Dawn of Eve, MJ Howson [lightweight ebook reader TXT] 📗

Avenue, turning left to head back to her building. Dawn collected glares and laughter as she walked barefoot, swaying Eve’s broken body in her arms, tears covering her face.

Once back at the Spire, she ignored the flood of questions from the doorman and woman working the front desk. The ride to the penthouse seemed to take forever. Dawn’s arms felt like they were made of lead as she stared at Eve’s ripped red velvet dress in her arms. She still couldn’t believe what had happened.

Soon the elevator glided to a halt and the doors opened. She scurried through her lobby and into her apartment. Dawn closed the door and said, “Evelyn, revoke all security access for Jacob Jilani.”

“Security for Jacob Jilani has been revoked,” the smart home system replied.

“Evelyn, notify the front desk Jacob Jilani is no longer allowed in this building.”

“Notification sent.”

Dawn lowered her head and raised Eve’s dress to her face so she could smell her baby’s clothing. She walked to the spiral staircase and made her way to the second floor, stopping at the nursery. The door was still open, and she could see the red stars and nebulas streaming across the walls and ceiling.

The tears returned as Dawn continued up to the owner’s suite. Pieces of wood covered the carpeting, and the door hung crookedly in its frame. Dawn carried Eve’s remains to her bed and laid the dress down, slowly unfolding it. There was so little of the doll left. Dozens of porcelain pieces clinked together as Dawn ran her trembling fingers through the fragments.

“I failed you, Eve. I failed you as a mother.” Dawn gently kissed Eve’s fractured head and asked, “Are . . . are you still in there? Can you hear me? Can you?”

Forty

SAM

Jacob watched with curiosity as Sean’s quivering hands searched the folds in the blanket. The bedroom felt unusually quiet, with only the occasional creak from the box-spring breaking the silence. Sean’s revelation that he knew about Jacob’s non-gym clients took Jacob by complete surprise. When Sean finally found his cellphone, a smile spread across Jacob’s face.

Sean unlocked his phone and swiped until he found the SAM app. He opened the app and scrolled to his Saved Profiles. Sean held the phone up so Jacob could see Taylor’s profile. He said, “I found you.”

Jacob took the phone from Sean’s hand and flipped through the three shirtless public-facing pictures. He asked, “What makes you think this is me? There’s no face.”

“Seriously?” Sean pointed at Jacob’s open shirt. “I know those abs. You walk around shirtless half the time.”

Jacob swiped through the photos again. He’d hired a photographer to shoot the pictures in a studio. All were in black and white, with lighting designed to accentuate his body and leather gear. He knew they were better than every other profile on the app. Jacob looked at Sean and said, “Plenty of guys are built like this. These could–”

“Enough, Jacob. Just admit it.”

“Fine.” Jacob stared at Sean’s phone, admiring his pictures. “Remind me to unlock my private ones for you. Those are even better.” He looked at Sean and asked, “So, how long have you known?”

“That you were on SAM? Oh, um, for a while now. Ever since you told me I should get online.”

“When I told you to get online, I meant a hookup site, or better, a legitimate dating app. Not some kinky sex service.” Jacob tussled Sean’s hair and added, “Look at you, you little perv. It’s always the quiet ones.” Jacob closed his Taylor profile and briefly browsed through the half dozen other members Sean had saved. He then tapped over to Sean’s profile. After reading it, he asked, “Your username is John-117?”

“He’s from one of my video games.”

Jacob groaned and continued to scroll through Sean’s info. Sean tried to take his phone back, but Jacob nudged him away. He sighed and asked, “Why is your profile so empty? No pic. No details. And you haven’t hooked up yet?”

“No.”

Jacob glanced through Sean’s profile settings. He said, “I see you’re in private mode, so nobody can find you. Did you create this profile just to stalk me?”

“No!” Sean snatched the phone away and tucked it between his legs. “One day, you’d left your phone in the kitchen. You were in the shower, and it buzzed with a notification from SAM. I’d never heard of the app, so I went looking.”

“How long did it take you to find me?”

“Not long.” Sean picked up his phone and stared at his profile. “I . . . I looked in your bag, too. The duffel bag.”

“Really?” Jacob demanded privacy and had told Sean when he moved in that his bedroom was off-limits. As much as he wanted to remind Sean of this agreement, he found himself too intrigued to get upset. Pieces of the Sean Stone puzzle were slowly falling into place, and Jacob liked what he was seeing. He smiled and asked, “Snooping through my room?”

“I . . . I was just curious.”

“Curiosity is what SAM’s all about.” Jacob put his arm around Sean and pulled him closer. “So, you have some deep hidden sadomasochistic fantasies you need to be fulfilled?”

“No!” Sean yanked himself free and stood up. “I told you I was just looking. I saw the SAM notification on your phone, and well, one thing led to another.” The anguish in Sean’s voice faded to guilt. “Sorry. I . . . I should have told you earlier. I tried to, a couple of times, but . . . .”

“Sit back down.” Jacob patted the mattress beside him. “I’m not mad, Sean. It’s okay.”

Sean cautiously sat next to Jacob, keeping one foot on the floor.

“I’m guessing you have a lot of questions,” Jacob said. “Ask away.”

“Ask what?”

“About SAM. It’s okay, Sean. We’re friends, right?”

Sean lifted his foot off the floor and curled up beside Jacob. He grabbed his phone and stared at the Taylor profile in the SAM app. He looked up and asked, “Do you, uh,