A note from the author: I was on the fence about posting the last chapter by itself because of how long these installments would be and I didn't want it to be overwhelming or harder to read. Do you prefer longer or shorter chapters? Let me know!
"Your stalker is still out there," Dr. Shepard perched on the edge of her leather chair. Her eyes bore into Erin's, dissecting her emotional state from the outside in. "How are you handling that?" She asked in a posh, British accent.
"I'm fine." Erin paused, carefully considering how much to divulge to this doctor.
"Are you sleeping?" Dr. Shepard clipped, scratching a note on the notepad in front of her.
"Yes." Erin cleared her throat, "some."
"Any nightmares?" The doctor leaned forward resting her elbow on her knee. Her chin sat in her hand.
Erin swallowed, hard as she debated on her answer. She didn't even tell David about the dreams that left her in a cold sweat and her near-constant high-blood pressure. "Sometimes."
"What are you doing to feel safe?"
"I…. Lock my doors, keep a gun in the nightstand," Erin shrugged offhandedly. "Isn't that what everyone does?"
Dr. Shepard's tone was smooth and inviting. "What do you think about your boss calling off the investigation? He sent the BAU back into the field, after three weeks, you don't have a constant, government issued security presence anymore. Your team was supposed to have your back."
"They do," Erin nodded, stiffening in the high back chair. "Investigations- they stall and life moves on." She almost believed that, but she knew The Director closed the case because he didn't want to deal with the politics, the optics were horrible. Two teams in the BAU went rogue and conducted an unauthorized investigation...the unit was hanging by a thread. The Bureau didn't need any more bad press. If, by some act of God, something happened, he agreed to reopen the investigation. Until then, Erin waited for the bottom to fall out.
Dr. Shepard nodded; she'd heard that line a million times. "Make sure you're moving along with it."
The doctor's voice brought Erin out of her thoughts; her eyes snapped up. "I am," Erin nodded, her eyes bore holes into the wall behind the doctor's head. The ticking of the clock on the wall above her head, irked her nerves. The more the doctor talked, the louder the clock sounded in her ears.
"You went back to work," Dr. Shepard kept her tone neutral. "How's that going?"
"Fine," Erin matched the doctor's tone and checked her watch.
"Do you have somewhere to be?"
'Anywhere but here,' Erin kept the thought to herself. "We still have 20 minutes."
"Yet, you're refusing to use them." Dr. Shepard countered, shrewdly because pulling punches wouldn't help anyone. "If you don't want to talk to me, that's okay. But there's no point in coming if you're not going to take advantage of the appointment."
"David!" A voice rang out across the bookstore.
Dave held back a biting retort, his agent waved him over, pushing through the gaggle of middle-aged women crowded around the room. He wrinkled his nose in distaste when he saw the cardboard cutout of himself, across the store. He'd told Amanda not to use those. His agent earned her moniker, she didn't even have to work for it.
"I told you what I thought about the cardboard, Amanda," he grouched but his tone was ignored.
"Hello to you too, Hotshot." HBIC was in full tiger-mode. She clutched his bicep, curling her red, manicured nails around his sportscoat. "Come on-"
"I'm an hour early-" he protested, already annoyed by her possesive attitude.
"Which means," she clutched his arm in a vice grip, steering him towards the back of the bookstore, where a crowd was waiting. "You're already late."
He took a deep breath, the faster he got started hob-knobbing with the soccer moms and amateur armchair detectives, the sooner he could leave.
"I hope you brought your good pen," Amanda cut through his thoughts as he stepped up onto the dais and sat on the stool. He picked up the book on the table to his right and held it.
"How many?" He hissed in her ear, while she secured a microphone to his collar.
"Read one chapter and sign 85 autographs then you're out of here," she patted his shoulder and stepped off the stage and away from the crowd.
"Good morning, Cherry Hill!" He beamed and started working the crowd.
"I don't think I'm ready for this," Erin admitted.
