Chapter Twenty-two
Harper locked up Trent’s apartment and smiled at her new key ring, the pink and sparkly skull with a little bow on top casting reflective rainbows on the door.
The last four years had given her a renewed appreciation for the small things in life.
They’d gotten keys cut to each other’s places and Trent had bought her the key ring.
So not her, but cute. He’d put their respective condo keys on it and handed it back to her.
Who knew a skull could make her the happiest girl alive?
He’d also presented her with an awesome new phone, complete with new number, as the police had taken hers away.
She headed over to the mall to meet Drea. They walked to Drea’s favorite store and not half an hour later, Harper was sitting on a fitting room bench watching her pull on a pair of bright red jeans. “So Dre, what’s the deal with you and Cujo? What happened the other night?”
“Urrgghh! He’s infuriating. I don’t know why you don’t see it.”
“You’re right, I don’t. He’s been nice to me, sweet, even.” Harper shifted to lean forward, watching Drea turn from side to side to check the fit.
Drea slumped next to her on the bench. “Doesn’t it bug you? The way he treats women. You saw how he was with that blondie the other night. And he treats me like I’m stupid. I know I only work in a coffee shop, but I help José manage it. I’m not stupid.”
Harper put her arm around her friend. “No, you definitely aren’t. Are you sure there’s no way you’re mixing signals? I work in the coffee shop, technically beneath you, and he doesn’t make me feel small.”
Drea sighed. “I don’t know. I don’t think so. Maybe he just doesn’t like me, and you’re the boss’s girlfriend so he has to make nice with you.”
Could that really be it? It was a possibility, but somehow that just didn’t sit right. She remembered him sitting with her through her first tattoo when she had been so clearly upset, laughing and joking with Trent until, together, they had seen her through it.
“I know what you’re saying, Dre, but I just, I don’t know, I really struggle with that. I’m not saying it’s you or him … I just wonder if you got off on the wrong foot with each other.”
“Don’t you see how arrogant he is? Thinks he can take what he needs from a woman and then drop her as soon as there’s responsibility to be had. Doesn’t care who it affects and how much it hurts. He’s just like my dad.”
“I had no idea, Drea.”
“Shit.” Drea wiped furiously under her eyes, taking in a deep breath. “You know what? It’s fine, Harper. He doesn’t like me, that’s fine. He won’t even speak to me if you aren’t around and even then it’s usually to say something mean. I’ll just avoid him when we’re out together.”
Harper looked at her friend, wondering if she was even aware how unhappy she sounded about that.
As Drea paid for the jeans, Harper pulled out her phone to text Trent. He was going to love the cute little bra and panty set Drea had encouraged her to buy. A rich emerald-green satin with black lace. She swiped the screen and then stopped when she saw the incoming message.
There’s nowhere to run.
* * *
Trent sat up on the weight bench, his muscles burning with the satisfying pain that only came from a good workout. As he took a long drink of water, he scoured the gym until he found her.
Wearing red wraps on her hands, bound tightly to protect the small bones and joints from fracture, Harper alternately kicked and punched the hook and jab pads Leon held, looking like a pro.
Her body was definitely more toned than before and it looked seriously good on her.
When Frankie yelled, “Stop!” Harper dramatically fell to the floor, laughing as Frankie threw the towel at her.
He watched as she joked with some of the guys in the gym.
Gone was the nervous, timid, albeit courageous girl who’d come to see him that first night.
In her place was a strong, capable woman.
He could swear he was more worried about the text messages than she was, which was why they were heading out to the police station when they finished at the gym.
Leon tossed the pads over the rope, and Trent watched as they fell to the concrete floor. She’d been sparring with Leon at Frankie’s request, but he’d yet to see her in action. The roundhouse kick she executed knocked Leon off balance, not an easy thing to do to the six-foot fighter.
“Your girl’s a natural,” Frankie said as he joined Trent on the weight bench. Trent watched as the perfectly timed knee kicks did what they were meant to do. The guys in the gym cheered as Harper rained an elbow strike down on Leon’s head guard.
Trent opened his mouth to say something, but nothing came. Sure, Leon could easily have laid her out, but she was definitely giving him a workout. Frankie laughed.
