Wedding Bell Blues (14 page)

"I take it you never told them why we split," he said softly.

"No. It really wasn't any of their business." Besides, it
would have
been too embarrassing to admit that the man I'd been sleeping with, all
but living with, and whom I wanted to spend the rest of my life with
had been banging one of my friends on my kitchen table.

Now, whether either of us wanted it, it seemed we were going
to have to talk about what happened.

I didn't like it, not one bit. Hadn't I already had to deal
with enough these last couple of days without adding this to it?

"Jess, I really am sorry."

He was. I could tell it. What I couldn't tell was if he was
sorry
because he'd let slip that little fact we'd slept together last night
or the fact that he'd banged someone I'd thought was a good friend, or
both.

"Don't sweat it. I'll cope." I blew out a breath and climbed
to my feet. "I've gotten pretty good at it since we split."

"At coping or at avoiding the issue?"

Oh, that was so the wrong thing to say. Anger, long thought
done
with, surged and I literally saw red. My hands fisted at my sides and I
gritted my teeth against the words fighting to come flying out of my
mouth without censor. Then, all self-control lost, I thought
to hell with it.
It was time and then some for Colton Dougherty to realize just how
badly he'd fucked up.

"Avoid it?" He'd gone mad. There was no other reason he'd say
something so absolutely foolish. "How the hell could I avoid the fact I
came home from work to find you banging my best friend on our kitchen
table? What would you have had me do? Join you? Or just turn a blind
eye and still welcome you to my bed? You might be pretty good in the
sex department, Colton, but you're not that good. You're certainly not
good enough to make me forget that slap in the face."

I turned on my heel and started across the den in the
direction of
the bedroom. I didn't care if Jack the Ripper might be waiting for me
out in the night. There was absolutely no way I was going to stay there
another minute. I'd made a serious error in judgment when I got
involved with Colton all those years ago. Obviously, I'd made another
by trusting him again. I wasn't going to compound either of those
mistakes by staying under his roof for another moment. I'd grab my
wallet and get the hell out. I could stay at a hotel. Anything was
better than this.

Before I'd taken three steps, Colton's hand closed around my
upper
arm and he stopped me in my tracks. Furious, I spun, my right fist
connecting solidly with his jaw. He staggered back, never releasing his
hold on my arm. His eyes flashed angrily and he reached out with the
other hand to grab my right arm before giving me a savage shake.

"Shut it down or I'll cuff you and arrest you for striking an
officer," he threatened, quickly sidestepping the kick I aimed at his
left shin. "Damn it, Jessica, quit it or I will take you in. At least
in a cell you'd be safe."

"Let. Go. Of. Me."

"Not until you quit acting like an idiot." He gave me another
little
shake, more to punctuate what he said than anything else. "I know
you're pissed and I don't blame you. You've been through hell the last
couple of days. But I'm not the one who crawled into your bed last
night and, unless I'm gravely mistaken, you enjoyed it as much as I
did."

He shook his head once when I started to deny it. Hell, he was
right. But that still didn't absolve him of what he'd done ten years
ago.

"And," he continued, all but lifting me from my feet before
depositing me back on the sofa. "As for what you think you saw - yes,
think
,
because that is exactly what it was. Something you thought, not
something that really happened - you jumped the gun. I should have
forced the issue with you then but, hell, you'd been making noises
about settling down and I wasn't ready for that. So I took the coward's
way out and let you think what you wanted to.

"However, I did not have sex with Heather. We were not having
sex on
the kitchen table when you came in, not that she wasn't doing her best
to make it look like it. Maybe it's time you realize that Heather
Grossman is your Janie Bickerstaff."

"Screw you, Colton. I know what I saw."

"I'm not going to change your mind. I realized that a long
time ago.
But don't act as if it ruined your life. You were no more ready to
settle down back then than I was, whether you knew it or not." He
looked like he might say more. Instead, he simply shook his head and
took a step back. "We're both pissed off right now. So I suggest you go
to bed and try to get some sleep. Come morning, I'll see what Davalos
can tell me about the fire at your place. Until then, I suggest we both
give each other some room."

