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Key
A Locke Sequel

First Chapter of Locke
First Chapter of Key
Latest Chapter of Key
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Jasper swore to Bella he would give her the best year of her life, but after ringing in the New Year with fresh scars from a serial killer, is that a promise he can keep? Time heals all wounds, but some reminders are permanent and the pain remains even after the marks have faded away.

They were always the keys to unlocking each other’s future, but can they survive the trials the next year have in store for them? Love, justice, success, bondage, and pain. Together, they hope to find a new normal that is anything but vanilla. 

Now Completed! 

Warning:
This story contains graphic sexual depictions, violence, and mental illness. Reader discretion is advised. 18+ only 


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7/31/2020

Key. Chapter Thirty-Six: On Our Anniversary

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Chapter Thirty-Six: On Our Anniversary


Jasper took my hand and led me to my new car, but he stopped at the door and didn’t open it. It was a beautiful bright red convertible Jaguar gifted to me by the publishers. They gave it to me when we got back to Dallas for reaching the million sold mark, but it was already almost to a million and a half. Unlike me, he was not afraid to drive it. Justin loved it. It was from one of his lots, though, and he helped Eric pick it out.

He leaned forward and quickly captured my lips in a kiss. As he did, he pulled a tie from his back pocket. 

“May I blindfold you?” He whispered in my ear. It was our anniversary, and he was taking control of the night’s plans. I grinned wickedly. It was already going better than I hoped.

“I love how polite you are about things you know I like,” I smirked a little.

Ducking his head, Jasper’s nose went pink. “Well, we’re not doing a scene, so I figured it’s better to ask before I just whip it out.”

I bit my lip to keep from laughing, both at his words and at his accent. Since coming back and spending time around his family, it had come out in full force. “Feel free to ‘whip it out’ anytime you wish, sir,” I replied dryly. 

“Stop,” he laughed. I toyed with the lapels of his jacket, yanking him to me for a deep and passionate kiss. Smiling against my lips, he played with my hair. Pushing my curls away from my face, he tugged my head back so that my chin was up. He pecked it lightly, then my mouth, nose, and right between my eyes before putting the fabric over them. 

Once inside the car, I held his hand and relaxed as I listened to the playlist he had started for us. It was instrumental and soothing. If he was trying to set a mood, he was doing a great job.

“So, are you going to give me any hints about where we’re going?” I questioned, clutching his palm. 

“No,” he chuckled. “It won’t take us long to get there. Don’t worry.”

“Well, I know it’s not a wild party,” I began. 

He scoffed. “Good heavens, no. The event we’re attending will be a very private one.”

“Oh… Just for two?”

“Mmhmm,” he hummed, squeezing my thigh. 

Biting my lip, I grinned to myself as I tried to figure it out. “Hm. It’ll involve food.”

“Of course. Because it always involves food,” Jasper joked lightly. “You know what? I’ll give you one hint.” He paused for a moment. “There will be cake.”

“Oh! Oh, there will be cake?” I began sarcastically. “What a hint! I’d never guess that-” he smacked my thigh, making me dissolve into giggles. 

“You’re so feisty tonight,” he mumbled. 

“Should be an enjoyable evening for you,” I playfully wiggled shoulders. He chuckled before reaching over to pluck one of my nipples through my dress. I squeaked in surprise before laughing, my head falling back against the rest. “I already know I’ll have fun.”

“I hope so,” he purred, his hand going to my knee and gripping it through my skirt. 

It really wasn’t that long to get to our destination. He took my hands and led me from the car up a concrete walkway. I could hear it clicking underneath my heels.  

“There’s a step,” he informed me quietly. As soon as my foot hit it, I knew where we were. I grinned. “What’s that look, Isabella?”

“Nothing,” I replied as I shook my head. “Just excited for tonight.”

“You’re such a terrible liar,” he teased, opening the front door of our new townhouse. His keys rattled loudly. Anticipation ran through my body. A moment later, I was in his arms and being carried like a princess. I hadn’t expected it. He intended to carry me over the threshold and everything.  

“Oh, my god! Don’t hurt your shoulder!” I cried out automatically as my arms tightened around his neck. 

“It’s been nearly a year, and I had to lug around double your weight to go back to work,” he responded, not even sounding strained. He kicked the door closed, locking it behind us with his hand under my shoulders. 

“Be careful,” I murmured. “And please don’t carry me up the stairs.”

“The stairs... where exactly?” He asked in a laughing voice. Shrugging, I smiled as I readjusted my head on his chest. 

He walked through the small living room, and I could imagine us moving towards the dining room. He turned away from it, though, going all the way to the back to the sunroom that had a lovely view of the backyard I was planning to fill with plants. I would have a garden and soak up the sunshine while I wrote in comfort. Spring would be amazing.

The room was nice and warm despite it being nearly thirty outside. He carefully put me down to my feet, but he didn’t remove my mask. He moved his hands over my shoulders and kissed the back of my ear. “Stay here for just a second.”

“Okay,” I smirked. “This is fine. As long as you don’t leave me alone outside. That’s when we have a problem.” 

He chuckled softly. I heard his footsteps, and suddenly the light trickled in underneath the black tie. My fingers clutched the sides of my dress as I impatiently waited for him. Jasper quickly hurried out of the room, only to return just a moment later. I could hear something like wicker crunching. Then, glass on metal. 

Finally, he pulled it off. We were in the sunroom as I had suspected. It was filled with the outdoor furniture I picked out for it with him online months before. We had orders put in for everything and were just waiting for it to arrive before we moved in. There were two black iron chairs around a breakfast table, a chaise lounge with a side table, and a sofa with a coffee table. It matched perfectly and was finished with dark blood-red cushions.

There were also dozens of plants of every kind and size in pots around the room, on the floor and on the tables. Some were large flowering rose bushes, while others were tiny cactus. It smelled like earthy flowers and new furniture. He decorated the window with white fairy lights. In the middle of the coffee table were two dozen red roses and a wicker basket. There were flameless candles, too. 

“Aw! It’s perfect.” I laughed with joy, putting my hand over my mouth. “When did you do this?”

“Yesterday and this morning. But I had some help. I wanted to give my favorite author a place to work.” He grinned against my cheek as he held me from behind. “Happy anniversary, darlin, and welcome home.”

“Would you like to know what your gift is?” I asked, reaching down for my purse. I didn’t wait for his answer.

He smiled at my excitement. “Sure.”

I pulled out the simple white envelope from inside. It was thick and heavy. “Here you go.” It was, by far, the most expensive one I had ever given.

Jasper opened it slowly, swallowing as he did. His eyes went over the page. It was the deed. “You paid it off? Bella! I could have put-”

“Shh… Consider this your payment for all the work you put into The Cop’s Story,” I whispered before kissing him.

“I can’t believe that’s what you‘re calling it.” I gave him a sour look. “Yeah, I know. I can’t come up with anything better, either.”

Giggling, I pushed my face into his chest. “We’re home.”

“Yes, we are. And I arranged movers to come to your place tomorrow to get the rest of your things so you won’t have to lift a finger.” Tanya had been so good about allowing me to keep my stuff at the apartment. I paid my part, though. She didn’t feel at all guilty about it, not that I blamed her.

Swiftly, I wrapped my arms around his neck. He snaked his around my waist and pulled me close. “I hope there is a bed somewhere in this house,” I breathed against his throat, pecking up to his ear. I tugged on the lobe gently.

“Yes, there is.” He smiled before kissing me lovingly. “And trust me, it is as waterproofed as it can be short of plastic sheeting.” I snorted loudly, throwing my head back. “I have plans for tonight.”

“I like them already,” I giggled as I brought him into a deep kiss. 

“Well, I hope you continue to enjoy them,” he replied as he walked over to the basket and lifted the bottle of wine. “Come sit down and let me serve you, Goddess.”

Every time he called me that, I could still feel my cheeks get warm. I went to the sofa and sat on the edge of the cushions, crossing my ankles underneath me as I watched him pull out our dinner. It was a sushi meal for two with salads.

“This is so nice. Thank you.”

He poured us each a glass and sat beside me. “This is just the beginning, I promise.” He tapped the crystal to mine. Jasper took a little sip before looking at me with his head slightly tilted to the side. “May I feed you?”

“Mm, yes, please,” I grinned as I pointed to one of the rolls. He carefully dipped it in soy sauce before bringing it to my lips. Humming as it went into my mouth, I quickly covered it with my hand as I giggled. “This will get dirty so quickly.”

“I’ll try not to make a mess.”

“That’s not the kind of dirty I was talking about,” I teased as I popped some pickled ginger into my mouth. Then I picked up a piece of the nigiri I knew he liked. I dipped the top of the fish into the salty black liquid before bringing it to his lips. He took it from my grip, closing his eyes to savor it. 

“Not yet,” he promised after he finished chewing. “I’ll try to be a gentleman for a little while longer.”

I bit my lip for a moment before batting my eyelashes. “I hope only for a little while.”

“Don’t worry. My self-control will only last so long.” He leaned forward and lightly kissed my cheek. “What would you like next?”

We ate a good portion of the food before he put the rest away in the fridge. We shared some wine, and he opened a bottle of champagne to go with the gorgeous chocolate cake he had bought for the occasion.

“So, are you ready to open your presents?”

I laughed. “You mean this…” I spread my arms. “Isn’t it?”

“Hardly. I was just eager to sleep in our own bed in our own house,” he replied. “Actually, I’ve got a lot of gifts for you. I went a little overboard, but I was excited to celebrate my sweet darlin.” 

With both hands on my cheeks, he pulled me closer. I melted into him totally. “You know, I gotta tell you. This is not what I was expecting.”

“What were you expecting?” 

“Dinner out before going back to the hotel for spankings.”

He laughed at my bluntness. “Yeah, that was a consideration.”

“I seriously hope I get spankings,” I said with a bit of a pout. Jasper smirked in return. 

“Spankings, huh?” he teasingly asked. I nodded my head vigorously. “Is that all you want?”

“Preferably over your knee,” I continued to flirt, slowly running my hand along his thigh. 

Leaning in, he pecked my ear. “I’m trying to be romantic, Isabella.”

“And you’re doing very well,” I praised, making him chuckle. “But you don’t have to be for me,” I promised as my fingers tightened around his shirt.

“Well, I want to be able to tell our children about this moment,” he breathed, pressing another kiss to my temple. 

He was rather serious. “Oh, our kids, huh?” I questioned with a soft giggle. “I’m sure our future metaphorical children won’t care about our anniversary or us moving in together,” I teased lightly. 

“Probably not,” he agreed before dropping to his knee in front of me. “But they might ask how I proposed to their mother.” He pulled a green velvet box from his pocket. Jasper carefully popped it open. “Isabella Marie Swan, knowing you has been the greatest single honor of my life. You are my reason for breathing, and if you allow me this, I will spend the rest of my life earning that precious oxygen. I swear, I will worship you every single day, and I will treat you like the Goddess you are. Will you marry me? Please?” He said the last word quickly with a voice thick with emotions. 

The ring was huge. It was gold with a square-cut diamond with smaller ones dotting all the way around on the inside of the band. I couldn’t say anything, so I just held my hand out so he could put it on and promptly nodded my head. 

“Oh, my god,” I laughed, looking down at my finger after he did. My eyes got huge as I brought it up to look at it. “Wow. This is stunning.”

Jasper was still on his knee in front of me. “Oh, good. Thank Rosalie and Alice. They designed it. It’s repurposed from Mamaw’s wedding band, but I bought the stone in the middle,” he explained. “But if you hate it-”

“Shut up,” I laughed again and attacked his mouth, wrapping my arms around his neck. He chuckled against my lips, holding me tightly. 

“Say that you’ll marry me,” he spoke against my neck. “Say that you’ll be my wife. You haven’t said yes yet. I need to hear the words.”

“Yes. I’ll be your wife. I love you.” Placing both of my hands on his cheeks, I pecked at his lips repeatedly. “Isabella Hale. Wow.”

He pulled back in surprise. “I thought you’d keep your name. You know, for writing.”

“I can publish under any moniker, honey. I definitely want yours, though. I’m too proud to be yours to not want it,” I told him as I looked down at my ring. “You’re right. It is better than a collar.”

“Well… obviously, I wanted everyone to know that you were mine,” he quipped softly. 

“And they will able to from a mile away. I hope I don’t have to hide this from your mom for too long…”

“We’re still eloping,” he stated with a smirk. 

“And what if I want a big church wedding, huh?” I asked, tilting my head to the side. He just sighed and rolled his eyes. “You don’t know, I might have changed my mind! With the big-ass fluffy snow-beast dress and-” My fiancé laughed. “We’ll invite five hundred people even though I only know like ten.”

“Just give the guest list to my mother, and she’ll have a thousand people she could invite.”

