Saving HER: A Brother's Best Friend Fireman Romance by Mia Ford (23)

Jack laughed, actually laughed, and leaned against one of the cars. “That’s cute.”

“Isn’t it?”

“It is.”

“Good, we both see eye to eye, then,” I smiled. “So, easy way or hard way?”

Jack shook his head, stepped closer and looked over my shoulder. “Hey, Jenni, can you tell your friend here to mind his own business,” he said. He looked me in the eye as he continued, “He might get himself hurt.”

I didn’t turn around, and silently cursed the fact that Jenni hadn’t stayed in the car. If things got messy, I didn’t want her close to the action where this dimwit could take advantage of her presence and use her against me.

“Kent’s really not the kind of place where you want to use a threat like that,” I said. “I mean, are you going to beat me with one of those flamingos?”

“No,” Jack said, pulling a switchblade out of his pocket and flipping the blade open. “Turn around and walk away.”

“You’re threatening a DEA agent, you know that, right?”

Jack smiled. “I said, walk away.”

I glanced down at the blade, then back at Jack. He was feeling big, confident that he was in charge of the situation. The fact that he had the audacity to even pull the blade out in the first place made my blood boil. It was one thing to not care about the local, small town authority, but it took a completely different level of ‘idiot’ to actually threaten an officer with a weapon. The smirk on his face didn’t help, either. It made me wonder just how much pull Heath and his friends had in Kent.

“I’d put that away, if I were you,” I said, the jovial tone in my voice gone now, my firsts curling.

Jack waved at me with the knife, gesturing for me to keep moving, his smug smile making matters worse. “Get moving before I decide to use this,” he said.

Without thinking twice, my hand shot out, almost as if by instinct. I grabbed his wrist, twisted hard, and pushed him against the car. He cried out in pain as the knife fell from his grip and clattered against the asphalt.

He threw a fist at me. I dodged, let go of his hand and threw one of my own, feeling a sharp pain in my knuckles as they connected with his jaw.

Jack’s head snapped to a side and he fell to one knee, the blow taking him as much by surprise as the speed of his disarming.

The bastard was quick, though. He jumped at me, wrapping his arms around my waist and slamming me into the other car, immediately kneeing me in the side as he threw one punch after the other.

I blocked most of them, one or two getting past my defenses. I felt my head rattle, and steeled myself against his flurry of punches. As soon as I found an opening, I grabbed him by the wrist, twisted his arm, and brought my elbow down against his, bending it out of place.

I heard the snap of his joints and the satisfying shrill scream of pain that followed. Not letting go, I kicked him in the back of his knee, brought him down, and slammed his face against the car door.

“Alex!”

The whole thing had probably taken a few seconds. Jenni was pulling at my arm and trying to drag me away. Jack was coughing, blood oozing out of his nose, and he looked up at me with rage.

“You’re dead, man!”

I pulled out of Jenni’s grip, grabbed Jack by the collar and heaved him onto his feet. I grabbed his arm, applying as much pressure as I could to his broken elbow, and he screamed in pain.

“Watch it,” I warned, hissing the threat between clenched teeth.

He squirmed, tried to kick out, but the effort was weak. I punched him again and let him drop to the ground in a heap, his head rolling to a side as he wheezed through his broken nose. Jenni pulled at me again.

“That’s enough, Alex,” she was saying. “I think he’s gotten the point.”

I looked around. A small crowd had gathered around us from the coffee shop, eyes wide, some holding their cellphones and filming everything. I let Jenni drag me away and back to the car.

“What the hell were you thinking?” she shot.

“You’re kidding, right?” I shot back. “We have to get this guy to the Sheriff.”

“The Sheriff isn’t going to do anything,” she said. “Just get in the car and let’s go. You’ve taught him his lesson.”

I frowned at her, looking back at where I knew Jack lay sprawled on the asphalt between the two cars. What did she mean by the Sheriff wasn’t going to do anything?

“Let’s go, Alex,” Jenni urged.

I shook my head in confusion, unsatisfied with the fact that I wasn’t putting the prick behind bars. I looked at her, and she just waved at me to hurry up.

I got into the car, shifted into reverse, and pulled out of the parking lot. I took one last look at the scene, then turned the car around and drove away.

Chapter 14: Jenni

“This is going to sting.”

We were in my living room, Alex on a chair by the window while I dabbed the cut above his eye. He winced just a little, but didn’t pull back, and I would have mocked his macho attitude if it weren’t for the fact that he had just pissed off a lot of the wrong people.

Jack was Garth’s lap dog, and if there was one thing Garth hated more than anything, it was attacking one of his own. It was like an attack on him personally, and he took this shit far too seriously.

“I’m fine, you know,” Alex said.

“Shut up,” I replied, angry and worried at the same time.

There was a lot about Kent that Alex Logan didn’t know, and I doubted Samuel had brought him up to speed on even the half of it. Ever since the college popped up and brought with it a new kind of community, Garth had quickly gotten into the distribution business. There was a reason why my father thought he was bad news, and although no one could really pin anything on Garth, it was common knowledge that he had his fingers in one too many cookie jars. The drug dealing was only the half of it, but a pretty lucrative half, especially amongst college kids.

He had a big stake in the casino and university, too. There was no telling how big his business would grow once those kicked off. And there was no doubt how much more aggressive and possessive he would become. He already had the Sheriff in his pocket, and I doubted there would be a limit to how much money he’d be willing to throw around to get what he wanted.

The only thing standing in the way of the casino was Samuel Logan, and now Alex had just beat the shit out of one of Garth’s ‘friends’. That was definitely not going to sit well with him.

I dabbed at the cut on Alex’s head. You need to let him know. He’s in the middle of all this now.

But I couldn’t. If today was any indication of how Alex’s moral compass swung, he’d probably try and put a stop to all this. As a DEA agent, I expected nothing less, and knew what that meant. He’d taken a risk and had almost been killed in the process. What would happen to him here where he didn’t have backup? And what would his involvement mean for Samuel, or Kelly for that matter?

I sighed, my mind whirling. This is one fucking mess.

“There,” I finally said. “I don’t think you need stitches.”

“I know I don’t need stitches,” Alex smiled.

“Stop that,” I said. “There’s nothing funny about what happened back there. What the hell were you thinking?”

Alex frowned. “I was stopping a drug dealer from distributing.”

“You do know that he’ll probably just be doing the same thing tomorrow, right?”

“With an arm in a sling.”

“Funny.”

“Seriously, why are you surprised?” Alex asked. “You know this is my job.”

“Not in Kent,” I shot back. “We have a Sheriff for that.”

“Right,” he scoffed. “The same one you said wouldn’t do anything?”

“That’s beyond the point.”

“Then what is the point?”

I opened my mouth, hesitated, and closed it again. “You’re not on home ground, Alex,” I finally explained. “The dynamic here is different. This isn’t the Kent we grew up in.”

“Care to explain that?”

I shook my head. “Let’s just try to remember that you’re here to spend time with your father and recover. It’s not fair for your family to get in the middle of the crap that goes on here.”

Alex shook his head. “That makes absolutely no sense.”

“It doesn’t have to,” I said. “Just let the local authority deal with this shit, and enjoy the summer, would you?”

Alex stood up. “What aren’t you telling me?”

I collected the cotton and Betadine, carrying back to the kitchen as he followed me. “Nothing,” I said. “I just want you to be safe. I want Kelly to be safe.”

“Okay, first of all, I can handle myself just swell, thank you very much,” Alex chastised. “Secondly, no one’s going to care about my daughter’s safety as much as I am.”

I whirled around. “Right, and you have the bullet wounds to prove it?”

Alex stopped and stared at me, his eyes locked on mine.

“I’m sorry,” I said, turning away. “That’s not my place.”

“No, it’s not,” Alex replied, his voice calm yet firm.

I looked up at him, nodded and dropped the cotton and Betadine onto the counter. I ran a hand through my hair and sighed.

“Listen, tonight was fun, despite everything,” I said. “Thank you for driving me home.”

Alex looked at me a moment longer, his eyes searching mine. “No problem,” he said. “I’ll see you tomorrow, I guess.”

I gave him a weak smile and nodded.

“I’ll let myself out,” he said. He leaned in, kissed my cheek, and walked out.

I listened to him open the front door and called out, “Alex!”

I hurried out of the kitchen. He was standing by the open door, looking at me, waiting. I walked over to him, slowly, hesitantly. I placed a hand on his chest, leaning into him as I closed the door and locked it. I could feel the blood rushing to my cheeks, and when I looked up at him, I immediately lost all restraint. I kissed him, softly at first, wavering for a second before I felt his lips move against mine as he kissed me back. I wrapped my arms around his neck, pushing into his hold, pressing tightly against him as the kiss quickly turned into a heated lock of lips that sent shivers up and down my spine.

I felt my entire body go flaccid, his hands running up and down my back, his lips kissing me hungrily as we moved away from the door, locked in each other’s embrace. I led him to the couch, not breaking the kiss as I fell back onto it and brought him down with me. I loved the feel of the weight of him on top of me, and our kiss intensified as his hands explored every inch of me. I gave into his touch, feeling tingles everywhere, shockwaves shooting up and down my body. His lips kissed along my jawline, then down to me neck and my collar.

His hands found their way under the hem of my shirt, pushing it up as he continued to explore my body, gently cupping my breasts as he kissed me. The heat in my body rose, and I could feel every inch of me begging to feel the touch of his lips against it. I laced my hands in his hair, pulling him closer, feeling like I wanted to crawl up inside him, his embrace like a warm blanket around me.

He looked up at me, our eyes locking, my chest rising and falling in deep, heated breaths. He pushed my shirt higher, and I raised my arms as he slipped the fabric off me and tossed it onto the ground. I kissed him deeply, unbuttoning his shirt and pushing it off. I ran my hands across his chest, the perfectly chiseled body I had imagined finding finally under my fingertips. I wrapped my arms around him, feeling his breath against my neck, moaning softly as he pressed up against me. I could feel every inch of him against me, the touch of our skin driving me crazy and making me want him even more.

I sat up, grabbed him by the hand and led him to the bedroom. Before we even got to the bed, his arms wrapped around me, and his lips kissed the nape of my neck, sending shivers through me. I pushed back against him, feeling him hard against my ass, his fingers expertly unbuttoning my jeans. I slipped out of them quickly, turned around and kissed him. His touch felt like heaven, is strong hands holding me tight, the heat emanating from him mixing with my own as we fell back onto the bed.

His kisses traced lines down my chest, across my breasts, down the side of my body and across my stomach. I raised my hips against him, opening my legs as he adjusted himself between them, kissing his way back to my neck. His hands flicked at the front clasp of my bra, and he bent down, hungrily sucking at one nipple after the other. His tongue swirled, his teeth nibbled, and it was all I could do to not jump him right there. I closed my eyes and lost myself in the feeling, his lips everywhere, his hands squeezing my breasts. I could feel him rock hard through his pants, pressing against me, grinding slowly.

I gasped as he pulled my panties down, sliding them off my legs slowly and kissing the inside of my thighs. I curled my fingers in his hair, and held my breath as he made his way up higher. I was gushing, his touch and kisses driving me insane, and when his lips locked onto my pussy, I arched my back and moaned out loud. His hands grabbed my ass, pushing my hips up, his tongue lapping at my pussy, moving up and down slowly and sliding into me. My legs shook as he sucked at my clit and nibbled at it, his hands squeezing my ass as his tongue expertly worked at me. Before I knew it, I was pressing his face against my pussy and exploding with an intense orgasm that shook me to the core.

My hips fell back, and I clutched at the sheets, breathing heavily, my eyes closed and my head spinning. The bed shifted as he stood up, and I could hear him unzip his pants. I opened my eyes just as he crawled back on top of me, pushing his hard cock against me, burying the width of it between my pussy lips and rubbing against me. I grasped onto his arms, the muscles there flexing against my touch as he moved against me. I locked my eyes onto his, waiting for him, grinding against him and letting him know I was ready.

He slid in effortlessly, and I felt my pussy stretched to the limit against how hard he was. He filled me up, slowly, completely, pressed against every inch of me as I reflexively clenched down on him. He closed his eyes and groaned, settling inside me. He sucked at my nipples, and slowly began to move, out and then in. I wrapped my arms around him, my hands tracing the lines of his muscles, my nails digging into his back as he began to pick up the pace.

My moans filled the room, Alex rocking against me, moving in and out, driving me crazy with every stroke. I moved my hips against him, meeting every thrust, feeling his cock hit parts I didn’t think could be reached. He sent me into a frenzy, and I buried my face in his shoulder to muffle my screams of pleasure. His hips slammed against me, and when he’d grind, his pelvis pressed against my clit and shocked me into one orgasm after the other.

“Oh God!” I screamed as he fucked me, fast and hard, pressed against me with his strong arms wrapped around me. He held me close, breasts pushed up against his chest as he rocked me. I clenched down, his groans against my neck only making me want him more. I wrapped my legs around his waist, forcing him in harder, deeper, begging him to fuck me harder.

I could feel his cock expand inside me as he moved faster, and I held him tight, biting into his shoulder and screaming with pleasure. I felt his body stiffen, the muscles under my fingertips flexing, and I clamped down, squeezing against his cock. His groans of pleasure were like music to my ears, and he exploded inside me, his arms squeezing me against him, holding me so tight I felt like he would smother me. His body shook against mine, and just the feeling of him coming inside me made me shake all over.

He collapsed on top of me, breathing hard, the warmth of his breath against my neck. He rolled off me, arms wrapped around me as he pulled me to him. I closed my eyes, trying to catch my breath, feeling like every inch of me was on fire. I could hear his heartbeat hammering in his chest, and as I lay there in his arms listening to it slow down and return to a gentle rhythm, I fell asleep with a smile on my face.

Chapter 15: Alex

I woke up to the sound of my phone ringing, groaning as I opened my eyes and turned to look at the blinking screen on the bedside table. Jenni shifted against me, her eyes fluttering open for a second before they closed again and she resettled in my arms again. I leaned over and grabbed the phone, silencing it as I squinted in the bright light to see who was calling.

I winced when I realized it was three in the morning and Kelly was calling me. They were probably worried sick.

“Kelly?”

“Where the heck are you?” Kelly yelled.

I sat up quickly, her tone taking me by surprise. She was crying, gasping into the phone, and there was the distinct sound of sirens in the background.

“What happened?” I was already rolling out of bed and pulling my pants on. Jenni was wide awake, watching me, concern etched across her face.

“I called you seven times!” Kelly was yelling. “Seven times!”

“Kelly, where are you?” I demanded, already feeling my body shake with worry. I had never heard her this hysterical, and the shrill sound of the siren wasn’t helping ease my worry.

