Killer Summer

by Kay Bigelow

  Dani entered the condo and set a suitcase down by the door. Leah assumed Dani would be leaving on her book tour after dinner.

  “Good evening, Jardain,” Rusty said from the kitchen door. “Will you be joining Leah for dinner?”

  “If she wants me to, I’d love to have one of your delicious dinners, Rusty.”

  “Of course, I want you to stay.”

  “Can I bring you wine?” Rusty asked.

  “I’ll have what she’s having,” Dani said.

  “White wine, please.”

  “You didn’t think I’d show up, did you?” Dani asked.

  Leah didn’t answer immediately. When she’d formed her answer, she said, “Damned if I answer that question. Damned if I don’t.”

  Dani smiled.

  “Shall we sit while we wait for dinner?” Leah asked.

  Rusty walked in with their wine. “Dinner will be ready in about twenty minutes.”

  “What are we having tonight, Rusty?” Dani asked.

  “I found a very old recipe in a cookbook from the twentieth century. It’s called Chicken Scaloppini. I’m not sure what a scaloppini really is, but it sounded tasty so I thought we’d try it. And, before you ask, I do have the ingredients for a quiche as a backup.”

  Dani and Leah laughed. “I’m sure your new recipe will be delicious, Rusty,” Dani said.

  “We’ll be in my office,” Leah said.

  Leah led the way down the hallway to her office. Before she could sit down, Dani had her in her arms.

  “I missed you,” she said kissing Leah. “Did you really think I wouldn’t come over tonight?”

  “The thought crossed my mind.”

  “What can I do to make you trust me?”

  “I’m sorry, Dani. You’ve not given me any reason not to trust you.”

  “But?”

  “No, buts. It’s all on me.”

  “Not all. Perhaps it would be easier to trust me if I didn’t have the reputation I do.”

  Leah led Dani to the couch where they sat sipping their wine and looking out the windows as the sun set against the backdrop of Victoria Harbour.

  “I will do everything I can to be a good girlfriend, Leah. I would, however, appreciate your help in that.”

  “Dani, I’m really not trying to change who you are. I do need for you to be honest with me and tell me if you’re unable to be monogamous. That’s all I’m asking.”

  “I want to be the only person you know intimately. I don’t want anyone else touching you. By the same token, I don’t want to touch anyone else but you.”

  “But will you tell me if that becomes onerous for you or if you decide to have your way with someone else?”

  “Yes. I’ll tell you. But don’t expect that to happen for another fifty years or so.”

  “Phuc, Dani, you’ll be in your eighties.”

  “What? You don’t think I’ll still be attractive to other women?”

  Leah paused before she answered. “Knowing what I know of you now, there is no doubt in my mind you’ll be a very beautiful, sexy woman of eighty.”

  “Thank you.”

  Rusty knocked lightly on the door. “I have dinner for you.”

  “Come in,” Leah said.

  Rusty wheeled a cart into the room. At the table, she put place mats and silverware down. She moved two covered plates from the cart and placed them on the mats. “I hope you enjoy this recipe. If you don’t I’ll fix something else.”

  Dani and Leah took their seats at the table. Leah lifted the cover from the plate in front of her, the most amazing aroma came pouring out into the room. Each plate had two thin fillets, presumably chicken, lightly sautéed to a golden brown, broccoli, and, according to Rusty, a pasta known as fettucine. They both took tentative bites of the chicken and smiled their pleasure at each other. Then they tasted the fettucine before cutting into the broccoli.

  “Mmmm. This is good,” Leah said as she cut another piece.

  “Damn, this is tasty.”

  After they finished dinner and Rusty had brought coffee and taken away their dishes, they moved back to the small couch and sat side by side holding hands.

  “You know,” Leah said, “You never did tell me what your list of firsts was. Want to do that now?”

  “I can start. First, you are the first woman I spent more than two days on Wild with. You are the first woman I’ve ever wanted to marry. You are the first woman I’ve spent the entire night with in a decade. You are the first woman who makes me smile when I think about seeing you again. You are the first woman who makes me feel safe. You are the first woman who wants to be with me for who I am and not because of my money, family name, or reputation. Shall I continue?”

  “Yes, but not right now. I want to take you to bed. What time are you leaving tonight?” Leah asked.

  “What do you mean? I thought I was invited to stay the night. Did I misunderstand?”

  “But you brought a suitcase. I assumed you would be leaving to go on your book-signing tour after dinner.”

  Dani didn’t say anything immediately. Then, she said, “We really need to work on our communication skills. The book tour isn’t scheduled for at least another six weeks. The suitcase was going to be the centerpiece for a conversation on our future.”

  Leah laughed. “You’re right, we do need to work on our communication skills.”

  “The suitcase is packed with clothes and some personal items for the bathroom.”

  “Really?”

  “Oops, did I do something wrong? Damn, this moving to the next level is harder than I thought it’d be.”

  “You didn’t do anything wrong,” Leah said as she wondered who Dani had been talking to and who had told her that she should move in a few things at a time. At least her relationship adviser hadn’t told her to pack up her house and have it delivered to Leah’s condo.

