by Mary Smith
He did.
Reaching around in the fridge, she picked out some lunchmeat and condiments. Jarvis rifled around until he found the Hi-C and a bottle of water. Side-by-side at the counter, they each made their sandwiches. Jarvis poured her a glass of fruit punch and carried it to the table. Mikayla brought over the sandwiches.
“How were the shoots?” she asked despite already knowing the answer since they’d texted the entire time he was gone.
“Long but good. I signed a new contract for an up and coming hockey equipment corporation. Joy seems happy about it because they also sell workout leggings that she apparently likes.”
“Now, she’ll get a discount.” Mikayla smirked.
“Better than that.” He chewed. “It’ll be free. I negotiated for her to try out the newest line.”
“Aww, what a sweet brother.” Mikayla half mocked. Thoughts of Jenessa popped into her head. She would have done the same for her big sister if the roles were reversed.
“Why the long face?” Jarvis questioned, continuing to eat.
“Nothing.” She took a small bite of food.
“You’re lying. I’ll take a guess you’re thinking about Shade and Jenessa.”
His confident tone rang loud because he knew he was right.
“Their divorce will solidify the fact she’ll be alone,” Mikayla said placing her sandwich down on the plate and pushing it away.
“You’ll always be there for her,” Jarvis stated matter-of-factly.
“She doesn’t want me even to breathe the same air as her,” she informed him.
“You had a fight, Kay. Every sibling has blow ups. Eventually, everyone comes back together.”
Mikayla heard the hope in his tone, but she had none. Jenessa and she had many compatibilities, but one was for certain. Stubbornness. They were both more stubborn than anyone could imagine. And another certainly would be neither would budge. Jenessa would have to come to her before she ever thought of going to her for forgiveness.
“Dollar for your thoughts?”
Jarvis’s question cut into her mind, and she blinked several times. “Huh?”
“Well, I was going to ask you a question, but you seemed so lost, I decided instead to ask you a dollar for your thoughts.” He smirked.
“It’s a penny for your thoughts,” she corrected him.
“What can you purchase for a penny?” he countered, still with a sexy smirk on his face.
“You’re silly.” She sighed, rolling her eyes.
“May I stay the night?”
For a second, Mikayla couldn’t be sure she heard his question correctly. “Huh?”
“Is that a no?” He appeared confused.
“No. Yes. Wait.” She shook her head trying to gather her thoughts. “Yes, you can stay, but my bed isn’t big.” Jarvis had a king and hers was only a full.
“You’ll just have to spoon me tighter.” He winked.
Mikayla had a hard time thinking of him just chilling in her room answering emails.
His cell phone rang, and he quickly pulled it from his pocket and answered it. “Hey, Joy.”
Watching his face it went from happy, to confused, to anger. “I’m on my way.” He ended the call and stood up. “I have to get to Joy.”
“Why? What happened?” Mikayla’s heart raced with worry.
“There’s a detective from Boston regarding her case, and he’s at my condo.” He was already to the door.
“I’m coming too.” Mikayla raced to catch up to him.
Like a NASCAR driver, he weaved through traffic and blew past a couple of red lights to make it to his condo in record time. The elevator seemed to take an eternity, but finally they were inside his place.
They found Joy sitting at the dining room table with a pile of used tissues. Across from her was a woman in her late forties and sandy gray hair, wearing a black suit with a purple blouse. She told Mikayla she was a detective. The aurora around her was screaming it. Joy looked over with her bloodshot eyes and puffy face. Mikayla sat next to her, hugging her tightly.
“What’s going on?” Jarvis moved to the other side of Joy, taking her hand.
Joy started crying in Mikayla’s arms but quickly calmed herself. “He’s in Manchester.”
Mikayla froze as Jarvis’s face paled.
“Let me explain.” The detective spoke up.
They moved their attention to the detective.
“I’m FBI agent Joan Kinns. I’ve come to speak with Ms. Richter about her case.”
