Her Doctor Daddy (16 page)

When his thundering heart eventually stopped racing, he slipped his softened penis from her warm, wet skin and an audible satisfied sigh was the very next sound that escaped from her throat. Carefully rolling her to a side position, he felt his sticky semen dripping down her thigh as his heated body spooned her from behind.

“It’s been a long day. Sleep well, my little love,” he cooed in her ear before reaching over to turn off the small bedside lamp.

Chapter Twenty-Five

“
This is Meredith McDonough reporting from the front steps of the Broward County Courthouse where later today Richard Antonelli will be arraigned on charges of first-degree murder related to the gruesome strangulation of four innocent young women. At that time, the judge presiding over the arraignment will decide whether bond should be granted.

We also have breaking news that the accused has hired well-known criminal attorney Patrick Thomassey, but no statement has been issued yet from him or his office. According to our sources within the Pompano Police Department, the district attorney is quite confident that the evidence being assembled against the defendant will be enough to indict him. In particular, they have statements from two victims, both lucky to have survived physical assaults, who’ve agreed to testify if the alleged assailant pleads innocent and the case goes to trial. A third woman, who claims to have seen the alleged attacker force a woman into his car in her parking lot, has also positively identified him. At this time, their names are not being made available to the public, and the search for Laura Lytle continues.

In a recent statement from Mayor George, he not only praised the brave women for coming forward, but also thanked an anonymous citizen who helped the police track down and apprehend the suspect. We have also learned that Richard Antonelli has a brother who lives here locally, but he has refused to comment.

In case you just tuned in to our special report, police have finally apprehended the man alleged to be the Ft. Lauderdale Lady Killer, and he is scheduled for arraignment here later today. Our sunshine state has been waiting to exhale a collective sigh of relief that the murderer who turned our beautiful beach town upside down has been caught, and we hope that this horrific chapter in South Florida’s history will come to a close. Of course, the thoughts and prayers from everyone here at the station go out to the victims and their families. Reporting live from the Broward County Courthouse, this is Meredith McDonough.
”

“Well, it looks like this nightmare is over,” Raul said, bending forward to turn off the television.

Katie shook her head, staring at the blank screen. “Unfortunately, for us, it’s just the beginning.”

“Are you alright?” Lexi asked, putting her arm around her sister’s shoulder. “I can’t even imagine how Ronnie feels.”

“I think he’s in a state of shock.”

“Has he spoken to Rich?”

“He went down to the jail earlier this morning to have a conversation with him, but Rich resisted at first and was extremely argumentative. Ronnie claimed that his brother had a hateful haze in his eyes as he babbled incessantly about how all women are liars and whores, and then managed to end their conversation appearing completely rational as he professed his innocence. He said it was unbelievable how Rich’s demeanor changed as he switched from one mood to another in about fifteen minutes. There’s already been talk of an evaluation for an insanity plea, and I know he’s feeling very guilty that he didn’t see that terrifying side of his brother before. I understand he needs to deal with this in his own way, but it’s been very hard on him and I’m really worried. It probably would’ve been good for him to vent and talk with us about how he’s feeling, but he said he wanted to be alone.”

Raul took a seat in the chair opposite the two women. “I think it’s going to take some time for Ronnie to come to grips with everything that’s taken place. Of course I feel responsible for going to the police with information, but certainly don’t regret any of my actions. No one should blame themselves for not knowing that Rich is a very sick man. The few evenings we all had dinner together, he seemed to be a cheerful, fun-loving guy on the outside. But obviously, he was very good at hiding the demons that lurked within him.”

Katie’s eyes filled with tears as she tilted her head toward him. “I can’t thank you enough for protecting my sister. For God’s sake, it’s hard to understand why Rich would want to hurt her, or anyone else for that matter. It still is incomprehensible how he could’ve embodied two completely different personalities. During the day, he was a respected engineer, going out to enjoy two-martini lunches wearing a handsome plaid blazer, and at night he’d put on a disguise and unleash a monstrous rage on unsuspecting women. I hate to be selfish, but now I’m worried how this will affect my relationship with Ronnie. He’s already internalizing all of this and putting a distance between us.”

