Jake (A Redemption Romance #2) (8 page)

These reactions were a product of my time with Tim and even before that, my time with my father. Though, my father never beat us, not really, he spanked us a lot. No, his abuse had been verbal; constant put downs, constant reprimands for the slightest infraction, constant berating words when we disagreed with him - constant.

Neither of those men were anything like Jake. He was a man, a strong man. He wasn’t strong or manly because he belittled and abused those weaker than himself. He protected them.

I did recall the time he’d yelled at Aurora though, that hadn’t been pretty, and it seemed so out of character for him. Now that I’d spent time with him, I couldn’t imagine him doing something like that, I wondered how he’d gotten to that point, what had pushed him that far and if something even worse – something like this could push him even further.

After settling me down, Jake led me back into the conference room. Trent had joined the group, they were all talking quietly, but as soon as we walked into the room, they quieted and looked to us. I’d pulled myself together, found the strength I needed, thanks to Jake, and took my seat once more.

I finished, giving them all the information I had. Then, Jake had me go over what I knew about Tim, which wasn’t much. I gave them the basics about the story, knowing that they could pull the report if they wanted all the details. I didn’t talk about that anymore, hadn’t for a couple of years. There was no need to go into the specific details, explaining that I’d been in an abusive relationship was generally enough.

Once my part was done, the four of them began to discuss strategy and Jake gave all the information he had on the truck. I found out he’d gotten the license plate number, but he hadn’t seen the driver either, had just seen a shadow inside the truck once, indicating that someone was inside. Once they ran the plates, they came back to a James Stone, no one I knew. I wasn’t aware of anyone in the neighborhood with that name either, so I was at a total loss.

Officer Christine Gates stood from her chair, and quietly asked me if I would speak to her outside. Of course, I agreed, though Jake didn’t look too happy about it, and I followed her.

She led me back into the smaller room next door, closed the door behind me and took a seat. I sat perpendicular to her and waited.

“May I call you Hope?” She asked, professionally, but with obvious care.

“Of course.”

“Thank you.” She smiled a small smile and continued. “I asked to meet with you privately because sometimes, it can be easier for women to speak one-on-one to another woman. In your line of work, I assume you know that.” I nodded and she went on: “Is there more; more to what your ex-boyfriend did that you haven’t shared?”

I looked at her, confused. There was, but I didn’t see how it was relevant.

“Well, yes and no. Yes, I didn’t give details, obviously, but no, there’s no other evidence that he’s been stalking me, not for the past two years.”

She nodded in understanding, pressed her lips together and thought for a moment. “When you say, he was abusive, can you tell me what you mean?”

I blinked, not sure how to answer. I thought that in this situation, that should be enough. “Well, he hit me, he spoke down to me, I’m not sure what you’re looking for.” I hoped that would be enough information, but just knew it wouldn’t be.

“What was your breaking point?” She asked, what I thought was a very strange question. My breaking point.

“Well, when we started dating, I was away from home, in college. He was very sweet, solicitous. Over time, his behavior began to change. Eventually, he slapped me or pushed me around. Not a lot, but once in a while, when we argued.” I paused to consider my next words. I hadn’t answered her actual question yet, and I didn’t know why I was telling her all this, but there was something about this kind woman that encouraged me to continue.

“That went on for a couple of years, but finally, the night I left things got bad. He was angry with me, we got into a fight and he went too far, way too far. After he left, I called a taxi and went to the ER.” I finished, spine straight, voice calm and unwavering. I’d done it, I told her without breaking down or allowing my head to spiral out of control.

Christine nodded in understanding and seemed to weigh my words carefully. I sensed that she was considering the words I hadn’t said as much as the ones I had.

“So, he went too far and you left?” She confirmed what I’d just said. I thought that was a little strange but didn’t question it.

“Yes,” I answered simply.

“You went to the ER. Did you report it to the police at that point?”

“Yes,” again, I gave her just in the information she asked for.

“What happened next? Did he come after you again? Did you see him again?”

“No, when the police went to serve him with the protection order, he was gone. He’d moved from his apartment and seemed to vanish. I haven’t actually seen him since.”

Her brows furrowed in confusion and kept probing. “So what happened two years ago?”

“I’d moved back here to finish my master’s program. Because of what had happened, both schools were extremely understanding and allowed me to transfer between semesters.

