Episode 2-17

“Congrats!” Patrick Donovan announced as Kassie Tom came back into the living room. “You got the job! This is great.”

Kassie was beaming with energy. “I can hardly believe it! And it is at Natural Exposure. That place is so beautiful.”

Patrick was still on the floor, but he managed to bring himself onto the couch. “I’m not native to this town. What exactly is this company about?”

“Well,” Kassie started, sitting next to Patrick. “Presence is the location for one of their advertising and design departments. I’ve been inside their building a few times. I knew I wanted to work there.”

Kassie scratched her neck. “Jake… my ex-fiancé… was an orderly at Presence Memorial, so money was never an object.”

“Oh, yes… well, this is great!” Patrick continued. “What exactly are you going to be doing?”

Kassie shrugged. “I think I’m going to be Internet advertising and site development. My father told me to learn HTML since it would come in handy some day. He was right.”

Patrick looked over at Kassie, and noticed how she was just glowing. He couldn’t believe how beautiful she was; her blonde hair framed her soft skin and blue eyes, making him melt.

Just then, Darla Tom slipped into the room. “What was that scream I heard a while back?”

“That’s wonderful, Honey,” Darla said, wrapping her arms around her daughter. Darla let out a yawn, and pulled back.

“Mom,” Kassie began. “It’s getting late… Maybe it is a good time to get some sleep. You look very tired.”

“I feel tired,” Darla responded, smiling. “I just can’t get to sleep with Noah-J and all.”

Kassie patted her mother on the back. “He’ll be fine!” she proclaimed. “He’s in our room, right? Then I can care for him! He hasn’t been a problem yet.”

“No problem,” Kassie insisted, pushing her mom into the hallway. “We’re family. You did this with me once, so I’m just returning the favor!”

“A hotel,” Robert answered. “I’m not feeling right in this house – I feel like an outcast. I’ll be back tomorrow. This is just for the evening.”

Darla wanted to insist against it, but he left the house before she could get anything out of her mouth. It left her wondering.

Mateo Consuelos was doing wrist exercises, feeling strange at how difficult lifting and throwing Ian Huber by his neck was! He needed more work on that move.

“You bet your soulless demon heart!” Skye retorted, practically skipping into the room. “It was the most beautiful sight I had ever seen.” Skye lifted her hands, moving them as if painting the scenes. “A crushed car… Torn metal everywhere… And the body! Blood coming from her head and a pulseless wrist hanging over the seat…”

Mateo came up to her. “I really hate to have missed it… It sounded great!”

“Quick,” Skye declared, moving to the television. “The eleven o’clock news was on the site once I left. They should be on the TV right now.”

Mateo slumped down on the couch, and picked up the champagne bottle. “To evil!”

“Cheers,” Skye responded, flipping through the channels. “Here! This is it!”

A male reporter was mobile along Mystique Road. “Following the earthquake a month ago, another terrible incident has occurred.” The camera followed him to the side of the road. “A woman, currently identified to be Brianna Huber, drove off the side of the road and down the rocky incline. The paramedics have brought her to the hospital, but they have listed her as dead…”

“Yes!” Mateo declared, giving Skye a high five. “You weren’t lying.”

“I don’t know…” Mateo shrugged, taking a swig. “You have been known to… not follow orders. You couldn’t finish your first assignment! You came here last March, and all you did was drive that poor man crazy.”

Skye turned to him. “And Dean had it coming to him… and yu know damn well I couldn’t get started until you came!”

“And I was waiting for months as you wasted more time!” Mateo finally said. “But we can start it now… Oh, before we do any planning – guess what I did while you were out?”

Skye thought about it, looking into his eyes. “Let me see… Going along the lines of something productive…” Skye thought, and then, “Did you do something to Ian?”

Mateo touched his nose. “Bingo. I scared him a little… And then I launched him across his living room and knocked him unconscious. This way he won’t try to rush and save his precious wife till he comes to in the morning!”

