by C. J. Thomas
“What is it now?”
Glancing up to Giselle, I said, “My house alarm just went off, and Kendra is home alone.”
28
Kendra
My hands formed tight fists but that didn’t stop my arms from shaking. A prickle crowned my skull as I felt weak in the legs.
A neighbor’s dog barked in the distance.
I snapped my head in its direction.
Then I fooled myself into seeing things that weren’t there. A shadowy figure. A sound coming from upstairs. The constant reminders of what Kelly’s apartment looked like and the reason he’d brought me here in the first place.
I held my breath and waited.
My lungs begged for air.
Soon, a bubble of silence closed around me.
With a racing pulse, I glanced to the stairs, suddenly thinking of Kelly’s gun.
Suddenly, Nora’s intense stare was on me again.
The fading daylight almost made her gaze even more intimating—mocking—than before.
Willing myself to move, the house was entirely far too big to successfully monitor on my own. There were dozens of different points of entry that could be targeted. An intruder could break in and it would be too late before I knew what was happening.
A bright flash sent my mind scrambling back to the night both Oscar and Sylvia broke into my apartment. I shivered in terror.
Scampering to the house alarm, I checked the panel. “Shit.” I didn’t know if it was working. A green light was blinking, a red holding its charge. I didn’t know what any of it meant.
Flipping my hair over my shoulder, I moved to the windows, checking to make sure they were locked. Afraid I was being watched, I dropped the blinds. Then I checked the front door.
My lips parted.
I stood with a tingling denial fanning out over my stomach.
Did I lock it? Or had it been unlocked? I couldn’t remember. Kelly left, then I got distracted by what he insisted I take to keep me safe. “Fuck.”
A chill moved down my spine.
I thought about calling the police but lacked their trust. “I’m calling the police!” I yelled at the top of my lungs, hoping to deter whoever might be outside, listening.
Sucking back a deep breath of air, I held it in and perked my ears.
The sounds of my thrashing heart beat and throbbed in my ears.
Nothing.
Hurrying to my cell, I called Kelly. It went straight to voicemail. Double fuck.
There was someone here. I could feel it. I didn’t imagine what I saw or heard. I was sure it was the same person who’d trashed Kelly’s apartment. Madam’s person. Maybe Oscar’s. Then my eyes popped with a thought.
Casting my gaze down to my cell phone, I opened my hand and stared.
Madam had it. She’d taken it, then gave it back. Could she be tracking me?
A quick panic rolled through me as I quickly turned off the device. But I knew it was too late. You’ll feel the pressure, darling, I could hear her saying.
Heavy footsteps echoed outside the front door. The shadow of a man was back. The doorknob shook and I took off upstairs, gasping for air.
I lengthened my stride, gripped the doorframe, and boomeranged into Kelly’s master bedroom, slamming the door behind me. Quickly, I peeled the drapes back and peeked outside.
A car drove lazily past.
The driveway was empty.
Neighbors’ lights were on but they were too far to see my arms waving above my head.
I was too high to jump and I immediately regretted my decision to flea upstairs, feeling like I had backed myself into a corner with no way out.
When I heard the front door open, I dove for the gun. Taking it between my hands, I faced the door and zeroed in on my target.
The heavy footsteps shook the floor below.
I cocked the hammer back.
The sounds grew closer.
Closer.
Until, finally, the bedroom doorknob turned.
I lifted my shaky arms higher—easing my finger around the trigger.
And just when I was about to pull back and shoot, his sun-kissed dimples deepened and I knew that I was safe.
29
Kelly
There was a second where I thought she might actually shoot me.
A part of me welcomed death—wishing she would put a bullet through my heart, end my immense suffering once and for all. But I didn’t want it to be Kendra who did it, to live with that mistake. She would always blame herself, never be able to let it go. I knew this because it was the same way I felt with Patrick.
“Easy, Bella, it’s just me.” With my arms extended, I motioned for her to lower the gun. “It’s just me.”
Her eyes were wild as they danced across my face. After a long pause, she blinked recognition back into her eyes. Then she lowered the gun and started to cry.
Leaping toward her, I scooped her into my arms. “It’s okay, baby, I’m here.”
She shook her head and the streams of tears thickened as they flowed down her face.
Squeezing her closer to me, she rocked in my arms, clinging to me tighter. “I thought it was… there was somebody… Kelly, they know where we are.”
“I know, baby. I know.” I released one hand and pushed the gun further away.
She lifted her head and fixed her gaze on me. “Then why did you fucking leave me? I told you not to do this.”
My eyes widened a fraction. Shaking my head, I said, “Tell me what happened.”
She replayed the events that led her to my bedroom. The sounds of an intruder. The shadows in the windows. The banging on the back door. “I’m not making this up.”
“I know, the house alarm was tripped,” I murmured as I threaded my fingers through hers.
“Oh my god, we have to get out of here.” She began looking around the room as if suddenly remembering where we were, understanding the situation we were in. “Who is doing this, Kelly?”
“I don’t know,” I whispered.
It could be Oscar, Marvin, Madam, or Rob Jones. They all seemed like reasonable choices to want to turn our lives upside-down once again. Or the mystery figure who broke into my apartment. I didn’t know.