“Did I hear my name?” Ronnie asked, poking his head in the door.

“Come on in,” Lexi said, looking around as everyone stood to greet him.

He blew out an exasperated breath before sitting down. “I just spoke with Rich’s attorney, and as he expected, bail was denied by the judge. But he’s hoping that after a thorough psychiatric evaluation, his team might have a good shot at an insanity plea. He agreed after talking to him at length that Rich is filled with deep-seated emotional turmoil.”

“What are we going to do now?” Katie asked quietly, moving closer.

“Mr. Thomassey said we have to sit tight until he’s evaluated.” Peering up at all the curious faces, his lips curved downward. “If I were a mind reader, I’d take a stab at your next question, Raul. Are you going to ask if mental illness runs in our family?”

Lexi took the initiative, responding in a whisper-soft voice. “Does it?”

Ronnie shook his head. “Not to my knowledge. Of course, our parents aren’t alive anymore to answer questions about their families, but Mom and Dad seemed fine… although my brother appeared okay most of the time, too.”

“What do you mean, most of the time?” Raul inquired, tilting his head.

“I’m not an idiot—of course I saw mood swings in Rich once in a while. But I just chalked it up to his quirky personality. It never occurred to me that he could be psychotic. Jesus. This is a fucking nightmare.” Combing nervous fingers through his dark hair, he turned to Lexi. “Look, I knew he had a crush on you, but when you took an interest in Raul, I just figured he’d give up and move on. Rich was a handsome guy who always had a woman on his arm and a grin on his face. Who would ever imagine the heinous thoughts he had turning over in his mind?” He paused and hung his head. “For God’s sake, they have physical evidence linking him to all four murders. And then there’s that poor innocent girl who hasn’t been found yet…”

Lexi raised an eyebrow as she walked over to share the chair with Raul. “I’ve read about the split personality syndrome before, and hate to be the one to say it, but Rich had to have planned on getting into my apartment ahead of time. I know the only legal background I have is from reading mysteries and watching
Columbo
on television, but his last visit to me seemed pre-meditated and not just a Jekyll and Hyde thing.”

“Maybe you should study to be an attorney,
mi querida
.” Raul pulled Lexi onto his lap and hugged her tight before speaking directly to Ronnie. “Whatever the outcome, if you’re interested, there are some really good people at the hospital who do all types of counselling. And it probably would benefit both of you to indulge.”

Ronnie looked around the room and individually studied their concerned expressions. “How am I ever going to hold my head up again in this community?”

Raul’s voice emerged soft and caring. “If the bond between you and Katie is strong, then together you will find a way to cope. I’m not saying it’s going to be easy because sometimes people can be mean and judgmental. But you can’t take responsibility for your brother’s actions. Only he can do that.”

Katie put her head down on Ronnie’s shoulder. “You know I’ll stand beside you one hundred percent, no matter what.”

“I’ll be more than happy to share a few names and phone numbers—if and when the time comes that you two are ready to see someone for professional counselling. There’s nothing wrong with accepting a little help now and then.” He stood and extended his hand to Ronnie. “I will always be here to support both of you. That you can depend on.”

Chapter Twenty-Six

One month later in Siesta Key, Florida

It was a warm, steamy Thursday evening, and the sun was just about to descend from the sky when Raul straddled Lexi on top of a king-size bed inside a small, cozy beach house.

“Stop wiggling, cookie,” he scolded, his fingers lathering her shaved pussy with a thick emollient cream.

“Jesus, Raul. You’ve already sheared me like a sheep with your electric shaver, is it really necessary to use a razor?”

He held his gold tone Gillette safety razor
upward, and the blade glistened as the setting sun reflected off of the smooth steel through the large picture window. “Yep, I want your adorable kitty to be soft and velvety the next time my lips skim over it,” he announced with a mischievous grin. “Don’t you trust me?”

