Smolder (9 page)

“I feel like a teenager,” I confessed.

“My heart is pounding too,” he said. “I like you, Ellie. You have a beautiful smile, and you light up when you see pretty buildings, the antiques in my office, and you give so readily as soon as a patient needs you. It does things to me.”

He got out of the car and opened my door. I took his hand and rose into his embrace. He put his arms around my waist, and he pulled me into him. I let out a soft moan as the air happily fled my lungs. He placed tiny, feathery kisses across my hairline. He moved his hands up my back, and I arched into him as he caressed my shoulders and pulled me closer.

He kissed my cheeks and left small kisses down my nose, kissing the corners of my mouth before he found my lips and teased them, tracing along them with his tongue. He slid his hand behind my head as he gently pushed his tongue inside my mouth. He pressed his body against mine and leaned me against the car. I ran my hands inside of his coat, up his back, and held onto his shoulders as thrust his hips against mine.

Our tongues danced as his hands slid down my back to cup my ass and lifted me as I wrapped my legs around his hips. I felt desire rising through me and I ran my hands to his ass and pulled him into me. I forgot that we were in my driveway all I could think of was he and I getting as close as we could.

I heard a cough off to my left that reminded me where we were, and Josh stood on the porch with his hands on his hips and attempted to look stern.

“Your brother is a good chaperone,” Dmitri said and kissed my forehead. “I will leave you to your family and see you at work on Monday.”

“See you Monday." I was disappointed I wouldn't hear from him over the weekend. First date or not, I wanted to know more about the Russian doctor with the soft lips.

Josh greeted me at the door and opened it with a flourish.

“You are weird.” The same accusation I'd used since we were kids.

He followed me to my room. “Tell me everything. Like I was one of your girlfriends.”

“He held my hand on the drive to the restaurant,” I started.

“Oooh.” He batted his eyelashes and sprawled on my bed while I changed into pajamas. “By the way, my girlfriend wants the details, not only me. So this is only a little weird.”

I was halfway into my pajama bottoms when I started laughing. “It is a
lot
weird, Josh. Just like in high school. I swear I do not know how you turned out straight.”

He shrugged. “Me, either. Now spill it, Sister.”

The giggles faded and I continued, “I was amazed at the houses on the drive downtown. Every one of them would have made Scarlett O'Hara proud. Full balconies on the second floor that mirrored the wraparound porches on the first floor. Wide staircases, the kind you could fit an entire family reunion on, dropped down to yards that had to be landscaped. Plants don't look that amazing growing wild.”

“Really, Ms. Nature Channel? I ask about your date, and you talk about houses?”

“He held my hand until we got to the valet station at the restaurant. Then he put his arm around me while we walked into the restaurant,” I said. “The food was delicious, and we had a great view of the courtyard. Apparently, he goes there a lot because we were at his regular table.”

“He has a table there? I like that.”

I sat on the bed with him. “So do I." I paused for effect. “He kissed me while we waited for the valet. And I know this isn't the stuff you like to hear, but it was nice.”

“I'm sure. It's been a while, El.”

“I know. I just prefer being alone to being hurt. So, anyway. We got to the symphony hall, and it's gorgeous. The gay man in you would hyperventilate.”

He pushed me off the bed and onto the floor. I hit with a thud.

“Hey now.” I got up and walked to the kitchen.

“You got a package. But your story isn't finished,” he said as he joined me.

“You saw the rest. We left the theatre and drove straight here. He may be on call this weekend because he said he would see me at work on Monday.”

“What I saw was smoking hot and belongs on a pay per view channel.”

“I don’t want to know how long you were there,” I said. “Now what’s this I hear about getting a package? I didn’t order anything, did you?”

“Nope, just dropped off while you were out and doesn’t have a return address.”

Chapter Eight

The package was a plain box wrapped in old paper grocery bags with my address in marker. I received mail from former patients on occasion, and figured this was from one of them. I opened the box, and fought the urge to throw up.

There were body parts inside. Still bloody body parts. I recognized an ear and part of a finger before I had to turn away.

“Who the
hell
sent you this?” Josh asked.

He saw blood every day at work so this didn't affect him. My stomach, on the other hand, churned and threatened to return dinner.

“I don't know!”

“I found the card. Who is Travis?” He was furious.

His breathing was labored, and he paced back and forth. I’d seen him do this only right before a match when he wanted to get worked up. I didn't remember if I told him the name of the abusive husband. But if I did, he probably didn't remember it.

“The man whose wife and kids took off this week because he beats her. He has a history of violence, and Owen mentioned something about murders, but I thought he was trying to scare me.”

“I'm scared now.”

“So am I. I need to call Owen.” My shaking fingers forced me to dial the number three times before I got it right.

He answered on the first ring. “If your date went bad, I'm not the man to call.”

