Page 22 of Evidence of Us

“Hey, Daddy. Good. I have a question. You know how when you are working on stuff, and you end up with that brownish clear stuff on your nails when you don’t wear gloves, what is that from?”

“Varnish,” he says. “Why?”

“I can’t really go into detail, but that’s what I think it is. It’s paired with wood shavings, though.”

“Sounds like a woodshop,” he says.

“Wait. Would a table saw cut clean lines in the flesh? Like, very clean cuts?” I ask, handing my phone to Dawson and putting gloves back on. Levi picks up the femur so we can see the end, and I pull the light down closer.

“God, no, but definitely a band saw,” he says. “Your Uncle Raymond actually did that with a deer once. Your grandpa was both pissed off and impressed. Looked like a surgeon cut that thing up.”

“Shit, okay. Thanks, Daddy,” I say.

“Come see your old man, girl. He misses you,” Dad says, and I laugh.

“I saw you three days ago, old man. I’ll come by when I can,” I say. “And I’ll bring Zeke.”

“Oh? Are we killing him or welcoming him back into the family?”

“Welcoming him back into the family. He lives with me. Meghan is probably shacked up with Mark by now.”

“Mark? That little whore,” Mom scoffs, knowing the story.

“Anywho,” I say. “You are on speakerphone, and I’m holding a leg, so I’ll call later. Love you guys,” I say. Dawson ends the call, and I set the femur down. “It’s a woodshop. That’s the killer. He’s a woodworker.”

“Let’s go work on the rest of the profile and see what we can come up with,” Dawson says, and I nod. I back up and take my gloves off before turning to Levi.

“You gonna explain?” he asks me.

“I will. I promise,” I say. “Let me know what shows up with DNA.”

“Will do, babycakes,” Levi calls out as we leave. When we step into the elevator, Zeke covers my mouth and looks at Dawson.

“I have given her my full blessing for her to have a relationship with you. I am confident we can share her. She admitted to loving you, but you and I both know that the thought of love scares her. She thought you only cared because she paid you to, but then realized you do care because she wasn't paying you, and you still stayed by her side. I am confident enough in myself and her that she is genuine when she says she wants us both, and I am when I say I would love nothing more than for you and me to bury inside of her and let her see a glimpse of heaven… Oh, and she’s majorly into CNC. Last night was… Well, she opted not to have a safeword.”

“How about you and me?” Dawson asks. “Think we can get along?”

Zeke scans Dawson, and I recognize that look. They both have it. “Yeah, I think you’d look good on your knees too,” Zeke says, and my mouth falls open.

“I’ll remind you of that when I have you bent over and begging for mercy,” Dawson says with an innocent smile, making Zeke smirk.

“Whoa,” I say. “That’s hot as fuck. Can I just see you two jerk each other off? Is that a possibility?”

“If you take his cock like a good girl and no one catches you, yes,” Zeke says.

“What about… Zeke, you said you were going to get me pregnant. How is that going to work?”

“We both raise it,” he says with a shrug.

“Did you two already talk?” I ask.

“Yes,” Dawson laughs. “I gave him my cell when you walked away. We’ve been texting.”

“And…”

“And he is right. I do love you,” Dawson says as the elevator doors open.

“I’m going to pretend I didn’t hear that,” Kevin says as he gets in, and I get out with Dawson.