Theirs To Claim (Predatory Desires Book 1) (30 page)

“You weren’t rough, Gabriel. You were perfect, in every way.”

“So were you, Emily. I have to go now,” he said, regret heavy in his voice.

“Stay close to the others and come back to me,” she whispered. Emily angled her head so she could kiss him and Gabriel was happy to meet her half way. “I love you,” she murmured.

“And I love you.”

It was the hardest thing in the world to do, but he lifted his head from hers. Gabriel kissed Emily’s neck before he pulled completely away from her, his dick protesting the loss of her warmth enveloping it. Noah whispered that he’d take care of her while Gabe cleaned up in the bathroom. Gabriel nodded as Noah knelt on the bed, a washcloth already in hand.

CHAPTER 29

Emily padded downstairs behind Noah, pulling her long, blonde hair up into a ponytail as she went along. After her lightning fast romp with Gabriel, she was relaxed and happy. Add to that, the fact that Noah had kissed her and given her another orgasm with his fingers after he’d helped her clean up, and she was feeling positively mellow. Emily sighed as she followed him into the kitchen and sniffed the air appreciatively. Something good was already cooking.

Noah reached for her hand and laced his fingers through hers, then he drew her around in front of him. He pulled her back against his front, snuggling Emily into his body where they stood next to the island. Tara turned from the cooktop and smiled at them, happy with what her eyes beheld.

“Whatever you’re cooking smells divine,” Emily sighed again. “I’m famished.”

“Oh, I just bet you are,” Tara retorted, and glanced up at Noah.

“Don’t look at me like that,” he chuckled.

“Like what?” she shrugged and then moved over to check on the biscuits she had cooking in the oven.

Kaden and Ross chuckled as they strode into the room after hearing Tara’s comments. Ethan was stirring something at the island, and he asked Tara to approve it before he handed the bowl over to her.

“Are you seriously cooking, man?” Ross asked in disbelief. He headed for the coffee machine, selecting a pod of his favorite flavor while he waited for Ethan’s reply.

Ethan wasn’t biting though, so he gave Ross a disgruntled smirk as Tara leaned in to check his work. She patted his broad back and smiled her appreciation.

“Thank you, Ethan. Don’t listen to him. Men who don’t cook, or at least try to help, rarely get a woman’s attention. Ross is just jealous that I’m ignoring his lazy butt.”

“Tara,” Emily breathed, her eyes widening as she stared at her friend.

“It’s the truth. And the truth hurts,” she retorted.

“That it does, Miss Tara,” Ross agreed with a playful smile.

“You want some coffee, baby?” Noah asked softly.

“I’d love some. Thank you,” Emily nodded appreciatively.

“Sit down and I’ll make us both a cup.” Noah kissed her temple and lightly patted her ass before he released Emily from his hold. She blushed a bit that he’d done so in front of the others, but she took her place at the island on a raised chair and tried to smile through it.

“So, I have to know…” Tara began. “What in the hell did Heather and Becca think they were doing, showing up here with food for your men?”

“Tara, I swear,” Emily chuckled half-heartedly, “one of these days, your mouth is going to get you in trouble. They weren’t officially
my men
until a few days ago,” she said and made quotes in the air with her fingers when she uttered the two words. “So as far as those two brazen women were concerned, Gabe and Noah were available and free to date whomever they chose.”

“You are too damn nice,” Tara fussed and waved a spatula at Emily as she began to cook the eggs Ethan had whisked for her. “They know as well as anybody that there’s always been a special bond between you three. So if you’re not going to get indignant about it, I will for you.”

“Let it go,” Emily chuckled. She thanked Noah for the mug he handed her and smiled as he slid onto the seat to her left. He gave her a quick kiss on the lips and then draped an arm behind her across the top of her chair.

“Well, I have to admit that I’m with Tara on this one, Em,” Noah said, as if he were apologizing. “They had no reason to show up here, unannounced, as they did. And I, for one, want to know why they thought we were suddenly welcoming such attention. We never have before.”

