Chart Toppers (Star Maker Book 3) (49 page)

Kit
grinned.
 
“Of course.
 
I’ll make an appointment as soon as I’m
released here.”

As the
doctor left, Sully leaned forward and hugged Kit tightly.
 
“Dream come true, baby.
 
Dream come true.”

She
giggled and kissed him.
 
“Absolutely.”
 
She gazed into
his eyes.
 
“So worth the wait.”

He
nodded. “I didn’t even know you were pregnant.
 
I got it out of Alexa.
 
Please don’t be mad at her.
 
She was so distraught last night.”

Kit
nodded.
 
“I had planned to tell you
the next time I saw you in person and then all this happened.
 
I wasn’t purposely keeping it from you.”

He
kissed her hand.
 
“I know,
baby.
 
So, when are our little
bundles of love due?”

She
giggled.
 
“Late November, but the
doctor said that multiples sometimes come early, so we need to be prepared.”

He
nodded and kissed her.
 
“We will
be.”

* * *

Emily
knocked hastily and walked into Kyle’s apartment without waiting for his
cue.
 
She looked down and frowned
seeing two tattered, packed suitcases waiting.
 
“Ky?”
 
She yelled out.

He
appeared moments later carrying his beloved silver tabby cat, Trixie
Belle.
 
He nodded.
 
“Hi Em, thanks for coming.”
 
He kissed Trixie atop her head, pet her
and put her down.
 
She immediately
ran over to Emily and rubbed her leg.
 
He glanced at his wristwatch.
 
“Can you take care of Trixie Belle for a bit?
 
Andy isn’t the most reliable roommate,
and I know she loves you.”

Emily
bent down to pet the cat that was now purring.
 
She scratched her neck and smiled,
speaking in a sing-song, baby talk voice.
 
“I love her too!”
 
She patted
her on the head and stood up, meeting Kyle’s eyes and returning her voice to
normal.
 
“Of course I’ll take care
of her.
 
Is the spare key in the
usual place?”

He
shook his head and handed her the key.
 
“Here you go.
 
She’s stocked
up with everything she needs—food, treats, you name it.”

Emily
stared at him.
 
“Kyle, talk to me,
would you?
 
What’s wrong?
 
Where are you going?
 
A weekend away?”

He
shook his head.
 
“I am going away,
but not for a weekend.
 
I’m not sure
how long I’ll be gone.
 
At least a
week.
 
I have to get some things
figured out, and I need to leave in order to do it.”

Before
he could continue, a formidable looking man in sunglasses and a black suit
approached, a wire.
 
When Emily did
a double-take, she noticed a wire discreetly hanging from his ear.
 
He nodded to Kyle.
 
“We’re ready for you. The car is
outside. Are these your bags?”

He
nodded and Emily’s eyes widened as the man retrieved his bags and headed
out.
 
Kyle forced a grin.
 
“Thanks for taking care of my girl.
 
She’s gotten me through some very dark
times.
 
You know she means the world
to me. Bye, Em.”

He
headed out, and she couldn’t stand passively.
 
Emily chased after him out of the
apartment building to notice a black car that resembled a limousine with its
blacked out windows for privacy.
 
She noticed another man in a black suit sitting in the passenger
seat.
 
The driver stowed Kyle’s
suitcases and returned to his charge behind the wheel.

Oblivious
to Emily trailing behind him, Kyle opened the back door of the car and was
about to get in when he noticed her.
 
He frowned and shook his head disapprovingly.

She
stared at him with wide eyes.
 
“Ky,
what is going on?
 
Who are these
people?”
 
She lowered her
voice.
 
“They look like creepy,
government, CIA kinda people.”

His
sage green eyes bore into her.
 
“I
have to go, Em.
 
Take good care and
thank you.”
 
He got into the car and
shut the door, watching her through the tinted windows as the car pulled away
from the curb.
 
She stared as it
slowly left her view and immediately noticed the governmental license plates.
 
She swallowed hard wondering what was
going on.

The man
in the passenger seat turned to look at Kyle.
 
“We’re on schedule.
 
The jet is waiting.
 
We’ll be in D.C. by this evening.
 
Meetings will commence first thing
tomorrow morning.”

Kyle
stared straight ahead, expressionless, as he spoke flatly, “Good.”

* * *

Alexa
got behind the wheel of Kit’s new Mercedes-Benz and smiled wide.
 
“Ooh, they did you good, baby!
 
I may have to buy one of these.”

Kit
giggled.
 
“Isn’t it great?”

“Yes!
 
Thanks for letting me drive it.
 
I’m glad you need to rest.
 
Gives me a legitimate excuse.
 
Where are we going?”

“Not
far.
 
If Sully gets wind that I
snuck out only hours after I was released from the hospital, he’ll be
livid.
 
We’re going down the hill to
Chin Chin.
 
I called ahead and
reserved a booth in the back for us.
 
Hopefully, there won’t be any fanfare.
 
Since we don’t have a limo, I’m hoping
we’ll be ok.”

Kit
suddenly regretted her words, noticing the paparazzi ready to pounce as she and
Alexa got out of the car.
 
She had
underestimated the media storm that ensued after her shooting.
 