“I’m on the way to the hospital,” Kelly cried. “That guy from yesterday came by again.”

“Heath?”

“Grandpa went out to talk to him, and that bastard kept hitting him,” Kelly explained between tears. “I tried to stop him, but he wouldn’t stop. Grandpa’s not waking up, dad!”

I almost dropped the phone. The world around me quickly began to swim in and out of focus. I could almost see myself there with her, in the ambulance, sitting next to her unconscious grandfather, desperately trying to reach me. I felt a sudden lurch in the pit of my stomach, and I wanted to reach through the phone, tell her everything was going to be alright. I wanted to apologize for not being there when I should have been, for letting her down yet again.

The emotions washed over me like a tidal wave, and my mind blanked completely.

“Dad!”

Kelly’s shrill scream brought me back. “I’m on my way, Kelly, I’ll meet you at the hospital.”

“Hurry!” she yelled at me, then hung up.

I pocketed my phone and grabbed my shirt.

“What happened?” Jenni asked, already half-dressed herself.

“They’re taking Samuel to the hospital,” I said, feeling a dark rage build up inside me.

“Oh god, what’s wrong?”

“Apparently, Heath thought it was a good idea to cross the line and attack my father.”

“Kelly?”

“Shell-shocked,” I replied. “Hysterical.”

“That son of a bitch!”

I didn’t answer her, pulling on my shoes as I searched the room for my car keys.

“I’m coming with you,” she said, rushing into the bathroom.

“That’s okay,” I said. “Stay here, I’ll be fine.”

“That’s not a choice you’re going to make for me,” she said, rushing back out and pulling on a t-shirt. She found my keys and tossed them to me. “Now hurry up.”

We were out the door in seconds.

* * *

“He’s going to be okay.”

I hated hospitals. The last time had not been the best of experiences, and every time I even drove past one, my body would stiffen and my head would swim. There were too many memories linked with it. Shitty food, the smell of detergent and disinfectant, and of course, the endless pain. That was the worst of it.

Which made the sight if my father in the ICU even worse. He was lying on a bed hooked up to enough wires to light up an entire block. The constant beeping of the heart monitor filled my head, and I struggled just to keep my concentration on what the doctor was telling me.

“Luckily nothing’s broken,” he said, flipping through the pages of my father’s chart. He looked like a med student, and a part of me wondered if he even knew what he was doing. “At his age, that would have been the biggest problem. He’s stable for now, and once he’s awake, we’ll run an MRI.”

“When do you think he’ll wake up?” I asked, looking at Samuel through the large glass window separating the hall from the ICU.

“Hard to tell,” the doctor replied. “I’m guessing pretty soon. It’s probably just the shock of the attack. What happened, exactly?”

“That’s what I’m going to try and find out,” I replied, my anger now taking a front seat and pushing my worry over Samuel to the back. I wanted to get my hands on Heath and beat his teeth out the back of his fucking head.

“Well, if it’s any consolation, the Sheriff’s downstairs, waiting to get a statement,” the doctor said. “If you have anything to say, it’ll be best to tell him.”

“Thank you, doctor,” I replied.

“Other than that, I suggest you go home,” he continued. “There’s nothing more for you to do here anyway, and we’ll call you if there’s any change.”

I nodded, shook his hand, and made my way back to the waiting room. Jenni was sitting on one of the bigger couches, Kelly curled up in her arms and asleep. I sat down next to them, stroking Kelly’s hair and quickly pulling away when her body shook like a leaf. Jenni kissed her head, rubbed her shoulder and attempted to calm her down.

“What did the doctor say?” Jenni asked.

“Told us to go home,” I said. “And that the Sheriff’s downstairs if I want to leave a statement.”

“What do you want to do?” she asked.

“I want to take Kelly home,” I replied. “I’ll pass by the Sheriff in the morning.”

“I’m so sorry, Alex,” Jenni said, gently shaking Kelly awake. I watched as my daughter’s eyes fluttered open, her face scarred with tear streaks. She sat up slowly, looked around her in confusion, then stiffened when she realized where she was.

“Grandpa?” she asked, looking at me with eyes that quickly watered.

“He’s okay,” I said. “Still asleep, but the doctors tell me he’s going to be just fine. We’ll go home and come back in the morning.”

Kelly quickly shook her head. “I don’t want to leave him.”

“It’s not up to us, sweetheart,” I said. “They’re kicking us out anyway. There’s nothing we can do here anyway.”

“I don’t want to leave,” she sobbed. She leaned into my arms and began to cry again. I held her tight, the fury inside me burning. A part of me knew that if I came across Heath right now, I’d probably kill him.

“I know,” I said, kissing her head. “Come on, we’ll be back in the morning. That’s only a couple of hours away.”

Kelly nodded and let me pull her to her feet. She held Jenni’s hand, leaning into her as we made our way to the elevators and rode one down. The hospital was empty this time of the night, the fluorescents casting an eerie glow as we walked down the narrow hallway and turned a corner into the emergency room. A single nurse manned the station there, chatting quietly with a man I assumed was the Sheriff. He was dressed casually and looked like he had been dragged out of bed.

He caught my eye, said something to the nurse, then walked up to us.

“Mr. Logan,” he greeted, sticking his hand out. I took it. “I’m Sheriff Baker. I’m terribly sorry about Samuel. He’s an old friend, and when they told me about what happened I came down right away.”

“Thank you, Sheriff,” I said. “If it’s okay with you, I need to get my daughter home. She’s had quite the shock for the day.”

“I can only imagine,” the Sheriff sighed. He looked at Jenni, then quickly back at me. “Any idea who was responsible for this?”

I nodded. “Heath Collins.”

The Sheriff frowned and looked at Jenni again. “Are you sure?”

I turned to Kelly who nodded. “Yes,” I said. “I’ll give you a full statement in the morning. But for now, I suggest you arrest Heath and keep him overnight.”

“That’s going to be difficult without a full statement,” the Sheriff said, scratching the back of his head, his eyes darting between me and Jenni. He looked uneasy, and I began to understand what Jenni meant by the force’s incompetence. This man should have been in his car by now, calling in the arrest.

“I don’t see how,” I said, already knowing that I wasn’t going to get anywhere with him. And that only made me angrier. Heath could be halfway across the state by now. “If you want a statement now, I’ll give you one. But the longer you wait to make that arrest, the more likely you won’t be able to do it. If Heath has a brain in his head, he wouldn’t stick around and wait.”

“How about you pass by the station tomorrow,” the Sheriff said, “and we’ll clear all this up.”

“What the hell is there to clear up?” The anger in my voice was apparent, and the Sheriff took a step back, his hand falling on the holster at his waist.

“Alex, let’s go,” Jenni said.

“The fuck I am,” I said. “I don’t know how you got that badge, but this is ridiculous!”

“Dad,” Kelly said. “I want to go home.”

My eyes locked on the Sheriff’s, and a hint of a smile played at the corner of his lips. He looked at Kelly. “I’m sorry about your grandfather, but we’ll get this all sorted out, I promise.”

My fists shook, and I only calmed down a little when Kelly wrapped a hand around mine and pulled me along. I pulled her to me, staring angrily at the Sheriff.

“I’ll see you in the morning, Sheriff,” I said. “But if Heath’s gone by the time you get your ass off your seat, I’m not going to be this calm.”

“Good night, Mr. Logan,” the Sheriff nodded. “Jenni.”

“Sheriff,” Jenni replied and gently pushed me along.

We walked out, the cool night air failing to calm me down as I led Kelly to the car and opened the door for her to get in. I turned back to the hospital, with half the mind to go back in and give the Sheriff hell, but quickly fought back the urge. I looked at Jenni and shook my head in frustration.

“Can you fucking believe this?”

Jenni wrapped her arms around Kelly’s and looked at the hospital. “Actually, I can,” she said. “I told you before, Baker’s useless.”

“And what do you suggest I do?”

Jenni sighed. “I don’t know,” she said, looking at Kelly. “Go home for starters. In the morning, we’ll pick up where we left off.”

I ran a hand through my hair and clenched my teeth. I wanted to punch someone, badly. If I didn’t I was going to go fucking insane. Jenni rested a hand on my arm and squeezed.

“Fine,” I gave in, my frustration boiling inside me. “Come on, I’ll drive you home.”

“I’d rather stay with Kelly,” she replied.

“You don’t have to do that,” I said.

“Actually, I do,” she said. “I want to.”

I looked at her for a beat, wanting to take her in my arms and kiss her if it weren’t for how pissed off I was. She rubbed my arm and opened the passenger door.

“Come on,” she said.

I closed the door, took another look at the hospital, then got into the car and drove us home.

Chapter 16: Alex

I woke up the next morning feeling worse than I had when I went to sleep. The image of my father lying in the ICU stayed with me through the night. I had nightmares of him crawling out of his bed, calling out my name and searching for me while a dozen or so Heath’s laughed all around him. It made me sick in the stomach.

I got dressed quickly, eager to get to the police station and really take out my frustration on the Sheriff, and made my way downstairs. The aroma of scrambled eggs and bacon mixed with the gentle giggling coming from the kitchen.

Kelly was at the kitchen table, stuffing her face with what looked like the breakfast for champions. Jenni was sitting across from her, hair tied back in a loose ponytail and eyes still drooping with sleep. She looked gorgeous nevertheless. My mouth watered as the aroma of breakfast filled my nostrils.

“Morning,” I said with a smile, opening the fridge and taking out the orange juice.

“You sure took your time,” Kelly said, frowning at me. “We should have been at the hospital by now.”

“You look like you woke up five minutes ago,” I replied, grabbing a glass and sitting down beside her.

“And I’m ready to go,” she said. “So, let’s go.”

“In a minute,” I replied, taking the fork from her hands and tossing a bite of eggs and bacon into my mouth. She elbowed me in the side, took her fork back and pointed it at me angrily.

Jenni laughed and held up her mug. “Fresh pot,” she said, gesturing to the coffee machine.

“That’s okay,” I said. “Seems like the chipmunk’s in a hurry.”

And so was I. Ever since our meeting with the Sheriff at the hospital, I wanted to give the bastard a piece of my mind. I had contemplated finding Heath myself, making him pay for what he did, but I knew that wasn’t the right solution. What good was my badge if I didn’t follow the laws I had sworn to uphold? Besides, the Sheriff’s incompetence would give me an excuse to make his life a living hell. If shit like this went down around Kent and he was doing nothing about it, then he shouldn’t be the man for the job in the first place.

I drank my juice, tried to steal more breakfast from Kelly’s plate, then rushed upstairs and got changed into jeans and a t-shirt. By the time I came back down, Kelly was already waiting by the door, tapping her feet impatiently and urging me to hurry up.

“You’re not coming?” I asked Jenni.

“No,” she said. “I have to get to the diner, and then run a few errands. I’ll meet you both back here for dinner.”

“You really don’t have to do this, you know?” I said, although a large part of me was grateful for her being here. “We’ve put you through enough.”

“Shut up, will you?” she said, turning me around and pushing me out the door, much to Kelly’s delight. “Now get going, and give Baker hell.”

“I totally intend to,” I replied.

* * *

I dropped Kelly off at the hospital and made my way downtown. I knew I should have gone in with her, but I felt that if I had, I wouldn’t have been able to pull myself away from Samuel’s side. Right now, I was furious, and I wanted to keep that feeling alive until I got to the station.

Besides, I couldn’t shake away the feeling of guilt I had. I should have been there when it had happened. I should have dropped Jenni off, driven home and been at my father’s side when that bastard Heath came calling. My instincts had warned me about the possibility of something like this happening, and I had brushed it off, thinking that I was just being paranoid. That visit from Heath on the day I arrived was enough to give me an idea of how messed up he was. I had been naïve to think Kent was still the small town I had grown up in where everyone left their doors unlocked and you could take a walk around town at midnight without having to worry about anything.

So much has changed.

I clenched my teeth and shook my head in frustration. Changed or not, I wasn’t going to let Heath get away with this. If the Sheriff wanted to take his sweet time, I was definitely going to light a fire under his ass and get him moving.

The station was just off North Main Street, down Berkley Drive and surrounded by open fields. The post office sat idly on the other side of the road adjacent to the supermarket that boasted its rich supply of organic food. There were very few cars parked here, but my eyes immediately caught the Mustang parked at an obscure angle to the curb. I pulled up beside it, and as I climbed out of my car, I took note of the license plates and made my way up the steps and into the station.

Being a DEA agent in Miami, I was used to the welcoming sound of a busy police force running back and forth, rushing to get things done. Telephones would be ringing, fingers would be tapping furiously at keyboards, and someone would always be shouting in the phone. It was a symphony of activity I had learned to love and appreciate.

Walking into the Kent Sheriff’s Station made me feel like I had stepped into a church. A couple of officers sat lazily at their desk, staring at their phones with their legs propped up. A copy machine was being operated somewhere in the background, the swishing sound of paper falling into the tray almost deafening in the otherwise silent space. No one seemed to even notice that I had walked in.

I walked up to one of the officers and asked to see the Sheriff. The officer looked up at me, stretched and yawned, then looked back at his phone.

“What do you need to see him about?”

“I was asked to come down and give a statement,” I replied, fighting the urge to grab the phone and smash it against the wall.

“You can give your statement to me,” he said, swiping a finger across the screen of his phone.

“I would, but you seem a little too preoccupied by important police matters for me to bother you,” I replied. The officer shot me an annoyed glare that made me smile. “I’d rather talk to Sheriff Baker.”

“He’s in his office,” the officer said, returning to the phone.

I couldn’t resist the urge any longer and snatched the phone from his hands.

“Hey!” he shouted, standing up quickly.

I pushed him back into his seat and tossed the phone onto the desk. “Where’s his fucking office?”

“Mr. Logan?”

I turned to see the Sheriff standing by an open door, a mug in his hands and a cigarette in his mouth.

“Sheriff,” I greeted. “Your officer here was just showing me to you.”

Baker didn’t look impressed. He shot an angry glare at the officer and gestured for me to follow him.

“I’ll let you get back to your Candy Crush game,” I said over my shoulder as I made my way past the empty desks and into the Sheriff’s office. I stopped cold when I saw Garth Liston sitting inside.

“If it isn’t Alex Logan,” Garth smiled. “I was hoping to bump into you today.”

“Garth,” I greeted coldly.

“Please, Mr. Logan, sit down,” the Sheriff pointed at the chair opposite to Garth. “I called in Mr. Liston this morning so we can sort out last night’s incident together.”

“I think you misheard me last night, Sheriff,” I said, sitting down and folding my arms over my chest, glaring at Garth. The smile on his face annoyed me, and the fucker’s nonchalance was unnerving. It was like I had stepped into his office instead of Baker’s. “I remember distinctly telling you that Heath Collins attacked my father.”