"That's the point in going to therapy-" the doctor insisted. "Thinking you don't need therapy is usually an indicator that you do, in fact, need therapy- "
"I'm sorry," Erin rose from her seat. "I uh-" she swiped her sweaty palms against her jean-clad thighs. "I wasted your time."
Dr. Shepard opened her mouth to say that this was all part of the therapy process, but Erin was already heading for the door.
"I didn't think you would call until morning," Erin flipped the switch on her bedside lamp and pushed the blankets towards the bottom of the bed. She threw her legs over the edge of the bed and turned the dial on the window unit. She wouldn't be able to hear David, otherwise.
"Why not?" Dave leaned back against the hotel's bed frame, letting his feet hang off the edge of the queen-sized mattress. "Turn on your camera. I want to see your face."
"Hold on," she sat up straighter, yanking her tank top back into place before turning on the camera on her I-phone. "You should be out, schmoozing your fans and celebrating the good turnout with your agent-" She said, once his face showed on her screen.
"You should be here." He countered, with a knot between his eyebrows. "I don't want to celebrate anything with them."
"You're sweet when you're grumpy."
"How was your appointment?" He asked, abruptly changing the subject.
"Terrible," she grumbled, shaking her head. "I told Peter I wasn't ready for it-"
"Did you try?" He pressed, nobody liked sitting down with the Bureau's certified head-shrinker. It was one of the perks that came with the job, but in Erin's case; he thought she needed it. "Did you give it a fair shake?"
"Not really," she admitted. "I don't like this therapist-"
"Pete says she's great."
"He's wrong." She said flatly
"Then again," Dave said, thinking quickly. "He divorced you, so his opinions on anything are highly dubious. If it helps, your boobs are huge in that shirt-"
"Only you, David Rossi, would think that statement would help, at a time like this."
"Guilty as charged," Dave laughed.
"Was there a purpose for this call, or were you just hoping for a free peep show? Erin teased him, as she seductively pulled her top down on one shoulder.
"I plead the 5th." He teased her. "Although, in my defense, you're laughing, so I think I made my point."
"I'm laughing at you, not with you." She corrected, raising her eyebrows in false sternness.
"Eh." He shrugged unphased, "Tomato, tomato."
"Whatever," she grumbled.
"Did you get your A/C fixed?" He asked, the headboard behind her let him know that she was in her bedroom.
"I put in a request to the HOA, but haven't heard back."
"Great…" he frowned. "It's 90 degrees outside and- "
"And it's fine." She cut him off. "It wasn't that hot today and I'm only here long enough to sleep, anyway."
"Why won't you just go to my place?" He asked, for the hundredth time since the air conditioner finally wheezed its way out of commission. "Pack up the kid and go. It's not like I'm home to get in your way."
"Because, it's not necessary- "she insisted.
"Then why is your face so red, if it's so comfortable in your house?"
"It's not comfortable," she said, "but I don't want to sit in your house, like some 'little woman' who is waiting for her man to get home."
"Who says I want you to wait around for me?"
She got out of bed and turned the knob on the window unit to start the fan. "You didn't."
"Good. I'm glad we got that out of the way. Now, when I call you tomorrow, I expect to see the ugly beige color of my bedroom walls in the background."
She laughed quickly and said, "Rossi I don't pay the mortgage here, to live somewhere else," she said, settling back against the pillows.
"So," he shrugged. "Don't pay the mortgage."
"Wait a minute...Are you asking me what I think you're asking me?"
"I'm just…" he shrugged one shoulder offhandedly. "Letting you know all of your options." He couldn't see a good reason why they couldn't live together, his house had plenty of space and he lived on the kid's bus route.
"And what do you mean pack up the kid? In case you haven't realized… Carlo and I, we're still attached by the womb.
"Yeah, obviously! I was talking about your kid," he reminded her with one eyebrow raised in her direction. "I think the heat has gone to your head, Cara Mia."