He stalked off, slamming the bathroom door behind him, leaving
me sitting on the sofa, staring at him in disbelief.

What the hell had just happened?

Another morning and another sleepless night. I couldn't keep
this up
much longer. I felt like I would soon be a card-carrying member of the
walking dead if I didn't get a good night's sleep soon. Of course, that
wouldn't happen until I knew for sure that Manny's killers weren't
actually after me and I had some place other than Colton's to stay.
More than that, I needed to come to terms not only with my feelings for
Colton but with what he'd said last night.

Damn it, why did I still care so much about what happened ten
years
ago? He'd made a fool of me and I'd let him because I'd thought I
wanted to spend the rest of my life with him. Now I was close to
repeating that same mistake. What was it about him that kept doing this
to me?

Cursing softly, and feeling the fool for it, I tossed back the
sheet
and climbed to my feet. Five after five. Too early to be up, but there
was no way I'd be able to get back to sleep. So I might as well go
ahead and get dressed. If I was lucky, I'd be able to slip out of the
apartment without having to face Colton and either his smug
satisfaction that he'd gotten to me - again - or that damnable concern
he'd shown so much of the time since Saturday, the concern that had
broken through my defenses in the first place.

Half an hour later, I emerged from the bathroom, dressed for
the
day. With barely more than a grunted greeting, Colton moved into the
bathroom, closing the door behind him. A moment later, I heard the
shower and knew this was my chance. My only chance. If I was going to
leave on my terms, I had to do so now.

I quickly scribbled note to say I'd left and would talk to
him
later. Papers were shoved into my bag and I was slipping out the door,
pulling it shut behind me as quietly as possible. If my luck held, I'd
have at least ten minutes before he realized I was gone. More than
enough time to get downstairs and catch a cab somewhere, anywhere but
there.

Still, I all but held my breath as I rode down in the
elevator. As I
stepped into the lobby, I halfway expected someone to step out from the
shadows and tell me that Detective Dougherty had called down, asking
them to "keep me company" until he could join us. But no one did. In
fact, the only person I saw was a young man dressed for a workout who
hurried out onto the street ahead of me.

"Where to, Miss?" the cabbie asked as I slid into the backseat.

"Saint Andrews High School." I leaned back, looking over my
shoulder
as he eased the cab into traffic, still fully expecting to see Colton
rush outside to stop me.

Twenty minutes later, I settled behind my desk, the door to my
classroom locked so I'd have some privacy. It was the first time I'd
been alone, truly alone, since Saturday night, and I relished it. I
needed the time to think, to try to figure out what to do next. There
were all the details of dealing with the insurance company about the
fire, pulling together all the information the adjuster would need.
Then, of course, there was the investigation into the fire itself. And
let's not forget that I still hadn't reclaimed my car from the police
impound yard. Unfortunately, I wasn't sure I wanted to, not after
learning how the impound lot clerk had given out my address so easily
over the phone. Now the car seemed linked to everything that had
happened the last few days and part of me feared the bad luck that had
seemed to control the weekend might now be attached to the Mustang.

My cell phone rang, shattering the silence. I didn't answer
it. I
didn't need to. I knew without looking it was Colton - again. He'd
called two times already and I hadn't answered either call. The first
time, he'd left a message that had been short and to the point. I was
acting foolish and I wasn't to leave the school before he got someone
there. The second had simply been a rehash of that same theme with the
added benefit of increased frustration on his point. If he ran true to
form, this time he'd be truly furious and that was something I could
live without.

Well, if he expected me to simply hang around like a "good
little girl" he had another thing coming.

I got to my feet and moved toward the door. As I reached out
to
unlock it, voices from somewhere down the hall reached me. I paused, a
quick surge of unease running through me. It was still well before
seven. There shouldn't be anyone there this early. Yet I was sure I'd
heard someone. With my hand on the knob, I pressed my ear to the door
and listened, straining to hear whoever it might be.

