122. Careful What You Wish For

Bridgeport, present day...

Leigh’s quest for the truth about Krisis took her to Krimsyn and J.D.’s place.

Krisis and Lily had gone shopping and she’d made up some excuse not to join them, insisting they needed some father/daughter time.

As she stood there, watching Krimsyn try her damnedest to avoid looking at the thick stack of envelopes on the armrest, Leigh wondered if perhaps she’d made a mistake by coming over unannounced.

Krimsyn seemed a little distracted. She’d hardly said a word since Leigh joined her in the living room, content to just sit in her arm chair and fidget.

“What’s that?” Leigh asked, nodding at the official-looking letters.

“I-Uh-” Krimsyn stammered. Her cold blue eyes darted about the room before settling on the floor.

“It’s mostly bills…and one is for J.D. A messenger dropped it off a while ago,” Krimsyn replied finally.

Leigh wondered why she looked like the world was about to end.

“It’s from the VIA.” Krimsyn added, clearing up Leigh’s confusion.

Leigh remained mute. She smiled a little, embarrassed at her own ignorance, as she tried to figure out what the acronym stood for.

Was she supposed to know what VIA was?

“Vampire Intelligence Agency.” Krimsyn filled in the blanks. She got up, paced the length of the living room a few times.

Leigh resumed her position on the couch. She could feel Krimsyn’s tension. She was like a caged tigress, afraid and agitated.  Anything could set her off, at any time.

“They saw the clip of him in Barnacle Bay. The phones haven’t stopped ringing since. They all want him Leigh, SWAT, VIA, VLC. They all fucking want a piece of him! This is what I was afraid of,” she cried, wringing her hands tightly behind her.

Leigh shifted in her seat, taking in Krimsyn’s revelation. She’d had no clue. No idea J.D. had ties to law enforcement.

“I’m sorry,” Leigh mumbled weakly, not sure what she was sorry for though. If it wasn’t obvious before, it was now, painfully so, she didn’t know anything about the Frosts and J.D., yet she was about to have babies with one of them!

“It’s not your fault. I’m just so mad that’s all. I made him give it up, and now it’s come back to bite me in the ass!” Krimsyn let out a long angry sigh.

Now’s probably not the right time to mention Michaela and Cameron. Leigh thought as she felt one of her babies’ kicks. She squirmed in her seat, trying to get comfortable and release the pressure on her ribs.

“Enough about me, what’s going on?” Krimsyn changed the topic.

Leigh, knowing she may never get another opening like this one, took her chances.

“Krisis and Thornton.” She saw the look of shocked horror on Krimsyn’s face and she knew she’d hit pay dirt.

“He told you?” Krimsyn asked, her voice trembling with bewilderment. “He promised he wouldn’t. He promised he’d never mention it to anyone he’s our father!”

“What?” Leigh asked, unable to mask her shock. The truth was, when she mentioned Krisis and Thornton she was just reaching. She’d had no idea what to expect, but she knew it wasn’t this. This was huge. Thornton and Krisis, father and son. Shit!

“What do you mean what? You mean you didn’t know?” Krimsyn hissed when she realized her mistake. Leigh had tricked her.

“Since his meeting with Thornton he’s been acting strange and I suspected it had a lot to do with that, I just wasn’t sure though. But thank you for confirming it,” Leigh replied, getting ready to leave.

“Thornton was attacking you Leigh and Krisis defended you, defended his love for you. That man is a piece of shit! Since Jacqueline’s death he’s been taking cheap shots at Krisis about you. The last one Krisis couldn’t ignore. He lashed out, they fought in his office and that’s when he overheard Thornton and his PA talk about your kids, who happen to be his grandkids, if he’s telling the truth.” Krimsyn explained.

“Enough!” Leigh cried angrily. She wished Krimsyn would stop making excuses for her brother, wished she’d stop telling her about Krisis and Thornton and their fight. “He didn’t tell me, and that’s all that matters right now. Our kids have a grandfather, Krisis knew about it, yet he chose to keep quiet!”

“I asked him not to say anything to anyone. But knowing Krisis, he would have told you. Eventually. Thornton’s a powerful man; he made sure Krisis got away with Vlad’s death. That kind of power is bound to make people question things. Right now Krisis is struggling with it, and the idea of Thornton being our father. He’s at a fragile place, questioning everything, especially our careers.”

“I don’t care. We’re supposed to have a blood bond. He’s supposed to tell me things, and not keep stuff from me!” Leigh howled at Krimsyn and the moment she did, she wished she hadn’t because she wasn’t ready for Krimsyn’s comeback.

“But you’re also keeping stuff from him Leigh. About your parents. Krisis knows.”

For a long time Leigh stood in the middle of the room, frozen in place, trying to process everything. She had no idea when the conversation had moved on from Krisis to her parents, no idea how Krisis even knew about them, their deaths weren’t publicized. Unless…

“He did a background check on me?” Leigh asked incredulously. Krimsyn didn’t have to say anything; it was there, in her eyes, the whole nasty truth.

“I’m sorry. I don’t want to talk about this anymore. If you have questions Krisis should answer them.”

Leigh agreed.

She didn’t remember what she said to Krimsyn as she was leaving, or if she’d even said goodbye, that’s how shocked she was, numb from everything. She found herself in her car, crying her eyes out, unable to drive away.

 Maybe she should have left it alone, dropped it like Krisis had suggested.