Page 75 of Holy Sinner

“What do you mean two?” Kit asks but she pauses when she seems to realize Rafe is exercising. “Are you doing push-ups? Is this because Jax is doing push-ups?”

“Fuck Jax and his stupid name,” Rafe grunts and keeps going. “It’s stupid. Grant’s right and you know I fucking hate saying that.”

I sigh and reach over the counter to grab the cake I brought. I didn’t pay much attention to the flavors but I know Kit loves strawberries and chocolate and this cake is extreme chocolate and strawberry to the max. I grab two forks. Rafe will want cake when he’s done with his set.

“You know, a lot of people would say that your name is stupid, too,” I point out because it's fun to work Rafe up. He shifts and moves to one-handed push-ups so he can flip me off with his free hand.

“Eat my ass.”

I throw up my hands and replace Kit’s plate with the cake platter. She deserves the entire cake, not just one slice. “What part of later don’t you get?”

Kit claps her hands and pulls both of our attention back to her. “What do you mean two? Two what?”

“Two stalkers,” I say because I’m not ready to call them killers. Not yet. Jane is missing but from what Alexia said she smelled and the jug we saw, the blood is fake.

“H-how do you know there’s two of them?” Kit asks and her voice sounds so small that I get angry. The feeling comes on a rush, like water from the tap that I turned on and now can’t turn off. I close my eyes and take in a deep breath to calm the fuck down.

“The times,” I tell her and take in another deep breath. “I talked to Alexia today. She said she saw Jane at three-thirty am, but the fucks that took the photo of us did it at three forty. That’s only ten minutes and this place is too damn big for them to cover that kind of ground in ten minutes.” I take the photo out of my pocket and slide it across the counter to Kit.

“You see that?” I tap the picture beside where the alarm clock numbers shine bright.

Kit squints and brings the photo up to her face while I start to inhale chocolate cake. Rafe finally gets up from his push-ups and yanks his shirt off on his way to us. He looks good. I pass him a fork and he digs into the cake without a word.

“Yeah, I see the time…so what you’re saying is there’s not enough time for them to have taken this photo and taken Jane from the last time Alexia saw her?” she asks. Rafe holds out a forkful of cake to her while I nod.

“Exactly. We’re working with at least two people here. I wouldn’t be surprised if two of them helped set up that ladder, which is why I said maybe three. After what rent-a-cop number one said about finding the ladder, I’m not so sure.”

“His name is Jax,” Kit points out from around a mouthful of cake and Rafe kisses her silent.

I nod my thanks to him and keep going. “He said they weren’t sure why they didn’t pack that ladder up if they had a vehicle to bring it out. I’m thinking maybe there was just one and there wasn’t enough time so they left and drove off.”

Rafe nods in agreement. “Could be someone almost saw them or came too close, with the kind of party that was going on. Couple wanders off from the main group and stumbles on them before they can put that ladder away so they say ‘fuck it’ and leave.”

“That makes sense,” Kit says. She slumps forward against the counter and yawns. “There’s a lot of reasons they could have left that ladder, I guess.” I don’t miss the way her shoulders droop as she rests her head against her hands. My girl is tired.

I rub her back and brush her hair to the side. “Let’s get you to bed.”

She looks over her shoulder at me and smiles. “Bed sounds nice.”

Kit lets me help her out of the chair and it’s with a quick touch to my shoulder that Rafe moves past us and into the kitchen. He starts cleaning while I get Kit ready for bed. I stay with her while she’s in the tub and brushes her teeth. I’m the one that goes into the bedroom to get her clothes for her. I give the skylight a glance on my way out but there’s nothing there but the moon and sky. When I bring Kit her clothes to change into, I keep my eyes on the bedroom door. I don’t know what I’m expecting to happen but I watch. There’s nothing else I can do but be ready to get my hands dirty if Kit is in danger.

In the end, nothing happens and Kit goes through her skincare routine and brushes her hair on autopilot. We don’t talk and the silence is nice. Just being with her makes me feel calmer. I can stay in control to keep her safe. Kit puts on her bracelet and I touch it when she slips past me. I like seeing jewelry on her that Rafe and I got her. It’ll be rings soon but the bracelet works for now. I don’t miss the way she brings her knives with her and slips them beneath the pillow on the pull-out couch we’re sleeping in. I pull the blankets up around her chin and smooth her hair back while Rafe turns off the kitchen light and goes to the bathroom to get ready for bed. That’s exactly where I stay until he climbs into bed next to her.

Chapter Thirty-Five

KIT

It’s when we’re all lying on the couch that I reach for Grant and Rafe. “What’s the new house like?”

“It’s nice.”

“It’s safe.”

The nice is from Grant and the safe is from Rafe. I smile into the dark and thread my fingers with theirs. I’m between them and staring up at the ceiling. I miss the skylight, even if some psycho climbed up there last night. I pretend that it’s not complete darkness that I see but the shining moon and the spill of stars that I was in awe of last night.

“Where exactly is the new place?” I ask.

“Two hours away,” Rafe answers and my mouth drops open. I wasn’t expecting him to say that.

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