Seth stepped out of the bathroom trying to clear his head after the
long week he’d been having. As pathetic as he as starting to
seem, he couldn’t help but dwell on what it was like to have Blake so
very close to him only to let her go. He hadn’t heard a word from
her since he’d walked out so he figured that by now she and Zack were
no doubt reunited enjoying their lives with one another. That
thought in itself sent another wave of misery rushing over him, but it
was for the best. He was certain that Blake was happier without
him. Zack was a doctor and a man that was more of what Blake was
accustomed to in her life. Seth couldn’t compete with that and
obviously from here on out he’d have to face the fact that he just
didn’t cut it where Blake was concerned. She’d taken him up on
his suggestion and moved on. So why the hell couldn’t he do the
same?
“Because you’d rather sit in self pity,” Seth scowled at himself in the
hallway mirror before turning towards his room to get dressed.
He’d spent far too much time dwelling on the what might’ve been, but
today he had work to do down at the studio. However, before he
could get to finishing getting dressed he heard the distinct sound of
someone at his front door.
Turning around to answer it, Seth felt his pulse rate quicken with a
momentarily touch of hope. Before he could truly take the time to
ponder who it could be, his thoughts lingered back to Blake.
Pausing mid-step he wondered if he’d been all wrong about her
decision. Had she come to see him? To ask for them to start
over again? Could that really be what was happening once he’d
decided to give up on any hope for them altogether, he asked
himself. However, when he opened up the door to his apartment, he
found Ria standing in the hallway looking less than thrilled.
“It took you long enough to answer,” she marched past him into the
apartment, “What were you getting into?”
“More like I was getting out of the shower,” he remarked sourly closing
the door behind her entrance. Standing up straighter, Seth felt a
moment of disappointment flood over him until he spun around to find
Ria standing in the middle of his living room. Frowning at the
realization that Blake wasn’t ever coming back, he tried to hide his
obvious discontent. “So what brings you over here this morning?”
“You mean other than trying to see if you’ve decided to come out of
this sulking you’re doing?” Ria questioned bluntly shaking her head at
him, “You know Seth, if breaking up with Blake is bothering you so
much, then why did you even think about doing it?”
“Because it’s for the best,” Seth answered flatly making his way past
her towards his room in an attempt to finish getting dressed.
However, Ria was relentless in her pursuit of him, following him
towards his bedroom. He stopped at the doorway, turning around to
find her at his heels. “I’m about to get dressed here. Do
you mind?”
“Not at all,” she shook her head in response, “because I think it’s
time someone helped you pull your head out of your ass Seth.”
“No one nominated you to do it Ria,” Seth stepped aside, opening up the
door to his bedroom, “and for the moment I’m getting dressed without
you.”
“Fine,” Ria huffed watching him close the door in her face, “but don’t
think that’s going to be your way of getting rid of me Seth. You
need someone to set you straight and I just so happen to be the one to
do it.”
She paused only to be met by silence before continuing.
“As much as I wasn’t fond of Blake considering that I thought she was
far too flighty and prissy for you, the truth to the matter is if you
love her, then you’re being a big moron in just walking away without a
fight. I mean honestly Seth, what man does that? The
pursuit is part of the thrill and if you just lay down and die while
Vaughn romances here, then you’re a bigger bonehead than they said you
were.”
“Who is they,” Seth questioned opening his bedroom door once again
while slipping his sweater over his head.
“The guys in high school who said that you didn’t see a good thing when
it was right in front of you,” Ria challenged with a speculative look,
“I mean honestly when have you really fought for something you
wanted? You know taken the bull by the horns and just gone for
the gusto?” she questioned holding her hands out and squeezing the air
in an exaggerative motion.
“Oh that’s good coming from you,” Seth chuckled in response,
“considering you’re the last person I would expect to be doing any horn
grabbing.”
“Yeah, so maybe it’s not my style,” she frowned at his response before
striding in behind him to the living room, “but it should be yours.”
“And why is that Ria?” Seth questioned slumping down in one of the
chairs, “What is it that I have that makes me worthy of a woman like
Blake?”
“I think the question you should be asking yourself is what does she
have to make her worthy of a man like you,” Ria paused for a long
moment. Scratching her head lightly, a puzzled expression washed
over her features, “Okay, so maybe I haven’t figured that one out yet,
but when I do, well then I suppose I could help answer that, but then
again this isn’t about me. This is about you and what you
think. I mean you obviously love her if you’re going to stay
locked up in here like this cutting yourself off from the world.”
“I’m not cutting myself off from the world,” Seth started to argue with
her, “I’m merely keeping busy indoors.”
“Right,” Ria rolled her eyes, “and let me guess. You haven’t
thought about Blake once, huh?”
“Not at all,” Seth lied catching note of her long, look of disbelieve,
“okay, so maybe I’ve thought about her a little, but what does it
matter?”
“It matters a lot considering that you’re not even close to be the fun,
easygoing guy you used to be. You’re all in a rut and I hate
that. Jade would be furious if she was here to see you like
this,” Ria chastised him.
“I suppose it’s a good thing that she’s not here then isn’t it,” Seth
teased with a sardonic smile.
“If you think you’re funny, you’re not,” Ria complained, “In fact,
today is my one and only morning off from the hospital for a while, so
we’re going out.”
“Ria, I was about to head over to the studio and work on developing
some things,” Seth started to argue with her, feeling her reaching for
his arm.
“They can wait, but this can’t,” Ria used all of her strength to pull
him up from where he was seated, “We’re going out and you’re going to
enjoy yourself even if it kills my in the process.”
“Since when did you become my mother,” Seth gave her a strange look.
“Since you decided to be stubborn and idiotic,” she shook her head at
him, “Honestly I don’t know what you men would do without me.”
“You men huh,” he repeated giving her a strange look, “Do I sense the
vibe that your mystery man has been giving you trouble lately?”
“Oh we’re so not going there,” Ria caught him trying to get a hint at
what she was doing in her after hours, “Today is about cheering you
up--not about an interrogation about my love life.”
“Hey now why is it you think you can come on in and tell me what to do
where my love life is concerned, but I can’t even ask you about
yours? That hardly seems far,” Seth pointed out watching her
reach for his jacket. She tossed it at him quickly before
stepping forward.
“Life is seldom fair,” she replied sharply pushing him towards the
front door in an attempt to get him out and moving again before he lost
himself to the misery that breaking up with Blake had caused him.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
“It’s so great that you could do something,” Blake explained to Sarah
as they sat down at a table with one another.
“I know, so how have things been going the last few days?” asked Sarah.