My nose scrunched up automatically in disgust. “Ewww… Can you imagine having to do that in front of a thousand strangers?” I stuck out my tongue. “In a church. In a one hundred pound dress. I’d die there.”

Jasper nodded his head again. “Yeah, it’s actual torture. We’re definitely not, but we can talk about that later. Would you like me to feed you some cake, Goddess?” He asked flirtatiously as he kissed along my jaw. 

“No, I still totally want spankings.” He pulled back to look at me again, his eyebrow raised. “You don’t have to tell our imaginary kids that part. Daddy got down on one knee, and then he took mommy over it.”

His mouth moved with amusement as he tried to think of how he wanted to respond. “Down here, or are you ready to move upstairs?” He asked, nodding his head at the door. In answer, I picked up the chocolate cake and champagne before I started heading towards it. He quickly followed behind with the flutes.

We didn’t really sleep at all that night. I was glad someone else was doing all the heavy lifting. I knew not a single box would be unpacked after they arrived. Luckily, he had made the bedroom just as nice as the sunroom. He had his sister and my best friend’s help with that, too.

At ten in the morning, he finally woke me up with coffee and a kiss. “So, the movers will be at your place around one. Do you want to go over there to take a shower?” 

“Probably a good idea. I have chocolate in funny places.”

Chuckling, he wiggled his eyebrows at me playfully. There was definitely chocolate on his forehead still. I smudged it away with my thumb. 

I had brought no clothing, so I just put on my dress from the night before. He switched into his jeans and t-shirt. We were mismatched, but it didn’t matter. I smiled at him happily.

The sun was blinding bright when we got outside. Groaning, I covered my eyes as I twisted my head away from the light. Jasper was holding my other hand as we walked to the car. When we got to the bottom of the three stairs, he stopped. I turned to look at him in confusion. My fiancé looked… horrified and angry. His cheeks were red hot, his forehead wrinkled. Slowly, I followed his gaze. It took a moment for my new car to come into focus.  

“Hello Bella,” was etched into the bright red paint job, over and over again.  



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7/28/2020

Key. Chapter Thirty-five: Run Away

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Chapter Thirty-Five: Run Away


I flew back to Albany after an early morning interview that took place before dawn. I had Eric cancel the rest of them. This was more important. I needed to be there for this, at least for my sake. For reasons I couldn’t explain, I had to see it with my own eyes.

I took an Uber straight to the courthouse. I was still dressed and styled by Lauren. Jasper met me by the entrance to carry my luggage. It was starting in under fifteen minutes, so we had to hurry. 

Reporters and groupies swarmed us. He kept shouting ‘no comment’ at them, wrapping one of his arms around me protectively. They were all screaming questions, some of them not so nice. The people I had spoken to in the past twenty-four hours had a list of acceptable ones. Some of these made my skin crawl.

We barely got in there before the judge did. The gallery was packed, but Sam had saved us a spot. We slid into our places beside him as his door opened. Mrs. Tanner looked back at me and smiled. I grinned back hopefully.

Mrs. Stanley’s closing statements took three full days. I cried more than once. The pictures and some memories were like a knife to the heart. Mr. Jenks only spoke for a day. He kept saying the word ‘innocent’ until it lost all meaning. Then Judge Clearwater gave a grand speech to the jury about doing their duty to the best of their abilities. Everyone looked so tired. They had been away from their families for so long. They have been sequestered for almost four months. 

And then all we could do was wait. I should have been excited about the days off, but they were filled with anxiety. We were ready at any moment to leave. There was no way to relax. Since I knew it would be over soon, I packed and cleaned to distract myself. There wasn’t a lot to do.

The second day, I baked cookies and made the kitchen spotless from top to bottom when I finished. Dinner was in the crockpot, waiting for us when we were ready. It was good if we just had to go. Jasper was sitting on the couch with coffee, reading a file. There were several pictures spread out on the table beside him. He was a lot more relaxed than I was, in sleep pants and a long-sleeved t-shirt.

I sighed heavily and leaned against the counter when I couldn’t think of anything else to do. My brain was too fuzzy to even consider writing or editing. It was pointless.

“Don’t worry. He’s guilty, darlin. It’s just going to take a little while to vote on all those charges. It’ll probably be another day. Maybe more. There isn’t anything we can do now,” he stated after putting it down onto his lap.

“I know.”

“So, what do you want to do when we get back to Dallas to celebrate? Once we do, I’ll arrange for a month-long vacation,” he said as he sat up, changing the subject suddenly.

I smirked. “I’m definitely putting money towards Mexico now.”

He chuckled, nodding his head. “You know what? I’m okay with that. If you want to spoil me a bit, I’m fine with it. I think you can afford it now. Only a little, though.”

I giggled softly at his teasing. “Why don’t you just quit after this and we’ll run away to Europe for a while. I’ll pay for everything. We’ll go to Italy and France. Germany and Sweden, too. I’ll really spoil you. We can spend every day playing. Can you imagine doing a scene out in Paris? Or Tokyo?”

Jasper looked me over from head to toe as if I was the sexiest creature he had ever seen. I was just in shorts and a tank top. “God. Don’t tempt me.”

“You can be my bodyguard. The pay is good. Seriously. Quit if you want to,” I urged as I walked to him, gently touching his barefoot. “I can take care of everything now. You don’t even have to work if you don’t want to.”

He put his paperwork down, pushing his glasses onto the top of his head. “Darlin, are you trying to be my sugar daddy?”

I cackled in surprise at his unexpected joke. Quickly, I sucked in a deep breath to stop it. I nodded. “Yeah. That’s how good the dick is.”

Jasper snorted loudly, reaching for me. He yanked me on top of him, squeezing me to his chest. “Be still for a moment, little girl. It’s okay. I’ve got you.” Shifting, so I was more comfortable, I laid my head on his shoulder. “You’ve been moving for two days.” He pulled the blanket over the top of the sofa onto us. It was chilly since it was almost the beginning of December. “Let’s take a nap. We haven’t done that in ages.”

“I should probably-”

“Shh,” he hummed. With his hand on the small of my back, he softly kissed my forehead repeatedly until I finally relented. He was so sweet and gentle with me. It was hard not to give him exactly what he wanted. 

It was dark when I woke up. I was still on the couch, but I was alone. I rubbed my face roughly, trying to get some sleep out of my crusty eyes. Something had startled me awake, but I wasn’t sure what.

“No!” Jasper suddenly cried. I didn’t understand why, and it scared the hell out of me. His voice was furious. I popped up instantly, holding the blanket up to my chest. It was like I was ready for someone to attack. “No! You can’t be serious!”

“Honey, what is it?” I looked around for him in the darkness. I almost hoped it was just a nightmare. My blurry eyes finally found him standing beside the open bathroom door. The light was spilling out onto the bed. He leaned against the doorway with his phone up to his ear. 

“No, no, no… That- How?!” He demanded. Jasper was gripping his hair tightly, half bent over as if he were in pain.

I moved onto my knees to watch him, my heart pounding. His voice was so ominous, his eyes narrowed sharply. “Who the fuck thought that was a good idea?!” He shouted. “No! I won’t calm down! Fuck this! We’ve just wasted a year of our lives! No! No, I’m not alright.” He hung up on whoever he was talking to.

He roared with fury. I hurried to him, leaping off the couch. I was unsure of what was wrong, but in a second, I was in his arms again. “What? What happened?” I asked desperately, my face pushed into his chest.

Swallowing, he pressed his cheek into my hair. “Royce King was stabbed to death this morning.”

I pulled back in shock. “What?” I slowly blinked. “Are you… Are you serious?” He nodded, leaning against the door frame. He was shaking with his strong emotions, his hands balled up into tight fists. “Someone got a knife into the prison?”

“It was a makeshift shiv made of a sharpened spoon,” he said with almost no emotion.

Blinking, I stared at him for a second. “They stabbed him to death with a spoon?” I opened and closed my mouth several times. “What the hell? Who?”

Jasper sniffed. “Another prisoner.”

“He was in the general population?” I gasped. That couldn’t have been a good idea. No one in their right mind should have allowed that. Surely, his lawyers knew it was bad. They couldn’t have wanted that.

He rubbed his hand over his forehead, shaking his head. “Yeah. They were in line for food. The inmate said he had a bounty on his head. He was already serving life, so in his eyes, it was worth it. What’s another sentence? Nothing for him changes, but now he’ll be famous. He’ll be treated like a prince because he offed a famous kid killer.”

I fell back against the door frame opposite of him. “What will happen now?”

“Both sides met with the judge, and they’ve decided since the jury doesn’t know what’s going on that they will let them reach their verdict. It’ll help the families of the victims seek compensation if it’s guilty, for the civil trials.”

Pushing myself off the door jamb and against him, I held onto his shirt. “Then it wasn’t for nothing. It’s okay.”

His arms wrapped around me tightly. “I should have just-”

“No!” I shouted at him, shoving his chest. “No. He should have been punished. Never say that again!”

“We could have avoided this whole fucking year if I had.”

“You’re not a killer!” I almost yelled in his face.

“Yes, I am!”

The words hung in between us.

I shook my head. “This has been the best year of my life. It’s exactly what you promised me. I wouldn’t change anything. I loved every minute of being up here with you. It wasn’t perfect, but I don’t care. It was an adventure. I’ve learned so much, and I feel more motivated than ever before. And we’ve grown as people. Fuck Royce. I’m glad he’s dead. They’ll find him guilty, and the families will get reparations. It’s not about him anymore.”

He put both of his arms around my neck, holding me tightly to him. “Yeah, you’re right, darlin. I’m sorry. And I won’t say it again. It’s just-”

“I understand. It’s okay.”

It only took two more days for the jury to reach their verdict. Jasper said it wasn’t very long, but it felt like decades to me. The entire time, my sales were going through the roof, and I was being hounded for requests for interviews. I told Eric I couldn’t handle it right then and wouldn’t talk about it until I was ready. The brightest spot of that period was reaching one million books sold. But I couldn’t celebrate it.

Caroline called, crying and telling me how proud she was of me. She was beyond excited that we would return soon. I was, too. Jasper didn’t fuss at me when my packing and cleaning went into high gear after King’s murder. Instead, he helped.

Then they finally came back with their decision.

As I was preparing to go to court for the last time, I stared at my reflection in the mirror. My hair was straight, and my makeup nude. I was only in my towel and necklace. Jasper always got ready quicker. He was wearing one of his three-piece suits with the blue tie from Christmas. The holiday was fast approaching, and I needed to think of gifts to get him. I didn’t have another full novel to surprise him with, though I had a few dirty short stories.

“What are you thinking about?” He questioned as he came in to spray on his cologne. I could have drowned in the smell, I loved it so much.

“What to get you for Christmas.”

“I’m still trying to decide what to buy you for our anniversary. That’s first.” My eyes got wider. He tilted his head to the side and smirked. “Did you forget it was coming up?”

“I didn’t even really remember the date, to be honest. We’ve never talked about it. I know we started dating in early December.”

He ran his finger over the chain of my necklace. “It’s on December seventh.”

I frowned at myself. “I’m terrible for not knowing that. It’s so close. It’s only-” Jasper pressed his lips to mine to make me shut up with his hand under my chin.

“Well, now, you know. I plan to spoil you all day long, Goddess. I’ve already arranged for it off.”

Smiling, I leaned back into him. “You’re so good to me, sir. Damn. I have to think of something else to get you.”

“You’re gift enough,” he mumbled cheesily into my neck as he pecked around my ear. “You’re all I want.”

“Okay, but don’t you want me gift-wrapped, at least? Cute and innocent or maybe something super slutty like latex?” His eyes snapped up to the mirror. “Oo, latex. Gotcha.” I jiggled my breasts at him.

He chuckled softly. “I wouldn’t hate it, but we’re probably going out, and it’ll be a little cold for that.”

“That’s true.” His arms wrapped around me from behind, and we looked at our shared reflection. “Jasper, I promise to make the next year of your life the best one. I know you hated how this one went-”

“No, I despised how a single part of it went,” he interrupted. “I know it’ll be great, though. How could it not? We’re going home to a beautiful place that is all ours. We’ll get to spend the holidays with our friends and family. Plus, we’ll finally get that damn vacation I’ve needed for the last decade.”

I nodded. We could both use one.

The media surrounded the entire building. It was hard to get into the garage. Sam was waiting in his rental car for us in his regular spot. He got out as soon as he saw us, straightening his tie as he did. “Let’s go find this bastard guilty and then go get some drinks.”

“It’ll be ten in the morning,” Jasper retorted.

“So?” I questioned.

“Do the bars open that early?” He shrugged. He wasn’t saying no to the idea.

There was a howl of noise when we walked past the opening of the garage. There must have been a hundred people shoved around it. I felt sorry for the line of guards holding them back. The Albany police department would be happy when it was over.

Mrs. Tanner was waiting for us when we arrived. She came to hug me wordlessly. She smiled as she took in my distressed face, gently touching it. “It’s okay. God can judge him now.”

