Candy Crush (20 page)

The driver wore aviator mirror sunglasses
and a black knit cap. He looked young, maybe even a teenager, and
he didn’t look familiar. Not that she could really tell what he
looked like. She couldn’t even tell the color of his hair because
the cap was pulled so low. And really, how many people did she know
in this area anyway?

The driver rolled down the window and made a
movement with his hand, drawing her attention to the inside of the
car, where she saw a handgun lying in his lap. Gabriella’s eyes
darted from side to side, and she was dismayed to see there wasn’t
another person within eyesight. She suddenly wished she’d picked a
bright sunny Saturday afternoon to go shopping. The parking lot
would undoubtedly be swarming with people.

“Hey bitch, you the owner of the candy
store?”

Gabriella clutched her purse to her chest
and stepped back until her legs bumped into the bumper of her
car.

“Answer me,” the driver said, and laid his
hand on the gun in his lap.

Gabriella swallowed and nodded.

“I have a message for you. Get the hell out
of town. Close up that candy store and go away. Bad things happen
to people associated with that place.”

He rolled up the window and drove away,
splashing water on Gabriella’s legs in the process.

She stood, rooted to the spot, for an
indeterminate period of time. A blast of damp, cold air hit her in
the face and she blinked, as if waking from a trance, and realized
she was still standing in the rain. She climbed into the car. Her
hand shook as she worked to insert the key into the ignition. She
fumbled and dropped the key chain twice before she was finally able
to crank the engine and pull out of the parking space.

She drove straight to Brandon’s office,
parked on the street out front and stumbled in the front door.
Amanda was not seated at her desk. Brandon looked up when she
walked in the door and then jumped up in alarm.

“What the hell? You’re soaking wet and you
look like you saw a ghost. What happened?”

He peeled off the coat, pushed her wet hair
out of her face and pulled her into his arms. She was still shaking
uncontrollably. He vigorously rubbed her back and asked again.
“What happened?”

“Gun,” she muttered and closed her eyes and
leaned into his warmth. He really was her own personal furnace.

It occurred to her that she should have
called the police, and instead she had impulsively sought out
Brandon, because somehow, she knew if she were with him, she would
feel better.

It was a scary thought.

“Gun?” Brandon repeated, pushing her away
and holding her at arm’s length.

“Mall parking lot. Some guy pulled up behind
me and threatened me. He had a gun.”

***

Because his heart was suddenly beating
double time, Brandon pulled her close and hugged her so hard she
protested. He took several deep breaths, trying for some semblance
of calm, and finally loosened his hold. “Did you call the
police?”

Gabriella shook her head. Her cheeks were
tinged pink as she admitted, “I – I just wanted to get back to
you.”

Brandon’s breath hitched and he hugged her
tightly again. “Tell me what happened.”

Gabriella took a deep breath. “I was loading
my bags into the trunk, and when I turned around, there was a car
behind me. The guy rolled down the window and had a gun in his lap.
He told me to close up the candy store and leave town.”

Brandon’s arms tightened again. No matter
what happened, the very last thing he wanted was for Gabriella to
leave town. Okay, maybe the second to last. He didn’t exactly want
her to get shot, either.

He pushed her into the chair behind Amanda’s
desk. “Stay there. Let me lock up and I’ll take you home. We can
get my truck later. We’ll call the police from the house. You need
to get into some dry clothes before you catch cold.”

Gabriella looked down at her wet pant legs
and didn’t say anything. Brandon left the room and reappeared
moments later, wearing a grey Gore-Tex rain jacket. He pulled her
out of the chair, helped her back into her coat and pushed her out
the front door, turning off the lights and locking the door behind
him.

He pulled her keys out of her hand and
helped her into the passenger seat, and then he ran around to the
driver’s side and climbed into the car. When he arrived at his
house, he pulled the car into the driveway, as close to the garage
as he could, so they only had a short distance to dash to the back
door.

Brandon guided her into the house and
Gabriella turned and said, “My bags – they’re in the trunk. Warm
clothes.” So Brandon turned around and dashed back through the
rain. He was back in minutes, his hands full of shopping bags.

