Dead Man Living (3 page)

The first time he’d tried to use the dildo, the pain had been so unexpected that he’d almost given up the fantasy of anal sex with Joe. Persistence had been the key. It had taken several attempts, but he’d found his first time with the dildo buried deep inside him to be unlike anything he’d ever experienced.

Lubed and ready, Brian directed the slicked silicone to his hole. In the beginning, he’d indulged three or four times a week, but he’d worked up to almost nightly romps with his personal friend. Seeing Joe again hurt more than he’d thought it would.

Brian pushed the dildo inside, deserving the pain it caused. He pictured Joe over him, shoving into him. “I’m such a pathetic loser,” he told himself as he fucked the dildo in and out of his ass.

* * * *

She knew it was pointless, Joe Baker was unattainable. When his picture had been splashed all over the news after he’d been shot, she’d been taken with how handsome he was. The fact that he’d been injured trying to rescue a victim of domestic violence had sparked her attention, but it was his good looks that had prompted her to actively search for more articles about him.

She knew about his alleged abilities and his self-imposed exile from watching the news and had always felt a bit sad for him.

There was something in his eyes though, those dark green windows to the soul. The few times the local and national news had caught him on video, his eyes had haunted her, and after seeing them in person, she knew he carried scars that had nothing to do with the one on his temple.

He always appeared frightened when approached by the media. According to reports, Joe could see whether a person was good or bad and to what degree. Maybe that was the reason an onrush of reporters scared him. From her own dealings with the press, she knew a lot of them did what they had to in order to get ahead. What would that do to a person?

Reaching over, Beth picked up the spare pillow and hugged it to her chest. She knew she had a soft spot for the underdog, but her attraction to Joe went beyond normal. Asking him to lunch had probably been a bad idea. Refusing to meet him for a drink had probably been a worse one. She grinned.

There was just something in his demeanour earlier in the day that told her Lavette’s murder bothered him as much as it did her. Burying her face in the pillow, she groaned. Sleep. Maybe if she was lucky she’d dream of the tall cop with long black hair and eyes that drew her in.

* * * *

By eleven-thirty Wednesday morning, Beth was worn out. She’d fielded numerous calls from local media, giving them a brief prewritten statement and plea. Thankfully, she’d convinced the reporters to accept the statement over the phone and not in person. If the media aimed its cameras at A New Start as a backdrop to a domestic violence story, the women at the shelter ran the risk of being spotted. They all knew what had happened to Lavette could just as easily happen to them.

Beth looked at the clock and felt a sense of peace fill her. She’d looked forward to her lunch with Joe since they’d made the date. Not that it was truly a date, but a girl could dream.

Business first, she told herself. Although once business was out of the way, perhaps she could take Joe up on that offer of a drink. Feeling her cheeks flush with excitement, she pulled on her navy suit jacket. She’d decided to go with her normal attire of a dark suit but had added a playful scoop neck blouse in a pretty floral print.

After running a brush through her shoulder-length blonde hair, Beth signed herself out. As always, she scanned the small parking lot before opening the front door. As far as she knew, the police still hadn’t caught Billy Osborn, Lavette’s ex-husband.

With keys in hand, Beth dashed to her three-year-old sedan. As soon as she was inside, she quickly relocked the doors and started the car. Exhaling a sigh of relief, she pulled out of the lot towards Johnny’s.

Several times on the drive over, she felt as though someone was watching her. Continually checking her rear-view mirror, Beth tried to shake off her paranoia.

She was relieved when she pulled into Johnny’s parking lot. After giving herself a quick check in the mirror, she went inside. The noise assaulted her as soon as she opened the door.

Why would Joe want to meet in such a busy place? She stepped up to the hostess and gave her name.

The hostess nodded. “Joe’s already here. I’ll take you back.”

Beth followed the petite redhead through the throng of customers to the rear of the restaurant. She couldn’t help but to wonder why the girl seemed to know him so well. She grinned at her own jealousy surfacing.

The hostess walked past the regular tables towards the private dining area usually reserved for parties. Her confusion must have shown on her face because the girl smiled. “A favour for an old friend.”

Beth gave the girl a nod before following her in. The large room was empty save for one small table occupied by Joe. He stood as soon as he spotted her walk through the doorway.

