Page 34

Chapter

Eleven

She had a spring in her step.

It was a weird saying, and if you’d asked her before today, Florence would have said that nobody could have a spring in their step, it just wasn't possible. It sounded odd and made her picture a big coiled spring attached to the bottom of a pair of shoes, making them bounce as they walked.

As weird as it sounded, that was exactly how it felt.

It was like she was bounding down the sidewalk, springing up to the beautiful pre-dawn sky with each step she took.

The change in her was all because of Eli.

Last night, she had let go of the fear that had engulfed her, it had been like throwing herself off the roof of a fifty-story building, but she knew that Eli was waiting at the bottom to catch her and that made everything okay.

It was so freeing to finally have let go of the heavy burden she had carried most of her life. Not only did she have a job she loved, and a safe place to live where she didn't have to worry about going to bed hungry or washing in a river, but she had someone to share her life with.

Florence couldn’t wipe the smile off her face.

She really had someone who wanted to be with her. Eli was everything she’d thought she had to avoid at all costs, and yet it turned out he was everything that she had needed in her life.

At her building, she paused to stare up at the sky for a moment.

Usually, she was so busy with her job and the gym that she didn't take time to just be and enjoy the sunrise. As a child, she’d often been out of the house before dawn, washing in the river so nobody would see her, then once she was done she would sit in the clearing near where her mother’s trailer was, lean against the sturdy trunk of an old pine tree, and watch as the sun rose.

She’d loved to watch as the sky changed color, going from the dark inky blue of night to a pale white then erupting into a mess of pinks, yellows, and reds.

It was a stunning spectacle and had reminded her that life was bigger than her and her problems. Knowing that had reassured her, given her the strength to face each new day.

Now, as she watched another sunrise, her back leaning against her building, in a very different setting than where she had grown up, she got that same feeling.

The world was bigger than she was, and carrying around old hurt and fears was only holding her back, preventing her from living life to the fullest.

Back as a scared and lonely little girl, she had promised herself that once she got away from River’s End, she would have the perfect life, she was going to have the family and home she had always longed for. She’d done okay with the job part of the plan, but not so great with the family part.

That was all about to change though.

Okay, so she wasn't quite ready to move in with Eli, but she was ready to date exclusively with the understanding that things would be getting serious pretty quickly.

The whole idea was beginning to excite her more and scare her less. It helped that Eli was so easygoing, nothing seemed to ruffle him, and he was being very patient with her and her insecurities, which was probably what had allowed her to open up to him.

With a sigh, she pushed away from the wall, she had to go up, take a quick shower, and get changed because she wanted to get to the gym before she went to work.

She’d skipped too many workouts and after all that ice cream for dinner last night, she really needed to hit the weights and the treadmill.

Rubbing her arms to brush away the chill and warm up, she waited for the lift and wondered what Eli had planned for them tonight.

He’d wanted to drive her back to her apartment so she could get ready for work, but she’d needed a little time to herself and told him the walk would do her good.

Reluctantly, he had agreed, but told her to expect him to be picking her up again tonight to take her out for dinner.

Since it was Eli they were talking about, she had no idea what to expect but knew that dinner wouldn’t be just dinner.

The lift doors opened, and by the time it reached her floor, she’d warmed up again.

Checking her watch, Florence saw she was going to have to hurry if she wanted to get in a full workout before work.

Well minus a weights session, with her arm stuck in this cast weights were out until it came off, and even then it would probably take her a while to get full strength back in that arm.

Treadmill, exercise bike, and stair machine were probably it for her today.

She picked up the pace as she walked down the hall but froze at her door.

Something felt wrong.

Remembering her discussion with her partner the day before, she pulled out her gun before unlocking the door.

If someone—no doubt the Coffin Killer—was in there, she wasn't walking in unprepared.

She wasn't ever going to be a victim again, if that man was in there then the only way he was walking out was in handcuffs.

As quietly as she could, she slid the key into the lock and eased open the door.

The second she stepped through the door she knew she was right.

Someone was in here.

The apartment was quiet, half hidden in shadows as only the early morning light filtered in through the window. Florence wasn't sure where he was hiding, but she knew he was somewhere, watching her.

“I know you’re in here,” she announced, gun held out in front of her, ready to swing in the direction of the intruder as soon as he gave himself away.

“Where have you been all night?” asked a voice laden with barely controlled anger.

“Out,” she said briefly. She wasn't going into details with this man, all she had to do was keep him talking until she got a fix on where he was, and then she’d get him in handcuffs and call Jake.

“You were with him weren't you? The rich man.” The way he said it made it sound like he was jealous.

“What if I was?”

“You shouldn’t be with him,” he spat.

“Who should I be with?” She took a couple of steps toward the pantry, he was hiding in there, she could see the door was slightly open and since his voice was coming from the kitchen that was the only place he could be.

“You know the answer to that question. You’ve always known, it’s why you’ve never brought a man to your place before.”

How did he know that?

It was true, whenever she was with a man it was always at their place.

This was the first real home she’d had, and she wanted to keep it her safe place.

Bringing a man here when she’d known there was no future with them gave them the opportunity to invade her safe place, and she’d worked too hard to finally be comfortable somewhere, there was no way she was ruining that.

Eli was the first man who had ever spent the night here, it was like her subconscious had known what her conscious mind was trying to ignore.

The only way that the Coffin Killer could know so much about her and her life was if he was watching her constantly. He had to have an apartment here in the building, on her floor, probably either next to or across from her apartment. He was more obsessed with her than she had realized.

“You should be with me. You’ve been mine since you were eight years old, we have a connection that can never be erased.”

“I don’t even know your name.”

“Toby Lane.” He stepped out of the pantry, a gun in his hand aimed right at her.

It seemed they were in a stalemate.

She had her gun pointed at him, but he had one aimed at her, and Florence knew he wasn't going to just put it down and let her cuff him.

She wasn't going to put hers down either. She’d had enough of living in the shadow of what this man had put her through. It was always there, hovering at the back of her mind, but maybe if he was finally in prison she could cut the last tie to her past and move forward without baggage.

“Put your gun down, Toby,” she ordered. “It’s time to end this.”

“We’re ending this, Florence. Once and for all.

I'm here to claim what's mine, I won't let some rich businessman come in and steal you away from me.

I won't lose you again. I kept my distance, watched you without you knowing, waiting until the time was right before making my move, but that time is now. You have a choice, Florence, you can either come willingly with me now, or I can kill that man of yours and then forcibly take you. Your choice.”

“Actually, Toby, we’re going with choice number three. I’m going to arrest you and make sure you spend the rest of your miserable life in prison.”

6:56 A.M.

He couldn’t stay away from her.

It had been less than an hour since Florence had left his penthouse, and Eli couldn’t resist stopping by her place before he headed into work. He had a meeting at seven-thirty that he was probably going to be late for, and he couldn’t summon even an ounce of regret.

In just days, Florence had become the single most important thing in his life.

More important than his company, more important than his friends, more important than everything except his nephew. He was addicted to her, and he had no interest in curbing that addiction.

Last night had been so much fun, and he was so glad he had included Florence in choosing furniture for the penthouse.

If it had just been him moving in there he would have just paid someone to do it for him, he wouldn’t have cared what bedroom furniture they chose, or which couch, or what curtains or blinds for the windows, but Florence had been really into it.

She’d looked through a million different options before settling on things, and by the time they’d eaten their fill of ice cream and made out a little before falling asleep on the air mattress he’d asked his personal assistant to leave, they’d finished choosing furniture for the living room, the dining room, and the master bedroom.