Captured Innocence (CSA Case Files) (5 page)

“
For the record, I always pay my way.”

Connor could tell his injection of humor didn’t go over well, but it was his way of bringing a little sanity back into his head.  What he really wanted to do was close the distance between them
and demonstrate to her that the chemistry between them deserved to be explored.  Those red lips of hers weren’t that color because of the wine she drank.  They were naturally that shade and he wanted nothing more than to claim them as his. 

“You know what I mean,” Lauren said, the frustration she clearly felt causing her voice to rise.

Ashley’s behavior had set him back, but thankfully reminded him why he wasn’t cut out for anything serious.  Lauren was standing in front of him saying she wasn’t looking for anything complicated, but pushing her now wouldn’t get her to see what they had in common.  Being in the military had taught him patience that he’d never had in his younger days.  Glancing down at the table, he saw a pad and pen.  Picking them up, he scribbled down his information.  Ripping off the top sheet, he threw the rest back down.

“Let’s
get your facts straight,” Connor said, slowly crossing the room to where she now stood.  He waited to continue until he was directly in front of her, looking down into her sea green eyes.  Did she actually think she wasn’t pretty?  “First and foremost, regardless of me being a Dominant, I am capable of being a gentleman while sharing a dinner with a beautiful woman.  The two are not mutually exclusive.  Second, you
are
a beautiful woman. You’re assuming I like overly thin women.  I’ll have you know, there’s nothing more sensual than a woman’s curves.  Third, I suggested dining in on Chinese food — not tying you down to the dining room table.”

Connor reached down and
gently took her hand, which was now rolled into a tight fist.  He wasn’t surprised to find her pale skin as soft as her silk blouse, but what did cause him to pause were the rough calluses on the ends of her fingers.  He assumed it had to do with her working with her hands, but would save that question for another time.  As if handling fine china, he pulled back each of her fingers until he was able to place the piece of paper within her palm.  Brushing them closed once more, he lifted the back of her hand to his lips and softly kissed her knuckles.

“When you change your mind, call me,” Connor said, lowering his voice.  “And let me reiterate that my wanting to enjoy your company has nothing to do with my investigation.  Goodnight,
Red.”

Connor walked to the door without looking back.  He had every confidence that she would be in touch.  He couldn’t put his finger on it, but
there was something in Lauren’s eyes that articulated her desire.  Something was holding her back, but with a little incentive he was hoping she’d contact him.  Hearing her say she wasn’t looking for anything permanent was just icing on the cake.

Connor
closed the door softly behind him.  He stood in the hallway, waiting until he heard her latch the lock and swing the deadbolt home.  It hadn’t left his mind that there was still a killer out there and they had yet to figure out a motive.  It didn’t escape his notice that Lauren had ushered him into her apartment before whoever was in apartment 321 opened his or her door.  What Lauren didn’t know was that he got a look at the elderly woman with the curious stare.  He walked down the hallway, knowing full well that the old biddy got a good look at him through her peephole. Connor winked as he strolled past.  What he would give to be a fly on the wall for that conversation.

Chapter Five

Connor couldn’t help but think the collar and clamps were significant.  He’d been at his desk for well over two hours going through the evidence that
he’d been provided.  The detectives on the case were confident that Terry Sweeney murdered his wife, but having spoken to him personally, Connor was in full agreement with Crest.  Terry didn’t do it.  Connor was glad he’d made bail, although it seemed almost as if Terry had gone into hiding.  Connor wondered how much of that was his own idea and how much of it was Crest’s. 

“Are you heading over to Masters tonight?”

Connor looked up from the mess that now occupied his desk.  It didn’t compare to how Kevin looked.  Wearing a ratty old white T-shirt that was frayed around the edges, along with jeans that had weathered a storm or two, he was relatively sure that Kevin was heading out for a long night on the streets.

“Jax is heading over there in around an hour,” Connor replied, leaning back in his chair.  “I’ve decided to see if I can make any headway at Whip.  One of the members
at Masters mentioned that Marilyn had started playing over there.”

“That’s a rough crowd, isn’t it?”  Kevin leaned against the cubicle wall and Connor waited for it to snap.  Kevin was pure bulk and had the biceps to prove it.  “
Was she that much of a masochist?”

“Some submissives thrive on pain
,” Connor answered, lifting his legs and placing his feet on his desk.  “If Crest sends you into the clubs, talk to me or Jax before you put in for your membership.  Whip isn’t rough, it’s just different.  We’ll go over the general dos and don’ts, as well as give you a crash course in wielding some of the implements.  God help us if you hurt someone.”

“
Do you guys have a minute?” Taryn said, taking her ear buds out and rolling her chair backwards. 

