Secrets that Simmer (14 page)

Maggie started to laugh. She laughed so hard that she doubled over and fell onto her side on the bed. Tony looked at her with an incredulous look on his face. “What the hell is so funny?”

Maggie rolled over and wiped away the tears that had started to stream down her cheeks. “Oh, nothing. It’s just that I usually can’t get a guy to even call me back for a second date. Now you’re basically saying that you think that we’re supposed to be together forever in some weird kind of fated way?”

“Well, yes.” Tony said. “I know this is a lot to take in…”

Maggie interrupted him, “A lot to take in? Less than a week ago, I thought you were the enemy. I didn’t want have anything to do with you. And now not only am I your lawyer, but apparently I’m your mate. When did you figure this out?”

“The night of the benefit.” Tony looked away with a grimace.

Maggie was shocked. Another piece of the puzzle suddenly fell into place, and it made perfect sense. Crazy sense, but sense nonetheless. “So you have felt this way toward me all of this time, and you’re just thinking it might be relevant to the situation now?”

“To be fair, you didn’t exactly tell me what you wanted to talk to me about when you tracked me down at the benefit. It’s not my fault that my wolf told me you were the one, but I didn’t want to listen. It’s not like we get a choice in the matter,” Tony said. He shook his head with a sigh. “This is not how I ever pictured this conversation going.”

“You don’t strike me as the type of guy who would ever take a mate even if it was destined,” Maggie said.

Tony’s brow furrowed. “What does that mean?”

Maggie shrugged. “You’re the one who told me you didn’t have a lifestyle that was conducive to being in a relationship. Isn’t having a mate being in a relationship?”

“I never had to worry about it before because I hadn’t found my mate,” Tony said. “When you find your mate, everything else kind of fades away.”

Maggie was feeling uncomfortable now. She suddenly felt like it was hard to breathe. She stood up, and Tony stood up with her. She felt his looming presence again. She batted his hands away and started to pace the room. She grabbed her robe off the floor. “I think I need some air. I’m going to go back to my room and get dressed.”

“Not by yourself, you’re not. Don’t you remember that there was a lovely care package on my doorstep? Somebody’s out there and is after you.”

Maggie thought about it. “Who’s to say this person has been after me at all? If what you’re saying is true, they’ve been after you. Not me. I’m not the one they want. It seems like they’re finally going direct.”

Tony took her by the elbow and pulled her into him. Despite the fact that she said she wanted fresh air and to get away from him, she couldn’t help but shiver at his touch. Her body was such a betrayer. “If they are after me, it is obvious that they have no problem using you to get to me. That puts you in danger. You need to stick with me.”

“I can take care of myself. I’ve been doing it for thirty-two years so far, and I’ve gotten pretty good at it. I honestly think I can go two doors down to get my suitcase and be just fine. Will you just trust that I know what I’m doing?” She pulled away from him and moved out the door.

Maggie knew it was irrational of her to storm out of the room the way she did. But she just couldn’t deal with the issue right that moment. She didn’t know how to process the fact that Tony thought she was his mate. The kind of thing didn’t happen to women like her every day.

As she approached her door, she took out her key. She didn’t know what to think, and she was looking forward to a few minutes alone. She used the key to open the door and pushed it open. As soon as her eyes settled on the far wall across from the door, she started to scream.

Tony barely had time to put his pants on before he heard Maggie’s screams. He had been intending to go after her anyways. He understood that she probably needed some space to cool off. He had no plans of letting her out of his sight for more than a few minutes though. He rushed out the door and down the narrow walkway. He saw Maggie standing there outside her room. He started to hear other doors opening around them. He grabbed her arm to push her behind him, wondering what it was that had been the cause of her screams. When he caught a glance inside of her room, he understood.

He pushed his room key into her hand. “Go back to my room, and lock the door behind you. Stay there, and don’t open the door for anyone but me.”

She looked up at him with wide eyes and nodded. For all of her bluster about being a strong, confident woman that could take care of herself, it seemed as if in this situation, she needed him to take control. He was totally fine with that.

As soon as he saw her step into his room, Tony crossed the threshold into hers, and then he closed the door behind him. He realized that was a risk. Whoever had intruded on Maggie’s room could still be inside waiting for her. But he found it highly unlikely. He raised his nose and sniffed the air. He couldn’t smell anything or detect anyone’s scent. That was unusual in and of itself. It was as if the absence of smell was almost as distinctive as there being a smell. The tones of Maggie’s perfume were there, but they were light and practically gone. Of course, she had been in his room for the majority of the previous evening. Her room looked as if it hadn’t been touched other than the angry words that were scrawled in red on the far wall. As soon as the door opened, that was the first thing anyone would see.

You said forever.

