CHAPTER TWENTY

Facing the window, listening to Kanye laugh as he gets in the shower, I can’t help but hope every day starts like this.

Another smile graces my lips, one I’m very familiar with now, the sated, just-fucked, the happiest-I’ve-ever-been, I’m-home smile. I sigh. Life is close to perfect for us right now. My nightmares and memories are coming less and less every day. Lily was right. Letting Kanye in was all I needed all along. I was never going to be able to walk this road alone. It was always meant for Kanye and me, but life is only close to being perfect because there is one thing that weighs heavily on me: Donovan is still looking for me.

I’ve checked the laptop every day yet there are no updates from my informant. That means Donovan is still in New York and still looking for me. Each morning as Kanye goes downstairs to make breakfast, I pull the laptop out, and I’m afraid to open my emails. Not afraid Donovan could be coming for me. No, I know what I will do if we come face to face again. I will try to kill him.

What I’m afraid of is what will happen if Donovan captures me and kills me. Not for myself, but for Kanye. I know Kanye would never survive losing me again.

I’ve thought about telling him, telling Jake, have them take over and take Donovan out for me, but the revenge deep inside of me prevents me from speaking out. It wants to watch Donovan die. I want to watch him suffer. I’m trying hard to let that part of me go. I know being here for Kanye is more important.

Hearing water turn off in the shower jolts me from my thoughts and I roll over and watch a naked Kanye step out of the shower, dry himself off and walk to the closet, still naked. His firm ass sways as he moves. He’s perfect. Every muscle on his body is taut and tight. He’s a machine of muscle and God help Donovan if Kanye ever gets his hands on him. Actually, no, God would never help such an evil monster. Kanye throws on some basketball shorts, and then comes to my side of the bed to kiss me. Drops of water drip on my face from his wet hair.

“Shower, baby, and come down. I could hear your tummy rumbling from inside the shower,” he says with a grin.

He couldn’t have, but yes, I am starving. I smile and nod. Then he’s up and walking out of the room.

I listen as his heavy footsteps leave the stairs, and when I know he’s in the kitchen, I bounce out of bed and throw on my robe. I grab the laptop from my closet, where I’ve been hiding it the last few days. I sit on the bed and open it up. Then I see it. An unopened email. Opening it, the words close and soon jump out at me.

I’ve been able to get my hands on your file at the investigators. Donovan has found your school records. He’s close to finding you. Soon he will know where you are.

Are you going to him like we planned? We need to move soon before he finds out where you live.

My heart squeezes and twists. School records. Going to him. I know I should go straight downstairs and tell Kanye this, but I’m still undecided, and I know I need to make a decision today.

I will get back to you soon with my plans.

I shut the laptop lid down and stare into thin air. Thoughts of finding Donovan, surprising him, kidnapping and hurting him run rampant through my mind. The temptation of revenge is so strong, but I’m not a fool. He would easily be twice as strong as me. I need a really good plan to make it work, an iron-tight strategy to make sure Kanye doesn’t lose me again. God, this is foolish, taking any chances at all is stupid and not right. However, retribution flows through my blood, it’s so hard to let go. My soul screams at me to jump on a plane and head to New York to show Donovan he has no power over me; that he never did.

“Emmy! Breakfast is almost ready. Five minutes!”

Kanye’s yell startles me. I jump from the bed and quickly head into the shower. I swiftly wash my body, dry myself, and choose a pair of jeans and a deep blue blouse. Then I’m racing down the stairs to the love of my life.

Kanye turns and gives me a blinding smile. He’s so happy. Fear grips my heart imagining him standing in this kitchen alone, living in this house all by himself if something does happen to me. I can’t let that happen.

“Your mom called while you were in the shower. She wants you to go shopping with her and Lily today.”

“Oh, okay, sounds like fun.”

It’s Saturday and Mom likes to see me on Saturdays or Sundays. My parents try not to crowd me, but they are pushy to see me at least once on the weekends, which I understand.

I set the table for breakfast and we sit and start eating.

“What are you up to today?” I ask Kanye with a mouthful of bacon.

“Jake texted, said he’s going to come round to watch the Colts game.”

“Ooh, sounds like fun,” I say sarcastically with a grin.

Kanye grins back at me. “Yeah, damn it, I’m going to miss looking in a hundred different shops and listening to girls squeal over material. I’m so disappointed I can’t come.” He ends with a wink and a grin.

I burst out laughing; my tummy muscles hurt from laughing so much already today. They aren’t used to it.

After breakfast, we clean up and end up on the couch making out when we hear a knock on the front door.

For a brief moment, my heart somersaults at the thought it could be Donovan. I freeze on the spot as I watch Kanye open the front door and I don’t relax until I see my mother walk in and give Kanye a hug. She smiles brightly over to me.

