“I certainly understand your need for independence. I’m sure if you communicated this with Cole he would understand.”
Nervously, Jade nibbled on a fingernail. “I don’t know. I panicked when he asked me to quit. I ran and hid like a little girl. I’m so much stronger than that. It’s just there are times when I have no idea where my feelings or reactions to benign situations come from.”
“Where is Kevin now?”
“In prison. We’ve been divorced for three years. Knowing he’s locked up, at least, gives me some kind of reassurance. I’m not looking over my shoulder every minute of every day.”
“Are you sure about that? What about that text you got a few weeks ago? The bottom line is you can’t let fear dictate how you make your decisions, Jade. I know you know this, but you’ve got to live your life. Otherwise, Kevin still has a hold over you.”
“I know. You’re right, and I really want my relationship with Cole to work. It’s so new, and I don’t want to freak him out.”
Brenda smiled. “I have a feeling, he’s waited for you for a long time. Just talk to him. He’ll understand.”
Resigned to try and talk through her fears with Cole, Jade motioned her head towards the door. “We better get in there before I don’t have to worry about quitting.”
*****
Cole had no idea how to deal with what happened between him and Jade. Did she really think he would hurt her? Seeing his own mother die at the hands of her drug-dealer boyfriend when he was only seven years old scarred him for life. He would never be violent with a woman—never.
It had been years since he’d thought about her. She was a junkie who didn’t even know who his father was and didn’t have any family that he knew of either. Jade was a big part of the reason he was able to forgive her. She helped him understand that addiction is an illness. And, that drugs held her mind and body captive. He often thought if she had been able to get clean maybe she would be alive today. Who knows if that were true but thanks to Jade it was a thought he held on to anyway. It was too bad that what he witnessed with his mother wasn’t the only violence he’d seen. For two years after her death, he was placed in foster care. His foster families in some cases were worse than his own situation with his mother. It was a small miracle he didn’t suffer too badly at their hands. Jade had been in foster care her entire life until she came to Marymount. It was more than understandable that she had trust issues. She’d told him on the day he’d beat the crap out of Kevin for calling her racist names and messing with her hair, that no one had ever stood up for her. They connected that day. He couldn’t save his mother, but he could protect Jade. He vowed from that day forward that he would do just that.
So much had been stolen from them but more so, Jade. She was right when she’d told him that Cricket no longer existed. Even though they’d been to hell and back, there was still an innocence about her back then that hadn’t been tainted. She still had hope even when things felt hopeless. That wasn’t the case today. She didn’t feel safe and protected, or trust him to take care of her. Even though she now knew that Kevin lied to her, Jade had carried around the pain of abandonment and disappointment for so long that it was probably hard to dissociate herself from those feelings.
Cole decided to drive out to Serenity House. That’s just what he did when he needed to clear his mind and think a problem through. Of course, Ms. Nash was in her usual spot when he walked into the house this time of the day. Most of the kids were at school. She was in the kitchen preparing an afternoon snack along with dinner. A couple of volunteers assisted her. She looked up to see him poke his head through the door.
“Cole! Well, this is a pleasant surprise.”
He walked into the kitchen and gave her a bear hug. He held her for a little longer than he should have. “Hey, Ms. Nash.”
Immediately, she knew something was on his mind. “I was just about to put your favorite cookies in the oven. Have a seat. Did you want a coffee or some lemonade?”
Cole sat down at the table. “I’ll take a water.”
Ms. Nash put the pan of cookies in the oven and grabbed him a water out of the refrigerator. “Ladies, do you think you could take care of that laundry for me? As soon as they left the kitchen, Ms. Nash sat down at the table with Cole. “So, what brings you down here today when you should be at work?”
“Why do you think something is wrong?”
“I’ve known you long enough to know you. Number one, you never miss work…ever. Number two, it’s written all over your face. Tell me, what’s going on?”