I’d been back in Texas for a while, and out of the blue, I found a note on my car. I knew it was from him. It scared me, so I contacted the officer back in Mississippi who’d helped me before. He encouraged me to file a complaint here, and sent the file.”

“Was it just the one note?”

“No, it went on like that for a few months, notes on my car, at my apartment, but that was all. I never actually saw him.

It stopped abruptly, one day there were no more none, nothing. I haven’t heard anything from him since then.”

“Until now.” She clarified. I nodded in agreement, knowing deep down that it was Tim.

A quick knock came and then the door opened. Jake stood there, a worried look on his face. I watched as Christine’s face morphed from concern to frustration to bland and professional. She’d been great with me, but I didn’t think she liked the interruption.

Jake walked to me and placed a hand on my shoulder. I watched as he looked at the other officer. They seemed to communicate without speaking.

“You ready, baby?”

In answer, I rose from the chair and looked to Officer Christine Gates once more. “Is there anything else?”

She gave me a small smile and shook her head. “No, thank you Miss Lewis.” She had slid back into the professional persona I’d witnessed earlier. I wondered if that was for Jake’s benefit or mine. She slipped her business card out of her shirt pocket and handed it over, encouraging me to call her if I needed anything, anytime. We shook hands and Jake led me from the room.

Jake

The look on Christine’s face when I walked through the door, concerned me greatly. She was a good officer, I knew, I’d worked with her on a case about a year ago, after which things had gotten personal.

I didn’t like it one bit, that she was the one to interview Hope privately, but I knew how these things worked. I trusted her to keep our past quiet and not burden Hope with that, certainly not now.

I wasn’t ashamed, we’d dated a few times, slept together, but there hadn’t been anything between us emotionally. Once she’d seen the darker side of me in bed, she got off on it, but hadn’t wanted anything like that for the long haul. For both of us, it had been a bad fit. Thankfully, we’d figured that out, well before emotions got involved.

I’d been demanding, dominant with her, and it seemed that she wanted to be in control sometimes too. That wouldn’t happen, not with her. She didn’t like it when I held her down. At first she enjoyed me commanding her body, but after the second time, she bristled when I told her what to do. I knew I’d been an ass, that I’d pushed her to let me take over, but she couldn’t handle that.

Hope was silent all the way home; her face was turned toward the window. She seemed to be studying the scenery intently, but I knew she wasn’t seeing it. She was reflective and somber, it worried me. I’d wanted to take her out tonight, to enjoy time with her, but that was not to be.

Once home, she changed into PJ’s, I ordered pizza and we curled up together on the couch to watch TV. I held her close in my arms, only wanting to feel her warmth and softness pressed against me. I stroked her hair and thought about her safety. I wondered how I could keep her protected.

My work was getting busy again, my next assignment wasn’t deep cover, but I would be working on a sting for the next couple of months, almost all at night. I could get her to work in the morning, but how would I keep her safe when she came home?

There would be times I wouldn’t even be able to answer the phone if she called. I could take a leave of absence, but that didn’t sit well with me either. She could stay with Luke and Aurora, but I hated the thought of that. I only had one option, figure out what was going on and find the bastard in the next two weeks.

The next three days, I was able to follow her to work and be there in time to follow her home. There had been no sightings of the brown truck. Going by her house again, I found nothing, not so much as a blade of grass out of place. Checking the camera feeds, nothing out of the ordinary had happened. I watched the men working on the yard, and Jimmy did try hard to keep his face averted each time he saw a camera.

Aside from Jimmy’s strange behavior, everything was quiet, and quiet wasn’t something that made me comfortable.

I skipped drinks with the guys on Wednesday, for obvious reasons, I didn’t want to be away from Hope. I was concerned for her safety, absolutely, but also, after the drama at the police station, her nightmares were back.

One positive thing had happened; she’d fully embraced our relationship. We made love often and it was amazing, the best I’d ever had. She’d seen my dark side and loved it; needed it even. I wanted to spend time with her, our relationship was new and every minute I could, I wanted to be with her.

Saturday, we went for a run, enjoying the crisp air of the morning. It was a strangely intimate experience running with someone else. It took focus, paying attention to the other person to keep pace. Since neither of us had to work, we were able to run longer than we did during the week.

Coming back, I enticed her into the shower with me. I soaped her wet, curvy body, running my hands over every inch of her, and paid special attention to her breasts. Pulling down the removable shower head, I rinsed her and enjoyed the way the water beaded and ran over her. I leaned in, lifted one breast and wrapped my mouth around the nipple and positioned the flow of water directly up onto her clit.