“That’s why the Sheriff called me,” Garth said, smiling at Baker as if letting him know that he’d handle the conversation from here. “You see, Heath is under my employment, and I handle all matters related to my employees.”

“Really?” I asked. “So, you’re the one who told him to beat the shit out an old man?”

Garth chuckled. “This is all a big misunderstanding,” he said.

“I’m not exactly sure how,” I shot back, clenching my teeth and trying to keep the anger out of my voice. “My father’s in the ICU because of your employee. The way I see it, he should be arrested.”

“Sheriff, you have to understand, there’s a story behind this,” Garth said, turning to Baker and ignoring me completely. “I’ve been assigned with the purchase of a plot of land for the new casino. You know, the one that’s supposed to bring new jobs and money into Kent? Well, the place my clients have an eye on just happens to belong to Samuel Logan.”

“Garth,” the Sheriff started, putting his mug down and folding his hands in front of him. “You do understand that telling me this gives your employee a motive, right?”

I relaxed a bit. Baker seemed to be a little more competent than he had let on.

Garth chuckled. “Of course, I know what it sounds like, but I assure you, that’s really not the case. All Heath was doing was trying to convince Samuel to sell.” Garth looked at me and shrugged. “It seems the Logan’s really want to hold onto their property.”

“Still giving the police motive, Garth,” I said. “But by all means, keep going. You’re making this so much easier.”

“The way I heard it, Sheriff,” Garth said, “was that Heath and Samuel were having a normal conversation, and Samuel got a little aggressive. He actually pulled a gun on Heath. A shotgun, I believe. Doesn’t surprised me, because he had threatened me with a shotgun just a few days before, in pubic, at The Red Roof.”

Rage burst inside me, and my hands clenched into fists. “Bullshit.”

“Heath was just defending himself, really,” Garth continued. “I know the man well. He wouldn’t beat an old man to the point where he’d have to be hospitalized for no reason. He was threatened. Samuel Logan is a menace to society.”

I jumped out my seat, slamming a hand on the Sheriff’s desk, and pointed a finger in Garth’s face. “Listen to me, you little shit,” I hissed. “If you think that story’s going to fly, you’re out of your fucking mind.”

“Mr. Logan, please sit down,” Baker said.

I turned to him angrily. “Do you actually believe this crap?”

“Looks like aggression runs in the family,” Garth commented.

“You haven’t seen me aggressive,” I warned.

“I haven’t,” Garth nodded. “But Jack Pole sure has. And I have a whole crowd of witnesses who can attest to seeing you beat him last night. Broke his elbow, too, didn’t you?” Garth turned to the Sheriff. “Honestly, Jack wanted to sue, but I convinced him not to. The Logan’s, after all, are old family friends.”

“Is this true?” Baker asked.

“The man was dealing drugs outside a coffee shop,” I said. “He pulled a switchblade on me.”

“Can you prove that?” Baker asked.

“Excuse me?” I turned to look at him, a part of me furious at how gullible he was.

“The blade and the drugs,” Baker said. “Do you have proof of those?”

“Jenni Wright was with me last night,” I said, noticing the momentary change in Garth’s eyes. “She can back my story.”

“I’ll have a talk with her, then,” Baker said. “And you say your daughter’s the only one who saw Heath Collins beat your father?”

I nodded.

“Come on, Sheriff,” Garth smiled and shook his head. “She’s just a little girl. She must have been confused by what she saw.”

I wanted to punch him right then and there. I wanted my fist the slam that smug smile off his face, and then I wanted to drag him around the office and kick at him until he was coughing up blood. The rage inside me made my head hurt, and my fists shook as I tried to control the anger.

“That’s something we’ll determine in time,” Baker replied. “Until then, I suggest you tell Mr. Collins not to leave Kent until we get this all sorted out. Shouldn’t take long.”

“Are you fucking serious?” I yelled.

“I’d appreciate if you kept your tone down, Mr. Logan.”

“You’re actually going to believe this bullshit?”

Baker shrugged. “I have to hear all sides of the story before I can reach a decision. To be frank, this is a touchy situation, and needs to be handled with great care.”

“This is ridiculous, but that’s what this is,” I shot. “We’re not talking about international relations, here. I want Heath Collins arrested for what he did to my father.”

Baker stood up and glared at me. “I will say who gets arrested and when. Until then, I suggest you tend to Samuel, and leave the police work to me.”

I scoffed and shook my head in disbelief. “Police work, huh?”

Baker didn’t reply and met my eye with a solid stare.

“Tell you what, I’ll take care of this myself,” I said, shooting an angry look at Garth before making my way out.

“Mr. Logan, I’m warning you, stay out of this or I’ll arrest you for hindering police investigation,” Baker called after me.

“You’re doing enough hindering for the both of us, Sheriff,” I called back and stormed out of the station.

If the bastard wasn’t going to get the job done, I’d do it my fucking self.

Chapter 17: Jenni

I left the diner early, telling Hank that I had to go check up on Samuel.

Word spread fast in Kent, and I found my father asking me all sorts of questions the minute I walked into the diner. I tried to answer them as best as I could, and although he seemed a little skeptical about the fact that I had spent the night at the Logan house, he didn’t seem to mind too much. At least not enough to lecture me, which I thought was just fine.

My father and Samuel went way back. They had grown up together, went to the same college, and had both decided to stay in Kent and raise their families here. Poker nights, town council meetings and school events, the two of them were always side by side. Which was why I was not surprised when he wouldn’t let me get to work until he was completely satisfied that he had learned everything I had to offer.

“I’ll come with you,” he said as I told him that I was leaving.

“No, don’t,” I said, a little too quickly, forcing a confused frown on his face. “Samuel’s still in the ICU and I don’t want you seeing him like this. It’s heartbreaking.”

“He’s one of my oldest friends, Jenni, don’t be absurd,” Hank shot angrily.

“I know, dad,” I replied. “But honestly, I wouldn’t go either if not for Kelly. She needs me by her side, and Alex is as emotionless as they come.” The lie felt a little too pushed.

“Really?” Hank scratched his chin. “Wouldn’t have guessed.”

“No, not generally, I mean right now,” I hurried to correct. “Listen, it’s a difficult time for them. Give them some space, and as soon as I’m sure Samuel’s awake, I’ll let you know.”

Hank thought about this for a few seconds, then nodded. “Okay, but keep me posted,” he said, pointing a finger at me.

“Promise,” I replied, hastily making my way out of the diner and jumping into my car.

Close one, Jenni.

In all honesty, I believe my father’s visit would have been generally welcomed, and when I had called Kelly, she told me that Samuel was already awake and making jokes about looking like the bicentennial man. Even Alex sounded a bit more relieved, although his meeting with Sheriff Baker had gone completely wrong.

Which was why I needed to leave work early.

I pulled out of the parking lot and turned right on North Main Street, driving in the opposite direction of the hospital. Alex’s recount of what had happened at the Sheriff’s office had pissed me off, and I was fuming at the thought of Heath getting away with this just because Garth knew which gears to oil. Although the smart thing was to stay the hell out of all this, I couldn’t bring myself to do that. I cared a lot about the Logan’s, and Garth’s audacity was getting to me. Someone had to let him know that not everyone was going to take his shit.

I, for one, was done with it all.

The road twisted and turned as I followed it to the outskirts of town, turning right just before it led me into the woodlands beyond and east towards Warren. The compound Garth was staying in stood out like a sore in the midst of the laid-back beauty of the landscape. Someone had apparently thought it would be a good idea to paint everything in white, and the complex looked like a collection of large chalk blocks surrounded by a wall.

The guard at the gate waved me in without giving me a second look, knowing exactly where I was going and who I was meeting. You didn’t get to fuck Garth Liston without everyone in his direct circle knowing, and I almost felt like a cheap hooker just thinking of that. I couldn’t believe I had let him do the things he had done to me, let alone be somewhat okay with him bragging about it. After my night with Alex, the whole history with Garth felt like a bad dream that left a nasty aftertaste in the back of my throat.

A lot of the houses in the compound were still unoccupied, construction workers walking back and forth as they put finishing touches to them. In a couple of years, driving through here would be like taking a cruise down a posh suburban campus, with front yard wine tastings and teenagers driving with their tops down and their girlfriends on their laps. Hope Enterprises was already starting on another compound further down the main road that eventually led to the universities, and there was talk going around that they had sealed a deal to build the university dorms as well.

All in all, this side of Kent was going to turn into a hub of drunk drivers and frat parties that would make the locals wish they could just detach themselves from the whole thing completely.

I pulled up in front of Garth’s house, the Mustang parked in the driveway where one of his cronies was busy cleaning it. He barely looked up as I got out of my car and made my way to the front door, ringing the bell incessantly.

“For fuck’s sake, shut up!” I heard someone call out, and that made me only ring the bell more.

The door flew open and I stared at the angry face of Heath Collins. He immediately smiled at me. “Jenni, how are you?”

“I’m here to see Garth,” I said, pushing past him.

“Woah, what’s the hurry?” Heath asked, closing the door behind me and following me into the house. “Don’t have time to talk to an old friend?”

“Where is he?” I asked, spinning on my heels and facing him.

Heath gestured with his thumb to the second floor. “Upstairs, taking a nap,” he said. “I could keep you company while you wait.”

“Why?” I asked, pursing my lips. “Can’t find any old men to beat up?”

Heath winced, but his smug smile never left his face. “You heard about that, huh?”

“I need to talk to Garth,” I said, pushing past him and climbing the stairs.

“Always good to see you!” Heath called.

“Fuck you!” I shot back.

I stormed across the second-floor landing and opened the door to Garth’s room, not even bothering to knock. He was lying on his back, clad only in his boxers, snoring up a storm. His cock hung out through the front of his boxers, and I grabbed the closest piece of clothing to me and threw it on top of him.

“Get up!” I yelled.

Garth grunted, his eyes fluttering open as he turned to look at me in confusion. “Jenni?” he croaked, coughing to clear his voice. “What the fuck are you doing here?”

“We need to talk,” I said, waiting as he stretched and yawned, turning to give me his back.

“Come back later,” he said.

“Now, Garth,” I pressed.

“Whatever.”

I grabbed him by the arm and forced him towards me. He pushed me away angrily, and jumped out of bed, the grace of his movement taking me by surprise. He grabbed my arm forcefully, squeezing so hard it hurt.

“What the fuck do you think you’re doing?” he hissed.

I tried to wrestle free, but his grip was like a vice on my arm. “Let me go.”

“Who gave you the fucking right to just walk in here and wake me up?” he spat. “What’s wrong, your pussy on fire or something?”

“Let go!” I yelled, and finally pulled away.

He glared at me, his nostrils flaring and his eyes boring into mine. “You want to talk, then talk,” he said. “Say what you have to say, then get the fuck out. I don’t have time for you.”

“Make it,” I shot back.

He curled his fists. “You’re really getting on my last nerve, Jenni,” he said through clenched teeth. “What do you want?”

“That little piece of shit downstairs,” I said.

“Heath?”

“Yeah, him. I want you to stop standing up for him. You haven’t seen Samuel. You haven’t seen what that asshole did to him.”

Garth shook his head in confusion. “What the hell are you talking about?”

“You went to Sheriff Blake today,” I shouted at him. “You made it seem like Samuel was some raving dog and Heath needed to protect himself. You lied to the police to cover for that bastard you call a friend. I want you to stop!”

Garth began to laugh. “Is that what this is about?” he asked. “What? Are you trying to help your new boyfriend, or does Alex need a girl to fight his battles for him?”

“I’m not joking, Garth,” I said, pointing a finger in his face. “Turn Heath over and stop acting like a prick.”

“Get that fucking finger out of my face.” Garth slapped my hand away, hard, then grabbed me by the neck, choking me. I gasped in surprise, scratching at his hands as I fought for breath. He pushed me back against the wall.

“Who do you think you are?” he hissed, pushing up against me, his cock pressed against my thigh. I felt a wave of disgust wash over me. “I don’t know what Alex’s convinced you of, what he’s made you think you can do, but I know you. I know everything there is to know about you. Does he know about us? Does he know how you screamed my name when I shoved my cock in that pussy?”

He grabbed me between my legs, and I squirmed, trying to break free. I felt his hand tighten around my neck. My head began to swim.

“Does he know he’s getting sloppy seconds?” Garth said, his lips against my neck, making my skin crawl. “And you’re here for him? Really? Maybe I should take you right here, right now. Fuck you hard the way you like it, fill your pussy my sperm so you can go back to him with it dripping down your thighs. Who knows? Maybe that turns him on?”

I kicked at him, but he was pressed up tight against me, and my efforts were useless.

“Let me say this as slowly, and as clearly as I possibly can, so you get it through that thick head of yours,” he said. He pressed up against me harder, his lips against my ear. “Come here again, and I’ll fucking kill you. Then I’ll kill him. Then I’ll take that little girl of his and show her a good time before I toss her to the others just for fun. Then I’ll kill her, too.”

He let go of me, and I fell onto my knees, gasping for breath. He took a few steps back and looked down at me with a smug smile on his face.

“Now get the fuck out.”

* * *

I got into the parked car just outside the compound gates and broke into tears. I could still feel Garth’s hand around my neck, and I shuddered at the thought of how close he had come to choking me to death.

That went horribly wrong.

I tried to calm down, but my mind spun, and I began to worry that I had just made things worse. I had come here with the belief that I could solve all this just by standing up to Garth, but he had proven that he had no problems killing me if I got in his way. I had always known he could be aggressive, but this was a new side to him that scared the shit out of me.

And he threatened Kelly, too. You really fucked this up.

I slammed my hands against the steering wheel and screamed as loud as I could.

It took me another ten minutes before I was calm enough to drive back home.

Chapter 18: Alex

“Her car’s here.”

The day was quickly coming to an end, the sun setting behind us as I rolled the car to a stop in front of the house and looked at where Kelly was pointing. Sure enough, Jenni’s car was parked a bit down the road, almost out of view behind a large maple.

I had gone directly to the hospital after my disappointing encounter with Sheriff Blake, and although my nerves were wrecked and I had the urge to punch my fist through a wall, the fact that my father was awake immediately turned that all around.

They had rolled him out of the ICU into his own private room, and he had been flanked by nurses all day. Apparently, the old man still had his charm working for him, and he had become a bit of a celebrity around the hospital. Samuel Logan, standing up to the misfits of Kent and taking one for the team.

I only wished he could have earned his popularity through anything else.

After a flurry of questions, and my incessant questions to a doctor who had looked like he wanted nothing more than to run far, far away from me, I had finally been able to calm down and enjoy the fact that, yet again, I had Samuel and Kelly ganging up on me.

