Soft Place to Fall (Navy Book 4)

Chapter 10

"It started about six months ago. I was doing a fashion show in New York and a bouquet of flowers were delivered to me backstage. I didn't think anything of it, it happens from time to time, but there was no note and that was odd. The following day I was at the gym working out and the same type of flowers, sunflowers, were also delivered to me. They were left at the front desk and that scared me a little."

Carmen looked over at Will who had finished his sandwich and was leaning back in his chair watching her as she talked. His face was a mask, and his lack of concern or emotion made it easier to continue.

"After that I started to receive flowers at the oddest times, as if the person wanted me to know that they were aware of where I was at all times. I thought it odd but harmless until the notes." Carmen stood up gathering her and Will's plates, walking them over to the sink where she started to rinse them. Will remained silent waiting for her to continue.

"The notes were what you would expect, little things like; I love you, we will be together one day, you're all I think about, but they eventually changed. I started to get really scared when they started to say things like; I like your hair today and then give a detail about how I was wearing it."

"This was what your mother was concerned about when she called you last night?" Will stood up and walked towards her, standing behind her. She was leaning up against counter looking out of the window over the sink.

'I didn't want to tell her, the woman feeds on drama, but she came by my apartment one day after I had just received a particularly detailed note about..."

"About?" Will wouldn't let her stop now.

"I have a birthmark, it's in a private place but the person who was leaving the notes knew about it and it upset me. I needed to share with someone and she was there."

Will only nodded, and to his credit didn't ask or make a joke about the birthmark as he waited for her to continue.

"The final straw was when I got home and found flowers on my doorstep with an envelope..." She had to clear her throat as she realized how scared she had been then and how scared she was now. She was so used to being alone, to fighting life's battles alone, and she was tired of it. Will's strong presence behind her made her aware of just how truly alone she was in the world.

"What was in the envelope?" Will's voice was low and concerned and it made her cry. All she wanted was for someone to care, to really care. Her mother pretended to, and she was paying Josh to, but Will sounded just as concerned, was it because she wanted him to be?

"There were photos of me in my apartment." Her voice broke and when she felt Will's arms wrap around her from behind, enfolding her in his strong embrace, she lost it and started to sob. She turned around and curled into him cried her heart out, all over him.

He held her tight and sunk with her to the floor, leaning against the cabinets, not saying a word.

Carmen's sobs eventually stopped and became gentle sniffs and Will reached up over his head and handed her the kitchen towel.

"It's not a handkerchief but it'll do."

Carmen nodded as she wiped her eyes and her nose. She knew she would feel like a fool later but all she could feel at the moment was relief. She had needed to let it all out and she felt better for it.

"Would you like me to make you another sandwich?" Carmen asked Will, wanting to return the favor but there was so little she could do for him.

"No Honey, I have to watch my girlish figure." He kissed her forehead and Carmen noted a change in him. It was subtle but he was tense, she could feel it.

She pulled away, turning to look at him.  "What's wrong, what's changed?"

"I have to tell you something but I don't want you to me angry or upset."

Carmen's eyes grew round as looked at him, was he the stalker, had he played her?

"You're so easy to read, it's not what you're thinking. I work for Josh."

"You work for Josh? I thought you worked for Quinn?"

"No, I'm helping Quinn out, he mentioned he had a difficult horse and I said I would try to help him with her while I was here. I'm here because Josh sent me to help."

Carmen jumped up, feeling betrayed, everything she had thought earlier about his caring was all a lie, he was being paid to care. He had been paid to take her out and flirt with her too.

Carmen felt herself go cold. Why was it that every man she ever had an interest in was never as he appeared to be? She felt like a fool. Carmen was so angry that she couldn't trust herself to talk to him, turning on her heel she exited the kitchen as gracefully as she could, despite her puffy eyes and blotchy face.

*******

Will watched her go, not trying to stop her. She was angry and he got it. She must feel like she had been deceived one more time. He leaned back banging his head against the cabinet behind him in frustration.

He had been right there, where he had needed to be. She had started to trust him and he could no longer lie to her, Josh be damned. At the reminder of Josh, he reached into his back pocket and dialed his number.

"She knows why I'm here," Will said as soon as he heard Josh's distracted answer.

Josh didn't ask any questions, it didn't matter how she had found out only that she knew.

"Then we might as well take advantage of the situation, find out what you can about her mother. I'm fairly confident she's involved somehow but I can't figure out why."

Will hung up the phone, knowing that getting Carmen to share now would be doubly hard. She had opened up to him once and he doubted she would do it again. Her coldness when she had left him had chilled him, he had never seen that side to her.

He stood, rubbing the back of his neck with his hand. The first thing he needed to do was get moved into the main house and it would take him the rest of the afternoon to do it. He picked up the magazine that he had thrown on the table earlier and opened it up to her photo.

Will noted the coldness of the model in the photo, it was the same coldness he had felt when she had left him earlier. That wasn't his Carmen in the photo, his Carmen was different, and he wondered how he didn't recognize the difference before now. He needed to track down the photo that had saved his life, he found it hard to believe that she was as cold in that photo as she was in the one he was currently holding, he wondered what the difference was, had she been in love then?

The thought took his breath away. He didn't like the thought of her with another man at all. He already wanted to hurt the person who had invaded her personal space and taken photos of her in private, and he wanted to hurt any person who had hurt her, her mother included.

But it wasn't his right. All he could do was keep her safe, the same way that she had kept him safe. Maybe when this was all over her would share that with her. If he had the chance.

He felt himself smile as he walked into the living room throwing the magazine on the coffee table. He had little doubt that she would make him pay for his deception and his adrenaline started to pump at the thought of battling her, and he found he was looking forward to it.