Kevin berating Cali brought Nick's attention back to the table. He picked up on the prick's slurred words, proving he had already overindulged in the freely flowing champagne.
"Wouldn't it be great if we had a little one to be going to sleepovers, Calista? Oh that's right, we won't get to enjoy that, will we, since you can't seem to perform your wifely duty."
Nick saw a shiver pass through Cali before she quietly answered her husband. "Please, Kevin. Not here. Not now."
He backed down. "You're absolutely right. We'll have a nice long talk about it when we get home, won't we?" Those words brought a full tremble to his wife.
The table fell quiet again. Nick wanted to deck the jerk, but settled for sending Kevin a threatening stare until the ass seemed to realize he'd gone too far.
After the dinner plates had been cleared, Veronica rose to excuse herself. "I'll be back in a few minutes. Be a dear, Nicholas, and order me a coffee."
Looking relieved that dinner was over, Tamara and James took the opportunity to get up and mingle, leaving Nick with the unhappy couple. He was about to rise to follow his wife to the restrooms when Kevin stood, abruptly leaving the table without even a word to his wife.
Nick was reluctant to leave Cali alone at the table, even if her own husband didn't seem to care. They sat alone in silence for several uncomfortable minutes before Cali broke the silence.
"You're different from most of the other men who work at Bennett, Bennett and Moore." She spoke quietly, as if she didn't want her father-in-law at the next table to hear her.
Nick wished she would look up so he could see those golden eyes again. "I'll take that as a compliment, Mrs. Bennett."
"Cali." She finally gazed up into his eyes, speaking with sincerity. "And that's good because I meant it as a compliment."
There was a sadness about her that wouldn't go away, even when she smiled. "I have a question for you, Cali, but I'm afraid it's impolite and inappropriate under the circumstances. Still, I'd like to ask."
She hesitated, surprised at his request. Her answer was quiet. "You can ask. I don't know if I'll answer."
Nick smiled kindly. "You are a beautiful woman, Cali and you seem like a very nice person. How the hell did you end up married to a prick like Kevin Bennett?"
He regretted asking immediately. Cali's quiet sadness had turned to panic. She looked around to see if anyone at the nearby tables was listening to their conversation. She relaxed only slightly when it appeared as if they were not being spied on. Still, she didn't answer the question. It hung in the air long enough that he wondered if she'd ever talk to him again.
When her eyes met his again, the sadness was back. "Funny. I've been wanting to ask you the same thing, Nick."
Nick sighed, understanding that everyone had to walk their own path. There were times he wished things had turned out differently too, but then he thought of Andi and his doubts vanished.
It was late by the time the party wrapped up. Nick steered Veronica to mingle with other partygoers when she returned from the restroom, salvaging the rest of the night. When they returned to their table to pick up Roni's clutch purse, Cali was gone. Nick saw her at the head table, listening to her mother-in-law babble non-stop. Sensing his eyes on her, she looked up. A sad smile came to her lips. Nick wished he could ease her sadness, but there was nothing he could do. He nodded in her direction before turning to follow Roni to the exit.
Cali lowered herself slowly into the driver's seat of her sedan. The over-the-counter pain medication she had taken this morning had long since worn off, leaving her body aching. As much as she hurt today, she was still better than yesterday. She had called in sick the day before, for the first time in her two years of teaching third grade at Franklin Elementary school, electing to stay home to give her strained muscles time to recover. She had been achy all day, but her co-workers just thought she was still recovering from the aftermath of the flu. They never needed to know it was the aftermath of an especially long and strenuous Kevin Bennett exercise session that had her in pain.
The drive from the school to their upscale suburban home was gratefully short. In fact, in better weather, Cali liked to walk to and from work.
The house was quiet when she entered the kitchen through the garage. She didn't expect her husband home until much later tonight. He had gratefully been out of town on business the night before, allowing her body a night off to recover. She knew better than to hope he would be detained another night.
