The powerful spray soon woke us up completely, and once we’d removed all traces of what we’d been doing, Kat insisted on washing my cock slowly and with great attention to detail (little minx!), while I counted and re-counted the tiles in the cubicle to prevent the male reflex, something she was trying so hard to kick-start!
We made it out of the shower without any further slippery games, and I was sitting on the bed doing up my tie when there was a soft knock on the door. Kat froze, then scooted onto the bed next to me, her eyes wide and frightened.
“Who is it?” I called out, and after a pause;
“Babies, it’s me, it’s Sally, we need to talk, and I want… I want to say I’m sorry!”
I could hear the sadness in her voice, so, with a quick glance at Kat, who bit her lip but nodded, I crossed the room and opened the door. Sarah was standing there, and strangely, so was Max Donnelly. I stood aside and gestured that they come in. I looked quizzically at Sarah, wondering why Max was with her, and indicated she take a seat.
“Frank, Kat, I… I wanted to say I’m sorry for going off at you like that. I have no excuse, I should have listened, we’re family, and family comes first; I’m sorry babies…”
At the mention of family Kat’s ears pricked up, my run-in with Steve Dolan and his threats to Sally obviously looming in her mind.
“Sally, where’s Joey?” she asked, worry and concern in her voice and expression.
Max grinned.
“Don’t worry, Caitlin, my Mary’s looking after him; he’s a lovely kid, I think she’s in love! Sarah told me how that little son of a bitch threatened her, if young Frank there hadn’t kicked his ass, there’s a couple dozen people I know who would have, me included! Joey’s fine, you couldn’t get him away from Mary with a towin’ chain!”
Sarah was looking at me sorrowfully, but without reproach or disgust, and my heart broke for her as I realised how she must feel, the shock she must have felt when we dropped our bombshell on her. Sarah finally forced her face into something resembling its normal lines, and squared her shoulders.
“Okay Frank, Kat, why don’t you tell me about it, and what your plans are.” She said in an almost normal voice, but I could see what it was costing her.
Kat looked at me, nodded slightly and turned back to Sarah.
“Sally, I don’t know where to begin; I’ve always known how I felt about Frankie; he was always my rock and my best friend, he looked after me, he looked out for me, and I’ve always felt he was more than just my big brother; I love him, Sal, I always have. Please don’t hate me, I didn’t mean to hurt you, I don’t want to hurt anyone, but I need Frankie, and he needs me, and we both need you, don’t leave us because of this, please!”
She was crying by the time she’d finished, her eyes fixed on Sarah, and for one awful moment I thought Sarah was going to look right through her, get up and walk away from us forever, just abandon us to our fate.
Of course our big sister did none of those things; instead she reached out and pulled her little sister close to her, letting her cry against her shoulder as she rubbed her back and nuzzled her hair, the way she used to when Kat was a little girl. Sarah looked at me.
“And you, Frank, what about you? How do you feel? Talk to me, baby, please!”
I didn’t know where to begin, so I started at the beginning, rambling on about how Kat had always been the most important thing in my life, how I’d steered her through the rough patches following all our losses, Joe, then Dad, then Mom, and how she’d always been uppermost in my mind, how I’d worried about her, and also how I’d felt when she began dating, the possessiveness and irrational jealousy, and how I’d finally realised what it meant, culminating in our mutual attraction, and what had happened on her Prom night, only a few days ago, I realized with a slight shock, finally winding down once I got to this evening’s confrontation in Sarah’s living room. Sarah listened attentively, nodding now and again as something became clear to her, never once letting go of Kat or ceasing stroking her hair or gently rubbing her back.
At that point Max cleared his throat.
“Frank, Caitlin, you do know what you’re doing is illegal, right?”
We both nodded, and he grinned wryly.
“So I suppose me telling you to stop isn’t really gonna work, is it?”
Again we both nodded, Max grinning as we did.