“That Heather was a pushy thing,” Ethan said as he grimaced. “Way too much make-up. Look liked she painted up for battle or something.”

“See, just another reason I like you, Ethan.” Tara nodded at him before turning her eyes back to the cooktop. “You saw through all that superficial bullshit she was selling.”

Ethan grinned at Noah and Noah just shook his head at them both.

“I think someone tipped them off that Emily was gone for a while, and the sharks started circling,” Tara added, happy to share her opinion with them all. “Most guys sense when another has staked a claim, and what better way for Emily’s stalker to remove the two who have always been closest to her, than to send other women to interfere. It just further isolates her.”

“I know,” Emily sighed and propped her elbows on the granite island. She rested her forehead on the inside of her palms and closed her eyes. “Someone wanted Noah and Gabriel happily distracted and I’m sure it was the same certain someone who thinks he and I would make a great couple. Either that, or the girls were supposed to size Lawton and Ethan up, then report back so the stalker knew just how much muscle had been sent in to help shut him or her down.”

“Why are we here?” Ross asked and looked from Emily to Tara. “These two could solve the whole damn case without our
lazy butts
in the way.”

“Ah, but you all have cute butts, so you’re needed. Trust me,” Tara countered and sent him a saucy wink.

Ethan frowned at Ross and the expression wasn’t missed by a soul in the room. Ross’s eyebrow quirked up as did his lips. He crossed his arms over his chest as he leaned against the counter. He settled himself there to truly observe Ethan’s interactions with the fiery little redhead who was a force of nature all her own. Ethan knew exactly what he was doing and he shook his head in warning, but Ross’s smile only grew.

“Tara, tell me about Heather’s relationship with Eric,” Noah said, hoping to stop the silent war of wills between Ross and Ethan, and refocus their attention on more important matters.

She snorted and looked at Emily first, then at Noah. “What relationship? Heather is a nasty thing, and she’s also a bald-faced liar. She exaggerates half of her one-night stands, and she expounds on the actual sex she does have so she sounds like a worldly, sophisticated woman.”

“Do you mean that they didn’t hook-up?” Noah asked.

“Ugh, there’s that term again,” Emily said in exasperation. “I hate that expression.”

“I know,” he chuckled. “You’re still working on using all the words. We’ll get there.”

“Noah, hush!” Emily blushed from head to toe, and Tara laughed over her predictable dilemma.

“What I mean, Noah,” Tara chuckled, “is that
if
Eric did have sex with Heather, it probably wasn’t nearly with the frequency she alluded to. If you want my honest take on the whole thing, I think Eric might have indulged a few times with her, as in ‘any old port in a storm’, but he set her to the side pretty darn quick. She acted like it went on far longer than it did, but I think Eric was glad to disentangle himself from that tar baby. Now, Ryan is another story.”

“Ryan, too?” Emily asked in disbelief.

“Em, I love you, but you’ve always had blinders on where this kind of stuff was concerned,” Tara said and gave her a sympathetic shrug. “It’s not a bad thing, because you only had eyes for Noah and Gabriel, and that kept you out of the crap that goes on here. But honestly, most of our neighbors aren’t nearly as wholesome as you might think.”

Emily chuckled and drew in a deep breath. Noah laughed with her. He pulled her closer to him and let his fingers wander down her side, making Emily flinch.

“I’m glad you were oblivious,” Noah said in praise.

“Obviously,” Emily said dryly. He just kissed her forehead in answer.

“So back to this Heather and Ryan,” Kaden prompted her as he spoke up for the first time.

Tara began to place all of the food she had prepared on the island as she nodded at him. She bumped Ethan out of her way with her hip so she could reach the oven, and snagged a towel to take out a large pan of biscuits. Once those were added to the fare, she told everyone to fix themselves a plate and dig in.

