by Lea Kinkade
When she thought they had run out of questions, she noticed Decker and Jim looking at each other questioningly. They both turned their attention back to Abby, and Jim spoke first.
“The thing is, Abby, that we’re trying to figure out what made Hernandez crack yesterday. From all the evidence we’ve gathered from his house and truck, we don’t think he planned on kidnapping you yesterday. Can you think of anything that happened that would have caused him to make his move yesterday rather than wait until he had all of his arrangements in place? There is definitely evidence he planned on trying to kidnap you, but most of the items he was planning to use were still in a bin at the house—duct tape, bandannas, handcuffs—that sort of thing. He didn’t have them with him in the truck. So, we don’t think he was ready to make his move just yet. Think back. Can you think of any reason he would have stepped up his plans?” asked Decker.
Abby was silent as she relived the events from yesterday, thinking about everything she said and did after Jaime arrived on the scene. She remained silent as she went through what happened frame by frame. That’s when she suddenly remembered.
“Oh my God!” she exclaimed. “How could I have forgotten?” She looked at Dillon beseechingly, silently begging him to forgive her for forgetting the most important news she had ever received.
“What is it, baby? What did you remember?” he asked her worriedly.
“Guys, can I have a couple of minutes alone with Dillon?” she asked.
“Abby, we’re almost done here. Can’t it wait a few minutes?” asked Jim.
“No. It can’t. Please, just excuse us for a few minutes. We’ll be right back.” Looking at Dillon, she could tell he was as confused by her request as the other men were.
“Dillon? Would you come with me please?” Abby got up from the table and headed out of the kitchen toward the bedroom. She didn’t look back to see if Dillon was following her. She could hear his footsteps behind her on the hardwood floors. When she got to the bedroom, she waited by the door until Dillon entered the room and she closed the door softly behind him.
“What’s going on, baby? What do you need to talk to me about?” He looked utterly confused, and she couldn’t hold back her grin as she took a good, long look at this man that she loved so much.
“Do you remember why I went into Deseo yesterday?” she asked softly.
She watched his face closely as he frowned, obviously thinking back to the day before and trying to remember the reason she went into town in the middle of a work day. She saw the second that he remembered when his frown turned into a look of wonder.
“Shit,” he said softly, seeming at a loss for words.
“Yeah.”
“Really?” he asked in a husky voice.
“Really. We’re going to have a baby, Dillon Chisholm.” She continued to watch him closely, trying to gauge his mood. Was he happy? Disappointed?
“Holy shit, baby. We’re having a baby!” he exclaimed loudly. She was sure that anyone within hearing distance of the house could have heard him. Certainly the men in the kitchen now knew. He picked her up and swung her around in a circle, laughing in delight. After a couple of circles, he set her gently back on her feet, running his hands up and down her sides as if ensuring himself that she was all right.
Putting her hands on his face, she held him still for a sweet kiss. “You’re happy, then? Not wishing that we had more time before having kids?”
“Fuck no, Abby. I’m thrilled. Shit. Is everything okay with you and the baby? That bastard Hernandez didn’t do something to you that you haven’t told me about, did he?”
“No,” she assured him. “That’s not why I wanted to talk to you alone. I just didn’t want you to find out you were going to be a daddy in front of other people. I thought we should be alone, at least for the first time.”
“Thank you, baby. I’m glad you did that. I’d forgotten all about your seeing the doctor yesterday with everything that was going on.”
“I know. Me, too. I’m glad you’re happy. So am I. Let’s go back to the kitchen so I can explain to the county attorney why I think Jaime did what he did yesterday.”
Taking her hand, Dillon led her back into the kitchen. Both Sheriff Decker and Jim Mason stood up when the couple entered the room. Sheriff Decker had a big shit-eating grin on his face.
“Congratulations, you two. Sorry, we couldn’t help but overhear your good news. When’s the wedding going to be?” asked Decker.
