Desperate Strangers Read online

  She wore a smile as she left the bedroom and headed down the stairs. She found Nick exactly where she expected him to be, at the kitchen table with a cup of coffee and the morning paper before him.

  “Good morning.” The words nearly sang out of her before she dropped a kiss on his forehead. She felt so much closer to him since last night.

  “Somebody is in a good mood,” he said.

  She walked over to the counter and then turned to face him. “And why shouldn’t I be? Fresh coffee is waiting for me, the storms have passed and I have the hottest fiancé in the world right here with me.”

  “And he’s about to burst your bubble of happiness,” he replied. “Grab your coffee and then I want to have a serious talk with you.”

  Her heart plummeted as she turned around to pour her coffee. Had last night’s lovemaking made him suddenly decide he didn’t love her anymore? Were her amnesia and the threats all too much for him to deal with? Was he about to break her heart? Oh, God, she hoped not.

  She joined him at the table, her heart trembling with dread as she gazed into his dark-lashed green eyes.

  “I’ve been thinking about the threats you’ve received and I think maybe you and I need to get more proactive.”

  A huge relief swept through her. At least he hadn’t been thinking about leaving her. “Proactive how?”

  “You need a security system and I’d like to get one installed here today while you’re at work.”

  She sat back in the chair and looked at him in surprise.

  “Julie, whoever is threatening you knows where you live. Somebody was on your deck last night. They could have easily gained entry into the house. We have to take this seriously.”

  “And you don’t think the police will be able to get anything off the doll?” The icy chill from the night before threatened to overtake her once again. She wrapped her fingers around her coffee cup in an effort to get warm again.

  “I think it’s highly doubtful. I also want you to make a list of everyone who works at the pawn shop with you.”

  “I can do that, but what do you intend to do with the information?” She took a sip of coffee and eyed him over the rim of the cup.

  “I’m going to play at being an amateur detective. At the very least, I can check out their social media and see if anything pops up that might give you a clue as to who is doing this and why.”

  “So, should I start calling you Sherlock?” She attempted to put a little levity into the situation to ward off the inner chill that threatened.

  He flashed a grin. “As long as I get to be Sherlock without the silly hat and the pipe.” His smile faded. “Seriously, Julie, what do you say about getting the security system done today? I’ll take care of all the details and will be here for it to be installed.”

  In an instant a hundred what-ifs went through her head. What if the person hadn’t just stopped at the back door to hang a doll, but had broken the window and gotten into the house? With the rumbles of the storm overhead, she and Nick probably wouldn’t have known that anyone was inside.

  Somebody could have easily crept up the stairs and entered her bedroom. Who knew what could have happened.

  “Yes, it’s a good idea, and I’d like it done as soon as possible,” she replied. She took another sip of her coffee, hoping the warm liquid could heat the cold places inside her their conversation had created. “I’ll make that list for you right now.”

  She got up from the table and went to the built-in desk in the corner of the kitchen. She opened one of the drawers and pulled out a pad of paper and a pen. She then returned to the table and began to list the names of the employees of the pawn shop.

  As she wrote down each name, she couldn’t help but wonder... Is this person terrorizing me? Is he or she wanting to harm me? What secret was worth all this?

  “Don’t you have any friends? In all the time I’ve known you, you’ve never mentioned any personal friends.” She looked up to see Nick eyeing her curiously.

  She frowned thoughtfully. “I’ve never really had time for friends. My mother and Casey are pretty much the only friends I’ve had. The three of us usually manage to go out about once a month or so for dinner and drinks. Why did you ask?”

  “I just wondered if there was anyone else who needs to be written down on that list. Anyone you have interaction with who would know not only your phone number but also your address.”

  “Not that I can think of,” she replied. “But since I can’t remember the last ten months of my life, I guess it’s possible there might be somebody.”

  She held his gaze for a long moment. “What I don’t understand is, if I was in some kind of trouble before the accident, why didn’t I talk to you about it?”

  “Unfortunately, I can’t answer that.” He got up from the table and poured himself another cup of coffee.

  Minutes later, after finishing the list of names Nick had requested, she was in the shower and preparing herself for another day at work. But her conversation with Nick lingered in her head.

  She’d never really thought about all she’d sacrificed for the family business. There had been no friends in her life, no giggling girls at a slumber party, no best friend to tell all her secrets to. Casey had been a fun little sister, but a younger sibling wasn’t the same as having a best friend.

  There had been many sacrifices over the years. Running the family business had never been her dream, it had been her parents’ dream for her. But she’d never really considered letting them down by choosing something else.

  Nick was right. She was still young. She was only thirty-one. She could go back to school and fulfill her dreams for herself. As she rinsed her hair, she envisioned that future.

  She and Nick would be married. She’d maybe get a job in a doctor’s office where she could be home every evening with her husband. Eventually they’d have children and she would make sure that they got the childhood she’d never had.

