Chapter Twenty

Aja Blue was dreaming that Christian was rocking her world, as he did each time they made love. She even felt her body trembling.

"Aja Blue. Wake up."

Her lids fluttered. It wasn't a dream. He was gently shaking her shoulder. "Hey." She smiled. "Is it time to pick up Presley?"

"No, honey. I need you to wake up."

His tone alerted her that something was wrong. What now? She sat up with a resigned sigh and tossed her legs off the side of the mattress. "What is it?"

"There is no easy to say this, but they found Jay."

Her lungs heaved. "He's not alive, is he?"

"No, honey. I'm sorry."

Someone made a wailing sound. It wasn't Christian, so that meant it was her. Then she felt powerful arms gathering her close and holding her while she cried. She barely noticed Kayne rushing inside the room with his gun drawn. Christian said something to him, but Aja Blue couldn't hear over her sobs.

Minutes or hours later, she had no concept of time, the tears slowly stopped. Then, her mind started racing. There was so much to do. She was the executor of Jay's will. Her employees needed to be notified. She had a funeral to plan.

At some point, Christian handed her a wad of tissues, and she mopped her face.

"Do you need me to call his family?"

That he offered to do that pushed her over the edge into full-blown love. It was the worst imaginable job for anyone, yet he would do it for her. She shook her head as tears blurred her vision. Her voice was watery when she said, "Jay has no other family besides our small office group."

"I can call them for you."

She reached out and cupped his cheek. "Thank you, but I need to do it." She dropped her hand and took a deep breath. "How did they find him?"

He brushed a strand of hair from her face. She must look frightening, with puffy eyes and a red nose. He didn't seem to mind. "He washed up on shore south of here."

"You mean he drowned?" She shook her head. "Jay feared sharks, and he couldn't swim. He wouldn't have gone in the water."

"He didn't go willingly, honey. He was shot first."

Aja Blue's breath hitched in her chest, and the tears fell again. Jay hadn't deserved that. She mourned his life and the loss of things he'd wanted to accomplish. He would've been the best interior designer ever; she was sure of it. He had fire, drive, and talent—all the ingredients necessary to be successful.

When she gathered herself, she wiped her face and stood. "I'd better make those calls. I want them to hear it from me first."

"Whatever you need, honey. Do you want me to stay with you?"

As easy as it would be to continue to lean on him, she needed to be strong for her employees. "No. I'll be out soon."

He kissed her. It was a gentle melding of their lips, but it meant everything to her. His thumb brushed a tear from her cheek.

"I'll be right outside if you need me."

She nodded, not trusting her voice. After he left, she stood and walked to the attached bath, turning on the taps to wash her face. She found a towel and patted it dry before glancing in the mirror. Ugh. It was worse than she expected.

She'd always been the kind to rip the Band-Aid off, so she called Sara Lea and asked her to conference in Marla and Darwin. When everyone was on the line, she didn't beat around the bush. "Jay was found dead today."

Sara Lea screamed, Marla gasped, and Darwin shouted, "No!" It took several minutes, but she waited until they had processed the news before giving details.

"We have to have a funeral," Marla sniffed.

"We will. I'll plan something for later this week." Aja Blue wasn't sure when his body would be released since he was a murder victim. She swallowed bile.

An hour later, Aja Blue felt utterly drained as she disconnected. Everyone wanted to recall memories of Jay, and though it was too soon for Aja Blue, the others had needed to do it, so she'd listened. She'd told them to share those stories during the funeral.

Aja Blue checked her watch and gasped. It was way past time to pick up Presley. She hurried to the bathroom to clean up, but it was a lost cause. There was nothing she could do to disguise the puffy, red eyes or the splotchy cheeks. Even her hair felt limp with sorrow. She looked exactly how she felt: miserable and sad. After gathering her thick locks into a haphazard ponytail, she headed to the kitchen.

Kayne smiled at her while Christian watched her like a hawk. "Okay?"

"I will be," she said. "Don't we need to pick up Presley?"

"I called and told her we'd be late," Kayne said. "There's no hurry."

She knew how much the woman wanted to be out of the hospital, and Aja Blue was already carrying around too much guilt. "I'm ready."

#

Christian wished he could take Aja Blue's pain away. Hearing her sobs had broken his heart. Hell, he'd almost cried with her. Knowing she was hurting and there was nothing he could do was like a knife to his gut.

If not for Kayne being an avid audience, he'd have gathered Aja Blue in his arms and kissed her tenderly, letting her know she wasn't going through this alone.

He would be by her side. For how long, he couldn't promise. Since it looked like they might've caught the killers, he'd be going home soon. That thought caused another sharp pain in his stomach. How would he walk away from her?

Kayne had parked in the garage, so they used the door off the mudroom and climbed inside the SUV. The drive to the hospital took forever with traffic. They finally turned into the lot and parked. Christian helped Aja Blue out, and then he and Kayne flanked her.

"Exactly like the bodyguards I had when I was younger," she muttered.

Aja Blue was referring to her youth as a child star. She'd told him she used to receive creepy fan letters, which sounded disgusting. There were some genuinely sick people in the world.

The door to Presley's room was open, and the bed was empty.

Kayne stuck her head in the small, attached bathroom. "Where is she?"

"Let's try Detective Herbert's room," Christian said.

They stopped by the nurse's station for information before heading down the hall. Laughter sounded as they neared. Presley was inside, chatting with the beautiful detective. The bandage around Presley's head was gone.

Presley looked over at them, and her smile faded. When they walked in, she stood. "How are you?" she asked Aja Blue.

It warmed Chrisitan that she was concerned about her. "I'm okay."