“The sooner, the better as far as I’m concerned,” said Dillon. “Abby and I will talk about everything after we finish this. Go ahead, baby. Tell us what you think set Hernandez off yesterday.” They waited for Abby to sit and then took their seats. All eyes were on her.
“When he came up to me, I was getting out of my car to go back into Raymond’s to call Dillon to come get me. Jaime startled me, and I dropped my purse. Before I left the doctor’s office, they gave me several pamphlets on pregnancy and childbirth classes. I put them in my purse and they fell out when my purse landed on the ground. He bent down to help me pick up everything that fell out and saw the pamphlets. He got really angry.” Looking at Dillon, she went on, “He said…He said I shouldn’t be having a Chisholm brat then he tried to manhandle me into his truck. You know the rest.”
“That explains a lot. Anything else you can remember, Abby?” asked Jim Mason.
“No. That’s everything. What happens now?”
“Now, I put together the strongest case I can on every charge I can think of. Believe me, there are plenty. His initial appearance was this morning, and he was denied bail. A local attorney was appointed to represent him. The attorney has already requested a psychological evaluation. I’m not sure, at this point, if the attorney is trying to use Mr. Hernandez’s mental health as a defense or to get out of a trial all together. Hernandez was pretty out of it at the hearing,” explained Jim.
Dillon, who had been silent until now, exploded, standing up from his chair and accidentally kicking it over backward. “What the hell do you mean get out of a trial all together?”
Jim Mason didn’t show any emotion in the face of Dillon’s anger. Instead, he explained himself to Abby while Dillon pulled himself together, picked up his chair, and sat back down.
“Mr. Hernandez has a constitutional right to contribute to his own defense and understand the charges against him. If his behavior this morning wasn’t an act, he may be sent away to get mental health treatment until he can do that. If he never gets to that point, he could spend the rest of his life in an institution.”
“That’s fucking bullshit and you know it. This asshole is faking this to cover his ass,” said Dillon hotly.
“That’s what the psych eval is for.” Seeing that Dillon still wasn’t satisfied with that response, the prosecutor went on, “Look, let’s just wait and see what the doctors say and we’ll deal with whatever comes. I promise I’ll do everything I can to make sure this man isn’t a threat to Abby ever again. I’ll let you know when we get the results. There will be another hearing. It will probably be about two weeks or so.” Although the meeting seemed finished, neither man made a move to leave. The sheriff was holding a stack of pictures, facedown, in front of him.
“There is something else we should discuss. I think you need to be aware of what we found in Mr. Hernandez’s house. Once all the charges are filed, it will all be public knowledge, so I think you should both be fully prepared.” Abby didn’t like the sound of this. She reached out for Dillon’s hand, having a feeling she would need his support.
For the next half hour, the sheriff and the prosecutor detailed the items found in the master bedroom of Jaime’s house. The more she heard, the more Abby was convinced that Jaime Hernandez was a deeply disturbed individual. She was shown picture after picture showing that he had duplicated her bedroom at the apartment down to the last detail. The curtains, the comforter, the sheets, even the scented lotion she used were the same. It didn’t stop there. The dresser drawers we
re full of clothes, including tacky lingerie, as was the closet. All were in her size.
There were also some additions to the room that made Abby shudder. Each corner of the bed was fitted with restraints. The window had been fitted with metal bars to prevent escape. There was a large bin in the closet that contained all manner of sex toys. They had also found a lockbox in the second bedroom that contained a gun and what appeared to be the missing ketamine and several syringes.
However, what disturbed Abby the most were the framed eight-by-ten pictures on the walls. They were all of her. He’d taken pictures of her coming and going from her apartment as well as going about her business on the Ranch and doing errands around town.
When the sheriff handed her the last set of pictures, Abby blushed bright red. She looked at the first few until nausea overtook her and she ran to the bathroom, emptying her stomach in the toilet. Dillon followed her, of course. He held her hair out of the way even through the dry heaves. One of his hands held her hair while the other moved soothingly up and down her back trying to give her comfort. When she was done, he handed her a glass of water and she swished it around her mouth before spitting it into the toilet and flushing it.
