Chapter 25
Chapter Twenty-Five
Lena
A s I step out of city hall, the sky is dark, except for a few distant stars trying to peek through the clouds. I stayed later than I intended, lost in paperwork, and now, the parking lot is empty, a quiet expanse under the dim glow of the streetlights. My footsteps echo as I make my way to my car, the keys clenched in my hand, the weight of my bag pulling down on my shoulder, and all the other things in my arms, causing me to struggle to open the door to the Bronco.
I glance around, unease creeping in as I quicken my pace. The silence feels wrong.
“Lena.”
My heart skips a beat.
Hank.
I whirl around, my body tense, my breath catching in my throat. He steps out from the shadows, the streetlight casting eerie shadows on his face. He looks almost the same as the last time I saw him, but something is off in his expression, something I can’t place.
I was never really scared of Hank until I learned that he could have been blackmailing Henry. Then I started overthinking all of the times that he was popping out of nowhere.
“Hank?” My voice wavers. Fear pulses through my veins, cold and sharp, making my hands shake as I fumble with my keys. I try to unlock the car door, but my fingers won’t cooperate, and the keys slip from my grip.
“Lena, wait.” His voice is calm, too calm for how I feel right now. He steps closer, and my heart pounds louder, my chest tight. “I’m not here to hurt you.”
I take a step back, my mind racing. My phone is in my purse, my pepper spray somewhere buried beneath all the stuff I hauled out of my office. I glance toward the parking lot’s entrance, but no one is around. No witnesses. It’s just me and him.
“Stay away from me,” I manage, my voice shaky, betraying the terror building inside me.
He raises his hands slowly, palms up, like he’s trying to prove he means no harm. But I don’t trust him. Not for a second.
“I’m not here to hurt you,” he repeats, his tone soft but insistent. “You have to listen to me. You’re in danger.”
Danger?
A wave of panic surges through me, and my breath comes in shallow gasps. I still can’t get my car door open, the lock jamming as I pull at the handle, harder and harder, as if my life depended on it. Because maybe it does.
“I don’t believe you,” I hiss, my voice rising in fear and frustration. “Just leave me alone.”
He takes another step forward, and I freeze, my back pressed against the car. “Lena, I’m serious. You’re in danger, real danger. I need to talk to you.”
I feel like a cornered animal, desperate for any way out. “Get away from me!” I shout, my hand shaking as I try for the door handle again. “Just leave me alone!”
His hand moves toward his pocket, and I freeze, a sharp gasp escaping my lips as I think—he has a gun.
Oh God, this is it .
My eyes slam shut, my body bracing for the worst.
But instead of the cold feel of a gun barrel, I hear his voice again. “Lena, look at me. It’s not what you think.”
I don’t move, my chest heaving as I keep my eyes shut, refusing to open them. I feel him take a cautious step closer.
“I’m with the FBI.”
Slowly, hesitantly, I open my eyes. He’s holding something out, not a gun, but a badge—an FBI badge, glinting in the pale streetlight. My breath hitches, my heart still pounding in my ears as I stare at it, trying to process what he’s saying.
He sees the confusion in my eyes and takes another step back, giving me space. “I’ve been investigating Aaron and the department,” he explains, his voice steady but firm. “I stuck around to investigate his death. I knew people would come after you and Jayla.”
I blink, my mind struggling to catch up with his words.
“What?”
It’s all I can manage. My hand loosens on the car handle as I process what he’s saying, but the panic hasn’t faded. Not yet.
“They think you know something,” he continues. “That’s why you’re in danger. They’re coming after you, Lena. And they won’t stop until they get what they want.”
I stare at him, my heart still racing, but now for a different reason. I shake my head, trying to keep control of the fear that’s still gripping me.
All of the anxiety and fear that was filling me slowly dissipates.
That makes more sense. Henry probably had to make it look like Hank bought the land, but he was letting him use it to hide in plain sight. Henry would have done something to get him out of Hicks Creek if he was a bad person. Because, truly, why would anyone want an old hunting cabin in the middle of nowhere?
I slowly blow out a long breath and let the calm wash over me.
“We can’t talk about this here,” I say. “Not out here. If anyone overhears what Aaron did, if they’re watching...”
He glances around the parking lot, his eyes scanning the shadows. “You’re right. We need to go somewhere safe.”
“My place,” I blurt out. “No. We should go out to the farm where no one in town can see your car there. Jayla’s at basketball practice, and Gavin will be there.”
“I’ll follow you.”
I nod quickly, finally managing to unlock my car door. My hands are still shaking as I climb inside, glancing nervously around the empty lot. He turns and walks toward his old truck, a few rows over. I start the engine, the headlights cutting through the darkness, and for a moment, I just sit there, gripping the steering wheel like it’s the only thing anchoring me.
FBI. Aaron. Danger.
It all swirls in my head like a storm I can’t quite control. But there’s no time to think about it now. I put the car into gear and pull out of the lot. Hank’s truck follows me as we head toward the farm.
I call Gavin, his voice calming me through the speakers. “Hey, beautiful, are you home finally? I was just about to head over there.”
“Change of plans. I’m coming to you.”
“Okay, what’s wrong? Your voice…”
“Hank is FBI. He approached me in the parking lot. He’s following me to the farm.”
“Lena, what? You can’t be leading him through dark country roads!”
“It’s fine. I believe him.”
“Why do you?”
“I don’t know why I believe him; I just do. I’m not the greatest judge of character, admittedly, but…I believe him.”
“Turn your location on and share it with me,” he growls on the other end.
