Emily (Dreamcatchers Romantic Suspense Series Book 1) Read online

  “Name the time and I’ll be there,” she replied, wincing at the enthusiasm in her voice. She’d do anything she could to help nail this guy, and it didn’t hurt that she’d get to see Reece again too. Actually helping might be a problem as she’d barely seen her attacker’s face that night in the alley, or in her dreams. He was always lost in shadows, a faceless demon haunting her.

  “OK then,” Reece said. “I’ll get it set up and then call you to organize a time for you to come down.”

  They said their goodbyes and Emily hung up, her heart taking a little time to calm itself down at hearing Reece’s voice again, and the prospect of seeing him. She smiled again remembering the kiss and then shook her head. Keep it strictly professional, Emily. It’s obvious he is. You made that choice for a reason. She bent her head over and went back to work, but moments later her cell phone rang again. Emily considered hiding it in her drawer to avoid any further temptation, but guilt swept over her when she saw who was calling.

  “Hi, Hannah!” she answered, hoping the honest happiness in her voice at hearing from her friend would make up for the fact she hadn’t called Hannah again since she’d asked her for help. Help that had been so willingly given and then some. She still wasn’t sure whether Reece was a blessing or a curse, but she would be grateful to Hannah for life for not just dismissing her when she’d been scared out of her mind.

  “Hey, sweetie,” Emily could hear the smile in Hannah’s voice. She should have known her friend wouldn’t hold her radio silence against her. After all, Hannah had disappeared for months when she’d found herself in a similar scenario. “How are you?” Hannah continued.

  “I’m hanging in there. I’m so sorry I haven’t called you to check in with you guys. Things got, well a little more crazy, in the last couple of weeks.”

  “It’s no problem,” Hannah said, and Emily heard something like saucepans clang together in the background. “Life gets in the way of our plans sometimes. Shit happens.”

  Emily smiled at the curse word coming from her very sweet, gentle friend. But, she supposed, Hannah had been through a lot and had come out the other side swinging. You had to be made of extremely tough stuff to survive that. The woman was entitled to drop a few. Besides, it wasn’t like Emily was the picture of virtue herself. The image of petite Hannah, her curly blonde hair surrounding her head like a halo, cursing a streak entered her mind and Emily laughed out loud.

  “So how are things going with Reece?” Hannah asked.

  “I can’t figure out what the hell he wants,” Emily said before she could stop herself.

  Hannah giggled in reply. “Yeah, he’s not all that great at talking it out, about anything other than work that is,” she said, the amusement in her voice clear. “But, he’s helping you?” she asked, concern now coloring her tone.

  “Yes, he’s taken me seriously, and he’s been checking in to make sure I’m OK. It’s just, well…” Emily wasn’t sure if she wanted to tell Hannah about the kiss, how she really felt about Reece, not just yet. It was too early and she was still figuring out what the hell she was going to do about it herself. “He was just so friendly at first, but now he’s gone all impersonal and detached more often than not.”

  The was a moment of silence before Hannah responded. “Well, he probably just wants to maintain his objectivity and professional distance, with you being a potential witness and all.”

  Before all this, Emily and Hannah hadn’t been best friends. They’d had a few drinks here and there sure, but that was it. But, there was something about the other woman that made her just so easy to talk to. Or maybe she’d just isolated herself to the point that she was so devoid of any kind of personal relationship in her life she felt closest to someone who lived over seven hundred miles away. Emily wasn’t sure of anything when it came to the current state of her life right now, but she wasn’t going to stress herself out wondering if she should be confiding in Hannah. She just didn’t have the strength to push another away right now, and so she took what Hannah was offering and ran with it.

  “And I get that, I truly do. But he’s been dropping around after work to check on me, spending time with me, but he makes it so hard to get to know him. The real him,” Emily said.

  “So is there an outside of work?” Hannah asked, before whispering something Emily couldn’t quite here to someone in the background. No doubt it was Luke.