I had called Jenni and given her the good news, fully expecting her to show up after her shift. Needless to say, we were all just a little disappointed, and I had started to worry when she had stopped answering the phone.

“Maybe knowing grandpa’s alright made her go back to her life?”

Kelly had looked like she was begging me to disagree, but I hadn’t really known if I could. I still held onto the hope that we would come back home and find her, probably asleep with her phone silenced.

Which was why I let out a sigh of relief when I saw her car.

“That’s a good sign,” I said.

Kelly nodded, a smile creeping onto her face. She looked a lot gladder about Jenni being here than I was.

She met us at the front door, towel in her hand, hair flowing around her face. She looked pale, her eyes bloodshot as if she had just been crying, and her shoulders sagged a bit. Nothing like the woman who had cooked breakfast and shoved us out of the house this morning.

“You okay?” I asked, kissing her cheek as I shrugged out of my coat.

Kelly had already made her way upstairs after giving Jenni a quick hug and a concerned look. My daughter had the good sense not to ask, though. Whatever was wrong with Jenni, it didn’t seem like something she’d be openly willing to talk about. She already looked like she was carrying the weight of the world on her shoulders.

She attempted a smile, and it only made her look worse. “I’m fine,” she lied.

I kissed her again and let the matter slide, for now. There would be time to talk about it later, with the door closed behind us and her lying in my arms. I kept a close eye on her, though, as we went about emptying the groceries I had bought on my way back.

“How’s Sam?”

“He’s doing well,” I said, smiling. “Looks better, except for the bruises and all. Besides, I think he’s actually happy he’s in the hospital. The nurses are all over him.”

“I’m not surprised,” she said. “He’s always been a sweet talker.”

“We missed you at the hospital.”

She sighed and smiled weakly. “I’m feeling a bit under the weather, that’s all. Didn’t think it would make sense to show up and spread whatever it is that’s got me feeling like this.”

“Samuel would have loved to see you,” I said.

“I know. I’ll visit him as soon as I feel better.”

I didn’t push, knowing that if I did, I would either make her angry, or worse, scare her away. Right now, having her around made me feel a lot better, and I didn’t want to do anything that might risk endangering that.

“I’m sorry about what happened with Sheriff Blake,” she said, cutting through my thoughts.

I felt a small pang of anger at the memory of this morning’s waste of time. “Yeah, well, apparently Garth Liston has a lot more pull in this town than I thought.”

I felt her body stiffen at the mention of Garth’s name, and frowned. Before I could read any more into it, my cellphone began to buzz in my pocket, and I fished it out, Raul’s number flashing on the screen.

“Gotta take this,” I said, leaving the kitchen and walking all the way out the front door.

“Catch you at a bad time?” Raul asked when I answered.

“Nah, was just about to help with dinner,” I said. “What’s up?”

“For starters, I don’t know how you do it, but you hit a gold mine, man,” Raul said.

“What do you mean?”

“Hope Enterprises.”

I had completely forgotten I had asked Raul to look into that. “What did you find?”

“Their CEO, Alexis Hope, real pile of trouble that one.”

I leaned against the porch railing, glancing into the house to make sure I was out of earshot, and pressed Raul for more.

“Apparently, she’s on everybody’s radar. FBI, Interpol, even MI6 is interested in her,” Raul explained. “Hope Enterprises has its name associated with a bunch of crap all over the globe.”

“Really?” I asked. “Seemed pretty innocent.”

“That’s just it, no one’s proven anything yet,” Raul said. “I have a contact in the FBI that swears the company deals in everything from human trafficking to money laundry. It’s just, this woman’s so damn good, she really knows how to hide her tracks.”

I felt my stomach turn, suddenly feeling a lot worse about the company’s activities in Kent.

“And it doesn’t stop there,” Raul said. “Apparently, one of the big cash cows is drugs, cocaine specifically. Some say this Alexis woman has ties with some of the biggest drug lords in South America.”

“How the hell has this woman never popped up on our radar?”

“Because the business is so decentralized, it’s like she’s not even a part of it. You got layers upon layers of people. Crime families funded by her and giving her a cut, Big names scattered all over the country. In some cities, she’s supplying rival gangs as long as they keep the peace.”

“And no one’s been able to get anything to stick?”

“Not yet,” Raul replied. “A few have tried, and the ones who got closest usually ended up dead or missing. But listen, the fact that her company’s fooling around in Kent makes sense.”

“Why is that?”

“They invest in real estate, increase the population, and then set up their illegal activities using locals. I heard a community college is supposed to be opening up over there.”

“Yeah, they’re building one outside town, big money.”

“Sounds about right,” Raul said. “You want to know the kicker, though?”

“Shoot.”

“You obviously remember how you almost got us killed in that drug bust.”

“My leg doesn’t really let me forget,” I replied.

“That van we pulled in was registered to a local company here in Miami, right?”

“Small delivery store, I remember,” I said. “They had reported it stolen, didn’t they?”

“They did,” Raul chuckled. “I looked into them when I began to realize just how diluted Hope Enterprise’s operations is. Apparently, the delivery store is part of a group of delivery companies all owned by an Italian family. Ricci or Rossi, something like that.”

“So?”

“One of their kids, the eldest, major shareholder, moved out to Connecticut a decade or two ago. Built a small compound in Kent, married a local girl.”

I felt my body go numb. “Darlene Liston,” I whispered.

“Yeah, that’s right,” Raul said. “How did you know?”

I pushed away from the railing and made my way across the porch, looking into the house and watching Jenni move about the kitchen as she prepared dinner.

“Anyway, this guy writes off all his shares to his new wife and her son, and they inherit the whole business when he died a few years back. A year later, his wife dies, and everything goes to the kid. Hold on, I have his name here somewhere.”

“Garth.”

The phone went silent for a second before Raul asked, “Yeah, you know the guy?”

“We crossed paths.”

“Well, he runs the company now out of Connecticut, and there are enough connections between him and Hope Enterprises to make your head spin. I mean, it’s almost as if Alexis Hope is funding them personally.”

“You think he’s their drug player in Kent?”

“Looks pretty much like it,” Raul replied. “What’s going on over there? You need me to book a flight in?”

“No, that’s fine,” I said. “I got this handled. Thanks, Raul.”

“No problem,” Raul replied. “Just enjoy your vacation, alright. We need you back here. Office is kind of lonely without you.”

I thanked him and hung up, then walked back into the house. Jenni had some explaining to do.

Chapter 19: Jenni

I knew something was wrong the minute Alex stepped into the kitchen. His jaw was clenched and his eyes were cold as he glared at me.

“I’m going to ask you a few questions, Jenni,” he said, “and I want the truth.”

I frowned, my heartbeat suddenly accelerating, hammering in my chest. “Okay,” I said.

“Garth Liston,” Alex started, and I felt my breath catch in my throat. “How long has he been distributing drugs in Kent?”

I hesitated. “Distributing drugs?”

“That guy we met outside the coffee shop, Jack something or the other. He’s one of Garth’s employees. He doesn’t exactly work Garth’s books, does he?”

I shook my head, trying my best to hide the sudden fluttering in my stomach. “I don’t know.”

“Bullshit!” Alex suddenly yelled, and I cringed at his outburst. “I said I want the truth, Jenni.”

I looked at him, feeling the tears well in my eyes, and I tried my best to contain myself. I bit my lip, looked away and felt my body shake like a leaf.

“He’s supplying the drugs, isn’t he?” Alex asked. “Garth? The whole real estate thing is just a front, isn’t it?”

“Alex, I –”

“Do you know how involved he is with Hope Enterprises? When you told me about Heath, did you know Garth was pulling the strings?”

I didn’t answer him, a tear rolling down my cheek.

“You let me go all the way to the Sheriff thinking that Heath was behind all this, behind my father’s near-death experience, when Garth was the one pulling the strings? You actually covered for him?”

“I wasn’t covering for him,” I said, choking on my words. “He’s crazy, Alex, and dangerous. I didn’t want you getting involved, but you wouldn’t listen.”

Alex’s hands closed into fists and he punched the table top. “My father almost died,” he hissed through clenched teeth. “Your drug dealing ex-boyfriend almost had him killed for a piece of land that was supposed to increase his drug business. And you failed to mention that?”

“I didn’t want you to get hurt,” I stammered.

“Get hurt?” he snapped. “How involved are you in all this?”

“I’m not,” I said.

“Is that why you’re here?” he asked. “Is that why you’ve been hanging out with us. What was the plan? Get close enough and then what?”

“Alex, that’s not what this is,” I said, tears rolling down my cheeks, feeling guilty for not telling him sooner but angry at being accused of something so horrid, all at the same time.

“Then what is it?”

I opened my mouth to answer, then closed it again, unsure if anything I said right now would make an ounce of difference,

“Answer me!” His voice roared through the kitchen, and I heard a door open and close upstairs, quickly followed by a flutter of feet down the stairs. Kelly appeared behind her father, eyes wide and full of concern.

“What’s going on?” she asked.

“Go to your room, Kelly,” Alex said, his eyes locked onto me.

Kelly looked at me, her concern giving way to fear. “Jenni?”

I sniffed, wiping the tears from my cheeks. “Kelly, I’m so sorry –”

“Don’t you fucking talk to her,” Alex shot. “Kelly, go to your room.”

“Not until someone tells me what’s going on,” Kelly replied, standing her ground.

Alex turned to her and grabbed her by the arm, shaking her. “I said, go to your fucking room!” he yelled.

The shock on Kelly’s face brought a fresh burst of tears from me as she stared at her father then looked at me. She whipped her hand out of his grip and raced out of the kitchen.

Alex turned back to me. “I said I want answers, Jenni.”

The front door opened and slammed closed, and Alex quickly turned around to see what was going on. “Kelly?”

From outside, a car door slammed closed and an engine started up.

“Kelly!” Alex yelled, racing out of the kitchen with me running close behind him. We rushed out the front door just as Kelly backed her father’s car out, turned the wheel around, and shot down the street with a screech of tires.

“Kelly!” I called after her.

“Fuck!” Alex yelled, pushing forcefully past me and running back into the house.

I barely made it to the front door when he came storming out again. “What are we going to do?” I asked, panicking at the thought of Kelly behind the wheel of a car.

“We are not going to do anything,” he snapped. “I’m going to take the truck and drive after her. You are going to go upstairs, pack whatever you have up there into a bag, and get the fuck out of my house.”

“Alex.”

He whirled around, his eyes burning with fury. “I want you gone by the time I get back, you understand? I don’t ever want to see you around me or my daughter again.”

With that, he raced down the steps, jumped into the Ford, and drove off after his daughter. I watched him leave, and when he turned the corner, I dropped to my knees and broke into tears.

Chapter 20: Alex

Why the fuck had I ever taught her how to drive, I had no idea.

I felt a raging headache overwhelm me, the veins in my head pounding incessantly, threatening to burst. My heart raced as I pushed down harder on the gas, willing the truck to move faster, taking wild guesses at every intersection as to which direction Kelly was driving in.

She lied to me. She stood there in my house, slept in my bed, and all the time, she had been lying to me.

I pushed the thought away. Right now, none of that mattered. My little girl was driving around town in a car she could barely control. If anything were to happen to her, I’d probably kill myself.

Then you probably shouldn’t have taught her how to drive.

“Shut up, Janice.”

The sun had almost set completely, and the streetlights flooded the roads in their orange glow. The worry found its way to every corner of my body. I had taught Kelly how to drive the car in cases of emergencies, but always during the daytime. Nighttime driving was a whole other issue.

The hospital. Check the hospital.

I doubted Kelly would be able to find her way there without stopping to ask someone, but then again, Kent wasn’t Miami, and if you took enough left and right turns, you were bound to get to where you wanted to go.

I turned left right down Elizabeth Road, making a mental not to check the bridge leading across the river next, and stepped on the gas. Luckily, there wasn’t much traffic around, and I was able to get hallway to the hospital before I caught sight of my car parked outside Kent Park. I slowed down, took the U-turn, and quickly pulled up next to it, jumping out quickly and rushing past the main gate.

My eyes scanned the empty picnic tables and park benches, the few people left already packing up and leaving as I looked for Kelly. I felt terrible for shouting at her, the first time it had ever happened, and I knew that that little outburst was bound to put a scar in our relationship I’d never be able to fix. I was more than ready to start blaming Jenni for all this when I began to panic. Kelly was nowhere to be found.

Maybe she just parked here and went across the street. The library?

I shook my head at the thought. If Kelly wanted to hide in the library, she would have parked at the library. She was smart, but not cunning enough to be able to throw people off like that. There were some things she was still too innocent to do.

The pond.

“Fuck, of course!”

I raced down the narrow path leading past the playground and cut through the trees, taking a short cross across the small hill that rose and then fell towards the duck pond. I only slowed down when I caught sight of her sitting by the edge of the pond, legs pulled up to her chest and rocking back and forth.

“Kelly?” I called to her when I was close enough for her to hear me.

She turned around, looked at me through watery eyes, and turned away again. “Leave me alone,” she stammered.

I felt my heart drop and sighed heavily as I approached her. “Kelly, what were you thinking?”

“I said leave me alone,” she repeated.

I ran a hand through my hair and sat down on the grass beside her, silently grateful that she didn’t move away from me. I looked out at the pond and didn’t say a word. We just sat there, quietly lost in our thoughts, neither of us willing to be the first to break the silence.

“You never shouted at me like that before,” she finally said, and when I looked at her, I could see the tears running down her cheek.

“I’m sorry, baby,” I said. “I didn’t mean to. I was angry at Jenni, and I took it out on you. I shouldn’t have done that.”

“No, you shouldn’t have,” she said, sniffing and wiping the tears away with the sleeve of her windbreaker. “And you shouldn’t have made Jenni cry.”

“Let’s leave that discussion for another time,” I said. “Jenni did a horrible thing, and I don’t think we’ll be seeing her anymore.”

“What?” She looked at me, fresh tears rolling down her cheeks.

“I’m sorry, chipmunk,” I whispered.

“Why?” she asked her lower lip quivering. “Why would you do that?”

“It’s hard to explain right now,” I replied.

“Try.”

“Kelly.”

“No!” she yelled. “You can’t do that! You can’t just tell me I can’t see her again without an explanation. I deserve an explanation!”

“Sweetie, I don’t have one,” I said. “Not one that will make sense to you.”

Kelly shook her head at me and covered her face with her hands. “You do that all the time.”

“Do what?”

“Think that you’re protecting me by not telling me things, and all that really happens is I get hurt.”

“Sweetie, what are you talking about?”

“Like when you got shot,” she said. “You acted like it was nothing, like you weren’t hurting. But I knew you were.”

