Chapter 24
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
Titus made one stop at Zach’s cabin and quickly drove to the bakery. He didn’t bother calling Emelia, since she wasn’t answering her phone. He parked by the gym, noticed a few clients were working out, and waved to Sean.
The air was oppressive.
An unseasonal heat wave had turned a usually cool November into a sauna. The shops in the alleyway were silent, their windows illuminated by faint night-lights throwing long shadows on the brick walk.
He wasn’t sure what state he’d find Emelia in. Her beat-up car was in the parking lot, so at least she was home. Titus only prayed she would talk to him and not have done something rash.
Arriving at the bakery door, he took out the key Zach gave him, entered, and locked the door behind him. From his wallet, he removed a black kit and selected the torque wrench and pick. It took seconds for him to open the door to her apartment. He repeated that at the top of the stairs.
Opening the door, he listened for any noise. Light from the streetlamps provided all the illumination he needed to walk through the living room. Reaching the bedroom, he knocked two times. No answer. He called her name. No answer.
Fearing the worst, Titus opened the bedroom door and saw her lying on the bed clutching Leo, and still in her work clothes.
He bent over to check if she was breathing. She was. Leo licked his face and jumped off the bed.
Titus noticed the streaks of dried tears on her face. His heart broke, then an anger he hadn’t felt in so long took over. She’d been alone with her pain, and he hadn’t been here to hold her, to protect her. Never again.
Titus sat on the bed and gently shook her.
“Go away,” Emelia mumbled as she brushed his hand from her shoulder.
“I’m not leaving, sweetheart,” he replied. He lay next to her and gathered her in his arms. She tried to pull away, but he held on tighter. “I’m not letting you go,” he whispered in her ear.
“Titus, I don’t want you here. This isn’t your problem. It’s mine.”
“Sorry, but your problems are mine. Please turn around and face me.”
She said nothing, just tsked. Turning towards him, she gazed into his eyes. “How did you get in?”
“Zach had the key to the bakery that you gave him after he installed the security cameras.”
“Oh.”
She snuggled a little closer, and Titus tightened his hold. It felt good to hold her close. Then she pulled back. “I know I locked my apartment door and didn’t give Zach a key.”
“True.”
“I don’t understand. How did you unlock the doors to my apartment?”
“I have my ways.”
“Asshole,” she mumbled.
“I’m your asshole,” he replied. He felt her smile on his chest.
Titus held her tightly, neither speaking. Finally, Emelia released a weary sigh. “Why are you here?”
“Because I love you. Because I want to help. Because it hurts me when you’re hurt.” He placed a kiss on her nose. “Want to talk about it?”
Whoa. Love? Did he actually say that?
They had only been together for a short time. When did he fall in love with her?
It was this past month. Everything she did was to make people happy. She was a good friend, a terrific lover, and a hard worker. She made him happy. Emelia was the woman he needed in his life.
He remembered the day she woke up early to clean the graffiti from the windows. It had hit him like a bullet. She was a strong woman taking charge of her own life, not depending on anyone to help or save her. He admired her courage. Even today, she was processing what happened, but Titus bet Emelia would continue to stay strong and take charge of her life.
“I don’t want to talk about it.”
“Please?” He wasn’t above begging a little.
She exhaled a huge breath. “Fine. But I really need a cup of coffee. Let me up, and we’ll talk.”
Titus released her and Emelia stood, then sniffed herself. “I stink. Why don’t you make it while I shower?”
“Take your time. I’m not going anywhere.”
Emelia peeled her clothes off. Even in the darkened room, Titus could see her naked body. He loved that she didn’t try to cover herself. But then again, he knew every inch of her luscious body. He was a breast man, and she had the most beautiful breasts. Not too large, not too small—just perfect. However, now was not the time to stand here and ogle her. He needed to have her talk out her concerns.
She disappeared into the bathroom. The sound of water filled the silence. Titus headed to the kitchen to make coffee. His stomach grumbled, and he looked in the fridge for a snack. Score! She had those savory tarts he liked and cream puffs. They must have been extras. Taking a couple of each, he sat at the small table and consumed them, patiently waiting for Emelia.
A short time later, she walked into the kitchen. Her hair was damp, and she had put on a robe.
“Yum, the coffee smells delicious.” She walked over to a cabinet, her robe billowing behind her, and picked up two mugs. Her hands trembled as she filled them. She gave one to Titus and left the other on the table as she went to get milk and sugar.
She put an assortment of pastries on a plate and placed them in front of Titus.
Titus calmly waited until she settled. He didn’t want to rush her, but he had to know where her mind was at.
She took several sips of coffee and put her cup down. “Thank you for checking on me.” She sighed. “I’m fine now.”
“I know. Can you tell me what happened?”
“This woman was vicious. I don’t know how she got her information about my bakery in New York. I don’t know what it has to do with me now.”
“Joy said you were so upset you couldn’t talk to her. Why didn’t you call me?” He cocked his head. “I would have come right over. Truth be told, I was concerned you might have taken off and I’d never see you again.”
Emelia gave him a small smile. “I didn’t call you because I needed to have a pity party for one. I was hijacked, plain and simple. However, I have no intention of running off. I have friends here. The bakery is successful, and most importantly, I have a man here that I love.”
“Love, uh?”
“That’s all you got from what I said?” She blushed and fiddled with her cup before taking a sip.
He laughed. “It was the most important.”
Titus picked up another pastry and took a bite. He needed to know what had happened to Emelia in New York and hoped she was ready to talk about it, since it hadn’t come up before when she received the nasty notes, the ruined pastry cream, and the graffiti.
It had to be worse than what she mentioned. He knew she liked to keep problems to herself, but she had to understand she wasn’t alone anymore.
“Who’s Wyatt?” Joy had mentioned the interviewer had asked Emelia about him. Old boyfriend? Partner?
“Wyatt.” She shook her head. “Wyatt and I go back to junior high school. I thought we were best friends. We did everything together.” Emelia stopped, looked at the floor, and then pursed her lips. “We were fine. He encouraged me to open the bakery, and he managed the back end. One day he asked for a piece of the business, but I said no. It was my money that started it and my recipes that I developed. He put nothing into the bakery. Plus, he was drawing a salary when I wasn’t.”
“Wow. Sounds like a bad loser.”
“Ah, that’s not even the worst. He siphoned money and put it into his account, and he encouraged new friends to write nasty social media posts. He betrayed me in the worst way.”
“I want to kick his ass,” Titus said. Boy, did he. If he ever met this Wyatt, he’d teach him a lesson.
Emelia smiled. “Me too. Anyhow, I closed the bakery since it was losing so much money and tried to sue Wyatt, but it was impossible to collect anything. So, I packed my car and moved here. I vowed to myself that I wouldn’t allow myself to run from a problem again.”
Well, Titus thought, something positive came out of an unpleasant experience.
“Why did the interviewer bring that up?”
Emelia shook her head. “I don’t know why. It was so weird and brought back painful memories. I’m still mad at Wyatt for stealing and ruining my business.” Emelia reached for a savory tart. Titus watched her take a small bite and chew it, then another.
“Are you still in contact with him?”
“No. I never want to speak to him again. However, the last thing he screamed at me was that he was going to ruin me.”
Over his dead body. Wyatt must have a death wish if he thought that was going to happen. But why did the interviewer bring that up now? Emelia had been here for months. Why would Wyatt care after all this time? How did Wyatt find her? How did Carol find Wyatt?
The story didn’t add up. A piece was missing. And Titus was afraid the missing piece was going to hurt Emelia a lot more.