by M. Stratton
“No, it’s not. Anyway, I was thinking we need to do something to make him come out of the woodwork. Something that would be irresistible to him. Something he couldn’t pass up.”
“Sounds good, but somehow I don’t think I’m going to like what you have to say.” Anthony scowled at her.
“Think about it before you react.” She looked him deep in the eyes. “Please.”
Sighing, he said, “All I can do is try.”
“Okay, but there are three women here that Jeremy has failed to kill. What if we all went out somewhere, alone and …?”
“Oh, hell no.” Noah jumped up. “Don’t even continue. Not. Going. To. Happen.”
“But Noah …”
“No la mia belezza.” Anthony shook a finger at her. “And get that look out of your eye. Don’t even think of going behind our backs.”
Crossing her arms over her chest, she pouted. “But come on. It’ll work.”
“Yeah and you’ll get your ass hurt or killed, not to mention other people. No.” Jackson came over and sat down next to Kat, ignoring her when she scooted away.
“Fine,” Evie muttered.
Kat watched as Noah walked over and picked up the inter-house phone. “Bruno, make sure there is extra detail on the ladies please … thanks … and don’t let your men fall for anything they might say or do … bye.”
“Was that completely necessary, Noah? Really?” Evie stood up and started stalking over to Noah when Anthony grabbed her arm and stopped her.
“Yes, it was. And if he didn’t do it, I was going to. You can’t be trusted when it comes to your family and friends. You’d do whatever it took and we all know that. We aren’t going to be putting you in danger. Any of you.” Anthony made sure the women, including Kat, knew he was talking about all of them.
“Well, we’ve got to do something.”
“Sis, we aren’t arguing with you on that, just your idea. There has to be a better way.” Jackson held up a hand to stop her when she opened her mouth. “Just let us think about it for a bit, maybe we can come up with something. Until then, just chill.”
“Fine.”
Lexi laughed, “Oh, just say asshole like you want to.”
“Fine. Asshole.”
“Feel better?”
“Nope. But hey, calling my brother an asshole is always great.”
“Shut up.”
“Never.”
Kat could tell that Evie and Jackson were going to get into it, but Noah stopped them before they could start.
“Can we get serious here? We actually have some new information.”
Instantly everyone was quiet and looked at him. “We’ve got some of the reports from Jeremy’s house. As far as forensics could tell, all the women were killed about the same time every year. In the month of June. Going back through Jeremy’s history, that is when his mother disappeared. It seems he would kill a woman in the same house his mother was killed in, at the same time every year. Also, based on the age of remains this is something he just started doing since Anthony was put into prison. So while he didn’t kill any women that matched Lexi’s description, he did kill women that matched his mother’s. The only thing I can think of is when the anniversary of his mother’s death came around; he left the self-imposed prison of an apartment, killed and then went back.”
Anthony got up and started showing some pictures around. “These are the women who have gone missing around that area in June over the past seven years. Some of them have been positively identified, others they are still working on.”
Kat couldn’t contain the shiver that took over her body. Knowing that Jackson knew it didn’t help anything. Unable to bear it anymore, she had to speak. “That is just seriously fucked up.”
Lexi gave her a small smile. “We know better than others how fucked up he is, but yeah, this surprises even me.”
“Just what I needed, something else to give me nightmares.” Evie ran her hands over her arms. “You all didn’t see what we saw up there. And now knowing this, yeah, here come the nightmares again.” When Anthony came up and wrapped his arms around her, she leaned into him.
“As if we didn’t have enough, this just gives us more reason as to why you shouldn’t be used at bait.” Jackson held his sister’s gaze.
“What if we …” Kat started to speak and then stopped. She didn’t typically offer anything in these meetings.
“What if we do what, Kat?” asked Noah.
Looking down at her fingers, she still didn’t like being the center of attention with these people. It reminded her of when she’d had to tell them what happened to her and what she’d done. “What if we made it appear that security wasn’t as tight. Like we were relaxing things since there have been no sightings of Jeremy in two months? I’m not saying it would be true, just if it was made to look like it.”
Peeking out from under her eyelashes, she saw the look between Noah and Anthony. Not sure how to interrupt it, she quickly looked back down at her hands.
All of a sudden, everyone was talking at once. The only one who was quiet was Jackson who sat next to her. It wasn’t long before she couldn’t take it any longer and looked at him.
“I think it’s a good idea. We might be able to bring him out of hiding without putting any of you in danger,” he said quietly to her.
“Don’t ever forget that he’d kill you in a heartbeat. He did it to that security guard at your grandmother’s. If you stood in his way, he’d end yours,” she whispered.
He flashed his trademarked dimpled smile at her. “Darlin’, does that mean you care?”
She looked away, knowing that she wasn’t worth caring about.
When Jeremy read the latest news, it took everything he had not to scream and rage at the top of his lungs. Knowing he was losing it didn’t help anything. He knew it was just a matter of time now before he was caught. Not liking the feeling of being the hunted, he started realizing he had nothing left to lose. An old song went through his head, something about a blaze of glory. Three of them lived when they should be dead. All in one place. The odds of a setup were large, but the payoff would be even larger.
