An Inconvenient Flame

Chapter 41 - As Long As There's Christmas

Jade sat by the bay window of the cabin with hot chocolate in her hand and smiled at the falling snow. They had been in Colorado since Tuesday and every moment was filled with fun and laughter. It was now Thursday and late Christmas Eve morning.

It was Tatum tradition to have a big dinner on Christmas Eve instead of Christmas Day. Christmas Day in all Tatum households was reserved for Mass, presents, naps and movies.

"Jade, when are you going to start cooking?" James questioned like the fiend he was. "I will have your crack ready for dinner at 6pm, Jimmy Jam." He chuckled at her before heading off to find his father outside.

Jenna was braiding Layla's hair while Hannah Jean read 'A Christmas Carole.' Jade smiled to herself thankful for the family time shared. It was the first Christmas she and Quinn weren't together. It sucked, but she knew Quinn was having a blast with Elijah on their honeymoon in Turks and Caicos.

Oliver was with his family in Dallas while Liam and his family took a trip to their home country in Germany. She loved that for them. Jade was happy that everyone was away.

She knew what the chief of police and Jenna had to say on the matter. There was no reason to be worried, but she couldn't help it. This stalker and their unknown identity scared her.

Jason didn't want to talk about it. In his mind it would settle itself and they just needed to move on. Jenna knew he and James would both behave that way and told Jade not to even bother.

Her father had dug into Elizabeth Holland whose alibi matched what the police already told them. Papa Melnik also discovered that Elizabeth was unaware she was being recorded raping Jason from a recorded conversation between her and the chief of police.

It caused him to send his men to Elizabeth's condos to stealthily see if the cameras were still there and they were. The cameras were traced back to an unidentifiable IP address that let them know they were truly dealing with a professional.

They looked into William Thomas as well and found nothing out of line on his end. He was the perfect citizen and seemed like an overall good guy on paper, but Jenna wasn't so easily fooled and told Jade to wait on his whereabouts from that night.

Jade knew Jenna was bummed to hear that William was not only with his teammates like Jason the night of the attack, but he had ordered room service five minutes before the actual attack. Jade was secretly hoping it was William so she could have a face for her nightmares, but now they were back to square one.

The days after the incident and leading up to the trip Jade found herself on alert every time she left the house. She had the new security, but was still on edge. Quinn and the rest were made aware of everything and Jade sternly instructed that everyone stay safe.

Thanks to their connection to her, no one knew what this stalker was willing to do to get Jade's attention, so she ensured that every family member had a body guard including the men. She took comfort that even now that her sister was thousands of miles away, Quinn and Elijah were safe and guarded.

Now that they were together in Colorado with their security, Jade felt she could breathe a little better. "You having fun, pretty girl?" Jason said sitting in front of her. He pulled her legs to rest on him and smiled. "I'm having a blast. That cream cheese filled French toast Mama made was amazing."

Jason nodded his head with a chuckle. "They're my Dad's favorite, but she only makes it on holiday mornings to keep him jonesing for it all year long." Jade laughed at that.

"How's my main man doing?" Jade shook her head. "He's been doing the absolute most. Kicking like he's preparing to take over for Cristiano." She sucked her teeth while Jason laughed heartily. He placed his hand on her stomach right in time to feel Jaxon kick.