Chapter 10 Bump In The Night
bump in the night
Lana lay across her bed with her face smashed into a pillow.
She’d called Kayden a few times that night since she’d gotten back to the townhouse, but he hadn’t answered.
What could he be doing? She rolled over onto her back and stared up at the ceiling.
Her eyelids burned as she forced them to stay open.
She looked back at the clock and decided against trying him again and finally welcomed the beckoning call of sleep.
Before her eyelids touched, the cellphone on her pillow started to chime.
Kayden’s ringtone filled the silent room, and her lips spread into a smile as she reached for it and pressed “answer” on the touchscreen.
“Lana?” Kayden asked, as she breathed a sigh into the phone.
“Hey,” she replied sleepily.
“Did I wake you?”
“No. I was hoping you’d call me back before I fell asleep. Where were you?”
“I’m sorry. I’ve been holed up in the loft, working on the Spence Hotel deal with Taylor all night.”
“Oh?” she asked, rolling over onto her stomach.
Considering Mr. Spence didn’t want anything to do with Kayden just a few short days ago, the statement piqued her interest.
“Yeah. They changed their minds, and construction’s going to start next week sometime—if everything else goes smoothly.”
“That’s great news,” she muttered.
“What’s the matter? You sound weird and not sleepy weird.”
“I’m okay. I just had a rough dinner with my parents tonight, is all.”
“Really? How so?”
“For starters, the house was full of people, which was the last thing I was in the mood for. Carmen was there too...as well as Sam, unfortunately.”
Lana physically cringed as she said his name into the receiver, waiting for Kayden to explode.
Instead, the other end of the line was so silent, she thought he’d hung up on her.
Lana moved the phone from her ear and looked at the screen.
The call was still open and the time kept ticking forward.
She slowly put the phone back and spoke cautiously.
“Hello, you there?”
A long sigh whistled into her ear.
“I’m here, Lana. What did he want?”
“My family invited him over for dinner and thought it would be a good idea. It so was not.”
“Oh?”
Why did he sound relieved?
“Yeah. I ended up telling him off in front of everyone, and he left. Hopefully, they all get the memo this time.”
The line went silent again, and she could tell by the way he was breathing over the phone that he still wasn’t happy.
“Hmm. When are you coming home?”
“I don’t know. When are you going home?”
“As soon as I see the doctor and we know what the next course of action is.”
“Ok.”
“I miss you, you know.”
Hearing him relay what she felt overcame her for a small moment and was enough for a tiny sob-like sound to escape her throat.
“I miss you too, Kayden,” she whimpered.
“Shh. What is it? Did something else happen?”
“No, nothing like that. I just wish you were here,” she replied, wiping the runaway tear from her face.
“And I wish you were here. You know I can fly you to me if you want. I’ll send the jet, say the word.”
“I don’t think so. The last place I want to be is in another confined space with Maureen.”
“We can stay at the Four Seasons. It’s not a big deal, Lana.”
She thought about it for a minute but knew it wouldn’t be fair to her parents to take off on them. Plus, she had so much left to tie up.
“You and your mother have things to discuss. I shouldn’t be there to distract from the situation.”
“Is it really about her or something else? I want you here with me,” he stated, his voice raspy.
“It is about your mother. Besides, I still need time with my family. I’m leaving the state, saying goodbye, and I still have to pack up my place anyway.”
The phone fell silent again, and she hoped he wasn’t upset. They had their first official fight a week before, and she didn’t want a repeat.
“I love you, you know that, right?” Kayden finally said.
“I do,” she replied.
“Sleep tight and call me in the morning, if I don’t call you first.”
“I will, and love you too,” she replied.
“Goodnight, Lana.”
As she hung the phone up, Lana knew it was more than just Maureen.
Some of what Sam said had gotten to her, and she hated that he was right about anything in her relationship with Kayden.
Kim was a problem—a big one. But she didn’t want to end the first conversation they’d had in days with talks about her.
For the time being, Kim was on a temporary leash, and Lana wracked her brain trying to figure out a way to make it permanent. She exhaled slowly, calming herself down, then closed her eyes, letting the weight of her long day melt away.
THE ESTATE WAS a massive sight to behold, but under the glare of the moonlight, it looked kind of creepy.
There weren’t any windows installed yet, so the darkness loomed from within the open crevices.
They looked like soulless, empty eyes and made her feel uneasy.
The house had to be over twelve thousand square feet.
When it was finished, it would rival anything the Hamptons had to offer, and it was absolutely everything she ever wanted—and it should be hers.
Kim sauntered around the construction site of Kayden and Lana’s unfinished mansion and tiptoed her way to the backyard.
The massive courtyard was the most recently finished, and it looked like something you’d find in the back of an English castle.
She imagined her and Kayden’s kids running around in the backyard as they watched them from the lanai.
It gave her a warm, tingly feeling that spread throughout her body.
There was no way in hell Lana deserved to have all of this while she rotted away in the disgusting apartment the next town over.
Her trusty FOB key was in her pocket, and as far as the police knew, she was still there obeying the law.
Her newfound freedom opened a world of possibilities, all while providing her with the perfect alibi.
No one would suspect her of anything, because she was, in this case, one step ahead of them all.
Kim had plans in store that would finally set the stage to rid both her and Kayden of Lana for good, and she could finally take her place back at the head of the table.
