Rekindling desire, p.15
Rekindling Desire, page 15
“Call the police,” Damien said. “File a report. While you’re doing that, I’ll call local shelters and let them know Duchess is missing.”
“I saw Amber during your press conference. I tried to ignore her.” The memory came back. “She was smug. That’s why I thought she expected you two to mess up. But she was smug because she knew what she’d done—that she’d been in my house.”
As I pulled my phone from my purse, my hands trembled. “I don’t know what to say.” I searched for the non-emergency number and walked back toward my office. “Hello, I’d like to report a break-in...” I gave the dispatcher my address. When she asked if anything was missing, I choked on my answer. “My cat.”
“Are you alone? Are you in the house?”
“I’m in the house.” My gaze went to Damien. “I’m not alone.”
“Are you certain no one is in your house?”
“Yes, we searched everywhere for our cat. The back door was left open.”
“We’re sending a unit right away.”
My temples pounded as I disconnected the call.
Damien spoke, “The humane society is closed, but I left a message. Let’s send out a post on your neighborhood app.”
I handed Damien my phone. “You can do it.”
Taking my phone, he wrapped his arm around me and pulled me to his side. “I love you.”
Tears filled my eyes as I nodded against his suit coat. “What if she’s scared?”
“Duchess isn’t scared. Wherever she is, she’s in complete control of the situation. She’s probably bored.”
“After I left you,” I said, “she kept me sane. I know she’s a cat and it sounds stupid, but I talked to her.”
“You told her bad things about me?” Damien asked.
I sighed with a nod. “She was a safe listener.”
“I don’t know what Amber’s plan was, but I can’t believe it was to cause harm to Duchess.”
We both turned at the ringing of my doorbell.
“That was fast,” Damien said.
“The cameras,” I said, remembering they were out. “She disconnected my cameras.”
“Is there footage on your doorbell of her coming up the front stoop?”
The doorbell rang again.
Damien walked toward the door. After checking the sidelight, he opened the door. The policeman was in full uniform.
“We had a report of a break-in,” he said.
“Yes,” Damien replied. “Please come in.”
“I’m looking for a Gabriella Crystal.”
“That’s me,” I said from down the hallway. “It was my back door that was open.”
“Do you recall leaving it open?”
“No, sir. It was open when we got home.”
“Any signs of forced entry?”
There wasn’t.
Damien and I answered Officer Johnson’s questions. He even walked around the entire house with us, checking closets and looking under beds.
“You said your security cameras were turned off?” the policeman asked.
“Yes, they stopped working sometime this morning.”
“Did you lose feed from your nanny cam?” he questioned as he pointed to a nightlight. “My wife bought some just like these. You can’t even tell they’re damn cameras. They’re great with teenagers.”
“Nanny cam?” I looked at Damien and shook my head. “Did the security company install these? I didn’t, and I didn’t notice them earlier.”
“There were a few downstairs, too,” the officer said.
“Bitch,” Damien mumbled under his breath. “The company didn’t install them. They never were able to access the inside of your house.”
Together we went room to room. Officer Johnson collected all the cameras—seven in total.
I checked the recorded video from my doorbell. There wasn’t footage of Amber coming to the house before the cameras stopped working, but there was a nice one of her earlier this morning.
Officer Johnson looked at my phone. “And you believe this is who broke in and planted the cameras?”
“I do,” I answered. “And took my cat.” I hoped she took her and that Duchess wasn’t alone and scared.
“There was a security company that came by to check her security system,” Damien offered, “and they told me that Ella answered the door. She didn’t. She wasn’t home. The description matches this woman.” He pointed toward my phone. “Her name is Amber Wilmott.”
By the time Officer Johnson left, my head was throbbing, and my stomach was unsettled. “She wanted to spy on us. That’s sick.”
“There must be something she wants to learn.” He sighed. “Do you want to walk around the neighborhood?”
“I do.”
The spring temperatures were in a consistent warming pattern. As we walked up and down the neighborhood sidewalks, we met people walking their dogs and parents with children in yards. Each person we saw, we stopped and asked if they’d seen a black cat with a sparkling pink collar.
The answer was always the same.
No one had seen her.
When we returned to my place, I was overwhelmed with the emptiness that went along with Duchess’s absence. “I don’t want to go to your place. I want to be here in case she comes home.”
Damien nodded.
“Will you stay here?”
“Of course,” he said. “I need to pick up the dry cleaning that was dropped off at my place today. I’ll get us dinner on my way back. Keep the doors locked and only open them to a beautiful green-eyed black kitty.”
More tears came as I tried to breathe. “What if she’s gone?”
“I refuse to believe that.”
“I wish I were as stubborn as you.”
Damien cupped my cheek. “I refused to believe you were gone, and now you’re back. Duchess will come back too.”
“I don’t know. She listened to all those bad things about you.”
“And she welcomed me back with purrs and head rubs.”
After Damien left, I double-checked both doors. For a few minutes, I stood in my living room and cried. I’d like to say I was productive in some manner, but I wasn’t.