“If hell exists, he’s suffering all the horrors he inflicted on his victims for the rest of eternity.”

“Amen,” my man muttered under his breath. She grinned at him kindly before finding her seat.

Ms. Rachelle walked over to us with tears in her eyes. It looked as if she had been crying for days. Her cheeks were puffy and swollen. She forced a smile. I imagined she felt the same way Jasper did. She had put in a year of work into the case, to have it all washed away because other people weren’t very smart and didn’t do their jobs. Mrs. Stanley and Mr. Crowley only seemed annoyed.

“Hi. Um, I just want to… to thank you for coming in and-” she sighed, looking up tiredly. “You’ve been fantastic, and I’m sure that-” She sniffled, shaking her head. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t be this emotional.”

“It’s okay. It’s understandable to feel frustrated. I imagine you must feel as if someone has stolen something from you,” Jasper sympathetically replied.

She stared at him in surprise. “Exactly. Yes. You’re right, Dr. Hale. That is how I’m feeling.”

“This was your first case in Albany?” He asked. She nodded, her red hair bobbing around her shoulders. “You should be proud of what you accomplished. This was a beast to handle.”

She forced another smile. “It’s time,” someone whispered. The bailiff came out first. Nodding her head at us, Ms. Rachelle went back to the table.

We took our seats and waited for the jury to come out. It only took a few minutes. Everything was so somber. Nobody made a noise as they read the verdict.

Guilty on all counts, as if there was ever any doubt of that. There were no surprises. As soon as they finished, they took the people back out once more. I didn’t understand everything that was going on, but I knew I didn’t have to worry about it again.

I wished I could never think Royce King’s name again, but I knew if we would continue looking for Bree Tanner, it would always be on my mind. 

Once dismissed, her mother stood and smiled at us before straightening her shoulders. She walked proudly out of the room with at least a bit of justice. Even if it wasn’t perfect, and she didn’t know what happened to her daughter.

I didn’t know if Jasper and I would ever find out what happened to her, but I knew we would always try. And even if we couldn’t, I would put part of my money towards causes that protect women from men like him.

That night, I stood in the middle of a room I knew I would never visit again. I wouldn’t miss it like I had the first time we left. I was ready to move on. We had evolved too much for the space and needed our own. It was an important step in our future, and it was key to starting this next stage together, no matter what revelations it held.

Jasper put his arms around me from behind. In them, I knew I would be perfectly safe. Always. 


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7/24/2020

Key. Chapter Thirty-four: At the End of the Interview

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Chapter Thirty-four: At the End of the Interview


“Hello, Bella! Hi! Good morning!” Eric said cheerfully about two months later. He had finally convinced me to sit down for more interviews. The trial was still going on, and I used that as an excuse, especially since they had called Jasper back to the stand a few more times, but the book was now eight weeks at number one and almost a million copies sold. Major news organizations flooded me with requests.

They booked me to spend the whole day on television. To say I was nervous was an understatement. I kept trying to breathe, but it wasn’t working. My heart pounded against my breast relentlessly.

“How much coffee have you had this morning?” I questioned, clutching my jacket to me. I was shivering. It was mid-November, and New York was much colder than Texas. I was hoping I would get to have another snow day with Jasper like the one before by the end of the trial. But I didn’t think I would get that lucky, though.

“Two…” He trailed off before rocking on his heels. “Huge ones. They were buckets. I’m sorry.” He grinned at me apologetically. “I couldn’t sleep. I will be annoying.”

“Why couldn’t you?” I asked worriedly. He opened the vehicle door for me. It was a beautiful, sleek town car with a driver. Once again, Mr. Yorkie went all out with my visit. I admittedly enjoyed the attention. He was always so full of praise, and I felt better about myself after talking to him.

“I’m just so excited for you! This is the biggest thing I’ve ever dealt with. It’s so cool. I knew it would be a hit!” He reached over and squeezed my hand once he was in the car, too.

I laughed a little. “That’s sweet. I’m terrified.” 

He patted my knuckles comfortingly. “You’ll do great!” He promised. Suddenly, Mr. Yorkie lifted his finger, pulling out his phone with his other hand. “I know what will distract you from that. I’ve got something to show you.” His smile was huge.

Leaning over, I gazed at the screen as he pressed several buttons. Then he showed me a picture of something white with black letters and numbers on it. I couldn’t tell exactly what it was from the angle. I turned my head to the side to read it. “What’s that?” I asked, squinting my eyes.

“Your first royalty check. It came through yesterday, and they should post it to your account by the end of the week.” He twisted his phone so I could look at it better. It finally came into focus. 

It was just over two million dollars after taxes.

Swaying in my spot, my head was extremely dizzy from all the blood rushing to it. “Whoa.”

Eric put his hand on my shoulder. “Bella? Are you okay?” He leaned in some.

Swallowing, I tried to get the huge lump to go down. My nose stung. “It’s so much,” I whimpered eventually.

“Well, you’ve sold a lot of books,” he chuckled affectionately. “And it looks like you’ll be crossing a million by the end of the week! This is just the beginning. Oh, I still have to get you a gift!”

I knew it was coming and that it would be a ton of cash, but nothing prepared me for seeing it for the first time. My hand flew to my mouth as I tried to keep my tears in, but it was too strong. It overwhelmed me with happiness and pride. I knew I could take care of myself for the rest of my life, and Jasper, too. For so many years, I felt like I was pretending to be an author. For the first time, I genuinely felt like it.

There were so many things I could do. I would pay all of my credit cards and student loans off. And I could pay off the townhouse, so we would always have a place to live no matter what happened in our lives. I wasn’t sure how Jasper would feel about that, but it was a wonderful thought.

Eric wrapped his arm around me. “Are these happy tears?” I nodded my head vigorously because I couldn’t talk. “Aw, I know. I cried a little when I got my cut, too.” I laughed because I knew he got a lot being my agent, more than I did. I didn’t mind, though. I think he deserved it for everything he did to help me. He planned every part of the launch perfectly, and I couldn’t have asked for a better friend to encourage me.

My face was red and blotchy when we got to the hotel. It was probably puffy and swollen, too. I sniffled the entire way. Lauren, the same stylist from before, was waiting for us. She instantly looked angry when she saw me.

“What did you do to her?!” she snapped at Eric, putting her arm around me quickly.

“Oh, I’m-” I began. It was almost funny how fast she jumped to my defense even though she didn’t understand what was going on or why I was emotional. I wasn’t upset. That wasn’t the right word for it.

“Hey! I gave her money! She’s okay!” He interrupted, defending himself. He stopped when he realized it didn’t sound very good. “She’s crying because she got paid today! Jesus. You are always so mean to me.”

She ignored him. She leaned in and squeezed me tighter. “Let’s get you cleaned up, sweetheart. We’ll have a facial while we do your hair and nails,” she cooed as if I was an injured child. 

Eric shook his head. “Bella, do you want me to get you some coffee?”

“Yes, please,” I smiled. “Thank you.”

“Bring me one, too!” Lauren fussed at him. He sighed and nodded, going once he had the order. She was treating him like an assistant. It was funny how he just took it. Apparently, she was employed by the publisher, and they worked together all the time, so they knew each other well. “I’ve got some banging power suits for you today.”

“Please tell me they’re pants. It’s so cold.”

She nodded in understanding. “It’s definitely trousers with a turtleneck and blazer. You just get to pick out which one you like the best.”

“Thank goodness,” I mumbled, plunking down in the chair waiting for me. “I can’t be freezing and nervous as hell at the same time. I don’t have enough energy for that.”

“Don’t worry. We’ve got you.” She winked at me in the mirror before fluffing my locks. “Please never cut your hair. It’s so lovely. Ugh, I love working with pretty women,” she mumbled to herself. Lauren piled it on top of my head. “Let’s do lots of curls.”

Blushing, I shrugged. “Whatever you want to do. I trust you.”

For two hours, they pampered me before they shoved me back into the car. Security guards walked us through the back entrance of the first show I was filming for the day. It was one of the late-night programs. They took me to a green room to wait. They would interview me in front of an audience for the first time. After I finished, I would do another in the same building.

Rocking back and forth, I wrung my hands as I waited for my turn on the couch. Eric was leaning against the wall beside me, drinking from a bottle of water. He was only trying to keep his own busy.

My phone dinged in my purse. It was just before noon. I had a long day ahead of me. A message from Jasper was waiting for me. “I love you, Goddess. I wish I could be there to see you in person. Good luck. You’ve got this. Go show them how powerful you are.”

Biting my lip, I read the text repeatedly as I smiled to myself. I didn’t realize Eric was looking over my shoulder. “Aw. Yes! Listen to him! You are a powerful book writing goddess! There is nothing to fear. They’ll love you.”

I laughed because he didn’t really understand why he was calling me that, but I liked his attitude. We had talked about my erotic novels, and he had read a few, but they were more in the romance vein. His publisher didn’t do those, but he was considering looking for another company to do it under my Marie Bell name. If Anne Rice could do it, so could I.

The host walked in. He was a tall black man with perfect skin and a big smile. He was already covered in makeup, dressed up in his suit for the show. “Hi, Ms. Swan. Welcome! Thank you for coming. I’m really excited to have you. I love the book!”

“Wow! Thank you. I am, too. I’ve done nothing like this before.”

“Really?!” He beamed. “Oh, well, I promise I’ll take it easy on you.”

“Thanks,” I awkwardly giggled, looking down at my feet shyly.

“We’re about to get started. If you need anything, please let my wonderful staff know. And I’ll see you on stage in just a few minutes.”

Plastering a fake smile on my face, I nodded. “Great!”

“Do you think they’ll give me some tequila?” I questioned Eric once the man shut the door behind him. “Holy shit. Holy shit. Holy shit,” I chanted as my panic set in. It was amazing how I could handle a killer with ease, but this scared the hell out of me.

“I’ll buy you all the liquor you want tonight. I promise,” he said, trying to quell some of my freaking out. I wasn’t sure how well it was working.

About thirty minutes later, a woman with a headset knocked on the door. She was holding a clipboard. “Okay, Ms. Swan. We’re ready for you. Will you follow me?”

“Yes, ma’am,” I nodded. It felt as if I was gliding forward, my feet not even touching the ground. When I got to the spot where I was supposed to wait, they dusted my nose with more powder for a touch-up. My lipstick was still perfect.

They were on a commercial break as they reset for my interview. I watched as the director counted down and pointed at the host. He turned on like a light. “Our guest tonight is a New York Best-selling author who’s been at number one for eight weeks and isn’t slowing down. Vanity Fair called her debut novel, The Rabbit in the Snow, a sensational thriller from the first sentence to the last. Join me in welcoming Ms. Isabella Swan!”

People cheered as soon as I came out. I smiled at them, waving as I was told to do. He came around and pulled out my chair for me before sitting at the desk. “Welcome! Thank you for joining me!”

“Thank you for having me, Laurent!” I grinned, sitting up straight. I focused on him and not the audience of probably two hundred. We were just having a pleasant conversation. We were new friends. I could pretend. I was good at role-playing.

“So, congratulations first.” He gave the crowd a moment to clap for me. “The book is superb. I loved it.”

Shifting in my seat, I continued to smile. I wondered how many times I could repeat myself before I sounded like an idiot. “Oh, thank you!”

He tilted toward me. “Please tell me when the film is coming out. I am ready for it.”

I laughed more genuinely. “Well, I don’t know if there will be a movie. At least, no one has talked to me about buying the rights, yet.” Like every writer, I had imagined my stories on the big screen. I even joked with Eric about it. But I only ever considered it a fantasy. I realized as I sat across from him, it was a legitimate possibility.

“Oh, there will be one,” he said seriously as if he were reading my thoughts. “If someone doesn’t snatch it up, I will make it myself. I’ll kidnap Ryan Reynolds if I must.” The audience laughed and whooped in approval.

“Who would you have him play?” I questioned, leaning in.

“The doctor.”

“Oo, the bad guy! I can see that.” I nodded my head in agreement. “He seems all sweet and funny at first. Good choice. Who do you see as your lead?”

We chatted back and forth about the perfect imaginary world where the best actors on the planet were in the adaptation of my favorite book. The crowd did their part, laughing and clapping at the right times.

At the end of the interview, he got more serious. “So, I know you probably can’t say anything about the I-90 Tracker case.” I shook my head. “Can’t tell us anything?” He hopefully asked.

“No. It’s an ongoing thing, and it’s something the FBI will deal with for a very long time. I don’t want to add to the confusion and misinformation. It’s most likely a subject I won’t talk about for years after it’s done, and that is perfectly fine with me.”

Laurent nodded in understanding. “You’ve been at the trial every day, even after you were attacked. Are you frightened?”

