Chapter 7

Roland couldn’t understand why he’d been caught. He’d worn gloves so that when he loaded the rifle that he’d gotten secondhand, it didn’t have his prints on it. Even for the gun residue, he’d worn gloves so that he’d not have any on his hands when tested. There wasn’t any way that they’d been able to pick up his DNA. He didn’t leave one thing behind. Yet, as soon as he got home, the police were there to arrest him. Of course, he’d not had a chance to get rid of the gun. That was something that he’d meant to burn in the fire pit that he’d had outdoors.

“Mr. Jorden, do you have anything to say about your actions against Mr. and Mrs. Griffin?” He asked which Griffin he was talking about, knowing full well which one it was that he wanted dead. “Stone and Sage Griffin. I believe he used to work for you.”

“He did until I fired him.” Again, he was told that he’d done no such thing and that Stone had quit when he ordered him to work the summer holidays. “I don’t know what his beef was. It was just a few months out of the summer. He could have done that standing on his head. I fired him before he told me that he quit. So there.”

Roland didn’t like that the people around the room snickered at him. They were grown men and women, and they acted like he was some kind of plaything. Well, he didn’t care. Stone was out of a job and that was because of him. Of course, it looked like he was out of a job as well. But he figured that once the school year started back up, he’d have to be rehired as there wasn’t anyone that could do the job as well as he did. Or at least he made it look like he did a good job.

Mostly, he just spent his time at his desk. He didn’t play on the computer. That would get you caught. But he did use his phone a great deal as well as the little tablet that he had hidden inside the lower part of his desk. There were other things, too. A deck of cards that he used. He also had himself a stash of whiskey that he hid, too. No one was the wiser when he pulled out the bottle and took himself a nice swig just to get him through the day. He wasn’t a drunkard or anything like that.

Roland also had a change of clothing along with several ties so that when he took too many drinks from the hidden bottle. He was able to look like he was the first person in that morning and would hold it over everyone’s head how he’d come in early. When in reality, he’d slept on the floor of his office when he’d been too drunk to drive home.

He had no family to speak of. His mother had died when he’d been about six. His father, not a good man either, had dropped him and his sister off at their grannie’s house and never returned for them. Not even when he graduated from college. He could be depended on to come around and knock them around a bit, take the money that Grannie had, and then leave them again. His childhood had been one of rough fights and sleepless nights, thanks to the people in his life.

“Mr. Jorden? You’re not paying attention again.” He asked them for the tenth time at least when he was going to be able to get out of jail. “As it stands right now, you’re in for attempted murder of two people and drinking on the job.”

“Who said I was drinking on the job?” The attorney for the Griffins, a damned Griffin herself, said that after his arrest, his room had been gone over and they found his stash. “You had no right to go through my office. I was going to go back there to work. You probably planted the things that you found that were in there.”

“Your fingerprints were all over the bottle. As well as your DNA around the lip of it. We also found your computer and tablet, as well as the stash of kid’s games in the drawers.” He asked her what that was. “A coloring book with crayons. There were checker games as well as marbles. All with only your fingerprints on them.”

He didn’t know what to say about that. He’d never thought of a coloring book as anything but a way to relieve stress. It helped him, too, when he forgot to refill his whiskey bottle and he needed a little bit of calmness in his day to get through. Then he remembered something.

“There was a bunch of chocolate in there too. What did you do with that? Claim it as your own?” She asked him if he meant the empty candy bar wrappers that were in his second drawer. “Oh yeah. I forgot that I ate them the last time I was—your honor I’m sure that you have a few things stashed around your office that might get you into trouble if it was taken out of context. I didn’t mean any harm in having that there. It’s my way of calming my nerves. You’ve no idea how taxing it is to be around hundreds of kids all day. Them wanting things from you, and my goodness, you have no idea how many times they want a hug.” He shivered some. “I don’t care for hugs, but I have to do it.”

“Mr. Jorden, how long have you been principal there, if you don’t mind me asking?” He told him he’d been there eleven years. “Eleven years, and you’ve never come to like hugs from kids? My goodness, man, why did you become a principal of an elementary school if you didn’t care for children?”

