DutyBoundARe (22 page)

“She can come stay with me,” Lola offered.

“No, he knows our name now. I’ve got a place she can go.” He sighed. More questions.

His desk phone flashed with an incoming call. He recognized the extension immediately. Amber.

“Lola, I need to go.”

“Call me. . .”

He ended the call without another word and picked up the handset.

“Tell me something good, baby girl.” He needed to hear positive things after this morning.

“Uh…good morning to you, too,” Amber stammered on the other line. “I don’t have good news unless good is having no doubt your guy attacked another college girl last night.”

“Is she alive?”

“She expired at the hospital a few hours ago. I’m just seeing the pictures now. The marks on her neck—they’re the same.”

“Fuck.” He cradled his head in his hands. How many could he attribute to Seth’s hands now? The truth was Mathieu couldn’t count them. “I need more to go on. Any physical evidence?”

“Not much to go on, but the strangulations are drawing interest. I think someone’s going to peg your guy as a serial.”

“Amber, I need to catch this guy. Now.”

“Okay. Let me put together some stuff for you. There’s got to be a pattern. I’m an analyst, I should be able to figure it out.” He could hear the sound of papers being shuffled, maybe something being knocked over. “I’m going to have something to you by noon. We’ll catch this guy.”

“Thank you, Amber. Really.”

“Just catch him. I don’t want another girl to die.”

“Me either.”

He hung up and sighed, his shoulders sagging. What did he do? How did he protect Lisette and catch Seth? He couldn’t do both at once, no matter how much he’d like to believe he could. Scrubbing a hand over his face, he muttered a few curses. Lisette had come to him for help and now he and Lola had probably just put her in danger. As much as he wanted to do this on his own, he knew he couldn’t.

Mathieu dug his phone out of his pocket and punched his speed-dial. This was a clusterfuck of epic proportions.

“What’s her name?” Odalia said on the other end of the line.

“Lisette.”

“Holy fuck. I did not see that coming.” Odalia whistled.

“You know, women do find me attractive,” Mathieu said with a twist of his lips.

“Oh, not that. I mean, you actually told me without having to twist your arm or anything.” The sounds of the radio filtered through the phone, reminding him that they were both on the job. “So, Lisette, huh?”

“Yeah. And I need a favor.”

“Uh…okay.”

“I just got paid a visit by her ex. In my office. She needs to get out of my place right now. I wouldn’t ask if it wasn’t important, but. . .”

“She can stay at my place. As long as she likes dogs.”

“I’m pretty sure Gator would trade me for her in a heartbeat.”

“I like her already. But the boyfriend? Is he trouble?”

“Yeah.” He rubbed his face again. This was not going to go over well with Odalia.

“Are you going to tell me any more?”

“I’d prefer not to. Least not while I’m here. If Lisette wants to, that’s her business, but there’s more she doesn’t know. Like, she doesn’t know her ex is in New Orleans.”

“Mathieu, this doesn’t sound good.” Her disapproving tones tugged at him. But she didn’t know Lissy. Odalia didn’t know Lisette’s strengths. The things she’d been through.

“I know how it sounds, believe me. I thought it was Amanda Part Two. But she’s not. It’s different. Will you just go get her? Please? If it’s not okay for her to stay there I’ll. . .”

“She’ll stay with me, but I want to know what the hell is going on.” Odalia sighed. “I’ve got to go. I’ll be over there soon. I was going to swing by and check on Creature before my shift ended anyway.”

“You’re a gem.”

“Yeah, you might not be saying that when I’m done with you.” With an attitude like that it was hard to see Odalia as a sexual submissive, but she was. Tough as nails on the outside with a warm, gooey center.

“Bring it,” he replied.

“Fuck you.” Odalia hung up, getting the last word. This time.

Their sibling-like relationship had begun when Odalia was assigned as his patrol partner. He felt as if she was the little sister he was always meant to have. But it had never been anything more than that. There wasn’t another person he’d trust to keep Lisette safe.

Lisette peered through the peephole
and chewed her lip.

The woman on the other side knocked again, the wood door reverberating with the vibrations.

“Open up, it’s me,” the woman said.

Lisette turned the deadbolt, none too excited about facing this person. She opened the door and froze.

