“Maybe. It still doesn’t explain Trinity. He may have said something about June to someone else. I don’t know, but it’s the best lead we’ve got. I’ve just got a gut feeling.”
Jerry smiled. “Is it because you find Sky attractive?”
“You noticed that, hey?”
“It’s my job to notice which girl appeals to which man. She’s the only one who got your attention.”
Damon chuckled. “She’s also the only one who didn’t offer me sex.”
Brent’s mouth dropped open. “Me too! I was sure she’d be interested in you, though. You’d look perfect together. Neither of you much better looking than the other. That’d have to be a first for both of you.” Shit! I hope he doesn’t think I’m putting Bethany down. “Um, I know you look at more than looks, but at first sight.”
Damon put his hands up to prevent Brent from rambling on. “It’s okay, Brent. I get it. She’s the most beautiful stranger I’ve ever seen. Someone’s heart can make them perfect or ugly.” He turned to Jerry. “I’d like to get Benjie’s number, please. He’s seeing Sky tonight, right?”
Jerry nodded. “She’s probably the only girl I could answer with such certainty about. I’ll get his number. I can set up a meeting if you like. Oh, all her clients know her as Summer. I’ve only met a few girls who haven’t used an alias on the job. It makes it easier when someone calls their name out on the street. If someone called Summer, she’d know it’s work-related.”
“Thanks, Jerry. It makes sense about the names.” Damon turned to Brent. “Do you have any earrings already made?”
“I’ve got three pairs with me.”
Damon smiled. “Good. One for Sky, one for Chrissie and one for your girl. We need to keep her safe.”
Brent beamed. “Thanks.”
Jerry sat down at his computer, jotted out a number and handed it to Damon. “Benjie’s phone number.” He wrote on another piece of paper and handed it to Brent. “His email and phone number. I don’t have his address, sorry.”
“All good.” Damon smiled. “Thanks for your help.”
31
Damon walked out the front with Brent. “I’ll call Benjie now in case he’s free. He may live close.”
“Good idea. I’ll wait.”
Damon dialled the number.
“Hello.”
“Benjie?”
“Yes.”
“I’m Damon Knightly. I’m special ops for the military.” Well, I was. “I’d like to talk with you for a few minutes about Summer. I fear she may be in danger.”
“Oh no! Is she okay? She hasn’t been hurt, has she?”
“No. I aim to prevent her from being hurt and believe you can help me. Can we meet for a few minutes?”
“Sure. I’m heading home now if you have time. Would you rather meet at my place or somewhere else?” Benjie told Damon his address.
Damon said it out loud so Brent could hear.
“It’s fifteen minutes from here and doesn’t take us far out of our way,” Brent said, after looking up the address.
“We’ll meet you in around fifteen minutes if that’s okay?”
“Sure. See you soon.”
Damon followed Brent to Benjie’s home. They both raised an eyebrow at the dog grooming van attached to a four-wheel drive and the fences that were taller than them with a ‘Beware of the Dog’ sign on the gate.
“If they’re Samoyeds, this is weird. Do you think he grooms Sky’s dogs?”
Damon shook his head. “Most breeders with show dogs groom their own dogs, but it certainly is weird.” He looked at the fences, “With this setup, I doubt they’re Samoyeds. Heather had one when she met Dad. They’ve had one ever since. They’re so friendly, not the sort of dog you’d expect Dad to own. The old joke is if you break into their house, they’ll help you carry out the T.V, but if you try to hurt one of their family, you’re dead. They’re fantastic family pets and were great with Cadence and Caleb when they were little. Caleb used to climb on Sunny all the time.” He knocked on the door of the house that was much older than the fences.”
A man in his early thirties, about their height, stroking a German Shepherd opened the door. His shoulders slumped when he saw Damon. “You’d look perfect with Sk…I mean Summer.”
Damon smiled and shook his head. “I’m not interested in her in that way. I do want to save her life. You obviously know a bit about her. Is that your van out the front?”
