by Eden Rose
Another sigh and grunt before I hear: “Fuck, Jer, you really know how to pick ‘em. The assholes that have got your balls into a vice, they have some relation to your baby mama. You better watch out.”
Before I could say anything, he has hung up on me and I’m staring at my phone like a dumb ass.
Two days later, I am woken up by a crash outside of my bedroom window. Slowly, I roll over and wiggle my hand underneath the mattress to grab my gun that I keep there. Since it’s always loaded, I point it at the window where I heard the noise.
Surprisingly, the past two days have been quiet. I have seen Keeley in the office gathering her things along with Olivia. I knew it would be only a matter of time before they both left me to do their own thing. I didn’t think it would have been so soon, but it happened.
There had not been one incident regarding these assholes that shot up my window. Since I had never met the men that blackmailed me, I wouldn’t even know how to pick them up in a line up. What do they even look like? I have no idea.
At the window, there’s a splatter and then the cracking sound of glass being shattered. “What the fuck?” I demand and point my gun at the window.
“If you know what is good for you, you will put down that gun right now.”
The male voice is filled with bravado and is stern enough to make me follow the directions. Once it’s on the ground I throw my hands up in the air and wait for the next set of direction.
“Good!” The voice says and then I hear my front door being splintered open.
“What the hell are you guys doing in here?” I demand and look from the left to the right of my house. They are coming into my bedroom but it’s still too dark for me to see them. I don’t see any sign from either of them that I know them.
There’s two men in my bedroom and it’s got me freaking the fuck out. Due to the fact that I’m a criminal defense attorney, there’s no telling the amount of people that I have pissed off. Not only that, but after Keeley was attacked, I would hate to piss someone off again where they retaliate against her.
“Jas, get him and place him in that chair,” the man says to my right. He’s the one that managed to get through my bullet proof glass window.
Some safety feature.
“No!” I yell and begin kicking my feet out to get them away from me. When that doesn’t work, I try to grab the gun again. As soon as my hand is on the barrel of the gun, I feel something hot pierce my body. I look down and see red spilling out of my arm. “What the fuck?” I demand.
I don’t deal with blood. I hated looking at the crime scene photos and that is what the prosecutors loved about trying my clients. They could show all of these graphic photos and then they got to see me cringe.
My vision gets blurry and I look over to the left of me. The man that was trying to get me off of my bed is standing next to me with his gun aimed. “You will follow these directions or I’m going to kill you.”
For some reason, call it a hunch, but I knew they were going to kill me anyways.
“Well, you know what they say,” the man said behind me. “It doesn’t matter that you are gonna die. It matters how you are about to die.”
Chapter 45
Keeley
“We found Jerry dead in your old house. He had been dead for about two days. Do you know of anyone that would want to hurt him?” The female detective asks me over the rim of the coffee cup that I gave her.
I’m exhausted from the medicine that I have been taking and also the constant sex that Wyatt and I have been having. I’ve been getting little to no sleep. The sex part is amazing, but I’m going to need to get some sleep soon.
“Um,” I start to say and then look over at Wyatt. He’s got his arm around me and is offering me the support that I need in order to get through this. “He’s a lawyer who had pissed people off. There’s no telling who he could have made angry.” I’m trying to sound as if I’m helping but I don’t think I am. I don’t want them here because this changes everything and I’m not ready for it to change at all.
“Let’s not lie to ourselves here,” the officer says. He’s a younger man that doesn’t show the age that most cops show. I can tell that he’s new to the field. He’s not as tainted as most of them are. “He was a lawyer who was being blackmailed.”
My head jerks up in what I hope is surprise. The truth is, I am surprised that they knew this. I’m not surprised from the news myself. “What are you talking about?” I try to sound as if I’m not sure about the blackmail.
But as mentioned before, I suck at lying.
Wyatt is rubbing my back with his hand and when he reaches the top of my spine, he lightly squeezes. I have no idea if he even realizes that he’s doing it, but I’m not going to stop him.
“Baby, you can tell them.”
“All right. Officers, it’s no secret that Jerry was screwing around on me. It’s also no secret that he is the reason why I was shot. He pissed off some people and then that’s all I knew. I don’t know who it was that shot me, I couldn’t pick them out in a line up.”
The officers are writing notes down and I look at the top of their heads. “See, the thing is. We did find them. There was an abundance of DNA left on the scene along with evidence to support that the Richards Family had something to do with it.”
The Richards Family is an influential family out of Detroit that has deep ties with the police and the underworld. I wouldn’t put it past them to catch wind of what Jerry was doing so they could catch a payday.
“Did you arrest them?” I asked and by the scared look on their faces, I knew the answer. “You did, didn’t you?”
“We did. I can’t tell you more than that. However, there is a chance that these are low level guys that were set up. We will know more and let you know. If there is anything you think of, please call us as soon as possible.”
***
In the months that passed after Jerry’s funeral, I have come to grieve the relationship that we had. While I was married to the man, I felt conflicting feelings as to what I’m supposed to be doing now. Do I mourn for him?
