Layers Crossed (6 page)

“Hello, Emma.”
His deep voice vibrated through my body and I nearly melted. If we
continued at this rate, I’d be in his arms way sooner than I wanted
to be.

“Hello.” Was
that all I could say? What did he do to me to make me so
breathless?

He reached
forward to hand me the flowers.

“Thank you. Do
you mind if I leave them here? I wouldn’t want them to be without
water.”

“Of
course.”

I handed the
bouquet to Harold, our security guard, and he knew what to do
immediately. “Would you like these in your apartment, Ms.
Cross?”

“Yes, please.
And thank you.” Then I turned to Eric, saying, “So, where to,
Cowboy? And please don’t tell me we’ll be riding mechanical bulls
today, because that’s not really my thing.”

“I can say
with certainty that I’d enjoy watching you ride, but not a bull.”
The hungry look in his stare as he ate me alive from the bottom up
forced my mouth to open. My cheeks flushed with heat as the image
of me on top of him flew through my mind once again.

“That’s not
what we’re doing. Not yet.”

Not
yet,
I repeated in my mind.

He kindly
opened the passenger door of a black SUV and made his way around
the car. In silence we drove to lower Manhattan to one of the
piers, where Eric parked his car, came around the front to my side
before I got a chance to unbuckle, and opened my door.

“You left your
hat on your seat,” I noted.

“I don’t wear
it all the time, Emma.”

Why was I so
uncertain around him, yet curious about what he’d say or do next?
As much as I’d thought I had him figured out, I was nowhere near.
Deep inside, I had a gut feeling Eric held more secrets than he let
on, and I wondered how long it would take me before he let me in to
learn them all. For the first time in a long time, I wanted to know
everything about a man. The curiosity was driving me crazy.

Eric offered
his arm and I hooked mine into it. Being so close to him, I was
overwhelmed by his sheer size. The top of my head barely reached
his shoulder.

Inside the
restaurant, the smell of fried food permeated the air. The place
felt homey, and the photographs of celebrities on the walls took me
aback. From looped ropes to cowboy hats, horseshoes, and cow bells,
the country artifacts took me down south in seconds. The theme was
unmistakable. I would never have picked a shack like this as a
place to eat on my own. Yet this was such a nice change from the
expensive restaurants my regular dates took me to.

“I’ve been to
most restaurants in Manhattan, but somehow missed this one.”

“You’re a
down-to-earth kinda girl. I like that. I have a feeling you’ve seen
enough expensive restaurants. But if you like, we can change the
venue.”

“No, this is
perfect.” And exactly what I needed. I was sick of portions the
size of my fists that looked more like art than real food.

“Good. I’ve
heard the food is delicious and that it’s a hidden gem. I hope you
like licking your fingers.”

Can I lick
your fingers?
I thought. The way Eric looked at me made me
wonder whether he could read my thoughts.

“What are you
thinking, Emma?” he asked.

“Nothing.”

“Should I have
picked something fancier for you?”

“Don’t offend
me. I may be a city girl, but I can do country too.”

“Good, because
you said you wanted to get to know me to do your job better. This”
– he pointed to a photograph on a wall – “is pretty much my
life.”

There, in
gorgeous sepia tones, was a horse ranch. It was absolutely
breathtaking. I wanted to go there and stay there forever.

I shook my
head. What was I thinking? I’d never leave Cross Enterprises or my
family, who all lived in New Jersey. It had been my home since my
birth. Both my brothers lived there, and my beautiful nieces and
nephews. And why was I already thinking about riding out into the
sunset on a horse with a man I’d barely met?

We sat in a
private booth, and the stereotypical waitress with two braids, one
on each side, brought our menus. Looking through the list, I wasn’t
sure what to try first. Some of the items, like fried bull
testicles, made me squirm, and I began to doubt whether I could
actually find something decent to eat.

“May I order
for you?” Eric asked.

“Uhm…”

“I promise
you’ll enjoy it.” Then he leaned in closer, “And there’s no way in
hell I’d let your mouth get within an inch of a pair of testicles
I’m not familiar with.”

