Loving the Best Man (Friends & Lovers Book 2) (23 page)

They said their goodbyes and she and Lincoln quietly entered his apartment. After hanging up their coats, they silently walked to the living room and sat down on the couch.

“We’ve got him now,” Lincoln said as he removed his shoes.

“Why do you say that?” No way would she get her hopes up again without plenty of information.

“That entire condo is surrounded by cameras. There’s no way out of it now.”

“You’re right,” Emerald instantly brightened. “Oh thank God.”

As soon as the security tapes were viewed, it would be over. All the dots would be connected and the miserable asshole would finally be arrested. She didn’t feel completely relieved but knowing that it would be over soon was enough to take some of the weight off of her shoulders.

She found some pajamas to wear, used the bathroom, then got into the shower. She sighed heavily and began to quickly scrub her body with a soapy washcloth. She was so tired and she prayed she’d be able to get some sleep once she lay down.

Feeling a draft, she turned just as Lincoln stepped into the shower with her. The cool air hardened her nipples and she shivered. He readjusted the shower curtain and joined her under the enormous showerhead.

The extra-large bathtub and showerhead fit two comfortably and yet she was very uncomfortable. She’d told him when she’d gotten her period, which had been an uncomfortable experience all on its own. But she guessed he’d forgotten.

“Um, Lincoln, do you mind?” She asked, hesitantly. This was completely new territory for her and she struggled to meet his eyes. “I kind of need to shower by myself.”

“I do mind,” He whispered and her eyes became transfixed by the water traveling down his shoulders to his pecs and down his hard abs.

She didn’t dare allow her eyes to travel down any further. She’d only end up miserably frustrated and she had enough to keep her awake tonight without adding sexual frustration to the mix.

“I’m serious, Lincoln,” She said, her voice sounding strangled. She cleared her throat and went back to washing. “You really need to get out. Now.”

“You don’t want me to go. And I don’t want to.”

A thrill of excitement ran through her, causing goosebumps to rise up all over her skin. She stared at him questioningly, squinting through the falling water. He only smiled, a sparkle in his heated brown eyes. His hair was already plastered to his head and she thought he looked so cute.

She decided that it was time to be blunt since he very clearly had sex on his mind.

“Remember I told you yesterday that I have my period?” She reminded.

“I know.” He nodded once.

“So you’re going to have to go jerk off, because Emerald is closed until further notice.” She forced a laugh when he crossed his arms over his chest.

“I don’t jerk off.” That arrogant smile was back. He pulled her body up against his, taking her mouth in a rough kiss.

She wound her arms around his waist, feeling his throbbing erection against her stomach. She could hardly wrap her mind around the fact that Lincoln wanted to make love even though she had her period. She’d never considered such a thing.

The idea was a turn on and a turn off at the same time but she couldn’t find the words to protest with Lincoln running his hands all over her wet body.

He released her mouth and began nipping at her neck. She dropped her head back, panting, the water beating her in the face. He nipped her neck roughly, and she winced, pushing him away. The little niggle of pain allowed reality to slip in.

“Lincoln, we can’t-”

“Yes, we can,” He asserted, cupping both her breasts in his hands, using his thumbs to caress her nipples.

“Damn,” She whispered, her head dropping back against the tiled wall behind them.

His mouth landed on hers again and she hurriedly opened for him, accepting the hot intrusion of his tongue. She reached down between them and eagerly stroked him with both hands. He groaned into her mouth as his hands released her breasts and traveled down her body, cupping her ass and lifting her against him.

She wrapped her arms around his neck, already mindless. She felt greedy with need for him. Her legs clung to his waist. He grinded his hips, rubbing his hard shaft against her core and squeezing her ass as he did.

She panted his name, becoming more desperate by the second. She threaded her hands into his hair, crushing his mouth even harder against hers. He continued to grind against her and she felt that familiar heightening, her body becoming as tense as a string before the climax hit.

“Lincoln!” She yelled against his mouth, quaking in his arms.

He gently slid her back down until she was standing on her feet. In a haze, she watched him push the shower curtain to the side, reaching towards the sink. He grabbed a condom.