“Travis sent me...” My voice trailed off. Not only could I not say anything, I wasn't sure what exactly he did send me.

“Ellie? Are you okay?” I heard his car start up in the background.

“I'm not hurt. Scared and nauseous, but not hurt,” I answered.

Josh motioned for me to stay put, and he stalked through the house.

“Josh, Travis is in jail. He's not hidden under the couch,” I said, as much to calm myself down as anything else. “Owen? He's still in jail, right?”

I heard him cussing out another driver on the road.

“Yes, he is still in jail. But... damn. I'll be there in ten minutes.”

“But what?” My body began to tremble, and Josh caught me and held me tight. “Owen?” He had already hung up.

“He’s on his way.”

Ten minutes was a very long time to wait when the smallest sound made you jump. We held onto each other with only one break. Josh pulled away to get us Diet Cokes from the refrigerator. We could be up most of the night with Owen and sleep didn't sound like a good idea to either of us.

Owen pounded on the front door so hard I jumped. “I'm coming! I'm scared enough without you banging my front door off the hinges.”

The second the lock clicked open, Owen shoved the door open and knocked me to the floor.

“What the hell?” I kicked him and rolled away. “What is your problem?”

He pushed me aside, out of the light from outside, and kicked the front door closed. “There is someone across the street.”

“Of course there is. I'm sure they heard you beating on the door at midnight and came outside to see what happened. This is a quiet neighborhood, Owen.” I regretted calling him. “I should have called 911. You are acting like you're in a movie. Stop it, please.”

The color drained from his face as I got up and walked to the kitchen. Josh stood at the far end of the hallway, unsure if he should kick Owen's ass before or after he helped us.

“After," I said as I passed him. “Holy crap.” The smell from the box hit me, and I rushed back into the hallway.

Owen brushed past me. “When did this arrive? Who delivered it? Where is the return address?”

Josh answered every question as it was asked. “It arrived around eight tonight. There was a knock on the door, and it was left on the porch. I don't know who delivered it. And no, this house does not have surveillance cameras, I already checked. There was no return address. A good number of El's former patients send her thank you gifts, and rarely do they include a return address.”

Owen stopped and turned to me. “This is normal for you?”

“The package, yes; the body parts in it? No.” The shaking in my core threatened to rattle my teeth.

The cop took charge. “First step, I'll call the police and get them over here to investigate. Second, you need an alarm system and surveillance cameras. We will put them over the doors and along the sides of the house.”

Numbed by everything, I nodded absently and hoped I would remember it.

“Josh,” Owen turned to my brother, who stood behind my left shoulder in the hallway. “How long can you stay?”

“As long as I'm needed. El comes first.” He stepped closer and put his hand on my shoulder.

“Good. I don't want her home alone at any time. I don't think she’s under physical threat at this time. Travis is in jail and so are his associates. They were arrested last week on drug charges. But he does mean to torture her,” he finished and left the room dialing his phone.

“Torture?” My knees gave and Josh caught me. “I would rather be killed. Why couldn't he just want me dead, which would be so much easier?” I couldn't stop talking. “I mean, if you like to hurt women, isn't the best way to hurt her to kill her? I'm not afraid to die. I tell people all the time that dying is easier on the living. So why not kill me and have it over with?”

I would have paced, but Josh didn't let me move. I paused in my rant, and my brother interrupted me.

“He wants to see you hurt,” he ground out through clenched teeth.

I knew that, but it still bothered me to hear it.

“El.” Josh pulled me into his huge bear arms. “I'll move down here tonight if I need to.”

I loved my brother. He would put his life on hold and do whatever it took to keep me safe. As much as I wanted to tell him to forget it, I was too shaken up to refuse protection at this point. Fear for my own safety had never caught me like that before. I knew I would be better in the morning, but as I stood there that night, all I wanted was for my brother to protect me.

“Please stay.”

It was all I needed to say. He called his girlfriend and explained the situation. I heard him refuse what likely was an offer on her part to join us.

His voice carried down the hall. “There are two women I would protect with my life. If you come here, you put yourself in danger, and I don't want that.”

I felt tears on face as I recalled Mom saying, “Your brother is just like that cartoon bear. All snuggly and innocent and gentle, until you threaten his family, and then you don't want to be in the same forest.” She was right.

Owen returned and, without saying a word, grabbed my arm gently steering me to the front room.

“The police will be here in a moment, and I thought you would want to be comfortable for the interrogation. Can I get you anything?”

Talk about a surreal moment.

“I'd prefer an explanation for why I'll be interrogated.” Not to mention the alarm bells that still rang in my head every time Owen came close.

“They need to know everything about your interactions with Travis. What you saw from the window, what he wore, what exactly did his wife say? That kind of information is necessary in an investigation.” He rolled his shoulders back while he spoke. He was in his element.