“Wow,” Skye gasped, inching towards Mateo. “I’ll be you could have killed him… with your bare hands.”

Mateo nodded, leaning over to Skye. “I was strangling him… I could have killed him in a snap…”

Bringing her legs on his, she reached over for his hands. “I want you to do something for me.”

Skye grabbed his hands and placed him on her chest. “Touch me with those hands…”

The phone rang off the hook, but he couldn’t answer. Even though it was news regarding his wife, he couldn’t do anything…

A paramedic came out of the ambulance. “It is Brianna Huber. Ian’s wife. She was in a terrible accident. She was killed instantly.”

“We have,” he responded, bringing the body out on a stretcher. “He’s not answering.” He brought the stretcher through. “We have declared her already. Ten forty.”

Nodding, the doctor sadly brought the body in. “We’ll keep her. I’ll ask Betty to keep trying to contact Ian…”

Iris Torres and Adam King were both sitting down at a table in the King Mansion’s dining room. The tables had been pushed to the outside, leaving dozens of couples dancing in the center.

“This place is so wonderful, I don’t care how pretentious,” Iris laughed, admiring her surroundings. “I had no idea that you could just hire a string quartette like that!”

Adam nodded. “It is a perk of being filthy rich… But I would trade it all to be… well… normal.” Adam took a sip of his wine. “I hardly know my father… Spending my life in private schools and ignored by him did that. My big brother got all the attention.”

Iris nodded. “That’s too bad. I had the same problem, but it is a little more complicated than –”

Before Iris could finish, Henderson came up to their table. “Muriel and the chef are preparing a shrimp casserole and salmon steaks. Would Mr. King and his lady friend care for some?”

“I’ll have the salmon,” Iris said. “But please skip the casserole. I’m allergic to shrimp. Unless you want me to blow up like a balloon…”

Adam tugged at Henderson’s penguin tail. “Could you skip mine as well? See if the chef could prepare some Chicken Kiev.” To Iris: “You like chicken, right?”

“This is beyond anything I’ve ever experienced,” Iris said. “Servants and parties… But I could never get used to it.”

Adam couldn’t help but stare at her. Her delight and her eyes kept him enticed. Iris caught him looking, and she turned her head away, blushing.

Taking a break from grilling Muriel about the shrimp casserole, Constance turned around to see her two friends rush to her. “How are you doing, Priscilla?”

“The decorations are magnificent!” Lourdes said, carrying around a trademark glass of wine. She was known to take to the bottle. “I wish I could get my husband to throw something like this.”

“Yes. A name.” Lourdes took a sip from her glass. “Do you know who your son has invited with him?”

Constance turned to the table where Adam sat. She could see him laughing, and having what looked like a good conversation with his guest. “That’s Iris Torres.”

“Iris. That’s a pretty name,” Lourdes complimented, her speech slightly slurred. “But Torres. The name doesn’t ring a bell.”

Constance swallowed. “She’s from in town. If I’m not mistaken, she works with my son at the company in town.”

Priscilla looked to their table. “They look… happy. Why did Adam choose to work at the bottom? He could have easily snatched a position much higher.”

Constance shrugged. “It is just who he is. He enjoys what he does… And he obviously has made a good friend.”

Julian King came down the long flight of stairs, and carried himself through the crowd of people. They were all chatting, hardly noticing him. Slipping into the dining room, he spotted his son at a table. With the hussy.

“Hello there,” Julian said, interrupting their quiet conversation. “Mrs. Torres: How are you enjoying yourself?”

Julian reached into his back pocket and pulled out a roll of sheets; he tossed them at Iris’ side of the table. “I went to the liberty of getting the lawsuit papers finished for this evening.”

Adam reached over to her side and snatched up the papers. “I don’t know what you’re trying to pull, father, but this is wrong. Not only is this suit groundless, but you’ve chosen a very bad time.”