I shook my head again. “Not in the least. He doesn’t have any power anymore. King can try to scare me and others, but it won’t hide the truth. I just hope justice is served, and we can give peace to those who have suffered at his hands.”

“I couldn’t say it better myself! Ms. Isabella Swan!” He called in a loud voice as he stood. The audience cheered vehemently, giving me a standing ovation. He helped me to my feet so I could take a bow.

My whole body felt like it was on fire.

Then it was onto the next interview. It went almost exactly the same. The conversations were a little different, but it was still about the book. The crowds all clapped for me. After, we went to eat before going to two more. Thankfully, these were in private with journalists. They were in front of big cameras and hot lights, though. People kept touching my face to add more makeup. It felt layered on by the end of the night.

It was about nine o’clock in the evening when we got finished with the final one. I was starving and tired. It was probably the hardest work I had ever done as an author, and I hadn’t written a damn thing all day besides my name. I signed so many autographs. Eric ordered us food once we were alone. I kicked off my shoes and flopped onto the couch with my phone after throwing off my blazer. My agent brought me a large glass of wine from the bar in the room before I could check it. I smiled in gratitude.

I had another message waiting for me from Jasper. He had been sending words of encouragement whenever he had a chance. It gave me something to look forward to. This one was different and made my heart speed up. “They’re starting closing statements tomorrow.”


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7/21/2020

Key. Chapter Thirty-three: In Prison

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Chapter Thirty-three: In Prison


“No! No! You can’t do this,” Jasper argued with me outside the bar in the middle of the afternoon. He had taken off his jacket, and his sleeves were rolled up. Pacing around, he kept shaking his head. “It’s insane, Bella. He won’t tell you anything. You can’t honestly think he will!”

“I don’t know that for sure. If he’s willing to-”

He put both of his hands onto my shoulders. “He’s going to fuck with your head. That’s it. That’s what he does. If he can’t control someone, he fucks with them then kills them.”

“I’m not stupid. I know that!” I declared with a little stomp. We had already been fighting for fifteen minutes, and we were going around in circles.

“Then what’s the point?” He demanded, holding his hands out in front of him. “Why allow him the satisfaction of giving him what he wants? Why let him have any power?”

Spinning around, I crossed my arms over my chest. “I just want to look him in the face and ask. I want to stare into his eyes and see for myself.” I couldn’t explain it more than that. The possibility was too tempting. Normally, I learned through reading alone. I rarely got to go out and ask the questions myself. If Jasper could do it, so could I. I was smart enough to go up against King.

“He won’t tell you anything,” he repeated, bending down to look into my eyes as he followed me. “Darlin, I can’t let you do this.”

I scoffed. “You can’t stop me.”

He grunted at my words, straightening his back. Pinching his nose, he shook his head. “You’re right. I can’t. But you- I-” he stuttered. “Let me protect you. Listen to me!” He concluded desperately. He shook his head again. 

“We’ll be surrounded by guards. He won’t be able to hurt me.”

“He did on Friday,” he swiftly countered. Jasper pushed the sleeve of my dress up my arm. “That fucker did that to you in a second. What could he do with thirty? Or a full minute? I can’t let you sit down with him, especially alone.”

I never said I had to do it solo.

“Then come with me. Punch him in the face if he tries anything. If you do, it’ll be super hot,” I responded, shrugging my shoulders. 

Jasper stopped, blinking at me for a second. Sighing, he looked up towards the baby blue cloudless sky. He just kept shaking his head like he needed the idea out of it. “It won’t be worth it. You won’t get whatever you think you will out of this. You have to know that.”

Once again, I shrugged. “I’ll only find out for certain if I talk to him.”

“I hate this so goddamn much,” he finally gave in. Pulling the keys from his pocket, he stomped toward the car door. “If he touches you again, I’ll smash his head against the table until he stops moving. I will kill him.”

“Seems fair,” I responded, walking past him. He pushed me against it angrily, his hand wrapped around my forearm. “I need to do this. He doesn’t scare me.”

“Yes, he does, and he should,” he growled.

“You’re scarier than him, and I have you to protect me. I don’t have to be afraid,” I promised as I peered in his fluid eyes. They were almost the same color as the sky in the light. There was so much passion in them. I ran my hands up his chest slowly. I liked it when he was protective of me. “Kiss me, please.”

He did so fearsomely, his whole body pressing me against the car door. His fingers twisted in my hair, holding me tightly in place. I held onto the lapels of his jacket as I moaned against his mouth, wanting more of his frustration.  

“Let’s get this over with,” he grunted when he finally pulled away from me.

The drive over to the courthouse was silent. King was being detained in the little jail there during the week before being transported back to the prison for the weekends. Jasper showed his badge the entire way, walking me down to the area where we would meet him. Everyone knew who he was. They had been talking about the trial and us for weeks.

His lawyer, Mr. Jenks, was waiting for us outside the room. Frowning, he was reading something on his phone. He put it away with a sigh. “I want you to know that I advised him against this,” he greeted us.

“I’m sure you did,” Jasper smirked. “Do you not have any control over your client?”

“No,” he mumbled before opening the door.

There were four guards in the large room already waiting for us. They were standing beside an exit on the other side, their arms crossed over their chests. There was only a table with two chairs around it. The space was concrete and steel gray, and the walls were off white. King smiled when he saw me come in after his attorney.

“Hello, Bella!” He brightly sang my name. “I knew you’d come!” He laughed, holding his manacled hands in the air. It was like I surprised him for lunch. “You said she wouldn’t, but once again, you’re wrong,” he fussed to Mr. Jenks as he wagged his fingers. It made his chains rattle. He paused when he saw Jasper. “No! Not you. Only her. I don’t want to talk to you.”

“Like hell,” my man began, but I put my hand on his.

“It’s okay,” I whispered.

“The only reason I agreed to this is me being here.”

I frowned, turning to look at him. “I know.”

“Don’t worry, doctor,” the monster grinned. “She’ll be perfectly fine.”

I glanced over my shoulder. “I know you’re smart enough to realize you’re not helping. If you’d like to talk to me, I’d suggest shutting the fuck up.” Royce sat up in his chair a little more, smiling. He waved his hand in front of him, allowing me to continue. “Wait by the door, okay? If he touches me, you’ll be less than twenty feet away. It’ll give me time to get my punch in before you finish him.” I breathed the last words so only he could hear them.

“Fine,” he sighed, marching to stand beside it with his arms crossed over his chest like one of the guards. It was probably a good thing he didn’t have his gun on him right then. Jasper’s anger was palpable even from yards away.

Coming to sit, I stared the villain in the eye. “That’s the best you‘ll get. So, what do you really want?”

He glared at Jasper for a long awkward minute before looking at me. Royce turned his snake-like grin on. “Well, I wish to start by truly apologizing. First, for my behavior on Friday and then for my council’s crude treatment of you today. I didn’t want them to do that, but they don’t listen to me,” he shouted at the lawyer. He was standing behind us, just watching. It was like he didn’t want to be next to him either. “Your marvelously kinky stories have nothing to do with this. And you’re right, they are grasping at straws.”

“Then why not plead guilty and end everyone’s suffering? Including yours.”

He chuckled. “Because this is so much more fun. I’ll spend the rest of my life in prison.” He shook his head, bored with the idea. “Let’s be honest here. They won’t give me the death penalty, not even if they want to. They’ll want to study my brain for a few decades, at least. And there will always be more skeletons in the closet,” he concluded with a snicker. “So, I got to entertain myself.”

“Like Bree’s? Will you ever tell us what you did with her remains?”

“Would you sign my book while you’re here?” He changed the subject, smiling at me as he shifted in his seat. “It really is so good. It’s almost inspiring.” He winked at me. “I can’t wait for the next one.”

I grinned back. I could play his game if that’s what he wanted. “I’ll sign it if you tell me what you did with Bree Tanner. I’ll send you a personalized copy of all my future books if you do,” I offered. “As you said, you’ll be in prison for the rest of your life. There is no reason to keep it to yourself.”

“I didn’t do anything to her.” He was lying. That much was obvious. His nose wrinkled when he delivered the line.

“Where’s her body, Royce?” I spoke in a flirtatious voice. Inclining forward, I put my elbows on the table. “Come on! Think about how much chaos you would cause if you told me right now. You’d love it. It would probably throw this whole thing into a tailspin.”

Laughing loudly again, he leaned forward. His shackles clanged against the tabletop, the metal-on-metal sound echoing throughout the hollow space. “Oh, I like the way you think. Hey, Doc! She’d be a great interrogator!” He shouted at Jasper from across the room. “People assume you get what you want by threatening them, but that’s not it at all. You give them what they crave most,” he continued to his lawyer almost conversationally.

“And what you crave is chaos,” I concluded.

“Obviously.” His smile was genuine. He liked that I understood this part of him.

“If you create it, you control it.”

His grin grew wider. “Exactly. You’re as smart as you are sexy. You’re not my usual type, but I bet you’re a lot of fun. Am I right, Dr. Hale?” I had no doubt he reacted with annoyance because it made King laugh. “Clearly, if you’re this protective of her. I’d want to hide away something so sweet, too.” He looked over me again as if I was delicious. “I always kept my favorites longer. I would have fun with you for months.”

“Did you murder Bree?” I questioned him directly, ignoring everything he just said.

It faded away from his face. He leaned in as far as he could and stared me straight in the eye. “No. I did not kill Bree Tanner.” He was silent for a long moment. He never flinched or wavered. Then his expression became slightly cruel. “But I’d love to hear her mother’s screams when they find her.” I got up without another word. He sat back, his eyes narrowing on me. “Where are you going?”

“I believe you,” I told him, walking toward Jasper. “So, we have nothing else to discuss. You’ve apologized. I don’t accept it for the record. And you have, surprisingly, been helpful answering questions I have with another case I am interested in.” I shrugged my shoulders at him, raising my hands up as I did. “We’re done.”

“You believe me?” he said in shock. He stood up from his chair, and the guards took a few steps forward. I didn’t even glance behind me. I just heard the scooting of the metal on concrete, his shackles shifting on the floor. “Look at me!” he roared at my back.

“Why do you think I’d give you what you want?” I replied as I reached for my man’s hand. I turned to look at the lawyer who was hurrying behind me. “I won’t be seeing your client again, so lose my number.”

He seemed shocked, his eyes wide. “Yes, ma’am.”

I could hear Royce screaming the entire walk down the hall. When the double doors to the main part of the courthouse closed, it muffled the sound.

Jasper and I said nothing to each other until we got back to the car. He sat with the keys in his hand, staring straight ahead at the gray concrete wall. 

“I don’t think he killed her,” I remarked softly.

Sighing, he shut his eyes tightly. “I suspect you’re right, actually.” I turned in my seat. “The files are sketchy, but things don’t line up with her disappearance. It doesn’t mean he didn’t have an accomplice.”

“Have you found any evidence of that?” He shook his head in answer. “What if it was a copycat or just a fluke?”

“It wasn’t a coincidence, no matter what. They targeted her because of what she went through. And she sure as fuck didn’t run away.”

I wrapped my arms around my torso as a chill ran down my spine. “They finished what he started.”

Putting his hands on the steering wheel, he squeezed the leather tightly. “Bella, darlin, I know you want to help that poor woman, but I’m not confident we’ll ever find out what happened to her. I hate that and trust me when I say I’ve lost sleep over it, but sometimes there isn’t a lot you can do. There just isn’t enough to go on.”

“I bet there was before King and his lawyers got to it,” I complained. “All of his stupid money.”

“You’re probably right, but you can’t put yourself into harm's way to get answers again.” He finally twisted in his seat to look at me. “It scared the hell out of me. Every second was torture.”

“I wasn’t.”

Jasper took my hand from my lap. His were so big they wrapped perfectly around mine. “Little girl, I know you’re brave, but for me. Please. My heart can’t take it.”

I pouted a bit. “You face men like him every day-”

“Yes,” he interrupted, “so beautiful pure souls like you don’t have to taint themselves with his presence.” Gingerly, he pushed my hair out of my eyes.

Leaning over, I pressed a kiss to his cheek. “I’m fine, and I got something out of it. I don’t know what to do with the information, but-” I paused, glancing at him hopefully. “Are you going to keep looking for her?”

He bumped his forehead against mine. “Of course.”

Smiling at his words, I rubbed my nose against his. “We’ll try to figure it out together.”

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7/17/2020

Key. Chapter Thirty-two: Getting to the Point

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Chapter Thirty-two: Getting to the Point


We filled the weekend with sex, good food, and rest. It was exactly what I needed. Jasper took care of me at every point. I couldn’t sleep Sunday night, though. I kept tossing and turning in bed. He was on his side, gently petting my hair.

When our alarm went off, he turned it off wordlessly. I sighed, sitting up slowly. Sweetly, he rubbed my back. Without being asked, he went into the kitchen and made some coffee and bacon.

