Waiting for Jo (13 page)

“We won’t be needing these,” he says with a
devilish grin on his face.

Will lowers himself down on the sofa and back
between my legs. I put my arms around his neck and pull his face to
mine so that I can kiss him. His member lightly brushes the inside
of my thigh, and I respond by getting even wetter. We continue to
kiss and Will presses my legs open further.

And then, there’s that glorious feeling. Will
slides himself inside of me. He’s big and fills me so completely
that it’s almost painful. But my body quickly adjusts and the
slight pain is replaced with pure pleasure.

Will moves himself in and out of me slowly. I
respond to his movements and match my pace with his.

“Ooooohhh, you feel amazing, Jo. Are you even
real?”

I put my hand on Will’s face and look him in
the eye. “You feel so good,” I say after letting out a soft
moan.

Our pace quickens, and I have to try hard to
not come. I want this to last as long as possible, but the hot,
swelling pressure building up inside of me is too intense to hold
in. I finally let go and release it all. For a moment, my skin
feels like it’s on fire. I feel an explosion inside of me, and then
every muscle in my body relaxes.

Will quickly follows. “Oh, God!” he says
before letting out a deep, husky moan. I can feel his body spasm
slightly. He then lowers himself to his elbows and takes several
deep breaths before kissing me on the forehead.

“Are you okay?” he asks.

I reach my hand up to his face and stroke his
cheek. “I’m more than okay. I’m great. How are you?”

“I’m fantastic. That was phenomenal. You’re
phenomenal,” he says between breaths.

I smile up at him. “I agree.”

We silently stay in that position for a few
moments. I run my fingers along his bulky biceps and he kisses me
on my cheek and neck.

“Can I ask you a question?” Will asks with a
serious look on his face.

My post-coital serenity comes crashing to an
end. “Umm, yeah. Sure.”

“Where did you get that necklace? Every time
I see you, you have it on.” Using his index finger, Will traces the
chain of my horseshoe necklace down my collar bone.

I’m not sure how to answer the question. I
don’t want to lie to him. But I’m guessing he will feel pretty
uncomfortable when he finds out that James gave it to me for my
birthday.

“My ex gave it to me. I’ve just gotten so
used to wearing it that I don’t even think about it anymore.” I
keep my answer short and wait for Will’s response.

He stops playing with the necklace and is
quiet for a few moments.

“Well, I guess we should get up.” He quickly
rises to his feet and begins putting his clothes back on.

Uh oh. It’s obvious that he’s bothered by the
necklace. Maybe honesty isn’t always the best policy.

I follow suit and grab my clothes and then
dart to the bathroom. I dress quickly and decide that I should get
out of his apartment as soon as possible. I feel awkward and just
want to escape the uncomfortable situation.

“Do you want to get dinner,” Will asks as I
exit the bathroom.

“I better get home, actually. I need to let
Malcolm out and feed him, and I have some things I need to do
around the house.”

“Oh. Okay. I’ll walk you to your car.”

When we get to my car, Will and I hug
awkwardly, and he opens the door for me. I climb into the driver’s
seat. Will closes my door, and I roll my window down.

“Jo, I hope you’re planning on seeing me
again,” he says with a slight frown on his face.

“Don’t be a dummy! Of course I am.”

Will’s frown fades and his eyes light up. He
puts his head through my window and gives me a sweet kiss on the
lips.

“I’m no dummy, Miss O’Shea. Drive carefully.
I’ll text you soon.”

“Okay, handsome. Have a good night.”

I pull away from the Alcove parking lot and
start thinking about Will. I can’t believe that we just had sex. It
feels unreal. Does this mean he’s my boyfriend?

After a few minutes, I notice that a car is
following me. Okay, it’s just a coincidence. A lot of people live
around here. I make a left turn off of Riverbend, a major four lane
street. The car follows. I make another left onto my street. The
car does the same. Maybe this isn’t a coincidence. I purposefully
pass my house. I make another left and then another. So does the
car. This definitely is no coincidence. No one makes four lefts in
a row. I make my way back to Riverbend and I speed up. The car is
still tailing me.

