Kisses and Revenge (15 page)

Chapter Twenty-Two

It had been some time since she had heard anything on Adam's murder, and even though she was feeling calmer since his death, it didn't mean she didn't want justice. Getting tired of waiting to find out what was happening, she decided to go down to the police station and ask about it herself. She found it hard to believe they would just give up on the whole thing. Marching straight up to the front desk, she hit the bell and waited for the officer behind it to acknowledge her.

"May I help you, Miss?" the scruffy older officer asked. He looked like he had been working for the force his entire life with the amount of lines and wrinkles on his face, and his eyes had the dead, uncaring gaze of someone who had given up on humanity. It was a look that seemed to come to public officials and social workers.

"Yes, I am looking for an Officer Marker. He was working on the case of my husband's murder, and I haven't heard from him in a while," Leslie explained in a firm voice. Something had gotten into her, and she had awakened in a very determined mood

"Sure, go have a seat over there, and I will have him come get you," the officer answered, pointing to a group of plastic chairs off to the side.

The police station was grim and dark. Some of the lights were flickering in and out in desperate need of being replaced, and the floors were dingy and stained. It was a rather pathetic excuse for a building, making Leslie wonder where her tax dollars went. It certainly wasn't here. Taking a deep breath, she crossed her legs, tapping her foot in impatience.

It seemed she waited nearly twenty minutes before Officer Marker came out to see her. His dark eyes were tired and frustrated. Leslie wondered if he had been working too much and not getting enough sleep. "Hello, Ms. Finn. I was wondering if I would see you eventually. I wish I had better news for you, but it seems everything leads to a dead end. Would you like to come to my office so we can talk more about it?"

Officer Marker motioned for her to follow him, and she stood and wove her way through the cubicle Hell he seemed to work in. After a few minutes, he opened the door to an office and waited for her to go inside. The room was more like a conference room with a large wooden table with several chairs surrounding it. Leslie took a seat in one of the chairs and waited to see what Office Marker had to say. By his opening words, she was fairly certain the conversation wasn't going to go very well.

"Ms. Finn, I understand you have been through a lot this year, and Adam's death was very hard on you. I could not imagine what you have been through, and I am very sorry, but the department is overrun with cases right now. We aren't getting anywhere with Adam's case. Everything turns up as nothing, and we have lots of cases we need to focus on. I wish I had better news for you. I wish I could find the person who did this, but there simply isn't enough evidence to point us in the right direction." The defeated sound in Officer Marker's voice was numbing to Leslie. Before, she would have broken down in tears, but instead she just stared at him.

"You guys really are giving up on him. What is the point of the police and the justice system if you do nothing? Why does anyone even bother to care?" Leslie slammed her hand against the table and stood, too much energy in her blood to keep her seated.

"No, it isn't that. We just don't have anything to go on. Your husband was well liked. There is no one we can find with a motive to kill him, and there was no evidence at the scene to give us a clue. Leslie, we are humans. It isn't like we have superpowers and can just go out there and get the bad guys without help. If you could remember anything at all, think of anyone that might not have liked him, it would give us somewhere to start. The problem is, neither you nor his brother seems to know of anything that would point to this. No one at his work does either. Your husband was loved and revered. Men like that don't usually get killed in cold blood," Office Marker protested, trying to keep Leslie from just walking out of the room.

"You are supposed to be the ones we can depend on. You are supposed to be the ones people go to in order to get justice. If you can't help, then what is the point. At this rate, I am going to end up able to find his killer before any of you. It disgusts me. I'm trying to move on with my life, and here I am, stuck, waiting to find some peace for my late husband." Leslie's anger came out in full force. She was not usually the type to blow up like that, but the police had shown nothing but a lack of caring for Adam's case from the very start.

"We are trying. I'm sorry. It isn't as easy as it looks on TV. To tell you the truth, the only people we have found that had any sort of motive was you and his brother. I know that isn't the case, and there is no evidence, so it was thrown out as not being important. If we find something, you will be the first to know, but right now, I have other cases that are moving along." His words were so cold and uncaring that it made Leslie's blood boil.

For a moment she lifted her hand as if to slap the officer, but she was sure all that would accomplish would be a trip to a cell for her. Angry or not, she wasn't stupid enough to assault an officer, even if he was being a dick. With nothing left to say, she turned and slammed out of the conference room and wove her way back through the cubicles. "Never in my life will I trust any of you again. You lazy no-good pieces of shit! Eat your fucking donuts while letting the people suffer. Seems to be all you are fucking good at!"

Leslie wasn't really sure where her final words had come from, but it hadn't really helped. Probably all it managed to accomplish was to make her look like an enraged idiot. Not exactly the look she was going for.

