A State Of Grace Pt 03 2

Here is Part 3, folks. Those who care to do so are invited to read the Author's Note at the end of this chapter. Enjoy!

- CM

*****

That evening when Kevin came home, I had dinner ready and waiting. It was just spaghetti with meatballs, but it was one of his favorites. He dug in with gusto!

"This is really good, Gracie!" he said. "Thank you!"

"I'm glad you like it, Kevin," I said, smiling as I watched him enjoy his dinner.

As we ate, we enjoyed each other's company in companionable silence. When we finished, I put away the leftovers while he washed the dishes. Then we settled ourselves on the couch.

"So," I began, almost reluctant to broach the subject. "You said you had an idea about our little underground problem?"

"I did, and I do," he agreed, draping an arm around my shoulders. "First, I'm going to clone the hard drive on that computer. Then, I'm going to make a 'surprise discovery.'"

"Oh?" I asked.

He nodded his head firmly.

"Yes," he said. "My story for the police will go like this: You and I got tired of all that office furniture, and since our Aunt Lily didn't want it either, we decided to get rid of it. When we went to remove the credenza, imagine what we found!"

"Sounds reasonable to me," I said with a shrug. "I assume you're cloning the hard drive for insurance purposes? Like, if there is a crooked cop somewhere in the chain of command?"

"Not entirely, although that thought had obviously occurred to me," he replied. "It's more that I want to find out exactly what our late uncle was really up to. To be honest, I can't believe he kept those video files on his computer. Granted, it was tucked away in a spot that was damn difficult to find. Still, he had to know there was more than enough there to put his ass away for a very long time."

"So why do you think he did keep all those files?" I asked.

"I can see two reasons right off the bat," he said. "You're the psychologist, so you can tell me which one you think is more likely. First, I think he kept some of them for personal enjoyment like a teenager might save his/her favorite porn clips in a secure folder on a computer. Second - and more to the point, really - I think it was an insurance policy of his own. Obviously, I haven't looked at everything there is to see, but I'll bet there are all kinds of records of his business dealings. Not just what he was doing, but who he was doing it with! If anyone tried to turn on Trent, he probably has enough down there to take the whole lot of them down with him!"

"That's certainly consistent with the way he thinks...I mean, the way he thought. But, wouldn't he have been worried about hacking?" I asked. I wasn't nearly as good with computers as Kevin was, but I knew enough to know that computer hard drives aren't the safest of places to store data these days.

"I doubt he was too concerned with hacking," Kevin snorted.

"Why wouldn't he be?"

Kevin shot me an incredulous look.

"Gracie, honey, there's no internet connection down there," he said. "There's no Wi-Fi or ethernet. That computer downstairs is completely isolated. The only way to see what's on the hard drive is to access it through the local interface."

He shrugged.

"The only thing he had to do under those circumstances was to make sure no one had physical access to the computer, other than him. Obviously, he must have been successful as far as that went."

Kevin sighed and pressed a gentle kiss on the top of my head. He squeezed me in a one-armed hug before he continued.

"My idea was to call Detective Lewis," he said, and I nodded.

Detective Andrea Lewis had been the lead detective assigned to investigate the shooting of Trent. She had dealt with the case fairly. She might or might not be assigned to the case I'm sure was about to be launched.

"I agree, she'd be the one to call," I said. Then I sighed.

"What-" Kevin began, then broke off. After a moment, he tried again. "What do we do about Aunt Lily?" His voice was very quiet.

"I'm not sure there is anything we CAN do for Aunt Lily," I replied, sadly. "At least, we can't do it ourselves. She needs the kind of help I can't give her. I won't lie to you, Kevin: it might actually be best to just let her be. She most likely doesn't consciously remember any of what she's been through. She might have nightmares, but that would probably be about it. As it is right now, she seems to be functioning fine; she's even enjoying life! She's engaging with family again, especially her children - even Jack! I see no need to rock the boat right now. If things change, if she starts to have waking flashbacks, or if it starts to impact her life in some other way, we should revisit the issue."

Kevin sat still for a long moment, thinking it through, and then he nodded his head slowly.

"Gracie, I trust your judgment on this a lot more than I'd ever trust my own. I'll go along with your advice."