Do I mourn for what we could have been?
Do I mourn for the fact that he was a liar and a cheater? I don’t know what to do with myself.
“Baby,” Wyatt whispers to me.
I’m seated on the porch with a blanket wrapped around my shoulders and I’m watching the snow turn the brown grass to white. “Yeah?” I ask him.
He walks over to me and drops to his knees in front of me. If I’m feeling bad, I could imagine how he feels. He probably feels responsible for his death even though he had nothing to do with it. I know that he feels guilty because I’m feeling guilty.
“Did I give up on him?” I ask him.
The gray eyes that I have come to love and worship pierce into mine. “No. He gave up on you a long time ago.”
I shake my head and look over towards the woods behind his house. Or should I say, our house.
After Ruth and Luke left, we kept his pirate ship playground in case Wyatt could talk me into having kids. But that’s a story for a different day.
“Get up. We are going out.”
I shake my head petulantly. There is no way that I’m going anywhere feeling like this. I feel useless and dirty. “No.”
Before I could protest, Wyatt has me picked up and thrown over his shoulder. I relax my body against his hard shoulder and drop my arms down his back. Just like a sack of potatoes.
I can hear the water running in the shower and before I can object, he’s got me naked and thrust into the shower. His body covers mine so the water doesn’t directly hit me. It’s an act of a lover protecting his lover. I don’t deserve the kindness of this act.
I don’t even speak. My eyes begin to fill with tears and they fall down my face. I don’t deserve anything nice and it’s tearing me up. Not only is it tearing me up, but it’s tearing Wyatt up even more.
I cry harder because I’m hurting Wyatt.
He p
laces his hands on my cheeks and begins to use his thumbs to sweep away the tears. “Cupcake, you are okay. You didn’t do anything wrong.”
Again, I shake my head frantically and he kisses my cheeks. “But I did. I could have stopped them.”
“No. Stop. You couldn’t have stopped them because they would have killed you. I’m not going to allow you to do this to yourself. That’s it. You are going to take a shower and then you are going to get dressed. After you’re dressed, we’re going out.”
I feel the impact of the spray from the shower on my skin and I look through the curtain as Wyatt towels himself off.
Quickly, I shower and shave everything. It has been a while since I have done this. Once I’m shaved, I feel like a person again. A real living person.
Once I’m finished with everything, I look in the mirror. It’s a little foggy from the steam of the shower but I can still see my reflection. I don’t like the person that I see.
I see a broken and scared woman and I hate it.
Knowing what I need to do, I dress myself up and do my hair. I notice that I have a few grays sprinkled in my hair and I hate it.
Jesus. I have let myself go.
Quickly, I brush my hair out and then roughly blow dry it. Once it’s done, I put on some makeup and I can’t help but look at my profile in the mirror. I don’t look that bad.
My cheekbones are higher than normal and my face is paler than before. However, I do look pretty good.
When I walk out into the bedroom, I see Wyatt sitting on the couch wearing a pair of dress slacks.
Chapter 46
Wyatt
“Almost ready?” I ask her and wrap my long arms around her waist. Since she has been staying with me the past couple of months, I’m happy to say that she has gained a little of the weight back that she had lost before we reconnected. I like her all tasty.
She murmurs in the back of her throat as she swipes the mascara over her eyelashes. Quickly, Keeley caps the tube and then throws her arms around my neck to give me a kiss. “I love you,” she whimpers against my lips.
I feel a strange sensation this time when she told me she loved me. I can’t explain it, but it’s weird. I want to say that I was panicked but yet excited. However, those are two conflicting moods that have nothing to do with each other.
Now that I have told her everything, I feel as if we can get past this and be together.
Since everything has been so crazy, with her getting shot, moving in with me (unofficially) and my confession about my previous life, I felt the urge to do something special for her. Luckily, I have a friend who owes me a favor and I’m cashing in on it.
Deciding to dress up a little, I went to the barber shop and got my hair tidied up and my chops looking nice. I’m also wearing the cologne that she finds sexy. My dress slacks are fitted in the right places and are showing off my half-mast cock right now. And I’m looking pretty fresh in my purple button-down shirt.
I know I look good.
Keeley’s hair is loosely curled, she’s got some sexy red lipstick on that makes her look like a goddess. I have no idea how she can look more beautiful every time I see her. It’s ridiculous.
“All right get out of the room,” she says with a wave of her hand in the air.
My mouth drops as I look at her like she’s crazy. “Leave? What the hell are you talking about?” I ask her and put my hands on my waist.
She giggles and then looks at me with innocent eyes that make me want to give her the moon. “I just want to surprise you. That’s all.”
Deciding to leave her to whatever she’s doing, I walk down the hall to the room that I have turned into my den. It has all of my basketball shit in it along with all of my personal information. This room is a secret and I don’t like it when people go through it because there is no telling what they may find.
I pull out my phone that is in my pockets and open up the news app that contains the highlights of the sports and all of that. Hey, I got to stay up with who my competition is and everything.
