Betrayed by Love (18 page)

Eva listened to Garth as he told her about Cheryl’s office visit. “As long as she doesn’t show up around here, I’m cool,” Eva said, over the phone.

“Are you sure you’ll be okay? I have a client who is requesting me personally. I can assign someone to come by the house.”
Garth sounded concerned.

“Now that
Cheryl knows we know it’s her. I don’t think she’ll try anything stupid. Besides, she will need to get past the security gate first.”

Eva
hung up with Garth and went upstairs to run her some bath water. “Awe,” she said, as soon as her foot touched the hot water. It didn’t take long for her to relax as she laid her head on the back of the tub and closed her eyes. Her eyes shot open when her alarm chirped.

She nearly slipped getting out of the tub. She ran out of her master bathroom and went and locked access to her bedroom door. She dialed
Garth’s number. “The alarm chirped. I’m upstairs so I’m locked up in my bedroom.”

Garth
tried to calm her. “Trevor’s closer so I’ll have him come check it out. In the meantime, call the police just in case. Don’t leave out your room for nothing okay.”

Eva
’s heart started beating fast. “What if it’s?”

Garth
didn’t let her complete her thought. He said, “Stay by the phone. Put it on vibrate.”

The alarm company had already alerted the police so hopefully it wouldn’t be long.
Eva put her ear against the doorway to see if she could hear anything, but she wasn’t able to. She remembered the surveillance equipment set up in her closet. She moved past the clothes and viewed the two seventeen inch screens.  Eva didn’t see anyone. She used the mouse to turn the angles of the hidden cameras in different directions but the screens still remained blank. Eva thought about giving up, but instead, she clicked the mouse and the outside cameras showed someone running towards the gate at the end of her property.

Garth
called her just as she was about to dial his number. “I see someone running towards the gate but I can’t tell if it’s a man or woman!” Eva said.

“
Trevor should be pulling up any minute,” Garth assured her.

Eva
watched the mysterious person climb over the gate. A few minutes later, she saw Trevor drive up to the gate. He entered in the security code and drove up the driveway with his lights off.  Eva hesitated before opening the door. She did not feel safe. Eva watched Trevor survey the outside of the house. He dialed her number.

“Unlock the side door,”
Trevor said.

Eva
went to her closet and hit the button that Garth had installed. She watched the screen as Trevor went from room to room. Apparently there was only one culprit. When she noticed him outside of her door, she rushed out the closet to open it. “Thank God you made it,” she said, so happy to see him, that she hugged him tightly.

“I came as soon as
Garth called me,” Trevor responded.

For a moment
Eva forgot about how hurt she had felt when learning of Trevor’s engagement. Being in his arms felt like old times; except this time, she was now seeing Garth. She pushed her lustful feelings for Trevor to the side.

Trevor
must have felt the same attraction because before she could protest, his lips were on top of hers. Eva pushed him away while wiping her lips. “What are you doing?”

“I thought,”
Trevor stuttered.

Eva
turned around so he couldn’t see the uneasiness she felt. “Look. We both got caught up in the moment. No big deal.” She decided to drop it.

“Did you call the police like
Garth told you?” Trevor asked. “They should be here by now.”

“Good thing you showed up when you did,” she responded, as she followed
Trevor downstairs.

“I saw someone on the camera jumping the fence. In fact, wait a minute.”
Eva looked at Trevor and started backing up. “No, can’t be.”

Trevor
looked confused. “Eva’s what’s wrong with you?”

“Nothing.” A chill went up her spine. Her stomach became queasy. “I forgot something upstairs. Come get me when the police get here.”

Trevor reached out to her, but Eva jerked back, stumbling on the stairway. She moved his hands as he attempted to help her up. “I was just trying to help you up,” Trevor said.

“I’m okay.”
Eva tightened the belt on her robe before rushing upstairs. As soon as she was in her room, she closed the door and locked it. She dialed Garth’s number. “Garth I need you. Please come and hurry.”

“What’s wrong? I thought
Trevor was there,” Garth responded.

“He is but I will feel safer when you get here.”
Eva debated with herself whether to tell Garth her suspicions. She was not safe with Trevor. She wanted. No. She needed Garth.

“What is it you’re not telling me?”
Garth asked.

“Tre is wearing something similar to what the person who I caught running from the house wearing.”
Eva’s heart rate had not slowed down.

Garth
, in a calm voice, said, “Eva stop being paranoid. Tre is fine. Go let him know you’re okay.”

“He’s downstairs now. I’ll just remain here until the cops come,”
Eva said. She heard sirens. “Sounds like it’s them now.”

“I’ll be there shortly. There’s a wreck and traffic is at a standstill,”
Garth said, before she ended the call.

Trevor
had opened the gates to the police. By the time Eva got downstairs, there were several police officers standing in the foyer. “Ms. Ward, are you okay?”

The officers looked at
Trevor and then back at her. She contemplated telling them her suspicions but because she was still unsure of Trevor’s guilt, she responded, “Yes. Trevor, is with GT Securities.”

