Page 53 of Beneath the Midnight Sky
It was clear that they’d cleaned up the water as best as they could, but it smelled mildewy already. I walked over and opened the two windows on either side of her bed before taking in the rest of the apartment.
There were a few black trash bags beside the door that I’m sure held most of the trash she’d mentioned. The mattress was still there—a massive hole cut in the middle of it—the stuffing gone, presumably cleaned up in the trash bags. The corner of the living room where her art normally sat was empty. The paint cans were gone, and the drop cloth was also gone. The couch was still there, but it was also covered in paint. I clenched my fists a few times as I stared around the studio apartment that had been a sanctuary for Aspen.
“Hey, Wyatt,” I said through clenched teeth. “Remember when we were kids and a couple of assholes with rich parents moved here one year in middle school and tried teasing us after Dad died? Said Mom was probably selling herself to take care of all of us…”
He took a step closer to me and nodded solemnly.
“I’m having one of those moments again, ya know? So…I don’t know. How did you distract me from killing them then?” I asked as I felt a rage I hadn’t felt since those days of middle school rise in my chest. The sort of rage that would have me forcing my twin to find this fucker and let me strangle him with my bare hands. The sort of rage that would have me driving to Vegas if that was what it took to keep my little angel safe.
Wyatt chuckled softly. “So, you haven’t asked me how work is going,” he replied, not even a moment later. My gaze met his, and he smirked. “Ask me, Rowan. Come on, you know you want to,” he taunted.
I released a slow breath and arched one brow. “Let me hear it.” This is what he’d do. He’d ignore my inner demons—my rage that I didn’t let anyone but my twin brother see and talk about, something completely separate from what I was angry about, until I cracked a smile. What girl he liked that week, the new horse we’d gotten that he was sure would be the one to finally buck me off the saddle, a new computer code he wanted to crack—it changed as we got older.
“So, you know the club I did some website work for in the city? Silk and Spice?”
I nodded, brow still arched as I was so confused where this was going right now, but I could feel my rage slipping slightly to curiosity.
“They want me to help them design a sex app—cool, huh?” He smiled, nodding his head and biting his bottom lip. A look that only spelled out trouble when it came to my brother.
“I’m sorry, they want you to design a sex app? What the hell does that even entail?” I questioned, unable to keep the internal cringe at bay when thinking about my brother teaching people about sex via an app.
“Stop being all grossed out, it’s not like that. Think of it like a dating app, only instead of a date to meet your new partner, you want someone to hook up with, only without judgment. They sent over some ideas on what they’re looking for, and I think it’ll be really cool. You’ll be able to set up kinks, limits, looks, safe words, if you want it to be anonymous or not, all that,” he explained.
“Anonymous? Sounds like you’re signing up to contract an STD, Wy,” I said, suddenly worried about my brother. I knewhe had an eclectic taste when it came to sex. It was that quiet, adventurous side of him, but I didn’t like the idea of him getting hurt by some nutball on an app who thought he was good-looking.
He chuckled. “Aw, big bro—you’re worried about me? Adorable. But no, you can only get on the app if you’re a part of the club, and they require STD screenings and all that at sign-up and once a month. It’s a big thing for them, and why they’re the best. I wouldn’t be working with anyone sleazy or back-alley bullshit. You know that.”
I did know that. Silk and Spice was where I’d gone to for help with the bondage ideas for Aspen and the toys. They didn’t play. I was lucky because I’d been able to do an online membership where you could order toys, rope, lube, and online classes that went over things like bondage. I didn’t think I could actually go to said sex club…unless my angel wanted to—that was different though.
“Well, that worked. You’re calmer. Anyway, I’m about halfway done with the app, been working on it behind the scenes for the last couple of months. Beta testing is starting in a couple of weeks for select members while we work out the kinks, pun intended, of course,” he said with a smirk.
I shook my head because he was right, I did feel better. I let out a breath and walked toward Aspen’s closet to see if there was anything worth bringing with me. Every single piece of clothing she had hanging up was gone. Part of me was happy I hadn’t been here to see them destroyed the way they must’ve been to trash everything.
“What would possibly possess someone to act like that?” Wyatt questioned from behind me.
“My guess is he doesn’t enjoy not feeling in control of her anymore—from where she lives to what she wears on a dailybasis,” I replied as I rummaged through the drawers she had in the small dresser.
“Hm. I’m guessing you’d like me to find out where he is.”
“If you could, that would be lovely,” I said. “Also, I want to get some cameras set up around the house. Something that won’t be able to be hacked into if possible.” He nodded and gave me a thumbs up.
I pulled out my phone and opened the tracker app to ensure she was still at work and safe.
“Have you used it yet? On her?” he asked. He didn’t need to elaborate; I knew what he meant. He’d given me the tracker the night I’d asked for it. The night shit hit the fan, and I had to reevaluate everything. I woke up in the middle of the night in a panic that she was gone again, only to find her there in my arms. I slipped out of bed, grabbed the package from Wyatt’sfriend, and followed the instructions to a T. It said to shoot her somewhere that was mostly fat tissue—for Aspen, that meant in her luscious backside.
“I did, yes.”
“Good. I don’t want you to lose her, because we both know he’s only going to escalate after this,” Wyatt said as his arm did a quick sweep over the disaster that was Aspen’s apartment.
“I know. That’s why I’m glad she’s finally staying with me, where she belongs,” I muttered.
“Love the new ink by the way,” Wyatt said a moment later, a knowing smile on his face. “What did she say when she saw it?”
I chuckled. “She said it was beautiful.”
“Damn. Maybe she’s just as obsessed as you are after all.”
I shook my head and ran my fingers through my hair. “I almost texted you about changing out her birth control, dude. That’s how fucked up this woman has me in the head.”
