Chapter Eleven
Minya sighed contentedly, cuddling closer to the warmth of Donovan's bare body and tracing circles on his chest with her fingers. She decided that she had just had the best sex she had ever had. There wasn't an inch of skin on her body that hadn't been touched, caressed, kissed or nibbled.
"Okay?" he asked, gently running his hand up and down her arm causing her to shiver.
"Mmmm...better than okay," she said grinning. She took hold of his left hand that had just been tantalizing her skin. "How'd you do this?" She lightly drew her finger along the length of each line of stitches that he now kept uncovered.
"Uh..." He wasn't sure this was the time to talk about the death of his wife.
Minya propped herself up on her elbow to see his face more clearly. She placed a forefinger on his lips and traced them gently. "You don't have to tell me," she said, letting him off the hook, if that was what he wanted.
"No, it's not that I don't want to tell you how it happened, but it has to do with Theresa," he explained.
Minya nodded and kissed his lips softly. "If you're afraid I'll be jealous of your wife's memory while we lay here in this bed after making love, I won't be, Frank. You can tell me anything."
He nervously bit the inside of his cheek. "The team and I went out for drinks after a particularly rough case. We had just tracked down four escaped convicts." He paused to brush the hair back from her face. "I was sitting at the table, holding a glass of whiskey when one of your songs was played. The one called Never Forget You."
Minya nodded. It was a lovely, but poignant song.
He let out a deep breath and closed his eyes. "I was sitting in my car later that day, the day Theresa was killed. When I turned on the radio, that song was playing. It was like you plucked my heart out and put it on display for the world. My pain was physical then, put into words that drew out emotions I was not ready to deal with. Every time I heard that song, it reminded me of how Theresa was killed and how it was my fault that she died."
"Oh, Frank, how can you say that! I'm sure you did your best to save everyone inside that bank, no matter who was in there." She placed gentle kisses over each closed eyelid. "Please stop blaming yourself."
"It's not that easy. Back to how I hurt my hand," he said with a wry smile. "So, we're at this club and that song starts playing and all those horrible memories flooded back for me to relive. I had no idea I was clutching the glass so hard and it shattered in my hand." He shrugged. "That was how it happened."
"There's something you left out, isn't there?" she asked.
He nodded. "I couldn't stand to hear your voice. I came to despise you as much as your music. It never brought me anything but pain," he admitted.
"I'm sorry, Frank. Truly I am. And although you have lost your wife, you have the most precious little girl I have ever met. I envy you that."
He smiled and nodded. "She is a treasure."
"So is her daddy," Minya said nibbling his full lower lip.
"Oh? How's that?" he asked, mischievously.
"He's full of surprises, he is. Just when you think he's the biggest butthead in the world, he catches you off guard with the most disarming smile, or a kind word or tender touch. And, then there's this," she said, trailing her hand down his body and under the covers to grasp him fully in her hand.
"You want another go at it, diva?" he asked huskily.
"You up to it? Oh, never mind, I can feel that you are," she said, laughing as he rolled her underneath him and pressed her into the mattress with the weight of his body.
"And I can feel that you are, too," he murmured into her ear.
************
Sashka entered the apartment the next morning with bagels and coffee in hand. "Good morning, Cody," she said, setting the food on the kitchen counter.
"Yeah, 'morning," he said gruffly.
"You okay," she asked as she headed for Minya's bedroom.
"Didn't get much sleep. Hey...I wouldn't do that if I were you!" He yelled, stopping Sashka from opening the door even as her hand rested on the knob.
"Why not? I do it every day."
"Well, okay...but she's not alone," he warned.
"Oh." She knocked instead of opening the door. "Minya, we have a lot of work to do today, I hope you're doing okay after yesterday's explosion."
Minya opened the door a few minutes later; she was clad in a terrycloth bathrobe and her hair a tangled mess. She covered her mouth in an attempt to suppress a yawn. "Hey there," she said, running a hand through her tangles.
"Minya, we need to get to the Kodak theatre early to check out the sets and rehearse," Sashka said, eyeing Frank unpleasantly when he emerged from the room to stand behind Minya. He was wearing the slacks he had on the previous day, and his dark blue shirt hung unbuttoned, exposing his chest.
"I need to check on Sammie," he said, moving past the women.
"She's fine. I fed her some oatmeal and she's watching cartoons in her room," Cody said. He almost chuckled when he saw that Donovan just noticed him in the room. He looked a little embarrassed, but covered it quickly.
"Thanks, Cody."
"No problem, I knew you were...um...otherwise occupied." He grinned. Oh, how he was going to enjoy terrorizing his boss with this little juicy tidbit.
Minya turned and placed a hand on his chest. "Frank, we need to get ready to leave as quickly as possible. Rehearsals today and the ceremony is tomorrow night."
"Go on," he nodded toward the bedroom. "I'll get in touch with Jake and have him and the others meet us there. Cody, I need you to stay with Sammie."
"Sure, no problem."
"Thanks."
************
"Minya, Minya, Minya!" A voice called from the lobby of the theatre as she entered.
"Hello, Robert."
"And who are all these lovely people you have brought, hmmm? I was surprised when Sashka said you were still going to perform after Ricky backed out," he teased.
"This is Robert Trudeski, the producer of the awards show. Robert, these are my friends, Frank, Alex, Monica, you know Sashka...and this...this is Jake Shaw. He will be performing with me." Minya almost laughed at the shocked look on Robert's face.
"I...uh...Hello," he finally said. "Come on, girl. Everyone's waiting for you."
Minya rolled her eyes. "Yeah, right."
They entered the theatre from backstage. "Your set will be over there," Robert said pointing. It will all be set up tomorrow. Today we want to test the sound system."
"Okay, Robert," she replied. "Oh yeah, waiting on me, my foot. Where's Celine? Mariah? Christina?"
"They've been and gone, dear."
'Oh. Excuse me while I remove my foot from my mouth," she said, laughing. She saw Frank whisper something to Monica and they left the stage. More than likely they were scouting the theatre for possible problem areas.
"Come on, Jake. Let's get this over with," she said, walking across the stage to the area Robert pointed out. She pointed up at the stage lights. "Those things put off some massive heat, so don't worry about getting cold." She winked.
"Minya," a husky male voice whispered, as arms circled her waist from behind. "It's been a while, baby."
Minya turned within the circle of arms. "Keith!" He kissed her, long and hard before she had a chance to say any more.
"Ahem."
Minya pushed out of Keith's embrace and found that Frank and Monica had rejoined them. "Oh...ah..." she stammered. The icy glare she received from Donovan set her on edge. "Keith, this is Frank Donovan, Monica Davis, Jake Shaw and Alex Cross. Everyone, Keith Hamilton Cobb."
To be continued...