“What’s going on with it?” Jarvis questioned.
“When we received the DNA results from Joy’s case, the Boston PD had five other cases with the same DNA results.”
“Five?” Mikayla gasped.
Agent Kinns nodded. “And all the same stories. All were at a party, felt sick, went to a bedroom, and woke to realize they’d been raped. None having any memories.”
Mikayla felt sick to her stomach.
“Now, Manchester and Concord have a total of six cases with the scenario and now…” She paused. “They all had the same DNA results and stories too.”
“Twelve. Twelve women have been violated by this monster.” Mikayla was going to be sick.
“Yes. Joy’s case makes twelve,” Agent Kinns delicately stated. “And now it’s an FBI case.”
“Did…” Joy moved from Mikayla. “Did any of them get…pregnant?” Her voice cracked at the question.
“Four. One was given away with a closed adoption. You and two others had abortions. So far, no New Hampshire cases have reported pregnancies. But some are still too early,” Agent Kinns said sadly.
“What do you need us to do?” Jarvis spoke in a soft tone as he tried to take in all this information.
Agent Kinns glanced at Joy. “Remember. No one remembers anything. Even the smallest detail could help blow this case wide open.”
“I try.” Tears fell down Joy’s cheeks. “I try every day, but it’s blank. All of it.”
“I know and I’m not trying to cause you more stress. I swear I’m not. I can’t even begin to imagine the pain you and all those innocent females are going through. But if you remember anything, please call me.” She pulled a card from her pocket and handed it to Joy.
Everyone thanked the agent when she stood, and Jarvis showed her out of the condo. Mikayla watched as Joy sat very still, staring at the card. Mikayla reached for her hand, but Joy moved from her touch. She didn’t take offense to it.
“I need to go to the bathroom.” Joy rushed away, leaving Mikayla alone at the table.
“She okay?” Jarvis asked gripping the back of one of the empty chairs.
“She’s tough.” Mikayla gave a vague answer unsure if she’d make it through.
“I’m going to kill this guy if I can ever get my hands around his neck.” Jarvis’s knuckles were white as he gripped the chair tighter.
“Right, because Joy could truly handle you being behind bars,” Mikayla growled. “Oh, and me too.”
“You know what I mean.” He hung his head.
“I do and I feel the same, but right now, we need to be here for her. Nothing else,” Mikayla explained.
“You’re right.” He nodded.
Joy walked back into the room. “I’m sorry to have bothered you both.”
“You didn’t bother us,” Mikayla spoke up quickly.
“Well, you two can go now. I’m fine.” She was clearly lying to them.
“Actually.” Jarvis’s voice was gleeful. “We were thinking about turning on The Office and popping some popcorn. You’re going to join us.”
Joy rolled her eyes. “You hate The Office,” she called him out.
“No. No. No. I love Jim, Pam, and them,” he said weakly.
Mikayla giggled as Jarvis struggled to remember the character names. Joy saw the same struggle and went over to her brother and hugged him. Mikayla couldn’t hear their exchange. She quietly slipped out of the room and went to the kitchen.
After
a moment of poking around trying to find the popcorn, Joy and Jarvis joined her. Joy even gave her a hug and thanked her for being there. Together the three of them popped a large bowl of salty, buttery popcorn, poured three glasses of water, and then sat on the couch. Jarvis sat in the middle. Mikayla to his right and Joy to his left.
For the next several hours, they watched The Office together. Mikayla had enjoyed the show. Albeit, it wasn’t her favorite nor something she’d normally watch, but for Joy, she would watch until the sun came up.
Mikayla felt like she was on a cloud. She slowly blinked, opening her eyes. Laying on her stomach, she realized she was in Jarvis’s bed. Maneuvering out of the bed she made her way to the kitchen. Jarvis sat at the breakfast bar with an iPad and a large cup of coffee in front of him. Joy stood at the stove, creating something that smelled delicious.
