by WL Knightly
Bay turned his attention from the monitor to her with a pointed expression. “You’re saying I’m dull? Predictable? I’ve never been accused of that before.” He tried not to be offended. “Is it really so horrible being in love with me, Mia?”
She moved her chair closer and sank down beside him. “The only thing hard about it is knowing that this is all it’s ever going to be.”
“Poor little darling, always getting her way. How terrible it must be to have someone love you enough to give you your every fucking wish.”
Mia’s hand fell on his arm. “What did you say?”
Bay turned his eyes back to the monitor and realized what had slipped from his lips. He had used the love word with her.
“Do you love me?” she asked softly.
“Of course, you’re my sister in law, my lover, my family. Why wouldn’t I?”
“Do you think we could ever be more than what we are now?”
“Is there anything more? We’re practically together every minute of the day, with Lila gone.”
“Are you going to let me go on this trip with you?”
His back stiffened, and he hated to have to break the news to her. “I’m sorry, Mia. I already have a friend coming along. You remember Carter, don’t you? The preacher who came to see me at the hospital. He’s in town, and he’s riding along to give his condolences to Brandy.” Bay knew why he was really going, but she didn’t need to know everything.
Her face twisted like she’d been kicked in the gut. “But what about me? Where am I supposed to go? You won’t let me stay in the house alone, and I can’t go back to my friend’s. Her boyfriend moved in the day I left.”
“You’ll go spend some time with Lila. You two need to spend some time together. She probably needs you more than ever.”
Mia looked outraged. “To wait on her hand and foot? To be her punching bag? No thanks.”
“To be her sister, silly girl. And don’t act like you don’t need that too. All of this, you and me, and what we have? It will all be here, Mia. When you’re ready to realize how good it is. Meanwhile, I refuse to entertain your sadness. If you feel cheated and bored, there’s a whole kingdom downstairs, princess. Go and find some adventure.”
“You’ll be angry.” She shook her head. “I don’t really want anyone else, at least not without you in the mix.”
He smiled. The loyal pet was too attached to her master. But then he remembered his words. He, in fact, was too attached to her.
Movement out of the corner of his eyes had him glancing at the front door monitor, and just as he realized it was Carter at the door, his business phone rang. He reached over and picked it up. “He’s with me. I’ll be down in a second.” He hung up the phone and got to his feet. “My friend is here. Come along if you like.”
He walked down the staircase that took him out of his nest and onto the main floor. Carter had already turned a few heads, despite his attempts to blend in. He had lost the perfect part of his hair and that helmet-like hairstyle. Couple that with the fact that he had let his facial hair grow in a bit, and you couldn’t really tell he was Pastor Carter Hamilton.
“Well, aren’t you blending in?” asked Bay. “I barely spotted you. If my man hadn’t flagged you down and called me, I’d have missed you.”
“Yeah, well, I’m used to sinners, but I don’t want to counsel any tonight. Tonight, I want to be an enabler.”
“Well, I can help with that.” Bay took out his wristband and handed it to him. “This will get you anything you want and damned near anyone.”
There was already a lot of attention on them. It wasn’t often that Bay stood out on the floor, but when he did, he always had a crowd of hopefuls around him, especially when he was passing out VIP bands.
Carter put on the band, and by the time he looked up, there were already a crowd of desiring women around him and a few men.
Mia locked her arm with Bay’s, and he kissed her cheek. “Mia and I will be upstairs if you need us.”
He watched as Carter curled his finger at a woman who stood across the room. She was in her thirties and wore a dress that was cut all the way down the front, making it more like a robe. If it weren’t for the belt, it would have been completely open.
“I want to stay down here,” said Mia. “Can’t we go to a voyeur room?”
“Do you want to watch?” asked Carter, his ego getting the better of him, in Bay’s opinion.
“Could we?” She turned her eyes to Bay. “Please.”
“I’m not sure that’s a good idea, kitten. My friend might like his privacy.” He had never considered watching the pastor get off, but he wanted to know why Mia was so eager.