“Sure.”

“I just got off the phone with Crest. I gave him my SITREP.  There were no other murders similar to what transpired to Marilyn — at least unsolved.  A couple of years ago, a husband in California got carried away with some knife play and his wife bled to death when he nicked something vital.”

“So that takes us back to square one,” Connor said, linking his fingers behind his head. 

“It’s personal,” Kevin said.  “Either the person did it to get revenge on Terry for some indiscretion, or it was an intimate attack on Marilyn.”

“Stabbing is a very
up close and personal way to kill someone,” Connor agreed.  “I keep coming back to the same question.  Terry said the collar and clamps were special to them and that she never wore them to the club.  Why did she have them on?  Jax’s visit to Whip indicated Marilyn had stopped there earlier that evening, and at the time hadn’t been wearing her personal jewelry.  Did the killer put them on her?  Did he know that they meant something special to the couple?  And he would have had to know that Terry wasn’t due home until late.  The only way the suspect would have known that was if Terry or Marilyn told him.”

“You’re assuming the killer is a him.”  Kevin shrugged.  “I’ve been doing some research on the BDSM lifestyle and I’ve got to say, those Dommes are just as
capable as the Doms.”

“Don’t confuse
capability with talent,” Connor said with a smile.  Taryn rolled her eyes and then stuck her ear buds back in.  His grin faded as he thought over what Kevin said.  “I haven’t discounted that a woman might have completed the act, but my gut is telling me something different.”

“Did Marilyn play with Dommes?” Kevin asked.  “I spoke with Terry
and Crest earlier, and to tell you the truth, I think there was a lot about Marilyn he didn’t want to know.”

“All marriages have their secrets.”  Connor looked up at the clock and knew he’d better be heading out.  It was already ten o’clock at night.  The clubs would be getting busy.  “I know this Dom who stopped playing at Masters because Joel has a
no bodily fluid
rule.  He’s well versed in shibari and since it’s not an easy art to learn, thought I’d concentrate on Whip tonight.”

“Whip
allows exchange of bodily fluids?”

“There isn’t a lot that Whip
doesn’t allow,” Connor said, dropping his feet to the ground.  “It’s a newer club and I’ve only been there a handful of times.  Let’s just say it’s not my style.”

“What
is
your style, Ortega?” Taryn asked, looking over their way.  Her music obviously wasn’t turned up too loud.  She smiled, taunting him like the little sister he never had. 

Connor felt his phone vibrate.  Shifting in his seat, he reached into his front pocket and pulled out his cell.  Jax’s name was displayed on the screen.
  He swiped the bar and placed the phone to his ear.  Sounds of passing cars and honking horns could be heard.

“
What have you got?”

“I overheard
that your pretty little vendor lady was taken to the hospital a few hours ago,” Jax said. 

Connor
had to have heard wrong.  He sat up and dropped his feet, catching sounds of muffling.  He figured Jax was walking to a place where he could talk a little more privately. 

“Joel had her scheduled to come in earlier tonight during social hour to display some of her stuff.  She called to cancel.”

“Is she all right?” Connor asked, already coming out of his chair and walking toward the door. 

“Joel mentioned that she sounded fine.”  Jax lowered his voice.  “She was mugged packing her inventory into her van.  I don’t think it was a coincidence
, not with evidence that’s pointing toward the significance of the collar and clamps.”

“I’m on my way.”

Connor hit the door with his fist, throwing it open as he exited the office.  He’d waited for Lauren to call him, hoping she’d eventually take him up on his offer for dinner.  The call never came.  That didn’t extinguish the magnetism that he felt every time he thought about her.  The way Lauren subconsciously circled her wrist with her fingers made him want to be the one who did that — to restrain her wrist and control her movement for just that exact moment when they exchanged glances.  First, Connor had to make sure that she was safe.

* * * *

Lauren signed her release papers and cringed at the twinge of pain in her stiff wrist, not to mention how awful her signature appeared.  It couldn’t be helped.  Her hands were still trembling, as well as every other part of her body.  She didn’t consider herself a weak woman, but those few seconds when she thought she’d end up dead scared the shit out of her.

“Sir, wait.”  Lauren lifted her head upon hearing the nurse’s
tone coming from outside of the curtain.  The emergency room was busy for a Friday night, but the staff still ran a rather tight ship.  Maybe it was the police coming back to ask more questions.  “You aren’t allowed back —”

The curtain was yanked aside, revealing Connor
Ortega.  His presence never failed to leave her breathless.  No man had the right to look like him.  His blue eyes zeroed in on her and she instinctively wrapped her fingers around her wrist.
Ouch
.  The action brought her out of her reverie for two reasons.  One, it helped stabilize her feelings and two, her wrist hurt like hell.

