Rebound: Passion Book 2

by Silver, Jordan

  In the end I walked her up to our room and got her settled in bed. “I’ll be back soon baby I have to go do something with Josh.” She pouted and lifted her lips for a kiss but she didn’t complain. “Don’t be long okay.”

  “I won’t I promise.” I couldn’t resist pulling her in close for a hug and saying a silent prayer that nothing happened to screw this up.

  It was around one in the morning when I watched over the monitor as agents busted down the door of Bruno’s house. I’d been waiting for it for hours but now that it was here I couldn’t believe it was actually happening. “Thank fuck I was about to give up on their ass.”

  “Ssh, turn it up Josh I can’t hear what they’re saying.” He turned up the volume just in time for us to hear the charges against Tommy Bruno as he was being cuffed. Dazed and confused after being dragged out of bed the middle-aged predator didn’t seem to know what the hell was going on around him. Somehow I’d expected him to put up more of a fight but he just looked scared and out of his depth.

  We watched for the next few hours as they combed the residence taking away boxes and boxes of files and searched every inch of the place. “I hope none of that shit is about Kadyn.” James hadn’t found anything but there was no guarantee that there wasn’t. Whatever the case she wasn’t going back there if I had anything to say about it. “One phase over now we wait and see if he slithers out of this.”

  “He won’t, you ready?”

  “Yeah.” We used the voice distorter to place a call to the local newsroom in Nebraska, which was closed at this hour but I was sure they’d get the message first thing in the morning. Along with the message from an unidentified source we sent the damaging pictures from Bruno’s hard drive along with some other information. All in all we hit up three news stations, two local and one national and with that, sewed up one pedophile nice and tight. If his money had gotten him off in the past it would be hard for them to get away with that shit this time. The public had a way of convicting assholes better than the justice system did. Corrupt fucks.

  Back in our room where she was fast asleep I looked down at her. Sometimes she looked so young and innocent that it was hard to imagine her life had been what it was. But I wasn’t going to think about that anymore, after tonight I was going to make sure that neither of us spent any more time dwelling on that shit. Standing there I made a decision, it was the only one in the end that made any sense. “Kadyn wake up baby.” I laid beside her and ran my fingers over her face until she opened her eyes. “Hey baby.” I only meant to kiss her awake but the taste of her lips under mine coupled with the adrenaline high that I was riding changed my mind. I fell into her softness as she opened herself to me.

  No words were spoken as we undressed each other in the dark. I ran my hands over her body burning the touch and feel into my memory. She moved beneath me her hands making their own foray over my hardness as I covered her and slid into her waiting heat. There were no rushed movements, I didn’t feel the need to pound away at her but instead I wanted a slow loving. I wanted to use my body this once to show her without words how much she meant to me. We clung to each other as I rode her to completion. “Again.” I didn’t stop moving inside her, staying buried deep until the fire raged out of control once more.

  When we were both spent and our breathing had calmed down I finally told her. “Bruno has been arrested.”

  “What?” she sat up like a shot. Pulling her back down to my chest I told her everything I’d been up to. She shook for a good ten minutes while she cried tears of relief in my arms. Her first thought was of her mom, which I kind of expected so I passed her the new phone I’d bought her. I didn’t even try to stop her from calling at this late hour because I’m sure neither of them would care about that.

  I think out of everything I’d done so far, watching her talk to her mom was my greatest achievement. The two women stayed on the phone for hours as she caught her mom up on everything that she’d been up to. I was subjected to an embarrassing snapshot and a disjointed conversation with the woman who would be my mother in law but it was all worth it to see the unbridled joy on my baby’s face. I couldn’t wait to give her her other surprises this weekend.

  Eight of us hopped on dad’s jet to head to New England that weekend, it was a festive group and the atmosphere was light. The news broke the day after the arrest of the local businessman who’d been caught and as was the case with these things even more shit was coming out about him. So far it seems Kadyn was the only stalking victim but there was a lot of allegations about child pornography among other things. If half of that shit stuck he’d be going away for a very long time. It was finally over.

  We checked into our hotel before heading over to the campus to see where we would be spending the next four years of our lives. The place felt good, the atmosphere wasn’t much different from home, just another small town with new scenery. I was glad that I’d shared the news with her in the end because she seemed so much more light-hearted and the four of us were excited about starting our new lives in a couple months.

  “Do you like it Kitten?”

  “I love it, I love the air it feels different here.” She took a deep breath as she spun around with her arms outstretched, a wide grin on her face. The little starter house mom and dad had found us turned out to be a lot more. That was to be expected when mom was involved. The place was huge with its own backyard and front lawn, more than enough space. It was off campus but still in walking distance and Josh and I walked the grounds sort of mapping out a route.

