Unwanted Heat

Kenzie

“It’s finally quiet,” Nicholas mumbles.

“It is, but it was nice with everyone here too,” I agree.

The last couple of days have been anything but quiet with so many people here, though I wouldn’t change it for anything. Thanksgiving with the Parkers was just amazing-we spent dinner laughing and just enjoying each other’s company. When the guys retreated to the living room to watch football, Cara, Vivienne and I went outside and sat on the large deck with glasses of wine. Nicholas even started a fire in the small fire pit for us and brought blankets outside when we refused to come back inside. It was really nice just hanging out and getting to know everyone more. Of course, Cara and I chat several times a week because of the bakery, but it tends to be centered on business rather than our personal lives.

“When do we fly back to New York?” It’s funny how when you’re away, all sense of time seems to disappear.

“Monday,” Nicholas answers.

Ding

“Carter wants to meet,” he sighs.

“Everything okay?” judging from his voice, I know something is up.

“He identified the connection between Richard and… Harper-” “Wait! What? What’s the connection?” I interrupt.

“I don’t know.”Contentt bel0ngs to N0ve/lDrâ/ma.O(r)g!

“What do you think about having a camp fire tonight?” I suggest a few minutes later, when we’re waiting for Carter.

“A campfire?” he repeats.

“Yeah, not in the fire pit though… something bigger.”

“I’m sure we can find a spot that’s far enough away from the trees to make a camp fire. Why don’t you want to use the fire pit?”

“I have a few things that I think we should burn and the fire pit won’t be big enough.”

“What are you…? OH! Are you sure?”

“I told you the other night I wanted to get rid of the contracts. Nothing has changed.”

“You’re sure?”

“I’m sure,” I lean in, placing my lips on his and leave him no doubt that I’m confident in my decision. I know why he keeps asking me, and I’m touched that he is so considerate of what I went through. But, I’m not that person any longer, and I know without a doubt this is nowhere near the same situation. “Are you?”

“Absolutely,” he wraps his arm around my waist and pulls me onto his lap so I’m straddling him. He cups my face and brings me to him, his soft lips landing perfectly on mine as my hands immediately go to his hair. Within minutes we’re moving against each other as the need quickly takes over.

Knock knock

“Damn it!” Nicholas hisses as he pulls away from me. “Later,” I whisper before slipping off his lap.

“That’s what you said last time,” he mumbles, getting up from the couch.

I laugh, knowing he’s still a little upset that I wouldn’t let him make love to me with his brother in the room right next to us. The walls aren’t very thick-I could hear Austin’s phone ding each time a text or email came through, so I had no doubts that he would be able to hear us if we did anything. Nicholas’s face when I told him no was priceless. I’m not sure anyone has ever turned down sex with that man, other than the one time I had to so we could talk about The Blue Moon.

“Mrs. Parker,” Carter nods as he enters the living room. “Afternoon, Carter, how are you?” I ask.

“I’m good, and you?”

“Nicholas and I were just commenting how quiet the cabin was again now that everyone has left for New York.”

“Ah, Hunter and I were saying the same thing about our cabin,” Carter chuckles. “Even though one person was constantly on perimeter duty, three grown men in a small cabin still gets a little crowded.” “I bet,” I giggle.

“Alright, Carter,” Nicholas takes the seat next to me and hands me a glass of wine before handing Carter a beer. “Let’s hear what you’ve got for us.”

“It’s taken a lot of digging, but we have identified the connection between Westbrook and Ms. Snyder,” Carter begins. “I want to first let you both know that nothing we found can be used in a court of law. Not only was the way the data was collected… less than legal, but the information we obtained is so vague that it leaves too much doubt to be used in a court of law-”

“Get on with it, Carter!” Nicholas snaps. “I don’t give a shit about the evidence being used in court; I have no doubt when it comes to court we will have more than enough evidence to convict both of them.”

“As we discussed the other day, I spoke with Ms. Snyder’s therapist, of course she deny ever speaking with me… I learned that while she continued to attend therapy and medication appointments, she had grown concerned in the last couple of months about Ms. Snyder’s medication compliance. Apparently her symptoms had increased-” “Symptoms?” I asked.

“While she was in prison, she had a mental health evaluation completed. They diagnosed her with bipolar disorder and had prescribed mood stabilizers for her,” Nicholas explains.

“I had a long off the record conversation with her therapist, one that she would deny ever occurred if asked. It took some digging, but during one therapy session, Ms. Snyder discussed meeting a guy in an online chat room and admitted they had begun talking off-line.”

“A chatroom? For what, deranged exs?” Nicholas interrupts.

“Essentially, yes,” Carter answers.

“You’re serious?” I ask.

“Once we learned this, Asher dug into Ms. Snyder’s online presence. While Richard was very careful and covered his steps carefully, she was not so smart,” Carter explains. “No surprise,” Nicholas grumbles.

“So how did they meet?” I ask.

“Apparently, now-a-days they have chatrooms for everything,” Carter says. “We’ve done some digging and learned that roughly seven months ago, Ms. Snyder joined a chatroom under a false name that… is for people who believe they were scorned by their exs.”