I smiled and leaned back into him, snuggling close. I've always known that Kevin respected me and my intelligence. Nevertheless, his praise was always welcome! Then I felt his body tense beneath me.

"What's wrong, Kev?" I asked.

"I was just thinking," he said, his voice quiet.

I knew that tone. His brain was chewing on a problem, and I knew from experience that if I wanted an answer, it would be best to wait for him to work it out rather than try to pry it out before he was ready. So I waited patiently for several minutes while my brother tried to solve the problem on his mind.

"I was thinking about Jack," he said, finally.

That caught me a little off guard. As Kevin mentioned earlier in his part of our story, our cousin Jack was Elizabeth's oldest brother, and he'd been incarcerated since Kevin was in high school. Neither of us had ever asked why. The subject always reduced Elizabeth to tears, and Aunt Lily always got a blank, far away look whenever it came up. A blank, far away look? Could Kevin be thinking...

"I wonder if all of this has anything to do with why he's been locked up," Kevin said then, confirming what I'd been expecting. "It's an almost impossible subject to discuss with Aunt Lily - or Liza, for that matter. A couple years ago, I did quietly bring it up with the twins, but they didn't know anything about it that we haven't already heard. Elizabeth was the only one actually living at home at the time it happened, and no one would tell them any more about it than we already know. Even the trial records are sealed by court order."

"Are you thinking that Jack was a part of this, or are you thinking he found out and tried to put a stop to it?"

"It's literally impossible to say at this point, Gracie," he replied. "That's yet another reason I want to take a look at what's on that damn computer. I want to think that Jack tried to stop Trent, but ran into trouble and ended up getting sold up the river. But then, I always want to believe the best of people. It's one of my weaknesses."

"On the contrary!" I said, sharply. "It's a strength! Not to mention the fact that it's one of the many things I love about you!"

He smiled at me, then we shared a deep loving kiss. After a while, we parted and he closed his eyes.

"When are you going to call the detective?" I asked, finally.

"I'll want at least a couple of days before I do that," he said. "I want to do at least a little poking around beforehand. Hopefully, I won't find her name anywhere in there. But like you pointed out, in the end, I'll have to make the call no matter what. We quite simply can't hang on to all of that stuff."

"What if," I began, "We simply pretend that we never discovered it at all?"

"I'd thought about that," he admitted. "In fact, I almost suggested it to you. I guess if I'm going to be totally honest, I'm still thinking about it. It's not our house, and it's not our problem. I guess I just have this stubborn sense of duty that I don't have the common sense to put aside!"

He gave me a self-deprecating smile and shook his head. I took a moment and thought about the situation. Would it really be so bad for us to forget about that room and go on with our lives? To leave the mess for Aunt Lily to clean up? Surely we've fought our way (literally) through enough obstacles to satisfy anyone's sense of fair play! Haven't we earned the right to live our lives and be happy, without having to worry about everyone else's misery?

But even as these thoughts wound their way through my head, I knew what the answer to my internal question was. Kevin would never stand by and do nothing if he found out our cousin had been wrongfully imprisoned. He would never let a member of our family be harmed, either by his actions or by his inaction. It was his nature.

I also knew that I would be there by his side because that's where I belonged. Whatever happened, whatever fires we had to walk through, I would be there with him! His joys and sorrows, his triumphs and his defeats, his pleasures and his agonies, his peace and his battles, were all mine to share. Together we would prosper, or together we would die. Never again would I be parted from him. If that meant we never had a peaceful life with a little house, white picket fence, and 2.5 kids, then so be it!

"No. We can't do that," I said softly. "We can't just pretend we didn't find it."

I tilted my face up to look him in the eyes.

"I know you'll never let it go, love! And the truth is, I don't want you to. I think we have to do this. We have to see this through, no matter how deep the rot turns out to be. We'll face it together, Kevin, just like we will face everything else for the rest of our lives!"

"There's another thing to consider, too, before we make the call," Kevin said. "We need to sit down with Elizabeth and Fleur and tell them everything. They have a right to know."

"Yes, they have a right to know," I agreed. "I just hope that Elizabeth can handle the shock."

"She can handle anything, as long as Fleur is there for her," Kevin replied confidently. "They're a lot like us in that respect, you know."