She was beautiful. Stunning. Tanned skin. Long black hair. Piercing eyes. And tattoos.

“Uh…hi,” Lisette said as the woman gave her a head-to-toe once over.

“You must be Lisette.”

“Yeah. And you are?”

The woman blinked at her, one dark brow arched. “Are you fucking kidding me?” She rolled her eyes. “I’m Odalia. Let’s step inside.”

Odalia ushered Lisette back into the apartment. Gator whined and scratched the bars of his kennel.

“What’s going on?” Lisette demanded. Who was this woman? And more importantly—who was she to Mathieu?

The memory of sex, the feel of his body, was still fresh in her mind. Jealousy was an evil serpent coiling up inside of her. In worn yoga pants and a tank top, she couldn’t compare to this other woman in his life.

“I can’t fucking believe he’s leaving this to me.” Odalia rolled her eyes again.

“What are you talking about?” Lisette narrowed her gaze.

“Mathieu sent me over here to pick you and Gator up to come stay with me until stuff blows over.” Odalia slid her hands into her pockets.

She was being sent away?

Lisette shook her head. Was this really happening? They’d had sex and now Mathieu was shipping her off? Was his baggage seriously that heavy that he couldn’t deal with her?

Odalia rocked from her heels to her toes, bending forward at the waist. “I don’t know what you’re thinking—but stop. I can see something going on in there, and whatever it is, you should probably not go there.”

“I’m not exactly sure what to think,” Lisette replied, unable to keep the waspish tone out of her voice.

“Whatever. You’re pissed and considering how bad Mathieu’s handling this, I don’t blame you.” Odalia waved her hand. “How about we get your stuff together and get out of here?”

“Why?” Lisette could always refuse to leave. The other woman seemed pretty fit, but she didn’t think Odalia could physically carry her out of the apartment. She could park her ass on the couch and wait for Mathieu to come home.

“Look, all I know is that you’re in a sticky situation with your ex and Mathieu thinks you need to come to my place. To be safe. That’s what I know. Anything else and you’re going to have to talk to him.” Odalia sighed and pulled out her phone. “Here, we’re going to call him and have him straighten this out.”

“No,” Lisette said quickly. The last thing she wanted was to have another person dragged into the new and fragile thing between her and Mathieu. “I’ll get my stuff together. It’ll only take a minute.”

She turned her back on the woman and strode into the bedroom. In less than five minutes she’d gathered up all evidence of her stay and shoved it into her backpack. She emerged from the bathroom to find Odalia with Gator on a leash waiting for her.

“Ready?” Odalia asked.

“Yeah.” Lisette hoisted her backpack up on her shoulder and buttoned her jacket with the other.

“Is that all you’ve got with you?” Odalia’s brow furrowed.

“Yup.” Heat blossomed on her cheeks.
Thanks for the reminder.

“Okay. Cool. Let’s go.” Odalia led the way out of the apartment, leaving Lisette to follow.

She shuffled after the other woman, digging in her pockets, searching for her key ring. Glancing around, she committed it all to memory. Would she be back here? She had no idea.

“I got it,” Odalia said, jangling her keys.

Lisette blinked, staring at the keys, the heat in her cheeks growing. “Oh.”

What right did she have to think she had any place in Mathieu’s life? He’d had women before her. It wasn’t as if his life had stopped when she went away. But this reminder was tough. She marched out into the hallway, her spine straight, and stared down the hall while Odalia locked the apartment.

“Come on, Gator,” Odalia cooed, leading their trio down the stairs and out of the building.

Lisette settled in Odalia’s Jeep, her bag between her feet, still a little stunned. One moment she was trying to talk herself off the ledge of being too excited about seeing Mathieu again tonight. And now she was back to square one. Where did she go now? Because she sure as hell wasn’t staying with a woman she didn’t know.

Maybe it was time she went back to the east coast. Call some of her college friends and see what they were doing. Perhaps she could get some work. Her money would dry up soon.

“How do you know Mathieu?” Odalia asked as she pulled out onto the street.

“We went to college together. You?” Lisette stared out of the window, refusing to look at the other woman.

“We were patrol partners for a while before he abandoned me to be a detective, but I don’t hold it against him. So are you going to explain to me why you’re crashing on Mathieu’s couch?” The curl to her voice said Odalia didn’t believe Lisette had slept on the couch. And she hadn’t.

