Crash Into Me - L.A. Fiore Page 0,96
the shit he went through. He needed to. If he didn’t soon, I was going to force his hand.
“There’s somewhere I’d like to go,” I said.
“Anywhere.”
“It’ll require your plane.”
“Anything you need, Baby.”
Jackson Kilburn greeted us with a smile. He showed us into his apartment, and like the first time, we settled in his living room.
“I was happy to get your call. I’m hoping you’ve got good news.”
“Yes. You were right about Katrina. She was murdered, and it was at the hand of her fiancé.”
Tears filled the older man’s eyes.
“Jason Benjamin was killed, while being brought into custody, and Katrina’s official cause of death has been changed to murder.”
He took my hand into his old ones. “Thank you. You have no idea how much comfort you’ve brought me.”
“Well, here’s a little more for you. Her baby wasn’t Jason’s, but a man she loved dearly, and that man and his son have been reunited.”
“Oh, that makes me so happy.” He settled back on the sofa. “I’m an old man, and I’ve been ready to go, but I’ve been waiting, hoping to put things right. Thank you for giving me that.”
“We stopped at the market on our way here,” I said, gesturing to the cooler. “Would you allow us to cook you dinner?”
“I would like that very much.” He tried to stand; Kade helped him to his feet. “Thank you, Son.” He started for the kitchen. “I’ve a nice bottle of wine I’ve been saving for just this moment.”
We spent the afternoon and evening sharing stories of the job. We talked about Katrina. When we left Jackson, he looked at peace. He died in his sleep that night. Kade and I stayed in Los Angeles for his memorial, and when we learned he had no one, we arranged one. Zac flew out, as did Carmine and Gregory Enzi. He was laid to rest on a sunny spring day in the same cemetery Katrina Dent had been buried, thirty-two years earlier.
I was out shopping for wedding gowns with my mom. It was the only reason Kade wasn’t with me, and still, he grumbled about it. My heart wasn’t into the gown search, though, because I was worried about Kade. Mom was pulling gown after gown from the designer rack, but I wasn’t looking. She dropped down next to me. “What’s wrong?”
I exhaled on a sigh. “It’s Kade.” I turned into her. “How bad was it?”
Her face dropped, a shadow moved behind her eyes. “It was bad, Molly,” she said, and took my hand. My heart twisted, but I had to hear it, needed to know.
“Tell me.”
“He wouldn’t give up. Even when everyone else…” she wiped at her eyes, “Even when your dad and me couldn’t take it anymore, he wouldn’t give up. He said he’d know if you were gone. That he still felt you.” She pulled in a hard breath. “When he finally agreed to pull the plug, he didn’t leave you. Stayed with you day and night.” She squeezed my hand. “He came face-to-face with your death. Your dad and I did, too, so I know how he was feeling, but you were his future, that long, beautiful road ahead of you, and he had to let it go. I honestly don’t know what would have happened to him if you hadn’t come back to us.”
“How do I get him to let it go? He still hasn’t. Not all the way. It haunts him.”
“You’re his breath, Molly. Breathe life back into him.”
Mom and I postponed wedding dress shopping. Instead, I stopped for something on the way home.
Kade greeted me. “How did it go?”
“It didn’t.” His smile dropped. “I need something.”
“Anything, you know that.”
I took his hand and walked to our bedroom. Dropping it, I stood at the base of the bed. “I’d like you naked, and, on the bed, and I want to restrain you with these,” I said, pulling out the cuffs.
He pushed his hands into his pockets, that mask was firmly in place. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
“Do you trust me?”
Anger swept his expression. “You know I fucking do.”
“Then trust me.”
Several tense minutes passed before he kicked off his shoes, one then the other, his socks followed. It wasn’t sexual; it wasn’t foreplay. He was angry, but so was I. He unbuttoned his shirt and pulled it from his body. His pants followed and then his briefs. He stood before me completely naked, and I looked my fill because I had missed him. “You’re beautiful,” I whispered.
A slight