I got up to help him, getting some eggs. Jasper sliced fresh tomato and avocado, putting it on our plates. He knew I liked mine with salt, so he sprinkled it across the top before licking his fingers.

He caught me smiling at him. “What?” He asked as he licked his thumb.

“The only thing that has kept me sane this week has been you.”

“It has been crazy,” he mumbled. “Hopefully, things calm down a little once the trial is over.” I nodded, stirring the scrambled eggs around in the pan. He came to stand behind me, his hands on my hips. “You know what I’m looking forward to the most when this is finished?”

“What?” I questioned lightly since he was trying to distract me. I wanted to be so bad.

“Our first night in our place. We’ll make love until we can’t keep our eyes open, and we’ll sleep in. When we wake up, we’ll make breakfast together in our kitchen. Just like now. And it’ll be perfect. But the best part is it’ll be the first of thousands more.”

I glanced over my shoulder at him. “That is the best part. I guess it is a good thing we got more bedrooms. We might need it if you want a kid or two. I wonder if they’d be blond like you,” I mused. I snorted as I turned off the heat. “We definitely need to make sure not to have any of these conversations while around anyone in your family.”

“My mother can probably sense it.” He lifted his chin and dramatically sniffed. “One of my offspring is talking about procreating.”

“She’s stockpiling onesies and keeping them with all the monogrammed napkins she’s bought for our wedding,” I joked. He laughed softly, shaking his head.

“Aw, she will be so disappointed,” he breathed before pressing his lips to my cheek.

There was so much press outside the courthouse. It was insane. They shouted at us from the garage entrance. Royce’s groupies were out in force, too, and they didn’t like me. I was grateful that they had to stay so far back. They had posted extra security because of it. Once again, Sam blocked me from view as he walked with us. He purposely waited until we arrived.

“Hey, gorgeous!” He winked at me. “So, will you sign my copy later?”

“I’d love to. Thanks for the balloons,” I replied bashfully. They were still floating around the apartment.

“Thirty dollars was worth it to see his annoyed mug.”

Jasper opened the courtroom doors. “I was pissed about being awake, not about them. I’d been irritated no matter what you bought. But the idea of you walking down the street with all of them like a clown is entertaining.”

I smirked at their playfulness. I realized this was what they did when they were anxious. It was why they made jokes when Jasper was injured all those months ago. They understood I was and were trying to make me feel better.

Mrs. Stanley was waiting for us. As soon as we walked in, she came directly towards us. Her expression was serious. “Good morning. How are you feeling? How’s your arm?”

“Fine,” I breathed. I pulled up the sleeve of my dress to reveal the bruises. They were dark purple and black, his fingerprints left on my skin. My palm was spotty, too. She hissed through her teeth. “It’s just a little sore. I’ve had worse.”

“I want you to know we will seek to press additional charges. That was beyond assault and witness intimidation at its worst.”

I squared my shoulders. “Well, it didn’t work, and I don’t know why he would try to rattle me, anyway. I don’t know anything interesting. I’m not that important in the grand scheme of things.”

“He seems to think so,” the lawyer said with a slight smirk.

“It’s because she’s getting so much attention,” Ms. Rachelle added as she came to stand beside her with an armful of folders. Her boss nodded in agreement. “Don’t worry. This will be quick, and you won’t have to come anymore if you don’t want to.” 

“No. I want to be here for Jasper. I’ll be fine,” I promised. “He doesn’t scare me.”

We sat down in the audience to wait for it to begin. Mrs. Tanner touched my shoulder as she walked by, smiling at me reassuringly before taking her regular spot.

When King emerged from the side door, he was in full shackles. They clanged noisily as he ambled forward, his feet shuffling from the weight. A guard held him. He plopped down in his chair.

“I’d like to call Ms. Isabella Swan to the stand,” Mrs. Stanley stated firmly when it was time.

Once again, I stood to walk to the witness stand. The bailiff came to open the gate for me. I didn’t look at Royce, keeping my chin up as I walked proudly. The guard brought a bible for me to lay my hand on. “Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, or so help you God?”

“Yes,” I breathed before swallowing. I sat down with my hands in my lap.

“Good morning, Ms. Swan. Thank you for being here today,” she started reassuringly. “So, I’d like to ask about your involvement in this case. I have to admit, this is new for me. How did you come to learn about it?”

For two hours, I answered all of her questions as honestly as I could. It was admittedly more boring than the jury was expecting. When you hear ‘writer’ and ‘murderer’ you think more ‘Murder She Wrote’ and less ‘nerd in underwear thinking up conspiracy theories.’

“Your witness,” she finished, pointing to the defense’s side.

The main one, Mr. Jenks, got up. He was a fat man with greasy black hair. “Ms. Swan,” he spoke in a booming voice. “Good morning. I guess congratulations are in order.” I said nothing in return. Jasper told me not to talk unless they gave me a question. “Did you purposefully plan the release of your novel to coincide with this masquerade of a trial to boost your book sales?”

I opened my mouth angrily, but both Mr. Crowley and Mrs. Stanley stood up to shout ‘objection’ at the same time.

“Your honor, what does this have to do with anything?” The lead prosecutor questioned in annoyance.

Judge Clearwater grumbled. “I agree. Is there a point, or are you continuing to harass a witness your client has already attacked?”

“It does, your honor,” he replied, steepling his fingers. “But we’ll move on. Ms. Swan, as stated before, you are a writer, correct?”

“Yes, sir.”

“And what sort of writer are you?”

“I’m a novelist,” I explained. Jasper said to keep everything as short as possible.

“What type of stories do you write, Ms. Swan?” He continued. I wasn’t sure where he was going with this, and I wasn’t sure I wanted to know either. I was convinced that everyone knew who I was at that point.

“Everything from adult romance to teen and children’s novels.”

He nodded his head gravely. “And would you say that some of your stories are violent or graphic in nature?”

“Yes,” I drawled. My eyes met Jasper’s in the audience. He didn’t look happy either.

“In what way?”

“I have a lot of work. There are many that have violent content. Murder, gore, horror elements. All common fictional tropes.”

He looked at his notes. “And some of these violent tales are sexual, aren’t they?”

“Objection!” The councilors called again. “This has nothing to do with the case.”

“I’m getting to the point,” he argued back.

The judge pointed the gavel at him. “You better get to it quickly because I am losing my patience already, Mr. Jenks.” He looked at me. “If you could, Ms. Swan.”

“I have written some stories with a more aggressive sexual element. I don’t know if I’d call it violent.”

He inclined his head to the side. “Several of your books involve elements of ‘BDSM’, a term that has been brought up many times during this trial. Particularly by your romantic partner, Dr. Hale. These novels contain women tied up and beaten for the sexual pleasure of a powerful male figure. You published these under the name Marie Bell. Is this correct?”

I blinked. “Yes.”

The jury was leaning in to hear what he would ask next. I couldn’t fathom where he was going. I could see Mrs. Stanley already gearing up to storm the bench.

“Ms. Swan, did you, with the help of your boyfriend, Dr. Jasper Hale, create this fable that has us here today?”

“What?” I almost laughingly said.

“Did you, with the aid of Special Agent Hale, make up this tale about my innocent client?”

“OBJECTION!” the prosecutors shouted again. It was all three of them this time.

He turned to look at the table, his back to me. “I think it’s more than reasonable to ask. Ms. Swan has been putting out novels with very similar-”

I laughed. I couldn’t help it. “Are you kidding me?” I shook my head. “Your client was caught red-handed torturing two young women who are watching this from their home where they’re still recovering. You dishonor them and their experiences for even suggesting it.”

“Ms. Swan-” He tried to talk over me, but I wouldn’t allow it.

“No. All I did was express that someone gave me a bad feeling, and Dr. Hale made the connection. In the process, he saved those girls and almost lost his life. Every day he will live with the pain and memories of that night. An evening witnessed by many people. How dare you even suggest such a thing! You’re trying to slut-shame me because you literally have nothing else to go on. They’re romance novels. Fantasy. Grow up. You are grasping at straws, and it’s pathetic,” I finished in an angry huff.

Mr. Jenks stared at me in surprise, his mouth hanging open. He must have thought I would be a pushover.

Judge Clearwater chuckled. “I agree. It is. I won’t allow you to badger the witness. Unless you have some proof of your theory, I suggest you drop this line of questioning right now.”

He looked at the judge then at me before glancing at the jury. They were not on his side. He was hoping to create doubt. All he did was make a fool of himself. He straightened his back. “I have no further questions.”

With my head held high, I walked to Jasper. Once again, I didn’t look at Royce. The bailiff opened the gates standing between him and me. When I sat down, my boyfriend instantly took my hand in his. He made his eyes wide.

“Your honor, I’d like to take a short recess to gather notes before we call our next witness,” Mrs. Stanley said with a bit of a sigh.

The judge looked at his watch. “Sounds like a good idea. We’ll take two hours for lunch. One o’clock?” He glanced at her to see if that was enough time. She nodded her head, glaring at the defense with a frown. He smacked his gavel.

“What was that?” Sam whispered from behind us. “What the hell was he thinking?”

“He was trying to create even a trace amount of doubt. Mrs. Stanley knew they would go after her like this, so they called her in the middle. So, she could bury them in facts,” Jasper muttered under his breath in return, watching as the room started to clear.

“Bella made one of the baddest criminal defense lawyers in all of New York her bitch,” Sam chuckled. “Do you know how hard it is to get a prick like him to tuck tail like that? Damn, you put him down like a dog.”

Shaking my head, I stood as I picked up my purse. “I couldn’t let him sully Jasper’s good name. I don’t care if he wants to talk shit about my dirty books, but I’ll be damned if he’ll try to make my man look bad for even a second. That was bullshit.” I took a deep breath and frowned as I looked at Jasper. “Can we go have some cheese fries? Can we skip the rest of the day?”

He nodded. “I don’t think it’ll be a problem if we take the day off, no. I’ll text Mrs. Stanley to let her know.” He stood and offered me his hand. “I’ll get you whatever you want, darlin.”

“I might do some day-drinking,” I warned him as I took it.

“I kind of figured. I might join you,” he mumbled teasingly.

There weren’t many people at the bar at noon on a Monday. I was grateful. It was quiet. I ordered a tall draft beer and a basket of fries with extra cheese as soon as we sat down.

Jasper rubbed my shoulder. “It’s over. We’ll eat. Then go home and take a nap.” I nodded my head, smiling at him weakly. “You were incredible up there.”

“I guess that cat is out of the bag, though.” I frowned as I took a sip of my drink. “Ugh, your mother will know about all my books. This is awful.”

My boyfriend shifted uncomfortably in his seat. “I warned her already.”

“What did you tell her?” I choked out.

He licked his lips as he looked down at the table. “That they will bring up information about our private lives to smear our reputation.”

“Did you word it like that?” He nodded. I bit my lip as I looked away. “I’m sure she didn’t let you just say that.”

“No,” he chuckled darkly. “I had to explain a little more than that. I didn’t have to say much. All I had to mention was ‘BDSM,’ and she laughed and said ‘Oh, I read Fifty Shades!’” He copied his mother’s tone, making me giggle. He flushed, shaking his head. “She told me it was nothing to be ashamed of. Then asked if she’d like those novels. I almost hung up on her.”

“Oh, no!” I gasped, covering my face with my hands. “That’s- no! Please! I don’t want my mother-in-law to read my porn!”

“Me either!” He agreed. “Especially when I know some of them were written for me,” he continued before leaning in for a kiss. I smirked against his mouth.

My phone rang in my purse, and I groaned loudly. I had gotten a new number to deal with everyone calling me. I had made it private and only gave it to a few people. It was a secured cell that Jasper picked out for me. He said they were harder to hack into. He just wanted to keep me safe from all the unwanted attention.

I didn’t recognize the number, but it was a New York State one. “Hello?”
​
“Hello, Ms. Swan. This is Gerald Jenks. I’m calling on behalf of my client, Mr. King,” the man started right away. I sat stunned, silent for a moment. “Hello?”

“Yes?” I finally choked out. “What do you want?”

“Mr. King would like to speak to you.”

The words hung in the air for a second. “Why?”

“He’d like to apologize.”

I laughed bitterly. “That’s not a very good excuse. It wouldn’t be sincere, and I wouldn’t accept it. He’d have to give me a better reason than that.”

“He also said he would like to help answer some questions you might have about another case you’re interested in.” 

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7/14/2020

Key. Chapter Thirty-one: At Barnes & Noble

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Chapter Thirty-one: At Barnes & Noble


I laid down for a nap after the whole ordeal. I didn’t wake until the next morning. Jasper didn’t bother me. I think he understood more than most what it was like to have something like that happen. It was like being manhandled by Michael Myers or Freddy Kruger.

The following day, he was sitting up beside me while drawing. My nose was close to his leg, just an inch away. I had a flashback to almost a year before. Pushing my face into it, I smiled. This time there was no hesitation or fear. I could touch him and be as affectionate as I wanted to be. My fingers curled around the fleece.
​
Chuckling, he rubbed the back of my head gently. “Hey there. Are you feeling okay?”

