by M. L. Ray
Anouk’s eyes narrowed. “He paid someone to kill his kids?”
“Ask yourself this,” Martha set her cup down, “did he ever discuss having kids with you? He hated kids. Yes, he made a good show of being the ‘perfect dad’ when people were around to see them, but at home, when he was there, he basically ignored them.”
Anouk was silent for a long moment. “Why did you stay with him?”
“I was scared of him. From the start he was so intense, so determined that I would be his. And I was just this kid from a broken home. He was rich—”
“—Shawn didn’t have money.”
Martha gave a humorless chuckle. “You really didn’t know him, did you? Shawn is a Vanderson.”
Anouk shook her head. “Doesn’t mean anything to me.”
“The Vanderson’s are one of the richest families in Connecticut. Shawn is the only heir.”
Anouk shook her head. “No… Shawn was an orphan.”
“Christ, you really were gullible. No, dear, Shawn’s family is very much alive and well. Where do you think he gets the money to manipulate everything and everyone around him? And the police will do nothing, either here or in London. His family is as corrupt as he is.” Martha sighed, her shoulders slumping. “Anouk, you must think I hate you, but I don’t. Please try not to hate me. We were both taken in.”
“I don’t hate you.”
Martha’s mouth twitched. “Say that like you mean.”
Anouk couldn’t help but smile, but she shook her head. “I don’t hate you. Like you said, he lied to us both. What I don’t understand is why you came here to Seattle?”
“That’s easy,” Martha said, and her gaze met Anouk’s, “I came here to kill him.”
Chapter Twenty-Four
For once, when she woke the next morning, Anouk’s first thought wasn’t of Knox. Martha Simon’s declaration that she was in the city to kill Shawn was weighing heavily on her mind, and not because she was scared for Shawn.
She was scared for Martha. The young woman was unhinged in her grief for her children, and Anouk was terrified that she would become a victim of Shawn’s clear insane evil. After Martha had left in the early hours, Anouk had gotten on the internet and looked up everything she could about the Vanderson’s. Right there, she saw the photographs of his parents. His father had the same curly, dark auburn hair, the same supercilious smile. “How did I ever find that attractive?” She shook her head and looked at Shawn’s mother. Every cliché in the book, Anouk thought, patrician beauty, dead, cold eyes, rail thin; a look on her face like someone had passed gas under her nose. Anouk gave a snort. She hadn’t missed anything by not knowing Shawn’s parents, clearly, although she felt bad for saying so. What could a picture really tell her?
Gut instinct, she thought. I should have listened to it before now.
Finally, she had clicked off the laptop, but then lay in bed wondering if she should go to the police. If Martha killed Shawn, she, Anouk, could be charged as an accessory, if Martha told the police Anouk had known of her plan.
Somehow, she didn’t think Martha would rat her out. Last night—or this morning—she had offered Martha a bed for the night, but Martha had refused, albeit politely. “I had to see you, but I don’t want to involve you in what I’m going to do. Well, not any more than I already have by coming here. I just wanted to say to you, stay away from Shawn. He’s an obsessive, and he won’t take no for an answer. He wants you, Anouk, and if he doesn’t get you…”
She didn’t need to finish that sentence. Martha had surprised Anouk at the door by suddenly hugging her hard. “Take care of yourself. I mean it. He doesn’t get to win this.”
Anouk showered and got dressed for Gregory’s funeral almost in a daze, so much so that when someone banged on the door downstairs, it took a moment to register. She opened the door to see Flynn, dressed in dark navy, smiling at her. “Hey, you. I’ve come to pick you up.”
They drove out to the funeral home, Flynn apologizing to Anouk for Knox not being the one who came to get her. “He’s so damn stubborn.” She looked over at Anouk. “But he loves you, Nook, he really does. He’s just all bent out of shape about Dad.”
“I know.” Anouk felt strangely detached from Knox right now, even though she hated to see the sadness of the Zapata children as the funeral began. She stood in the aisle behind them in the church, having refused to sit up front. Levi had smiled and kissed her cheek when he saw her. Anouk and Knox had stared at each other for a long moment before he hugged her, briefly, then let his arms drop.
