Deadly Obsession (26 page)

Installing cameras in Nic’s loft had been a brilliant idea. She could monitor him anytime she wanted. And since she recorded everything, she could enjoy the show whenever it pleased her. And please her, he did.

Although watching Nic shower was usually the highlight of her day, watching his first day back at the loft had, in many ways, been even better. Using the remote control, she paused the video on an image of Nic and leaned back in the chair. She didn’t have time right now to watch the entire footage, but what she had seen so far was a nice appetizer.

When the photographer followed Nic into the bathroom, fury had consumed her. How dare the bitch ruin Nic’s homecoming? But then he’d seen her love note on the mirror and forgotten all about the whore.

The look on his face when he’d seen her blood vow—pure passion. Her heart stuttered just thinking about it. She couldn’t wait to have all that passion focused on her.

Maybe using her own blood hadn’t been the best idea, but she wasn’t worried. By the time the police figured things out, she’d have Nic tucked away in their new home. She chuckled. He hadn’t appreciated the blood as much as the words, but she’d had to do it. She needed to poke at his weaknesses every now and then. To toughen him up.

To let him know she was in charge.

He wouldn’t be upset for long though. When he learned she’d taken care of the situation with Summer, he’d be thrilled. It was one more proof of her dedication, of her devotion. He truly had no idea of the extent of her love, how far she’d go to have him… her way.

Summer had dared to trick her and hurt Nic, but the lying bitch wouldn’t be hurting anyone ever again. Once more, the cameras had come in handy. Watching the video of the night Summer had given him the Rohypnol, bile had burned her throat. But she’d forced herself to watch it all. Because she’d needed to know. And she’d been right. Even drugged, Nic had resisted Summer’s pathetic attempts at seduction.

The idiot had thought that because she was young and had big boobs, Nic would be slobbering all over himself to have sex with her. But Nic wasn’t interested in a child; he wanted a woman. And, a true woman, she’d taken care of her lover’s little problem.

And it had been a pleasure.

She opened the journal resting on her desk and turned to the next free page. After jotting down the latest developments, she inserted the memory card from her camera into her laptop. Moments later, she was staring at the photo she’d taken of Summer this afternoon. She had big plans for this picture. It would serve as a warning to the other bitch who kept getting in her way. She printed off a copy and glued it into her journal.

After launching the photo editor, she pulled up her favorite wedding picture. Using the eraser function, she carefully removed her husband’s neck, head, and hair. She opened her favorite shot of Nic, the one where he sported a black Armani suit and tie along with a silk shirt. Carefully, she selected his head and copied it. Returning to the wedding photo, she pasted it on top of the body.

When she was done, she examined the image from different angles. The differences in body shape were barely noticeable. This would be another photo to add to the collection in her journal. Anytime she felt sad or lonely, she’d flip through the pages. The images reminded her of her goal, of why she was working so hard, of what she was willing to do for Nic. Of how far she was willing to go to be with him.

Later, she’d review the video to see how the rest of his first day back home had gone. Watching him made her feel closer to him, less alone. She wanted to be with him, taking care of him. The photographer shouldn’t have touched Nic, even to play nursemaid when he cut his hand on the mirror. The bitch shouldn’t even be in his home. How she wished she’d had time to wire the first floor as well as the upstairs. She hated not knowing what they were saying or doing out of camera range.

As she flipped back to the photo of Nic lying on the ice, covered in blood like a gunshot victim, a smile tugged at her lips. If the photographer didn’t get out of the picture soon, Nic would get another surprise. One guaranteed to make him seek her out. He’d need her like she needed him. He’d crave her like she craved him. He’d be hers like she was his.

Till death us do part
.

CHAPTER 13

Nic parked his butt in the armchair facing the wall of windows and brought the phone to his ear. “Rémi. Is Rachel okay?”

“She’s fine, now that you’re out of the hospital. By the way, you owe Kaden. If he hadn’t called in regular reports, Rachel would have dragged me out there to check on you.”

Which would have been a fucking disaster. The last thing he needed was for Rachel to show up in L.A. “Sounds like I’ll have to give the man a raise.” How many was that today? Two? Lucky bastard.