  Their children would have sleepovers and best friends and, other than chores, they wouldn’t start working when they were eight or ten like she had. Instead their childhoods would be filled with laughter and they would have time to just be kids.

  All she had to do to make that dream come true was to tell her parents she wanted out. Even thinking about that difficult conversation made her stomach twist and knot with anxiety.

  Had she already told her parents she wanted to make some major changes in her life? Somehow she believed she hadn’t told them yet. She didn’t believe she would have told them until they’d known about Nick.

  Until she had her memories back, she’d keep the status quo. She didn’t need the drama that would take place in talking to her parents. She had more than enough drama in her life at the moment.

  * * *

  “WHILE YOU WERE in the shower, I contacted a security company who’s coming out here at noon,” Nick said when they were in the car and heading to the pawn shop.

  “Just tell me what it costs and I’ll write you a check.”

  “We’ll worry about that later. The important thing is making sure nobody can breach the security of your home,” he replied.

  She stared at his profile, noting the strength in his jawline and the straightness of his nose. The familiar scent of his cologne wrapped around her. “I always feel safe when I’m with you.”

  He flashed her a quick glance. “That’s nice, but eventually I’ll have to go back to work and we’ll be on different schedules. The security system will make me feel better about your safety when I’m not around.”

  Julie stared out the passenger window, dread rising inside her as she thought of Nick going back to work. Hopefully, by the time that happened, the mystery of the threats against her would be solved. And, hopefully, then the only thing on her mind would be planning a wedding.

  “I’ll be back here at five to pick you up,” N
ick said as he pulled up to the pawn shop front door.

  “If I’m going to be later than that, I’ll call you.”

  She got out of the car and waved as he pulled away.

  The door of the shop was already unlocked. She entered to see her brother, Tony, wiping down the display counter with glass cleaner.

  “I thought I was working with Casey today,” she said.

  “She woke up with a sore throat and called Dad, who then called me to come in to work.” Tony smiled at her. “I don’t mind so much since this gives us a good opportunity to catch up with each other.”

  “Sounds good to me,” she replied. “Want some help?” She gestured to the rest of the dusty display case.

  “Nah, I’ve got it. Just sit and relax while you have a chance.”

  She sat on one of the tall stools behind the counter and watched as he got back to work. There was only a year’s difference in age between her and Tony and she’d always felt closest to him.

  They were both alike in temperament. They were both non-confrontational and more introverted than their older brother and younger sister. They had understood each other and had felt most comfortable in each other’s company.

  “So, what’s new in your life? Has anything happened that I don’t remember?” she asked.

  He finished up dusting and sat. “Absolutely nothing is new.”

  “Still no girlfriend?”

  “Who has time? Your Nick has to be a real patient guy to have put up with your work schedule for so long,” he replied.

  They only had a few minutes to visit with each other before people began to come in.

  Business was steady until just after noon and then once again she and Tony were alone in the shop.

  “Why don’t I go into the office and make a fresh pot of coffee?” she suggested.

  “Sounds good, and while you do that I’ll order us some lunch. How does Chinese sound?”

  “Hmm, I’m up for some sweet and sour chicken,” she replied. There were half a dozen places that delivered and a good Chinese place down the road was one of them. She slid off the stool and was about to head toward the office when he stopped her.

  “Julie, you still really don’t remember anything?” he asked.

  “A few bits and pieces, but nothing that makes any sense.”

  “Then you don’t remember the conversation we had the last time we worked together.”

  Julie shook her head. “What conversation did we have?”

  Tony shrugged. “It doesn’t matter.”

  “Tony, it must have been important since you asked. I’m not going to make the coffee until you tell me what we talked about.”

  He gave her a wry grin. “Holding coffee hostage is definitely an effective way to make me talk.” His grin faded as he gazed at her soberly. “I told you I’d started taking some online college classes because I want out of here.”

  Surprise winged through her. “Have you told Mom and Dad?”

  “No!” he said sharply. “I’m not ready to tell them yet. The only reason I told you was because you told me you wanted out of here, too.”

  “I do,” she replied. “Although I haven’t done anything to advance a move right now. But I know having Nick in my life has made me want a more normal schedule, and we both know I won’t get that working here.”

  He nodded in agreement. “I just wanted to make sure if you did remember anything about our conversation that you didn’t say anything to Mom and Dad.”

  “Don’t worry, I’ll keep your secret, Tony,” she assured him.

  Was this the secret she wasn’t supposed to tell? Was it possible her brother had made the phone call and left the doll hanging on her door? No, it couldn’t be possible. There was no way she’d believe it had been her brother. Tony wasn’t that kind of man. Was he?

  “I’ll get the coffee going,” she said as she consciously pushed thoughts of the threats she’d received away and Tony away.

  She was headed for the office where the coffee machine was located when a vision leaped into her head.

  * * *

  SHE’D LEFT HER phone at work. It was midnight when she realized it. In her car and headed to the shop, she was irritated to be out this late. But she needed her phone since she wasn’t working tomorrow...

