Chapter 12

"Emery, what's wrong?" Annalise asked softly, reaching over to take her friend's hand. "Well, that was stupid of me. They kidnapped you, so we need to go file a report."

"No." Emery shook her head, curling up in the seat and wrapped her arms around her knees. "I promised I wouldn't turn them in. They only did this because one of their best friends was killed and they truly believe I did it. I just wish there was a way to explain the 15 hours I missed…" Then she explained the note that showed up at Jon's apartment, not adding the near sex with her kidnapper. Annalise would slap the hell out of her for being so stupid. "Let's just go to a motel and get some sleep. They won't bother us again."

Somehow, Annalise doubted they heard the last of Jon and Joe. She also wondered if maybe she should have Emery admitted for a 72 psychiatric hold because this sounded like Stockholm syndrome. Emery was justifying being kidnapped; there was no justification. It was wrong, plain and simple.

"All right." Annalise tried not to sound skeptical.

Annalise was right regarding Jon and Joe not being done with them. It was far from over. Somehow, they managed to get back to their apartment the following day and Emery stopped at the sight of Jon sitting on the front porch steps with no paparazzi in sight. Something told her he chased them off, but Emery wouldn't assume anything.

"What are you doing here?" Dumb question, Emery berated herself mentally, not moving toward him for fear she'd end up kidnapped again. She really had nothing else to say to him and hoped his visit was quick so she could go back to pretending he didn't exist.

"Bad case of blue balls." He quipped with a grin, laughing outright when her jaw dropped, though he did duck Annalise's swing, moving out of range. He could be quick as a cat when he wanted to be. "So anyway, about that note…" He eyeballed Emery, who was still looking like she might try decking him herself. "I chased down the messenger. Kid was legit. Works for a parcel/note company, but he was hired off the books by some homeless guy. You know any homeless guy? Cause Tampa is full of them."

"No, she doesn't. Anything else, cocksucker?" Annalise demanded, stepping somewhat in front of Emery to protect her from Jon.

"Annalise…"

Emery gently pushed Annalise from standing in front of her, smiling at her protective friend and frowned in Jon's direction. Blue balls, really? It made her wonder if he was having the same issues she had ever since they stormed out of his apartment a week ago.

"I can handle this. Go on before you're late for work."

"But…"

"I promise, I'm fine. Text me on your break."

Annalise narrowed her eyes at Jon, deciding to trust Emery's instincts and hoped she didn't regret it. "If you harm one HAIR on her head…"

"He won't. Go." Emery pushed her gently but firmly down the sidewalk toward her vehicle. Once Annalise drove off, Emery felt Jon standing behind her and wrapped her arms around herself, slowly turning around to look up in his pale blues. "She is right, I don't know any homeless guys." Now people thought she hung out with the homeless?

What next?

"Next, we get you to take your bipolar meds and then you and I go find this homeless dude." Jon chuckled, taking her arms and unwound them from around herself, reading her mind. "You know, Killer, one minute you're ready to bake me cookies, the next you want to fuck my brains out and then you're railing on me like we're divorced. You always like that or am I special occasion?"

She had mood swings as wild as his and now that he had a day to reflect over everything, Jon was in a bit of a chipper mood. That and he had something to do, which didn't involve kidnapping. Maybe bribery and a bottle of scotch, but no kidnapping.

"Don't flatter yourself. And I don't need bipolar meds, I should say that about you. One minute you're on me like white on rice and the next you're calling me a killer. I HATE being called that because it's not true. And coming from you just…" Emery didn't pull away from him because it felt nice being touched by Jon again. Lord, maybe she was bipolar too! "You make me crazy, you know that? You can be really nice and sweet, but then you can turn around and be a complete asshole with the things you say and do. If you want my help, no more calling me killer." If Jon couldn't take the compromise, he was on his own tracking down the homeless guy.