Still fuming as she made her way to her car and got behind the wheel, she let the air conditioner cool her off before she made a move. Driving angry wasn't safe, and she was furious. Still it seemed all she could see was the color red. For far too long she had been acting like a victim in all of this. Warren had pulled her from her depression, but now it was time to pull her own head out of her ass. If the police weren't going to help her, then she was going to find the answers on her own.

Happy with her decision, she put the car in gear and headed for the house. They had already made so many changes that finding clues for her would be difficult as well. All she really knew was that Adam had been shot from outside of the house, probably from a tree or something. Either way, she was no longer going to depend on anyone to help her with this. It seemed the world had abandoned her since Adam's death. The only person there for her anymore was Warren, and sometimes he was there for her a little too much.

Stopping through a drive through on the way home, she grabbed some lunch and ate in the car as she drove and thought about things. Officer Marker had been right about one thing. Everyone had loved Adam, so finding someone who would want to kill him was going to be difficult. Their property was on the beach and fairly private, so it couldn't have been some accident by a neighbor. Besides, she had a feeling if it were, they would have known something by then. No, there was more to this than she knew, and it was going to bother her until she got answers.

Getting home, she went into her room, a room that no longer looked like the room she once shared with her husband. Any clues that could have been there were long gone now. She could barely even see the room the way it used to be. Everything had changed.

Still highly frustrated, she threw her things onto her dresser and went to change into some workout clothes. Maybe a nice long run on the beach would help clear her mind. It had been some time since she just went on a run, and she could use the sort of release that only came with a run.

Stepping out the back patio door, she did a couple of stretching exercises before heading down the path to the beach. There was a light breeze blowing, and the salty scent of the air was incredible. She started out slow, letting her body warm up to the activity, and then she began to move faster. Her muscles burned with the exertion as she pushed herself faster and faster, running just outside of the reach of the waves.

The beach was fairly empty of people. Most were at work since she lived in a private area of beach. They seldom dealt with people coming as tourists. It made runs like this much more enjoyable and allowed her to really clear her head.

Once Leslie reached the line where the beach went from private to commercial, she turned around and started to head back. Sweat had started to form on her body, and she was much more winded than she was used to being after a run. It made her realize how she had been letting herself go in her grief.

All through the run, she tried to think of anything that would help her with Adam's murder, but nothing came to her. Maybe she could talk to some of the people from his work, see if there were things going on she was unaware of. Something had to be missing, something she had yet to see.

Getting back to her house, she stood on the beach, looking out over the ocean for several moments. She was hot and sweaty, and her body ached. Taking a couple of moments to simply breathe, she then walked out toward the waves and began to splash some of the cool, salty water on herself. The water was soothing and refreshing but still too cold for her to actually dive into.

Once she had cooled off, she grabbed a towel from just inside the house and dried off before heading to her room to shower and get ready for the evening. She would put more time into finding out what happened to Adam later. At that moment, she needed to get ready to go out. Warren was taking her to a nice dinner. He said he had something he wanted to talk to her about and wanted to treat her well.  Either way, she needed to get cleaned up for it.

Warren had said the restaurant would be nice, and it made her smile. She had missed going out to fancy restaurants and getting to dress up. Tonight, she was going to do her best to be as beautiful for her man as possible.             

Chapter Twenty-Three

Warren had gotten there exactly when he said he would be, and she had been more than ready for him. The dress she had chosen was long and red with a slit up the side to her hip. There was a little bit of gold trimming on the dress making it shimmer, and she had made sure to do her hair up nice and pretty. For the first time in ages, she felt more than just beautiful, she felt sexy. The look on Warren's face when he saw her helped to solidify her feelings on it. Leslie grinned at him and moved slowly toward him so he could soak in the way she looked.

He held out an arm to her, and she casually moved into it, letting him pull her into him for a long deep kiss. Her meeting at the police station had given her a confidence she hadn't felt in a very long time, and she was certain it was dripping from every pore of her body.

"You look gorgeous tonight, Leslie. It makes me not want to take you anywhere and just eat you for dinner." Warren purred his words against her lips before kissing her again. She clung to the lapel of his suit jacket and took her time enjoying the way he felt.

Pulling away, she smiled up at him then lightly pressed his nose with her finger. "You may think that, but even if you want me for dessert, you need to get some real food in you. Besides, I went for a run today and I'm starving. You promised me a nice night out, and you aren't getting out of it just because I know how to dress to make you crave me."