“Did you see?” she asked hoarsely.
“No. I wanted to make sure you were okay. It’s bad, huh?” he asked as he continued to soothe her with his gentle touch. She nodded. Sitting down beside her on the floor, he pulled her into his arms and held her tight.
“Do you want to go back out there, or should I tell them you’re done? You don’t have to keep going. I’m sure they would understand.” Abby knew he just wanted to protect her, but she needed to see this all the way through. She wouldn’t screw up this case like she’d screwed up on her mother’s murder case. She would know and remember every detail of this and be able to testify as to everything that happened. She also knew that going through a trial would be much worse than looking at some nudes and partial nudes of herself taken when she thought she had total privacy. She needed to be prepared, so she needed to see everything they wanted to show her.
Steeling herself to face the two men that had obviously already seen the pictures and, therefore, had seen her naked, Abby took a deep breath and let Dillon help her off the floor. They headed back to the kitchen hand in hand. The men looked uncomfortable when she and Dillon walked back into the kitchen but, like typical southern gentlemen, they stood until she took her seat again. The pictures were still lying on the table where she had left them.
Abby picked up the stack and put the first three facedown on the table. She didn’t need to see them again. Each image was indelibly burned into her brain. Quickly looking through the remaining pictures, she placed each one, facedown, on the stack she had started after she looked at it. She didn’t offer them to Dillon.
“Anything else?” she asked in a tremulous voice.
“No, Abby. That’s everything.” Decker still looked as uncomfortable as she felt. “Just so you know, I photographed and catalogued all these pictures into evidence myself. I’m the only one, other than Jim here, who has seen them. I promise I will do my level best to make sure as few people see them as possible.”
“Thank you. Well, if that’s all, I feel the need for a hot shower. I’ll wait to hear from you. I appreciate everything you both have done.” With that, she took the stack of pictures that was lying in front of her and handed them to Dillon. She quickly headed down the hall to the bathroom to wash away the way those pictures made her feel.
Fifteen minutes later, Dillon joined her in the shower and pulled her body tightly against his. She could feel his body straining with angry tension, but he seemed to be making an effort to hide it from her. “I’m sorry, baby. I’d kill that bastard right now if I could.”
“I’m just so embarrassed. How many people are going to see those pictures? I lived on the second floor, for shit’s sake. How did he manage to get those pictures?”
“You have no reason to feel embarrassed, Abby. None of this was your fault. You were in your own home and, as you say, you were in a second-floor apartment. You had no reason to think someone was watching you. They think he got up to the roof on one of the buildings across the street and behind you and took the pictures. They’re sending some officers to check the roofs this morning. See which ones match the angle in the pictures. Find anything he may have left behind.”
He watched her closely, probably to make sure she wasn’t going to throw up again. No, she wasn’t going to lose it again. While she had showered and scrubbed her skin relentlessly, she had moved past the embarrassment of the situation and had moved on to anger. She was royally pissed at Jaime Hernandez. Who was this shithead to stalk her like he’d been doing? Who was he to violate her like he had? He was nobody and, thank God, he was wallowing in a jail cell now. Dillon was everything to her and he was right in front of her. He reached behind himself and turned off the water, handing her out of the shower and following close behind. Grabbing a towel, he gently toweled off her body then quickly dried himself off.
She reached for his hands and he let her touch him as she swept her hands up his forearms, meandering up his biceps, following the outline of his tattoo, to his wide shoulders. She moved so that she held his face in her hands. Standing on tiptoe and pulling his face down to meet hers, she gave him a burning kiss meant to titillate. She felt his cock growing thick and long where it was trapped between their bodies, the head touching her feminine heat. She wanted to make love with her fiancé. She wanted to know he wanted and needed her as much as she wanted and needed him, regardless of what Jaime Hernandez had done.