“Yeah, we were all a bit like that when she started picking it up quickly. She could fight, if she wanted. I’d train her if she did.”
The bout over, she walked toward him in her little shorts and tank top, all golden, glistening skin, unraveling the hand wrap on one hand until she hit her thumb loop.
“Ready to head out, Andrews?” she asked, throwing the wrap at him.
“Have I told you how much I like you wet?” Trent handed her a bottle of water before stroking a thumb across the sheen of sweat on her collarbone.
“Funny.” She smiled, her cheeks pink.
“Serious,” he said, leaning forward to kiss her chastely.
“Eew. Gross. Shower. Now.”
Trent raised his eyebrow, the idea of a shower with Harper beyond tempting.
“Separately!”
He laughed as she read his mind.
Half an hour later, they were heading into the police station to show Detective Lopes the latest messages.
“I don’t get how they found her number so quickly.” Trent shifted in the uncomfortable plastic chairs across from Lopes’s desk.
“I was talking to our tech guys. They think someone is using malware.”
“Malware?” Harper asked, leaning forward to put her elbows on the desk.
“Malicious software. You know like worms, viruses, and spyware. Tough to find, tougher to treat, and almost impossible to stop. It can be installed on your computer, phone—any mobile device. All it takes is you opening an innocuous-looking link and boom. They have full access to all your data.”
Harper had paled. She took a deep breath. “You okay, darlin’?” he asked.
“Yeah.” She looked up at him. “Nathan was a whiz at that kind of computer stuff.”
“We can get someone here to run a check on any computer you might have and on your phone. It might help.” The detective paused to take another drink of his black coffee.
“I see you had some trouble at your place of business, Mr. Andrews. Vandalism?”
“You did?” Harper asked, her eyebrows drawn together.
Shit. He should have told her sooner. “Yeah, darlin’. We did. It wasn’t a big deal. It happened while I was in LA. By the time I was back, Cujo had it all cleaned up.”
“But why did you call the police?” Great. Now she was all worried about him. He reached over and took her hand, her fingers immediately tightening around his.
“Just in case we need to claim on the insurance, but I don’t see how it could be connected. Probably some kids just being idiots. Did the same myself many years ago. I think the statute of limitations has passed on that, though, before you get any ideas.”
“I’ll pretend I didn’t hear that. Humor me.” Lopes smiled. “What was the vandalism?”
“Kind of clever really,” Trent said. “They sprayed a Dante quote on the logo, actually from the second circle, canto five…” Lopes’s eyes were starting to glaze over. “Anyway,” he said, cutting to the chase, “it said Amor condusse noi ad una morte or Love brought us to one death.”
Harper’s fingernails pressed into his skin, her hands clammy.
“Write it down for me,” Lopes said, passing a pad and pen across the table to Trent. They wrapped up the conversation with the logistics of getting her devices checked.
Trent held the door to the police station open for Harper.
He suspected they were up against something way more professional than either he or Harper realized.
He put his arm around Harper’s shoulders, and pulled her close to his side as they walked through the parking lot.
Harper looked up at him, the tensing of her jaw betraying her nervousness.
“Was thinking about what Lopes just said,” he started as casually as his own nerves would allow. “We need to be careful, darlin’. This seems more sophisticated than I figured. I’d feel better if we just stuck together, like every night, and as much as we can during the day while we wait this out.”
“We can’t stop living our lives just because something bad is out there. A million and one things could happen to us on any given day.” Her voice broke slightly, but she gave him a tight smile.
He turned to look at her, banking his own fears.
“You work with Cujo on a daily basis. That’s dangerous,” she said with a shrug.
He laughed as he expected she meant him to. That she would try and make him feel better was just one of the reasons he’d be there for her every hour he could. If he couldn’t go into the shop, so be it. It might well be his baby, his pride and joy, but it just wasn’t his main priority anymore.
* * *
The heavenly scent of bacon roused her from sleep. Cozy in the warmth of the comforter, Harper opened one eye, squinting a look across the now-empty bed.
