Loving the Best Man (Friends & Lovers Book 2) (13 page)

“Can I stay with you for a few days?” She asked in a rush. “It’s okay if you say no. But I had to at least ask.”

“Of course you can,” He replied. Why would he say no to that? He’d been longing to spend the night with her. And she’d just said a few
days
. The only thing that held his enthusiasm in check was knowing that something was bothering her.

“Thanks,” She said, clearing her throat. “I’ll come over now. Unless you’re going out,” She added. “I mean, I can always come later. Just let me know what time.”

She was talking so fast that her words were running together. Something was definitely wrong. He wished that he could hold her.

“I’m home. Come now. It’s fine.” He began to wonder if something else had happened. Had the person struck again? “Are you okay?”

“I’m good. I’ll be over in a little while.” She hung up the phone before he could say anything else and he stared at the phone as if looking for answers.

He’d been wondering how he’d broach the subject of them spending another night together and now it had been gifted to him for some strange reason. If it was under normal circumstances, he’d probably have set a scene to celebrate, maybe light some candles, get some flowers or order a special dinner.

But knowing that something was wrong restrained him and he began pacing in his office. He hoped he was overreacting and that she was just grumpy from lack of sleep or something inane like that. But his mind wouldn’t be eased until she got there. He left the office to pace the living room instead.

Emerald sat at the back of the bus, biting her lip and staring dolefully out of the window. It was cloudy and she knew it would rain soon. She just hoped that she’d make it to Lincoln’s apartment before the rain came down. She didn’t want her bags to get wet.

She hadn’t had enough cash for a taxi and she hadn’t wanted to waste time stopping at an ATM. She regretted that now, holding onto her sloppily packed belongings at the back of the bus.

She’d thrown all of her clothes into a large laundry bag. It was so heavy that she could barely lift it. She had a few pairs of shoes and her toiletries in another bag along with a few personal mementos.

There was more stuff in her apartment that she wanted but she wouldn’t go back until she was ready. She knew she couldn’t possibly stay with Lincoln for more than a few days but that was all she’d need.

She’d called her father and asked if she could stay with him and Samantha but they still had a few houseguests and those guests were going to be around for a day or two longer. Shawn had sounded pissed off about it because they hadn’t asked him or Samantha if they could stay; they’d invited themselves over.

Emerald knew that her father would not have his wife’s family over anytime soon. Not being able to stay with him and Samantha was a relief even as it was a disappointment. She didn’t want to ask anyone if she could stay with them. She didn’t want to impose.

She knew that Robyn would welcome her with no hesitation but she and Devin had only been married for two weeks. She didn’t want to invade their newlywed bliss in addition to causing them to worry.

She also knew that she could turn to Robyn’s parents. But that didn’t feel right either. Every time she’d ever stayed in their home, Robyn had been staying over too. She could never stay there without Robyn; she doubted she’d be comfortable.

That left Lincoln. She’d been so afraid to ask him about staying in his apartment. She didn’t want to get his hopes up by sending mixed signals. But short of going to a motel, she didn’t have a choice. It would only be for a few days and then she could go stay with her father and his wife.

She was going to start a serious apartment search. She needed to go where Marley couldn’t find her. With any luck, it wouldn’t take too long to find a new place to live. Her nerves were actually turning against her and she was beginning to worry that she wouldn’t be able to keep herself together for much longer.

She prepared herself for her conversation with Lincoln. She’d have to finally confess everything and deal with his reaction. She knew he’d be pissed off, especially after seeing his reaction to the two incidents that he’d learned about. And she’d have to somehow convince him not to tell Devin and Robyn. She didn’t want to become their burden too.

She’d exchanged a few texts with Robyn after the officers had left. Luckily, Robyn was so enthralled with Devin and Olivia and Olivia’s first Christmas that she hadn’t asked Emerald any serious questions.

Emerald rang the bell to signal the driver to stop. She stood up and gathered her things as best she could. When she stepped off the bus she looked up at the sky. It was much darker than it had been earlier. She started walking as fast as she could manage. Lincoln’s street was a few blocks from the bus stop.