“They’ve been going, what about you? Anything new happen?” Blake
shrugged her shoulders wanting to focus on anything, but the miserable
state of her personal life.
“Well I got a new job,” she said smiling unable to quell the enthusiasm
that had sprouted from within upon getting such a wonderful opportunity
in front of her.
“Really? Where are you working?”
“I am a reporter for the Coral Courier,” Sarah explained nodding.
“I wasn’t sure how it would go, but once I was able to let them see
that I do have talent, well the rest is history.”
“Oh that’s great, congratulation,” Blake cheered her on, finding
the thought of her friend’s newfound success to be the first sign of
hope in a long time around Coral Valley.
“Thanks,” Sarah smiled back at her, “I was a little nervous at first
about taking on such a new challenge, but I have a feeling that things
are only going to get better from here on out. Call me crazy, but
I have a good feeling about my life.”
“Hmm, that sounds promising and judging by the smile on your face, it’s
been more than promising there,“ Blake paused raising an eyebrow.
“So tell me anything new happen with…Kyle perhaps?”
“I guess you could say that,” she said shrugging.
“What does that mean? Tell me more,” Blake encouraged her.
“Well he took me out last night,” Sarah divulged grinning and thinking
about last night.
“And?” Blake questioned eagerly.
“Well he took me out to dinner and we ended up getting kicked out of
the restaurant,” Sarah confessed laughing to herself.
“How did that happen?” Blake inquired with wide eyes watching the color
that rose over her friends features.
“We got into a food fight,” Sarah blurted out with a tiny giggle at the
silliness behind her statement.
“Tell me more,” Blake motioned her hands wanting more details.
“It just sort of happened and before we knew it, we were pretty much
banned from eating there again I think,” Sarah’s laughter grew in the
moment, “After that we went through a walk in the park and we hung
out.”
“And then?” asked Blake smiling knowing that there was more to the
story that her friend hadn‘t fessed up to yet.
“He took me home,” Sarah shrugged revealing nothing about what had
truly happened.
“That’s it? How cheap,” Blake groaned inwardly. “Even I expected
more than that.”
“I didn’t say that was the last thing that happened,” Sarah admitted as
Blake smiled.
“So there is more, keep going on,” Blake urged her on.
“Well when I was about to go inside he pulled me back telling me that I
meant a lot to him and he kissed me,” Sarah blurted out as Blake
clapped excitedly, eager to learn more.
“And what happened after that?” she asked smiling.
“Well, he thought he did something bad and he apologized.”
“He didn’t,” Blake gasped with obvious surprise watching as Sarah
nodded back at her. “What did you say?”
“I told him it was okay--more than okay actually. Then I kissed
him back,” Sarah grinned thinking back to that one moment shared
between the two of them. Even now she could feel her heart
sizzling and head swimming with the memory of the vividness of what had
taken place.
“So are you two like a couple now?” Blake gave her a curious look
before Sarah shrugged smiling.
“I don’t know.”
“Did anything else happen?” asked Blake raising her eyebrows.
“No, not really,” she said smiling, “but it was really magical in it’s
own way Blake. Kyle is just so…wow!”
Blake watched as Kyle walked into the restaurant looking around. He saw
Blake and Sarah and he turned in their direction slowly walking over
towards them. Kyle put his finger in front of his mouth hushing Blake
as she smirked knowing full well what he had in mind for Sarah.
“Hey,” he announced wrapping his arms around Sarah’s shoulders.
“Kyle, hey,” Sarah practically leapt in surprise before tilting her
head in his direction. Smiling she kept her eyes upon him unable
to refrain from admiring how incredible he was.
“I have something for you,” Kyle confessed pulling a single red rose
from behind his back.
“It’s beautiful Kyle, Thank you,” Sarah confessed smelling the rose.
“Not as beautiful as you,” Kyle said leaning in and kissing her
quickly.
Blake smiled looking at how happy the two appeared to be.
“I didn’t expect to see you so early,” Sarah explained as he took a
seat next to the two.
“I couldn’t stand not to see you, anyways I wanted to surprise you,” he
admitted as she smiled.
“Well you did,” Sarah concluded while Kyle shot a smile at Blake.
“Blake right,” he smiled before pointing her way.
“Yeah,” Blake nodded.
“How have you been? It’s nice to see you again,” Kyle replied leaning
over and hugging her.
“I’ve been doing good, you’ve been working out a lot,” Blake noted
trying to catch her breath as Sarah wiggled her brow in response.
“Did I hug you a little to hard?” Kyle teased with a tiny chuckle.
“No, it’s okay. Hey, last time I saw you, you were clean cut what
happened?” she asked pointing to his light beard.
“I like it like this,” Kyle rubbed his chin proudly.
“I like you with it too, of course I think you always look good,” Sarah
added smiling unable to refrain from adding her own two cents in the
conversation.
“I know I always look good, if I was a girl I would hit on me,” Kyle
boasted as the two girls groaned and laughed.
“No ego right,” Blake shook her head at him.
“Never,” Kyle teased bringing his arms around Sarah.
Blake watched the closeness between the two of them and found herself
feeling oddly out of place. Granted she was happy that her friend
had found happiness, but in that moment she thought about another time
when she’d had the man in her life much like Sarah did now. Of
course both men had vanished without a trace it seemed, Blake frowned
before realizing she was about to damper the mood of the moment if she
kept thinking that way. Finally she made a decision to leave.
“It was nice seeing you again,” Blake decided standing up.
“You leaving?” Sarah asked raising her eyebrow.
“Yeah, I have a few things to do. Call me later okay,” Blake explained
quickly as Sarah stood up and hugged her.
“It was nice seeing you again,” Kyle said standing up and hugging her
as well.
“You too, see you around,” Blake relied walking to the door watching
Kyle wrap his arm around Sarah’s shoulder. She felt a soft smile
tug over the corners of her mouth as it seemed that her friend had
found happiness in her life--now if she could only do the same…
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Thea stepped into the foyer at Cameron’s estate, allowing the sounds of
her stilettos to rouse interest of the male members of Cameron’s hired
help. While she’d pretended not to notice, the limo driver had
nearly fallen over himself when she’d stepped out of the limo in a
slow, drawn out stretch to accentuate all the lines of her legs.
Sure she had it going on, but this morning’s ensemble was for
Cameron.
Thea had been wired the previous night unable to sleep while her mind
traveled to how Cameron would be doing once they’d parted. She
was certain there had been fireworks last night once she’d told him all
about his wife’s little playmate. Now she couldn’t wait to reap
the rewards of such a reveal in his life. Heather would be
history soon enough and then Thea would have Cameron exactly where
she’d always wanted him.