“Of course I do. But is this really necessary?” she whined as he glided the cutting instrument over her sensitive skin with long, vertical strokes. “Besides, I don’t know anyone who does this. I’m going to look like a little girl down there…”

“Stop squirming and behave yourself. Vacation or not, if you don’t stop this nonsense, I’ll bend your delightful, naked bottom over my knee right now…”

“But I could’ve shaved myself,” she moaned with mortification, noticing that his smiling eyes were focused on the slit in between her mound. “Of course, that wouldn’t have been much fun for my boyfriend, the
sadist
… would it?”

“Such a big word for my little girl to utter.” Quirking his brow, he shook a lathered finger at her. “Maybe you should try and let your mind wander to another place. You’re a bit too hot and aroused for a sharp blade to be so close to these precious little swollen lips,” he teased good-naturedly.

Lexi’s face couldn’t have been redder as she rolled her eyes to the ceiling. “Fine. What should I think of, Mr. Bossy?”

“Ah, ah, ah! Now you know very well what happens when you have an attitude, Alexa Lynn. Shall I spank you now and have you lie on a sore tushy while I finish this later?”

She closed her eyes, and softened her sassy tongue. “Okay, okay. I’m sorry, Daddy. Please continue.”

Deep in concentration, he pursed his lips together and returned to carefully shave the borders of her sex as though he was in the middle of an emergency surgical procedure. “Maybe it’s time we had a serious conversation about our relationship.”

Remembering his lectures about how he was too old for her, she’d always worried that someday he’d want to sever the emotional ties that bound them together. Rising up on both elbows, she looked down at him through incredulous eyes. “I hope you aren’t going to break up with me. Oh, my God, is that why you brought me here? So we could have one last fling on the beach?”

He wiped the excess shaving cream off of her silky smooth mound with a warm, wet washcloth and lovingly skimmed the soft pads of his fingers over it. “Break up with the love of my life? Never in a million years,” he said as he crawled up to give her a tantalizing kiss on the lips. “I not only drove us over to the West Coast to see our favorite band, Jimmy Buffett and the Coral Reefers, but I also had hopes of making sweet love to you on the warm, white sands of this beach. I thought it would be a very romantic weekend that we’d remember for the rest of our lives.”

“Very romantic,” she cooed, rubbing her nose onto his. “What else do you have planned?”

“Well,” he said, hopping off the bed to reach into his suitcase on the floor. “You always say you love me, so I thought it might be a good time to see just how much.”

She stared incredulously as he got down on one knee and presented her with a little white satin box. “Shall we open it to see what’s inside?”

Her eyes widened like saucers. “Oh, my God, Raul, is this an engagement ring?”

“No, I thought it might be nice to give you something a little different.”

“Oh!” Lexi’s eyes sparkled with curiosity as she opened the box to marvel over the contents. “You bought me a gold wedding band?”

“It’s from a his-and-hers set, and I have the matching one in another box inside my suitcase. I thought you might like to pick out your own diamond solitaire when we get back home.”

“You don’t want to be engaged?”

“What I want is to be married to you. Saturday at sunset. Barefoot on the beach. Near the clear blue water. With no interruptions.”

“Could we really find someone to marry us that soon? Don’t we need to fill out paperwork and have blood tests? I’m pretty sure Katie talked about those kinds of things.”

“If you agree, all I have to do is make one phone call, and the legal red tape can be in motion tomorrow. I have connections,” he declared proudly, raising an eyebrow.

“What will I wear?” she asked, smoothing her short, tie-dyed shift down over her bare kitty.

He laughed. “You looked fabulous in what you’re
weren’t
wearing a minute ago. But since there will be a minister involved, I’d say maybe the white sun dress you brought would be more appropriate.”

She took the wide, heavy gold wedding ring out of the box and twirled it thoughtfully.

“Don’t try it on yet,” he scolded with a wink. “I want to be the one who places it on your finger… right after you say
I do
.”

“You once asked if this was the kind of life I wanted. A forty-year-old man protecting me like I was a child one minute, only to press his hard, aroused cock inside me the next…”

“And if my memory is correct, you said that it was exactly what you wanted. But this time, you need to be sure. Remember, I’m a man who doesn’t like to play games.”