“Is there anything left at the mall?” he
teased as he walked past her and shook off the hood of his coat.
Butter, who had rushed out when they first opened the door, padded
back in on his heels.

They both shed their coats and shoes in the
laundry room and Brandon suggested she strip out of her wet clothes
there too. His surprisingly tough woman cocked an eyebrow and
crossed her arms.

Wait –
His
?

He rolled his eyes. “You’ve just been
traumatized by a gun-wielding stranger, Gabriella. I’m not going to
take advantage of you in the laundry room.”

Even though he was a man of his word, that
didn’t stop him from ogling her as she undressed. Gabriella was the
singularly most beautiful woman he had ever met in his life. From
her long flaxen hair to those expressive blue eyes and kissable,
pouty lips. From her long neck and narrow shoulders to her perfect
breasts, a handful each. Did he mention perfect?

From her narrow waist to the slight flare of
her hips, to those impossibly long legs. Perfect. And enticing as
hell. He wished he hadn’t vowed not to take advantage of her,
because frankly, that’s exactly what he wanted to do at the moment,
if only to chase away that lingering fear in her eyes.

When she was down to her bra and panties,
Brandon turned and walked out of the room, heading upstairs to
deposit her shopping bags. She followed. He deliberately carried
the bags into his bedroom and placed them on the bed.

“I’m going to call the Holly Police
Department. I know it wasn’t in Holly, but it’s associated with the
candy store, and – I’m going to guess – the dead body that was in
your apartment.”

He turned and left the room, striding
downstairs to the kitchen, where he immediately pulled out his
bottle of Maker’s Mark and poured a liberal dose. The bottle was
more than half empty. Living with Gabriella was going to turn him
into an alcoholic.

He called the police dispatcher and
requested they send a patrol car to his house. By the time
Gabriella entered the kitchen wearing a pair of fleece pants and a
fitted long-sleeve t-shirt, he felt he had his emotions reasonably
under control. For the moment.

“Here,” he said, pushing a lowball glass
towards her. “Take a swallow. It will help calm your nerves.”

Gabriella did as he said and then sank down
on the bench behind the kitchen table.

“I’m trying to figure out what to make for
dinner,” Brandon said, because he needed to do something, anything,
to keep himself busy. He wasn’t sure which of the two of them was
more shaken up by her experience.

“Something warm, like soup,” Gabriella
suggested.

There was a knock on the front door and
Brandon and Butter went to investigate. When he opened the door,
Brandon cursed. “Why is it always you who shows up?” He asked
roughly, as he held the door open for Daniel Franks to walk
through.

“In case you haven’t noticed, we live in a
small town. Not a lot of options when it comes to police officers.
So what’s the story?” He wiped his shoes on the mat and pulled his
hat off his head. Drops of rain showered off his coat as he pulled
it off and hung it on a hook behind the door.

“Gabriella was threatened at the mall
today,” Brandon said, and motioned for Daniel to follow him through
the house and into the kitchen.

“The mall’s not in my jurisdiction,” Daniel
pointed out. When he stepped into the kitchen he said, “Nice to see
you again, Gabriella.”

“I realize that,” Brandon said with a touch
of impatience. “But she was threatened and told to close up the
candy store and leave town.”

Daniel’s face registered surprise. “I see.”
He pulled a small notepad and a pen out of the pocket on his
uniform shirt. “Let’s start at the beginning,” he said as he sat
down and prepared to take notes.

Half an hour later, he read through his
notes and said, “Let me see if I have this straight. Someone
threatened you in the mall parking lot. You know he had a gun
because you saw the gun sitting on his lap. You have no idea what
kind of gun, because you know nothing about guns. You know he was
male, you know he was Caucasian, and you think he was young,
possibly teens. You have no idea what color hair or eyes. He had no
facial hair, no scars, no tattoos, no piercings, or at least not
anything you can recall. You know he was driving a car but you
can’t even tell me the make and model, let alone the license plate
number.”