What kind of a monster harms a cat?
What did Amber hope to learn from spying?
They were the questions on repeat in my head. Beyond the glass door, night was beginning to fall in my backyard. Opening the sliding door, I sat on the step to the deck, looking out over the grass as lightning bugs began to blink in the dimming light.
“Duchess, come home.”
I remembered the neighborhood app and decided to check to see if we’d gotten any responses. My eyes blurred as I read the messages. No one had seen her, but they all wished me luck and offered their sympathies.
“She’s not gone,” I mumbled, hoping I was speaking life to the dream.
It was as I was pouring a glass of wine with the back door still open that my phone rang. It was a video call. It was Damien.
“Hi,” I said.
His image was pixelated, but I couldn’t believe my eyes.
“Duchess,” I screamed. “Where did you find her?”
“Asleep on my bed.”
“What the hell?” I smiled as she stretched her neck and rubbed her head across Damien’s cheek. “She’s not hurt?”
“She seems no worse for wear from her journey. Remember the security company?”
I nodded.
“They couldn’t get in my place. The deadbolt was locked.”
“Amber was at your place?”
“I have video proof and a gallon bag full of nanny cams to prove it. Do you want me to come back with Duchess, or do you want to come here?”
Amber had been in both houses. “We aren’t safe either place.”
“We are. The security company is on their way. My locks here are getting changed tonight.”
My headache was waning. “I’ll be there. I can drive myself,” I added before he mentioned a bodyguard.
“Text when you leave and if it takes longer than eleven minutes, I’m coming for you.”
Damien was waiting outside as I pulled into his driveway. His smile was almost the best thing I’d seen all day. Second to the silky black cat in his kitchen.
“I brought some of Duchess’s essentials,” I said as I scooped her into my arms. “Did that mean woman take you on a car ride? I hope you vomited all over her car.” I looked up at Damien. “She’s not a fan of car rides.”
He scratched between her ears. “I’ll get the things out of your car.”
It was almost nine at night by the time the security company had changed all of Damien’s locks and his garage-door codes. Duchess was loving the increased square footage, and I’d begun cooking one of the meals Damien had delivered when he came up behind me and wrapped his arms around me.
“This feels right.”
I laid my head back against his solid chest. “It does.” Setting down the spoon, I spun and looked up at him. “You make me feel safe.”
“You shouldn’t,” he said with a sly grin.
“I shouldn’t?”
“No, you’re not safe with me. I want to do bad things to you later tonight.”
I tipped my head to his chest. “I trust you.”
Damien
The idea of cohabitation had never been as important to me as it was tonight. Although I had plenty of ideas of what I wanted to do to and with Ella, the weight of the day and the range of emotions had taken their toll. After dinner, I took a quick shower. Standing under the spray, I concentrated on the one thing I could control.
Our safety.
Ella was here.
Duchess was here.
I was exactly where I wanted to be.
I would stop at nothing to maintain that sense of security.
With droplets of water dripping from my hair and a towel around my waist, I walked into the bedroom. That well-being I desired was personified in the room before me. Golden illumination shone from the lamps on the bedside stands on both sides of the bed. Duchess was sleeping, curled into a circle near Ella’s feet.
Ella sat against a stack of pillows, her computer in her lap. Her face was pink and freshly washed of cosmetics. Her long dark hair was down, cascading over her shoulders. It was her nightgown that made me smile. She was wearing one of my many Indianapolis Colts t-shirts, and it had never looked better.
“Nice nightgown.”
Her smile lit up the room. “I packed so fast that I forgot a nightgown.”
“Did you forget panties too? Because I’m a big fan of easy access.”
She closed her laptop screen as she scanned me from my wet hair to my toes. “Speaking of easy access, I’m waiting for you to drop the towel.”
Of course I did.
The plush towel fell near my feet.
I lowered my tone. “I hope you like what you see.”
Ella’s smile grew. “Very much and I like that you’re showing it to me.”
“Only you.” Ella knew me better than anyone. Nudity was perfect when a woman was stark naked. I’d be okay with making that a house dress code. When it came to me, it was another story. I liked the power of inequality.
From my perspective, allowing a woman to see me as I was now was more than sexual. It evened the playing field, and I wasn’t about even, not with anyone other than Ella.
I was about to throw back the covers and climb into bed exactly as I was when my phone rang. Ella leaned across the bed to read the screen. “It’s Marsha.”
“Saved by the bell,” I said as I nodded toward the phone. “Answer it for me. I’ll put on my boxers.”
Ella laughed. “Talking to your mom naked is…” Her nose scrunched. “Wait, if I answer your phone, she’ll know we’re together.”
“Yeah, she still thinks we’re married.”
“Oh, that’s right.” Ella pursed her lips.
“Hi, Marsha.” I heard her say as I went into the large closet and slipped into a clean pair of boxers. As I came back out, she said, “That’s good news. Here, let me pass you to Damien.”
I took the phone. “Hi, Mom. What’s the good news?”
