I again felt his arm tighten around me.
"It means you're not going to be able to stay in your apartment tonight, MG," he said softly, gently as if trying to cushion the blow his words would cause.
"I can't
go
in
to my apartment or I can't
stay
in my apartment?" I need clarification on the question, not that there was really much difference between the two other than I would not be able to grab some of my everyday things if I wasn't allowed to go in.
"Let me get a read on it and I'll let you know, all right?" Ram said before releasing me to go inside. I watched as he nodded to Jake and Jake followed him and the officers into the apartment building.
"You're always welcome to stay with us," Caitlin began. I felt one of her rings cutting into my hand as she squeezed.
"What the heck? You never wear rings." I held her left hand up to the light and saw it was now encircled with a huge, chocolate diamond solitaire. "What…I mean, when…Oh my God, Caitlin?"
"Jake gave it to me tonight after the party," she said holding her hand out flat in front of us.
"So you're getting married?" I was trying so hard not to squeal but my voice was starting to get louder and shriller the more I tried to rein it in.
"Yeah, someday. But we haven't made it that far yet. He asked if I would and I said yes but that's about as far as we've gotten." I watched her face grow soft in the glow of the inside light as she continued to stare at the rock on her finger.
I grabbed her in a hug, the happiest kind of hug where you both end up swaying back in forth .
I was so happy for her and Jake.
It's nice to see the good guys win for once.
And after what they went through over the last couple of months, I couldn't think of anyone more deserving of happiness than the two of them.
We were just untangling when the fellas appeared back on the porch.
"MG, sorry to say you can't go in there until the detectives have done their work," Ram said with real regret in his eyes.
"I told her she could stay with us," Caitlin said to Jake. He immediately nodded and growled out, "Absolutely."
Jake is this really gorgeous, really deep voiced, tall drink of water who was so totally male, he kind of scared me.
But I loved how he was with Caitlin.
It seemed like all his rough edges smoothed out when he was with her.
I didn't want to stay with them the night they became engaged and was even sorry that they had to be here at all on the night of such a special event.
I thought quickly.
"I'll just stay with my Aunt Estella," I said, wondering how I was going to call her at this hour and not upset her. She was always strung about three wires too tight and a call in the middle of the night was sure to wind her up even tighter.
"Gonna take my girl home," Jake began, "then I'll be back to see about securing the apartment, yeah?"
"I'll stay until Jake gets it taken care of," Officer Matthews offered.
I got a hug from Caitlin and a pat on the back from Jake as they moved down the steps. Ram called a soft goodnight to them as they left before he turned back to me.
"Is Estella Gibson your aunt?" Ram asked.
I nodded.
"Is she going to have trouble with you showing up in the middle of the night unannounced?"
"Yeah, probably." I dropped my eyes from his and felt my teeth catch my lower lip, a habit I'd been trying to break myself of since I was young but always seemed to do it when I was troubled, in spite of my best resolutions.
"Stay with me," Ram said softly. "I've got a huge place. You can bunk in one of the extra bedrooms then go to your aunt's tomorrow."
I was thinking it over. It really was a perfect solution for just the next few hours, just until I could get to my Aunt's.
"I really appreciate it, Ram," I said, accepting his offer.
"Where'd you park?"
"About a half a block down," I said pointing the way.
"Why don't you go get your car and you can follow me? I'll just wrap it up with the boys here and then we'll head on out."
Then he stopped and thought before saying, "Scratch that, here's my keys. Go get in my truck and we'll go just as soon as I talk with my boys, okay?"
I took a couple of steps and turned back. "Ram?"
"Yeah?"
"My cat? Did any of you see my cat?"
"I didn't but I'll let Matthews and Reid know."
I covered my mouth as a yawn started but I nodded to show my understanding. He pointed his remote at the truck. I heard it start up and then he beeped the locks before handing me the keys.
Chapter Two
"This is bullshit, Chief," Officer Reid said. "Someone has completely trashed her place and has ripped, torn, mutilated or ruined every single piece of fabric in her apartment."
"It looks like someone was looking for something, Chief, but because everything is so torn up I'm thinking that they didn't find what they were
searching
for," Officer Matthews added.
"Got it. Should we wake up one of the detectives or leave it until morning?" Ram asked even though he had his own opinion.
The officers looked at each other and then at him.
"Tomorrow should be okay, as long as she doesn't stay here. I would hate to be called back out and then get the homicide boys out," Reid said.
Ram's stomach clenched at the thought.
"I agree, Chief," Matthews said. "I would hate for it to be like that. Plus, the detectives are a bunch of bastards when crime interrupts their beauty sleep."
Ram couldn't help his smile at Matthew's description.
"Okay, you two keep it covered and I'll see you tomorrow," Ram did another scan of both their faces. These were two of his best officers and he hated to have them on the night rotation but in their small town having every officer do a night shift on a weekly rotation was just part and parcel of having the job.
Ram looked around Marianne's apartment.
It had been a warm and cozy place the last time he was here and now it was completely destroyed. To him, with his experience, it didn't just look like someone had been searching for something.