Making her way to Cameron’s home office, she took a seat patiently
while Franklin went to retrieve him. Settling in over the black
leather cushion of the sofa, Thea stretched her legs out allowing the
ultra short skirt she’d been sporting to rise further up her
thighs. She let out a breath before a victorious grin spread over
her features. There was no doubt in her mind that Heather would
be an unpleasant memory and Cameron would focus again especially after
she did her best to nurse his wounded pride. With that thought in
mind, she unbuttoned another button on her sheer white blouse.
“Thea,” Cameron addressed her making his way into the room to find her
perched on the sofa in a seductive fashion, “what are you doing here?”
“I thought I would check in on you since you weren’t coming in to the
office,” she explained uncrossing her legs before re-crossing them once
again. “You know how I worry about you.”
“You shouldn’t bother,” Cameron confessed with a heavy sigh making his
way across the room, “I’m doing perfectly fine.”
“The dark circles under your eyes tell another tale,” Thea noted his
rigid posture, “Care to talk about it?”
“I had a long night, but you can rest assured it’s been taken care of,”
he answered cryptically, “My wife won’t be a distraction from here on
out. If you really want to discuss something, I think we should
focus on what’s next on my agenda.”
“Which would be,” she questioned licking her lips before a smile spread
over her features. She shifted on the couch guiding her hands
over her own body in an attempt to entice him. Seeing the way
Cameron’s eyes followed her fingers and their movement, she slowly
spread her legs apart giving him a rather shocking view of what she’d
had in mind to celebrate Cameron’s finally giving Heather the boot.
“Not that,” Cameron replied his eyes snapping back up to hers again,
“I’m not in the mood.”
“Since when haven’t you been in the mood when you are celebrating
victory,” Thea questioned with a pout before rising up to her feet
again.
“Since I’m not where near the victory I’ve had planned for my time here
in Coral Valley,” he frowned breezing past her to make his way to his
desk, “Heather might have been dealt with, but I still have other
pressing issues at hand.”
“You mean the ones with BBK?” Thea couldn’t help but smile at the
shakeup she’d created where that was concerned.
“That’s one of them, but right now I’m really more concerned with
locating Jade,” Cameron explained honestly, “The mere fact that she
hasn’t been spotted around town leads me to believe that something
strange is going on.”
“Such as?” Thea arched a curious brow.
“She hasn’t been spotted since Grady’s death and quite frankly that
disturbs me. Perhaps you could stop by her apartment and press
Seth a bit and see what’s going on there,” Cameron suggested with a
slight frown, “Speaking of which, where is he in terms of progress with
that microfilm?”
“He’s not working on it any longer,” Thea answered casually sitting on
the edge of his desk.
“What do you mean he’s not working on it?” Cameron practically growled
at her. “How did this come about?”
“I have him working on a few other things for us--things that he’d be
far more useful at,” Thea shrugged her shoulders, “though I suppose now
that you’ve gotten rid of Heather, I could shift his duties back to the
microfilm.”
“Who said anything about getting rid of Heather,” Cameron gave her a
strange look.
“Why you did,” she pointed out feeling a strange vibe about the
situation, “Didn’t you?”
“I said I dealt with her, but I have no intentions of getting rid of
her,” Cameron paused, “Although that doctor friend of hers is another
story. He’s been a thorn in my side for far too long.”
“Are you suggesting we work on extracting him from our lives,” she
licked her lips wickedly aroused by the thought of taking some of her
aggressions out on Diego.
“Not just yet, but that doesn’t mean that I want him mucking up my
plans either,” Cameron explained with an icy grin, “Although…perhaps I
should pay him a visit later to let him know the ground rules in
dealing with my wife.”
“Watch it Cameron,” Thea’s lips curled into a frown, “You sounded
almost jealous when you said that.”
“Of Diego,” he couldn’t help but laugh, “Don’t be ridiculous.
Heather is means to an end and as far as I’m concerned, she’s good to
me as long as she’s carrying Kipp’s brat. After that comes to an
end, well I have plans for dealing with her.”
“Something tells me that I’d love to hear them,” Thea mused with an
eager grin.
“Later,” Cameron waved his hand at her dismissively, “but right now I’d
like to focus on finding Jade. See if you can get some
information from Lieutenant Sharpe there. Maybe he knows more
than he’s telling,” Cameron suggested.
“Patrick tells all he knows,” Thea stated with a simple shrug, “He’s
far too dense to be duplicitous.”
“Even so, perhaps in the midst of passion you can get him to slip up on
something he may have overlooked,” Cameron paused giving her a sideways
glance, “I’m assuming you’ve been enjoying that perk of dealing with
him.”
“It’s been different,” she sauntered in over towards him. Sliding her
arms down over his shoulders, she leaned in closer her breath skimming
over the back of his neck, “although I’d much rather enjoy the perks I
have with you.”
“All in good time Thea,” he reached out to take her hand in his, “but
first we have other things to concentrate on.”
“Nothing that can’t wait,” she stated boldly pushing his chair around
so that she could mount his lap. Teasing her fingers over the
lapels of his jacket she grinned wickedly, “Don’t tell me that you
can’t find the time for pleasure. That would be so unlike you.”
“After the night I had in teaching Heather a lesson in respect, I’m
really not up for it,” Cameron replied with a heavy sigh.
“Oh I’m sure you are,” Thea leaned forward nipping at his lower lip
before letting out a low growl, “In fact, I can feel you are.”
“Thea I…” Cameron started to protest when the sounds of Heather’s
screaming flooded through the hallways. Frowning, he pushed Thea
away from him, “Speaking of my wife. I think it’s time she and I
had another talk.”
“But…” Thea began watching him get ready to leave.
“I promise this won’t be long and then after perhaps we can get back to
business,” Cameron assured her before heading towards the doorway to
leave.
“Cam, wait,” Thea reached out to touch his arm, “Perhaps this situation
with Heather could use a woman’s touch.”
Cameron smiled upon her words before motioning for Thea to take a stab
at dealing with Heather. He nodded before moving aside, “Be my
guest. She’s in the suite down the hall.”
“Excellent,” Thea grinned wildly taking a step forward.
“Wait,” Cameron reached out to touch her arm, “you might need this.”
“What is that,” she spun around to watch him place a small key in her
hand.
“You’ll understand when you get in there,” he assured her before
disappearing into his office again.