Ms. Nash was the closest thing to a mother he’d ever had. He definitely trusted her opinions. “I’m in love. She’s an amazing woman, but she’s been hurt so badly, I don’t know how to fix it or make it better.”
“Hmm. Cricket?”
He nodded. “How’d you know it was her?”
She smiled warmly. “I saw it on both of your faces the day you brought her to the house. She’s been through a lot?”
“More than she should have.” Cole dropped his head as he stared at his bottled water. “I promised always to protect her, but I didn’t. I don’t know what to do.”
“You know when a new child is placed here, they’ve typically been through all manner of things. The first thing I had to realize is you can’t fix it. You just can’t. You can be patient, supportive, and provide them with the security of knowing that you’ll be there for them unconditionally.”
“I’ve already messed that up.”
“No. You haven’t. I’ve seen the way she looks at you. But, you’ve said she’s been hurt. Give it time, Cole, and be there for her no matter what.”
“You make it sound so easy.”
“It’s not. It’s hard watching the people we love struggle.”
“She’s been through so much, I want to give her everything. I want to make life easier for her. I asked her to quit her waitressing job, and she freaked out.”
“Sounds like there is more to it than that.” Ms. Nash nodded her head in a knowing fashion. “If she quit, where would she get her money from?”
“I already told you, there is nothing she could ask for that I wouldn’t give to her.”
“Have you ever thought that maybe in asking her to quit, she feels like she’ll lose her independence. That she would be completely dependent upon you? That might be hard for someone with trust issues.”
Cole rubbed his chin. “I hadn’t really thought about it like that.”
“Talk to her. Talk it through and give her a bit of space. Oh, and I didn’t tell you, but one of my counselor’s just quit. I’ll need to hire someone to help me with the smaller kids throughout the day.” Ms. Nash winked at him.
He kissed her on the cheek. “I don’t know if I’ve told you, but you’re amazing. Thank you for always being an ear for me.”
“Good. Now, I have a list of things I need done around here that is a mile long. Think you can help me out?”
“With anything and everything.” Cole got up and followed Ms. Nash out of the kitchen to get started on things he knew were only meant to take his mind off his current situation.
*****
Kevin, wearing all black, arrived at Mario’s parking lot as soon as it was dark enough for him to not be discovered in a nondescript vehicle. He got out and went over to the car Elise had told him Jade would be driving. Looking from side to side, to make sure no one was looking, Kevin jimmied the lock open and slipped into the back seat. He pulled a black throw out from underneath his jacket and covered himself with it so that when Jade got in the car, it would look like he was part of the floor. She had made his life hell. He planned to make sure both she and Cole paid the price for it. The thought of sweet revenge sustained him for the next hour until Jade got off from work at 8 pm.
Chapter 24
Natalie, Brenda, and Jade walked out to their cars together. Natalie whistled. “Nice car, Jade.” She and Natalie hadn’t worked the same shift in a while, so she hadn’t see
n her drive Cole’s car.
Jade smirked. “It’s Cole. He’s just letting me borrow it for a while.”
“Hey, if you two are really just friends let me know because the next time he comes to Mario’s, I’m going to do some heavy duty flirting.”
“All I’m going to say is if you value your life, you might want to stay far away from my boyfriend.”
Brenda and Natalie exchanged glances. Natalie kept teasing her. “Ohhh…so he’s graduated from just a friend to a boyfriend. Well, good, for you.”
Distracted by their conversation, Jade opened the car door. “Just remember that the next time he comes into the restaurant.”
Natalie batted her eyelashes. “I’ll do my best.”
Playfully, Jade rolled her eyes. “Good night ladies. I’m on schedule tomorrow, so I’ll see you then.” Jade got in the car, closed the door, and locked it. Unlike her own car, as soon as she put the key in the ignition, it started right up. Out of habit, Jade glanced up into her review mirror and scanned the parking lot as usual. She didn’t see anything suspicious but couldn’t shake a feeling that made her skin prickly. She dismissed it as apprehension about going home to face Cole after their argument earlier. After a moment, she pulled out of the parking lot.
