Chapter 32
Kelsi
Her brain short-circuited at the first press of his lips against hers. She was frozen for long enough that he started to pull back. But before he could get too far, she grabbed his shirt and yanked him back to her.
Their lips moved together slowly, testing each other, before he took charge, using a hand on the back of her head, tangled in her hair, to angle her. She didn’t think anything could top this moment, here, in Dylan’s arms.
Their kisses slowed, until at last he pulled back. He gave her two soft kisses on her lips, another on her nose, and a lingering one on her forehead.
She was lost now, and there was no doubt in her mind. She still loved him.
They sat on the dock in silence, listening to the fish jumping and frogs croaking in the background. Only once the mosquitos came out in full force did they reluctantly separate and head back up the dock.
They walked out to her car together, hand in hand.
She felt like she was soaring, her feet not touching the ground at all.
When Dylan kissed her, it felt completely natural.
All the pain and insecurities, the angry words and bitter feelings, had fallen away.
With his lips on hers, they didn’t matter.
Everything narrowed until the only point of her existence that made any impact was him.
Now, hand in his, Kelsi imagined that nothing could touch her happiness.
When they got to her car, though, she stopped dead in her tracks, hand tightening its grip on Dylan’s.
There, on her windshield, was a note and a small bouquet of three roses.
Her breaths were loud rasps. This anonymous person kept finding her in her private life.
She didn’t feel safe or secure anywhere.
If this person was able to find her at her mom’s house, on the weekend, would they find her anywhere?
“Kelsi?” Dylan’s voice was tense. “What is this?”
She tried to get words out, to come up with some excuse, but when she opened her mouth, nothing came out. Her heart sped up, and she felt her chest tighten, the familiar beginnings of a panic attack encroaching.
Dylan dropped her hand like it was on fire and stalked over to the car. He grabbed the note and waved it in the air. “Is this from Sheridan, Kelsi? You still seeing him? I saw you two together all day.”
Once again, the words stuck in her throat, and she could only frantically shake her head at him as he unfolded the note.
“Let’s see what he has to say.”
Her heart stopped entirely when he started reading, and small tremors shook her body.
As he read the short note, he grew more and more rigid, until he got to the end and lifted his head to stare at her, blue eyes burning like two small flames in the dark.
She didn’t know what was worse, him believing she was leading him and Sheridan on, or him realizing she had been hiding the threats from him for weeks.
“What the fuck is this, Kelsi?” he yelled, waving the note in the air toward her.
She flinched, surprised at the level of his anger.
He stepped closer to her. “How long has this been going on?”
“This is the fourth note. It started the week we were assigned the case.” Of course now her voice decided to start working again.
His eyes were hard as he clenched the paper tightly in his fist. “You mean to tell me that this has been happening for weeks—weeks—and you never once mentioned it to me? Did it even cross your mind that I should know?”
“Of course it crossed my mind, Dylan. Whoever it is threatened to hurt you if I told anyone!” she snapped. “But what also crossed my mind was that if I told you, you’d probably go straight to Banksy and I’d be taken off the case!”
“Oh, so you’re saying you think it’s a bad thing that I’d be more worried about your personal safety than a case?” he yelled back at her.
“Yes!” she screamed. “Yes, it’s a bad thing! You’re not my boyfriend!”
He staggered back from her a step, as if those words struck a physical blow.
She felt a flash of remorse, but her rage had consumed her.
She kept going, moving closer to him as she landed more verbal assaults.
“You don’t get to waltz back into my life and suddenly act like you have some claim on me.
” Her chest heaved as she continued. “I’m my own person, Dylan, and I’ve been taking care of myself just fine the past four years without you.
I decide what is and isn’t a risk to me, and whether to ignore it. Not you.”
He stared at her, blinking as if he had no clue who she was anymore.
“How about us learning that McGuinness might have psychopathic tendencies and tortured and killed animals as a child? How about that I’m your partner on this case?
How about that this person could consider me a threat because I’m also on this case, and they don’t actually care whether you keep their secret or not? Did you ever think about that?”
Her anger left her body, leaving her with a sick feeling in her gut.
No. She hadn’t thought about that at all.
She’d considered how this guy might target him as well, but only if she said anything.
It hadn’t crossed her mind that he may already be in danger.
Even when that first note told her to keep it from everyone, including him, she’d assumed she was the only target of the stalker.
Her stomach heaved as her mind ran through possibilities of Dylan being hurt all because she’d never warned him somebody was threatening the case.
Would they have even bothered sending him notes?
Or just attacked without warning? And because she’d never told him about the notes, he never would have known to keep his defenses up.
She reached for him, desperate for his comfort, for his forgiveness. He stepped back, out of her reach, and she flinched at his rejection.
“Look”—he sounded tired now, rather than angry—“I don’t want to fight, Kelsi.
But this could have been really bad. We need to be honest with each other going forward, okay?
I’m going to head home. Let’s sleep on it.
If I don’t get space now, I’ll say something I’ll regret.
” He turned from her and made it a few steps toward his car before he turned around and asked, “Are you safe at home? Abby’s staying with you, right? ”
She wasn’t sure if she was actually safe anymore, but she hated the idea of him only staying with her because he felt obligated to.
So Kelsi nodded. She couldn’t find any words to give him.
She couldn’t think of anything except how this, right here, the two of them fighting, was already the worst pain she had felt in years—even worse than finding out that Tom had cheated on her.
It was second only to how she’d felt when he’d enlisted and left without saying goodbye.
Dylan nodded back. “Okay, I’ll see you in Virginia Beach on Tuesday.” With that, he left the note with the flowers and climbed in his car. He started the engine and drove away.
Kelsi stood rooted in place as the taillights disappeared, splintering her heart in the process. Her eyes burned with tears she wouldn’t let fall.
She didn’t understand how the night could have started so high and ended so low. She didn’t know how to begin to fix it, but he had to forgive her. If he didn’t, she’d be irreparably broken.
She picked up the note where Dylan had left it and unfolded it, wanting to see for herself what the stalker had to say that ruined so much. Her face, which had been flushed from their fight, drained of all color.
Time’s almost up. Remember, McGuinness walks Tuesday, or you never will again.