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A Sketch Away From Perfect のすべてのチャプター: チャプター 21 - チャプター 30

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Homecoming for One

HarperI’ve changed into jeans and a T-shirt for the ride back to my apartment. Damien bought some clothes just for me after our first date. Honestly, I’m afraid to wear anything with easy access. Damien kept me up all night, and then had me again this morning, into the afternoon. He has an insatiable appetite for every area of his life. He’s still giving me the most wolfish grin as we ride in the town car. I frown at him. “I hope you’re proud of yourself. I didn’t get a wink of sleep!”“I’m quite proud, actually. Thank you for asking.” He chuckles.I swat his shoulder, and he captures my hand and nibbles my fingertips. Now, I’m wishing I had worn something more accessible.“Too bad you’re not wearing a skirt today. Though I must say, your ass looks great in those jeans,” he says when he releases my hand.“Thanks.” I shake my head at him. “I can&rs

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Cold Comfort

Harper“You should really get some sleep, mi preciosa,” Tomás advises kindly, sitting down next to me on the sofa. “I think maybe Damien kept you up for a long time, no?”I lean against his shoulder. I mean, he’s not wrong, but…. “What about McKenzy?”“I will wake you up if I hear anything,” he says, taking my hands in his. “Maybe her parents wanted to take her somewhere else, and she forgot to check in. Now, cariña, you must get some rest.”He stands and pulls me up with him. Then he wraps an arm around my shoulders and guides me to my bedroom.I look at the carefully made bed and think of McKenzy’s messy one. It just feels so uncomfortable not having her here. “Maybe I should stay up a while.”“No. I promise I will wake you if I get any information,” Tomás insists firmly as he pulls my covers back.The bed does

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All Tied Up

HarperI don’t think he’s serious. I really don’t. Until I see his eyes darken. “Oh shit.” I scramble over to the other side of the bed, putting it between me and Tomás.“Cariña, I’m not going to duct tape you to the bed,” he sighs.“Uh-huh. I don’t believe you,” I respond, still keeping the bed between us.Tomás rolls his eyes. “I would have used something far less abrasive.”“What?” I yell.“I’m kidding. But if me standing here will keep you from trying to leave the apartment, all the better,” he says.I narrow my eyes at him. “You’re on, Profe.”With a slight smile, he stands in front of the door with his arms crossed. “And just what do you think you can do?”He’s not Rafe, so he’s not built like a football player, but that doesn’t

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Flying the Coop

Damien“Well, this is inconvenient,” I say as the four of us stand out in the parking lot like fools, looking at the spot the car should be parked as though staring at it will make it reappear.“Inconvenient? Man, you need to up your vocabulary. This is a disaster!” Rafe sighs, shaking his head. “What the fuck happened anyway?”“Marco says she got a call from her mother,” I reply. “Of course that was a lie. She got a call from a burner phone. Doubtless it was Jack. She kicked him and ran away. ”Tomás groans. “I must agree with Rafe. This is a disaster.”“How are we going to find her? Where do you think he sent her? Is the burner phone still on?” Scott asks.I pull up Harper’s location on my phone. “It would appear,” I say, holding my phone up for them to see. “She is heading south.”“Oh, so she didn’t t

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Love Slaps

Two hours earlier… Scott“This isn’t right,” Damien says.I look at him in the rearview mirror. “What’s not right?”“She stopped in Hastings, but now she’s heading back to the city, as far as I can tell.” He leans back to show me his phone. “I can’t believe they didn’t catch her when she stopped. Technical difficulties. God, these boondock towns…”“You know Vermillion is a suburb of Hastings, right?” I remark dryly.“I stand by what I said.” He turns to Tomás. “We need to head toward West St. Paul.”I grab the oh-shit bar as Tomás makes a one-eighty on two wheels, causing a lot of honking. Then we’re speeding away from Hastings on Highway 55.“She’s on 494 West. Where on earth is she going?” Damien mutters.“That’s not the hig

