Play Me to Infinity (The Broken Men Chronicles Book 3) (19 page)

Mercer was having Lisa brought in as soon as they could locate her.

With time to burn, Nicole grew antsy, so I took her out for a coffee to distract her.

An hour sitting on a park bench in silence was disturbed when the precinct called my cell, prompting our return to the station.

We entered the same room we were in earlier, only for Nicole to stop dead in her tracks with a gasp when the interrogation room came into view.  Turner was gone, but someone else sat in his spot, somewhat familiar to me, but I couldn’t quite figure out where from.

“It’s
her.”

“So this is your ex’s fiancée?” Peters asked.  Nicole nodded.  The man sported a look of confusion.  “What’s she doing with Turner?”

Nicole shrugged her shoulders.  “I wouldn’t know.”

“Why would she have a beef with you?” Peters asked.

“She’s got a man,” Mercer said, “well, two, apparently, if her texts were any indication.”

“I don’t know why, Detective, but…” Nicole stopped to think.

Peters prompted her.  “But what?”

She shook her head. “Forget it.  I’m so tired that I think I’m reaching at things.  She’s just the woman my ex cheated on me with, and that’s that.”

“I think you need to share.” Mercer nodded in agreement with his partner.  “What may not seem relevant now may just be an answer for us, Nicole.”

Nicole turned to face me.  “You remember the night of the fire?”

“I don’t think I’ll ever be able to forget it.” I nodded.  “What of it?”

“I could have sworn someone was following me when I left Dean’s.”

“Why haven’t you told us this before?” Detective Peters asked.

“With the shock of what happened that night, it never occurred to me to think more into people connected with those we gave you names of,” Nicole said.  “I knew Lisa could get a little crazy, but I never thought that she’d be capable of anything like burning my house down.”

Mercer nodded.  “Well, we’ve looked into both of your exes and they’ve checked out, alibis and all.”

Peters headed toward the interrogation room and paused to face us with his hand on the doorknob.  “I’ll see what I can get out of her and I’ll be in touch.  You should know that Miss Granger’s here of her own cognizance.  If she chooses not to talk, we have nothing to hold her here until we have substantial proof that she’s behind this.  As for Turner, the only way he’ll be turned loose is if someone posts his bail.”

“What about the evidence?” I asked.

“The lab’s backed up because of another case, but we’re looking into other things to try and speed things along,” Mercer said.

“But you found text messages?” Nicole asked.

“Nothing conclusive.” Mercer’s lips were in a tight line.  “We can tell that they were plotting something, but they don’t actually spell it out.  Even if they did, a lawyer could very well argue those messages inadmissible because there can’t be proof that they were indeed the ones physically texting.”

My arm squeezed Nicole’s shoulders in reassurance when I felt her body tremble against mine.

Siding with Mercer’s recommendation, I opted to take Nicole home.  Our answers would be the same, whether they came from a phone call or in person.

Ten minutes passed as we rode in the car and the silence was deafening, if at all possible.

I grabbed Nicole’s hand and said, “It’ll all be okay, honey.”  She gave me a feeble nod.  “I’ve got an idea.”

“Does it include locking everyone from our past away?” she asked without much humor.

I chuckled.  “You might be on to something with that, but no.  There’s something I want to show you before we go home.”

I drove us to a place I often visited in my youth.  Not having been back since I was in high school, I’m not sure what possessed me to bring her here, or where the notion had come from, but it seemed like a good idea.

I parked the car and made to get out.

“Where are we?”  She exited the vehicle.

Grabbing the blanket from my trunk, I held out my hand. “We’re not there yet, we’re walking the rest of the way.”

She assessed the scenery as she took my hand.

“I don’t have to worry, do I?”  Her lips quirked up a bit at the sides.  “You’re not going to rape, kill, and leave me out here, right?”

I laughed out loud.  “Hardly.”  I brought her hand to my mouth so my lips brushed her knuckles.  “I used to come here in high school.  There’s a trail I hiked to burn off some steam.  It leads to a small creek.  I thought that you’d appreciate it.”

“You thought right.”  She smiled and kissed my cheek.  “Let’s go.”

It wasn’t a long hike, just enough to get the blood pumping and release some of the pent up stress from the last few days.

We got to the creek and Nicole stopped walking, transfixed with the scene.  “This is beautiful.”  I wrapped my arms around her, pulling her back to my front.  “How’d you find this place?”

