No Coincidence

by Tiffany Patterson

  I released the breath I’d been holding, realizing this guy wasn’t a threat. In fact, the playful devilishness I saw in his eyes and the way Connor glared at him actually made me like him almost immediately.

  “I’m Resha.”

  “Well that’s a pretty name.”

  I grinned. “Thank you, Buddy.”

  I didn’t get the chance to say anything else since Connor moved in front of me, blocking both Buddy and my line of sight to one another.

  “Cut the shit and stop flirting with my woman,” Connor growled.

  I stiffened, sure that I heard him wrong. But when I peeked around Connor’s broad body over at Buddy, the surprised expression on his face told me two things. One, that I wasn’t wrong in hearing the way Connor had referred to me. And two, that wasn’t a statement he made flippantly or frequently.

  “We were just leaving,” Connor finally said.

  “I bet you were.”

  “What’s all of this, anyway?”

  “We did a photoshoot,” I responded, beating Connor to the punch as I stepped around him. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw his eyes narrow on me but I didn’t pay him any mind. “Your friend here’s a natural in front of the camera.”

  Buddy laughed. “I’ve been saying that for years, but he just tells me to shove it up my ass.”

  I giggled. “That sounds like our guy all right.” I turned to Connor, whose eyes were burning with warning. Daring me to keep trying him.

  Oh, how I wanted to take him up on that offer but I was too much of a chicken. I had my limits.

  “I’ll clean this stuff up and get out of your way, Buddy.”

  “No, leave it. You two probably have important shit to do. I’ll take care of it,” Buddy insisted, when I started to gather the TKO products that still sat in the center of the ring. “Mark and I have been trying to convince Connor to take some more pictures for social media of his products for months now.” Buddy paused. “If I knew you had this planned, I wouldn’t have been pestering you so much.”

  “Maybe next time you’ll leave me the hell alone when I say I know what the fuck I’m doing.”

  Buddy chuckled as if to say fat chance of that happening.

  I grabbed my equipment that I brought for the shoot, save for the TKO products, and stuffed everything into my bag again.

  “Let me help with that,” Connor insisted as I moved to put on my peacoat. I smiled over my shoulder as he assisted, feeling womanly and cared for when he even helped to pull my hair from underneath my coat so it didn’t get stuck.

  “You hungry?”

  “Yup,” I responded, staring up into those eyes, not even knowing what the hell he’d just asked.

  “You have a taste for anything in particular?”

  I blinked, shaking my head, realizing he was talking about food. I shrugged. “I could go for a slice of pizza … or two.” I had to be honest. I was never a one slice of pizza kind of girl. Two or more. Always.

  Connor grinned. “Perfect.”

  It was one short word, but the gleam in his eyes when he said it told me he wasn’t referring to my response. I dipped my head and turned to see Buddy giving me a wink and grin as he went about whistling and picking up the TKO products from the ring floor.

  I didn’t know what the hell I’d just agreed to but I opted not to question it or myself.

  ****

  Hours later, I found myself grinning and smiling as Connor and I passed through the front doors of my building. We’d gone to get pizza at a little hole-in-the-wall shop that wasn’t far from the building we did the shoot at. The pizza was delicious but paled in comparison to the company. After eating, Connor dared me to allow him to take me on a tour of the outskirts of the city on his motorcycle. Not being one to easily turn down a dare, I said yes and got to enjoy watching the city of Williamsport pass us as we sped by on the motorcycle, sometimes going up to sixty miles an hour. I had a feeling Connor had no problem or fear going even faster but restrained himself for my sake.

  “What’re you thinking about?” he questioned in my ear as soon as the elevator doors closed behind us.

  I found myself with my back pressed against the mirrored wall and Connor hovering over me.

  “How great your pictures are going to come out,” I lied, causing him to frown.

  “Bullshit.”

  I giggled. “You have such a potty mouth.”