“I’m not opposed to being watched, especially if this little thing gets off on it.” He eyed Mia up and down, and she drew herself closer to Bay. “She’s sure attached to you.” He pulled his woman closer, and she leaned in and kissed his earlobe before whispering into his ear. “Deanna would like us all to follow her.”
Bay looked over at Mia and shrugged. But the girl hurried behind the couple as the woman pulled Carter away and led them all to a room.
Once they were all inside, Bay shut the door behind them, and the two girls began kissing. Mia giggled, clearly enjoying herself. Bay wasn’t sure if his friend knew what he was getting into, but he looked over and found Carter taking off his shirt.
Bay smiled and shook his head. “Come along, Mia. You’ve had your fun.” He tried to get her to leave with him, but he wasn’t going to beg. After asking twice, he turned to see Carter licking his lips as he watched the two women caress each other’s breasts.
He decided that it wasn’t for him, and instead of trying to pull Mia out of there, he leaned over and tapped Carter on the shoulder. “Have fun, man. I’ve got other guests to check on.”
“Seriously?”
“Yeah, I’ll see you tomorrow. Don’t let yourself get too carried away.”
Bay was out the door and halfway down the hall when he heard his name. “Bay!” He wasn’t about to look back.
“I just thought we’d have some fun,” Mia said. “I didn’t think that you’d care. You’ve fucked Lila with your other friends. You told me you did.”
“And you’re not Lila. I’d give Lila to the highest bidder, Mia. But you? I’m not sharing you. You’re either mine, or you’re out. Plain and simple. You can use your time in the islands to figure out what you want. But I’m done.”
“I’m sorry. I just thought you’d want me to be everything I can for you.”
“You can be, Mia. That’s all I want.” He took to the stairs, and she followed.
“I just wanted to watch with you.”
“I don’t have that kind of control over all of my friends, baby. It’s a power play. Carter is a different species. I have to make a different play when it comes to him.” He opened the door, and they took a seat by the windows. “Look.” He pointed to the threesome that was about to go down in the front room. “You’ve got a good view from right here.”
“Bay?”
He took a deep breath. “What?”
“Do you really not want to share me?”
“It’s my preference not to, Mia. You’re my selfish thing. The one thing I have for myself, even though I’m not supposed to have you. I’ll always be selfish with you.”
“Because you love me?”
“Is that what you want to hear, Mia?”
“Lila says that you’ve barely said it to her. In all this time, even though she’s carrying your child. She asked me if you’d said it to me. I kept insisting there was nothing to us, but I finally had to admit that no, you’d never said it.
“It’s just words, Mia.”
She shook her head. “They have meaning, Bay.”
“Actions are better.” He reached out and stroked her cheek. “I think my actions have spoken loud and clear in the past. You had me right where you wanted me when you left.” It was all he could give her at the moment.
&nbs
p; Chapter 15
Darek
After a long night of making love with Lizzy, Darek finally dragged himself out of bed the next morning. As his eyes adjusted, he looked at the clock. “Shit, I’ll never make it on time.” He had the meeting all set up for eight-thirty, and there was no way he’d make it to the hotel to get Carter and then back. He would have to ask the man to meet him there, and even then, he’d be pressing his luck. To make things worse, he’d even asked Bay to make sure that Carter didn’t overdo it at the club. But that was before he’d gotten the late-night booty call from his girl.
Lizzy was in the kitchen milling around, and while he couldn’t see what she was up to, he could smell the bacon frying and the coffee brewing as the aroma wafted through the air and hit his nose.
He got out of bed and headed to the bathroom, slamming the door behind him. When he was done with this shower, Lizzy was waiting on the other side of the bathroom door.
“Hey, sleepyhead. I hope it was okay to let you sleep a little longer. You just looked so comfortable.”
Darek threw his hands up in frustration. “No, it was the worst day to do that, trust me. I’ve got my meeting this morning, and I’m never going to make it across town to pick up Carter Hamilton.”