“I went out of the way to disappear as a kid.  This is where I ended up.  I kind of got stuck on it from there on out.  When Dad and I argued, or things became too much, I biked it all the way out here and hiked the rest of the way.”

“Seriously?”

I kissed her head through her hair.  “Yeah.”

“Have you ever brought anyone else here?”

“Never.”

She turned in my arms.  “Not even Tracey… or Ben?”

I shook my head.  “It never occurred to me to share this place with anyone else until now.”

“How long do we have until darkness?”

“Long enough.”

I set the blanket and pulled her down to sit between my legs so I could hold her.

She let out a long sigh, the tension ebbing from her body.  “Thank you.” She lifted her head and kissed my chin.

“For what?”

“For this, taking me away from things.”

I gave her a squeeze.  “I thought you could use the distraction.”

“I’m so sorry for everything.”  She shivered.

“You have nothing to apologize for.”

She pulled away to look at me.  “But-”

My lips stopped her words.

She shifted to straddle my lap without ever breaking our kiss.

Withdrawing slightly, my forehead pressed to hers. “Let’s just enjoy this place.”

She kissed me before getting up to her feet.  “How deep is this creek?”

“I don’t know, why?”

She kicked her shoes to the side and shimmied out of her jeans.  “Because I feel like a swim.”  Pulling her t-shirt over her head, she turned to me with a grin, and threw the item at me.

“We’ve got a pool at
home, honey.”

“But this place is special.”  She gave me her back and reached for the clasp of her bra before peering at me over her shoulder.  “Are you coming?”

I grinned.  “I might just watch.  The view’s fantastic from right here.”

Nicole graced me with her first real laugh of the day.  “Your loss then.”

She walked toward the creek, shedding her loosened bra and then, just when I thought she’d head into the water, she peeled her underwear down her legs and walked in – gloriously naked.

I didn’t wait, hitting my feet and racing through my stripping.

The woman broke the water’s surface and smirked as she caught sight of me wading into the freezing water.  “It takes a naked woman to get you in here, huh?”

“No.” I walked up to her.  “Only you can convince me to get in here.  Now get over here and keep me warm.”  I reached out and grabbed her arm to pull her to me.

“I have a little something in mind to keep you warm, but it doesn’t involve us being in here.”

“Good.”  I smiled.  “I think I know exactly how I want you to warm me up.”

I felt her cold hand grip my cock and squeeze.  “Does it entail me doing this?”  Her hand began to stroke.

I groaned.  “More or less.”

She nuzzled my jaw before nipping my chin.  Her free arm wrapped itself around my neck as she continued to jerk me off.

“Baby?” she whispered.

“Hmm?”

“I love you.”

“I love you too, honey.” I gave her a peck on the mouth.  “But I’ll love you even more if you let us get out of here before my junk turns into an ice pop.”

Nicole’s eyes darkened with lust and her smile grew lascivious.  “Sounds delicious, but you’re right.  I can do more on dry land.”

Her body lay prone on the blanket as I covered it with mine.  Taking my time, I slid into her, capturing her moan with my mouth.  The evening sun shone over us, helping us dry, and warming us from the chill of the water.

“Look at
me,” I said over her lips.

She did as I requested.

I pulled back, then thrusted in, savoring the feel of her wrapped around me.  Her hands were threaded in my hair while our eyes remained connected.

She arched her hips into mine as we immersed ourselves into a rhythm that outdid all others.

I loved the sight of her.  The setting sun made the red streaks in Nicole’s chestnut hair look as if it were on fire.  Her cheeks were flushed and her lips puffy from my kisses.  She was breathtaking.

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

“Because I don’t think I’ve ever been with anyone as beautiful as you.”

“There’s that silver tongue of yours again.”  She ran her fingers over the day’s regrowth on my cheeks and I gave her a quick peck on the mouth.

My pace slowed to savor the feel of her digits as she proceeded to trace the contours of my jaw, my nose.  She didn’t leave much of my face untouched.  I grabbed her wrist and kissed the inside of her palm.

“Michael.”

“Nicole.”  I was trying to make sense of the slew of emotions that flashed through her features.  I ran my fingers over her cheeks, smoothing them over her lips.

“How did I get this lucky?” she asked.

“I ask myself the same thing every day.”

She pulled my head down toward her face and nuzzled my nose with hers.

I sped up the pace a bit, consumed by the fire in my gut. I knew that Nicole felt it too, with how tight she clung to me.

