Her face went pale, and her jaw dropped with shock.
"Are... are they okay?" she gasped.
"They are, but a 10th grader, Kendrick Green, he got shot, and he's not doing so well. He's in surgery now," I informed her.
"Oh no... Kendrick is in my English class! He's such a nice boy! Is he... he's not going to... will he?"
"He's not going to die. He'll be okay, eventually, but it's going to take a while to recover."
Tears were forming in her eyes now. "D-did Leon sh-shoot him?"
"No, he didn't – but he knows who did. He and William know the guy, and they've both run off somewhere. Now we need your help. Do you think you can help us? All we want to do is find out from William and Leon who the shooter is. That's all. We're not going to do anything bad to them. Do you think you can help us with that?"
She nodded, biting her lower lip as she fought back the tears. "But, h-how can I help?" she asked.
"All I need for you to do is call Leon and ask him if he wants to come over here to hang out. If he does, great, we'll talk to him here. I suspect that he won't, though. So, just casually find out where he is, but don't ask too many questions about it, alright? We don't want to put any pressure on things between the two of you by letting him know you helped us, because he and William, they, uh, they might not be too happy about answering our questions."
"Alright... alright, I'll call him now."
"Thank you so much, Megan. You're doing a good thing here," I assured her.
She got out her phone and dialed Leon. Ben and I waited with bated breath, and then we both grinned as he answered, and he and Megan started talking. But before I could listen in on their conversation, my phone rang. It was Vivienne, so I walked out of earshot and answered.
"Hi, Vivienne," I said as I answered. "Is everything alright?"
"The hospital just called," she said. "It's about Jane. She's finally awake. She's asking for you."
Chapter Nineteen
Vivienne
"Alright... Um, damn, how am I gonna do this?" Everett asked. "I have to see Jane, obviously. She's my little angel, and I've been worried sick about her the whole time she's been in the hospital. We were just about to get info on where the two kids are hiding out – the ones we need to question about the identity of the shooter."
"Well, the hospital said that Jane wants to see you now," I replied.
" Alright. I'm going to take two minutes and see what info we can get right now, and then I'll call you back," he said.
"Sure thing."
I cut off the call and waited for Everett to call me back. After around a minute, the phone rang.
"The kids have skipped town. They're apparently hiding out in LA."
"So, what are you going to do?" I asked.
"Well, right now I'm going to go over and see Jane…"
"Can I come with you?"
"Of course. I'll pick you up on the way."
"Alright, see you soon."
I hung up the call and turned to Jimmy.
"Everett is on his way over," I said. "Do you want to stick around and say hi to him? He and I are going to the hospital right away, so there won't be much time to relax and talk."
"I need to have a few beers with him and have a good chat," replied Jimmy. "But I guess that will have to be another time. Still, I'll wait here until he gets back, and then I'll say a quick hi and bye, and after that, I'll head on home."
"Alright."
We carried on chatting until we heard Everett's truck pulling into the driveway.
"You stay inside," Jimmy instructed. "Remember, we don't know if Simon is watching the street. You'll have to be pretty secretive about things until he's caught."
"I know," I replied with a sigh. "It makes things difficult, though."
"Yeah, it does," he replied with a sympathetic look on his face. "But there really isn't anything we can do about that right now. Anyways, it was nice to meet you, and I'm sure I'll see you again soon."
"Likewise. Thanks for everything, Jimmy; I owe you one."
"Forget about it!" he said with a cheerful laugh.
He headed out, and I heard him and Everett talking in the driveway, and after a minute or two I heard Jimmy's car leaving. After that, Everett walked in. We stared at each other for a moment, and then I ran up to him and threw my arms around him. He wrapped his strong arms tightly around me, and I instantly felt safer.
"I'm so sorry about this thing with Simon," he said. "You must be feeling pretty on edge right now."
"I was ... until you came back. Now I feel safe and protected."
He smiled, and we kissed briefly.
"I'm glad you feel that way. And I'm going to do everything in my power to keep you safe from that maniac. I'm not going to let him get within a mile of you; I promise you that."
"Thank you, Everett."
"What do the police know about him? How much have you told them?" he asked me.
"I told them everything."
"All of it? About the name change and having to move across the state, all of that?"
"All of it. They seemed very sympathetic, and they assured me they'd pick him up and bring him in if he was seen anywhere, as he is now the primary suspect for the break-in at my daycare."
"Alright, good. But even though they're out looking for him, it doesn't mean you're safe. We have to take every possible precaution to ensure your safety at all times. We can't get complacent about anything."
"Believe me; I know that, Everett. This guy is very, very smart, sadly, and he'll be looking for any way he can to get to me."
"Well, I'm fairly intelligent as well, and with you and Jimmy on this as well, we'll outsmart this jerk, I guarantee it."
"I hope so," I sighed. "I really do."
"We will," he said, giving me a quick and reassuring squeeze. "Are you ready to go?"
"Yeah."
"Jimmy and I talked, and we think it's best that you—"
"Sneak in and out of the house, I know, I know," I said, completing the sentence.
