Tarnished Soul: A Nine Minutes Spin-Off Novel Read online

  “Sure, Shasta. Name it.”

  He watched her look around nervously. She finally craned her neck to once again meet his eyes. “Will you…will you…” She took a deep breath before finishing her sentence. “Will you kiss me?”

  The request caught him by surprise. “Why?” he asked with a frown.

  She gave an embarrassed laugh. “Because you never have. You and I have done everything imaginable, and yet we’ve never kissed. I guess I just wanted to know what it felt like to be kissed by you.”

  She was right. When it came to women, he’d limited himself to the hardcore ladies who ran with the club. And when he’d spent time with Shasta as well as the other women, it was always business. For them and him. It involved his dick and his brain. In that order. His dick to get the job done. His brain to remind him that’s all it was. A physical need to be satiated so he could concentrate on more important things. And if he was going to be even more truthful, he didn’t like the idea of swapping spit with a woman who more than likely had another guy’s cock shoved down her throat only moments before.

  No, he wasn’t a kisser, which was why he was surprised when he found himself getting ready to plant one on Lucy seconds before Bruce’s siren wailed. Shaking his head to bring himself back to the moment, he stared down into Shasta’s expectant eyes.

  He placed his hands on both her shoulders and planted a brotherly kiss on her forehead. “You deserve to be kissed by a man who will own your heart, and vice versa. I don’t own yours or any woman’s heart, Shasta.” And with all the things I’ve done, I probably never will. He stepped off the porch and headed for his bike, not letting himself dwell on how true and sad that statement, and the thought that followed it, made him feel.

  Chapter 16

  Lucy spent the rest of the day and most of the next morning sulking. And mentally kicking herself for the reason behind it.

  Jonas Brooks.

  Scary-looking biker.

  Admitted murderer.

  Maybe he was a thief too because he’d stolen a woman’s heart.

  A woman who knew better.

  Lucy couldn’t deny the tug of her heartstrings as she’d driven away from him yesterday, feeling like those strings pulled her beating heart from her chest and left it to dry up on the hot asphalt in front of a police cruiser.

  And what had he meant when he said the officer was probably there for him?

  She’d spent the rest of yesterday in almost a daze. She hadn’t allowed herself to think of Jonas while she tackled the rest of her errands, ensuring she could use this last day to go through her checklist. A checklist that took all of ten minutes. Everything was in order.

  At her mother’s insistence, her car had been given a once-over by their trusted mechanic. The tires had the perfect air pressure, and the gas tank, oil, and windshield wiper fluid had been topped off.

  Everyone she came into regular contact with had been reminded they wouldn’t be seeing her for a month. She taped a note to the inside of the front door as a reminder to herself to set the thermostat a tad higher and turn off the hot water heater before she left. She’d emptied her refrigerator of everything that would expire in the next thirty days. The garbage had been collected this morning, and she’d already returned the empty can to the garage. Lenny would come by once a week to collect her mail and water her inside plants. The sprinkler timer would water the lawn, and the lawn service would stop by to cut, trim, and edge along the sidewalks, oblivious to her absence. Her bags were packed, and her traveling outfit laid out for the next morning.

  She looked at her watch. It was only ten a.m. She had the rest of the day to do nothing. She recited her memory game as she once again strolled through her home, ensuring every window and glass slider were locked tight. She paused only once while checking the glass sliding doors in her bedroom. She slowly scanned her room and the backyard, the eerie feeling that she was being watched once again settling over her. She’d had a similar one earlier in the summer. Not that she was being watched but that someone had been in her home. Yet, she’d never found evidence of it. It was just a feeling, and she hadn’t remembered it until just this moment.

  “Nine, nine, eight, three, six, five, five,” she whispered as she continued her perusal of each room. This time taking note of each room’s details. And like she’d discovered before, nothing was out of place.

  Satisfied that there was nothing left to do, she returned to her bedroom and fell back on her bed with a dramatic plop, followed by an audible sigh. She spoke to the ceiling as she contemplated her heart’s dilemma.

  “Even though there was no chemistry and you weren’t remotely attracted to them, you shouldn’t have turned down the couple of guys who asked you out in college. You might have some experience in the romance department. Right now, you don’t have a clue as to how to discern your feelings for Jonas. Or even distinguish if he has feelings for you.” She grabbed a pillow and clutched it to her chest, rolling over on her side. “None of this even makes sense. He’s not your type, and there is no way you could be his type. You saw his type when they showed up on motorcycles at the gas station. You didn’t even stay long enough to see if you could’ve been included in their conversation. Let’s face it, girlie, if this was a class, for the first time in your life, you’d be flunking.”

  Yes, she and Lenny had a tough time of it in high school, but she couldn’t blame her lack of socialization on bullies. She’d completely withdrawn but not because she’d been hurt by others. She’d convinced herself that it was just as well that she didn’t have friends. She’d always been very goal-oriented, tenacious in her quest for an education. She couldn’t deny the small thrill she got when Christy had sat with her and Lenny at the restaurant, but it didn’t hold a candle to how she felt when she overcame an obstacle in the laboratory, won debates with her professors, or even researched and successfully brought a flower or plant back to life in her backyard. Learning was and always had been Lucy’s addiction of choice.

