Hot Coffee (The Hollens) novel Chapter 16

Ethan's POV

I woke up to the sound of footsteps on the floor outside my bedroom. I looked at the wall clock; it was only 5:30 am. Was Emma up already? I glanced over at Sharon. She was fast asleep, exhausted and jet lagged. I put on a T-shirt and a sweat pants and went to the second floor. I peered over the banister and saw Emma was already up, mopping the floors of the rooms downstairs. Her eyes caught mine as she mopped.

I headed to my office to forward over a fax for Linda that she had been messaging me about in the Bahamas.

The phone buzzed and I picked up.

"Good morning Mr. Hollen. Your coffee is ready."

"I'll be right down."

I must say I was impressed. I'd never been so happy for coffee in my entire life. I missed her coffee and I missed her too. What was I saying?

Emma stood beside the kitchen counter looking like an angel-- so peaceful, happy and perfect. I took the coffee from her hands. She headed towards the living room and I found myself following her. She started mopping again.

"I've missed your coffee," I told her, trying to gauge her reaction. She only smiled but it was the prettiest smile I had ever seen on a woman. She was driving me crazy. "You know, I can't help but love your new look. It's really nice." I was wondering who let in this model into my house you were so beautiful.

"Thank you, sir."

I saw the flush in her unique little face. She attempted to move the hair from her face but I quickly leaned in and parted it to her ears instead, getting lost in the soft feeling of her skin.

"What the hell is going on here?" Sharon's voice boomed down angrily, making me almost jump out of my skin.

She was looking down at us like a hawk.

"Good morning, honey," I said coldly as I moved towards her; but, really, I wanted to kiss those full lips again that were tempting me in the other room.

Sharon hugged me and pulled me in for a kiss.

She was not the person I had in mind but I gave her a quick peck on the cheek and went back to my office.

A good friend of mine in the police force, Detective Sam, called. I had informed him about the incident with the ladies last night and that I wished to keep it from the public, but he told me it would be difficult to keep such a thing private, especially if we sought legal action. He advised that what happened could be viewed as attempted rape with an illegal drug and that Halley and Emma would have to give an official police statement and be prepared for court if we wished to pursue action again the culprit or culprits.

Of course I wanted the bastard behind bars. He'd pay for what he had done to her. The illegal drug in her drink caused her body to go into defense mode, which resulted in the high fever, her passing out, a near heart attack and blood to pour from her nostrils. Halley could have died. Who the hell would do something so awful to those girls?

I finished my coffee. My temper had begun to rage again just thinking about Halley's condition. I could kill the guy, or guys, with my bare hands if I could get to them.

I went to Halley's recovery room and found her sitting up in bed. It was a great sign of progress. Last night, she had been too weak to do much of anything. 

Her eyes twinkled when she saw me. "Hi, you're back?" she asked.

"Yes, Halley. I'm here."

"Sir, I'm so sorry. Don't be angry. I didn't mean to cause you any *cough* trouble. I'm *cough* so--"

"Shh," I stopped her. "It's okay. Rest now," I hugged her to show my anger wasn't toward her.

I wasn't mad about what they did; I was mad at what happened to them. After all, they were entitled to a half day and I was glad she and Emma were bonding and socializing with each other. Emma could quickly learn the ropes from Halley.

I excused myself from the room as my phone rang and took the call in the living room. Detective Sam wanted to know if Halley would be stable enough to give her statement. The faster they did that the better; the culprit could leave town at any time.  Halley was still fragile and recovering but I understood Sam's point. If she couldn't, Emma would have to fill in since she's been there as well. 

I found Emma tidying by the pool.

"Emma, can I talk to you for a minute?" I gestured for her to come over.

"Yes, sir?"

"Following last evening's incident, a detective friend of mine will be over to get your and Halley's statements."

"I understand."

"Have you had breakfast yet?"

"No."

"Get yourself something to eat and wait for the detective to arrive."

"Yes, sir."

__________

Sam arrived in a squad car accompanied by three of his associates. I led them to the Halley's room; Emma was by her side.

"Halley, Emma, I'm Detective Sam of the NYPD. This here is Officer Ryan, Officer Michaels, and Officer Marshall. They're here with me to get a statement from the both of you."

Emma nodded.

"Emma, I'll start with you. Can you recall exactly what happened yesterday from the time you two left the mansion?"

"Yes, Detective. Yesterday, around midday, I wanted to cash in my check. I informed Halley since there were only the two of us here at the time. She came along with me-- we are entitled to a half day once a week. Mr. Luis, one of Mr. Hollen's drivers, drove us to the bank. It took about half-an-hour then we went to a store and I bought a dress."

"So you knew you were going to a party?" Sam asked as she paused.

"No. Not at that time."

"Okay, continue. What happened next?"