“Can I get you something to drink?” the hostess asked.

“Water with lemon, please.”

“Coming right up. You okay, Joe?”

“Yeah, thanks, Tammy,” Joe said, staring at Beth.

After Tammy had left, Beth cleared her throat. “So…um…do you know Tammy well?”

Joe glanced over to the now closed door. “I used to coach her softball team, her dad owns the place.”

Beth hoped she hadn’t given her green-eyed monster away. “She seems very nice.”

“She is,” Joe said, eying Beth once again.

A few seconds later, Tammy was back with a glass of water. “Are the two of you ready to order?”

Beth realised she hadn’t even glanced at the menu. “Do you have vegetable soup?”

“Yes, homemade.”

“Excellent, I’ll have that and a salad with house dressing.”

“The usual, Joe?”

“Yeah,” he answered.

Beth couldn’t help but notice Joe’s preoccupation with something about her appearance. He kept looking her up and down. She began to wonder if she’d made a mistake with the blouse. Normally she would have never worn something so flirtatious to work. Maybe he didn’t approve?

“Beth?”

“I’m sorry, did you say something?” She placed her napkin on her lap.

Running his hand over his forehead he nodded. “I had a vision about you.”

She felt her heart skip a beat. “Was it a good one?”
Yes, yes, please say yes.

“No. I think you’re in danger.” Joe shook his head. “No. I know you’re in danger. In my vision you were wearing that suit and blouse.”

Unaccustomed to the full scope of his talent, she questioned further. “What does that mean, exactly?”

Joe reached out and put his hand over hers. “I have these…flashes. Sometimes they’re images, sometimes full scenes.” His fingers wrapped around her hand. “They’re never wrong.”

“And?” Okay, she’d admit it—she was a little freaked out. Not as much by what Joe was telling her, but from the way his hand was shaking. If his vision had him this jittery, it couldn’t be good.

“Flashes.” He rubbed his eyes with his free hand. “You in a parking lot, wearing those clothes. One of the security lights is out. A man, five-ten maybe, blond hair.” Joe pointed towards his hand. “A tattoo of a spider between his thumb and forefinger.”

Joe looked into Beth’s eyes. “He means to hurt you.” He shifted in his chair, obviously agitated. “I wish I could tell you more, but I’m not getting a clear picture of his intentions. It’s like he’s confused or he could be so angry that his thoughts aren’t clear.”

“Sounds like Billy Osborn, Lavette’s ex-husband.” Beth felt numb. It was one thing to have something bad happen. It was even more upsetting when you knew it was going to happen ahead of time.

“What should I do?”

“Well one thing is for certain. You can’t go back to work. I’ll call my old captain and tell him about the vision. Hopefully, he’ll stake out the parking lot and catch Billy.”

Beth turned her hand over, and gripped Joe’s hand. “What if they don’t?”

“That depends. How would you feel about having a shadow until they do?”

“You mean you,” Beth surmised. She felt her breathing accelerate. She’d always known her job was dangerous, but being confronted with an imminent threat drove the point home.

“Honestly? I’ve already failed one woman this week. I don’t know that I could live with myself if it happened again.” Joe glanced up from Beth’s hand to meet her eyes. “I know I’m asking a lot of you, we don’t really know each other, I get that, but I haven’t forgotten.”

“Believe me—I don’t want it to happen again either.”

Chapter Four

As lunch ended, Joe stood to pull out Beth’s chair. “I’ll follow you home if that’s okay.” He slipped on a baseball hat—pulling the bill low—and a pair of extremely dark sunglasses.

Beth couldn’t help but to find it funny. “Did you turn into a vampire over lunch?”

Joe looked at her and shook his head. “I’ll tell you later.”

She felt a thrill when he rested his hand on the small of her back as they left the restaurant. “Where are you parked?” he asked.

“Over there.” Beth didn’t want the walk to end. For the moment, at least, she could pretend she was on a normal date, being touched by a man out of passion and not just protection. “Will you follow me?”

“Yeah. When you get to your place, stay in the car until I open the door for you.”