One officer said, “We need to get your statements and find out what happened.”

Trevor moved to the side, so Eva could pass. They all went into the living room. Eva took a few deep breathes and then relayed to the officers what had taken place. She was trying to keep them there as long as she could because she felt uncomfortable being there by herself with Trevor.

Where is
Garth?
Eva asked herself as the questioning came to an end.

One of the officers handed her a card. “If you can think of anything else, let us know.”

Trevor’s phone rang so he was conversing on the phone, when the interview ended.

Eva
walked the officers to the door. She wrapped her arms around herself as she stood in the doorway and watched the officers drive away. She stood there until the gate closed behind them. She jumped when she felt Trevor tap her on her shoulder. “You’re a little jumpy aren’t you?” he asked. “Told you, you have nothing to worry about. That was Garth. He’s still stuck in traffic and wanted me to stay with you until he gets here.” Trevor smiled, Eva didn’t.

Eva
started coughing and pretending like her throat was dry. “You want something to drink? For some reason I’m rather thirsty.”

Trevor
was fast on her heels. Eva wished he would have stayed behind so she could have called Garth without him being in her presence. She dialed Parris’ number. He wouldn’t do anything to her if she was on the phone. At least she hoped he wouldn’t. 

“Parris, how are you?”
Eva asked, as soon as she got Parris on the line.

Parris responded, “This morning sickness is about to kill me, but I wouldn’t trade it for nothing in the world.”

“How’s my boy doing?”

“Girl, still going shopping crazy. I told him he needed to at least wait until I get out of my first trimester.”

“CJ is something else. Well tell him I called.”

Parris asked, “Is there something wrong?”

Eva looked at the kitchen doorway to see if Trevor was around.  Just when she was about to open up her mouth to tell Parris her suspicions, Trevor appeared. Eva’s face went pale.

Garth got off on the first exit he could. Traffic was not going to move. It was bad on and off the freeway because others had the same idea he had. His cell phone battery died on him and he couldn’t locate his car charger. As long as Trevor was there with Eva he wouldn’t worry too much.

He entered in the code at the gate outside of
Eva’s yard and parked behind Trevor’s vehicle. Before he could ring the doorbell, Eva threw the door open and rushed into his arms. “Calm down baby, I’m here,” Garth said.

“I think Tre,” she cut herself off when
Trevor spoke out.

“Man, I was beginning to think something happened to you,”
Trevor said.

“My phone died so I couldn’t call.”
Garth noticed Eva was shaking a little. He said, “Tre, thanks for staying, but I got it from here.”
“No problem. We’ve had our differences, but I won’t let anything happen to our Eva. You take good care of her now,” he said, as he leaned down and kissed Eva on the cheek.

Eva
jumped back. Once he was gone, Garth blurted, “Okay what happened here?”

With her arms folded around her,
Eva responded, “I think Trevor was the one I saw on the camera.”

“
Eva, I’ve told you, you’re probably seeing things. Come on, let’s go look at the footage.”

She moved away from him. “I don’t need to. I say it was
Trevor and I don’t know why you don’t believe me. Look at him. He’s a little too calm.”

“The threats started long before
Trevor found out you and I were interested in one another,” Garth reminded her.

“Maybe he’s gotten over the fact that I’ve moved on with you, but something just isn’t right. He was upset before. Now he acts like we’re all just the best of buds. I don’t trust him.”

Garth rubbed his forehead. “If it’ll make you feel any better, I’ll check into it. But I know Tre. I know you’re wrong about him.”

“Then who is it? You can’t show that it’s
Cheryl. You don’t believe that’s it Tre. Then whoever it is must still be out there.”

Garth
stood and held Eva in his arms. A few minutes later, he went to her upstairs room and reviewed the footage. The person did appear to be wearing the same thing as Trevor. Unfortunately, it was hard to tell if the culprit was male or female. Garth was at a crossroads. He had known Trevor for years and this was so out of character. Things between the two friends hadn’t been solid recently so you never know what a person will do when put under pressure. Trevor had been under a lot of pressure lately. Maybe Eva and Cheryl were right. Maybe Trevor was behind this. For now, he would try to comfort Eva and not feed into her vivid imagination.

“I’m going to investigate further. If
Trevor is behind this, he will have to deal with me first and the authorities later,” Garth said.

“This has been a long night,”
Eva said, as she laid across the bed waiting for him to join her.

Garth
removed his shoes and clothes and laid next to her.  He rolled Eva on top of him. He used his right hand and moved her hair from her forehead. “Stop worrying. I’m going to make sure whoever it is, is caught.”

Without waiting for her to respond, he placed his hand on the back of her neck and brought her mouth on top of his. Their tongues entwined.
Garth gently removed her clothes and took his time making love to her body with his tongue, not allowing her to touch him. Hearing her moan his name in pleasure turned him on. After he pleasured her, he held her tight and as their heart beats synced, they fell asleep. They slept in each other’s arms the entire night.

Garth
hadn’t slept that sound in a long time. He felt Eva shaking him. “Brenda’s on the phone,” Eva said, gently waking him up.

