Always With You: Part Two

by Leighton, M.

  I cry out, unable to hold in the name that tumbles from my lips. “Cash!”

  “Jesus!” he groans, grinding his body into mine. Seconds after my own release, I feel the hot spurt of his, filling me with more warmth, turning my muscles to jelly.

  I sag against his chest, leaning away from the wall. Without pulling out of me, Cash turns until he is the one leaning against the brick, still holding me, my legs still wrapped around his waist.

  “Christ Almighty, my knees don’t want to work,” he pants, half laughing. I laugh with him, loving that I turn his body into butter, like he does mine.

  “I love you, Mr. Davenport,” I tell him, burying my face in his neck, inhaling the scent that’s all Cash.

  “I love you more, Mrs. Davenport,” he replies breathlessly.

  “Not possible.”

  “Quite possible.”

  “Never.”

  “Always.”

  I smile against his skin when he kisses my shoulder, fully aware that when we are like this, nothing else in the world matters. Nothing.

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  Cash

  I don’t really want to set my wife down, but I know I have to. We can’t stay out here forever, no matter how much I’d like nothing else. Her little grunt of displeasure tells me she feels the same way.

  I bend down and pick up her clothes to hand to her and turn to lean one shoulder against the wall. “As much as I loved what just happened, I actually brought you out here to tell you something.”

  “I figured,” she says, her grin saying she doesn’t regret our…sidebar one bit.

  I watch her pull her flimsy panties up her long, toned legs and I lose my train of thought for a few seconds. “Well?” she says, forcing my attention back to the reason I brought her out here.

  “Right, ummm, Jason King. When I talked to him this morning, he said Sophie left the apartment last night while I was out with Isabella. He saw her sneaking back in right before he came in.”

  Olivia frowns, pausing with her leg bent, getting ready to put it into her jeans. “Maybe she had to run out for something.”

  “I texted her before I brought Isabella back to make sure she didn’t need anything. She told me no, that she was fine. Said she’d been asleep and was just going to take it easy for the rest of the night.”

  “Oh,” she says flatly. “So where do you think she went?”

  I shrug. “Hard to say.”

  “What does Jason think?”

  “He doesn’t say much. I don’t know what he found out about her life back in Canada, or what she’s been doing since she left here. Maybe he’s piecing it all together, but I’m sure he’ll tell me when he has something.”

  “Hopefully sooner rather than later.”

  “Hopefully. But we know she’s lying to cover up something, which means she might be lying about more. With Sophie it’s hard to say.”

  Olivia crosses her arms over her chest and leans up against the wall beside me. Her eyes are focused on the tips of her shoes and her voice is small when she speaks next. “Was she like this when you knew her before?”

  “Pretty much. She’s always been a wild card. It’s what I used to like about her. Before I knew better.”

  “Before you knew better?”

  “Yeah, before I knew what I really wanted, what I really valued in life. Before I knew who I really wanted. Sophie was a phase.”

  “So you don’t regret that she said no?”

  Damn you, Sophie! I think to myself, gritting my teeth. I can hear the hurt in Olivia’s voice, even though I know she’s trying to hide it. I would’ve told her if she’d asked, but I dreaded it. I knew it would hurt her to know.

  “That’s not what you think.”

  She raises hopeful eyes to mine. “It’s not?”

  I smile, reaching out to tenderly trace the delicate curve of her cheek. “No, it’s not. She told me she was pregnant. I was trying to do the right thing. Nothing more.”

  “But Isabella…I thought you didn’t…”

  “She wasn’t actually pregnant. She just wanted me to run away with her. Not bad enough to marry me to get it, though.”

  “She lied about being pregnant to get you to run away with her?”

  I nod.

  Olivia’s mouth works open and closed and few times before her lips thin and she scowls. “That bitch!”

  “She cried, said she just wanted to be with me, away from her dad. I sort of understood, I guess. Her father was a real piece of work, but to go to those lengths to get away from him…”

  “I thought she moved to Canada with her father?”

