‘You doing all right, Kay?’ Don asked.
‘Fine, thanks. I’m fine.’
‘Now, where have you two been?’ Garrett recognized the forced politeness in Don’s voice. He didn’t use it on him very often. He and Don had long ago moved past the need to be polite.
‘Dancing,’ Garrett replied, pulling out a chair and settling at the table in front of the BlackBerry. ‘We’ve been dancing.’
‘Dancing, right. And how did you manage that without the press finding out?’
‘Well.’ He pulled Kendra down onto his lap and ran his hand back under her shirt. ‘Kay’s very creative. We went incognito to a place not far from here. Sneaked out the back.’
There was a long silence at the other end of the phone, and they could hear Don’s forced sigh. ‘Isn’t that a little bit dangerous? Have there been any more emails from your stalker?’
‘I’ll get the laptop and we can find out.’ Before Garrett could grab her, Kendra was off his lap and halfway up the stairs. She returned in a few seconds with his computer and plopped back down onto his lap while he maneuvered around her, sloppily brushing her breasts on purpose as he pulled up his email.
Kendra saw it first, and the little hitch of her breath was enough to knot his stomach. ‘There’s something here from him, from Razor Sharp.’ Garrett barely managed to keep his voice steady, not wanting to make matters worse. He tightened his grip around Kendra’s waist as he took a deep breath and opened it.
You’re a whore, Tess! I’m only just now realizing how much of a whore you really are.
Kendra flinched on his lap as though she’d been slapped.
‘Read it to me,’ Don demanded.
Garrett could barely hear his own voice over the loud fluttering of wings in his ears. ‘Don, we’ll call you back.’ He reached for the BlackBerry.
‘No.’ Kendra laid her hand against his. ‘It’s all right. I’ll read it.’
Before he could stop her, she read in a voice that was distant, mechanical.
You’re a whore, Tess! I’m only just now realizing how much of a whore you really are. Sadly, when I’m honest with myself, I always suspected that you were. I always suspected that no one could write sex like you do without being a dirty little slut herself. And the way you let Garrett Thorne fuck you, that worthless excuse for a human being, the way you play the whore with him, only confirms that you aren’t worthy, that you deserve to be punished. And when I get you to myself, Tess, when it’s just you and me and no Garrett Thorne, no interfering press, no one else, then I promise you, I will punish you, and you will repent of your wickedness and beg for my forgiveness. It’s the only way we can be together, Tess. And we will be together. I only hope it’s not too late.
Yours in deepest love,
R.S.
‘Damn it, Garrett! This isn’t funny. Kay, are you –?’
But Kendra wasn’t listening; instead, she fought her way off Garrett’s lap and made a mad dash for the bathroom, slamming the door behind her.
‘Garrett, what’s going on? Don’t you think maybe you should –?’
‘I’ll call you back.’ Garrett broke the connection and ran after Kendra.
Kendra wasn’t sure how long she sat on the bathroom floor with her cheek pressed against the cool tiles of the wall, fearing if she moved she would throw up, fearing if she moved all the nightmares would come racing back, fearing if she moved she would unravel a thread at a time until there was nothing left of her but the knot of panic threatening to devour her. It could have been seconds. It could have been years.
At some point, out of the dark mist that surrounded her and danced like shadows across her vision, Garrett knocked softly on the door. When she didn’t answer, he opened the door a crack. ‘Kendra? Can I come in?’
She might have nodded her head the tiniest bit or not, but for some reason he felt he had her consent. For a second he stood in the open door and took in the situation, her sitting, against the wall, close enough to the toilet that she could get there if she needed to retch, but close enough that the tile could cool the heat of rage and frustration and sick fear that threatened to tear her apart.
Then he moved to the sink, filled a glass with water, and sat down next to her. ‘Can you drink this?’ His voice was like light pulling her back from the dark. ‘Because if you can it’ll help you feel better.’
When she reached for it, her hands were too unsteady to hold it, but he held it for her, tipping it to her lips so she could drink. And when she’d had enough, he set the glass aside and eased her gently into his arms. It felt better there. For a long time he didn’t say anything. He just held her, and the nausea disappeared and the world righted itself and she could breathe again. It was still a long time before she could risk speaking, before she felt she could manage it without sobbing. Only Dee and Harris had ever seen her sob. Only Dee and Harris loved her anyway. ‘I’m so sorry,’ she finally managed.