  The mischievous gleam in his eyes was his only response just before he dipped his head, bringing his lips closer to my ear. “That’s not all I got, a stór.” And just like that, his lips were on mine again.

  I’d questioned throughout our day together how our evening would end. I wondered if I would have the guts to actually go through with letting him inside of my place again, but this time, allowing him into my bed. Sure, we’d slept together in New York, and I’d be a lying fool if I said I didn’t want to do it again. However, that was different. We’d been strangers then. He was just a man who was out in a bar, in a city, far from the one I lived in. A city I was leaving the next morning. I could go back home and pretend it hadn’t happened at all. But now? He was so much more than that.

  Connor pulled away from the kiss, his hand moving to the nape of my neck, cupping it. His callused thumb ran along the side of my lower jaw, caressing. “This won’t be New York.”

  Confused, I wrinkled my forehead, giving him a quizzical look.

  “This isn’t a one and done type of thing anymore.”

  His voice was so tender yet firm in resolution—his thumb continuing to trace a line down my jaw—and the gleam in his eye all caught me off-guard. But before I could ask just what he meant by it all the elevator dinged as it stopped at my floor.

  Connor glanced over his shoulder just as my neighbor, Jarvis, prepared to step onto the elevator.

  “Oh,” Jarvis startled, his eyes widening when they moved from Connor to me and then back to Connor again. His lips thinned and his expression completely closed off. “Resha.” He nodded curtly before stepping aside.

  “Jarvis,” I returned just as short as I moved off the elevator, Connor not far behind me. I glanced over my shoulder to see Connor standing over Jarvis as he moved passed, glaring down at him. It wasn’t until I took another step that I realized he firmly clutched my hand in his, assuring that I wouldn’t get too far from him, not that I was trying to.

  He glared at Jarvis for another heartbeat before moving past him and following me down the hallway to my door.

  I didn’t even have a chance to get my key from my bag when Connor reached over my shoulder, pulling it free from my hand and inserting it into the lock for me. Turning the knob, he pressed the door open. I made a move to step inside but that was when Connor spun me around to face him, intent on finishing the kiss that we’d shared in the elevator.

  I sighed into his mouth, my body obviously wanting whatever it was he was willing to give. All my thoughts became fuzzy and were drowned out by the rising heat that threatened to scorch the both of us.

  “W-We should take this behind closed doors,” I was just barely able to say as I pulled back from the kiss.

  “He an ex or something?”

  I blinked and shook my head. “What? Who?”

  Connor’s hard set eyes moved to the elevator and then back to me.

  “Jarvis?”

  He scowled. “Whatever the hell his name is.”

  “No. Hell no. He gives me the creeps, actually. What makes you think he was an ex?”

  “The way he looked at you. Just now and earlier today in the lobby.”

  I was stunned, not even realizing that Connor had spotted the extra hard look Jarvis had given us that morning.

  “I see everything,” he stated as if answering my unasked statement.

  “He’s not an ex.”

  “But he wants you.”

  It wasn’t a question. It was a man making an observation about another man.

  Folding my arms over my chest, I raised an eyebrow. �
�Jealous?”

  He grinned. “Why the hell would I be jealous? I’m the one who has what he wants.”

  I parted my lips to ask him how he knew he had me but Connor pushed the door open and moved forward, causing me to step backwards into my condo. My entire body began to fill with excitement of what was to come once the door closed. However, as soon as I flicked on the lights and before I was even fully inside of my place, Connor’s entire body stiffened.

  He instantly became on high alert, pulling me closer to him with one long arm around my waist.

  “What?” I questioned, turning around and gasping at the sight before me. My home had been ransacked. It was a mess. “What the—” My shriek was cut off when Connor, pulled me from my apartment, slamming the door behind us.

  “What are you doing?” I demanded, turning to re-enter my home to see the damage that had been done.

  Connor already had his cell phone in his hand before answering my question. “Whoever did that could still be in there. We need to go wait in the lobby for the police.”

