Chapter Thirty-Nine
Sawyer
I woke from a nap and lay still for a second as memories of the past twenty-four hours came back to me. Kurt was holding his phone and typing on it one-handed while the other arm remained securely around me. He paused to look at me. “Hey, sleepyhead. You sleep good?”
“Yeah. How long was I out?”
“A little over four hours.” Kurt shifted to stretch out his arm. “Oh fuck, my arm is numb.”
I sat up as he moved it back and forth, up and down, trying to re-establish circulation.
“Oh shit, the tingles. Those damn tingles are racing up my arm.”
As he kept flailing his arm about, he cursed more, and I couldn’t help but laugh. “You look ridiculous.”
George jumped on the bed, barking and creating a barrier between Kurt and me. Kurt stopped whipping his arm around. “It’s okay, buddy. He’s so protective of you.”
I gave George a pat. “I think he’s that way because he senses something. You’re a good boy, George. A good boy.”
After licking Kurt, he lay between us, remaining a living, breathing barrier. I pointed at Kurt, “Looks like you are officially on the watch list for crazy arm flailing.” We lapsed into silence as we petted George. “I saw you were texting. Any updates?”
Part of me wanted to pretend my world hadn’t been rocked to the core that afternoon. But I needed to face it, and keep facing it, if I wanted to move forward.
“The police are allowing Steve’s team to help gather evidence. They were able to hack into some of Jennifer’s accounts and found she was part of a morbid fan site.”
“Okay…What do you mean by ‘morbid’?”
Based on what I’d seen in the dressing room, I had an idea. I cradled my stomach, willing Dylan to kick. From his lack of movement, he was probably sleeping.
Kurt stretched his arm a little bit. Poor guy—those tingles when the feeling came back were awful. “One that takes their obsession with the band a little far. They plan their weddings to one of the members. Create a family photo album. It’s pretty sick.”
“Oh, shit.”
“Yeah, it was on our list to watch, but there are private chats we weren’t privy to. It seems Jennifer and another girl named Amanda Fisher were into some serious fantasy playing. Jennifer wanted Harlem, Amanda wanted me. They both have blonde hair with similar features, believe it or not. The security team is on their way to Amanda’s house now.”
“We may have found her?”
“Yes, Jennifer was the key. Steve also has people watching West Cedar. They’re trying to get someone inside the facility to make contact.”
I sat up in the bed. “So, she really is alive?”
Kurt’s eyes grew softer. It was clear he hated this as much as I did. I’d held out a small thread of hope that this had all been a mistake. A huge mistake. “Yes, she is. Steve got his hands on the visitor logs. Your parents check Adriane out every year around Mattie’s birthday, which is apparently around the same time she died, and check her back in a few days later. The day we visited your parents, Adriane was at the house. Two days later, they checked her back in.”
That was why they’d refused to let me in the house. Adriane had been there, had probably been watching us…Kurt. I felt sick to my stomach thinking about how much my parents had betrayed me. Inside me, Dylan began to kick, and I placed my hand over him, relieved he was moving. If it were up to me, I would poke and prod my stomach every ten minutes to make sure he moved. “There’s nothing that can repair the relationship. I want them out of our lives forever. I won’t have our baby tainted by my family. They don’t deserve to be part of our lives.”
“I agree. When it’s calmer, I’ll agree to dinner with my father to permanently cut him off. He’s not getting any more money. I need to prepare my mom for what that might mean.”
The more we talked about getting rid of the darker parts of our lives, the better I felt. They’d clung to us for too long, refusing to let go…until now.
My stomach growled.
“I had some takeout delivered. Are you hungry?”
The knot was still there, hanging heavy in my stomach. “Not really, but I need to eat. What’d you order?”
“Chinese from the place with the chow mein you like.”
My stomach gave off another growl. “Yum! What about the kung pao chicken?”
“That, too.”
We stood and stretched. My shirt rode up as Kurt walked around the bed toward me. “I like that your tummy is growing.”
“Me, too. But if I start waddling, you better not say a word. If I ask if I’m waddling, lie. I don’t want to be a waddler.”
He gave me a salute. “Duly noted. I’ve stricken the term from my vocabulary.”
I shook my head. “You’re a smart man, Mr. Rockstar. First, let me change out of these travel clothes.”
Opening my dresser drawer, I saw a T-shirt I’d had made once upon a time to irritate Kurt. “Oh, look what I found. I forgot I had this. I think, considering the circumstances, I should get rid of it. What do you think?”
I held up the shirt I knew pissed Kurt off.
Cole Davis is a sex god.
Kurt growled. “He’s still a cocksucker. Man, it pissed me the fuck off when you wore that. And even more so thinking about how he treated you in the club.”
It had irritated me, too. “You were right about him.”
Tossing it in the garbage, Kurt gave me a satisfied smirk. “That’s where his music belongs.”
I was reminded of something I’d ordered, and went to my bag to pull out the fresh shirt. As I turned around, Kurt read it. “Cuss muffs?”
It was a maternity shirt featuring earmuffs on the stomach with Cuss written between the ear pieces. A total impulse buy.