Life had been particularly hellish in the two weeks since her last visit to the doctor. She prayed this was the month she would get pregnant. Things would be so much better once they had a baby on the way.
At first, Cali hadn't understood Kevin's big rush to have kids, but she had since found out the details of her grandfather-in-law's will. The man was as egocentric as they came, wanting to leave behind a legacy of decedents. It was so important to him, that his grandchildren would inherit shares of the sizable estate based on the size of their families. Considering they already lived in a house much too big and owned three vehicles for two people, Cali didn't understand her husband's urgency to get a bigger piece of the family pie.
Once upstairs, she swallowed another dose of Tylenol before slipping into a steaming hot bath until the ache of her muscles had eased.
After her bath, Cali fixed a simple grilled cheese sandwich, settling in to grade papers and read a book. The sound of her cell phone startled her. It was his ring.
"Hello Kevin."
"Hey. I'm gonna be stuck here another night. I won't be home until tomorrow night now."
Conflicting emotions invaded. Relief won. "That's too bad. I haven't taken my ovulation test yet, but it's gonna be any day. Do you think you'll be home tomorrow night?"
"Yes, Calista. I'll be home tomorrow night in time to service you properly. I haven't forgotten my duty as sperm donor."
His words sparked her anger. She was always so much braver over the phone than when he was there in person. "Do you even hear yourself? We're married, Kevin. I'm your wife. I think you're supposed to be a little more than just a damn sperm donor in my life."
"Dammit Calista, I'm not going to have this discussion over the phone."
"If not over the phone, then when?"
She heard a shuffle at his end. "Listen Calista, I know things have been kind of rough for us these last few months. I have my reasons for being so stressed. You're right. We should talk when I get home tomorrow." He spoke in the gentlest voice she had heard in months. It reminded her of the Kevin she had been in love with once.
Hot tears prickled. She was tired of being afraid. She wanted to trust her husband. "I'd like that Kevin. We can't go on like this anymore. Things have to change."
He was quiet long enough that she'd begun to think they'd been disconnected. "I can’t do this right now, Cali. I should be home early tomorrow. Why don't we go out to Rivers for dinner?"
Damn him. Just when she had her protective walls built around her heart, he would show her a glimpse of the Kevin she had thought she was marrying. His split personality seemed to be on the same biological clock as her menstrual cycle. Two weeks of hellish rutting followed by two weeks of making love. Her heart was developing a case of whiplash.
"I'd love that, Kevin."
"Go to bed. I'll see you tomorrow." He didn't wait for her reply. The call dropped.
It took her a few minutes to realize what was so different about their exchange. It was the first time he had called her Cali in months... even in private.
She dozed off thinking of how happy she had been when he had proposed at Rivers over two years ago and how much had changed since that magical night. Could they get back some of that magic tomorrow night?
The sound of a bell ringing followed by a pounding jarred Cali awake. The dark bedroom was quiet. Her husband's half of the bed was still empty. What had she been dreaming about that had woken her so abruptly?
She looked at the alarm clock on the bed st
and. It read 4:04am. She took a few calming breaths to settle her nerves. She was just lying down to try to get back to sleep when the doorbell rang.
Panic invaded. They lived in a safe neighborhood, but did someone know she was home alone tonight? Who could be at the door at this hour?
She knew Kevin had a handgun somewhere in the house, but she had never learned how to use it. She jumped up and ran to the window facing the front of the house. She pulled the gauze drape aside enough to peek out.
Panic turned to dread as she saw a police car in the driveway. Her mind raced to think of possible reasons for a visit by the police at this hour. Each scenario seemed worse than the one before. She rushed to her closet to grab her terrycloth robe before she rushed to the stairs, turning on the lights to the entryway to alert the police she was awake. The in-progress knocking stopped immediately.
Cali looked out the peephole. Standing on her porch were two uniformed police officers. They looked official, but she was still afraid. She wished Kevin were home with her to handle this.