  He began throwing out orders like it was his job when the 911 operator answered the call. The hand free of his cell phone tightened around mine, pulling me in the direction of the staircase. I followed, feeling so damn confused and out of place, in the building I lived in for years. I heard Connor barking orders and directions into the phone, telling the person on the other end the name of my street and my address, while informing them that the person who did this may still be inside. I shuddered thinking that might be true. Whoever had ransacked my home might still be there. They could’ve been inside lying in wait for me. Just when the fear began to overwhelm me and felt like too much to handle, Connor’s strong arms bracketed me, pulling me into the secure warmth of his body. It was as if my body melted against his, needing his strength.

  Somehow, with me still clinging to his side, he made it to the front desk of my building, loudly informing the on-duty security guard-slash-receptionist that my condo had been broken into.

  “I’ll call the police,” the guard I knew as Randy stated.

  “Already done. They’re on their way. You’ll need to cough up any video footage you have of her floor over the past few hours.”

  “Um, s-sure but I’ll have to check with my management fi—”

  “That wasn’t a request, dipshit,” Connor growled, leaning over the desk.

  I glanced over at Randy who appeared terrified. He had to be nearly a full foot shorter than Connor’s six-six frame, and was much scrawnier.

  “Connor, calm down,” I whispered.

  Connor’s lips pinched as he looked down at me.

  I stood taller, straightening from underneath his arm and raised my chin, trying to appear more confident than I felt. “We need to remain calm. The police are on their way. They’ll help sort all of this out.”

  God I hoped so.

  It only took about five minutes for the police to arrive, thankfully. And as soon as they did, Connor was there, directing them up to my condo and telling him what we saw.

  “And this is your apartment, ma’am?” one of the officers questioned.

  “Yes.

  “Okay, stay down here while we go take a look.”

  I nodded in agreement, and watched as they headed toward the door to take the stairs to my tenth floor condo.

  “Who would do this?” I questioned, looking up at Connor.

  He shook his head. “We’re sure as fuck going to find out.” His eyes moved over my head to peer down at Randy again.

  The police took about ten minutes to call down to the front desk and have Randy inform us that we were in the all clear and that it was okay for me to come up. Knowing whoever had been in my place wasn’t still there should’ve offered some relief but it didn’t.

  When we made it to my floor, a cold chill ran down my spine as I came to the entrance of my home. The officers stood just inside the door, awaiting Connor and I. He entered behind me, keeping close, which I believe he somehow knew I needed. I was relying on his strength because I was still in utter disbelief.

  Looking around my apartment, I flinched at the sight of my broken glass coffee table, my ripped pillows, and torn throw blanket.

  “We need to know if anything was taken, ma’am,” one of the officers informed me.

  I nodded and took a few tentative steps inside of the place that had felt like one of the safest places on Earth to me, just that morning. I moved to check on the entertainment center in my living room where I sighed in relief seeing that my television and entertainment equipment hadn’t been touched. A number of the drawers had been opened and my heart rate quickened until I looked and saw that the box I kept my spare cash was still there. Pulling the wooden box out of the drawer, my mouth dropped when I opened it and saw that the money hadn’t been touched.

  Confused, I looked up at Connor who stood over me with a deep scowl on his face. He stared at the money and then back to me.

  I turned to the officers. “Whoever this was, didn’t take the money I leave here.”

  One of the officers shrugged. “Maybe they missed it. Did you count it all to make sure it’s there?”

  I tucked the box under my arm and counted. Three hundred and eighteen dollars. The same amount I’d counted the last time I checked this box weeks ago.

  “It’s all here.”

  “They probably just missed it.”

  I stared up at Connor whose scowl deepened as he glared at the officers. “Or maybe whoever did this didn’t give a shit about the money. Is Detective Brookes on the way?” he questioned impatiently.

