Emily (Dreamcatchers Romantic Suspense Series Book 1) Read online

“Reece, it’s OK,” she told him softly, touching his hand. Reece looked down at her and then shoved the man away. To his credit, the man kept walking, probably realizing it would not be a good idea to take on a man who looked like Reece outside of a federal building. Reece took a deep breath, and then picked up Emily’s bag and handed it to her. He moved to the street and hailed her a cab. As they exchanged polite goodbyes, Emily silently hoped she’d see him again soon. And preferably not because there’s a man outside my bedroom window again. It wasn’t until the cab pulled away that Emily thought to check her bag and make sure nothing had fallen out when she’d been knocked into. As her fingers brushed against her cell, it started to vibrate, still on silent from the interview. She jumped a little in surprise before remembering she’d promised to meet Cathy for drinks and let her know how it was all going with Reece. Not that there was much to tell. Emily pulled out the phone and swiped to reveal the last sent message.

  You look lovely today. Pink suits you. I bet you’ll smell just as good when I finally catch you for myself.

  Emily’s blood ran cold at the mention of the accent color on her favorite dress sunk in. OK, not so much my favorite now. Shit. He was watching her. Her hands shook and Emily nearly dropped her phone. She looked out the window. Reece was still standing on the curb down the street, a look of concern on his face.

  No, the discovery today wasn’t going to be the end of her nightmares. It was just the beginning.

  13

  Emily directed the cab driver directly to her home, avoiding going back to work at all that afternoon. There was no way she could hide how much that text had rattled her and she hadn’t told her boss when she’d be back, exactly. She was going to take full advantage of that. She paid the driver while still in the cab, and then hurried through the front door and up to her apartment, not stopping to check her mail. Besides, who knew what she’d find in there. She’d had enough surprise communication for one day, thank you very much. After checking every door and window at least twice, she sat down and turned on the TV, attempting to quiet her over active imagination with a stupid reality TV show. She had never understood why people were so eager to get all dressed up and embarrass themselves on national television. She’d heard rumors of fixed results and hefty paychecks, but she’d rather keep her pride. Even when it went along with her shitty apartment.

  She grabbed some leftover Chinese from the refrigerator and was in the process of stuffing her face when her phone rang. Jamming the chopsticks in the takeout box, Emily went hunting through her bag again. After the last encounter, she hadn’t felt any desire to keep her phone on hand. It kept ringing as she dug around her in her bag, finally finding it wedged at the bottom under her purse. The caller ID flashed at her; it was Lily. Emily almost hit reject call, so not in the mood for Lily’s perkiness, but then changed her mind and answered with a sigh. Who knows, maybe speaking to someone whose life was sunshine and roses might actually cheer her up.

  “Hey, Lily,” Emily said while picking up her food again and stuffing her mouth with noodles. Nothing was going to get between her and the Lo Mein after the day she’d had.

  “You OK? I stopped by your desk earlier, but Lorraine said you’d gone for the day.”

  “Yeah, I slipped out early. Had a few things to deal with,” That’s an understatement. Between the confirmation that her dreams had been onto something and the growing attraction to Reece she was still denying existed, Emily was more confused than before meeting with Reece and his partner. She frowned when she thought of Special Agent Gabi Roscoe. The woman had been nice enough, but something inside her didn’t like how openly friendly Gabi had been with Reece. That’s because it’s how you’d like to be. Gabi was everything Emily wasn’t, but what she would have loved to be sometimes, if she was honest with herself. She just didn’t have the self-confidence to put herself out there like that. Women like Gabi didn’t give a crap what anyone thought about them. She was vivacious and outgoing and had a wonderful smile. Of course, Gabi was a natural blonde and perky too, just like Lily.

  Shit, Lily! In her daydreams, Emily had all but forgotten she was still on the phone. Pulling herself back into the conversation, she heard Lily still chatting on about her day at work. Emily doubted Lily had even noticed that her brain had left the conversation for a good couple of minutes.

