Freefall to Desire (6 page)

“So,” she began, and sighed. “What do we do next?”

“I say we head to Daytona and hit the ground running. It makes sense to head to the place where I saw him.”

“But he could be anywhere now. He could have been visiting Daytona for the event.”

“True,” Alex acknowledged. “But it seems like the best place to start. We can hit the racing circuit. We can also bring pics of Carter and ask if Dean knows him by an other name.”

Brianne nodded. “Okay.”

“I think the sooner we leave, the better.”

“Yeah, that makes sense. I’ll have to talk to my district manager, clear the time off with her.”

“Oh,” Alex said, his tone making it clear he hadn’t considered her work might be an issue. “So you might not be able to go—”

“I don’t anticipate a problem,” Brianne said. “My manager and I get along well. I head in to work shortly, so I’ll talk to her then. How long do you think we’ll need to be gone?”

“Hard to say. A few days. Maybe a week.”

“A week?”

“I don’t imagine it’ll take longer than that. But what if we get a lead that takes us to another part of the country?”

“Oh.” Brianne frowned. “I didn’t consider that.”

“I’ll cover all of your expenses,” Alex said. “Your airfare, hotel. And if losing the time from work is going to be a financial burden, I can help you out there, too. In fact, consider it done.”

“You don’t need to do that,” Brianne said.

“Yeah, I do. I’m the one dragging you into this with me. Besides, business is going well.”

Brianne didn’t doubt that. Glancing around the store, she could see that it had been recently renovated. “So you opened a store in Phoenix?”

“Yep.”

“Business is going well there?”

Alex nodded. “Yeah. The store’s bigger than this one, and it’s been busy ever since I opened it.”

“How many stores do you have now?”

“Six and counting,” Alex answered. “I’ve even had an offer to open a store abroad.”

“Abroad. Wow. Where?”

“In Italy.”

So life had been good for him since Carter had disappeared. Brianne didn’t know why that surprised her. Life had to go on for those Carter had left behind.

“When do you think you’ll be able to get the time off work?” Alex asked. “Ideally, I’d like to leave as soon as possible.”

“I’ll let you know in a few hours. I’ll tell my manager that it’s an emergency, and hopefully I’ll be ready to leave by tomorrow. Sound good?”

“Sounds good.”

“All right, then.” Brianne began to walk to the door, and Alex fell into step beside her. “I’ll talk to you later.”

“Later, Brianne.”

It didn’t take Brianne long to get things straightened out at work. As soon as she called the district manager and told her what was going on, Marlene okayed her request for further time off.

Brianne waited until her break to call Alex.

“Brianne?” he said the moment he answered his cell.

“It’s a go,” she told him. “My district manager has agreed to give me a week off, starting tomorrow.”

“Great,” Alex said, and Brianne could tell he was smiling.

“I can’t believe we’re really doing this, that this is really happening,” Brianne said.

“I know what you mean,” Alex agreed. “But hopefully before next week rolls around, we’ll have found Carter.”

Brianne inhaled a shaky breath, thinking about Alex’s words.

Would everything work out the way they hoped?

Next week this time, would she be reunited with her long-lost fiancé?

Chapter 5

A
lex heard his iPhone sing and thought he was dreaming.

But a moment later he realized that his phone was indeed ringing.

Groggy, he glanced at the clock and saw that it was shortly after one in the morning. Then he reached for his singing phone.

Seeing Brianne’s number, he was instantly alarmed. Why was she calling him at this hour?

“Brianne?” he said cautiously. “Is that you?”

“I’m sorry to call, and so late, but no one’s here, and—and I’m scared—”

Alex bolted upright, his alarm intensifying. “Whoa, Brianne. Why are you scared? What’s going on?”

“There’s a big ruckus outside. Sounds like someone’s fighting right outside my door.”

“Have you gone to the door?”

“No. I’m afraid to even look out the window.”

“Good. Stay inside.”

“There have been problems with the people next door. They bought a house that was in foreclosure, and I think the old owners have been harassing them. I don’t want to be paranoid, but I’m the only one here, and what if someone pulls out a gun?”

“It doesn’t sound like you’re paranoid. I’m on my way.”