“To answer your question, Kaden,” Tara began, “Heather was the one who made a play for Ryan. He’s a few years younger than she is, and I think she was trying to make Eric jealous. Eric and Jasper, that is, because she likes him too. But Ryan didn’t realize he was being played, because he’s… Well, he’s just like a puppy that’ll follow you around and not realize he’s clinging too close. You know what I mean?” Tara asked, scrunching up her nose.

“I do,” Kaden smiled. “So why do you think Heather brought food here?”

“I don’t really know,” Tara sighed and looked from Kaden to Emily. “Could be, she was really trying to get them to notice her. She’s been very vocal about her fantasies regarding both men. But even if she had her moment in the sun with Noah and Gabe, she would probably be using that to make her next conquest jealous.”

Ross grimaced in disgust and scooped up another biscuit. No one said anything more for a few minutes as they let Tara’s words sink in. Emily found that the biscuit she was trying to eat grew thicker and thicker in her mouth, until it seemed almost too dense to swallow. Damn, but she hated this feeling of the walls closing in on her.

“Noah, I’m going to step to the bathroom. I’ll be right back,” she said, but he put a hand on her shoulder and shook his head.

“No, ma’am. Remember what I told you before we came home. You don’t go anywhere without me or Gabe by you. So, lead the way and I’ll follow.”

“Okay,” she whispered. Emily slid off of her chair and then walked out of the kitchen with Noah right by her side.

“Tara, eat your breakfast.” Ethan prodded her gently with his elbow and she nodded as she realized she’d been staring after her best friend and worrying for her.

“Kinda hard to do when you’re so angry you want to tear someone limb from limb,” she mumbled.

“I know. We feel the same way,” Ethan sighed and settled a hand on her shoulder. “But she’ll need you to be strong for her, because this will all get worse before it gets any better. Lawton and I talked with you about this before we told you they were coming home.”

Tara made a little sound of resignation, but she looked back down at her food and tried to resume eating. They strayed to safer topics when Emily and Noah rejoined them. Emily seemed to have the same struggle as Tara, and the men started talking about sports to completely change the subject so the ladies would eat.

Emily was giving the counter a final wipe down when she heard the back door open. She tensed, but looked up as Gabriel and those who had gone into town with him returned. His eyes sought her out, and once he spotted her tucked next to Noah, he walked in a direct line towards them. Emily dried her hands on a dishtowel and opened her arms to him. Gabriel swept her into a tight hug without delay and she could feel the tension radiating through his large body.

“Do you want to talk about it?” she asked and snuggled a little closer.

“Yes and no,” he sighed. Gabriel propped his chin atop her head and stared at Noah.

“Went that good, did it?” Noah asked resignedly. He settled his hands on his waist and stared back at him.

“Oh, yeah,” Gabe drawled. “But at least we learned about the additional information he’d gathered, and we were able to help Strauss see that it wasn’t the slam dunk he thought it was. It didn’t begin well, but it ended on a civil note.”

“Well, that’s something at least,” Noah agreed. “And he understands we’re in charge of any arrests made?”

“Yes,” Gabriel replied.

“I’ve just started a second round of breakfast, so I’ll have you guys some food in about fifteen minutes,” Tara cut in. “Get comfortable and have something to drink until the biscuits are ready.”

“Thanks, Tara,” Gabe said and glanced at her over his shoulder.

“You’re welcome,” she smiled.

No one talked about the case or anything remotely applicable to stalkers while the meal was prepared. Emily finally pulled away from Gabriel to make him a cup of coffee, then she offered to help Tara. She needed something to take her away from it all, keep her distracted; and sensing that, Tara put her straight to work without a single comment.

CHAPTER 30

Gabriel asked everyone to meet in the den once breakfast had officially come to an end. The team gathered around with the two ladies, each person sitting on a comfortable chair or sofa. Noah placed Emily between Gabe and himself on one of their sofas, and he noted that Ethan and Lawton did the same with Tara. He was so looking forward to pulling Ethan to the side and finding out what was going on there, if anything.

