AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I hang up the phone quickly before they can ask any other questions and toss it next to the cell tower. Kevin follows as I head to the roof access door. We make our way down the service elevator. Kevin follows like a lost dog. When the door opens, I can see the police walking into the lobby. The doorman is quick to stand and meet them. They offer little other than a domestic disturbance at the apartment.
We pass and tip our hats at everyone while continuing out of the building. We round the corner and I dip by the dumpster, with Kevin following along. I pull out a trash bag from my backpack and take off my overalls. Kevin mimics my movements and places his overalls with mine in the garbage bag. I dump a few cleaning products on top of the clothes, then tie the garbage bag tight. He holds the top of the dumpster open so I can toss the bag. I grab a Yankees ball cap and toss it at Kevin to put on his head. I grab a similar one and cover my hair.
I throw my book bag over my shoulder and walk back to the street. We stand at the hot dog stand, ordering a few dogs while the baseball game plays on his radio. We talk about the game and make fun of the Sox as we chow down. Not bad for cheap hot dogs. I drop some money and a tip, thanking him for the food. We walk by the lobby and hear some commotion coming from inside. The escort Allison from the building in handcuffs. She is wearing a silk robe and crying, repeating that she doesn’t know what happened. Her hair is disheveled and her makeup is smeared. Coming out of a daze is not the easiest thing to handle.
I encourage Kevin to continue walking until we are on the other side of the building.
“Was this your plan?” He nods back toward the uproar. “Having her take the fall?”
“Damn straight! Three birds with one stone.” I take a bite of my hot dog. Savoring the flavor of this sweaty dog. It just hits differently. “No way in hell was either one of those bitches going to get any closer to my girl.”
Kevin stands in awe. Poor guy. I want to just keep moving, but the way he looks at me pressures me to keep talking. Needing to explain further.
“DuPont will be in the papers because of his wife being accused of murder. He will lose more investors and his stock will plummet. Allison will be behind bars, so she can’t psychoanalyze anyone. Jessica, that bitch was dead the moment she looked at Reese.”
He shakes his head at me. “And when it’s all over? Think you can have a future with Reese?”
It’s a fair question, but when I look at him, we both know the honest answer. No. If anyone were to get wind of who I am, it could open me and her up to a world of retaliation. She isn’t safe with me.
“She is perfection,” I admit. “She deserves the fantasy. The big house in the suburbs, the family, the whole definition of living the dream. I can’t give her that. But I want to…” I turn and walk back to my car. My fingers resume tapping my thigh as I walk. I can feel the uneasy anxiety fill my veins. The things I want but my mind prevents. “There is no good ending for me.”
I continue to my car with Kevin by my side. Thankful that he stayed silent. My thoughts are loud enough. I don’t need anything added to the already blaring cluster in my mind.
CHAPTER 19
CONVINCING
Adam
The past few days, the media has put DuPont on blast, hard. It is glorious.
Police arrested and charged Allison with some misdemeanor charges of drugs, with other charges pending. They are waiting for the toxicology reports to come back from her and from Jessica’s autopsy before they make any further decisions. I was not looking in the lawyer’s direction until Jessica brought it up. I knew that DuPont’s lawyer had a vested interest, but I had not realized the comfy cushion he sat on. It makes sense, though.
I am sitting outside The York Building with Reese as she rambles on about Kevin. He’s been talking to her a bit more lately, and she is absorbing it all. He still hasn’t left the cabin and I can’t bring myself to push him out the door. After all of this is over, I’ll give the cabin to him. He seems to need it more than I do at the moment. I bought it when I was at my lowest and spent my recovery fixing it up. Wood decor, minimal furniture, and a view of the lake not far off in the distance lull the mind into a transfixed state. Maybe he could bring Reese there, and she could step foot in my alternate universe. The very thought of her lying in my bed…
“Kevin said that he might come home soon. No exact date given, but John, he’s planning to come back,” she says.
Reese bounces in her seat with pure joy. Her green eyes seem to sparkle just a bit more. You can see the love she has for her brother and jealousy encompasses my soul.
I loathe the fake name each time she says it. I fake a smile and rest my hand on her thigh, giving it a small squeeze. “That’s fantastic news.”
“I can’t wait for you to meet him.” She scrunches her nose and her eyes quickly shut. “I mean if you want to… you don’t have to… it’s just…”
I close in on her lips and taste my favorite flavor. Sweet espresso breath. “I can’t wait to meet him.”
I stay close to her lips, hoping to hide my disappointment. Every day, she makes it harder to convince me I will need to walk away to protect her. Have I thought about risking it all? For her? Hell yes. The fact is this—the life I had before that fateful mission was one of duty, honor, and pride for my country. I would have convinced her to get married and travel the world with me while I served my great country. I would have happily walked through the door each day in hopes of her holding that positive pregnancy test and creating anything her heart desired. The life I woke up to was one of disgust, anger, and resentment. Between the PTSD, night terrors, the invisible blood that stains my hands that only I can see, and the constant looking over my shoulder for any retaliation is painfully real. This world I woke up to doesn’t make room for innocent lives to stay. I am safer alone. She is safer away from someone like me.
This angel devil rocked the line that separated the past from the present. She laughs at the future with blissful hope.
Fuck me. I peck her lips gently before sitting back and continue eating.
“Good, I think he will really love you,” she expresses confidently. “He’s particular for sure, but you remind me of some men he served with. Whenever he would Skype me, he would try to embarrass me. Those guys were always right there to defend me.”
Darling, you don’t realize that I have killed for you. I would leave a trail of bodies behind like bread crumbs just so you know how much I love you.
Love.
No.