  We were both very conscious of the fact that we were going to be responsible for these two young women for the next four years with no parents around. I’m sure we were up to the task and though it might seem a bit like overkill to be checking out the area for any danger, we weren’t about to take any chances. We’d already ran a background check on the area and found that though there had been a few break-ins here and there in the last year or so, there was really no real crime to speak of. The campus had a good police force and they had things in place to safeguard their students, which was perfect.

  With that taken care of, it was time to relax and enjoy the fact that our lives were heading in the right direction. I had a little surprise in store for my girl and that evening as we gathered in the hotel dining room I was on pins and needles waiting for it to show up. I recognized her as soon as she came into the room looking around for her daughter. I nudged Kadyn and nodded towards her mother who was following the maitre ‘d towards our table.

  Now I felt like my job was finally done.

  EPILOGUE

  “When did the girls say they’d be back again?”

  “Fu…I mean he…crap; I don’t know.”

  “Watch your mouth Josh.”

  “I didn’t say anything.”

  “Yeah but you almost slipped and you know who has their ears pricked.” I inclined my head in the direction of our two little angels.

  “I can’t believe we’re wearing this sh…stuff bro.” Josh pulled on the feather boa around his neck. I would laugh at him if I weren’t in the same predicament.

  The wives had gone on one of their shopping marathons with Nessa. This could take a whole day but they promised that they’d be good which is what they’ve done a hundred times before but always broke their promises. I watched as our little girls poured us tea and chattered away at each other. Amara was mine and Selah was Josh’s; born one day apart three years ago, the two girls looked uncannily alike for cousins. Somehow we’d lucked out and there were no pregnancies while we were in school. There were more than a few scares but those always turned out to be false alarms. I was never too sure if I was pleased or disappointed after each one but it had worked out in the end.

  We’d gone away on vacation after school, kind of a get out of jail free type thing. School was over and we were respectable college grads, it was time to unwind and relax. I don’t know if there was something in the water in Turkey or if the girls had planned this shit bu
t three months later the house was filled with the sounds of morning sickness and quite frankly, bitching.

  We were back home getting our lives sorted out, things hadn’t changed all that much except that we’d fixed up our floors a little to reflect adulthood instead of the teenagers we’d been when we left. Mom and dad were only too happy to have us back in the nest and life was settling into a routine. Then we’d jumped from college grads to dads in the twinkling of an eye.

  Somewhere along the way the girls had decided to open a business together. Nessa was some up and coming hot shot designer and the three of them had some kind of business proposal put together even before we’d finished school. Carrie was going to do marketing and Kadyn was the numbers man.

  Josh and I had completely changed our majors after we decided that we wanted to do something in the security field. We set up a nationwide database for victims of stalking which we got off the ground our last year in school. With James spearheading the security detail we searched the nation for men and women interested in offering security and workshops for women and men who were living in fear for their lives. Since the law seemed to move slowly even four years later we decided to take the initiative.

  Now there were four states where we had safe houses set up along with workshops where victims were taught how to protect themselves and how to live their lives without fear. Josh had found a way to improve the tracking devices that we’d been using on the girls for years. The shit was so good the federal patent office had come calling. We had lawyers on payroll whose only job was trying to fight legislature to get the lax laws changed.

  When we’d first set up the database I had no idea of the number of young girls that were being subjected to this horror. Families being held hostage in their own homes who had their hands tied by laws that seemed more interested in protecting the rights of the perpetrator than the victim. It was our aim to arm these people with everything they needed to take their lives back. Having seen the effects of that shit first hand I had a pretty good idea what was needed, and Kadyn was instrumental in a lot of the procedures we implemented. We had a few offers to work with law enforcement but decided against it. Their hands were too often tied by bureaucracy and bullshit, which defeats the whole purpose of what we were trying to do.

  I got a great sense of enjoyment out of the fact that we’d used Bruno’s money to finance a lot of this because the shit was expensive. When we found a candidate it was up to the vetting team to decide the threat level and what was needed. Each of them was then outfitted with all the necessary equipment needed for their safety. A team was dispatched to secure their residence at our expense if they couldn’t afford it and the women were tagged along with other security measures as needed.

  Everything was done to catch the perp in the act so that he could be brought to justice. We didn’t always stop there because as in a lot of cases these creeps got out of jail and went back to their crap. In those cases we set up security for the victim and if need be there were what I like to call enforcers to make sure they got the message. In essence we were helping the over worked local police who were sometimes less enthusiastic about our involvement than others. I didn’t really care about them or what they thought. As long as I could help people in need I was good. I never forgot my wife’s years of horror or Carrie’s near rape and murder. I was proud of my brother and myself that we’d made this our life’s work for all that it had started from a dark place.

  Bruno was doing a hundred and twenty five years because once the feds had started pulling on that string they had unraveled a whole network of sick fucks far and wide who were into the exploitation of children and young women. The only thing I wouldn’t agree to was Kadyn’s telling her story in public; she’d come a long way since those days that was for sure but I was still keen on keeping her protected.