She didn't want to open the door. "Hello officers. It's late. What's the problem?"
She watched through the viewer as the taller of the two responded to her question. "We're sorry to disturb you at this hour ma'am, but there has been an accident. We'd like to come in to discuss it with you."
An accident. Her first thought went to her father. She hadn't talked to him in months. "An accident? Was it my father?"
"Honestly, ma'am, we're not sure. If you'd open the door, we have a few questions for you. Perhaps you could help us sort things out."
Cali took a deep breath and unlocked the front door. A blanket of dread surrounded her as she let the two officers into the foyer. The shorter, stockier man reached out his hand with a business card extended. "I'm Officer Jackson and this is my partner, Officer Stanton. If you don't mind me asking, who might you be?"
The question was unexpected. They were standing in her foyer. Surely they knew who she was. "I'm Calista Bennett."
She didn't miss the quick glance between the men before Officer Jackson spoke. "And who is Kevin Bennett to you, ma'am?"
"Is Kevin in some type of trouble officer?"
"Just answer the question, if you would, ma'am."
Cali's voice quavered in her reply. "Kevin is my husband, but he is out of town on business this week. He'll be back tomorrow afternoon if you need to speak with him. What is this about again?"
It was Officer Stanton who spoke. "Perhaps we could sit down before we answer your questions."
Panic had her heart pounding in her ears. "I don't want to sit down. I just want to know why you're here."
Officer Stanton's eyes filled with pity before he spoke. "I'm sorry to tell you this, Mrs. Bennett, but we believe your husband was in an accident a few hours ago." He stopped long enough to take a small notebook out of the front pocket of his bulletproof vest. Flipping the pages, he finally continued. "Does your husband own a silver 2013 Audi R8?"
Her answer was a whisper. "Yes. It was a graduation gift from his parents when he passed the bar." The truth was sinking in. Kevin had been in an accident. "Let me go change my clothes. What hospital did they take him to?" Only then did Cali realize he hadn't even shared what city he was in. "He is on a business trip. Where do I need to go to see him?"
The officers hesitate. "I'm sorry to inform you that your husband died from his injuries."
Cali would have collapsed to the floor if Officer Stanton hadn't caught her. He let her lean on him heavily as he steered her to the nearby living room. They sat on the closest love seat and he wrapped his arm around her as unconscious tears overflowed down her cheeks. Her mind reeled. There had to be a mistake.
"Where did this happen?"
"On Interstate 395 headed into the city. Do you know where he might have been heading?"
"No! I told you. He is out of town." Relief invaded. She turned hopeful eyes on the officer. "Someone must have stolen his car! It had to be someone else in the car. Let me phone him."
The pity in his eyes had grown stronger. "I'm sorry, but we are almost certain it was your husband driving. He had his identification on him and they were able to identify him at the scene from his driver's license photo. Of course, the coroner will make absolutely certain in the autopsy."
"Autopsy? Wait. I don't believe it. It can't be Kevin! I just talked to him a few hours ago. We're going to Rivers tomorrow night for dinner." Her voice had taken on a manic quality, as her tears increased.
"We normally don't recommend family members identify their loved ones when the bodies have been traumatized by high speed accidents, but we honestly would appreciate it if you could accompany us to the morgue."
He hesitated long enough that Officer Jackson completed the request. "I'm afraid your husband wasn't alone in the car at the time of the accident. His companion didn't have any identification in the vehicle that they were able to find on the scene. If you feel up to it, we could sure use your help in identifying the other victim of the accident."
Other victim. Accident. Cali's mind was reeling. It was hard for her to focus. Had he been trying to come home tonight after all? If so, why had he been going in the wrong direction? And who was in the car with him? The officers gave her time to mull the devastating news around long enough that she started to formulate her own suspicions.
"It was a woman?" She finally asked, although it came out as more of a statement.
"I'm afraid so, ma'am. We came here unsure if anyone would be here. We thought perhaps it had been you in the car with him. Is there anyone else you can think of that he might have been with around midnight?"
