“Jesus,” she heard the detective say. “Do you have any idea who would have sent this to you?”
She had gone over everyone that she knew, and some that she had met, but no one was coming to mind. “No, I have absolutely no idea who would do this.”
“Anything else strange that has been happening, phone calls, odd people coming or going from your house or shop?”
“No, I haven’t, though this isn’t the first letter I have gotten.”
“What?” Nate growled beside her. “Where is that letter?”
“
They’re
still at my office. I didn’t think too much about it, when I received the first one. I just thought it was a prank.”
“This is a serious matter here, Miss Winters.”
“I know that now,” she whispered again.
“We’ll take these in and see if there is any evidence on who sent these, hopefully they left some kind of clue. I’ll also need you to bring the other letters down to the station.”
“Is there a way to find out who the heart belonged to, before she received it?” Nate asked.
“There’s no need,” The detective said.
“What do you mean? That’s a human heart in that damn box,” he growled.
“No, it isn’t. It’s a pig’s heart. That is why you thought it was a human’s, theirs is the most similar to our heart.”
“How do you know it’s a pig’s heart and not human?” Nate asked.
“My father owns his own pig farm; I’ve seen plenty of them to tell the difference between the two. No one can if you haven’t been around pigs for as long as I have,” The detective replied.
“Oh, ok.” She was a little relieved now that it wasn’t a human heart, she didn’t want to know exactly whom it belonged to.
“Well, that’s better than a human heart, in a way,” Nate said.
“When will you be able to bring the other letters down?”
“Um, I can drop them off tomorrow to you, I really don’t want to have them anywhere near me.”
“That’s understandable. We’ll do our best and find out exactly who is doing this towards you. If you think of anything, no matter how small, or if something else comes, please contact myself or Officer Walker.”
“I will, thank you.”
“I’ll walk you both out,” Nate said.
“I need to get back over to Skylar’s. If I stay any longer she’ll come looking.”
“If we find anything out, we’ll contact you Miss Winters.”
“Thank you.” Both of them nodded her way, then turned and walked out of the room with Nate following. She pulled herself together, quickly, and ran back towards Skylar’s place. She didn’t want her coming to find her. She would have to answer as to why the police were at Nate’s house, and she could not do that just yet. Breathing in and out several times, she pushed the back door open and walked in.
“What took you so long? Did you find the boots and jewelry?”
“No, I guess I took them out when I cleaned my car out last.” She had to keep strong and not let anything slide; she didn’t want Skylar knowing what was happening.
Whoever sent that box had a very close eye on her. It scared her to bits knowing that someone was watching her. Once they were both finished here, she was going to have a long relaxing bath, take a sleeping pill, fall in to la la land, and forget all about the letters and that damn box.
––––––––
D
om parked his truck out front of Chantal’s shop. He had tried several times ringing and texting her since she first hung up on him yesterday, but never received anything back. He stopped by her place but no one was there. He even drove over to Joey’s but he hadn’t heard from her since that morning, either. The only place left to find her was Skylar’s house. When he was just a street away from her place, he received a text from Skylar saying Chantal was staying at her house to finish getting things ready for the opening, and that she would see him at the party tonight.
Now standing outside the building, he was so proud of her; proud that she had finally done something that she wanted. He knew what kind of shop she was opening but it was still a shock when he walked through the doors of
Heaven’s Devil
. One side was set up sweet and innocent, and the other, sinful and downright sexy.
There was close to forty people in the room. He knew a fair few of them but not all. He spotted Joey in the back corner talking to Nate. There were several women hanging around them. Walking up to them, he slapped Nate on the back. “Hey, guys. Where are the girls?”
“Hey, man. They’re both in the back talking to the caterer.”
“Thanks, Joey. I’ll go and say hi.”
As he strolled that way, a woman stepped in front of him.
“Hello, handsome,” she purred.
“Hello. What is a gorgeous woman like yourself doing at an opening like this, all alone?” he said as he lifted her hand and placed a kiss there.
