25. Kennedy
CHAPTER 25
KENNEDY
“ I ’m sorry, I’ve had what chained around my neck for two years?”
“They’re shipping logs. Though for what, I’m not quite sure. Everything is written in code, and without the key, it’s useless.”
“Useless?” I choke on the word. It’s vile. Poison. How can it be useless when so many have died for it?
“Not useless,” Elijah corrects. “We just need the key in order to decode it.”
“What key? I don’t have a key.”
“It’s not a key like you’d unlock a door,” Bradyn explains. “It’s a document that decodes the order in which the letters are arranged.” I continue staring back at him as though he’s speaking a foreign language. “Olivia didn’t give you any hints as to what it could be? Did she say anything to you that sounded strange? Like she was trying to give you hints?”
“No. Nothing.” Another blow. Another hit to my already worn soul. Why me? Why can’t I be the normal girl? The one who gets to graduate college, fall in love, get married, and have a nauseating happily ever after like the ones you see in Hallmark movies?
“We’ll figure it out,” Bradyn says.
“See, you keep saying that, but every time I turn around, we’re hitting another wall.” The panic is setting in, and it’s all I can do to remain breathing. Useless? This thing was supposed to be the key to everything.
It was supposed to set me free.
“There are no clues to what they’re shipping?” Jaxson questions.
“No,” Elijah replies. “They covered their tracks well. If they’re killing for it, though?—”
“It’s bad.” Bradyn crosses his arms. “Likely drugs, people, guns—maybe all three. But the other problem with this is that, since it’s two years old, they could’ve changed the entire operation.”
“So it really is useless.” I shake my head. Why didn’t she give me more to go off of? Or at least tell me there was an expiration date.
“It’s unlocked,” Bradyn says. “So that’s one step done.”
“Unlocked but unreadable,” I reply. “Completely and utterly unreadable.” I close my eyes tightly and shake my head.
“Look, I copied the data, so I’m going to run it through a program, see if I can find some kind of pattern we can go off of.” Elijah offers me a kind smile as he ejects the thumb drive and offers it back to me. Then he packs up his laptop. “We’re going to head in and get some sleep. We’re right next door if you need us.” He taps on the door adjoining our rooms. “Just knock.”
He and Jaxson slip inside and shut their side of the door. Bradyn closes ours then takes a seat on the edge of the bed directly across from me.
He looks tired, too. But still oh-so-handsome. His jaw is covered in thick stubble, courtesy of having not shaved in a few days, and his hair is a mess from running his hands through it so many times.
Is it bad that I long to do that? Run my fingers through it so I can feel the smooth strands for myself? If only to offer a distraction from this horrible nightmare I’ve found myself in.
“I’m sorry. I know I’m being pessimistic, but I’ve—” I trail off, frustration stealing my voice.
Bradyn reaches forward and takes my hands into his. The feel of the calloused palms against my skin sends shivers up my spine. I want those arms wrapped around me. I want him to hold me and tell me everything is going to be all right.
And better yet, I want to believe him.
“You’ve spent two years carrying the weight of a dead woman’s secret around your neck.”
Though his tone is gentle as he delivers those words, the heaviness of that simple statement crashes down on me.
He continues, “But what you see as a roadblock, I see as a clue. This is one more piece of the puzzle, Kennedy. One more thing slipping into place.”
“Except we can’t read it without a key. I don’t even know where Olivia found that thing. How are we going to find a key?”
“It’s a pattern that we’re looking for, and we’ll find it. Like he said, Elijah has a copy of the data encrypted on his laptop. He’ll keep working on it. Maybe he can crack it without one.”
“That’s possible?”
“For men like him and Tucker, it is.”
I nod, feeling a little flicker of hope settle over me. “And until then?”
“We go home.”
That hope is dashed out at the mere thought of what happened last night happening to his family. “We can’t go back. Don’t you get it? Your entire family is at risk if I’m there. Every single person you love.”
“Kennedy.”
“No, Bradyn. You said it yourself; you don’t know me at all, so risking the lives of your family for me makes no sense.”
“Except it makes every sense.” He pushes off the bed and sinks down to his knees in front of me.
My breath catches as he takes my hand and presses it against his chest, right over his pounding heart. I can feel the beat of life moving through him, and through the panic, I focus on that and that alone.
“You came to my ranch for a reason.”
“To lay low for a while,” I reply.
“You were led there. Whether you want to believe it or not, I do. And I will fight for you until there is nothing left in my lungs.”