“Yeah. I specialise in grooming Shepherds, Mastiffs, Dobermans, Rotties and most dogs other groomers are nervous around. Come in, please.” He smiled and gestured to his dog, “Max is well trained. He won’t hurt you.” Benjie walked into the lounge room with Max at his side.
Damon and Brent followed. “Do you groom Samoyeds?”
“No. So you know Summer has Samoyeds? She’s as good as any professional I’ve ever met.” Benjie blushed. “I mean at grooming her dogs.”
Damon nodded. “How long have you known Sky?”
“Honestly, I’m not sure. Maybe ten years, but I didn’t know her. I had seen her at dog shows. I breed, show and train German Shepherds. Dogs are pretty much my life.”
“How did you find out about her job?”
Benjie sat down, and Max lay at his feet. “Take a seat. I was driving to Pet Barn and saw her drive into the estate with her workplace in it. I didn’t even know it was there. I followed her hoping she was going to a pet shop I didn’t know about and saw where she was actually going. I waited ten minutes and went in. I asked to make an appointment with the blonde who just arrived. I’ve been seeing her since. We see each other at dog shows a few times a month and chat, but it’s just about dogs. We keep her work out of it. I’d hate for everyone in the dog world to find out. Some of the women don’t like her because her dogs are almost as beautiful as she is. All the men would want an appointment. They all have crushes on her, or at least, I think they all do.”
Damon nodded. “Most of them would. It seems like you have more than a crush?”
“That obvious, hey?”
Both Brent and Damon nodded and Damon continued. “Why did you see Apple and her friend for a threesome, and why only once?”
“I said it was because I wanted to fulfil a fantasy, but the truth is, I wanted to distance myself from Sky but still see her. I hoped if I tried every man’s fantasy, I wouldn’t care as much for Sky.”
“Did it help?”
Benjie looked down and shook his head. “Na. I pretty much felt like I was being unfaithful to Sky the entire time and wished I was with her instead. If anything, it made me care more about her.”
“Do you know anyone who would want to hurt Sky or Apple?”
“I barely knew Apple. If I knew anyone who wanted to hurt Sky, I’d stop them.”
“Did Apple say anything bad about Sky when you met her?”
Benjie’s eyes drifted as he thought back. “She said Sky would never do a threesome and they’d do many things Sky wouldn’t. I certainly wouldn’t hurt her over that!”
“What do you know about Trinity?”
“I thought the other girl’s name was Sugar? Is her real name Trinity?”
Damon shook his head. “No. Trinity was killed earlier this year. She’s in the same line of work.”
“Oh. Is that why you think Sky’s in trouble? What can I do to protect her?”
“Let us know if you hear or think of something that can help us?”
“I will, thanks.”
Damon gave him his number. “Thanks for your time.”
Kat sprinted out to the car park as Damon and Brent got out of their cars. “How did you go?”
32
Chelsea started walking out of the aerobics room without waving goodbye to Kat.
“Excuse me for a sec,” Kat said to a girl in her early twenties who was approaching her and bolted after Chelsea. “Hey, Chels, wait up.”
Chelsea stopped but didn’t smile as she usually would.
Kat bit her lip. “Wh
at have I done?”
Chelsea sighed. “You’re taking Sensei Damon to your fitness college Christmas party and didn’t even think to invite me.” She watched the colour drain out of Kat’s face. “Oh my God, I’m so fucking stupid. I just didn’t think. I thought you weren’t taking me because I wasn’t your best friend anymore.”
Kat shook her head, her face still pale. “I didn’t invite you because you are. I’m scared enough. This will be the first Christmas party I’ve been to since I lost Courtney. Same with Sensei Damon and Bethany.”
“I’m so sorry. I want to be a psychologist and I totally fucked up. I guess I got insecure. You’ve got so much in common with Sensei Damon and Sheridan and Avery.”
“It doesn’t mean I don’t love you. You’ve got other friends and have year twelve next year. We’ve both got a lot on. If you’re free Saturday night, I can see if Sensei Connor can come too, so we have both of them protecting us.”
Chelsea’s eyes lit up. “I’d love that, but only if he’s free.”