Tony tried to look at it rationally. So far the messages coming in had been of a mixed variety that didn’t fit together in a way that made sense. It was as if someone wanted to communicate with them, but didn’t know how. Nothing had been overtly threatening, only mildly sinister, until now. He moved deeper into the room. He listened for any indication that he was not alone. Tony had the unsettling sensation that he was being watched, and that made him anxious, but after the inspection of the bathroom and closet, he confirmed that he was alone.

That left only one thing to be studied.

Tony had been to crime scenes before. He had sat in the company of murderers. He knew what the characteristics of a disturbed mind looked like, and that was what he was seeing. The message in Maggie’s room wasn’t intended for her. He was confident of that now. Whoever was after him was going through her to get to him. He didn’t get the sense that whoever it was probably wanted to hurt Maggie, but he couldn’t guarantee that in any way. A crazy mind did crazy, illogical things. Trying to find rhyme or reason in their actions was often an exercise in futility.

He reached the wall. He had the same psychic tingle that someone was watching him and was close. He whipped his head around to look behind him, but there was no one there. He thought that perhaps it was just his anxiousness getting the better of him. He was eager to get back to Maggie, but he just had to check one more thing. He leaned forward and smelled the letters on the wall. He was relieved that it wasn’t what it looked like. He dabbed his finger into one of the letters and then pulled it away to sniff it close to his nose. It was spray paint. From the other side of the room, the shiny shellac of its finish made it appear to be wet blood. Feeling slightly less anxious now, Tony knew that he had to take action. Someone was waging a war against him, and he wouldn’t stand for it. He left Maggie’s room and made his way back to his room.

He knocked on the door. “Maggie, it’s me. Let me in.” He heard the jingle inside when she disengaged the lock. She opened the door for him and searched his face. “Did you find anything?”

Without waiting for his answer, she crossed the room and sat down on the edge of his bed. Her face was pale. He hated that this whole situation was marring the beauty of what had been the night before. He supposed the one good thing that had come out of it was that he had been forced to show his hand to her far earlier than he would have wanted. It was a conversation they would have had to have had eventually anyways; it was just he would’ve preferred to be able to wine and dine her for a little bit longer before he sprung the whole mate thing on her. She was human, after all, and not accustomed to their ways.

“No, but I’ll take care of it. Don’t worry about it.”

“How can I not worry about it? It’s like someone is targeting me. Or you. Or both of us.”

“It was meant for me,” he said. “Whoever it was is using you to get to me. This is all tied together, Maggie, and it smells like week old fish.”

“What did it mean?” Maggie asked. She didn’t have to say what ‘it’ she was referring to.

Tony rubbed the back of his neck. “I don’t know, but I can only assume it has to do with that night. It might be that whoever is doing this doesn’t realize that I have amnesia.”

“I still don’t understand how or why they figured they would use me in all of this. This all seems impossible. Plus, if whoever it was hoped that I would re-open the case, they are going to be pissed about what has happened between us now.”

That thought had crossed Tony’s mind. “They’re stirring up trouble, but, if they targeted you because somehow they knew you were my mate, they would have to have known that I would do anything to claim you as mine.”

“Claim me, huh? You shifters are real progressive about the way you approach relationships,” Maggie said, crossing her arms.

Tony put up his hands. “Look, that is an important conversation that I want to have with you, and I want it to be right. But right now, I am more worried about your safety. Can we put that aside for a minute?”

“Fine,” Maggie said. The look on her face told him she thought it was anything but fine.

It was time to change the subject. “Was your door locked?” Tony asked.

Maggie frowned. “Yes, I had to use my key to get in.” He saw the realization of that meant cross her face.

Tony was starting to have a very bad feeling about whoever it was that was stalking them. It was as if they were chasing a ghost. But that wasn’t possible. Ghosts didn’t exist. Those were fanciful thoughts created by minds that didn’t understand science, logic, and reason. That was the world that Tony lived in.

“I need to call Kyle and Eric,” he said. “I’m going to take a picture of the message on the wall in your room, and then I can get some guys out here to take care of it. In the meantime, I’ll get whatever you need from there so you can get ready here.”

“And what are we supposed to do then?” Maggie asked.

“We’re going to go back to Copper City where it’s safe,” Tony said.

Maggie shook her head. “We’re already all the way here, and, from what I can tell, it doesn’t seem like there is anywhere that is safe. They know where I live in Copper City, Tony. They knew what rooms were ours in this motel. I hate to say it, but I don’t think I’m going to feel safe anywhere until whoever it is has been apprehended.

Tony could not necessarily argue with her logic. That was why he needed to talk to Eric and Kyle. They needed to have a show of strength, and it was time to bring out the big guns. He didn’t say any of this to Maggie, though. He didn’t want to worry her any more than she already was. He was perfectly confident that as long as she was with him, he would be able to protect her from anything.

“I’ll get your stuff, and I’ll be right back. You can go ahead and get in the shower.”

