Trust Me (82 page)

“What
is it?” Cathy asked Andrew then glanced to Creighton and William. “Do you know who this guy is?”

Sandra
looked at Creighton, her eyes brimming with unshed tears, making him appear distorted and wavy. He reached up and brushed the tears away from her cheeks with his thumb, before taking the cup from her swollen hand and placing it in the bowl of ice water his mother sat down next to her.

“Maybe,”
Andrew answered, looking back to Sandra. “Did he say anything to you?”

“He
had a really strong accent; I didn’t recognize it,” she began. “He said he was owed for three years of hell.” Creighton’s hand tensed around her waist as he held her injured hand inside the bowl, making her flinch slightly. The room was deathly silent while Andrew waited for the phone to connect. Creighton glanced up to his father.

“Call
Clark,” he ordered. “He’s checking the security at the church. I want him and Harvey here immediately. Parker can stay there with the rest of the guards.”

“You
do know who it was, don’t you?” Sandra said softly.

“Two
months ago, the guy who shot me was released from prison,” he began speaking in the silent room, as Andrew stood and walked out of the room, talking softly into his cell phone. “He was ordered to report to the courts for probation, but he never showed up. I was warned to watch out for him, but the courts learned that he had purchased a plane ticket back to Germany. It was assumed that he had returned to his home, but he disappeared. There’s no record of him making his connecting plane in Belgium.”

“Germany?
Miriam was from Germany.” Sandra frowned at the man as he massaged her hand inside the water.

“He
was her cousin. His name is Konrad Bachmeier. Five years ago, he arrived on my doorstep asking for a job, claiming to be homeless and hungry. I couldn’t turn him away, so I gave him a job. He worked in the warehouse for nearly two years until he was caught stealing. He had been taking cell phones and electronics and selling them over the internet. I fired him immediately. Six months later he caught me outside my office building and shot me.”

“I
remember him when he was younger,” Derek said, wrapping his arms around Kristine’s swollen waist. “He used to stay with his uncle a few weeks during the summer between school sessions. He was a wormy, creepy little monster and when his uncle learned that he had been sneaking around spying on neighbor girls, he sent him back home and told him not to return.”

“Well
that’s all fine and dandy, only now my sister is in the way.” Cathy’s anger began to get the better of her.

“Sandra,
I’m sorry,” Creighton said softly. “Andrew called me yesterday at the office and updated me with the news that he never arrived in Germany as we were told. I was going to tell you, but when I got back to the flat, you were in the tub and I didn’t want to bother you. Then everything started getting crazy and I forgot.” Sandra gasped, remembered something from the night before.

“Last
night after you went to Derek and Kristine's, I thought I saw someone next door; a shadow on the front porch. But when I tried to focus on it, I didn’t see anything. I thought it was just my imagination.” Andrew had arrived back in the kitchen by then and frowned when he heard this. The sounds of trucks and construction workers echoed through the air, causing William, James, Derek and Andrew to look at Creighton.

“Stay
here,” Creighton ordered, standing up and setting Sandra back on the chair.

“No!
What are you going to do? Don’t leave me,” Sandra began babbling at the man as he turned to leave the house with the other men.

“Darling,
you’ll be safe here; I'll be right back.” Creighton kissed her forehead softly and hurried out the door behind the others.

“This
is insane,” Cathy snapped. “You need to go back to Kansas; at least there the only thing to worry about is tornados.”

“I’m
not leaving,” she said softly, wiggling her cold numb fingers. “This is my home now and I’m not running away. Creighton will protect me.”

“Where
was he a few minutes ago when a crazed ex-con walked into his parents’ home and up the stairs without being seen? He has a man hunting him down Sandra and he wants revenge. You’re the one he’ll be able to get to the easiest. Creighton has security guards and body guards to protect him, what do you have?”

“I
have Creighton,” Sandra snapped, her anger warming the cool fear and making her feel more alert. “He wasn’t here because he was getting ready for our wedding and he has guards to protect me as well. I am not leaving him because of one crazy person, so stop trying to talk me into breaking off my engagement.” Sandra stood up suddenly and ran up the stairs, leaving a stunned room full of women to watch her departure.

She
slammed into her bedroom, falling on the bed in a bout of tears. Why hadn’t he told her about this person when they first got together? Why hadn’t he warned her when he told her about being shot? Why didn’t he stay here and protect her instead of sneaking back down the tree and why wasn’t he here now, so she could yell at him in person?

A
knock sounded at the door bringing her out of her self-absorbed pity, forcing her to sit up and wipe her eyes on the back of her hand, readjusting her towel. The door pushed open slowly and her grandmother’s head poked through, a glass of orange juice in her hand.

“Honey,
don’t cry,” she said, sitting on the bed beside her, wiping the tears away with a clean handkerchief. “Cathy is just worried for you; we all are.”

“But
she has told me countless times that he’s not good for me,” Sandra sobbed. “When Creighton was in Kansas, Cathy tried to seduce him. She’s just jealous that he chose me and not her.”

“Do
you honestly believe that?” Sandra sniffed and shrugged her shoulders, taking the handkerchief and blew her nose. “Cathy has a problem with relationships that much is true, but she has always worried about you. Deep down, she doesn’t want you to become her. She is only protecting her.”

“I
love Creighton Nana; he's my whole world.” Sandra sipped the juice she pushed into her hand and tried to pull her emotions under control. “Do you remember when I was fourteen and I thought I was in love with Henry Baker? Do you remember what you told me?” Nana frowned, trying to remember the many talks they had over the years.