“Children are icky. They carry germs and crap.” He shivered again, thinking about the snot that most of the kids had in the colder months. “I got the job there thinking that I’d only stay for a little while, but I began to enjoy all the perks. And there are a great many of them if you know just where to look. You don’t think that all those donations end up with the brats, do you?”

“Are you telling this court that you stole from the donations that were to help out the school and thus the kids?” He waved him off, thinking that it was something that everyone did and that he shouldn’t be surprised. “I need words, Mr. Jorden, not you waving your hand around. Did you or did you not just admit to taking donations for your own personal use?”

“You do it too. You can’t tell me that the money for your campaign goes to just you being elected. I’ve seen how much you guys get donated to you. It’s no different when it comes to the schools. A few bucks here, a few there. Even gift cards come up missing and into my pocket. What’s the difference? No one counts that money.” He looked over at the attorney for the other side and sneered at her. “I’m betting that she makes more money than you do for working for the almighty Griffins, too. It’s all water under the bridge right now. I’ll go back to work when this sham of a trial is over and I’ll go on doing what I’ve been doing. You’ll see. No one cares.”

“I care.” Again, he waved the man off and told him that he didn’t count as he was a judge. “And in being the judge, I’m remanding you over to a higher court. I cannot believe that I’m having to tell you this, but you’re never going to be able to work within any government system as long as I’m still kicking.”

“So you’re saying that after you die, I’ll be able to go back to work? I don’t suppose you have any illness that is going to hurry that along, do you?” The judge just stared at him. “I’d like to make some plans, you know? I have a life that I need to get going on.”

“Get him out of here before I do something I’m sure that I won’t regret.” He was still fettered to the table in front of him, and it looked like he was going to be that way for a long time. The judge didn’t look all that old, so all he could hope for was that he got cancer or something and soon. He needed to get his job back so that he could benefit from the things that he had before.

As he was being taken away, he realized that he’d not gotten any answer as to when he was going to be getting out of jail. It was a stuffy place and he didn’t want to have to sleep on that nasty cot again. There was no telling what sort of criminals had been using the bed before he had.

Once he was back in the cell, he was given a lunch. It wasn’t anything that he wanted but since they wouldn’t let him order out, he was stuck with it. Who ate bologna sandwiches anyway? Not him, that was for sure.

Lying down on his cot, the stupid thing wasn’t nearly as comfortable as he thought that it should be for someone like him. He started thinking about all the things that he was going to do when he got out of jail. Almost as soon as he was ready to take a short nap, he was asked to go to the back of the cell.

“I’m getting out of here?” The cop told him that he was. “It’s about time. I have things to do. Why are you putting handcuffs on me just to let me go?”

“I didn’t say you were being let go. I just said you were getting out of here. You’re being taken to prison until such time as a trial can be set for you. And I wouldn’t count on that being anytime too soon. The judge put you on the last of his list, and you’re going to be at the prison for a good long time.” He asked if he’d be getting out when the judge died. “I wouldn’t count on that. You’ve upset a great many people with your confessions. I’m thinking that you’re going to be a very old man when you finally get to see the other side of freedom. And that would be in a body bag if I don’t miss my bet.”

“That isn’t what I want.” He told him that it was too bad. That’s what he was getting. “I demand that you get that judge to come here and tell me what he thinks that he’s doing. I have a job to do, and I can’t get it done with being in here.”

“Too bad.” They put shackles on his ankles that had a bar between them so that he had to walk weirdly. His hands were cuffed behind his back and chained to the ones at his ankles. Even if he needed to take a leak, he’d not be able to do it. Not with the crap that they had him wearing.

He was put in a van and locked down to the floor. It was humiliating to be treated this way and he was going to make sure that they paid for this when he was free. And he would be if he had to kill off a few people on his way out.

By the time he was at the chain-linked fence that housed a large institutional-like building, he was sore from being tossed around. He would swear all his life that they hit every pothole on the way here, and he was going to sue them for it, too. They were treating him like he was some sort of monster, and he was just a man who knew how to work the system. Yes, he thought, he was going to get out of this and heads were going to roll.

