Page 99 of Fatal Thrill
Epilogue
Nine weekslater
Jon blewinto his mom’s house, the screen door slamming behind him and Nyx as they entered. Six dogs rushed them, barking and wagging, and Nyx loving every minute of her new extended family. Jon stumbled over the pack of pups as he headed for the living room. “Is she onyet?”
Violet Morningstar Wolfe was on her dilapidated couch with a bowl of popcorn in her lap and two of her small dogs—Cheech and Chong— next to her, their pug faces expectant, hoping she was going toshare.
She did, giving each a piece as well as tossing a handful to other dogs who scrambled in. Looking up from the TV, she smiled at him. “You’re late, JonNapayshni.”
His mother’s scolding, and the use of his Native name, gave Jon a warm feeling. On the TV wasThe Beauty Networkchannel and they were listing their lineup—up next, Jaya O’Sullivan and Cherry Bomb Spa Products. Jon plunked down in the chair kitty-corner from his mom and shrugged off his jacket. “I was finalizing the contract for the castle. Took longer than I expected at thelawyer’s.”
His dad shuffled in, moving Chong over so he could sit at the other end of the couch. Prison had been hard on him, his wrinkles deeper now, his eyes flatter. “Jon,” he said in way ofgreeting.
“Hey,Dad.”
Jeremiah had moved in with Violet and the dogs, and things so far were going well. While his time behind bars had hardened him in many ways, it had softened him in others, one of them being a revival of his feelings for his wife. The two were getting along better now than they had when Jon was aboy.
“That Percy character help you with the castle purchase?” his dad asked, putting his feet up on the coffeetable.
Jon’s mom smacked at his leg. “Put your feet down, oldman.”
He turned his head to look at her and snuck a handful of popcorn. “You let your dogs sleep in our bed and the bathtub drain is full of their hair from you bathing them in there. My feet can go on the coffeetable.”
Chuckling under his breath, Jon pulled the paperwork from his jacket pocket and dropped it on the table. “The castle’s Jaya’s now. My wedding present to her. She can do whatever she wants with it, but I already know she’ll give it to herkin.”
“The Gypsies?” his momasked.
“I told Percy to let them squat there unless he hears differently fromJaya.”
His mom held out the popcorn bowl to him. “And the Dashing’s place? Are you still buying thattoo?”
Jon helped himself to a handful and tossed a piece to Nyx who caught it in the air. Two houses, one in Virginia and one in Oklahoma. It was going to be an interesting setup, but with Jaya’s business expansion into DC, and Jon handling Rock Star’s service dogs, they were going to need two landing spots. “They accepted my offer this morning. There are three outbuildings that are perfect for a training center, kennel run, and office, and there’s plenty of acreage for the dogs to run and security teams to train withthem.”
“I’ve got three potential dogs for you,” his mom said. Her attention went back to the TV. “Oh! There sheis!”
Jon’s pulse skipped a beat, seeing his beautiful pregnant wife walk onto the stage of the show. The audience cheered, and she flashed a big smile, one Savanna had been working with her on.Full teeth, Savanna calledit.
His heart hammered a little, seeing Jaya leave her comfort zone of always being behind the scenes and making other women look and feel good. She’d been a nervous wreck that morning when he’d driven her to the studio, but had only thrown up once on the way there, most likely due to nerves rather than the baby. Even after the first trimester, she still had a queasy stomach off andon.
“It’s a boy,” his dadsaid.
Violet smacked him again. “It’s a girl, old man. That’s my granddaughter on stage with her momma and she ain’t even born yet. Neptune Star is already astar!”
“Shh,” Jon said without malice. He loved the fact his mom and dad were back together. That he’d played a role in proving his father’s innocence and bringing the real killer to justice. He hadn’t had a bout of depression since. “You’re recording this,right?”
“I set it up earlier,” his father said, leaning forward to look at the black box on the entertainment center. “Yep, green light’s on. It’srecording.”
Jon knew Beatrice was too, but didn’t say anything. His dad was having trouble adapting to all the new electronics and other changes he’d missed during his jail time, but figuring things out gave him something productive to do, along with the help he was giving Violet taking care of thedogs.
The shopping network’s host began describing the first set of products in Jaya’s Cherry Bomb line and Jaya continued to smile, answering questions. The maternity dress she wore was a bright purple and fit her like a glove, proudly displaying the obvious baby bump. She’d forgone the purple stripes in her hair, but her unique style showed regardless with her braided hair and featherearrings.
But as he analyzed her body language, Jon picked at a thread on the chair. Jaya’s shoulders were tense, the smile tight. Jon feared she might be feelingsick.
She’d been scared to death she would upchuck onstage.
Two women without any makeup came to sit in the prop chairs, and just like that, he saw a complete change in her demeanor. As she talked about the products and their organic sources, she started applying lotion to the first woman’s face. Her shoulders relaxed and her voice softened. She told a story about her mom and a backyard garden full of herbs, and how as a girl, she’d fallen in love with plants, sitting amongst them while her mother harvested their flowers andleaves.
In the sidebar onscreen that listed the price of the facial kit and that a total of 1000 kits were available, Jon saw the counter begin dropping as sales camein.