Jade put her elbow on the window sill and rested her head on the palm of her hands while steering the car with the other. A deep sigh escaped from between her lips. She hadn’t talked to Cole since their argument where she’d overreacted. Brenda was right, they needed to talk. The silence in the car was too much, so she turned on the radio. Her exit was coming up. Glancing up into her review mirror again, there was barely any traffic. Jade moved over to the right lane to take exit 90/94 East.
Should I call him? No. Jade decided to wait until they were face to face. After getting off and onto her exit, she settled into the drive. Half an hour later, Jade pulled up to the private security gate that led to Cole’s sub-division. She rolled her window down and the guard on duty, recognized her instantly then smiled as she slowed her car. “Good evening, Ms. Lockwood.”
Jade returned his smile. “Hey, Rudy.”
He opened the gate and waved her through. “Enjoy the rest of your night.”
“You too.” Slowly, Jade pulled the car inside. There was a part of her that dreaded having to open up about her past, and a part that couldn’t wait to get the past behind them. It only took a few minutes to drive up to Cole’s gate, but it felt like forever. Rolling down her window again, Jade reached out to enter the security code. His gate opened, and she drove her car through. The closer she came to the house, the more the hairs on her body began to stand up. It was silly. She knew Cole would never hurt her on purpose. Finally, she pressed the garage door opener and waited for it to rise. Moments later, Jade pulled the car into the garage.
Just as she was about to shut off the ignition, Jade looked up into her rearview mirror only to see Kevin’s eyes staring back at her. Her heart plummeted to her feet. Before she could scream, he covered her mouth with his hands and yanked her head back into the headrest pressing a knife against her throat.
“I swear if you make one sound I’ll gut you right here and now.”
Her heart was about to beat out of her chest, and her eyes were big and round as saucers. There was no question, he would do it. Her worst fears had been realized. Kevin was here, and she’d brought him right to Cole’s door.
He hissed into her ear. “Do you hear me?”
Jade closed her eyes and nodded.
“I told you, there was only one way to escape from me.” He pressed his lips against the side of her face. Jade wanted to throw up.
“Get out of the damn car and do it quietly. Otherwise, I promise I’ll kill him as soon as he walks out of the door.”
Jade swallowed the bile back down in her throat. Her body shook all over. Somehow she managed to get out of the car on very shaky legs. Kevin continued to hold her body close to his as he kept the knife close to her throat. Her hands shook so violently that she could barely put the key in the door. She opened it and walked into the kitchen.
Cole was sitting at the island working on his laptop waiting for Jade to come home. He saw her but couldn’t see Kevin. He was hidden behind the door until he stepped from behind it. That’s when he saw Kevin and the knife he had at the base of Jade’s neck.
In a sing-song voice, Kevin spoke. “Surprise. Your bitch is home.”
His heart stopped. How the hell did he get to Jade and get on his property? Kevin was still supposed to be in prison. On the outside, Cole was calm but seeing the sheer terror in Jade’s eyes forced him to try to think and not panic. There was no way he would let Kevin hurt her.
His words came out much calmer than he felt. “It’s been a long time, Kevin.”
“Not long enough. But when I found out you were screwing my wife, I figured I needed to pay you a visit.”
“She’s not your wife anymore.”
Kevin poked the knife a little deeper into Jade’s neck breaking the skin. “She’s my wife until death do us part. Unfortunately for her and you, that will probably be tonight. I’m going to take great pleasure in making you watch us make love one last time first before I kill her, giving you a bird’s eye view of all of it.”
Cole’s voice was low…menacing. “You were always a weak son of a bitch. Aren’t you tired of using Jade to get back at me?”
“As long as it works, no.”
Jade found her voice. “You sent the text?”