She closed her eyes, her breathing still uneven. Her body seemed to hum and he hadn’t even been inside her yet. Her eyes snapped open when he spread her legs apart, lifting her up again.

He slid into her in a swift thrust and she wrapped herself around his slick body as best she could, hanging on as if her life depended on it. Each thrust took her higher and higher and before she knew it, she was rocked by another climax.

“Lincoln!” She gasped, her body shaking.

“Emerald,” He whispered through gritted teeth, reaching his own climax. He had a death grip on her hips but the pleasure far outweighed the pain. He leaned heavily against her, pinning her to the wall, his hot breath coming in short bursts against her neck.

As her heart rate began to go back to normal, her body quivered like jelly. Lincoln stepped backwards, withdrawing from her, a sated grin on his face. Once upon a time she’d hated that arrogant grin but now she found it endearing.

“Damn,” She whispered, feeling her knees tremble. She was literally weak in the knees and he was the only man who’d ever been able to do that to her.

He gave her a quick peck on the lips before handing her the washcloth that she’d been using earlier. She smiled and rubbed some soap onto the washcloth. They quietly began bathing and she felt the fatigue dragging at her. Once they were completely washed, they got out of the deep tub and helped dry each other off.

Although they’d just made love in the shower, she still felt herself shyly slipping in her tampon while Lincoln watched. She thought of asking for privacy but she felt too silly to do it after the enormous step they’d just taken. In minutes they were dressed and in bed. He pulled her up against him under the thick blankets.

They lay quietly in the dark room. She yawned, feeling warm and protected. She loved being snug against his chest. She’d never been one to cuddle but everything with Lincoln felt new and wonderful. It was obvious that she was a different woman with him. She supposed that’s what happened when you met the right person. They helped bring out the person you really were.

She immediately tensed up and Lincoln yawned before asking, “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” She lied, afraid of the implications that kept popping up without her consent. Her mind was betraying her.

His hand rested on her back and he began to rub small circles wherever he could reach, from her back to her neck and back down again. She concentrated on the rise and fall of his chest along with the steady beating of his heart, his hot body against hers and the soothing patterns his hands were making on her own body.

Soon every thought left her head and she felt herself began to drift. She smiled, her eyes closed, her hand over his heart, as she wafted off to sleep.

Linc sat in his office, cursing from time to time. It had been a trying day already and it wasn’t even noon yet. He’d just gotten off the phone with Devin, who was extremely angry. It seemed that the president of the homeowners association was the only person with access to the security cameras. Of course he was out of town for the holidays and wasn’t due back until Sunday evening. Two whole days. They had to wait two days to look at the footage. Devin was mad he couldn’t convince the police to break into the office where the security monitors were kept.

On the bright side, Wilson was on the way over to discuss his investigation, which was only about a week in. Linc couldn’t believe he’d the hired the guy a week ago. So much had happened that it felt like much more time than that had passed.

He’d gone into his office so he could vent without risk of waking Emerald. After everything she’d been through he just wanted her to get some rest. He and Devin had both had their turns yelling, frustrated with the situation.

If he’d thought that Marley was actually the one behind these most recent incidents, he’d probably beat the shit out of the guy himself. But Wilson had just confirmed over the phone what the detectives had said. Marley and his new bride had left the country. They’d both boarded a plane to the Dominican Republic.

Which meant that some other sick fuck was behind the latest incidents and possibly behind everything that had been happening. Whoever it was had gotten more and more desperate. Linc felt in his gut that everything was about to come to a head very soon.

He walked out of his office and headed for the kitchen. He decided he’d order some lunch and wake Emerald. He’d been too antsy to eat breakfast but his appetite was back. He’d just picked up the takeout menus when the bell rang. He rushed to the door and opened it.

Jim Wilson stepped into the apartment, looking around him before sitting his briefcase down. He removed his coat, hat and scarf.

“Hello,” Linc greeted the older man, shaking his hand.

Wilson was a middle aged man with graying brown hair and bright green eyes. He wore giant glasses on his face and was dressed in a neat gray suit.

“Right this way,” Linc said, leading him to the living room. “Would you like something to drink?”

