by Drake, J. L.
“Okay.” I leaned beside her and made sure she was all right. I wanted to kill the ass who tempted her to go in there. “Why did you go in?” I had to know.
She took a deep, trembling breath and let it out. “If I tell you, Seth, you can’t judge or be worried, because really, I’m fine.” I waited for her to go on. I could see she was wondering how I was going to react. “I’m not sure how to explain this.”
“Try.” I pushed her because I needed the answer.
She looked up at me and pressed her lips together. “Have you ever watched a horror movie, and the suspense has you so wound up, you just need that release of the person jumping out of the bushes so you can let go?” I nodded. “Since Lasko died, I’ve had that feeling. I’m wound up so tight, I just needed a good jolt to the system to feel better, to feel release. I thought going in there would give it to me, but instead I ended up seeing Lasko’s face, hearing the way he said my name. That poor guy,” she pointed at the house, “he just reminded me so much of him. Christ, even his eyes, and the way he looked at me, even the way he tilted his head. It’s like he was reading my thoughts.” Her hands started to rake through her hair. “He was in every room, and at one point he came up behind me to block my path, and I freaked out and ended up elbowing him in the face.” She squatted down and covered her eyes. “It was stupid to have done that. I should go apologize.”
I bent down in front of her. “First, this is not the only time one of those guys has been hit.” I chuckled. “They kind of know it comes with scaring the hell out of people. Second, he wasn’t supposed to follow you room to room, so that’s just taking advantage of the situation. And third,” I removed her hands so I could see her beautiful face, “I know how you feel about being wound up so tight inside because I feel it too.”
“Really?” she whispered.
I moved a piece of her golden hair off her face. “Really.” I stood and held out my hand. “You ready to go back to the party?” She nodded but stopped me when she spotted the ass who taunted her. “Is that the guy?” He was next to go in.
“Yes.”
“Stay here.” I rushed inside through a side door, gave instructions to one of the directors, and returned a moment later.
“What did you do?” She reached for my hand.
I grinned down at her. “Nothing.” I kissed her head and wished I could witness what that asshole was about to walk into.
***
After the dinner was cleared, everyone seemed to be in good spirits. Emily was back to her old self. Although she bounced back quickly from things, I was not completely blind to the fact that she was struggling. We were, after all, right around the date I killed Jimmy, ending that whole ordeal. There were many questions that came to mind about that case, but the one that haunted me the most was how and why Jimmy picked Emily. I wondered if I’d ever know the answer to that question.
My arm was wrapped around the back of her chair, my thumb brushing the back of her neck. There wasn’t a time when she was near me that I didn’t want to touch her. She still had the pull that gravitated me to her. She grounded me, awakened things in me I didn’t know I had. I loved this woman with all my heart, but sometimes I wondered if it was enough. We had a huge history, one that she didn’t have with someone like Travis or Scott. Christ, those two were like sharks circling, waiting for a chance to swoop in and snatch her away. There was no doubt she loved me, but I knew history could sometimes destroy the future if you weren’t careful.
Her hand fell onto my leg, and I looked down as she drew circles over my pants. Such a simple act to let me know she was thinking of me.
Nicholas’s curse stole my attention. He stared at his cell phone, then looked back at the house. He slammed his glass down and headed inside.
Garrett had seen it as well, and he nodded to let me know he would keep an eye on Emily for me. I leaned over and kissed her on the neck. “I’ll be right back.”
“Everything all right?” she asked as she looked around the property. I hated that it was a reflex for her.
“Save me a dance.”
I headed inside and checked the kitchen, the living room, my father’s office, then I heard something coming from upstairs. I took the stairs two at a time and followed the noise to the library, where the doors were not completely shut.
“I need this, Nicholas!” my fathered shouted in my brother’s face.
“I can’t, I just can’t anymore. You’re out of control, Dad.” Nicholas was nervous. “I won’t lose my job digging in places I don’t belong.”
“Lose your job?” My father laughed. “Nicholas, I can have you thrown behind bars for the shit you’ve done.”
