Chapter 40
Kennedy
“Thank you so much,” I tell the three women as I rise from the pizzeria booth. I’ve just completed my initial interviews with Alia and Shelly, two former victims of this child ring.
They’re with Nicole, whom they trusted enough to allow her to set up the meeting with me.
“Will they get in trouble?” Alia asks with glossy eyes.
She’s nineteen years old but looks a lot younger. Looking at her reminds me of Stasi. That protective instinct I have when it comes to my sister overcomes me.
“I’ve already spoken with attorneys about this, and it looks like we’re building a strong enough investigation to help prosecutors.”
I shake my head because I don’t want to go into too much detail. “Nothing’s guaranteed, however. But if those former employees you mentioned are willing to speak with me, I think we’ll have enough proof to bring everything to light and, hopefully, end it.”
She nods, seemingly appeased with my answer. “Good,” she says just above a whisper.
“I’ll be in touch with all of you, okay?” I assure them before my attention lands on Nicole. “Make sure to get me the names and information of the church employees you mentioned.”
She nods. “I’ll contact them tonight. I think they’ll talk to you.” Her gaze shifts between the other two women.
They nod as well.
“Let them know I’m available day or night,” I tell her.
She nods, and I pay for our dinner and exit the restaurant after them.
I’m on the cusp of being ready to write my first article and turn it into James. I know this will be a series of articles. There are too many moving pieces and people involved to narrow it down to one article.
I breathe and start for my car as my phone buzzes. I don’t need to look at the screen to know who it is.
“Where are you?” Dae demands as soon as I place the phone to my ear.
“Hello to you as well,” I snark.
He audibly exhales. “Sorry, baby. Where are you?”
“I—” I part my lips to answer, but a warning shiver pushes up my spine. The hairs on the back of my neck stand. Instantly, I turn to look over my shoulder. It’s dark out, but not too late, only around eight p.m.
But the walk between the pizzeria and The Regal parking lot, where I left my car, isn’t as populated as it normally is in the middle of the day. A few cars pass the side street where I’m talking.
One of the cars, though, catches my attention. I can’t see the make and model from my angle because the headlights are on. It’s driving slowly along the right side of the road.
“Kennedy?” Dae calls.
“Huh, oh, yeah?”
“Where are you?”
“I was on my way back to the office to get my car. I had dinner with … well, it was a work dinner.”
“With whom?” His voice hardens.
“You know I can’t tell you that.”
His end of the line remains silent for a beat. “Are you safe?”
The question causes me to peer over my shoulder again. That car is still there, only they’ve turned down the headlights. It’s a dark colored vehicle, which makes it difficult to point out in the obscurity of the night.
“I think so,” I reply without thinking.
“What do you mean you think so?” Dae’s voice is on high alert.
Shit!
I curse myself for being so reckless with my answer. The man sounds half-ready to send a SWAT team out.
“I’m fine. I had dinner with a couple of sources for this investigation. I’m waiting to hear when I can meet with another important source. Tonight was a win,” I say as I round the corner onto the main street of my office building.
I look over my shoulder again and see the car turn in the opposite direction. I follow it with my gaze until it’s out of sight.
“Your voice sounds strange,” Dae says.
I slowly blink, not for the first time, wondering how he knows me so well. Then a small smile I can’t fight makes its way to my lips because as much as I hate it, I also love that he knows me so well. I enjoy how attentive he is.
“Are you home?” I ask to change the subject.
There’s a big event at the Black Opal tonight, and he had to be there to welcome some guests.
“When will you be home?” There he goes, answering my questions with questions again.
“About thirty minutes,” I say as I climb behind the wheel of my car.
“I’ll meet you.”
“Don’t you have to work?” I retort.
“I’ll see you in thirty minutes.”
I roll my eyes and shake my head as I hang up the phone. It takes me half an hour to reach home, and as soon as I pull into the garage and turn off my car, I pull out my burner phone from my bag.
I hope I’ve received a message from Nicole about the former church employees.
A small gasp escapes my lips when I see that I have a text message from an unknown number as soon as my phone starts up.
Unknown Number: This is Reed. Nicole told me you’re the reporter looking for information.
Kennedy: That’s me. Are you available to meet to speak with me?
Unknown Number: I have to work tomorrow, but I can meet early. At 6:30.
I hesitate.
Kennedy: You’re in Williamsport?
There’s a pause in response. The former employees Nicole told me about lived out of state. Even the two women I met with tonight had to travel here to meet with me in person.
Unknown Number: I’m in town now for a job.
I give it some thought.
Kennedy: Can you meet at Walcott Park tomorrow morning?
It’s a park in the center of the city. Though it’ll be early in the morning, there will likely be some early morning joggers and walkers, so it won’t be completely isolated.
Unknown Number: Yes. I’ll meet you there tomorrow morning.
I confirm the location and time, then get the shit scared out of me when a thud sounds against my window.
I was so caught up in the conversation on my phone that I didn’t hear or see Dae pull into the garage next to me.
He pulls open my car door, and his lips are on mine before I can say hello. Every time he kisses me, my bones feel as if they’re about to liquefy. He doesn’t make the kiss brief, either.
My response is to throw my arms around his broad shoulders and allow him to devour me whole. It’s kind of awkward, considering I’m half outside of the car and half inside, but he holds me up. That’s all I need.
When he finally releases me from the kiss, I pull back but keep my arms around his. “What was that for?”
“I missed you.” He runs his nose down the bridge of mine, and a shiver runs through me.