“Yes,” Adam said. “I am well aware. But I showed up at her house out from jail, convicted of stabbing her, like a raving lunatic. Thank God I’ve gotten over that.”

Adam picked up the papers, and ripped them in half. Consequently, Julian stormed away.

“Don’t worry.” Adam tore the papers up even more. “He has no case. This won’t go far without me.”

Minutes later, Henderson came by with plates and drinks for them. Many of the guests also say down as tables were starting to be served.

Addy Evans stared incredulously at the gift she had just opened. She could hardly believe her eyes. Noticing that Gillian Evans and Giovanni Pike were coming her way, she quickly stashed the gift.

“Good,” Gillian continued. “Giovanni and I are going home right now, but I will visit you again first thing in the morning.”

Addy shook her head. “Don’t you bother doing that. I’m doing great, and I hope to come home tomorrow.”

“I’m fine,” Addy finally stated. “Don’t let an old lady like me keep you young people from doing what you like.”

Taken aback, Gillian could have sworn that her mother no longer cared if she dated Giovanni or not. It felt strange, but she managed to accept it.

Upstairs, Darla fell into her bed and fell asleep immediately. She hoped that she wouldn’t have any nightmares like previous nights.

Several minutes later, downstairs, Kassie was cleaning up the kitchen. Her mother had actually gone through the trouble to making homemade baby food with cooked carrots and peas.

“What a resourceful woman,” Kassie concluded, wiping the counter. She washed up, and slipped into the living room. She saw Patrick doing several pushups.

Patrick noticed her, and stopped. “My upper body is the only part I can use right now. I need to make the best of it!”

“You’d better not pull anything!” Kassie stated. “That would not be good.”

Kassie ignored his comments and rushed through the hallway and up to her room. She opened the door to a dark room with two beds and a crib. Kassie moved up to the crib, and reached in to grab Noah.

“Shhh…” she cooed softly, rocking him back and forth. She moved to the entrance and slipped out to the hallway. She moved over to the stairs. Noticing an odd sound, she moved to the stairs. “Patrick!”

“You’re crazy,” Kassie stated, continuing to rock Noah. “Why are you doing this to yourself?”

Patrick kept pulling himself up. “There is no way I’m going to remain confined in that chair. And if I can start feeling my legs, than full recovery is only a few steps ahead.”

Shaking her head, Kassie saw that Noah was asleep. His small face was scrunched up, and his breathing was soft and comforting.

“You did it,” Patrick groaned, lifting up the final step. “You got him asleep… You’re like a real mother. A natural.”

Kassie hadn’t realized it… until Patrick said it. Being with Noah was like something she had been meant to do. And it was something she didn’t want to stop doing.

Skye nodded, biting her lower lip. “Yes…” She quickly got up and landed on Mateo. There was something about the death that excited them!

He shifted himself on the couch, lying across lengthwise. “You are good to me,” he said, looking up at her.

Straddling his waist, Skye brought her hands down over his white T-shirt. She pulled it out from his black jeans and pulled it over his head. She grabbed his hands and brought them to her blouse.

“What have we here?” Mateo gleamed, unbuttoning her red blouse. As he worked the buttons, she moved her hands over his rippled abdomen and upper chest. He took off the last button and slipped the shirt off her shoulders and threw it to the ground.

Skye gave him and sly smile, and shifted herself down his legs; her breasts were contained in her small, white bra. Bringing her head down, she kissed his navel and greedily and licked down to his jeans. She flashed him her red eyes, and popped the button on his pants. Skye pulled the zipper down to reveal his briefs.

“You do know your way around, don’t you?” Mateo groaned, placing his hands on her head. He arched himself so she could pull his pants off. Before she could go any further, Mateo brought his legs to the ground and got up.

Skye looked disappointed, until her bent down and picked her up. “I love your hands,” she laughed, tracing her finger along his arm.

He carried her down the hall to his bed, and laid her down. He came on top of her, and loosened her pants. Dragging them off, he threw them aside and got on her.

