Chapter 21
The next day, the girls all sat around one of the outside tables at Tasty Delights.
"So, what did Mike say about that guy we saw with May?" Sierra asked.
"Well, apparently that guy's name is Dominic. He was on a date with May when we saw them together, but it seems May wasn't really interested in him all that much, so they haven't spoken in a while... allegedly." Vanessa answered. "That's all they got out of him."
"There's something that's been bothering me though." Paige started. "I thought this guy was only going after people who cheated. I may be upset with May after how she treated my kid, but May was single, she didn't cheat."
They all agreed with that. "Sooooo, what? Does that mean that you think someone else did this to May?" Melanie asked.
Paige rubbed her temples and sighed. "That's just it. I don't know."
"Okay," Sierra clasped her hands together, gaining her sister's attention in the process. "I think we need to start looking at this differently. We have to be missing something."
"Like what?" Vanessa shrugged.
"We should try to find something all the victims have in common. Learn about what they did throughout their day." Sierra looked up in time to see their waiter returning with their food. She quickly signaled for her sisters to quiet down.
The waiter placed their orders in front of them and just like last time, Vanessa was given an extra iced tea. Vanessa rolled her eyes. "Really?"
"I'm sorry, do you not want it?" the waiter asked, apologetically.
"No, I don't. I know exactly who gave this to me and I've already told him no." Vanessa explained, annoyed. "Tell him the answer is still no."
"Yes ma'am. Sorry about that." the waiter took the iced tea and hurried off.
"Aw, turning down your admirer?" Paige teased.
"I have to. It was cute at first, but now he's trying too hard. Did I tell you guys that he tried to ask me out.?"
"Wait, what?" Melanie asked, surprised.
"Yep, he did. And when I told him that I was married, he actually said. He doesn't have know."
"Are you serious?" Paige asked, all teasing cast aside.
"As a heart attack." Vanessa said with a roll of her eyes. "I thought that after I turned him down that time, he'd take a hint. Guess I was wrong."
"He's persistent, I'll give him that." Melanie said while lazily stirring her drink with her straw.
Sierra sat back in her seat, obviously deep in thought. "Yeah, really persistent."
"What are you thinking, Sierra?" Vanessa asked.
"I'm thinking we should pay more attention to your little admirer."
"You don't think he's the guy we're looking for, do you?" Paige asked.
"That's exactly what I'm thinking. Aside from May, we know this guy is only going after women that cheat, right?" Sierra took a bite of her sandwich.
"Right, but I never mentioned being unhappy or anything. So, if he is the guy we're looking for, why would he be targeting me?" Vanessa whispered.
"That I don't know. He may have heard you say something and misunderstood. Or he just heard you say you were married and is just trying to tempt you. Until then," Sierra looked up in time to see Trent stroll by, giving a lingering glance toward Vanessa before continuing to serve his table. "Trent is our top suspect." pulling out her phone she acted as if she was just looking through it, but she was really subtly taking pictures of Trent.
Vanessa hummed to herself before pulling out her own phone to send a message to Mike.
"What are you doing?" Paige asked.
"I have an idea. If we can somehow get a hold of the victims bank statements, or maybe get some security camera footage then that will really solidify our suspicions of Trent as the suspect. If we're looking for things the victims have in common then-"
"They might have all come here at one point." Melanie finished.
"Exactly. That's the idea anyway. So, I just told Mike to meet us at the lair later today."
"Good thinking, Nessa." Paige praised.
XXX
Dirk paced around the living room of their lair. Izzy was playing in her play pen. Skylar and Mya were on the floor, coloring in some coloring books while Erica watched over them. Erica's attention snapped up to her older brother when he angrily kicked over a stool. The sound of the wood stool hitting the hard, stone floor startled the kids. Izzy started crying. Dirk sighed and carefully picked the infant up out of the the play pen. "What is going on with you, Dirk?" Erica asked.
Dirk sighed again. "I don't know. I'm just frustrated, I guess." he gently tried soothing his daughter.
"Is this about May?" Erica questioned.
"...Yeah, I just... I guess I feel responsible for what happened."
"You are not responsible for this." Erica reassured. "She's the one that left."
"I know, but maybe if I just did better as a boyfriend..."
Erica, realizing that Dirk was going to put all the blame on himself, quickly stopped him. "Don't even think about saying that. That's not fair. You did all you could to be a good boyfriend. She's the one that needed to put in more effort. Now, I never wanted anything to happen to her, but this wasn't your fault."
As Izzy began to calm down, Dax sighed again. "I guess."
"Have you heard anything from Casey?"
"Yeah, she's out of surgery, but she's still not awake and I don't know if I should go and see her."
"If you want my opinion, I think you should. Who knows, maybe it'll be good for you." she placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. "Just a suggestion. You don't have to do anything you're not ready for."
Dirk placed his young daughter back in the play pen and gently rubbed her dark hair. Izzy looked up at her father and gave him a smile. "You're right, thanks."