Franticly he started writing in his journal. Everything he would need and what he would do to them. What it would take to make him whole again. He absently rubbed his cock at the thought of killing all three of them, ramming into their cold dead bodies.
Once she was alone, she opened the computer she had hidden underneath the mattress and plugged the ear buds in. She couldn’t wait to see what he was up to. She had gained entry into his room by posing as a maid. There, she hid the camera and bug. It would be perfect, she thought, wondering how he would feel if he knew someone was watching him all the time, thinking it might push him. From the first moment she’d found out about him she knew he had to be destroyed. There were so many sick men out there who preyed on women and children. They all had to be stopped. She opened up a document and made a note on her file on him. Keeping one eye on the computer and one on the door, she sat back and watched as he planned, excitement filling her body.
She opened up another window and started doing more research on the six people who were so close to sending Jeremy over the edge. She added their information to his file. To know her enemy, she must know her enemy’s enemies. Rubbing her hands together at the information she found, she thought of a way she could push at all of them and hopefully get Jeremy exactly where she wanted him.
Going out to dinner wasn’t something Kat really wanted to do. She knew it was all part of the plan, but she didn’t want the publicity. They caravanned in four vehicles. Noah and Lexi in one, Anthony and Evie in another, her and Jackson in still another then following them was the security detail. In the past, there would have been at least three moving vehicles around them at all times. She didn’t like it, even though she knew there were others out there she didn’t know about.
There had been a huge battle back at the house when the Trio was told they weren’t coming. It had be
en pointed out that they could be in danger, but in reality, everyone was worried what they might end up doing. All it would take was one hot young waiter and the whole evening would dissolve into chaos.
There was a flurry of activity as they pulled up to the Italian restaurant. Paparazzi were everywhere. They all wanted the best shot since this was the first time they were all out together. The flashes from their cameras were blinding. With spots trying to cloud her vision, Kat looked anywhere but at the cameras. Glancing around, she went back to her training and tried to memorize every face in the crowd. She welcomed Jackson’s hand in hers as he led her to the doors of the restaurant, although they all took longer to get inside than she was comfortable with.
Once they were inside, she thought she’d relax, but she kept scanning around the room looking for him, or anything that was off. Not knowing who was part of the security detail and who wasn’t, was making her nervous. Looking around, she knew she wasn’t the only one. Noah and Anthony were sitting very close to Lexi and Evie; they were also looking around, never letting the women out of their sight. Even Jackson was closer than usual which made her uncomfortable. Feeling his heat so close to her.
Placing her hand on her stomach, she tried to push the nerves away, even the aroma of Italian food wasn’t making her hungry. Once the food arrived, she just pushed it around her plate not really eating.
“I didn’t think there’d be so many paparazzi around,” Kat said quietly.
Evie shrugged. “Between Mr. Rock & Roll and Mr. Moneybags over here, not to mention my stupid brother, Johnny Football, it was bound to bring them out. Then you add in what happened to us, yeah, they’d be crazy not to show.”
They spent the next hour talking about everything but Jeremy, posing for pictures and signing autographs for some of the customers. They all slowly relaxed as time went on and nothing happened. Except for Kat, she couldn’t shake the feeling that someone was watching them.
“This is supposed to be a party. Lighten up,” Jackson leaned over and whispered in her ear.
Turning her head, she said to him, “I’m doing the best I can.”
“No, you’re not. Come on, dance with me.”
Kat didn’t want to but when he stood up and held his hand out to her, she couldn’t deny him. He was very light on his feet and spun her around the dance floor keeping her on her toes in order to match his steps. She knew what he was doing, and she hated to admit it, but it was working. Before her attack she was always dancing, it was in her blood. If she didn’t love children so much, she would have become a professional dancer. In fact, she hadn’t danced since her attack. While her feet hadn’t forgotten the steps, her soul had forgotten how exhilarating it felt to let loose on the dance floor. With one final spin, he caught her and dipped her low. She couldn’t help the smile which spread across her face. They held the position for a moment getting lost in each other’s eyes before the round of applause broke the spell.
They went back to the table and sat down, Kat taking a large drink of water. It felt good to move, better than she thought it would. Glancing at Jackson out of the corner of her eye, she also had to admit that dancing with him had awoken something in her she thought was long dead.
Jackson knew getting Kat out on the dance floor was the best thing possible, for both of them. It relaxed her, and he got to spend some time with her in his arms. He knew this plan was risky, but at least they were all together. As long as no one went off on their own, it should be fine. He just tried to remind Kat to chill and enjoy being out of the house.
With their dinner complete, they were waiting for dessert when Jackson felt as if someone was staring at him. Looking around, he saw an attractive woman staring at them. It was strange someone so beautiful was dining alone. He wondered if maybe she was part of the security detail and looked closer at the rest of the people.
He wondered if he could somehow record some video footage of everyone in the restaurant without them knowing when the waiter brought a cake and set it in front of Kat.
“What’s this for? I didn’t order this.” Kat’s voice wavered.