“What the fuck, Carter? She thinks I scorned her? Is she fucking nuts?” Nicholas is up and pacing the floor.

“It appears that way, sir.”

“And he was in that room as well?” I ask.

“We don’t have any proof, but we’ve tracked down conversations that Ms. Snyder had and there is one individual she spoke with repeatedly; then they both left the group together.”

“So this… chatroom, they just bitched about their exs?” “Not entirely, sir,” Carter’s says.

“Meaning?” Nicholas snaps.

“The other members of the group would give suggestions, as to how they could get back at their exs,” Carter says. “Everything from how to ruin their business, to how to tell their wives that they were cheating, to how to falsify documents.”

“Fuck.”

“Of course, they would both end up in this type of a room together,” I sigh.

Nicholas immediately comes back to me, settling as close to me as possible before nodding to Carter to continue. I grab his hand, just needing to feel anchored as Carter continues telling us what they’ve managed to find. I’m still dumbfounded that he would think I scorned him. He’s the one who beat me, left scars on me and nearly killed me! I kept up my end of the agreement: I didn’t report him or leak the photos that would ruin his father’s political career.

“Both members eventually moved to a private chat area where they basically compared notes about their exs… well, who we believe are the two of you. No names are ever discussed, but at one point they agree to exchange photos of their exs through an anonymous website where you can download and view files. Asher suspects the photos were immediately deleted, because we cannot find any proof of them.” “You’re sure… it’s them?” I ask.

“Yes,” Carter sighs. “It’s as if they were talking in code, as names were never used. There are references made to events you attended together that correlate to their email exchanges.”

“Did they discuss their plan? Was there a plan?” Nicholas asks.

“Not really. Other than meeting up once Richard arrived in New York, there’s nothing specific. It’s all very vague and talks about how neither of them can wait to get back at their ex.” “Fuck,” Nicholas mumbles.

“What about the press?” I ask. “Anything indicate they planned that?”

“Yes-”

“What the fuck, Carter?!?!? You should have fucking started with that!” Nicholas is back up, pacing and running his hands through his hair.

“If I had, sir, you would have questioned how we found the information,” Carter points out. “Again, there’s nothing concrete and specific in the exchange, but the dates leading up to it correlate. At one point they are discussing that they both agree that the other’s ex should be dead-”

“Oh God,” my hand flies to my mouth as the realization that they truly wanted to kill us.

Like before, Nicholas immediately stops pacing and is next to me before I could even blink an eye.

“Maybe we should take a break-” he begins to suggest.

“Like hell we will,” I glare at him. “We need to know what the fuck these two are up to.”

“The person we believe to be Harper suggests that since that’s a long term goal, in the meantime they can focus on ruining your career. They go back and forth before she announces that she has a few friends who would be willing to help her out for the right price.”

“Do we know anything about what their plans were once they met up in New York?” I ask.

“No, unfortunately that’s where the conversations seem to have moved to phones rather than emails. There’s reference of them taking a trip together and driving across the country, but then the emails end.”

“We need to get… Harper to flip on Westbrook,” Nicholas says.

“That’s what her therapist recommends as well,” Carter says. “However she believes the best way for this to occur is with your assistance, sir-”

“ME?!?! Are you all fucking crazy? She broke into the bakery with a fucking knife, wanting to kill us, and you want me to go see her?”

“With all due respect, sir,” Carter begins. “The therapist believes she is obsessed with you and that it’s possible to use that obsession, to get her to disclose what the plan was, or at the very least where Westbrook is.”

“Fuck!”

“There’s been no sighting of him?” I ask.

“Unfortunately, not yet, Mrs. Parker,” Carter confirms what I already knew. “We’re continuing to look for him-finding him is everyone’s only priority.”

“When do we do this?” Nicholas asks.

“As soon as possible, sir-” Carter suggests.

“We’ll fly out in the morning,” he interrupts. “Make the arrangements.”

“Of course, sir.”

“Carter?”

“Sir?”

“Kenzie and I are going to spend some time outside this evening,” he glances at me for confirmation, and I immediately nod reassuring him that nothing has changed. “We’re going to have a camp fire probably once the sun goes down.”

“Yes, sir,” Carter nods.

“There’s a spot down by the boathouse that we’ve used with my dad when we went fishing, I think that’s where will be unless you have a concern.”

“I don’t see an issue, sir,” he confirms.

“Why don’t you and Hunter join us for burgers and hot dogs tonight beforehand, Carter?” I suggest.

“That’s not necessary-” he begins to refuse.

“Something tells me that wasn’t really a question,” Nicholas chuckles when he sees the glare I give Carter.

“We’ll eat outside so you guys can keep an eye on everything,” I say.

“Yes, ma’am,” Carter reluctantly agrees. “Hunter and I appreciate the offer.”

Nicholas’s arms are around me, pulling me closer, as I vaguely hear Carter leave the cabin. My arms go around his back, holding him to me just as much as he is holding me to him. Of all the ways for Harper and my ex to be connected, this was not what I was expecting. I assumed one of them sought the other out, after learning that Nicholas and I were together. So this… this is not what I was prepared for.