Chapter 19 – Jensen
Chapter Nineteen
Jensen
Thirty minutes later, Kenzie’s apartment was filled with people.
Charlie was there with a couple of his deputies, looking for prints both in the apartment and where the breaker switch had been thrown to cut the power. Lucas and Liam had managed to get the snake fully out of the tub, and Liam had released it far outside of town.
Kenzie was still curled up on her couch, staring out at nothing. She’d hardly said a word.
“I know she’s struggling, but we still need to talk to her about her ex,” Lucas said quietly to me in the kitchen. “And about what happened in the bathroom.”
I shook my head. “Not here. Not like this.”
Lucas nodded. “Grant and Harlan have offered to come in here and set up surveillance cameras, reinforce the locks. Help so she feels safe.”
I honestly wasn’t sure that was going to be enough. “Let me talk to her.”
I sat next to her on the couch, but she barely seemed to notice. I took her hand, holding it gently between my own.
“Hey, City. Can you look at me? ”
It took a long moment, but finally, she moved her glance in my direction.
“I know this is all so hard, but we want to move forward so you can feel safer. A couple of the Resting Warrior guys—Grant and Harlan—have offered to come by and install cameras and locks.”
For the first time, I got an actual response. But definitely not one I wanted.
“I can’t.” Her breath began sawing in and out of her chest as she shook her head emphatically. “No. I can’t stay here. I don’t want to stay here. I want to go home.”
Her pitch was getting higher with each word, and her whole body began to shake. I picked her up and draped her over my lap. I didn’t give a shit who else was here or who saw. Kenzie needed me, and that was the only thing that mattered.
She twisted her fingers into my shirt. “Please don’t make me stay here. I want to go home.”
Aw fuck, sweetheart. Home would be just as dangerous.
“Hey.” I stroked her hair. “You can’t go home. Not yet. But you don’t have to stay here. I will find you somewhere to stay. How about Resting Warrior?”
She shook her head. “No. I can’t be around other people and especially if the stalker keeps coming after me. There are kids that live there. Babies. I can’t put them in danger.”
“How about staying with me?”
“Your apartment?”
“No. Somewhere safer.”
She’d already been to my place, so that might not be safe. It was obvious, based on this incident, that someone had been keeping track of her. They had known she wasn’t here to lay this trap.
But I had a cabin I knew the stalker had no idea about. Hell, I joked about not bringing anyone to my apartment, but I never brought anyone to the cabin. It was a place I was refurbishing, taking my time and doing all the woodworking myself.
I wasn’t done with it by a long shot, but it was usable. It was a location no one would think of, and it was remote. No one could follow us there without being seen.
“Where?”
“Remember the cabin I told you about when I drove you to the garage? I can take you there. It’s not much, but it’s good for op sec purposes.”
“Op sec?”
“Sorry. Operational security.” I rubbed her hand where it rested against my chest. “Sound okay to you?”
“Yes.”
I shifted her back slightly so I could see her better. Her eyes were still unfocused and she was deathly pale, but at least she was responding. I just wanted to get her out of this place as quickly as possible. To give her a safer space to recover and rest and, hopefully, feel safe.
It took longer than planned getting out of her apartment. Lucas called Evelyn, and she and Lena came over to sit with Kenzie. Kenzie didn’t necessarily talk with them, but I could tell she was glad to have the support. Meanwhile, I packed up what little stuff she had while Charlie and his men finished their duties.
Lucas and Liam followed us out to the cabin in their vehicle as lookouts and added protection, and Kenzie rode silently with me. One of the Resting Warrior guys was going to drive Kenzie’s car to my garage, where it could be parked inside and kept safe.
We reached the cabin around midafternoon, and pulling up out front, I suddenly worried I’d made a mistake. This was a safe, neutral place for her to relax, but it also wasn’t complete.
The guys stayed outside with Kenzie as I walked through to make sure it was clear. I grimaced as I tried to look at it the way she would. The whole place was pretty bare. I’d spent the majority of my time so far working on the larger parts of the renovation, rather than many details.
It was livable, but barely, and it wasn’t completely furnished. It could be called minimalist at best, but it wasn’t charming or inviting in any way. Currently, the furniture consisted of a few mismatched pieces just for their functionality that I’d planned to replace later. No floor coverings lay on the bare hardwood floors. I had no electronics; the space for the TV was just a huge empty space on the wall.
The state of the cabin had never bothered me. I had lived in far worse settings. Even when it was done and appropriately furnished, it was never going to be fancy. I hadn’t experienced a lifetime of nice things, and I was used to making do with what I had.
But I’d never expected to be bringing someone like Kenzie Hurst here.
What would she say about this place if she saw it on an episode of House Hunters ?
Minimalist is code for haven’t put any real furniture in it yet. I could almost hear her voice in my head.
But there was nothing to be done about it now. I walked back out to them. “Okay, we’re clear.”
I grabbed Kenzie’s bag and carried it inside, the three of them behind me. The guys took a look around, neither of them seeming too fazed at its state. Neither did Kenzie, although probably more because she was still in shock. She went and sat on the couch, curling her legs under her.
Lucas’s phone rang, and from the corner of my eye, I saw her jump. She was definitely still wound way too tight.