“Madam must be using my phone to trace me,” Kendra said, holding up her phone.
I turned and glanced over my shoulder. Staring into the hall, I thought back to the mess we’d found at my apartment. Kendra knew as well as I did that this scare today was connected. As if reading my mind, she asked, “Is it here?”
Rolling my neck, I met her furrowed brow.
“Do you have it here?”
I shook my head. “No.”
“Shit, Kelly,” Kendra sighed. “Why can’t you just give what Madam wants and end this? I don’t know how much more I can take.”
Without telling her, I needed her to have the patience to let this shake itself out. Counting on the mayor to come through, we needed to do this right or risk digging our hole even deeper.
Kendra gripped my shoulders and leaned in. “What did the mayor say?”
Before I could answer, the mayor called my cell. Picking it up, I said, “What do you have for me?”
“Kelly, I thought you would like to know Oscar voluntarily offered to be put under the light.”
The crease between my brows deepened. “What, he turned himself in?”
I could hear the mayor smiling by the tone of his voice. “The detectives are interviewing him now.”
I stared into Kendra’s green eyes. “And what about the perp?”
“We’re still working on him. I’ll keep you posted as details shake out. I just thought you would like to know that Oscar must have felt that we were looking into him.”
“Thanks for letting me know,” I said, ending our call with a strange brew of satisfaction and suspicion mixing in my stomach. Turning to Kendra, I took her face between my hands. “That was the mayor. Oscar is being interviewed by the detectives. He turned himself in.”
“What does this mean?” she asked.
“Looks like we might have our first arrest soon.”
30
Kendra
Kelly’s coarse thumbs brushed away my tears.
I didn’t know what to make of the news. I wanted to rejoice but knew it was too early to celebrate.
When he pressed his firm lips over mine, I inhaled his spice-filled scent. Instantly, I relaxed, trusting Kelly had everything under control. I was sure that whoever was outside the house was now gone. It didn’t matter. As long as Kelly kept me tucked inside his arms, everything would be all right.
Tipping my head back, he threaded his thick fingers through my hair.
My insides lurched and I hoped Kelly didn’t feel my body flinch under his touch. I couldn’t stop it if I tried. It was still too soon but I needed this. I wanted to make it work. Just like old times.
With hooded eyes, he laid me down. The weight of his body pinned me to the mattress. Suppressing the feelings of being trapped and claustrophobia, I hooked my foot around the back of his calf.
Kelly’s tongue prodded, coaxing my lips apart. Succumbing to the man I loved, I opened up and let his tongue swoosh against the tip of my own.
My back arched and lifted off the mattress.
Kelly’s hips thrust into my pelvis.
My hands roamed freely up and around his broad shoulders, ironing out each bump and ripple of muscle that flexed and pulled as he pressed harder into the foam bedding by my ears. He deepened the angle of our kiss.
Suddenly, my eyes flew open and my core tensed.
Where once sparks flew, I now shriveled up inside. Squeezing my thighs around his tight waist, the melting point never tipped over the edge. My vagina was dry; no feelings for Kelly’s masculine needs. I hated myself for it. I wanted this more than anything else. Needed things to go back to how they were before everything turned to shit.
Turning my head, Kelly peppered kisses down my neck.
This wasn’t how things were supposed to be. I didn’t care about our contract or the agreement we’d made. As far as I was concerned, it was void the moment real life reared its ugly head and gave us reason to fight for a tomorrow. Kelly eased me into this relationship and would have to work his way in again.
Gripping his round skull with both my hands, I pealed his lips off of me. “I can’t do this.”
His chest heaved as he worked to catch his breath.
“Not now. Not until the bruises are healed.” It was an excuse, one he probably wouldn’t believe.
Kelly cast his gaze to my tender flesh. But the bruises I was referring to were internal—psychological trauma that was always the toughest to overcome.
He nodded and sat back on his heels, his shoulders hunching forward from the pain of rejection.
That look alone did me in. It was a look I wouldn’t have noticed only weeks ago. Kelly kept his emotions hidden—always presenting himself as if he maintained control of whatever the situation was. This was my punishment for selfishly pursuing a life of exoticism. I reaped what I sowed. It was only a matter of time before the past I’d run away from caught up with me again. It was poorly timed but I knew it was coming. It wasn’t our decision to make. Fate knocked on our door when we least expected it.
I reached for his fingers. They went limp in my hand. He didn’t say so but I could see how badly I had hurt him. And, even worse, I was afraid that if I couldn’t give myself to him soon, he would move on and find a new squeeze.
“It’s just going to take more time,” I said, flipping my legs over the side of the bed.
Kelly watched me stand. “I hate that she did this to you.” He held my stare. “We would have been good for each other.”
I felt my heart stop. Past tense. He was speaking as if we were already finished. Making sure my voice was strong, I swallowed before saying, “We still can be great for each other.”
He smirked, but I could see the doubt swirling around his dark pin-pricked pupils.
Turning my back, I hid myself away in the bathroom. I dropped my face into my hands and cried until there was nothing left, wishing that I was stronger than I was.