~*~

She didn’t know what to do about having sex with Stone—or making love, she thought. He had been sleeping down the hall from her since they moved into the house. And she loved that he was being so good to her, but now all she wanted to do was to have him make love to her.

“Will you sleep with me tonight?” Stone didn’t even ask her if she was sure but pulled her into his arms and held her. She could feel his cock at her belly, and she wanted to have him inside her as soon as she could. “Are you going to kiss me, Stone? I want to feel you touching me so badly.”

“Yes. In a moment.” She reached up and curled her hand around his neck. “Are you going to always be this greedy?”

“Yes.” She felt his weight on her as he took her to the bed. She’d not even realized that they were in the bedroom until then. He told her that he had willed them there and that he was glad for that magic. “I like that magic. We might use that a great deal if I don’t disappoint you tonight.”

“Never. Never can I think of you as a disappointment, love.” He kissed her lightly on her mouth and then moved to her ears. She had never thought of her ears as being an erotic zone before, but she could feel her pussy swelling. To have this man inside of her was more than she wanted her next breath. Lying her on the bed, he joined her.

His body moved over hers as he deepened the kiss. He was firm in all the right places. Soft in others. As his hands roamed over her, all Sage could think about was how much she wanted him to take her, make love to her.

Her breasts were bared to him. As he suckled at the tip, pulling her hard nipple into his mouth, Sage reached down and cupped his cock in her hand. When he moaned, she could feel it all over her body.

Sage liked sex, all right. Usually, she was left sort of disappointed, but she figured that was her, not her partner. But this man, even touching her, she knew she was going to enjoy this like she had nothing else. She couldn’t wait to have him inside of her, yet she wanted it to last as well. Forever.

He moved off her and stood by the side of the bed. Sitting up, she reached for him, and he told her to wait. He wanted to see her first. Her body warmed more. She could feel something move over her body then. It was as if she were two different people and that something akin to a wolf was there for her.

“Take off your clothes. Start with your shirt.” He’d already torn it, but she pulled it over her head and let it drop to the floor. Her bra was next. He moaned loudly, the sound of it like warm butter being spread over hot biscuits. “Your breasts are the most beautiful I’ve ever seen. And your nipples taste like gumdrops.”

“Let me see your cock, Stone. It’s all I can think of. I know that you’re thick, but I want to see it.” He nodded and reached for the pants. “All I can think about is sucking you into my mouth. Having you come down my throat over and over.”

“Christ, woman, are you trying to kill me?” He freed his cock and wrapped his hand around himself. Sage licked the tip of him, just enough to taste the cum that was streaming from the tiny hole there. “Strip, baby. I need to fuck you.”

She stood up then, making short work of her clothing. When he reached for her, wrapping his arm around her waist and pulling her flush to his body, she felt her pussy gush hotly. Cream began to slowly seep from her to her thighs. It was the sexiest thing she’d ever known. And when he leaned down and took her breast, all of it in his mouth, she cried out when he bit down on her.

He rocked into her. Not entering her, not yet, but his cock was at her pussy and touching off all kinds of sensations within her. Sage could have easily come then. Just let her body have its release as he made love to her. Every place his fingers touched her it was like a brand on her skin. Each breath he took was like a lick of flames over her. Sage was needy, her body simmering for his. She had no idea that sex could be this consuming, and when she touched her breast with her fingers, it was almost as if every nerve ending was centered in that one place.

“Come for me.” Like she’d been primed for it, her body let go. She screamed out her release, his cock rolled over her clit twice more, and she came a second time. Her body was hot for his—his cock inside of her was all she could think about. The need for him to take her was there but he wasn’t finished just yet. Turning her around, Stone had her lean over as he went to his knees. He spread her legs wider as he filled her with his fingers. Again, she came as if she had no control over her body, but it was all his.