“Oh no!” Lizzy looked horrified. “I’m so sorry, Darek. I feel like such an idiot. Do you need me to help with anything?”
Darek hurried to his closet, toweling off as he went. “No, it’s okay. I’m just going to throw something on and speed across town. If I can’t get him to meet me at the station, I’ll go swing by and pick him up.”
Lizzy hurried to the dresser and found him some underwear and socks. “I’m so sorry. I cooked breakfast and everything.”
“I’ll take something on the road, baby. Bacon and coffee will be perfect.”
“I’ll make it up to you later. I’ll be at the office in a bit if you need me.”
He wished that he could include her, but he knew Reed would be pissed if he did. He pulled his shorts and pants on and then quickly pulled a shirt over his head on the way to sit on his bed. Lizzy had left his socks there, and his boots were by the door.
She ran to the kitchen, and when he was on his way to the door, she handed him his breakfast and kissed his cheek. He hurried out to the car and stopped to give her another, longer kiss before getting into the car.
“Good luck. Let me know what you find out.”
“I will. I’ll see you at the office when I’m done.” He got into the car and started it. Not wasting any time, he backed out and sped down the road. He had to get Carter on the phone and find out what to do. He took his phone out and dialed his number.
“Darek, are you on your way?” asked Carter.
“I’m just leaving the house. Is there any way you could take a cab?”
“I’m sure I can swing it.”
“Thanks, man. My girlfriend thought she’d let me sleep in an extra half hour. I don’t know what she was thinking.”
Carter laughed. “I left my lady at the club. I tell you, that place comes in handy. I love the drama-free type. There needs to be more of those at my church.”
“I hear you, man. I’ll head on over to the prison and make sure that they have him ready.” He really hated that his plans had gotten fucked up, but as long as everything else went okay and Reed didn’t have to know about anything, he should be okay.
Luckily, Carter seemed upbeat, and Darek was glad the man had gotten laid. “I’ll see you there,” he said before ending the call.
Darek got onto the main road and didn’t let off the gas until it was time to exit. He cruised into the prison parking lot and hurried into the building to check in. He made it just in time and wouldn’t have to make any excuses if Reed managed to check up on him. Now all he had to do was wait on Carter.
When Carter arrived fifteen minutes later, they still hadn’t brought Ken Sin down to the room. Darek walked up to the desk. “Hey, I’m Detective Darek Blake. I have a meeting with an inmate, and they haven’t called me back yet.”
The woman gave him a blank stare. “Okay, I’ll see what the problem is.” She got up from her desk and spoke with another lady, who walked over.
“Did you have his scheduled?” the new woman asked.
Darek nodded. “Yes, and I assumed that they’d call me by now.”
About that time, a man walked in and whispered something in the other woman’s ear. They exchanged a look, and the man approached Darek. “There’s a lockdown on that block, which means we can’t let anyone in or out, scheduled meetings or not.”
“You’re kidding me.” He had everything sorted and now this? “What time do you think we’ll be able to see him?” He didn’t want to wait all day. “I’m the detective working on his case, so I’d appreciate you finding out what you can.”
“Okay, let me go check and see how long they’ll be.” The man walked away, and Darek returned to where Carter waited patiently in the lobby.
“Did you find out anything?” he asked, looking at his gold watch.
“Nothing about Sin, but they had a lockdown in his block, so it could be a little while.” Darek wondered if there was a fight or if someone had gotten killed. He knew those lockdowns could take hours, no matter the situation, and he was going to have to call Reed and see if he could help push things along if something didn’t happen soon.
Carter tugged at his collar. “I swear this place is burning up.”
“Yeah, and it doesn’t smell that great either.” Darek wasn’t happy about waiting.
“I was just about to say,” said Carter. “It doesn’t help that I’m nervous. I never got a chance to finish telling you about him. I didn’t want to get too into it with Bay there. I could already feel the tension between us. I felt like the two of you were feeling me out or something.”