“Well, you’re
pretty coy,” I said, while seriously considering his offer. “Yes,
please order for me. But if I don’t like what I see, I get to
choose our next venue.”

We hadn’t yet
started our date, and I already knew that one outing wouldn’t be
enough.

“Deal.”

“So why don’t
you tell me more about this guy you’re looking for? I need details
on that kidnapping.”

Eric’s face
sobered, and from one look at him, I knew I would be searching for
an asshole from hell.

C
HAPTER
6

Eric

Emma sat
across the table from me. Part of me wanted to dive right into my
past. Another part feared what that meant. I hadn’t had nightmares
for a while, but the guilt would always remain inside me. There was
no way I’d be able to let that go – ever. I hadn’t shared this with
anyone, so deciding at which point to start and how much exactly to
tell her was a challenge.

“I… I haven’t
told anyone about this.”

She reached
forward and took my hand into both of hers. Her pale skin stood out
against mine. The gesture startled me, but the calmness and
understanding in her eyes seeped right into me, giving me that
desperately sought courage.

“It’s all
right, Eric.”

And so I went
into the details – most of them – of what had happened to me and my
sister when we were barely teens.

* * *

Gagged, I felt
helpless as the bulky man put a cloth against Annabelle’s mouth.
With my hands tied behind my back and feet bound with rope, I moved
toward him along the carpet like a caterpillar. Max barked outside,
but no one could hear our German shepherd. Tonight our parents had
gone on a rare night out to the town dance. It looked like the
bastard, whose face I couldn’t see, had timed his abduction
perfectly.

I kicked my
feet forward, getting him right in the shin. Letting go of my
sister, he swore and swung back at me, hitting me over my head. The
sound of oscillating metal echoed in my ears as I fell to the
ground. The last thing I remembered seeing was Annabelle’s limp
body on her bed.

When I woke up
it was pitch black, and for a moment I wondered whether I’d
actually opened my eyes. The smell of wet dirt permeated the air.
With my feet and arms no longer bound, I sat up against an earthen
wall, immediately wondering where I could be. I thought about
wells, excavated dungeons, unfinished basements… never in the world
would I have guessed the place where the bastard had taken me. And
what had happened to my sister? Was she even here?

My wrists and
ankles itched from the rope burns. Those had been removed and
replaced with a tighter bind around my arms and torso. It made
getting up and moving around a bit more difficult, but not
impossible. The room was cold. If I could see anything, I’d be able
to see my breath in front of my face. As I made my way around the
misshapen room, trying to figure out its size, I bumped into
something soft.

“Annabelle?
Annabelle, are you all right?” I asked, but she didn’t respond. She
wasn’t tied up but remained unconscious, probably from the
chloroform he’d sedated her with. I sat back against the wall
beside her and
maneuvered
myself close to her so that I could ease
her head onto my lap. Her breathing was steady. Relieved she was
alive, I leaned my head back.

* * *

“You didn’t
tell me you were both kidnapped. The files…They had nothing on
you.”

“I know. I
wasn’t going to tell you this. I kept the other files at my ranch.”
While this was partly true because I needed bait to lure Emma out
of the city, as I’d been asked to, I couldn’t help but feel guilty
for it now. I didn’t want her to get hurt. Not by me, and not by
anyone else.

“Why?”

“Because I
haven’t told the complete story before. Not to anyone who mattered,
at least. I’m not looking for pity, and I’m not worried about
myself. I just need to know where the asshole is, so that I can
know Annabelle is safe.”

“How old were
you?” Emma asked. “And before I continue, please tell me your
sister is safe and alive.”

“I was
fifteen. Annabelle was eleven. Yes, she’s alive - although I’ve
been questioning to what extent. What we went through has severely
affected her.”

Emma was still
holding my hand in both of hers, rubbing her thumb over my
knuckles. The caress of her fingers over my skin pulsed through me
in waves. I’d never had such a feeling before. It was new, welcome,
and confusing at the same time. I hadn’t expected that from
her.

“I can almost
guarantee you it did. Traumatic experiences like those aren’t
easily forgotten.”

