Theirs To Claim (Predatory Desires Book 1) (19 page)

“Did none of my new security cameras get footage of who did this?” she asked.

“No, sugar,” Lawton said regrettably. “This person came in through the laundry room’s window after they broke the upper and middle panes out. They seemed to know where each and every camera was, because they covered them from below, never letting one of them catch a glimpse of a face or body. We don’t have a single image that gives us height, weight, or build.”

“The window sensors only go off if someone lifts them up,” she mumbled.

“Andrew and Ryan helped you install those?” Gabriel asked.

“Well, they were more there to supervise and help me feel safe while guys I didn’t know came in the house, but yeah, they tried to help. They contracted with Lamar’s, because the company wasn’t local and they thought it would help keep everything quiet. Even Sheriff Strauss thought it best not to let the case become local gossip, because then we’d never catch this maniac.”

“But they sent the video feed to Andrew’s computer. That still makes no sense to me,” Noah said.

“Well, we thought it would speed things up if the monitoring company had the footage, as well as the local authorities, until this person was apprehended.” Emily chewed her bottom lip nervously. She was second guessing herself in a big way. And though she knew it served no purpose, it was hard to shake the feeling.

“Noah, you said you were planning to go through the photos after you ate. I take it that means Emily hasn’t seen what was in that last envelope you guys found on her kitchen table?” Braden was the one asking. He’d been quiet up until then, but he was ready to have more information that might help him track this sicko down. He’d been coming up short with his part of the investigation, and he did not like the feeling one bit.

“Nope, she hasn’t seen them,” Noah answered. “Gabe, pull them up,” he said softly. He clasped Emily’s chin and turned her eyes towards his. “Em, these last photos are far more frightening and personal than anything else you received previously. I need you to steel yourself, baby, and be ready for that.”

“I understand,” she breathed.

Noah tightened the arm he had around her waist and Emily gave him a gentle pat. Gabriel’s hand resettled on her leg after he opened the file containing the last envelope’s pictures. He also gave her a tender squeeze as the first came into view.

All of the color drained from Emily’s face in the next instant. As she looked at each picture, she was hit with the sickening realization that her stalker had been much closer to her than she’d ever realized. Closer than the men realized either. It was hard to find her voice so she could tell them the truth, but somehow Emily willed her next words to come.

“Guys, I’ve seen all of these before. All of those pictures are mine. This stalker has been in my house before today. In my bedroom.”

Emily swallowed hard and then felt her vision dim. Her dinner churned in her stomach, twisting in the acid that began to rush up her throat. She managed to extricate herself from Noah’s lap and run in the direction of the trash can, just in time for the first wave of retching to begin.

CHAPTER 20

Gabriel sprinted across the small living space, just as Noah did, their hands reaching out to steady Emily as she leaned over the trash bin. The sounds of her heaving tore at his own gut, but he held her waist, determined to be her strength when hers had fled. Noah gathered her long hair and he kept it clasped in his hand at her nape.

She trembled and shook, crying all the while, as everything she’d consumed that night was lost. Gabe grimaced to see her so ill, because he knew how desperately Emily needed the nourishment. God, but he wanted to put his fist through the damn wall. It wouldn’t help. But it sure as hell would feel good, Gabriel thought.

Emily’s knees gave out on her, but before she could crumple to the floor, Gabriel scooped her up into his arms. He held her against his heart while Noah tore off several paper towels and wet them with cool water in the sink. He stepped closer and mopped her brow. Then he drew them down to her lips and chin and cleaned her skin of any lingering sickness.

“There now,” he crooned softly. “Just relax and breathe slowly with us.” Noah swept his hand over her forehead and hair. Again and again he repeated the motion. Both men looked on as Emily’s eyes fell shut against the tears they’d seen gathering there. So much pain reflected in those violet depths before she shut the world out momentarily.

Gabriel finally turned back to the table and he walked with Emily over to his chair. Noah helped him get settled with her, and then he stepped back into the kitchen to snag a few fresh napkins. He wet those too, and returned to his former seat. He folded the drenched towels and placed the impromptu compress on her forehead.

Emily’s eyes opened and she stared at him. “I’m sorry,” she whispered. “It was just a shock, that’s all.”

Gabriel pulled her closer and shook his head. “Shhh… Just rest here and breathe, like Noah said.”

“We’re back now,” Gabe added, letting the others know they could continue.

“She okay?” Garrett asked, his voice much quieter and tenderer than they normally heard from him.

“Yeah,” Noah would only say.

Lawton cleared his throat and tried to pick up where they had left off. It seemed an effort for him, but like Emily, he managed to push his words out.

