Chapter 28
The loud knocking startled her. Andi pushed the blanket away from the list she was making.
She’d been making a list of the ways she could resolve this issue by herself.
At the top of the list was getting a new job.
Second on the list was moving to a different state.
The first objective was to protect Laith.
The second was to protect herself. No way was she letting this creep get the best of her.
She loved her life here in Philly, but she liked her skin without lash marks better.
But the knocking was so loud! Who would be at her door at this time of the day? She rarely, if ever, had guests besides Carys. She met her other friends at restaurants or bars.
“Andi! Open the door!”
Laith! Laith was here!
Andi’s eyes instantly went to the kitchen cabinet where that horrible box was hidden. Was the box listening? The eyes on that creepy doll definitely seemed like they were watching her. The “eyes” were too big and she’d suspected that a small camera had been hidden inside the doll.
“Andi! Honey, open the door,” Laith called out again, his voice softer now, but no less demanding. “I know you’re in trouble. You need to let me help you.”
No! If she let him in, he would…!
The door opened without her unlocking it. Andi stared as a big, muscular man stepped through the door, then off to one side. Then, Laith walked into her apartment.
“Laith!” she gasped, jumping up from her sofa and throwing herself into his arms. Thankfully, Laith’s reaction time was good and he caught her, holding her securely as she cried with relief.
For a long, wonderful moment, she sighed against his chest, feeling the heat and strength of him as he held her close.
But the moment was short-lived. As soon as reality returned, she pushed out of his arms and stepped back. Ignoring the confusion in his eyes, she pointed towards the doorway. “You have to go! You’re in danger here!”
Laith ignored her. He stepped closer, and unexpectedly, the guards he always traveled with followed him into her apartment. They didn’t stop when she gasped. Two of them even stepped into her bedroom.
“What…what are they doing? Why are they going through…!” she stopped as one man opened her closet and shifted the clothes around while the other man went into her bathroom, checking behind the shower curtain and behind the doors.
“What are they doing?” she demanded, turning away from the male invasion to frown at Laith. “Why are your bodyguards invading my home and my privacy like this?”
“Because you said I was in danger, love,” Laith explained, moving closer. He tucked her against his side as they both watched the guards finish up their initial inspection.
“Where are the new boxes?” a guard demanded. His voice was raspy, as if he used to smoke two packs of cigarettes a day. But the raspiness might have more to do with the scar on his neck.
“Boxes?” she parroted, feeling small. She laced her fingers together, not wanting these big, burly men to realize how stressful those boxes had been for her.
But she had to protect Laith. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she said, her chin unconsciously jutting out.
She even tried to step away from Laith, but his arm around her waist held her against his side.
“In here!” a guard called out, coming out of the kitchen with the box that Carys had hidden. He also opened the letter, his jaw tightening as he read it.
“Here’s another one,” a guard called out as he came out of her bedroom.
“This one has a letter as well.” He held up the crumpled paper, his dark eyes skimming through the text.
When he looked at Andi, was that…admiration?
Andi cringed, not wanting these men to think she was brave.
She’d been cowering in her apartment all day. She was a coward.
The guard handed the letter to Laith. As soon as he read the letter, Laith muttered a series of what she could only assume were expletives in his own language. They sounded pretty harsh and the guards nodded, some even grunted with agreement.
Laith finally released her, but only to turn and confront her, holding the letter up. “Andi, is this why you stayed away that last night in London?” he demanded, his voice husky. “And why you wouldn’t speak to me, or tell me you were in danger?”
“This came with it,” the guard explained, showing him the crushed box with the bloody, dead Laith doll.
Laith muttered another string of curses while the guards put the boxes and the letters into plastic bags that looked suspiciously like the evidence bags she’d seen on television.
“What are you doing with those?” she asked, watching while the men carried them away.
“They’re continuing the investigation that was started back in Singapore.
” He frowned at her. “If you’d bothered to let us know that you’d received more threats, we could have looked at these boxes and letters before now.
