Because I'm Watching (32 page)

She wasn't subtle; he got the unspoken message. “
You
want me to.”

“Because your job was to watch a bunch of bright kids and make sure they didn't do anything stupid, and you were
asleep
?”

Yes. He had been asleep. So what? A man had to sleep. But this time …

South Korea … day after day, crappy weather all the time, nothing to do but watch his brainiacs build dumb projects that never worked. Their top-secret mission kept them effectively isolated from the rest of the base. The base commander was a bully and the only one who knew what they were doing there; he despised them for not being real military, begrudged them every resource, and hated Jacob in particular for standing between him and the brainiacs. The brainiacs had banded together, but Jacob had no one to talk to. No one who knew a thing about real life in the military or real civilian life or just … life.

He was bored.

That night … that night, those kids were all heads together, giggling, playing some stupid drinking game. He had known something was going on. But he was bored and tired and he'd gone to bed. He'd gone to sleep. He had neglected his duty and someone had to pay the price.

Vera LaFreniere said, “From the day they were born, those young men and women were privileged because they were brilliant. They thought the world was their playground. That they would always be cosseted. And the Koreans treated them like pieces of meat. Your fault.”

“Yes.” He should have paid the price.

“All your fault.”

“Yes.” He
would
pay the price.

She seemed to grope for a way to blame him again, to make the words new and sharp and painful. At last she put her fist to her breastbone. “I don't care. Feel guilty. Feel good. Feel nothing. All I care is what
I
feel. Pain. So much pain. And resentment that your mother has a living son. It's not fair.”

“No, it isn't.”

They stared at each other.

“Read the letter,” she said.

He did as he was ordered; tore the envelope, pulled out the thin piece of paper, read the painfully written message. He closed his eyes, seeking composure, then opened them and asked, “Do you know what he wants from me?”

“He wants you to deliver his eulogy.”

“Yes.” Why had Brandon asked him? Did he imagine Jacob's presence would soothe his mother, his relatives, his friends?

She said, “Although he hoped you would never see the contents, he worked hard on that letter.”

“I am honored.” Jacob knew what he would say. He would talk about his esteem for Brandon … and it was true. He did admire him. He wished he would emulate him, but now the darkness possessed his soul and he was … truly ruined. “I'm sorry for your loss.” Words. Inadequate words.

“Thank you.” Now that Vera LaFreniere had delivered her message, she was crumpling like a demolished building; her shoulders slumping, her head drooping, her whole body losing that formal stiffness. “I hear you never leave the house, but I see that's not true—you certainly feel free to visit your neighbor—so if you care to attend, Brandon's funeral is Friday at three. He would be honored by your attendance.” Her voice cracked.

He had no choice. No choice. “I'll be there. I will do my best for him. I will … stand for him.”

She nodded wearily and walked away toward the car parked at the curb. She opened the driver's door, paused, shut it, and came back. “I'm sorry. What I said to you—that was unfair. I had no right to complain that your mother has a living son. But Brandon was my only child and I'm so … I encouraged him to go into the service. He was a smart kid, a wild kid, and I thought it would help him grow up. Now he's dead and I encouraged him … I simply wanted him to be a man. Not like his father, not some Peter Pan flitting around without purpose, but a real man. I helped kill him.”

“It's not your fault. It's my fault. I was asleep when they flew off. And when I went to get them, I failed … for too long. I didn't get them—him—out soon enough.”

Vera LaFreniere laughed, and the sound was like dry leaves on the wind. “Brandon always said it wasn't my fault or your fault, it was that freak show of a doctor's fault. I guess we both need to remember that.” This time she made it into the car and drove away.

Jacob mounted the steps and sat in his recliner, numb with shock and horror.

Brandon was dead.

Across the street, Maddie shrieked and screamed. Glass shattered.

She had rescued him only to send him back to hell.

On Friday, after Brandon's funeral, Jacob would come home, and when the sunlight was gone, he would jump off that cliff and see if hell's flames burned as hot as they said. It was no more than he deserved.