“G’morning.” Jarvis smiled. “Sleep well?”
“Apparently because I don’t even remember falling asleep.” She sat next to Jarvis.
“Neither do I,” Joy added while stirring something in a pot.
“What happened?” Mikayla questioned, smelling the aroma of oatmeal.
“You two were watching The Office. I ate popcorn. Then you two started snoring, and I had to haul you both to bed,” Jarvis grumbled with a laughing tone.
“Stop being a baby.” Mikayla grabbed his coffee and took a sip.
Joy ladled the oatmeal into a bowl, placing one in front of each of them. Then Joy reached for a small bottle of maple syrup in front of Jarvis and a small basket of fresh blueberries in front of Mikayla.
Giving her friend a smile of gratitude, she picked a few to put in the hot bowl of goodness.
“What do you have planned today?” Joy inquired to Mikayla.
“I have to get some work done.” She didn’t add it should have been completed last night. She wanted to be there for Joy and not make her feel guilty.
“I’m working out, meeting a new trainer, going to the accountant and…” Trailing off, Jarvis glanced at Joy.
“And going to the PR department to sign merchandise,” Joy reminded him.
“Right.” Jarvis nodded before diving into the bowl of oatmeal.
“Sounds like we all have a busy day,” Mikayla commented. She noticed Joy’s—almost painful—expression but didn’t call her out.
The three of them ate quietly and when they finished, Jarvis cleaned up all the dishes as Mikayla gathered her purse and said goodbye to Joy.
“I’ll drive you,” Jarvis said heading toward the door.
“Stop,” Mikayla ordered, and he halted. “You stay here and get ready for your day. I’ve already summoned an Uber.” She gave him a kiss and said, “We’ll meet later.”
Mikayla didn’t wait for him to argue. She just walked around him and out the door.
When she got home, she quickly jumped in the shower. As soon as she got out and wrapped herself in her robe, she went off to find Elexis. Her roommate was in the home office typing away.
“Are you teaching?” she whispered.
Elexis smiled but didn’t turn away from the screen. “No, just answering an email. What’s going on?”
Mikayla leaned on the corner of the desk and recounted the evening before.
“I figured something happened. You don’t normally leave a mess.”
“Shite,” she groaned. “I’m so sorry. Joy called and we bolted immediately.”
“I completely understand.” Elexis had finished the email and now turned in her chair to face her. “I can’t imagine how Joy feels. Not to mention there’s a serial rapist in Manchester. That freaks me out.”
“As much True Crime All the Time I listen to, I’m not shocked at all anymore. Albeit.” She paused. “I’m a bit freaked as well.”
“Do the police have any leads?” Elexis asked nervously.
“Just his DNA,” she answered sadly.
“Horrific.” Elexis moved from her desk and out toward the kitchen.
“How’s Dag?” Mikayla changed the topic to something upbeat.
“Amazing.” She beamed. “He and I are thinking of going away again.”
“Ooooo…where are you two running off to?” she teased but wondered if she and Jarvis should do the same.
“Not sure. We thought Portland or something on the West Coast.”
Mikayla grinned seeing how happy her friend was with Dag.
“What about you and Jarvis?”
“Good,” she commented without much thought.
“Good? You don’t sound as if it is,” she questioned, pulling a bottle of water from the fridge.
“I love him,” she said deadpan.
“But?” Elexis waited.
“I don’t feel as if we’re making progress. Sure, we talk and the sex is outstanding but…” She trailed off with a shrug.
“I get it, but he has been gone a lot. Plus, you’re busy now with your designs. You need a date night with no interruptions.”
Mikayla couldn’t argue with her logic. “I’ll have to work on scheduling it with him. But for now, I have to actually work.” She gave Elexis a quick hug before going up to her room.
First, she checked her Etsy store, answering and confirming the few orders she received. Then she double-checked some of her knitting to ensure they were ready for her upcoming convention. Once she had stuff organized, she started on the designs from Jean.