Erin's retort died on her lips, a tentative knock on the bedroom door cut her off. "What is it?" With her phone in hand, she swung her legs off the bed and went to the door. "Hold on David." She yanked her top back in place and turned the knob. "What's the matter, Honey?"
Allison stood in the hallway, her t-shirt clinging to her sweaty frame. Tendrils of dark hair stuck to her neck. "My air stopped working."
"Go to my house," Dave said, staring at Erin's bedroom carpet.
"Shit-" she'd forgotten about him momentarily. "Sorry Dave," she stepped aside to let Allison in and lifted her phone to look at him.
"I'll be home Sunday night," he said. "We'll have HVAC at your place on Monday-"
"The HOA can take care of it-" she insisted, over the sudden loud humming of the window unit. Allison perched on the edge of the bed, closest to the window, trying to cool off.
"They'll reimburse you," he argued over the noise. "Pack up and call me when you get there. Help yourself to anything you want." He said, loud enough for the kid to hear. Then he hung up before Erin could argue with him.
"Are we going to go, Mom?" Allison asked, with a touch of teenage expectancy in her voice. It was one thing if they didn't have anywhere to go, but Dave was offering his house… he wasn't there...he had a dog. Which, in Allison's opinion, was kinda cool. She didn't care for animals, but she made an exception for Mudgie.
Erin glanced around her bedroom, the window unit made the heat manageable at night but by morning, the humidity would be unbearable. Erin tossed her phone on the bed, there was no reason to fight it. Dave's habit of sweeping in and saving the day was getting on her nerves. "Ugh. Go get your stuff,"
Twenty minutes later Erin stood outside her house, filling in her head security guard of her plan. She'd gotten used to explaining herself. "I'm not planning to stop anywhere, Richard," she said.
"Straight to Rossi's?" He clarified, in a deep, gravelly voice, standing outside his black Mercedes.
"Yes. As soon as Allison comes out." She'd locked the door and Allison knew how to set the alarm.
"Ready, Mom." Allison closed the front door and hitched her duffel bag over her shoulder and appeared at Erin's elbow. A deep-seated feeling of apprehension lingered in the heavy, balmy summer air and Allison couldn't shake the feeling that they were running away from something.
"Did you set the alarm?"
Allison nodded. "Can we go through a drive-thru and get ice cream?"
"Change of plans, Ma'am?" Richard asked, with a smile.
Erin patted Allison on the shoulder, a slight grin pulled on her lips. "I guess."
"Is that clock, right?" Allison asked, pulling on her seatbelt, before closing the passenger side door. The LED numbers on the radio showed 10:15 PM.
"It's right," Erin put the car in reverse then backed out of the driveway. "It's not as late as it seems," she said, following Richard's car out of the neighborhood. While Allison adjusted the air conditioner.
"Who gave the sun permission to work overtime?" Allison huffed, playing with the vents, she angled all of them towards the passenger seat. "It's not supposed to be so hot at night."
"Brat," Erin teased, flipping the vent closest to her. She reached up and adjusted the rearview mirror before turning onto the highway. A pair of golden arches shimmered a few feet down the road.
"I'm your brat," Allison beamed.
"That is true. How mad are you going to be if they won't serve us ice cream this late?" The ice cream machine was always broken at McDonalds.
"I won't be mad. I just want to cool off."
"Me too," Erin angled the vehicle into the parking lot. "We'll see what happens."
"They have slushies," Allison pointed out the sign in the window, while Erin circled into the drive-thru.
Erin watched her daughter from the corner of her eye. The red stoplight reflected in the windshield. "How's that cone?" She asked and glanced in the rearview mirror at the flashing headlights behind them.
"'S good," Allison said, licking the tower of vanilla ice cream. When Erin's phone rang through the car's Bluetooth system. Richard showed on the stereo screen. She tapped the screen to take the call. "What's going on?"