Each one is a new piece of evidence. The writing, the language, even the fact that he used a computer instead of hand-writing the addresses is important. ”
Andi watched with shock and amazement. Then she said, “Today’s box was delivered here to my apartment. It was sitting outside my door when I went to leave this morning.”
There was silence as everyone in the apartment absorbed that.
“When?” Laith demanded, gripping her upper arms. His hold wasn’t tight, but Andi knew she wouldn’t be able to shrug him off. Nor did she want to. She loved the fact that he was here, helping her figure this out.
“I came home this morning to get some sleep after my flight.”
His gaze sharpened. “We’ll get into why you didn’t sleep on the flight later. What happened next? Did you hear anything?”
“No…” She paused to think about it for a moment. “Yes!” She bit her lower lip then explained, “I thought I’d heard someone knocking on my door earlier, but I was too tired and I just fell asleep.”
Laith shook his head, sighing with frustration. “That was me, Andi. I was hoping to talk to you. But you didn’t answer your door.”
“Oh,” she replied softly, running her fingers through her hair. “Well, that was stupid of me, wasn’t it?”
His eyebrows drew together and she felt the anger in him. “So, what else do you remember about this morning?”
“Nothing,” she admitted. “I was too upset and exhausted to hear anything. I just fell into bed and the next thing I knew, I woke up. I was going to head out and get some coffee, but the box stopped me.”
He pulled her in close, kissing her forehead. “Andi, why didn’t you tell me that someone had threatened you?”
Andi wrapped her arms around his waist, hugging him tightly.
“Because I didn’t want anything to happen to you, Laith,” she whispered, leaning her forehead against his chest. “You read the note!” Her words were muffled.
“The man said that he could get close enough to stab you! He didn’t just say that he was going to hurt you, Laith.
He said he would make sure that you suffered before you died.
” She pulled out of his arms and glared at him, unaware of the others in her small apartment now.
“He said he was going to make your pain last! He was going to ensure that you died slowly!” She shook her head, unaware of the tears streaming down her face.
“I won’t let that happen! Not if I can do something to stop it! ”
Laith was furious with her. And more in love with her than he’d thought possible.
But the fury won in the moment. “So, you decided to put yourself in danger?” he yelled.
Throwing up his hands, he continued, “You decided that you’d take on this battle all by yourself?
” He moved closer to her, so angry, he could barely see straight.
“No, Andi. You’re never going to put yourself in danger! Not ever again. Do you understand me?”
She shoved against his chest, but Laith didn’t move. “No!” she yelled right back. “I love you, you idiot! I know that I’m just a fling to you! I know that you don’t feel as strongly as I do. But there’s no way that I’m going to let you be hurt!”
Laith stared at her for a long moment, then softly said, “Damn it, Andi! You’re not going to put yourself in danger. Not for me or anyone else. Got that?”
“No!” she snarled back.
“Andi, I love you too! And since you love me, then…” he dug in his pocket and pulled out the diamond ring. He grabbed her hand, then shoved the ring onto her finger. “There! Now we’re engaged. You’re mine and I’m going to protect you! Even from yourself, if needed. Got it?”
Andi was silent. She stared down at the lovely, large, glittery ring. Her hand felt oddly heavy.
When she looked up at him, Andi wasn’t sure what to say. But at the nervousness in his eyes, she tried to smile. “You love me?” she whispered.
Laith shifted on his feet, his hands fisted on his hips. He looked away, then sighed and looked back at her. “Yes. I love you.” He reached out, taking her hands in his. “And you love me too! You’ve already admitted it and you can’t take those words back.”
Andi walked right back into his arms, holding him tightly. “I’ll never take them back,” she whispered. “Never! I love you so much!”
Laith tightened his arms around her and Andi knew she’d found heaven.
“There’s a lot you need to know about me, Andi,” he warned. “But that can wait a bit longer. For right now, I’d just like to figure out who the hell wants to hurt you.”
Andi tilted her head back, looking into his eyes. “And you. Someone definitely wants to hurt you too.” She looked around, noticing they were alone. “Where did all the guys go?”