XXX
Kylie began to make her way to Central Park, as soon as it was dark. She promised Amber that she would at least hear Logan out. Kylie was trying very hard to avoid Logan until she got her thoughts together, but eventually Amber got through to her.
"So why won't you talk to Logan?" Amber asked one day while sitting next to her in the lair.
"Shh, quiet!" Kylie whispered urgently, quickly turning up the TV. "No one knows about him yet. Except for Danielle, Xavier, and RJ remember."
"Fine whatever." Amber whispered with a roll of her eyes. "Why won't you talk to him?"
"Because... I just don't know if I should anymore."
"Why not?"
"It's just too good to be true. What RJ said might be right."
"What if he's wrong though? What if Logan actually wants to be with you?"
"Why do you think he does?"
"Because you make him happy. Since meeting you, he's the happiest he's ever been in months."
"But what if it's all just because of what I did?" Kylie asked.
"Then you both move on." Amber shrugged. "But you'll never know unless you try and talk to him."
Amber was right. She had to talk to him if she was going to find out if these feelings he had were real. So Kylie called him and he set up a meeting place. He was so excited when she accepted, that it made her feel a bit better.
She made it to the desired location in the park. There was an inlet overlooking the lake, the rest of the surrounding area was covered by plenty of foliage to keep her hidden.
"Hey, you made it." Logan stood up from his spot on the picnic blanket. He held out another yellow rose to her.
Kylie graciously took it and inhaled the scent. "Yeah, I did." Kylie looked down and noticed the set up. Logan had a picnic all set up, complete with candlelight. "What's going on?"
"I thought we could eat and talk. Since we can't go out to eat, I thought I'd make something for you."
Kylie knelt down and opened the basket. Inside sat three containers. She pulled out one of the containers and opened it up. She gasped and her eyes lit up when she saw what was inside. "Baked mac and cheese. That's my favorite." she pulled out a fork and began to dig in, completely forgetting about the other two containers in the basket.
Logan smiled as she happily ate her food and sat down next her. "And..." he pulled out another container and opened it. Inside were skewers with chicken on them.
"Is that yakitori?" She asked.
"Yeah, my attempt at making them anyway."
The last container held what looked to be... "Rice balls?"
Logan looked hurt at that. "No, they're sushi rolls... or at least they're supposed to be." Kylie looked at them again and tried her best to stifle her laughter. "Don't laugh." he nudged her playfully with his elbow and picked one up to examine it. "I guess they could use some work." he took a bite. "I still think they taste good though."
Kylie put the mac and cheese down and took one of the sushi balls. She took a cautious bite, immediately tasting the cooked crab. "California rolls... er balls?"
"Yes, I wasn't gonna try to make anything with raw ingredients and make you sick." he said, looking a little down. "Didn't want to risk that."
"Well, for what it's worth. I think you did a good job." she reassured.
That small compliment raised his spirit even the smallest bit. "Yeah?"
She nodded and picked up one of the skewers. "So how did you know these were my favorite foods?" she asked, taking a bite out of the skewered chicken.
"Amber helped me with that."
"Of course." Kylie chuckled. "And you made all of this by yourself?"
"Yeah, with some help from online recipes."
"Well, you did pretty good." Kylie complimented.
"I'll take pretty good." he subtly moved closer to her. She noticed and didn't move away. "Is there anyway I can make it pretty great?" he asked, only half joking.
"Yeah, take lessons from my uncle Mikey. I've been spoiled by his cooking." Kylie joked back.
"I'd like that." he responded.
Kylie finished off the chicken and placed the skewer in the basket. She kept her gaze focused out on the lake so she wouldn't have to look at him. "I bet your parents found this pretty odd for you. Making food for a girl they've never met."
"My mom has definitely been asking questions lately. She always wants to know where I'm going and who I'm seeing and ever since Toni passed and I got mugged by the Purple Dragons, her worry only got worse. I guess she's worried I might be hanging out with some... questionable people." he looked out at the lake. "Little does she know that I have nothing to worry about. Not when I have my guardian angel looking out for me."
Kylie felt heat rise in her cheeks. She rolled her eyes in an attempt to keep him from noticing her embarrassment. "Why do you keep calling me that? I'm no angel."
"You are to me."
Kylie took a deep breath to calm her rapidly beating heart. "And what about your dad?"
"Well, I don't know, to be honest. He's been acting pretty weird lately." Logan shrugged.
"Weird how?" Kylie looked to him curiously.
"Like he's really throwing himself into his work. I've never seen him get this serious about what he was doing. He's always been passionate about his work, but... I don't know. It seems different this time."
"What does he do again?"
"He's a journalist. Always trying to get the latest scoop."
"Maybe he found something really interesting to write about."
"Maybe" Logan shrugged. "He usually keeps me out of it, so I guess I shouldn't worry too much about it."
Kylie grabbed another chicken skewer. For a while there was a comfortable silence that fell between them. She didn't want to break the that, but she had to figure out what she originally came here for. "So, what did you want to talk about?"