Chelsea came back from the bar with four bottles of water. “I met two cute guys who want to dance with us. Come on, Kat.” Chelsea gave the bottles to Damon and Connor. “Look after them for us for a minute.” She grabbed Kat’s hand. “Let’s go.”
Kat wanted to stay with Damon and Connor, but she didn’t want to let Chelsea down. She felt weightless as Chelsea pulled her towards the dance floor. When they reached the dance floor, the two guys turned around.
Kat screamed, but nothing came out. She tried to pull Chelsea off the dance floor, but she had no strength.
“What’s wrong, Kat?” Chelsea asked.
Kat pointed at Michael’s knife and tried to scream. Again, she was silent.
“What’s wrong, Kat?” Chelsea asked as Michael plunged his knife into her chest.
Kat tried to run but couldn’t move as Tommy plunged his knife into her chest. She finally managed to scream as she jerked awake in bed. In her dream she couldn’t scream; now that she was awake, she couldn’t stop.
Dominique and Eric sprinted into Kat’s room.
“We’re here, baby. It’s going to be okay. You don’t have to go to the college Christmas party. You’re obviously not up to it.” Damn, Chelsea was a bitch for guilting Kat into taking her.
Kat took a few deep breaths and when she could finally speak, “I’ll be okay, Mum. Sensei Damon and I think it will be good for both of us.”
“You and Sensei Damon going alone together would have been great for both of you and a huge step forward. Taking Chelsea is a jump your nightmare suggests you’re not ready for.”
“I’ve got to take her, Mum. She was upset with me when I didn’t invite her. I don’t want to lose her.”
Eric took a big breath and swore in his head ten times. “We don’t want to lose you, Kat. At the last big party you went to your best friend was murdered and you were put in a coma. Chelsea knows this. She knows you’ve attempted suicide. She knows you go out of your way to help people and are one of the most selfless people we’ve ever met. Chelsea had no right to make you feel bad about this. I think you should tell her you just want to go with Sensei Damon.”
Kat tried to answer but felt vomit rising in her throat. She slapped her hand over her mouth and sprinted to the bathroom.
Eric turned to his wife. “I’m really not liking Chelsea right now.”
Dominique took his hand. “That’s putting it lightly. I’d love to tell Chelsea she can’t go, but we need to trust Kat on this.”
Kat came back from the bathroom after throwing up. “I’m going to have a shower. I’ll be alright. Can we have pancakes for breakfast, please?”
Dominique forced a smile. “Of course we can, baby.”
Kat’s hands shook as she took the red playsuit out of her wardrobe. Eric had taken her shopping and wouldn’t leave until they had bought her at least five. They left the store with seven and a huge smile on Eric’s face. The shorts aren’t going to protect Chelsea or me from being stabbed. Kat slapped her hand over her mouth and bolted to the bathroom.
Tears came to Dominique’s eyes. “That’s the fourth time today. I really wish she’d cancel.”
Eric nodded. “You should help her finish getting ready and keep her away from sharp objects and anything she could use to harm herself.”
Dominique blinked away her tears. “You’re right.”
Dominique looked at Kat after they were finished. “Very festive. Would you prefer to have a little Christmas party here tonight? I know it’s late notice but we could probably get Avery and Sheridan to join us too. They don’t like crowds either.”
“Can we do that later, please, Mum? Maybe New Years? I’d love to have a New Year’s Eve party here.”
Dominique beamed. “Absolutely!” She’ll be so much safer and happier here. I never want to see her this anxious again. “We can start planning it tomorrow.” The doorbell rang before Kat could reply.
“I’ll get it,” Eric called.
Kat came out of her bedroom to see Chelsea also wearing red as they had planned. Connor smiled, and Damon was about to say something when Chelsea gushed, “Kat, you look fantastic. Tonight’s going to be so much fun.” She turned to Damon and Connor, “Doesn’t she look great?”
Damon looked at Kat. “You look terrified. You don’t have to do this. We can all hang out here or just the two of us can go as we first planned.”