Mateo straddled her legs and brought his head down to her chest. Kissing her bra, he brought his hands to her back and unhooked it. He slipped it off, and handled her.

“That feel nice,” she sighed as he moved his hands over her body. “We’re going to do so much together…”

Mateo laughed, and brought himself up to her face. “You’d better believe it! And there is one thing that is for sure…”

Mateo slipped out of his briefs, and brought himself to her. “Death of everything holy in this town – and the success of our plan.”

Mateo and Skye both let out laughs. They both fit together perfectly and knew that they had so much ahead for them. Their pleasure continued into the night as they made a connection that would forever haunt the town – and them.

Father McMurdy was putting out the candles that surrounded a shine at the front of the church. He moved slowly up between the pews. He walked to his rectory and said a prayer.

“Dear Lord. May You bless this church and the citizens of this town with Your love? Amen.”

As he opened his eyes, he turned on a light. He observed the wall of the room, reading the many church notices. Stopping, he noticed a patch of the wall looked odd; bringing his hand to the beige wall, he touched it.

“No!” he cried out, reaching for a Kleenex. “This can’t be…” Once he sat down, a gust of wind blew through his office. The light bulb burst.

“Woah!” he said, jumping back from his desk. He jotted his head around the room, knowing very well there were no windows or vents. “Where…?”

Suddenly, a book from his shelf fell on to the floor. The wind came through his office again, but it was much stronger. Without warning, the book caught fire and the wind flipped the cover and turned the pages.

“Sweet mercy…” Father McMurdy muttered, shielding his confused eyes from the wind. “What is happening?”

He snuck up to the fallen book, and observed what page it was at. Taking out a leather bookmark, McMurdy picked up the book. He saw the page; it was littered with text.

“There is hope to stop what is coming,” Father McMurdy whispered, exiting his office, crossing his chest. “But something in this town is doing to deliver an evil unknown to this world. An evil that will destroy goodness…”

Gillian walked up to the door of her home with Giovanni. The night was cool, and they both looked tired. It have been a trying period.

“I’m going to hate waiting for you all night,” Gillian said plainly, inserting the key into the lock.

“You know,” Giovanni said, wrapping his arms around her, “we don’t have to go anywhere.”

Gillian squirmed away. “No… Don’t you remember what we discussed? All I want to do tonight is sleep.”

Nurse Betty was in the midst of checking Addy’s vitals and charts. “You are doing surprisingly well.” She double-checked the charts. “You seem very energized.”

Betty smiled at her. “Whatever the reason, I don’t think we need to keep you cooped up in this room any longer.”

“Thank you,” Addy said as Betty tore a section of her chart. “Am I free to go?”

As Betty left, Addy was all smiles. Sitting upwards on her bed, she reached under her pillow and picked up the item.

“I know why I have energy,” she said. “And I know how I’m going to use it…”

“You’re kidding,” Adam said, feeling terribly embarrassed. “I can’t believe any of this!”

Iris nodded her head. “It is the truth.” She put down her fork on a plate containing only fish bones. The meal had been delicious.

“Let me get this straight,” Adam started, he too putting his utensils down. “Your brother, Wyle, framed me for your stabbing because he knew that I would be at work with you the evening you were stabbed.”

“So he planted blood around the guest house?” Adam questioned. “Why would your brother do this?”

Iris felt as if she needed to tell someone. “Um… I think it was childhood. My sister and I had a very competitive relationship. But she died as a result of a misunderstanding. My brother blamed me… My father, too. The first time I have seen my father in ten years was last spring.”

“Well, the good part was after my mother was murdered I finally got closer to my father. Our first outing was the funeral you brought us to.”

It felt as if the evening wouldn’t end. She didn’t want it to. Everything was perfect and as she had wanted it to be all her life.

Julian King muttered loudly in his room. He paced back and forth, loosening his lie. Within minutes, his personal line in his room rang.