Mom proceeded to tell me what she’d no doubt just explained to Ella. Dad was progressing. His blood pressure and pulse oximeter readings were good. It meant his heart was doing its job. On top of that, they’d lowered his pain medicine. After the update, she added, “I read about the news conference.”
“It’s nothing, Mom. Dani and I have everything under control.”
“I figured you did.”
I almost mentioned Ella’s and my invalid marriage and the one with Amber. However, as I constructed the sentences in my head, I decided Mom had enough concerns. I’d rather tell her after the annulment was filed.
After disconnecting the call, I made my way beneath the covers. Ella laid her laptop on the bedside stand and turned off the lamp. As darkness covered the room, she curled against my side, her head on my shoulder.
“I don’t think I would want to be alone after what Amber did.”
Wrapping my arm around her, I pulled her close. “You’re not alone. You never will be if I have my way.”
“Don’t you always get your way?”
“Not always, but my average isn’t bad. Sometimes it takes longer than I want.” Like having you back in my arms.
I kissed the top of her head.
“Why spy on us?” she asked.
“I’ve been thinking about it and I’ve come up with a few options. (A) she’s obsessed with me.”
“Yeah, because all women are.”
“(B) She—and maybe my brother—want proof of Dwain Welsh’s concern.”
Ella lifted her head. “That I’m sharing trade secrets with you from the coalition?”
I nodded.
“And taking Duchess?” she asked.
“A power play.”
She laid her head back on my shoulder. “I’m exhausted. Will you hold me as I fall asleep?”
“There’s no place I’d rather be.”
Ella rolled to her side, and I rolled with her. With her back to my front and my arms around her, I knew of something I wanted but couldn’t have. I wanted to take away the horrible hours we spent thinking that Duchess was missing, the way Ella’s tears streamed down her cheeks, and the sadness in her voice. The longer I held Ella, the more determined I became to bring a stop to this disastrous situation with Darius and Amber.
The next morning, I’d awakened to the email Amber said would arrive.
Ella’s and my marriage was invalid.
I was already married.
As I walked with Ella out to the driveway, she reached for my hand. We’d both had visual confirmation of Duchess, who happened to be lying in a beam of morning sunlight in the library.
“Damien, be careful,” Ella said before sliding into the back seat of Deidra’s car.
I held the door open and peered inside. Wearing one of the outfits I’d chosen for our trip to Ashland, Ella was dressed for her day at the office. With her hair styled up, she was breathtakingly beautiful. Then again, this morning with sleep in her eyes and her warm, soft body at my side, she was also striking.
“I will. I’ll see you at Corporate.” I hadn’t told Ella my plans for the morning, but that didn’t stop her from figuring them out.
“Please don’t get in a fight with your brother.”
I clenched my jaw. “It’s not my goal.”
Ella waved as they pulled away. For a moment, I stood there, contemplating my next move.
I hadn’t been to Amber’s place since the night I left her.
That night, I’d given her back her key. It hadn’t occurred to me until last night that she’d never returned mine. That was how she had gotten into my house. It wasn’t technically breaking and entering if she had a key. That didn’t explain how she got into Ella’s place. As I was driving to Amber’s place, I wondered if she’d be home or if Darius would be there. The closer I got, the more I hoped I’d see both.
My phone rang through the speakers of my SUV. The name on the screen was Anthony. I hit the green icon on the steering wheel. “What do you have for me?”
“The woman entered Ms. Crystal’s house by blocking the lock of the front door.”
“How did she block it?”
“It’s simple. When Ms. Wilmott was at the door earlier in the morning, while Ms. Crystal went back inside, Ms. Wilmott placed a thin magnetic strip over the strike plate, thus blocking the latch bolt from engaging. Ms. Crystal probably thought she’d locked the door, but in reality, the latch never engaged.”
“How the fuck would Amber know how to do that?” I asked.
“She probably watched a YouTube video. It’s an effective means to prevent someone from securing a lock.”
I shook my head. “Do you have proof?”
“I know I’m correct. There’s limited physical evidence. She undoubtedly took the strip with her after she left. There is residue and in the original video of their morning altercation, I’ve been able to slow it down. There are a few frames where she appears to be touching the doorjamb. Would my evidence hold up in a court of law? Doubtful.”
Fuck that.
I was the judge and the jury in this case. Amber was lucky I wasn’t also an executioner.
“Is Ms. Crystal’s house now secure?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Are her cameras up and running?”
“With the upgrades we discussed. My crew and I are on our way to your house now to complete the additions we discussed last night.”
I said the first thing that came to mind, “Don’t let the cat out.”
“I didn’t see that you had a cat.”
“Well, I do now. She used up one of her nine lives yesterday. I’d rather her stay at eight.”
“I’ll let my crew know.”
“Contact me once the job is finished,” I said.
As our call disconnected, I entered the same neighborhood I left over a year ago. Though Amber worked between Chicago and Indianapolis, the last I recalled, her residence was in Indy. I approached the home where she’d lived. The door to Amber’s garage was closed, hiding whether her car or Darius’s was inside. The clock on the dashboard told me it wasn’t yet eight in the morning.