  Emily blushed, despite the fact that Hannah couldn’t see it. “I truly don’t know. We hang out sometimes, and I enjoy his company. Something he did, well I thought there might be something more there for him too, but now I have no idea what he wants,” she finished with a frustrated sigh.

  “He’s a good man, Emily. A little hesitant and cautious yes, but that’s the FBI in him.”

  “He seems a little more than just cautious,” Emily said hesitantly. “Sometimes I wonder if someone really screwed him over.”

  “Aren’t we all a little screwed up one way or the other? It’s what makes people interesting,” Hannah chuckled back. “But seriously Emily, there’s no pretense with Reece. He won’t string you along, but he’ll protect you, with his life if it comes to it. You’re safe with him.”

  “I know,” Emily replied softly. “I feel it every time I’m with him.”

  “He’s asked Luke about you,” came a soft piece of information through the silence that follows. “I think he definitely feels it too.”

  Emily didn’t bother to point out she hadn’t shared the depth of her feelings about Reece. No doubt Hannah already knew anyway.

  “But does he also think I’m certifiable, is that why he’s pulling back?”

  “No,” Hannah laughed. “He thinks you’re an extra special sort of crazy. But, he believes you and he still likes you. Enough to ask Luke some very serious questions. Just give him a chance to get the case out of the way. These big men of ours, they may hold themselves back, but when they finally fall, they make an almighty thump.”

  “OK,” Emily said, a warm fuzzy feeling creeping into her stomach. It was nice to know she wasn’t the only one feeling like this, feeling that pull. If only Reece would be more open with her instead of trying to ignore anything was going on. But like her grandmother used to say—nothing before its time.

  Emily hung up and went back to her work, this time with a small well of happiness bubbling up inside her. Maybe her entire world wasn’t completely shot to shit? Maybe some good things were happening, right when they should. Her phone vibrated again on her desk, but she ignored it the message. She had too much work to catch up on to get caught up in a texting conversation after the two phone calls she’d already fielded that morning. Besides, anyone important would call her. It was probably just her landlord telling her she was late on her rent. Which she was, by several days. The more mundane parts of life had fallen by the wayside in the past week, things like paying her rent and grocery shopping. If it weren't for Reece’s daily visits with her favorite take out and the occasional bag holding a pint of milk and fresh fruit, Emily probably would have starved to death already. She was amazed her power was still on.

  She turned back to the pile of papers in front of her, but when her phone skittered across the desk again a couple of minutes later she snatched it up to reply before whoever it was could interrupt her again. “OK, OK!” she almost shouted at the phone as she swiped her finger across the unlock screen. When the message appeared her heart sped up again, but so not in a good way, and Emily felt the blood drain from her face.

  You really are gorgeous in your grief. I can’t want to have you screaming for me.

  Emily’s fingers trembled hard as she swiped to the next message. That one was what made her drop her phone and jump back from her desk.

  So close, and yet so far away. Don’t ignore me today, my love. It will only make me angry.

  Her entire body trembling now, Emily took another step away from her desk and wiped her now sweaty palms on her pants. She looked at her phone like it was going to reac
h out and bite her. In a way, it might.

  OK Em, maybe it’s time to tell Reece about these messages.

  18

  Reece stood outside Emily’s apartment, sheltering from the drizzling rain under the eaves of her building as he waited for her to return home. He was beginning to think that that was all that ever happened on this side of town, rain and murder. The first he was a fan of, it was the perfect weather and ambiance for cozying up inside. The second he could do without, but then he’d also need to find another job.

  Perspective was a hell of a thing.