Anouk slid into the row behind the family, and soon enough, Flynn had put her hand back, seeking Nook’s to hold. Anouk squeezed her fingers to comfort her.
The funeral was short, beautiful and desperately sad. For such a wealthy man, Gregory hadn’t wanted a big show of his passing. His only wish really was to be laid to rest next to his beloved wife. There was some comfort in that, Anouk supposed, for his children.
At the house, the wake was an elegant, somber affair, that thankfully didn’t last too long. By the end of it, as the last guests left, Flynn was exhausted and flagging, and Anouk helped her to bathe and get into bed. “Thanks, Nookie,” Flynn smiled at her. “Will you stay tonight? Yu can sleep with me here if you like, if it… or there’s the guest room.”
Anouk stroked Flynn’s hair back from her face. She looked so young, so vulnerable today. “I’ll stay with you if you want me too.” She saw Flynn’s look of relief, and was glad she had made the decision. “I’ll go tell… the others.”
Levi was alone in the kitchen when she went to find him, picking at the remains of the food despondently. “Are you okay, Levi?”
His warm brown eyes were soft. “I am. Just sad. Thank you for being here today, Anouk. You have no idea how much it helped. Flynn, me… Knox. I’m so grateful.”
For once, even though Levi wasn’t someone who invited physical contact, Anouk hugged him. He tightened his arms around her, the tension in him seeping away. “Thank you,” he said again, his voice muffled by her hair.
They chatted for a few more moments, then Anouk told him she was going to stay with Flynn tonight. “That’s great, thank you. I think today wiped her out.”
“I think so, too. I’d feel better if I could keep an eye on her.”
Levi nodded. “She’s scheduled for surgery, did she tell you?”
Anouk shook her head. “No, but that’s wonderful. It’s the right decision, I think.”
“I do, too. She had all the time in the world to decide when and how she wants kids.”
Anouk said goodnight to Levi and went back into Flynn’s room. Flynn had gotten out of bed to find Anouk some nightclothes, and a soft, long t-shirt which fell to Anouk’s knees was on the end of the bed. Flynn had fallen asleep, her sweet face soft and relaxed in sleep. Anouk changed into the t-shirt and went to brush her teeth, finding a new toothbrush laid out for her. She smiled to herself. Flynn had thought of everything… very maternal of her. She got the impression that, although Flynn was the youngest child, she would be the one holding her brothers together, despite her own trials. Well, Anouk would be there to back her up, whatever happened between Anouk and Knox.
She’d hardly seen him. After the burial, he’d made the rounds of thanking the mourners, but had largely disappeared, and Anouk, for once, didn’t want to go after him. She stayed to helped Levi and Flynn, and realized now that she had a lot of anger reserved for her lover. He had shut her out when he should have needed her the most, and Anouk knew now that she had resentment about that.
She got into bed beside Flynn and curled up on her side. What, with the thing with Martha, Shawn still haunting Anouk in her hometown, and now this, she was exhausted. She decided she would focus on the gallery and looking after Flynn. That would be her focus from now on. She would move out of the studio. It was Knox’s place, after all, but she wouldn’t go back to Iris’s apartment. She would find her own, finally be on her ow
n. It was time.
Anouk woke up thirsty in the middle of the night and went to the kitchen, padding silently through the quiet house. She didn’t see Knox, sitting in a dark corner near the window, until she heard the chair scrap. “Nook.”
Anouk turned from the sink to see him approach. In the blue moonlight she couldn’t see the expression on his face. He was in shadow, but he came closer, until she could feel his body heat. Knox ran the tip of his finger down her cheek, then bent his head to kiss her, just once, briefly. Anouk wanted to push him away, get angry with him, but that kiss silenced her protests, her words dying inside her as she sank into it.
Knox drew her close, kissing her again, and her arms snaked around his neck automatically. Knox gave a groan of desire and pulled her to the floor with him, hitching up her t-shirt above her waist and freeing his cock from his pants. “Yes?” He whispered and Anouk nodded.
