23. Dempsey
23
Dempsey
T he adrenaline my body just dumped has me vibrating. To go from a serene moment with Katy in my arms to dread is not a good feeling.
“I’ve got him. Stay here.”
“But—”
“Katy. Stay here and lock the door behind me. Now.”
Turning off the safety to the glock Katy keeps in her drawer, I quietly stalk to the bedroom door. Katy is safe behind me as I hear the lock click, and my next priority is Owen. The light is on over the stove, and I can see the kitchen window is smashed. It’s not enough for someone to have come in through it, but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t a distraction. My senses are on edge as my eyes scope every dark corner and crevice in the room on the way to Owen’s.
He’s crying, no doubt, because of the piercing sound of the alarm. My nerves calm a fraction, knowing he’s still in the house. I clear the laundry and bathroom before finally entering Owen’s. The moment he sees me, he throws his arms in the air, and I scoop him up.
A noise from the other side of the house catches my attention, and I put him back into the crib. His wail of disapproval crushes my heart, but I can’t take him with me if there’s danger on the other side of the door.
I peek around the doorframe of Owen’s room down the small hallway and don’t see or hear anything.
I listen for a few heartbeats before the alarm suddenly stops. The immediate silence is as defining as the alarm. My ears ring from the loss of sound, and it’s almost disorienting.
“Katy?”
I know that voice. “Spencer?”
“Dempsey? Where are they?”
I should have known they would get the alarm notification. The systems are linked.
“Katy is in her room, door locked. I have Owen. It’s all clear back here.”
“Clear in here, too,” Lincoln comments back. It seems like the cavalry is here. I tuck the gun into my jeans and turn to pick up a now hysterical Owen. I feel terrible. He has no idea what’s going on.
“Come on, little man, let’s take you to Mama.” He buries his face into my neck as soon as I pick him back up, his hand clenched around his bunny. Tucker appears in the doorway and looks around.
“Just the kitchen window?”
I nod my response, and he steps aside to let me out of the room. Everyone is huddled in the kitchen looking at something when I knock on Katy’s door.
“Pepper? It’s safe. I have Owen.”
The door flies open and arms tightly grip around me and Owen. I pull my arm out from her hold and wrap it around her back.
“Shh. It’s okay. Everyone is here.”
Her worried brown eyes peer up at me before they roam the room.
“What’s going on?”
I’d like to know myself.
“Not sure. I came right to you with Owen. Let’s find out. Do you want him?”
Owen is curled into me as much as Katy is. She shakes her head, and we walk as a unit to the others.
“What came through the window?” Miller turns at my question with a strange look on his face.
“Underwear?”
“More underwear?” Katy questions, sounding frustrated. I’m sure she’s remembering her seventeenth birthday party when Shane left an envelope with pink panties on Lincoln’s truck outside of Midnight Moonshine.
“Not quite.” Miller holds up a package of little boy’s underwear.
“What the actual fuuuuu-dge.” I quickly stop myself from cursing and pull Owen closer to me.
“All clear.” Everyone’s attention whips to the front door, where Patrick silently stepped in.
“Nothing?” Tucker asks. He sounds annoyed, and I can’t blame him. “Did you check the cameras?”
“Yes. There’s a figure dressed in all black. He runs from the neighbor’s house, throws the brick, and runs back. He barely stops. Breaking the window seems to have been his entire intention.”
I’m momentarily shocked because I think that’s more words than I’ve ever heard Patrick say. He looks pissed off. He’s been taking it upon himself to patrol at night. Tucker told me he doesn’t like to be idol, and Patrick has downtime during the day unless Katy goes out, so staying up at night isn’t an issue for him.
“So this asshole throws a brick with kids underwear through a window? It doesn’t make any sense.” Axel runs a hand through his curly hair, as frustrated as the rest of us. “And more importantly, why are you both wet?” He pauses as his eyes dart between us. He forms an O with his mouth and gives me a quick thumbs up.
A glance at Katy, who has clothes on, unlike me, who’s just in jeans, shows her cheeks are tinted with color from his question.