His deep chuckle vibrated against her, and he delivered one more kiss to her before leading her out. Using his key, he locked the door then escorted her to his car. Warren had purchased a new BMW since taking over SkyFinn. It was sleek and black with leather interior, and as he held the door open for her, she slid into it nicely. It still had that new car smell mixed with a tropical scent from an air freshener he had hanging from the rearview mirror. By the time she was all buckled in, he had made it around to the other side and was getting into the car with her.

"So, where are you taking me?" she asked, excited to be going on a real date. They had gone on trips and spent almost every night together, but they hadn't really gone on a date together.

"If you don't know by now, then I'm shocked. I never tell you where I am taking you, so why would I start now. Just sit back and enjoy," Warren answered, moving out into the busy streets. His car glided down the road, in and out of the traffic as if he were some sort of professional driver.

"You are no fun," Leslie laughed, turning and sticking her tongue out at him. The two of them laughed as she sat back and gazed out the window at the setting sun. There was a comfortable silence in the car, one that could only happen when two people were really close to one another.

"Tell me how your day went," Warren finally said, breaking the silence.

Leslie tensed for a moment, remembering just how angry she had been before. She hadn't told Warren she was going to the police station. Taking in a deep breath, she worried talking about it would upset Warren, but she wanted to be honest with him. "I went down to the police station today to find out what was going on with Adam's case. They pretty much told me they were giving up. There are no leads and no one with any sort of motive. Officer Marker said he had other cases he needed to work on that were actually producing results or some shit like that. It got me pretty angry. How could they just give up like that?"

Warren was quiet for a moment, watching the road and apparently taking in what Leslie had told him. "I know it is hard on you to deal with all of this. I know you wish they would find the person and get some sort of justice for Adam. I wish that too, but we can't make them do their job. Leslie, focusing on it will only tear you apart. I don't want to see you fall back into that deep depression like before."

"You don't have to worry about that. I'm too angry to be sad anymore. I just want justice for him, and if that means I have to do it myself, then I will. I am tired of waiting around for it. How am I ever supposed to move on with this hanging over my head?" Leslie answered. "Come on; let's not let this get us down. I want us to have a good night."

Warren agreed and continued to drive without another word on the subject. Leslie figured he didn't want to talk too much about his brother either. She had seen how much it bothered him not knowing as well, and she didn't want to hurt him any more than he already had been.

***

The restaurant was beautiful, filled with crystal and candles and all of the glory of fine dining. Warren had pulled out all the stops for this date, and Leslie was appreciative of all of it. The meal had been everything she had hoped for, seafood and steak with wine. Soft violin music played from a quartet off to the side, setting a very romantic mood.

"Leslie, I wanted to actually talk to you about something very important. We spend all of our time together, and I love you very much. I was thinking it would be a good idea if maybe you moved in with me. There is no point in us keeping up with two houses, especially since we are practically living together anyway. We can sell your house and you move in with me. I would prefer to stay in my parents' house; after all it was the one I grew up in," Warren explained.

Leslie's eyebrows lifted high as she thought about his words. She certainly hadn't expected him to ask her that, and it wasn't an idea she had put a lot of thought into. Selling Adam's house would be hard, but was it really home with him not there? Maybe if she didn't live there anymore she wouldn't feel the need to cling to it so much. "I ... I don't really know what to say. I haven't thought about leaving the house before. It was ..."

"It was yours and Adam's house. Leslie, I want to start a life with you. I want to be the man in your life, and I can't compete with my brother's ghost. Sell the house and move in with me. It will probably be the best thing for you to do. We can start over, you and me," Warren went on, reaching out for her hand. "I want to make you happy, and you have no idea how much happiness you bring me. The pain we have both gone through over this last year, well, no one else understands it. I need you, and I think this will be the perfect way for us to be together."

It shocked her just how sincere he was being. Warren, the bad boy, had proven to be so loving and compassionate over the last few months. He had set his own pain to the side to help her with hers, and all he wanted was for her to be with him. It wasn't a lot to ask, especially since it was all she really wanted as well. The only problem she had was giving up the house. It had been her house with Adam. Giving it up felt as if she were giving up on him—and his justice. "I just don't know if I can."

"Leslie, keeping the house won't bring him back. Keeping the house won't magically make his killer come out and wave his hands at you. Please, come live with me. You would make me the happiest man in the world, Leslie. I don't want to just live with you. I want to marry you. I want to have children with you. Leslie, I want to give you the life you always wanted. Please give me that chance."

All she had ever wanted was to be a wife and a mother. She had lost that with Adam, but it could be revived if she were to commit to Warren. Looking up into those beautiful blue eyes, she saw just how important this moment was to him. He was putting his heart on the line for her, and she was leaving him hanging. Squeezing his hand she gave him the most beautiful smile she could manage. "Okay, I will move in with you. You're right. We really should."