The waiter shrugged. “It was in the computer, so I brought it out to you. Is there a problem?”
Jackson wondered why Kat suddenly became so quiet and started to shake. He was surprised when she jumped up and pushed back from the table, he immediately stood up and went to her. “Tell me.”
Staring at the cake, she shook her head, “Please not here. Can we just go? I need to get out of here.”
Jackson nodded to Anthony and Noah, who both stood up, and they all moved toward the exit.
Jeremy had kept to the shadows, watching, always watching. His knuckles were bleeding from where he’d run them across the brick so he wouldn’t give himself away when he saw all of them together. Especially Chelle, or should he use the name she was going by now, Kat, dancing with that buffoon. They were his girls and seeing them being pawed at by inferior men when they should be dead, made his stomach turn.
Knowing there was nothing he could do now, he took solace in the fact their time was running out. He took note of the security, knowing there had to be more around that he couldn’t see. Seeing them pull away from the restaurant, he would let them think he wasn’t around, that their plan was working when all the time they would be falling into his trap.
It had taken everything she had not to let it show she had seen him. It was right before they had gone into the restaurant. She thought for a moment their eyes had met, but she couldn’t be sure. The blood started to pump in her veins with excitement, knowing he was there. Taking a deep calming breath, knowing this was not the time to let it show, she pushed what she wanted to do to him to the back of her mind and sat down for a nice meal knowing the part she had to play and she loved seeing first-hand what happened when a kink was put into their plan.
Once they were all back at Noah’s house, Kat knew she was going to have to tell them. She hated the fact she was going to have to be the center of attention, again, but this time telling them something she hadn’t told anyone, but the police after she was attacked.
“Spill,” Evie demanded as soon as they were all settled.
“Evie, you might want to, oh, I don’t know, have a little more compassion.” Jackson glared at his sister.
Evie shrugged. “I have compassion, but I also just want to cut to the chase, and this one,” she gestured toward Kat, “needs some pushing to open up.”
“Did you ever think there might be a reason for that?” Jackson asked.
“Well, duh, yeah,” Evie shook her head at him, “but I also want to see what we’ve got.”
“Come here, Kat,” Lexi patted the cushion next to her. “Ignore Evie. I’ve found there are times it’s the only way to keep your sanity. Now, tell us why that cake freaked you out so much.”
Kat didn’t know what to say. Part of her wished Evie and Jackson would just get into it and deflect the attention away from her, but she also knew they wouldn’t let it go.
“There are certain things I told the police, and only the police about what happened to me in that hotel suite. One of them was he ordered pieces of cheesecake from room service.” Kat looked down at her fingers, hating to say what she needed to tell them. “Then he…”
“It’s okay. Take your time.” Lexi put her arm around Kat and gave her a squeeze.
Kat tried to imagine it was just her and Lexi talking about what happened to them; she attempted to block out everyone else. “He shoved it all up inside of me. There was so much. And then…” she closed her eyes, “he ate it all out of me. It took hours. I really don’t want to say any more about how it was all possible and what he did afterwards. Just yeah, that’s enough.”
Lexi hugged Kat tightly. “You’re stronger. You can do this.”
Kat patted Lexi’s hand. “Thanks, now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to go. I can’t say anymore…” The last thing she wanted was to look any of them in the eye. She left and went to her room, alone, whe
re she deserved to be.
Jackson waited until Kat was out of earshot before he turned to the others. “We’ve got to keep a better eye on her.”
“Yeah, she’s a loose cannon,” Evie said as she grabbed a handful of pretzels.
“Evie,” Lexi shot her a look, “that isn’t what Jackson meant. If I’m right, he means because this—all of this—has been hard on her. We should be there for her.”
“Exactly, I think with Lexi pushing her, and having someone she’s grown close to have a similar experience is bringing a lot to the surface. We need to be there for her,” Jackson said, while looking at his sister. He knew her, and she would be the one who had the most difficult time with it.
“You do remember she is the one who hid things from us. I still hold her responsible for Lexi being attacked last time. If she had just spoken up years ago, Anthony wouldn’t have gone to prison. All those women in his home would not have been killed. She is the reason they are dead.”
“No, Evie, she’s not.” Noah sat down next to her and put his arm around her. “Jeremy is the one who killed them; besides, don’t you think she deals with that every day and blames herself? We’ve spent a lot of time with her since she was Lexi’s bodyguard. I don’t know her as well Lexi does, but I’m willing to bet that eats her alive.”
“I know it eats her up. We’ve spent a lot of time talking about what happened to each of us. While she hasn’t gone into detail about everything that happened to her, I know it all still haunts her.” Lexi dipped some fruit in whipped cream and popped it in her mouth smiling at Noah.
Evie shook her head. “Don’t make me start to feel sorry for her.” She crossed her arms over her chest. “Well, come on. I can take my anger out on her every day; she’s here. Jeremy isn’t.”
“La mia belezza, that isn’t very nice,” Anthony said. “We really have no idea how anyone would react in that situation. Look, Lexi reacted completely differently to Kat. We have to work together, not against each other.”