“Hmm,” she mused making her way out of Cameron’s office and into the
room where Heather’s cracking voice fell from. Dangling the key
from her wrist, she curiously reached for the door knob only to
discover it unlocked. Stepping inside, she looked around for the
woman who had grated on her nerves, but instead she was only met by the
sounds of Heather’s incessant wailing from across the way.
Turning her eyes towards the closet door before her, Thea grinned
proudly realizing where Cameron had stuffed his new bride. Unable
to control her laughter, Thea closed the bedroom door behind her ready
to see just how much Cameron had learned from her in dealing with
problems.
“Let me out of here you bastard,” Heather’s voice strained to break
free through the heavy wooden door.
Unable to contain the laughter that overtook her, Thea unlocked the
door only to find Heather seated on the floor kicking away at the door
in front of her. She was bound by ropes and looked less than
comfortable in her current position. Still laughing Thea knelt
down before her watching the intensity of rage burning behind Heather’s
eyes.
“My, isn’t this an interesting predicament you’ve gotten yourself
into,” Thea chortled reaching out to touch Heather’s cheek in a
taunting motion. “I guess you should’ve just watched yourself
before you decided to move in on what’s mine. I told you that you
didn’t have a place in Cameron’s life, but clearly I was
mistaken. You fit right in with the trash.”
“Go to hell you bitch,” Heather spat into Thea’s face before letting
out another cry for help.
Overcome with anger, Thea wiped at her face before striking Heather
against the cheek. She watched Heather wince upon impact before
she rose up to her feet again. Adjusting her skirt, she glared
down at Heather feeling nothing but contempt for the woman before her.
“You’d be best to keep your mouth shut or else the next time I return
I’ll cut your tongue out,” Thea vowed slamming the closet door before
turning off the light as well. Locking the door once again, Thea
left the room realizing that while Cameron had started dealing with the
problem Heather presented, Thea would most certainly finish the job
sooner or later.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"How did you know I was going to be here?" Sarah wondered as Kyle’s
thumb caressed the top of her hand.
"I have my ways, let’s just call it a guess?" he teased shrugging his
shoulders.
"Oh come on," she whined as he laughed.
"It doesn’t matter how I found you, just as long as I’m with you," he
said shooting her one of his sexy smiles. Sarah felt her cheeks go warm
as she smiled.
"You’re a charmer," she laughed as he nodded.
"You bet, that’s my middle name," he agreed.
"So what are you going to be doing today?"
"Oh you know, almost getting shot, the usual stuff," he teased.
"I mean what are you really doing?" she asked shaking her head.
"Just going to do some work, I thought I would come see you because you
always make my day," confessed Kyle as her eyes glanced up into his.
"You’re just saying that," she replied as he shook his head lightly.
"I would never lie about something so true, I may lie about a lot of
things, but this is not one of them," he insisted kissing her hand.
Sarah got goosebumps as he said those words. Something about him made
him so charming and handsome.
"Alright, I think you’re making my day," she said smiling.
"If I could, I would try and make all your days," he charmed her.
"Kyle, your to good to be true."
"Tell that to everyone else," he laughed.
"You know, you should really show people the real side of you," she
urged him shrugging.
"I would never be able to do that," he insisted.
"And why is that?" she wondered.
"I would never have enough charm for you, and that would be bad," he
shrugged getting her to smile.
"I wish I would have come here earlier."
"Why? ‘Cause you couldn’t resist not having me?" he asked.
"Of course that’s why," she nodded laughing lightly.
"Well, I should get going," he said standing up.
"Alright well I guess I will see you," she shrugged.
"You bet you will," he nodded.
Kyle leaned down slowly as he pressed his lips against hers. Sarah’s
breath was taken away from him each time he kissed her. She couldn’t
believe that they finally had gotten to be with each other. It was to
good to be true; Kyle was everything she had wanted for so long. They
were both to shy to tell each other, but she knew Kyle felt the way she
did. Just by the way he kissed her. He moved back smiling.
"Hey, I didn’t get us kicked out today, what a shame," he laughed.
"Too bad," she shrugged.
"I’ll see you later," he said as his hand caressed the side of her
face.
"Bye," she smiled leaning into his warm hand before he started to walk
back slowly.
She watched slowly as he walked backwards out the door and waved
goodbye. She waved lightly and grinned, Kyle was the greatest and she
had him, which made it better.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Russell stood at the stove looking at the remains of the dinner he and
Avery hadn’t made the time to get back to the previous evening.
Shaking his head at the waste before him, he reached for the pan
carrying it over to the sink. Scraping out the contents for a
moment or so, Russ wrinkled his nose at how far from where he’d wanted
dinner to go dinner last night had gone. Of course Avery’s change
of plans had been very nice, he mused to himself before scraping away
at the pan again. It was just the cleanup that sucked.
“Forget this,” he discarded the pan before soaking it in soapy
water. With a new agenda in mind, he pulled another pan out of
storage and began to work on breakfast. Sure, he’d planned on
sleeping in, but after a while he’d grown restless and wanted to do
something with his excess energy. Avery was still very much
asleep and this time to get breakfast ready would be something to give
her a pleasant surprise when she woke up.
“Now what to make,” he thought aloud ready to dive into his next
culinary creation when the phone on the wall started to ring.
Walking over to answer it, he greeted the caller on the other end
cheerfully, “Good morning. What can I do for you?”
“Expecting someone huh,” Grady questioned catching Russ off guard.
“What are you doing on the phone,” Russ asked in astonishment, “I
thought that Dave specifically said…”
“I know what he said, but for what it’s worth, I’m on a secure line,”
Grady continued to explain, “I don’t have much time, but I thought I’d
check in with you since Jade is about to be returning for the memorial.”
“I’m sure she’s really enthusiastic about that,” Russ frowned thinking
about the rouse his family had to put on for Cameron’s benefit.
“About as excited as I am in letting her leave,” Grady confessed, “but
sooner or later things won’t have to be this way.”
“Hopefully sooner considering that Avery and I have come up with a new
piece of evidence,” Russell informed him honestly.
“What is it?” Grady questioned, his voice growing eager.
“I don’t want to get into it over the phone, but Dave is working on
it. He knows you’re innocent and after some of the things that
have been going on here, well I just think that Cameron’s true colors
are going to be showing soon. He knows something isn’t right,”
Russell paused thinking about the shooting at the Ashford mansion.
“Russ, what aren’t you telling me,” Grady asked again unwilling to
leave it at that, “What’s happened?”