They swarmed around her, and Alexa
instinctively threw her arm around Kit’s shoulders to shield her as much as
possible.
 
Once they were in the
restaurant, Kit was relieved.
 
The manager
knew her and gave the paparazzi stern warnings that kept them at bay.

They
got settled in their booth moments later, placed their order and stared at each
other.
 
Alexa grinned.
 
“Ok.
 
So it’s just you and me.
 
No husbands around and my kids can’t
distract me.
 
We both agreed we need
to talk, so let’s have at it.
 
You
first.”

Kit
sighed.
 
“Lex, I know you don’t like
me talking about Kirby’s death being suspicious, but I think there may be some
validity to it.”

Before
she could continue, Alexa butted in, meeting her eyes.
 
“I think there is too.”

Kit was
sipping her iced tea and almost choked on it.
 
She swallowed hard, and her eyes
widened.
 
“What did you just say to
me?”

She
sighed.
 
“You heard me.
 
Now, tell me whatever you were going to
say and then I’ll share my findings.”

Kit’s
heartbeat quickened, and her breathing became shallow as she wondered what was
going on.
 
Alexa’s lack of
resistance had thrown her off.
 
She
nodded.
 
“Ok.
 
Before Darren shot me, he told me that
Kirby wasn’t dead.
 
And spouted off
some shit that he got some kind of new identity because he testified against his
dad.
 

“I
don’t know if there’s any truth to that because I learned that Darren was
totally frying on PCP and knowing Darren he could have made all that up to fuck
with my head.
 
But, it was on my
mind when I was on my way to the hospital in and out of consciousness.
 
And then Lex, I swear I saw
him—KG.”

She
calmly sipped her iced tea.
 
“When?”

Kit
sighed.
 
“It was so weird.
 
It was at the hospital.
 
As I was going deeper into the
anesthesia before surgery, I swear I was looking into his eyes.”

Alexa
frowned.
 
“Huh?
 
How?”
 

She
shrugged her shoulders.
 
“All I
could see were his eyes.
 
And you
know his eyes—they are unforgettable and unmistakable.
 
They have this intensity to them that’s
hard to forget.
 
He always showed
his emotions through his eyes, and this was no different.
 
I couldn’t see his face or his
hair.
 
He had a surgical mask and a
cap on.”

Alexa
stared at her with unwavering attention.
 
“And what was the emotion in his eyes?”

She
sighed.
 
“That one is kinda
fuzzy.
 
It was compassionate and kind,
standard for him. But there was a twinge of sadness… like he felt bad that I
was laying there on the table after someone put a bullet in me.” She shook her
head.
 
“That anesthesia is crazy,
though.
 
The next instance was much
more vivid.”

Alexa
nodded.
 
“Go on.”

Kit’s
eyes welled up with tears.
 
“Lex, it
was so real.”

She
reached across the table and grabbed Kit’s hand.
 
“Tell me.”

Kit
closed her eyes to regain her composure as a lone tear trickled down her
cheek.
 
She opened her eyes slowly
and met Alexa’s alert violet eyes.
 
“This was after surgery.
 
I
was in the recovery room. I opened my eyes, and he was standing over me.
 

“He
looked just how I imagined he would all these years later, a little older like
us and frankly, even better looking if that’s even possible.
 
I always thought he’d be one of those
guys that got better with age.

“Anyway,
back to that moment.
 
I saw so much
love in his eyes.”
 
She closed her
eyes.
 
“God, Lex, it was just like
the last time I saw him… When he was telling me he loved me the morning before
he died.”
 
She shook her head and
was unable to stop the tears this time.
 
She hunched over, her body heaving slightly from the force of raw emotions
driving her anguished sobs.
 

Alexa
jumped up and walked over to Kit’s side of the table.
 
She slid into the booth and pulled her
into her arms, holding her tightly.
 
She smoothed her back and whispered into her ear.
 
“It’s ok.
 
Let it out.
 
You’ve held this back for a long time.”

Kit
finally pulled back and hastily wiped her tears.
 
“Thank you.”

Alexa
nodded and giggled.
 
“Can I go back
to my side of the table now?”

She
smiled.
 
“Yes.
 
I’ll be ok.”

Alexa
sipped her drink.
 
“Do you want to
continue?”

She
nodded.
 
“So, I was gazing into his
eyes, and I can’t lie—it was like a little slice of heaven for a
moment.
 
I said hi to him, and he
said hi back, but I couldn’t keep my eyes open anymore.
 
I remember feeling so tired, yet content
that he was there.
 
His presence
always felt like home.
 
He had a way
of soothing me and making me feel safe.
 
And I swear on my life, Lex, the morning after my surgery when I was
lightly sleeping, I heard him tell me he loved me and he always would.
 
It was his voice.

“I know
the anesthesia they gave me was heavy duty, but it was so real, Lex.”
 
She shook her head.
 
“It still sticks with me.” She looked up
and met Alexa’s eyes.
 
“Do you think
I’m crazy?
 
Do you think my mind
made this up because I’ve been thinking about him, and the drugs created some
weird hallucination?”

Alexa
swallowed hard and shook her head.
 
“No.”