 

CHAPTER FORTY-THREE

The next morning, Kateri wasn't surprised to hear her doorbell ring.

She
was
surprised when she looked through the peephole and saw who stood on her step.

She tightened the belt of her robe.

She opened the door.

Without preamble, Luis crowded his way past her. “She lied.”

Kateri flattened herself against the wall, held onto the doorknob, and kept the door wide open. “Um, Luis, you shouldn't be here at this time of the morning. Not after your engagement party.”

Forcefully he said, “There is no engagement. Didn't you hear me? She lied. About the pregnancy. Sienna's not pregnant. She lied.”

Kateri thought of several answers.
Tell me one reason I should care. Sucks to be you.
Instead she chose the neutral, “Sienna lied?”

His dark, curly hair was disheveled. His shirt was buttoned crooked. His eyes were indignant. “Who else claimed to be pregnant to get me to marry her?”

Not me, that's for sure.
“How did you find that out?”

“After the party, she got sick and was throwing up so much I got worried she would get dehydrated and lose the baby. I wanted to take her to the hospital. Told her our baby's health was more important than anything else. She got mad, said I didn't love
her,
and finally threw it in my face that she wasn't pregnant.”

Kateri tried to decide which part of this story she wanted to address.…

None of them.

So she said, “It was a great party.”

He viewed her as if she were nuts.

Which she did not appreciate. “Luis, I don't know what you want me to do with this information.”

“Take me back!”

Oh, really.
She stalked toward him. “I never had you.”

Eyes lit with purpose, he advanced. The guy was packing attitude.

She reversed, hoping to keep this civil and hands-off.

He backed her against the wall. He put his elbow by her head and leaned into her. He fixed her with his melting brown eyes. He fluttered his curly long dark lashes. He lowered his voice to a sexy growl. “We could fix that right now.”

She slipped under his arm and tied her robe again, tighter and with a knot that was large, complicated, and very Coast Guard. “No, thank you.”

“Kateri—”

“Luis, let's be clear.” She bit the words off. “Sienna may have lied, but you believed it was possible. Which means while you and I were dating, you were sleeping with Sienna.”

“Once!”

“Only once.” Sarcasm weighed her voice. “That makes it all better.”

He spread his hands. “I drank. I was celebrating. You left me at the resort.”

Her temper rose and her blood cooled. “Don't try to blame this on
me.
You're not a child. You're responsible for your actions.”

He thought. He answered, “I love you.”

Ah. The words of a desperate man who had betrayed her and knew it. “Thank you. I'm honored. You're a good man. But the fact is, I didn't sleep with you because I wasn't certain it was the right thing to do. I was right. I listened to my gut, and I was right.”

“No. Hear me!” He flung himself at her. “We could do so much together. Be the perfect couple. You'll be the sheriff of Virtue Falls. I'm the Coast Guard commander.”

“
There
are two really good reasons to have sex.” The sarcasm was getting heavier, her irritation more acute. “Predictions are I'm going to lose the election. What happens if I don't hold up my end of the deal?”

“Sooner or later the Coast Guard will move me to my next assignment and it won't matter what you do for a living. You'll come with me.”

She made a sound like a buzzer. “Wrong answer!”

Luis got annoyed. “What's the right answer?”

“I don't know what the right answer is—for you. For me, it's to chug along on this particular track until—”

From the bedroom, Stag called, “Honey, I used your razor on my chin. I don't have much facial hair but I still probably ruined the blade—” He stepped into the living room while holding a towel around his waist. A hand towel. A small towel.

Luis froze.

Kateri sighed.

Stag did an elaborate double take. Performance art at its finest. “Sorry! Sweetheart, I didn't realize you had company. Hello, Luis, didn't expect to see you here this morning. All well on the domestic front?”

Luis came to life slowly, his fists clenching, his brow lowering, his eyes narrowing. He swiveled slowly toward Kateri. “You wouldn't sleep with me.”

“No, I wouldn't. Gut instinct saved me again.”

“You slept with him.”

“Obviously,” Stag drawled.