“I know its procedure, Owen. But the answer isn't secret. He abused his wife, I told her to get out of town, and she did; now he's pissed at me. Simple really.” Simply deadly, but that didn't need to be said.

“It's never that simple in police work. We need every bit of evidence if we are going to prosecute him for this.”

“Like what?” Josh said as he entered the room.

Owen motioned for Josh to join me on the couch. “Like the questions I asked you when I arrived. You are going to need to answer them again, at least one more time. I like the officers who are coming tonight. I worked with three of them in Atlanta and would trust them with my own family.”

“You pulled strings,” Josh said.

“Yes. I also informed them I am romantically interested in you and therefore can't help in the investigation.” He wouldn't look me in the eye and glanced around the room for a moment.

“It's okay, Owen,” I said. “I had figured it out.”

His insecurity made him more attractive and a little more vulnerable, but he still couldn’t look me in the eye. That barrier he put up was still there, even with his confessing he cared for me.

There was a knock on the door, and Owen let the local police into my home. He escorted two of them back to the kitchen while the other two took seats opposite Josh and I opening their notebooks.

It was a long night. My throat was sore from repeated answers and questions and more answers. Owen stood by the whole time. It took three hours for the police to check everything. They removed the package, the wrapping, and even sprayed something in the kitchen for the smell. I was sure when this happened I wouldn't be able to sleep, but exhaustion hit me as soon as the door closed.

“Will you be okay for tonight?” Owen asked. He tried to make it sound professional.

“Yes. I have a king size bed, and Josh won't let me out of his sight. I may have to talk the entire time I'm in the bathroom so he will let me go in alone.”

If someone could get into my bathroom, past all the security stuff Owen and his friends installed, I had a lot of small appliances to fight with.

“My knives," I thought aloud as I wandered off to sleep. “I need to hide my knives and daggers around the house.”

“Tomorrow,” Josh replied from his side of the bed. “Goodnight, Ellie. As always, visiting you is entertaining.”

Saturday morning, I woke to find two policemen on the back porch. My room had backyard access through sliding glass doors and even with the sheers closed I would recognize cops. Josh slept crooked next to me. I got up and found a robe before heading out back.

“Good morning, Dr. Quinn.”

One of the officers who grilled me last night smiled.

“We wanted to see your home in daylight. To see if any prints or marks were missed last night.”

“And?” I asked.

“We are thorough, Doctor. We didn't find any new reason to be alarmed.” Her tone was clipped, and I wondered if she and Owen had a past.

“Just a normal day at the Quinn household, Officer. I woke up next to my giant of a brother to see two police officers on my back porch. I'd offer you coffee but if I make it, Josh will just throw it away and start over.”

He really hated my coffee. I wanted one of those fancy one cup serving machines anyway. At least if I messed that up, it wouldn’t be the entire pot.

They ignored me and walked away. I heard their car start up as Josh came outside with coffee.

“I waited for them to leave. That lady asked my crotch all of the questions last night.” He blushed.

“Did it answer?” I asked.

He went into the kitchen through the sliding doors. I saw him grab a bag of bagels with that evil grin on his face so I took off to the pool. He would never ruin food, so as long as I kept chlorinated water between us, I was safe. He came around the corner of the porch and stood above the pool steps. I wavered behind the diving board.

“You are not going to throw food.”

“It's still in the bag.”

And he threw it at me.

I picked up the bagels, walked back to the house, and noticed he was quiet and staring out at the marsh.

“What is it?" I asked.

He put his fingers to his lips and pulled me with him. As we neared the edge, I saw them. A small family of river otters played a few yards off shore. It looked like a mother with pups. We sat down in the grass and watched.

“I'm scared for you.”

I wasn't sure I heard him right, but one glance and I could see it on his face.

“I'm more angry than scared. Bullies, and this guy embodies that word in full, piss me off. A part of me wants to go to the jail and tell him to fuck off. Right to his face. Just to let him know I'm not going to run from him.”

“More stubborn than stable,” he said.

“He does it to gain control. It's about the game. Understanding that doesn't make me fearless, but if I give in to the fear and run, who will he go after next? If I left and he hurt someone, you know that would haunt me.”

I headed back to the house to clean up. At the door, I turned back to see Josh enthralled again by the otters. I hoped his staying here didn't put him in Travis's sights.

Dressed in jeans and a short-sleeved sweater, I emerged from my room to find Owen, Lee, and Josh huddled over the kitchen table.

“This is disturbing," I tried to joke.

Lee walked over and hugged me, awkwardly. “We heard what happened.”

“How?” It couldn't have been the hospital gossips this time.

“One of the other surgeons lives on this street. He noticed the police cars last night,” Owen answered.

I realized that if he knew, Dmitri had heard too, and I checked my phone. There were two text messages and a voicemail from him asking me to call.

I closed the door to my room and called him.