“Probably just outside to the hallway to give us privacy.” He smiled at her. “They’re considerate every once in a while.”
“Good to know,” she teased. “Are you hungry? I have a couple of sandwiches in the fridge. And I can call someone to deliver more for the guards.”
“My guards will figure out their own food needs. They don’t eat on duty. It’s a distraction.”
Andi grimaced. “That sounds like a miserable job.”
He shrugged. “They enjoy it. Plus, they are paid extremely well.”
Andi walked over to the fridge and pulled out the bag of sandwiches. “I’m guessing that your new company is doing better than I’d realized.” She pulled both out and examined them. “Which do you want? The ham and Swiss or the turkey and provolone?”
“Turkey,” he replied, accepting the sandwich she offered him. “Now tell me who you think is threatening you.”
“I have no idea,” she replied, unwrapping her sandwich and taking a huge bite. “Good grief, I’m starving!”
They sat on her sofa and devoured the sandwiches while discussing possible suspects. After a moment, she stopped and looked at him thoughtfully. “Jonas hates me.”
“Jonas?” he repeated. “My assistant?”
“Yeah.” She put down the second half of her sandwich, feeling full. “He seriously hates me.”
“What has he said to you that would make you think that he hates you?”
“He hasn’t said anything to me. The opposite, in fact. He’s always been incredibly polite during our interactions. It’s not what he’s said, it’s what he’s done.”
“What’s that?” he asked, taking her abandoned sandwich and finishing it off.
“He put me in a bad seat on the flight home from Singapore. Then again on the flight to London. He made sure that I was in a middle seat and, on the flight back home the first time, he made sure I was in a seat that didn’t recline.
He also put me on a different flight from the others on the trip to London, which is why I arrived four hours after everyone else.
And that was another middle seat in the back.
” She groaned and stood up, grabbing their glasses to refill them.
“Do you know what it’s like to sit straight up in a seat for hours with no relief?
It’s horrible.” She shuddered at the memory.
“Plus, the seat was right in front of the bathrooms.” She shuddered.
“Some people need to see a gastroenterologist because they have some issues!”
He didn’t laugh at her joke, but took the glass from her, frowning. “You were supposed to fly first class.”
“The others were happily ensconced in first class. I was the only one in the back of the plane. Which is why I think that Jonas hates me.” She tilted her head slightly.
“I don’t think he would create weird, kinky dioramas though.
He’s too…tame. Too mild mannered. I just can’t picture him as a killer.
Nor can I picture him as a whip wielding sadist either. ”
They considered several of her former boyfriends.
And then Andi asked about his past girlfriends.
They had a long conversation about their past lovers and Andi fought against her jealousy that some other woman had been in Laith’s arms. He must have understood her expression because he touched her cheek saying, “You’re the only one in my life now and forever, Andi. ”
Her heart swelled with love. He was so handsome and when she’d needed him, he’d come for her. Not all women could say the same. She shifted her position so that she was straddling him. Andi leaned forward to kiss him, twining her arms around his neck. “I love you,” she whispered against his lips.
Laith groaned, then pulled her closer. He couldn’t seem to stop touching her.
He’d only been without Andi for two nights, but that was too long.
Standing up with Andi in his arms, he carried her into her bedroom.
There, he stripped off every piece of clothing, kissing every inch of skin revealed.
Then he licked and teased every erogenous zone on her body, even discovering several new places where she was exquisitely sensitive.
Andi sighed and he took each breath as a reverent welcome home.
When he finally entered her, he lost himself in the glory of her.
His thumb rubbed against that nub, bringing her closer.
And when they climaxed together, Laith looked into her eyes and pulled her close, needing this connection with her.
Andrea McCormick was going to marry him!
He was going to have her in his life forever!
When she sighed with happiness, Laith tightened his hold around her, needing her soft curves against his skin. While Andi slept, Laith tried to process everything that had happened over the past several weeks. But everything kept coming back to the fact that Andi was going to be his forever !