  “…and you should have seen the guy who came to fix the copier! He was a total babe, as well as being totally ripped. I wonder what gym he goes to? Maybe I can find out where he hangs out after work. Oh! You should totally come out with us girls again tonight. You’ve been a total workaholic lately and …” There was a thump in the background and Lily stopped talking abruptly and cursed under her breath. “Damn it! I dropped my wedge heel behind the sofa. Hang on a moment Em, these things need two hands.” There was a rustling sound as Lily placed the phone down, probably right on the sofa she was leaning over to retrieve her shoe, judging from the sounds she heard down the line.

  Emily smiled as she waited for Lily to retrieve the no doubt four-inch heels and pick up the phone again. She reminded Emily of the cheerleaders at her high school, except that Emily actually liked Lily. Most of the cheerleaders had been cliquey girls who thought themselves above the rest of the world, in their short skirts and tight tops with all the varsity guys drooling over them. But, there was also a couple of the girls who were peppy and cheerful, and also amazingly nice to everyone. One girl, in particular, Meg, had almost seemed to spread sunshine wherever she went. Emily had spent a lot of high school in a dark and twisty place, thanks largely to her family situation, but her passing chats with Meg when they’d both found themselves with just the other about had always brought a smile to her face. Plus, Meg had had a hidden dark sense of humor that showed itself when you got to know her. She had never failed to make Emily laugh, and Lily was turning out to be just the same. She found herself welcoming Lily’s invite. Given time, she could see them having lunch together or even a double date, a triple if Cathy ever stuck with a guy for longer than a week. Emily would never be the sunshine girl herself, but she could see herself being good friends with them. They made her feel happy and chased away the shadows hovering at the edge of her mind right now.

  Emily took a deep breath and smiled. She could do this. Better yet, she was going to enjoy this. “OK, that sounds great Lily,” she replied, and then had to hold the phone away from her ear at the squeal of delight in reply. “Where are we going?”

  There was another crash in the background before Lily let out a huff. “Sorry! Apparently I should sit down before buckling these things too. I tell you Em, these babies better be worth it. They’re like serious fuck-me shoes.”

  Emily giggled in response. Actually giggled. She never did that.

  “There’s this new bar that opened a couple of weeks ago. The lines should have died down enough by now we can get in early enough to eat. The live music is totally killer.”

  She glanced at the clock. Emily needed to grab a shower and spend some serious time with her meager makeup kit before she could hit a club. She was determined to do this properly. If she was ever going to get anywhere in Chicago, it was time she stepped out of her comfort zone. “Text me the address, I’ll be ready to go in about an hour.”

  “Perfect! I’m meeting my date beforehand, and so I’ll see you there. Ciao!” Lily replied. She hung up and Emily’s phone beeped with the address seconds later. On her way to the shower, Emily called Cathy to invite her along. It couldn’t hurt to have someone else she knew along for the ride. The redheaded whirlwind didn’t answer. Cathy was probably wrapped up somewhere with her latest boy toy. Emily had to smile at the stark difference between her own life and that of the two women that she could now call her friends. Maybe they could bring some semblance of normalcy into her life. She was a twenty-something single woman for heaven’s sake. She should be out having fun.

  Her mind made up to enjoy herself, Emily pushed any thoughts of her dreams out of her head. She wouldn’t
be stupid, she’d catch a taxi from her front door and make sure she stayed in the bar, surrounded by other people. She was already pushing aside any spark she was feeling with Reece because of this I’ll-torture-you-in-an-alley moron. Emily wasn’t going to give up anything more for the bastard in her dreams. Jumping in the shower, she primped parts of herself that had been sadly lacking attention for a long time. When she was buffed and shaved in more than one neglected place, she stood in front of her closet dressed only in a towel wrapped around her torso and still dripping water on the floor. She spent nearly half an hour choosing what to wear, and then another twenty minutes changing her mind until nearly every piece of clothing she owned was strewn about on her bed and the floor, deciding, in the end, to go with the first outfit anyway. By the time she was done and dressed Emily was exhausted, and she hadn’t even left the apartment yet. Well, at least, she didn’t have to worry about spending another hour doing her makeup. She didn’t wear much, if her mother had done one thing right it was gifting Emily with the genetics for flawless skin. A touch of gloss, gray eyeliner, and a dusting of smoky silver eye shadow and she was done.