"What happened?" Detective Herbert asked. "You three look like the Walking Dead." She had a wrap around her head, and her booted foot was propped on pillows.

"I didn't tell her," Presley said. "She needs to rest, not work."

The detective gave her a frosty look and then addressed Christian. "What happened, Zamora?"

"Aja Blue's assistant, Jay Guitterez, was found dead."

"That changes everything." She reached for her phone. "Gil, I just heard about Jay Guitterez's death. Pastor Chet and his boys are looking at a murder rap." She listened, her brows pinching. "Well, yes, but—I know. No. Of course, but this is my—Hi, Captain. I am. No . . . fine." She disconnected and tossed her phone onto the mattress. "I've been officially kicked off the case."

Christian hated that because she had proven to be a competent ally, but he didn't blame her boss. She'd been through a traumatic experience. She needed to rest and recover.

"Someone do me a favor and hand me those crutches."

Presley eyed her suspiciously. "Why?"

She ignored her. "Aja Blue? Please?"

Aja Blue walked over to where they were propped against a wall and picked them up. "Do you need to use the bathroom?"

Nicole tossed off the covers. "Uh, yeah, sure."

"What are you doing?" Presley barked. "I'm calling the nurse."

"Don't be such a tattletale," the detective chided.

"Woah, there," Aja Blue said, fastening the back of the gown for Nicole before she flashed the room.

Nicole lifted her leg from the pillows and tried to hide a grimace. Christian was about to step in and stop her when a nurse came rushing inside.

"Ms. Herbert, what do you think you're doing?"

"I have somewhere I need to be."

"I knew it," Presley muttered.

"You most certainly do not," the nurse chided as she lifted Nicole's leg and placed it back on the pillows before readjusting the IV Nicole had dislodged. "Don't make me get security for the door."

"How did you even know to come in here?"

"You rang the call button."

"I didn't . . ." She glared at Presley. "Really?"

Presley shrugged unrepentantly.

Christian's phone buzzed, and he checked the screen. It was from Captain Parsa, but he didn't think the detective needed to hear the conversation, so he stepped into the hall.

"Captain Parsa."

"Zamora, I have some news for you. Can you stop by the station?"

"Absolutely. We're on our way."

He disconnected and went to collect Aja Blue, Presley, and Kayne. They said goodbyes to the detective and promised to stop in and see how she was doing soon.

"What's up?" Kayne asked when they were in the elevator to the lobby.

"Captain Parsa wants to see us."

"Did they arrest Jay's killer?" Aja Blue wanted to know.

"He didn't say."

Christian glanced at Presley. "How do you feel?"

"Great."

"I saw you wince when you got out of the chair."

"I'll admit I'm a little sore, but I'm fine."

"Getting sideswiped by a moving vehicle will do that to a person," Kayne pointed out.

Presley ignored him. "Otherwise, I'm ready to work. The doctor agreed."

"Do you want us to drop you off at the house so you can rest?" Aja Blue asked.

"Absolutely not."

Christian let it go. He trusted Presley to know her own body, and Christian could use all the help he could get to catch Jay's killer and the person targeting Aja Blue.

When they reached the SUV, Christian let Presley sit up front with Kayne while he took the back with Aja Blue. He needed to keep an eye on her to make sure she was okay. She'd been in shock earlier finding out her assistant was dead.

Early afternoon traffic was thick as they made their way to the station. Kayne found a space, and they filed inside. A woman in a police uniform sat at an entrance desk.

"Can I help you?"

"We're here to see Captain Parsa. He's expecting me." He gave the woman his name.

She spoke into a phone and then said, "He'll be out in a moment."

They took seats in the waiting area. Christian stood when the captain came striding out.

He held out a hand. "Zamora."

Christian shook it. "I'm here with my coworkers."

"Leave them here. Follow me."

Christian gave Kayne and Presley a shrug and trailed after the captain as he wound his way through the busy station. When they entered his office, he closed the door and indicated for Christian to take a seat in front of the desk. Once seated, he said, "We broke one of Pastor Chet Harris's bodyguards, Rickey Daniels."

"That's great news."

The captain nodded. "He was looking at murder charges, so he sang like a canary. He implicated the pastor in the destruction of Ms. LaLonde's office, along with the death of Byron Zikes. Zikes was a follower who had admitted to vandalizing Ms. LaLonde's office. He'd become radicalized by Pastor Chet's teachings. Once he was identified as the vandal, they feared he would talk, so they eliminated him."

"Brutal to do to one of their own."

"Yeah. According to Daniels, Pastor Chet gave the orders, but Daniels and Rufus Ingram, the other bodyguard, carried out the plot. Once Ingram knew he was fingered, he also caved. We tied them to the attempt on Detective Herbert and Presley Parrish. Pastor Chet's lawyer paid J.T. Diggs, the man who crashed into them. Diggs admitted to it."

"Did they admit to breaking into Aja Blue and Jay Guitterez's homes and destroying everything?"

"Each man was grilled separately. They said they didn't. According to them, they only broke into Ms. LaLonde's shop to deposit Byron Zikes's dead body."

"What about Jay Guitterez's death?"

The captain shook his head. "They were adamant that they didn't kill him. The same with Cecil Grubb, the man who tried to kidnap Ms. LaLonde. They swore they had never heard of him either."

"But Pastor Chet could've done it himself."

"There is that possibility."

"Did you question him about it?"

Captain Parsa sighed deeply. "I would've liked to, but he lawyered up and bailed out quickly, before I knew it'd happened. Once the two bodyguards turned on him, we went to arrest him, but he wasn't there."

"What are you saying?"

"Pastor Chet is in the wind."