Chapter 20
Jordy
I woke up sore all over.
This wasn’t the first time. I’d felt sore like this more times than I could count, and when I first opened my eyes, I waited for the familiar feelings of disgust to hit me. I was used to it by now, and I was ready for them.
Yet, this time was different.
This time, despite the familiar ache deep in my muscles and the familiar friction left behind from skin rubbing together, there was a pleasant, almost euphoric tingling under my skin.
Where had this come from?
Sex had never felt like this afterward. Sure, it was with someone I liked and actually wanted, but the physical action was still the same.
Could enjoying the act really make such a difference?
Apparently, yes.
When I turned my head and looked over at Kitt still lying in the bed next to me, I nearly burst out into hysteric giggling. He was still there. It hadn’t been a dream. The previous night hadn’t been a dream. I’d actually managed to enjoy myself during sex for once.
More than once, in fact.
The room was still dark, and Kitt’s face was illuminated only by the light of his phone screen. I looked over at the window, intending to open it so we could see better, only to realize it already was open. It was just dark outside.
Wait, what time was it?
My gaze darted to the clock on the nightstand.
5:36am.
It was technically late enough that I wouldn’t call it night anymore, but the sun hadn’t even risen yet.
What was Kitt doing up?
Still tangled up comfortably among the sheets, I watched him for a few moments.
He hadn’t realized I was awake yet and never looked away from his phone.
At first, he seemed busy, and I didn’t want to bother him, but as I watched him, I realized he wasn’t actually doing anything on his phone.
He was just staring at something on an unmoving screen.
As quietly as possible, I squirmed closer until I could see what he was looking at.
It was a phone number. All the digits were punched into the dial pad, and the big green call button was just waiting for him to make the final move and start the call. There was no name attached to the number, but no one stared that intently at a number without knowing who it connected to.
“Why do I get the feeling your not going to make that call,” I said after another minute of watching him.
Kitt jumped, actually literally jumped, so badly that he dropped his phone. It would have been hilarious seeing him scramble for it among the sheets, if such an out-of-character reaction wasn’t a clear sign that something was wrong.
When he recovered the phone, he quickly shut it off and tossed it aside on the nightstand.
“It’s nothing. I was just... checking on something.”
I couldn’t even get mad at him over the blatant lie he’d just told me. The man looked too out of sorts, lying among the rumpled sheets, flustered and uncomfortable.
Laughing under my breath, I curled up next to him and smoothed his messy hair out of his eyes back into something resembling his typically neat style.
“I’m not an idiot. That wasn’t the number you used to contact Logan and the others.
Plus, I’m pretty sure you never had any intention of actually calling the number.
So, what’s so important about it that you’d spend your time brooding in the dark staring at it right after we’ve had just a pleasant night. ”
Maybe it was our intimate position, or maybe it was the reminder of what we’d just shared, but when Kitt looked over at me his expression softened, and I watched as his arguments died on his lips.
“I... I’ve told you about the previous case I worked that involved the bell ringers, right?”
Of all the things he could have said, that wasn’t what I expected. It probably would have been less shocking if he’d just slapped me across the face, and I actually had to shake my head for a moment to get my thoughts back in order.
“Your previous case? Oh, right. You mean the kidnapping one where you advised your client to drop the case.”
Kitt wrapped an arm around me, letting me settle in against his side like it was the most natural thing in the world as he ran his fingers through my sweat-stiffened hair.
“Yeah, that one. There was an attempted kidnapping on my client’s kid, but all the evidence pointed toward her recent ex-husband who was unhappy about the custody arrangement.
I advised my client to drop the case so that things could be settled in mediation.
I thought I was doing a good thing. That it would be better for the child involved if things could be handled peacefully.
It wasn’t until later, when it was too late, that I learned the husband wasn’t the culprit at all.
The child was actually being targeted by the bell ringers. ”
“Okay,” I agreed, nodding along.
The more he spoke, the more familiar it sounded.
This was the reason Kitt had volunteered to take our case after the previous lawyer had suddenly quit.
He had a personal bone to pick with the bell ringers after failing a past client.
It made sense, but it didn’t explain why he was bringing it up now, or why it caused him to stare at his phone in the dark hours of the morning.
“You told us about this before,” I reminded him. “But why’s it important now?”
As he took a deep breath, Kitt’s fingers tangled a little deeper into my hair.
“When I explained before, I left something out. The client that I failed wasn’t just anyone. They were my cousin.”
My brain stalled for a second, and it took me a few tries to realize what he’d said.
“Your cousin?”
“Yeah. My family came to me for help with the case. I only accepted it because I thought it would be simple. But then, my cousin and her ex-husband turned up dead, and their son was nearly kidnapped. I was—”
His voice cracked, and I felt the hand in my hair tremble. The only light in the room came from the city lights sneaking in through the open window. It was an unnaturally white light, lacking the soft edges of moonlight, and made his expression look like it had been carved directly onto his face.
Sometimes people needed encouragement when dealing with difficult emotions, but sometimes they didn’t need you to say anything at all. This was one of those times. As much as I wanted to comfort Kitt, I kept my mouth shut and just let my presence do the talking for me.
After clearing his throat, he managed to find his voice again.
“I was there when it happened. My cousin and her ex-husband’s bodies had just been discovered.
Luckily, their son was staying with my sister at the time, or he probably would have been taken when his parents were killed.
I immediately visited my sister to check up on them, and that’s when the bell ringers tried again.