"Okay, good. My truck is just in front of the garage. If you go around the back of the garage, you can get to the passenger's side without being seen from the street."
"Ugh, it's just so inconvenient and annoying," I said, rolling my eyes. “I can’t believe this asshole is still controlling my life like this.”
"I know. But we have to be cautious. I'll go start up the truck. When you hear the motor running, you can come out and go around the back of the garage. Remember to lock the door, okay?"
"Okay."
I waited for him to start the truck, and then I did as he instructed. As I got in, he turned and spoke to me.
"Okay, now you need to keep your head down until we're at least a few blocks away. If Simon is hiding out somewhere around here or has set up a few cameras, we don't want him seeing that there's anyone else in the truck. Soon he's gonna figure out that you're no longer staying at your house, and he's gonna start digging. But until then, we have to be secretive."
"Yes, I know," I said, shaking my head. Still, I did as he said and ducked down so that I couldn't be seen from outside the truck.
After we had driven a few blocks, I finally got up and sat normally, feeling relieved. I couldn't believe this was happening. How the hell had Simon found me after everything I'd done to keep my location and identity secret? I had thought that changing my name, moving and cutting off all ties from my old life would have been enough to stop him – but that didn’t seem to be the case. I honestly had no idea how we would go about stopping him, short of putting him in jail. But even if the cops did catch him, I wasn't sure how it could be proven that he had been the one who had broken into my daycare. The cops had combed the scene, and there were no fingerprints or other evidence that could link him to the crime. I was starting to feel hopeless about this; it was like living with a type of cancer that couldn't be treated. No matter what I did, I just couldn't live a normal life. It seemed like I would forever be doomed
to an existence of hiding and running.
The thought was almost too crushing and depressing to handle. I struggled not to have a mental breakdown right there next to Everett in his truck – but somehow I managed to hold myself together.
We reached the hospital, and after Everett had parked the truck, we headed inside and went straight to Jane's room. She was in bed and didn't look so good, but at least she was awake. When she saw us, a huge smile spread across her cute little face.
"Daddy! Vivienne!" she cried.
Tears welled in his eyes as he looked at his little girl, and a surge of emotion crashed through me. I fought back the urge to tear up myself. He rushed over to her and picked her up carefully, cradling her in his arms.
"Hey, my little sweet pea," he said, his voice choked with emotion. "How are you feeling? Daddy has missed you so much, so very, very much."
"I'm still not feeling good, Daddy. I'm real hot. But then sometimes I'm real cold, too. My head hurts. And my tummy hurts. My tummy hurts real bad. I don't want to eat because it makes my tummy hurt more."
"I'm so sorry, my little angel," he said hoarsely. "But you're gonna feel better really soon, alright? I promise you that. The doctors are working hard to make sure you feel better."
"I don't like staying here, Daddy. I want to go home."
"I'm sorry, sweet pea, but you can't. You have to stay here because otherwise, the doctors can't make you better."
"But ... can't the doctors come to our house? Can't I stay there, and they come see me?" her little voice trembled.
"I'm sorry, sweet pea, but you have to stay here. The doctors can't come to our house."
We sat and talked with Jane for another half hour or so until a doctor came in.
"We're going to give her some sedatives now," he said gently. "She needs a lot of rest. This should help her rest for the entire night."
"Alright," Everett sighed. “I’ll just wait here until she falls asleep.”
He kissed her on the forehead and squeezed Jane’s hand.
Thirty minutes later, she was sleeping peacefully.
"I'm so sorry, Everett," I said. "It must hurt terribly to see her like that."
"Like no one would believe," he said. "But at least she's getting better. I just pray that the speed of her recovery gets a little faster. I don't want her here by herself for a moment longer than she needs to be."
"I understand, and I hope that she gets out soon, too."
"Let's go," he said with a sigh. "I don't know about you, but I'm pretty damn tired. Let's just get some takeout and veg out in front of the TV for a while."
"We can do that."
***
We were curled up together on the sofa, watching the final credits of The Big Lebowski roll. Both of us had laughed a lot during the movie, and it had certainly helped us each to get our minds off the things that were worrying us.
"Thanks for a nice evening," I said to Everett, cuddling to him.
He kissed me softly and hugged me closer.
"Thank you for being there for me. I'm glad you're here."
I looked up to find a deep, intense passion smoldering behind his stare, and a stirring bubbled inside me. Everything in me wanted him. By the way he was looking back at me, he was feeling it, too. Our lips met and parted, and soon a voracious hunger took over. After unbuttoning and opening my blouse as we kissed, he slipped his strong hands deftly under my shirt, reaching for my breasts. I reached behind my back with eager fingers and unclipped my bra, allowing him access, and then I dropped my shirt from my shoulders.
With my breasts free, he cupped each once gently in his sizeable hands and started massaging them, rubbing his thumbs gently over my nipples, which soon began to stiffen and swell with joyous arousal.
I, meanwhile, unbuttoned his shirt and pulled it off of him as his tongue continued to dance with eager enthusiasm in my mouth. I traced my fingers flirtatiously over his hulking muscles, experiencing each ridge and peak and valley of his hard, granite-like physique with my fingertips. At my light, teasing touch, he shuddered with pleasure and increased the pressure with which he was caressing my breasts.
