“That’s my dad,” Ace says, kneeling. “He’ll be able to give her first aid until we can get her down the mountain.” He winces at Kennedy. “You’re going to be just fine.”
I give Ace a hard look and motion back to the party. “You think she went back?”
Ace shakes his head. “If she’s smart. She’s already long gone.”
Melanie is smart.
And I have a feeling she is long gone.
Kennedy receives ten stitches, didn’t lose a hair in the process for which she was forever grateful. I take her home and hold her in my arms, making lazy love to her all weekend.
Early Monday morning we get a knock on the door at seven thirty, and I open it wide to find Peter Slade’s smiling face staring back at us.
“Morning.” He touches the back of his neck sheepishly, most likely because we look like we’ve been fucking all night, and we have. “I have some great news, and I wanted to share it with you both firsthand.” His silver eyes gleam, and, for the first time, I can see Kennedy in him, his eyes, his shrewd smile, she’s all there. “Melanie turned up.”
“She did?” Kennedy lunges at her father and pulls him in tight. “It’s really over.” She sobs into his chest. “It’s done. This entire nightmare is behind us.”
“It’s done.” He presses a tender kiss to her ear. “She was hiding out and got tired of running. She finally showed up at the Morris Township County Correctional Facility.”
“That’s a men’s prison.” I should know. It was where they were housing Solomon and would happily still be doing so if Kennedy didn’t help set me straight.
“That’s where her father is.” He nods. “She wanted to speak with him one last time.”
Kennedy groans. “Okay, I know I shouldn’t feel sorry for her, but that breaks my heart.”
“I know.” Her father strokes her arm. “She asked for me personally to help find another defense team to look into her father’s case. She said she’d plead guilty to all the charges against her if I could find someone who would try to clear his name.”
“And there’s that,” Kennedy whispers. “Mel is smart. I bet that was her plan from the beginning. Are you going to do it?”
“That’s another thing I was coming here for. I thought Maxim McCarthy might want a crack at it.” His jaw tightens, and so does mine at the mention of my father. “I think there might be something to that whole plea of innocence he’s been singing since day one.”
“I’ll let my dad know.”
“I’m off.” He gives Kennedy another quick embrace and pulls me in on it. This feels good. This feels like family. “You take care of my little girl.” He wags his finger at me as he heads down the walk. “And you”—he points hard at Kennedy—“don’t be such a stranger. Your sister and I miss you.”
Kennedy blows him a kiss.
We step in and close the door as Kennedy coils in my arms with a hearty moan.
“I have a surprise for you, too. It’s not nearly as impressive as your father’s but I think it’s worth mentioning.”
“Is this the real deal or did you just mix innuendo with the same breath as my father?” Now it’s Kennedy who looks unimpressed.
“The real deal. I was able to remove just about all of the videos.”
“What!” Her voice shrieks to the ceiling as the room vibrates with joy. “Are you kidding?” Tears come to her eyes.
“No. I’ve had them removed from all the big sites, there are a few I’m still working on, and, believe me, I’m not letting this go. You are too precious to me to let this go. You are not for sale, and your body is for my viewing pleasure only. There’s no way I’m stopping until every last one of those is nothing but a memory.”
“A bad memory.” She winces. “Which, of course, is all my twisted fault to begin with. Thank you.” Her lashes lower as she sinks in my arms. “It’s really over.” She takes in a full, cleansing breath, her cool feet stepping softly over mine. “I guess we can start up the rest of our lives. No more worrying, no more hiding out and praying she’s not lurking outside the window. Our future children can breathe easy.” She gives me the side eye, her lips tugging seductively.
“I like the sound of that. You know what else I like the sound of?”
“Your name when I scream it in the dark?” Her head cocks as she tries to keep a straight face.
Truthfully, nothing sounds better.
“That in addition to McCarthy and McCarthy.”
