Diners, Dives & Dead Ends (24 page)

“Yeah.  I was out when it
happened.”

His blue gaze scanned me.  Then
he suddenly dropped his briefcase pulled me to him, buried his face in my hair. 
“What if you had been home?  You could have been hurt.  God, you could have
been killed.”   

“I’m going to go sit in the
car, now,” Roxy said. 

He pulled back and cupped my
cheek with his palm.  “Rose.”

My heart skipped two beats. 
I wanted to believe he was genuinely concerned for me, and not there because of
Sullivan.  “I’m fine.”  I bit my lip as he continued to scrutinize me. 
“Really, Dane, I’m okay.”

He hugged me again.  My arms
crept around his waist and hugged back.  He tucked my head under his chin, stroking
my hair.  It felt foreign to be comforted by someone.  It felt…good.

When we pulled away, I wiped
at my eyes, and did that little not-a-real-laugh-just-an-awkward-pseudo-laugh. 
“So,” I said, staring at the white gazebo in the park across the street.  The
afternoon light was fading, leaving orange and pink streaks across the sky.

Dane cleared his throat and
shoved his hands in his pockets.  “Who do you think did this?”

My eyes met his.  “I think
it may have been Sullivan.”

“Who the hell is Sullivan?” 
His look of angry confusion seemed real.  If Dane was in collusion with
Sullivan, then I was my parents’ favorite daughter.  Or he was an amazing
actor.  In that moment, a weight lifted off my shoulders and I believed Dane
was for real.

“Who is Sullivan?”  His
mouth twisted into a frown, and there wasn’t a hint of dimple in sight.     

“Oh, um, the guy who broke
into my apartment.  You know, BJ.” 

“You know his real name?”

“Yeah.”

“Have you seen him again?”

Should I lie and have a
guilty conscience or tell the truth and let Dane drag me back to see Officer
Hardass?  “No, I just figured it out.”  I waved my hand like it was no big
deal.  But Dane was a better lawyer than I was a liar.

“Like hell.  You have seen
him again.  When?  Where?”

“Calm down.  I found his
phone number, okay?  That’s how I know his name.”  I looked him right in the
eye as I said it.  It was the truth.  Just not all of it. 

“Where did you find his
phone number?”

I huffed in exaggerated annoyance. 
“I’m not on the witness stand here.  I’ve been through a horrible experience
and you’re questioning me like Officer Thomas did.  What the hell?”   

He pinched the bridge of his
nose.  “I’m sorry, I’m just worried.”

“Okay.”

“Look at me,” he said. 
“Things are getting dangerous.  You can’t go around asking any more questions. 
This Sullivan guy did this because you identified him.  Think of yourself, of
your own safety.  Let the police find Axton.”

He looked so concerned, so
sincere. “You may be right, but the police aren’t as interested in Axton as
they should be.”

“They’ll find him.”  He
rubbed my arm with one hand.  “Try not to worry.” 

“Sure.”  I nodded,
absently.  I wanted to believe him, I just didn’t.

Dane smiled.  “Good.  Now
until the police find Axton, maybe you should stay with your parents or your
sister.”

“That’s an idea.”

He leaned forward and kissed
my forehead.  “Let me take you out to dinner tonight, hmm?”

I put my hand on his chest. 
“I can’t.”

“I’ll call you tomorrow?”

I realized Dane was the type
of person who heard what he wanted to hear.  And he wanted to hear I would stop
searching for Ax so he didn’t have to worry about me.

I felt a twinge of sadness
as I made my way to the car. 

When I got home, I went to
the bathroom, and after washing my hands, realized I didn’t have any towels to
wipe my hands on.  I held up my dripping fingers and heard a ping at my window. 
Then another.  I pulled the curtains aside and saw Kevin standing in the side
yard beneath my window.  A yellow halo from streetlight bathed him in a
florescent glow and he held a toaster-sized CD player above his head. 

“Oh, dear Lord, why me?”

