Chapter Thirty
They heard Alex’s motorcycle well before he walked in the door. Funny, Kat thought, she’d forgotten he’d had one. Hadn’t seen him ride it since she’d been back. Stephen used the remote to turn off the news as Kat untangled herself from his arms and sat up, gaping at Alex when he walked through the cabin door.
He ran his hand through his hair. Self-consciously, she thought. “Did I fuck it up?”
“Um…no. I just forgot how much you and Stephen look alike.”
“What’s with the cut?”
“Long story. Just don’t be surprised if your face isn’t the only one in tomorrow’s headlines. At least your headlines are getting better,” Alex said, nodding toward Stephen.
They had. While they’d been waiting for Alex, they’d watched the news. There had been no mention of everything that had gone down at the party last night, only Kat’s statement being played on top of the Attorney General’s.
“And I had to ditch your truck, Stephen. At least for a while.”
“What the hell happened?” Xavier asked. “And why didn’t you just show them your badge?”
“Yeah, about that,” Alex grinned.
“Jesus, Alex. You were suspended? You said he told you to take a vacation.”
“Yeah, a vacation without my badge.”
“Jesus, Alex,” Xavier began then shook his head. “Forget it. It’s not my main concern right now. What happened?”
“George Blake killed himself.”
“The third man,” Kat gasped, relief so palpable her knees buckled, or would have had she been standing. She’d hoped, prayed even. Because if George Blake was the third, Thomas O’Rourke wasn’t.
She looked down at her phone, wanting so badly to call Ethan. But it would have to wait. And he probably wouldn’t answer anyway, she thought with a pang. He hadn’t returned any of her other calls or texts today.
“Third?” Alex questioned.
“I’ll start from the beginning,” Stephen said, pulling her closer, until she was nearly on his lap. “Two weeks ago, a woman named Donna Henderson died of a drug overdose.”
Head still reeling, Kat listened with half an ear as Stephen related their interview with the Henderson children and George Blake, blocking out the horror of what Karen Young had gone through. The horror of seeing Blake’s brain matter splattered in the kitchen.
“There were three,” Stephen continued.
This time it was Alex who drew in a breath. “Harrington, Koski, and Blake.”
“Yeah,” Stephen said. “We think Karen conceived that night. Blake thought there was a pretty good chance Greg knew. Before he married Karen, so that brings his motive into question.”
“Harrington was in law school at the time,” Xavier said. “Along with his buddy, Koski. Up until about a year ago, Koski was Harrington’s campaign manager. He was forced to retire when he was diagnosed with cancer. He’s already lived longer than the doctors gave him.”
“And Blake? Anything linking him to Harrington or Koski?”
“I’m still looking into that,” Xavier said. “So far nothing, other than attending college in the same city.”
Which was nothing, Kat thought.
“The three logical suspects in Emma’s death are the men who were at that party. We have Blake, Harrington, and Koski.”
“Koski’s on his death bed. Blake was still alive. We’ll have to see if we can find out where he was on the Fourth of July. And Harrington, I doubt he would have done it himself.”
“Jessica Adams is the key. We’re wasting our time trying to figure out who killed Karen and Emma without talking to Jessica first. She was at that party…” she trailed off, finally letting herself think about what had been bugging her all day.
“What are you thinking?” Alex asked.
Kat hesitated. “Keep in mind this is all speculation.”
“Noted,” Alex said, nodding for her to continue.
“Jessica lied to me about meeting with Emma. That doesn’t necessarily mean she’s guilty, but…” She paused, taking a breath. “Jessica was dating Greg Radcliffe first, before he met Karen. Supposedly, she was okay with it, but…”
“You don’t really think so?”
“No. I’m thinking Jessica Adams brought Karen Young to the frat party and drugged her, set her up. When that didn’t work, when Karen and Greg got back together, then later married and had the baby, she had to come up with a new plan. She stabbed Karen and left, leaving Greg to take the fall for her murder. Revenge against both of them. She killed two birds with one stone.”
Alex was silent for a while, letting it soak in, she thought. “Or three,” Alex muttered.
“What?” Kat asked.
“Tell her, Alex,” Stephen growled. “You know the cases are tied.”
“Yeah,” he sighed, looking at Kat. “Before you get mad, just know I’m sorry. Jessica Adams is the senator’s half-sister.”
“And you’re just telling me this now?” Kat raged as she flew off the couch. “How could—”
Alex cut her off mid-rant. “I really didn’t believe there was a connection at first. But if what you’re saying is true, she could have purposely set up her half-brother as well. Maybe she was blackmailing him? Hell, I don’t know. From what we’ve been able to gather, Jessica and Harrington are close.”
