I’ve got a favor. Need you to look into something for me.”
“Alright. Whatcha got?”
“Need you to work your magic. I need to know everything you can find on Olivia Turner. She’s around twenty-six or twenty-seven. She’s from Boston, Massachusetts. Her parents were killed just over three months ago. I need to know everything you can find out about the parents: who they worked with, who they’d recently pissed off … whatever you can find on them. Check the police files. I want to know what they’ve been able to uncover and see if they have any suspects. Give me everything they’ve got on file.”
“No problem. That all?”
“There is a detective there by the name of Brakeman. He’s in charge of the case. See what you can find on him,” I added.
“On it,” he assured me. “Stay by your phone. If I come across anything, I’ll let you know.”
“Thanks, man. I’ll be waiting.”
I hung up and tossed the phone on the coffee table as I dropped down onto the sofa. I was too wound up to sleep just yet, so I grabbed the remote and started flipping through all the different sports channels. I was hoping the hum of the TV would take my mind off of everything, but it didn’t help. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw the look on Olivia’s face when she told me about her parents. I had no idea who had hurt them, but I wasn’t going to stop until I found out.
It was just a single conversation, but I felt like a huge weight had been lifted from my shoulders after I talked to Clutch.
I’d been holding it in for so long, and it felt so good to finally tell him about everything that happened. Over the past few weeks, I’d started to grow feelings for him, and I was afraid he’d be mad at me and I’d lose him once I told him that I’d been lying. But he didn’t get mad. He acted like he’d known all along that I was keeping something from him. I shouldn’t have been surprised. He was a smart guy. I’m sure he’d heard when the kids slipped up and called out my real name, so it wouldn’t take much for him to put two and two together. He stood there and listened to every word as I explained what had happened to my parents and everything I’d gone through to keep the kids safe. He was attentive and understanding and made me feel like I’d done the right thing. When I was done talking, he didn’t run for the hills. He didn’t even budge from his spot.
Instead, he kissed me.
That kiss—holy cow! That surprised me most of all. Seeing the swirl of emotion in his eyes as he stood there staring at me stole my breath. He leaned over me, covering my mouth with a hungry kiss, and everything around me seemed to slip away. The caress of his lips was magic, making me feel like I was walking on air. The worries of my past simply disappeared and gave me a brief reprieve, allowing me for just a moment to consider the possibilities of the future. I’d never felt anything like it, and deep down, I knew it had everything to do with Clutch, and that terrified me.
Over the next few days, Clutch and I explored our newfound relationship, becoming more and more creative with our stolen moments. When the kids weren’t around, there were many secret kisses, each one becoming more passionate and demanding than the last. I saw the hunger in his eyes when he looked at me, and it was only a matter of time before he’d want to take that next step. And even though I wanted the same thing, I was terrified. In the past, I hadn’t had much experience with men. I had a couple of boyfriends in high school, but I’d only been intimate with one of them. I’d been seeing Timmy for almost three months when we decided to sleep together. Neither of us had been with anyone else, so it was awkward to say the least. After several attempts, it never got any better, so the relationship quickly died out. Then there was Will, my college boyfriend of two years. He came from a wonderful family and studied medicine, and at the time, he was the man I thought I was going to spend the rest of