Catalyst: Book 2 of The Dark Paradise Trilogy

by Isadora Brown

  “My family …” They were the only two words Reese could say at the moment.

  “I’m sorry, Miss Lespoir,” Piazza said, and he sounded like he genuinely meant it. “Three different bodies were found, too burned to properly ID. We’re running dental records to confirm, but we have reason to believe they’re the remains of your parents and brother.”

  That was when she collapsed.

  30

  “It’s been three days, Andie, and you’re starting to look like Reese Witherspoon in Legally Blonde right after her boyfriend dumps her,” Carey stated. She was currently leaning in the doorway of her room, arms crossed over her chest. Her brown eyes scanned her room and noted that the posters had yet to be reapplied and her bag full of clothes she had packed had yet to be opened.

  “I’ll take that as a compliment,” Andie murmured, tearing her eyes away from the television set and looking at her friend for a moment. She was currently lying on the bed under the covers with a box of chocolates from See’s on her chest, while another one had spilled off her yesterday, and there were two empty ones sprawled on her bedroom floor. She was sure she had gained a new five pounds in the last three days, but she didn’t care. Currently, Andie was going through her DVD collection of romantic comedies, and today happened to be The Notebook. “If I had a full box of chocolate right now, I’d throw it at you.”

  Carey snorted in disbelief. “Like you’d waste a good box of chocolate,” she said with a roll of her eyes. The two grew silent again, and Carey glanced at the small television screen. “You know,” she said after a long moment, “you and Jack kind of have this same sort of relationship. Meeting and then being torn apart due to social disapproval, but knowing beyond a doubt that you belong with each other.”

  “Yeah,” Andie said, “but they end up together in the end.”

  “Well, you guys could, too,” Carey insisted, stepping into the room. “From my understanding, you’re the one who left Jack, for his own good, you say.” She noticed Andie begin to play with the charm that she had placed on a chain only yesterday. “You could do the whole big romantic gesture thing, And. You can still go get him! Whatever reason you’re not with Jack isn’t worth all this trouble. I’m sure it’s making him miserable, and it’s obviously making you fat.”

  Andie chucked her box of chocolate at her friend. Luckily, there were only the gross chocolates left.

  “What if it’s a life-and-death situation?” Andie asked her friend, her tone now serious.

  “Honestly, Andie,” Carey said, perking her brow, “you’re pretty much already dead. I mean, look at you. Usually, you’re always full of energy and can’t stand being in the apartment without going out at least once a day. And even though I’m not with Jack, I’m sure he’s the same way. In fact, Miranda says he’s worse because he has to come in to work every day. He’s not all emo, like you, but he’s … I don’t know … crankier.”

  “So … I should go …?” Andie asked, chewing her bottom lip.

  Carey nodded firmly. “Go get him.”

  Andie was nearly to Phillip Enterprises when she realized she looked like shit. She was wearing the same sweatpants she had been wearing since the day she left Jack’s and a white wife beater. She had pulled her hair into a ponytail, hoping to mask the fact that she hadn’t washed it since she couldn’t even remember when. At least she had remembered deodorant. Maybe she should go back and look better … Andie quickly pulled out her cell phone to check the time and frowned. It was nearly lunch, and Jack usually took a long one. She didn’t think she would have this type of confidence in the next two hours, so she continued on.

  Andie headed into the building, and the first person she saw was Denise Bitch Long-Legs. Denise looked up, hearing the door open, and when she saw Andie, her lips perked up into a smirk as her eyes narrowed into Andie’s. “Well, well, well,” she drawled, pushing up from the desk and sauntering over to Andie. “What do we have here?” She was dressed sharply, looking as beautiful as ever, and Andie didn’t have to look at Denise’s legs to know they were still amazing. “Come back to report to Jack about the latest over at Eagle Corp.?”

  “I just need to talk to Jack for a second,” Andie told Denise, forcing herself to look the woman in her eyes. She ignored the jab at her loyalty.

