Chapter 13
Later that evening the volunteers at the Haven were all sitting around the deck of the main cabin, having coffee, and Sterling’s phone rang again.
It was Chelsea. The others joked about it being the next installment in the saga, but he shook his head.
“Nope, this is my cousin.” When he answered, he heard screaming on the other end.
“Whoa, whoa, whoa, calm down. What’s going on? ”
“Somebody broke into my apartment,” she cried out, so much pain and fear in her tone. “I don’t even know what to do anymore.”
“Where are you?” he asked. “I’m on the way.”
Timber stepped up, took the phone from him, and asked, “Are you in your vehicle?”
“Yes, just sitting outside. I don’t know where to go.”
“Is your intruder still there?” he asked, as Sterling raced to grab the keys to one of the Haven’s many vehicles.
“I don’t know,” she wailed. “I do suspect it was Charlie. No matter who did this, I don’t have any place to go.”
“Yes, you do,” Timber declared. Then he gave her directions to drive out to the Haven.
She hesitated and then asked, “Is my cousin there?”
Timber handed the phone back to Sterling. “Hi,” Sterling said. “It’s me, and that was Timber. He runs this place.”
“Is it really okay if I just come there?”
“Yes,” he snapped, “if for no other reason than you need a place that is safe, so get over here.”
She groaned.
He tried to calm down and speak to her softly. “I know that it’s not what you want, but we can’t afford for anything to happen to you,” he explained. “Hell, we just met.” She gave a broken laugh at that. He asked her, “Do have any idea who broke in?”
“Sure, but I don’t have any proof. You know that.”
“I do know that,” he agreed, “and I was talking to the cops about Charlie today.”
“Somebody called me but I haven’t had a chance to connect.”
“Are you on the road? I don’t want you sitting there.”
“I’m driving right now.”
“Good,” he said. “Follow the directions that Timber gave you, and you’ll end up here.
Better yet, I’ll drive out to meet you halfway.
Then you can just follow me. Let’s get you here, safe and sound and fast. Then we can figure out what’s needed right now.
Meanwhile, I’ll call Richard and tell him that your place was broken into. ”
“Who is Richard?” she asked, but her tone wavered.
“A local detective. Did anything else happen today?”
“My mother called while I was at work and was pretty irate and ugly about something. I didn’t hear much and ended up hanging up because I was at work. I couldn’t deal with her. I don’t need to get fired because she won’t leave me alone.”
“Of course not,” he agreed. “Did she say anything in particular?”
“Just something about you coming back from the dead and making all kinds of trouble. I probably didn’t respond very well,” she admitted.
“I told her that I already knew you weren’t dead and that it was her own fault for having stolen the property in the first place.
She lost it then, and I ended the call.”
“Of course she did. Anything that makes her feel threatened is likely to get that reaction.”
“I shouldn’t have brought up anything, and I know it. I’m so sorry.”
“Don’t worry about that,” he replied. “She’d already met with her previous lawyer today, so it’s my fault she was fired up in the first place. I should have warned you. For now, let’s just ensure you’re safe.”
“Okay, I’m coming.”
“Have you talked to Lindsey today?”
She gasped. “Oh my God, I hope she’s okay. She was coming to my place tonight. We were just getting to know each other better. She’s so nice and knows I’ve been isolated. Oh my God, I hope she’s okay.”
“I’ll check on her,” he said. “You drive straight here to the Haven.”
“Okay, but what about Lindsey? Shouldn’t I try to find her?”
“No, I’ll go get her,” he replied. “You keep driving in this direction, and I’m heading right for you.” He hesitated and then added, “If at any time you think you’re being followed, let us know ASAP. I’m texting you Timber’s number in case that becomes an issue.”
“Okay,” she whispered, her voice shaky. “I’m driving as fast as I can, but you have to help Lindsey.”
“I will. I’ve got this. You just keep driving. I’ll wave at you when we cross paths, but I’ll keep going to your apartment, and I’ll watch for Lindsey.” And, with that, he ended the call, then turned and looked at Timber.
Timber nodded. “We’ve got this. Get a hold of Lindsey if you can.”
Sterling phoned Lindsey and got no answer. “Shit,” he muttered.
“Go, go,” everybody urged.
Sterling ran out to the vehicle, knowing that he would pass Chelsea along the way, but he needed to at least connect with Lindsey in order to know that both women were safe right now.
It wasn’t what he wanted at this stage, but he needed to know Lindsey was safe as well.
Not too many minutes later, he passed Chelsea driving at a mad pace.
He waved her on and then headed into town, calling Lindsey the entire time but still got no answer.
He reached Chelsea’s apartment and saw Lindsey’s vehicle in the parking lot. Lindsey was nowhere to be seen. He called Richard.
Richard answered, “Hi, we already have a team assigned to go over there. Where are you?”
“At Chelsea’s place. I’m looking for Lindsey, but she’s not answering her phone, and her vehicle is here.”
“Wait for the team,” Richard ordered, “just hang on a minute.”
Sterling argued, “I don’t have a minute, and she might not either.”
“God damn it,” Richard snapped. “You guys out there are always in the middle of trouble.”
“I’m not saying we deserve it,” Sterling declared, “but you can bet that, if it’s coming our way, we’ll meet it head-on.”
“I know. I understand you military types. If it’s coming your way, you won’t stop. You’ll get right back on that damn high horse of yours and set things right.”
“Damn right I will,” Sterling confirmed.
“I don’t know what’s going on here, but, if they’ve hurt Lindsey, they’ve got an all-out war coming on.
It’s pretty suspect that this happened after Chelsea had a dustup on the phone with her mom earlier today, after Aunt Penny had met with her former attorney.
Oh, and Chelsea is on her way to Timber’s place.
I passed her on the road, and she was almost there. ”
“Good,” Richard noted. “She’ll be safe there, so one less to worry about.”
“She will be, but I’m not sure what I’m supposed to do if I find out that her mother’s boyfriend has done this.”
“Just keep your cool. We’ll figure it out,” Richard stated. “Anything they do is just a nail in their coffin right now.”
“I know that,” Sterling muttered, “but I don’t want these innocent women getting hurt over it. No property is worth that. If there’s one thing the military taught us, it’s where the priority lies.”
“I hear you,” Richard replied, “and I agree. We just need to do things properly, so you don’t end up with more trouble.”
“You’ve got five minutes to get your ass over here then,” Sterling declared, “because I’m going up after that.
If Lindsey’s been hurt or taken away, you’ll have an all-out war on your hands.
” And, with that, he ended the call. He looked at the clock, willing to give Richard the five minutes Sterling had promised him—but not one minute more.
When the five minutes was up, he bolted toward the apartment.