I was right there when they snatched the kid, and I couldn’t do anything. I was... useless.”
A memory came to mind of Kitt protecting me as we ran across the underground safe house while bullets flew past us.
As usual, I could remember everything with perfect clarity.
I still recalled how warm his body had felt as he kept me safely tucked against his side the whole time.
I could still hear the whizzing sound one bullet had made when it came precariously close to my ear, only inches from striking us, but Kitt hadn’t even flinched.
His steps never faltered as he continued to run us both toward safety. That didn’t feel useless to me.
“Maybe it’s presumptuous of me, but I know you, Kitt. I’ve literally been through a life and death situation with you. You’re not useless. If there was nothing you could have done, then I doubt there’s anything anyone could have done.”
My words were meant to be reassuring, but to my surprise, they made Kitt laugh.
It didn’t sound like a humorous reaction.
“Oh, you know me now, but I’m not the same now as I was back then.
I’ve made sure of that. Back then, I was much more of a cliché lawyer.
The kind of man who spent all day sitting behind a desk doing paperwork and had never even set foot in a gym.
Trust me. I was useless. Luckily, my sister’s husband was much more of a “man of action” than I was back then, and he managed to act in time and stop my cousin’s kid from being snatched.
Otherwise, the bell ringers would have claimed another victim that day. ”
From my position at his side, I could just see the silent phone sitting on the nightstand.
Kitt hadn’t been paying much attention when he tossed it aside, and the little black rectangle balanced precariously on the edge, millimeters away from falling to the floor.
I had an unbearable urge to reach out and push it more securely onto the nightstand, but that would mean letting go of Kitt, and I couldn’t bear to do that either.
“So, the kid was saved. That’s a good thing, right?”
Kitt nodded, and although his head didn’t move, I noticed his eyes twitch in the phone’s direction. “It is. He was adopted by my sister, and from what I know, he seems to be doing okay.”
A heavy pause followed this statement. I didn’t even have to ask; I just waited for the inevitable follow up.
“My family blames me. They think that if I hadn’t downplayed the severity of the situation and convinced my cousin to drop the case, that she and her ex might still be alive.
My sister has been especially adamant about keeping me out of their kid’s life, so I haven’t spoken to any of them since then.
I keep my sister’s number because I hope that someday I’ll be able to call and tell her that I’ve finally made up for my mistake. ”
So that was it. He thought he could earn his family’s forgiveness by putting a stop to the bell ringers, and until that day came, he was left staring forlornly at a phone number he could never call because he knew it wouldn’t pick up for him.
“That’s so...”
I wanted to offer something profound, or at least comforting, but the right words eluded me. My blood boiled so suddenly in my veins it turned my brain to useless soup, and all that came out of my mouth were unintelligible sounds.
Not knowing what else to do with myself, I grabbed one of the pillows off the bed and threw it across the room where it hit the wall with a muffled sound.
“That’s so unfair!”
“Jordy?”
“No, that’s not...”
With a frustrated shout, I threw another pillow. Luckily, the luxury bed had more than enough.
“It isn’t your fault that the bell ringers are a bunch of monsters.
Maybe you made a mistake handling the case, but so what.
You’re human. Humans make mistakes. It’s not worth cutting off all contact with you over something like that.
I’d give anything to have even a single family member, yet your family can afford to just throw people away for stupid reasons. ”
Crossing my arms over my chest, I slouched down among the remaining pillows and scowled at the phone still balancing on the edge of the nightstand. “Ugh. It’s not fair.”
Now, instead of fixing the phone, I desperately wanted to bat it off the table and watch it crash to the floor. I probably would have done so if Kitt hadn’t taken that opportunity to climb on top of me and press me into the mattress with a heavy kiss.
I could tell he wasn’t trying to start anything, after our numerous rounds last night, I don’t think I could have gone again even if I wanted to, but the kiss still left me breathless. Even after it ended, I chased his lips, desperately seeking more.
He laughed and gave me another quick peck before pulling away. “I think that’s the first time anyone’s ever gotten mad for my sake.”
Although he pulled away, he still stayed on top of me and his weight kept me pinned. I couldn’t chase after him, so I flopped back against the pillows and scowled up at him.
“Well, get used to it. I’ve got enough anger to go around for multiple people.”
The first light of morning trickling through the window was finally illuminating his skin. It wasn’t any sort of brilliant glow. The day was dawning overcast, and what little sunlight made it through the clouds was gray and weak.
I reached up and cupped his face, tracing the edges of the dull morning light on his skin.
“Your family doesn’t know what they’re missing by keeping you out of their lives.”
Grabbing my hand, Kitt placed a kiss at the center of my palm. All at once, the dull morning seemed a little brighter.
“A whole lot of drama. That’s what they’re missing.
It’s probably a blessing in disguise. Being cut off from them means I can pursue the bell ringers case without worrying that my family could be used against me.
The bell ringers have been known to use such tactics before, and I wouldn’t want to put them in danger. ”
Since he wouldn’t let go of my hand—not that I wanted him to—I retaliated by cupping his face with my other hand as well.
“Well, if stopping the bell ringers is what it’ll take to make your family talk to you again, then that’s just what we’ll have to do.”
To my delight, he didn’t even try to escape my grasp.
“Now, we just need to figure out how two people, with no legal authority, and no formal combat training, can take down an experienced trafficker all on our own.”
When Kitt put it that way, the task before us sounded difficult. Maybe even impossible.
Luckily, I’d laughed in the face of impossible odds before and survived. This time would be no different.