  She no longer had any fear of the man who was her own personal demon. And each year on the anniversary of his sentencing I sent him a little present. He never knew whom or where it came from but I was satisfied that he got the message. From everything I’d read I knew that it was picking away at his sanity that his obsession had gotten away and he would never be able to see or get near her again. It was probably a petty ass thing to do but it gave me great pleasure to torment his ass.

  These days I’m the one losing my damn mind though. It seems Josh and I spend our every waking moment trying to come up with something to ensure our daughters’ safety and protection. From the moment they were born, which I still think was some sort of cosmic joke we have been in a tailspin. Pregnancy was an experience best left untouched. I don’t think I breathed easy from the moment she put that little stick in my hand until…well now.

  My daughter is an exasperating mix of her mother and I. She has a mind of her own and lets it be known that she’s her own person, even at three. Her cousin isn’t much better; I think the two of them think up shit to drive their poor dads nuts when they’re in their shared room at night. The two of them are inseparable, preferring each other’s company to anyone else’s, and they had some strange ways about them that I feared bode ill for the future. They spoke in code or some shit that not even their mothers understood and they had that eye roll shit down to an art form.

  Josh was a complete lunatic when it came to his daughter and niece. I like to think that I’m a little more with it, though others seem to think we’re two of a kind. They were tagged obviously, and we tried to give them as normal a childhood as possible without stifling them but it was a trial. Maybe it was a product of our careers I don’t know, all I know is that there are some seriously twisted fucks in the world and you can never be too careful. Anything that can be used as a security measure is in place. The women act like we’re nuts but I know their freedom and stability stems from the fact that they know we’ve got them covered.

  “I know how to get us out of this. Hey girls you want to go to grandpa Stan’s?”

  “Yaaaaaayyyyyyy…”

  “Alright then let’s go. I started to take off the offensive boa from around my neck but was stopped in my tracks.

  “No daddy.”

  “What baby? I can’t wear this outside that’s silly.” Shit, she just stared up at me like I was a dumbass while Josh tried bribing them. In the end my little bribe backfired and we ended up going to the diner with hot pink feather boas around our necks.

  “Nice work Einstein now the whole town’s gonna know we’re whipped.”

  “What, I didn’t see you coming up with any bright ideas. Look at them back there, you think they know what they’re doing?” He looked back into the backseat where the two little darlings had the smuggest looks on their faces. “I’m pretty sure they do but I’ll take this one, at least it beat the last time.”

  “Don’t remind me, purple nail polish.” It was the only time I’d made my little girl cry, a man had to have some limits after all. And mine was letting my three-year old daughter paint my nails. I thought Josh was going to have heart failure that day, Mr. Macho can never deny the girls anything but even he had balked at that. Dad was a total sellout, he’d let them paint his hands and feet for extra hugs and kisses the snake.

  With our luck the damn diner was crowded and everyone just had to notice what we were wearing. Josh gave them a stare down that they all pretty much ignored and Stan’s pointing and laughing didn’t help matters any. We got set up in the booth and tried to pretend we had some dignity left but it was a lost cause.

  “Ice cream girls?” they both nodded as we got them set up in their booster seats with bibs to protect the cute little dresses we’d dressed them in earlier that day. There was a lot of racket when grandpa Stan came over to say hi to them and they carried on a conversation with him like two old ladies in a parlor. Truth be told my daughter gives me anxiety attacks, not only because she’s a female and I haven’t the foggiest notion what to do with one that tiny. But because she’s not like any kid I’ve ever known, and since she came with a duplicate and they pretty much do eve
rything the same there’re times when that shit borders on the spooky.

  The waitress came over to take our orders. It was the same lady that had taken over Kadyn’s shift all those years ago, only now instead of the gaunt down on her luck young girl we’d first met, she was a happy, smiling woman who looked more sure of herself. “We’ll all have sundaes Marie thanks.” She exchanged a little small talk before leaving again. A few people came over to say hi to the girls but I’m pretty sure most of them were there to gloat at the fact that my brother and I looked like two asses.

  “So you boys are on sentry duty again, what is it this time?”

  “Shopping.”

  “Well at least there’s no nail polish this time, you’re making progress.” The old shit was fighting hard not to laugh but I had something to fix him. “Stan, remember your last play party with the girls?” I could already see him changing color.

  “We’ve got tape dude.” Josh was only too happy to fill him in on that score.

  Just then we heard sirens blaring as two cruisers raced by outside. “That’s not a sound you hear everyday in Sea Crest.” I put it out of my mind, I’m sure if it was anything exciting Michael would tell us about it at dinner. Since Carrie had the baby three years ago he’s been a regular at the dinner table. I guess since he missed out on his daughter’s upbringing he was trying to make up for it with his granddaughter. Not to be outdone Stan was usually right there beside him and mom was finally getting the full house she’d always wanted.