Kat shook her head. “Let’s just get this over…” Kat slapped her hand to her mouth and ran to the bathroom.
Dominique stared at Chelsea. “That’s the fifth time today. She woke up screaming this morning after dreaming Tommy and Michael killed you both at this party.”
Tears came to Chelsea’s eyes. “This is all my fault.”
The room was dead silent for a moment until Connor spoke. “Yes it is, but you can make it better. You know what you need to do.”
Chelsea nodded and met Kat when she came out of the bathroom. “I wanted to have fun with you tonight. This isn’t fun for you. I’d love to go for a run with you tomorrow so you can tell me how you and Sensei Damon went. If you’re up to taking me to the party next Christmas, I’d love to go with you. I’m not going tonight. I’ll stay here until you feel better and wave you off when you leave.”
“You won’t hate me if I go without you?”
“No. God, no! We are best friends. I now understand people can have more than one best friend. You have something with Sensei Damon, we will never have, but I can’t see you snuggling under the doona, eating cookies and watching a movie with him either.”
Kat smiled. “I think Dad would freak out if I brought a man to my bed. I can’t see Sensei Damon doing aerobics, us doing each other’s hair or so many other things we do together, Chels. It’s great to love different people.”
“You feel safe with him, but you don’t think he can protect me?”
“Sensei Damon’s hard to kill, like me. He’s one friend I don’t have to worry about being murdered in front of me.”
Chelsea hugged Kat. “I’ll stay safe tonight. You have fun with your super-soldier, okay?”
Kat hugged her back. “Okay.”
“Let’s get you something in your tummy like a cookie.” Chelsea dragged Kat into the kitchen.
Damon parked in front of the hall. “You haven’t thrown up since Chelsea decided to sit this one out. That was wise.” He turned to look at Kat closely. “Your colour’s come back. You no longer look terrified. You don’t look like you’re itching to get your party on, but you don’t look like you don’t want to be here either. That’s great.”
Kat smiled. “It sure is. I no longer want to get it over and done with. I want to have a nice, quiet time, nothing too crazy.”
Damon smiled back at her. “That’s exactly what we’ll have then.”
Splash, dressed as a Christmas elf, squealed in delight and ran to Kat as fast as her high heels would allow. “You two look amazing! I was worried you weren’t coming.” The musi
c changed while she was speaking. “Ooh! I love this song!” She grabbed Kat’s hand. “Let’s dance!”
Damon took hold of Kat’s other hand. “I’m coming too.”
Kat gave Damon a grateful look. “Thanks.”
He smiled and nodded. “This will be fun.”
Splash pulled them over to Georgina, grabbed her hand and pulled her human chain to the dance floor.
When the song changed, Evan and a few other full-timers joined them. “Thanks for coming, guys. You both look great.”
By the end of the next song, Trina and most of the students had joined the dance floor and had formed a huge circle. Kat, Damon, Splash and Georgina stayed on the dance floor until Georgina’s phone beeped.
“That’s my Mum. I can’t believe it’s midnight already. Thanks, guys. Have a lovely Christmas.” She hugged Kat and Splash and looked shyly at Damon, not knowing if she should hug him.
Damon smiled and gave her a hug. “We’ll walk you out to your mum. Join us, Splash. When are you being picked up?”
“Soon. Mum and Dad will text me when they get here. They took this opportunity to go out themselves.”
The four of them said goodnight and Merry Christmas to Trina and Evan and walked out the front where Georgina’s mum was waiting. Splash’s parents pulled up behind her.
Splash threw her arms around Georgina then Kat. “Have an awesome Christmas.” She hugged Damon. “You too, Sensei.”
Kat and Damon watched both girls being driven off. Damon turned to Kat, “That was fun. Ready to go?”
Kat nodded enthusiastically. “It was fun but, yes!”
“Are you up to driving home or would you like to talk about how you feel?”
“I feel relieved. Thanks so much for dancing with us. I’d like to drive if that’s okay.”
Damon handed Kat the keys. “Of course it is.”
33
Our Cause (Let the Monsters Live in Fear Book 1) Page 25