“We saw each other this morning,” I remind him.
“Too. Fucking. Long.” He punctuates each word with a kiss. Then he reaches over and undoes my seatbelt before helping me out of the car.
“Is that your secret work phone?” he asks after we enter the house.
I glance down, not even realizing I still had my burner phone in my hand.
“It is. I just got some good news,” I say before I can stop myself.
He raises an eyebrow as he undoes the tie around his neck. I get lost in watching the movement of his deft fingers while they undo the knot.
“The good news?” he asks.
“Another source. I’m meeting with them early tomorrow morning.” I head to the kitchen to grab two bottles of water from the fridge.
“What source?” Dae asks me from behind.
My body stiffens at his tone. Slowly, I spin to face him. He stares at me expectantly. I can’t figure out what’s brought on such an abrupt change in his demeanor.
“You know I can’t tell you that.” I slide one of the bottles of water in his direction, along the kitchen island, before opening my own. I watch him as I take my first sip. He doesn’t move.
“Who is this source?” he asks again, this time with less patience.
I straighten. “I can’t tell you that,” I say more forcefully.
“You’re meeting them tomorrow morning. At your office?”
“Why?”
“You know damn well why.”
I shake my head and brush past him toward the living room. “We’ve been over this,” I tell him when he follows me.
“For some reason, we have to keep going over this. Especially because you keep putting yourself in dangerous situations.”
I suck my teeth. “I don’t put myself in anything. I follow the investigation wherever it leads me. This is part of my job.”
“Part of your job is risking your damn life?”
“You’re being dramatic,” I insist.
“Am I?” He gestures to my burner phone, which I’ve left beside my cell on the living room table. “When you need secret phones, can’t talk about where you’re meeting sources you don’t even fucking know?”
I point at him. “Watch your tone.”
He grinds his teeth. “I will once you stop risking yourself over a fucking article.”
I jut my head back like he slapped me. Because that’s exactly what it felt like. “A fucking article? Is that all that my career is to you? Nothing more than words on paper?”
I start toward the living room’s exit. I don’t know where I’m going, but I need to be away from him.
Dae stops me by grabbing my arm and spinning me to face him. “I didn’t mean it like that.”
“Then how did you fucking mean it?” I rip my arm out of his grip.
“I want you to be safe,” he says. His voice is slightly more apologetic, but it still holds its hard edge.
“And I want to do my job to the best of my ability.”
“Regardless of the danger? Threatening your life?”
I shake my head. “Safety is always my number one priority. I keep a burner phone to keep my professional and personal life separate. I always let my boss know when and where I’m meeting a source and always do my best to meet in a public place.”
Is that always possible? No. Not in my line of work but I’m not a dummy.
“I can protect myself,” I say with just as hard an edge in my voice as he has.
He visibly swallows. “It’s not about whether you can protect yourself or not.”
“Isn’t it?”
“No.” He shakes his head. “What if one of these sources is setting you up? What if something you’ve never thought up happens, and there’s no one to help you?”
I shake my head but admit, “That could happen.”
“Is any investigation worth dying over?”
“No,” I readily admit. “I’m not a martyr, nor trying to be one. I told you I take all of the precautions I can. I make my job as riskless as possible.” I push out a heavy breath. “But I can’t walk away from a source when my gut tells me I’m on the right track.”
He stares at me, his dark eyes assessing me. I don’t know what he sees, but eventually, his gaze softens. It’s not by much, and I doubt anyone else would recognize the softening of his eyes.
But I do.
That’s when I see the fear hiding beneath the anger. He’s afraid for me.
I move closer and cup his face.
“I love you,” I tell him first because as pissed off as he can make me, I know it’s because of how deeply I’ve fallen for him. “I don’t take intentional risks, and I will never intentionally put myself in danger,” I assure him. “But this is my career. I’ve worked hard for it, and I will continue to work my ass off for it, not only because I’m a hell of a writer but because these stories deserve to be told.
“These aren’t just cases or investigations to me. These are people’s lives. Erika Dalton’s life. And if I can, in some small way, shed light on the crimes and injustices that led to her taking her own life, I have to go for it. Her own mother won’t fight for her.”
I swallow the lump that forms in my throat.
“So I will.”
He lowers his head but doesn’t say anything.
“I’m not begging you to allow me to do my job,” I tell him. I won’t beg anyone for that. “I’m asking you not to stand in my way because that will end us.”
As much as it hurts to say, I mean every word.
His dark eyes meet mine. He steals the breath from my lungs when his arm wraps around me, pulling me fiercely into his body.
“You’re not going any fucking where.”
I do my best to ignore the way my nipples harden from the roughness of his tone. The possession his voice holds.
I swore I didn’t want a partner who was possessive and overly demanding of my time. Then I met Dae Kim, and slowly, or quickly, I fell for him without much of a fight—as if we were inevitable.
“Then don’t make me,” I tell him, my hands still cupping his face.
After a beat, he relaxes his jaw and nods. He turns his head and kisses the palm of my hand.
His hard eyes meet mine. “What time is the meeting?”
I debate for a second. “Six thirty. That’s all I’m telling you, and don’t even think of saying you’re coming with me.”
He shakes his head. “Promise me you’ll be safe.”
“Promise.”
His lips are on mine in seconds.
He pulls back. “I won’t interfere,” he assures. “But tonight, you’re mine.”
I grin and tell him I have no problem with that, but his lips cover mine again, and I can’t think straight.