Hope’s loud gasp as the warm water pelted her sensitive skin encouraged me to push her. I knew she’d like it, that she could take it. She’d love it.

Replacing the shower head on the wall, I focused all my attention on her tightly engorged clit. Kneeling on the floor, I sat back on my feet, used two fingers to open her lips and took full advantage. I licked and sucked over the tight bud until she was on the verge of climax.

Pulling back abruptly, I stood to my full height and looked down at her. She’d snapped her eyes open and stared at me in shock. She was pissed, adorably so. She’d wanted that release and I hadn’t given it to her.

“Knees,” I said, sternly. She glared at me, and didn’t move. Hands to hips, she stared mutinously up at me and swear to god, I almost laughed. I did smirk, which she apparently didn’t appreciate.

“Knees, baby. I’m not into spanking, but I’ll get into it if you don’t get on your knees right fucking now and take my dick into your sweet, warm little mouth.” I watched her chest rise and fall quickly, my words had excited her, so she relented and dropped to those sexy knees.

Standing over her, lording over her, I felt like the king of the world as she pulled my hard-as-hell dick into that luscious mouth and sucked. She wasn’t overly skilled, and I appreciated the innocence of it. Her eyes rolled up to look at me several times, seeking my approval. I felt like an asshole, standing there, now with my hands on my hips, watching her. My face showed supreme pleasure.

If I let go and fisted my hands in her long black hair, like I wanted to, I was afraid I’d push her too far. It was better if she took me as she was able and became more comfortable with the act. I still didn’t know the full extent of what that asshole had done to her, and I didn’t want to push her beyond what she could handle.

I was about to blow, maybe ten seconds away, so I pulled back quickly, bent down, grabbed her under her arms and pulled her up, lifting her against me. I moved us both, pushing her back to the tiled wall. As soon as her legs wrapped around me, I positioned and slammed inside. I really hoped that she was ready, that I hadn’t hurt her, because I’d never be okay with that.

Her loud moans filled the small space and I knew that we were good. My rhythm increased, pounding her harder and faster than ever before. She shattered with a loud scream. I felt the walls of her tight pussy quivering around me, but I didn’t give in. I kept it up, kept pounding her.

She rolled from one climax into the next. Her body had relaxed completely, she was sated and replete when I finally came hot and hard, filling her up.

Once we’d both settled, I pulled from her body, reluctantly and washed us both again. We made it to the bedroom, laid down on the bed and before drifting to sleep, thought about how rough I’d been with Hope. I was a bastard, pushing her like I had. I hated that I got off on it, that I got off on controlling her, I wondered why I couldn’t be sweet, was that what she needed?

For the first time since the bar-b-que, I walked into Luke and Aurora’s house. Everyone was gathering for football. I was tense, unsure of how Aurora would be with me here. I didn’t want to hurt her again. I’d apologized and meant it, I’d made some serious changes since that night, but I knew how much I’d fucked up. It was a shitty feeling.

“Hey guys!” Aurora called, turning the corner into the living room. She was her normal bright and bubbly self. It seemed that, regardless of my discomfort, all had been forgiven.

The day was spent with good friends and food. Hope was relaxed and happy with the girls. Amber, who worked at Aurora’s store, came later in the day accompanied by a woman I hadn’t met. She was the quintessential pin-up girl, all tits and ass.

She was a new addition to our group and had been started working at Indulgence, Aurora’s fancy-ass clothing store, a month or so ago. She hadn’t been at any of the gatherings I’d been at.

Aurora introduced Dawn to everyone, but when Gavin walked in from the back yard, I watched as Dawn’s face turned white as a ghost. Gavin hadn’t noticed her yet, but her attention was completely focused on him. Dawn was young, maybe mid-twenties, and I hadn’t heard much about her, but she obviously knew Gavin.

As he turned to meet the newcomer, his eyes almost popped out of his head. He looked her up and down, didn’t even try to hide his perusal of her body.

“Dawn?” His question was more disbelief than uncertainty.

“Hey, Gavin,” she replied, quiet and shy. There was obviously something going on there, but after their initial greeting, they seemed to be purposely avoiding each other.

