Burning for You (Blackwater) (34 page)

Theo grins, his dimple shadowed in
the moonlight.  “You did it,” he says, pulling me close and kissing me.  “I
knew you would.”  I cling to him, feeling euphoric at what I managed to pull
off and feel the water grow even warmer around us.  “Well now you’re just
showing off,” Theo says, noting the temperature change as well.  “Or you
actually peed.”

“Theo, I did it,” I say, and press
my lips against his, letting him hold me up in the water and wrapping my legs
around his waist.  “I can do it.”

“I know,” he says.  “You changed
the water, and I never could have done that.  Fire is about change, and once
you master it, you can use it.”

“I want you,” I breathe, feeling
like I just experienced my own rebirth.  “If it wasn’t for you, that wouldn’t
have happened.  Theo, I love you.”

His eyes widen, and he doesn’t
answer back, he simply crushes me against him and pushes himself deep inside of
me, making me gasp.  The water begins to turn hot, steam rising up around us,
and I move my hips against him, rubbing and caressing his cock inside of me,
against me.  His lips make a line from my chin down my neck.  My hands crawl up
his back and burrow themselves in his wet hair, pulling his head back as I
come.  He comes when he feels me clench him inside of me, and then he lifts me
up, pulling out of me and taking one of my nipples in his mouth, one of his
hands exploring me below the surface, dragging out the remains of my orgasm.

Without anything else to say, we
both swim over to the shore and walk back into the chilly night air, back to
our clothes and away from the river.  I realize that we just made love where so
many of our ancestors had drowned four centuries ago, just as Ash and I had
made love on the pyre where our ancestors had been burned.

I stay home to be with my mother
the following day.  As soon as I crack an egg into a bowl to make our
breakfast, I get a double yolk.  My mother comes over and peers at me.  “When
was your last period?” she asks me.

I roll my eyes.  “I’m not
pregnant,” I tell her.  “I thought you lost your sight.”

She shakes her head.  “You don’t
need to be a water elemental to know that a double yolk means twins.”

“Twins?” I say, looking at her with
no doubt the most horrified expression on my face I can muster.  “That wouldn’t
be okay.”

She shrugs.  “It wouldn’t surprise
me.  Two catalysts, two babies.”

“Mother!  There are no babies!”

“Yet,” she corrects me.  “No babies
yet.”  She sits down as I begin to whip the eggs with a fork.  “Why aren’t you
at work?”

“I’m not feeling well,” I lie, not
wanting her to know how concerned I am about her.  “Gwen knows I’m not coming
in.  It’s fine.”

She nods, and then we hear the
doorbell ring.  “It’s probably Isabel,” she tells me.  “Though she’s early.” 
She doesn’t make any move to get up, though, and the doorbell rings again.

“Aren’t you going to answer it?” I
ask.

“Isabel has a key,” my mother
replies, looking up at me, as if she only just realized that.  I put the fork
down and wipe my hands on my jeans, sighing dramatically.  I walk past my
mother, who is lazily flipping through the Blackwater Bias and go to the front
door. 

Bill Cousineau is there with Amber
Collins, Michael’s sister.  “Good morning, Miss Holt,” Bill says with a
satisfied smile plastered on his face.  Amber looks less excited to see me. 
Although her face usually bares a permanent look of bitchiness, she’s extra
aggravated this morning.  I’m startled to see her, recalling the last time I
saw her at a fourth of July party at Michael’s family home in the south suburbs
of Chicago.  She was drunk and holding a beer, a baby and a cigarette and
shouting at her ex-husband for the entire house to hear about their prior marital
issues.  My mother would refer to her as “low class”, and I tend to agree, only
not as politely stated.  Her hair is currently dyed a purplish burgundy, and
she’s wearing clothes that are probably marketed to a fourteen year old, along
with heels that are five inches tall and too much makeup for seven in the
morning.  “May we come in?” Bill asks.

“Do I have a choice?” is my reply. 

Amber smirks and nudges past Bill
and into the house.  I hear her whistle as she takes in the front hallway. 
“Nice digs,” she notes.  “I can see why you always acted so high and mighty
around the likes of the Collins family.”  Amber and her mother decided they
didn’t like me when I declared that I was keeping my last name.

