Follow Me #4: Closing In

by Cara Lockwood

Overview

FOLLOW ME: Overnight, Calypso "Cal" Morgan's sensual Greek summer abroad turns into a thrilling, high-stakes race to prove to the world (and herself) that her brand-new and very sexy boyfriend Daniel is not a murderer. On the run together, Cal and Daniel must outwit handsome Greek detective Nico Theseus and face their attraction to each other - amid the stress and growing suspicions unearthed by the investigation.

With suspected killers Cal and her boyfriend Daniel on the run, a blackmailer on the loose, and dark secrets of his own, Greek police detective Nico Theseus is in way over his head. The only way to put an end to the case and cover his tracks is to bring everyone in, starting with the blackmailer. But what he has to say may just shatter everything Nico thought he knew about the woman he truly loves and cost even more lives in the fourth episode in Cara Lockwood's white-hot e-serial Follow Me.

Don't miss NO TURNING BACK, the fifth sexy and heart-pounding story in FOLLOW ME.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781466836327
Publisher:	St. Martin's Publishing Group
Publication date:	10/15/2013
Series:	Follow Me , #4
Sold by:	Macmillan
Format:	eBook
Pages:	50
File size:	744 KB

About the Author

Inspired to write Follow Me by the stunning events brought to light during the Amanda Knox case, Cara Lockwood is also the USA Today bestselling author of ten novels, including I Do (But I Don't), which was made into a Lifetime Original Movie. Born in Texas, she currently lives with her two daughters near Chicago.
Inspired to write Follow Me by the stunning events brought to light during the Amanda Knox case, Cara Lockwood is also the USA Today bestselling author of ten novels, including I Do (But I Don’t), which was made into a Lifetime Original Movie. Born in Texas, she currently lives with her two daughters near Chicago.

Read an Excerpt

CHAPTER 1

"You've got video of Daniel Ross and Cal Morgan cleaning up the morning Gia was murdered?" Thena asked, pulling Marco to his feet outside his office. They stood inside the university building where he worked on the Greek island.

"Yes," Marco said as he wobbled, trying to regain his footing. "That's what Daniel was after. He nearly killed me for it. That's why he smashed my computer." Marco nodded to a nearby doorway, where a smashed laptop lay in a heap on the ground. "But I've got an extra copy on a silver thumb drive."

"Where is it?" Makis stood in front of him, adjusting the lapel of his dark jacket, better suited for Hellenic Police Headquarters in Athens. A single drop of sweat worked its way down his temple even in the relatively cool air conditioning of the university building.

"In room 203 downstairs. It belonged to a grad student who quit, but now it's where ..." Marco paused. "Where I keep my stuff."

Makis glanced up at Nico. "Go check it out."

Nico nodded. He jogged for the stairs, heading to the second floor. He found room 203 easily, and ducked inside. He stopped just inside the doorway and whistled. The small office was a complete mess. Marco had obviously been sleeping here for an extended period of time. A blanket and pillow were scattered messily on the old brown love seat in the corner. A black plastic microwave dinner was perched on his desk, along with a half-drunk bottle of Coke. Stacks of clothes sat piled on his file cabinet, and books and magazines were scattered on the floor. Tightly shuttered shades kept out all but the tiniest slits of sunlight.

Nico picked his way over to Marco's desk, and slid open the drawer. He pushed aside pens and a tube of toothpaste, and found the small silver drive. He grabbed it, plugged it into the computer on the desk, and hit Play.

Gia and Cal's bathroom came to life, the camera hidden high up somewhere, maybe in an air vent, with a straight view to the shower. In the frame, Cal came in, dressed and slightly drunk. She had a red Solo cup in her hand. She poured some Kitro in it. And, with quick movements, picked up a little bottle of something by the sink and poured that in, too.

"Another shot? What are you doing, Cal?" Nico murmured, confused, as he watched the video. The video zipped forward, clearly having been hastily edited. Cal came bustling in, blood splatter on her shoulder.

Daniel clambered into the bathroom next, fully naked, his chest smudged with blood streaks. Gia's blood. He didn't have a weapon in his hands, but the look he was giving Cal said he didn't plan on letting her out of his sight, either. Nico looked at Cal and Daniel on the computer monitor. "She's scared," he muttered. "She had to play along."