Braden and Ross placed a few laptops on a coffee table and started them up, ready to get the discussion underway. Emily smiled when Ross kicked back and propped his feet a little too close to Braden’s computer, and Braden immediately scowled at him. Ross knew exactly what he was doing and he winked at Emily as he watched her grin at him.

She slipped her feet out of her shoes and laid her head against Noah’s arm. Her toes curled into Gabriel’s thigh and she waited to hear what the men would share. And more importantly, why Strauss thought Andrew was targeting her all this time.

Gabriel wrapped his fingers around Emily’s sock-covered toes and he massaged her gently. He felt her flinch when he hit a sensitive spot, and he smiled as he glanced down at her.

“We have a lot to go over,” he began, then turned his eyes back to those around them, “but let’s start with what happened in town. Strauss was sure that Andrew was his culprit, but Braden helped to convince him otherwise. It would seem that his rudimentary computer knowledge painted the case a little too black and white, and made him assume more than he should.”

“In laymen’s terms, please?” Tara drawled out. Gabriel arched an eyebrow at her, but she didn’t flinch. “Hey, if I’m here, you know I’m gonna ask if I don’t understand.”

“I do.” Gabriel nodded slightly. “But know that you and Emily are the only two who get to hear this. No one else.”

“I’m going to ignore the insinuation there, Gabe,” Tara countered. “’Cause if you think for one minute that I would ever…”

“Stop!” Emily said and sat up. She shook her head at them both, daring either of them to utter another heated word.

Emily had hoped that Tara would bite her tongue just a little and be civil about her need for information, now that she knew what had really been going on the last two months. But the investigative journalist in Tara was coming to the surface as her mind sought answers, and Gabriel wasn’t going to like that one bit. Still, they had to get along, because Emily wouldn’t accept the alternative.

“Tara, I appreciate your loyalty and your determination to see me through this; and Gabriel, I know that you are following not only your training, but your heart and gut at the same time. So, knowing each other as you do, you can understand why you each have your own unique perspective about all of this. We’re not going to be divided here. In other words, respect that, and move on. Now,” Emily added firmly.

“Dayum,” Ross chuckled. “Get ‘em, Miss Emily.”

“And
you
- take your feet off of that coffee table and behave,” she warned him. “Stop picking on Braden.”

“Aw, that’s part of my job,” Ross pretended to whine, though he sat up and let his feet drop to the floor. “Besides, if I didn’t keep him on his toes, who would?”

“Behave,” Emily said again.

“Yes, ma’am,” he smiled, happy to play along with her.

“Now, back to what Strauss thought,” she said and turned her eyes up to Gabriel. “Go on and tell us, love.”

Garrett smiled over the stunned look on Gabriel’s face and he cut his eyes to Lawton, seeing that he was humored as well. It was rare to see Gabriel speechless, yet Emily seemed to be able to render him incapable of uttering a word at the drop of a hat. Amazing, he thought, what love could do to a man.

Gabriel coughed into his fist, trying hard to stifle the sudden laughter that wanted to come forth. Emily narrowed her eyes, daring him to laugh at her. He tamped it back and then tried to continue his train of thought.

“Right. First, we asked Strauss the eyewitness’s name who placed Andrew outside your home. It was Mr. Reiter.”

“Nearly deaf and can’t see a thing, Mr. Reiter?” Emily asked warily.

“One and the same. The man is eighty-four, and his senses are undoubtedly impaired. Though he’s also an honest man and he wouldn’t lie to Strauss or anyone else. He did see Andrew. We looked at his formal statement, and noticed that he cited four distinct times he witnessed Andrew outside your house. When we asked Strauss for the dates Andrew and Ryan helped the security company set up your new system, they coincided with Mr. Reiter’s version of events. Andrew had a reason to be outside, and so he was.”