“There was a shooting,” Russ explained, “The police found prints on the
knife that was used to stab you. They came up with Simon Dubois
and they went to the Ashford mansion to confront him, but there was
this confusion and…”
“Simon Dubois--as in Brant‘s driver,” Grady repeated with surprise
evident in his tone.
“The one and only,” Russell informed him honestly, “Apparently he came
into the states illegally and the Ashfords overlooked that somehow…”
Grady remarked gruffly, “You have to be kidding me, right?”
“No, not at all,” Russ answered.
“I don’t buy it,” Grady blurted out after a long moment of silence.
“Grady, are you telling me you remember something?” Russ questioned
sensing another silence coming on, “Grady, do you remember who stabbed
you?”
“I wish like hell that I did, but I don’t. Still, I can’t see
Brant’s driver having been the one to do it,” Grady hesitated before a
frustrated sigh spilled from his lips, “I wish I could remember that
night.”
“Grady, that’s not important,” Russ tried to assure him, “What is
important is that Cameron’s luck is running out. In no time I’m
sure he’ll slip up and when he does, Dave is going to see to it that
you are cleared of these ridiculous charges.”
“As much as I’d like to believe that Dave could do that for me, well
I’m not going to hold my breath,” Grady answered with a hint of
pessimism. “Granted I’d like to believe that life was all
sunshine and roses, but I know better.”
“I realize that, but I’m not giving up hope. Avery and I are
really working on this…” Russ started up.
“I know you are and I trust that you both will find something to
exonerate me, but for now, well I’m calling because I want you to keep
an eye on Jade. I don’t trust for a second that Cameron isn’t
going to try something and if he does…” Grady’s worry carried over the
line.
“I’m not going to let anything happen to her. She can stay with
Avery and I and she’ll be safe,” Russell promised his older brother,
“Cameron won’t get an opportunity to be near her.”
“Good because once the memorial is over, I have another favor to ask,”
Grady continued quietly, “Things here have been quiet, but they’d like
me to move. I’m thinking about going overseas for a while and I
promised Jade that she could come back to me after the memorial.”
“Say no more,” Russell informed him simply, “Avery and I are planning
our second honeymoon, so perhaps we can all meet up somewhere in the
middle and…”
“It sounds like a great plan,” Grady cut him off abruptly, “I hate to
run like this, but I see Jade coming back and I don’t want to worry
her. I’ll try to call you later and work out the details.”
“I’ll be around,” Russell replied with a soft smile, “and Grady?”
“Yes,” Grady questioned.
“For what it’s worth, I’ve missed you like you wouldn’t believe.
There’s been so much happening that I don’t even know where to begin…”
Russell informed him poignantly.
“There will be time for that little brother,” Grady promised him, “that
much I’m staying hopeful about.”
“You’d better be Grady because the last thing I want is to think that
you won’t be back again. Sure, you gave me hell for a while, but
I’d take that back again if it meant that we’d be able to have some
kind of relationship without someone like Cameron causing problems.”
“Russ, I’m sure that with you and Avery on the case, we’ll get this one
taken care of and when I return, well you’d better keep me informed on
everything that’s been going on,” Grady insisted with a tiny chuckle,
“especially about what your wife has been doing to clear my name.”
“You’d be very impressed with her,” Russ mused proudly, “She’s really
put a lot into it.”
“I don’t doubt that. Avery’s very determined and despite our
misgivings with one another, I always knew that,” Grady added before
growing silent, “Look Jade is back and…”
“And we’ll talk later,” Russell added quickly, “and Grady?”
“Yes,” Grady questioned.
“I love you even if you are a pain in the ass. Don’t forget that,
okay,” Russ informed him honestly.
“Not a chance,” Grady replied with an air of sentiment, “and even if I
gave you hell, just know that I love you too little brother.”
“I know…even if it’s hard to figure that out at times,” Russ replied
before saying his goodbyes. Once he’d hung up the phone he just
hoped that things would run as smoothly as they all were hoping for.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
“See this isn’t so bad,” Ria pointed out with a bright grin. She
sat across from Seth at the small restaurant hoping that he’d just
lighten up about things, but much to her dismay he was still brooding
over Blake no doubt. “Seth, come on. You have to learn to
live a little sometime.”
“I’m living,” Seth reached for a forkful of his breakfast, “See, are
you satisfied now?”
“Not even close,” she shook her head at him, “You’re just being
impossible and you know it.”
“What I know is that I need to really turn this focus off of me and
onto you,” Seth informed her simple, “So talk Ria. Tell me about
this guy you’re seeing that encourages you to run off to less than
savory hotels. It sounds like the creep is trying to have his
cake and eat it too while treating you with less respect than you
deserve. What is he married?”
“It’s not like that,” Ria began to defend. Shifting in her seat,
she tried to think up some way to drop the conversation between them
before she finally sighed, “He’s not like that at all.”
“Then what is he like Ria?” Seth arched a curious brow, “You never
bring him around. He’s never here when you need him.”
“He’s around when I need him,” Ria defended with a huff, “It’s just
that his career keeps him out of town. There are things going on
with his business that…”
“You mean like a wife and kids?” Seth questioned doubtful.
“Look Seth, I didn’t bring you all the way out here to have you slam my
boyfriend. He’s a great guy and he’s got a heart full of
romance. It’s just that our situation is complicated, but he gets
me. Do you have any idea how long I’ve waited for someone to do
that in my life?” Ria threw back at him with a frown.
“Even so, what kind of guy is he if he’s taking you to seedy spots
around town and he won’t meet your friends,” Seth reminded her again.
“It’s because he’s shy about certain things, but I’ll have you know
that when the time is right, you’ll meet him. Well, maybe not you
exactly considering that you might give him this kind of questioning
and be brutal, but still…” Ria added with a tiny frown.
“I’m not brutal,” Seth informed her bluntly, “I just worry about my
friends. I worry about you.”
“Well don’t because in this particular scenario, things are going
better than I’d ever imagined. I think it’s the real thing Seth
and I don’t want anyone screwing this up for me. Especially not
now,” Ria’s dark eyes pleaded with him.
“Fine, but are you at least going to tell me a little something more
about him here? Like maybe his name,” Seth questioned wanting to
know about his friend’s lover, but before Ria could answer, his cell
phone rang. Reaching for it, he raised his finger to Ria, “Hold
that thought, but don’t think you’re getting out of telling me.”
“Who said I was going to tell you in the first place,” she stuck her
tongue out at him.
Watching as Seth answered his phone, Ria’s thoughts drifted to the man
she’d been sharing most of her free time with. While their
romance had started under some rather unconventional beginnings, she
couldn’t help but fall harder for him with each passing second.
