Chapter 6
Sabre
Idon’t sleep much after leaving Linsey’s place.
I can’t get the things she said about her ex out of my mind.
This woman had to run away from everything and everybody she knew in order to feel safe.
I roll out of bed and head to the clubhouse.
It’s early but I know Tex will be there, his old lady is a schoolteacher, and he drops her off early, then comes to the clubhouse right after.
Tex is sitting in the bar area with a coffee and a mountain of paperwork. “This ain’t about the banquet, is it? If it is, you should know the word on the grapevine is the prosecutor’s office is gonna ask the judge to deny bail.”
“It’s not about the shooter, but that’s good to hear. This is about the chef.”
When his eyebrows furrow, I tell him about her ex, how he put her in the hospital. I explain that if, and when, he catches up with her, things are gonna get ugly fast.
Tex just shakes his head. “Well, you know this club ain’t gonna let shit like that fly, especially with a brother’s friend. What’s this fucker’s name?”
Relief lances through my chest because I was hoping he’d say something like that. I speak right up. “His name is Dylan Everett.”
“Since there’s no indication that he knows how to find them or that he’s here, this sounds like a security problem first and foremost.”
“That was my thought as well. I was hopin’ we could ask Zen to pull a record search on him. I want to get a feel for what we’re lookin’ at.”
Tex nods as he continues scribbling on his pad. “I’m sure that won’t be a problem. He can check his parole status, release conditions, and any other records available to the general public. Knowing Zen, he’ll grab a lot more than that.”
He fires off a text to Zen, and then we head to his office.
Zen’s small office looks like a pawn shop for monitors and other electronic equipment. He’s already lookin’ for the information Tex asked him to look up by the time we slide through his door.
“Dylan Everett,” he muses out loud as he bangs away on his keyboard.
“He was arrested for aggravated assault. They found a weapon in his vehicle. He already had a prior felony assault charge involving a deadly weapon and was forbidden by law from possessing a weapon, so he caught an extra charge for that. And the cherry on top was finding narcotics under his front driver’s seat, which he tried to blame on Linsey.
But come to find out, the package only had his fingerprints all over it. ”
“Stupid fucker,” I mumble under my breath.
“So, it was a little more than just the DV that got him a twelve-year sentence.”
Clearing my throat, I ask, “How in the hell does someone like that get released early?”
Tex is looking over Zen’s shoulder at the screen and answers my question.
“Quite easily. He served exactly ten years of his twelve-year sentence and completed both drug rehabilitation and job training during his incarceration. He was released on supervised parole to a transitional living facility on the outskirts of Billings, Montana. As per the conditions of his parole, he’s not allowed to leave the state of Montana. ”
“Is there any indication that he knows where Linsey is?”
Zen flips through several screens before answering. “I’m not seeing any contact attempts on record. The portal only listed an email address for Linsey.” He swivels his chair around to face me. “Now here’s the part you’re not gonna like.”
A feeling of dread washes over me because I don’t want this fucker anywhere near Linsey and Noah.
Zen pulls up a browser and starts flipping through tabs one after another.
“The Gilded Fig’s website has her name and her photo prominently displayed, bragging about her being the only Michelin-starred chef in the county.
Her classes are listed by time and place for the next three months.
And that’s what I found inside of three minutes with one search engine. ”
“That means that anybody who knows her name can locate her place of employment and the dates, times, and locations of her cooking classes,” I point out.
“Yeah, that’s exactly what it means. We need to set an alert on his parole status,” Tex tells him. “If he violates his parole by leaving the state, we need to know.”
“I’m already on it,” Zen says. “One way or another, we’re gonna track this asshole down.”
I text Linsey.
Me: I got news on the Montana situation. Can I come by this afternoon and talk?
Her reply comes back in under a minute.
Linsey: Yes. We’ll be home all day.
***
Her house looks different in the daylight.
Zen did some checking up and it’s really her aunt’s house—that’s something that might work in her favor, assuming Dylan doesn’t know her aunt’s name.
It looks just like something an older lady would own.
It’s white with blue trim, shutters, and neat little flower beds along the walk.