  He was tempted to walk to the store down the block and buy a packet of cigarettes to keep him company, but who was he kidding. He hadn’t smoked one since an incident of ill-advised curiosity when he was sixteen, and he hadn’t touched them again since. He wasn’t going to break that streak just because he was nervous, showing up at a woman’s house unannounced and unexpected. Emily had been through a lot. Was going through a lot. She didn’t need him making life more difficult for her than it already was right now. Not that he’d ever felt unwelcome. Well, there was that one time, the first time he’d visited. She’d called him on his crap then, and kicked him out. He had a feeling that Emily had figured him out more than he’d realized, despite his efforts to hide his growing attraction. He also had a feeling that she didn’t appreciate his attempts to keep a professional distance, no matter how honorable the intentions behind his actions might be. He did not want to get kicked out again today.

  Nervous. It wasn’t a word he generally used to describe himself. Confident and decisive had been his defining traits. At least, until he’d met this crazy, beautiful woman with the green eyes that just sucked him right in. He’d been shielding his emotions behind his own eyes, trying to prevent her from seeing inside his own soul. Maybe in his efforts to protect her he’d managed to push her away instead. Reece frowned. He didn’t like that idea.

  He turned around and wandered across to the other end of her building, the still drizzling rain running down his collar. He’d give her another five minutes, and if she still didn’t show then he’d leave and she would never know he’d been there.

  “You’re stalking me now?” Reece turned to see green eyes smiling up at him from behind the hoodie she’d pulled up to shelter herself from the rain. “That’s a new all-time low, Special Agent,” she teased.

  Reece leaned forward to hold the door open for her and waited for her to enter the building. She stuttered out a thank you, and he made his way up the stairs behind her, berating himself for his lack of a reply. Emily unlocked her front door and entered her apartment, shedding her coat. “Wine?” she asked. He quickly stepped up behind her, helping her guide her arms out of her sleeves and hanging her coat up on the hook beside the door. He was definitely going to take her up on the offer of the drink. Hopefully, it would loosen him up enough so that he wouldn’t make a colossal fool of himself. She walked into the kitchen, smiling up at him and tucking a stray piece of hair behind her ears. She paused, clasping her hands in front of her briefly, before stretching to reach for two wine glasses, clanging them together awkwardly in her haste to put them down. A light blush stained her cheeks. She was nervous too. Reece relaxed a tiny bit at the thought. He removed his coat and hung it next to hers. Hmmm, they look good there together. Right.

  “So, what brings you by here again?” she asked him, opening the only bottle of wine sitting out on her counter top.

  “The case. I wanted to bring by that photo array I spoke to you about,” he paused, and it took him a few seconds to realize Emily had gone quiet, still. She was staring at him from across the kitchen. “The suspect is still in custody, for now. But forensics couldn’t find any physical evidence to tie him to the scene.”

  He watched as sadness, and then frustration overshadowed her face that had been smiling with happiness just moments before. Reece mentally slapped himself. He should have waited until she’d been home for more than five minutes before telling her that. He walked over to Emily, taking the bottle of wine she was struggling with from her hands. The bombshell he’d just dropped on her was almost definitely behind her sudden inability to handle a corkscrew.

  “Let me help you,” he said, neither of them missing the double meaning in his words. Her hands brushed his as she handed him the bottle, her touch lingering a few seconds longer than was strictly necessary. He looked at her pale skin, soft and beautiful against the light bronze of his own. Trailing his eyes up her bare forearms to her face, her green eyes beckoned him in like the call of a siren. Reece reached a hand forward, but Emily pulled her own away before he could act on what he was feeling. Stepping back from him, she picked up the two wine glasses and busied her hands rinsing and then drying them. Pulling the cork from the bottle, Reece placed it on the counter and then leaned against it himself. The silence between them was laced with unspoken words and feelings being worn on sleeves but ignored by both of them. Emily filled their glasses and then left them on the counter again to breathe, avoiding eye contact with him at all costs. She walked away to sit on the far side of the sofa. Reece picked up their glasses and followed, taking a sip as he sat down beside her. Her eyes took in his every move, and he finally broke the silence between them.

  “Have you had any other dreams?”

  She shook her head, answering him in the middle of her own sip of wine. “No,” she said after swallowing. “But, I have been getting these strange messages on my phone.”