I smiled at him again before leaning into his chest. He gently stroked my hair, and I savored the affectionate caress. After a few moments of snuggling like that together, he took my hand and pulled me to my feet. Without speaking a word, he switched off the lights and led me to our bedroom.

I could feel myself start to moisten as he lifted me off of my feet and set me down on our bed. Then in a sudden, surprising move, his hands slid under my skirt and grabbed my panties, and pulled them off! Moving with the same startling speed, he dove between my thighs to lick my labia!

"Oooooh, Kevin!" I cried, as he explored my pussy with his tongue.

He spent a minute or two on my sensitive labia, before slipping his warm tongue between them to probe my inner folds. I grabbed the headboard and held on for dear life as he suddenly attacked my clit (which by this point was swollen completely out of its hood). I was so aroused that I came after only a few minutes of his loving attention.

I was still coming down from that wonderful orgasm when I felt him climb into bed with me.

"Oohhh," I moaned, as he slid his thick shaft into me.

I hadn't expected him to mount me so quickly, and the sudden feeling right on the heels of my orgasm pushed me to the edge of having another one! Kevin didn't even pause to finish undressing; he thrust as deeply inside of me as he could and held himself there, eyes closed as he savored the feeling for a moment.

I reached out and stroked his face with my hand, and his eyes opened again.

"Oh Gracie, I never get tired of this feeling," he said softly, and then he started thrusting in and out in a gentle rhythm.

I growled passionately and rocked my hips up to meet his thrusts. I never got tired of this feeling either! When Kevin takes me, it's like I experience a little taste of heaven! Kevin, without breaking pace, leaned down and kissed me deeply. I moaned into his mouth as I came again, hard! My intense orgasm triggered his, and Kevin cried out as he shot his seed into me.

"Aahhh!" he cried.

Afterward, he settled down onto the bed next to me and pulled me close against his side. Both of us were still breathing a little hard from our passionate exertions. A few moments passed before I caught my breath. Then I turned my face up to look at him.

"Damn, that was so good, Kevin!" I said.

He smiled at me and kissed me gently.

"After all the tension that's been between us for the last few days, and then not being able to make love to you last night, I was pretty worked up!" he admitted, sheepishly. "Judging from your reaction, you must have felt the same way!"

"Oh yeah," I said in enthusiastic agreement. "We both needed that!"

We cuddled and kissed for a while, just enjoying being close to each other. But, finally, I noticed how late it was getting. I knew Kevin had to work again in the morning, so I pulled him up out of bed and helped him into the shower. After taking care of our dirty clothes, I joined him!

I love to shower with Kevin, even when we don't fool around. His habit of washing me is so intimate and loving, it never fails to just absolutely melt my heart! And of course, I washed him too! After that, it was straight back to bed for a night of restful sleep, cuddled securely in his strong arms.

###

Over the next couple of days, Kevin and I returned to the smooth, happy routine we'd established when we first moved in. I'll say it again, it was almost exactly like what I'd imagined being married would be like! I put the issue of that bastard Trent's secret hidey hole out of my mind. I didn't forget about it, I made a conscious decision to put it aside and let Kevin handle it.

The Wednesday after our discovery of the secret room in the basement, I came home from class at the usual time. Oddly, Kevin wasn't in the kitchen like he usually was. Oh, I could see the Crockpot simmering away with something that smelled fabulous, but Kevin was nowhere to be seen.

"Kevin?" I called.

"In here, Gracie!" he called back, from the door to den.

I strode quickly into the small room that Kevin used as a den, or maybe man-cave would be a better term. It was the room where he did most of his gun-related stuff that didn't involve actually pulling the trigger. That was the reason I wasn't really surprised to find, when I entered the room, that he had his AR-15 disassembled and laid out very carefully on the folding work table.

Kevin looked up at me and smiled as I entered.

"I'd come give you a kiss, but I've got oil all over my hands," he explained. "Sorry! I will be done in just a couple of minutes, okay, Love?"

"No problem," I said. "Do you mind if I watch you? I know how to field-strip my pistol, but I've never really done anything with a rifle."

"Sure!" Kevin said, enthusiastic about sharing one of his favorite activities with me.