“What makes
you say that? Have you been through anything like that?”

“Not exactly.”
She paused for a moment, and I knew I’d hit on something there.
Maybe Emma had never been kidnapped, but whatever had hurt her, had
hurt her deep. “But my brothers have. It sort of comes with the job
for them. That’s why they’ve been so overprotective.” She rolled
her eyes.

I cocked my
head to the side. “Don’t ro…”

“… okay, okay.
It’s a habit. I’m sorry. I’ll try harder not to roll them. It’s
just that my brothers don’t really let me experience life on my
own, so I have the urge to do so without their knowledge. Otherwise
they’ll butt in all the time. I find the need to prove myself
drives me to crazy town more often than I’d like.”

“Like
stripping at a bar?” The memory of her dancing nearly naked there
worked like Viagra for my cock. It would be some time before I
could think about the night I’d met Emma without all my blood
rushing to my groin.

“Yes, among
other things. They get in my business too much. I need to lead my
life on my own. I can protect myself.”

Shit! This
wasn’t good. Okay, so maybe not being completely honest with her as
to why I’d ended up at Cross Enterprises could be a problem in the
future. But there was no way Emma would find out about our
connection, was there? Yet the cautious side of me knew what a good
investigator she had to be. There was no doubt in my mind she’d
eventually find out, so it would be my goal over the time to come
to tell her the truth before she did.

Knowing how
protective Julian and Tristan Cross had been, I wished I could have
been that kind of brother. Perhaps I wouldn’t have let my sister
down. I wouldn’t had failed her.

“You’re lucky
to have brothers who can take care of you and who love you so
much.”

She narrowed
her brows at me. “They shouldn’t worry. I can take care of
myself.”

“Would you, if
someone drugged you or put a chloroform cloth over your mouth?”

“I haven’t
been in the situation, but yeah, I’ve been trained to get out of
situations like those.”

“That’s good.
That’s really good. But training is not the same as experience.” I
couldn’t help but be wary of letting her help me. I’d need to
re-evaluate this. However, if she could find John Huntz, I’d deal
with him on my own, and I wouldn’t let the asshole come close to
Emma – so technically, so long as she kept her end of the deal and
stayed far away from him, maybe we
could
work together.

“I’m sorry, I
didn’t mean to interrupt. Please continue your story.”

I inhaled
deeply. This was the part of the kidnapping I’d need to adjust.
There was no way I could tell her what a bad brother I’d been.

“Annabelle
woke up a couple of hours later. She untied me and we scoured the
small compartment we were in. You couldn’t even call it a room. It
was a hole in the ground, no more than four feet high, and one we
couldn’t stand up in. She didn’t remember who had caught us, and
neither did I. Not until I was able to escape did I recognize the
man who’d been trying to purchase our parents’ farm for years, all
without success.”

“So, you’ve
got a name?” Emma’s eyes grew wide open.

“Yes, I’ve got
a name. John Huntz.”

She
immediately opened her phone and typed it in. “Tell me more.”

“I can still
remember my sister’s trembles as she shook from the cold. Our teeth
clattered so hard, I was sure I’d lose a couple. We held onto each
other trying to retain and share any warmth we could. After about
an hour of dragging ourselves around the small cave on our knees,
we heard a hinge squeak, and a little girl’s hand reached down. She
threw a banana and an apple toward us. We pleaded with her to let
us out, but it wasn’t until the third try that she finally spoke
through the thin slit. Her green eyes were so bright they didn’t
look real. We didn’t even get her name.” I lowered my head.

Emma squeezed
my hand, asking, “What happened to her?”

“She helped us
escape, but I don’t even want to think about what she must have
gone through when Huntz found out. It wasn’t long before the cops
were hunting him down. They’d found the little girl at her home,
hidden amongst some clothes underneath a bed, all by herself. Huntz
had left and never came back. There was no trace of a hole at the
house – which we knew there wouldn’t be.”

“How did you
know?”

“Because when
we got out it was night time, and we were in the middle of a
forest. We told the police and they searched the surrounding areas,
but no one has ever found his hideout.