“Yeah, but I love all the time you’re home.” She rolled over and unfastened his shorts. His cock hardened at the attention.

“We’d better go into the bedroom.” He made her stand and led her down the hall.

With everything going on, all he wanted was to make love to her, to show her with his body everything in his heart beyond the kink, beyond their dynamic.

Just the pure love.

He rolled her on top of him and buried his face in the juncture of her thighs, enjoying the sweet taste of her juices. He flicked at her clit with his tongue, happy to know the old techniques still had the same effect on her even without all her memories. When she found his cock and took it into her mouth, he moaned loudly against her flesh, enjoying her echoing moan around his cock.

He reached up and wrapped his hands around her ass, holding tight and digging his fingers in when she tried to wiggle away until she gave in. Alternating fucking her with his tongue and licking and sucking on her clit, he kept her coming, every gasping moan filling his heart until he was satisfied he’d pleasured her enough.

He rolled her off him and pulled her up the bed. “Don’t you ever try to make me stop making you come,” he teased. “I’ll stop when I’m damn good and ready.”

She laughed. “Yes, Sir.”

He grabbed a condom, rolled it onto his cock, and knelt between her legs. Then he lifted her ankles, resting them on his shoulders and leaning forward, pinning her. Sliding his cock inside her, he paused and reached up to grab her wrists and hold them over her head.

Okay, so maybe a little kink.

He smiled down at her. “Look at me, baby girl.” The blue flecks in her eyes looked dark as she focused on him.

“Who do you belong to?”

Her voice sounded tiny, subspacey. “You, Sir.”

He slowly thrust, knowing today he wouldn’t be able to hold out very long after the way she’d been sucking on his cock. “Yes, you do. Whose good girl are you?”

She writhed beneath him, happy. “Yours, Sir.”

“Such a very good girl.” He started thrusting, his release catching him by surprise with only a few thrusts. His cock pulsed, throbbing, exploding as his balls emptied into the condom. After a few moments he rolled to his side, enjoying the feel of her stretching out next to him.

“Let’s take a nap, sweetheart.”

She draped her body over his. “Yes, Sir.”

* * *

A few hours later they showered and leashed Doogie for a long walk down to a convenience store.

Laura’s stomach growled. “What do you want to eat? I don’t know about you, but I’m getting pretty hungry.”

“I’m going to make you one of my world-famous omelets.”

“World-famous?”

“Okay, well, maybe not world-famous, and not as good as Shay’s, but the guys at the station like them.” They picked up a newspaper and returned to the house. Laura wasn’t worried about the shop. Tuesday mornings were always pretty slow.

Rob fired up the stove while Laura checked her email. She scrolled through her messages when she spotted one with the subject Getting Closer.

“Rob!”

He ran in and looked over her shoulder. Reaching around her, he clicked to open the message.


You are running out of time, Laura.


It was sent late the night before.

Laura made a strange sound and Rob turned to her. Pale and trembling, she bolted for the bathroom. He followed her, holding her shoulders and pulling her hair away from her face while she was sick, then helping her clean up. Her tears flowed and he held her there, sitting on the bathroom floor, while she sobbed.

“Why can’t he leave me alone? Why does he want to ruin my life? Who the hell is he?”

“I don’t know, honey, but he’s going to be one sorry bastard if I get my hands on him.”

Det. Thomas probably broke several speed laws to make it there as fast as he did. This time he came armed with FDLE agent Bruce Hutchins, also working on the case. At his advice they left the computer alone after opening the message. Hutchins sat down at the computer and got to work. They left him to his business and went to the kitchen. Laura’s appetite had deserted her, but Rob coaxed her into eating a few bites anyway.

Thomas sounded as frustrated as they were. “Laura, have you remembered anything about the attack?”

She shook her head. “I don’t remember anything from a couple of months up until the attack. That’s still mostly a complete blank. There’s little stuff coming back from before that, and some big chunks from several years ago, but nothing that would be any help.”

“This guy has to be someone who knows you or had some sort of contact with you. He’s got your email address for crying out loud.”