“Emily, where specifically in your bedroom did you have these photos stored? In frames, albums…”

“In photo albums, Lawton. I keep them in a cedar chest at the end of my bed. It has a lock on it, but I’ve never bolted the old trunk since Gram gave it to me. Never saw any need.”

“Okay, what else do you keep in there?” he asked, keeping his voice calm and soothing.

“A few scrapbooks that highlight my writing career. They have newspaper clippings, reviews, and the two awards I’ve received. I have some of my mother’s wedding items for when I get married, an old afghan that was Gram’s, my dad’s personal journals, bridal magazines, and an old typewriter that my granddad gave me when I was six to get me started writing. I think that’s about it.”

Noah handed her a glass of tea and kept his fingers wrapped around it while she tipped it back for a sip. Emily thanked him and he winked at her.

“You keep bridal magazines in there?” Kaden asked.

Emily blushed and looked down at her hands. “Most women have looked through one or two, Kaden. Don’t laugh at me.”

“No way am I laughing at you, Emily,” he said in a deadly serious voice. “I’m wondering if the perp’s last picture didn’t come from your cedar chest too.”

“What do you mean?” she asked.

Gabriel reached around her and brought up the last photo the stalker had included. It showed Emily posing beside an unknown fan at a book signing, the fan’s face obscured with an oval cut from notebook paper and a big black question mark. The bridal gown taped over her picture showed in stark relief against the actual photo.

“Yes, that came from my trunk,” Emily said sadly. “I cut that one out and added it to a scrapbook I have. I was daydreaming one day, and I liked the gown. So I cut it out and placed it on a page. This person has been through all of my things.” Her voice broke on her last word and she turned to bury her face in Gabriel’s chest. And though her shoulders shook, Emily didn’t make a sound as she cried in his arms.

“We took the entire lot of pictures you guys brought in and sent them for more detailed processing,” Braden offered. “I know local law enforcement didn’t pick up any prints, but we’re hoping to get a hit on the back of the tape. Let’s hope this person didn’t use gloves when they assembled that last picture.”

“Braden, did you track down any and all Williams who might be involved, as we talked about earlier?”

“I did, and I found three.”

“That many?” Gabriel was surprised. He’d expected one or two in a town their size, but not three on the force.

“Yes, and two of the deputies you’ve talked about have William in their names. Jasper is officially William Jasper Reeves. Then there’s Ryan William Knox and Eric William Waltower. All three on duty six years ago when Emily had her confrontation with Jonathan, and all three still on the force today,” Braden supplied.

“I remember Eric,” Noah said as he scrubbed the stubble on the side of his face. “He was a year behind us in school and he always was an intense ball player. Could hit ‘em out of the park every time. But he busted his knee in college and gave up on the dream of playing for the minor or major league teams. Em, do you know Eric?”

“I do,” she nodded. “Eric used to date Heather, if you could call what they were doing dating. More like an open-ended arrangement, where they would call each other if they needed a bed partner to help them pass the time.”

“Please tell me you and Ethan
did not
eat that woman’s food?” Ross teased Lawton.

“Shut up,” Lawton grumbled. “We’ve got enough sense not to eat anything a possible suspect shoves at us.”

“You said
used to
,” Gabriel pointed out to Emily, ignoring the banter in the background. “She and Eric don’t hook up any more?”

Emily scrunched her nose at his comment. “I hate that term –
hook up
. It sounds so sleazy.”

“Because it is,” Noah chuckled. “Big difference between casual sex and making love. I told you that.”

“Okay, now. Let it go,” Gabriel warned, not willing to start down this road with everyone else listening in.

“Yes, God, please let it go,” Garrett begged. He didn’t want to hear the happy trio’s sex talk any more than the others on the line did. Some things were better kept behind closed doors.

“Sorry, Garrett,” Emily chuckled.

“Well at least you’re laughing. If talking this way keeps you from getting sick again, chat away, sweetheart.” Hell, Garrett thought, he would probably be the one to get the ribbing now, but he’d take anything over the sounds of Emily’s retching that had echoed over the phone. That had almost torn his own carefully guarded heart right out of his chest.

“I’m not going to get sick again,” Emily said with a gentle smile. “I’ve got nothing left.” She sighed and leaned a little closer to Gabriel’s chest. He was so warm, like a heater, and she gladly soaked up his warmth. “And in answer to your question, Gabe, no. Heather and Eric are no longer an item. She’s had her sights set on Jasper, you, and Noah. But Jasper has ignored her, just as the two of you have.”

“Who broke off their arrangement?” Gabriel asked.

“She did. She was looking at greener pastures, or so she thought. But Heather has always liked the thrill of the chase and the rush a new lover brings her. Believe me, she loves to talk all about it when we get together for a girls’ night out.”

