Page 54 of Blackstone's Heart
"You just take care of Krista. We'll handle things here at the office and you just stay with Krista. If we need you, we'll call. Just let us know when the funeral will be and stuff alright? We can get the jet ready for Jerry's folk and send him home in style."
"Thanks man. I'll let his parents know that in the morning. Night brother." Ethan said.
Ethan ended the call and headed back upstairs. When he slipped back into bed, Krista sighed and curled into him, her arms slithering around his chest. Ethan wrapped his arms around her and kissed the top of her head. He hated seeing her in pain like this, but knew the only way to help her was to catch this asshole and make him pay for what he had done.
Chapter 15
The week leading up to Jerry's funeral was hard for Krista. She sighed tiredly as she packed her bag for New York. Despite the pain she was feeling, her muse had never been more creative. Due to her being unable to sleep more than a few hours each night, she had spent more time at her computer pouring out her pain onto the screen.
Midnight Passion was taking on a life of its own because of the nightmare that was her reality. Including losing Jerry. Tangling her fingers in her hair she sank onto the bed and bowed her head. In about twelve hours she, her parents and Jerry's parents were boarding Blackout's private jet to take Jerry home and put him to rest. Would she be able to stand it? Watching her best friend being put in the ground.
"Krista?"
"I don't think I can do this Ethan. I don't."
She felt Ethan sit beside her. When one of his arms came around her, she turned into him and laid her head over his heart. Neither spoke, but then again they didn't need to. He knew what she was going through. Just him holding her gave her strength. She felt him kiss the top of her head as he stroked her back soothingly.
"You're not alone baby. Your family, Jerry's family, Blackout, me, we're all with you and there for you."
"Thank you. I think I needed to hear that right now." She lifted her head. "And thanks for offering your jet."
"It's my pleasure. You know, I may not have known Jerry as long as you, but I think with time he and I would have gotten along fine." He grinned.
"He thought the world of you. You and the others. A couple of days before the bomb, he said that..."
"What?"
"He said that you and the guys of Blackout were great. He really looked up to you and Grant most I think. He said that you were a born leader and someone that he'd love to make part of his family."
"Part of his family?"
"I think he meant through me." She giggled.
Ethan chuckled and kissed her gently. "Who knows what the future holds for us."
***
Ethan worked on dinner while in the living room he heard Krista typing furiously at her laptop. He knew she hadn't been sleeping much and would feel her slip from the bed in the middle of the night and hear her make her way to the next room where her writing studio was housed. He guessed her writer’s block was over now.
He wanted to ask why she wasn’t letting in, but wasn't sure if it was his place. Yet a part of him argued that he had every right to ask. Hell in the last week he had all but moved in with her. Every night he fell asleep with her wrapped in his arm and got to wake up to her beautiful face.
He had just pulled the eggplant parmesan from the oven when he felt her presence behind him. Turning he smiled, then carried the casserole dish to the table. "Figured you'd be hungry."
"Famished. Mmmm, smells delicious." She grinned.
"Thanks, it’s mom’s recipe." He said as he placed the bread and salad on the table as well.
Krista giggled as she pulled out a bottle of wine and poured them each a glass. "Well, I think I've gained ten pounds just smelling you cook this."
"Guess we'll just have to work it off somehow then won't we." He winked.
Krista gave him a soft smile. Since Jerry's murder they hadn't made love. Yet he wasn't going to push her on that. She had just lost someone she considered family and though he knew guys who would force the subject. He thought men like that needed to be strung up by their balls. A woman wasn't just a hole for a man to stick his dick into. He would never treat or make Krista feel that way. The gift of her body was one he would cherish.
"Krista, there's something I want to talk to you about. If I'm overstepping by all means tell me."
"Okay. What is it?"
"Well, I can't help but notice you haven't been sleeping much lately."