“Hello to you too, Amber,” I say. 
Bill coming over can’t be a good thing.  Knowing what I know from Erika, my
heart is pounding so hard, I’m pretty sure they can hear it.  “I take it you’re
in town to try and find your brother?”

“We’d like you to come down to the
station, Miss Holt,” Bill says.  “We’re going to need a statement from you
regarding the last time you saw Michael Collins.”

“Has there been any movement in
your case?” I ask him.

“Oh, shut it, Leah,” Amber says. 
“You know something about it.  I’d like to know what you did to my brother. 
He’s never gone a week without talking to me, and he’s not answering his
phone.  What the hell did you do?”

“Miss Collins,” Bill says,
smirking.  “You will have your chance to give your statement.  Right now we are
collecting information, and we will decide what it is we need to do about the
information.  Your brother has not been found, and we are doing our best to
find out his whereabouts.” 

“Whatever,” Amber says.  She walks
up to me and stands as closely as she can without touching me.  “I know you
killed him,” she says.  “Or maybe you had your little boyfriend do it.  Michael
told me what was going on.  He told me how you left him to come here for some
guy.  He told me that you’d been cheating on him the entire time you were
married.  You think you’re so much better than us because you come from money,
but you’re not.  You’re a whore.” 

I’m shaking so hard from my rage,
but I contain everything I can to not cause a scene.  Any moment, something
could go crashing, breaking or flying across the room.  I feel my face grow hot
from trying to hold back, and I take a deep breath and count to ten.  “Bill,
should I drive myself or are you going to take me?”

“I’ll take you,” he says.  “Not
going to give you a chance to take off.  I hear you’re pretty good at that.”

I bite the inside of my cheek so
hard I take a small chunk of skin off.  “Let me just get my coat and purse and
tell my mother I’ll be out,” I say.  Bill nods and Amber looks annoyed.  I turn
to go back into the kitchen and see my mother has been standing by the wall,
listening.

“Leah,” my mother says.  “What-?”

“Call Theo,” I whisper.  “He’ll
know what to do.  Call him, please.”  She nods and I give her a quick hug. 
Then I do as I said I would and grab my coat and purse and go with Bill out the
front door.

*

Blackwater Police Department smells
like coffee and stale sweat.  The inside looks like a basement from the
seventies.  Wood paneled walls, linoleum floors and metal desks with cheap
swivel chairs pepper the area.  Pictures of Blackwater’s finest are on the
walls, but I notice the absence of any pictures of my dad, as though his tenure
as police chief never happened. 

Amber’s statement is taken by
Officer Bautista, who seems overwhelmed by so much glitter and eye shadow so
early in the morning.  I get stuck with Bill, who doesn’t even bother to hide
the fact that he hates me, despite the fact that we’ve only met twice.

I spend a lot of time explaining
when I last saw Michael, and Bill asks me regurgitate the same details to him
over and over again.  Some aspects I honestly can’t remember, like what I was
wearing, but I am honest with what I know.  I choose to leave out details that
Bill doesn’t ask me about, like everything Erika told me.  Some questions, such
as “describe his mood upon seeing you with Ash Lavanne” seem to be geared
toward disaster, and Bill all but asks me about my sexual relationship with
Ash, which is obviously what he’s trying to deduce.  When he finally spits out
“did you spend the night with Ash Lavanne at his residence” I get fed up.

“How does that help you figure out
where Michael is?” I want to know.

Bill sneers at me.  “I think it’s
relevant whether or not you’re having an extramarital affair.”

My eyes widen.  “I made it very
clear to Michael that I was planning on divorcing him.  Who I spend my time
with now does not imply that I was involved in anything like…” I trail off in
frustration.

Bill leans forward.  “Anything like
what, Miss Holt?”

“Bill,” I hear a tired voice behind
me say.  “That’s enough.”

I whirl around to see Jack standing
at the entrance to Bill’s office.  “What are you doing here, Jack?” Bill asks.

“I’m here to represent Leah as her
lawyer, Bill, and you know as well as I do that the questions you’re asking
have no bearing on your case.  You also haven’t asked her permission to record
this conversation, and I know you’re doing just that because your phone is on
the desk with a light on.  You know as well as I do that evidence recorded on
your personal phone won’t hold up in court.”

Bill turns beet red, and I look to
Jack with a whole new level of admiration.  He’s like my knight is shining
armor, if khakis and a Polo shirt would be considered armor.