The whole thing felt like a dream as he entered her and they made love slowly, quietly on the cold, stone floor, clinging to each other. Even their climaxes were soft, mellow, and afterward, Knox buried his face in her chest and cried. Anouk held his head against her, comforting him, feeling her heart pound with sorrow for him. He was so lost, she realized.
“I’m here,” she whispered now, “I’m here, Knox, and I’m not going anywhere. Whether you want me or not as your lover, I’m still your friend. Your Nook. I will always, always be here for you, even if you try to push me away. I love you, Knox Zapata.”
He lifted his head and smiled through his tears. “I love you too, Nook. I just don’t know if I can face losing you too.”
“Then you won’t. We’re in this together, baby.”
“For life?”
She nodded, smiling at him, holding his gaze so he knew she was speaking the truth. “For life.”
They made love again, this time with more feeling, taking their time to explore the other’s body, Knox’s hands moving across her skin as if she were the most precious silk. His cock, so thick and long, thrust into her in long, measured strokes as she tightened her thighs around his waist. His lips on her breasts, sucking at the nipples until they were hard and so sensitive, she could hardly bear it. Anouk tangled her fingers in his messy dark hair and kissed him deeply, her tongue caressing his, tasting him. As she neared her peak, he lifted her buttocks so he could go deeper, harder until she cried out, coming and shivering, crying out his name over and over again.
Knox came, pumping thick, creamy semen deep into her belly and they collapsed together on the floor, breathing hard and smiling through their tears at each other. Knox smoothed her hair back from her face as he lay on top of her, drinking in every feature. “Do you love me?” He asked again and Anouk smiled. “With all my heart, my darling Knox.”
He nodded. “As I love you, so, so much. You are my everything. I would do anything to prove that to you, anything.”
“You don’t have to prove anything to me Knox. I love you, I trust you.”
He smiled down at her, his eyes alive with intensity. “You love me?”
Anouk nodded again. “More than anything.”
Knox kissed her, then whispered softly. “Then marry me, Anouk, my darling love. Marry me.”
Chapter Twenty-Five
The engagement is announced between Ms. Anouk Devi of King County, Seattle, Washington, and Mr. Knox Aloysius Zapata of Snohomish County, Seattle, Washington. The wedding will take place at a date to be determined.
Anouk looked up at a grinning Flynn, then at Knox, who was rolling his eyes. “An engagement announcement? Is that a little… nineteenth century?”
Flynn grimaced. “It’s romantic, for the love of God.” She swiped the newspaper from Anouk’s hand. “Come on, indulge me.”
“It’s already in print,” Anouk muttered, but then relented. “Fine. I’ll forgive you for one reason only… the fact that, now, I know Knox’s middle name is Aloysius.”
Flynn snorted and Anouk grinned, as Knox gave them both the finger. “Laugh it up, fuzzballs.”
Even Levi cracked a smile, as the women continued to rib his brother.
In the week since Gregory’s funeral, the Zapata children were beginning to heal. Anouk had stayed with them after that first strange night, and she’d been there for each of them when they needed to talk, or to cry. Well, Flynn and Knox cried, but the always stoic Levi merely talked, in fractured sentences about his father. Anouk sensed that was a big deal for Levi, to open up, and she was happy he trusted her enough to do it.
He was also the first to congratulate them, when Knox told him Anouk had said yes to his proposal. She had stared at him, stunned for a few moments after he’d asked, then smiled. “Yes,” she had said, her voice steady, “yes, Knox Zapata. I will marry you.”
Her answer had stunned, surprised and delighted them both, but Anouk listened to her gut instinct. She knew Knox was her future, that they had a family already. And when Flynn and Levi found out the next morning, their reactions only solidified her certainty that she was doing the right thing. She loved Knox, loved his family.
Anouk glanced at her watch and sighed. “Well, kids, Aloysius,” she added, with a grin at her lover, “I hate to cut and run, but I needed to be at the gallery about an hour ago. Ruby will be climbing the walls.”
Flynn followed her out to her car. “Hey, you said Ruby is about my age?”
“Yeah, I think so. Why?”
Flynn shrugged, her face a little red. “Don’t know. Just… you think she’d want to hang out?”