  “Sorry, Mister Phillip’s in a meeting,” Denise said, shrugging nonchalantly, but she didn’t look one bit sorry. In fact, she seemed kind of smug. “Now, if that’s all you came by for, I’m going to have to ask you to leave. You know, since you don’t work here anymore.”

  “It’s really important, Denise,” Andie said, trying to keep a hold of her patience.

  “Well, I’m sure it is,” Denise said, “but I don’t care. Keep pushing me, Andie. I would love to call security on you.” She glanced at Bill, head of security, but he didn’t seem to be paying attention. “And anyway,” Denise said, turning to face Andie once again, “why are you here to see Jack when everyone knows you’re fucking Aaron Groundling now?”

  What happened next really wasn’t Andie’s fault. Or, at least, she hoped it wasn’t. The thing was, she was incredibly emotional and felt as though she needed to see Jack more than she needed anything. So when she knocked over Denise’s skinny latte all over her name brand outfit, it was a release of emotions.

  Of course, that didn’t stop Andie from dashing to the elevators and pressing the button incessantly until the doors slid open. She didn’t feel safe until the doors were shut. She pressed the correct button, and as the elevator ascended, she started practicing the speech she wanted to say to Jack. However, once the elevator pinged and the doors opened, everything she thought of was quickly forgotten. Biting her bottom lip, she stepped out of the elevator and glanced around. A few people gave her attire odd looks, but none questioned her being there. She swallowed and proceeded to head over to Jack’s office when a familiar, soft-spoken voice caused her to stop.

  A meeting. Of course. He would be in the conference room.

  When she turned, she could see him clearly now, looking painfully handsome in a three-breasted navy blue suit. She headed to the door of the room, proceeding more slowly than normal, and paused. Open the door, Andie. Open the door. And then, she did. Maybe she should have waited until the meeting had finished, but she had to get this out. All eyes of the meeting’s participants—whom Andie recognized as members of his board—fixated on her. But Andie wasn’t paying attention. She was just focused on Jack, and Jack was focused on Andie.

  “I, uh.” She gulped. What was she doing? She wanted to be taken seriously in the business world, didn’t she? Then why was she interrupting what was probably an incredibly important meeting? To discuss things completely inappropriate in the business world? No. No way. She couldn’t do this to herself, and she definitely couldn’t do this to Jack. “Wrong room. My bad.”

  “Wait.” His voice stopped her in her tracks. “We were just finishing up.” When no one seemed to be moving, he furrowed his brow. “Get out!” Papers were shuffling, men were mumbling, and finally, everyone disappeared out the door, but neither Andie nor Jack noticed.

  “I’m really, really sorry for interrupting,” Andie said, feeling her face flush. “I just … I just had to see you. I mean, Carey was talking to me and said that I was already dead, and Miranda told Carey who told me that you seemed dead too, and Carey said we were like Ally and Noah from The Notebook, so she said I should do something romantic, so I decided to come here, but Denise Bitch Long-Legs was in my way, and okay, it’s not my fault that I doused her with her Starbucks, because I had to see you, and now … well, here I am.” She was mumbling, only realizing it just as she finished.

  Jack looked as though he was trying to contain a smile, but his eyes sparkled in amusement. “You’re wearing my charm,” he said.

  Andie looked down at it. “I am,” she replied.

  “So,” Jack began, slowly walking over to her. “Does this mean you’re coming back?” He curled an errant strand of Andie
’s hair behind her ear. “I mean, Beverly wants to know. Apparently she thinks I’m a tad crankier since you’ve been gone.”

  “Is that so?” Andie asked with a smile. “Well, that won’t do. It’s definitely not fair to Beverly.”

  “That’s exactly what I was thinking,” Jack said. His smile slipped off his face, but his eyes had yet to slip off of hers. Currently, he was caressing her cheek, causing warmth to fill Andie’s entire body. “I know that what you did was smart,” he told her. “I know you were looking out for both of us. But I … I can’t function properly without you. I mean, I’m not sloppy, but I just feel empty without you. And God, for the past few days, I’ve been worried about you. When I’m out at night, I’m looking to make sure that you’re not there, that you’re not in trouble. But knowing that you’re waiting for me in my—our—bed would relieve my worries.”