Truth be told in speaking with Seth it was the first time she’d
admitted to loving the man in her life, but once she’d gotten it out,
she realized just how good it actually sounded. He was really
something special. Now, well now she couldn’t help but find
herself dreaming of their future in her free moments no matter how far
and few they might be. She just wondered if perhaps she’d jumped
the gun in calling it love. Okay, so maybe it wasn’t love in the
traditional sense, but it was something special.
Snapping out of her thoughts, Ria noticed the expression on Seth’s face
when he hung up his phone. “Hey, what’s up?“
“You won’t believe this,” Seth confessed with a surprised look, “That
was just one of the editors over at Absolute Sports. They just
called me to ask if I’d be interested in doing some work for them
overseas for their annual Beach Beauties issue.”
“Beach Beauties,” Ria repeated giving him a strange look.
“Kind of like the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit thing,” Seth explained
watching note of her expression, “It’s a pretty big thing.”
“So what did you say,” Ria questioned with curious eyes.
“I told them I’d call them back,” Seth admitted with a soft sigh, “I
mean it’s a great job and the pay is fantastic…”
“But…” Ria ached a curious brow.
“But I’d be gone for the next six months on location,” Seth confessed
with another sigh, “I don’t know if I’m ready for that.”
“You’re thinking about passing up the offer because why?” Ria
questioned giving him a strange look, “If it’s such a great job, then
why wait to call them back.”
“Six months is a long time,” Seth pointed out with a frown.
“Not for you it isn’t. You’d love to do something like that and
don’t even try to tell me you wouldn’t because I know better,” she
waved her finger at him.
“Okay, so I do, but still…” Seth started with a sigh.
“Still what,” she stopped herself taking note of his expression, “Oh
Seth, please don’t tell me that you are considering not taking it to
stay stuck here in Coral Valley.”
“Ria, you know how Jade and I are…” Seth began.
“She’s doing okay and since you’ve been so mopey lately, maybe some
time overseas would…” Ria stopped herself when a thought occurred to
her, “Oh my God. You’re not going to take the job because of
Blake.”
“I never said that,” Seth started to argue with her.
“You didn’t have to. It’s written all over your face,” Ria
continued with a tiny frown, “Let me get this straight. Not only
do you break up with Blake, but you refuse to try to make things
work. You’re still in love with her, but you won’t try to make a
move towards a reconciliation. Then to top it off, you’ve been
offered the assignment of a lifetime and you’re not going to go because
you’re what? Hoping that Blake is going to make the first move?”
“That’s not what I…” Seth started to explain himself.
“Seth, if you’re in love with Blake, then don’t just sit here being
stupid about it. Try to fix things with her,” Ria urged him on,
“but if that’s not what you want, then you need to move on. If
you don’t think you have a future with Blake worth fighting for then
take the job. Take the chance to have a new beginning.”
“Ria, I can’t just walk away from life here. I have Jade to think
about and…”
“Seth, for once in your life why don’t you quit making excuses and own
up to what’s going on inside of you. Either you want to be with
Blake or you don’t. You want to move forward with your career, or
you don’t have the interest,” Ria threw out bluntly, “but whatever it
is that you want, I think it’s time that you stop sitting in the
shadows hiding from the world. You need to figure out what you
need to do to move forward with your life.”
“Gee you’re in a great mood, aren’t you,” Seth frowned at the sudden
shift in Ria’s attitude.
“It’s not about my mood. It’s about you making a decision that
gives you what you need in your life Seth. You can’t just sit
inside that apartment all day and that’s what I was trying to tell
you. You need to figure things out one way or the other,”
Ria informed him honestly. “That’s the only way you’ll ever truly
start living and you know it.”
“What I know is that I didn’t come out today for a lecture,” Seth
frowned in response.
“It’s not a lecture, but a piece of friendly advice,” Ria reached for
his hand gently, “Believe me if anyone knows where you’re at right now,
it’s me. How many times have I closed myself off after a
relationship has gone bad? Seth, I just don’t want to see the
same happen to you. You deserve better than that.”
“I don’t know what I deserve anymore Ria,” Seth sighed realizing that
while he would’ve jumped at this job opportunity months ago, so much
had happened in his life. Even after hearing Ria’s words, he
couldn’t even begin to explain to her just how bad the timing of the
opportunity was. Though maybe she was right. Maybe he was
just making excuses after all.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Blake entered the small, exclusive boutique bound and determined to
shop herself to distraction. While she’d tried not to feel
jealous of what she could see happening for Sarah, the brief glimmer of
the situation she’d witnessed between Sarah and Kyle had been enough to
send her off in another direction. Sure she was happy for Sarah,
but unfortunately it only helped her reflect on all the things she was
missing from her life. However, Blake was now in Marcella’s ready
to drown her misery in shopping.
Armed with her charge card and a few wicked notions for fashion Blake
crossed the boutique ready to find just the piece of clothing that
would bring her from her blues. It was in that instant when it
seemed that fate had finally given her a good turn. Right before
her hanging on a rack above the other dresses was a sexy, red,
strapless dress that immediately aroused her interest. Weaving
through the store, she began to think of all the ways in which that
dress could take her one step closer to getting her life back in
order. It’s style and sexy lines were exactly what she needed to
get back to the spirit that had guided her for so very long. She
was certain of it.
“You’re all mine,” Blake mouthed to herself reaching for the dress only
to have someone else tug at the other end of the hanger.
“Um, excuse me, but you’ve grabbed my dress,” the dark haired woman
beside her insisted tugging on the hanger.
“No,” Blake stated firmly, “I saw it first therefore it’s mine.”
“I’m afraid that simply isn’t true,” the woman offered up yet another
pull on the hanger, “It wasn’t meant for a woman with your hips and
besides this is a size four which is exactly what I was looking for.”
“Too bad,” Blake snatched the dress away from the petite, blue eyes
woman before her. Blake gave the woman a quick once over only to
discover the sheer gold material that clung to her body. It left
little to the imagination as the woman before her pursed her lips in a
full pout. She tapped her foot impatiently, the long strappy
stilettos she was wearing clicking on the floor with the
movement. Still Blake was not to be deterred. “This dress
is exactly what I need and I‘m not going to let you take it from
me. This dress was meant to be worn by me.”
“Somehow I doubt that one,” the woman rolled her eyes before letting
out a haughty laugh, “Although I’m sure they have a size ten or twelve
in back to accommodate your less than perfect figure.”
“Size ten,” Blake repeated with a huff, “Look I don’t know who the hell
you are, but I can assure you that I’m not a size ten.”