  Twirling in front of the mirror, Emily smiled back at her reflection. The eye makeup brought out the startling green of her eyes even more than usual and the heels she’d begrudgingly worn turned her long legs from giraffe to sensual. Yep, she had this. She remembered just how long it had been since she’d been the object of any man’s true affections. Being hit on by a drunk idiot didn’t count. A longing knotted in her gut. She thought she’d found love with Tim but instead managed to narrowly avoid making the biggest mistake of her life. Was he married now with a family? It would truly be a miracle if he’d found someone willing to put up with his lazy ass. This time, she wanted a nice guy, one that could save the world and still hold her gently at night.

  An image of Reece slammed itself into Emily’s mind, and his hug right along with it. She definitely felt safe and protected when she was with him, and the way she fit against his sensationally hard body had just felt, well, right. He seemed to care about her too, but for him it was probably all work, protecting the crazy lady who could maybe help him close a case. She knew that, well her brain did at least. Her stomach, on the other hand, fluttered with nerves every time she was close to him, and when he touched her, had held her close to protect her when she’d sworn someone was following her—other parts of her had fluttered too and she’d felt the warm heat of arousal. She definitely needed to get out more. Who knows who she might find at the bar. God knows she was well overdue for just about everything you could do with the opposite sex, and it would definitely take some of the edge off her current mood. Emily gathered up her wallet and cell and dropped them into her small clutch purse. Tonight she’d have a few drinks, maybe dance with some random stranger, and then come home hopefully exhausted enough to avoid any dreams. She hadn’t had a single one for the last few days, and Emily hoped it would stay that way.

  Two hours later Emily sat on a stool at the bar, bored out of her skull and wishing she’d been there long enough that she could leave without anyone making a fuss. Lily hadn’t shown up yet, and she barely knew any of the other workmates who she’d found on arrival. “Do you know when Lily’s getting here?” she asked the one girl who was still sober enough to answer her. When she’d gotten to the bar she’d found great music, food to die for, and three of her colleagues already mostly through their second bottle of pinot grigio. There was no way she was going to be able to keep pace with their head start and not end up literally under the table, and so she’d been nursing the same vodka and cranberry for well over half an hour.

  “Umm, she was having drinks with a guy before coming here. I’m thinking that something more than drinks happened,” a co-worker giggled, setting all the others off. Emily smiled; good for Lily. No doubt tomorrow they’d all be teasing her about it. It would be nice to indulge in a bit of girl talk. She stayed a few more minutes, making the best of the company, but then said her goodnights. She’d rather be home reading Hannah’s book, if she could concentrate enough after the vodka. If not, then she could always stare at the ceiling and imagine Reece’s strong arms holding her as she fell asleep.

  Now that was a good idea.

  Promising to catch up with the girls again on the weekend, Emily made her way around to the front of the bar and hailed a cab. The night was cool and clear, but she was like a doe learning to walk in these damn heels, and she wasn’t going to chance fate after the week she’d had. Instead, she wound the window down and breathed in the night air as the cab drove her home. A group of teenagers wolf whistled at her as she made her way up the stairs to her apartment. In another place and time, they would have annoyed her, but tonight she laughed at them and waved. Better that than walking up an empty stairway on her own. Besides, they didn’t mean any harm. They had nothing on the true terrors of the night she had recently discovered. The thought sent shivers down her spine as the fun of a night out gave way to a quiet apartment. Closing and bolting the door, Emily turned on her TV again, and stripped down to her underwear, letting the sounds of the sitcom lull her to sleep. As her eyelids grew heavy and slept crept in, it brought a strange darkness with it that Emily felt down to her bones. It was an unspoken whisper of evil, but she couldn’t keep her eyes open any longer.