Soon, I’m going well over the speed limit.
The car gets about as close to me at it can without making contact.
I’m worried that the driver is going to try and run me off the
road.

I grab my cell phone and call Will.

“Hey babe! Long time no talk,” he says
jokingly.

“Will, there’s someone following me,” my
voice quivers.

“Where are you?” he says with urgency in his
voice.

“I’m on Riverbend. I’m heading back toward
the Alcove. I wasn’t sure what else to do.”

“Just keep driving back here. I’ll be waiting
outside for you. But stay on the phone with me.”

The car continues to follow me closely, but
as I begin my turn into the Alcove parking lot, the driver speeds
by and doesn’t follow me any further. I see Will waiting in the
parking lot and he runs over to me. I park and unroll my
window.

“Are you okay? Where is he?” asks Will.

“I’m okay. He’s gone. He kept driving once I
pulled into the parking lot.” I get out of the car and practically
throw myself into his arms. “I’m pretty shaken up. He was driving
so close to me that I thought he was planning on running me off the
road.”

Will takes a few seconds to hug me, but I can
tell that he’s eager to find out what happened.

He separates himself from me. “What did the
car look like? Could you see who was driving?”

“I couldn’t see much. It was too dark. I
could tell that he was driving a dark sedan, but that’s about
it.”

“Well, either you’re going to stay here
tonight or I’m going to stay with you. It’s up to you,” Will
says.

“Will you come back home with me to get
Malcolm and my stuff? I’m a little afraid of going to the house
alone now.”

“Of course I will.” Will jogs over to the
passenger side of the car and hops in.

Once we get back to Will’s apartment, I write
down everything I can remember about the incident in my notebook.
After dinner and a couple of drinks, Will and I head to bed. Today
was an emotional roller coaster, and I’m mentally and physically
exhausted. Will wraps his arms around me, kisses me on the cheek,
and tells me goodnight before quickly falling asleep. I wish I
could do the same, but my mind is racing. It doesn’t seem like this
guy is going to leave me alone any time soon, and I’m no closer to
figuring out who it is than I was six months ago. And the thought
of facing James at work tomorrow makes me want to throw up. I don’t
even know what I’m going to say to him. Maybe I should just keep it
completely professional and act like the e-mails never
happened.

I lie awake and listen to Will breath for
what feels like hours. My mind finally gives into my body, and I
fall into a fitful sleep.

Chapter 1
6

I arrive at work early and shut myself in my
office in an attempt to avoid speaking to anyone. Debbie is sweet,
but I’m not really in the mood for small talk, and I would just
really like to avoid talking to James altogether. That’s why e-mail
was invented, right? I quietly open my door and sneak out around
10:30 to refill my coffee cup.

“Jo? Is that you?” I hear James say from his
office.

Shit!

“Yeah, It’s me,” I say in an annoyed tone as
I turn around and walk toward his office. “What can I do for you?”
I poke my head into his door and notice that he has a very serious
look on his face.

“I need you to accompany me to dinner with
some potential clients tonight. This is a huge white collar case,
and if I get it, it will make my year.”

I groan quietly. “Why do you need me to go?
I’m just a paralegal.”

“Three reasons. One, I want them to see that
I actually have a team, even if that team is just you and me. Two,
you’re smart and well-spoken, and you tend to leave a good
impression. And three, you’re a very attractive female. That always
helps in these types of situations.”

I roll my eyes. “Well, thank you for the
compliments. But don’t you think that you should ask me instead of
telling me. Dinners with clients are not in my job description.
What if I have plans tonight?”

James smiles. “You’re pretty cute when you
try to stand up for yourself. Do you?”

“Do I what?” I ask.

“Do you have plans tonight?”

I fold my arms and tilt my head sideways.
“That’s not the point!”

“So you don’t have plans then? I guess that
means you’re coming to dinner.” James looks down at some papers in
front of him and starts writing something down. That’s his way of
telling me this conversation is over.

I start walking back toward the kitchen.
“Fine I’ll come, but I’m ordering lobster and filet mignon and
you’re paying,” I say loudly.