Her arms broke out in gooseflesh as Joe rubbed her back several times while she unlocked her car door. He waited until she was safely locked in and buckled up before pointing towards his truck. She gave a nod and waited for him to retrieve his pickup.

There was that feeling again. Beth looked around the lot. Was Billy watching her? She wished she’d taken Joe’s cell number. When she saw him pull out of his space, she drove towards him and rolled her window down.

 Joe stopped beside her—a strange look on his face. “Problem?”

“I don’t know,” Beth said. “It’s just a strange feeling. Will you stay close on the way to my house?”

Joe looked away from her and scanned the parking lot. “Do you know what make of car Billy drives?”

“No.”

“Okay. Don’t run any yellow lights and I’ll stay right behind you.” Joe stretched his arm out of the open window and ran a knuckle across Beth’s cheek. “I won’t let anything happen to you.”

Beth leaned in to the touch and briefly closed her eyes, savouring the touch. “Thank you.” All too soon, Joe’s hand went back to the steering wheel. Beth rolled up her window and waited for Joe to pull in behind her.

Joe pulled out his phone as he followed Beth. Before the lunch they’d shared, he had been attracted to the purety of Beth’s aura, but during their time together, he’d genuinely enjoyed the ease of conversation as well as her sense of humour.

He’d been afraid to share his vision with her. Too many people in his life had put distance between them after being confronted with his freaky ability, and he desperately wanted to get to know Beth.

Beth had surprised him. Not only had she taken his vision seriously, but instead of pulling away, she’d accepted his protection. The simple gesture had lowered his walls, something that hadn’t happened since the shooting that had changed his life.

Joe grinned. By the end of lunch, his physical attraction to Beth had exploded along with his protective instincts. He was glad he wasn’t a cop because there was nothing standing in the way of him following his desire to get closer to the woman beside him.

“Hey,” Brian answered the phone.

Joe swung his attention from thoughts of Beth to his ongoing, unreciprocated feelings for Brian. “I’m following Beth to her house. I had another vision on the way to the restaurant. I think Billy Osborn’s planning to hurt her,” he explained.

“Where?” Brian asked.

It warmed Joe that his best friend didn’t question the vision itself. “I’m not sure. I saw her in the clothes she’s currently wearing, but that’s about it. I thought I’d stick close to her until we catch Osborn.”

“Sounds like a good plan, but you’re not a cop anymore.” Brian sighed. “Cap put me on another homicide this morning, but it’s a no brainer. You want me to meet you somewhere after I’m finished here?”

Joe would grab at any excuse to see Brian again. The fact that Brian could arrest Billy on sight was perfect. “Yeah. I’d appreciate that. I’ll be at Beth’s.”

“Don’t play the hero,” Brian warned.

“Don’t worry. I’m no one’s hero,” Joe answered.

* * * *

Her small apartment was only about a mile and a half from the restaurant so it didn’t take long before they pulled in front of her building. Beth indicated the visitor parking spots across the lot and Joe nodded, phone to his ear.

She gathered her things and waited for him to finish his call. When Joe knocked on her window, Beth opened the door. “I never thought I’d be so happy to get home,” she said, getting out of the car.

“Before you get out, look around and tell me if you see Billy?”

Beth did as she was asked. “No, everything appears normal.”

Joe stood back and helped her out of the car. “Stay close,” he said, slipping his arm around her waist. The gesture was a physical reminder of his size and strength. Never had she thought of herself as petite, but tucked against Joe’s side, she was. It didn’t matter that she’d just met Joe, in his arms, she felt safer than she ever had. They walked to her first floor apartment, and Beth unlocked the door while Joe shielded her from behind.

As they entered, Joe did a quick search of the small, one-bedroom apartment. “Does Billy know where you live?”

Beth tensed. She hadn’t even thought of that. “I don’t know. I mean, my number is unlisted so he couldn’t find me through a phone book.” She racked her brain trying to think if there was any way. She finally shook her head. “I’m sorry, I just don’t know.”

Stepping forward, Joe pulled Beth into his arms and kissed the top of her head. “I’m here. We’ll figure it out.”

Beth pressed her cheek against Joe’s powerful chest. “I don’t know why I’m acting like such a baby. With my job, I always run the risk of retaliation from ex-husbands or boyfriends.”