“No, I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Brianne said. “I don’t even know why I called you. I should just call the police.”

“It won’t take me too long to get there,” Alex said, out of bed and already reaching for his jeans. “I’ll drive by, see what’s happening. But if the disturbance continues, don’t hesitate to call the cops. I don’t want a stray bullet going into your place.”

“Okay,” Brianne said, her voice shaky.

Moments after Alex disconnected with Brianne, he was dressed and heading down the stairs in his home. He ran out the back door off the kitchen and charged toward his car. Within seconds, he was speeding to Brianne’s house.

He saw the police cruiser the moment he turned onto her street. His heart rate sped up as he wondered if he was too late, if something had happened in the ten minutes since Brianne had called him.

But as he drove nearer to Brianne’s house, he saw a young couple, both wearing robes, standing near the sidewalk while talking to two police officers. Alex narrowed his eyes, wondering what was going on. That’s when he noticed the white picket fence had been vandalized—likely kicked viciously until it had been mostly broken. Not just the fence, he noticed. There was a huge hole in the house’s front window.

Someone had hurled a rock through it.

He parked several feet past Brianne’s house to keep out of the way of the police. As he walked back to Brianne’s place, his eyes landed on the car in the driveway next to her house. It, too, had been vandalized. It had been kicked and keyed, and one of the side windows smashed to pieces.

Talk about overkill.

The couple and the officers both looked in Alex’s direction. It was late, and he didn’t want to appear suspicious. So before he made the way up the walkway to Brianne’s house, he said without preamble, “My friend who lives here called me. She was scared because of the commotion. I said I’d drop by, check in on her.”

The taller officer nodded, giving Alex no trouble. Alex knew he wasn’t on the cops’ radar. Given what Brianne had said, it had to be the former occupants who had lost their home who were behind the late-night vandalism.

Alex hopped up the steps and knocked on the door. Within two seconds, it opened. Brianne stood there in pink flannel pajamas, looking up at him with a worried expression.

“You shouldn’t have just opened the door like that,” Alex said.

“I knew it was you,” Brianne explained. “I saw your car pull up. Plus, the cops are outside. I knew it was safe now.” She stepped backward, pulling the door fully open.

Alex stepped into the foyer. “Are you okay?”

Brianne nodded her head jerkily. “Yeah.”

Alex didn’t think, just drew Brianne into his arms and held her, offering comfort.

“I feel a little bit silly,” she said after a moment. “I shouldn’t have called you. The cops are here, and I’m fine. It’s just—”

“Don’t apologize. I’m glad you called.” Alex released her and eased back. “So, what’s the story next door?”

“It’s a sad story, really,” Brianne said. “The people who used to live next door lost their house when the economy went downhill. Of course, the bank then sold the house for a lot less. It’s so unfair. You take the house from people who have put blood, sweat and tears into it, and then you sell it to someone else for a steal.”

“You feel sorry for the former owners?” Alex asked disbelievingly. “Even after what they did?”

“I feel sorry for what they went through, but I don’t condone what they’ve done. I mean, I understand the former owners’ frustration, but to take it out on the new owners? That’s not fair. Not to mention that vandalizing property and disturbing the rest of us is definitely not fair.”

“You sure that it’s the former owners?”

“I think so. We all do. That house is the only one that has been vandalized. Rocks thrown through the windows, the siding spray painted. Now the fence and the car.”

“If you’re right, then the former owners are really stupid. They’d have to know that this would come back to them.”

“I don’t think it’s the actual owners,” Brianne explained.

Alex frowned. “You’ve lost me.”

“I mean, I don’t think either of the parents are responsible for the vandalism. But they had a teenaged son and daughter who took the move badly, from what I understand. It’s got to be one of them.” Brianne hugged her torso. “I’m kind of glad I’m heading to Florida with you. I have a feeling the situation is going to escalate, and I really don’t want to be here for that. It’s bad enough being here in the house by myself.”

Alex didn’t plan to suggest this, the words just came
from his mouth. “Why don’t you get your luggage and come with me?”

Brianne’s eyes widened in surprise. “You want me to go to your place?”