  “She did. She had to. When my father found out what had happened…well, things were strained between them already, so…”

  “He asked them to leave?”

  “Yeah. Pretty much. I’m not sure they had much choice. He never went into too much detail with me.”

  “Were you…were you upset when she left?”

  “I was. We’d been friends for years before we were…more. I hated that she lied to me, even though I understood her reasoning, but I still missed her when they left. If she’d just been honest with me…If she’d just told me up front… I think that bothered me more than anything.”

  “So she did break your heart?”

  One side of my mouth crooks up at her. “No, Olivia. There’s only one person who has ever had my heart to break. And that’s you. If something happened to you…or something took you from me…” I shudder, literally, at the thought. I can’t imagine my life without her. Hell, I don’t even want to try.

  She cups my cheek with her cool hand. “That’s never going to happen. We are forever, Cash. You and me? Nothing can tear us apart. Not even some blonde bimbo from your past.”

  “Blonde bimbo?” I ask, amused.

  Her grin is sheepish. “Yeah, I’ve been holding that one in.”

  “Well don’t. Say what you feel. It won’t bother me in the least, I swear.”

  “I just didn’t want to make things awkward between us if…if…you did have feelings for her.”

  “I did, but not feelings like you were thinking. Everyone else on this whole planet…they’re tiny in comparison to you. You are what matters to me most. Always.”

  Seemingly satisfied, she leans her head back against the wall. “So, what’s next? What are we going to do about Sophie?”

  “We’re going to let Jason find out what she’s up to and wait on the results of that paternity test. She doesn’t have to be a problem for us.”

  “I know. I guess her arrival here, with a kid no less, just made me even more insecure about things I was already feeling uneasy about.”

  “I know, baby. I wish I could make you see that you’re all I need to be happy. Ever.”

  “I’m beginning to get the picture.”

  “Good, because if we stay out here much longer, those pants are gonna have to come off again,” I warn her, taking her hand and placing it on my straining zipper.

  “Already?” she asks with a devilish giggle.

  “Any time you’re around…”

  “Well, as much as I want to torture you about this right now, I should probably get back. I left Sophie out there alone.”

  “Go be a bartender then,” I say with a sigh, smacking her delicious ass when she turns to wiggle toward the door. “You can be my wife again later tonight. Deal?” I ask as I open the door.

  “Deal,” she says, leaning back to give me a loud kiss before we enter the club.

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  Olivia

  Dad has always been a fan of the news. He’s going home tomorrow, so rather than excusing myself to clean up or make out my grocery list, I’m sitting with him in the living room, enjoying every minute of our last day together.

  And I’m glad that I am. Otherwise I might’ve missed the news report about the break-in at DCSS.

  “Head of Operations at the Atlanta Department of Child Support Services, Alan Richter, filed a poli
ce report early this morning, stating that the offices were broken into. One of his employees, case worker Marla Stern, reportedly arrived to work at eight A.M. to find that one of the chairs from just outside their facility had been thrown through a window. Her statement cited what she believed to be water and foam from a fire extinguisher covering most surfaces of the lab and cold storage areas. The scene was later investigated by local law enforcement, who believe the break-in to be a gang related act of vandalism, as nothing was stolen except for the fire extinguisher believed to be used to discharge the dry chemical in the laboratory. Richter told our correspondent that hundreds, possibly thousands of samples were compromised and that it could take weeks to sort through the records and recall donors. Police Chief Ronald Gaines is set to hold a press conference about escalating gang activity in the area later on today. Tune in at eleven for more on this story.”

  Could it be…? Am I crazy to think…? Is there any possible way Sophie is capable of something like this?

  Cash said that Jason told him he’d seen Sophie returning late last night. Where had she been? And why had she felt the need to lie about it?

  Because she’s a devious criminal in addition to being a colossal bitch.

  My head buzzes around both fact and theory as the morning news continues on without me.

  “Something wrong sweetheart?” Dad asks, jarring me from deep inside my own mind.