He waved me closer and moved a little to one side so I could stand next to him at the folding table. I could see that he had separated the upper and lower receivers and removed the bolt/carrier group. He was in the middle of applying some kind of red liquid to the threads of a tiny screw. As I looked more closely, I noticed that there was something different about the rifle, but I couldn't quite put my finger on what it was. Kevin didn't make me wait long to find out.

"I got a great deal on this new M-LOK handguard for my AR," he said. "I like this system a little better than the 4-rail version I used to use. This way, I can attach whatever I really need to have on my carbine, while not having to deal with the cheese-grater-effect from the 4-rail handguard. And as an added bonus, it leaves the barrel free-floated for better accuracy and heat dissipation!"

Full disclosure, I wasn't really sure what he was talking about. But he sounded really excited about whatever it was, so it must be something cool, useful, or both. As I watched, Kevin started to thread the screw into place into the handguard, about where the barrel nut was.

"What's the red stuff?" I asked.

"It's thread-locking compound," he said. "It will help prevent these screws from backing out due to recoil forces, heat, or other vibratory disruptions."

Huh? Heat was obvious, and I had a good notion of what recoil was, but...

Kevin finished tightening the screws, and then he quickly put his AR-15 back together. I was impressed with how quickly he did it, too!

"I made your favorite vegetable soup," he said, as he snapped the upper and lower receivers together and put the pins back into place. "And the bread should be just about ready to come out of the oven, too."

"Sounds delicious!" I said, happily. Kevin's recipe was better than Grandma's, but there was no way in hell I'd ever tell her that!

"I'm glad!" he replied with a winning smile. "I'll just clean up and we'll eat!"

Kevin picked up a loaded 30-round magazine and slapped it into his carbine, then racked the charging handle with a smooth, well-practiced motion. He checked to be sure his Aimpoint sight was on, then he put his carbine back in the safe and locked it.

Kevin served the soup in the bread bowls he'd baked, and we dug in heartily. It was the last week of March (and technically spring), but the evenings were still on the chilly side; the hot soup and thick warm bread were welcome!

"I called Fleur," Kevin said. "She and Liza are coming over this Friday night. Crystal will be coming over too. We'll sit down and tell them what we've found. After that, we'll make the decision on when to call the police."

I nodded my head after a few moments. Kevin noticed my sudden nervousness and reached across the table to take my hand.

"Do I want to know what all you found on that computer?" I asked quietly.

Kevin sighed, and squeezed my hand, comfortingly.

"No," he said, without elaborating any further. "Be that as it may, you'll find out along with the others in a couple of days. I won't hide anything from you, Love."

"I know that Kev, and I don't want you to hide anything from me," I said. "That doesn't mean I'm exactly looking forward to hearing about it. That man was one sick bastard!"

"You really have no idea," Kevin said flatly, looking down at the table top. "No idea at all!"

I was nervous as Friday approached. Looking back, I'm not sure how I made it through my classes - hell, I don't know how I made it through the day at all! In the days immediately after Kevin had killed Trent, I'd gotten out of the habit of arming myself. I don't really know why; it wasn't really a conscious decision on my part.

Since the night we'd found that damned secret room, though, I'd once again started carrying my Smith & Wesson Shield tucked inside my waistband. And yes, for all you hall monitors out there, I'm very - one might even say painfully - aware of the fact that doing so is in violation of University policy, even though I have a valid permit to carry. That's okay, though. I don't plan on telling anyone I'm doing it (other than Kevin, of course).

I even managed a quick trip to the pistol range on Thursday, during the long break between my morning and afternoon classes. After putting a few magazines through my pistol, I felt comfortable with it again. I don't enjoy the shooting sports like Kevin does, but I can honestly say I'm not too bad at it. Oh, I'll never be a competition shooter or anything, but I can make the bullet go where I need it to go. That's all that matters. Yep, if I ever have to defend myself against paper targets, I'm really gonna kick some ass!

Friday night finally arrived, though. As I entered the house from the garage, I was greeted with delicious smells, yet again.

"Hi, baby!" I said, squeezing Kevin close.

Kevin cupped my face in with one hand and kissed me while holding me close with his other. It felt so amazingly good that I leaned in closer. I sensuously licked and nibbled his lower lip, and in moments his tongue was sliding wetly along mine.