“Connor?  Why are you here?”

“Do you want this gentleman removed?”

Lauren
glanced at the nurse holding her discharge papers.  A frown marred the woman’s haggard face.  She hadn’t been the most pleasant.  After Lauren had discovered she was closing in on the end of a twelve-hour shift, she didn’t blame the nurse for her fatigued attitude.

“
No, she knows me.”  Connor stepped into the room.  Lauren prevented herself from looking for something to throw.  This back and forth between them only further fueled her irritation.  She didn’t need more bullshit right now.  What she needed was for him to go back where he came from.  He’d somehow upset the balance of her daily routine and she needed it back desperately.  “Where are the police?”

“
They left.  Connor, how did you know I was even injured?” Lauren asked, still wondering what he was doing here. 

“Left?”  Connor turned to address the nurse and Lauren felt her irritation with him return.  It had only been two days, but he seemed to have a gift when it came to raising her ire
as well as her…maybe she had hit her head a little too hard.  “Is she being released?”

“Yes.” 

The nurse ripped off the top sheet of her clipboard and pushed the paper into his chest in what could only be an act of dismissal.  Nurse Broomhilda actually smiled as she paused before launching into what seemed like a drill sergeant impression. Lauren would have thrown her hands up in disgust if she thought she could handle any more pain.

“I’m glad to know that she won’t be alone this evening.  She hit her head pretty hard against the cement.  We tried to get her to stay the night for observation, but she
insisted she’d be fine.  I can see where she learned that trick.  Here are her discharge papers.  It wouldn’t hurt to wake her every couple of hours.  No sex, buddy boy.  Got that?  She should eat light and there is to be no alcohol consumption.  The rest of the directives are included on the discharge order and she should make a follow-up appointment with her doctor.  See that she does that.”

“Thank you,
Sergeant
.”  Connor returned her smile.  Lauren resisted the urge to roll her eyes, knowing all too well it would only make her headache worse.  “I’ll see to it that she follows orders.”

Lauren’s heart skipped a beat at the double meaning of his words, but chose to ignore it. 
There was no way in hell he was coming home with her.  She’d resisted calling him for two days and would continue to do so, for both their sakes.  In her experience, as well as by observing customers on a daily basis, a true Dom didn’t date vanilla girls like her.  She turned and picked up her purse out of the chair, realizing that her hands were still trembling from the attack.  Connor’s presence didn’t help anything at all.

“What happened?”

Lauren slowly faced him, and only then noticed the nurse had left.  It was now only the two of them in the tiny emergency room area.  Still not understanding why Connor was even here, she pulled the strap of her bag over her shoulder with every intention of leaving.  Lauren couldn’t help but wince when her wrist started to ache from the movement.  It wasn’t her issue that the nurse misunderstood why he was here. Bottom line, her mugging had nothing to do with him.

She was surprised when Connor stepped forward, crowding her space.
  What shocked her even more was when he laid down the papers he’d been given and gently took her hand, exposing her wounded wrist.

“Lauren, I asked you what happened.”

A feeling of utter provocation overcame her at the sound of his voice and she found that she needed to get away from him before he changed her mind and she took him up on what he offered.  If he would just stop coming around her, Lauren knew she wouldn’t have a problem with ignoring these overwhelming feelings of longing that he stirred within her.  She tried to pull back her hand, hoping that he would release it.  She should have known better.

“I was mugged,” Lauren said rapidly, hoping the fast
er she spoke, the sooner she could leave.  She continued to stare down at their hands as his fingers encircled her wounded wrist, not wanting to look into his bright blue eyes and get sucked in.  Her emotions were unstable and she didn’t want to do anything stupid.  “Someone must have heard me scream and called the police.  Within moments of the guy attacking me, I heard sirens.  He ran off.  They called for an ambulance.  End of story.  Can you please move?”

“Look at me.” 

That was the last thing she wanted to do.  Before Lauren even lifted her gaze, she felt tears sting her eyes and berated herself for it.  She didn’t want him to think she was some weak woman who couldn’t handle herself in a crisis.  And that annoyed her even more.  Why should she care what he thought anyway?  Unable to prevent herself from following his command, Lauren connected her eyes with his and saw his immediate sympathy.  His warm grip seemed to stop time in her small world.  She could only barely perceive that around her the planet continued to spin as they were trapped in this moment.  Why did he care?  That was all it took for a tear to escape.

“You’re fine,” Connor
murmured, gathering her up in his arms.  Lauren couldn’t suppress the sob that escaped her chest.  His warmth enveloped her and though she knew the safety she felt was illusory, that didn’t stop her from relishing in his embrace.  “I’ve got you, Red.”