Author's Note

Thank you a million times over for the letters and reviews! I am feeling so much better and my grandmother continues to defy what the doctors say. She can walk on her own now! I love all the good hearted people that I've met because of my writing. I hope to continue to keep everyone entertained with my stories. Okay…so on to the update. This chapter is a tad on the shorter side, and I apologize for that, but hopefully the content far more outshines the lack of length. It's all about high tension at this point. I am anxiously waiting to read your comments and feedback.

M-

Chapter 8: The Truth Shall Set You Free

"What the Hell is the matter with you Abby!"

King spun around, nearly knocking her over as she briskly walked to stand closer to him. She held a finger to her lips to silence him. They remained there a moment and then King walked across the room and to his chest of drawers. He continued to strip down to his boxers even with Abby in the room, and then brought his fist down heavily on the top of his dresser, eyeing her like she was psychotic, and yelled.

"Jesus Christ…"

She waved her hand around in a vain attempt to get him to lower his voice as she cursed in hushed tones. He pursed his lips together tightly and stood stark still to convince himself not to start cussing along with her.

"I swear to God Abby...one day, woman…one day…"

She finally reached up and clamped her hand over his mouth which he promptly ripped away and gave her a murderous glance. She recoiled at the gesture and clasped her own hands together to keep from slapping him across the face. Talking to him was going to be more difficult than she had planned. He continued to berate her in a raised voice.

"Sorry to break it to you Sweetheart but if you were afraid of waking anyone up, I think you just failed by manhandling my door like that. The volume of our voices isn't really going to make a dam bit of difference at this point."

She wrung her hands in frustration. Trying to get him to shut up was always going to be a task. If there was one thing she learned when getting a man to shutup completely, she was either going to have to kill him or slap him across the face. The first idea was mighty tempting. Right now though, she really didn't have the right to expect anything from him. It was worth a try in hopes that they would be able to talk.

"Would you please be quiet for one second so I can say something?"

He folded his arms across his bare chest, a sight that didn't grasp much attention, until he moved and Abby saw him in the light. Giving the fact that his body was tense, it made the muscles seem even larger. He looked like he was on a timer, and she had one minute to speak her peace before he bodily removed her from his room. He was pissed.

"Is this one of those, 'you talk, I'll listen' sessions because that last one back there didn't go so well for me. Although I wouldn't mind it now if I got the same reaction in the end with you fleeing from the room…"

He struck her down again with his biting sarcasm. His tone was scathing .Inside, she winced. She'd deserved that. Abby tried to compose herself by closing her eyes and taking a deep breath. When she opened them, she calmly regarded him for a moment. There was something aesthetically pleasing about him, which was amplified especially when he was angry. Whatever it was, was definitely floating in the air making Abby alert in every way, but she continued to regard him with a timid tone.

"Perhaps the strongest consolation comes when you say nothing at all, King."

He remained immobile as she appeared to be sorting things out in her brain. His resentment of her presence seemed to be held at bay, replaced by fatigue. He scratched his head and let his arms go limp as he sat on the edge of his bed.

"I really don't have time for you and your convoluted thoughts Abby. At some point tonight I would really like to sleep."

King observed her. Something was different about her, she seemed almost crestfallen. Her expression too became a tired one with traces of regret that he had never seen on her before. There was no harshness left in her eyes. No hidden, snide remark lying beneath her tongue waiting to get out. Her eyes looked large with innocence. They were now just penetrating him with their own overwhelming sadness and guilt. He wasn't going to fight her if she had nothing left to defend herself with. Although he was cocky, he did have some chivalry that got in the way whether he meant for it to happen or not. In his opinion, she should really let this go until morning when they were both fully rested and thinking with a clear head. But, Abby had a faint, laced air of quiet determination about her.

"It's been a long day, and pretty soon I'm going to have a hangover from those measly shots I had earlier because I'm not much of a drinker…and more over, not so much of a graceful drunk, as you have witnessed. So, I'll make this quick and hopefully painless…"

She sat on the right side of the bed next to King and looked at her hands for a moment searching for the right words. She heard him heave a big sigh, and from the corner of her eye, she could see him turn to face her, waiting. Looking up at him apologetically, she bit her lip, forgetting that it was already sore and swollen from her doing the same thing hours ago. She cringed when she realized she'd reopened the split there. The blood came out slowly, coating her bottom lip. King looked at her and shook his head. Even when she was trying to be defiant, she was hopeless. Abby buried her face in her left hand as he watched her shoulders begin to shudder. It surprised him to find that she was crying. Never, ever had he seen Whistler cry. When it happened now, King's demeanor immediately went into protective mode. He bent down picking up an article of clothing, offering her his discarded shirt. She declined by waving his hand away and cleaned it up herself by using a seemingly less attractive method; her tongue. Leave it to King to be the one who actually got the slightest bit turned on by it. He didn't know what he was going to do with her but if she broke down any further, he'd have his hands full. She sniffled lightly and looked at him again. It was up to her if anything about tonight was going to fair well. She removed a few strands of hair that stuck to her cheeks because of the tears.

"You told me that if I felt nothing then you would leave me alone right?"

He nodded, exhausted but still carefully keeping an eye on her just incase he needed to call a priest for an exorcism. She look as though she was recollecting for a second and then the moment blurred into one surreptitious motion as she reached over and kissed him fully on the mouth. The first thing King thought of when the shock receded was that he hoped she knew what she was doing. If, by chance, she was still drunk, he was going to have to explain for their matching set of 'his and hers' bruised and dry lips in the morning. Deep down, he knew she wasn't drunk, but maybe Abby would have her own explanations for getting his anger riled up and then doing this to him. He smelt and tasted the blood which gave him an odd thrill. His mind was still trying to wrap around the fact that Abby initiated this. King felt her fingers thread themselves through his hair and pull him closer. He responded by wrapping his arms around her waist and pulled her down with him as laid on the bed beneath her. She slid her hands down his neck and felt his broad shoulders and chest, causing a groan to catch in his throat. The sensation was incredible. The air was electric. King hands were tangled in her hair when he felt her slightly push away and stand up. If he wasn't confused, he would've followed suit, but he stayed seated just openly staring at her. His mouth was slightly swollen with her kisses. She liked the way he looked in that moment. Later she would have to add kissing him as one more way of getting him to completely shut up. As for King, he was sure of one thing. Whatever it was that just happened, he definitely wanted more of it. Abby met his eyes and leaned down, whispering something that answered a lot of questions before she unlocked the door and slipped out of the room.

"Can you feel that?"