It looked like the perpetrator had been enraged at something or someone. There was too much destruction to just be searching.
He made his way out of the apartment and down the outside set of stairs, making his way to his truck.
To Marianne.
He felt his heart begin to beat a faster rhythm as he thought about her.
Which happened every time he thought about her.
For whatever reason he, the Chief of Police in Grantham, had a thing for that particular bit of blonde fluff. He had fallen under her spell from the first time he saw her.
And that 'spell' just kept intensifying the more he saw her.
He tried to remain casual as he opened the truck door and eased himself into the seat.
"How bad is it?" Marianne asked. "Is it, no worries you should be able to go back in tomorrow?"
He saw her eyes roam over his face when he didn't answer.
Her teeth caught her lower lip before she said, "Okay, then."
Ram's eyes caught on her mouth and he had to force himself to look away.
He really liked her mouth.
"Where'd you park?" he asked without looking at her again.
"About five cars back."
He put the truck in reverse and put his arm on the top of her seat as he rolled the few feet to her car.
"Just follow me. My house isn't far and at this time of night we shouldn't have any traffic."
Marianne's seatbelt released and her body was already turned towards the truck's door before she responded. "Okay."
"Uhm, MG?"
"Yeah?" She paused in getting out of the truck.
"Are you okay to drive?"
She understood what he was asking. Was she too shaky to drive or was she too traumatized to drive?
"I'm okay, Ram."
"You'd tell me if you weren't, right?"
"You'd be the very first person I'd tell," she said softly, trying not to smile.
*.*.*.*.*
Ram wasn't kidding about having a big place.
His house was huge.
"You live here by yourself?" I couldn't help but ask.
Not only was it huge, but the inside was decorated beautifully and had things like throw pillows and artwork on the walls.
In her experience, the single men she'd dated didn’t have huge houses that were decorated.
Single men that lived in humongous houses that were decorated were usually still living with their parents.
Not that she was dating Ram.
Yet.
"My Mataji fixed it up for me," Ram said moving through the living room and turning on lights. "But, yeah, I live alone."
"Mah-tah-gee?" I asked.
"My mother. She's English but I still use the Hindi word when I speak about her. To her face, I just call her Mom."
"Oh," I said still standing by the front door.
"You can come in, Marianne," Ram said with a grin as he took off his coat. "Just take your boots off first."
"Oh," I repeated easing my feet out of my heels while watching Ram. He was still wearing what he wore to Jake and Cait's party, which was the first time I'd seen him in anything other than his uniform.
And he looked hot in his uniform.
But he was smoking hot in his jeans and button down shirt.
I tried to tear my eyes away.
Really, I did.
"Do you want to keep staring at me or can I show you to your room?" His voice held a trace of humor.
Damn.
Caught.
Just call me 'sure bust', because I've never been able to get away with anything.
"The room is a good idea," I said sheepishly.
Ram led me down a long hallway that was covered with framed photos of people.
I stopped before one of the larger frames which appeared to be a professionally done. I recognized Ram, who along with two other gorgeous men, was standing behind two seated people.
"Your family?"
"Yep. Those are my brothers, Ajit on the right and Tarun on the left. My parents are seated in front."
"Good looking family."
"Thanks. Here's your room," he said opening the middle door on the long expansive hall.
He turned on one of the bedside lamps and I saw that this bedroom, just like his living room, was beautifully done in dark wood furniture. The queen size bed had a white duvet and pillows but the white was broken up by light aqua printed throw pillows, the same color that was repeated in the afghan folded at the end of the bed as well as the curtains.
"The bathroom is through that door, with toothbrushes and paste underneath the sink. The remote for the TV is in the top drawer of the nightstand."
I followed his hand with my eyes, notating what he was saying with half an ear, because the moment I stepped over the threshold of the bedroom, it hit me.
I was in a bedroom with Ram.
Oh,
God
.
This was like one of my fifty fantasies of Ram brought to life. True, we were both fully dressed, well, except for our shoes and he had not done anything that was particularly sexy or intimate in any way.
Yet.
He was being, just like he always had been, a perfect gentleman.
But I was in a bedroom with Ram and my body was aware of it in a big way.
A deeply, throbbing way.
"Ah, do you need, uhm, something to sleep in?" he asked.
I glanced up at him and saw he was blushing.
Actually blushing.
"You mean as opposed to sleeping naked?" I countered and couldn't keep the humor out of my voice.
His hand went up to rub the back of his neck. Then he nodded.
"A t-shirt should be fine, if you can spare one."
I got a chin tilt in acknowledgement but noticed he wouldn't look at me directly.
"Be right back," he mumbled.
While he was gone, I poked around the room and its adjoining bathroom. All of it perfectly decorated and more than adequately appointed.
"Here you go," I heard him say and I wandered back into the bedroom to see he had placed a folded bit of light blue fabric on the bed. "There are hangers in the closet if you want to, ah, hang up your dress."
I nodded and looked where he was pointing. Why wouldn't he look at me?
"Thanks, Ram. I can't tell you how much I appreciate this," I said softly moving to him and putting my hand on his forearm.