Just then, he heard the elevator in the hall ding: Someone was coming. Quickly, Nico shut down the video and whipped the thumb drive out of the computer port. After a second's worth of hesitation, running his finger over the small silver drive, he slipped it covertly into his pocket.

He heard footsteps in the hall. By the time Thena had gotten to the door, Nico was peering into the open drawer.

"Jesus, what a mess. The secretary wasn't kidding. He's living here. Why does his boss let him do this?"

"She told me his professor is on sabbatical. Not back until the winter."

"I wish I didn't have a boss until winter," Thena said, mostly to herself. "Find anything?"

Nico made a show of opening the drawers in front of him and then slapping them shut.

"Not that I can see, but then, who could find anything in here?"

"Marco seemed so sure," she said. "Why would he fake something that's easily checked out?" Thena walked around, inspecting the drawers near Nico.

"Maybe he's just buying time, or maybe Daniel got it after all."

"Maybe," Thena said, glancing for a beat at Nico. She looked about the desk again, as if the drive might suddenly appear beneath it. "We could have the lab guys in here, but my guess is fingerprints would be useless. Look at this place."

Nico nodded in agreement.

"Speaking of prints, there's something you should know. Marco's fingerprints were on the tire iron. It looks like Marco broke into Gia's bedroom that night."

"So he's a suspect," Nico said.

"As soon as the paramedics are done, we'll take him back to the station. Think you can manage to keep your hands off him until then?"

"I'll try. Does this mean I'm back on the case?"

Thena stared at Nico a long time, but said nothing.

"Listen, Thena ..." he began, leaning forward, covering her hand with his. "I'm sorry about sleeping with Cal."

Thena froze, staring at his hand on hers. "Now is not the time, Nico."

"When will be the time?" Nico turned Thena so they were face-to-face. Reluctantly, Thena lifted her hazel eyes to meet his.

"Nico, we're done."

"Thena, please. I care about you. I never meant to hurt you."

"I know. But that doesn't change the facts."

"Let me finish this case. Let me make this right."

"Just be ready to go to the station. Makis has Marco in the car." She walked away, out the door and down the hall. Nico stared after her. He waited until he saw her head to the elevators, the silver doors sliding shut behind her. Then, he picked his cell phone out of his pocket and called Cal. It went straight to voicemail.

"Cal, it's Nico. Listen, I found the video. Stay on my boat, okay? We will figure this out. If Daniel calls you, do not answer the phone. I don't care what he says. He is very, very dangerous."

He hung up and stared at his phone for a second, a worried look crossing his face. Then, he dropped the phone in his pocket and headed out the door.

CHAPTER 2

"I know what you did, Cal. I just want you to admit it." Daniel's voice was rough as he cornered her in the tiny cabin on the eighth level of the Princess cruise ship, which was preparing to sail away from Naxos.

"I don't know what you mean." Cal's voice came out as a high-pitched whine, fear lacing every word. Daniel stood between her and the locked cabin door. His big, broad shoulders blocked the door.

"My drink!" he said. "What the hell did you put in it?"

The small cabin grew smaller as Daniel straightened to his full height, six three. His muscled arms seemed to fill up the room.

"What drink? At the bar?"

"No. That last shot of Kitro, the one you poured in the bathroom, Cal. Marco's video shows you putting something in it. I saw you."

"I didn't drug you, Daniel."

"Bullshit." Daniel paced, his chest heaving.

"You think I'm stupid? It's there on Marco's video, Cal. I saw it. You put something in and stirred it up with your finger. What did you do to that drink?"

"Look, it was just a little something to help you have a good time. That's it."

"Like what?" Daniel growled.

"It was something fun, that's all. No big deal. Nothing to get upset about."

Daniel grabbed her by both arms and squeezed. "A girl is fucking dead, Cal. Yeah, I'm upset. What the hell did you do?"

"Daniel! You're hurting me. Stop it!" she squealed, letting out a high-pitched shriek, and Daniel let her go. He backed off and ran a frustrated hand through his hastily dyed hair. The new look didn't suit him. His dark brown roots showed through in patches he'd missed. He shifted his weight back and forth, still blocking the door.

"I'm going to give you one more chance. Tell me what you did to my drink."

"Viagra."