Cali knew. She just knew. Still, it didn't make it easier to say. "No one he should have been with, no."
"I know it will be difficult, but could you please help us identify the other victim? We'd like to notify her next of kin."
Cali wanted to tell them she didn't give a damn about her next of kin, but even in the moment she knew that some other unfortunate family would be getting a visit exactly like the one she was suffering through to tell them someone they loved was dead. It wasn't their fault their loved one was a whore who dated married men.
Could she even do this? There was a slim chance she would know who the woman was, anyway. She knew it wouldn't be any of her friends or fellow teachers. They wouldn't do that to her. That left his business acquaintances.
"I don't know how much help I can be. I didn't know any of Kevin's associates except a few I met at the holiday party a few weeks ago."
"Still, it would be helpful if you'd try. Is there someone you can call to go with you?"
She thought of her best friend, Lucy, but dismissed the idea immediately. They had been arguing. Lucy was angry at Cali for letting Kevin treat her so badly. She wouldn't be able to hold her tongue and as angry as she would no doubt be one day at Kevin for cheating on her, at the minute all Cali wanted to do was cry at his sudden loss.
"No. I'll go alone. Let me change."
Cali moved on autopilot, refusing to let the news sink in deep enough to hurt her. She went through the motions of putting on a worn pair of jeans and a sweater. She slipped on a pair of flats and pulled her long, thick black hair back in a ponytail. Out of habit, she reached for her makeup. Kevin had made sure she always looked her best when she left the house. As she looked at the pale version of her disheveled self in the large mirror, the reality started to sink in.
Kevin was gone. He would never again be there to even notice how she looked. Emotions raged through her brain. Conflicting and confusing emotions she knew she needed more than a few minutes to examine. She forced them down deep, vowing to get through the next few hours and then she could collapse later when she was alone again.
The drive to the county morgue was gratefully short. With each minute that passed, she felt more numb. She was conscious enough to suspect she was in shock, but she was helpless to change it. She let herself be led by the two kind officers through a darkened bui
lding, quiet at five in the morning. They stopped outside a door with a plaque on the outer door labeling it as the County Morgue.
Officer Jackson sensed her fear. He wrapped his arm around her supportively. "We'll be there with you Mrs. Bennett. The coroner will pull back the sheet covering just the face of the victim long enough to see if you can identify her."
She didn't answer. It didn't seem like she needed to. He led her through the double doors, across the large room to a small alcove sectioned off by hanging draped partitions like you'd see at an emergency room. Her eyes flew to the two long tables sitting side by side, both covered with white sheets. Cali felt as if she were leaving her body, levitating above the surreal spectacle. It was as if she were living this scene through someone else's eyes. It seemed her brain knew it was the only way she could get through.
The three men in the room let her stand rooted to her spot until she finally looked up into the kind eyes of the elderly man she assumed was the coroner. He smiled a mourning smile he must have perfected over his decades in his grizzly job. "Mrs. Bennett, I'm sorry for your loss. This has to be very hard for you. I do appreciate you coming down here tonight to try to help us identify the second victim in your husband's car. I'm going to warn you. There was some obvious damage done in the accident. This won't be easy. I'll pull back the sheet covering the woman..."
Cali cut him off. "I want to see Kevin first."
"I don't think that's a good idea, Mrs. Bennett. I'm sure you'd rather remember your husband as he was alive. Not here tonight."
"I want to see Kevin. I need to see Kevin. I won't believe it was him until I do."
The three men share a concerned glance before the doctor walked around to the other body. Cali felt her feet move like lead to stand next to the doctor. She took a deep breath as he pulled the sheet back from the face of the dead body below. That brief second seemed to last a lifetime. She wasn't sure what she hoped in that moment. Life with Kevin had been difficult, but there was a small part of her that still loved him.
Twist (A BDSM & Romantic Erotica Boxed Set) Page 28