“No thanks,” Wilson said, sitting down on the couch. “Where’s Ms. Felton? I need to speak with her too.”

“She’s asleep,” Linc replied. “I’ll go wake her. Give me a minute.”

“Sure, take your time.” Wilson placed his briefcase on his lap and opened it, immediately sorting through papers and photos.

Linc walked out of the room and rushed down the hall to his bedroom. It had obviously become
their
bedroom. He loved the sound of that. He couldn’t wait for this stalker to get caught so he and Emerald could finally enjoy a normal relationship.

Opening the door, he found the bed unmade and empty. He stepped all the way into the room.

“Emerald?” He quickly turned back around and checked the bathroom. Empty.

His heart was already thudding painfully in his chest when he went back to the door, looking at the coat rack. Her coat was gone. Without a word to him, she’d left. He was so stunned and so hurt that for a minute he just stood still not knowing what to think.

With his heart sinking, he took his phone out and immediately called her. The phone rang several times before going to voicemail. He hung up without leaving a message, disheartened and miserable. In their brief time together he’d done his best to show her how much she meant to him and that hadn’t been enough. She’d gone off on her own. And although her belongings were still in his bedroom it stung that she still wouldn’t lean on him. All of his efforts to win her over had been for nothing. There truly was nothing else he could say.

Chapter Twelve

She hit ‘ignore’ when Lincoln called her phone. She just needed some time to think, to get her thoughts together. If she spoke to him he’d no doubt convince her to return to the apartment and she wouldn’t figure anything out there.

She was discovering that she became weak around Lincoln and that was terrifying. She hadn’t leaned on anyone other than Robyn since childhood and the constant need to turn to Lincoln made her disappointed in herself. No, she couldn’t answer her phone. She needed time alone.

She’d already been walking for more than twenty minutes, very aware of the discreet black sedan following her. She knew that was Mark Appleton, the security guard. She’d only seen him a couple of times and although he kept his distance, she was still vexed that her life had come to this.

She’d woken that morning feeling weighed down by guilt and depression. She’d tried to shake those feelings off, tried to focus on the amazing sex she’d had with Lincoln. But even that wasn’t enough to dull the cold hard facts that she’d tried to ignore.

Because of her, Lincoln, Robyn and Devin had all had their lives disrupted. Knowing that Robyn and Devin had spent the night in a guest room rather than in the comfort of their own home infuriated her to no end. They were temporarily displaced all because of her.

She felt some consolation knowing that the entire ordeal would be over as soon as the security tapes at Robyn’s and Devin’s condo were reviewed. But that didn’t erase everything that she’d gone through and how responsible she felt for her friends getting caught up in her problems.

She walked into a corner store and purchased a large coffee. She sipped it and wondered if she should get a sandwich to go with it. She actually felt hungry after barely eating the day before and she quickly strolled to the back of the store to order an egg sandwich. She sipped her coffee while she waited and began having the distinct feeling that she was being watched.

She turned and looked around the small store. There were only a few cramped aisles in the bodega and only a couple of other shoppers perused the shelves. There was a back door and it was propped open as a very young Hispanic man carried boxes into the back of the store. She turned back to the counter as the middle-aged man wrapped her sandwich in deli paper.

“Thanks,” She said, taking the sandwich from the older man. She hurried to the front to pay for it, her stomach growling hungrily. She heard footsteps behind her and quickly snapped her head to the side to try to catch a look at who it might be. She only caught a glimpse of a leg as it disappeared from the aisle.

She threw a five dollar bill onto the counter and rushed towards the back of the store. The cashier, an elderly woman, yelled something in Spanish that she didn’t understand. She got to the end of the aisle but no one was there. But she already knew. She felt it in the pit of her stomach. She was being followed.

Being as stealthy as she could under the circumstances, she walked towards the back door, nearly bumping into the man carrying in another load of boxed goods. She darted out the back door and took off running.

She’d been running for several seconds before she realized she’d made a critical mistake. The first thing she should have done should have been to go straight to the security guard’s car for help. Instead, she’d been idiotic and tried to escape from whoever was following her. And still they were right behind her, feet stomping on the snow covered pavement as they pursued.