  When sleep did come, this time so did the dreams.

  Happiness was all she could feel. It worked its way up through her toes and settled in the pit of her stomach, where it floated around. She was on the proverbial cloud nine, and the absolutely gorgeous guy standing before her was the reason. Her date had blown her off, but when she’d been sitting alone at the bar the man had offered to buy her a drink, flashing her a panty-melting grin. His eyes were dark, and she saw his brilliant white teeth as he paid both their tabs and helped her up from her chair.

  His hands were smooth in hers as he took her hand. He caressed her palm with his thumb as they walked out the door, the gourmet scents of the pub fading into the background and then swept away with the cool breeze that had picked up as night had fallen.

  “Do you want to walk or take a cab?” he asked. She wanted this moment to last as long as possible.

  “It’s a beautiful evening, let’s enjoy the walk.”

  Lacing their fingers together, he fell into step beside her and pulled her into the crook of his arms. He placed a kiss on the top of her head, before suddenly twirling her along the pavement. She laughed with delight.

  Emily knew this was just a dream, but if this were the type of dream she had from now on, she’d die a happy woman. They continued to walk up the well-lit streets. She didn’t recognize their surroundings, but something told her she was close to home. The man stopped and bought her cotton candy from a street vendor, making some corny comment about her being even sweeter. She giggled before taking a big bite, the spun sugar melting in her mouth. He leaned forward, licking the sugar from her lips, and then angled her head to deepen the kiss. She melted into his embrace as he captured her around her waist and maneuvered her to rest her back against the wall of the alley they’d passed. She felt his hand sneak its way up her side before closing around her neck. At first, it was erotic, but then he bit her lower lip. Hard.

  He pulled away as his grip on her neck tightened. She tried to scream, but nothing. She reached out her hands to claw at him, but she couldn’t reach his face. He was too strong, holding her too tight against the wall.

  The streetlights flickered on and off as he pulled her in front of him, dragged her deeper into the alley, and then forced her head backward. As she took her last breath of consciousness, she saw her reflection in the broken glass lying across from her. Only …It wasn’t her own terrified face that stared back at her. Looking back at her was Lily.

  Oh God.

  It was Lily who was screaming without sound, the man’s strong arm wrapped around her neck. As her vision turned to black, she saw the knife glint in the flickering lights before the sharp sting acros
s her throat told her where he’d struck. She felt the blood well up and out of her throat, any screams now drowned by the blood burbling down her neck. As he lay her down on the cold ground, she felt the life slip from her body, and with it any hope of being saved.

  14

  Reece bolted up off his sofa, knocking over a glass of water as he tried to get to his phone before it kicked to voice mail. It was a tossup between throwing it into the wall or answering it and telling whoever was calling him at 3 a.m. to piss off. He’d fallen asleep going over the case files, the papers now strewn over the floor. They must have slipped off his lap when he’d nodded off. He hadn’t slept much lately, and now when he’d finally managed to get a few hours of shut-eye someone was blowing up his phone.

  Crap. He’d need his phone come actual working hours, and so he went with answering it and silently damning the caller’s soul.

  “This better be fucking good.”

  “Knight, we’ve got a fresh one,” Gabi shouted above the blaring of sirens that blew any vestige of sleepiness away.

  “Shit,” he muttered, hauling on the first pair of pants and shirt he could find as Gabi gave him the address. He didn’t look at what he was dragging on, no one would care what he looked like in the middle of the night. Not this time, with another body still warm on the pavement.

  He ran down the stairs from his apartment to the ground floor, avoiding the elevator in an effort to relieve the stiffness in his joints, only to realize when his feet hit the curb that he’d forgotten his car keys. Letting loose a curse for every step his foot landed on as he made his way back up three flights, Reece grabbed the keys and took the elevator this time, jogging to his car. By the time he arrived at the mouth of the alley, the body was being loaded into the medical examiner’s van and he was left looking at the blood coating the grimy ground of the alley.