Even though he lived in a very nice, sedate neighborhood she couldn’t help but stare all around her as she walked. She felt beyond paranoid. Even though the threats and insults had been annoying, she’d felt pretty safe until he’d gone after her car and slashed the tires. But even after that, she hadn’t truly been scared. Now, he’d upped the ante and was clearly getting very bold and desperate. She blamed herself for going to the gym to confront him. She’d made him feel challenged and now she was paying the price.

Her phone rang but she didn’t stop to answer it. She didn’t have a free hand. Hopefully it was a friendly voice who’d called and not that asshole. She was surprised he hadn’t texted already to brag about how he’d destroyed her car.

She was out of breath when she reached Lincoln’s apartment building. An older man dressed in a suit was on his way out of the building and she appreciatively rushed in out of the cold.

“Do you need some help with those, miss?” He asked.

“No thanks. I’m good.” She lugged everything over to the elevator and jabbed the Up button. Her hands were freezing and she couldn’t even feel them but she was finally inside and for that she was grateful.

When she stepped off the elevator, another bout of nerves hit and made her feel jittery. She wished there was a way she could get out of telling Lincoln about what had happened. But considering she was going to stay with him, and he was basically her man, it didn’t feel right to keep it from him any longer.

She bit her lip again and knocked on his apartment door, hoping that everything would go well and that he wouldn’t be too upset with her.

Chapter Seven

The door opened and she stepped into the apartment. Lincoln was talking on his cell phone and his eyes widened when he saw how much stuff she carried.

“Hold on,” He muttered into the phone before putting it down and grabbing the laundry bag that held her clothing. He hoisted the bag over his shoulder and went down the hall towards his bedroom.

She closed and locked the door then followed him. He was already on his way back.

“Lincoln…”

“Let me finish this call,” He said abruptly, speed walking passed her.

Feeling unsure of herself, she walked into his bedroom and put the rest of her things down. He seemed mad at her, which baffled her. When they’d spoken on the phone he’d been fine. What could have happened to change his mood so drastically in such a short amount of time? 

She sat on his unmade bed and for the first time, really noticed his bedroom. Any other time she was in it, she was only interested in getting into bed with him and nothing else.

He had a steel poster bed and thick, navy blue blankets were rumpled near the middle of the bed. The matching navy blue curtains on the windows were drawn, making the room dim with a blue tint. He had a matching black dresser and bureau set and there were framed photos sitting on top of both. She’d just gotten up to stare at the pictures, vaguely recognizing his parents and sister in some of them, when he came back into the room.

“We need to talk,” He said.

She stared him up and down, admiring his toned muscular body in a gray T-shirt and blue jeans. His feet were bare and he would have looked relaxed if not for the serious frown on his handsome face.

“Yeah,” She agreed. “We do.”

“I was just on the phone with a private investigator.”

“Why’d you hire a private investigator?” She asked although she was sure she already knew.

“Someone’s after you. We need all the help we can get.”

She knew that she should feel touched that he’d cared enough to hire someone but instead she felt duped because he hadn’t told her about it.

“And you didn’t think to tell me that you had someone checking up on me?”

“He’s not investigating you, Emerald,” Lincoln said, his voice flat. “He’s investigating these incidents. And why didn’t you tell me that someone set your car on fire?”

The question was very nearly a yell and she was instantly on offense.

“I don’t have to tell you anything about my life, Lincoln! I’m a grown woman. I don’t answer to anybody!”

“We’re involved, dammit. Deeply involved. Whether you want to admit it or not.”

“Even if we were, that doesn’t give you a right to…”

“Look out for you?” He was definitely yelling.

“I don’t need anyone to look out for me!”

“Today it’s your car, tomorrow it could be you! This asshole knows where you
live
, Emerald! He’s capable of anything!”

“I know!” She screamed at him. “That’s why I’m here! Why the fuck do you think I’m here?”

He pinched the bridge of his nose and started pacing back and forth across the large room.

“Even if we hadn’t become lovers do you think I wouldn’t be worried about you right now? Are you crazy? Do you know how much we all care about you?”

With those words, she deflated and went to sit back down on his bed.

“I was going to tell you everything when I got here.” She bit her lip and twisted her hands on her lap. “I was going to finally tell you. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner.”