“Rachel said you had some company.”

“Yeah.” He couldn’t keep the grin out of his voice. She’d surprised him today. “Turns out I knew Lauren in high school.”

“No way.”

“Yeah way. But I told her I didn’t remember her.”

“Why hide it?”

“If I admit I’m that guy, she’ll put two and two together. I don’t want her to know what I did.”

“No one forgets someone who looks like her.”

“She looked a lot different.”

“You had the hots for her even then, didn’t you?”

“Fucking A. I trailed after her like Mary’s little lamb.”

Rémi chuckled. “I would have paid some serious cash to see that. So, what happened?”

“The girl never noticed me.” Then he remembered her outburst. “Funny thing is, she says
I
never noticed
her
.”

“Sounds like a case of stupid teenager-itis.”

“Yep, but I’ve grown a brain since then.” He wasn’t going to blow things with her this time. After all, how many people got a second chance?

“You’re Nic The Lover. If anyone can make this work, you can.”

He’d do his damnedest. “I’ll try.”

“As the great Yoda once said: Do or do not. There is no try.”

Nic smirked. “Your geek is showing.”

Rémi barked out a laugh, but then his voice turned serious. “A lot of shit’s been coming your way lately.”

“And it just keeps on keeping on.”

“Something new happen?”

Nic paused and rubbed his eyes. His pulse pounded behind the sockets every time he thought about it. “Bitch left a blood message on my bathroom mirror.”

“Shit. How did she get in?”

“Same way she got in when she brought me home from the bar.” He blew out a breath. “She got my key and the code to the security system. I’m going to find her, Rémi.” Nic got up and started pacing. He usually thought better on his feet.

“What’s your plan?”

“I was hoping you could help me with that.” Rémi had gone to cop school, had even worked on the Montréal Police Force for a few years. “Got any pointers?”

“To catch a perp, you need to think like one. You need to understand her motivation.”

Nic considered this for a moment. “So, to figure out where Summer might be hiding, I need to understand how drugging me benefited her?”

“Was there anything new or different going on in her life?”

“She said something about being offered the lead in
Alone No More
. Except that can’t be right. They’d want an A-list actress for that role.”

“Maybe not. Call the casting director.” After a short pause, Rémi asked, “Are you involved in this movie?”

“I was offered the male lead.” Maybe Rémi was onto something. He completed the circuit of the room and started in the opposite direction.

“Maybe she thought she’d have a better chance at getting the part if you two were an item.”

“Could be, but Hollywood doesn’t usually work like that. Couples change partners too often.”

“Or maybe she wanted to blackmail you into helping her get the part.”

Nic scratched his cheek and replayed that evening in his mind. “Summer made or received a call while I went to get our drinks.”

“Did the police pull her phone records?”

“If they did, they didn’t tell me. I’ll talk to Kaden about it. He might have some contacts who can help.”

“While they’re doing that, ask them to find the last place her phone registered with the network.”

“The last place it what?”

“Forgot you were a technophobe,” Rémi said, the sarcasm in his voice as thick as his head.

“Cyborg,” Nic shot back. How he missed slinging barbs with Rémi.

“Lame, my man. Very lame. I’ll explain it so even a kindergartener could understand. But just in case, try to remember the words so you can repeat them to Kaden.”

Nic laughed. “Asshole.”

“Fuck, it feels good to jerk your chain. Here goes: a cell phone has to tell the network where it is so the network can find it when a call comes in. Every so often, it sends a message to the cell towers saying ‘I’m here.’ But if you know what carrier Summer used, they can probably look it up in their database. It’ll at least give you a general location to start searching.”

“Okay, that makes sense.”
Sort of
.

A few minutes later, Nic flipped his phone closed and stared out the window. The sun was starting its descent into the ocean, bathing L.A. and his living room in a colored light. He’d finally get to share this view with Lauren. But not tonight. Tonight, they had to discuss
the plan
.

As usual, Rémi had come through for him. He had a rough plan now, well at least step one. He’d figure out the rest once they started getting some answers.

