Shades of Resolution (Distortion #3) Page 11

  “Yeah, I know.”

  “Do you know when Cherry is supposed to get back?” Evan asked, rubbing his stomach.

  “She was planning on staying at the diner until after the supper rush. She’ll be at least a couple more hours.” Lexie glanced at the clock on the wall. Cherry had taken a liking to the diner and found a very comfortable place among the employees. Molly was grateful for the help since one of the girls had recently had to leave to attend school full time. Cherry’s management skills were exactly what the diner needed. Lexie was grateful, because at this point in her life she couldn’t run a business. Cherry was more than happy to step in and had more than enough experience to make the transition easy.

  “She promised to bring me back some pie. I’m gonna take a nap till she gets back.” Evan wandered off down the hall.

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  Terence Masten

  “Christina Mayfield, Clara Montgomery, Rachael Clayton, and Rose Holzman were all at the Obelisk club within days of their disappearance.” Haffey leaned against the table, spreading pictures of the women out in front of Masten. “I know this was not a coincidence. I’m sure if I keep digging into the rest of your victims, I will also find connections.” His eyes were drawn to each one of them. He knew them all intimately, but there was one face that stood out more than the rest…Rose Holzman. He couldn’t resist the urge as he raised his shackled wrists and touched the photograph. He could remember every detail about her as he closed his eyes and relished the memories he had.

  “I want to know John Stodden’s involvement. I know you didn’t abduct these women without help. I want details and confirmation and I’m sure we could find a way to take the death penalty off the table.”

  Terence looked up into Detective Haffey’s dark eyes. “What do I care? I have nothing left to live for.”

  “You have a wife and a son,” Haffey offered.

  “My wife can’t the stand the sight of me, and my son, well…let’s just say she made sure he felt the same. I can’t even begin to imagine what they think of me now,” Masten said as he ran his fingers along the outline of Rose’s photograph.

  “It looks like the men in here don’t like you much, either,” Haffey pointed toward his face. It was true that since he had arrived he had been targeted. The bruises on his face and the cut on his brow confirmed it. His high profile case had gotten a lot of attention and many of the guards had very strong opinions on the matter.

  “Seems so,” Masten replied flatly.

  “You were the mayor for years; don’t you have some small part of you left that wants to do something good for your city?” Haffey pleaded, placing her hands on the table in front of him.

  Masten looked up into the dark, seductive eyes of the detective. She was desperate; he could smell it. She wanted to find the weak link in the chain to bring down John Stodden. A part of him wanted to hand over the bastard that allowed those men to take what was his. He had finally found his Rose again and she was taken away from him. John had promised him that no one would come looking for those women on his doorstep.

  “I’ve always hated this fucking town,” Masten responded without feeling.

  Detective Haffey slid a pad of paper and pen in front of him. “Everyone has a price, what’s yours?”

  A knock on the door visibly irritated Detective Haffey. She grabbed the handle and opened the door just a crack. Terence couldn’t see who it was, but he could tell she wasn’t happy.

  “I said no interruptions,” Haffey said, displeased.

  Masten couldn’t hear the voice on the other side of the door as he picked up the pen and began writing his demand on the paper.

  “On whose authority?” Haffey spat angrily. “God dammit.”

  The door swung open and two guards came in to collect him. “Let’s go.” Masten dropped the pen and watched Haffey lean over the table and grab the notepad. She read his conditions before she looked over the paper with narrowed eyes.

  Terrance chuckled before he was led from the room. “See you soon,” he called back over his shoulder.

  His shackles rattled as he moved, both his wrists and ankles bound. He was led down the long hallway of beige painted concrete blocks toward the holding cells. So many scratches and marks had chipped away at the paint from years of abuse. He could hear the rise in voices of the inmates as they drew nearer, like the hum of a beehive. At this time they would all be collected in the common area, waiting to be herded outside for a brief reprieve in the fresh air.