"Something's not quite right," Richard said with a cautious edge to his voice. "Do me a favor and turn left instead of right, take the back road." The car behind him sped up, riding his tail for the third time before slowing down again.
She flipped on her turn signal and got into the left lane. "What's going on?"
"There's a car coming up on the left, he's speeding. I need you to pull onto the side and let him pass." Just then, as Erin did as he said, the car in question zipped past him clipping off the side mirror. A squalling shriek and the sulphury scent of burnt rubber hung in the air as the car sped past Erin and Allison, barely missing them. "Richard?" Erin gasped, catching her breath.
"I'm alright," he grumbled. "I'm short one mirror, but I'm cool. You?"
"We're fine," she caught Allison's nod of agreement then put her car back in gear and pulled onto the road, in front of Richard.
"That was weird, Ma," Allison repeated.
"Everything looks fine now; I caught the license plate on my dash cam. I'll have someone look into it."
"Thank you," she didn't mention that she and Dave had access to FBI databases, they needed to go through proper channels.
"Go ahead and go to Rossi's. I'm right behind you."
Allison's eyes went wide as dinner plates as she licked her cone again. "That was really weird."
"Are you guys, okay? Why didn't you call me?" Dave asked, trying to get a read on the situation through face-time, was a pain in the ass. "Richard called." He explained in answer to the blank look on Erin's face.
"We're alright," Erin assured him, even though her hands were shaking. She sat on the sofa in Dave's living room while Allison took a shower upstairs. The only sound she heard was that of running water. "Allison didn't even stop eating her ice cream."
"Well, I'm glad the kid wasn't too traumatized," he said lowly. "I'll ask Penelope to look into it."
"It's probably nothing," Erin said, shaking her head. "Don't come home," she demanded when he opened his mouth to respond.
"Are you sure?" He asked hurriedly. "I can be on a plane tonight," he insisted.
"You're looking for reasons not to go on tour."
"Uh yeah," Dave said, raising an eyebrow as if it were obvious. "Because I hate it."
"Why?" Erin leaned over to play with Mudgie's velvety ears. "Tell me why you hate it."
Dave huffed, letting his shoulders drop. "It's trivial. There's only so much pandering I can do before my tolerance for B.S. runs out."
"I'm sorry," she could relate, to a point. She didn't have flocks of adoring fans around her, in fact, she had the exact opposite problem. Since coming back to work, half the time she was dismissed or outright ignored. "You'll be home in 2 days, then you'll be free to go back to catching killers and gaining inspiration for a new book."
"You're my inspiration," he smiled without thinking.
"That line's pretty good," she teased, sharing his grin. "Write it down and use it in your next story."
"You're too kind, Cara Mia," he said, still grinning. "Speaking of stories," he panned the camera over to the corner of the room, where a stack of books sat on a side table. "Carlo's book collection keeps growing."
"That's what happens when you spend all day in a bookstore," Erin said, "But I don't know how you had time to shop."
"I had them reserved," he boasted. His chest puffed out pridefully. "Cherry Hill has to be good for something."
"There's nothing wrong with Cherry Hill," she countered.
"You're not here," he argued, only halfway joking. "That's what's wrong with it."
"David," she sighed, "what can I do to make it up to you?"
"Hmm…" he stroked his chin, pretending to think it over. "A four-course meal and a bottle of scotch."
"Well, that's easy," she beamed. She appreciated his easy-going nature. "I have Regazzi's on speed-dial and the key to your liquor cabinet."
"Cheater," he mumbled.
"You never said I had to cook."
"Fair point, Cara." He relented, adjusting the pillow under his head.
"How's your room?" She asked, kicking her legs up onto the leather ottoman.
"Pretty standard," he rotated the camera to show her the pale textured walls and Formica surfaces.
She nodded in approval, "you've certainly had worse."
"There's a gym," he shrugged, "it's not that bad."
