Page 79 of After Midnight

I think everyone here, already knew that was the case, but hearing the detective say it aloud settled like a lead balloon over the room. That the woman really had been that callous, so vicious as to throw her own stepson into the path of wolves simply to buy herself another day of her wretched existence, churned in my gut.

“Unfortunately, for her, she hadn’t cleared your abduction with the head of the drug ring. So, according to the witness,when he’d come into the factory that night, he was so angry that she’d potentially brought attention to his operation, he’d killed her on the spot.”

“Is Dominic still in danger?” Miss Rita asked, and the detective shook his head.

“Not likely. We arrested the drug kingpin on murder charges, but not kidnapping. We do have the footage of Mr. Lawson’s kidnapping, and we arrested the man we suspect assisted Ms. Dames in that. He was also heavily involved in the drug ring, so it’s possible he’ll turn against his boss and we won’t need Mr. Lawson’s testimony to put him away. We also have footage from a neighbor’s home security camera of the night of the robbery, and the man we’ve identified in the video is the same man we arrested for kidnapping.”

We all nodded, collectively hoping this nightmare would all be over soon and Dominic would be allowed to live his life and not have to deal with any more fallout from his step-monster.

After the detective left and Dominic went back to bed, I left for home, but not before promising the girls I’d return to watch another movie with them. I was too rung out to put on a brave face for the girls, and I think the other adults in the house felt the same way, so we rain checked our planned movie night. The girls understood, but Olivia still teased that she’d make me watchThe Princess Brideagain soon. When I groaned about it, she laughed, making me at least hope she was teasing.

I needed to get back to Chicago soon if I hoped to keep my spot in the club, but Mr. Foreman said this was the club’s usual slow period and he didn’t expect it’d pick back up until the end of March. I was off the hook for at least a couple more weeks, as long as I continued my classes remotely. Which is why I found myself sitting in the Denver club, watching a TV screen as my classmates back in Chicago performed their routines.

“You doing okay?” Jolie asked when my class was on a short break, and I nodded. “Ashton said your family had been going through a lot lately.”

The thought that grumpy old Ashton Pipkin included me as one of his family made me smile. “It’s been an intense week. In fact, it feels like a lot longer than that. It feels more like months.” When I thought about it, ithadbeen months. Dominic’s abduction was just the culmination of all the shit he’d been through with Margarette and the court case. So, basically the entire time I’d known him.

“I’m glad Dominic is doing okay,” she said. “We were afraid for him.”

I nodded. “Yeah, we all were.”

Just then, the instructor asked me a question, and I had to guiltily turn the microphone back on and ask her to repeat it. At that point, she told Jolie to go away until after class, and I looked over at the appropriately chastised woman and winked.

When class ended, I went back home for a nap before I had to take on two preteens. I hadn’t been sleeping well, of course, and even after we’d gotten Dominic home, I still tossed and turned throughout the night, unable to shake the nervous energy that had plagued me since he’d gone missing. Only now, fear for his safety had been replaced with fear that he’d choose to ghost me again. I didn’t want to push or smother him, but I also couldn’t seem to shake my nearly overwhelming desire to pull him into an embrace and never let him go. Just thinking about holding him sent electrical pulses through me, and made my heart beat faster.

I managed to fall asleep, and woke up a couple hours later to the smell of something amazing wafting into my room from downstairs. I made a dash for the stairs and found my dads sitting in the breakfast nook chatting. “Hey, what smells so good?” I asked.

“Oh, I told Miss Rita I’d make dinner, so I’m cooking up my homemade beef potpie.”

“Mmm.” That was one of my favorite meals Dad made, but it required so much effort he rarely ever made it these days.

“So, y’all are coming over with me tonight?” I asked.

“No, honey. We figure Dominic doesn’t need all the extra company, not yet. For the time being, it’s probably best if it’s just family.”

My eyes grew wide and I drew a sharp breath. “You think I shouldn’t go?”

Both my fathers looked at me like I’d grown a third arm. “No, he needsfamily. You’ve very much included in that group, honey, can’t you see that?” Papa K asked.

I shrugged. “I guess so. I mean, I certainly felt that way while Dominic was missing. But now, it’s like I’m just worried he’ll try pushing me away again. I don’t think I could take that rejection.”

“Oh, don’t start that again,” Papa K said, getting up and popping into the kitchen just as the oven timer beeped once, then shut off.

“How does he do that?” I asked.

“Do what, son?” Dad asked.

“Know when the timer is about to go off before it actually does?”

Dad chuckled. “He’s got an internal clock, not unlike the insight he has about relationships. Trust me, I’m a complete idiot sometimes when it comes to the ways of the heart, but your papa, he’s always been very in touch with his feelings and those of others. It’s one of the reasons I fell in love with him.”

“I get it, I get it.” I put my hands up before Dad could turn all mushy on me and walked into the kitchen laughing.

“Papa K, I’m hungry. Do you have any leftover pastries I could munch on?”

He shook his head. “Fix yourself a sandwich so you don’t spoil your appetite for this potpie. I haven’t made one in a while, but I think it’s going to be one of my best.”

I kissed his cheek and made my sandwich as he’d instructed.

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