I sighed, feeling like she was confusing two completely different things together. “Kelly, of course you knew I was hurting. You helped me through it.”

She shook her head. “That’s not what I meant,” she said. “I meant even before that. You always came home and told me these crazy stories about your day. You made it sound like you were just doing your job, but I understood what you were telling me. I understood the risks you were taking.”

“Understood what exactly?”

“That you want to die,” she sobbed.

I froze, staring at her in shock as her tears rolled down her face. She looked at me, meeting my gaze, challenging me to deny it. And the funny thing was, I couldn’t.

“I don’t remember mom, but you do,” she said. “And you carry her with you all the time. I hear you talk to yourself sometimes and say her name. I know you haven’t gotten over her death, and that every risk you take at work is like you’re hoping you’ll get shot or something.”

Her words cut through me like a knife, and my heart suddenly began to ache. How someone so young could analyze me in a way I never could scared me a little. But she was right. Deep down I knew she was right. I hadn’t let go of Janice. To this day, I thought about her constantly, wishing I could turn back time, find some way to stop the cancer before it metastasized and stole her from us.

“And you know when you finally stopped?”

I looked at her and shook my head slowly.

“When you met Jenni,” she said. “For the first time in my life, I actually felt like you were happy, dad. Really happy, and that made me happy. And now you don’t want us to see her again, and we’re going to go back to Miami, and you’re going to keep doing the things you do. And then, one day, Raul is going to come to me and tell me that you’re dead. Really dead this time. And then what am I supposed to do?”

I felt my own tears well up, and I quickly wrapped my arms around her and pulled her close. "I’m so sorry,” I whispered, my voice cracking as I hugged her close. “Sweetheart, I’m so sorry.”

Kelly cried in my arms, her face buried in my chest. “Please don’t leave me, daddy,” she stammered. “Please don’t leave me.”

Tears rolled down my face as we rocked together by the edge of the pond, holding each other as I promised her over and over again that I wouldn’t.

Chapter 21: Jenni

I finally stopped crying when I was a few minutes away from my apartment complex, my eyes sore, my body shaking. I felt like I had dried up, like there were no more tears left to shed, and as I pulled into my regular parking space, my breaths came in staccatos that made my head spin.

Alex’s words still rang in my ears, and it had taken me over an hour to bring myself to pack up and leave. I couldn’t fathom the thought of not seeing him again, of not seeing Kelly, and the world around me seemed to have cracked and broken into a million pieces that would never be brought back together again.

This was all my fault. If only I had been honest with him from the start. If only I had told him everything, had let him in on the secrets and the past I was not proud of. Maybe I would still be back at the house, cooking dinner and laughing with them. Kelly wouldn’t have driven away, Alex wouldn’t have kicked me out, and I would have gone to sleep knowing that I was welcome in their home.

That was all gone now. I mentally chastised myself for thinking I was being smart, that I was somehow protecting them. It was true what they said about the path to hell being paved with good intentions, and I had definitely paved my way to my own personal hell. And I would burn here, alone, thinking of what could have been and what I had been stupid enough to throw away.

I looked out at my apartment complex and felt like a stranger here. It had only been a couple of days, but I had already gotten used to the house, to waking up next to Alex, to talking to Kelly on the rare occasions she could pull herself away from her phone. Now I was back, and although I hadn’t really moved out, it still felt like I was returning to an empty shell.

At least you still have Casper.

That thought alone made me gasp. Kelly had fallen in love with him, and I had been looking forward to having him settle in with me at the house. At least he wouldn’t have been surrounded by the misery I was bringing back home with me.

I climbed out of the car and closed the door, trudging to the trunk and taking my small gym bag out. I leaned against the car, closed my eyes, and tried to stop my head from spinning. The image of Alex yelling at me played across my closed lids and sent shivers up and down my body. I didn’t even get a chance to explain myself to him.

I opened my eyes, took a deep breath, and made my way towards the complex. Fishing for the keys in my purse, I didn’t notice Heath until I walked right into him.

“Woah, hey,” he said, holding me steady as I fell back and swayed on my feet. “You okay there, Jenni?”

I really didn’t want to deal with this now, and was too exhausted to play nice. I didn’t reply and pushed past him, making for the door.

He grabbed my arm and stopped me. “Knock, knock.”

“What do you want, Heath?” I asked, sighing in frustration, begging to be left alone so I could fall into bed and sleep for the next few days.

“I want to make sure you’re alright, for starters,” he said.

“I’m fine, okay?” I pulled out of his grasp and turned away. “I’m just exhausted and don’t feel like talking right now.”

He grabbed me again, and I fought the urge to scream at him and claw at his face. “That’s a shame, because I was really looking forward to spending some time with you.”

“Really, Heath?” My voice rose in anger. “Now? Of all times, you choose now to annoy me the most?”

“Feisty, aren’t we?” heath chuckled.

“Let go of me and fuck off, alright,” I said. “Go hang out with Garth or something. DO whatever it is you guys do to pass the time.”

“Funny you mention Garth,” Heath said. “He actually asked me to pick you up. He wants to see you.”

“Tell him I don’t want to see him,” I replied.

Heath stopped my retreat, and when I tried to pull away, his grip tightened. “It wasn’t a request,” he said, his voice dropping dangerously.

I looked him in the eye and pulled my lips back in a snarl. “Let go of me, or I’ll make sure that hand isn’t good for anything other than wiping your ass.”

“You know, you always had a lip that would get you in trouble,” Heath replied. “Just come with me, and I’ll make sure I don’t cut it when I slap you to your senses.”

“Lay a hand on me and I’ll make sure it’s the last time you walk straight.”

I heard the slap before I felt it, and my cheek stung with the heat of its force. I dropped my bag and lunged for him, aiming for his eyes, but he quickly grabbed my wrists and twisted my arms around my back.

“Garth said to bring you to him,” Heath hissed in my ear. “He never said how.”

I threw my head back, slamming against his face, and he immediately let go of me and staggered back. I turned to run back to my car, but he was quick to recover. He grabbed me by the shoulder, whirled me around and punched me hard in the face. I fell to the ground in a heap, the world around me spinning out of control, and blacked out.

Chapter 22: Alex

Jenni’s car was gone by the time we got home, and I could immediately see the look of disappointment on Kelly’s face. She looked at me, and I tried my best to smile.

“I’ll call her in the morning, I promise,” I said.

“You can call her now,” Kelly protested.

“One night, Kelly,” I sighed. “Give me at least that.”

Kelly looked at me for a few more seconds before she nodded and climbed out of the car. I wrapped my arm around her shoulder as we made our way up the stairs and I pulled out my keys.

“What are you going to do about the truck?” Kelly asked.

“It’s safe where it is,” I said. “I’ll figure the rest out in the morning.”

“Maybe Jenni can drive it back.”

I chuckled and pressed her close. “Maybe.”

I opened the front door just as the telephone in the hallway began to ring. Kelly raced forward and answered it, and I knew deep down that she was hoping it would be Jenni.

“Hello?”

I watched her with a smile, hanging my coat by the door and stretching, feeling the day finally taking its toll on me. I would sleep like a log tonight, as long as I could keep my head clear and stopped my mind from conjuring up images of Jenni.

Kelly frowned, looked at me and handed me the receiver. “It’s for you.”

I frowned, suddenly worried that it might be the hospital calling to give me some bad news about Samuel. I took the phone from Kelly and braced myself.

“Hello?”

“Alex, buddy, hey!”

I clenched the receiver tight, my hand hurting with the effort. Heath’s voice on the other end immediately made my blood boil.

“You son of a bitch!” I hissed.

“Hey man, is that any way to greet a friend?” Heath laughed. “Oh, right, yeah, your dad. Listen, sorry about that, but let’s be real. The old man had it coming.”

“When I get my hands on you,” I threatened, “I’ll make sure I break your bones one by one, slowly.”

“Yeah, yeah, okay, so you’re still pissed, that’s understandable,” Heath said. “But listen, that’s not why I was calling, although the whole threat to my life thing is kinda amusing.”

“What do you want, Heath?”

“I have a message for you, from Garth,” Heath said. “He says to meet him in Little Harlow in an hour, house twenty-three. Just tell the security at the gate who you are, he’ll leave word that you’re coming.”

“And why would I want to do that?”

“Because if you don’t, you won’t see Jenni ever again.”

My heart jumped into my throat, and a cold rushed through me. “What?”

“Oh, didn’t I mention? Damn, sorry, should’ve led with that. Yeah, well, we have your girl, and if you want to see her again, you’ll do what Garth tells you to do.”

“What have you done with her, you bastard!”

“Nothing, man, calm down,” Heath said. “Well, no, that’s a lie. I slapped her around a bit. But hey, she hit me first.” Heath laughed, and my blood boiled. “Sounds kinda familiar, doesn’t it?”

“I’m going to kill you!”

“See, there you go with the threats again,” Heath chuckled. “Really amusing, buddy, gotta hand it to you. Real comedian. Anyway, one hour, house twenty-three. Got that?”

I slammed the phone down, making Kelly jump.

“What’s wrong?” she asked, eyes wide as she watched the rage dance across my face.

“Wait here,” I said.

I raced down the hallway to my father’s room and opened his closet, reaching into the back of the top shelf where I knew he kept his rifle. I grabbed it and a box of ammunition, and quickly began loading it. Kelly stood shaking in the doorway.

“Dad?”

“Don’t worry, sweetheart,” I said. “I’m just going to go have a chat with the man who bat your grandfather.”

“Dad, you’re not a cop here,” she said. “Can’t you get in trouble with that?”

“Don’t worry, I don’t intend to use it,” I lied. “It’s just to scare them a little.”

“Them? You said you were going to meet one person. Who’s them?”

“He may have a few friends with him.”

Kelly came up to me and put a hand on my arm. “You’re scaring me.”

I reached down and hugged her, kissing the top of her head. “I’m going to be okay, I promise. No death wish here.”

“That gun sure makes it seem otherwise,” Kelly protested.

“Like I said, it’s just to scare them,” I assured her, hoping I sounded convincing enough to calm her down. “Now, come one, we have to go.”

I pushed her down the hall and towards the front door, already picturing myself blowing the top of Heaths head off with the rifle.

“Where am I supposed to go?” Kelly asked.

“I’m going to take you to the hospital,” I replied, pulling on my coat. “You stay with your grandfather until I come back to pick you up.”

“Will they let me stay with him?” Kelly asked, clearly flustered. “Won’t they say refuse, you know, visiting hours and all that?”

“Don’t worry, your dad’s very convincing,” I replied, urging her out of the house and closing the door behind us. “Besides, your grandfather’s a hero now. They’ll make an exception.”

“I don’t like this,” Kelly protested as we made our way down the steps and to the car. I waved at her to hurry up and get in, and quickly started the car, shifting into reverse. “Dad, seriously, I don’t.”

“You’re going to have to trust me, chipmunk,” I said.

“You usually say that when you’re going to do something stupid,” she said. I could see the tears well up in her eyes again. “I thought you said you weren’t going to do that anymore. You promised me.”

I stopped the car, shifted it into neutral and held Kelly with both hands. “Listen,” I said. “You want me to be honest with you, right?”

Kelly nodded, a tear rolling down her cheek.

“Some really bad people have Jenni, and I need to go make sure she’s okay,” I explained. “Do you understand that?”

She nodded. “But why don’t you call the police.”

I hesitated, hating to wreck the perfect image of the law that I had worked so hard to make her believe in. There were some things about her being a child that I wanted her to hang onto for as long as possible, even if she knew what happened to little girls who were left alone by the side of the road. “Because the police aren’t going to do anything this time.”

“What?” she asked, frowning in confusion. “Why?”

“When I get back, I’ll tell you all about it,” I assured her. “Now, can we go?”

She nodded.

I shifted the car into drive and pressed down on the gas, hoping that when I finally got to Little Harlow, I would have calmed down enough to not just shoot everyone and kill them all.

Chapter 23: Jenni

The restraints cut into my wrists as I wrestled against them, twisting and turning my hands around in hope that somehow, they would just magically break loose. The more I struggled, though, the more the skin burned, and I had to stop my efforts while fighting back tears that were being brought on by the pain.

The single lamp that lit the living room cast shadows across the walls and left an eerie glow against the walls. From my position on the couch, I could barely see past the door into the hallway where Heath was humming a tune to himself while fiddling around with the drawers. I had no idea what he could be looking for, but his attitude made one thing clear.

He was bored.

Use that. Find a way out.

I had no idea how, though. I knew that Alex would show up pretty soon, and I cranked my head as I tried to look out the window at the abandoned house across the street. I had no idea what Garth had in store for him, but it couldn’t be good. Garth was losing it, bit by bit, believing he was untouchable to the point where he probably thought that he could kill a man and not face the consequences of that. He wasn’t delusional, though, just given false security by a Sheriff who was as competent as a fish out of water.

To me, that meant he was reckless, and I doubted Alex knew just how much. There was no telling what would happen when the two of them collided. All I knew was one of them was not going to make it out of this alive, and right now, Garth had home advantage.

You have to warn him.

The question was how.

Heath began to whistle joyfully as he strolled back into the living room, holding what looked like a journal in his hands. He was flipping through the pages, eyes wide, his pitch going higher as he scanned the journal’s contacts.

“Hey, Jenni, you know what this is?” he asked, waving the journal at me.

I didn’t answer.

“You remember how Garth said he could remember every single contact he had, just pull out their numbers from some kind of super storage in his head?” Heath smacked the journal and smiled. “Well, that was a load of crap.”

You don’t say? There was a lot of that oozing out of Garth, that this didn’t seem like much of a surprise.

Heath opened the journal again. “Every single name and number, in alphabetical order, and Garth didn’t even code the damn thing.” He looked up at me and smiled. “You know, I could take this and make it on my own without him, if I didn’t love the guy so much. Pretty stupid to leave it lying around where anyone could find it.”

“You seemed to be looking real hard for that,” I commented.

Heath laughed and plopped down on the couch. “Gotta watch my boy’s back, you know?” He continued scanning the journal. “I mean, we got a bunch of guys coming and going through here, some that can’t be trusted. This isn’t something you’d want them to get their hands on. There’s no telling what they could do with it.”

There’s your out!

“What are you going to do with it?” I asked.

“What do ya mean?”

I gestured to the journal. “You said everything’s in there,” I said. “What’s stopping you from walking out of here with it all?”

Heath looked at me for a few seconds before he smiled and shook a finger at me. “No, no, no,” he chuckled. “Bad ex-girlfriend. I see what you’re trying to do.”

“What am I trying to do?”

“You’re trying to tempt me into backstabbing my best friend,” Heath said. “Playing your little mind games, making me think I can have it all, right?”