“Rose,” Kevin called.

I unlocked and opened the
window.  “What are you doing?”

He pushed a button on the CD
player.  A TurkeyJerk song blared.  “Hang on.  That’s the wrong song.”  He
fiddled with the buttons some more. 

I grabbed a brand new used sweatshirt
and pulled it on as I hustled out of my apartment and down the stairs, wiping
my hands on the seat of my pants.  By the time I made it outside, Kevin had
another song going.  Once again, he raised the CD player over his head. 

“This is just like the
movies and this song represents how I feel about you.”  Bret Michaels sang
about roses and thorns.  I rolled my eyes so hard it actually hurt.

“Turn it off,” I yelled over
the music.

“Huh?”

Kevin was much taller than
me, but nevertheless, after a little scuffling, I pried the player out of his
hands and pushed the power button.  “What is wrong with you?” I asked.

“I’m crazy in love with
you.  I got a new tattoo to prove it.”  He lifted up his t-shirt.  He’d gotten
a rose inked over his left pec.  Blood dripped from the thorn. 

“Kevin.”  I took a deep,
deep breath, and tried really hard to be patient.  “I don’t love you.  We only
went out for three short weeks.  For the last time, leave me alone.  If you
contact me again, I’m going to call the police.”  Even though I didn’t think
the police would do anything, it was a good threat. 

He looked at me with sad
blue eyes.  “But we’re destined to be together, you and me.”

I rubbed a hand over my face
as I moaned.  “Did you break into my apartment and trash my stuff?”

He gasped.  “God no.” 
Either Kevin was a great liar—which I doubted—or he was genuinely shocked.  Or
maybe I was a crappy judge of facial expressions.  Seemed like I believed everyone’s
shock. 

He reached out to touch me. 
“I would never do anything to hurt you.  Did you call the police?”

“Yeah.”

“You need a bodyguard.”  He
stepped closer.  “I will guard your body twenty-four seven.  You can count on
me.”

I stepped back and almost
tripped.  “No, I don’t want you guarding me.  I want you out of my life.  I
don’t know how to make that any clearer.”

“Hey.”  A voice called.  Dane
walked around the corner from the parking lot, his gaze flitting between Kevin
and me.  “What’s he doing here, Rose?”

I shoved Kevin’s CD player
at him.  “He was just leaving.” 

“I will always love you,” he
whispered.  “Always.”

I hated to be derisive of
Kevin’s feelings, but we only had a handful of dates.  We had nothing in common. 
We were sparkless, sizzle-free, flat.  His attachment to me was odd and a
little disturbing. 

“If you love me, then you’ll
respect my wishes and leave me alone.”

“Is it because of him?”  He
gestured at Dane with his chin.  “You can’t want this guy.  He’s a suit. 
You’ll never be happy with him.  I can make you happy if you’ll let me.”

Dane’s face was a tight
mask.  “She wants you to leave her alone.  Now get the hell out of here.  If
you bother her again, we’re going to file an injunction.  Understand?”

Kevin gave Dane a nasty
look.  “Whatever you need, Rose.  I’ll always be there for you.”  With his CD
player in one hand, he flipped Dane off with the other and left.

Dane thrust his hands in the
pockets of his trousers.  “Tell me again why you dated him.”

“He had on tight pants and I
had too many margaritas.”

He shook his head.  “I’ve
been trying to call you for the last two hours.”

“I haven’t had a chance to
charge my phone.”

“I thought you were going to
go stay with your parents, or Jacqueline.  They haven’t seen or heard from you
and they had no idea your apartment had been vandalized.”

“Excuse me?”  I stood there,
glaring at him with my jaw on my chest.  “You called them?” 

“Let’s go inside and discuss
this.”  He put his hand under my elbow to lead me away. 

I jerked my arm out of his
grasp.  “You had no right to call my family or tell them my business.  Why did you
do that?”

He bent toward me, his brows
knit, his lips thinned into a straight line.  “I had every right.  I’m
concerned about you.  Why didn’t you tell them about the break in?”