"You went to the gym?" She asked, truly surprised.
"I had a break in between signings," He groaned, exasperated. "It rained all day so I took a walk on the treadmill."
"Good." she nodded, "Now, don't you have to be up early? I don't want to keep you up-"
"You're not. They wait for me," he boasted. "I'll get there when I get there."
"Taking your time is one thing, blatantly flaunting your status isn't necessary," she admonished. "People spent a lot of money on their tickets-"
"I know, I know," he waved her off. "I won't keep the people waiting, but I'm getting tired of this dog and pony show." He wished they would just buy the books and leave him out of it.
"Goodnight, David," she insisted, "Your son's busy tap-dancing on my bladder-"
He chuckled at the mental image. "Sorry- sweet dreams, Cara Mia. Oh wait!" He held up one hand, to halt her from ending the call. "Tell Allie to pick out her room, I'd like to put Carlo in the one closest to us, but the other 6…" He nodded, smiling. "They're fair game."
"I'll tell her," She smiled back. Another wave of affection for him, prickled low in her belly. "Thank you, Dave,"
"Don't thank me," he insisted. "Get some sleep."
"You too…" She hung up the phone.
Once David was off the phone, Erin sat it beside her, then got up and went to the downstairs bathroom. When she finished, she raided his refrigerator. She shoved the orange juice and milk out of the way until she found what she was looking for; a bag of cheddar cheese cubes and apple slices.
Sitting down, she sat her plate on the coffee table and pulled her laptop from its case. She scrolled through travel websites, comparing what she found to her paper copy of David's tour itinerary. Cherry Hill was only an hour's flight…. no. It was too spur of the moment. She couldn't spring herself on him like that, on the other hand, he was practically begging her to come. She reached down into her laptop case; her hand curled around her leather wallet. Just then, Allison poked her head around the corner.
"Allie?" Erin beckoned her daughter over, Allison came in and perched on the edge of the ottoman, dressed in clean pajamas, her long hair was braided down her back.
"What's up, Mom?" She popped a cheese cube in her mouth, shifting to look at her mother.
Erin paused, suddenly unsure if this was a kid-friendly trip. "Do you want to go to New Jersey tomorrow?" She leaned forward and took several cheese cubes and 2 slices of the apple in her hand, before her kid could take over her snack.
"Why?" Allison asked, narrowing her eyes skeptically. "What's in New Jersey? Are you going there to drag Dave home by his ears?" Allison laughed at the idea; nobody could refuse her mom.
"Maybe…" Erin laughed, but it depended on what she found when she got there…." I think he's struggling…" Erin gave an honest answer. "He's not enjoying his book tour the way he normally does."
"So, you're going up there to cheer him up?" Allison was a quiet kid, but she usually picked up on more than most people realized.
"Mm hmm…" Erin nodded and propped her feet on the footstool.
Make it romantic," Allison swooned, batting her lashes theatrically. As she helped herself to another piece of cheese and an apple slice.
Erin laughed, when did her youngest get so grown up? "I'll call your dad," she reached for her phone, "we'll make a plan," She had to arrange for Peter to pick up Allison and decide what to do with her security team. It seemed like they were never going away, she needed a break, from being followed. "I'll be back Sunday."
"Sounds good," Allison was used to her parents' making plans for her. She stood up and stretched. More than ready for bed. "Goodnight, Mom." She draped her arms across her mother in an awkward hug and Erin patted her back. "Wait-" Allison pulled back. "Uh...where do I sleep?" She'd spent some time at Dave's house, but she and her siblings never stayed the night.
"Dave said to pick out your room."
"He did?" Allison's brows knotted, an odd mix of confused and surprised.
"He did," Erin got off the couch, prepared to show Allison her options. "He wants to put Carlo in the room closest to his, but the rest are empty."
"Cool!" Allison breathed out.
"Come on, I'll show you."
"Love is shown more in deeds than in words."
– Saint Ignatius