“Yes, Dylan’s dad cusses like a sailor. I figured this would help.”
“Me? What about you?” Kurt raised an eyebrow. “I seem to remember someone having a potty mouth, too.”
Dramatically, I looked around the room. “Who?”
Kurt rolled his eyes and gave me a quick kiss. “Just a girl who likes me to lick her pussy and fuck her.”
“Kurt!”
“What? Dylan has cuss muffs now.”
I about died laughing, holding my sides. “Oh, geez. I needed that.”
Having a little laughter elevated my mood. “I think I’m hungry now. And then…I think I want you to fuck this pussy.”
“Watch yourself, Ms. Wade. If I didn’t think you needed to eat, I would be spreading you across the bed and tasting you.”
Oh, my. I wanted to feel Kurt inside me and forget about everything. “I’ll take that option.”
He dragged his nose along mine. “I think waiting will make it that much sweeter. I don’t want you feeling sick.”
It was true. If I waited too long to eat, I would start to feel a little ill.
“You’re killing me. Let’s hurry and eat.” Taking Kurt’s arm, I practically dragged him out of the room. I sat in his lap while we fed each other from our little takeout cartons. We were nearly done, which meant it was about to be orgasm time.
Knock. Knock. Knock.
“I’m beginning to hate when people show up at our place. Who is it?” I scooted off to the side so Kurt could get up.
“I don’t know. I left my phone in the bedroom.” Kurt looked through the peep hole before he turned back to me. “It’s Joe.”
Ugh. This was not in the plan.
Kurt opened the door and let Joe in. “Is now a good time?”
“As good as any. Come on in.”
No, it’s a terrible time to show up, I added mentally.
Joe sat down on the couch where he’d sat earlier. He paused momentarily when he saw my shirt before he said, “Steve’s about to call you with an update. He asked that I be here considering I’m managing the security on this end.”
Like magic, Kurt’s phone rang. He jogged back to the bedroom and returned with the phone to his ear. “Okay, let me put you on speakerphone.” Pushing a button, he laid the phone on the table. “Go ahead.”
“Amanda Fisher has been apprehended. She lives about an hour from Jennifer Terrance. It’s her.”
“How do you know?” Kurt asked.
There seemed to be a lot of commotion in the background. “She’s all but admitted to it, saying the voices told her to do it. The same red liquid used in your dressing room was in her house. There’s a shrine. Newspapers with letters cut out. It’s all here. There was a gun, as well.”
A gun. Holy shit. Kurt put both hands on the chair and leaned forward. “What did she mean ‘voices told her to do it’?”
Steve must have closed a door as it got a little quieter on his end of the call. “When I asked about the chat with Jennifer, Amanda started screaming. She said Jennifer was supposed to delete all chats. The voices told her to delete everything.”
This lady was delusional. Voices?
Joe stepped in. “Have you been able to make a copy of her computer?”
“She doesn’t have one of her own. We’re trying to find which one she used. She refuses to talk about it. They had to sedate her when she tried to harm herself.”
“Fuck,” Kurt spat and straightened up. “What’s next?”
“We’re going to keep digging, but she’s in custody. Bail will most likely be denied.”
Thank goodness. We were safe and sound. In some ways, I was glad I’d only had to deal with this for less than twenty-four hours. Kurt’s shoulders dropped slightly. “Good work, Steve. When are you heading back here?”
“When I’ve found all there is to know about this woman, her friends, and her family.”
“Do you think someone else is involved?” Kurt’s question brought the unease back in full force.
Joe remained unreadable, listening but not giving anything away.
After a second, Steve said, “Jennifer seemed isolated, and we haven’t found traces of anyone else assisting her. But I want to make sure.”
There seemed to be something holding him back. Obviously, Kurt sensed it, too. “Why aren’t you convinced?”
“I have nothing to go on but my gut. And that says there’s more.”
There was more. My eyes shot to Kurt and then Joe. “There’s someone else involved?”
Joe replied, “I think after what we found with Navarro’s deceptions, we want to be overly cautious.”
That made me feel minutely better. At least the super crazy lady was off the streets.
Kurt picked up his phone. “Thanks, Steve. Keep in touch.”
“Will do, sir.”
Kurt ended the call and immediately dialed another number as he moved his head from side to side, cracking his neck.
“Waldo, get the lawyer on the phone. They caught her. And I want to make sure she is prosecuted to the fullest extent. Yes. I want bail to be denied. She’s doing as well as can be expected. George is good, too.”
I chimed in, “Oh, Waldo, I knew you had a soft spot for George. I’m thinking we need to make you his godfather. He’ll be your dog child.”
Kurt chuckled. “Thanks, Waldo.” He hung up and released a huge breath.
Joe gathered his things. “I’ll be coordinating with the team and will keep you updated on anything else I find.”
“Thanks, Joe,” Kurt and I said.
When we were alone, Kurt locked the door and turned toward me. “Do you want to talk about it?”
I shook my head. “Not now.”
“What do you want?”
“My promised orgasms.”
Kurt prowled toward me. “As you wish.”