You're being
silly, Jess
, I
scolded myself. I was acting like a nervous schoolgirl. Still, I
couldn't quite bring myself to open the door and step into the hallway,
not without knowing for sure who might be out there.

Maybe it was silly, but there was one thing my mother had done
her
best to teach both Maryanne and me, and that was to pay attention to
our instincts. Just now, those instincts were telling me not only to
stay put, but also to make sure no one knew I was there. After
everything that had happened over the weekend, I wasn't about to ignore
those instincts, even if they might be wrong.

So I stayed where I was, willing whoever it was to come close
enough
that I could hear what they said, or at least close enough for me to
identify their voices. But it was hard, especially the way my pulse
beat almost deafeningly in my ears.

"You sure?"

The gasp was torn from me before I could stop it. My hands
flew to
my mouth, and I held my breath. Had they heard me? Had I heard
correctly?

There was a murmur, words I couldn't make out. Then a laugh,
and I
swallowed hard. Perspiration pricked out on my forehead and a trickle
ran down my back. My heart thudded in my chest and panic pushed
forward, struggling for release. But I wouldn't give in. I couldn't. I
had to be sure.

"Yeah, I'm sure." Another voice, male like the first. "She
said we'd screwed up big time and she was considering not paying us."

"That bitch!"

Footsteps sounded outside the door, moving down the hall away
from
my room. I waited, one hand pressed to the door as I listened, not
daring to breathe. Finally, hearing nothing for what seemed like ages
but was probably nothing more than a minute or two, I carefully eased
open the door and looked out. Once more I was alone and I almost cried
in relief.

Only to curse and jump back in the room, locking the door
behind me,
as my cell phone rang again. For a moment, I couldn't figure out what
it was. Then, realization hit and I raced across the room, scooping it
up off the desktop. My fingers shook as I flipped it open and brought
it to my ear.

"Colton!" Please let it be Colton.

"Jess, what's wrong?"

"Colton, I think they're here." I spoke softly, afraid they
might
come back and hear me. "I swear it. I think I just heard them outside
my room."

"Slow down and tell me exactly what happened."

"I was about to leave the classroom and I heard them."

"Did they see you?"

"No." God, I'd been lucky - again - and I knew it. Just as I
knew my
luck would one day run out if I didn't start trusting Colton to do his
job. "The door was closed."

"And you're sure it was them?"

"Yes." I sobbed softly, reaction fully setting in. Knees weak,
I
dropped onto my chair and fought the urge to put my head between my
knees and breathe deeply. I had to tell Colton what happened. Then I
could fall apart. Not before.

"Are you still in your room?"

"Yes."

"Listen to me closely. Lock the door and stay put until I get
there." He paused and I heard someone say something. Colton made a
sound that I assumed was confirmation of whatever they said. "Keep away
from the windows and don't open that door for anyone until you hear me.
Do you understand?"

"Yes." I swallowed hard, struggling to regain control of my
emotions. "Thanks."

He didn't say anything. Instead, the line went dead. Well, I
didn't
care if he was courteous or not right now. All I wanted was for him to
get there and then find out who I'd heard. I was certain that first
voice was the same one I'd heard at Manny's.

Dear God, did that mean one of the students here, perhaps one
of my students, had killed Manny?

Sitting there, the cell phone in my hand, I shivered as
uncontrollably as if I was standing in the middle of a snowstorm
without a stitch of clothing on. My teeth chattered and I felt numb. It
didn't make any sense. None of this made any sense.

I couldn't shed the feeling I'd been coated in ice any more
than I
could stop myself from jamming my desk chair under the doorknob for
added security. I was overreacting. I knew it. But I still couldn't
stop. If I had heard one of the bastards responsible for killing Manny,
if he knew I was here, there was nothing to prevent him from finishing
the job with me. Well I had absolutely no intention of becoming another
of his victims.