“You’re no size four,” the woman chortled before snapping her fingers
at Blake, “so just hand it over.”
“The hell I will,” Blake tucked the dress under her arm, “so beat it.”
“No way. I came here today to find that dress and I’m not about
to let you take it from me when it clearly was made for someone like
me,” the woman remarked with a sneer, “Granted I was hoping they’d have
a size two, but with the four I can get the alterations I need and…”
“And you’ll just have to find yourself another size two dress,” Blake
motioned to the front of the store, “and I think I saw a few of those
on the clearance rack up there. Though if that doesn’t work for
you, well I’m sure the Bargain Barn will have something cheap and
tasteless to suit your personality.”
“Do you have any idea who I am,” the woman asked her impatiently,
“because I’m sure if you had any idea of who you were dealing with…”
“Like I said before I don’t know who you are nor do I care,” Blake
glared down at her, “now if you’ll excuse me, I’d like to get back to
my purchase.”
“You’re not going anywhere,” the woman behind her lunged at her,
reaching for the dress.
“Let go of that,” Blake snapped at her before yanking at the material
herself.
“The hell I will. That dress was made for me,” the woman argued
with her continuing to wrench at the dress.
Within a matter of seconds, Blake and the impolite shopper were at it
with one another, each staking their claim on the dress until the
distinct cry of the fabric tearing in two sounded out in agony.
Blake fell backward a few feet into a rack of clothing behind
her. The same happened to the woman before her. Blake
noticed the sheer look of horror that had fallen over the raven haired
beauty’s features when she fell bottom first into a rack of shoes.
“Val,” another voice cried out from across the boutique before Blake
noticed a small, portly looking woman reaching out to the woman Blake
had encountered, “What is going on here?”
“That woman,” Val screeched out using the smaller woman as a prop for
herself while she shuffled to her feet once again, “ruined my dress.”
“Oh please,” Blake rolled her eyes getting up to steady herself after
the fall she’d taken, “it didn’t have your name on it.”
“No, but I would’ve been in it for my photo shoot this afternoon if you
hadn’t screwed thing up,” Val screeched at her with obvious disgust.
“Val, now don’t worry,” the second woman patted her arm, “We’ll find
something that suits your needs much better.”
“What would suit me just fine is to kill her,” Val started to move
forward, dropping the shred of red material that she’d clung to seconds
earlier.
“Take your best shot,” Blake snapped back ready to just let loose after
the month she’d been having, “I dare you to try because I’m sure it’ll
be a great touch for your so called photo shoot.”
“That’s it you cow,” Val started towards her again before the other
woman stepped in between the two women.
“You’re meeting with Jean Paul in less than a an half hour. You
really don’t want to be doing this,” the woman tried to persuade Val
into seeing things her way.
Val scowled for a moment longer before finally nodding in admission,
“You’re right. She’s not worth it,” her intense blue eyes
returned to Blake for a brief moment before she wrinkled her nose at
her, “I so hate doing location shoots.”
With that final comment Val spun on her heel, attempting to make her
way towards the fitting rooms once again. However, before she
could achieve the holier than thou attitude, Blake watched the heel on
Val’s shoe break sending her face forward into another display.
“That had to hurt,” Blake chuckled to herself before setting the
damaged dress on the rack once again. Perhaps shopping wasn’t the
answer she was looking for either, but it gave her a moment to get a
good laugh. Taking one last glance at the prima donna before her,
Blake shook her head before heading home to try to find yet another way
to distract herself from the stagnant state of her life.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Jade gazed out the front window of the cabin she and Grady had been
staying at with one another. While they’d been entirely focused
on his safety, this trip they’d shared with one another had proven to
be something far more memorable than she’d ever dreamt possible.
Feeling him step in behind her, she couldn’t help but lean into
him--wanting to lock in the feel of his arms around her forever.
Closing her eyes she let out a soft sigh.
“I wish I didn’t have to do this,” Jade confessed poignantly, “There
are so many reasons why this feels so wrong.”
“I realize that,” Grady whispered gently pushing her long, dark hair
aside before placing a kiss at the base of her neck, “but we have to
think about the big picture here.”
“I still hate the thought of being away from you,” Jade admitted
turning around to face him with tears burning behind her eyes, “I’ve
waited so very long for things to finally fall into place for us and
now…Grady, I just hate to think that we have to push all this aside
considering that…”
“Jade, this isn’t being pushed aside,” he caressed her lips with a slow
and tender kiss, “It’s just means to ending this hold Cameron has on
us.”
“I know that,” she sighed heavily feeling his forehead press in against
hers, “it’s just when we talked about it last night, it didn’t feel as
real as it does right now. I mean when I think about what’s
waiting in Coral Valley--about what it’s going to be like to pretend
that my fiancé is dead. To let the world think that the
man I love has left me forever…”
“But he hasn’t,” Grady skimmed his thumb against her cheek tenderly
swiping at her tears, “Jade, I’m still right here with you and even
when we can’t be with one another, I swear to you that we’ll be in one
another’s hearts.”
“I know,” Jade nodded in a hoarse whisper, “but that still doesn’t make
it any easier.”
“I understand that,” Grady murmured in response wrapping her up in his
arms, “but I swear to you when this is over we’re going to have the
kind of life you’ve always dreamt about. No more of the same old
mistakes causing us problems. I want that more than anything for
us Jade.”
“I know you do,” she reached out to touch his face softly, “and so do I
Grady. I know that you’ve grown in so many ways and I can’t wait
for the day when we can finally have that piece of heaven that we’ve
both wanted in our lives for so very long.”
“You’re my heaven Jade,” Grady confessed in a low, impassioned whisper,
“You’re the first breath of life I’ve had in years and I’m not about to
lose sight of that. I love you with all that I am and it’s the
thought of making you my wife that gives me the hope to keep fighting
this battle that’s raging against us.”
“We will win the war one day Grady,” Jade promised him hugging him in
closer to him, “I’m certain of it.”
“So am I,” Grady kissed her once again, “but for now I have to tell you
I’m hating this as much as you are.”
“Somehow I thought you might be,” Jade trailed off while her gaze
darted to her bag, now packed and waiting at the door for her ride to
take her away from him.
“When did they say they were picking you up again,” he questioned
teasing her neck with his lips.
“At three-thirty,” Jade mouthed tipping her head back to savor the
tender brush of his mouth against her skin.
“That gives us a little time,” Grady murmured trailing his way back up
to her lips again. His intense green eyes met with hers and in
that instant Jade felt her heart flutter with urgency, “Perhaps we
should try to make the most of it.”
