Author's Note: Let's talk plainly -- shit is just going to keep getting real. I hope you enjoy. But please be warned: this chapter is dark. Thanks for reading.
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The only thing that went right over the next two days was that Nicole flew back to Vegas the same day she arrived, taking the redeye back home again so she could go to work the next morning. When she left, Kat already was overdue from returning from her appointment with Tommy. Jess wasn't concerned, and we were wiped out, so we went to bed.
Tuesday morning, however, Kat's side of the bed was still empty. She hadn't texted either of us, so I immediately called. It rang but went to voicemail. Jess texted Tommy. We didn't hear anything after thirty minutes, so we went to breakfast and tried to come up with a plan.
"You don't have his address?" I asked Jess. "Not in your database?"
"I don't," she said, shaking her head.
"We ought to be able to track it down," I said.
"But then what?" Jess asked. "We can't go over there. That would be such a privacy breach and potentially could undermine the whole agency."
I understood that, but, at the same time, Kat was missing. "It's a safety issue," I argued.
"Is it?" Jess said. "She's with Tommy. They probably just fell asleep. She was partying pretty hard."
"That's a good point," I said.
We finished breakfast and went home for a swim. It was another excruciatingly hot day, and it was nice to enjoy the water and read. It made the time go by quickly, but when neither Kat nor Tommy had communicated by dinner time, I started to get legitimately concerned. We were sitting in the great room, having a glass of wine.
"This is more than just sleeping it off," I told Jess.
"You're right," she agreed.
"So what do you want to do?" I asked. "I'm going to get his address."
Jess hesitated, and I noticed a look of resignation pass over her face.
"Don't get his address," Jess said. "She'll be back. But there's something you should know."
"What's that?" I asked. A feeling of dread took hold in my chest.
"Kat sees Tommy outside of work," she said.
"What do you mean?" I asked.
"What I just said," she said, unblinking. She put a hand on mine.
"But how?" I said. "Both of you have barely been out of my sight since her first appointment with him."
"Basically every time she hasn't been with you or me," she admitted.
"You've been covering for her," I said flatly.
"I have," she said. "There have even been some fake appointments so she can go be with him instead."
"Why?" I asked with a fallen face.
"Do you really need to ask?" Jess said. "Tommy is exciting. He's fun. He just has that way of seducing you and making you become infatuated with him."
"And you just let her do it," I said.
"It's harmless, John," Jess said.
"It doesn't feel very harmless right now when Kat is missing," I said.
"She's just working it out of her system," Jess said casually. "She's going through a dominance phase. I get it. A really hot guy just forcing you into your life? Making you let him have his way with you?" She shivered. "I don't care what anybody says, every woman loves that once in a while, and Tommy is the best I've ever met at it."
This was a total gut punch. I thought I had been open in my communication with Kat. She had lied to my face. Boldly. She knew my concerns, and she assured me there was nothing to worry about.
"How often?" I asked.
"Almost every day," Jess said. "A lot of quickies. Like you said, you've been around a lot."
"But when?" I said. I couldn't wrap my head around it.
"Every time she went to do something normal," Jess explained. "It would always take twenty or thirty minutes longer than it should have. Tommy likes to do stuff in public. So if she went to the grocery store? He might meet her and fuck her in the car or bathroom. Stuff like that."
"Jesus," I whistled. "Have you?"
"No," she said emphatically. "Not yet, anyway."
"Not yet?" my eyes flashed with anger.
"He wants a threesome," she said. "I've held out. I know it's dangerous. I was going to bring it up with you at the right time. But, let's face it."
"Face what?" I said.
"After Dr. V passed away, I'm starting to realize just how rare it is to find a dick like what I know Tommy is packing," she said. "It's a unicorn dick. I'm just being honest with you."
"It's about time somebody started being honest," I said.
"Oh, John," Jess said. She had a wry smile on her face. "Come on. You just had that slut casino host from Vegas show up on our doorstep? You can't complain. Kat is making a lot of money from Tommy. Who cares if they run off and have some quickies? The infatuation will pass. It might be a unicorn dick, but what you and Kat and I have? That's unicorn love."
"I'm sorry about Nicole," I said.