Julian’s eyes lit up. “John! It is so great to hear from you. It feels like you’ve been gone for an eternity. How is life in office?”

“It is okay,” John replied. “But you didn’t answer my first question. How’s the party mom threw?”

Julian shook his head, and quickly made his way to his drink bar. He poured himself a brandy. “It is a good party. It is just that Adam is dating this – woman.”

Taking a gulp of his drink, he quickly reiterated. “No, no, no… A local woman. There is no way that the family’s plans are going to work if this continues.”

Julian nodded. “Yes. Their daughter, Macy, to whom Adam gave a great deal of attention last spring, is returning from Europe this month. Her parents have excitedly approved the marriage. Can you believe all the territory we’d conquer in Europe? King Industries could establish itself in dozens of countries just like that!” Julian paused. “Are you coming home? We’ve reserved the East Wing for you.”

“I’ve considered it,” John started. “And decided that I will come. Hell, I never do anything here anyways. I always have others do the work.”

Constance, standing outside the room, couldn’t help but listen in. She could only pick out pieces of the conversation, but knew it wasn’t good.

Quickly going back down the stairs to say goodbye to guests, she was quite worried.

Noah was sound asleep in his crib as Kassie readied herself for bed. It had been an eventful day, and while Noah was easy to deal with, adjusting to his presence took a lot of energy from her.

Kassie quickly turned around, covering herself with her nightgown. She saw Patrick on the floor beside his bed. He had removed his shirt, but he remained fully clothed.

“—Pulled something?” Kassie finished, moving to his bed opposite from hers. She passed around the crib and sat beside Patrick. “I told you this would happen… You’re pushing yourself a little hard, I think.”

Kassie shrugged. “You’re the muscle man… I’ll see what I can do.” She slipped her arms under his, and she tried to bring him up.

“Ow!” Patrick yelled, countering her force. “It’s a back muscle… I don’t think I pulled it, but I certainly did something to it.” He popped himself on the wall beside his bed. “It feels better just staying here.”

Kassie shook her head. “That isn’t right,” she spoke, coming up beside him. “I’m going to give you a massage. It might help your back.”

“Of course!” she responded, coming up behind him, shifting his body onto her legs. “Where is it tense?”

Patrick brought his muscular left arm around his head, pointing to his right arm shoulder blade. “There.”

She nodded, taking her hands and rubbing his upper back. She pressed her fingers deep, trying to loosen the tight muscles. Kassie felt how warm his skin was on her hands, and couldn’t help but enjoy herself.

“Uhng…” Patrick groaned, loosening his shoulders. “I guess you do know what you’re doing.” He breathed out, and straightened out his jeaned legs.

“I know a few tricks,” she retorted, getting into the kneading motions. “If I remember correctly, all I need to do is press right here…” She dug her thumb into the small of his back.

“It comes in handy,” she laughed. Kassie quickly made her way to his shoulders, massaging them deeply with her hands.

Kassie wanted to make small talk. “I’m starting the job tomorrow, and I was wondering if you could come help me get set up.”

“I’m still your bodyguard,” Patrick pointed out, writhing in pleasure. “Even if I’ve got this silly paralysis.”

After a minute, Kassie stopped her hand motions. She got up and walked over to her bed. “I… I’m sure that you’re feeling better.”

Patrick turned around, looking confused. “I do… I guess… um… I’ll see you tomorrow morning, to bring you to your job.”

Kassie wanted to stay with him – she wanted to be with him. But he was her bodyguard, and they did need to remain professional.

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Episode 2-18

Darla goes to the hospital. Why is she there?
Ian is devastated by a call.
Kassie and Patrick show up at Natural Exposure.
Who is waking in bed together? Skye and Mateo are blissful.
Julian harasses Adam. Constance becomes emotional.
Iris gets one of Bo’s calls.
Giovanni attacks Addy. See what leads to this!
A mystery character shows up!