"Excuse me?" Daniel froze, affronted. "Why?"

"Because I heard it helps you have a better time! That's all. It was supposed to make you last longer and come harder. That's what I heard!"

"Bullshit."

"We were partying. It was a fucking threesome. It was supposed to be fun!"

Confusion muddled Daniel's features as he tried to work out a problem. "Are you serious?"

"It worked, didn't it? You were hard forever. You fucked us both all night!"

"Cal, Jesus." Daniel ran a shaky hand through his dyed hair, eyes darting to the side.

Cal took a step closer and put her hands flat on his chest. "God, do you remember after Gia and I made out? You remember Gia kissing you?" Daniel nodded. "You were kissing her, and I was busy down here." Cal slid her hand to Daniel's fly. "I had you in my mouth."

Daniel froze, watching her hand moving up and down the front of his shorts. "Yeah, I remember."

"You told me how hot that was. You said so right then." Cal's hand moved up and down against the fabric of his shorts. "You'd never been with two girls before that, had you? Two girls who wanted to fuck you at the same time?"

"No." Daniel's eyes took on a glazed look.

"You had your hands full with Gia's tits. I had my hands full of you. Remember? You couldn't even decide who you wanted to fuck first."

Daniel closed his eyes and moaned a little, surrendering to Cal's hands. She sat down in front of him on the bed, and her fingers slowly unzipped his fly. He didn't resist.

"You took turns with us. You had us on our hands and knees and you just took turns. One, then the other, back and forth. You loved every second. And so did we."

"Oh, God," Daniel exhaled, his legs trembling a little. "Cal ..."

Cal's phone rang, the ringtone blaring in the small closeness of the cabin. Daniel's head snapped up and his eyes flew open, the phone an unexpected wake-up call. He shoved Cal away and hurriedly zipped up his pants.

"Who is that?" Daniel roared. He shoved his hands into his hair, frantically tugging at the roots. He looked like a man about to lose it. Cal dove for her bag.

"I don't know!"

"Give it to me!"

Cal hesitated a beat too long and Daniel punched the wall, hard, near Cal's head. He dented in the wallpaper, leaving a fist-sized pocket inches from her ear. Cal's eyes widened in fear. His pupils shrank to nothing; rage flooded his face.

"I said give it to me, you fucking bitch!" swore Daniel. A trickle of blood ran down the knuckles of his right hand. Daniel's chest heaved, his eyes on fire, his body ready to spring. He moved toward her, and Cal jumped back, clutching her phone. Daniel yanked it out of her hands. He glanced at the face of it.

"Nico Theseus? What the hell is he doing calling you?"

Cal knocked the phone out of his hands. The contact with the floor answered the call.

"Nico!" Cal screamed. "Daniel has me. Princess cruise ... room 818 ...!"

Daniel bent down and fumbled with the phone to end the call. Panting, he stared at the now blank phone. He looked up, eyes burning like coals. "You shouldn't have done that, Cal."

CHAPTER 3

Marco sat in the interrogation room at the Naxos Police station, his upper lip red and swollen. He hunched over the white table, staring at his own reflection in the two-way mirror, looking defeated. He explored his swollen lip with the tip of his tongue. His faded T-shirt sported a dark coffee stain on the front, and his khaki shorts were crumpled. In the relatively close quarters of the interrogation room, he smelled vaguely like he hadn't showered in a while. His hands were handcuffed to the table, the silver chain threaded through the metal loop.

Thena sat in front of him, holding the lab results in a manila folder. Makis leaned against the wall behind her.

"I say we charge him with homicide right now," Makis growled to Thena. Marco's eyes grew wide.

"I didn't kill her."

"Evidence says otherwise. Your fingerprints are all over the tire iron that smashed Gia's window."

"I can explain that!"

"You'd better start."

"I had to get my stuff. When Remy kicked me out, Daniel beat the crap out of me, and I didn't even have a chance to get my clothes." Marco winced. His split lip hurt him when he got animated. He exhaled and continued. "I broke the window that night, early. Nobody was home. I went in, got my computer and clothes and stuff, and left."

"Why Gia's window?" Thena asked.

"You can't see it from the street." Marco tapped his fingers in a nervous rhythm, a frown fixed on his face.

"Bullshit, the kid is lying."

