Always You (7 page)

I looked down at her as she slept. Cali’s long blonde hair was messy, thanks to me, and it brought a big ass grin to my face. Two years of waiting were over and my heart was one with hers. There was no more doubt that maybe she didn’t want me or that she would want someone else.

My biggest fear now rested on keeping her safe. We weren’t a hundred percent sure that it was Reddick, so I had to look out for all potential suspects. I had a feeling it was him, though. If he was willing to hurt his sister, he was willing to kill someone else.

I knew that Cali didn’t want to know what happened to Lydia because it was probably the worst. They were best friends, and I knew that Rob’s death was eating me up. Crawling out of the bed around ten o’clock at night to find out what happened to Lydia. Walking downstairs so I don’t wake Cali, I texted the officer.  He sent a message back.
Turn on the news.

I did, and the first thing I saw was the breaking news. There was a manhunt out for Mark Reddick. He’s suspected of murdering his sister who was found dead in their home and involved the death of the Delaney family.

I ran my hands through my hair. “Damn it. How am I going to break this to her?” I muttered in angry frustration.

“You don’t have to.” She came walking toward me, tucking her head into my chest. “Why is he doing this?” I hated that she had to go through this. If what I think is true, he was obsessed with her.

“We can’t understand some people’s minds and the shit that they keep locked away.”

“This is all my fault.” I knew this was coming—the guilt.

“No, it’s not. Don’t think that shit.” I grabbed her chin, making sure she understood me. I knew it was killing, but I didn’t want her going down that rabbit hole. “You didn’t do anything but have a really great friend. Tell me. Was Lydia a bad friend?”

“No, never.” Her eyes welled up with unshed tears.

“Then you had no reason to believe that her brother would be so evil.”

“You’re right, but I can’t help but think I did something to get him to want me.” Her natural essence could attract any man. Smarts, beauty, a sense of humor and a natural goodness about her. She was everything wonderful wrapped up in a small package.

“You didn’t do anything but be yourself. You’re a sweet and loving person. I fell in love with you on the spot, and you did nothing but welcome me into your home. Hell, you gave me attitude right away and all I could think about how I had to bide my time.” It was the truth. She was lovable, even when she was cranky.

“I guess so,” she muttered, dipping her head back against my chest.

Lifting her face again and looking into her lovely eyes, I said, “I know so.”

“Thanks for being my hero, my love, and my friend.”

“Always,” I promised before tasting her lips.

Our kiss deepened and I lifted her up into my arms, grinding my cock against her mound. Fuck. We were both turned on so badly that we almost missed the doorbell ring. Pausing to listen again, we heard someone ring the motherfucker multiple times. “Whoever it is, better have a reason to be here,” I growled. Setting her down onto the sofa, I adjusted my erection and whispered, “Wait here.” If it was Reddick, I didn’t want him to get a chance at harming her.

I walked to the door, looked through the peep hole and didn’t immediately recognize the four people at the door. I opened it and asked, “Can I help you?”

“Where’s Calista at?” a middle-aged man asked.

“Who are you all?” I asked.

“I’m her aunt Marie and this is her uncle Joe.” The middle-aged woman pointed to the man staring me down.

“We’re her grandparents,” a much older woman said. I never met her family because they all lived out of state and hadn’t visited that summer.

Then I heard Cali coming to the door. “Oh my God. You all came.”

“You didn’t answer your phone when we called.” Her grandmother pulled her into her arms hugged Cali tightly.

“Okay, we can get to talk inside. Please come in fast.” I spotted the cop car with Officer Nichols sitting with her partner. I gave them a subtle nod of appreciation.

Her family looked at me strangely, but clung to Cali and moved into the house.

“I didn’t mean to be a dick. It’s just we’ve got a problem, and there’s a killer on the loose.” It was better to tell them sooner rather than later.

“A killer?” Her uncle and grandfather asked at the same time.

“Yeah. By the way, I’m Alexander Richmond.”

“You’re Rob’s friend,” the grandmother said, with meaning. They all looked at each other and that was the first smile I’d seen them crack.

“So, what do you have to do with this situation? And, what about this killer?” the grandfather asked angrily, clutching his granddaughter in his arms.

We all gathered in the living room while Cali and her aunt fetched some coffee. I went into the details of the day and the speculation. I also told them about the squad car that was lurking outside for our protection. They were all pissed more than scared. I was both because I couldn’t lose Cali.

“We need to start preparing for the funerals,” her aunt said, starting the hard topic.

“My parents are making the arrangements for us. I’m going to follow up with them in the morning.”

“Why are they doing it? It should fall to us,” her grandmother asked clearly offended.

“My father offered because Cali wasn’t feeling up to it and I wanted to take care of her. Cali didn’t have her phone; the police have it, so we had no idea anyone would show up until we told everyone the service dates.”

“I can’t believe their gone. I’ll help your parents and make sure they have everything they need. Robert and Connie had all their funeral plans set up with their life insurance policy. I believe they keep it in the family safe.”

“Oh, I didn’t know. I can go look for it,” Cali suggested.

“I will tell my father. He told me to look and see if they have anything placed as a precaution.”

“They did, but they didn’t have anything for Rob. No parents expect their kids to go before them,” her Uncle Joe said.

“No, we don’t,” Cali’s grandfather replied sadly. I felt his heart falling apart knowing he had to bury his child.