I shrugged. “I don’t see why not. I mean, you’re a smart guy. It’s not like you really need him.”

“Alright, you know what?” he said, waving a dismissive hand at me. “Stop it. I liked you better when you weren’t talking.”

“Seriously, Heath,” I pressed. “Come to think of it, all he really does is call people and bark orders. You do most of the heavy lifting.”

“Shut up, Jenni.” Heath’s tone took a more aggressive turn, and he glared at me angrily.

Twin lights broke through the window and briefly lit up the living room in a bright light before turning away. I looked over my shoulder and watched in horror as Alex’s car pulled up to the house across the street. I felt my heart sink to the pit of my stomach.

“That your lover boy?” Heath asked, getting up and rushing to the window. He clapped his hands together and smiled. “Looks like it’s all going down now.” He turned around and went back to the couch, picking up the journal again.

I tried to loosen my restraints again, wincing and clenching my teeth at the jolts of pain that shot out from where the skin had been rubbed raw. This was getting me nowhere, and I watched helplessly as Alex walked up the driveway and disappeared behind the house. He was carrying Samuel’s rifle.

“You know, now would be the perfect time,” I said, turning my attention back to Heath.

He looked up at me and frowned. “What?”

I gestured to the journal again. “Garth’s going to be a little preoccupied at the moment. I say take it and make a run for it. Drive out of town, far away from Kent. Make a few calls. Get a nice little setup going on before he even knows what hit him.”

“I told you to shut up.”

“Take me with you.”

Heath’s eyes widened. “What did you say?”

“Take me with you,” I repeated. “Come on, you don’t honestly think I want to stay in this hell hole forever do you?”

Heath frowned at me, the confusion etched on his face almost making me smile.

“Alex was just a means to an end,” I said. “This is all a show. Take out Alex, and Samuel would be too heartbroken to do anything but sell. He’d need the money to take care of Kelly.”

“Bullshit,” Heath said. “You know, sometimes I get the feeling you think I’m a complete idiot.”

“Why?” I asked. “Because Garth didn’t tell you about all this? You know him better than anyone. How was this going to be believable if we continued seeing each other?”

“Okay, now you’re just blabbering a bunch of nonsense,” Heath said. “If this was some great plan, then why are you tied up over there?”

“You said it yourself, too many people,” I replied. “Garth doesn’t know who to trust anymore. We staged the whole kidnapping.”

Heath shook his head, but I could already see that he was starting to doubt his own logic. “That’s bull. He would have told me.”

“Actually, he wanted to,” I said. “I convinced him not to. For this to work, everyone had to be kept in the dark, even you.”

Heath ran a hand across his face and scratched the back of his head. He stood up and began to pace back and forth. He shook his head and waved a finger at me.

“See, there you go, playing with me again,” he said. “Garth would never agree to that.”

“It’s perfect, and you know it,” I said. “You just don’t want to believe it because you never thought he’d keep you in the dark about anything. Garth is always going to look out for number one, and that number one is him. He’ll toss anyone aside if it works in his favor.”

“And what’s going to stop him from tossing you to the curb?”

“Nothing,” I said. “That’s why I’m telling you to take me with you. You have his contacts right there in your hands. Every name and number he’s ever needed to build his little empire. All I ask is you take me with you.”

Heath eyed me for what seemed like forever, and I knew I had gotten to him. When you broke him down to his core, all Heath really wanted was power and recognition, both of which Garth was barely giving him. All I needed was a little push to get him to turn on Garth completely.

I adjusted myself on the couch, letting my feet fall to the floor, and opened my legs wide.

“What are you doing?”

“Come on, Heath,” I tried my best to smile seductively. “Don’t tell me you weren’t just a little curious about what made Garth bend over backwards for me?”

His eyes rested on my crotch, and I pushed my chest out towards him. “Take me with you,” I whispered, “and I promise you, you’ll get a lot more than just a journal.”

“Prove it.”

The request took me by surprise, and for a brief second, my composure faltered. “Excuse me?”

“Prove it,” he repeated. “You say you want out. You say you want me to take you with me, that you’d give me all of that.” He gestured with his hand at me. “Prove it.”

I tried to control the shaking in my voice, and faked a smile. “What do you want me to do?”

He walked towards me, dropped the journal on the couch, and leaned in. “Give me a preview,” he said.

He reached down with one hand and cupped me between my legs, pressing the heel of his hand against my crotch. I fought back the gag that threatened to escape my mouth and the bile that rushed up my throat. Play along, dammit! Play along.

“Whatever you need, sweetheart,” I whispered, hating myself for what I was doing.

He cupped one of my breasts and squeezed painfully, but I was quick to hide my discomfort and even pushed my hips forward against his hand. He unbuttoned my jeans and pulled the zipper down, giving himself room to slide his fingers into my panties. I shuddered with disgust as he touched me, the reflex working to my advantage as he smiled.

“You like that, huh?”

I nodded, biting my lip and trying to look as turned as I possibly could without headbutting him in the face. “Untie my hands and pull down your pants,” I said. “I think I might just know how to be a little more convincing.”

Heath hesitated for only a second before pulling a switchblade out of his pocket and reaching around me. I heard the blade snap open, and with a few tugs, my hands were finally free. Heath stood up, replaced the knife in his pocket, and quickly began unbuckling his pants. I gave him my best smile as he tugged and pulled at his pants, and even went as far as helping him pull them down.

Gunshots echoed through the night sky, startling us both. Heath’s head snapped up, his eyes squinting to see what was happening across the street, and I used the momentary distraction to my advantage. I gathered my strength, used every ounce of anger I had to fuel it, and punched him in the crotch.

Heath cried out in pain, his knees buckling as he collapsed onto the floor. I jumped up and raced past him. He curled up in a fetal position, his hands holding his crotch, and called after me. “You fucking bitch!”

I raced to the front door, skidding as I stopped and tried to pull it open. It was locked. I looked for the key on the table next to the door, my hands shaking, Heath’s cries of pain piercing through my ears like sirens.

“I’m going to fucking kill you!”

More gunshots sounded from across the street, and tears quickly welled up in my eyes. I needed to get to Alex. I had no idea what I would do once I was outside, but I didn’t care. All I could think about was racing across the street before it was too late.

Heath appeared at the doorway to the living room, naked from the waist down, cupping his crotch with one hand and brandishing his switchblade in the other. “I’m going to cut you up, you fucking bitch!”

He lunged for me, and I quickly turned and raced up the stairs. I could hear him following me, clumsily slamming against the bannister and wall as he chased me to the second floor. Something cut across the back of my arm, and I screamed at the sudden shock of pain that shot out from where his switchblade had wounded me. I kept going, high on adrenaline, knowing that if I hesitated for just one second, he’d be on top of me. And that switchblade would do a lot more than just cutting.

I ran into Garth’s room and slammed the door closed. Heath was able to get an arm in to stop it from closing completely. I leaned against it, using my body to keep him from pushing it open, but he stronger, angrier, and I felt myself losing the struggle. He swiped at me with the knife, barely missing my face, and pushed at the door with everything he had. I was hurled forward and landed with a thud on the ground.

“You bitch!” he screamed and toppled on top of me. The weight of his body knocked the breath out of me, and I was helpless as he grabbed my hair and slammed my face against the floor. I flood blood trickle into the back of my mouth, and I pushed up against him with everything I had.

Heath rolled off me, the knife falling from his hands, and I grabbed it before he could. Without thinking, I swung my arm around and watched the blade cut across his cheek. He rolled away, kicking me as he tried to distance himself from my frantic swings. Gathering what little strength I had left, I pushed to my feet and raced back out and towards the stairs. Before I could reach them, Heath had caught up with me and threw his body against me, slamming the both of us into the wall.

“I’m going to kill you!” he hissed in my ear.

Screaming, I flung my elbow back and felt it connect with his jaw, giving me enough room to turn around and push him away.

Heath’s eyes grew wide as he lost balance and fell back, landing with a sickening cracking sound on the staircase. I slid to the floor and watched as he rolled down the stairs and came to an abrupt stop at the bottom, his legs and arms twisted in impossible angles and his eyes staring up at the ceiling.

Chapter 24: Alex

My hands tightened around the rifle as I made my way across the side of the house. I kept my head low, looking behind me every few steps to make sure no one was going to surprise me. The lights inside the house were on, but the curtains were drawn, and there was no way I would be able to take a look inside without bringing too much attention to myself.

This is a trap. You know that, right?

I heard Janice’s voice in the back of my head, loud enough to make me believe she was standing beside me and whispering urgently in my ear. Of course, I knew it was a trap. I was a lot of things, but naïve wasn’t one of them. There was no telling what Garth had planned for me, and every precaution I could take was only for my benefit. Ultimately, anything could happen.

I stopped just before I turned the corner towards the back. I leaned against the wall of the house, closing my eyes and listening to the sounds around me. Everything was quiet, except for the chirping of crickets and the occasional croak of a frog. The house was dead silent, and I began to immediately rethink my decision to come here. If Jenni really was inside, there would be some noise, anything at all, even if muffled moans of protest or the occasional shifting of furniture.

Unless they have her in the basement.

But the basement windows were dark, and a quick inspection of the one nearest to me assured me that no one was down there. The silhouettes of construction equipment lined the walls, and the shadows that shifted came from the light of the moon. No, she was definitely not in the basement.

Then why was the house so damn quiet?

A lick of a lighter immediately brought me back from the questions in my head, and I heard the faint sound of a cigarette lighting and someone blowing out smoke. I cocked my head to one side, trying to hear for anything else, and a muffled cough soon followed.

Would he be that stupid?

I doubted it, which could only mean that he wasn’t alone. I don’t know why that took me a little by surprise, although I knew that at least Heath should be here, if not others. But, for the entire drive here, I had convinced myself that Garth was the kind of guy who was a little too proud to let one of his men take me down. A part of me truly believed that he would try and do it on his own. As if he had to prove how efficient he was. It was an instinctive feeling, something that had never let me down before, and I was a little taken aback that I had been wrong about this.

This doesn’t feel right, I thought to myself. My mind was throwing up flags left and right, and I turned and looked behind me again, frowning at the other houses that lined the street. Some of them had their lights on while others looked completely abandoned. Maybe I was being drawn to the wrong place. Maybe Jenni wasn’t here after all. Garth had an entire compound at his disposal, with more than enough places he could have hidden her in. This felt a little too convenient.

Only one way to find out.

I stood up slowly and adjusted my hold on the rifle, taking a deep breath before I burst out from my cover and aimed.

It wasn’t Garth after all, and I stared at the surprised look on Jack’s face, arm still in a sling. He dropped the cigarette from his good hand and reached for his gun. I raised the rifle and aimed it at his head.

“Don’t,” I said.

Jack was apparently as stupid as he looked, because he went for his gun anyway. I lowered he rifle, aimed at his leg, and fired. His leg shot out from under him, his kneecap exploding in a shower of blood as he screamed out in pain and fell to the ground. I rushed to his side and kicked his gun away, pressing the muzzle of my rifle against his head.

“Where is she?”

Jack cried out in pain and slapped his hand against the ground several times.

“Where the fuck is she?”

I heard the gunshot before the window burst, and quickly dropped to my knees. I was suddenly back in Miami, the bullet whizzing past my head and lodging in the tree behind me, showering me in barks of wood. I raised my rifle and fired into the open window, cursing when I realized that I could be shooting at Jenni. The curtains flapped in the wind, and another gunshot tore through the fabric and whizzed over my head.

I heard footsteps race deeper into the house. Jack was trying to push himself up, and I brought the rifle down hard against the back of his head, knocking him out. I grabbed his gun, made sure the safety was on, then lodged it into my belt. I waited, listened, and when I was sure no one was going to shoot at me again, I raced forward and kicked in the back door.

The sudden bright light blinded me, and I whirled back out, hiding behind the protection of the doorframe. I half expected gunshots to follow me, but whoever was still inside had decided to abandon his post and find another vantage point somewhere else. I lifted the rifle up and stepped inside the house, glass crunching under my feet as I moved.

The house was barren, devoid of all life except for a few tables here and there where drills and saws had been left behind. Planks of wood lined the hallway, and a barrel had been pushed up against the front door.

He really expected you to come in through there.

Garth might have been out of his mind, but it was apparent that he was nothing more than a power-hungry amateur who had no idea that he was in over his head.

Careful. Those are usually the dangerous ones.

The unpredictable ones. The ones that would go as far as kidnap a woman to lure a DEA agent into a trap and try to kill him.

I made way deeper into the house, careful as I passed every door, making sure no one was waiting for me inside. I approached the staircase carefully, keeping my aim high, ready to fire at anything that moved. If Jenni was here, then there was only one place she could be. Which meant Garth was up there, too.

“You know, Alex, I would have expected you to be a lot more cordial,” Garth called from the second floor. I crouched down immediately. “I mean, there’s so much that could get done if people would just amicably work together.”

“Those are two big words right after each other, Garth,” I called back. “Careful, you might give yourself an aneurysm.”

Garth laughed, and a gunshot followed that struck the wall ahead of me and showered the staircase with plaster. The point of impact was too far away from me to be of any effect. Garth was just showing me where my limit would be.

“I never told Heath to hurt your old man, you gotta believe me,” Garth said.

“I believe you,” I said. “So how about you let Jenni go and we can sort this out another time.”

“Oh, come on, Alex,” Garth laughed. “You’re a smart guy. I’m sure you’ve figured out by now that she isn’t here.”

Fuck! Always listen to your instincts.

“Where is she, Garth?”

“Across the street,” he called down. “Heath is with her. I told him to do it quickly, but hey, you know Heath.”

I eyed the barrel blocking the front door and decided against testing whether or not I could move it. I jumped to my feet and raced back down the hallway and out the back. I stayed close to the wall, making myself less of a target in case Garth decided to use me as target practice from up there. As soon as I stepped out into the driveway, the front door opened.

Garth came out shooting, gun shaking in his hand and his eyes blazing in anger as he fired at me. The first shot missed me and the second grazed my shoulder as I jumped across the hood of his Mustang and dove for cover. He continued shooting, bullets lodging into the sports car as he screamed bloody murder. I waited for the distinct sound of lifeless clicking, and stepped out, rifle held high and aimed directly at him.

“Drop it!” I yelled.

Garth dropped the gun and raised his hands into the air, glaring at me yet smiling. “Whatcha gonna do, big boy?” he hissed. “Arrest me? Or go save your girlfriend before Heath rips her to shreds?”

I glanced at the house across the street then brought my attention back to Garth. “On the ground, Garth.”

Garth laughed and clapped his hands. “Bravo, bravo!” he said. “Always the long arm of the law, aren’t we? You’d rather try and take me in than save your sweet Jenni? I’m impressed, agent Logan.”