“So I guess that explains why Mark Prescott was at the hospital. Was it really Jessica’s husband that beat her up? I meant to look into that. I forgot.” And she couldn’t help but wonder what else she forgot.
“At this point, it could be anybody. But no, I never believed it was her husband.”
“Jessica knew Emma was investigating this case. She could have stabbed her at the party—”
“Was she there?” Stephen interrupted.
“Not that I saw, but half the party was outside. Anybody could have slipped in. And there are trees separating the houses.”
“If Jessica drugged Karen all those years ago and then killed her, it’s not much of a leap to believe she’d do the same to Donna Henderson. But, Jesus,” Kat breathed. “We’re talking three people she murdered. Karen Young, Emma Anderson, and Donna Henderson.” She turned to Alex. “Is it possible Jessica and Harrington are working together?”
“Killing Emma at the party caused the senator’s numbers to drop,” Xavier pointed out. “He wouldn’t have risked it.”
“But donating the money to the NYSP brought them back up,” Alex said. “And we have to consider whether Emma was meeting with Jessica because of Karen Young or Matthew Harrington,” Alex said.
I am not your son.
Matthew had yelled those words at the senator the night of the fundraiser. What if…Jesus, it was too crazy to contemplate. But it reminded her to check her email.
“What?”
Kat shook her head. “Nothing—”
“What are you thinking, Kat?” Stephen asked.
“Jessica was definitely there the day Karen Young was killed,” she evaded. “She’s the one who picked up the baby. But like I said before, we need to speak with her. Until we do, we’re just spinning our wheels. It would help if we got a confession.” Or even proof of innocence.
“We can’t do it,” Alex said. “Stephen is the prime suspect, Xavier and I are related to him, and you’re sleeping with him.”
Kat felt the heat rise in her cheeks, but otherwise ignored his comment. “What about Mary Robinson? Then we can ask her where she is on Donna Henderson’s investigation. We need to know that, too.”
“If we bring in Robinson, we’re bringing in Allen,” Alex warned. “And once we tell them, they’ll be handing the investigation.”
Kat looked over at Stephen, finally confronting the fear that had begun the same time as the shooting. Because if Blake had shot Stephen instead of himself…It would have been her fault.
“We can’t move forward without them,” Kat said, answering Alex, but never taking her eyes off Stephen.
***
Hours later Stephen stood on the threshold to Kat’s office, watching as she ran on the treadmill. Music played through the surround sound, but he could see the earbuds hanging from her ears. She’d been at it for nearly an hour with no signs of slowing.
Outside the windows, he could see a partial view of the ski slopes toward the west and the jogging path toward the east. But he knew Kat’s attention was focused across the highway.
On Ethan’s driveway.
He wondered if that’s why she’d begged to come back to her house instead of staying at the cabin. He walked over to the minifridge and grabbed two bottles of water. Kat must have finally sensed his presence, because she slowed to a walk and removed the earbuds. She glanced over her shoulder before turning back around.
But not before he caught the sadness in her eyes. Ah, shit. He’d known this wasn’t going to be easy. He’d give her all the time in the world as long as he was positive she didn’t regret her decision. Because he knew without a doubt, he’d never be able to deal with the pain of losing her if he got in even deeper. Not that he could get in even deeper.
Finally, she stopped, but remained on the treadmill. He handed her the bottle, which she accepted, drinking nearly all of it down before coming up for air. “Xavier called. He said he talked to Mary, convinced her to come tomorrow. With Allen, of course.”
“That should be fun” she said, but Stephen could tell her mind was still elsewhere.
“Tell me what’s on your mind, sweetheart.”
“Nothing.”
Stephen took a breath. Patience, he told himself. Just as he’d asked of her. He leaned against the window sill, facing her, and waited until she looked at him. “For this to work, sweetheart, you need to trust me. Be honest with me. I know you’re hurting. And I get it.” Though he hated it, because he wondered if he’d ever have her heart fully. “Talk to me. Please.”
She met his gaze then and he hoped she could see the sincerity in his. She must have, because she said, “I haven’t heard from Ethan since this morning. He hasn’t returned my calls or my texts.”
“Give him a little space, sweetheart. It hasn’t even been twenty-four hours.” Had his and Ethan’s roles been reversed—
“I can’t lose him.”
And there it was, the honesty and trust he’d just asked for, yet twisted his gut all the same. She’d once told him Ethan was her best friend. Even then, he’d known her feelings for Ethan ran much deeper than that.