“Are you sure, baby? There’s nothing I want more than to sink my cock deep into your sweet heat, but I want to know this is truly what you want. You had quite a shock today.” He looked into her eyes, trying to gauge her mood as if wondering if she was up to what he needed from her now. Abby knew Dillon needed to reassure himself she was okay and stamp his ownership of her on her flesh. He needed to feel in control again, and he needed to know she still trusted him enough to cede that control to him. Letting him see the truth in her eyes, he leaned into her and kissed her slowly and deeply as his hands played over the swell of her ass, up over her back, until they were buried in her hair.
“I want you, Dillon. I need to know those pictures didn’t change anything between us. I need to know that you want and need me just like before. Take me, Dillon. I need it.” She took his hands in hers and led him into the bedroom, where she climbed onto the middle of the bed. He followed her and they went into each other’s arms as they kneeled there just leaning into each other’s body.
Bracing her hands on his strong shoulders, she kissed him, slow and deep. His hands played over the swell of her ass, up and over her back, until they were fisting in her hair. Her mouth followed the line of his goatee and shifted over to the sensitive hollow below his ear as she twirled her tongue around the small hoop in his ear.
Continuing her journey, her mouth traveled down his neck and bit the place where neck and shoulder met, causing him to growl low in his throat. Her fingertips moved greedily across his muscled chest where she tweaked his nipples. He allowed her to push him onto his back in the middle of the bed. Breathing him in deeply, she kissed her way down his body, over his flat, hard belly. Letting her hair fall around them, she slid her tongue down to his rampant cock and licked the drop of pre-cum that was weeping from his hard length.
At the touch of her tongue to the tip of his cock, he let out a groan, threading his hands through the hair that surrounded his cock and her mouth. With swirling licks and gentle sucks, she drew his cock deeper into her mouth. She wanted to lose herself in bringing him pleasure like he brought to her. She poured all the love she felt for him into every touch. Taking him in as deeply as she could, she continued to lick and suck his rigid cock. Her inner muscles tightened when he groaned again as she tongued the thick vein running down the length of his organ.
Abby wasn’t surprised when he dug his fingers
into her hair, tightening his hold as he guided her the way he wanted her. She knew his dominant side would take over as his need to protect her rose in him. Once again, he became the demanding, aggressive lover she needed him to be. He began to thrust in and out of her mouth.
Abby lost herself in the unique feel and scent of Dillon’s hard body. Concentrating on pushing everything else from his mind, she let him guide her mouth for his pleasure. Using her hands, she fondled his balls rougher than she would have before he had shown her what he liked.
Feeling his testicles drawing up tight against his groin, she knew he was getting close to release. The depth and speed of his thrusts increased as the tip of his cock touched the back of her throat repeatedly and she swallowed against the sensation. With one final groan, he surrendered his seed into the back of her throat as she drank it down greedily. He continued to thrust his cock into her mouth shallowly as she licked him clean. She finally released him from her mouth with a pop.
Licking her lips, she moved up his body and lay beside him as he brought his breathing back under control. Pulling her naked body tightly into his, he rested his chin on the top of her head as he ran his fingers gently through the strands of her hair.
“Baby, there are no words for what you just did. That was a ninety-nine on a scale of one to ten. Give me a few minutes to recover and I’ll take care of you. You’re amazing.” They lay there, bodies fitted tightly together, and basked in the chemistry they shared and the love they had for one another.
Dillon’s hands moved from their gentling touch along her side to tip her face to his, taking her lips with his. Softly at first, he teased open her lips, making way for his tongue. He kept his lips on hers, taking little nips and licks as he worshiped her mouth with slow, drugging kisses, causing her to sigh deeply into his mouth.
She knew he wouldn’t miss her nipples poking into his muscled chest. He slid his hands up her sides and over to tease the hard nubs, rolling and tugging just this side of rough. Knowing her nipples were sensitive, he knew just how to touch them to give her the greatest pleasure. She couldn’t help but respond to his demanding touch. He moved his attentions away from her breasts as he licked and sucked his way down to her belly and beyond.