  No doubt she’d been a pariah in high school. Even if a boy had been interested, they would’ve stayed away for fear of being targets themselves. But what might surprise some to know was that she hadn’t spent her days wallowing behind a locked bedroom door dreaming of a best friend or even a boyfriend. She preferred to look at the positive. The distraction of friends, whether girlfriends or a boyfriend, would’ve kept her from her first love. Education.

  She’d had headhunters beating on her door for years. Her college professors had been recommending her for employment before she even earned her first degree, but she couldn’t bring herself to accept any. There was still so much to learn.

  The thought made her happy. She discarded the pillow, turned on her other side, and wrapped her arms around her dolls. She wouldn’t let herself think about Jonas Brooks while she was on her cruise. As a matter of fact, she was almost certain she would never see him again, and it was time to prepare herself mentally and emotionally for that inevitability.

  Lucy decided it was also time to allow herself an indulgence that had nothing to do with learning but would still involve books. She’d visit the library and spend the rest of her day reading. She’d ask the librarian for special permission to check out a few favorites and keep them longer than the allotted time. She would drown herself in the comfort of a trusted read. It would be like going home to an old friend.

  An hour later, she found herself carrying four favorites to the checkout desk.

  “Excellent choices!” the librarian enthusiastically exclaimed. “It’s been a while, Lucy. It’s nice to see you.”

  Lucy smiled and replied, “I’ve been so busy with school and then the summer got away from me. I was hoping you’d let me have these for longer than normal. I’ll be going on a cruise for a month.”

  “And you’ll be in good company, Lucy. The Great Gatsby, The Good Earth, Lamb in His Bosom, and The Awakening are excellent reads. I might read them again myself after you return them.” She grinned as she adjust
ed the date on the rubber stamp and pressed down on the library card. She returned it to the back of The Great Gatsby and reached for The Good Earth. “And you’re the second person today who’s asked for an extension on a book.”

  “Really?” Lucy asked. “Just out of curiosity, did they give you a reason? And if you don’t mind telling me, what book?”

  The librarian finished her stamping and stacked the four books in front of Lucy. “Of course I don’t mind telling you. She was a nice lady about your age. She checked out One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest to take on a cruise. Maybe she’ll be on your cruise!”

  Chapter 17

  Lucy fell asleep that night with The Awakening by Kate Chopin splayed across her chest and her glasses suspended at the end of her nose. She was dreaming of high-born ladies from before the turn of the century. Ladies who lived in beautiful mansions and the gentlemen who courted them. She saw herself standing in the garden of one such estate trying with great difficulty to have a conversation with a tall, dark, and handsome man. He continued to speak through the incessant banging of a loose shutter that was dangling precariously from the mansion at his back. Lucy kept looking from him to the shutter and back again as it continued to hit the house, growing louder with each smack.

  Her eyes popped open. It wasn’t the shutter from her dream banging around her head. Someone was knocking at her front door. She’d fallen asleep with the light on, and when she quickly arose, her book tumbled to her lap. She adjusted her glasses, while simultaneously setting her book to the side. Glancing at the clock on the nightstand, she saw that it was just after midnight. Grabbing her robe, she padded toward the front door, several possibilities of who could be knocking churning in her brain. She looked through the peephole and was startled when she recognized the police officer she’d encountered with Jonas at the Waffle House.

  She took a step back and opened the door.

  “I’m sorry to disturb you, Miss Renquest.” He gave her a sincere and curt nod as she tied the sash around her robe.

  “Is everything okay, Officer…?” She paused to squint at his badge. “Officer Miller.”

  “Bruce Miller. And yes, ma’am. Everything is okay and there’s no cause for alarm, but you’re needed at the station.”

  His comment surprised Lucy. “Why would I need to come to the police station? Especially at this hour?”

  The police officer looked down the street on both sides and asked, “May I come in? I don’t want to give any potential night owl neighbors fodder for gossip.”

  Lucy stepped to the side and waved him past her, saying, “Oh, excuse my manners. Please come in.” She closed the door behind him.

  “I’ll need your statement, Miss Renquest.”

  He was going to say more, but Lucy interrupted him. “Please, just Lucy. And why would you need a statement from me?”

  “Jonas Brooks has been taken into custody for an assault,” he lied. “A rather vicious one at that. We have conflicting stories from witnesses as to whether or not he was the perpetrator. He claims that he was having lunch with you during the time of the crime. He said that when I pulled up, you both had just come out of the restaurant.”

  She nodded. “That’s absolutely true. And I’m sure if you tracked down some of the restaurant employees, they’d tell you the same thing.”

  “He mentioned that as well, but you’re the only one whose full name he knew. We looked up your license to find your address.”

  “Jonas is telling you the truth. If there’s something you need me to sign, I’d be glad to.”

  “I’m afraid it’s a little more formal than that, Lucy. I need to ask you to come down to the police station. Mr. Brooks also told us that you’ll be leaving first thing in the morning for a cruise. There’s always the concern that if we can’t get others to corroborate his whereabouts, he might sit in jail until your return.”