Feeling a hundred pounds lighter, he walked into the kitchen. A smile broke out on Lauren’s face when she saw him. “Kaden’s girlfriend sent these for dessert.” She pointed to a plate of brown squares.

“I haven’t had homemade brownies in years. Make sure you thank Beth for me,” he said to Kaden.

“Want some coffee with them?” The tone of her voice caught his attention. When he turned to her, she wore a dazed expression, as if remembering something. Something that turned her on.

“I drink tea at night. There’s some Earl Grey in the cupboard above the stove.”

“Kaden? Coffee?”

“I’d love a cup of Earl Grey.” When he saw her startled expression, he laughed. “What?”

She glanced at his hands, then at Nic’s. “I’m picturing the two of you with your big paws trying to hold itty bitty teacups.”

Nic laughed. “Don’t worry
chérie
, I’ve got mugs.”

“So Nic,” Kaden said after Lauren put a kettle on to boil. “Want to discuss our plan for finding Summer?”

He nodded. “Rémi had some ideas that might help us. Do either of you know anyone who works for a phone company?”

“My ex-girlfriend works at AT&T. Why?” Kaden asked.

“Summer used her phone that night at the bar. If we get her records, we could find out who she spoke with.” Nic pulled out his cell phone and gave Kaden Summer’s contact information.

“I’ll call my ex tonight and see if she can help. At the very least, she should be able to tell us the carrier for this number.”

“Rémi also said they could give us the location where the phone last registered.”

“If it’s an AT&T number, she should be able to get that information.”

Nic bit back a sigh of relief that he wouldn’t have to go through Rémi’s explanation and sound like a fool.

The sound of the kettle’s whistle startled them all. Lauren jumped up to prepare the tea. When she stretched to reach the cups on the second shelf, her shirt rose, giving Nic a peek of her smooth belly. Memories of kissing that silky flesh—the feel of it against his lips, the taste of it on his tongue—suddenly made his jeans a whole lot tighter.

She piled cups and plates on a tray and brought it to the table. After pouring the tea, she bit into her brownie and moaned, “Oh God, Kaden.” Nic barely held back a snarl. Those were not words he ever wanted to hear coming out of her mouth. “These are delicious.”

Nic tasted the brownies to see what all the fuss was about. Rich chocolaty sweetness hit his tongue as soon as he sank his teeth into the chewy square. All he could manage to do was mumble, “Wow,” before taking another large bite. “I’m saving a few of these for breakfast. The thought of these along with a good cup of strong coffee makes me—”

Lauren interrupted him with a strange choking sound. “
Chérie
? Are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” she croaked, then covered her mouth with a napkin, and cleared her throat. “I’ll put some of these aside for you.” She turned her face away, but he could see the color blooming on her cheeks. He’d give more than a penny to know what was going on it that beautiful, creative mind of hers. He looked at Kaden and arched a brow in question. His response was an eye roll and a head shake. But the grin that split across Kaden’s face ruined the effect.

Shit. Time to get them all back on track. “Any other ideas?”

“Women usually go out in groups, and if Summer goes to this bar often, the bartender might know her friends. And one of them might know where she is,” Lauren said.

A smile broke out on his face. “You’re brilliant. She told me she has a roommate.”

“So tomorrow we go talk to the roommate. You know where she lives, right?”

“Yeah.” He turned away from Lauren only to come eyeball to eyeball with Kaden’s how-you-going-to-explain-that look. Christ, he probably had
busted
stamped across his fucking forehead.

Then like only a true buddy would, Kaden spoke up and saved his ass. “I drove her home after the footprint ceremony.” Nic blinked his eyes in silent thanks. By the time this was all finished, he wouldn’t just owe the man a few raises; he’d owe him a freaking promotion.

“O-
kay
.” Lauren’s gaze shifted between the two of them. “We’ll head over there right after breakfast.”

As Nic gazed at the woman by his side, his thoughts turned to enjoying a breakfast of brownies and coffee with her. Their eyes locked.

Then he thought about enjoying
her
for breakfast. And grinned.