  “No, no. I…no, everything is fine. I, uh, I just remembered I need to call Cash about something. I’ll be right back.”

  I make my exit quickly, already trying to figure out how I can tell Cash about this with a little finesse. You know, so that I don’t sound like an unbalanced, psychotic conspiracy theorist. When he answers, I just wing it, which has never really worked well for me.

  “Hey, babe. You comin’ in?”

  “I think Sophie vandalized the DCSS to ruin the samples,” I blurt.

  Smooth, Olivia. Very, very smooth.

  “So you think…Sophie was…now wait. You think what?”

  I tell Cash about the news. I don’t have to tell him about my suspicions then. The growling sigh of aggravation I hear on the other end of the phone tells me he’s on the same page.

  “I’ll call you back,” he says abruptly.

  “Cash, what are you going to do?”

  “Find Jason King.”

  I hold my cell in my hands, thinking to myself that the shit is surely about to hit the fan.

  **This is novella number two which consists of June’s free installments from my website. To tune in to more FREE Cash and Olivia, sign up for my newsletter!**

  Want more of Jason King...if that's even his real name...? Find out about the sexy, mysterious Mr. King in Strong Enough, the first book in the Tall, Dark, and Dangerous series!

  Turn the page for the first chapters

  Prologue

  Jasper

  Seventeen years ago

  “What’s he gonna do, Mom?” I try to wriggle away from her, but she holds me too tight. I feel like something bad’s gonna happen, but I don’t know why. “Maybe I can make him not be mad. Let me go!”

  “Shhh, baby. It’ll be okay. You have to stay here with me or he’ll take you, too.”

  My heart’s beating so hard it hurts, like it did that time when Mikey Jennings punched me in the chest. Not even my mother’s arms around me make the pain go away, and her hugs usually make everything better.

  My eyes water as I stare out the window. I can’t blink. I’m afraid to. I don’t want to see what Dad’s going to do to my older brother, Jeremy, but I can’t look away either.

  The longer I watch, the less I can move, like my feet are glued to the floor and my arms are strapped to my sides. It feels like I can’t even breathe. I can only stare at the cold, gray water and the two shapes moving closer to it.

  I see Jeremy’s fingers clawing at my dad’s hand where it pulls him by his hair. It’s not doing him any good, though. Dad isn’t letting go. Jeremy’s feet sometimes drag along the ground, his ratty tennis shoes kicking up mud and grass, but my father never slows down. I can tell by the way his other fist is balled up that he’s mad. Madder than usual, maybe.

  Jeremy got in trouble at school again today. They called Dad at work instead of Mom, so she didn’t even know until Dad brought Jeremy home. By then it was too late.

  “No kid of mine’s gonna act like a monster. There’s something wrong with you, boy,” Dad was saying when they walked through the door. Jeremy was in front of him. Dad pushed him so hard, my brother fell and slid across the kitchen floor.

  There really is something wrong with Jeremy. The doctor said so. He said Jeremy needed medicine, but Dad doesn’t care. It just makes him mad, makes him lose his temper with Jeremy even more.

  I was standing at Mom’s side when Dad stopped in front of her. He put his finger in her face until it almost touched her nose. His eyes were that red color all around the edges like they are when he’s getting ready to whip Jeremy. “You’d better hope this little shit doesn’t turn out the same way.” He slapped me in the side of the head when he said it. It made my ear sting like a bee got me, but I didn’t even say “ouch.” I didn’t say anything. I knew better than to open my mouth. “One’s enough.”

  Dad went and grabbed Jeremy by the back of his shirt, pulled him up to his feet and threw him out the kitchen door. Jeremy fell again, but that didn’t stop Dad. He followed him into the yard.

  “Get up, you worthless little asshole,” he yelled. There was something not good in Jeremy’s eyes when he looked up. Then I saw him spit on Dad’s work boots. I knew he shouldn’t have done that. I knew it even more when Dad kicked him in the ribs. Now we’re watching my older brother get dragged away for punishment.