“And I remember overhearing that Andrew was supposedly accessing surveillance footage during off hours?” Emily laced her fingers through one of Noah’s hands and one of Gabriel’s as she considered such a thing. That someone truly had watched her walk around within her own home, at times in a state of undress. It was sickening, to say the very least.

“Yes, and someone was, Emily. But we don’t believe it was Andrew. Not at this point. Once we were physically in the building, Braden had a look at Andrew’s computer. As he suspected, someone had plugged a small flash drive into the back and they were running a keystroke logger. With it, they easily captured Andrew’s passwords. And with those passwords in hand, this person was able to access all of Andrew’s files and he was never aware that another user was there, sniffing around in the background. Made it look like Andrew was logged in and looking, when he really wasn’t.”

“Would that person need to be inside the building or outside, to see it all?” she asked quietly.

“Either,” Braden answered. “Public IP addresses make that possible, Emily. And Andrew’s computer would have that, so he could receive the back-up copy of your surveillance video from the monitoring company.”

She stared at Braden and swallowed hard. “How long?”

“Weeks, dear. Someone’s been watching for weeks.”

Emily launched herself off of the sofa before Gabriel or Noah could stop her and she held up a hand to make them stay put. “I just need to move. Let me.”

“Okay, baby,” Noah said and gave her a quick nod.

She nodded back and then walked to the end of the sofa so she could pace out of the men’s reach. Emily worried her bottom lip with her teeth as her mind tried to come to terms with the bomb Braden had just dropped in her lap.

Tara moved to get up, hoping to help Emily in some way, but Ethan and Lawton put a hand on her shoulders and slowly shook their heads. She couldn’t hide her disgruntled expression, but Tara managed to stay on the sofa between the two men.

“What was the last thing Strauss had against Andrew?” Emily remembered to ask as she made a slow circuit across the floor.

“Yeah, I want to know too,” said Noah, though his eyes tracked Emily’s every movement. Everyone else was doing the same.

“Strauss inspected Andrew’s desk and patrol car when he wasn’t at the station. He found two photos of Emily in the trunk of the car and one in the back of his bottom file drawer. All three were of her with her family, taken from what Strauss believed were the albums she kept in that cedar chest,” Garrett said steadily.

“We asked if they’d been fingerprinted and he said that they were, though like the other photos, no prints were found. We even dusted the flash drive we found in Andrew’s computer, but it was clean too. Those pictures could have easily been planted, however, because all of the deputies have access to the cars. The keys hang right inside the station on pegs. And none of their desk drawers lock at all,” Braden pointed out.

“This person is good,” he conceded, “but we’re better. I have enough now to find out who’s been remotely looking in on Emily through her cameras, and with that, we’ll figure out who’s also worked to set Andrew up as the fall guy.”

“Which means, we are within days of interrogating a subject or two,” Gabriel stated. “We need to use today to delve into each person of interest and tighten up loose ends. We have fellow agents in Virginia checking in on Jonathan, and we need to talk to them – get their report on his recent online activities and days spent away from work. Days he might have traveled here.”

“Though this is all far more rushed than we’re accustomed to, ideally, I’d like to start questioning people tomorrow morning,” Gabriel went on to say. “Because even though we stopped Strauss from hauling Andrew in, plenty of people saw us walk into that station. And if our suspect is truly on staff there, then we’ve just let them know that we’re circling.”

“Em,” Gabe paused and called softly to her. She glanced his way, though she continued to pace. He rose from his cushion and walked slowly over to intercept her. She stopped right in front of him and waited for him to move.

“Honey, things are about to come to head. All of my years of training tell me that, scream it, in fact. Your safety and Tara’s is our primary concern, and we won’t risk either of you. But know that we’re going to seem pushy when it comes to your protection and you’ve got to do exactly as we say until this is resolved.”

