Always & Forever (24 page)

“Fair enough.” She pulled his head down to hers. “I love the way you looked at me when I tried it on.”

Zach backed her up against the opposite doorframe. His mouth sought hers. “I want you so much,” he said against her mouth. “I promised myself not to push you, but
I want you
.”

Lilly’s pulse raced. It was time to make a decision. She kissed him back. “I’ve never felt like this with anyone.”

Someone pounded on the door. “Room service.”

Zach growled. “Why did we decide to eat tonight?”

***

Zach plucked the last few fries off her plate and popped them into his mouth, and Lilly watched the movements of his lips and jaw. With dinner finished, Zach might want to pick things up where they’d left off. Before the phone call last night, she’d been eager to take things to the next level. Now, she didn’t know what to think.

She stood up, noting the way Zach’s eyes followed every movement. His gaze lingered on her breasts. She always thought herself lacking in that department, but Zach didn’t seem to mind the slightness of her proportions.

“I’m going to put all this out in the hall.” She indicated the food cart. “Then we can decide what to do.”

He grinned. “I think you know what I want to do.”

Lilly pushed the cart toward the door. She tried to hide her nerves, but this was a new experience to her. The downtime spent eating dinner gave her a chance to worry about how inexperienced she was.

She might be ready to take this next step with him, but she hoped her lack of skill wouldn’t disappoint him. Her prior sexual experience consisted of lying flat on her back while an inebriated Charles quickly satisfied himself. He often finished before Lilly even started—not that being with him had induced feelings of great passion anyway. She wondered what it would be like to enjoy the experience for a change.

She opened the door to the suite and pushed the cart over the threshold. The wheels struck something and the cart refused to move forward. Lilly backed it up and looked into the hall. A small package sat in the middle of the doorway. Fear tightened her insides.

Large block letters in red marker on top of the box proclaimed, “TO KATHERINE.”

Lilly grabbed the package and slowly closed the door. Her eyes focused on the box as she walked to the table. Lilly sat in the chair next to Zach and dropped the package between them.

“What’s that?” he asked.

“It’s...it’s addressed to Katherine.” Lilly hated the way her voice shook.

Zach’s hand shot out to snatch the box off the table. He pried the end open before pausing to look at her. “Do you mind?”

“No. Please do it. My hands are shaking too badly.”

Zach ripped the end off and dumped the contents onto the table. Pictures splayed out. They started with Zach leaving Lilly’s house that morning and followed the couple throughout their day. Lilly glanced through the photos, trying to make sense of what she saw: Zach with his arm around her as they left a store, Zach wiping mustard off her face while they ate hotdogs in the park, her kissing his cheek as he helped her into his car.

Beside her, Zach slowly pushed pictures around to get a look at the ones on the bottom of the pile. The very last picture showed Zach and Lilly silhouetted in the doorframe of their suite, kissing right before room service arrived with dinner. The person taking the picture had been far away—perhaps on the other side of the river, but they had known which suite in the hotel to watch. They knew exactly where Lilly was.

“Zach...what is that?” She struggled for each lungful of air, but pointed to an envelope under the last picture.

Zach picked it up and extracted a sheet of paper from it. He read it silently before handing it to her. He went to the windows and jerked the curtains closed.

Lilly watched Zach, relieved to be shielded from view. She forced herself to look at the note in her hand.

GET AWAY FROM HIM OR PAY THE CONSEQUENCES. YOU ARE MINE, KATHERINE. ALWAYS AND FOREVER.

She gasped and shook her head violently from side to side. The paper fluttered onto the table, slipping from her nerveless fingers. It wasn’t possible. It
couldn’t
be.

Zach gathered the pictures and the letter, stuffing them into the box. He eyed her the entire time, probably worried she would break out in hysterics again.

Lilly forced herself to take deep breaths. She needed to think clearly now, not panic.

“What does all this mean?” he asked softly.

She cleared her throat and forced the words out. “I think it means Charles followed us from Serenity.”

“What makes you sure it’s him?” His voice held curiosity, but he didn’t sound as though he believed she was crazy. He set the box down and pushed away from the table, walking behind her to massage her shoulders.

“The
always and forever
thing. Charles often asked if I loved him. I had to say, ‘Always.’ Then he would say, ‘Always?’ I had to say, ‘Always and forever.’ It was his private joke, pretending we loved each other.” She thought about the pictures and shuddered. Charles was out there waiting for her. She pushed that thought from her mind and forced herself to continue with the story. “Sometimes he made me say it in private while he...while he...”

“While he beat you?” Zach’s voice held no emotion. “Had sex with you?”

Lilly nodded miserably. In the past two years, she was sure she had moved past the pain, past the hurt from the level of degradation Charles invoked in her. She strove for normalcy, especially since moving to Serenity. She’d put on such a convincing act, she almost had herself believing she really was that spunky girl she’d once been; the girl she’d been before meeting Charles. It humiliated her to tell Zach the truth, to let him see how weak she was on the inside.

Zach remained silent, but continued to rub her shoulders lightly.

Her face burned with shame. She was disgusted with herself for allowing those things to happen and being too weak to stop it. “You must hate me,” she whispered.

“Hate
you
?” Zach’s hands quit moving. “Honey, if that bastard is alive, I’m going to kill him.”

The low menace in his voice sent a tingle throughout Lilly. Zach really meant those words. She puffed out a relieved breath. The admission of her shame hadn’t repulsed him.

“In case Charles really is out there, I’ll never tell Detective Spalding you said that.”

“Speaking of that, we need to call the police. This person, whether it’s Charles or not, is stalking you.”