“Yeah. I was just… exhausted. I’m fine,” I promised as I gazed up at him. “The adrenaline rush was a little too much for me.”

“That’s understandable.”

When I rolled over onto my back, I realized there were dozens of balloons around the couch. Giggling softly, I tilted my head to the side to read all the messages. Most of them were birthday wishes, but some were ‘you are number one’ or something like that. They were all done with long ribbons that were curled to the floor.

“Wow.”

“Sam got you those. He delivered them a little while ago,” he told me quietly. “Happy birthday, darlin.”

“Thank you.” I lightly laughed. I could only assume he went to the dollar store down the street. He went overboard, but it was adorable. I liked it.

“And… congratulations,” Jasper drew out before shaking his head. “Number one for a debut novel is very impressive. But I’m not surprised. Especially with the reviews that it’s getting. The one from the LA Times I was reading this morning called it an ‘addicting masterpiece from beginning to end with more unexpected twists than a maze. You’ll want to read it a second time as soon as you finish the last word.’ Which is what I’ve been saying for years now!” He spoke so dryly it took a moment for his words to register. His smile slowly grew.

I brought my hand up to my mouth. “It’s number one? Seriously?”

Nodding, he bit his lip for a moment. “It was a close one, but you got about a thousand more. You knocked out someone who had been there for almost a month.”

Sitting up, I pushed my hair out of my eyes. “Who?” I asked in surprise. I hadn’t been looking on purpose. It scared me, to be honest. Plus, I didn’t want to give myself an ego or get my hopes up too high. Either was bad. I wasn’t better than anyone else on it, and I knew it was just luck sometimes.

Jasper picked at the blanket before his eyes met mine. “John Grisham. The third was Stephen King, and the fourth was James Patterson.”

We were both silent, letting the names hang in the air. He gingerly rubbed my back as I stared straight ahead. I couldn’t move. After a minute, he reached over and took something from the dresser. It was his copy he ordered. The torn-up packaging was up on the bedside table. He took a blue pen from the cookie tin and passed it to me.

“May I be the first to have your autograph, Goddess?”

Laughing, I hugged it to my chest. I had received my personal preview copy from the publisher, but it was so different since it was purchased. Taking the cap off, I placed the tip on my lips. “What should I write, sir?”

“Hm,” he hummed and pushed his face into my hair. “I don’t know. I think that’s up to you.” He kissed the back of my neck.

Smiling wickedly, I glanced at him. “I should put something dirty, so you can’t show it to anyone.”

He chuckled. “Well, I will have more than one copy, so go ahead.”

I nodded gravely, opening the book. “Dearest Daddy, I love your cock so-” I began in a childish voice. He didn’t allow me to finish, laughing as he tackled me onto the bed. He tried to pin me down, but I rolled over onto my stomach. Jasper straddled my thighs. “I love it when you put it in my-” I continued. He whacked me hard. “Oo, yes, Daddy.”

“It sounds so wrong when you say it like that.”

“Doesn’t Alice call you Daddy?”

“She’s not currently doing it, no,” he deadpanned. I flexed my thighs, pushing on him. “You could seriously kill a man with this ass,” he continued to mess with me.

“You know what I mean!” I laughed, doing it again. He put both hands on it and squeezed tightly.

“It’s just different. It wasn’t really my thing. I don’t hate it, but I’ve never thought of you as an age-player like her. You have some ‘little’ tendencies, but that comes with being a bratty switch. I admit I like some aspects of it. When you wear innocent clothing, like the long Johns or your crop top. I enjoy tucking you in and feeding you, but I think that’s because I enjoy taking care of you outside of domination. It’s not something I’ve done with others.”

I rolled over while he still straddled my thighs. Moving my hands over his hips, I batted my eyelashes seductively at him. “I enjoy taking care of you too, Daddy,” I said as breathily as possible.

Rolling his eyes, they tilted back up towards the ceiling before shaking his head. “I keep imagining a day when we have kids and-” He laughingly began, but I interrupted him.

“Do you want to have kids?” I asked him in surprise.

He looked at me in shock, his mouth opening up a little. Jasper blinked several times. I don’t think he realized what he was saying until I pointed it out. “I don’t know, to be honest. It’s something I’ve thought about. I wouldn’t… I wouldn’t hate it with you. If you want them. If you don’t, it’s fine. It’s not a big deal. It’s just when I see our future-”

Sitting up, I wrapped my hand around the back of his neck and pulled him down to me in a kiss. “Do you want children?” I repeated. I ran my nose across his, our forehead’s touching.

“Not today. Or nine months from now. But maybe in a few years? I probably don’t want to wait until I’m fifty, or I won’t see our grandchildren for sure,” he answered softly, almost like he was nervous about doing so.

I laughed. “Grandchildren. Wow. We’re not even married yet.”

Jasper flashed a quick smile. “One day,” he remarked, kissing my chin. “If you want to,” he added. “It’s not really up to me.”

“The idea is growing on me,” I admitted, pecking his lips lightly. “I like the idea of forever with you.”

“We’ll have that even if we don’t get a piece of paper, I promise. I just- I just wanna claim you as mine and show everyone that I’m yours, too. No. It’s more than that. I want to tie myself to you permanently. And I don’t see either of us wearing collars in our day-to-day lives,” he joked. His cheeks were slightly flushed. “Rings might be a better option.”

“I am yours. I’m wearing one already.” I touched my throat. My lock and key never came off. “It might not be spiky leather, but I know what it means to both of us.”

His fingers moved over the chain. “It doesn’t feel like enough.”

“You just want to get your mom off your back,” I jested to lighten the mood. He laughed softly before kissing the nape of my neck. His lips were touching the necklace. “She’ll be so mad at you when we elope someday.” I paused for a moment. “But not at me. She loves me.”

“She can be angry. I don’t give a damn. I love her, but I enjoy my sanity. As stunning as you would be walking down the aisle, it wouldn’t be worth it if we both become alcoholics before the event.” I shook with my giggles. “No. You can laugh. I saw what it did to my sister and Em.”

“She’ll still throw a big party.”

Shrugging, he pursed his lips. “I can’t stop her from doing that, but this is one thing I’d like to have control over. The moment I bind myself to you, it will be special and private. Ours and no one else’s. I won’t allow anyone to take that from us, even my mother.”

I pulled him to me to kiss, my fingers tangling with his beautiful honey-colored curls. They were so thick and soft. “You can be so romantic sometimes.”

He smirked at my words. “So, can I take you to breakfast, Goddess? After we eat, we can go to the bookstore.”

“Sounds perfect. What should we do tonight?” I questioned. The trial had made it hard to plan on anything. It was too emotionally draining.

Burying his face in my neck, he lightly suckled on my skin. “Whatever you like.”

“I don’t want to think for a while,” I admitted, tilting my chin to the side to give him better access.

“Do you want me to take care of everything?” I nodded my head, smiling a little. “I can do that. Would you like to do a scene, or do you just need to be spoiled?”

I bit my lip. “Can we do a scene, sir?”

His smile grew. “Of course. I have some things in mind I think you’ll enjoy. I’ll make a reservation for tonight, and we’ll eat somewhere nice first. Perhaps I’ll take you out dancing. Shall I dress you, too?”

“Yes, please.”

Jasper swallowed, licking his lips before meeting my eyes. “When would you like to start?”

I kissed him again. “Right now, sir.”

He smiled for just a moment before nodding. “Okay, but I want you to tell me what you need today when you need it. No matter what it is. I want to take care of you, Isabella.” Leaning forward and kissing him again, I let my lips linger there for a long moment. I nodded in answer. “I love you, darlin.”

“I love you, too, sir.”

“Now. You still need to sign my book and don’t put anything naughty in there, young lady. Or, I’ll beat your ass,” he stated sarcastically.

Challenge accepted.

Grinning wicked, I reached for the hardback that landed on the floor. “Dearest Daddy-” I started.

“Really?!” He laughed, flipping me over so I was on my stomach. He thwacked me playfully. I was only in his shirt and panties, the hit connecting with my thighs. I was giggling as I struggled against him. “Alright. If that’s what you want to do, you can call me that all day long. I’ll make you do it in public, too.” He pinned my arms above my head. “Make you wear pigtails and something cute.”

“Oo, that’ll backfire on you, Daddy,” I said cheerfully, wiggling my butt against him. “It sounds like too much fun.”

“You’re probably right. Am I going to have to take you over my knee?” He ground his erection against my ass. I could feel it through the thick fabric of his sleep pants. “Oh, wait… Don’t I have to give you birthday spankings, anyway?” Snickering, I pushed my face into the blanket. “Oh, I know what I want you to wear today.”

We took a shower together, and he had me blow dry my hair and put on light makeup. When I came out, my short black flared skirt was on the bed, a pair of knee socks beside them. He paired it with a simple white t-shirt. My panties were cute polka-dotted pink. There was no bra.

I stood there in just my underwear and socks. “Um, did you forget something?”

“Nope.” He grinned. “Don’t worry. You’ll be in a sweater, too. I don’t want you to get too chilly.”

“My tits are too big to be hanging out everywhere,” I commented, sliding on my skirt first. I buttoned it on my hip.

He was putting on his blue jeans and a black button-down. I liked the color change. It contrasted beautifully with his hair and skin. “They’re perfect just like that, and everyone should see how incredible they look. I would have you walk around like that if it were legal.”

“Are you sure you want everyone to see them?” I asked, running my hands over my nipples slowly.

“Yes, but no one else can touch them but me. They’ll get to view perfection, but they can’t have it. Only I can.”

Jasper was going to fluff my ego so much. It was lovely, and I adored it.

Pulling on my t-shirt, I slipped on the Mary-Janes he had picked out to go with them. He went into the bathroom, spritzing on his cologne before picking up a brush and a hairband.

“Sit on the bed,” he ordered.

When I did, he came behind me. Gently, he combed my hair so that it was straight down my back. I closed my eyes, enjoying this kind of attention. When satisfied with it, he braided it in a thick rope. He kissed my neck lightly before placing something around it. I brought my hand up to feel the simple black collar. It seemed nothing more than a slightly gothy choker.

He helped me slip on my sweater. It was something comfortable and baggy. It was cashmere and buttoned down the front. He did them for me, rubbing his knuckles over my nipples through my shirt before. Jasper made them rock hard.

We had breakfast at a sweet little brunch spot that was super busy. We sat close together. Under the table, his big hand rubbed my thigh just beneath my skirt. He kept whispering in my ear how beautiful I was, how enraptured he was by me, and all the dirty things he wanted to do to me once we were alone.

Next, we drove to Barnes & Noble. It was quiet, still early on a Saturday. We strolled together, hand in hand, to the front. As soon as we entered, my book was on a table for everyone to see. It had a sticker that said, “#1 NYT BEST-SELLER!” I laughed, overwhelmed with my emotions at seeing it for the first time.

“Oh, the best part,” he commented as he walked ahead of me to a section at the entrance. It had all the top ten of the week in a row. There were so many big-name authors. I giggled again, putting both hands over my mouth to hide my grin. “I told you, and it’s not even been a year.”

“Hi! Can I help you?” One of the employees, a middle-aged woman with hoop earrings and dreads, asked.

“No, thank you. We’re just looking.” He beamed at her innocently.

“If you’re interested in this one,” she pointed at my book, “I just started it on my break, and it’s fantastic! I’ve only gotten to chapter three, and I can’t wait to get back to it tonight.”

Jasper grinned impishly. “Oh, really? This one?” He picked it up. I smiled at him. I liked it when he was in a playful mood. “Actually, it’s one of my favorite books.”

“Oh, you’ve read it? Yeah, I heard she self-published first.” She nodded thoughtfully.

“Yeah. I’m probably her biggest fan. I was trying to get her to sign my copy this morning, but she was a real pain in the ass about it for some reason,” he joked, looking directly at me.

Snorting, I stuck my tongue out at him. “You told me I could put whatever I wanted!”

The woman looked at me in confusion, slowly smiling. “Wait, are you the author?” I nodded, grinning at her. “No shit! Can you sign my copy?”

I laughed awkwardly. “Sure.”

“Awesome! I got to run to the break room to get it. Why don’t you wait in the café and I’ll get you a drink?”

“Okay! Cool,” I answered. She hurried to go fetch it.

My boyfriend started towards the cashier with the book. He picked up one of the many pens they sold up at the front. I didn’t even bother to ask what he was doing. When he finished, he took my hand and walked with me to the coffee shop.

“You have to sign mine first,” he whispered in my ear. I had been too feisty earlier in the day.

I sat down and took the bag from him with a roll of my eyes. Biting my lip, I relaxed away so he couldn’t see what I was scribbling. He smirked.