  Lucy formed an O with her mouth. “If you give me a few minutes to get some clothes on, I’ll follow you,” she informed him.

  “If you don’t mind, I’d like to bring you down in the squad car and I’ll bring you home. That way I don’t feel responsible for you driving around in the middle of the night.”

  Lucy gave him an appreciative smile. “That’s so kind of you, Officer Miller. I’ll be right back.”

  After Lucy excused herself, Bruce Miller shook his head as he stood over the decorative table that was next to the front door. It displayed her purse, a set of keys, an empty vase, and a framed picture of a young family. He wished more people realized that if a criminal broke in the front door, they could do an immediate snatch-and-grab and take off before anyone knew they’d been robbed. He wasn’t complaining though, because Lucy’s negligence would make his job a little easier. He expertly removed her car key and placed it beneath the vase. As he waited for her to return, he let his eyes drift over what he could see of the tasteful yet modest home and couldn’t help but wonder, How in the world is this sweet young woman involved with a low-life MC dirtbag like Jonas Brooks?

  Chapter 18

  He did his best thinking in the wee hours of the morning, and on this particular morning, he found the confines of his air-conditioned home even more stifling than the South Florida heat. He decided to take a walk, finding that the slightly cooler air, combined with the mild exercise, helped him to clear his head and focus. The first thing he needed to do was convince himself he’d had no choice but to kill the woman who’d stuck her nose a little too far into his business. He wasn’t a murderer. Or rather, he’d never been a deliberate murderer, but he also knew before he’d set out on this journey that he wouldn’t be holding back. He would be doing whatever was required to locate what was rightfully his. He’d done his time and was owed compensation. And he knew the Renquest family held the key to said compensation. Prior to his lengthy stint in prison, he’d had a specialized job. He knew how to get in and out of a place of residence or business completely undetected. He could rip apart a sofa and sew it back up with such precision, even an upholstery expert wouldn’t know it had been invaded. Which was why he’d been in the Renquest home at least thirty times over the course of the summer. Prior to his secret home invasions, he’d done meticulous surveillance, and it wasn’t easy since Lucy’s schedule wasn’t as rigid as it had been when she was in school, but she was, for the most part, a creature of habit—and that worked to his advantage. The brother, Lenny, was much easier. It only took one carefully planned visit to finagle his way into the guy’s lackluster dorm room. He knew he wouldn’t find what he was looking for there but had to turn over every stone, even if it appeared to be a mere pebble. The good news concerning Lucy was that she’d rapidly settled into a summer routine he’d been able to rely on. He’d been painstakingly thorough in his searches, confident that he’d left no evidence that he’d been invading Lucy’s personal space. But, something had been off with her recently, and he’d wisely stayed away from the home for the past two weeks. He’d been walking toward her house and swiftly ducked behind a parked car when he saw the police cruiser in her driveway.

  He carefully peered over the hood of an El Camino, a vehicle he’d salivated over more than once on his walks, and frowned in total confusion when he saw two people exit the vehicle. The police officer approached the front door, while a woman with a swaying ponytail sprinted to the side of the house and crouched low behind a bush. He waited, unmoving and mesmerized by the scene, as the policeman went into the house, and less than ten minutes later, escorted Lucy to his car and drove off. Once the cruiser was out of sight, he watched the woman return to the front of the house and use a key to let herself in. He slowly made his way closer to the residence. He knew all the best spots to observe without being observed, but since Lucy had every shade, curtain, and blind drawn tight, he couldn’t see what was going on inside the home. Less than thirty minutes later, he was almost caught passing in front of the garage when the double door slowly started rising, the chain mechanism breaking the stone-cold silence of the
morning. He managed to duck behind a low hedge that bordered the living room bay window. He watched from his hiding place as Lucy’s car slowly backed out, only pausing to make sure the garage door went back down. He watched the taillights until they disappeared from view.

  Chapter 19

  The ride to the police station was uneventful. Officer Miller was polite but reserved. When Lucy questioned him concerning the crime Jonas was being accused of, he remained tight-lipped, saying that it wasn’t his place to describe the event, just to take a statement that could help exonerate Mr. Brooks.

  For all of her schooling, Lucy was at a clear disadvantage. She thought she understood basic legal rights, but she’d not delved in enough to dissect details. She was putting her complete faith and trust in what law enforcement was telling her. After arriving at the station, Officer Miller walked her past the man on desk duty who nodded while stifling a yawn.

  “Where is everybody?” Lucy asked as she followed him into a sparsely furnished room.

  He motioned for her to take a seat and said, “Everyone who’s on duty is out on patrol. Nights are fairly dead around here. I’ll be right back.”

  He didn’t return for ten full minutes and apologized as he laid down two Styrofoam cups of coffee. “I had to brew a new pot. I’m just assuming you like coffee. I guessed and put some sugar and cream in yours.”

  She smiled up at him and said, “You guessed right. Thank you.”

  He took the seat in front of her and after taking a sip of his own coffee, reached for a pad and asked for her formal statement concerning the time she’d spent with Jonas Brooks. “You’re a credible witness, Lucy. If you’ll just sign this, I’ll make a call over to the jail and have him released.”