“Bradyn—”
“Kennedy.”
My eyes fill, making my vision of him blurry. I try to blink away the tears, but one slips free, and he reaches up to wipe it away with his thumb.
So strong yet so tender.
“So many people have already died for me, Bradyn.”
“I won’t be another one of them.”
“If we go back there and anything happens?—”
“I have a plan. They won’t even know we’re there. Do you trust me?”
“With my life.” And I realize that I believe it. Bradyn Hunt will keep me safe; that much I know to be true. Why? I have no idea, but he’ll protect me. The question is: Who will protect him?
“You have so much confidence.”
He grins. “I have so much faith . And I believe that God has a plan for us all. This is part of mine. You are part of mine.”
“There’s that word again. Faith.” I want to believe like he does. I did for a while. But after what happened to my parents, to Olivia, how am I supposed to believe in anything good when I’ve gone toe-to-toe with darkness?
“There’s that word again,” he repeats. “Because, no matter what happens, no matter what trials we face, I know He’s right there, walking through it with us.”
“I wish I could believe that.”
“Give it time,” he replies. “You just might start to see.”
It’s nearly two in the morning when someone pounds on our door. I shoot up out of bed, adrenaline surging through my system, but Bradyn is already out of his bed and opening the door between our room and the one Elijah and Jaxson are sharing.
I get up and limp over toward him, grateful that I can put a bit more weight on my ankle this morning.
“What is it?” Bradyn asks.
“Proximity alarm,” he replies then turns a tablet around so we can see the screen. An entire team of what looks like SWAT is lining up in the parking lot. “I set them up before bed. My guess is they’re here for you and her.”
I’ve seen what Bradyn can do, and I imagine both Elijah and Jaxson are capable too. But I also know, without a doubt, that there’s no fighting our way out of this.
So what do we do?
Trust in Me. Those three words come rushing to me like a freight train, though I have no idea what they mean.
Bradyn rushes into our room and starts shoving my stuff into my bag then clips the leash on Bravo. The whole thing is done so quickly that I barely have time to process what he’s doing. “Get Kennedy and Bravo back to the ranch.”
“What? No! What are you going to do?”
“Buy you time,” he replies then tugs the blankets back up over the bed and tosses his bag on top so it doesn’t look like anyone was sleeping there.
“Bradyn, they’re going to kill you.” Panic claws at my heart, suffocating me. This can’t be happening. He can’t be seriously considering staying here and letting them catch him.
“I’ll be fine.”
“If I can get out, then so can you. Come with me. Please.” Tears stream down my cheeks as I grip his arm, trying to tug him toward the door.
But Bradyn is a wall that will not be moved. He reaches up and cups my cheek. “You have to go with them.”
“You have to come too.”
“If I’m not here, that room is the first one they’re going to. This way, at least there’s a chance.”
“Bradyn.”
“Kennedy.” He leans in and presses a kiss to my forehead. “I’ll find you, okay? I will make it back. Trust me.”
“I don’t want to go without you.” Tears stream down my cheeks now. The idea of leaving Bradyn here to a fate that’s not his own is killing me right where I stand.
“It’s not me they want. They’ll let me go.”
“We’re out of time, guys. They’re at the bottom of the stairs,” Elijah urges.
“Go. Get her to the ranch.” Bradyn releases me, and Elijah tugs me into the room while Jaxson takes Bravo’s leash.
Bradyn leans down and runs his hand over Bravo’s head. “Be a good boy, Bravo.”
“Bradyn—”
“Go,” he says, keeping his voice low. “Please.”
I back into the room, knowing that if I get caught in here, it’ll make this sacrifice meaningless. If they get all of us, no one will know where to find us, and I’ll have dragged three more men into the body count.
So, even though I don’t want to, I go.
“Keep her safe.”
“You have our word,” Jaxson replies. “And we’ll get you out.”
“I know.” He offers me one final smile then shuts the door. The lock clicks behind him.
A loud boom echoes like thunder, and muffled yelling fills my ears. I cover my mouth, choking on a scream as I imagine them attacking Bradyn, cuffing him, and hauling him away like a criminal when it’s really me they want.
“Come here,” Elijah orders. He takes my hand and tugs me over toward the small closet. Then, he hands me Bravo’s leash and closes us both inside.
I’m immediately plunged back into that nightmare two years ago.
I can barely hear the sound of a knock at the door.
Nor can I make out the words spoken.
All I can do is wait for the door to open…and my life to end.