"I don't know – Killer is kind of cute and pretty accurate because whenever I say it, those blue eyes of yours flash like you're considering slitting my throat." Jon drawled teasingly. "Murder could be a prerequisite of foreplay..." He let go of her and shielded his face, laughing when it looked like she was going to borrow Annalise's move and co-cock him. "Alright, I'll be nice. Maybe we both need those meds, yeah?"

"No, just you."

Emery was glad he no longer touched her because, every time it happened, her body turned to molten lava. It was bad enough her nightmares had turned into sexual fantasies with this Neanderthal! He stood well over 6 feet – if she had to guess – and his blue eyes were wild yet soft, depending on his moods. Ever since their make out session, Emery couldn't get him off her mind and it was slowly driving her crazy.

"So where is this homeless guy at? And what exactly did the delivery schmuck have to say when you tracked him down and forced the truth out of him?"

Considering her, his smirk turning into a full-fledged grin and Jon shoved his hands into his denim short front pockets, the hem coming down to his knees. He wore a beater and a pair of shades hanging from his neckline. It was hot and humid; Jon wondered why he had ever thought Florida was a good idea and why anyone would want to live here.

"You going to invite me in?" He asked sweetly, disregarding her question entirely.

It was too hot for this conversation.

Now he wanted an invite inside the apartment she shared with Annalise? Emery was tempted to deny him, but the temperature outside made her think twice about having this conversation anywhere not air-conditioned. "Follow me." She mumbled, walking inside the building and only had to climb a set of stairs to get to her apartment.

They were on the lower level, though she knew Jon was aware of that already from all the spying and stalking he'd done. Once she shut the door behind Jon, Emery walked into the kitchen needing a cold water and tossed Jon one, having a feeling he did too. They settled on the comfortable couch in the living room with Emery facing him and Jon merely looking around at everything. They were women, what did he expect to find? A blank empty space like his place? Not likely. Jon had seen inside the bedroom she had used, claimed as hers, and only because he had staked out her window a time or two. Not that he would tell Emery that. She probably had an inkling of it, stalking her; no need to remind or verify. He took in the room while sipping his water, knowing better than to chug it in this heat because he'd wind up puking all over their girly belongings.

"So, uh… is this how you would have your own place set up?" He asked curiously, eyeballing a shelf that held what looked like tiny glass fairies and other fantasy paraphernalia. Women. He did wonder if this was all Annalise or both of them. Emery was the house guest, sort of, but with chicks, who knew?

"Mostly Annalise's. The majority of my stuff is in my room since this isn't completely my place." Emery also had a storage unit, but she would not divulge that information to Jon. She didn't trust him, not yet and not so soon. "Enough with the small talk. What did you find out from the delivery guy?" They were in a cool apartment, fighting off the intense heat outside and both had H2O in their hands. It was time to talk about where the body actually was and Emery had already mentally prepared herself for whatever Jon found out. "Or was this your way of getting in the apartment hoping to get in my panties? Because I have news for you, not happening."

"Darlin', if I wanted in your panties, I'd already be in them." Jon informed her, his tongue darting out to lick the corner of his mouth and the drop or two of water he had spilled, letting his tongue swipe along his bottom lip. "Now, stop worrying about me fucking you. Time enough for that later. Delivery guy said a homeless guy; homeless guy could be one in a million or not a homeless guy at all." He was toying with her now, laughing outright when it looked like steam might come spewing out of her ears. "Calm down Killer, calm down. Homeless guy was caught on tape." Arching his hips from the couch, Jon reached into his pocket to pull out a flash drive. "Got a laptop?"

"Yeah." Emery extended her hand and waited for Jon to place the flash drive on her palm before standing up from the couch. "Follow me, I don't take my laptop out of my room hardly ever when I'm home."

Once inside her bedroom, which looked completely different from the living room full of fairies and various knick-knacks, Emery sat on her bed and fired her laptop up. She swallowed hard when Jon joined her, hovering over her shoulder and he was so close all she had to do was turn her head and their lips would've connected. No! They had to focus on finding the homeless man and worry about their burning desire for each other later.