Wrapping our blanket around us, I cradled her into my body.

“You’ve ruined me for anyone else, you know that?” she mumbled into my neck.

“Good.”  I buffed my cheek into the side of her head.  “I plan on keeping you for myself until well after we’re old and grey.”

She pulled away and looked down at me.  Her eyes searched mine for any hint of hesitation or humor.  “You’re not joking.”

I smiled. “No, I’m not.”

She settled into me again. “I can’t say that I mind that idea.”

We were cooking dinner together when the doorbell rang.

“I’ll get that.” I kissed Nicole’s cheek in passing.

Upon opening, I was shocked to see who was standing on my front step.

“What the fuck are you doing here?”

“Where is she?”

“Get the hell out of here or I’m calling the cops.” My blood pressure rose along with my rage.  How the hell did he know Nicole was here?

The man pushed through and entered despite my warning.

“Dean!” Nicole said from behind me.

“Who the hell do you think you are?” He stormed past me.  I hurried to get between the two of them, but held silent.  “It’s not enough that you sent the cops to question me, but now you have to drag Lisa into this?”

“Get out!” Nicole’s shaking index finger pointed toward the door.

I reached for my cell.  “I’m calling Mercer.”

“Don’t bother,” Dean said.  “You won’t get away with this, Nikki.”

“Is that a threat?” I growled with my thumb pausing on the call button.

“It’s a fucking promise you can take to the bank, asshole.”  He snarled and turned to walk away.

“Note to the wise, jackass,” I began. “I suggest you ask your woman about why she’s being questioned.  I bet you’d be shocked at her answer.  Better yet, you might want to talk to the cops instead, since she seems to have an entire agenda you don’t know about.”

Dean turned when he reached his car.  “Whoever it was sure missed their mark when they hit your house.”

Nicole launched herself toward her ex as the bastard got in his car.  I held on to her until he’d peeled off, surprised at the fact that I hadn’t gone after him myself.

Nicole’s body went limp in my arms when Dean’s car disappeared from sight.  “Will this ever end?”

“It’ll all be over soon.”  I turned her so she faced me and took in the tortured look in her eyes.  “That man creeps me out.”

“I’m thinking that restraining order might not be a bad idea after all.”

“We’ll see about doing that, then.  Just promise me that if he comes around again, that you won’t open the door.  If I’m not around, call the cops.”

She nodded.  “How’d he know where I was?  I’m so tired of this.”  Her forehead made contact with my chest and her hands fisted my shirt.

“I don’t know, but I’ll be damned if we don’t get to the bottom of this soon.”

As Nicole finished up with cooking dinner, I called Mercer and Peters to check in and see what they’d managed to get on Turner and Granger.

“Mercer’s got a hunch about something,” Peters said. “I’ll keep you and Miss Baxter posted in the morning on anything new.  Aside from the labs, we’re waiting on a court order to search Lisa Granger’s premises.  She might have come in on her own, but she sure as hell wasn’t cooperative when we started asking questions about your girlfriend and her relationship with Granger’s fiancé.  She couldn’t deny her relationship with Turner, though.”

“Don’t you need something substantial to get a search warrant?” I asked.

“Yeah, we do,” Mercer said.  “Turner decided to be a bit more talkative when he saw the fiancé pop in to pick up his woman.  He let a few things slip with his frustration.  By the time Turner shut up, we had enough to go to the judge.”

“At least that’s some good news,” I said.

“Is there something else I need to be worried about?” Danson asked.

“I don’t like the way Nicole’s ex keeps popping up,” I said.  “Any way we can get a restraining order on the guy?  I have a hunch that something else is brewing.”

“We can do that,” Danson said. “Peters and I have been talking.  We have an idea I want to run by you.”

After listening to the man, I thanked him, then hung up.

Walking into the kitchen, dinner was served, and Nicole was waiting for me at the table.

“So?” she asked.

“No results on the labs yet.”  Her face fell and her features darkened.  “Turner did manage to incriminate himself further by pointing the finger in Lisa’s direction, though.  Mercer’s only going on a hunch, but Peters said they’ve put in for a search warrant of her property.  They’re going to go ahead and get a restraining order done up for Dean, though.  We’ll need to go in to sign the necessary papers.”

“So what you’re saying is that they don’t have any answers.”

“Not really.  I’m-”

She got up and left the table without another word, or allowing me to finish speaking.  Moments later, I heard a door latch shut.