"I'm not!" Marco screeched. "The video! Have you looked at it?"

"Let's talk about that," Thena said smoothly, trying to draw Marco's attention. "Tell me about the camera. When did you install it?"

"Months ago. In the bathroom. Behind the vent. It was motion sensitive, so it turned on automatically when someone walked in."

"Did the girls know it was there?"

Marco's eyes slid uneasily side to side.

"So they didn't," Makis said, pouncing. "You liked to watch them shower? That how you got off? Well, that and all the rough stuff you've got on your computer."

Marco turned bright red. "That wasn't mine."

"It was on your computer."

"I'm not dumb enough to visit porn sites on my work laptop."

"You didn't visit ..." Makis grabbed the folder from Thena and read a page from it. "CutHer dot com?"

"Never even heard of it."

"Why had you downloaded videos from it?"

"I didn't. I don't know who did."

Makis tapped a page with his finger. "You break into Gia's room the night she's killed. You've got naked, bleeding girls on your computer. And your roommate ends up naked and bleeding ... and dead. Do I need to connect the dots, or can you do that for me?"

"Look, I broke in, but I didn't kill anybody. Look at the video! I wasn't even there." He pulled at the handcuffs, but the chain held with a small clank. The bright fluorescent lights of the interrogation room made the dark rings under Marco's eyes darker. It was obvious that he hadn't been sleeping all that well on the couch in his office.

"If you knew the camera was there, you'd be sure not to be on it. And there's another problem — why didn't you take the video to the police?"

Marco looked stricken.

"You had evidence about a murder on the island, and you didn't hand it over to the police right away? Do you know we can charge you for withholding evidence? Did you know that was a crime?"

"No. I didn't."

"Seems to me that you wanted to keep the video so you could blackmail someone with it. Maybe pin it on them. Am I right?"

Marco grew pale, the fluorescent lights over his head casting a green pallor over his complexion. "No."

Makis stopped pacing and leaned on the table. "You sure we can't charge you with blackmail? Because I would be happy to do that. I have the forms."

"This man loves his paperwork," Thena agreed.

"I'm already drawing some up for attempted rape," Makis said. "Isn't that what you did to Cal Morgan in the bathroom in that café in Athens?"

"She made that up. She wanted it, okay?"

Thena tensed at the desk and Marco noticed, falling silent. He coughed and licked his dry lips.

"Detective Costas." Makis put a hand on her shoulder. "Would you go get our witness here a cup of water?"

Thena looked sharply at Makis once, but then nodded. Makis settled into the chair she'd left across from Marco, pressing the pads of his fingers together.

"So. Tell me the truth. Cal seems like a pretty girl. I don't blame you going after that."

Outside, Thena took up a position at the glass. She glanced around, looking for Nico. When Hestia bustled by, Thena grabbed her elbow.

"Hestia, do you know where Nico went?"

Hestia shook her head. "Haven't seen him," she said.

Thena frowned, but then turned her attention back to the interrogation.

"She came on to me," Marco said, sitting up a little straighter in his chair.

"Tell me."

"Okay, so, the thing is, she's the one who grabbed my dick, okay? What was I supposed to think?"

"When?"

"At the cafe. She was the one who came on to me. Remy was with us."

"I thought it was a school field trip."

Marco shrugged. "Remy asked me if he could tag along. I didn't see the harm."

"Just him?"

"Well, Stephen, Daniel, and Gia came along, but they weren't at the café. They wanted to go see some other ruins instead."

"Okay, then what?"

"Remy he went outside to take a phone call. And Cal leans over and puts her hand in my lap, and she's rubbing all over me." Marco's eyes grew big. "And then, then, when I'm all ready to go, she says, 'Hey, maybe I can help you fix that' and says she wants to go to the bathroom."

"That's what she said? What was that like? Pretty girl like that."

"I think I'm about to get lucky, so I'm pretty happy about it. I follow her in the bathroom. She starts kissing me, and unzips my fly, and you know ... drops down on her knees ..."

"Right there?" Makis's eyes grew wide as if appreciating the story.

(Continues…)

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Excerpted from "Follow Me #4: Closing In"
by .
Copyright © 2013 Cara Lockwood.
Excerpted by permission of St. Martin's Press.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.

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