anything more than the stomach flu,” I told Nick as I handed him the bowl. “I’ll be right as rain in the morning.”

  “But tonight, we don’t have to worry about that,” he said with a smile. “Tonight, we’re just going to hang out and pretend like there’s nothing in the whole world bothering us.”

  “Just like we were kids again,” I said with a tired smile.

  “That’s right,” he said with a bright grin I hadn’t seen in a while. “Just like we were kids again.

  I closed my eyes and laid back on the pillow, trying to rid myself of all the stress that was still pounding behind my eyelids. I could pretend we were kids again, just for a while. It was all I wanted to do, really.

  If we were kids again, we wouldn’t have any of these issues, and we could just be friends again without worrying about what was going on in the outside world.

  Tonight, that was all I wanted, and tomorrow, I could worry about the shit that was going down around us again. It was relaxing, and for the first time in a while, I felt truly happy.

  And I drifted off into a heavy sleep.

  Chapter 24

  Nick

  I woke up to Liz throwing my arm off her. We had both fallen asleep in my bed the night before, and I found it remarkable how much I just wanted to be there cuddling with her. Sure, I would have taken sex if it was on the table, but I didn’t feel deprived because we just cuddled all night.

  It felt good to have her body pressed up against mine, and I was glad for the chance to just hold her. I was glad she had eaten the soup, too. She hadn’t looked so good to me when I’d had her leave the day before, and I was worried she was truly sick with something.

  But she did look a million times better by the time I got home, and the fact she ate the soup made me feel like she really was on the mend. But, as she now ran to the bathroom, I sat up in bed. I could hear her retching, and immediately, I was concerned.

  I waited it out, not wanting to press her if she was feeling sick all over again. I would have gone in to see if she needed anything, but I knew how it was when I felt like shit. The last thing I wanted was for someone to come in and ask me questions.

  She would be out soon enough, and I would be able to talk to her then.

  After a few minutes, I didn’t hear anything. I was about to get up and check on her when the door opened and she walked out, dragging her hand over her mouth and looking miserable.

  “Are you doing alright?” I asked. “Clearly sick again.”

  “I’m not sure what’s going on with me,” she said with a sigh. “I thought I would be well enough to go to work today. I felt just fine last night, but this morning I’m feeling every bit as shitty as I did yesterday.”

  “Maybe you overdid it with the food last night,” I suggested. “I should have known that you could only eat a bit after you were sick all day.”

  “It doesn’t make sense. I felt a lot better when I was done with the food, but now I feel awful again,” she sat on the bed and laid back down, her hands shaking as she pulled the blanket up over herself. “I’m sorry. I might feel better in a few minutes.”

  “Why don’t you just chill out for another day,” I suggested. “I can get someone to come to hang out with you again and cover your work, too. I don’t want you to overdo when you’re feeling like this, and it might make you get better faster if you don’t try to push yourself.”

  She sighed. I could see in her face she didn’t want to be left with someone again all day, but she also d
idn’t want to go to work. She was pale, and I could see the clamminess to her skin all over again. With a sigh, I put my hand over her forehead.

  “You still don’t feel like you have a fever if you ask me,” I told her. “You feel clammy.”

  “I feel sick is what I feel,” she said. Her eyes were closed, but she was only in bed for a few moments before she got up and headed straight for the bathroom all over again. I sighed. I hated that she felt this way, and I couldn’t do anything to fix it for her.

  I wanted to wrap her up in a blanket and take care of her all day myself, but there was no way I could take the day off from the office. I was going to have to go in, at least for a few hours. And, if I did that, I knew I was going to end up staying most of the day.

  That was just how things went for me, and I didn’t have the luxury of ignoring it. I had to take care of the company. Shit, I had been going through a lot of hell recently for that place, I couldn’t let it go down the drain now because Liz had a bit of a stomach ache.

  She came back out of the bathroom and climbed back into bed, and I smiled. “I’m going to get this taken care of for you. I’ll send someone who can keep to themselves out in the other room, and you can hang out in here with the tv all day. Don’t worry about talking to them or anything, alright?”

  “That would be ideal,” she moaned. “I felt like shit all day yesterday, and there was no way I was going to be able to talk to that security guy. I felt bad about it, but I really didn’t have it in me.”

  “No one blames you for that,” I assured her. “He doesn’t care, and I’m glad you had someone here with you.”

  “I’m going to make sure your work is also covered, so you aren’t going to be faced with a shit show when you do feel well enough to come back in, okay?” I added, and she just nodded. She looked like she was fighting the urge to head back to the bathroom, and I carefully got off the bed without shaking it too much.