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He doesn’t answer and isn’t in the bathroom. In the kitchen, I find a note by the coffee pot.
Good morning, sleepyhead. I ran to Lowe’s to get a new door. Be back in a bit.
I blow out a sigh. It’s silly to regret he didn’t write that he loves me or sign with hearts. Charlie isn’t sentimental that way. Besides, I know he loves me. His actions tell me so, whether he ever gives me the words or not. He peeled away all my careful shields and walls and peered inside the twisted, shattered remains in the darkest part of me. And he still wants me.
That’s my kind of love.
The coffee pot kicked off, so he must have made coffee at least two hours ago. It’s still warm, but I dump it out to make a fresh pot. I can’t stand bitter, burned coffee.
While I wait for the fresh pot to brew, I check my email. I have a private message from the BDSM group, but I don’t recognize the user name,MasterOfAll. I snort. He must think a hell of a lot of himself.
The note’s short.
Nice bites. Wanna play?
I delete the message. “Rude, much?”
The first thing I did after I spent that first night with Charlie was update my profile to show that I’m in a relationship. I’ll have to letDaddybearknow someone is breaking the rules. If people are openly off the market, that kind of come-on is frowned upon in our group.
Sheba runs to the front door and barks to get my attention. I peek through the window.
Cop cars. Two of them.
Hands shaking, I drop the curtains and grab my phone. I text Charlie,Cops are here, then mute it in case he replies. I don’t wait for them to ring the doorbell, although it’s frigid outside.
One of the cops is the same deputy who responded to the alarm, and then an older, heavyset man. “Miss Killian, this is Sheriff Cutler. I’m Deputy Daniels.”
“Yes, I remember you. Please, come in.”
The two men come inside, careful to stomp their boots on the porch so they don’t track in too much snow. Sheba remains alert and stiff, her ruff spiking a little, but she doesn’t growl. “Is it alright for her to sniff you? I think she wants to get to know you a little better.”
“Sure, ma’am,” Sheriff Cutler replies, holding his hand out. Daniels is a little more careful, because he saw her handiwork that first night. She gives them both a quick sniff and then settles on her haunches beside me. “Is Mr. MacNiall here?”
“No. He went to Lowe’s to replace the door.”
He nods. “Do you want to wait for him to get back, or could we sit down and talk?”
“Sure, that’s fine. Do you want some coffee?”
They agree, so I get them both a cup and set out the half and half and sugar bowl. I sit down and the sheriff takes Charlie’s normal chair, while the deputy remains standing. Sheba takes up position between us, but she lies down with her head on her paws.
“Miss Killian, we have some troubling news.” Sheriff Cutler is one of those good old boys who talks real slow. I want to reach over and shake him. “We found the gold Suburban you reported.”
“Okay.” I take a long, deep breath, deliberately steeling my nerves. “Why is that troubling? What about Tasker?”
“We haven’t found the man yet, but when we searched the vehicle, we found some disturbing evidence.” The sheriff opens the manila envelope and pushes it toward me. “I don’t think he had very good intentions regarding you. We took these from the vehicle.”
I stare at the top page for a moment. It’s a picture of me, entering Charlie’s house. I flip through the pages, picture after picture of me. Outside of work, with detailed notes on my hours and the location of the clinic. My apartment. My car and its license plate.
“Do you know why this man would have so much information on you, Miss Killian?”
I fold my hands in my lap, both to warm my frozen fingertips and to hide how much my hands tremble. Truth. Only truth. “Charlie said they wanted him to come back to work for them, and they might use me to try and get him to agree.”
“What kind of company would use an innocent woman to get an employee back?” Deputy Daniels crouches down in front of me. “What kind of man leaves bruises like that on his girlfriend?”
“I told you they were consensual.”
“He’s not here now, Miss Killian. Are they still consensual?”