“What text? No way would I have contacted you and risked you disappearing. I’ve dreamed about this night and this moment for far too long to let you get away.”
She whispered. “Kevin, please. Don’t do this.”
He screamed at her. “You, shut-up! Haven’t you done enough? After everything I did for you, keeping you off the streets. Feeding you, clothing you, and how did you repay me?”
She squeezed her eyes shut. “Kevin we never would have been together if you hadn’t lied. Cole came for me.”
He pressed the knife farther into her skin causing blood to trickling down from that spot. “He didn’t deserve you. And, you didn’t deserve me. Constantly running away and calling the police. I spent three years in prison because of you.”
Cole clenched his jaw and fists. It was taking everything within him not rush Kevin. But he couldn’t risk anything happening to Jade. Kevin’s eyes were wild. He’d lost and it, and was more than capable of following through on his threats if Cole wasn’t smart. Instead, he’d try to redirect his anger towards him. Maybe he could piss him off enough to loosen his grip on her. “No, you spent three years in prison because you’re weak. No real man would ever put hands on a woman. Just like now.”
“Maybe if you put hands on Elise, I wouldn’t be here right now.”
That threw Cole off guard for a moment. “What?”
“Yeah. She came to see me apparently after catching you two in bed together. She paid me fifty grand to get rid of Jade. What she didn’t know is I would have done it for free to see you suffer!”
Jade could see the rage in Cole’s eyes. She had to do something or he was going to get hurt. “Kevin! I promise. I’ll leave with you just let me pack a bag. You’re not a murderer. You don’t have to do this.”
He laughed at her. “How do you know what I am? You were so in love with him that you never took the time to find out anything about me. Little do you know, I do have some practice in this area. Remember Caleb…poor, poor Caleb? It was interesting watching him bleed out of his wrists. I was always curious about how long it would take for death to come. Some of them at Marymount took longer than others, but he definitely took the longest. I wasn’t responsible for everything but most of those suicides were the product of my handy work.
She was going to throw up. Jade’s legs almost gave out on her. She couldn’t stand. When her legs buckled, it loosened Kevin’s grip. That split second was all Cole needed to rush him and knock him back against the wall. The kn
ife fell out of his hand as Jade scrambled away. She kicked it away from them as they started to tussle and fight.
Cole and Kevin fought furiously. Jade was terrified to take her eyes away from them. One minute it looked as if Kevin had the upper hand, and the next it was Cole. Somehow, she managed to get her cell and dial 9-1-1. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, Cole got the upper hand and gripped Kevin by the throat as he beat him mercilessly. Cole landed punch after punch to his face. When the sound of Kevin’s nose crunched underneath his fist it left no doubt Cole had broken it. Blood splattered everywhere. A gun fell out of Kevin’s black hoodie and onto the floor. Jade saw it and went for the gun before either of them could.
Cole was in such a rage that she was terrified he was going to kill him. “Please, Cole. Don’t…. don’t kill him! Let him rot in prison!” She wasn’t sure if he’d even heard her so she screamed his name again. “Cole! Please please stop!” Kevin had stopped moving before Cole even noticed, he continued to smash his face with blow after blow. His breathing was hard and uneven. He threw Kevin’s limp body onto the floor and went over to Jade.
He pulled her into his arms. “Are you okay?”
She held onto him tightly and briefly closed her eyes. When she opened them, Jade screamed. “Cole!”
Kevin managed to get up and lunge for him. Without any hesitation, Jade raised the gun and pulled the trigger. It hit Kevin in the middle of his chest, and a moment later he crumpled to the floor.
Chapter 25
Hours later, Jade sat in the living room with a blanket covering her shoulders. The house was crawling with police, detectives, and Cole’s lawyers. Not only had they taken her official statement but under the advice of counsel, Jade answered all the questions the police asked as best she could. Cole was right by her side the entire time.
The Right Side of My Pillow Page 13