  The officer nodded. “He’ll be here shortly. We just got a call over the radio with his ETA.”

  “Tell him to move his ass.” Connor turned back to me. “Anything else missing?”

  I looked around the living room, my heart sinking at the way my plants had been ripped from their planters and tossed around the floor. I shook my head and moved silently down the hall. The bathroom had been untouched but the same couldn’t be said for my office. I gasped as soon as I pushed the door of my office open. The damage that had been done in my living room didn’t compare to the state of my office.

  My beautiful glass desk, the one I’d searched for six months for, had been cracked in three different pieces, sending everything that sat on it to the ground. My desktop computer had been smashed with something. My first thought was a baseball bat since that was the only thing I could think of that would do that type of damage. The screen was gone due to it being bashed in. The back of the screen was all dented up and almost complete broken in half. The metal cabinet that I kept all of my important documents in had been dented on all sides, but the drawers remained sealed shut.

  “Whoever did this must’ve been pissed,” one of the officers said.

  “Is that your professional opinion, asshole?” Connor angrily questioned.

  “Look, buddy—”

  “Don’t fucking call me—”

  “Connor, please,” I implored, not wanting to have to deal with him getting into a fight with the police on top of all of this.

  “Where’s Detective Brookes?” he asked.

  “Just arrived,” another unfamiliar male voice interrupted.

  I glanced up to find a plain clothes detective standing at the doorway of my office. I knew he was a detective because of the badge he prominently displayed on his belt buckle at his waist. His serious, dark, almost charcoal eyes took in the room before they landed on me.

  “You must be Ms. McDonald.”

  I nodded.

  “I’m Detective Brookes. Sorry we had to meet like this.” He looked over at Connor and nodded. “O’Brien.”

  “Brookes.”

  It was a short welcome but it made it obvious that these two knew each other.

  “Did you get pictures?” Brookes questioned over his shoulder at one of the uniformed officers.

  He shook his head and Brookes rolled his eyes, grumbling, “Of course not. Fucking idiots. Go
stand out front with your partner,” he ordered, and the uniformed officer left, looking forlorn.

  I watched as Brookes pulled out his phone and began taking pictures of my office with it.

  “Nothing’s missing so far,” Connor informed the detective.

  I didn’t pay attention to his reply, needing to remove myself from my office. The place where I spent so much of my day during my working hours was destroyed. I moved across the hall to my bedroom, expecting to find a disaster there, but I stopped short at the door due to the almost pristine nature of my bedroom. If I recalled correctly, my bedroom appeared to be cleaner than when I’d left.

  “This isn’t right,” I mentioned out loud.

  “What?”

  “It’s too clean,” I told Connor, glancing up at him over my shoulder. “I know I had a pile of clothes on my bed this morning from the laundry I did last night. I left it out with intentions of folding it once I got home today and—” I stopped talking as I looked around. “The lines in my rug … I haven’t vacuumed in over a week.” I moved from the doorway, going to my bedroom closet, but as soon as I reached for the handle, both men behind me called out, stopping me.

  “We don’t want you to touch anything,” Detective Brookes warned. “That handle could have valuable fingerprints on it.”

  Connor wrapped his hand around my arm, pulling me back and out of the way for Brookes to use the handkerchief in his hand to pull the door of my closet open.

  There stood my vacuum cleaner. I didn’t touch it but I moved closer, looking it over, and then turned back to Connor.

  “It’s been used today.” I pointed at the clear plastic component that was the receptor for all the dust and debris that I knew had been empty that morning. “There’s dust in there. Whoever did this destroyed my living room and office, but vacuumed my bedroom, folded my laundry, and put it away? This doesn’t make any sense.” I began rubbing my temples with my fingers.

  “No, it doesn’t,” Brookes stated.

  I watched as he moved from the closet to my bed. With the hand that held the handkerchief, he lifted the white comforter that rested there, pulling it all the way back to reveal the lavender sheets underneath.