She slipped a couple of times, lost her breakfast along the way, and was breathing so hard that her nose and throat burned. The ice cold wind slapped her cheeks and took her breath away.

She ran, panting as she went, ignoring the faces of the few people she saw along on the way. There were very few people out. Most people were probably taking it easy on the first day of the new year. She cursed herself for leaving out of Lincoln’s apartment. She could have been cozy in bed, relaxing and cuddling with him. Instead she was out in below freezing temperatures being chased by lord-knows-who.

Emerald abruptly stopped running, ready to face whoever it was. For almost a year she’d been wondering who was stalking her, so sure that it was Marley. Now she had a chance to confront them and she was running?

Trying to catch her breath she started to turn and was immediately hit from behind. The last thing she saw as she sank towards the ground was a pair of small feet in shiny black boots.

Linc hung up the phone with Robyn, who was going to try to call Emerald herself. It was embarrassing for him to explain to Robyn that Emerald hadn’t answered his call. He just wanted Robyn to reach out to her best friend because Emerald needed to know that she wasn’t alone in the world. There were plenty of people who cared about her. His pride smarted too much for him to try calling again.

“Mr. Thayer?” Wilson asked, still seated on his couch. “You and I can get started without her.”

“Okay,” Linc mumbled, staring down at his phone. He needed to call Appleton, just so he could know where Emerald had gotten off to. But that could wait a few minutes. He’d already had Wilson waiting long enough.

Sitting down on a chair across from Wilson, Linc put his phone down with a long sigh.

“Sorry about that,” Linc said, genuinely apologetic. He’d nagged the guy nonstop because he wanted a progress report and now that the guy was at his house, he’d had him waiting.

“No problem,” Wilson said, sitting straight up and handing Linc several papers.

“What’s this?”

“A log. I kept track of Evan Marley for a few days. He never went near Ms. Felton’s apartment.”

Linc nodded, looking at the dates and times. The days had only been within the few days before Marley had left the country. Emerald had already been staying with him by then.

“He might have realized she was already staying here by this time,” Linc said, although it was starting to become really obvious that Marley was not involved or that he had a partner.

“Did she go to her apartment at any time to see if anymore notes had been left?”

“No,” Linc replied and decided there and then that he’d go with her later to see if there were any new notes. But even if there were, there really wasn’t a way to find out what day they were from.

Wilson nodded noncommittally as Linc began to look through notes of interviews with the tenants that lived in Emerald’s building.

“Most of the neighbors were nice enough,” Wilson said, “I don’t feel like anyone who lives there has anything to do with this. I’m less than a week into the investigation. I could be wrong. But I really don’t think they are.”

“What about someone name Jenkins?” Linc remembered Emerald’s neighbor mentioning them after Emerald’s door had gotten tagged with graffiti.

“An elderly man who lives with his three teenaged grandsons,” Wilson clarified. “Although they’re heavily into weed they seem pretty harmless.”

“You took pictures?”

“I got pictures of everybody who entered the building this week,” Wilson said banally as he dug into his briefcase again. He handed Linc a huge stack of photos. “A lot of them are residents. I can only assume that the others are guests. I wanted Ms. Felton to look through these pictures to see who she recognized.”

“I’m not sure when she’ll be back,” Linc murmured, beginning to scan through the photos. His phone rang and he picked it up, seeing that it was Robyn.

“Hello.”

“I’m really worried, Linc! She’s not answering. I’ve called her over and over. She’s never done that to me!” Robyn sounded very tense.

“Alright, calm down,” Linc said, hearing Olivia crying in the background. “I’m going to call my guy and see where they are. It’s going to be okay.”

“Call me right back,” Robyn said, her voice unsteady. “I’m getting a really bad feeling.”

He was getting a bad feeling too and he told himself that he was overreacting because he was already upset that she hadn’t come to him.

“It’s going to be okay, Robyn,” Linc said, trying to soothe her. But he heard the anxiety in his own voice. “I’ll call you back.”

“Okay.” She sniffled.

He hung up the phone and dialed Mark Appleton, who answered on the first ring.

“Appleton.” The man answered curtly.