My nipples were now swollen with arousal, full and stiff with pleasure. I began to move my hand down, tracing the contours of his abdomen. As I reached the top of his jeans, I started to unbutton them.
He pulled his mouth away from mine and began nuzzling my neck and throat, teasing me with sharp little nips and gently pressing his teeth against my flesh. His breathing was heavy, and I could almost hear his heart hammering in his chest. I knew that when I unleashed his manhood, it would be fully aroused and ready for action.
With fingers moving slowly with a teasing eagerness, I unzipped his jeans and positioned myself for what I wanted to do next. Then, with one swift yank, I pulled them down around his knees. His cock sprang eagerly out, directed skyward with the swollen intensity of arousal. I wrapped my fingers appreciatively around its substantial girth and began rubbing my hand up and down its equally generous length.
He shuddered and gasped with pleasure. His hands slid from my breasts and caressed down my sides as his mouth left trails of heated kisses in their wake until he was swiftly unbuttoning my jeans. Pushing them down my thighs, he began to kiss and nibble, moving closer and closer to my center which was growing wet and swollen with hungry excitement beneath his touch.
He slid my panties down, exposing me completely. A ravenous hunger for him exploded in me, and I was beginning to lose every ounce of self-control I possessed. I wanted him so badly, so madly at that moment, my blood was near boiling, and my heart pounded with the furious thumping of a jackhammer inside my chest. He began to edge his eager mouth toward the meeting of my thighs, but instead, I stopped him.
"No," I whispered.
"You don't want to do this?" he asked, confused.
"It's not that," I purred, "it's that I want you – no, I need you – inside me, right now. I can't wait any longer."
He kissed me deeply, penetrating my mouth with his hot, keen tongue, and scooped me up in his arms. He swiftly made his way to the bedroom and gently laid me down on the bed as he positioned himself on top of me. I parted my legs to allow him access and helped guide his steel-hard cock into me, inch by glorious inch until it filled me. We both let out long, intense gasps of pleasure as he filled me and began thrusting, slowly at first, but increasing the tempo and pressure with every successive stroke. He slipped his hands through mine, and we held hands tightly as our love-making became more and more intense.
With every powerful thrust, a wave of bliss ripped through me, pulsing and shooting from my center to every part of my being. I could feel an orgasm building with force inside me.
Everett moaned and shuddered with pleasure, sweat glistening on his hard muscles as he began to thrust with an almost animalistic fervor, stoking the fires of my orgasm. Every stroke was coming fast and hard, and each one blasted an even more intense wave of pleasure through me than the previous one. My orgasm was imminent, and with unbridled intensity, it surged through every cell of my body. I cried out with pleasure as it ripped through me, sending sheer bliss through every inch of me, and making me feel so closely connected to Everett that it was if I had become part of him.
He slowed his rhythm and allowed me to catch my breath, but remained inside me.
"Holy hell, that felt so good. That was so intense..." I mumbled between breaths.
He grinned, sweat glistening on his handsome face.
"I hope you're ready for more," he said. "Because I'm far from done. In fact, I'm only just getting started..."
And then, still tingling from the waves of the first orgasm, he began to thrust again, and I soon felt the stirrings of yet another one coming on.
Chapter Twenty
Everett
I woke up with Vivienne sleeping peacefully in my arms and realized that it had been a very, very long time since I had woken up like this. I had slept peacefully through the night, having been able
to quit worrying, even if only temporarily, about both Jane and the saga at school. I leaned over, trying not to wake her, and looked at my clock; it was seven in the morning, far later than I usually stayed in bed. Still, there was no doubt I needed a bit of a sleep-in after all the stress of everything that had happened, and everything that was still going on. It was still rather early, so I tried to be quiet.
Despite how careful I'd been in moving, Vivienne started to stir. She opened her eyes and smiled, and then leaned in and squeezed me tightly. I hugged her back, and we simply lay like that for a while, with the morning sunlight coming in bright golden shafts through the gaps in the drapes.
Eventually, we disengaged, and I smiled at her when her eyes finally fluttered open.
"Morning, beautiful," I said. "How'd you sleep?"
"Outstanding," she muttered lazily.
"That was quite a night."
"Yes, it was," she replied with a flirty grin. "I haven't had a night like that in... maybe ever."
"I haven't either; I really needed it."
"I'd venture to say that makes two of us," she said.
“Give me a minute to call the hospital and see how Jane is doing, then I’ll be right back. After a quick call and an assurance from the nurses that Jane was doing okay and still asleep, I turned my attention back to the woman in my bed.
"Let's throw on some music," I said. "I always like to listen to music in the morning."
"Sure thing."
I went over to my CD collection, which I browsed through for a while. I grinned as I spotted a record that I thought would be ideal.
"Hey, I'm gonna play a song for you," I said to her, smiling cheekily.
"Alright," she replied, smiling curiously.
I took the CD out of its case and popped it into the stereo, and then skipped to the track I wanted. I hit “play” and started nodding my head as the opening guitar riff started coming out of the speakers.
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