Garth
grabbed Eva’s phone. “Brenda, good to hear from you.”

Brenda said, “My father’s doing better. They are letting him go home, but he’ll need rehabilitation.”

“I’m glad he’s doing better.”

“I’m thinking about extending my stay to help him out.”

Garth said, “Like I mentioned earlier, take as much time as you need. We got it covered here.”

“Are you sure, because I love my job and I…” Brenda said.

Garth interrupted her and said, “I’m positive. Making sure your dad gets back on his feet is your top priority. In fact, make it your only priority.”

Garth
reassured Brenda that her job was secure and hung up the phone.

Eva
got on her knees and got behind him. She rubbed his shoulders and said, “You’re a great boss. That was nice of you.”

“Did you call her or did she call you?”
Garth asked.

“She called to check on me. She had been seeing news reports and just wanted to see how I was doing. I thought that was sweet of her.”
“Brenda’s one of the best. She really hated the fact that she had to leave.”

“I like Brenda. We’ve vowed to keep in contact even once this case is over.”

“Good,” Garth said. He felt good that he was instrumental in introducing Eva to a new friend.

“I sure wished I would have cancelled today’s show,”
Eva said.

“If you’re not fit to go in, call John and let him know.”

Eva looked at the clock. “No, it’s too late to reschedule our guests. I’ll do it.”

Two hours later,
Garth dropped Eva off at the studio. Garth had come up with a plan. He called to confirm Trevor’s whereabouts. It was confirmed Trevor was at the office. Garth made a detour towards Trevor residence. As best friends, they each gave one another keys and passwords in case of emergency. Garth never thought he would need to use them—especially in this type of situation. To erase any doubt he had, Garth had no choice but to do what Trevor would probably see as an invasion of privacy—he accessed his place without Trevor having a clue he was going to be there.

Garth
hoped Trevor’s nosy neighbors were too busy to see him enter. The last thing he needed was for one of them to report back to Trevor; but even so, he had been over enough times to be familiar with most. Garret was careful as he went through the house. He made it a point to put things back in place so it wouldn’t alert Trevor that someone else had been inside. He found similar clippings of Eva that he had found in Cheryl’s box. He found Trevor’s laptop under the bed. Garth’s first thought, “What an unusual place to keep your laptop.”

Garth
placed the laptop on top of the bed and turned it on. Surprisingly there wasn’t a password required to access it. As many times as he tried to impose on Trevor the importance of a password, he didn’t listen. Fortunately for Garth, Trevor didn’t heed his advice. It made his job so much easier.

Garth
inserted his zip drive into the external port. With a few keystrokes, he copied the files on Trevor’s laptop to his zip drive so he could view from his own laptop later. He chose not to view the items there because he would have been tense on edge, worrying whether Trevor would make a surprise visit home. After copying the files, he dusted his fingerprints off the laptop and placed it back under the bed in its original location. He placed the zip drive in his pocket and did one final swoop of the room.

Garth
surveyed the room one last time and didn’t see anything else out of the ordinary. He made sure everything was in tact and headed down the hallway. When he got near the door, he thought he heard a noise. Garth rubbed the back of his head. He was now laid across the floor in front of the front door.  It took awhile to gather his senses. He wasn’t sure how long he had been laying there. Someone had knocked him out but were now gone. Garth stumbled some as he got on his feet.

None of his personal belongings had been taken so he wondered who else had been in the house. He checked his pocket for the external drive and it was still there. He couldn’t tell
Trevor about the incident because he wasn’t supposed to be there. What if it was Trevor? He dialed Trevor’s office number. He picked up. Garth said, “Hey man, I just wanted to let you know that I was on my way to the office.”
If it was Trevor, he never indicated to Garth that he knew his whereabouts. As far as Garth knew, Trevor was at the office, so the question was, who hit him? Garth hung up the phone and with his mind and body on full alert, he went through Trevor’s house to see if he could find any evidence of the intruder.  The intruder had not taken anything as far as he could tell.

Garth
peaked out the window to see if any neighbors were outside. None were, so he took the opportunity to go to his car. When he got to his car, there was a note on his company stationery with the words written – STAY OUT OF IT, written across it.

Garth
got in his car. His mind was on overload as he tried to process the events that led up to this particular moment. Trevor was still not out of the clear. He could have had his office number transferred to his cell number. He dialed the employee he had watching Cheryl. “So she’s been there the entire time? Are you sure?”

After they confirmed
Cheryl’s whereabouts, Garth scratched Cheryl off the list. His cell phone rang, it was Caroline. Garth said, “Yes, I’m still coming in.” He paused, before saying, “Okay. Call Eva back and tell her I’m on my way.”

Garth
hung up with Caroline. His phone indicator alerted him to several missed calls. He clicked and noticed most were from Eva. Garth knew he should call Eva back but until he could get the pounding in his head to subside, he would just wait until he got to the studio. He clipped on his Bluetooth and listened to all of his messages as he drove towards the studio. He called Trevor to let him know of his change of plans. Trevor didn’t seem too surprised.