Emily shuddered at the very thought of constantly hopping from bed to bed, using men as they used her. She knew it worked for Heather, but it just could never work for her. She valued herself too much to let herself be used in such a way. Emily knew her heart would get involved and then she’d get burned inside and out.

“Eric was also there the night Jonathan got too aggressive,” she remembered to tell them.

“He’s not listed on the report, is he?” Noah asked.

“No, I didn’t see his name,” Gabriel said with a shake of his head. “Tell us, Emily.”

“Andrew had barely been on the job for a month, and he was riding with Jasper that night. I told you they were the ones who found me. But when they called for a second car to go down Wrightsville Road and look for Jonathan’s car, it was Eric and another deputy named Lance who responded. They were closest and they looked for him. But he was long gone, and so they met us at the station. Eric brought me a cup of coffee that night while we waited for my grandparents to arrive.”

“What did the other deputies do?” Gabe pressed on, needing to see clearly into that night and gauge everyone’s mood and intentions where she was concerned.

“Well… Jasper put his jacket on me when they pulled over after first spotting me running down the road. I told you that. I kept it on throughout the night, and only when I left with my grandparents did I give it back. I also told you Jasper went to campus with me for the next week, just to make sure Jonathan didn’t show up and try to start something. The sheriff didn’t tell him to do that, Jasper just took it upon himself to make sure I felt safe. Granddad thanked him each day he came by the house to follow me to school.”

“Andrew is close to my age, and he looked visibly upset to see me so disheveled that night. But he held it together pretty well and stood right behind me while I gave my statement. I remember that he patted my shoulder often. It was kind of an awkward pat, but I could tell he was attempting to comfort me in the only way he knew how.”

“And then Eric just seemed really angry. After he brought the coffee to me, he sat beside me and started talking about sports. I knew he was trying to distract me, and himself, and I let him because I couldn’t stop shaking. Eric finally reached over and held my hand until my shaking subsided. The whole night seemed too surreal, and I wanted nothing more than to go home and take a long, hot shower.”

“That’s understandable.” Gabriel stared at the laptop’s screen, but didn’t really focus on it while his mind sorted through it all.

“So two of the three Williams were there the night someone else showed an interest in Emily, even if it was a twisted version of interest,” Ethan said.

It sounded to Emily like he was mentally piecing things together as Gabriel was, letting his comments flow freely among the team so they could hear his mental ramblings. Maybe pick up on a clue Ethan was missing.

“Yes, Ryan started with the department when Andrew did, I think,” Emily said and chewed her bottom lip as she tried to figure out a timeline that might help them in some way. “He was always a year behind me in school, but I believe he and I are the same age. He might actually be a year older than me, now that I think about it.”

“One thing I did confirm, was that the original report was tampered with.” The sound of Braden’s fingers tapping on his keyboard could be heard as he delivered that bit of news. “The first submission names Jasper and Andrew, not William and Andrew. Someone went back and changed the name; and the date on the newly uploaded file is fourteen weeks ago. Right before all of this photo business began.”

“So we have a problem within the sheriff’s department. Lovely,” Noah sighed. He raked a hand through his hair and then let it fall on Emily’s legs. He slowly stroked her as he considered how much harder their task was if they had local corruption working against them too.

Emily took his hand and laced their fingers together. She gave Noah a gentle squeeze and smiled a little when he turned his eyes towards her. Her smile made his appear, and she was glad to see its return. Everyone seemed on edge, the tension so thick she could cut it with the proverbial knife.

“What if we were to go back home?” Emily softly asked.

Gabriel drew her away from his chest and gave her a hard glare. “There is no way in hell I am taking you back home, not knowing who is waiting to harm you. No way, Em.”

She cut her eyes over to Noah and saw the same fierce denial in his gaze. Behind her, several of the men voiced their objections over the phone. None of them liked the idea, and they weren’t shy about letting Emily know. But something made her push, even when they were clearly warning her not to test them.

“Hear me out, and then you can tell me what you think.” Emily looked from Noah to Gabriel as she began, trying to ignore the tightening around the corners of their eyes. “This person left my bedroom intact with a gown lying out. They turned back the covers. Obviously, they’re just waiting for me to return for a rendezvous they’ve got planned out in their head.”

“If I did go back, and you guys had me wired or affixed with a camera of some kind, I could pretend that I’m trying to clean up the mess. It would take me hours to undo the damage, and during that time you could be hidden out of sight nearby, just waiting to take the stalker down when he or she showed themselves. I have no doubt that this person will be happy that I’m home. They just might very well be compelled to come by and say hello.”

“Abso-fucking-lutely not, Emily,” Gabriel growled. “Not gonna happen.”

She looked to Noah and he shook his head.