“Of course. You already have my promise that I’ll do as you ask. Don’t worry about me leaving whatever post you give me, Gabe.” Emily gave him a quick nod and then turned her eyes to Lawton. “Where is my cedar chest right now, Lawton? You and Ethan were going to look it over, dust it for prints, and catalog its contents. Did you leave it at my home?”

“No, Emily, we didn’t. We brought it here, actually. Why?” Lawton asked.

“Where? I want to look at it. Now.” Her foot began to tap, her nervous energy spiking. If she could just go for a run, she wished, but Emily knew the guys would never let her out of the house right now.

“It’s in the guys’ study,” Lawton told her as he also gained his feet. “Something specific you’re looking for?”

“Won’t know until I look,” she said and ran a hand over her forehead.

“You’ll need gloves.” Lawton gave her a sympathetic look after he added that last bit in.

“Lovely,” Emily muttered. “Give me a pair, please?”

“Em,” Gabriel said again and she looked back up into his blue eyes, seeing them narrow during his close scrutiny of her.

“Don’t,” she said, shaking her head as tears pooled in her eyes. “Not right now, Gabe. I’m too angry. I hid in that damn house for months! Months! Do you understand?!” she questioned through clenched teeth, her volume rising. “And for what?” Emily shrugged. A little hysterical laughter escaped her, as the cracks in her armor started showing again.

“They still got inside. Inside my home, inside my belongings, inside my head.” She grimaced and placed a hand against the side of her temple, as if that alone would serve as a barrier now. “And I
let
them. Hell, I opened the front door and said ‘Sure, come on in and install cameras for me.’ I made them iced tea that day, for God’s sake! And I
thanked
them.”

“Do you
know
what that makes me? How that makes me feel?” Emily’s voice came out in a harsh, hoarse plea. Noah couldn’t take her distress another second and he rose and closed the distance. Emily shook her head and took a step back. She covered her forehead with her right palm and tried to keep it together.

“I want to look in that chest. Now,” she said again.

“Baby, take a breath and take my hand,” Noah urged her gently. She continued to shake her head, but Noah countered it with a nod and took a step forward. “Take it,” he said and placed his upturned palm directly in front of her.

“I want…” She broke off and doubled over, placing her hands on her knees. Emily pressed her lips together to stop another word from coming out, but her shoulders began to shake.

“Em,” Gabriel said, his voice firm enough to get her attention.

She slowly stood tall again and just stared at him, but the well of deep hurt was clear for all to see in her gaze. Gabriel hovered right next to Noah, but he was determined to let her make the choice to come to them. Emily needed to feel in control, most desperately at the moment, and he knew forcing her into their arms would do her no favors.

He added his hand to the one Noah was offering. “Remember what you said to us on the cabin’s back porch, honey? Hmmm? Something to the tune of: hold me up when I’m weak and failing. And forgive me when I crumble, stumble, or fall. That’s what partners do, or so someone’s been telling us a lot of late.”

Gabriel’s loving smile began slowly, but it grew and was so full of understanding and kindness that it tore the last of her towering anger right out from under her. Emily saw the same look of compassion and gentleness in Noah’s eyes. She drew in a deep breath and settled her shaky hands against their warm and steady palms. Both men enfolded their fingers around hers and stepped forward, closing the last of the distance between them.

“Come here, honey,” Gabriel murmured.

“Shhh, we’ve got you,” Noah said softly. He pulled the tie from her hair and dropped it on the floor. His fingers delved into the thick mass as he gently pushed Emily’s head down against his chest.

Noah released her hand and pulled her completely into the shelter of his body, wrapping both of his arms around her. Gabriel’s hand took the place of Noah’s, stroking and threading its way through her hair. Only when Noah was ready to let Gabriel hold her, did she move from one embrace to the other. Emily briefly lost track of time as they tried to absorb the self-recrimination and anger that had overtaken her.