“We leave late tomorrow morning, anyway. This saves me making another trip here to pick you up. Are you packed for Florida?”

“Yes, but—”

“No buts. I’ve got more than enough room. And if you’re worried about me getting in your way, don’t. You can have a floor all to yourself.”

“You getting in
my
way?” Brianne asked, regarding him with wide eyes. “It’s your house. And I don’t want to impose.” Wait a minute…had he just said she could have a
floor
all to herself?

“Humor me.”

“Alex, it’s not really necessary.”

“When I was in college, someone I knew was going through something similar to this. Neighbors who were a problem. That girl ended up in the middle of a dispute that had nothing to do with her. She got stabbed. I don’t want to take any chances with you.”

Brianne couldn’t argue with his logic. Bad things happened to good people all the time. People who were in places they were supposed to be, but at the wrong time.

Besides, she could tell by the look on Alex’s face that he wasn’t going to take no for an answer.

Alex strolled toward the opening to the living room. “I’ll wait here while you get changed.”

“Okay,” Brianne said, not bothering to protest. And there was something about the fact that Alex wanted to protect her that made her feel a warm tingle. Again, she found the reaction odd. But once again, she dismissed it as misplaced. Especially right now, given that he was
acting in the role of protector. It was easy to feel a sense of
something
toward him.

Gratitude. That had to be it. He was about to hopefully reunite her with the love of her life. Of course she would feel a sense of gratitude.

But as Brianne made her way up the stairs, she couldn’t help thinking that it wasn’t gratitude but something else.

Half an hour later, Alex was in a neighborhood in Buffalo that Brianne had never been in. A neighborhood with massive houses on large lots.

When Alex slowed and turned into a driveway of one of the larger houses, Brianne’s lips parted in surprise. It was an older home with a large wraparound porch, a pool to the left surrounded by a fence and a long driveway. Alex drove to the back of the driveway, where—to Brianne’s surprise—she saw another house that was definitely bigger than her parents’ home.

“Both of these are your houses?” Brianne asked, knowing she sounded astonished.

“This house back here is a carriage house. It’s perfectly fine as a stand-alone house, but I guess it was built for staff, or as an in-law suite.”

“In-law suite? It looks much bigger than your average house.”

“Three thousand square feet.”

“Oh, my,” Brianne said, nearly choking. That was nearly twice the size of her parents’ home. “What do you do with it?”

“I’m renting it out to a husband and wife. A yuppie couple with no kids who are quite happy here. At least for now.”

“Wow. I’ve never seen a carriage house, except on tele
vision. And your house—” She turned to gaze at it from the passenger seat. “It looks massive.”

“Sixty-five hundred square feet.”

Sixty-five hundred square feet.
The words echoed in Brianne’s mind. She could hardly believe it.

“May as well leave your suitcase in the car,” Alex said. “Unless you’ve got toiletries in there that you need.”

“Actually, I took my toiletries bag out of the suitcase already.” She patted the large purse on her lap. “Before we head to the airport, I’ll put it back in.”

Brianne got out of the car and followed Alex to the back door of the house. It was late, and she had planned to go straight to bed, given that they had to catch a flight in the morning, but the moment she stepped inside she found herself saying, “Can I get the grand tour?” Then, “Actually, it doesn’t have to be tonight. I can see the place in the morning.”

“If you want the tour, I’ll give you the tour.”

The first floor was massive—with a giant living room, an equally large kitchen that had been recently remodeled, a dining room and two sitting rooms. It was one of those beautiful old homes that had been immaculately maintained.

Six large bedrooms—seven, if you counted the home gym. Four full bathrooms. Three half baths. Brianne toured it all with open-mouthed wonder.

“And you live here by yourself?” Brianne asked as Alex completed the tour of the fourth level.

“Yeah.”

Stepping out of the last, extremely large bedroom that had been converted into a home gym, Brianne faced Alex. “You don’t ever get lonely?”

“Sometimes, but after a long day working, I need a place I can come and relax. Totally unwind.”

“Well, the place is magnificent,” Brianne said as she strolled toward the landing. She reached out and touched the wall, which was painted a pale peach color. She gazed at the African paintings lining the wall going down the stairs. “How long have you owned this place?”