“Not alone, per se. I’m here with my sister. My name is Megan, and you are?”
She was a sexy thing, wearing a tight blue dress, showcasing her breasts that were ready to fall out of the top of it. “My name is Dominic. So, who do you know here?”
She looked around the room, and then back at him. “I know Skylar. I’m friends with her sister. Are you here by yourself?”
Chantal came into view as she asked that question, and the dress that she wore was to die for. “Sorry, sweetheart. No, I’m not,” he replied as he moved away and towards the back room.
“Miss Winters, the food will be ready in five minutes,” a waiter said, as he stood near the door.
“Thank you, Sam. When it is can you let me know and I’ll let our guests know.”
“No worries, miss.”
Dom moved up in front of her and wrapped his arm around her waist, pulling her into him.
The front of her dress had a teardrop effect that clipped just under her breasts with a diamond butterfly. Hugging her curves perfectly, it was close to being painted on. A large slit on her left leg ran right up to her thigh, and the top was halter style. Damn, he was hard when he walked into the shop, and now he could hammer nails into a plank of wood.
He groaned as she sweetly smiled up at him. “Hey, Dominic.”
Why the hell is she calling me that?
He leaned down to her ear so that only she could hear his words. “If I had known you were wearing this dress, you wouldn’t have left the house. You would be tied to my bed, naked.”
Chantal shivered in his arms at his words. His teeth latched onto her ear and tugged lightly. Breathing heavy, she pulled herself away from him.
“I have some things I need to check on,” she whispered as she turned from him and walked into the back, further away from him. The back of her was bare from her shoulders right down to above her luscious ass.
Why is she running away from me?
Fixing himself up, he walked back out to where Nate and Joey were. He waited for them to end their conversation with some guy they were talking to, and then he pulled them both aside and asked, “Has Chantal spoken to you guys?”
Nate looked towards the back room, as Joey answered, “Yeah, she couldn’t stop talking, why?”
“She doesn’t seem herself.”
Nate still stood there, not answering, with a scowl on his face.
“She seems fine to me, Dom. I’m going to go over and talk to Bruce for a minute.”
“I’ll go and see if Chantal needs any help with anything,” Nate said, as he walked off.
Dom stood there and watched as Nate moved into the back room. Something was going on; he just did not know what it was. She seemed fine yesterday when he saw her last. Something was up with her he just didn’t know what, but tonight after the party he would find out.
******
A
s soon as she had seen Dom walk into her shop, she panicked. She could not see him just yet. Calming her breathing, she moved into the back of the room where the catering was being prepared. As she was talking to the head caterer, out of the corner of her eye, she watched as Dom headed her way after talking to Joey and Nate. Nate had a frown on his face, looking in her direction.
She felt him enter the room, and turned to face him, plastering a smile on her face. When he wrapped his arm around her, the hunger she saw in his eyes melted her on the inside. Her core clenched, wanting him there, but not right then. She had a party to celebrate. When he told her that he wanted her in his bed, tied and naked, she tried to think of that image but the only thing that popped into her head was the box again. She still had no clue as to who was watching her, or who had sent the letters and box, and it creeped her out.
She needed to get away from him. As she said that she had something to do, she knew that he had picked up that something was wrong by the look that passed over his face. There was no way she was going to tell him what was going on. There was no
need
for him to know what was going on, they were only sleeping together, not in a relationship. He was already possessive as it was, if she told him about the letters and box he would be with her every single second of the day, go wherever she went, not let her go anywhere by herself. Not that she would put up much of a fight, she was Goddamned scared shitless. But she had to keep calm, and not make it obvious to everyone.
After arranging the entrees to be taken out, she moved out into shop looking for Skylar. Skylar was already waiting for her near the centre of the room; ready for the announcement she had planned. She spied Dom standing with Joey, staring at her with a frown. Taking her eyes off him, she stood beside Skylar ready for the announcement.
“Can I have everyone’s attention, please?”