I winced at his shrill laughter, and my eyes darted to the house where Jenni was supposedly in. This was just another game. There was no telling if there was any truth behind what he was saying. This could just be his way to distract me while he got away.

“On the ground!” I yelled, my mind racing.

Garth got down on his knees and put his hands behind his head. “I’m not exactly sure how you’re going to cuff me, but make sure you read me my rights. I know Sheriff Blake is going to be incredibly interested in what happened here.”

I wanted to shoot him right there and then, and fought the urge back. I approached him slowly, rifle held tight, and tried to think of the next best move.

“Alex!”

I turned to see Jenni racing out of the house and across the street towards us, and realized my mistake a second too late.

Garth lunged for me, slamming his body against mine and pushing me back until we slammed into the side of his car. The rifle fell from my hands, and he kneed me in the side twice before I even had a chance to collect myself. I cried out in pain, tried to block his attack, and felt my head snap to one side after his fist connected with my jaw. I stumbled and fell to a crouch, Garth’s knee slamming into my chin and almost knocking me out completely.

I rolled away from him, blood pouring out of my nose and into my open mouth. I watched him rush for the rifle, and I quickly pushed myself to my feet and rushed after him. Before his hands could reach the weapon, I threw my weight against him and brought him down hard. His head smacked against the rear bumper of his car as we fell, and he rolled away from me, groaning in pain.

I tried to stand up, my eyes watering from the pain, and I waited as he used the rear of the Mustang to hoist himself up. He swayed on his feet, and I immediately grabbed him by his collar and threw my fist against his nose. I felt it break against my knuckles as he fell back against the car. With one hand holding him in place, I landed one punch after the other, screaming in rage as I attacked him. I don’t know how many times I hit him, but by the time Jenni grabbed my arm and pulled me back, he slid sideways and fell in an unconscious heap onto the ground.

I staggered away from his limp body, and immediately turned to Jenni, holding her tight in my arms as she cried against my chest. I ran my hand across her back, burying my face in her hair.

“You’re okay,” I whispered, trying my best to soother her. “We’re okay.”

I closed my eyes and held her tight as sirens sounded in the distance.

Chapter 25: Alex

“I could get used to this,” Samuel said, folding his hands behind his head and sighed as I rolled him towards the house in his wheelchair, briefly struggling with the uneven path that led to the front porch.

The hospital had released him an hour earlier, and I had never seen him happier. He looked at least ten years younger, and a part of me knew it was because of all the attention he had been getting from the nurses. I even caught one blowing him a kiss as we drove away, and when I asked him about it, he expertly dodged answering.

“Maybe I should just leave you out here,” I said, grunting as I pushed him towards the makeshift ramp I had set up at the end of the porch steps.

“I think Kelly might just kill you if you do that.”

I chuckled. “Her and about half of the hospital staff.”

“Are you still going on about that?”

I pushed him up the ramp. “What they see in an old man like you, I will never know.”

“It’s the Logan charm, Alex,” he laughed. “I don’t expect you to understand that, the grunt that you are.”

“Gee, thanks, dad,” I said.

The front door flew open, and Kelly raced out, practically jumping onto my father’s lap as she threw her arms around his neck and squeezed.

“Woah, easy there, chipmunk,” I said. “He’s not fully recovered.”

“Oh, shut up and let the girl welcome her grandfather back home,” Samuel laughed, hugging her back and trying to hide his pain.

I looked up just as Jenni walked out, all smiles and eyes glowing. It had been a week since the kidnapping, and I wasn’t about to let her out of my sight, insisting that she stay with us as long as she needed. As long as I needed. I had gotten so used to her being around, I couldn’t even imagine her going back to her apartment. It was as if she belonged, and even Kelly could attest to how much brighter our lives had become with Jenni around.

“Can I roll the old man inside, or are we going to spend the rest of the afternoon out here?” I asked.

“Is the chair too much for you to handle?” Kelly asked. She shot me a look that made me hold up my hands in mock surrender, and she quickly pushed me aside, grabbing the handles of the wheelchair and taking control. “I got this. You can go back to growing old.”

Samuel laughed as she rolled him away, looking at me over his shoulder. “She takes after her grandfather,” he said, winking at me.

Jenni bent down and gave him a quick peck on the cheek. “Welcome back, Sam,” she said.

“You’re a sight for sore eyes, Jenni,” he said. “I hope my son’s at least trying to be a good host.”

“Push faster, Kelly!” I called out as they disappeared inside the house.

Jenni giggled as I wrapped her in my arms, kissing her deeply. “It already feels good to have him back,” she said.

“Yeah, now I have a trio against me,” I said. “I’m jumping up and down in glee.”

She slapped my arm and led me inside. “You don’t actually think we needed Samuel to gang up on you, did you?”

“Nope,” I smiled. “Between you and Kelly, I’m as castrated as they come.”

* * *

“So, you’re done?”

I was sitting in my father’s room, adjusting his bed as he watched me from his wheelchair.

“Pretty much,” I said.

Samuel nodded, clearly impressed. “Never thought you’d do it.”

“Really?”

He shrugged. “Thought I’d be getting a call one day telling me you to collect my orphaned granddaughter and the casket with my son’s body in it.”

I looked at him, meeting his eyes and trying to decide if he was joking or serious. “That’s a little dark.”

“Hey, kid, I know you,” he said. “That shooting you survived? I never doubted you’d jump right back into the line of fire if they let you.”

I shrugged. “I probably would have,” I said. “A part of me still wants to.”

“What changed?”

“Kelly, for starters,” I said. “We had a heart to heart. I don’t think I can put her through any more of my crap.”

“That’s mature,” Samuel replied. “And very unlike you.”

“Come on, dad, give me some credit.”

Samuel grunted. “Well, I’m definitely proud of you.”

“Thanks,” I said, bending down and looping an arm under his legs, carrying him off his chair and onto the bed. I fluffed his pillows, adjusted them, and made sure he was comfortable before rolling the wheelchair by the bed and propping his crutches up against the bedside table.

“So, what’s the plan?” Samuel asked.

“I’ll go back to Miami in a week or two, after I’ve made sure everything’s settled here,” I said. “Finish off the paperwork, finalize Kelly’s transfer papers, and if you’ll have us, we’ll make the remaining few years of your life miserable.”

Samuel smiled. “I love misery.”

“I had a feeling you might.”

Samuel laid his head back against the pillows, staring up at the ceiling for a bit before he chuckled and shook his head.

“What’s so funny?”

“How this whole thing played out, you know?” Samuel said. “I mean, I really thought that was it for this town. We were rolling downhill and picking up speed.”

“We’re not out of the woods just yet,” I said.

“Yeah, well, at least we’re not lost anymore,” Samuel mused. “And no one’s going to be knocking on our door trying to buy that piece of land, either.”

“Well, Garth’s behind bars, along with the rest of his crew, if you want to call it that,” I said. “Whether or not Hope Enterprises will stop trying to turn this town into a metropolis is still in the wind.”

“Nothing stuck to that Alexis woman, huh?”

I shook my head. “She keeps herself out of the dirty business, which is smart,” I said. “Would have been surprised if we had been able to link Garth’s drug business to her. And the company had reported those vehicles back in Miami as stolen, so again, nothing.”

“What’s going to stop her from trying to start this whole mess all over again?”

“I doubt she’ll do it,” I said. “Too many eyes watching. The FBI is looking into Sheriff Blake, the community college is reconsidering who it wants to affiliate itself with. No casino, that’s for sure.” I shrugged. “Smart woman like her, she’d take the illegal stuff somewhere else.”

“Another small town in Connecticut,” Samuel mumbled.

“I’d say well out of the state, maybe far away from New England in general.”

“Well, good riddance,” Samuel sighed and closed his eyes. “Now, get out and let your old man get some rest.”

I laughed. “Now you’re old?”

“When it’s convenient.”

I smiled, made my wait and closed the door.

* * *

I found Jenni outside, sitting on the porch swing, coffee mug cradled in her hands. She smiled at me as I approached and shifted to let me fall down next to her. I wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her close. We didn’t say anything, just stared out at the street and the woods beyond, savoring the peace.

“He’s going to be fine, right?” she finally asked.

“Yeah,” I said. “He’s a fighter. Always has been.”

“Must be to raise you the way he did,” she said.

“Is everyone taking hits at me today?”

“Today?”

I laughed and squeezed her closer. “I’m going to head back to Miami in a couple of weeks, finalize the paperwork.”

“So that’s it?”

“That’s it.”

She sipped her coffee and rested her head against my chest. “People are usually trying to leave Kent, not the other way around.”

“I guess they just need a reason to stay,” I replied. “Or in my case, come back.”

“That’s sappy,” she giggled, looking up at me, “and incredibly sweet.”

“Well, you know, I actually like you.”

“Actually?”

I kissed the tip of her nose, losing myself in her eyes. “Wanna join me?”

“Where? Miami?”

I nodded. “Probably won’t be there for more than a week or two. Raul’s willing to send me the finalized papers and sell the house for me, so I don’t have to be there for long.”

“That’s nice of him.”

“So, what do you say?”

Jenni smiled at me. “Fuck, no.”

I laughed, pushing her off me playfully. “You don’t have to be so excited.”

“If I come with you, who’s going to take care of Samuel?”

“Kelly can pull that off,” I suggested.

“She’s still twelve, you know,” Jenni glared at me. “And after what happened, I’m not leaving her alone, at all.”

I fell in love with her all over again. For the two weeks she’d been here, she took on the motherly role pretty well, and surprisingly, Kelly didn’t mind. Jenni had found that perfect balance between being a friend and earning Kelly’s respect enough for the girl to listen to her, and to me, that was almost as if she had performed a miracle. I couldn’t really ask for more.

“Fine, then it will just be me,” I said. “Although that could be dangerous. I might actually enjoy my stay there and reconsider moving.”

Jenni eyed me with mock anger. “You wouldn’t.”

“I might.”

“Fine,” she shrugged. “We’re staying right here. You can visit in the summer.”

I grabbed her arm and pulled her to me, kissing her passionately. When I pulled back, she was smiling up at me, her eyes glimmering in the sunlight. “You can’t make it a week without us,” she said.

And she was right. For the first time in a very long time, I finally felt like I was home.

Epilogue: One Year Later: Jenni

The house was dark except for the dim glow of the candles that Alex had set up all around the living room. I sat on the couch, watching him light one after the other, sipping at my glass of wine and feeling the slight buzz of the alcohol in my head.

It had been an incredible evening. A walk through the park, dinner by the river at that new restaurant that had opened near the university, and a movie with enough popcorn I could have swam in the bowl. Not to mention the locket he had wrapped around my neck, the gold now glimmering in the candlelight.

When it came to anniversaries, Alex Logan really knew how to keep it sweet and simple, and I loved him for it. Besides, the wine was the perfect touch, especially with the candles.

“I don’t think I bought enough,” he said, eyeing the setup.

“You can light up a church with what we have here,” I replied, laughing.

“If you say so,” he smiled. Pouring himself a glass, he sat down on the carpet beside me and pulled me into his arms.

It was rare for us to have the entire house to ourselves, and we had decided to make the best of the opportunity. With Kelly at a sleepover and Samuel on a two-day fishing trip, I felt like a parent whose kids had just moved away to college.

“This was a beautiful night,” I said, easing into his arms.

“Least I can do,” he replied. “You’ve given me one of the best years of my life.”

I sipped on the wine. “Did I?”

“Of course,” he said.

“It was a pretty good year, wasn’t it?” I smiled. “You’re not all that bad in the boyfriend department.”

“Wow, thank you, I’m glad you approve.”

I giggled, kissing his cheek and playfully biting his chin. The truth was, it was one of the best years of my life, too. Ever since I had moved in, things seemed to be a lot more stable. Work at the diner was a lot smoother, especially since Hank now trusted me with a lot more responsibilities and wasn’t constantly breathing down my neck. Apparently, being with Alex seemed to settle well with him, as if his little girl had finally made the right choice in the relationship department, at least in his eyes.

Besides, I loved being a part of the Logan family. Samuel had definitely taken a liking to me, even using me as an excuse to take shots at Alex. Every time we disagreed on anything, Samuel was quick to take my side. Even Kelly jumped at any chance to use me as a card against her father. Tonight’s sleepover was a perfect example. Not to mention that I was a major player in convincing her father that having a boyfriend was not the end of the world.

All in all, it really was a great year, and despite my initial concerns, the worry that we were going into this way too fast, it had played out pretty well. I couldn’t really imagine my life without Alex anymore. It was like everything before him was non-existent.

“So, how does Alex Logan plan for this night to end?”

Alex looked at me, a playful smile spreading across his face. “Well, we do have the house to ourselves.”

“I noticed that.”

“And there’s enough wine for us to get really, really drunk.”

I smiled. “I see.”

Alex leaned in and kissed the crook of my neck, softly, his breath warm against my skin. I closed my eyes and moaned softly. “I did have a few things in mind, though,” he said.

I raised an eyebrow and bit my lower lip. “Well, please, don’t let me get in the way of your plans.”

He took the glass from my hand, placed it on the table beside me and leaned in again, his lips locking onto mine. I kissed him passionately, then hungrily. He pulled me to him, and I straddled him, feeling his already hard cock against my crotch.

I pulled back and began to grind slowly. “Why, Mr. Logan,” I whispered. “You seem to be a little too excited.”

He closed his eyes as I pressed against him, swirling my hips around, my hands slowly unbuttoning his shirt.

“I think the wine’s getting to my head,” he said with a smile.

I leaned in, kissed him, and pulled at his lower lip with my teeth. “I think it’s more than just the wine,” I said, gazing into his eyes seductively as I continued to grind against him.

His hands grabbed my waist, and he began to push my shirt up. I slapped his hands away and shook a finger at him. “You see? Too excited.”

“Someone’s in a playful mood,” he said.

I pouted. “Maybe it’s the wine,” I teased. But it was more than that. Ever since dinner and I had been fighting back the heat inside me, and even during the movie, it took every ounce of self-control I had not to rip the clothes off his body and take him. The atmosphere, the wine, the romantic anniversary gestures, it just made me want him so fucking badly I could almost feel the heat between my thighs spread like wildfire through me.

I continued to unbutton his shirt and leaned in, kissing his chest, running my hands across his body. I kissed my way down, unbuttoned his pants, and gazed into his eyes as I pulled them off. I slipped a hand inside his boxers and squeezed, smiling as he gasped at my touch.

“What do you say we have a little fun?” I teased, stroking his cock.