A solitary sliver of sunlight broke through the blinds. Harper lifted her head and looked at Trent’s alarm clock. It read 8:50 a.m.
With a yawn, Harper sat up and stretched, reaching her arms high above her head. She’d long since given up trying to wear clothes to bed. Invariably Trent pulled them off her, and she was just too damn exhausted to put them back on afterward.
“Now that would make a great photograph.” Putting the tray down on the floor next to the bed, Trent pushed her back down and crawled on top of her, his perfectly smooth chest brushing against her.
He lowered his mouth to hers, kissed her softly, and put his hands on either side of her face, resting his forearms by her shoulders.
Unable to resist his muscular back, Harper ran her fingers down to the elastic of the soft sweatpants he’d pulled on.
Would she ever get used to the tightening around her heart and the flip in her stomach when he kissed her? It couldn’t be natural to feel this much for someone else.
When Trent pulled his lips away from hers, she felt bereft at the loss.
“Happy birthday, darlin’!”
Harper sat up and kissed his dimples. “Thank you,” she murmured against his lips.
“Thought you might like breakfast in bed to start your day. Can’t promise a culinary delight, but it’s edible and I didn’t set fire to anything.”
The tray was set perfectly, with little salt and pepper shakers and cutlery wrapped in a napkin.
There was even a little vase with a single red rose in it.
The food was, well, piled. Literally, piled in the middle of the plate.
Scrambled eggs, bacon, and hash browns were stacked like a five-year-old’s Play-Doh sculpture.
Slightly burned toast sat off to the side on a small plate.
Harper smiled as she grabbed a crisp slice of bacon and took a bite.
They ate their breakfast sitting cross-legged in bed, laughing at a story involving Cujo, a mechanical bull, and an ill-fitting pair of jeans.
When they were finished, Trent grabbed the tray and took their dishes to the kitchen.
“Time for presents,” he said when he returned. He dropped a bag between her outstretched legs before perching on the side of the bed. “I’m saving the others for later.”
Harper pulled her hand up to her chest. “Oh my … you didn’t have to get me anything.”
Trent smiled, but from the look in his eyes, he was nervous. “Making it to another birthday is something worth celebrating, darlin’.”
Harper reached into the beautiful purple bag, past the silver tissue paper, and took out a black rectangular box.
She opened it slowly. On a dark purple cushion sat a pendant, a crystal that looked like a glass teardrop and hung from a simple black leather cord.
Ribbons of red and orange twisted inside the glass, as if someone had dropped the bright hues into swirling water.
“It’s stunning.” Harper held it up to the light to watch the colors change.
“I got the idea from your tattoo. A friend of mine is a glass artist, so I drew it up and asked her to make it.”
Happy tears filled her eyes. He’d designed it just for her.
“The flames gave me the idea.” He took it from her and spun his finger to get her to twirl.
Harper turned and lifted her hair up off her neck. He fastened the necklace for her, kissing her briefly on the neck.
She went to the mirror by the door to look at it, turning from side to side. It looked like fire was encased inside the crystal.
Running back to the bed, she launched herself at Trent and knocked him back to the bed with a loud umph.
“I. Love. It.” Harper punctuated the words with loud kisses against Trent’s smiling lips.
“Love it. Love it. Love it.” Harper continued to kiss Trent’s face all over as he tickled her to get her off him.
She focused on Frankie’s training. Hard to soft, hard to soft.
Pressing her elbow gently against his neck, she laughed when he lifted a hand away from tickling her and gripped her wrist. Flicking her arm outward, she broke his grasp and tightened her thighs around his.
“Playing dirty, huh?” He laughed, putting some muscle into it. “I guess I have Frankie to thank for this.” He sat up quickly, wrapping his arms tightly around her to pin her arms by her sides. She pretended to bite his cheek before licking it quickly.
Finally rolling them over, Trent loomed above her.
“Glad you like it, darlin’.” He smiled before lowering his lips to hers for a drawn-out kiss.
Harper lifted her legs up and wrapped them around his waist.
“I love it,” she murmured against him as he ground himself against her.
“Not as much as I do,” he practically groaned.
Gripping his hair in her hands, she lifted his head from her neck and met his lips with hers.