  Rather than stopping at the old stump that he bends Jeremy over to whip him, Dad keeps walking right out into the lake. He doesn’t even stop at the edge.

  My eyes hurt while I watch, but I can’t close them. Something about this time looks different. Feels different. Something about the hot tears streaming down my face tells me that this time is different.

  Dad’s boots splash through the shallow water. He drags my brother behind him like he does a bag of trash when he’s loading up the truck to go to the dump. Jeremy falls and gets back up, falls and gets back up. He’s fighting for real now. He’s kicking and hitting. I see his mouth open wide like he’s screaming, but I can’t hear it. The only thing I can hear is my heartbeat. It’s like drums in my ears, it’s so loud.

  Dad stops when the water is up to his waist. He pulls Jeremy to him. I see his face from the side, my father’s. It’s so red it looks purple. Veins are standing out all down his neck. My brother’s face is almost white, like he’s wearing ghost Halloween makeup. His eyes are dry, though. He stopped crying over the stuff Dad does to him a long time ago.

  Dad yells something at Jeremy, his mouth stretching so wide it looks like he could eat him. Like a snake, just swallow him whole. Jeremy just stares up at him with his pale face. Dad shakes my brother hard enough to make his head snap back, and then he dunks him under the water.

  I suck in a breath. I’ve never seen Dad do this before, no matter how mad he gets at Jeremy. Something in my chest burns while I watch Dad hold him under, like I can’t breathe either. Like air is stuck in there, burning. Just like I’m stuck in here. Hurting.

  I taste salt from my tears. I lick them away, ashamed to be crying. Something starts pecking the top of my head. A wet trail, like snail slime, slides down the side of my face. I wipe it away and look at my hand. It’s just water. Warm water.

  Tears. But not my tears. They’re Mom’s.

  I count. One Mississippi, two Mississippi, three Mississippi. I wonder how long Jeremy can hold his breath. My head feels like it might explode.

  Four Mississippi, five Mississippi, six Mississippi.

  Air and sound push past my tight throat to make a weird garbled scream. It lands in the quiet room like a crack of thunder. It’s the o
nly noise I make. It’s the only noise I can make.

  I watch Jeremy’s hands, beating against my dad’s wrist. Dad never budges, though, never lets up. His arm is straight and ruthless, holding my only brother under the water.

  Mom’s arms squeeze me tighter. It’s getting even harder to breathe.

  Seven Mississippi, eight Mississippi, nine Mississippi.

  I count, even though time stopped moving. When I get to twenty Mississippi, I start over at one, start over for Jeremy, to give him more breath. To give him another chance. But he doesn’t use it. He can’t. His time already ran out. Like his breath did. I know it when I see his hands drop away. They fall into the water and float, like there’s nobody attached to them. Like my brother just . . . left.

  Dad lets him go. Sort of pushes him out into the deeper water. Jeremy just drifts there, like he’s playing dead. Like he used to do when Mom took us swimming on summer afternoons when our father was at work.

  I don’t watch Dad walk out of the lake. I don’t watch him walk across the yard. I don’t even look up when he walks through the back door. I just watch Jeremy, waiting for him to move, waiting for him to wake up.

  “Get your purse. We’re going out to eat. The boys can have a sandwich here.”

  Boys? Does that mean Jeremy’s okay?

  I start toward the door, but Mom grabs me. “Jasper, be a good boy and get my purse for me, sweetie. It’s beside the front door.”

  Her eyes are different. They look scared and they make me scared, so I just go get her purse and bring it to her like she asked. When I hand it to her, she takes it and pulls me against her. I feel her arms shaking and when she lets me go, she’s crying. But she’s smiling, too, like she’s not supposed to cry. None of us are supposed to cry.

  “You sit right there in front of the television, okay? Don’t you move a muscle.” Her voice is warning me about something. I don’t know what’s going on, but I’m afraid. She’s afraid, too.