“It’s Linc Thayer,” He identified himself needlessly.  “Where is Emerald right now?”

“I lost her,” Appleton said with obvious regret. “I’m trying to locate her now.”

“What the fuck!” Linc exploded. “What do you mean you lost her?”

“She went into a store and she never came out. When I went in to check on her she was gone. The cashier said she ran out of the back door. Someone ran out after her.”

“Fuck!” Linc was pacing. “Why the fuck didn’t you call me!”

“I was tracking her phone,” Appleton said, somehow keeping his composure. “The signal just went dead. I was about to call you when you called me.”

“Dammit,” Linc said furiously, trying not to panic. But someone had been chasing her. Someone had been waiting to get her alone and had chased after her. They could be anywhere by now.

“Appleton, please tell me they have cameras in that store.”

“No, sir, they don’t.”

Linc was so overwhelmed with fear and rage that he wanted to throw his phone and watch it smash to bits. Without another word to Appleton, he hung up the phone and called the police.

Within a half hour his apartment was packed with people, from police officers to family members. Robyn had been beside herself when he called her but now she was eerily calm.

Detectives Armstrong and Hanson were the last to arrive and Linc struggled to stay calm himself, wanting to scream at both officers but really wanting to scream at anyone.

“Mr. Thayer,” Armstrong said, “May we speak to you privately please?”

Linc looked around the room at the various people that were there and nodded his head. He didn’t know what the officers wanted to tell him but it would be a good thing to keep it private just in case.

He led them to his office and closed the door, crossing his arms over his chest.

“What is it?” He asked morosely.

“The bodega owner gave a description of the woman who was following Emerald,” Hanson began.

“
Woman?
” Linc yelped. Shock had him going as still as a statue.

“We think we know who it is,” Armstrong muttered, “We’re on the way to pick her up.”

Linc couldn’t even speak. He was floored by the fact that a woman might have been behind the entire ordeal.

“We got fingerprints off the box that contained the blood,” Armstrong went on. “They match Lacey Winthrop. We’re going to go pick her up now.”

Linc had heard the name before but he couldn’t think why it was so familiar.

“Is she an old friend of Emerald’s?” He asked, still feeling stunned but starting to recover.

“No,” Hanson said, shaking his head briskly. “She’s a coworker. In fact, she’s another receptionist at 50G Studios.”

Linc remembered who she was. He’d seen her a couple of times when he’d met up with Devin. She’d seemed nice enough. And sane enough. What the hell was going on?

“And she matches the description?” He asked. “This doesn’t make sense. Emerald’s been getting stalked for a year and she’s only known Lacey for six months.”

“She matches the description. Short, white, blonde.” Hanson nodded his head smugly and Linc looked at Armstrong.

“The prints tell more than the description does,” Armstrong said, deadpan. “It’s her.”

When Linc walked into the crowded living room, everything began to seem surreal. His mother was giving out cups of coffee. Grace was hovering in a corner with tears streaking down her face. Devin held his daughter, rubbing her on the back. Phones rang nonstop. All of it combined to boggle his mind and he prayed that the madness would come to an end and that Emerald would be returned safely.

Robyn was sitting on the couch sifting through Wilson’s photos and she suddenly leaped up, crying out frantically.

“What’s wrong?” Devin asked, standing up too. Olivia had been startled and began to cry.

Robyn waved a picture in the air.

“I can’t believe this,” Robyn said, waving the picture at Devin before stumbling on her way over to where Linc stood with the detectives. “This picture is at Emerald’s apartment! Casey was there. It’s Casey!”

Emerald slowly opened her eyes, her head throbbing. She was laying on her side on the floor and her hands were tied behind her back. Her legs were tied together at the ankles and she tried to move them but they were tied so tightly that they rubbed together painfully.

She stared around the dim room, wondering where she was. It was a small square room filled with antique wooden furniture. Pink gingham curtains hung on the windows and a small television sat on a TV stand.

Emerald struggled into a sitting position, feeling a trickle down her neck. Whatever she’d been hit with had obviously cut her and the wound seemed to be bleeding.

A laugh from behind her made her jump. Emerald slowly scooted, her heart roaring in her ears.