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Questioning McKenzy

TomásDamien gets us into the interview room where two flustered detectives sit in front of a completely shell-shocked McKenzy.“Mr. Blackwood, this is highly unusual,” one of them is enough of an idiota to say.Rafe snorts. Scott shakes his head.I just wait.Damien turns on the detective and strikes like a viper with his words. “And I’m hoping you like early retirement.”“What the hell does that mean?” the detective snaps back. He’s puffed up and stupid. Damien is going to eat him for breakfast.I let the other two watch the show. I’m more concerned about McKenzy. She looks like she’s on the last thread of her last frayed nerve. I go and kneel by her chair. “McKenzy?” I ask softly.Now that I’m able to see under the table, I realize that her hands are cuffed together. Anger rises in me.“Who has the fucking key?” I ask, standing abruptly. “Key?” Rafe asks. “What do you mean, ‘who has the key’?”Scott looks at me, looks at McKenzy, leans down a little so he can see under the table,

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Allies and Assholes

RafeTomás promises to rejoin us after we shake the Steve Keller tree. McKenzy really needs to go home, poor thing. Jack Collins is getting the ass kicking of a lifetime once we find him.Norm knocks on Keller’s door while Damien stands patiently behind him. There are some bewildered police officers outside behind us. I suppose they aren’t used to having to put the pressure on one of their own.A second knock finally brings Keller to the door. He looks at the whole lot of us outside, especially at Norm, and frowns. “What?” he demands.Damien’s lips tighten. I understand. I don’t like his tone either.“Mr. Keller?” Damien asks coldly.“Yeah? Who’s asking?” Keller grumps.“Damien Blackwood. I think you’ve been a bit of an asshole, Mr. Keller,” Damien says.Norm finds his balls and talks over Damien. “We just want to know where Harper Ward is, Steve. I’m sure Jack lied to you. He kidnapped one girl and traded her for Miss Ward. He killed an impound attendant. He stole a truck from the im

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Shot

HarperRafe and Jack are on the ground. I don’t know where the bullet went. I don’t know if Rafe’s been shot. Neither of them are moving.I drop to my knees next to them. “Rafe? Rafe, honey? Rafe?!” I shake his shoulder.Nothing.I put my hand on his cheek and something warm and sticky coats my palm. “Help!” I scream. “Oh, God, he’s bleeding! Somebody help!”A multitude of boots come trampling through the woods, flashlights shining on us from all directions. Some police stand back with their guns drawn while others rush to Rafe’s side.“It’s just a graze,” one officer says, and I could pass out from relief. “He’ll be okay. Just gotta get him in to see if he has a concussion. He’s a football player though, so I suppose he’s had a few of those.”Someone hits their knees next to me while I’m staring down at Rafe and wra

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Up and About

HarperAfter my MRI, the doctors finally let me go see Rafe. I shuffle down to his room in hospital socks and a gown. Tomás has gone to pick up some pizza for us all. Damien is on his phone, leaning on the technicians and whoever else is involved to get my MRI reviewed. Scott stepped out to call someone to check on his animals since he’s been gone so long.I knock lightly on the door to Rafe’s room. When I hear Jen, Rafe’s mother, call “Come in!” I push open the door and go inside.Jen is sitting next to the bed, holding Rafe’s hand. His father, Skip, is leaning against the windowsill with his arms folded. When they look up, neither of them are particularly happy to see me.“Harper,” Jen says in a clipped tone.“Mrs. Maloney,” I reply respectfully. “Mr. Maloney.”Skip eyes me with deep-seated anger.“You could have ended his football career, you know?

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Changes

Two weeks later… Harper“WHOOOOOO! GO RAFE, GO!” I scream from the private suite where we are watching Rafe’s game.“Maybe we’re supposed to call him Bullet?” Tomás asks, eating off a plate of catered food next to me.“I figure if you’re sleeping with the man, you get to call him whatever you want,” Damien says dryly. He sips something expensive—scotch, I’m assuming—from a tumbler, but loses all sophistication when Rafe gets sacked. “Roughing the passer!”“They can’t flag the play every time Rafe gets sacked. This isn’t touch football,” Scott chuckles. He’s munching popcorn, more a fan of that snack than the buffet fare.Damien purses his lips. “I wonder how much it would cost…”I reach past Tomás to slap his shoulder. “Don’t even think about it.”

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