Not really, Dawn was avoiding Gavin. She walked out of any room he walked into; he tried to engage her and she would smile, answer him quickly and move away. Hope noticed the byplay too, and raised an eyebrow in question. Since I knew absolutely nothing, I just shrugged my shoulders in confusion.

Everyone had settled onto couches and chairs around the room, with plates of food, beer bottles in hand and focus was on the football game. Hope sat next to me cuddled into my side, my arm around her shoulders. It was a great place for her to be.

Somehow, with all the loud grunts and excited calls, all directed at the TV, Hope had fallen asleep. Her head was now resting on my shoulder, I leaned down, kissed the top of her head and I noticed Aurora watching us. Her face was soft, her smile genuine and happy.

I thought about that night, just weeks ago. Thought about how I’d berated her for trying to live a normal life after losing her brother. I got it now. I felt it, what she and Luke had, I felt settled with Hope, content. It wasn’t that I’d forgotten Dylan or Nolan, it was just that I knew now that I had to live my own life.

Remembering the letter Nolan had left me, I considered seriously what he’d said. I hadn’t read it again, since the night Reed came over and brought it to me. Nolan thought that I hadn’t forgiven him for Dylan’s death. Did I seriously blame him? I had to think about that. Not consciously, I didn’t, but somehow I’d conveyed that to Nolan.

He was right, sometimes when I looked at Nolan, I’d think about Dylan and what I could have done differently. It could have been any of us that day, that place was so fucked up, it could have been all of us. One thing I knew for sure, Nolan was absolutely right. I needed to live, to make a good life, to live a life that Dylan would want for me. I couldn’t predict the future, but I was pretty sure I wanted that life to include the sweet woman who’d fallen asleep amidst our crazy-loud friends watching football.

Another hour passed before Hope roused from her nap. We made our way around the room, saying our farewells to the group.

“Where’s Trent?” Hope asked Luke after a quick hug between them.

“No idea,” He said, looking around.

Just then Amber stomped into the living room, face red and obviously fuming. Trent was hot on her heels, trying to calm her, but not doing a good job at it.

Amber grabbed her things, said a hasty goodbye to the room and left. Trent stood there in the middle of everyone looking confused. I heard Reed ask him about it, but Trent shrugged it off and followed her.

A week had passed since the football game at Luke’s. Hope agreed to continue to stay with me. I’d brought a lot more of her stuff over. Even though nothing more had happened, I convinced her that she was safer here with me. Selfishly, I just wanted her here and would use whatever means I needed to entice her. I wanted to ask her to move in, but knew it was way too soon.

The new operation had started at work. Our team was working a ton, ten to twelve hour days, sometimes longer. Since I didn’t start until that afternoon, Hope would be sleeping alone until I rolled in in the middle of the night. It worried me that she would be alone, but I’d gotten assurances from everyone that they’d help look in on her. I’d also spoken with Dan Dupree and Christine Gates, who’d agreed to increase surveillance of the house. They’d arrange it with the command staff at McKinney PD. Even with all the extra help, I was still worried.

I’d been checking the camera feeds on Hope’s house remotely all week, but hadn’t had the chance to get over there. Everything looked perfect, the gardening service had come the previous day, so her yard was neat and tidy again.

One of the cameras wasn’t working, I could switch to it, but the screen was black. Assuming it was some dirt or bird mess, I walked casually up to the camera and looked up at it, prepared to clean off the offending mess. There was, indeed a glob of dirt on the lens, but over the top of that was a small piece of paper.

The hair on my arms stood, all I wanted to do was go, find Hope and hide her away somewhere. This asshole wasn’t giving up, but he was like a ghost. No one had seen him, no one knew anything about him. Tim Johnson was a common name, but
that
Tim Johnson didn’t exist in the Dallas area, or anywhere.

After cleaning the camera lens, I looked at the paper that had been stuck to it.
Fucking bitch
was written on the green Post-it. That fucking asshole, I couldn’t stand for Hope to be afraid of this guy anymore. I was done with this bullshit.

Forcing calm, that I absolutely didn’t feel, I scanned the area, looking for anything new.

Lying on the front porch was a dozen red-fucking-roses and another god damn note. My blood boiled.

Obviously, with the mud and paper on the camera lens, I wouldn’t be able to see anyone who came up to the house. The question was, why didn’t the camera pick up the person doing it? I’d seen the glob land on the lens, but nothing more. How had he gotten it there so perfectly without being seen?