Anouk smiled. “I’m sure she’d love that.”
The gallery was already busy when she arrived, and Anouk nodded to a couple of the regular customers as she made her way upstairs. She found Dahlia waiting for her. “Hey, Dahlia, what’s up?”
“Ruby hasn’t come in. It’s not like her.”
Anouk frowned, and although she kept a smooth face, her heart began to beat a little faster. “Have you called her?”
“All morning.” Dahlia was usually unflappable, but Anouk knew, after Tom’s… death, she worried about all of her colleagues, her friends a little more.
Anouk squeezed her shoulder. “I’ll go check on her. She’s probably slept in. Can’t blame her with her schedule.”
“Okay, thank you.” Dahlia turned to go, then looked back. “Anouk…”
“I know.” Anouk nodded. The last time she went to check on someone, to see if they were okay, was Tom… “It’s okay.”
Anouk tried to call Ruby as she drove out to the young woman’s neighborhood, but got no answer. At Ruby’s apartment building, she climbed three sets of stairs up to the top level and walked along to Ruby’s door. She pressed the bell. Somewhere a dog barked. Anouk listened for any sounds of movement in the apartment. “Ruby? Rube? It’s Nook.”
No answer. Anouk hesitated then tried the door. It was locked. “Rube?”
“She ain’t in. I ain’t seen her since yesterday.”
Anouk tuned to see a young, skinny kid leaning against the doorway opposite. “Do you know where she went?”
The boy shrugged. “Nah. She had laundry. Guess she went to do that.”
Anouk glared at him. “Overnight?”
He shrugged again and turned to go back inside the apartment. “Wait.” He looked back at her, his eyes running up and down her body.
Anouk bit back a snarl. “Does this building have a laundry room?”
“Downstairs. For twenty bucks, I can show ye.”
Anouk narrowed her eyes at him. “I think I can find it myself.”
She shuddered as she walked back down to the first floor. Maybe Tom’s fund could help Ruby get out of this dump. Sure enough, on the first floor, there was a sign leading to the basement laundry room.
There was little light down the dark corridor, and Anouk flinched as she ran into a cobweb. What the hell was this place? At the end of the corridor was a door. She tried the handle. Locked. She rattled the handle in fru
stration and turned away, but then heard a voice. “Hello?”
Anouk’s heart leaped. “Ruby?”
A pause. “Nook? Is that you? I’m locked in.”
Anouk felt giddy with relief. “Hold on, I’ll find something to open the door.” As she retreated back down the corridor, she couldn’t help but repeat “thank god, thank god” to herself. Ruby was okay, Ruby was alive.
Anouk found the superintendent, an elderly woman who looked non-too-pleased about being disturbed during her daytime soap, but shambled down the corridor after her, on arthritic knees, muttering something about ‘damn fool kids.’
She unlocked the door, opened it and a very relieved Ruby came out to greet them. “Jeez, thank you. No one heard me yelling all night?”
Anouk gave the super a glare, who looked guilty and went off. Anouk hugged Ruby. “You scared the crap out of me. Are you okay?”
“Apart from filthy, starving and needing to pee so bad it hurts.”
Anouk helped Ruby back to her apartment, noticing with relief, that Ruby’s place was clean and tidy at least. She hated that her young friend lived in this… ugh, Anouk thought. No. Ruby deserved better. Ruby offered to make Anouk some coffee. “I’ll do it. You go pee, go grab a shower. Take your time.”
A half hour later, Ruby emerged, throwing a grateful smile at Anouk, as she handed her a plate of scrambled eggs with some whole wheat toast. “You’re the best.”
Anouk drank her coffee while Ruby ate, then squeezed her hand. “So, you just get locked down there? What happened?”
Ruby finished her mouthful and shook her head. “Nah. Someone pushed me in there, locked the door.”
The tension was back in Anouk’s shoulders. “What?”
“Some dude, I think.”
“Did you see him?”
“No. But I heard him.”
“What did he say?” Anouk studied her friend. Ruby didn’t look too traumatized by her ordeal. She shrugged.