Alex opened his mouth to reply, then closed it, his eyes rolling back in pleasure. I pulled off his boxers, bent down and gently ran my tongue across his shaft. The way he shuddered under me only turned me on even more. I looked up at him, meeting his gaze, and slowly took his cock into my mouth. He groaned in pleasure and his hands clenched against the couch cushions. I sucked on his cock, wrapping my hand around him and pumping him as I twirled my tongue around the tip. I felt his legs shake, and I quickened my pace.

“Oh God, that’s good,” he moaned.

I lost myself in what I was doing, feeling dirty and turned on to the point where I actually wanted to hear him beg me to not stop. When I felt like he was about to come, I pulled him out of my mouth and giggled when he groaned in disappointment.

“You’re a tease, you know that?” he said.

“You haven’t seen anything yet,” I replied. I stood in front of him and stared into his eyes as I slowly undid the buttons of my pants and slipped out of them. Swirling my hips about, I smiled and stripped out of my panties. The way he was looking at me, the hunger in his eyes, only turned me on more.

I moved closer until my pussy was only inches from his face, then grabbed him by the back of his head and pulled him to me. His hands quickly grabbed my ass and his tongue hungrily lapped at my crotch. I moaned in pleasure, grinding against his face as he sucked on my clit and slid his tongue inside me. I was only getting wetter, and hornier, and I locked my fingers in his hair and pressed his face closer.

In a matter of seconds my moans filled the room as my body shook with an intense orgasm. The heat of the moment was overwhelming, and before I could totally recover, I straddled him and quickly slid his cock inside me. His hands squeezed my ass as he entered me, my legs shuddering against him as inch by inch he filled me up. He wasted no time undressing me, pulling my shirt over my head and unclasping my bra even as I began to ride him. He pulled me closer, covering my breasts with his hands and mouth, sucking at my nipples, nibbling on them and sending wave after wave of shockwaves through me. I rode him faster, harder, lost in the moment as his cock slid in and out of me. I grinded against him, swirling my hips as he sucked on my nipples, feeling his cock along every inch inside me. He grabbed my hips, forcing me to move faster as my breasts bounced against his face. And when he pushed his thumb against my clit, my body exploded as a second orgasm hit me hard.

I lifted off him, leaning against the couch as he pushed onto his knees behind me. I looked over my shoulder at him, my eyes silently begging him to take me, and my hands clenched against the couch as he pushed inside me. His hands gripped my waist, holding me tight as he rocked against me. His cock hit parts of me that drove me insane, and I had to bury my face in the couch to muffle my screams. I reached behind me, grabbing his waist and pulling him against me, his pelvis slapping against my ass with every thrust. He was driving me insane, and he knew it, because every few seconds he would slow his pace only to pick it up again and drive me over the edge. I pushed back against him, rocking with his rhythm, meeting every thrust as he moved. I felt myself get wetter, hotter, and I wondered just how many orgasms I could take before I collapsed and begged him to stop.

He turned me around onto my back and climbed on top of me, sliding back into me and taking control. I felt my head spin, my senses lost in the midst of what he was doing to me. He pinned my hands over my head and began ramming against me, thrusting hard and fast, fucking me like his life depended on it. My body was burning in the heat of the moment, and with every thrust, my moans grew louder until I was screaming his name, over and over again, begging him to go faster, harder, deeper. I locked my heels against his ass and pulled him in, forcing his cock in deeper. With his free hand he squeezed my breast, pinching my nipple lightly and sending a wave of shudders through my body.

Before I knew it, I was coming again, gushing around his cock as he moved against me. My screams were so loud, I was sure the neighbors across the street would hear me, but I didn’t care. I was so lost in the moment, so overwhelmed with what he was doing to me, the sky could have fallen and I wouldn’t have wanted him to stop.

When he came, it was like a volcano exploding inside me, filling me up. His hands clenched down hard on my wrists, and he pushed in with a final thrust that shook me to the core. I came again, shuddering underneath him, my thighs clamping down on him and holding on so tight, I felt the muscles spasm. I pulled him to me, wanting to feel the hammering of his heart against me, the heat of his skin against mine, and shuddered again when I felt his body shake in my arms.

We stayed like that for a few minutes, wrapped in each other’s arms, gasping for breath. When he finally rolled over, I rolled into his arms and held him tight. I didn’t want to let go. I felt so calm, so at peace, I wished for the moment to last forever. His arms held me like a vice, pressing me tight against his chest.

My head swam, the multiple orgasms mixing with the alcohol in my system, and I quickly fell asleep in his arms.

I woke up a few hours later, cradled against him as he carried me up the stairs and into our bedroom. He laid me down softly and climbed onto his side of the bed, spooning me. I pushed back against him, silently urging him to hold me tighter, his warm breath against the nape of my neck, and I closed my eyes.

“I love you,” I whispered, hugging his arms. I felt safe here, protected just by his presence, knowing that whatever happened, he would never let me go.

Alex kissed my back and pressed me closer. “I love you, too,” he whispered back.

I smiled, cherishing this moment and etching it into my mind forever.

A few minutes later, I was fast asleep, lying in the arms of the man I loved, knowing that I would never have to worry about anything ever again.

Bonus Scene

We were barely inside Jenni’s little apartment before she grabbed the front of my shirt, pressed me to the wall, and kissed me hard. It was her eyes that told me what she wanted first, then her lips. Her eyes glimmered in the dim light, and with the curve of her luscious, I knew exactly what she wanted. And I was more than ready to give it to her.

My eyes dropped to her breasts, her cleavage big enough for me to bury my fucking face in it, and I swear I could hear them begging me to do whatever I wanted to them.

“What are you waiting for?” Jenni asked, and it was all the invitation I wanted.

I leaned in, our lips locking and her hands reaching up, running through my hair. I felt her tongue flicker against mine, and I kissed her hungrily. She wanted it to. It was in the way she breathed against my lips, the way her lips seemed to heat up against mine, the way she clenched my hair and pulled me to her.

I leaned over, letting one hand slide up one leg, moving slowly to the inside of her thigh. She pushed her hips up towards me, opening her beautiful legs up, letting my hand slide into her skirt. When my hand found her dripping wet through her panties, she moaned against my lips and kissed me hungrily.

My cock was hard, and I mean rock hard. It bulged against my pants, and I desperately wanted to give it more breathing space, but couldn’t move my hand from where it was. I slid her panties to one side and slid a finger between her lips, moving against her clit. She broke the kiss, her moans too much to keep in, and she began to wrap herself around me. She pulled my head down to her neck, letting me kiss her collar, as one long leg wrapped around mine and gave me more access to her pussy.

I slid my fingers inside her, slow at first, and when she began to grind against them, picked up the speed. I was kissing my way down her half-open blouse until I found the tender flesh of her breasts, and she just pulled me closer, burying me in their glory, bucking against my fingers as I fucked her with everything I had. Her moans were turning into soft screams of pleasure, and her thighs began pushing against my bulge, moving against them, driving me crazy.

I pulled away, too excited to fucking take it anymore. I wanted to strip her naked and have my way with her. The excitement she was in was driving me crazy, and I knew the couch we were on would not be enough for what I had planned.

Jenni had other plans though. She grabbed my wrist quickly, pulling me back to her pussy. “Don’t stop,” she whispered in my ear before biting on the lobe and running her tongue around it. “Don’t you dare stop!”

I found myself getting lost in her blue eyes. I couldn’t possibly say no, could I? I quickly went back to work, adding a little pressure to her clit with my thumb, and soon she was rocking against my hand as if her life depended on it. She came hard, clutching me tight, her screams muffled in my neck. She shook like a leaf against me, gushing against my hand. She didn’t let go, not immediately, and I fought the urge to just throw her on her back and fuck her right there.

I began to move, and she quickly pushed me back, her strength surprising me. She gave me a wicked smile, slipped off the couch and began to unbuckle my belt. “My turn,” she winked at me.

I watched her fingers work expertly, unbuttoning me and sliding my pants and boxers down in one quick motion. This was not her first time, and when she looked up at me, blue eyes meeting mine, a wide smile in her face, she proved it to me with a quick flick of her tongue against my cock.

She squeezed me, my cock pulsing in her hand. And when she took me into her mouth, my head fell back and a loud sigh escaped me. Those fucking lips, that tongue grazing against me as she sucked, her nails grazing the inside of my thighs, I felt like I was going to explode right there and then. A premature orgasm that was going to make me look like an idiot. It was all I could do to hold back, keep my head in the game, and the more she worked, the harder it was.

My hand reached down to her head, and she gently brushed it away, letting me know that this was her show, not mine. That she knew what she was doing and didn’t need any coaxing from me. She grazed my cock with her teeth, softly, the mix of little pain and so much fucking pleasure making me groan.

And just before I felt like I couldn’t take it anymore, she let my cock slide out. I watched her stand in front of me, gazing at me with those mischievous eyes, looking at me like I was her prey. She slowly slid her skirt up so I could see her drenched panties, then slid them down her legs, slowly stepping out of them.

“You’re gorgeous,” I stammered.

She giggled. “You’re only saying that because you know what I’m about to do,” she said, straddling me. My cock was sandwiched between her pussy lips, and she slowly began rocking back and forth.

“No, I’m not,” I said.

“Good,” she said, lifting herself up and grabbing my cock, guiding it. “Because I would be disappointed otherwise.”

She slid down and buried me inside her, and my groans matched the gasp that came from her. I felt myself grow even harder inside her, and I didn’t know if it was because of how tight she was or the fact that she was clenching against me. I grabbed her ass, holding her down as I took in the warmth and wetness that surrounded my cock.

“You gonna let me go?” she asked, that wicked smile on her face.

“In a second,” I replied.

“Or maybe I should give you something else to keep your hands busy.” She slowly began to unbutton her blouse, and I almost cried when I saw the bra clasp on the front.

“You’re not playing fair,” I smiled as she slid the blouse off and threw it to a side.

“I never play fair.”

I reached up for the clasp, and as soon as my hands left her hips, she began to move against me. I closed my eyes for juts a second; enough to let the feeling of her pussy blow my mind. My hands undid her clasp, and her beautiful breasts fell free. I brought her to me, but her arms were already around my head, pulling me to her chest. I buried my face between them, kissed them, used my tongue to draw circles around them, and she began to ride me faster. I pinched her nipples, then took one and then the other in mouth, and sucked hard.

Jenni’s moans made me work harder, and soon she was riding me like a fucking bronco. Her hips switched from bouncing on top of me, her huge breasts slapping against my face, and grinding, hard and fast, driving me crazy. I reached down and found her clit, and that only made her grind harder and faster, her moans now full on screams. One orgasm after the other shook her, but she didn’t stop, wanting more, begging me to keep doing what I was doing.

I couldn’t fucking take it anymore. I grabbed her ass, squeezing hard and lifted her up. She continued rocking against me, her legs wrapping around mine, and only when I turned her onto her back was I finally in control.

I fucked like there was no tomorrow. I slammed my cock inside her with just the same amount of speed and vigor that she had shown me, her breasts bouncing, her arms over her head so I could see the whole thing. Her legs clasped around my hips, pulling me in with every thrust, forcing me to fuck harder.

“Oh God, Alex!” she screamed. “I’m going to cum again…don’t stop…I’m cumming…!”

Her orgasm came with a scream that could have deafened me and scared the neighbors, but all it did was make me want more. She pulled me to her, wrapping herself around me, shaking against me as the aftershocks of her orgasm rocked her body.

I began to move again, and she held me tighter, stopping me.

“Slow down,” she giggled. “Slow down, you’re going to fucking kill me.”

“You started this,” I chuckled, kissing her neck, her cheek, her lips. Her eyes were closed, and the smile on her face was priceless.

“I know, I know,” she sighed. I moved, and she stopped me again. “Alex!” she gasped.

“You think I’ve had enough of you?”

She smiled and looked at me, and I swear I could have lost myself in those eyes. “At least get me out of this skirt,” she said.

I struggled with the zipper on the side, mainly because I was still too excited to even think about what I was doing. She giggled, and helped me pull her skirt off. Before her legs fell back down, I pushed them open and bent down. My tongue lapped up at her juices, and she squirmed underneath me.

“Alex!” she moaned.

I grabbed her hips to stop her from moving and continued to eat her out. I pushed my tongue between her lips, licking up and down, flicking against her clit and sucking it into my mouth. Her legs clenched closed around my head and her hands buried themselves in my hair. I pushed two fingers inside her, and while I worked my tongue, I twisted and turned my fingers inside, driving her crazy. Her heels had fallen off, and her feet rubbed against my back. I felt her toes curl, and soon her legs were shaking against me, her orgasm coming hard.

I pulled back, and her legs fell limp. She slid off the couch and onto the carpet, slapping my arm lazily. “Dammit, Alex, I said give me a second!” she smiled.

“I did,” I laughed.

She looked up at me, her eyes barely open, then looked down at my hard-on. “We’re going to need to take care of that,” she said.

“Any ideas?” I asked.

She grabbed me by the cock and pulled me to her. “I have a few ideas,” she winked.

I bent down and kissed her breasts, briefly sucking on her nipples as she adjusted herself underneath me. I slid in easily, my eyes closing at the feel of her warmth. She was still wet, and it took little effort for me to find a rhythm. I rocked against her, slow, taking my time, watching her and enjoying the look on her face. Her cheeks had a beautiful blush to them, and her hair fanned out around her head, making her look sexier than ever.

“Come on, big boy,” she smiled and opened her eyes. “Let’s see how long you can hold out.”

I held out for quite a while. I fucked her slow, but every thrust made her smile wider, and soon she was racking her nails across my back. Her breath grew heavier, and despite her earlier need for a break, I knew she wanted this just as much as I did. I picked up the speed, just a little, just enough for her pants to become soft moans against my shoulder. I felt the tension inside me build up.

She took my ear in her mouth, let her tongue roll over it, then whispered, “Come for me, Alex. Come inside me, baby.”

It was all the coaxing I needed, and after a few more thrusts, I was groaning in pleasure and exploding inside her. The orgasm hit me hard, a rush of blood to the head that made me sway for a few seconds. I collapsed on top of her, and she held me tight, my cock still inside her as she clenched and milked me. I shuddered, then rolled off her. She giggled and threw a hand onto my chest. I looked at her, eyes closed, mouth smiling, beautiful breasts rising and falling with her every breath.

“That was fucking incredible,” she whispered.

“You’re fucking incredible,” I said, rubbing the tip of my nose to hers. “Just one thing, though.”

She pressed her forehead to mine. “Name it.”

“You gotta change this carpet,” I said, breaking into a smile. “I think I just gave myself one hell of a rug burn.”

She laughed and rolled into my arms and rested her head on my chest. “I think that’s something I can do. If it makes you happy.”

“You make me happy,” I said. “You make me very happy indeed.”

They say you can’t come home again.

I for one, beg to differ.