“Both of you, you look so familiar, and not just because I know you so well; Frank, you’re the image of your father, and you, Caitlin, you have Roisian Moran stamped all over you; your grandmother and your aunt Rosie both. I went to school with your parents, with your aunt Rosie, Caitlin, and I put that silver bangle on your wrist the day you were christened, so I think I have the right to speak to you now, not as Frank’s boss, not as a family friend, but as family. What you’re doing is dangerous; there are people in this town who will use that against you, who have reason to use that against you; you know who I mean, Frank. If word of this gets out, it will be bad, very bad, and will only get worse, for all of you. Sally asked me if I knew of a way to help you; I have one, but you may not like it; in fact I know you won’t; I don’t, and neither does Sally, but it’s the only thing we can do that will keep you both safe.”
Kat looked at me in apprehension, then squared her shoulders and lifted her chin to look him squarely in the eye.
“As long as Frankie and I can be together, we can live with it. What’s your answer, Uncle Max?”
Max clasped his hands in front of him, looking at the floor, a faraway expression on his face.
“The penalty in this state for In… for what you’re doing, is five years on each count, up to ten if the female is under 21, so you’re looking at a possible seven to ten for each count they choose to charge you with; that’s a lot of jail time, Frank, so you have to go; you can’t be together here. We have a new office just opened out of state, they’re in dire need of a good B2B sales manager, I mentioned you before to Human Resources when the vacancy first came up, they thought you were a good fit, now it looks like fate’s taken a hand, so the job’s yours if you decide to take it. The salary is pretty good, there’s a pretty generous relocation assistance package, and the company will pay for your basic accommodation for up to 90 days, which should give you time to find a place of your own.”
Kat looked at him, her lip quivering.
“Where… where is this job, Uncle Max?”
Max looked up, but not at her, rather he looked over her shoulder, fixing his gaze on the wall.
“Santa Clara… in the San Francisco Bay Area…”
Kat gasped, her hand flying to her mouth as she looked in shock at Sarah, who sat with her face expressionless, no flicker of emotion on her face.
“California… Frankie, no, it’s the other side of the country, how can we… Sally… Joey…!”
I was in shock too; even though I agreed with Max that we couldn’t stay here and be safe, to suddenly up-stakes and go all the way to the west coast…!
“Take it, Frank!” hissed Sarah, “You’ll never be safe here, not after today, not after what you did to that filthy bastard, they’ll find out about you somehow, and then… then…!” two big tears rolled down her cheek, but she dashed them away.
“I don’t want you to go, I need you, both of you, you’re all I have left of Mom and Dad, and Papa Mike, but I have to think of Joey as well as you; somehow, some way, those slimy Dolan bastards will find a way to get at you, I’m scared they’ll try and do it through my baby, so I have to ask you to go!”
I looked at Max, trying to see my dad’s best friend, not the man who was helping to break up my family (“but you did that Frankie-boy”, a small voice crowed relentlessly in the back of my mind, “this is your fault, boy, this is what it costs to drop your pants and drag your sister into bed…”)
“When do they want me to start, Max?” I asked, dreading the answer he would give, but when he did answer, it was even worse than I feared.
“Monday, Frank, they’ll want you there first thing Monday morning!”
Kat gasped, her head snapping round to look in anguish at Sally, a low keening rising in her throat.
“NO, that’s only five days away! Sally, I don’t want this, please, I want to stay with you, don’t make me…”
Sarah took her by her arms, then gently but firmly held her chin, stopping her head as she shook it repeatedly in an emphatic ‘no’ gesture.
“Stop it baby, stop it! Listen to me! You have to go, you have to get away from here before they find out how easy it would be to destroy you. You’ll be fine, baby, I promise you, Frankie will be there for you, and with you gone, Joey and I will be safe; Max and the boys will look out for us, and there’s always the Hollister boys to keep Steve Dolan in line; Jonah’s an old friend of mine, if I need him, I know how to get hold of him in a hurry, but as long as you’re here, we’ll never be safe; that piece of garbage will find a way to get back at us through you, so this is the only way to protect everyone. Do it for me, baby, if you’re safe somewhere far from here, out of reach of those vermin, Joey and I’ll be safe too, I promise!”