Chapter 2
Two
What scared Jenna the most was that her husband didn’t exist—not in military terms at least. As a black ops sniper he’d served his country and become a member of POTUS’s Secret Service.
He had a bounty on his head, and many hostile foreign leaders wanted him dead and this had led to a car bombing.
His wife and unborn son had died, and he’d barely survived but now had a metal plate in his head.
To keep Kane safe, all reports coming from Washington said that both occupants of the vehicle perished and they’d buried an empty coffin with his name on the headstone.
The moment he recovered and built himself back into a machine better than ever before, the government claimed their asset.
They gave him a new face and name and sent him to Black Rock Falls to blend into life there—until they needed him to drop behind enemy lines and take out a strategic target or remove a threat to the USA.
Kane worked alone. His handler through his entire time in the military was a man codenamed Terabyte, aka Dr. Shane Wolfe. Where Kane went, Wolfe went.
Over the years Kane had only been called upon a few times, but he kept himself in peak condition, ready to defend his country.
When Jenna woke ten days previously, she found a travel mug filled with hot coffee, Kane’s wedding ring, and a note saying: “Duty calls.” It meant that her husband and father of her two sons, Jackson and Tauri, was risking his life.
As the days dragged by, she had no idea where he was or if he’d been injured.
Living through these times had always been a nightmare, but she’d gone into the marriage with her eyes wide open.
Her life almost paralleled his. She’d left her career as DEA Agent Avril Parker, likewise with a new face and name, after bringing down a cartel and going into WITSEC.
She’d fought her way to become sheriff of Black Rock Falls County and no one had stood against her in the elections since her first appointment.
As she pulled into a space outside her office, she touched the wedding ring hanging on a gold chain around her neck.
Having it meant Kane was close to her heart.
He left it behind on missions, mainly in case he got captured.
It would be better if the enemy didn’t know he had a family.
Each day he was away dragged at her. She couldn’t eat or sleep but kept putting one foot in front of the other for the sake of her boys.
Every time her phone chimed, her stomach lurched, afraid something bad had happened.
Wolfe would be fine, his part of the missions kept him safe, but in truth she had no idea what he actually did, as Kane never spoke about anything specific, but once he’d mentioned being behind enemy lines with only Wolfe in his ear.
She gathered her things and hurried inside, stopping at the desk to speak to their receptionist, Maggie. “Anything I need to know?”
“No, all quiet.” Maggie smiled. “I see the Halloween decorations are going up all over town. I can’t wait to see what the stores come up with this year. I noticed men carrying all types of scary things into the Haunted House.”
The Haunted House had quickly become a year-round attraction.
Not only the tourists in their town, but everyone enjoyed it and at Halloween it was the place to be.
Recalling the time a psychopath had exchanged a murder victim for a mannequin in one of the displays, Jenna winced.
“I don’t have good memories of that place.
” Outside the glass office doors, a man pushed a wheelbarrow overflowing with pumpkins along the sidewalk.
She turned back to Maggie. “It seems the madness has already started.” She explained Raven’s call.
“I’ll talk to my deputies and head out and take a look.
” She tapped on her bottom lip. “On second thought, I’ll leave Rowley here, just in case anything else happens. ”
She made her way to the back office where Deputies Rowley and Rio worked. They both sat at their desks looking at her with interest as she explained Raven’s phone call. “If there’s a problem, we should be hearing from him soon, but likely it is just a prank.”
“It’s a little early for pranks. I was expecting them to start happening later in the week.” Rio stretched, tipping his chair back and yawning. “Although anything would be better than doing inventories.”
“Ha.” Rowley reassembled a rifle and placed it on the table beside him. “That’s what comes with having a senior position.” He smiled and broke down one of the pistols before him. “I actually like cleaning guns. I find it relaxing.”
Jenna smiled. “So does Dave. I find it interesting he can be watching a show on TV and break down, clean, and reassemble anything we have in our gun locker without his eyes leaving the screen.” She sighed. “It’s as if it’s just a normal reaction, like blinking.”
“We can all do that.” Rio shrugged. “Kane made sure of it and drilled us until we could strip any weapon in our arsenal blind and reassemble it. He figured we never knew when we’d be stuck somewhere in the dark.”
When Jenna’s phone chimed, her heart sank. It was Raven. “What do you have for me, Raven?”
“Bad news, I’m afraid.” Raven took a deep breath.
“This is a double homicide. I’m forwarding the coordinates now.
From Ben’s reaction, there’s no one in the vicinity.
I have him on alert, but I believe the perp has fled the scene.
” He cleared his throat. “I ran the plate on the truck and it’s licensed to Hank Parker out on Bison.
I found a purse and phone alongside the girl.
She is Avril Lampton, lives on Cottonwood Creek. They’re both young. It’s a tragedy.”
Saddened, Jenna shook her head. “I wonder when this happened. We’ve had no reports of missing teenagers.”
“I don’t believe Wolfe is back yet. You’ll need to call Emily.” Raven sighed. “I can help out if necessary.”
Hating to take Wolfe’s daughter Dr. Emily Wolfe, also a medical examiner, into potential danger, she cleared her throat. “Okay. I’ll make sure to tell her to carry a weapon and she’ll have Colt Webber to assist her. I’ll call her now. We’re on our way.”
She gave Rowley instructions to man the front counter and then called Emily. They’d wait for her to arrive and then go in a convoy. She turned to Rio. “We’ll take your truck. You drive; I’d rather navigate.”
“Yes, ma’am.” Rio checked his sidearm and tossed her a rifle. “We’re good to go.”
Jenna looked around instinctively for Duke, their bloodhound.
He’d been unsettled since Kane had vanished in the night and she’d left him at home with her youngest son, Jackson, and his nanny, Raya.
The dog loved Jackson, and bringing Duke to work with no Kane to protect would only make him more depressed.
She missed Kane, and her boys never stopped asking questions she just couldn’t answer. How much longer, Dave?