  Reece’s eyebrows furrowed, and she looked away again. Strange messages? He did not like the sound of that, at all. “What messages?”

  Emily motioned to her phone and then picked it up, sliding left with her thumb and entering her passcode before handing it to Reece. He opened her messages, reading through the most recent ones, then scrolled through her history, reading them all again. He felt the back of his neck heat and a rock settled in his chest. Someone was threatening her. In return, he was going to kill them.

  “Can you trace them?” Emily’s voice broke through the red haze clouding his vision.

  Reece swallowed, and forced himself to inject a measure of calm into his reply. “I can try, but if they were sent from a burner phone, it’s unlikely. The best we could probably do without serious digging is a general location.”

  Emily nodded in reply, the frown firmly back on her face and her gorgeous green eyes alight with fear. Nope, note anymore, not on his watch.

  “When did you get the first one?” he asked, taking out his own phone and sending a message to his tech guy at the bureau.

  “The day I was leaving your office. It came in just as the taxi drove off. The others weren’t until yesterday while I was at work.”

  Reece suddenly couldn’t sit anymore. “Why didn’t you mention this before?” he asked her, trying to voice his concern, but his words came out sounding more like anger. Damn it.

  “The first one scared me at the time, I guess. But I convinced myself it was a one-off, even a wrong number,” she said, and he could hear the honesty in her voice. “But when these came in earlier today, I knew it wasn’t.”

  He paced the floor of Emily’s living room, looking from his phone to hers and then back to his, waiting for his guy to get back him. Emily took another sip of her wine, watching him with a frown on her face. Reece loved her smile, but he even liked her frown, it was a gorgeous one.

  Don’t even go there right now.

  As if on cue her phone pinged again from the coffee table where he’d placed it. Emily glanced over at him and then tentatively picked it up. Her phone’s message beep sounded again, and he knew before she opened it that it was going to be from him.

  “What is it?” he asked, striding over to sit beside her as she touched the screen and it brightened back to life. His heart skipped a beat as he read over her shoulder, and he heard Emily’s sharp intake of breath. Fuck waiting. He picked up his own phone and quickly dialed a number.

  “That cell number I sent you a few minutes ago, it jus
t got another message. Can you trace it?” he asked his guy Mark urgently. He waited precious seconds, listening to the distant tapping of Mark’s keyboard before he heard a muttered curse come from the agent on the other end of the phone. He knew it was a negative before Mark returned to confirm it, and Reece squeezed his eyes shut in frustration. He picked up Emily’s phone, reading the message again to see if he’d missed anything. A clue, a hidden message, anything. It was all so damn cryptic.

  You are the one, the only, the ultimate prize to be won.

  Who the hell even spoke that like, and what the fuck did it all mean? Reece shook his head. He needed another drink. Fuck it. He was off duty, and he wasn’t going to be leaving Emily’s side tonight.

  19

  Emily watched Reece as he stepped left and then right, just about pacing a hole into her rug. Her neck was getting a serious case of whiplash watching him go back and forth.

  “Will you please stop?” she said. “You’re driving me crazier than I already am.” He shot her an irritated look before sitting down beside her.

  “You’re not crazy.”

  Emily handed him his neglected glass of wine before pouring herself another. Reece immediately put his back down on the table and turned, taking one of Emily’s hands in his.

  “But, you do know this means the killer is likely watching you, right?”

  Emily had already thought of that possibility. It was yet another reason why she hadn’t left her apartment for a week. But she had decided that morning she couldn’t stay holed up here either. After all, the guy knew where she lived and never leaving her apartment just gave him easy pickings.

  “What am I supposed to do, Reece. He obviously knows everything about me. Just tell me what you want me to do.”

  He didn’t answer her. Leaning forward, he held her phone in his hand, thumbing through the messages over and over again. What was he trying to see in them, some secret clue? As far as she was concerned there was none, but then again she should probably leave that up to the FBI agent. She was just a woman with the crazy dreams.