Once the room was quite, Chantal continued, “First of all, I would like to thank everyone for coming tonight for this special opening. It means so much that all my family and close friends are here to share in the joy, that my dream to open up my own shop has finally come true.” She faced Skylar. “Sky, there is no way that I would be here now standing in this shop if it wasn’t for you. What you have done, I have no words to express to you how much it means to me. You have been there for me through thick and thin. We have had our good days and bad, but what matters most of all is you are my sister, no matter if we aren’t blood related, you are to me. I’d do anything for you.”
Skylar sobbed at the words she said to her. She squeezed her in a tight hug. “Now, I would like to welcome you all to
Heaven’s Devil
! Look around, I’m sure you will be able to find something to your liking.” Glancing at the men in the room, she amended, “Sorry, gentlemen, there isn’t much for you here, but I’m sure you will be able to find something of your liking for your wife, or girlfriend here somewhere.”
Booms of laughter sounded throughout the room. “Please enjoy the night, entrees will be handed out and so will drinks. If you do decide to purchase anything, please find Skylar or myself. There is also a bag of goodies as you leave. Enjoy your night.”
Chantal walked around talking to as many people as she could, ignoring Dom every chance she could. Every time he came close to her, she moved to the closest person ad started chatting. She knew that she wouldn’t be able to hold it to herself for long. She wanted to tell him everything but she couldn’t.
He would not let it slide, he would watch her like a hawk and demand that she stay in his sight. He would probably have her followed, if he was not with her. She had to keep it locked up. He would go far and beyond to find out exactly who was doing this to her, but she wasn’t going to allow it. No one else was going to get hurt because of some sick, twisted lunatic out there wanting her for themselves.
Maybe if she decided to go and stay at her parents’ for a couple of days, she could get herself together. It was bad enough that Nate knew. She was pissed at herself for allowing it to get to her, but he was there and there was no way she could hide it. It was hard keeping it from Skylar, but she didn’t need that kind of stress. Even if she wasn’t pregnant, she still would not tell her.
She needed air. She walked towards the back of the room and opened door, and the fresh air of the night hit her. Breathing in as much as she could, she was about to move further through the door as someone grabbed her arm. She turned around, ready to scream, but stood there stunned as Nate pushed her out the door.
Looking back into the shop, he said anxiously, “Dom knows something is up with you. If you don’t want him to know, Chantal, you need to find something else to tell him is wrong with you. He is very suspicious.”
“Oh my God, what do I tell him?”
“I don’t know, Chantal. Tell him you’re going to stay at your parents’ or that you are pregnant. Something, anything.”
“Tell him I’m pregnant? That would sure scare the hell out of him. I already thought about staying with my parents, I’ll give my mother a call and let her know. It’s probably best I stay there anyways. They have a charity ball this weekend, so it will give me something to do rather than think about what has being going on around here.”
“Good. I’m trying hard not to tell him, Chantal. He’s my best mate, if he keeps asking you know I won’t be able to hold it in any longer for you.”
“I know, Nate,” she whispered.
How was she going to keep it from him, he was so bloody persistent. She couldn’t help the tears that leaked from her eyes. “I’m scared, Nate,” she sobbed.
“I know you are, sweetheart. If anything more happens, you tell me, ok. I’ll keep your secret as much as I can. But I can’t promise it won’t come out soon.”
“Thank you, Nate.” Nate wrapped his arms around her, pulling her into him. She was safe for now, but tomorrow was going to be a different day. She was going to call her mum in the morning. She knew she was allowed to stay but would need a reason as to why she was staying there for several days. Hopefully her mum needed lots of help with the charity ball. She needed to keep her mind occupied.
******
D
om had no idea why Chantal was avoiding him, but he would get to the bottom of it. As he moved through the crowd of people, making his way to the back of the shop where he saw Chantal disappear, he wasn’t expecting to see her standing there with Nate. Jealousy ran through him, like a bull on a rampage. What was going on here?