And there is that cozy little porch swing she was on last night.
When I ring the bell, Linsey cracks the door open, looking more beautiful than ever.
She ushers me in, and we sit in their living room.
“Thanks for coming,” she says anxiously. “Can you tell me what’s going on?”
“Sure. I asked our club’s IT professional to look into your ex. We discovered that he has been released to a transitional living home just outside of Billings.”
She nods, looking emotional. “That’s my hometown.”
I get right down to it. “You know you’re easy to find online, right?”
Her eyes get big, and she states quietly, “I guess I didn’t really think of that. I can’t see why anyone in Billings, Montana would be looking at restaurants in Las Salinas.”
“Maybe not to book a meal, but if anyone searched your name, it’s there at the top of the page. But in any event, that’s related to your career, and you can’t hide. What’s done is done, now we need to make a security plan,” I tell her.
She begins quietly panicking. “Plan? We don’t even have an alarm. I never installed anything because Dylan was locked up, and as long as he was in jail, we were safe.”
“I understand your train of thought, Linsey. That made perfect sense when your ex was sittin’ in a jail cell countin’ scratches on the wall. But now he’s out of prison we don’t know what he’s gonna do. He might want to pick right up where he left off.”
“I had hoped that after a decade, he’d find better things to do with his time than start messing with my life again.”
“I hope that turns out to be true. However, we just need to stay calm, plan for the worst, and hope for the best. Do you mind if I do a security assessment of your house?”
“Of course not. Anything you could do to help me keep my son safe, I would appreciate.”
We walk through the house together. I inspect all the doors, windows, and even the basement and attic.
“Your front door has a decent deadbolt. That lock on the back door is old as the hills, so it’ll need to be replaced.
All the window locks need to be traded out with ones that have alarms. The attic window isn’t designed to be opened.
And the basement windows aren’t large enough for an adult to squeeze through. ”
“That’s a pretty thorough assessment,” she tells me.
“I’m not finished. Your exterior lighting is abysmal. You’ll need cameras on the front and back doors and strategically placed exterior security cameras covering the property, particularly the driveway.”
“That all sounds expensive, but I’m willing to do whatever it takes to keep us safe.”
“Don’t worry about the price. I’ll get you all the equipment at wholesale, and our security firm will install it for free.”
“Are you sure your boss will approve that?”
“He already did. That’s my best professional opinion on what you need. You can take it or leave it.”
“No, if that’s what you think we need, I’m all in,” she states firmly.
“All right, that’s a good call. I also recommend you let the Legion monitor it directly, at least for the next month or two.
If there’s been no sign of your ex by then, it might be that he’s decided to move on.
With our security firm we have staff in place twenty-four-seven, monitoring our own property and clients’ security feeds.
That means if somethin’ trips at three in the morning and you sleep through your alarm, the Legion will respond for you.
Me, Talon, or whoever is on call for the night will be up and moving within minutes. ”
Linsey is quiet for a few seconds, turning my offer over in her mind. “This sounds too good to be true. Where’s the catch?”
I chuckle. “There ain’t no catch. You’re just getting the friends-and-family discount.”
She slowly nods. “Okay,” she says. “I’m going to take you at your word, Sabre. Now, is there anything else that we’re missing?”
“Yeah, tell me about Noah’s school. What’s his routine like?”
She shrugs. “I drop him off at seven forty-five on my way to work. Aunt Carol picks him up at three.”
“Are pickups and drop-offs at the same time and the same doors every day, or does it vary?”
“Same time, same doors, every day,” she says cautiously. “Why do you ask?”
“Routines are called routines for a reason. They’re predictable and easy to learn from a parked car.
If anybody ever comes lookin’ for you and your son, the school run is going to be the soft spot.
So, we need to work some extra security in there.
Why don’t you let me take over the school run?
I can drop Noah off and pick him up for a while.
Me, personally. I won’t delegate that to anyone else. ”
She blinks up at me as if she can’t believe I made that offer. “You realize that’s ten trips a week. Sabre, that’s not a favor. That’s a commitment.”
“I…I know what it is,” I stammer uncomfortably.