Fate’s Unseen Shadow (Cager #1)

Chapter 11

11

D amon stared hard at the drawing of the stalker on his phone, memorizing his face.

Ryker : The sketch artist did great. Already put this through my facial recognition software. FYI—she was really upset about seeing it. That seemed to vanish when you showed up bleeding. But we need more information about how the guy stalked her. I need locations and dates, if possible. I’d planned on asking her then but seeing her so upset made me wait for you.

Damon: I’ll do it.

They did need more. The police report was incomplete, which was unusual. No summary of the interview after Teddy’s murder. It was like the report stopped after a vague statement about the suspect disappearing.

Damon left his room when a knock at the door came. He opened it to Ella, who stood there in jeans and a white tank top.

A simple outfit that made his mouth run dry.

And pearls. Always pearls. At least she’d ditched the rest of the jewelry.

“Ready?” she asked. “How’s your cut?”

“About the same.”

“Do you need to remove your pants to let me see it again?” Her grin turned a little mischievous. “Or are we late for our not-date?”

He’d been reluctant to acknowledge her comment about this being a date. He’d love to take her on a date. But tonight wasn’t the best timing. Especially after all the flirting in the bathroom, he needed to keep a little distance and his mind clear.

“Maybe later. I’m starving.”

“Me, too. Can I drive?”

Damon hesitated, locking his apartment door. “Why?”

“Because I want to drive your car.” She touched his arm. “Please. Just to dinner. I promise I’ll be careful. It would be best if you didn’t drive anyway. Blood loss.”

It could be a good distraction for her. “How about I trade you? You drive and answer all my questions.”

She walked backward, her blue eyes lighter in the late afternoon sun. “Are they like truth or dare?”

He liked this side of her personality. Lighthearted. Not worried about anything, it seemed. Happy.

That was it.

He liked seeing her happy and knowing he had put a smile on her face.

“No. Unfortunately, the questions are serious—about what happened to you.”

“Too bad. Truth or dare might be fun.”

“I know it would be.” He held out his key. “Deal?”

She lifted her chin, leaning close. “Deal.”

Something in her had come alive between yesterday and today. But her panic still rode right there, underneath the surface, based on what Ryker’d said. If distracting her with driving his car helped ease the fear, she could drive it everywhere they went.

She took his key. “Might as well be miserable in a nice car. Can I go fast?”

“Do you want to risk a cop pulling you over?”

“My excitement for driving this to our non-date is slowly dissipating.” With a slow shake of her head, she unlocked the car. “But it’ll be easier to go back through everything if I do something else.”

He sat down, more worried about upsetting her than her driving his car. He typed in the address for dinner. “We’re going here.”

“This says you have ten minutes for questions. Is that enough time?”

“For now.”

This was one of the reasons he didn’t want Slater asking her questions. Slater pushed and pushed. He wasn’t heartless—the opposite. He cared so much about justice and rescuing victims that he sometimes became oblivious to his bluntness.

“When was the last time you saw the man before Teddy’s death?” Damon began.

She squared her shoulders and sat up straight, like she was answering formal questions. “Going to and coming home from Pilates class that Thursday.”

Damon studied her profile, trying to read her. “You saw him twice?”

“That day I saw him three times. When I left my condo, he stood across the street, watching the building. I don’t know if he saw me or not, but he had to, because when I got out of Pilates, I saw him again. He pumped gas at the gas station across the parking lot from me. I saw him when I drove by.” She took a slow breath. “We locked eyes.”

The stalker had tormented her on purpose. That’s the only explanation for someone being that out in the open. How close had he gotten to Teddy before killing him?

“What was the third time?”

“After I cleaned up, I went to work. Told my secretary that I’d seen him. Went home to change for dinner. That’s when I saw him the third time. I left my building to go to Teddy’s.” She readjusted her hands on the wheel. “And he wore different clothes that time. He stood on the street corner, same one he normally did, which is across from the condo complex, watching me as I left to walk to Teddy’s. Nothing in his hands. Not pretending to be there for any other reason. And he smiled.” Ella laid her head back on the headrest. “Creepiest smile I’d ever seen. That’s what I see in my nightmares. His face right in that exact moment.”

“Why that moment?”

Without emotion, she whispered, “Because he did this.” She took her thumb, slicing it across her throat. “And then he pointed at me. I ran. All the way to Teddy’s.”

He needed her to keep moving with the story. Details were important, but she needed to get it out and not shut down. “And that’s when you found him?—”

“Dead.” She swallowed. “Yes. That’s when I found Teddy dead.”

He pushed forward. “What happened next?”