“Because I didn’t want to
worry them,” I said.  “And it wasn’t your place to say anything.  You didn’t
want to help me when I needed it.  Too afraid of people like the Chief of Police
and your boss.  You can’t get involved when it’s convenient and blow me off
when it’s not.”

“Is that what you think I’m
doing?  Because none of this has been convenient.  I care about you and I’m
worried about your safety.”  He continued to glare at me.  “You said you’d let
the police look for Axton.  Was that a lie?”

I scoffed.  “Of course it
was.  And if you knew me at all, you’d have known that.  You just heard what
you wanted to hear.”

Dane turned away, watched a
few cars drive by, their headlights whizzing past in the dark.  He inhaled
before glancing back at me.  “I think you’re being self-destructive.  You’re
diving into danger head first and you don’t even care.  This Sullivan character
could hurt you.”

“Then I better get to Axton
before that can happen.”

“I can’t do this anymore. 
You’re on your own.”  He held up his hands.

“Fine.” 

“Fine.” 

He turned around and left.

I stood there next to my
shabby little apartment building and felt more alone than ever.

I trudged back inside and
made myself a pallet on the floor using one of my new blankets and pillow.  I
tucked my stun gun under said pillow, pulled another blanket over me, and
leaving the light on, instantly fell asleep.

A loud knock at the door
woke me.  The blankets tangled around my legs as I scrambled up.  I was groggy
and shaky, but still I grabbed the stun gun, my finger on the trigger.

The knock sounded again. 
“Who is it?” I yelled.

“Open the door, Rose.”

Sullivan.

I pulled on the catering
pants and the sweatshirt I’d worn earlier, and with stun gun in hand I unhooked
the chain, unlocked the door, and opened it.  Sullivan leaned one shoulder
against the doorjamb.  He slowly appraised me from head to toe, casting a
glance at the weapon pointed at his face.

“Are you going to use that
on me?”

“I’m definitely thinking
about it.  If you threaten me or my family one more time, you can count on it.”

He thrust his hand into his
pocket.  “You called me, remember?  Something about your panties?  I found it
intriguing.” 

I glared.  “Why didn’t you
just break down the door again?”

“Because we’re friends now
and breaking in would be rude.”  He gave me a charming smile.

I wasn’t charmed.

“You going to invite me
inside?”

“Oh yes, by all means.”  I
stood back, opened the door wider, my right hand tightening around the stun
gun.  Sullivan walked in and I shut the door behind him, never taking my eyes
off him, never turning my back on him.

He glanced around the
apartment.  “Redecorating?”  He looked at the futon shell with a frown and then
pointed to the corner where I stood.  “Where’s your table?” 

“You and your evil minions
wrecked it, remember?  You know, along with my underwear, my food, my clothes,
etc.” 

His gold eyes darkened.  “You
think I did this?”

I actually laughed.  “Oh,
you are priceless.  ‘You think I did this?’”  I imitated his deep voice.

“You think I destroyed your
things?”

“Oh God, no.”  I waved him
off with my hand.  “You would
never
.”

He looked me dead in the eye. 
“I did not do this.”

“Well, not you personally. 
I wouldn’t expect Thomas Malcolm Sullivan to get his hands dirty.  But Henry,
on the other hand…”

He narrowed his eyes.  “How
do you know my name?”

“Well, Rumpelstiltskin, I
could tell you…but then I’d have to stun the hell out of you.”  I pushed the
trigger.  A blue current of electricity sizzled, filling the air with the metallic
scent of ozone.  “Oh, wait, I might enjoy that.”

“You’re welcome to try.” 
The way he said it was mildly pleasant, but the way his nostrils flared
slightly, his jaw clenched and unclenched, told me he was getting pissed.

“I may take you up on that.”

He studied me and I could
almost see the wheels turn.  “You got my number from Packard Graystone.  You
called my cell and blocked your ID the other day.”