Tapping it against my lips for a moment, I held his gaze before I started writing. “To my love, best friend, and future, I adore you with all of my soul. Finding you has been the greatest joy of my life. I can’t wait to spend seventy more birthdays with you. You inspire me in every way. I love you.

Your Isabella.”

Just as I finished, the woman came skidding over with her copy. There were two other employees with her. One of them definitely had their cell phone out to double-check to see if it was really me. His eyes got wider.

“So, I need you to know that this is my very first for real autograph. He doesn’t count,” I teased, winking at him. I passed Jasper back his book. “What should I write? Just sign my name?”

“That works!” She answered. “Do you mind doing theirs as well?”

“Of course not.”

As I signed, he opened his to see what message I wrote. I think he was expecting it to be dirty. Slowly he licked his lips, reading over the words more than once. When I finished, I met his eyes again.

“Oh, my god! This is dope! What can I get you and your husband to drink? On the house!” The woman swiftly stated, almost bouncing in place with her excitement. The other two employees went back to work.

“You know, I’d love a small mocha frappé.”

She pointed at him. My boyfriend put his hand up. “No, thanks.” When she left to get that, he leaned down to kiss me thoroughly on the mouth with his fingers on the back of my head. Jasper brought his lips up to my ear to whisper. “Thank you for signing my book, Goddess. I will cherish it always.”

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7/10/2020

Key. Chapter Thirty: Whirling Around

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Chapter Thirty: Whirling Around


There was no playtime after the trial. Jasper was too emotionally drained. He was right when he said it was brutal. He described situations in horrific detail. Sometimes his observations would pop up with his exquisite drawings of dreadful things in them. I could see the jury cringing away in pain and disgust. Sometimes, I did too. I took notes the entire time to distract myself. But every day he sat up there, I understood more and more why they wanted him in that seat. He was charming, kind, and witty. He even made the jury laugh with his smart answers to the defense.

I had to admit I found him sexy when he was like this. Jasper was being a brat to them. But often their questions were stupid. They also kept asking the same ones in different ways to trip him up. Since he was always honest, they failed, and it made them look terrible.

I continued to sit with Mrs. Tanner. It pissed Royce off so much. He glowered at us every day whenever he got a chance. It annoyed him I wasn’t scared of him. With her setting an example, I couldn’t be. He had no power over me. I really enjoyed chatting with her about normal things right behind his greasy head. From the weather to hobbies, we only had pleasant stuff to say.

Jasper testified for five full days. Sam was next after him. Most of the time, he acted like such a dumbass. But when he spoke passionately about the crimes, it was easy to recognize his intelligence. I could see why my boyfriend was such good friends with his former partner. He was like Emmett, deeper than he let on.

They didn’t have as many questions for him. His testimony was only two days with the cross-examination. They went through witnesses a lot quicker after him. Sometimes a couple in a day. There were a bunch of doctors being called to the stand in fields I had never heard of. They were full of information, but they were very boring.

The day before my birthday was a Friday. Thankfully, the court would call for a recess until Monday. Childishly, it was all I could think about. My perfectly pleasant day with my man that would include walking into a national chain bookstore and purchasing my top-ten best-selling novel. Eric was keeping me informed of my numbers and said he could only guess at the final rankings until it’s release. They were constantly changing.

We were sitting in court, just waiting for it to start. Mrs. Stanley walked over to me from the desk. “Alright, Ms. Swan. Today is probably the day. If not, I’m calling you up to the stand on Monday for sure.”

Her words lingered in the air. “Oh, okay,” I finally breathed, surprised. I knew it was coming, but I thought it would be later. There was still so much more to cover and many more witnesses to talk to. My part was small and towards the end.

King was watching the whole conversation as he smiled to himself. When she went back, his grin grew. She looked disgusted with him. When she sat down, she sharply tapped some papers.

I didn’t hear a thing the person on the stand was saying, and I couldn’t eat lunch. Jasper didn’t force me to, either. I couldn’t have anything in my stomach, just in case I threw up. That would have been the worst. Especially since I knew there were so many millions of people watching. I was being talked about on the news enough as it was. 

They wrapped up the cross-examination of a police officer who discovered four of the bodies on two separate occasions. He worked the route between Albany and Rochester. He literally just stumbled upon three of them on a traffic stop.

“I’d like to call Ms. Isabella Swan to the stand,” Mrs. Stanley began as she rose after glancing at her notes.

I left my purse beside Jasper as I stood. Straightening my back, I tried my best to channel Mrs. Tanner. A spine of steel. There was nothing he could do to me. Taking a deep breath, I took each step purposefully. I wouldn’t give King the satisfaction of even looking at him. He had no power. None. I had it all. I was a Goddess, and he was dirt under my heels.

Perhaps this was my mistake.

Just as I moved through the gate that separated the audience from the court, Royce grabbed my forearm and yanked me around so I would look at him. “I’ll fuck your corpse for weeks!” He gleefully shouted in my face. I could smell his minty breath stinging my nose.

There was a moment, only a split-second before anyone could have time to react. It was like everything stood still. It was eerily silent. His hold was tight, and it burned like acid. It was unacceptable. He didn’t know who he was dealing with. 

He did not have permission to touch me.

Whirling around, I struck him with my other hand. My palm connected with his jaw so hard it knocked him back in his chair. It almost tipped over, loosening his grip on me.

“Not before I eat popcorn at your execution!” I hissed in return.

Then chaos erupted. The whole encounter took five seconds. It felt like years.

Hundreds of arms seemed to move around me as the noise levels went insane. People were shouting, and someone was screaming, but it wasn’t me. The sounds of dozens of chairs scooting at once, followed by stomping, filled my ears. I couldn’t see anything because my face was pressed into Jasper’s chest, both of his strong hands pulling me away to safety. I wasn’t even sure how he moved that fast.

At least a half dozen cops pounced on Royce all at once. He was on the floor and cuffed in under a minute. I twisted to the side to see him glaring at us. Spit was coming from his mouth as he struggled against the restraints.

“GET HIM OUT OF HERE!” Judge Clearwater roared angrily over all the sound as he banged his gavel repeatedly. He was standing up behind his bench. “Dammit! Get your client under control!”

His attorneys were scrambling around the table, as were the prosecution, but for different reasons. So many people were shouting around us. I heard my name a thousand times. All I could do was look up at my protector. His face was red with his anger, and his eyes were massive with fear. Jasper’s arms tightened around me, his hand on the back of my head as he brought me closer. His heart was beating so hard I could feel it against my cheek.

“Ms. Swan! Are you okay?!” Mrs. Stanley rushed towards us once King was out of the room. My ears were ringing. “Can we get the paramedics in here!” She screeched at someone.

“No!” I insisted in return, shaking my head quickly. “I’m fine.”

She didn’t like this answer at all.

“Let me look at your arm,” Jasper mumbled as he pulled back. It was pinned between us. It was already starting to bruise. I could see his fingerprints on my forearm. Carefully, he ran his fingers over them. I brought my other hand up to stare at it because it ached. My palm was turning black. He grimaced. 

The judge was still barking orders over our heads. “I want the jury out of here right now! Councilors, in my chambers! Everyone else just… calm the hell down!” He pointed his gavel at us. “Ms. Swan…” He trailed off when he saw my face. Clearing his throat, he softened his tone. “Do you need medical attention?”

“No, sir,” I breathed. “I’m… sorry. I just reacted. I didn’t think. I shouldn’t have-”

“You have nothing to apologize for,” he interrupted. “That was entirely self-defense. Take a break, we will have an EMT clear you, just in case. Bailiff,” he said, nodding at the officer. He understood the order because he came over to me.

“There is a holding area over here we can take you to while we wait for that,” he informed me in a kind voice before putting his hand gently on my shoulder. “Follow me, sweetie.” We walked towards a door at the corner of the room, Jasper right behind me. The last I looked back, people were being herded out. “Do you need anything?” He asked when I sat down at the single table in the place. It only had two chairs.

“Could I have some water?” I weakly inquired. My mouth felt parched.

“Of course. I’ll be right back. They’ll be here in just a minute,” he assured before leaving us alone. Once again, there was silence. The clock ticked loudly.

I turned to look at Jasper. He was still standing beside the door. His expression was undefinable, his arms crossed over his chest. “Are you okay?”

He shook his head, his mouth an angry straight line. I held my hand out to him, and he hurried towards me. Once more, I was in his grasp while I continued to sit. I pushed my face into his vest, my makeup smearing on it. Automatically, my fingers curled around his pockets, so I could hold on.

“I regret every single goddamn day I didn’t kill that bastard when I had the chance,” he breathed as he wrapped his fingers around the back of my neck.

“No. Don’t say that. You’re better than him,” I countered as I peered up at him.

“And I still would have been after I put a bullet between his eyes.”

“No. This is better,” I insisted. “This means we’re getting to him. He’s losing, so he’s acting like a cornered animal. He needs to be properly punished. That would be too easy. It shouldn’t be quick. He doesn’t deserve that. Don’t worry. He can’t hurt me. You’ll always protect me. I’m fine.” I smiled at him.

The EMT opened the door, and the bailiff came in behind them with a bottle of water. The young woman sympathetically smirked at me. Jasper backed up, but I kept my other hand wrapped around his.

She made a face when she saw the bruises but agreed that nothing was broken. She covered it in a cold pack to help with the swelling. I held it onto my arm with my sore hand.

When we finished, they took us back out to sit in the audience again. When I did, Mrs. Tanner was holding my purse for me in her lap. “You alright, baby?” She asked when she passed it back to Jasper to hold.

“Yes, ma’am. Thank you for watching that for me. I forgot about it.”

“No problem,” she promised. “I’ll have to make you some cookies for that,” she whispered. Brokenly, I laughed. “I’ve always wanted to do that.” I couldn’t blame her for that in the least.

The judge walked back into the room, furious. His normally neat hair was frazzled with his fury. The lawyers were already at their tables, waiting. No one was happy. Royce was nowhere in sight. “How dare you!” He roared at the defense’s side. “You harassed me for a month so your client could come to court without restraints, and this is how you repay me? Well, guess what? His permission has been revoked, and the additional charges of witness intimidation and assault will be added to-”

“Your honor!” One of them stood up to argue with him. He was the lead, a fat man in an Italian suit named Mr. Jenks.

“Sit your ass down. I’m not done talking,” he shouted back. “What did I tell you the first day, huh? He has been skating on thin ice for-”

“Your honor-” he tried again.

He slammed his gavel down. “Interrupt me again, and I will find you in contempt of court! My word is final. Shackles and extra charges. Push me, and we’ll keep adding them. I’ve got all day and five years until retirement.” The man sat back down slowly after being scolded. The judge straightened his shoulders as he looked out over the gallery. “Right. We will adjourn for the weekend. We’ll resume at nine o’clock on Monday morning. Teach Mr. King some manners before then, or so help me God...”

Sam rushed up to us as soon as he was able. His eyes were wide, his mouth already shaped in an O. “Damn! You knocked the shit out of him!”

“Well, he shouldn’t have touched me,” I replied as confidently as I could. In my head, I kept repeating that I was a Goddess. It was the last thought I had before he grabbed me, and I needed to hold on to it. We continued to walk towards the cop’s exit. There was no way we could leave out the front through the media that was now swarming the place. I already had to change my number to a private one after the first day.

“Damn right! Will you share your popcorn with me at the execution?” He smirked, opening the door. He made a sweeping gesture with his arm.

“Hell no. Get your own,” I replied dryly. Sam grinned wickedly.

“Ms. Swan!” A group of reporters yelled at me from the entrance of the garage. They couldn’t come inside, but they could see us. They stationed uniformed officers around the opening. “Dr. Hale! Can we get-”

“No comment!” Our friend shouted at them, walking beside me to block us from view. Jasper was on the other side. “Vultures,” he mumbled. Once again, he glanced over at me. “Man, your next novel will be awesome, though!”

I snorted softly.

Quiet on the car ride home, Jasper and I held hands the entire time. His grip was so tight. I finally let go when we got back to the apartment. Like a zombie, I walked into the bathroom before violently throwing up my breakfast.


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7/7/2020

Key. Chapter Twenty-Nine: On the Stand

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Chapter Twenty-Nine: On the Stand


Jasper picked me up from the airport the following evening. It was almost nine. He was wearing his comfortable blue jeans and t-shirt, his hair messy as if he had been playing with it a lot. He had some free time after court. Mrs. Stanley had finally wrapped up her statement at the end of the afternoon before. The defense only took the day. They would call witnesses in the morning.

He was surprisingly relaxed despite this.

Bending me backward with a kiss, I giggled happily. “So, how many is it now?” He asked me against them instead of saying hello. He raised his eyebrow. I didn’t have to ask what he meant.

I flushed. “Um, twenty-five.”