“We can set up the guest bedrooms for you.” Thankfully, t had two of them because I didn’t think Cali would like anyone in her brother or parents’ rooms.

~~~~

It took two hours to get everyone situated for the night. I carried my sleepy Cali upstairs, cradling everything that was precious to me.

“Cali, how are you feeling?” I asked after climbing to bed.

“So mixed up. My only happiness comes from you, and it’s marred by every terrible thing around us. I keep thinking it would be better if Mark just came after me,” she muttered in frustration turning her head away from me and looking at the wall. I felt the sting on that one. My sympathy fled for the moment, and rage took its place.

I was pissed that she said that shit to me. It was as if she was saying her life was fucking meaningless. I flipped her onto her back and straddled her. Looking at her deeply, I gave her a stern warning. “Don’t you ever say some stupid shit like that again. Yes, you’re in pain and your heart is broken, but what you’re saying would take you away from me. That’s not something I could deal with. I don’t want to lose you, so don’t think like that. If you want me to get you a therapist, I will. In fact, I think that shit would be a great idea, but first let me get you to see how much you’ve got to live for.”

I stealthily took off my boxers that I wore to bed and slipped her nightgown over her head. I left her tiny lace panties on because I wanted something to hold my seed inside her. Pushing them to the side, I tested her entrance with my fingers. She was wet, so I played with her clit. I wanted her dripping for me before I entered her. I kissed her while my fingers strummed her sweet center. Her moans were muffled by my lips. I took in her cries and moved my body in between her thighs. My cock lined up perfectly with her core, and I slowly worked my way inside.

I cupped her mouth when she cried out loudly. “Ssh, my love. We have your family here.”

She nodded, so I removed my hand. “You’re so perfect, Cali. You feel so warm and tight.”  We moved against each other unhurriedly with our bodies connected from head to toe. We glided together with her body under me. This was what we needed. Our movements were aided by the sweat building between us. With us this close, it felt so intense. I never thought my love for her could grow, but my heart pounded harder than ever.

“You’re everything to me, Cali. Please don’t ever leave me.”

“I don’t want to ever leave you.”

I growled and kissed her deeply, continuing to make love to her. It wasn’t long until we both came and passed out wrapped up in each other.

The following morning, we had a houseful of Cali’s family and my parents. There was no sign of Reddick yet. Our families worked together to organize the funeral in the relative safety of the house. We wanted to have a wake, but it wasn’t possible. Open caskets were not going to be able to happen. We agreed to have a small service before the actual funeral with tons of security.

My father hired several sets of security teams while the police were still on a manhunt for Reddick. When the police arrived at the Reddick house after the voicemail, he was long gone and Lydia was dead. The news posted photos of him, but also reminded the public not to confront him if they did come into contact with him. The problem with Reddick was that he looked normal. There was nothing about his features that stood out. He had been good looking, but nothing special, so it was hard to spot him from any other six foot, brown-haired, brown-eyed guy.

We all sat on pins and needles waiting for some news. The service and funeral would be held in three days, and we prayed that he would be picked up before then.

It was the middle of the afternoon when my father and I got a chance to speak in private. “Son, how are you hanging in there?”

“As good as I can be. I have Cali, which makes me so damn happy that I could fucking scream it out to the world, but it wasn’t supposed to be this way. Rob should be here threatening me to treat Calista right.”

“No, it’s not supposed to be this way, but we can’t change the past so we have to move on. Well, you can move on once the bastard is caught. Starting your family and life, but never forgetting the memories.”

“I hope he’s caught soon. We can’t leave the house, and I don’t like Cali living here all the time. She steps into the room and tears are always ready to pour. All she has to do is look at something and it sets her into a spiral of grief. Living here isn’t going to give her any relief.”

“After the funeral, take her back to Dallas. Your place has been waiting for her to make it a home for almost two years.”

“It has been. We need to send in a cleaning crew to make sure that it’s dust free, all the furniture is in place, and the fridge is stocked with fresh food.”

My phone rang, interrupting our conversation. It was Detective Clayton.

“Tell me you’ve got him,” I said before he could say anything.

“No, he got away. He was spotted in Arkansas, using his credit card at a gas station. We got the footage, but he’s flitting under the radar. Police in Texarkana and both Texas and Arkansas State Troopers are setting up road blocks.”

“When was this?”

“In the past two hours. We don’t think he was trying to go back to Texas, but we don’t know for sure.” That wasn’t any real assurance, but it was more than nothing. At least he was several hours away from her.

“Okay, we’ve got a swarm of security officers working around the clock to keep him away from Cali. Thankfully he has no way to get to her from the backyard, so at least she can get some fresh air.”

“Good. I would say keep her locked in the vicinity of the house so she doesn’t become a target.”

“Thanks for keeping me informed.”

“Absolutely. We’re hoping Reddick doesn’t claim another victim. Richmond we’ve got everyone looking for him. I promise, we’ll find him.”

I hung up with him just as Cali came into the room. “Hey, babe. Were you able to get some sleep?”

“Yes, I think I really needed.”

“I just got off the phone with the police. Come sit down and I’ll tell you what he said.” She went to take a seat next to me, but I pulled her onto my lap where she belonged.

“He’s trying to get away from Texas and go into Arkansas. We need to be careful, but it looks like maybe he’s more worried about getting away than coming after you.”

“Thank goodness, but what happens when he goes after someone else?”

“Babe, we just need to be concerned about us and getting through the next few days.”

She tucked her head into my neck with her arms around me, kissing my shoulder. “I love you, Alex.”

“You’re my reason for existing, Cali. Are you hungry?”

“No, but I’m sure my aunt and grandmother are getting dinner ready as we speak.”

“I thought we were going to order in?”

“They said they wanted to keep busy.”

“I understand.”

The next three days were almost identical. No news on Reddick and arrangements being made while all the women cooked. Some reason BBQ didn’t seem right, so the men didn’t cook. The backyard was a place to party. It had been where we’d all gotten together in the past. It was a place to laugh and joke, so it didn’t feel proper. Barbequing in Texas is a second nature. Good times and good friends, but we wouldn’t get those moments with Rob and their parents.