He reminded himself that she was here, with him. Like he’d told Ethan a couple nights ago, somehow they all had to make this work. Kat and Ethan were a package deal. And Ethan’s blessing would go a long way in making this a hell of a lot easier.
“You won’t, Kat,” Stephen said softly, moving closer to cup her face, the handlebars between them. “I won’t let that happen, okay? I know you love him.” Jesus, that had been hard to say out loud. “Just don’t shut me out, don’t hide anything from me. Please,” he added.
Because that would cause a wedge between them eventually. If she was honest, if he knew what she was feeling, they could deal with it. “Trust me, Kat.”
When he held his hand out to her and she placed her hand in his, he hadn’t realized he was holding his breath, waiting for her response. “I trust you, Stephen.”
Words he’d waited so long to hear. They nearly brought him to his knees. He pulled her into his arms, kissing her until he couldn’t breathe anymore. And he swore to himself he’d never fuck up again, swore he’d make everything he’d just said to her true.
“I need a shower,” she said, squirming in his arms.
Reluctantly, he let her go, trying like hell to get rid of the images of seeing her sleeping with Ethan in the same bed where he waited for her. There was no room for jealousy between them. Not anymore. Another thing he’d have to work on, he thought.
She came out of the bathroom like a dream. The heat from her shower following her over the threshold, a cloud of steam around her, wrapped in a towel. As much as it would kill him, he’d been prepared to just hold her all night, wait for her to let him know what she wanted. But all bets were off the second she dropped the towel. No sexy dance this time. She just let the towel drop to the floor at her feet, standing before him wearing only a smile. And that diamond in her belly button that drove him wild.
He sucked in a breath and stood, slowly making his way toward her, resisting the urge to take her like he had last night. That wasn’t what he wanted tonight, wasn’t what she needed. Hands trembling, he reached for her, kissing her until he couldn’t breathe, lost in the sweetness of her, in the taste and scent of her.
“I need you naked,” she whispered, tearing her mouth from his.
“Soon.” He had other plans first. Instead he captured her hands and backed her into the wall, lifting her arms above her head, imprisoning them with one hand around her wrists, her moan of arousal filling his head. And then he stepped back, his gaze sweeping over every single part of her beautiful body, his hand following, getting his fill of everything he’d missed the night before. Cupping her breasts, skimming down her side, over her hourglass figure, giving her a wicked smile when she widened her stance, spreading her legs apart when he tapped her thigh.
Which was wiped from his face the second he slid two fingers inside her. “Jesus, Kat. So wet, so fucking tight.” Even after last night. He watched her carefully, looking for signs of discomfort. But if there was, she wasn’t feeling it now. Her head fell against the wall, her hips moving against his fingers, taking him deeper.
“Please,” she whimpered.
“Begging already, Kat? I haven’t even begun.” He released her arms and bent his head, taking her breast in his mouth, nipping gently before soothing the minor pain with his tongue, her sighs filling his head. He worked his way down, worshipping her body with his hands and mouth, knowing he’d never get enough of her. When he finally made his way down to the center of her, when she spread her legs even further, her sigh of pleasure filling his head as he drove his tongue inside her. Jesus, she tasted like heaven.
His.
She’d been his since the moment he’d first seen her, even if she hadn’t realized it yet.
And in that moment, with Kat gripping his hair in her hands, with his name falling from her lips, he finally let himself believe it. Replacing his tongue with his fingers, he licked up her core to her clit, felt her internal walls squeeze around his fingers, reminding him how she felt clenching around his cock. And suddenly he couldn’t wait any longer, needed to feel her with a fierceness that astounded him, as if he hadn’t just felt her come apart around him just last night.
And he wondered if this desperation would ever lessen, the need to have her, the need to cement that they were meant to be, that feeling that he could lose her any second.
“Don’t stop,” Kat moaned a beat before she shattered, shaking in his arms so violently he had to hold her in place. He caught her just before her legs buckled, scooping her up in his arms and bringing her to the bed, undressing as fast as humanly possible.
“You’re beautiful,” she whispered, scrambling to her knees as she ran her hands up and down his chest. And when she closed her mouth around his nipple, he nearly detonated. “Please hurry.”
“Not tonight,” he growled, gripping her hair in his hands, kissing her mouth as he stretched her out beneath him, propping his weight on forearms so he wouldn’t crush her, even though that’s exactly what he wanted to do.
Reaching down, she gripped his cock and squeezed. He sucked in his breath, letting her explore his body even though it killed him. He clenched his teeth, refusing to give into the need to come.
