Page 4 of Not Your Body

Kate’s throat worked; she had no argument. Yet, how could she as a law officer condone vigilante justice? She understood the depth of rage and anguish that coursed through Jade Palmer—it had once coursed through Kate as well.

And how did you handle it?

Kate swallowed the emotions welling inside her. “Tell me…” her voice rasped lightly, her face tingling beneath the young woman’s fingertips. “… what you left out of the story.”

Jade brushed her soft lips over the corner of Kate’s mouth. “On one condition.”

“What?” Kate whispered with a tremor.

“Before you arrest me…” Jade gently sucked her lips and trailed her fingers down Kate’s throat and lower, tenderly cupping her breasts through the thin tank top. Her thumbs rubbed the suddenly stiff nipples. “… you make love to me.”

Kate shivered, her breath shuddering into Jade’s mouth. She couldn’t lie—she didn’t want to wait. The moment she’d laid eyes on Jade Palmer, she started falling… faster and faster with each passing minute. The reality that this alluring young woman had taken three lives with the very hands that now caressed Kate’s body had nodullingeffect on the intense stimulation she incited.

“Yes…”was all Kate could manage in response to Jade Palmer’s request.

BEFORE

The Two Girls

‘Jasmine and I are leaving campus early. It’s kind of scary here. There are a bunch of guys picketing with signs that say women and slaves are types of property, and they’re getting belligerent, shouting at the girls, saying things like “Your body, My Choice” and saying we don’t have rights anymore and they don’t need our permission to do stuff to us. And Jasmine got a text from some unknown person talking to her like she’s a slave. She’s really freaked out. So am I. We’re leaving now. I’ll see you at home. Love you, sis.’

Jade Palmer listened to the voice message on her way home from work for the second time. Amy and Jasmine should have been at the apartment, but neither answered their phones. The campus wasn’t far from the apartment complex and the girls walked to and from school. The fear and unease in her sister’s voice caused Jade anxiety. What the hell was going on at the college?

Sending another call to Amy’s phone, Jade drove by the park where girls walked through to get home. Amy and Jasmine were staying with Jade until they could get their own dorm rooms on campus. Jade didn’t mind; she and Amy were close, and Jasmine was like another little sister. Though Jade wondered about the girls’ relationship and if they wereonlyfriends. If there was more, Amy knew she could talk to Jade. But Jade wouldn’t push her on the subject. Amy would talk when she was ready.

“Come on, sis,” Jade whispered tightly into the phone. “Answer.”

The car rolled slowly along the south perimeter of the spacious wooded park. The girls’ regular path led around alarge stand of trees, out of Jade’s view. She parked the car and got out, then followed the path. It was dusk and a low layer of fog blanketed the ground. The air was frigid, and the frosty grass crunched beneath her shoes. Jade pulled her jacket tightly around her body as her breath steamed from her mouth and nostrils.

The cluster of trees blocked the view from the street, creating a secluded “pocket”in the park. After receiving Amy’s disturbing message, she didn’t like the thought of the two girls walking home this way.

They’re fine. They’re at the apartment.

Then why weren’t they answering their phones?

Her stomach twisted and churned as she couldn’t put down the fear gnawing in her gut. Jade walked around the large stand of trees. The shadows deepened on this side of the park and the fog grew thicker. Jade used the flashlight on her phone, shining the bright light through the misty air.Something isn’t right. I can feel it.Jade’s anxiety heightened, ticking up by the second. Chills tickled the nape of her neck and skittered down her spine. Her chest tightened, laboring her breath.

Get a grip! Don’t panic. It’s all in your head—

A sound… coming from deeper inside the cluster of trees. Jade froze, straining to hear until a ringing settled in her ears. She held her breath and tried to calm her erratic, thundering pulse.

The sound again. A kind of scratchy moan. Almost animal in nature, like a small night creature… or even a small bear; there had been occasional sightings here in the park.

Another moan.

That’s no animal.

Jade rushed into the stand of trees, her phone light bobbing before her. “Jesus!”Jade came to a skidding stop on the icy grass and her feet slipped from beneath her, dropping her onher ass. She lost grip on the cell as it flopped out of her grasp. A wailing cry welled in her throat, paralyzing her mind and body. Jade suddenly scrambled toward the form lying still on the cold ground. “Jasmine…” Jade choked on a cry. “Jasmine!”

The young girl lay in a fetal position, unmoving, andnaked.Bits of debris cluttered her soft black curls and her once flawless caramel skin a mass of bruises and abrasions.

“J-Jasmine…” Jade shoved the hair from her face. “Jasmine.”As Jade carefully turned her head, the girl’s face revealed more bruises, a bloodied nose, blackened eyes, and split and swollen lips. “Oh Jesus… oh fuck…” Jade found her phone and shone the light on the young woman. A shallow raspy moan sifted up the girl’s throat, though she didn’t appear to be conscious. “Jasmine?” Jade sobbed, tentatively touching her face—she was ice cold. Then she spotted the bloody abrasions around her throat.Rope burn. “Oh, my god… oh, my god…”

Amy—where is Amy?!

Jade called for an ambulance,screamingat them to hurry. She removed her jacket and covered Jasmine, then scrambled to her feet and shone the light around. “Amy!” Jade stumbled deeper into the stand of trees. “Amy!AMMEEEE!!”Hands shaking badly, she sent another call to her little sister.

A few yards away in the fog and darkness—a phone vibrated.

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