Warren shouted out with his excitement then rushed around the table to kiss her. The whole restaurant was watching them, making her feel really uncomfortable. "I hadn't intended to propose to you that way, hell, I don't even have the ring yet, but I will, soon. I love you so much, Leslie, and I am going to spend the rest of my life making you happy."

The room clapped and cheered for them, and Leslie felt her face burning with a blush. Warren went back to his seat, calling for the waiter to fill their wine glasses. Leslie could feel her heart racing just as fast as her mind. She would be moving in with Warren, selling her house, and starting a new life. It was probably the best thing for her to do, but it didn't mean she was going to give up on finding out what had happened to Adam.

Drinking more of her wine, she was grateful when the restaurant calmed down and everyone went back to their own meals. Reaching out, Warren once again took her hand as he smiled at her. The love she felt from him was strong and overwhelming. "Tonight can we stay at my house, though? One last night, then tomorrow I can start packing up?"

"That sounds like a perfect plan. I will call into the office and let them know I have plans for the day. They can always reach me on my phone, and then I will be available to help you pack and move. We can start calling around to find a good agent to sell the house," Warren answered as the waitress brought the check for them.

Warren handed over his card then turned back to her to see what she thought of his plan. "That would be nice. I actually think I still have the information for the person who sold us the house. I'm sure he would love to have it back. He was really nice and seemed to like the house a lot. I would want it to go to a family who would appreciate it."

"If that is what you think is best, we can give him a call tomorrow, get things moving. Leslie, I am so excited. I swear to you, I'm going to get you the best ring, and more than that, I am going to give you the best life." When the waitress brought back his card, the two of them left to head back home. Warren reached over, running his hand up and down her exposed thigh from the split in her dress. She had seen him eying it before, but he had behaved himself.

Uncrossing her legs, Leslie decided to let herself be bad. That seductive energy was still flowing through her. It was, after all, why she had chosen that particular dress. Warren took the movement for the invitation it was and began to slide his hand higher. His foot lifted from the gas a bit, slowing the car so he could split his focus. "You are so sexy, Leslie. I can't believe I made it through a whole meal without ravishing you the way you look tonight."

"The night isn't over," Leslie answered, arching back some so his hand would brush against her hot, wet pussy. She had chosen not to wear panties, knowing they would show through the tightness of the dress if she had. She knew when Warren found out it would drive him mad with desire for her.

The moment his finger brushed against her smooth skin he growled. His hand pressed tighter between her legs with a finger slipping between her slit. "You're right, the night isn't over, and I feel a nice little treat here waiting for me to eat it."His finger began to massage her clit, rubbing in circles and spreading her wetness. Her breath caught, and she let out a deep moan as her hand flung out to grip the arm rest. "You know something I love about you, Leslie? You are so sweet and caring, acting just like a little saint, until I touch you. The moment I touch you, you turn into quite the little slut. It is something I have always desired. Princess by day, slut by night. Ever heard that before?"

"No, I haven't. Do you really think I am a slut?" She wanted to be offended, but the sparks of pleasure bursting through her body made it difficult for her to feel anything other than the need for him to take her.

"I think tonight you are going to be my slut," Warren answered. He pulled the car over onto a dark road and shoved it into park. Turning to face her, he watched her as he continued to finger her. He pushed his fingers deep into her. "Don't you want to be my slut tonight? Isn't that why you dressed in this sexy dress and forgot your panties?"

The words were so powerful, making her body thrum with energy. Without even thinking about it she answered him. "Yes ... yes, I want to be your little slut."

"Good." That one word purred out from his lips and had her crying out as her body tightened. Warren leaned in closer, kissing along her neck as he continued to work her body. She was so close to orgasm and wanted nothing more than for him to be inside of her.

"Take me home, Warren. Please, take me home and fuck me the way you know you want to," Leslie begged, her hips rolling and rocking with the movement of his fingers. He curled the tip up just a bit so he was hitting the spot inside of her he knew would send her over the edge.

"I will, my love. I will take you home, and I will fuck you all night. But first, come for me. Give me one beautiful orgasm, and I will drive you home then drive you all night." His words were powerful, strong, just like he was, and the moment he said it, her body burst apart. She screamed out her orgasm, arching back as his fingers pumped hard and fast.

In her ear he whispered how much he loved her and how beautiful she was giving him such a powerful orgasm. He worked her through it until she began to calm, and then he pulled his fingers from her body and licked them clean. The sight of him tasting her and how much he loved it made Leslie's body shiver with anticipation of what the rest of the night had in store for them. Giving her his classic evil grin, Warren put the car back in gear so they could get back home. Already her mind raced with what he would do to her once they were there.