His mouth was all over her. Her legs, her ass. He licked the back of her knees, his fingers filled her pussy. Every time she thought she was going to come, he’d move again. Her body was burning up with need, and he was making her crazy.

“Please, Stone, I need you.” He told her she was in too much hurry. “Please, I beg of you. Fuck me.”

She felt his movements. Knew when he was standing behind her. And when she felt his cock at her entrance again, she rolled her hips backward, trying her best to get him to fill her. And when he did move forward, his cock filling her at last, she knew a new kind of torture.

He was thicker than she’d imagined. Fuller too. As he moved in and out of her, slowly like he was bent on killing her, she felt his balls as they touched her backside. She needed. Not just to come but needed it all. And he was denying her that by teasing her, holding her back.

As he moved into her as slowly as he could, Sage tried to get him to hurry. To finish her. Even going so far as to reach between her legs and touch him. Nothing was working. He was on a mission it seemed to make her suffer greatly. However, it was the best kind of suffering that she’d ever encountered. Christ, he was taking her to a slow death with each stroke of his cock, and she didn’t even care.

“Please?” He laughed, a gentle sort of sound that didn’t upset her but made her smile in return. “I want you to know that when I have my way with you, I’m going to make you suffer in ways you cannot imagine.”

“I don’t think you can do that.” He slammed deep, taking her breath away with it. “If I fuck you hard, will you scream out my name? Or will you perhaps come so hard that you faint on me?”

“Fuck me. Now, Stone, fuck me.” He pounded her. His hands at her hips held her steady as his cock felt like a jackhammer inside of her. “Yes, more. I need more.”

He took her to the bed, his cock deep inside of her. She screamed when he grabbed a handful of her hair and lifted her up. His command to come, to let go, had her body pausing, her heart stopping. Then she came.

Nothing could have prepared her for the feelings that she had in that moment. And she did feel everywhere, everything. Sage came, hard long strokes of her body. When she screamed out her release the next time, his name was there for him to hear, but she was coming a third, then a fourth time as he slammed his cock deeper, harder as his hand dug deep into her flesh.

The world around her narrowed, her heart stopped beating altogether and she let the darkness just take her under.

When she woke up, her body immediately seized up. It was as if every muscle in her body was regretting the lovemaking that they’d had. Reaching for Stone to see if he was as sore as she was, she was glad to hear him moan.

“Never again.” She laughed, and he did as well. “Good Christ woman, I’ve never in all my life felt like that…well, I’ve never felt like that in all my years.”

“I know just what you mean.” Rolling to her back, her body protested loudly, and she cried out when she moved her legs. “I’m not ever moving again. I’m stuck right here forever.”

That made him laugh, and she smiled. “I have to get up and go to the bathroom. Am I too old to whimper like a baby when I do?” She told him that she was in the same position. She needed to go to the bathroom as well but was fearful of crying.

“You go ahead and cry, love. That way I won’t have to feel so bad when I get up and go myself. I think that every muscle in my body has been abused. In a good way, but damn, I’m going to be sore when I get up.” The two of them lay there for a bit longer until she decided she was going to wet the bed if she didn’t get up soon.

Even sitting on the side of the bed cost her. Her breasts were sore, and there were little bruises all over her breasts. When she tried stretching out her feet just to get the kinks out of her toes, she sobbed. Smiling, she thought that every pain had been well worth it. She was as satisfied as she’d ever been. And she’d do it again if she felt better.

Going to the bathroom, she had to hold onto the sink before she could sit down. It seemed as if now that she was up and moving around, her body couldn’t take sitting again. Even her bottom was sore.

Smiling at Stone when he tiptoed into the bathroom with her, she decided to brush her teeth later as she needed a nap now after all that moving around. As she headed back to the bed, she realized that she wasn’t nearly as sore, and as soon as she laid down, she wondered if she would ever be the same again.

Getting up the second time wasn’t nearly so painful. The other side of the bed was empty, but it was warm. Going to the bathroom she heard the shower running and decided to join Stone. That way, he could wash her back and make it feel less stiff.