She started walking back to the front of the house, away from the beauty of the landscape, and wondered how she would ever decorate a home so large.
That’s what interior designers are for, she thought as she giggled and bounced down the hill toward the waiting car service on the curb.
KIM TURNED THE knob of her apartment door and entered the darkened living room and kitchen combination.
She was absolutely giddy and excited that she’d found a way around the itchy contraption around her ankle.
Idiots, she thought, as she removed her jacket and threw it onto the rickety table by the door.
When she looked up, she jumped, dropping her keys.
A dark figure sat at the kitchenette table, unmoving.
Her heart pounded against her chest so loud, it thumped in her eardrums as she backed up to the door, her hand searching for the knob.
Her eyes scanned the room, sure it was the cops getting ready to tackle her to the floor, and she froze, unable to move or make a sound.
The floor lamp in the corner of the kitchen came on, and she let out a long hissing sigh as feeling returned to her feet.
“Are you out of your damned mind?” Kim spat.
Bryson Pierce stood from the table, smirking as he walked toward her. He was once Kayden’s best friend before Kim got in between them, and they still occasionally hooked up until a few months ago.
“I’m glad to see you too,” he replied, outstretching his arms to her.
Kim swatted him away and plopped herself on the ugly couch, throwing her feet up on the coffee table.
“How in the hell did you get in here anyway?” she spat.
Dropping his muscular two-hundred-plus frame next to hers, he leaned his head back and turned to her.
“Um, are you actually surprised? I used a butter knife that was conveniently lying in the grass. This place is a dump,” he replied, scoffing as he glanced around.
“Well, what are you doing here anyway? Come to gloat?”
He sat up and put his elbows on his knees.
“I actually came to see Kayden, but the word around Hamby is, he’s in Manhattan. Plus, I heard from Mike that you were holed up here and had to see it for myself.”
Bryson paused and took a breath before continuing, “What in the hell were you thinking, Kim? You could’ve killed them!”
“I wasn’t thinking,” she got up from the couch, walked into the kitchenette, and opened the fridge.
“That’s not a decent excuse. Why are you only on house arrest? The streets are talking back home, and everyone is convinced you’re certifiable. No offense, but you deserve to be sitting in a cell for a good amount of your life.”
“I don’t need your judgment, OK,” she yelled, before drinking orange juice straight from the carton.
“Classy. Well, look, I only wanted to check on you, and I’m sure it’s a violation for me even to be here. I’m gonna get going,” he stood from the couch.
“Wait,” Kim interrupted, running over and stepping into his path. “Why don’t you stay a while? I haven’t had any company since I got out.”
She made her best attempt at looking sweet and coy, but Bryson’s dark, narrowed eyes didn’t buy it. He reached over and picked up a couch cushion, grabbed the poorly hidden ankle bracelet, and put it on the coffee table.
“Doesn’t seem like you need company. You do realize you can be tossed in jail for an additional five years to your original sentence? How long do you think it’ll take before you get caught?”
She frowned because Clint “the tool” failed to mention that fact when he high-tailed it out of there. She frowned and decided she would be sending Mike a strongly worded email when Bryson left. She shook her head and dropped her gaze.
“I really am lonely though,” she replied, truthfully.
“Yeah, sorry to hear that. I hope you’re not getting into more trouble, Kim.”
He started for the door again, and Kim lunged herself at him, threw her arms around his waist, and held on.
“Please don’t go. Stay the night, you know, like you used to,” she begged, looking up at him.
She inhaled the scent of his cologne, and although he wasn’t Kayden, he was always an okay substitution. Bryson pried her arms from around him and took a step back. He placed his hand on her cheek softly, looked deep into her eyes, and smiled.
“Not for all the blow at a frat party,” he deadpanned, then stepped around her, opened the door, and walked out.
She followed behind him as he trotted down the steps of the neglected building.
Kim stood on the slanting concrete porch, her fists balled at her sides.
Her breathing increased, and she could slowly see the color red moving across her field of vision.
She squeezed her eyes closed and screamed at the top of her lungs.
“Bryson!”
When she opened them again, Bryson hadn’t even bothered to turn around; he kept his stride as he disappeared into the parking lot.
A group of people sitting on a bench on the lawn looked up from their domino game and stared up at her.
She hadn’t noticed them before, and the glare of six pairs of eyes unnerved her.
She scurried back into the doorway of her apartment and slammed the door shut once she was safely back inside.
The last thing she needed was to draw attention to herself, especially to a potential murderous freak in the middle of the night.
She slid the flimsy, rusted door chain into place, her only security system, then pulled the curtains closed.
She took deep breaths to try to calm herself, but was still seething inside.
Who in the hell was Bryson to curve me?
A smile spread across her face, and her anger disappeared like a puff of smoke. Bryson’s rejection of her didn’t ultimately matter, even if it hurt. She got exactly what she was really after anyway. Pulling his wallet from her back pocket, Kim threw it on the table, then sat back down on the couch.
She opened her laptop, the browser window already open, and typed in the search bar.
Soon, the web result for Delta flights popped up in front of her.
She’d have to move fast before he realized his credit card was missing and canceled it.
A smile spread across her face as the flights out of Georgia to New Orleans were on sale that week.