Six months later…
“THANKS, I’LL LET HER KNOW. No, I’m sure she’ll be happy to hear. Thanks, Stephens. You too.” I hang up the phone and pour a large glass of scotch. I look at the time and know Jensen should be home any minute. Just as I take my first sip, I hear the door open to our small cottage off the Italian peninsula.
“Damien? You home?” she calls out, her voice doing things to me. It’s the sound of contentment and happiness when she’s near.
“I’m in the kitchen, pet.” I take another sip of my drink. She enters the small room and tosses her school bag on the table.
“Hi. I didn’t know if you’d be home or out scouting places to photograph.” She comes straight to me, placing her lips to mine.
“How was class?”
“It was stupefacente!” she boasts. Her Italian is almost perfect. When my girl wants something, she goes after it. Five short months, she has almost perfected the language. I kiss her again, and this time, she wraps her arms around me, giving me the closeness I crave.
“Celebrating something?” she asks, and I wonder what she’s referring to, then realize the scotch she tastes on my lips.
“Depends on how you see it.” She looks at me, trying to figure out my meaning. “Commissioner Stephens just called.”
Her smile falls. “What did he have to say?”
I worry about how she’ll take the news. It’s been a tough road getting her back to herself. I don’t want anything setting her back.
“Sylvia had her trial today.” I hate the name that dulls her smile. If I could go back in time, I would murder her myself, just so Jensen would no longer feel scared. We knew this day was coming. The last news we heard, Daddy was spending a lot of money to twist her condition and get her reduced time in a psych ward. She could be up for possible release in as little as three years. That didn’t sit well for either of us.
The night Jensen was rescued was one of the scariest nights of my life. Finding her in that condition still haunts me. But the information that was brought to our attention just before was even more disturbing. On the way to the woods, I called Commissioner Stephens and had him run Sylvia’s record. Turns out, she had spent most of her adolescence in a mental institution. She tried to kill her mother when she was a small child because her father showed more affection toward her mother instead of her. Her father covered it up, and Sylvia did her time. That was just one of many stunts she had gotten herself into that Daddy covered up. The obsession with Jensen was just another day in the life for her. When Christine went to Sylvia’s room to search for her, she discovered her obsession with me. Pictures of me everywhere. Snapshots of Jensen and I, with Jensen’s face scratched out or stabbed with a knife. Most had Sylvia’s face in her place. That’s how I knew how to approach her that night. And I thank God I did, because I think it saved Jensen’s life.
Jensen spent over a week in the hospital recovering from her wounds. Some were superficial, whereas others were no doubt going to leave scars. Not to mention the mental scars. Jake was pronounced dead on the scene. They said he hadn’t been dead long, which meant he suffered for some time before death took over. Jensen had a hard time with that. I was glad that motherfucker was dead for what he did to her, but her sweet heart felt sorry for him. No one deserved death as a punishment for their mistakes.
Sylvia was arrested that night and charged with first-degree murder, kidnapping, and attempted murder. Her father was there to save her, but even he couldn’t cover up the murder. This time, she would pay for what she’d done. It didn’t mean though he wasn’t fighting tooth and nail to minimize her sentence.
“Just tell me and get it over with. I’m fine. It won’t affect me.” I stare into her eyes, knowing she’s lying. Anytime we get a call about the past, her nightmares return. My guilt returns, and it sets us back to a time we both want to forget. “Damien, I promise. I know I’m safe here. I feel safe. You make me feel safe.”
I drop my lips to hers. She always claims I’m her savior… If I hadn’t shown up, Sylvia would have taken her life. She would be dead. It fucking guts me anytime she says that. At times I’ve lost my shit and exploded on her for her choice of words. Even the mention of possible death. To think, if I hadn’t gotten there when I had, she could be dead…I’d never forgive myself.
“Damien. Spit it out.”
“She was denied the lesser plea. Jake’s parents’ lawyer made a strong case. Our lawyer came through, and your video testimony held in court. You don’t have to go back.” There’s a blast of relief in her eyes. Most of her nightmares revolve around facing Sylvia again. “Also, two more girls in the sorority have come forward claiming Sylvia attacked them a couple years back. We won. They denied her transfer, so she’ll stay at the county ward. No spa facility for her, the original plea stands. Thirty to life.”
She releases the breath she’s been holding since I began talking. There’s relief in her eyes. She was worried Sylvia would walk. I cup her face, kissing her gently. “She’s never going to hurt anyone again.”
“I know.”
“No one is going to hurt you again.”
Her eyes fill with tears. “I know,” she repeats. It’s hard for her to accept, but she knows I’ll never let anyone, or anything hurt her ever again. She pulls away, and I frown at the absence of her warm body pressed against mine. She reaches for my glass and takes a hefty swig. I can’t help but smile at my girl. Not a single twitch of her lip at the stiff scotch. She truly is fierce in her own way.
I can’t stand the space between us any longer and wrap my arm around her waist, pulling her back into me. I bend down and snuggle my nose into her hair. I love her scent. She smells of beauty, innocence, and peace. Her arms are back around me, and I want to say fuck the idea I’m about to suggest and carry her to our bed and lick, suck, fuck every single part of her. But this isn’t about me.
I slightly pull away. “How about we go out and celebrate? We’ll head into town and take the gondola up to Venice. I’ll bring the camera and we can search out a small eatery. One with cheese and crepes and wine, and everything else my girl likes.”
Five months ago, I asked Jensen to come with me, anywhere. Just away from Chicago. Nothing was holding me there. The insurance concluded arson on the club. Jake was identified in the tapes as the person who set the fire. The payout was even larger than the sale I had written up, so I was all-around satisfied. Fredrick was in the wind. He was cleared of any wrongdoings and took off. Patricia’s death was ruled an accident. The university held a beautiful memorial.
Kade’s body was never found. No remains were recovered in the wreckage of the fire. They eventually ruled him deceased and closed the books on his case. Later, when the trial first began, Fredrick’s testimony informed us he pinpointed the death of Patricia on Kade, telling the jury about his captivity and her being locked in my office. He was smart to keep my name out of it, saying it was all Kade’s doing. The guilt of his death still sits heavy on me. There was no family to contact. Not a single person I was able to find, so I spared no expense with a funeral and plot.
It was shortly after the memorial I knew it was time to leave the past behind. I knew Jensen felt the same way. As hard as her friend tried, her friendship with Christine was unfixable. Christine’s parents pulled her out and enrolled her in a college closer to home.
Due to the circumstances, the university made an exception with her scholarship, but she was still struggling. Even with the leeway, she was on the verge of losing her funding. So, when she showed up at the hotel I was staying at, my bed was covered with pamphlets. I told her I would go anywhere as long as it was with her. I confessed our time together may have been short, the way we met unconventional, but I told her the facts. I was in love with her, and I wanted her by my side if she’d stay with me. And then I asked her to pick.
Two weeks later, she was enrolled in the University of Verona. We rented a small cottage off the shore, close to her school, and were on a plane to Rome. The rest is history.
“And if you’re a good date, we’ll get a room for the night and I’ll let you take complete advantage of me.” I wink, knowing just how much she likes it when I allow her full control in the bedroom.
Thoughts of Sylvia are gone from her eyes, naughty little ideas taking over as her smile breaks through. “What kind of crepes?”
I grab her ass and squeeze, pulling her against my already hard cock. “Strawberry and chocolate. Extra whip cream.”
That fucking smile.
I’m forever fucked with her.
“I must say, Spawn, you sure do have good taste.”
I drop my lips to hers. “I have exquisite taste.”
The end.
Want to know what really happened to Kade?
Duh!
Stay tuned…