“No way am I going to be able to make love to you again. Not right away anyway.” She laughed and told him that she was thinking the same thing. “The warm water is working out the tightness. I was thinking that we need a hot tub. I think that would be perfect for us after making love like we did.”

“I’d love that.” He did end up washing her back and she did feel the muscles loosen up. When she was ready to get out, Stone turned off the water and then got out. When he handed her a warm towel, all she could think about was wrapping her body in it and taking another nap. Dressing herself to ward off the temptation, she was headed to the kitchen when she remembered that Hailey had spent the night at their home. She was sitting at the kitchen table having toast when she entered.

Kissing the little girl on the head, she asked her how she slept. She’d be embarrassed if she heard them, but she said that she’d slept like a log. Then she told her about the dolls.

“Ms. Fitz said that she’d wash all the clothing for me. And we’re going to give them all a bath, too. I hope that’s all right.” She told her, of course, it was. “And her mister is going to clean up the toys that came with them. There are a lot of them, too, don’t you think?”

“I think that it’s the perfect amount if you love them.” There was a trunk too that the dolls were in that she’d managed to get, and she was thrilled that someone had thought of cleaning them up. The years of dust on them made her think that was the reason that she’d gotten them so cheap. They were very dirty. “I have some things that I have to clean up, too. Getting the big desk is going to take a while to get ready for the office for Stone.”

“What’s ready for Stone? Hello, my beautiful ladies.” She told him what they’d been talking about. “Oh, I have some things to go through as well. I found a couple of more paperweights in one of the other boxes. I’ll have to get my collection of them from storage. I’ve been collecting them since I was younger.”

The three of them, along with Ms. Fitz, talked about the summer months. They had a pool, so she could see them all spending a great deal of time outside. It occurred to her that she was thinking like Hailey was going to be staying with them. She only hoped that was true. Sage already loved the little girl.

“Oh, Sage, dear, there are some phone messages for you. Could have knocked me over with a silver spoon when the thing rattled like it did. I put them on the table in the hallway for the two of you.” She went to get them and was surprised to hear from an attorney by the name of Walton. She called him back first thing when the note said for her to call as soon as she got the message.

“Thank you for getting back to me so quickly, Mrs. Griffin, but I’m the attorney for the Donaldson estate. He mentioned you and the little girl, Hailey James, in his will. He had changed it only on the day that his wife passed. I hurt for the man, but he said he didn’t think he was long for this world and wanted to get things straightened out.”

“Do you know what happens to the little girl? She’s been staying with the Griffin family, my family, for some time now and I need to get things rolling on her if she’s going to someone else.” He explained that the Danielsons had a son, but he didn’t want anything to do with his parents or the little girl. “That’s sad. I worked for the Danielsons for years, and I found them to be the best people.”

“I don’t know the entirety of everything, but the young man is getting up there, and he’s raising his three grandchildren and one of his own that is handicapped. It’s a terrible thing, I think, when grandparents aren’t able to…well, that’s for another time. I was wondering if I could get you to come to see me as soon as tomorrow. The estate, believe it or not, is quite large. The couple invested in a great many things over the years and it’s paid off well for them.”

“I’ll have to see if I can get a flight out tomorrow.” He said that he’d come to her, knowing that she lived in Ohio now. “All right. You tell me where we’re to meet and we’ll be there. My husband will be as well. Stone and I haven’t been married all that long, but he’ll need to come with me.”

“Yes, yes, that’s good.” He told her of the hotel that he was staying in and gave her a time. “That way, we can get things cleared up for that little one and make sure that she had a good life that she might well have had if she’d been a bit closer to the Danielsons.”

After getting off the phone with the attorney, she told Stone what was going on. He said that Storm had done a background check on the couple when she’d gotten here and was surprised as well by how wealthy they’d been.

The three of them hung around the house for the rest of the day. Eating a light lunch, they were ready for a big dinner when Stone suggested that they have a nice cookout. Ms. Fritz was happy with that and had made them side dishes to go with the steaks and burgers that they were going to cook. She was excited too to be able to go through the box lots that she’d gotten and to find little treasures that she was going to keep.