  “I thought it would be easier to have a few things here so I won’t have to get up at four o’clock in the morning to go home to get ready for work.”

  “You are so smart. I’m glad you thought of doing that,” Leah told her. “I love that you want to spend the entire night with me.”

  “I really got used to holding you and being held by you while we were on Wild.”

  “Dani Bensington, I love you.”

  “I have a present for you, babe,” Dani said, taking a small box from a pocket.

  “A present?”

  “Much more than a present,” Dani said, watching Leah.

  Dani knelt on one knee and opened the box. Inside was a gold ring with three rubies embedded in it. “Leah, will you marry me?”

  Leah hesitated a mere moment before opening her mouth.

  “Or,” Dani continued, “if that’s too much for you this soon in our relationship, we can call it a commitment ring.”

  Tears sprang to Leah’s eyes.

  “That’s the most romantic thing anyone has ever done for me. Yes, I want to marry you.”

  Dani took Leah’s hand and put the ring on her finger. She said, “With this…commitment ring, I pledge to you I will give you my love and devotion, my laughter, my tears, my body, my everything. And you will be my everything.”

  Epilogue

  While Leah and Dani were trying to figure out the logistics of living together, which were more complicated than either had believed possible, they had also been awaiting the trial of Anabel Cooper to begin. Camryn McDonald had bargained for immunity from being charged with human trafficking by telling the district attorney everything she knew about Cooper’s human trafficking operation. Cooper, on the other hand, had maintained she’d done nothing wrong and had, in fact, kept those girls alive and given them a future. The media fueled the hatred of Cooper by publishing some new tidbit of information about Cooper and the buyers she served nearly every day.

  Camryn had been charged with embezzlement and would be tried for that crime. Her trial was set to begin later in the year.

  Perhaps the only people on Xing
who had not been looking forward to the so called “trial of the century” were the people who were to testify—Leah, Doctor Reagan Dominier, and the girls Leah had found hogtied in Cooper’s secret cabin. It didn’t help that the trial had been postponed several times by both the defense and the state. It had been, finally, rescheduled. The judge in the case had told the parties she would grant no more delays for any reason.

  The trial, when it finally began, was considered to be an open-and-shut case and had taken only two weeks to try. After her testimony, Leah had not returned to the courtroom. In addition to McDonald turning state’s evidence, three of Cooper’s buyers had turned against her as well. There were also several women to whom Cooper had offered a girl that had testified against her. Once the jury came back with a guilty verdict on all counts, the judge had waited only five days, two of which were a weekend, to announce her sentence. The judge sentenced Cooper to a total of a hundred and fifty years of incarceration at a maximum security prison for the secondary charges.

  Leah was watching the vidnews when the judge paused, more for dramatic effect than necessity, and announced her sentence for the killing of eleven-year-old Natalie. The judge said the viciousness of the killing and a total disregard for Natalie’s life was a turning point for the judge. She sentenced Cooper to die in Xing’s death chamber. Cooper sat down hard on her chair, evidently shocked that the judge sentenced her to death and in the death chamber. The death chamber had not been used in over seven years. It was a particularly harsh way to die because the chamber had been built to deter killers. And it had worked. The chamber targeted each vital organ and slowly began destroying cells until the organ exploded. The last organ to have its cells destroyed was the heart, assuming the prisoner was still alive. Those who should know about these matters told reporters that the punishment was excruciatingly painful and could take hours to kill the prisoner. One doctor told a reporter that it was a terrible way to die.

  Leah had turned off the vidnews when the judge pronounced the sentence of death. Unfortunately, the sentence didn’t erase the memories of Natalie’s destroyed face or of the other three girls lying in their own excrement frightened and more like animals than humans. Leah’s one regret was not having been able to find Natalie’s family. Every turn Cox and Peony made led them to a dead end.

  Tasha, the youngest of the girls who had been in Cooper’s house of horrors, was adopted by Maria, and soon thereafter the adoptions of Nicole and Fiona were finalized. Leah and Dani had both testified in favor of Maria’s adopting the girls. Maria asked permission to take the girls to Wild to live. They would be away from the notoriety of their past and could grow up living as normal a life as possible. Dani even hired a tutor for them and built a one-room schoolhouse for them near the big house.

  After razing Cooper’s house, Dani built a memorial to Natalie and surrounded it with a meditation garden. It had become a favorite place for the girls when their nightmares were at their worst. And guests, too, found it to be one of their favorite places on Wild.

  One evening, Dani asked, “Do you think I can watch the vids you rescued from McDonald’s bungalow?”

  “Only if I can watch them with you.”

  “I’m not sure that’s such a good idea.”

  “Why?”

  “They undoubtedly show me with other women.”

  “Undoubtedly.”

  “Why do you want to see them?”

  “Because that is part of your history, my love. Think of it like your grandmother showing me vids of when you were a little girl.”

  “I’m not sure I like that idea any better,” Dani said with a smile.

  They had spent the next Saturday night watching the vids. Leah admitted to herself that watching Dani making love to other women made her uncomfortable, but, if she were honest with herself, she was also aroused by watching the vids.

  After they’d watched all the vids, Leah asked, “Was it hard watching yourself in those vids?”

