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I had no idea how long I remained quivering, my heart thudding in irregular beats against my chest. I lolled my head to the side, blinking several times as I tried to relearn how to focus. A flash of something occurred out of the corner of my eye and I gasped, every muscle immediately stiffening.
The hard knock on the door forced his head up slowly yet he took his time to cover my nakedness.
“What is it, Charlie?”
“I’m sorry, sir, but Mr. Cormier is here to see you.”
“Show him into my office. I’ll be right there.” Annoyance played out in Arman’s voice and he rose to his feet, leaning over. “You should get dressed, sweet princess. We have some things to do today.”
With that, my prince disguised as a ruthless predator walked out.
And I’d never felt so alone.
CHAPTER21
Arman
As I returned to my office, the taste of Raven lingering, I could instantly tell that Maddox had something important on his mind. He was pacing, acting as if I’d taken too long. I moved to the coffeepot, prepared for a second cup.
“You’re up early.”
“Your late text had me awake the rest of the night, Arman,” Maddox said. “And yes, I’ll have coffee.” He pointed to my desk, waiting until I noticed a file.
I poured his, sliding the mug in his direction. We usually both drank black, as I stared at the liquid brew, I smiled in reverence to the lovely woman just a couple of doors away. Raven had shocked me with her piano playing, raising more than just an eyebrow when I’d heard it from my office. Seeing her in my robe had been a perfect vision after spending a couple of hours going through various past records, attempting to remember who I might have eliminated years before. Her thought that the motive had been retaliation had fascinated me, which had in turn pushed me into texting Maddox in the middle of the night.
Opening the fridge, I was pleased to find cream. I could tell Maddox was watching me. Then he laughed.
“Now you’re taking cream in your coffee? Let me guess. That’s based on influence from your new fiancée.”
“She did encourage me to try the crazy things in life. Have you ever jumped into a fountain in your bare feet?” I wasn’t even certain how much cream to add but I poured just enough to turn it white. Then I brought it to my lips, taking a deep whiff.
“I can’t say I have, buddy. If that’s something you start doing on a regular basis, I might begin to worry about you.”
“Very funny.” I took a sip and was pleasantly surprised. “What was so urgent you interrupted my breakfast?” I shot him a certain look and he grumbled under his breath.
“I think I liked you better when you were a surly SOB.”
“Out with it. I have a full day planned.”
“It would appear Raven is onto something with her thoughts. Take a look.” He nodded to the file and I headed toward my desk, opening it.
There were several pictures inside, some of them grainy. “What am I looking at?”
“Do you recognize that guy?”
I did but I couldn’t tell where it was from. “Vaguely. Enlighten me.”
“His name is Kyle Ramsey. He was a New Orleans cop fourteen years ago.”
“Was?”
“Yeah, ‘was’ is the word. He died in a fire. He happened to be Travis Ramsey’s firstborn son.”
I glanced at him. Then I remembered an incident from several years before, the reason that I’d insisted we get out of the arms business. A fire had torched a building given an explosive set off by a cop who’d come to investigate. “Hold on. This was the cop who died in the warehouse fire?”
“Yeah. And remember, Travis Ramsey blamed you.”
Fuck.