I approached the old couch and eased down beside her, keeping my tone gentle. “You okay there, City?”
She swallowed hard, her neck straining, but leaned slightly toward me. I saw her position as a silent ask for support, so I took a risk in draping my arm around her shoulders. Then I held my breath. Waiting.
She was still stiff, but she slanted into me more.
Okay. That was good progress for now.
Lucas stepped back into the room. “That was Charlie. He spoke to Detective Watters. Let him know what happened and that the stalker had somehow found his way to Garnet Bend. We all agreed that Kenzie staying here is the best plan.”
I squeezed her shoulder, and she nodded, at least listening to the conversation, which was more than she’d been capable of at her apartment.
Lucas grabbed one of the kitchen chairs and carried it into the living room, putting it down near Kenzie but not so close that it would make her uncomfortable.
“We also talked about Alan Ard, Kenzie,” he said softly.
“Alan?” Kenzie jerked and exhaled a harsh breath at his name. “Why? He’s not the stalker. Alan can’t be the one who’s behind this.”
“Because he’s still in jail for assault?” I asked as gently as I could.
“You know?”
I tilted my head at the guys. “Lucas told me earlier today. I’m so sorry you went through that, City. Can you tell us what happened?”
“Does it matter?”
Lucas leaned back in his chair. “It might. If you don’t mind sharing as much as you’re comfortable with, it could possibly help. I promise we’ll explain.”
She took a few deep breaths. “I met Alan at a real estate firm—the one I was at before my office now. Long story short, my career took off, while his didn’t. He started taking his anger out on me. First, it was negative talk. Then it escalated. He ended up getting fired for his behavior at work, and we broke up. Then one night, he attacked me.”
I wanted to punch my fist through one of my very solid wood walls, even knowing it would do much more damage to my hand than it would to the building. I saw Liam cross his arms over his chest from where he stood in the doorway, and I knew he felt the same.
“How bad was it?” I could see the rage simmering in Lucas’s eyes, but his tone was even and gentle. Dealing with his wife’s abuse at the hands of a psychopath had given the man practice at keeping his anger focused where it belonged—on the perpetrator, not the victim.
“Bruised ribs, black eye, dislocated shoulder. Honestly, he wasn’t very smart about it. I immediately pressed charges.”
I tightened my arm around her. “Good.”
Liam nodded. “Jensen’s right. It truly is good that you did that. You’d be surprised how many people don’t.”
“Alan has been in prison for over a year now. He has around another year left.” She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “That’s why I haven’t mentioned him to anyone. He’s in prison, so he can’t be my stalker. I didn’t want to dredge up more bad memories if I didn’t have to.”
I eased my hand under her hair so I could rub the tense muscles of her neck, glad when she didn’t pull away. “Nobody can blame you for that.”
She looked over at me. “Why do you want to know about Alan?”
“Jude discovered he’s made multiple calls to the hotel where that threat against you originated from.”
Any bit of relaxation she’d gotten from my rubbing her tense muscles was instantly lost. “What?”
“Maybe he’s in on this and has a partner,” Liam said.
Lucas let out a sigh. “I’m afraid it gets worse. When I talked to Charlie on the way here, Watters notified him that Alan has been approved for early parole and will be getting out next week.”
Now, tension coursed through my whole body. “What the fuck? Can’t we let them know what we suspect is going on and keep him in?”
“Watters is working on it, but as of right now, he hasn’t done anything illegal. Says he’s been calling multiple hotels to see about possible jobs once he gets out.”
Kenzie slumped back into the couch. “I honestly wasn’t paying much attention to when he’d be out since I thought it was so far in the future. He was out of my life, and that was all I cared about. I’ve wanted to put him in the past and move on, not dwell on him.”
I rubbed my thumb over her shoulder, wishing I could erase the exhaustion from her. Her voice was dull and lifeless when she spoke. She barely looked up from her lap.
“Maybe we can talk about this more after you rest,” I suggested.
She nodded weakly.
“Yeah.” Lucas stood and sighed. “That’s a good idea.”
I led Kenzie to the bedroom, not saying anything as I helped her slip off her shoes and get into the bed. “I’ll be back in just a few minutes, okay?”
She nodded, looking way too frail, and I kissed her on the forehead as she pulled the covers up to her chin.
When I stepped back out into the main living space, both men looked concerned.
“Alan couldn’t have been behind that snake or any of the physical attacks on her,” Liam said. “Not if he’s been behind bars all this time.”
Lucas nodded. “Yeah. But we can’t rule out the chance that he could be arranging it from there. I don’t buy the searching for a job story with calling the hotel. Too much of a coincidence. ”
“Jude and I will continue to look at the hotel employees and keep reviewing all the things online,” Liam said. “We’ll send pictures out to you for Kenzie to look at when she’s feeling more up to it.”
“Is someone going to keep an eye on Alan when he’s out?”
Lucas nodded. “Watters already spoke to the prison, according to Charlie. They have the parole officer’s information, and one of them will be speaking with him as soon as possible. But since Alan isn’t out yet, and we’re looking for a bad guy who’s active, nobody wants to believe he has anything to do with it.”
I knew they would all be working every angle of the case and finding out more about Kenzie’s ex. But with a long look at the closed door behind which the traumatized woman rested, I wished we could just end this nightmare for her now.