“That’s nice!” Nicholas tossed his hands in the air. “Trying to win father of the year, here? ’Cause you’re doing a fine job.”
My father turned and pointed a finger in his direction. “You want to get smart with me, son?” He shoved Nicholas in the chest, which sent him back a few feet. “You think you can talk to me that way, boy?” He shoved him again, but this time Nicholas was ready and stood firm. “You’re a dirty cop, son.”
“Yeah, well, you’re a dirty lawyer, Dad.”
My father hauled back to punch Nicholas, but he ducked and sent my father tumbling forward. I’d seen enough and hurried into the room and stood in front of my younger brother.
“What the hell, Dad!” I shouted and felt my fists harden as they curled. “You think it’s all right for you to hit us?” Father stepped forward and hissed with anger. “We’re your children, your fucking blood. If you’re going to treat one of us like a punching bag, at least punch the one you despise the most.” He went to swing like the coward he was, but I ducked.
“You’re a disgrace,” Nicholas spat at his feet.
Father turned his attention on him and sent a sucker punch into Nicholas’s ribs. I took my father by the shoulders, turned him around, and punched him straight in the jaw. He fell back but quickly recovered and charged me with his arms locked around my waist. He plowed me into the wall. The impact hurt but soon dissipated with the adrenaline pumping through me.
Nicholas pulled him off me and chucked him to the floor. We both stood, out of breath, and stared down at him while we waited for his next move.
He stumbled to his feet, and anger poured off of him. I knew he saw he wouldn’t win, so he headed over to the fireplace, where he pulled out an envelope and tossed it into the flames. I glanced at Nicholas to see if he knew what that was all about, but he shook head, confused.
The punch to my father’s face had split my knuckles open, and I felt them starting to swell.
I moved so he saw my face. “You ever lay a hand on anyone else in the family, I promise you, you won’t leave this room again.”
“That’s quite a threat, son,” he grunted with his back turned to me.
“Nah, Dad, just a promise.”
***
Avery
I pulled off the hoodie once I was far enough away from the house and jogged down to where my car was parked outside of the gate. Once inside, I turned on the light and took a look at the damage. “Shit!” My whole left eye was swollen, and the cheek was puffy and red as well. Stupid bitch! I needed some painkillers and some ice. Voices behind me had me on edge, so I started the car and headed home.
After I swallowed three of Jimmy’s white pills marked painkillers, I held a bag of frozen peas to my eye. I let myself sink into the recliner. I wondered how I was going to get out of this one. I had work in six hours. I soon gave in to the effects of the drugs. My eyes grew heavy, and I drifted off.
There were so many lights, they lit up our entire street. If I wasn’t so scared, I would think it looked like a Christmas parade like I’d seen on TV. People were in tears, my sister’s eyes were turned toward the ground, Jims’ arms were around me to make sure no one touched me. What I couldn’t understand was where Mommy was. She always made things better, she always came and visited in the treehouse after Daddy hit me. But
she didn’t this time. Instead, I came down when Jims called for me.
“What’s going on?” I asked Jims, who was covered in blood, his pants were undone, and he smelled like bubblegum. Julia always smelled like bubblegum. I hated her. She was mean to me. “Where’s Mommy, Jims? I want Mommy.”
Jims hugged me a little tighter. “Sorry, Alexander, Mommy got in the way. She won’t be coming back.”
I didn’t understand, and I started to cry, I tucked my face into his side. Maybe if I closed my eyes real tight Mommy would come back to me.
“Are you Jimmy?” an officer asked as he bent down to look at us. “Are you Alexander?” I nodded, but Jims stayed quiet. “Can you tell me what happened here?”
“I…” I hiccupped and rubbed my runny nose across my sleeve. “I don’t know, I was up there.” I pointed to the treehouse where just moments ago I flew across the city about to save a bank from getting robbed.
