Chapter 13
Chapter Thirteen
D ylan watched Abe’s face pale and knew instantly that he’d had no idea what the initial police report had claimed about Kara that night.
Or that they had assumed that he had been the one to be intimate with her.
This was another reason her family had looked at him closely.
Her clothes had been torn from her and there were marks on her skin that didn’t appear to have been caused by the accident.
Reaching out, she took his hand.
“Are you okay?”
He nodded and she watched him swallow a few times before standing up quickly and walking over to the railing on the deck. His hands gripped the railing like a vice, as if he could shatter the wood with his fingers.
She moved over to his side slowly, as if approaching a wounded animal.
“I… had a suspicion”—he sighed and glanced at her—“that she was seeing someone else. It’s one of the reasons why we met that night. That and I was thinking about not going on tour. No one else knew, but…” He glanced sideways at her.
“You think she was seeing someone else?” She frowned and tried to process this new information.
His eyes met hers as he turned towards her fully and nodded once.
“I noticed things. She would receive text messages and lie to me about who they were from. She would say she had to study for a test and when I asked how the test went, she forgot she had told me she had one.” He closed his eyes and leaned on the railing a little more. “She was a terrible liar.”
“Do you know who? Suspect anyone?” she asked, her heart jumping slightly. This could be the break they needed.
He shook his head and looked off as the sun sank lower over the horizon. “No, no idea. Maybe Kevin would know.” He took a deep breath as she watched him carefully.
Kevin. The man was pissing her off. Not only had he flaked at their meeting in Edgeview, the one that he had requested, but the next morning he’d called and made an excuse about going to a bar and losing his phone.
There was no doubt in her mind now that Abe had nothing to do with Kara’s death. She’d wanted to believe that the moment she’d been hired, but now she knew it down to her very core.
“You said she would get text messages?” she asked. When he nodded, she moved back over to her bag and pulled out her computer. “If you knew it, would you recognize someone’s number if you saw it?”
He moved over and sat down next to her as she flipped open her computer screen and pulled up the official report, scanning ahead for the phone logs.
“Here.” She motioned with her finger. “These numbers I was unable to track down. They’re from a burner number and are no longer in use.”
He frowned. “I know a few industry people use burner numbers but those don’t look familiar, and, well…” He glanced at her. “Don’t drug dealers use those too?”
She smiled and nodded. “Yes, but mainly in TV shows and movies. Still, they can be used by anyone. I tracked the number to a phone that was purchased at a gas station in Lakeview just outside of LA.”
“My old townhouse was in that area. Kara’s place was closer to the college.”
“Yeah, which is why the police thought…” She dropped off.
“That I had purchased the phone,” he jumped in quickly. “Right.”
“The text messages were somewhat cryptic. Meeting times, places, but…” She clicked the keyboard. “This last one pretty much cleared your name.” She showed him.
“Just dropped him off.”
“We need to talk. I can’t do this much longer. Everyone is getting suspicious.” Kara replied.
“I’ll head to our usual spot.”
“Fine, but I’m tired of pretending with him.” Kara had responded.
“Just a little longer, then I’ll leave her for good and we can be together like we want,” came the response.
She felt her stomach swirl at the low sound emanating from Abe’s chest. Was it pain or anger? Hard to tell.
“What does that mean?” He glanced over at her. “I’m tired of pretending with him?” He didn’t give her a chance to answer. Instead, he added, “Who is he going to leave? A wife?”
She nodded slowly. “I also assumed from some of the other messages that whoever Kara was seeing was married or at least in a long-term relationship.”
“Why was she with me? We weren’t married or engaged. Why didn’t he want her to leave me?”
“My guess is they wanted to wait until after you’d hit it big.” She knew it stung, so she was surprised when Abe didn’t flinch or act hurt.
“Why did it matter? She had nothing to do with my career.”
She shrugged. “I was hoping you shed some light on that area. Was anything going on in Kara’s life at that time?”
“She had just started fall classes.” He glanced out to the water.
“I was the one who had a lot going on at that point. I’d just finished my first record a few months back.
Tony had a bunch of PR stunts lined up for me once we were done.
They had released my first single a few months earlier and it was climbing the charts.
So they were very hopeful for the full album. ”
She smiled. “And it hit number one quicker than any other new artist in the past decade.”
His eyebrows shot up. “So you had heard of me before?”
She chuckled. “Okay, full confession time. I’ve loved your music from day one.”
His smile spread slowly and he shifted towards her. “I would have never pegged you as a fan. I can usually spot one from a mile away.”
She rolled her eyes. “Anyone who has heard you sing is a fan. Then you add all this”—she waved her hand over him—“prettiness and sexy natural swagger you have and boom!” She snapped her fingers. “I along with every other red-blooded woman was an insta-fan.”
He shifted even closer, his grin spreading, and her insides fluttered. “You acted pretty cool at first.”
She rolled her eyes. “I’m very practiced. But honestly, it drove me nuts. You drive me nuts.”
He tilted his head as if thinking for a moment. “How nuts?”
She glanced at his lips. “About as crazy as when you kissed me.”