  “Pssh, if I’m moving back in the manor, I’m moving back into my room,” Andie said with a playful smile. “What kind of girl do you think I am?”

  Jack threw his head back and laughed, the kind of laugh Andie loved to watch him partake in. “You can have anything you want,” he told her, wrapping his arms around her waist. “As long as I get you.”

  “I just want you,” Andie told him in a soft voice. “Just you.”

  Jack’s smile took the form of a tender one. “Good,” he told her. “Because all I want is you.” He tilted his head forward and captured her lips with his.

  This kiss was not chaste, nor was it tender. It was passionate and fiery, all of their suppressed feelings taking life through the action. Andie never thought she would actually feel the earth move underneath her due to one kiss, but she currently was. There was nothing in the world except them, and as Andie wrapped her arms around Jack’s neck, pulling him even closer to her, she hoped they would always have this sort of passion for each other.

  “It seems,” Jack said, once the two had to break apart in order to reclaim oxygen, “that we have an audience.”

  It was true. The conference room was glass, and though no one could hear what they were saying, they could definitely see the action that was taking place. A collective group of nearly everyone on the floor had paused what they were doing, and Andie didn’t have to look to know that they all had their smartphones out.

  Andie felt herself flush at the unwanted attention, biting her bottom lip and tilting her head down. She wished her hair was longer so it would do a better job of masking her face, but as of now, she was bare, transparent, for all to see. What she had just done was completely irrational, something she never would have done, especially not with Jack, especially not right after what appeared to be an important meeting. What had she kept going on and on to Grayson about? That she wasn’t that type of girl. That she wanted to be taken seriously in life, especially in a business environment. That her personal life would remain personal.

  And it will. Even though she and Jack were now together, Andie still expected to be appropriate in the work force. Not that it would matter because there was no way she could return to work at Phillip Enterprises. Officially. They were together.

  Andie couldn’t help the smile sliding across her face. She couldn’t help the bubbles inside her stomach that were so constant and such a jumble that she was certain if Jack wasn’t holding her, she’d lift off the ground and defy gravity. She was in love with a man who loved her back. What a funny, rare feeling that sounded so simple but was so tricky to find.

  Everything was different, now. Everything had changed. She still cared about how people perceived her in a professional setting, there was no getting over that, but she didn’t worry as much. Why should she, when the one person she cared about accepted her for exactly who she was? She still had to finish up her junior and senior year in high school, and she definitely planned to go to college, but something inside of her wanted nothing more than to slow down and enjoy the moment. She had Jack now; it was his fingers coiled through hers, holding onto her as though she belonged to him.

  And she did.

  Just like he belonged to her.

  Things were changing. Some things for the better, others for the worst. She knew there was a war coming. Now that Andie knew exactly what Jack was, little things didn’t seem as important to her as they once had. The feel of his lips on hers, the way he smelled when they had danced in the rain that one night, the way his smile was crooked. Those were the things that mattered.

  She had been silly, of course. All this time waiting for something that had always been hers if she had just asked for it.

  “I have something for you.” His voice broke her out of her silent reverie, and he tugged gently on her fingers. She blinked once, twice, and allowed a soft smile to spread out onto her face.

  “I don’t need anything,” she told him as he led her to the doors. She hoped people weren’t around, trying to listen in on their conversation, and was pleasantly surprised to find not one soul out of their seats or looking in Andie and Jack’s direction. Save, of course, Miranda, shredding blank sheets of white paper for no particular reason. She was staring at her work, fixed in her action, but Andie could tell by the swinging curls that she had just snapped her head around before they emerged from the conference room.

  Way to be obvious, Miranda, she thought with a roll of her pale green eyes.

  Once they were safely tucked away in Jack’s office, he re-grabbed her hand and led her over to his desk. He took a seat in his chair and only released her to pull out a thick piece of paper from the top desk drawer. He handed it to her, the corner of his lips twitched up.