He saw her shivering there, sitting on the bed. He realized that he had missed doing something for her. He walked over to kneel next to her. He made her look into his eyes. “I promised I wouldn’t let anything happen to you, and it’s a promise I intend to keep.”

“Because I’m somebody in trouble, or because I’m your mate?”

“Both,” Tony said. He gathered her up into his arms, and she didn’t resist. He held her like that until her shivering stopped.

As soon as he got Maggie into the bathroom and under the warm stream of water in the shower, Tony headed back to her room. Fully dressed now and with his phone in hand, he thought about what he was going to do next. He opened the door and slipped back inside. He sat down on the bed and stared at the message again.

You said forever.

He remembered now that Kyle had mentioned to him a few months ago, he had been having visions of one of the women from the quarry. Kyle didn’t like talking about what was bothering him at the best of times, so Tony knew that it had to have been bad. But after Kyle had asked for a recommendation for a new therapist, Tony had felt it was necessary to ask him about it. That was the only piece of information that Kyle was willing to offer up. He said that he saw the girl with the fire engine red hair one night in the club and then on a crowded sidewalk in broad daylight the next day. But he had not seen the hallucination, as he believed That was what it was, since he had started on a new medication to control it.

Tony started to wonder now if there was something more to that story. It seemed as if they were all being targeted. He was going to have to ask Eric about it. He flipped his phone open and dialed a number.

“What?” Eric’s voice boomed on the other end of the line.

“Hello to you too,” Tony said with a sarcastic grin. This was the way it had been between them for as long as he could remember. Eric was the abrasive, brash, foul-mouthed one of their trio. Kyle was the more reserved one. He was the introvert who felt things deeply and considered situations from all angles and how it affected everyone before he made his moves. It was what made him a very capable leader.

Tony felt like he sat somewhere between them. He had the same kind of temperament that Eric seemed to favor, but he could also be introspective and a cautious observer like Kyle. Tony joked that he was the glue that bound the three of them together. It was something they had all remarked on at one point or another during their long friendship.

“You’re calling me at 6:30 in the goddamn morning, dickhead. I’m assuming it’s not good,” Eric said.

Tony hadn’t even realized how early it was. He felt a slight tinge of guilt. But then again, Eric was always up early anyways. He wasn’t sure if the man ever slept at all.

“Something else has happened,” he said.

“What now?” Eric said. “We’ve got black roses and blackmail paperwork showing up. Has someone threatened us overtly now?”

“I’m taking a picture now. I’ll send it to you.”

Tony pulled the phone away from his ear and took a quick picture of the words on the wall. Then he sent the picture to Eric. He waited for Eric to receive it.

“The hell?” Eric asked. “What does it mean?”

“We’re trying to make sense of crazy right now. That was pretty much the only thing I’m sure about.”

“Is this shit a shifter?”

“There’s no way to be sure. All I know is that there were two more black roses outside my room this morning, and this was painted inside Maggie’s room.”

There was a pause. “So if she wasn’t in her room when this happened, I’m assuming you got a little action last night?” The grin was evident in Eric’s voice.

Tony rolled his eyes. Eric was so immature when it came to women and relationships. He couldn’t wait to see the day when Eric met his mate. He thought the Earth might fall off of the axis or Hell would freeze over. Or both.

“I’m not discussing my romantic life with you, Eric,” he said. “I need every man on this. As soon as she’s ready, we’re heading back to Copper City. I want to make sure that Maggie is safe. This threat is obviously meant for us.”

“For us? How did you draw this conclusion?”

“Whoever did this has a very specific agenda. They’ve been digging into our past. You remember when Kyle was talking about having those hallucinations of the girl? What was her name again, Jillian?”

“I don’t care what her fucking name was. She’s dead. They’re all dead, so what the fuck does it matter?” Eric said harshly. Tony knew that this was nothing but a cover. Eric might act like he didn’t care, but the event had marked him as deeply as it had marked Tony and Kyle. “So what are you saying? This is a ghost of Christmas past coming back to haunt us?”

“I think it’s far more likely that family or a friend of those girls somehow found out what happened and is fucking with us,” Tony said. “But for what purpose, I have no idea. If they wanted revenge, it seems like it would have been easier just to put in an anonymous call to the cops.”

“If it was for money, we’d have gotten the message by now too. This is way too subtle, Tony.”

Tony was surprised. It wasn’t like Eric to be that astute about a situation. “I think it’s still early. I get the sense things are just ramping up now. Maggie didn’t play along when she didn’t officially re-open the case, which is what I think they were hoping.”

“Not sure how you managed to talk her out of that one, but that was brilliant. Perhaps you should have been the lawyer.”

“No, I’m the politician, remember?”

“Same thing,” Eric said. “Fine. Get your ass back here. We’ll figure out what to do next together.”

Now that was what Tony had been waiting to hear. “I need you to send some cleaners out here to take care of the room.”