Looking at the smiling faces around me, I know I need to make a decision. I can’t let this go for any longer. It’s not safe. I promise myself to have a decision made by the time I get back from shopping. I already know which way I’m leaning, and that’s to tell Kanye, have him deal with Donovan and then I can know that the man will be six feet underground soon.

But what if I need to watch Donovan suffer. Does my soul need that in order to fully recover? Or is it just the revenge I crave that’s tempting me to be the last person he sees before he leaves this world.

***

Kanye

Jake and I watch as Barb drives off with both our girls. We stare at where the car drove off from only a few minutes ago.

Jake turns to me and pats me on the shoulder.

“A few hours and they’ll be back. You got beers in the fridge?”

I look to Jake and nod. “Yeah, grab me one as well.”

I glance back to the road one more time before heading inside with Jake.

My heart beats frantically at being away from Emmy. I’ve spent the last five years doing everything in my power to find her. It’s hard to watch her leave my side.

Emmy doesn’t know, but I know a lot more about her and the collection than she thinks I do. I dealt with scum to find locations for the collection and even killed men who laughed in my face when they told me they’d seen Emily and had a piece of her.

I know what happened to her. I have an idea about how many times she was raped. It kills me. Every day I wake up and remember what my girl has been through.

I knew almost every single thing about the collection and what happened to the women. The one thing I couldn’t fucking find out was where they were keeping them housed between parties. Plus, the Intel on the parties was always too late; we’d turn up and the place would be empty. So many times I prepared myself to find her and then nothing. No one was there. My heart died a thousand deaths when I realized once again we were too late. Knowing what she must have gone through the night before shattered me to the core.

When Jake informed me we were finally going to find her, I was a wreck. I couldn’t wait to have her in my arms, yet I was petrified by what I may find. What I did find was my girl, broken in her mind and soul. However, she was still my Emmy. She just needed time, and thank fuck, things are finally starting to get better, back to normal. She’s smiling. She’s laughing. Yeah, things are getting a hell of a lot better.

I walk inside, take a seat on the sofa and accept my beer from Jake. The game is starting and I try to focus, but my mind is still on Emmy. I pray she’s safe. I can’t ever lose her again. What are the chances of that ever happening another time? Probably one in a million, but those were the chances in the first place.

I’ve made sure no one from that fucking empire can hurt Emmy again. Jake and I both have been making sure of that for the last few months. We’ve been working with Joseph to track down the men who attended the parties. We’ve been taking them all out one by one.

Nick and Joseph have been the ones pulling the triggers while Jake and I stayed with our girls, but we know everything that happens. We know who’s next and when. I take those moments and savor the seconds before I know a bullet will go through a man’s heart. That he can never hurt another woman; can never hurt my Emmy again.

There’s only one motherfucker who we are yet to track down. Donovan Bradley, a lawyer from Los Angeles, mid-thirties, always wears expensive suits and my Intel was that this fucker thought he owned Emily. I want to deal with him myself.

“Kanye, what the fuck are you thinking about that has you grinding your teeth together like fucking steel? It’s louder than the damn TV.”

I turn to Jake with hard eyes. “You heard from Joseph or Nick yet?”

Jake sighs. “No, they’re still looking for the fucker. They lost him in Mexico City. Joseph said he has two guys missing. One who last reported Donovan in Florida and one who followed him to Mexico City. Both of his guys haven’t been heard from since. Joseph is pissed. He has no leads on where Alexa is and his guys keep disappearing. Every time I’ve spoken to him, he sounds like he’s ready to kill. I think the only thing that has kept him sane the last few months has been killing these fucking assholes.”

Jake sits forward and sighs, “Lil asked me a about a phone conversation she overheard. I was asking Nick if the job was done. She asked me straight out, as only Lil ever does, no bullshit. I was honest with her. She knows what we’re doing. She told me she doesn’t want to know anymore and she understands. She fucking grinned and gave me the best blow job I’ve ever had after that. My woman is fucking feisty and amazing,” Jake finishes with a massive smile on his face.

I can’t help but smile myself. Lily is feisty, a woman who’s lost so much and yet she has so much fight left in her. Her pictures are the ones Emily used to stare at the most. I know Emily idolizes Lily, but Emmy doesn’t see she’s just as much a fighter if not more than Lily. My girl’s a survivor ‘til the end.

“I was going to give Joseph a call today while I was here, get an update. I’ll do it now.”

I nod to Jake and he grabs his phone from his back pocket. He presses some keys before turning the speakerphone on and we hear the ringing tone.

“Jake, fuck, I was just about to call you!” Joseph answers, yelling into the phone.

There’s a loud roar of an engine and strong winds in the background.

“Where the hell are you, Joseph?” Jake asks.

“Just getting off my jet at Hasting Airport. Things have changed and I needed to come to you guys. We need to meet. Where can I find you?”

I look up to Jake, shocked by Joseph’s words.

Jake gives Joseph my home address and they hang up.

We’re both left surprised and wondering what’s changed so much that Joseph O’Connor needs to see us in person.