“Leah, we can leave now,” Jack
tells me.  “Bill, you can speak directly with me on this matter, and schedule a
date to discuss it when you can get an official subpoena.  Until then, you have
no business disturbing people in their homes and bringing them in to the
station.”  He nods to me and I stand up and walk to him.

“Miss Holt,” Bill says.  “You’ve
gotten out of this one, but I will get my answers from you, and I will go
through all of the necessary legal channels to get them,” he adds, looking at
Jack.  “And don’t go too far, because it will be soon.”

I follow Jack out of the station,
catching Amber’s dramatically shadowed eye as I leave.  She looks furious, and
I know I’ll likely have a voicemail sometime today from her telling me exactly
what she thinks of me. 

Jack helps me step up into the passenger
seat of the Land Rover, and I’m still shaking from my meeting with Bill. 
“Jack, thank you,” I tell him earnestly.  “I had no idea what was going on, but
I appreciate you coming to get me.”

“Your mother called and I came as
soon as I heard,” he says.  He stares ahead at the road and I feel touched by
the help he’s given me.

“Jack, I know I said this last
night,” I begin to say, “but I want you to know that I’m sorry for Heidi and
what she’s done to you,” I tell him.  “You’re a really great guy.  Most people
wouldn’t want anything to do with someone’s family after they cheated on them,
but you’ve been amazing.”  I relay my last thought from personal experience,
thinking of trashy Amber still sitting at the police station.

He shrugs.  “Consider myself on
your side, Leah,” he reassures me.  “Gabe and I were friends for years.  Bill
and Gabe have a long history together.  I know they have some shady dealings,
and with Bill in a position of power, Gabe has been able to get things he’s
wanted in Blackwater for his own personal gain.  I came today for selfish
reasons, too.  It’s not entirely because you’re my sister in law.”

“Either way, I appreciate it,” I
tell him.  I slump back against the seat, relieved to be out of the police
station.  I close my eyes and find myself nodding off.  I’m on about three
hours of sleep, and I smile to myself when I think of what Theo and I did
together last night, and what I accomplished with his help.  When I open my
eyes, I see we’re leaving the town limits of Blackwater.  “Jack,” I say warily. 
“Where are we going?”

“I’m taking you to Theo,” Jack
replies.  “He’ll explain to you what’s happening when you get there.”

“Get where?” I ask, even though I
know the answer.  I haven’t been to Normandy since Ash left me, and I ache to
think of what being there might remind me of.

“To Normandy,” he replies, echoing
my thoughts.  “I have your suitcase packed in the trunk.”

I look to him in alarm.  “What the
hell are you talking about, Jack?  Why is my bag packed?”

He glances over at me.  “You need
to leave Blackwater,” he tells me.  “You’re not safe here right now, and Theo
is going to get you out.”

“What the hell?” I remark.  “My
mother has been gunning from day one to get me gone.  I guess she finally got
her way after all.”

Jack shakes his head.   “It’s not
that.  She wants you to stay, but not with Bill Cousineau breathing down your
neck.  I guess Theo has someplace he wants to take you, but I’ll leave that to
him to explain to you.”

I sigh.  “I never even got to say
goodbye to Carlton,” I muse.

“Carlton?” Jack repeats.  “Who is
that?  I can’t keep up with all of the men in your life, Leah.”

I smirk.  “You’re hilarious, Jack. 
Carlton is my cat.”

Jack laughs.  “What kind of a cat
name is Carlton?”

“Well,” I explain.  “When I picked
him up from the shelter, they kept him overnight to fix him – you know, to cut
off his nuts-“

“Yes,” Jack interrupts, looking
uncomfortable.  “I’m quite familiar with how they neuter male cats.  No need to
get graphic.”

“Sorry,” I apologize.  “When he
came home, he was still slightly dopey from the drugs, and he was swinging from
side to side like the Carlton dance from ‘The Fresh Prince of Bel Air’.  So he
was Carlton.”

“You’re kidding,” Jack laughs.  “I
have the weirdest image in my head now.”

“I wish that I’d had a fancy cell
phone back then to record it.  It would have achieved YouTube fame,” I reply. 
“Jack,” I say.  “What are you going to do about Heidi?”

“Nice transition,” he remarks.  “Do
all of the women in your family have this knack for changing the subject so
efficiently?”