“I called 9-1-1. I didn’t touch anything. Teddy was gone, so there wasn’t anything for me to do. I knew that. I stood to the side, staring at him until they arrived. They asked their questions and made small accusations about me, and then I excused myself and walked away. Looking back, it felt like I was in a daze. Like what I did, my movement through the world wasn’t me but someone else. I stopped at my bank, withdrew a thousand dollars, and headed for my car. I didn’t want to go back home.” She looked over at Damon. “I knew I was next. I knew it had to be that guy.”

“I think you probably saved your life by leaving.” Damon set his hand on her knee. “You said you got your car.”

“Yes. I got my car and I—I just drove. After zigzagging all over Georgia and South Carolina, I began to run out of money and that’s when I thought of you.” She sighed. “Took my chance.”

“I’m glad you did.” He sent a text, asking about the fingerprints they’d found at Teddy’s.

Ryker: The police report didn’t mention anything about dusting for fingerprints at her place when she found the door open. They did at Teddy’s and only found his, Ella’s, his mother Julia’s, and the maid .

“How tall was the man you saw?” Damon asked.

“About an inch shorter than you.” The GPS came over the speaker, instructing her to exit. “Where are we going?”

“A food truck I like. Did you ever hear his voice?”

“No. Oh”—she looked at him—“he had blue eyes. I just remembered that. Super blue. I saw them when I drove past him at the gas station. That’s the closest I ever came to him physically, and that’s because I didn’t see him until the last second.” She pulled into the food truck parking lot. “What if Teddy died because of me? What if I did something—” She choked on the last word, eyes filling with tears.

Damon left the car and rushed to the driver’s side, opening the door. “Come here.” He pulled her out and hugged her. She started to put her hands around him but stopped as she brushed his side and his body did an involuntary jerk when she touched his cut.

Redirecting, she wrapped her arms around his neck and buried her head against his chest.

Damn, it felt good to hold her.

“You didn’t do anything, Ella. None of this is your fault.”

She took a deep breath and relaxed against him. “Can I be done now?”

“Yes, baby,” he murmured, kissing her temple and wondering where in the hell that response had come from. The need to take care of her overwhelmed him. The more he leaned into it, the harder it’d be when he resolved her situation and she left for Atlanta.

Because he wasn’t leaving Charleston.

He tried to break the tension. “Aren’t you going to tell me not to call you baby like you do Slater?”

She caressed his neck at his hairline as she lifted her head. “It doesn’t bother me coming from you.”

With a lot of regret, Damon ended the embrace and stepped away. He needed her to be clear between her emotions for him for helping her versus real attraction. And until he was sure, he had zero intention of ending up some placeholder for Matteo.

“Let’s get some dinner.”

Watching him with curiosity in her expression, she nodded and followed him to the food truck.

She ordered her food, and he did next before they found an empty picnic table to eat at. “Do you see that building over there?” Damon pointed with his fork. “That’s Midnights. It’s another club. It’s been a rival bar ever since we opened four years ago. The owner’s name is Walker Crosswick. He does a lot more than sell beer. Slater keeps trying to get him shut down.”

“Like illegal things?” She ate a tortilla chip. “Drugs?”

“Yes. And sex workers.”

“I almost went there to look for a job when you asked for my driver’s license.” She paused with her fork partway to her mouth. “You’re looking at me oddly.”

Damon shook his head. “I’m glad that didn’t happen.” Walker’s biggest sell was sexy bartenders who enjoyed going that extra mile for their customers. Ella might claim she wasn’t ignorant, but the fact she’d willingly go into that establishment looking for a job proved that she wasn’t aware of everything that could happen.

“He’s always on the lookout for fresh blood to bartend. I think Lacy would skin him alive if he even tried to suggest she came to work for him again. He asked once. Got too close. Chris kicked him out. He came back another night to talk to Lacy again. This time, Chris stopped him at the door. We haven’t seen him in about five months—since the last time we hired someone. He successfully took our last bartender with the promise of a lot of money.”

“Are you worried he will lure me away from Cager?”

“No. You already told me I don’t have any competition.” It was a joke to her, but in reality, he didn’t trust his reaction if Walker tried.

Her laugh was immediate. “You’re right.”

“But since you’re new to Cager, he might make an appearance.”

“I’ll be aware of it. Plus I have Lacy. She told me we’re going to be best friends.” She pushed her rice around on the plate. “Best friends with an accused murderer.”

“I don’t think Lacy would care, but let’s not start the slumber parties off with that topic. Play spin the bottle like normal people.”

She snorted, covering her mouth since she’d taken a bite of her dinner. “Oh no.”

“What?”

“Please tell me you’re not one of those guys who fantasize about the slumber parties where the two best friends are in their bras and panties having pillow fights.”

He stood, picking up his empty dish. “Nope. Only one of you was in my fantasy wearing that, and it wasn’t Lacy.”

She coughed and reached for her soda to take a sip.

“Come on. We need to get going.” Before his mouth and imagination ran away with him, and he forgot his place in her life.