“Please tell me they don’t happen to be Spiderman?”
“Pidey-man?” Owen perks up at the mention of his favorite superhero, and Katy gasps when Miller flashes the colorful package.
“No. Viktor?”
I tighten my arm around Katy as Owen excitedly reaches for the Spiderman undies identical to the ones we bought him this afternoon.
“Would someone like to tell me what I’m missing here?” A pissed-off Lincoln is never a good one.
“We bought this exact pack at the store earlier today to start potty training with Owen.”
I hear a “fuck” muttered off to my left and see Patrick clenching his fists. He’s feeling the same possessiveness I am right now. Shane was close enough to them that he saw the products we bought.
“Enough playing around. Pack your bags.” Tucker storms in the direction of Owen’s room, and Katy looks at me wide-eyed.
“Um, what?” Katy asks me as if I have any idea what’s going on.
“That’s a good idea, brother.” What’s a good idea? “Sleepover at our house.”
“Lincoln, no. This is my house, and I won’t let him run me out.”
Miller approaches us and places a gentle hand on Katy’s shoulder. “You have a broken window that we can’t do anything about right now, Cupcake. It’s not safe for you to stay here tonight. I think Dempsey and Patrick would agree. There’s plenty of room there for all of you until we can figure everything out. Let’s all get some sleep and approach this tomorrow with fresh minds.”
“He’s right, Pepper.”
I can see in Katy’s eyes she wants to object, but she looks at Owen and knows it’s the best situation for him.
“I’ll go pack a bag.” Katy tries to pull away, but I hold her for a second longer. She gives me a sweet smile, and I kiss her forehead. I don’t care who’s in the room with us.
“All my strength, Pepper.” She nods, and I can’t help but see the glossy haze that overtakes her eyes.
This needs to end. We’ve all been living on edge for too long. Shane has been toying with us for so long that we’re almost desensitized to it, and I bet that’s what he’s banking on. Minor escalations and then months of silence. He was too close tonight and even closer this afternoon. I’m fucking done.
Axel comes to me, extending his arms. “I’ll take him while you pack a bag.”
“We’re just going to be across the lawn. I don’t need anything I can’t come back and get.”
“Dempsey.” My eyes snap to Tucker as he walks back into the kitchen with a large bag from Owen’s room. “You aren’t leaving Katy’s side, even to walk across the lawn. Let Axel take Owen and pack what you need.”
Even if Tucker wasn’t my boss, he’s right. I hand Owen to Axel and grab a duffle bag from the closet. It doesn’t take me long to pack, and I notice Katy still hasn’t come out of her room yet.
“Pepper?” I don’t see her when I first walk in, and a glance into her bathroom is empty. “Katy?”
“In here?” Her response comes from behind me. She’s in her closet.
“Katy, what—Katy.” I drop to my knees in front of her. She’s flushed from the amount of crying she’s done. I wrap her in my arms and pull her into my lap.
“I’m sorry.”
“No. Shhh.” My chest muffles her quiet sobs. “You have nothing to apologize for. We’ve been doing this for so long, and it’s stressful. You’re allowed to take a moment and feel your emotions.”
We’re in the closet for several minutes when I hear footsteps enter the room. Miller appears in the doorway, and his face falls into one of concern. I shake my head and raise my finger, signaling for him to give us a minute. He nods in return and leaves.
“Pepper, we should get over to the big house and get Owen to bed.”
“Okay. I’m okay.”
“Hey, look at me.” She tilts her chin, and the sorrow in her eyes almost crushes me. “No one is asking or expecting you to be okay. We just need to get that little boy back to sleep, or he’ll be a bear tomorrow.”
She smiles in agreement, and I kiss her still-damp hair before I stand us up.
“Did you get to pack?” Katy points to a bag on the floor, and I pick it up.
“I need to grab my bathroom stuff.”
I put her duffle on my shoulder and lace my fingers through hers.
“I’ve got you, Pepper. I always will.”