“I will. Love you.”
“Love you, too,” he replied.
I was already drifting off, and his voice sounded drowsy. I let his warmth and love lull me to sleep.
?
It had been just over two weeks since the entire nightmare happened with Sam. The time had been full of more than my recovery, though I did only end up spending three days in the hospital. When I got home, Reign wanted to hire a nurse to stay with me. I vetoed that. He settled for Mom spending part of her day with me. She did it between her work schedule.
For me, I’d been bored and felt guilty about having to bring in a temporary chiropractor to cover for my patients. I knew my regulars were less than pleased, but they kept their visits. And all their messages and cards for a swift recovery were forwarded to me.
Sam’s disappearance had caused a stir. When he didn’t show up to work the Monday after the shooting, and there was no call, his company had called the police to do a welfare check. Of course, they found his place empty, with no signs of a struggle or of him having taken his things.
His unexplained disappearance sparked rumors. The biggest was that he was so upset over losing the breach-of-contract case that he’d decided to go away and lick his wounds for a while. Others whispered that he’d gone off and killed himself.
The police came to speak to Reign and me about the case. And it ended up being the same officers who visited me and took my statement while I was in the hospital. I’d told them the story Matvey concocted for the shooting at the first meeting.
As for Sam’s disappearance, I told them I hadn’t seen or spoken to Sam since the hearing. Yes, I knew he was upset, but I was busy planning my future and now healing. When they left, I got the feeling that we weren’t suspects.
Mom had taken the final step and filed for divorce. When Dad received the papers, he went crazy. I know this because he came to the townhouse, beat on the door, and demanded to speak to her. He had Arish in tow. No surprise there.
Luckily, she wasn’t alone. Poe and Delphine were there. Delphine had been inside visiting Mom rather than on duty. They’d hit it off. They came forward to run Dad off, but Mom told them to let him speak. I knew exactly what was said and done because it was caught on my security system’s cameras. It had been heartbreaking in a way.
“Kati, what is the meaning of these goddamn papers!” Dad shouted through the door.
Mom opened the door and stepped out on my stoop.
“You can read, Savar. They’re exactly what they say they are. Our son is a lawyer and right behind you. Surely, he can read and recognize what those papers are.” Her tone was sharp and condescending, something she never was with them.
I noted her attitude took them aback.
“Kathlyn, come back inside.” Delphine appeared from inside the house.
Right about then, Poe came jogging up to the house.
“You need to leave. You’re trespassing. She doesn’t want to speak to you,” Poe told Dad and Arish with an edge to his tone. He was polite, but barely.
“She’s my wife. You have no right to keep me from her. Who the hell are you to do so? You need to leave,” Dad barked.
“If you don’t back off, I’m calling the police,” Arish threatened.
“Go ahead. But you’re the ones trespassing, not us. We have permission from the occupant and the homeowner to be here,” Delphine stated.
“Hold on. Let him speak. It’s time to get this over with. Since I prefer not to air my dirty laundry to the neighbors more than it already has, they can come inside. But both of you stay,” Mom told Poe and Delphine.
“I won’t ever leave you alone with them,” Poe muttered.
Arish and Dad cast glares at Poe, but he pretended not to notice. Delphine and Mom re-entered the house, followed by Dad and Arish, with Poe bringing up the rear.
What happened inside was also recorded, but on Delphine’s phone.
“What are you doing?” Arish asked Delphine.
“I’m setting up to record. That way, nothing gets misrepresented later,” she said pleasantly.
“Turn that off. We don’t consent to being recorded,” my brother barked.
“Then this meeting is over,” Mom said.
