Chapter 37
Chapter Thirty-Seven
RAFE
“ D o you like it?” I ask, watching Kit’s face closely. We’re in the new cabin, though it’s not so much a cabin as a mini treehouse mansion. It’s nestled high up in the trees and feels more like a treehouse than anything else. It’s the kind of place that Rita watches travel bloggers yap about nonstop when she’s planning a trip somewhere. The only way to access it is through a winding road from the main highway. One road in and one road out which makes it easy enough to protect. There’s a gate at the front to help slow a car down and there’s no way to approach it from the back with a river cutting across the woods that make up the backyard.
A deck overlooks the river and the trees and the only way to the bottom is a three story hike down the stairs that lead off from the deck. The river is about 100 yards away with a nice dock that I bet I’ll catch Kit sitting and reading on once we’re settled.
That is, if she likes it.
We’re in the kitchen and it’s light and airy with a skylight shining with sunlight a few feet from Kit, nothing like the cabin at Elysium Sol. The roof is pitched steep here. Anyone trying to walk on it has a better chance of eating shit and rolling off onto the deck. State of the art stainless steel appliances and marble countertops shine in the morning light. There’s a vase of flowers and chocolates Rita had sent over waiting on the dining table for Kit. I can see them easily, thanks to the open concept of the home. To our right is the living room with two couches and a few comfortable looking armchairs beside the fireplace with a drop down projector as a television. There are also five bedrooms, three bathrooms, a library, a work out room and sauna.
It’ll work for keeping Alana and Kit safe and occupied, because the best room of all is the one we haven’t seen yet. The security room. It’s partly a panic room and partly equipped for surveillance. There are cameras in every room so we don’t miss an angle in case someone is stupid enough to break in here. The move two hours away from everything should be enough of a deterrent, just like the gate and the added security of the bodyguards, but my gut tells me Kit’s stalkers will be stupid enough to break in.
The thought of Kit having to use the panic room makes me nauseated.
“I do like it.” She turns and looks around the room. “It’s gorgeous but it’s so far away from set. I don’t like how much driving you’ll have to do.”
“It’s worth it. Anything to keep you safe.”
Kit worries her bottom lip and leans against the counter with a frown. “But what if it doesn’t? This person has followed us for months now. It’s getting worse. What if moving here isn’t going to stop it? Sometimes I just…sometimes I think it would be better if-” she stops speaking abruptly, like someone pulled the batteries out of her.
“Better if what?” I prompt.
She shakes her head and looks down at the counter. “Nothing. It’s nothing.”
“Don’t lie to me, shy girl. Speak your mind.”
“I know I said I wanted the movie to go on, but what if it shouldn’t? What if that’s the reason this is all happening? It’s one thing if it’s me, but Jane? Innocent people are being hurt.”
“The detectives think it is Jane, ” I remind her.
“It’s not. I don’t care what they said. They acted weird about our ‘ arrangement .’” Kit makes air quotes. “So who cares what they think?”
“It was our sex cult they didn’t like. Keep your facts straight,” Grant says as he breezes in with the leasing agent in tow. Their eyes round and face goes pale at Grant’s words but he ignores them. “Have you seen the panic room yet?” he asks Kit.
“No. Wait, we have a panic room? Why do we have a panic room?”
“For safety. That’s the whole reason Rita got us into this place. Something goes wrong, you go there.”
She doesn’t fight or say that things won’t go wrong and I know Kit is feeling what I am. What my gut is saying. Something might go wrong.
Something may have already gone wrong.
Kit crosses her arms and looks at the leasing agent. “Can you show me how it works?”
They give her a kind smile and hold their arm out, motioning towards the stairs at the back of the room. “Absolutely. If you’ll follow me.”
“ T he panic room is a lot.” Kit is on the back deck with me. She’s got a throw wrapped around her shoulders and she’s leaning against the railing, looking out at the river below. She’s not wrong. The panic room has ten monitors for surveillance and a double steel reinforced door just to get into the room. From there, a biometric scan of her finger will get her into the panic room. It’s equipped with its own generator, food and water supply meant to last two weeks. Not to mention it’s fireproof and has a direct line hardwired into the security company. The leasing agent had been proud of that one.
“Units can be here within the hour once you’ve made contact via landline.”
I don’t like that it would take nearly an hour but the distance is part of the reason we decided to make the move here.
“It’s a lot because it’s meant to keep you safe.”
“What if nothing can?”
I come to her then. “Hey, you know that’s not true.”
“But-”
“But fucking nothing. I know you’re worried about the movie, but this is not because of the movie. The move is the reason I’m here with you.”
She goes still and smiles. “I remember hearing you were going to be in it. I felt like I’d fallen into an alternate timeline. Nothing made sense but it…it did, too.” I close my eyes and lean my head against hers while I hold her. “You were the man I saw when I was writing. There was no one else I saw as Bishop. And Grant…he is Malachi to me.”
“He’s also a psycho.”
“Yeah, but he’s our psycho.”
I chuckle. “You’re right, he is. And that means the movie was worth it. That it is worth saving. Just because someone is making it ugly doesn’t change that.”
“I know.”
“Good.”
We’re quiet for a moment and it’s what I need right now. In the distance, I can hear the river flowing and the wind blowing through the trees. It’s a sound that's nothing and everything at the same time. A bird caws overhead as it flies by and Kit turns her head to follow it on its journey. We watch that bird together while I trace a finger along her bracelet until the gold warms under my touch.
I could stay like this forever but the moment is shattered by Grant’s hollering.
“Let’s move out! The wonder twins are here. We’ve got to hit the road to be on set in time!”
There’s an evening filming session tonight. I wanted to cancel it, but the movie is getting further behind and I meant what I told Kit. The movie is worth it. I take a step back and take Kit’s hand in mine.
“Did you hear me?” Grant shouts.
“We better go or he’s never going to shut up.”
Kit laughs and follows me into the house. “I like his yelling.”
“Of course you like his yelling.”
“He only does it because he cares, you know.”
“Don’t make me come get you, because I will!” Grant shouts from a window and I flip him off.
“Someone needs to tell that fucker he can care a little less.”