Logan glanced at her longingly before speaking, taking in her features. "I guess, I just want to know what happened. Why did you suddenly stop talking to me? I thought things were going well between us. I thought you were starting to trust me? Even if it was just a little bit."
Kylie sighed. "It's... nothing."
"Come on, you're not fooling me that easily. Tell me what's wrong, so I can fix it... so I can change."
"You don't have to change. You're great the way you are." Kylie complimented.
Logan grinned. "Thanks, but then why are you avoiding me?" he asked.
"Because, I'm worried." Kylie said, finally voicing her concerns.
"Worried? About what?"
"That you don't actually care about me." she said with a sigh.
Logan raised a dark eyebrow. "Why do you think that?"
"This all started after I saved you." she started. "So it's possible that you care about what I did for you and not me. I'm worried that if I start catching feelings, then you won't want to see me anymore because the thrill would have worn off." she said as she brought her knees up to her shelled chest. "And I'll admit, I like you. I would be lying to myself if I said otherwise, but I don't want to get hurt."
Logan glanced at her, soaking in all of her words. Is that what's been going on? She's trying to protect herself. I guess it's understandable to think that way, but that's not how I feel. He scooched a little closer to her and took hold of her hand, relieved when she didn't pull away. "I understand, but you have to know, that's not the case." he paused. "Being around you, talking to you..."
"Was a helpful distraction from your loss?" Kylie blurted out.
"No, not at all. I really do care about you. Who knows, maybe at first, that's what it was. I was upset. I cared for Toni and when she died, I felt empty. I wanted to find something or... someone to make me feel whole again and whether you meant to or not, you did that. You helped me more than you can possibly imagine and I am grateful for that." Kylie didn't respond to any of that, she didn't know how to respond. She only continued to stare out over the water glistening in the moonlight. "The more we talked, the more these feelings became more genuine."
"How can you be sure?"
"I just am." he said.
"I'd rather not get hurt over this."
"Well then, you're in luck because hurting people is not something I do." he said in a teasing tone. He held her hand a little tighter as a way of reassuring her.
Kylie thought about this. "I don't know." she stood up. "I need to think about this."
"Okay, that's totally fine, take your time." he stood up, placing the containers back in the basket and handing it off to her. "Here, take this."
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah, I made it all for you anyway. Enjoy."
"Thanks, that's really sweet of you." she gave him a genuine smile, looking him in the eyes. She only managed to look away when she heard rustling in the bushes near them. Her free hand clasped around her manriki chain on her belt. On instinct, she placed herself between the possible threat and Logan.
"Calm down sis, it's just me." RJ, knowing he was busted, came out of his hiding place.
"What are you doing here?" Kylie asked with a roll of her eyes.
"Don't worry about it." RJ said, amber gaze never leaving the brown haired teen. "You Logan?" he asked him.
"Um... yeah." Logan said, nervously. He could feel the tension. The older twin's gaze made his hair on the back of his neck stand up. "You must be RJ." putting on a brave face, he stuck out his hand for RJ to shake.
RJ, in response, looked down at the offered hand then back up at Logan's face, completely ignoring it.
Realizing that his attempt at being nice was not going to get him anywhere, he dropped his hand back to his side. "Nice to meet you." he nervously scratched the back of his head.
Kylie stepped in between the two guys, lightly pushing her brother back. "Okay RJ, we were just leaving." Kylie turned to Logan. "He was just leaving." she quickly gave him a warning look and he understood.
"Um, right. I was going home. I'll talk to you later, Kylie?'
"Yeah, sure."
Logan looked to RJ and simply nodded before grabbing the candles, blowing them out and quickly ducking away with them and the blanket. He hightailed it as quickly as he could out of the park and away from the intense glare.
The twins watched him go and as soon as he was out of range, Kylie swiftly punched her brother in the arm. "Ow!" he exclaimed. "What was that for?"
"Why did you follow me?"
"Listen, as your older brother, I had to make sure the guy was legit into you."
"What happened to letting me make decisions on my own?"
"I am, but I'm also making my own decisions about him."
Kylie gave a frustrated sigh and turned to look back out at the water. "Well?"
"Well what?" he asked.
"What did you think of him?" Kylie asked, hoping for a good answer.
RJ crossed his arms. "I think that..." he looked over to his sister and saw hope fill her eyes. She was looking for approval from her big brother. He sighed. "he really does like you."
"You think so?"
"Yeah, I do."
"Thanks, I know that was hard for you to say." she smiled.
"Shut up." he rolled his eyes. RJ suddenly got a whiff of the homemade food in the basket. "Was his cooking any good?"
Kylie looked down at the picnic basket in her hand. "Yeah, it was pretty good.
"Pretty good?" he reached down and snatched the picnic basket from his sister's hand.
"Hey!"
"I'll just have to see for myself." RJ quickly sped off out of the park.
"Get back here!" Kylie gave chase.
XXX
Enjoy!