  Masten’s mind was filled with thoughts of Rose. If he breathed in deep, he could still smell her sweet scent when he would press his face against her hair. He knew she was scared of the dark by the way she would tremble. She didn’t like being held behind bars and she had pleaded to be free of her cell, but it was too dangerous―someone might have seen her. He wondered if he would have granted her the ability to feel the sunlight against her skin, would she have run from him in the end?

  He knew she had grown to love him as he did her. She had confessed her feelings for him. If he would have had more time, maybe things would have been different. He was robbed of the only happiness he had known.

  Now it was only anger that sizzled deep in his stomach. He had nothing else left because it was all stripped away from him.

  When his shackles were removed and he was directed to join the others, he hung back from the crowd of judgmental eyes that followed his every movement. He hadn’t spoken a word to anyone since he had been locked away with them. They were all common thieves, scum of the very city he had tried to wean them from over his stay in office. He would not pretend to be one of them.

  Normally he was kept separate from the others, but today was different. He didn’t bother to question why he was now being herded into the crowd, because he wanted to feel the sun. He hadn’t had the opportunity to be outside since he arrived. He wanted to know what it would have felt like for his Rose to have been able to have the luxury after months in the dark.

  He hung back, waiting for the others to walk down the hall and through the exit doors until he approached. He could feel the warmth of the sun long before he actually stepped out the door. Long chain link fences guided them down a path until it opened into a courtyard. Many of the inmates had already spread out over the grass when he stepped out on the gravel.

  The sun felt hot and revitalizing on his cooled skin. He tilted his face up and smiled. He should have given this to her. He should have brought Rose out into the sun where they could have enjoyed this glory together. He knew she would have smiled. He would have loved to see her face aglow by the sun.

  Terence continued down the path, avoiding eye contact with anyone lingering along the fence. He knew how delicate these situations could be. Someone bumped into him while he walked past.

  Masten was annoyed to be disrupted from his peaceful thoughts of Rose but he kept his mouth shut. He wasn’t about to begin any trouble. Someone else bumped into his other side, but this time he noticed a raw sting from the impact. Terence looked down and noticed blood on his shirt. The bright red color spread across the fabric as he watched in strange disbelief. His finger caught in a hole in his shirt where the blood had originated. They had stabbed him. The two puncture wounds began to thrum with pain as the saturation of blood connected on the front of his shirt. A few men began to gather around him, none of them with any mercy upon their faces. His initial flee response quickly dissipated when he noticed he was surrounded. Masten realized that this was his final moment. There was no escape from the death that loomed over his head.

  He closed his eyes and tilted his face up to the sun. “I’m coming, Rose,” he said as he felt a sharp stab into his stomach and another in his neck. Terrance dropped to his knees as weakness swept through his body. He could hear the whistles of the guards faintly in the distance, but they were too far away. He did not fear his death because he knew his love was waiting on the other side.

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  Lexie
>
  Lexie opened the front door and walked out on the step. She noticed Jackson’s shoulders tense despite the fact that he had his earbuds in. She couldn’t understand how he could pay attention to anything else with the music playing so loud as she sat down beside him. Her instinct was to lean into him, but she wasn’t sure if he would accept her touch. He seemed so angry.

  Lexie pressed the pause button on the iPod clenched in his hand. He pulled the ear pieces out and looked at her. His eyes looked so dark and stormy; she didn’t know how to begin to calm the emotions that shone through.

  “Will you come with me? I want to show you something.” Lexie stood up and held out her hand. He looked at her for a moment before he accepted it. Lexie was relieved with her small triumph. She led him toward the garden shed in the backyard.

  The door was already open as she neared. She hadn’t thought about it until now that the men would have searched it. She opened the door and noticed most of her mother’s gardening supplies scattered on the ground.

  Lexie picked up a shovel and placed it back against the wall. “It was neater than this before…but not much,” Lexie admitted with a sad smile. “Mom loved to garden.”

  Jackson remained quiet as Lexie watched him right a few pots.