“What about you?” The officer looked at Jims. “Can you tell me where this blood came from?” Jims didn’t move, but I did notice he glanced at Julia, who watched us carefully. She seemed fine. Maybe she didn’t know Mommy wasn’t coming home. But she wouldn’t care. She spent a lot of time with Daddy. Daddy always said she was his special little girl, and that he’d take her pain away. They even had sleepovers together. I hated Daddy. He didn’t care about me. Just Jims and Mommy did.
The officer nodded at a woman, who came over to us. She said her name was Lindsay and that she’d find us a place to stay tonight. And in a few days we would be moved to another home. This scared me. I looked at Jims and hoped he’d help, but he was too busy watching people snap pictures around our house.
Three days later, after a lot of questions, I was handed a small book bag of clothes and one stuffed animal and was told I had to stay with my grandmother. This was not okay. Grandmother was just like Daddy.
Jims gave me a quick hug. “I’ll be back, Alexander.”
I grabbed his arm as I started to panic. I didn’t want him to leave me. He was all I had left. “Jims, please,” I sobbed to anyone who might listen, “I don’t want to go with Grandmother, please, I’ll be a good boy. Please take me with you!” My heart raced, and sweat broke above my hairline. “I just wanna go back to the treehouse! Please please please,” I screamed as someone grabbed me from behind and pulled me away from him. “Nooo!”
I kicked into the air, but before I could break free, I was carried outside and placed in a car where I was taken to Grandmother’s.
A knock to the door found my head in a swarm of thoughts. I dried my face. I hadn’t realized I had been crying. I forgot how much I looked up to Jims. Funny how things changed. I awkwardly got out of the chair and dragged my drugged body to the entryway. The fucking dog barked sharply from the patio. I threw Grandmother’s Bible at the glass, but it only made him bark louder. Stupid dog! I flipped on the light and opened the door without thinking.
“Wow, dude, what the hell happened to your eye?”
Fuck me! I grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and pulled him inside. Without hesitation, I stuck my gun to his neck and pulled the trigger twice.
CHAPTER THREE
Emily
This was the best, when I woke up before Seth. It gave me a moment to study his features without him aware of it. Just Seth without his guard up so he couldn’t hold back or be closed off, only my love sleeping peacefully next to me.
I loved his dirty blond eyebrows, his long lashes, the way his nose aligned with his cheekbones. His hair that was long enough to run my fingers through. The morning scruff that made him look like an ad for Calvin Klein. I tugged the sheet away gently to admire his strong muscles that dipped, curved, and sculpted into perfection. My fingers tingled with the idea of tracing his six pack down to his pelvis.
“My body’s your playground.” He grinned with his eyes still closed. “Let loose, McPhee.”
“Just looking.” I shrugged and rolled onto my back. He grabbed the sheet as he quickly rolled on top of me. He hid us both from the morning light.
“Well, I’m not.” He laughed as he dipped down and kissed me. His hand roamed down my leg but stopped when his alarm went off. “To be continued.”
I grabbed his arms and held him in place. “You wanna tell me what happened last night?”
He smiled, but I could see something bothered him. “Not yet.” He kissed the tip of my nose before he rolled off the bed and headed for the shower. He gave me a grin over his shoulder; he knew I would admire the view. I chewed my lip and thought how much I wanted to bite that fine ass of his. “Such a dirty girl,” he teased.
“You have no idea.”
After I got ready, I met Seth downstairs, where he poured me a cup of coffee, then eyed my dress. I looked down and thought maybe I skipped a button.
“Damn, baby, you look mighty fine in lace.” His voice was still hoarse. “I’d hate to be your professor. No doubt I’d end up in jail.”
I cut up an apple and bit into a piece. “Professor Dean is four years older than me, and I’m over sixteen. No jail time is needed.”
“Is that so?” He crossed his arms, which made him look larger than he already was.
I leaned over and patted his arm. “I meant if you were the professor.” I rolled my eyes. “How could you ever think I’d love anyone more than I love you?” I glanced at him. “Besides, you’d scare anyone who dared talk to me. I’d be single for life.”
