"Dear, Mister
I want to inform you that your other daughter is alive and safe.
TM"
i read the email in the outbox folder once again while showing it to Jennifer when she finally awakes from her nap.
"TM is my father, Thomas McCourtney. But to whom he sent it to ?" she asks.
"It's also an initial, WW, and the email server is one I'm not familiar with " I answer her. She sighs in disappointment.
"I will send this to my team. I think she can find where the email server is and hack it to find out.."
"No," Jennifer rejects my idea at once. "It's against the law," she continues, giving me a total disapproving look.
"We will never get the information without hacking it," I insist.
"I don't care, okay!" she is being strong headed once more. "Look.. we will find a way. I may report this attempted murder to the police officially so they can start investigating, legally."
I snort. "You don't trust me" I say.
"It's not that. Scott.. it's about time to hand this to police. It's not that I don't trust you to protect me, but it is the only way to gain the proofs legally and catch the..."
"Wow..wow..wow. You want to CATCH him ?" I cut her. She nods. "You mean CATCH him catch him ?" I ensure her, emphasizing the word.
"Well. yes.."
"Then what ?!?! Gives him a trial ? Trying to put him in prison ??" I realize how sarcastic my tone is.
"Of course."
I laugh. "Do you think he is some random guy ? He at least has the money to hire an assassin. Now I don't know exactly the price, of course," I lie through my teeth, "But it's not that everybody can hire an assassin. And with that kind of money, he will easily hire top notch lawyers to set him free."
"So what do you suggest ? Kill him ??" she asks.
I almost say yes, but I happened to look her in the eyes and see an alluring beam of a prosecutor.
"I.. I don't know," I put up a show, pretending to be shocked by her idea of killing the man and sit on the sofa in fixated for couple of minutes. "I've never thought what would I do once I got him," I continue my drama.
She sighs, shaking her head over my 'stupidity'. "That's why we need to make sure we got all the information legally. Else, we can not have it as proofs against him in the court," she tells me.
"You're right," I decide to get along with her while my mind is busy to take a note that I must make the execution looks like a self defense.
"So what's in the safety box ?" she asks, changing the topic.
"Not much," I answer her, opening the door to show her. There are self-burn CDs. a lot of them, and a phone.
Jennifer takes the phone with frown on her face. "Why he put his phone in the box ?" she asks her self. I truly can't answer that.
"This is not the phone he used to use," she continues. "I remember his phone cause I used to borrow it to play games."
"Maybe it was his working phone ?" I suggest an idea. Jennifer turns her head to me.
"Why would he use different phone for his work ?" she asks.
I shrug. "I use different phone for work," I say to her nonchalantly.
"You do ?" she widens her eyes.
"For me it's easier that way. When I have enough about work, I can just turn it off. And when I am concentrating on work. I can turn off my other phone," I make up an excuse. "Is it weird ?" I ask her.
"I don't know," she answers undecidedly. "Shall we see what's in these CDs ?"
"He has no player, at least not in this room," I have turned this place upside down looking for external player once I knew his laptop doesn't have a CD ROM on it. But he has none of it.
Jennifer sighs. "So nothing we can do now ?"
------------
We finally end up spending the night walking along the river side. I managed to force her out for dinner. We had our dinner at an Italian restaurant where I ordered a bottle of wine to ease her mind.
Jennifer didn't eat much, but she drank more than half of the bottle alone. That is why she is now non stop talking about her childhood. I just nod and throw a word here and there to respond while holding her shoulder tight to make sure she walks straight.
"I had my first kiss here," she says then giggles. "My best friend, Pete, stole a kiss from me here on our way home after school. It was at 8th grade," she adds then giggles again.
"Why do you giggle ? Was it good ?" I ask. leaning my chest on the fence that is put along the river.
She shakes her head. "It was terrible! I slapped him then running home crying. I was believing I would be pregnant because of that, though," she answers and laughs.
"Why did you think you could get pregnant out of a kiss ?"
She shrugs. "That what I was told," she says. "When I finally got my menstruation. I was so relieved," she adds. We laugh out about it. And then, there is silence, each dealing with our own thoughts.
"Why do you help me, Scott ?" Jennifer asks in a sudden. She turns her head to see me.
"Why do you through so much trouble to protect me ?" she asks another question when I didn't answer her.
"We were blown together, remember ?" I remind her instead.
She nods. "Well, yeah.. but most men would just withdraw or even runaway from me.. knowing I am dangerous to them."
"I am not most men, I guess," I say smugly. She chuckles.
"Or maybe you're just smitten with my .. performance," she says teasingly.
"Maybe..," I say to her and look her in the eyes. "You must have one hell of a great teacher," I add cockly.
She laughs. "Or maybe I'm just one super brilliant student," she climbs her cockness above mine. I chuckle.
"Perhaps.." I whisper to her. My head is getting closer to hers. Her lips are slightly open. I can feel her warm breath. I look her in the eyes. Her eyes long for my kiss.
I'm closing the gap between our lips, kiss her softly. She returns my kiss. Our hands on each other's small back of our heads, trying to deepen our kisses. She moans when I slip my tongue inside her mouth. She meets it half way. They are twining before collapse with me sucking her breath out.
"We should stop," I whisper to her after I let go her lips reluctantly. I put my forehead on hers. Steadying my short of breath.
"Why ?" she asks. I chuckle.
"You don't want to give your body to me because you're not my girlfriend ?" I reminds her her own vow.
"What if I changed my mind ?" she asks. nibbling my lower lip. I groan in desperation. I kiss her once more.
"You're drunk. You will regret it tomorrow," I whisper to her.
"Make me not to regret it," she says with a deep purr. I moan to have her sucking my mouth, giving me a blist of blackout moment for instance.
"No.." I finally get my brain back although it is still blur, letting my lips away from her again.
"You wanna know the truth why I do this ?" I ask her. She mews for an answer. This woman drives me crazy. But it is for the best..
"It really is not purely about you," I finally say to her after I pull my self away from her. Jennifer stops grobbing my lower body.
"No one can get away after almost blowing my ass up," I add. I glance at her a second before putting a smirk on my face.
"So, don't get me wrong, Baby. I don't do it for you. I probably do it for any of my friends," I utter words that make sure I won't get another kiss no matter how drunk she would be tonight.
She stays silent for the rest of the night. I decide to sleep on the couch in the living room while she, of course, sleeps in her old room.
I have to convince my self over and over again that what I did was right. It is the best for her for us to stay this way. It's not my original plan though. At first, I thought that I could seduce her and have some romance in this getaway. My body has actually been craving for her so bad since that disagreement.
But.. why does she have to be so rightful ? Even in her own case, she still wants to end it legally. I don't know what she would do if she found out about the real me. So, her in my world is not gonna happen.. no matter what my feeling truly about her. We are just not meant to be together.