"So, what am I looking for exactly?"

"Well, not my porn." Jon wisecracked, resting his chin on her shoulder. Her bed was comfortable, but on the small side, especially for a man his size. "We'd break this damn thing, that's for sure." He snorted, watching as she finally hovered her mouse over the video file. "That'd be it." It was only a short clip, right inside the doors of the delivery place the messenger worked for and there was the nervous little messenger, staring at the homeless guy. "I don't recognize him at all. Do you?"

"No…" Then Emery looked closer and felt her eyes slowly widen, leaning back against Jon without realizing it. His hot breath caked her cheek and neck, but Emery was in too much shock to notice it right away. "Actually, yes I do. That's the homeless guy that was sitting outside of our apartment building every day before Colby's murder. I used to give him a dollar every time I'd leave the apartment to go to work before I was forced out of my last job." She didn't want to go into detail regarding Colby stalking her because it was clear Jon still didn't fully believe she hadn't committed the crime. "Anyway, do you know where this place is? He's probably still there." Why the hell would a homeless man send a delivery man to Jon's apartment while Emery was there?

Was she being stalked by him too?

"Well yeah I know where it's at, how do you think I got the video?" Jon wasn't following her. "If this guy sat outside your old apartment building, what makes you think he's still around the messenger's workplace? I looked up and down the nearby alleys; there was nothing. No shelters either." When she didn't stop shaking, Jon gently placed his hand on her other shoulder, the one not occupied by his chin. "Calm down, we'll find him. Maybe we should go check out your old place?"

"W-What if he's the one who did it?" His touch slowly calmed her down, but her voice remained shaky, finally turning her head to lock eyes with him. The thought of a homeless guy, of all people, killing Colby and pinning his murder on her scared Emery. "I meant this apartment…" They really had to work in their communication better because she missed what Jon said and he now missed what she said. Communication issues, definitely. "It was here, Jon. This apartment is where he used to sit outside of and this is where Colby was killed…in the back. Maybe there's something in the back of the building since he set up shop there frequently."

Considering how often she had bounced around, Jon figured him not catching that one was understandable. "So let's go see if he's anywhere nearby." He suggested, resting his forehead against hers briefly before rolling off the bed and ambled towards her window. "At the risk of sounding stalker-ish and crazier than I already do, what are the odds someone other than me may have lurked outside your window? It's not exactly out on the open street, you know?"

"The paparazzi tried once and Annalise threatened them bodily harm. Then called our landlord to complain and they were told to stay on the sidewalk or else they would be arrested for trespassing."

Emery heaved a sigh, remembering that day well because the landlord threatened to kick Annalise out of her apartment. It was also the same day Emery had been arrested as a suspect to Colby's murder. Closing her laptop lid, Emery stood up and pulled the flash drive out of the USB port, handing it back to Jon.

"It's a very real possibility the guy was lurking and knew what was happening. If you know of any spots he may hang out at, you lead and I'll follow."

Jon could think of a few spots someone might use to prowl, but he wasn't an expert on the homeless. "Shelters maybe? I don't know; what do homeless people do? Drink? Beg for money?" He considered it, opening her window and stuck his head out, looking both ways contemplatively. Jon had spent some time here and he cocked an eyebrow when he peered down the end of the narrow street. "That a park back there? Across that street?"

"Yes." Emery joined him and stuck her head out as well to look in the direction he was, nodding in confirmation. "Think he might be there?"

They both pulled their heads back inside at the same time and Emery once again looked up at him, her heart skipping a beat at how tall and huge Jon was compared to her. She enjoyed being towered over, keeping her hands behind her back to stop from touching his black beater covered chest. The air-conditioner did nothing to stop her body temperature from rising exponentially.

"No harm checking it out, come on. There's a shortcut from the back of the apartment building." Turning, she headed out of the bedroom and grabbed her keys on the way, already having brown sandals on.