  “Come this way,” Lexie said as she walked over toward a wooden ladder that led to a loft overhead. “This was my place up here,” Lexie said as she started climbing up.

  “Should I be nervous?” Jackson asked. His lighter mood made her stomach spin happily.

  “Maybe.” She smiled down at him as she watched him grab the ladder and start climbing up behind her.

  It had been so long since Lexie had set foot up here. She was only a girl then and life was still full of magic. The paint on the slanted ceiling had faded over the years but it was still there. Lexie ran her fingers over the flowers and stars she had painted to make the space more beautiful.

  “Wow, it looks like a rainbow threw up in here,” Jackson said when he looked at the bright colors, set aglow by the small window placed just before the ceiling peaked. The space was not tall enough for Jackson to stand up in. It was always small but now it looked tiny as Jackson crouched down.

  Lexie couldn’t help but laugh. “I used to hang out here all the time when I was little. I forgot that the space might be a little small for a full sized man.”

  “So this was Lexie, the girl, huh?” Jackson ran his fingers over the painted boards.

  “Yeah, I used to pretend I was a princess with a magic unicorn. Of course there was always the prince.” Lexie pointed to the corner where a crude drawing of a man and a horse stood in the corner, standing a total of three feet; the perfect size for her little castle.

  “White pants, blond hair and a horse. I obviously don’t fit the description of your prince.” Jackson raised his brow.

  “No, you are definitely unexpected,” Lexie confessed.

  “Was this Alex for you?” Jackson asked. His question surprised her but she could understand his curiosity.

  “This guy’s name was Charming, and he was too perfect to be real. He was the fantasy of a little girl before she understood the world. I loved Alex, but he was just as human as me and you.”

  “That makes me feel a little bit better,” Jackson joked.

  “I much prefer real and imperfect,” she confessed.

  “That goal seems much more attainable,” Jackson responded.

  Lexie grabbed a blanket that had been tossed in the corner. She gentle shook it off and laid it out. Something heavy tucked inside the blanket made a loud thud when it hit the floor boards. “It’s a little dusty,” Lexie said, waving her hands. She lifted the blanket to see what had made the noise. She wrapped her fingers around the black ball.

  “I forgot about this.” Lexie looked at the magic eight ball she had tucked away long ago. Lexie gave it a shake and looked at the answer that floated into the window display.

  “Signs point to yes,” Jackson read over her shoulder. “What did you ask?”

  “If you were still mad at me,” Lexie confessed.

  Jackson looked into her eyes. “I’m not mad; I’m scared you’re going to get hurt, Lexie.”

  “Nothing about this situation is safe, Jackson. You know that better than anyone. Whether I go or stay, I’m in danger,” Lexie reasoned.

  Jackson took the ball out of her hand and shook it. Lexie leaned in and looked at the answer—reply hazy, try again.

  “What did you ask?” Lexie asked curiously.

  “If you were going to take your shirt off now.” Jackson’s full lips turned up and Lexie felt like melting.

  She shook her head with a laugh before lying down on the blanket and looking up at the ceiling like she used to. “It doesn’t look the same in here anymore. I suppose it’s lost some of its magic after everything that happened.”

  Jackson climbed down beside her, looking up at the artwork. “I like it.”

  Lexie glanced over at Jackson and wondered what was going on in his beautiful head. Lexie turned on her side and ran her fingers along his arm. When she looked up, he was watching her quietly.

  Jackson shook the ball again, this time more vigorously.

  “What are you doing with that?” Lexie asked, watching as he tilted it toward himself to view the answer.

  “Trying to get the answer I want,” Jackson answered with a frown. It read—ask again later.

  “That’s not how it works. What do you want an answer for?”

  Jackson dropped his hands with the eight ball and held it against his stomach with a sigh.

  “When you’re with me…do you wish I were him—Alex,” Jackson asked thoughtfully. “I know you still love him. I just want to know if you’re with me for me or because you miss him?”