“Whatever. Just be ready by 7:00. I’ll pick
you up,” he shouts back at me.

The bright red light on my phone is lit up
when I get back to my office indicating that I have a voicemail
message. I didn’t think that anyone had this number yet; most
people don’t even know that I’m employed here. I also hadn’t gotten
around to setting up my outgoing message. I push the voicemail
button on the phone and listen to an awkward and nervous sounding
voice.

“Uh...Jo. This is...um...Dickey from Anderson
& Thomas. You know, the guy from document production. I just
heard that you left the firm. And I...uh...just wanted to say that
I miss you. Click.”

How in the hell did he find out where I was
working? I didn’t tell anyone at the firm. My mind immediately goes
to the place that I don’t want it to go. Maybe he is the stalker.
Maybe that is him in that picture from the botanical gardens. Maybe
he’s been watching me and following me and that’s how he knows that
I’m working for James. The thought creeps me out, and I decide that
I’m going to use my lunch break to file a police report.

I text Will and tell him about the
message.

Me: Dickey just left me a message at work
telling me that he misses me.

Will: Will you please file a police report
now. It has to be him.

Me: That’s my plan. I’m going to do it on my
lunch break. Maybe they’ll surprise me and actually be helpful.

Will: Good! Let me know what they say.

Chapter 1
7

I approach the reception area of the police
station and wait as a young, mousy-looking girl finishes up a phone
call.

“No, ma’am,” she says. “We cannot send an
officer to your house to check on your cat…I understand that, but
that’s not what the police are for…ma’am, please don’t curse at me.
If you don’t stop yelling I’m going to hang up...My name is Maisey.
Feel free to report me to my supervisor.” Maisey finally slams the
phone down and lets out an angry grunt.

She turns to me. “Sorry about that,” she
says. “What can I do for you?”

“No problem. I’d like to file a police
report. Some anonymous person has been harassing me, and I’m
beginning to think that he might get violent.”

“Okay, ma’am. Here is some paperwork to fill
out.” She hands me a stack of forms from behind the counter. “When
you’re finished, bring them back up here, and I’ll have you speak
with an officer.”

I fill out the forms as quickly as possible
and bring them back to Tracey.

“All filled out,” I say as I hand them to
her.

“Great. Give me a couple minutes, and I’ll
get Detective Dollarhide to speak with you. He’ll probably want to
look over these forms first.”

I wait for another fifteen minutes before an
attractive man in his early thirties approaches me. Is this
Detective Dollarhide? I was expecting someone older.

“Hi. Are you Miss O’Shea?”

I stand up and extend my hand. “Yes. Are you
Detective Dollarhide?”

He shakes my hand firmly and smiles. “That’s
me. Why don’t you come over to my desk, and we can talk about your
problem.”

Detective Dollarhide punches a code into a
key pad, opening a door that leads to the back end of the station,
and we walk to an office in the back corner. He opens the door for
me and pulls out a chair. “Have a seat.” He says.

I sit down in the tattered blue chair. “Thank
you,” I say.

Detective Dollarhide looks down at the
paperwork. “So, tell me what’s been going on.”

I recount the entire story to him and hand
him the cigar box and the copy of my notebook.

He pulls out some of the items from the box
and casually looks at them. “So, why are you just now reporting
this? It’s been going on for a while.”

I immediately feel defensive. “Because I
didn’t think that it was too serious at first. And, honestly, I’m a
little skeptical. I’m not convinced that the law can do anything
for me in this case.”

The detective doesn’t seem offended by my
statement. “I’ll be honest with you too, Miss O’Shea. Our options
are very limited here. But let me tell you what we are going do.”
He takes out a note pad and writes as he talks. “I’m going to check
out this Richard Moore and possibly have a talk with him. I’m also
going to have my officers patrol your neighborhood nightly.”

“Are you going to do anything with the
evidence that I just gave you?” I ask.

“There isn’t anything that we can do. The
problem is that we don’t know who’s doing this and we don’t have
the resources to figure that out.”