Taking my hand, we walked to the parking lot. He was carrying all my stuff with the other. Quietly, Jasper hummed for a moment. “So, if my mental math is correct, I believe you made a shit ton of money this week.”

I laughed loudly. “I haven’t thought about the numbers to be honest. I’ve been too busy.”

“It’s just over thirty-seven thousand,” he casually replied.

“Wait. For real?” I stopped so abruptly it almost tripped him. My sneakers squeaked against the linoleum.  

“You really haven’t done the math, have you?” He chuckled. “I wonder when you’ll get your first royalties.”

“I don’t know,” I admitted before I let out a ragged breath. “So, this is happening. This is nuts.”

“What part of it?” He smirked, tugging me along again.

“All of it. I never thought this would be how my writing got out there. Not in a million years.”

He nodded, his mouth pushing to one side. “Uh, it isn’t how I imagined it either. But it doesn’t matter as long as it gets out there. The world needs to see your talent. It’s just opening a door.”

First, he put my stuff into the trunk before opening the car door for me. In my seat were a few wrapped presents. “What’s this?”

“Well, I wanted to get you something to commemorate the occasion. And admittedly, I couldn’t think of anything on my own. So, I asked Alice, and she gave me a sweet idea, but it didn’t feel like enough. And surprisingly, Sam was helpful today. The one he offered me is most useful with one of your birthday presents, so I decided to go ahead and give it to you.”

“That’s a lot of stuff,” I replied as I glanced up at him. He just shrugged. “You didn’t have to do that.”

“Isabella, shut up and open your gifts,” he ordered firmly but playfully.

I laughed then sighed. “Fine.”

Hefting the boxes onto my lap, I stared at them for a minute. They were a variety of shapes and sizes. He got in on the other side. Jasper gave me the second smallest to open first and looked at me expectantly. 

Inside the box was an old leather-bound book of love poems. “Aw!” I gushed, holding it to my chest. I pouted out my bottom lip a little. “This is so sweet. Thank you.”

“That was obviously not Sam’s idea.” He smiled at my reaction.

“Why didn’t this feel like enough? It’s lovely.”

“Um, darlin, you just-” he trailed off, then shook his head. Jasper laughed. “You know, I consider you about as close to perfect as a woman can get, but I think one of your few flaws is your inability to grasp the scope of some things you’re involved in.”

I snorted quietly, tracing my fingers over the book. “You know, before a couple of days ago, I might have argued with you, but I figure you’re right.”

“I know I am,” he continued to tease. He pulled out a long thin box. “Now, this one.”

“Okay,” I mumbled, rolling my eyes at his attitude. When I opened it, I expected there to be jewelry inside. Instead, it was… A pen, or maybe a computer stylus. I picked it up and looked at it curiously. I brought it up to my face since it was dark in the garage. “What is it?”

“An Apple pencil. It takes notes and everything. Actually, it’s super cool. I know you like the act of writing, but the environment might suffer for it if you keep doing like you did the other day.”

Smiling at his words, I ran my hand over the biggest unopened box. “You got me an iPad for my birthday?”

“Yeah. It’s a pro. Is that alright? I thought you’d like it for traveling.”

“That’s amazing. Thank you so much.” I leaned over and kissed him deeply, my fingers curling into his messy hair. “It’s perfect. You’re right. It is better for the environment.”

There was one more gift on the pile that I didn’t know what it was. “I want you to know, you definitely went overboard,” I informed him as I opened it up. This package was extremely light.

Jasper chuckled affectionately. “This is the one thing I picked out on my own. I’m very proud of it. It took me hours to come up with.”

I scoffed softly at his tone. The small box was holding clothespins. “Ooh!” I said automatically as my eyes got wide. He was trying so hard not to laugh at my reaction. I giggled gleefully. “I love these so much.”

“Really?” he asked in genuine surprise. “We’ve never played with them before.”

“We’ve always used the clamps,” I offered. It was difficult to take my gaze off of them. “Oh, I definitely want you to put every single one on me.”

“All thirty of them? Could you handle that?” He questioned as his voice got deeper with arousal. I don’t think he was expecting my reaction.

“I imagine you could put them all on my tits,” I replied as I flushed, biting my lip. “Seriously, the poems and these are enough to melt my panties off. You could have waited until my birthday to give me the others.”

His mouth pushed together with amusement as he closed his eyes and rubbed his temple for a minute. “Ugh. Come here,” he grumbled before he pulled me to him in a vicious kiss. I grinned contentedly against his lips. He laid his forehead against mine. “I wish, with all of my heart, we could do exactly that tonight. If it weren’t so damn late, and I didn’t have to take the stand tomorrow.” He kissed me again, just as roughly. “I did not think this through.”

“You knew I would love it!” I teased.

“All of them, though,” he sort of whimpered the words.

“You could totally get more, too. I’ve always wanted to see if I could handle an absurd number. Tie me up with my arms above my head like at the cabin that one morning. You could put them all over my breasts, thighs, and ass. Just everywhere. It would be so much fun,” I gushed.

I watched the man that was my Dom and my boyfriend switch places in his eyes. Jasper growled. “Isabella. I cannot be this horny. We need to go to bed when we get home.”

“I’m sorry, sir. I only wanted to let you know how much your very thoughtful gifts pleased me and how I’d love for you to use them on me,” I spoke as innocently as possible. “You’ve been so wonderful to me tonight. The last thing I want to do is make you upset.” I kissed his neck lightly, my breath blowing over his skin. “I adore them all.” My fingertips danced over his thigh.

“You devious little girl,” he mused as his fingers smoothed into my hair. “Tomorrow, you will regret that.”

I shook my head, smirking. “No, I won’t.”

Sighing, his eyes flicked back to the man who had serious work to do in the morning. “I did not think that through at all. I thought I was being funny,” he mumbled to himself as he started the car. I snickered cruelly. “I got them at the dollar store when I got wrapping paper. Why am I surprised?”

“Why are you?” I asked sarcastically. He shook his head, glancing over at me at a stop sign. “Feel free to take your frustration out on me tomorrow. All of it.”

“I am,” he answered back just as sardonically in a bright voice before chuckling warmly. “Oh, I am.”

The next morning, we woke up with the alarm. It provided us no opportunity to play before. I packed my new electronic toys into my bag to take with me. Jasper had already charged it for me and put it into a case and protective cover. He was quiet the entire time. I gave him a chance to gather his thoughts.

Once again, we sat in the same row. Mrs. Tanner was right behind King.

“Just to warn you, they’ll call me right away. It will last more than a day. I’m sorry you’ll be alone. If you want, you can go after lunch. I know-” I looked at him sharply. “You don’t have to, but it’ll get rough real quick, darlin.”

“I don’t care. I’ll be here for you the whole time.”

Sighing, he nodded his head. We sat silently while we waited. I couldn’t help but stare at the back of Royce’s skull. The entire time, I wished it would implode and save us all the trouble. I hated him so much.

“What are you thinking?” He whispered in my ear.

I took my tablet out and wrote him a note. “I’ve never wanted someone to drop dead randomly more.”

“Your expression is terrifying,” he replied in a breath. He playfully shuddered.

Then I noticed King slowly turn around. He smiled pleasantly at Bree’s mother. “Hello, Mrs. Tanner. It’s so lovely to see you again.”

My fingers wrapped around the pencil in anger. He had no right to talk to her. But she wasn’t a part of the trial, and there was nothing we could do to discourage him. He had been warned by the judge not to speak to the witnesses, though. The day before, he tried to communicate with someone else in the audience who was a family member.

“This weather is lovely, isn’t it?” He continued.

Smartly, she didn’t respond to him. She just stared blankly ahead. I looked at my boyfriend and made a decision. Quickly grabbing my bag, I walked over to her. “Excuse me, Mrs. Tanner?” I said as brightly as possible. “Would it be alright if I sat with you? They’re calling Jasper to the stand today, and it would be easier if I wasn’t alone.”

She smiled and picked up the purse beside her. “I would be honored, young lady. Please, join me.”

I did, glaring at the murderer. He knew exactly what I was doing and why. And he did not like it. For the first time, his politely uninterested facade slipped, and he scowled, whipping around in his chair.

Mrs. Tanner winked at me. I smiled in answer, reaching over to squeeze her hand. When I glanced over my shoulder, my man was looking at me proudly.

I wrote again. “Good luck. You’ve got this.” I lifted it to show him. He nodded.

Once the circus began, Mrs. Stanley stood from the table as she picked up a legal pad. “The prosecution would like to call its first witness. Dr. Jasper Hale.”

Rising, he walked confidently upfront. He had worn a dark gray tie and a three-piece suit meant to impress. He was so elegant in his stride. The bailiff brought a bible for him to be sworn in on. He put his right hand on it. “Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you, God?”

“Yes,” he declared firmly before taking his seat.

The curly-haired woman walked towards the witness box with the pad in her grip. “Good morning. Could you, for the record, state your full name?”

“Special Agent Doctor Jasper Whitlock Hale.”

“And what is your occupation?”

“I am an analyst for the FBI’s National Center for the Analysis of Violent Crime, or NCAVC. I am a specialist who deals with non-typical homicides. Not a one-off, jealous husband kills wife, type, for example. I study crime scenes, evidence, suspects, and victims to aid in investigations dealing with serial killers or especially brutal murders.”

“How did you become an analyst for the FBI?” She continued, glancing down at her notes. “What qualifications do you have?”

Jasper straightened his shoulders. “I have a bachelor’s and a master’s in psychology. A master’s and a doctorate in criminal justice, too. All of which I received from Texas A&M. I also have numerous certifications.”

Mrs. Stanley turned to the jury. “And you’re a veteran, as well?”

He nodded. “Yes, ma’am. I served my country proudly for eight years, and I was honorably discharged with the rank of Major.”

“You graduated at the top of your class at West Point, too,” she added. “The valedictorian.”

“Yes, ma’am. I was.”

“That’s very impressive, doctor. And you completed your education while you were in the Army, despite having three deployments to the Middle East?”

He shifted a little uncomfortably in his seat. Jasper understood what she was doing, but he was uneasy with this kind of attention. “Yes, ma’am.” 

“What was your role in this investigation?”

“I was the primary analyst and lead investigator under the supervision of Dr. Jerry Marcus.”

Once again, she turned to the box of people who were all very interested in what the handsome and well-educated hero had to say. I couldn’t blame them. It was fascinating. “Doctor, there are admittedly a bunch of questions I need to ask you.” She lifted her papers and showed the crowd. “And they’re important ones. But I’d like to start with the questions we’re most curious about. It’ll be better to get it out of the way. I’d like to ask you about the day you were shot.” He nodded his head in answer, his gaze downcast with the pain of the memory. I knew right then why Jasper was her key witness. They were eating all of it up already, and they just started. It was more interesting than a television drama. “First, let’s begin with the infamous tip. Who delivered it to you?”

He lifted his eyes until they met mine and smiled. “Ms. Isabella Swan.”

“And how do you know Ms. Swan?”

“She is my partner. Um, romantic partner.”

“So, your girlfriend.” He nodded and grinned. She looked over at me and did too. “Can you tell me the circumstances in which she presented you with this information and exactly what she told you.”

“It was New Year’s Day, and I had the day off. She came to visit me from our home in Texas to spend it together. We just had lunch, and we were relaxing. She was reading news articles about events she felt were similar to the MO of the one in this case. Ms. Swan was looking at Bree Tanner’s in particular. She mentioned Mr. King and his involvement in it. They suspected him of kidnapping, raping, and torturing Ms. Tanner, but they dismissed it. I made the connection that I had interviewed a suspect named Royce Matthews earlier in the investigation. After some checking, we ID’d him as King and realized he was living under a false name.”

She allowed him to talk, explaining everything. “So, you were chatting with your girlfriend on your day off about her true crime hobby?” She paraphrased with a smile.

“Yes, ma’am,” he chuckled. “Exactly.”

“Where is Ms. Swan today?”

Jasper lifted his hand and pointed to me. “She’s in the courtroom. She came to be supportive.”

“I see.” She studied me. “And do you know who Ms. Swan is sitting next to?”

My breathing picked up, my cheeks heating as they spoke about me. I tried to keep my face blank.

“Mrs. Candace Tanner. She’s Bree Tanner’s mother.”

Mrs. Stanley cocked her head to the side and smirked slyly for just a moment before it became more earnest. She patted the railing of the witness stand. “Dr. Hale, do you know where Bree Tanner is?”

“No, ma’am. She went missing almost six years ago.”

“Objection!” The defense shouted for the first time. A warm, smooth hand slipped into mine. We both looked ahead at him proudly. I squeezed her fingers. Mrs. Tanner was so much stronger than I was. I admired the hell out of her.

For just a moment, Royce glanced at us angrily. All I could do was smirk at him. If his head wouldn’t pop suddenly like a can of biscuits in a hot car in August in Texas, I wanted him to be served as much justice as possible for all of his crimes. 


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