And then she flipped him over on his back, straddling him, stroking her hands up and down his chest and abs, not missing a spot until he was trembling. He was forced to grab the slats on her headboard to keep from reaching for her and slamming her down on his body. Kat leaned down, giving him the same treatment he’d given her, following her hands with her mouth, licking, kissing, nipping him until his entire body shook with restraint.
She moved lower and Stephen sucked in a breath through clenched teeth, ready to explode before he even felt her hand close around him. “Kat,” he warned. Because holy hell, he’d never survive it.
But she didn’t listen. When had she ever listened? She licked him, his entire body spasmed. He gripped her head in his hands, burying his fingers in her hair. “Kat,” he warned again. Or maybe it was plea. Hell, at this point he didn’t know anymore.
His eyes met hers and he nearly fucking exploded when she licked her lips. Still watching, she licked him again, swirling her tongue around the head of his cock. She wasn’t shy about her passion, about demanding what she wanted. She never had been and that aroused him to no end. “Show me.”
So he did, guiding her, telling her what he wanted, showing her what he liked. And quite possibly for the first time ever, she listened. And holy fuck it had been worth the wait, because he’d never felt anything more incredible than her mouth with the exception of being inside her. When he began to remove his hands, she demanded he put them back, guide her and she took the entire length of him until he felt the back of her throat. He saw stars, nearly passed out from the pleasure, it was so fucking intense, until finally he couldn’t hold out any longer, seconds from exploding in her mouth and that was so not where he wanted to explode.
As if she knew what he was thinking, Kat raised her eyes, subtly shaking her head, warning him by gently clamping her teeth around him, making him half laugh, half groan before he acquiesced. She took him fully into her mouth again and he let himself go, unable to stop himself from tightening his hands in her hair, knowing she wasn’t ready for his loss of control, but holy fuck, he couldn’t help it as she took him to the back of her throat again and cupped his balls at the same time. On a breathless gasp, he warned her one last time. She ignored him, her hum of consent all he needed to push him over the edge, coming with a violent roar, her name on his lips, his entire body stiffening as his orgasm took over and every thought flew out of his head as he gave into a pleasure so intense he swore he blacked out for a moment.
But he was still hard, still needed her, unable to get enough. Jesus, he hadn’t felt like this since he was a teenager. Or maybe since the last time he’d been with her. In one fast move, he flipped her over, pinning her to the mattress, grabbing her hands, pulling them over her head. He gave her a wicked smile that had her entire body shivering beneath him as he positioned his cock at her entrance, catching himself just before he thrust into her.
“Bare?” he growled. Twice now they’d had sex without a condom, but this would be the first time they’d be making a conscious decision to do so. And at her nod—thank God—he thrust deep, burying himself fully inside her, despite his determination to take it slow, his name tearing from her lips on a gasp. Washing over him, filling him, taking his breath away.
“You like having me in your mouth?” He didn’t need an answer, it was obvious she did. And he was suddenly glad she’d taken the edge off, because Jesus, her tight heat enveloping him nearly had him on the brink again.
“I like having you at my mercy,” Kat laughed, her smile wicked. “I like having the power to bring you to your knees.”
“You had me on my knees the second I laid eyes on you, sweetheart.”
The right words, he thought, if her clenching around him was any indication. He groaned again. And then he had to stop talking, get his breath back as he steeled himself against another orgasm, needing this to last, needing to feel her body clenching around his before he let go. But hell, he might lose the battle if she didn’t come immediately, so he didn’t move, just kept himself buried inside her, kissing her mouth, her neck, her breasts until she was wild beneath him, scratching her nails up and down his back, her impatience obvious.
“Move,” she demanded.
“Give me a minute,” he laughed breathlessly, resting his forehead against hers.
“You’ve had a minute,” she said, purposely tightening around him, making him groan again. “You gonna have problems keeping up with me?”
“Are you seriously taunting me right now, sweetheart? After you just took the edge off?” He dropped a kiss on her mouth. “Which means I can go for hours.”
“Prove it.”
So he did, proving over and over again that she would never get enough of him, proving that he knew exactly how to bring her body to the edge of bliss until she was begging for release. Eliciting her desire again and again, just so he could hear her scream his name in ecstasy until the wee hours of the morning when they were both finally spent, clinging to each other, despite the sweat covering their bodies. And hours later, when Stephen woke as the first glimmers of dawn began filtering in through the windows, Kat was exactly where she was supposed to be.
Wrapped in his arms.
Finally.