Luis glared at Stag, then turned his attention back to Kateri. “Sienna said you were faking it. She said you'd probably hired him to act as your date so you wouldn't feel so self-conscious at our party.”

As if he were ready to charge, Stag came up on the balls of his feet. “Kateri didn't hire me. I caught her in a weak moment, recognized my advantage, and swept her off her feet.”

“Down, boy,” Kateri said to him. Turning to Luis, she said, “Good news for you. Sienna doesn't always get to be right.” She moved smoothly toward the door, took the knob again, and held it while she gestured toward the street.

With every appearance of a betrayed lover, Luis stalked past her and out of her apartment. “My heart is broken.”

“Dang,” she said. “Maybe you can take comfort in Sienna's arms.” She slammed the door, leaned her forehead against it, and laughed in dismay and rueful amusement. “That was awkward.” She turned—and Stag was right there, a foot away and naked.

At some point on his trip across the room, he'd dropped the towel.

She still smiled, amused and aroused and relieved he had rescued her from a potentially explosive situation. “You are absolutely appalling. What were you thinking?”

He stepped close, slid his arm around her waist, lifted her onto her toes, and pulled her against his body. “I was thinking that I've waited for years for you to grow up and way too long for the moment for us to be right, and I wasn't letting your half-tempting lover lay a claim on you for any reason.” His chest heaved. His eyes burned. He slid his hands between her legs, lifted her, and pressed her against the door—and in one smooth, strong motion, he nudged his way inside her body and laid his claim.…

Never once during the whole orgasmic experience did she worry that he would hurt her; not her artificial joints, not her fragile emotions, not her future in Virtue Falls. She knew she was being foolish … but Stag made her feel safe.

 

CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR

Less than two hours since a disillusioned Luis had stopped by and had left disillusioned by Kateri, too.

Less than thirty-six hours until the start of Election Day.

A few hours of quiet Sunday morning peace. Or so Kateri hoped.

Right now, as she walked into the Oceanview Café, walking stick in hand, she knew Noah would say she should shake hands and kiss babies and campaign to win the election.

She was willing. Last night with Stag had given her a confidence she hadn't experienced before; Stag knew how to influence people, and in only a few hours he had taught her a lot. About campaigning … yes. He'd taught her a lot about campaigning. Afterward, he'd taught her a few other things, too, but no more than she'd taught him.

She smiled at the memories.

She started toward the back of the diner—and stopped. She looked around at the mostly empty tables. She stared unhappily at the spot where a computer nerd should sit. She intercepted Rainbow, who was headed toward the seniors' table, coffeepot in hand. “Where is everybody? Hungover? Where's Cordelia? I thought she always came in for Sunday breakfast.”

Rainbow chuckled manically. “Didn't you hear? Everyone who ate the herring salad at Luis and Sienna's engagement party has food poisoning.”

“My God!” Kateri covered her mouth in horror and shock.

“Cordelia ate a
lot
of herring salad. She's in the hospital.”

“Is she going to be okay?”

“She'll be fine. Cordelia is strong as an ox.” Rainbow stepped around Kateri, filled Mr. Harcourt's cup—he sat alone, reading his tablet—and came back to the counter. She poured a mugful and shoved it across to Kateri.

Kateri scooted onto a stool. “The Ladies of Norway poisoned the party?”

Rainbow smirked. “No. The Ladies of Norway didn't prepare
all
the food. This morning, Mrs. Eriksen came in to make the announcement—Sienna read their time-honored recipe and thought it sounded icky, so she insisted on making the herring salad all by herself. Sienna poisoned her own guests.”

An unexpected chuckle caught Kateri by surprise.

Rainbow stood with her hands on her hips. “Half the town's sick and you're laughing. You're going straight to hell.”

“I'm not laughing because people are sick. I'm laughing because Sienna…” Sienna the seductress. Sienna the liar. Sienna the earth goddess and chef worshipped by all … had spread food poisoning throughout the town. Kateri chuckled again. “You're right. I'm going to hell.” She waved at Mr. Harcourt.