He came up behind me and trapped me with both hands against the counter. His lips hovered at my ear. “Damn straight, baby, no one will have you but me.” I turned my head up toward his lips just in time to see that possessive look that made me weak in the heart. It was a look I’d loved since the day we met at the party. “I love you.” He kissed me and ground his hips into my back, leaving me breathless as he swiped an apple and headed for the door.
“Hey,” I called out, and he turned around.
“We still on for our date tonight at Franco’s at seven?”
“Wouldn’t miss it.” He looked me over once before he shook his head. “Have a good day, baby.”
Saturdays were my favorite lately. I met up with Erin to go over some notes, study a little, then have lunch at the beach and go to our yoga class. I headed back home to get ready for dinner, then showered and changed into a new dress Seth hadn’t seen yet. It was red, tight, and hugged my hips perfectly. I paired it with black heels and a long black sweater. I left my hair in long, big curls, just a little makeup, and a tiny spray of his favorite scent—Vanilla by Victoria’s Secret. We hadn’t had a date since, well…I guessed since he told me he loved me. That was a year ago. Wow, where did the time go?
I was pleased with my appearance, then turned to inspect the bedroom. I had a bottle of champagne chilled, roses on the desk, candles waiting to be lit. I didn’t care if it was cheesy. I wanted cheesy romance tonight. We deserved it. I closed the curtains and made everything just so. I pulled out the gift I got him and set it on the night stand. I knew he’d love it. He’d mentioned several times before that he wanted to know what happened to his grandfather’s watch. After a huge hunt and Martha’s help, it turned out it was passed down to his uncle who had no use for it and said it’d been in his safety deposit box for the past few years. He was more than willing to pass it along to Seth. So I had it cleaned and polished, and now it sat in a navy blue box. I sneaked a peek at the Hublot Big Bang. I couldn’t wait to see how excited he’d be. I had no idea watches could be so expensive. I nearly had to pay the man a fee just to touch the damn thing before he’d even consider cleaning it. I carefully closed the lid. One last look at the room, and I decided it was perfect.
***
I checked the time again—seven forty-five. I smiled at the waiter who brought me another glass of wine. Thankfully, I took a cab. We were supposed to drive home together. I sipped my second glass and started to worry. I called again, and for the fifth time it rang and rang, then clicked to voicemail. I cleared my throat an
d decided to leave a message this time.
“Hey, umm, I’m here in a booth wondering where you are.” I swallowed down my worry. “I’m just checking in, making sure you’re all right.” I fiddled with the napkin and watched the candle burn around a puddle of wax, evidence of the length of time I’d been there. “All right, well, I’ll be here waiting. Call me when you can. I love you.” I hung up and saw the waiter glance over at me. The restaurant was busy and I was embarrassed that it looked like I got stood up. I could only imagine what the wait staff would say. I shouldn’t care, but I did.
When eight fifteen rolled around, I asked for the check and flagged down a cab. I nearly made it home before the tears started. I finally gave in and texted Garrett.
Emily: Hey, is Seth with you?
Garrett: Yup, he’s helping Ronnie out with some paperwork. You good?
I stared out the window as the cabbie parked. I dried my tears and handed him a twenty.
Emily: Yeah, all good.
I sat on the porch stairs, stared up at the moon, and watched the clouds hurry by. My head fell to my hands, and I let the tears fall. I allowed myself an ugly cry. I was so hurt he forgot our big date. I spent a long time and a lot of prep work to make it just so. For what? For him to forget? I stopped my pity party and told myself I was sure there was a reasonable excuse.
Seth: I’m so sorry, baby, I totally forgot! I’ll come home ASAP.
He forgot. Just forgot. Okay.
Emily: Don’t bother.
I shook my head, but stopped when I saw Travis walk across my lawn. I set my unfinished, unsent message on the step and quickly dried my face.
“Hey,” he waved as he came to the stairs, “I’m sorry, but I saw you over here, and you sounded upset.”