For the rest of the day and far into the evening, Mikayla focused on the work in front of her. The only break she took was to get her Hi-C. By ten o’clock, she had emailed Jean back with her notes and confirmation that she’d come down and work on some mockups with him soon.
Her legs were like jelly when she finally moved off the floor of her bedroom. She stretched her arms high above her head, reaching until she stood on her tiptoes. Powering up her phone—since she shut it off to work—she doubted she missed too many alerts.
She was wrong.
There were numerous messages from Jarvis telling her about his day, and that he was worried about her. Staring at the screen, she could feel the love from him but was there a true connection? When she caned him, the power flowed through her. The look in his eyes told her and her body how much he enjoyed it.
More than a dozen times in her adult life, she wanted what Jenessa and Shade had—before their world fell apart. They were inseparable, best friends, soulmates. She thought they had the same relationship, but now she wasn’t sure. Even had Mikayla been a wishy-washy girly-girl, she knew what she wanted. Period.
Until now.
She wished—deeply wished—Jenessa wouldn’t be difficult right now so she’d have someone to talk to about this situation and the maddening thoughts running through her. Sadly, they weren’t on speaking terms. She could talk to Elexis, but right now she needed to go rest.
Chapter Ten
“I’ve known you for many years and have never seen you this happy.” Lakota cut a dainty piece of chicken before putting it in her mouth.
“I can’t remember either.” Jarvis beamed. “I feel like I’m floating on a cloud.” He mashed his baked potato with his fork. “But I came to warn you and your girls about this fucking prick.” His face grew angry thinking about that asshole still being out there.
“I thank you for the warning. I will also check on my sources at the police department to figure out why there’s been nothing in the news.” She took another bite of chicken. “How is your sister handling all this news?”
Jarvis shrugged. “I don’t know because she puts on a brave face. Plus, she’s going to therapy, and I hope it helps.”
“She’s strong. She will survive this darkness.” Lakota gently set down her silverware. “Explain to me why you’re eating here at Passions.”
“Well, I was hungry and meals are included in my membership.” He smirked using his teasing tone on her.
“Stop being an ass and tell me the truth.” She narrowed her eyes. Obviously, not in the mood for his joking.
&nbs
p; “Okay.” He slightly hung his head. “Mikayla caned me.”
“And?” Lakota pressed when he didn’t explain further.
“It reminded me of you when you train the doms.” More than once Jarvis had been used with the new trainees. He had a high pain tolerance, at times. Depending upon the instrument used. He wasn’t a full submissive, but Lakota would use him to show the newbies how to break one in. Although, none have ever truly broken him.
“Interesting.” Lakota mused but spoke nothing further on it. “I wish you both all the best.”
He heard the genuineness in her tone, and he smiled. “Thank you for all the advice.”
“Now, I want you to leave. You’ve not seen Mikayla since you left each other this morning. It’s late and you need to be well-rested,” she commanded.
“Again. Thank you.” He stood, left Passions, and made his way home.
When he crawled into bed, he checked his phone. He left a lot of texts for Mikayla with no responses. He didn’t worry because he knew how demanding Jean could be and must have been monopolizing her time. Instead, he rolled over with a smile on his face before falling fast asleep.
The Bears—at least the ones working out together—had all met at the local high school outdoor track and football field. Jarvis parked his car next to Shade’s truck and got out, noticing Shade was still sitting inside.
Tapping on the window, he motioned for him to roll it down. “You okay, bro?” Jarvis asked when the window opened.
“Yeah, I was just thinking,” he sadly replied.
“Jenessa?” Jarvis pried.
“Yes,” Shade answered in the same tone.
“What’s going on?” He leaned in further, waiting for him to explain.
“Usual. Nothing.” He paused as if he didn’t know what else to say. “Let’s just work out.” He pushed the button to close the window causing Jarvis to jump back.
“Is there anything I can do?” he asked when Shade was out of the truck and they were walking to the awaiting group.