  She entered through the back door and walked into the office, lit only with the dim security lights. Her phone sat right where she’d left it in the middle of the desk. She pulled out the chair, sat and checked to see if any messages had come in that she needed to address.

  As she tapped the button to enter her message box, the back door exploded inward. Instantly she jumped up, her heart pounding with terror. Was somebody breaking in to rob the place? On shaky legs, she moved to the office door and peered out—

  * * *

  THE VISION OR memory or whatever it was snapped shut in her mind. She found herself leaning weakly against the office door with the taste of fear lingering heavily in her mouth.

  What had happened that night? Who had she seen come in the back door? Had the door been locked or unlocked? She raised her hands to the sides of her head and pressed tightly. Why couldn’t she remember anything more?

  Had the door been locked or had she left it unlocked when she’d gone into the office? It was an important question that went around and around in her head. If she’d locked the door, then it had been unlocked by a family member or an employee who had the key. If she’d left it unlocked, then any stranger off the street could have come inside.

  Something bad had happened that night. She felt the rightness of her thought. It had been something so terrible that her brain was now trying to protect her by not allowing her to remember it. Had she been attacked? Dear God, had she been raped?

  Don’t tell. The words thundered through her brain and she squeezed her hands more tightly against the sides of her head. Was it possible somebody who worked here, somebody she had trusted, had attacked her and then threatened her not to tell?

  Chapter Eight

  “I’m sure something happened at the shop,” Julie said as Nick drove her home after work. She shared with him the memory she’d had. “It was something bad. I think it was something terrible.”

  Nick glanced at her. She wore her anxiety in the tiny wrinkle across her forehead and in the way one of her hands moved against the bottom of her throat, as if she was having trouble swallowing.

  “There is a bit of good news in all this,” he said.

  She eyed him in disbelief. “And what would that possibly be?”

  “Whatever bad thing might have happened at the pawn shop, you survived it.”

  She appeared to visibly relax. “Thank you for reminding me of that.”

  “On another positive note, your new alarm system is installed. It covers all the windows on the lower level and all the doors.”

  “Then I’ll feel perfectly safe when I have to be there all alone,” she replied. He felt her gaze on him, warm and loving. “Although I feel safe whenever you’re with me.”

  “But I can’t be with you all the time.” He tried to ignore the odd feeling of contentment that momentarily gripped him as he bathed in her obvious love for him. It wasn’t real, this feeling of being...happy. It couldn’t be real. He’d never expected to find happiness again.

  It couldn’t be real because he was a miserable bastard stuck in grief for his dead wife. It wasn’t real because he’d been willing to do an unspeakable act to feed that grief. Finally, it wasn’t real because everything he might feel for Julie or she might feel for him was based on a mountain of lies.

  He consciously willed these thoughts away as he pulled into her driveway.

  For the next twenty minutes he showed her how to work the alarm system.

  “I set the code as 0615, but you can change it to whatever you want,” he explai
ned.

  “Do those numbers mean something special to you?” she asked.

  “No,” he lied. “They’re just random numbers that jumped into my head.” But they weren’t random numbers. It was actually the date his wife had been taken from him. It had been a beautiful June day that had ended his life as he’d known it.

  He had consciously set those particular numbers to remind himself that he didn’t belong there with Julie. He’d be reminded of that fact every time he entered Julie’s house. This wasn’t home and it never would be.

  “Random numbers are good with me,” she replied. She plopped down on the sofa. “I don’t know if you’ve thought about what we’re doing for dinner, but I was thinking maybe we’d just order in a pizza.”

  “That sounds good to me,” he replied. “What I didn’t get a chance to do today is check out the people on the list you gave me. I’d like to do some internet sleuthing this evening if you don’t mind me using the laptop in the kitchen.”

  At least that task would take his mind off the sweet scent of her, off the crazy desire to somehow make all of this real.

  “What kind of pizza do you like?” she asked.

  “Pepperoni is my favorite, but I’ll eat almost anything with pizza sauce and crust.”

  “My first choice is pepperoni, too.” She appeared utterly pleased that they had this in common. “I’m going upstairs to change my clothes and order the pizza. Feel free to use the computer. It’s not password protected. I’ll be back down in a few minutes.”

  He breathed a sigh of relief as she headed up the stairs. He wasn’t sure why he felt so vulnerable around her this evening. He’d been acutely aware of her from the moment he’d picked her up after work.

  Maybe it was because he now knew that beneath her Peterson Pawn shop T-shirt her breasts were soft and welcoming, and he wanted to touch her again. He wanted to make love to her again, and that irritated him. The first time it had happened had been a terrible mistake. If it happened again, he deserved the firing squad.

  He walked into the kitchen and pulled the list she had given him that morning out of his back pocket. He then sat at the built-in desk where a laptop awaited a touch of the power button.