Lilly grabbed his hand off her shoulder. She pressed it against her cheek and leaned her head into his stomach. “I know you’re right, but I don’t see what good that will do.”

“We have to report it, Lilly.”

She nodded. “Okay. Call them.”

Soon after Zach called, an officer arrived at their door. He listened to their story, looked at the pictures, and offered about as much help as Lilly figured he would. Not much.

“We’ll check the security tapes from the hotel, but I don’t think we’re going to be able to trace this person, ma’am. There are several places to print pictures, and I don’t see any distinguishing marks on these. We’ll check them for prints though.”

“What should we do when we go home, officer?” Zach asked. “This maniac followed us from Serenity. What can I do to make sure Lilly’s safe?”

“I’ll call down there tomorrow and talk to your police force. I’ll tell them anything we discover. They’ll have a better idea if there’s anyone new in town that could be from Ms. Price’s past. Or maybe they know of someone who’s been bothering other women around town.”

Lilly nodded and thanked the man, though she didn’t hold out much hope the police would be any help to her. After all, last time she trusted the police department, Detective Spalding locked her up on charges of murder.

***

Lilly glanced at the clock while Zach showed the officer to the door. It was seven in Portland, which meant it was ten in New York. Her father would be getting his party life into full swing this time of night. “I’m going to call my dad,” she said to Zach after he shut the door. “If Charles is out there, he needs to know. Charles might go after him again.”

“You’re too good to that man.”

Lilly pivoted in her chair, and looked into his troubled eyes. “You think I’m wrong to call him?”

Zach shrugged. “He’s your father. He might be a jerk, but he
is
your father. I know why you want to warn him.” He kissed her cheek. “I’ll get your cell phone.”

Lilly wrung her hands together while watching Zach walk to the bedroom. Conversations with Daddy were always difficult. She wondered if he’d even listen to what she had to say.

Zach returned and handed over her phone. “I’ll stay in the bedroom and give you some privacy.”

She smiled at him. “Thank you for understanding.”

He tilted her head back and kissed her softly. He was so strong, yet so tender. His gentle caresses were a reassuring balm to the fear that threatened to burst inside her. She would never have credited feeling this way in a man’s company before, but Zach made her feel safe.

“We’re in this together, baby,” he said against her lips, kissing her every few words. “That stalker wants to scare you away from me and it’s not going to happen. You do want to be with me, don’t you?”

“Yes, of course I do,” she replied, returning his kisses.

Zach stepped away from her, nodding. “Make your phone call. I’ll wait for you in the other room.”

Lilly opened the contacts on her phone and scrolled to the “S” section. There it was, Stewart Price—not Dad, not even Father. Stewart. She hesitated a moment, almost changed her mind, and then punched the send button.

“Hello?”

Lilly fiddled with the edge of her shirt. “Daddy? It’s Katherine. I...I need to talk to you about something important. Got a minute?”

From the other side of the country, through the phone, Lilly heard his sigh. “I’m really busy here, Kat. Don’t suppose this could wait for another time?”

“No. It really can’t wait, Daddy.” Lilly ground her teeth together against that inane alternate for Father. A part of her hated Stewart, yet she was still reduced to calling him Daddy, seeking some hint of approval after a lifetime without it.

“Look, if it’s about money, I don’t really have anything free right now to send you,” he said.

Great, he was worried about not being able to share
her
money with her. “No, no. It’s not about money. Some strange things have happened to me lately, and I think you need to know about them.”

“Oh yeah, stuff in your life, huh? I’m glad you called to tell me, but right now, I’m in a hurry. I’m meeting some guys for a poker game. Why don’t you call back this weekend?”

“You can’t send me any of my money, but you can gamble with it?” The shrillness in her voice irritated her. She didn’t call to fight with him, but screw getting his approval. He
was
a jerk.

“Look, don’t worry. You’re my only heir. You’ll get every cent of the $500,000 back eventually, plus my home and everything in it. You’ll be well taken care of, but right now, I don’t have time to discuss your life.”

Lilly took a deep breath and collected her thoughts. It would do no good to dwell on the fact that she sold off all of her assets and gave everything to Stewart, while he kept his expensive home and country club membership. “I didn’t call to talk about me, Daddy. I called to talk about you.”

That obviously stumped him, because he didn’t hang up. “What about me?”

“I think Charles is alive, and you might be in danger.”

“Charles? Alive?” Stewart’s low whistle sounded over the line. “No danger to me. I’d welcome him with open arms.”

Lilly’s heart clenched and she shook her head. “Even though he stole all that money from your investment venture and left us in the poor house?”
Not to mention all the times he hit me.

“But think of all the money he made me before that. Charles is a smart guy. If he is alive and has come back, maybe it’s because he regrets leaving, though I’m not real sure why he’d come back to you.”

Lilly tugged hard on the bottom of her shirt, twisting it in her hand. How could he say those things? Did he feel no love at all for her? Lilly tried for so long to be a good daughter, and she could never measure up. Stewart would rather take back an abuser who swindled him out of all his money than listen to her.

“Besides,” Stewart said when the silence went on too long, “I’m doing fine. Charles didn’t hurt me.”

“Only because I gave you all my money!” Lilly slammed her fist against the table, unable to control her shaking. “If I’d left you to clean up your own mess, where would you be right now?”

“See here. Don’t talk to me that way. You’ve no head for money, and I don’t mind telling you that. It’s best I control the funds. Eventually, you’ll have a nice inheritance.”

Lilly took a few deep breaths and ignored the burning core of anger deep in her chest. “Whoever’s after me, whether it’s Charles or someone else, I’ve received some threats. I’m afraid if this person finds out you have my money, they might come after you.”