  “What is it?” she asked, hesitating only slightly.

  “Read it and find out.”

  She gave him a look and allowed her eyes to descend.

  Shepherd’s Peak Animal Shelter

  Owned by: Andrea Shepherd

  “Oh my God.”

  Could this …? Was this …?

  She snapped her eyes into Jack’s, her mouth dropping open in awe, in disbelief, at what this paper meant.

  “What—? Did you really—? I …” She shook her head, eyes misting her vision. “I don’t know what to say, Jack.”

  “Well, that’s a first,” he said it in his droll way, but there was a glimmer of pure happiness in his jade green eyes at the prospect of rendering Andie speechless. “It’s an animal shelter, Andie. It’s your animal shelter. Your funds will come directly from Phillip Enterprise’s Charitable Donations fund and be the first in a project I’ve been trying to get off the ground since I met you.”

  She furrowed her brow, unsure.

  “My deception is straight out of a comic book, I know, but my business was unimportant. I thought I was doing enough. But then I met you and I realized that maybe Black Wing gives the city hope and protects it from evil, but that doesn’t mean that Jack Phillip can’t contribute to this city in his own way. When you told me you wanted to run an animal shelter, it got me thinking … and I realized that I can help. Not Black Wing, but Jack Phillip.

  “My parents, my family, where I’m from are still important to me.” He stood, taking her hand in his and placing it over his heart. She could feel the light pulse of his heart even through his nicely tailored shirt. “But you’re my home, Andie. Nowhere else. Wherever you are, I want to be. I can start planting seeds here. I can settle down here. I can do anything, really, as long as you’re by my side. Lucas Burr is going to come after us again. Soon, I’ll explain everything. I’ll explain why. But before we do this, I mean, really do this, I want you to know that it might get worse before it gets better. If you want to get out, tell me now, because once you’re mine, I’m never, ever letting you go.”

  “Jack.” She closed her eyes and replaced her hand with her head, resting comfortably on his chest. She wanted to ask about what he meant, but she bit her tongue, held her words. They had now. They had this moment. And if she could share that with him, she would have more than enough. Whatever happened, happened. They couldn’t change it.
All they could do was live in the moment, appreciate each other, love each other like it was their last night on earth. “I’m all in. You’re my home, too.”

  Because it very well might be.

  31

  It had been a few days since the explosion at the downtown police station, and it was still all the news could talk about. As usual, Noir reveled in all the attention he was receiving from journalists, the police force, the Onyx population, and, of course, Black Wing. Surprisingly, besides the one time the journalist asked about Bombshell’s true identity, Keirah’s name hadn’t come up again. She wasn’t a suspect, nor was she a potential suspect. Jarrett was firm with his reasoning that Keirah Shepherd would have absolutely nothing to do with this, unless, of course, Noir was forcing her to take part in such an activity.

  It made Keirah feel slightly guilty. How could this man she barely knew defend her so adamantly? What did she do to deserve to have his strong beliefs in her? It also made her uncomfortable. She knew Noir was wrong when he had so quickly come to the conclusion that Jarrett liked her in any romantic way when she knew that man was in love with his wife, who had just had a baby a few months ago. No wonder he looked so tired. But what made Keirah uncomfortable was why he was so insistent that she wasn’t involved.

  If one looked at all the evidence, it would seem entirely plausible that Keirah Shepherd was Bombshell. And she was sure that anyone who had come in contact with her when she was with Noir could tell just how much she loved him. Noir was better at hiding his feelings, but not Keirah. She knew how vulnerable her eyes were. And even though people could figure out her feelings for the man, they would never understand, and that was okay with her.

  So was Jarrett really that unaware of just how much she loved Noir? He was a police officer, after all; shouldn’t he recognize such feelings when it was clearly written all over her face? Or was Keirah really that good of an actress? She highly doubted it. Noir could see right through her, even if she was fibbing about something silly. But then again, she had this feeling that Noir could see through anything.