Page 111 of Deadly Designs

On top of that, Aja Blue had dealt with the insurancecompany for the loss of her office and the destruction of herbelongings. There wasn’t much to pack up, but they cleared hercondo and put what hadn’t been ruined in storage. She’d been Jay’sbeneficiary, so they’d done the same thing with his apartment.There’d been even less to save, and most had been donated to alocal charity.

They had also spent a lot of time with DetectiveNicole Herbert. She’d attended Jay’s funeral with them, along withthe memorial at Crystal Galaxy. She’d learned to get around oncrutches, but Christian sensed a restlessness that had nothing todo with her injury. He wondered if she’d become a coworker soon.Luke and Logan had spoken with her, and they were impressed. Thejob was hers if she wanted it.

The Heathcliff Sinclair saga was still the top leadon every major network. Reporters had camped out in front of theirmansion for days, hoping to get a glimpse of the disgraced formersocialite. Eleanor Sinclair had bailed out before spending time ina jail cell. Christian had been hoping she’d have to languish inthere for at least a few hours, but money talked, and she certainlyhad a ton of it—for now. Her bank accounts had probably been frozenas the investigation into the depth of her husband’s nefariousdealings was exposed. Eleanor hadn’t been seen in public since. Shewas now a pariah in the community, and he didn’t think she’d beable to recover. She could scrape together enough money to buy anisland if she didn’t already own one, but first, she had to standtrial for attempted murder. Christian planned to return and testifyif necessary.

The cop who had tased him, Officer Cranny, had beenfound dead in a ditch, a gunshot wound to his head. Jonas Thamesdenied killing him, but one of the other security guards hadfingered him for the hit. He was looking at life behind bars.

The fake nurse had been caught. She was one ofHeathcliff Sinclair’s security team, and she was also looking atmurder, plus additional charges since she had lured Aja Blue to beabducted.

As Christian followed the road that would take himhome, his nerves kicked in. He and Aja Blue had made a deal—hewould take her there, show her around, and she would decide if shethought she could live there. Everything was riding on the next fewhours. If she didn’t like it or didn’t feel like she could stay,they would go wherever she desired. If she wanted to look for a newoffice space in Virginia Beach, he’d be her biggest cheerleader.All he wanted was for her to be happy.

Aja Blue reached over and grasped his hand. “I don’tthink I ever thanked you for staying with me this week. I couldn’thave done it without you.”

Christian threaded their fingers together. “You didthank me. Several times. And in many creative ways.” He wagged hisbrows, getting the smile he hoped for. “And there is nowhere elseI’d rather be.”

“I can’t wait to meet the people you work with. Ialready adore Presley, Kayne, Logan, and Luke.”

That was a great start. Christian glanced at her witha smile. “You’ll love them all, and vice versa.”

#

Aja Blue glanced around at all the people who hadturned out to welcome her with open arms. They were in an outdoorpark named after the President of the United States bordering alake. Grills were fired up, cooking everything from steak andhamburgers to salmon, shrimp, and vegetables. Her stomach rumbled,anticipating the assortment of food. Music wafted from speakers,and laughter was abundant.

Christian kept a protective arm around her andcautioned anyone who got too close that she was still recoveringfrom a gunshot wound. It had healed nicely the past week, and infact, she’d tried to talk him into some life-affirming sex, buthe’d kept refusing her, saying he wouldn’t until she was better.Infuriating man. That’s when she’d gotten creative. She liked tothink she’d blown his mind a time or two—or several.

Her cheek hadn’t bruised as severely as she thought,and she’d been able to cover most of it with makeup. It never hurtlike she’d feared. Thankfully, Dirk and his twig arms had packedlittle punch.

Aja Blue had been shocked at what Christian called“the compound”. The buildings were incredible, and the scenery wasgorgeous. He’d pointed everything out and promised to give her anin-depth tour tomorrow. There was a world-class gym, a smallhospital, and a dog-training facility among the buildings. Shecouldn’t wait to see everything.

“Holy cannoli, Polly! What have you gotten usinto?”

Aja Blue smiled at the adorable young boy who hadrecited a very respectable impression of her famous catchphrase. Hehad to be Kai Costa. Christian, Presley, and Kayne had told her allabout him and his incredible heroics. “Wow, that wasfantastic.”

“I’ve been practicing,” he admitted with a charminggrin. He was going to be breaking hearts soon. “I love your show.I’ve seen all of them multiple times on the OBG Channel.”

A wry grin crossed her lips. That her show wasconsidered an oldie but goodie, like the network, made her feelancient. “Hi, Kai. I’m Aja Blue LaLonde.”

“I know—wait!” Kai’s mouth dropped open. “You knowwho I am?”

“Absolutely.”

He feigned fainting, complete with arms outstretched,as he collapsed to the ground.

Christian cackled ominously and wiggled his fingerstogether. “Good. If Little C is out of commission, that means moreburgers for me.”

“What?” Kai sprung to his feet. “No. I’m fine! See!And leave my burgers alone! Hey, Aja Blue, what musical instrumentis found in the bathroom?”

“In the bathroom? Ew, I don’t think I want toknow.”

Kai let out a belly laugh. “Sounds disgusting, right?But no, it’s a tuba toothpaste!”

Aja Blue laughed with him as Kai doubled over andslapped his hand on this thigh. Christian, however, crossed hisarms and frowned.

“Little C, your jokes are usually geared toward theindividual. It’s funny, I’ll give you that. But what does a largebrass instrument have to do with Aja Blue?”

Kai gawked at him like he was an alien. “Hello?Season two, Aja Blue learns to play the tuba. Polly gets her headstuck inside the bell. It’s comedy genius.”

Tears pricked Aja Blue’s eyes as she rememberedfilming the episode. The funny thing was, Polly really had gottenstuck. They’d had to call the fire department to get her out.

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