My email signal is flashing on my page so I click on it and immediately feel as if I’m going to throw up.
I flick through the emails and see pictures upon pictures of Keeley and I together. Intimately and romantically. There are even some of us at the grocery store.
On the bottom is a quote that makes me want to throw my phone against the wall:
Hi! I’m Keeley Johnson and I want to be your sports attorney. Don’t worry about payments because I take sexual favors. I look forward to you calling me!
Some little asshole has been invading our space and posting this fucking garbage so everyone can see it! I’m beyond livid. Quickly, I pull up the text messaging app on my phone and text my tech friend to have him look at this.
ME: dude, i need your help. Can you track down an ip address through a website?
RICK: whatcha got?
ME: i received an email from some stalker who has been taking pictures of my girlfriend and i doing some intimate things… and then at the bottom there is a lie attached to it. I want to find out who sent it so i can fuck their life up.
RICK: any ideas who could have done it or why they would have done it
ME: her soon to be ex-husband is a piece of shit who would hurt her like this but his ass is dead
RICK: is this the same chick from before? The one i delivered those papers to?
ME: yeah. It’s keeley. I’m really worried about what this could do to her career
ME: she’s a lawyer
ME: a high profiled one
RICK: send me the website and i will take a peek at it and let you know what i find. Of course it’s gonna cost you
This fucking asshole is always trying to weasel money out of me and it’s getting annoying. Of course, I am well aware of the fact that no one works for free, but I just gave the man season tickets. He’s good.
ME: what do you want
RICK: a date with the asian cheerleader with the red hair
ME: are you going to be creepy with this one and tell her how you two will make pretty babies?
I’m being a dick but Rick tried to be all Rico-Suave with this cheerleader before and told her how their kids will look. It’s pretty funny because he tried to do the same thing to my sister and she wasn’t having it.
RICK: dick!
ME: thanks man
“Are you ready to go?”
I look up from my phone and see Keeley looking beautiful. Of course, she’s always beautiful but today, she looks amazing. The first thing that I see on her is the necklace that I gave her when we were in Florida and it’s shining against her pale skin.
Keeley’s wearing a wrap dress that’s form fitting around her body and pushes her tits out. The hem of the dress hits her upper thighs and my mouth waters. I get off my chair and walk over to where she’s standing, I circle her like she’s my prey.
“Is this okay to wear?” She asks nervously.
Ever since she got into a fight with Ruth and being shot, she’s been very insecure and it’s killing me. I know she knows that she’s beautiful, but her insecurities are driving me crazy. “I’m not even going to answer that. Come on, let’s go.”
Chapter 47
Keeley
Wyatt’s mocha skin color is yummy next to the purple of his shirt. My mouth waters as my eyes rape his body up and down getting as much as I can in my sight.
His lips lightly caress mine and then he leads us out of his office into the hallway. “Where are we going?” I ask him while I follow him into the garage.
He unlocks his SUV and then slides into the driver’s seat. I slide into the passenger seat and wait for him to answer me. “It’s a surprise. Put this on.”
A blindfold. He honestly thinks I’m going to allow him to put a blindfold on me. “You’re insane. I’m not doing it.” Petulantly, I cross my arms and stick my chin in the air.
“You will.”
I don’t get a chance to react because he slams his
mouth on mine and then ties the blindfold around my eyes. Out of instinct, I close my eyes and then I wait patiently for the next direction.
We drive in silence and I try to calm my beating heart so it doesn’t beat out of my chest. I’m so nervous that it’s scary. I know that Wyatt would never do anything to hurt me or anything.
But I’m still nervous.
“Can you give me a hint?” I ask.
“No,” Wyatt answers me and then continues to drive through the night.
Fuck me. I wish I could see what was going on.
Chapter 48
Wyatt
I’m freaking out. I know that Keeley is nervous, but she’s not the one that is about to propose to me. At least I don’t think so.
I have everything set up and ready to go with her friends and Ruth. I know that Keeley and Ruth are never going to be friends, but I’m hoping that she understands that I need my sister there with me for this.
We pull into the marina that is on the Detroit River and I park my car next to the dock where my new yacht is.
Even though it’s snowing, the river is not frozen over and I took the chance to have the yacht still in the river. Damn it. I’m going to have to have it brought out of the river before the end of the night.
I can see the twinkle lights through the hazy night air and there’s a slight chill from the water, but I’m hoping that the yacht is heated.
The Cupcake, my yacht’s name, is in full swing as I slide out of my car and walk over to where Keeley is sitting patiently for me to tell her what to do next. I walk over to her door and help her out.
“Are you going to tell me where we are yet?” Her voice asks me, I can tell that it’s littered with nerves.
I place my mouth on hers and I quiet her fears. Or, at least I hope I do. Our lips pillow each other, I kiss her gently and with enough purpose that she knows that I would never let anything happen to her.
“Let’s go,” I whisper against her lips.
I maneuver myself so I’m standing behind her and I have my hands on her hips. I lead her through the almost empty parking lot and over to the dock.