He walked over and knelt on the floor in front of her.

“I don’t want to fight with you, Lincoln.”

“I don’t want to fight, either. I just want to find the bastard and smash his fucking face in.”

“Me too.” She sighed. “I can’t believe this is happening. I’m having trouble dealing with all this.”

“Wilson has connections at the police department. He was told that the case got reassigned to two detectives. I’m guessing they’re going to be in touch with you soon."

“That might have been them that called me earlier,” She said, remembering the phone call that she’d recently missed.

“Wilson told me that they’re checking some notes for fingerprints,” Lincoln said, arching is finely trimmed eyebrows in question.

“So they’re finally taking this shit seriously. Huh. It only took my car exploding for them finally get it.”

“What notes, Em?” He asked impatiently.

“He’s been sending me notes and text messages. For a long time now.”

“Why didn’t you tell me about all this?”

“I didn’t want you to worry about me. I was hoping he’d stop.” She closed her eyes when she felt the prick of tears. Refusing to cry, she forged on.

“Not long after New Year’s the notes and texts started to come. At first they just came once in a while but it’s gotten to where he contacts me every day. I got so good at ignoring them. I thought that would make him stop. But he just gets worse and worse.”

She opened her eyes to see Lincoln staring at her and the sympathy in his eyes was her undoing. She whimpered and leaned forward, falling into his arms. He caught her as he fell back and they landed on the floor. She held onto him, crying onto his shoulder. She would probably regret it later but for now, being in his arms releasing her emotions was exactly what she needed.

While Emerald took a hot bath, Linc ordered dinner then called Devin to tell him everything that had happened. Emerald would probably be mad but Linc knew that this wasn’t something that should be kept secret. Everyone who loved Emerald needed to know what was going on.

God forbid the lunatic tried to come after someone close to her once she had a bodyguard on her. And he would have a bodyguard as soon as the P.I. got back to him with some suggestions.

“Hey,” Devin answered his phone after a few rings. “What’s up, Linc?”

“Emerald’s in trouble,” Linc said without preamble. “She’s okay,” He added hastily.

“What’s going on?”

“She’s got some guy stalking her. The sonofabitch has been stalking her for a goddamn year. Today he blew up her car.”

“Oh my God, was she hurt?”

“No. She was in her apartment when it happened.”

“Fuck,” Devin whispered. “Where is she now?”

“She’s here. She’s going to be staying with me.”

“What’s going on?” He heard Robyn ask in the background.

“That’s good,” Devin said, sighing. “Keep her there.”

“Devin, what happened?” Robyn asked, sounding louder than before.

“Don’t panic,” Devin warned his wife, “But Emerald has a stalker. He blew up her car.”

“Oh God!” Robyn yelled in the background. “Is she-”

“She’s fine,” Devin assured her warmly. “She’s at Linc’s.”

“I’m going over there right now.”

“Babe-”

“I’m going to get her some protection,” Linc went on, unsurprised by Robyn’s reaction.

“I’m going to speak with security at work, first thing on Monday.” Devin replied. “What did the cops say?”

“There’s evidence that it’s arson. It was doused in gasoline.”

“Damn,” Devin breathed.

“Yeah, her car is just a shell. She was parked on a corner. The car that was parked behind hers was totaled too and a couple other cars nearby got damaged when the car exploded.”

“Shit,” Devin muttered, then, “Drive safe, babe. It’s pouring out there.”

“I can’t fucking believe any of this.” Linc muttered.

“Do they have any idea who it is?” Devin asked. “I know you said that it’s someone from her building.”

“I thought it was someone in her building.” Something she’d let him think. “But she just told me it’s some guy named Evan Marley. Her old boss. He’s got some kind grudge against her.”

“I think that’s the guy who she kneed in the nuts,” Devin said, shocking Linc.

She’d told him about the guy she’d hurt by kneeing him in his groin but for some reason he hadn’t put two and two together. He spoke to Dev a little longer before Devin hung up with Olivia screeching in the background.

Linc was on his way to the bathroom to let Emerald know that Robyn was on the way over but the phone rang, letting him know that dinner had arrived. He grabbed his wallet and waited for the delivery guy to come up, giving the guy a good tip before closing the door.