His smile slipped a little. “You were the one driving me crazy at that point.” His hand came up to cup her face. “Still are.” His eyes moved to her lips. “My heart skips each time I think of kissing you.” He reached for her hand and placed her palm on his chest. “Feel what you’re doing to me now.”
She did. His heartbeat matched her own erratic one as he leaned in and brushed his lips across hers.
“How many more questions do you have for me tonight?” he asked, resting his forehead against hers.
“None,” she answered quickly.
“There are some things I can see clearly written in your eyes.” He leaned back, searching her eyes.
“Such as?”
“You no longer think I had anything to do with Kara’s last night.” He brushed a strand of her hair aside.
“I…” She started to tell him she’d never believed he had anything to do with Kara’s death, but instead just shook her head. “Does that matter to you?”
“It’s the most important thing in my world,” he said before kissing her again.
She melted and purred with desire. How did he have so much control over her? Why did her body have to respond this way when it never had before? Why him?
Her mind switched gears as his tongue played over hers. She no longer needed proof or evidence that Abe had nothing to hide. She knew she had more secrets in her closet than he did.
When he pressed his hard body up against hers, her mind stopped working as her needs outweighed every thought. More, was all she could think. I need to feel more.
She couldn’t remember the last time she’d felt so… much.
Abe’s hands roamed over her, gently tugging her shirt up until his fingertips brushed against her skin. She moaned with delight.
His mouth trailed down her neck. “Dylan, I didn’t come here tonight for this.”
“A bonus then,” she said, sliding her fingers into his hair to keep him tight against her.
He chuckled at her move and then stilled when she reached down and covered him, trailing her fingers gently over his length. He was hard, pressing against his jeans, and she felt her insides quiver at the thought of feeling him inside her.
She jerked free and stood up, then took his hand. “Abe, take me to bed.”
He wrapped his arms around her and held on for a moment before leading her back into the house and into the bedroom he was staying in.
There, he pulled her back into his arms and kissed her until her knees went weak. Then he lifted her into his arms and gently laid her on the bed.
He surprised her by slowly removing her shoes and then taking his time to run his hands over her legs.
He glanced up at her. “Sexiest legs in the world.” He smiled up at her.
“You’re a leg man?” she said as his hands moved up to her thighs.
“Not really, but wow, I can’t ignore sexy when I see it.” His fingertips skimmed her inner thighs.
She closed her eyes and leaned back while he snaked his fingertips under her shorts.
“Abe,” she moaned when he tugged her shorts down and continued to explore her with his hands and lips.
He spread his hand on her stomach and gently nudged her back until she was lying on his bed.
When he tugged her panties aside and used his mouth on her, she arched and cried out as she wrapped her legs around his shoulders.
Too much. So many thoughts and feelings flooded her mind. Then his tongue rolled over her clit and everything shut down. Thoughts. Feelings. Questions. Everything exploded until there was only him.
While she tried to catch her breath, Abe shifted over her on the bed, pulling her farther up as he covered her completely.
She tugged his shirt off, her nails scraping his skin as her demands grew.
“I need you, now,” she said, locking her legs around his hips as she trailed kisses down his collarbone.
When he shifted and slid into her, she felt at home for the first time in her life. This, this was where she belonged. Where she fit. Where she wanted to be for the rest of her life.
Then a moment later, her world exploded again, and she knew that nothing else in the world mattered. Only Abe.
That thought scared the shit out of her. After her body cooled, Abe shifted to her side and held her close.
“I can tell that you’re already rethinking this,” Abe said into her hair.
“No.” She instantly denied it. “No,” she said a little softer, trying to relax her body. “I’m just scared of what it, what you, make me feel.”
He was silent for a moment. “What do I make you feel?”
She closed her eyes and took a deep breath before answering. “Safe.”
He shifted until he was looking down at her.
“You didn’t feel safe?”
She shrugged. “I’m not scared.” She felt the need to explain. “Just…” God, why was this so hard? “Wandering.”
His eyes narrowed slightly. “Like you don’t belong anywhere?”
She nodded slowly. “Being back in town, sleeping in my old bed, it’s… empty almost. Without him there, it’s just an old building where the plumbing shakes the walls when I use the dishwasher and washing machine, and the floorboards creak. Every single floorboard.” She rolled her eyes.
He smiled down at her, and she lifted her hands to run her fingers through his hair again. Then she brought him down and kissed him, holding her lips to his. “But this, this feels like home. Oddly.”
He tilted his head and seemed to be thinking about it for a moment. “Scares the shit out of me, personally.”
She smiled. “Ditto.” She rested her head back as he ran his eyes over her slowly.
“I have a thing I’m supposed to go to this weekend. It’s just one night. LA. Lights, drama, free food.” His eyebrows rose slightly. “It might be possible to get some answers from a few people in the circles Kara and I were in back in the day.”
Her eyebrows rose. “Are you asking me to go to LA with you, on a date?”
He smiled. “Yeah, if you want. Plus,” he jumped in quickly, “like I said, a few people who were close to Kara will be there. Maybe even the man she was with.”
“Count me in,” she answered quickly.