Chapter 38
TOM
“I’m not calling her Aunt Kat,” Royce says as soon as the line picks up, his tone knowing and full of humor. I have to wonder if the guys talked about it while they were beating the crap out of each other in the ring or if he’s just that perceptive.
Or a combination of both.
“She’s sitting right here,” Kat says, the corner of her lips curving up as she raises one eyebrow at me. Fuck, she’s sexy.
And mine.
That notion has a balloon of warmth expanding in my chest. When you’re married to your job, there’s no chance of having anything else. But even this short time with Kat has shown me I want more.
So much more.
“Hey, Kat. So happy to have you joining us this morning,” Royce manages, and I can only imagine how badly he’s blushing over this interaction. “Also good to know I’m on speaker.”
“I’m happy to be here,” she tells him, “and don’t worry, I won’t hold it against you.” She teases but there’s no recovering for my socially awkward nephew right now. He’s going to be thinking about this conversation for the rest of the day.
“Anyone else joining this call?” I ask, changing the subject and getting us back on task.
“Grimm might pop on later but they’re all out chasing things down,” he says, the tapping of keys echoing as he speaks. “First, in all seriousness, Kat. How are you feeling?”
“Sore.” Her gaze slides to me and her cheeks heat. “But it’s manageable.”
“Good.”
I have to wonder how much of that soreness is from the incident yesterday and how much is because I couldn’t keep my dick to myself last night and this morning. I realize I probably should have asked, but I’d taken a more hands-on approach and she didn’t seem to mind.
“Have you located the kid yet?” I ask, needing to get myself back in the game. I can’t let Kat’s presence consume me, no matter how badly I want it to.
Maybe I can convince her to take a real vacation after all this is done.
“What kid?” she asks, but I wave her off and mouth wait because, hopefully, Royce will have something for us.
“Nothing yet. Ozzy is out trying to track him down.”
“What about Dahlia?” she asks and I want to kick myself for not thinking to tell her sooner, especially after what she shared yesterday.
Was it only just yesterday?
I feel like a lifetime has passed since then, the best and worst moments happening in the blink of an eye.
“She has been officially cleared although I am still trying to figure out who is still impersonating her on social media.”
“She was upset over the way she treated you,” I add, her head bobbing slightly as she lets that sink in. “She writes something different now under a new name. I think she’d like to reconnect if that is a path you want to explore.”
“I’ll think about it.” Her smile is brief but there’s hope in her eyes that wasn’t there before.
“Are we good to continue?” Royce asks, and without waiting for an answer says, “Because I won’t lie; this is weird. I’m used to you just barking at me. Clipped. No-nonsense. I’m having a hard time being treated like a regular person when we’re working.”
I snort and Kat’s eyes widen—part guilt and part amusement.
“He means that lovingly.”
“Sure, let’s go with that,” he quips as he barrels on. “Kat’s social media has exploded on both sides.” He hums as papers shuffle around. “There was an interesting shift in the hate content from Sloane’s side to the children’s book side.”
“What do you mean?”
“A new throwaway account was created yesterday morning. There are no public posts, but they sent you a message that reads sinners get punished in all caps. The account has been inactive since then.”
“What about the tracking devices in her car?” I ask as the color drains from Kat’s face.
“Pretty standard, impossible to trace but it means that they either took the chance that Kat was going to leave on her own or they had something else planned.”
Letting my eyelids fall shut, I sit back in my chair and work through all the pieces we have so far. We’re missing something, and I can’t help but feel the answer is right in front of us.
From the corner of my eye, I see Kat wipe at her face, my gut clenching that she’s upset, that all of this is happening to her and she’s a spectator of her own life. Swallowing hard, I reach for her other hand, intertwining our fingers together and resting our joined hands in her lap.
It’s a small gesture, but it feels like I’m kissing her in the middle of a busy street. Seconds pass before she squeezes her hand against mine, her other hand resting on top. Relief floods through me and I’m happy that I did the right thing.
“Kat, can you tell me everything you can remember about what happened yesterday?” The question feels like a whip cracking in the near-silent room but she doesn’t cower, instead leaning closer to the speaker as she tightens her grip on my hand.
“I’d only planned to be gone five or ten minutes. The song playing on the radio was the new one from Descending North. I know the lead singer, Garrett. He’s friends with my brother and I remember wanting to reach out to tell Garrett I liked the song.”
“All right.” Royce’s tone is full of encouragement. “What happened next?”
“I felt good, just having that little bit of freedom. I was planning to make a turn to head back to the house when I noticed a car behind me. It startled me because of how close it was following.”
“You’re doing great,” I murmur reassuringly even as I want to flip the desk in front of us.
“I…I don’t remember exactly but I knew they were following me, and I was scared and missed the turn I wanted.
The rest happened so fast. They were behind me and then on the side and I was trying so hard to keep my car on the road.
And I didn’t know what else to do. I thought if I sped up they’d stop crashing into me, but they didn’t. They didn’t stop.”
Twisting in my seat, I press a kiss to her temple.
“Did it feel reckless?” I ask carefully. “When the car crashed into you? Did it feel like they were in control or did it feel impulsive?”
She opens her mouth immediately to answer and then frowns as she shakes her head.
“In the moment, it felt reckless but I don’t think it was.
It wasn’t constant. Like they’d make contact and then back off, maybe?
We were the only two cars on the road, and they easily could have rammed into me hard enough to send me off the pavement. ”
“A scare tactic then,” Royce says, his voice hard, undoubtedly remembering all the things that had been done to Kinsley before the suspect had been identified and apprehended.
“Sounds like it,” I reply, scrubbing my free hand over my short hair as I will the answers to come to me. “We need a plan.”
And fast.