He placed the bags of food on the coffee table in his living room since they both preferred to eat in there and went to the bathroom to check on her. She’d been in the tub for a long time. He knocked gently on the door and opened it without waiting for a reply.

She was laying back in the wide Jacuzzi, just staring at the ceiling, not moving. The Jacuzzi was on and the low hum was the only sound in the bathroom. It was hard not to stare at her lush breasts bobbing in the water but he forced his eyes to focus on her face.

“Em?” He called gently.

“Yeah?”

“The food’s here. Come eat.”

Slowly, she sat up.

“Are you okay?” He asked when she just sat there without moving.

“I’m okay. I’m sleepy.”

“Well, you can go straight to bed as soon as you finish eating.” He remembered then that Robyn was on her way over.

“Robyn’s coming here,” He said, prompting her to jump up, splashing water down to the tiled floor.

He watched the rivulets of water trickle down her body and he was instantly hard.

“What the hell, Lincoln! You called her, didn’t you?”

“N-no,” He said, staring at the triangle of hair between her legs. He could take her then and there and he knew she wouldn’t mind. If Robyn wasn’t on the way over, he definitely would give in to the urge.

“Lincoln,” She snapped, waving her arm in the air. The movement of her arm caused her breasts to bounce and he again had to force himself to look at her face.

“I called Devin,” He told her, distractedly. “I thought they should know.”

“No, it’s not their problem.”

“You should tell your Dad too. I’m sure he’d want to know.”

“He’s so busy with his wife’s family that he didn’t even think to ask why I’d asked him to stay at his house.” She opened the drain and the water began to go out of the tub in a soft gurgle. She grabbed a towel and wrapped it around herself.

“You asked your father if you could stay with him?”

“Yeah.” She nodded and began drying herself off.

“Why?” Why did it bother him so much that he hadn’t been her first choice? He was stupid as hell to have thought that she’d come running straight to him.

“Why not? He’s my dad. He’s the only family that I’ve got. Blood-related, anyway.”

“You’re right,” Linc said simply. But his feelings were hurt. “So why didn’t you go stay there?”

“His wife’s family is visiting. Apparently they invited themselves over. They were supposed to leave after dinner yesterday.” She shook her head and frowned while she spoke of her dad’s in-laws.

“The older people are alright.” She stepped out of the tub. “But Samantha’s nieces and nephew are seriously fucked up in the head.”

“What happened?” Linc said, smiling in spite of everything.

“The girls hated me as soon as I got there. For no reason. And their brother was trying to push up on me and couldn’t take it when I told him no.”

“Did he do something to you?” Linc asked, the smile wiped clear off his face.

“No,” She assured him, touching his arm. “He was just an asshole. He thought I’d dressed up for him. He kept trying to talk to me and spend time with me. It was aggravating. Like when I looked for parking, he invited himself to come along and tried to make conversation…”

“Well, you’re a beautiful woman,” Linc said, “You should be used to all kinds of attention by now.”

“I know I’m attractive,” She said, no hint of ego in her tone. “But some guys just try too hard and don’t take the obvious hint that’s dangled right in their faces. I obviously wasn’t interested and he still thought he had a chance. And then accused me of playing hard to get!”

“That guy’s a dumb ass,” Linc murmured.

The bell rang and he left the bathroom.

“Where is she?” Robyn asked, nearly running him over in her urgency to get inside the apartment. “Emerald?”

“Over here,” Emerald replied, standing down the hall wrapped in a large fluffy green towel.

He made himself turn away as Robyn rushed down the hall without even bothering to take off her coat. Emerald looked entirely too gorgeous and appealing in the towel and he didn’t want to be caught staring. He decided to go to his office to make an attempt to get some work done and to give the two women their privacy.

“I don’t understand why you kept all this from me, Emmy. I’m supposed to be your best friend.”

They were in Lincoln’s bedroom, facing each other and sitting cross-legged on the bed.

“You know you’re my girl,” Emerald said, taking Robyn’s hand in hers. “You’re really more like a sister. But I didn’t want my problem to become your problem.”