“That doesn’t mean anything,” Rob interrupted. “Her email address is usually listed in the tag at the end of her articles, and it’s listed on the shop’s web site. It wouldn’t be hard for someone with even a little computer knowledge to find that out.”

“I’ve got it,” Hutchins called.

They returned to the living room and looked over his shoulder. He had set up his own laptop and was running a program on it. “I fingered the IP of the email message. Originated from a server in New Mexico.”

Laura blinked. “New Mexico?”

He nodded. “That doesn’t mean anything. He could have logged into it from somewhere else. What I have to do now is contact the server and have them run traces on their end.”

Det. Thomas turned to Laura. “Do you know anyone who has this kind of computer experience? Anyone at all you can think of?”

She sat down and concentrated, finally shaking her head. “No one I know of.” She snorted. “Not that that means anything.”

The agent finished his work and packed up his computer. “Whoever he is, he’s using the same code name.”

Upon getting the emailed threats, Laura had been too distraught to think, much less analyze them. “What’s he calling himself?”

“MedicineMan.”

“Did anything happen last night at either place?” Rob asked.

Thomas shook his head. “Nothing. All quiet.”

“That’s a pretty strange coincidence, don’t you think?” Rob noted. “We disappear, and all of a sudden she gets another message.”

Thomas didn’t say anything at first. It was obvious to Laura the detective was reluctant to say anything in front of her.

Laura stared at them. “Are you two saying that this guy’s been watching me all this time?”

“We think that’s a possibility, yes. It’s one we’ve strongly considered for a while now.”

“And you think this confirms it?”

Thomas nodded.

She stood and went to the window. “This is bullshit. First this freak tries to kill me, and now he’s stalking me. I can’t live my life like this. I don’t want to be in fear for the rest of my life, and I refuse to run.”

Anger rapidly displaced her fear. “Who the fuck does this asshole think he is?”

Chapter Thirty-One

After Thomas and Hutchins left, Rob drove Laura to the dive shop, taking a long, winding route north off the key, then down 776 to the eastern end of Placida Road, and around the south end of the peninsula before heading north again to the shop.

Laura went straight to her office and worked on some accounting, Rob refusing to leave until he absolutely had to for work. Now the question of the missing current journals seemed more important than ever. She leafed through the last few books. There were almost daily entries, many quite detailed. It would stand to reason she wouldn’t change her habits.

An answer to this entire nightmare might be there if she could find them.

Sarah went out to pick up some office supplies and lunch for everyone when Steve put down his foot and refused to let Laura leave. When she returned an hour later, she raced into the shop. Steve was out back working on one of the boat engines. “Watch out, Laura, Mr. Green Eyes alert. He pulled in right behind me.”

“Damn.”

“What?” Rob looked like they were speaking a foreign language.

Laura whispered low enough Sarah couldn’t hear him. “Sir, that guy.”

His jaw tightened before he grinned from ear to ear. “Don’t worry. I’ll handle this. You both stay in here.” He stepped out into the shop, leaving the door cracked open enough the women could hear.

They heard the bell jingle on the front door as it opened, followed by Rob’s voice. “Hello! Can I help you with anything?”

Sarah and Laura looked at each other and tried not to laugh. The tone of Rob’s voice sounded so fakely cheerful it was almost comical.

Laura heard Don Kern’s voice. “Is Laura here?”

“Sure. Can I tell her who’s here?”

“Don Kern.”

“Hold on, I’ll get her.”

They expected Rob to open the office door, since it was located behind the counter. Instead, Rob bellowed as if she was outside on the dock. “Honey! There’s a Mr. Kern here to see you!”

The women almost lost it. Laura waited a moment before leaving the office, as if she had been outside. Sarah followed close behind, not wanting to miss the fun.

“Did you call me, sweetie?” She stretched up and kissed Rob, letting out a squeal when he reached around and goosed her ass.

“Yes. This gentleman here asked to see you.”

For a second, Don Kern wore a surprised expression. Then a mask slipped over his face and he was the model of professionalism. He asked about booking a dive trip. Laura gave him all the details before Sarah took over and finished the transaction. Rob followed Laura back to the office, goosing her again before she could get through the door.