“I’d prefer not to.” Her sordid story wasn’t for everyone to hear. Especially the other woman in Mathieu’s life.

“Alright. Whatever you say.”

They made the drive to a condo down the street in a few minutes. Mathieu had gone to eat with a friend. Had it been Odalia? Had he been seeing both of them at the same time?

Lisette followed Odalia into the condo with what felt like weights attached to her ankles. She did not want to be here or around this woman who’d been part of Mathieu’s life when she hadn’t.

The condo was comfortable and cozy. Another steel gray pit bull waited for them inside and when the two dogs met it was a flurry of licks, sniffs and playful yips until Odalia got the leash off. The two went scampering through the living room and into the kitchen, chasing each other.

“Here’s hoping they don’t destroy something this time,” Odalia groused, but there were warm tones to her voice and the way one side of her mouth hitched up belied the words she spoke. She loved her dog as much as Mathieu loved Gator.

“I’m guessing they’re related?” Lisette unbuttoned her coat and hung it on a peg next to the door.

“Yeah, Mathieu and I found them in a box one day on patrol. The idea was to turn them over to Animal Control, but you can see how well that worked out.” Odalia chuckled as the two dogs bumped into her shins on their return trek, still playfully bouncing around the space. “Creature’s not as friendly as Gator, but he’s not dangerous. At least not to most people. You’ll be fine.”

Lisette went to her knee as the two ricocheted her way. Gator turned to her and wiggled his hindquarters, while Creature sniffed at her as if he’d just realized she was a new addition. She offered her hand for inspection and after a moment of investigation, or maybe Gator’s good word, she passed whatever canine test was being administered and earned a lick from Creature.

Gator sat down next to her and leaned against her side as if he knew she needed the support of someone right now. Creature was more than happy to let her pet him and even turned in place so she could scratch his back.

“What happened here?” There was a large ugly scar along his left flank. The hair hadn’t grown back fully yet, and even then she didn’t know if it would ever go away.

“Oh.” Odalia shifted her weight and crossed her arms. A topic the woman clearly did not want to discuss. “I had a B&E. Guy shot Creature before I got here.”

Lisette gasped, her heart squeezed at the idea of the seemingly sweet dog being treated so horribly. Creature didn’t seem to notice. He twisted to look back at her when her hand faltered its path up and down his back.

“Is he okay?”

“The guy?”

“No, Creature. I’m assuming the other guy didn’t get off so well?”

Odalia chuckled. “No, the other guy is in prison and had a couple of bites, so Creature got a pound of flesh at least. As far as his injuries, they did surgery to patch up some internal damage, sewed him up and he’s been on the mend since. He’s just about at the end of it.” Creature padded across to his mistress, who sank down to sit on the edge of the sofa and pet him.

Creature gazed up at her as if to say,
I’m okay
.

Dogs were such soulful creatures. Lisette hugged Gator, laying her head next to his.

Odalia studied her for a moment while they paid homage to their canine companions. “Just so we’re clear, Mathieu and I are just friends. Nothing more. He’s more like a brother to me than anything else. Besides, I’m with someone now.”

“Never?” Lisette asked before she could think better of it.

“Never.”

Lisette didn’t know what to think. She was still deeply jealous of this woman who was something special to Mathieu.

“Were you around for Amanda?” Lisette asked instead. It was gross curiosity, she knew, but she couldn’t help it.

“I was, and I maintain my stance I had then. I kept my opinions about Amanda to myself, and I will continue to do so.” The stern way Odalia stared her down was interesting. It made Lisette wonder if she’d seen the writing on the wall where Amanda was concerned from day one, and had chosen to stand beside Mathieu regardless. It was an assumption, but damn it if it didn’t make Lisette actually like Odalia.

Odalia spread her hands for a moment and Creature licked them. “Anything else you’d like to ask?”

“Probably. But not now.”

Odalia propped her elbows on her knees, an odd sparkle to her gaze. Almost as if the woman wanted to stir up mischief. “I’ll admit you aren’t what I expected.”

What was that supposed to mean?

“What did you expect?” Lisette asked since the other woman didn’t seem as if she was going to continue without some prompting.