  Lexie had been so wrapped up in her own feelings she’d never considered how Jackson would feel about her confessions of love for her late boyfriend. She liked that Jackson was opening up to her. It made her think about things that had been running through her mind as of late. Things that she knew she needed to shed some light on for both their sakes.

  “When Alex was alive, life was safe and predictable. His love was gentle, sweet, and thoughtful, but there were also the things that I tucked away when he died. I only wanted to remember the good times with him. Nothing else mattered after that…until now. With you there is danger, rawness, heat, and fire. You make my head spin with emotions I didn’t know I was capable of. Despite all the chaos of what is me and you, I have never liked myself better. There always feels like there is too much space between us, even when you’re inside me,” Lexie confessed.

  Jackson grabbed hold of her hand and pulled her closer. His hands felt warm and his touch ignited her.

  “When I’m with you, everything else fades away and I feel whole again. Until I met you, I would have given anything to turn the clock back, but now…” Lexie paused and looked into Jackson’s searching eyes. He was drinking in her every word. “A part of my heart will always love Alex, but when I’m with you, you have all of me and nothing less, I promise you.”

  Jackson tossed the ball aside and placed his arms on either side of Lexie, leaning over her. “Your answer is much better than that stupid ball.”

  Lexie laughed. “In fairness, that would be a lot of words to fit on a small triangle.”

  His smile could have lit the world. Jackson had such strong, captivating features. Anyone who looked at him could see that, but the more she got to know who he was, the more she could see the beauty of his strength within. He was absolutely breathtaking in every way.

  Lexie placed her hands on either side of his face. “I want to move forward, but I can’t until I put all this behind me,” Lexie admitted honestly.

  Jackson brushed Lexie’s hair away from her face.

  “This is all so new to me. This is the first time in my life that I remember being scared since being a kid.”

  “Don’t worry, I’ll protect you,” Lexie whispered as a smile too
k over her face.

  Jackson chuckled and shook his head. “You are something else,” he said before pressing his lips against hers. Lexie grabbed hold of his shoulders and refused to let him go. This was exactly what she needed right now. She wanted to be loved by Jackson, to feel him close to her.

  Lexie ran her fingers through his hair, along his shoulders, and down his back as he pleasured her mouth. She couldn’t get enough of him. She wanted to completely possess this raw, intense man.

  Jackson’s fingers grazed the sensitive flesh of her stomach as he grabbed her waist and pulled her closer against his body. Every nerve ending came alive and spun with delirium. It became a frenzied rush to remove their clothes. The moment her body moulded against his, flesh to flesh, she wished this moment could last forever.

  Every kiss, every caress felt like it was directly linked to her sex, pooling hot and deep inside her. Unrestrained moans and gasps flowed from her as Jackson spread her legs and massaged her wet center. Lexie couldn’t feel the floor beneath her. She was combusting from the inside out and her senses went completely numb to the outside world as she was immersed in Jackson.

  His rough chin left a delightful burn against her skin as he kissed her. His mouth devoured her lips, neck, and breasts as his fingers plunged inside her, stroking her insides and milking her of pleasure. All of her nerve endings set off like fireworks throughout her entire body as she exploded from his touch.

  Lexie completely melted into the floor like a puddle, unable to move or form a coherent thought.

  “Are you still with me?” Jackson whispered against her neck.

  “Ummm…” Lexie managed.

  His kisses became gentle again as he kissed her cheek and her lips, savoring the skin of her neck as he ran his fingers over the sensitized flesh of her breasts. His attention to her nipples made her inner pool begin to heat again.

  “What are you doing to me?” Lexie gasped. Jackson took her mouth, and wrapping his arms around her, he lifted her off the ground and into his lap so she was straddling his waist. Jackson squeezed his eyes shut and held his breath as he pushed inside of her, his hands holding her still for a moment. “Go gentle on me, baby. I want this to last long as possible,” Jackson said, opening his eyes and looking deep into hers.