I do so quickly, then remain on the phone with him for the entire drive as I fill him in on the little that Hank had told me.
My mind is spinning with everything he said.
Aaron—how long had he been under investigation? How deep was this? And more importantly, why the hell is someone coming after me? What do they think I know?
As the farm comes into view, the familiar sight of the house and stables steadies me, if only for a moment. I pull into the driveway, my headlights illuminating the gravel in front of the house. The truck is parked off to the side, and just knowing he’s here gives me a small sense of relief.
Gavin walks outside and jogs to my car immediately, grabbing me in a tight hug before I can fully get out. Hank’s car pulls in behind me.
Hank steps out of his car, his FBI badge still in hand. Gavin’s eyes dart between us.
“Come inside,” Gavin directs.
I open my mouth to respond, but the words catch in my throat. I glance at Hank, who steps forward, his expression serious but calm.
Once we’re inside the house, Gavin motions for Hank to sit down. He does and then looks back at the two of us briefly before speaking.
“My real name is David Collins. I work for the FBI. I was sent here to investigate a crime ring based out of the area. We believed they had ties to the law enforcement here, and I was sent in undercover to infiltrate.”
“Crime ring? What does that even mean?”
“I don’t want to get fully into it, as I can’t. What I can tell you is that Aaron was involved. We were about to make arrests on him and a few other members of the force when the prisoner shot your husband. I don’t believe it was an isolated event, but that’s for another time.”
“Why do you think they’re coming after Lena?”
“As you may have realized, I was working with Henry to get to the bottom of things. The people Aaron was working with somehow found out that information. They think Henry told Lena what he knew, but only because Sheriff Dejan is so adamant that she has something against him.”
“Is he involved?”
He hesitates and doesn’t answer, giving us a response without verbally doing so.
That makes sense.
“Aaron had everyone believing that Lena and he had the perfect marriage, that they told each other everything. On more than one occasion, he told the people he was working with that if anything ever happened to him, Lena would go to the police.”
“What?” I gasp.
“He had to know they’d come after her, right? He’s not that stupid to believe that threat would keep them from hurting him.” Gavin snaps.
“I don’t think your brother was the upstanding man the town has painted him to be, if that’s what you’re asking,” he answers.
“I’ve detected some elevated activity in town. They’ve been watching the farm, Lena’s house, and your office. They’re watching Jayla.”
“Oh my God, Jayla, she’s…” I say in a panicked voice as I shoot up off the couch.
“She’s fine. I have someone watching her to make sure she’s safe.”
“What made you approach Lena today?”
“I got notified that a PI tied to you was asking about me.” He smiles as he laughs dryly. “I figured I should come forward before y’all blew my cover.”
“That explains why he couldn’t find anything on you.”
“Because I don’t exist.” He grins widely.
“How did Henry find out who you were?” I ask.
“Henry was damn good at his job and one hell of an officer. I never asked what tipped him off, but one day, he told me that I could use the hunting cabin as a place to stay and as a base of operations. I thought my boss had contacted him, but he didn’t.”
“The break-in here, do you think that was the people Aaron used to work with?”
“Yes, it’s why local law enforcement didn’t take it seriously.”
“Shit,” Gavin and I say at the same time.
“I need you both to go back to Lena’s tonight and resume ops normal. They can’t know that anything is going on. I have all the paperwork I need to infiltrate and make arrests. I’m just waiting on the backup to do so. This goes pretty deep.”
“Are people…going to think I was involved after it all comes to light?”
“I’ll do my best to make sure the truth is out there. That Aaron acted alone without your knowledge of any of it. People will always make their own stories up, but we can’t control that.”
I nod slowly, then blow out a long, slow breath.
“I’ll be in contact. I have someone posted here watching and someone at Lena’s watching as well. No one will be able to get to any of you.”
“How will we know they’re there?”
“You won’t. Just trust that they are.”
Hank, David, whatever his name is, stands and starts toward the door.
“No one else needs to know about this. It could blow everything up to where I can’t make any arrests.”
Gavin and I both nod as we follow him out to the front porch.
“Why is this all coming to light now?” I ask. “It’s been two years since Aaron died, and if you knew then…”
“Unfortunately, these things take time. I need a rock-solid case so none of these people get off. When Aaron was killed, they also had gotten to one of my informants, attacked his daughter, and sent him into hiding. Without him, I had to continue building a better case. I’m there now. I’ll be in touch,” he says before he goes to his truck and leaves.
I look back at Gavin.
“I was not expecting that at all.”
“Me neither.”
“What do we do now?”
“He said to go back to your place, so we’ll do that. I had an alarm system and security cameras installed here, so if someone tries to break in again, then we’ll have footage.”
“I guess I’ll need to do that at my house too.”
“I may have been presumptuous, but I scheduled an install for you tomorrow. I was going to have them do it while you were at work. I’ll be working from home there, but I’d still feel safer.”
“What is it they say, it’s easier to ask forgiveness than permission?”
“That’s it.” He chuckles as he pulls me into him. “I will grab my bag and follow you back into town.”
He leans down and kisses me softly.
“Let’s order the diner for dinner tonight. I’m not in the mood to cook.”
“I’m not going to argue with that.” He laughs as he releases me.
He darts inside to get his bag, and I walk to my car. It’s not long before we’re steering back into town. His headlights bounce off my rearview mirror.
It’s a lot of information to take in, but I’ve never felt safer than I do with Gavin following me.
I trust David to take care of all of this before all hell breaks loose for us.