The more he talked, the more furious Brandon
became. He was making Gabriella out to be the world’s worst
witness, just because she had been too shell-shocked to notice a
bunch of normally irrelevant details. Hell, Brandon would probably
be the same way, if he’d been in the same situation.

“Cut her a fucking break, Daniel. She’s
never been threatened with a gun before.” He had no idea if that
was true, but he sure as hell wasn’t going to let Daniel Franks
give her an emotional beating. She had already been through
enough.

Brandon’s agitation was due in part because
Daniel was in his house and he truly loathed the man, but it was
also because Daniel was making Gabriella sound like a complete
idiot, and that really boiled Brandon’s blood. He should have
downed a second shot of Maker’s Mark, just to help take the edge
off of dealing with the overbearing, uncaring, insulting police
officer. Daniel Franks was an asshole four years ago when he took
advantage of Brandon’s little sister and then never manned up and
claimed Lacey as his own, and he was still an asshole for harassing
Brandon’s girl –

“
Shit
.”

Daniel and Gabriella both turned and gave
him dual questioning looks. When Brandon did not expound, Daniel
said, “Well, I’ll add it to the file on the body we found in your
apartment, Gabriella, but I have to be honest and tell you that I
don’t have much to go on.”

“I understand,” she said quietly.

“Are you still planning to stick
around?”

Gabriella glanced up and looked at Brandon.
His eyes were closed, almost as if he were praying. Almost,
hell.

“Yes. I’m still planning to stick around.
I’ll just be more observant from now on.”

Brandon let out the breath he had been
holding and actually did utter a short prayer of thanks.

There was a knock on the back door and then
the door opened and a female voice called out, “Hello? Anybody
home?” Brandon pushed away from where he’d been leaning on the
counter and walked into the laundry room with Butter on his
heels.

A little girl squealed and said, “Uncle
Brandon! You have a dog! What’s her name?”

***

Gabriella glanced at Daniel and noticed his
face paled and his features became more pinched and drawn. His eyes
darted to the opposite kitchen door, almost as if he were
considering whether he could make a break for it.

Laney came around the corner and spotted
Gabriella. “Gabby! This is your dog? I love her!” She rushed into
Gabriella’s arms.

Daniel’s featured sharpened. “You know
Courtney’s kid?” he asked Gabriella.

She nodded. “I had dinner with them last
night.”

“Hello, Mr. Police Man,” Laney said to
Daniel.

He nodded and didn’t say anything and she
wrinkled her nose at him. Gabriella watched as a pained expression
crossed over his face, so briefly that she thought she might have
imagined it. She wondered if Daniel regretted the decision to not
be a part of his daughter’s life.

Daniel abruptly straightened and closed his
notebook. “I have to get going. I’ll let you know if anything comes
of this. Just be careful and pay more attention to your
surroundings. And next time, call the cops from the scene, not an
hour later from home.” He turned and headed towards the front
door.

Gabriella stood up and followed.

“Oh, and I almost forgot: you should have
your store back tomorrow. The crime scene boys have gotten
everything they can out of it.” He didn’t seem particularly pleased
with this decision, but Gabriella supposed no police officer liked
to come up against a dead end, especially when murder was possibly
involved.

After seeing him out, Gabriella headed back
into the kitchen. Brandon stood at the counter, chopping
vegetables. Rosalie stood near the back door and Laney sat on the
bench, eating a sliced apple.

“I wasn’t expecting you to be home so
early,” Rosalie commented to Brandon, as Gabriella entered the
room.

“Then why did you come by?” Brandon asked.
He dumped onion and garlic into a Dutch oven full of simmering
chicken stock and began chopping celery.

“I assumed Gabriella would be here. I wanted
to see if I could leave Laney for a few hours, while I run some
errands.”

“You met Gabriella once and you’re willing
to leave your granddaughter in her care?”

Rosalie looked shocked. “Of course. You
brought her to dinner. That means she’s perfectly safe and
respectable.”

“Patrick brings all of his dates to
dinner.”

“Patrick isn’t you.”

“I know. Patrick
wants
to get
married, and he keeps parading girls in front of you, hoping you’ll
approve of one of them so he can ask her.”