Darek wasn’t going to lie. “Well, in all honesty, we were. We’re not one hundred percent sure about this hit. We know it wasn’t us, and while I hate to accuse anyone of being involved, you are a pretty big deal. Someone could have been after you, thought you’d be there.”
“I’d think Lane or Bay would have all of the enemies. Ethan and I being celebrities of sorts doesn’t make us a bigger target than someone who puts people in jail for a living. And let’s face it. You three have all affected other people’s freedoms.” He let out a long breath. “What I’m saying is, it could have very well been one of you they were after.”
“Fair enough.” Darek angled in his seat toward him. “So, tell me what you didn’t want Bay to know. It seems we’ve got some time here. You said on the phone that he mentioned wanting what you had. What did you mean by that? The church followers, the fame?” Darek couldn’t imagine someone as wild and scary as Ken Sin getting followers to take him seriously, but then again, the world was full of crazy people, all looking for something to believe in.
“He called me a cultist. Said that I had my people right where I wanted them. He asked me lots of questions about that, like he was obsessed with it. He even said he wanted to form his own following and have what I had.” Carter closed his eyes and shook his head. “Maybe he tried to do that. Maybe it was all talk that led him here. But what I know is, I tried to explain to him it wasn’t that easy. I told him that people like me, we can’t abuse our power.”
Darek couldn’t help but give him an accusing look.
Carter held up his hands as if to make a point. “Sure, I do in ways. I’m not saying I’m perfect or the shining example I could be. But the people have to matter too. You have to care for them, listen to them, nurture them, feed them. If you don’t, it all falls apart. But he said he could do it without all the work. I told him it was impossible.”
“That’s why he only claimed to have a following,” said Darek. “That’s what he hoped to accomplish. I think he hoped by admitting he was the killer and taking the credit, it would make for less work. But he didn’t think it through.” Darek knew Ken wasn’t the murderer, but he had to know if Cart
er felt like he was capable of murder. Had locking him up been a service in any way? He knew the man had a violent streak, but just how far would he take it? “Do you think he’s able to kill anyone?”
“I’ve seen his temper,” said Carter. “But it was all small things. He once got angry at a woman at church who parked where he liked to park. She was an expecting mother, and he said that he should do her husband a favor and kick her in the stomach. I was appalled, of course. My wife was very upset over it, and I had to call him into my office over that. The family left our church, and it wasn’t long after that when he left as well.”
“The guy is a sicko.” Darek let out a long breath, and before the two could continue their conversation, an officer walked over and joined them.
“Are you Officer Blake?”
“Detective Blake, yes. Have you been able to get our suspect to the visitation room yet?”
The man’s expression fell. “I’ve been asked to bring you upstairs to the block.”
Darek got to his feet. “Could Pastor Hamilton come along as well? He is here to counsel the inmate.”
“I’ll take you upstairs, and you can find out there. The block is on lockdown still, but—well, you’ll see.”
Darek shook his head. He had a feeling the guard had been asked not to say anything, and he was growing increasingly curious about the issue. “Come on, Carter. Let’s go and see if we can get this interview over with.”
On the way, it crossed his mind that whatever the lockdown was about, it might have concerned Sin. When they got upstairs and there were several guards standing in the narrow pass near the block entrance, Darek could tell that it was bad news.
“Detective Blake?”
“Yes, and this is Pastor Hamilton.”
“I recognize you, Pastor. My wife watches your Sunday service every week.”
“Thank you,” said Carter. “Send her my best.”
The man nodded, and though he seemed pleased to meet Carter, whatever was going on had him upset. “I’m Officer Crane,” said the man as he led them past the other guards and into the block, where every cell was locked down and all the inmates were made to stand against the back wall of their cells, facing away. “I heard you were here and saw where you had an appointment with Kenny. I’m afraid that there’s been a horrible occurrence. When the guards came through this morning, they found him. He appears to have hanged himself this morning after the first check.”