31
Kelly
When I glanced in the rearview mirror, I caught Patrick’s bright gaze staring back at me. The twinkle of curiosity shining on his face made a smile curled my mouth. He mirrored my motions and pride filled my chest full.
Suddenly, a car horn blasted.
Sweeping my gaze back to the road, my pupils opened wide at the sight of a dark Bronco speeding directly toward us. I yanked the wheel to the right, hoping to avoid a head-on collision. The wheels locked, immediately flipping us onto our side. We rolled and didn’t stop. The sounds of metal crunching were intense as the air bag popped, catching my head and bones in a life-saving pillow.
Patrick screamed from the back and then stopped before it was over. Cringing with pain, warm liquid spilled from my broken nose and soon filled my mouth with the metallic taste of blood.
“Patrick,” my voice called.
No response.
The car hissed out liquids as steam and smoke spewed from beneath the crinkled and damaged hood.
“Patrick, talk to me,” I called, managing to unbuckle myself. Fighting my way around, I knew the moment I saw him that my son was dead.
No!
My eyes flew open in a sweat. Gasping for air, the pain of having to relive that day was enough of a trigger to spark a relapse in my struggle with depression. Not having the will to go forward, it would be easier to die today.
Her narrow wrist slid over my chest and landed on my beating heart.
Pressing her body up against mine, I closed my eyes, let out a shaky breath, and kissed her forehead. She kneaded my chest with her nails. I breathed, swallowed, and caught my breath.
I feared my dreams would come out in the open and be revealed for Kendra to see. It was the last thing I needed to happen. Not with her dealing with her own life’s traumas. It was important for one of us to always remain strong.
She didn’t say anything but I knew her eyes were round and open. When she blinked, her lashes tickled my flesh. I glanced to the clock. Twelve past six. The sun was back today, and that was promising.
“About last night,” I muttered, trailing my fingertips down her spine, “if I did something wrong—”
When she angled her head and faced me, her hooded lids fell over seduced looking eyes. Pressing her moist lips over mine, the room spun and I closed my eyes.
Without thinking, my hand cupped the round globe of her ass, neatly packaged in a thin laced thong that thickened my cock with renewed life.
She held her lips on mine, our cold tongues gently prodding against the other.
The intense need to push myself inside her wound tightly in my stomach. I squeezed harder. Thrashed my tongue with added passion. My balls tightened and my cock steeled.
Kendra swirled her tongue and wedged her hand under the elastic waist of my boxers. Her fingers wrapped around my shaft like a thick glove causing my stomach to flex. Pumping her wrist, I tugged on her small body harder.
This was what I wanted—what we needed. The intimate connection to be reminded that she was mine and I was hers.
“I want to be there for you as much as you’re here for me.” Her words came out in hot little rasps.
“We’re in this together.”
She pressed her palm over the sensitive skin around my crown, getting my hips to involuntarily jerk. “Fuck me, Bella. Fuck me hard.”
Instead, she disappeared under the sheets and took my dick in her mouth. The heat of her mouth nearly did me in. My eyelids fluttered closed as I gasped and settled into the ride.
She swirled her tongue over the tip, swallowing down the sword of flesh, before spitting me out and flicking my crown with the tip of her tongue until my body began to sweat.
Lifting my hands above my head, I gripped the pillow tight. My face pinched as I felt the ball of fire spin at the bas
e of my spine. Pushing my heels deep into the mattress, I bucked my hips in tiny bursts. Bella unhinged her jaw and, when she slid her finger to my anus, I exploded into her mouth.
I blinked.
Stars flashed over my vision.
Kendra stayed hidden under the sheets until I went limp. I watched her slide out at the foot of the bed and sway her hips into the bathroom. She never looked back, never seeming to care to know how she left me feeling sedated and alone.
With the door cracked, I heard the shower turn on a second later.
She was trying to fix our relationship, and so was I. But something was still off. It was like we were going through the motions of what we were supposed to do instead of doing it from the heart. I didn’t know what to do so I went back to doing what I did best.
Pulling my boxers back up over my hips, I was anxious to see what had come of Oscar’s interview. His confidence to serve himself up to the detectives’ interrogation had me worried. But if the detectives did their jobs, and the mayor followed his gut instinct and the perp revealed how Oscar was behind the hit placed on Mario, then maybe things would finally go our way for once and we could get back to living our own lives.
I turned and stared at the bathroom. Imagining Kendra in the shower, alone, I knew that it was she who deserved my attention now.
Peeking my head inside the humid en-suite, she had her back to the door. I padded to the shower on heavy heels, determined to not miss my chance at making it feel like we weren’t on the edge of losing each other. The hot air spilled out the moment I opened the door and slapped my face awake.
Kendra spun around and gave me a questioning look.
I stepped forward. She stepped back.
There was a hesitation in her eye—a look that I wasn’t familiar with, and one I certainly didn’t want to meet. But I pursued, not willing to give up on her just yet.
My fingers extended when I reached for her hips. She froze as water splashed off the backs of her shoulders. I wasn’t after more sex. Seeing her broken body was enough of a reminder to know that it still needed time to heal.