“Grady, I’m already packed and…” Jade started to protest despite her
body’s readiness to comply with his unspoken suggestion. She
returned his kisses feeling herself growing more and more eager until
finally she broke away from him, “but what about your stitches?”
“I’ll be careful,” Grady urged her into his arms, “but I know now if I
let you leave without spending some time with you, that will surely be
the end of me.”
“I suppose we can’t have that then, now can we,” Jade couldn’t help but
smile kissing him in return while savoring the few precious hours she
still had to share with the man she loved.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Russell entered the bedroom ready to give his wife the breakfast he’d
been so eagerly working on in the morning, but much to his dismay she
was nowhere to be found. Setting the tray in his arms down, he
turned his attention to Rusty, watching as the small kitten lay out
over the bunched up comforter on the end of the bed.
“Rusty, where’s mommy,” Russ questioned watching the kitten yawn in his
usual bored fashion before Russ noticed the sounds of the water running
in the master bathroom. Shaking his head, Russell headed to the
bathroom as his kitten rolled onto his side to return to the dream that
had carried over him before Russell’s arrival.
“Avery,” Russ questioned noting that the door to the bathroom was open
just a crack. Pushing the door open more completely he smiled to
himself. Surely surprising his wife had been part of his agenda,
but he seemed to be the one in for a surprise now that he thought of
his wife lost in her shower. Eager to steal a quick look at
Avery, he turned around the corner of the shower only to discover it
empty.
Before he could question Avery’s absence from the steaming bathroom, he
heard the sounds of crashing coming from outside the bathroom.
Fearing the worst Russell raced out into the bedroom to discover a thin
trail of blood leading towards the bedroom door.
“Oh God,” he gasped thinking of all the possible scenarios that could
be happening with his wife. Rushing into the hallway he searched
for her, “Avery. Avery where are you? Avery!”
He was halfway into the kitchen when he heard her voice from behind
him, “I’m over here Russ.”
Spinning around Russell found her in the hallway, wrapped up in her
robe with wet hair and a confused look upon her face. Saying
nothing Russell rushed over to her throwing his arms around her
desperately.
“Oh thank heaven,” Russell hugged her tighter than ever before pulling
back ever so slightly, “Avery, what’s going on?”
“Nothing,” Avery gave him a strange look, “I was about to step into the
shower, but then I guess Rusty knocked over one of my perfume bottles
and I noticed that I’d cut myself on the glass. She braced
herself against him to lift her leg before she motioned to a bandage
that was on the bottom of her foot.
“You cut your foot,” he repeated in confusion, “but the shower was on
and?”
“I didn’t realize that I’d cut myself until I noticed the blood in the
shower. I was starting to panic, but then I noticed that my foot
stung and I stepped out for a minute. I was hoping we had some
bandages in the bathroom, but when we didn’t I went to the guest
bathroom fully intending on returning to the shower, but…”
“You scared the life out of me,” Russell informed her honestly cupping
her face in his hands, “I thought that something happened to you or the
baby and…”
“Oh Russ, I’m so sorry,” Avery began sensing the fear that had consumed
him, “I had no idea that something so small could be so big…”
“It normally wouldn’t be, but given all that we’ve been dealing with,”
he let out a breath of relief, “I guess I just panicked.”
“Well I wish you wouldn’t have, but I understand why you did,” Avery
wrapped her arms around him holding him closer to her, “I’m sorry for
the scare I gave you there. I didn’t mean to.”
“I know and maybe once things start getting back to normal I’ll quit
overreacting…” he offered in response.
“You could, but then again I don’t really mind your being so protective
of me and the baby,” Avery couldn’t help but smile at him, “It just
shows me how much you care.”
“Of course I care,” he tipped down to kiss her tenderly, “You’re
everything to me and I wouldn’t trade what we have for the world.”
“Neither would I,” Avery confessed with a soft smile, “although I must
admit that I’d really like to get off of my foot here if you don’t
mind. It kind of stings.”
“Tell you what. How about I take you back in there and we’ll get
a look at it to make sure there isn’t any more glass in there.
Then we can get the mess cleaned up and remind Rusty that perfume
bottles are off limits,” Russ suggested with a tiny smile.
“I think we can give it a try, but with him being a baby and all, I
don’t think he’s going to be willing to listen to our lectures on what
is good and bad for kittens to get into,” she teased back.
“We can at least give it a try and hope he’s not nearly as stubborn as
you are,” Russ picked her up in his arms.
“Oh honey, you’re by far the stubborn one,” Avery reminded him with a
grin, “but I love every second of it.”
“How can you not,” he laughed lightly carrying her into the bathroom
once again to get ready to see what could be done to fix the mess their
kitten had made.
Meanwhile the soft sounds of footsteps could be heard in the distance,
but Russ and Avery were far too wrapped up in one another to
notice. Suddenly a dark figure emerged from the shadows at the
far end of the hallway just enough to take a listen to the
newlyweds. While poor Rusty had gotten the blame for his
handiwork, it seemed that would have to do for now because the timing
wasn’t right. He’d had it in his mind to make things a step
closer to what he’d wanted, but now that Russ had intervened, it would
have to wait. Dealing with Avery would come about later, but
first, it was time to leave before his undetected presence turned into
something he wasn’t ready for just yet. Not when he had so many
other plans for the near future.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
“All taken care of,” Thea announced returning to Cameron’s home office,
“She should keep quiet for a while.”
“Good, I’m glad to hear it,” Cameron rubbed his temple, “because I
really wasn’t in the mood for yet another headache this afternoon.”
“Don’t worry. You won’t be getting one,” Thea flashed him a
flirty grin, “although if you’re feeling tense, I’m sure we can come up
with a few inventive ways to rid you of that.”
“Somehow I had a feeling that you had a one track mind today,” Cameron
mused with a grin watching Thea’s confidence radiate through her when
she crossed the room.
“When don’t I where the important things in life are concerned,” she
questioned with a wicked smirk feeling empowered by her dealings with
Heather. She snickered at the thought, “And this time I’m pretty
certain that your wife won’t be bothering us since she’s a bit tied up
at the moment.”
Cameron laughed lightly at the pun before reaching out to her, “So
where shall we begin?”
“How about with where you were the night of Kipp Mahoney’s shooting,”
Dave announced breaking through the banter between Cameron and
Thea. Cameron looked up in surprise to find the Police Chief and
Agent Pryce standing in his doorway and suddenly it seemed that the
headache he was battling with had overtaken him now that the law was
moving in on him.