“You
told me when the right man came along, I would know it. I would feel comfortable with him, like an old friend and that loving him would feel right. That’s how I feel with Creighton. He has done so much to make me happy and I feel alive when I’m with him. I feel like the world just melts away, like it’s just he and I.”

“I’m
very happy for you honey,” she said hugging her granddaughter. “I see the love in his eyes whenever he looks at you and I know he feels the same way about you. Just give Cathy a chance and she’ll come around. Why, your Aunt Sally hated your Papa when we first got married. It took a few years, but once she realized just how happy we were; she began to accept him. Now, she has nothing but nice things to say about him; she even remembers his birthday. In the meantime, you need to get dressed and come down to breakfast. It was nearly finished when all this happened and we don’t want you being late for your own wedding.”

Sandra
hugged her grandmother again as the door opened to reveal the man in question standing in the opening, looking apprehensively to the two women. Nana stood from the bed walking to Creighton, patting him on the arm.

“Since
your body guard is back, I’ll leave him to see that you get dressed. Breakfast won’t hold much longer and we’re quickly running out of time.” She left the room and shut the door behind her, allowing the two a little time alone. Sandra set the glass of juice on the bedside table when Creighton walked across the room, joining her on the bed, taking her injured hand in his, caressing it gently.

“What
did you find?” she asked quietly, watching the tension rise in his shoulders.

“When
construction began a few days ago, a number of things were found in the house that made it appear as though the local kids were using it as a hideaway. There were beer cans and food wrappers, used condoms, that sort of thing. The stuff teenagers would leave behind in an abandoned building when they are finished fooling around.”

“You
don’t think that’s the case now, do you?” He shook his head.

“The
workers cleaned everything out and this morning, they found more stuff. My mum and dad told the neighbors that we bought the house and was renovating it and asked that if they knew their kids were using it as a getaway, then to have them stop so they wouldn’t get hurt during the construction. Andrew called out a forensic team to get prints, but it looks like someone has been living there at night. What you saw last night could easily have been Bachmeier. I’m having the security system installed today to protect against any further vandalism if it is local teenagers playing around.”

“Are
the workers safe?” Creighton nodded.

“They
never come or go alone and they have never seen any actual person wandering around.”

“What
about your family?” Creighton drew a deep breath.

“My
mum won’t be happy, but I’ve managed to convince my dad into letting me install a security system here as well.” He drew another deep breath and tilted her chin up, so she had to look into his eyes, gauging her expression.

“Andrew
is working on this and I trust him. He may not be a very good farmer, but he is an excellent investigator. I’ll understand if you chose to back out of our engagement, but…”

“I’m
not backing out of anything,” she interrupted boldly. “And I’m not letting you back out either. I trust you and I know you will protect your family and me. I have plans of spending the rest of my life with you and I won’t allow some creepy weasel to interfere in those plans.” Creighton drew a breath of relief, smiling at her, resting his forehead against hers.

“Remind
me to thank your grandfather for teaching you to defend yourself,” he said softly. “I don’t know what I’d do if…”

“I’ll
remind you,” she assured him, her hands cupping his face, kissing his lips passionately.

“I
wish you’d stop hurting your hand though. Maybe I should get a pair of boxing gloves for you.” Sandra laughed at the idea of her wearing heavy black gloves.

“That
would be a better way of restraining me, since I wouldn’t be able to use my hands at all.”

“As
interesting as that sounds, I think I’ll just stick with what we have. I don’t want to give you a weapon to use against me.”

“I
don’t need gloves to use against you,” she said teasing him; feeling much calmer than she had a short time ago. “I have a much better weapon.” She slipped the towel from her now dry body, tossing it aside and straddling his hips.

“You
may use your weapon whenever you wish,” he smiled, his lips wrapping around her nipple and his tongue licking the hard nub. Sandra moaned deep in her throat, leaning her head back and thrusting her breast further into his mouth. He lifted her hips slightly, unfastening his jeans and pulling his hard erection out of the flap beneath his zipper, then lowered her slowly across him, moaning as she sheathed him fully inside her hot body.

“We
really shouldn’t be doing this,” he moaned again as she began to lift herself up across him and back down. “We don’t have much time.”

“It
won’t take much, trust me,” she whispered while he filled his hands with her buttocks, lifting and lowering her over him quicker, thrusting into her harder. Sandra’s fear and frustration of the morning began to melt away with the quick pace of their conjoined bodies. The familiar dizziness found its way into her mind, her heart pounding fiercely between her ears. Her fingers curled around the strong arms that held her, her head leaning back as she moaned again.

Sandra
felt the hard erection inside her become thicker and she smiled then gasped when his thumb began to caress and massage the sensitive flesh of her clitoris. It took little more than a heartbeat before she found herself clinging to him, crying out his name, gasping at the heat that filled her. He growled savagely, his hands pressing her down across him harder, dipping her into the realm of release a little further. His deep thrusts stilled, his throbbing erection pulsating within her tight, hot body.

Creighton
wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her against him tightly, their lips capturing each other’s, their bodies clinging together. Their breathing a mixture of soft pants; their bodies slightly moist with the quick exertion of what had just happened.

“I
will never grow tired of hearing you call out my name,” he looked up into her green eyes, dark with passion. “However, you’re making us late and you know how much I hate being late.”

“And
what about me?” she asked with feigned irritation. “I have a wedding to go to and you’re going to make me miss it if you don’t let me go.” Creighton slapped her bare bottom and lifted her in his arms, standing next to her as her feet touched the floor.