  “I didn’t expect it to be, but it was.”

  “Why?”

  “I was so detached. It was like I was a gynoid going through the motions. What did you think? Was it hard for you to watch?”

  “It was harder than I thought it would be.”

  “Why was it harder?”

  “Because I wanted those women to be me. I wanted you making love to me rather than them.”

  “I didn’t know you when those scenes were filmed.”

  “I didn’t say it was rational. I said it was harder. Do you miss it?”

  “Do I miss fucking numerous women?”

  “Yes.”

  Dani sat quietly for a few moments, then said, “Honestly, I don’t miss it at all. You are everything I need.”

  Later that night, Leah asked, “Is there anything you did with those women that you wished you were still doing?”

  “No. You satisfy my needs every time.”

  “You don’t miss strapping on?”

  “Is this going somewhere?”

  “Uh, yes. Would you do that for me?”

  Dani seemed stunned. “I’ll do anything you want or need every time you ask.”

  “Even when I’m old?”

  “Darling, if you’re old and gray and still want me to fuck you like that, I’ll strap it on and fuck your brains out every night I can,” Dani said, laughing. “Assuming, of course, that I don’t hurt my back. Or I don’t die of a heart attack the first time I strap, but if I do, I’ll die with a big grin on my face.”

  “You know, Dani, I don’t really care who you were with before me, but I do want to be the last woman you’re with going forward.”

  “You will be, my love, I promise.

  About the Author

  Kay Bigelow started writing when she was in the third grade and was required to write book reports. Nearly every job of the many she has had as an adult required copious writing. After spending two years writing in Hong Kong, she returned to the U.S. and began writing fiction. She is in the midst of writing a four-book romantic mystery series, speculative romances, and stand-alone romances.

  Check out Kay’s other books

  Killer Spring – ISBN – 978-1-948232-39-5

  In this sequel to Killer Winter, Leah Samuels has moved to the planet Xing to get away from the killer winters on her home world. Her investigative firm is hired to find the killer of the daughter of one of the richest families on the planet when the police are unable to find the murderer. With meticulous attention to detail, Leah and her team delve into the crime, pursuing leads that weren’t even on the radar of the police. They encounter intrigue, danger, and deception while trying to unravel the mystery, all afforded them by a corrupt system and a powerful underworld.

  When she meets the sister of the murdered woman, Jardain Bensington, Leah falls into lust, something she didn’t think was possible until it happens to her. Her mind tells her to walk away, but the rest of her body, including her heart, tells her to take a chance on Jardain. But Jardain’s playgirl reputation and her possible involvement in her sister’s murder threaten to keep them apart, despite the mutual attraction.

  Join the Black Orchid Investigations team in this second in a four-book series featuring Leah Samuels.

  The Shower – ISBN – 978-1-948232-49-4

  Alex Aoki, a talented and aspiring artist, has had an opportunity to paint full time for the last five years thanks to the very generous patronage of Lucia DelAlessio. In exchange for accompanying Lucia to events around the world and occasionally sharing Lucia’s bed, Alex is able to focus on her art without worrying about day-to-day hassles and expenses.

  Lauren O’Brien has left the rat race of a large Manhattan law firm to live a more peaceful life in rural New York. She meets the vivacious painter Alex at the small town’s library, and it is clear that the attraction between the two extends beyond a love of books. Lauren dismisses Alex’s interest as a schoolgirl crush because of their substantial age difference, but discovers that Alex is both persuasi
ve and persistent.

  Lauren soon learns of a bigger issue that Alex has been hiding--the rich, jet-setting patroness whose financial support comes with sexual privileges.

  While Lauren tackles her ideas of relationships and monogamy, Alex must face hard questions about what is really worth sacrificing for her painting. As they each search their souls for what is most important, they must sort out their feelings about age, passion, propriety, honesty, art, truth, and above all, love.

  Knight & Dai - ISBN - 978-1-948232-55-5

  Dai Fremont, a former surgeon and now a recluse, agoraphobe, and all-around curmudgeon, has been ordered to hire another in-home nurse she knows she doesn’t need. Though her body is slowly healing from the catastrophic accident that robbed her of her beloved profession—and the life she knew—the emotional wounds run deep, and the last thing she wants is another nosey, unqualified paraprofessional with a hero complex.

  Marti Knight, fresh off a twenty-two-year stint in the Navy as a corpsman, finds herself in idyllic southern California trying to land an assignment with a home-care placement agency. While her butch good looks served her well romantically in her world travels, they seem to be a liability in conservative Orange County, and no potential client will hire her. Marti is desperate for a job and a place to finally settle down, even as she wrestles with a threatening past that she’s been running from for over two decades.

  Neither Marti nor Dai is happy about being thrown together in a last-chance, must-work situation, but despite their resistance soon find themselves drawn to one another. Defensive and guarded, they struggle to trust each other with their deepest secrets and pain, both of which could have devastating consequences for the two of them.

  They say opposites attract, but they can also destroy. Join these headstrong women as they navigate the minefield of contradictions that make up their tenuous and unlikely relationship in Kay Bigelow’s new romance, Knight & Dai.