19
It was escalating. After Kennedy’s admission, I tried to run inside and see what was taken, but he held me in place, preventing me from getting out of the SUV. In the following minutes, I learned there had been a fire. A neighbor arriving home after a late night out saw smoke billowing from an open window and had called for help. The emergency crews had arrived fast and were able to put out the fire, containing most of it, but I had lost a lot.
According to the incident report, the fire had started in my bedroom and was guided by a trail of clothing laid throughout the condo to ensure maximum damage. Anything that hadn’t been burned was soaked from the hoses carried in by the firemen. I would have to endure another investigation and get the all-clear before I could even think about going inside to assess what was salvageable.
My iron hold on sanity had apparently met its end. In a blink, I burst into tears. It was the single most humiliating moment of my life. I couldn’t stop, and covering my face with my hands only served to further reduce my ability to breathe. I ended up snorting and making all kinds of sloppy and disgusting sounds. Personally speaking, I was an ugly crier—snot, puffy eyes, red nose, blotchy face. There was no benefit to it. Crying made me resemble a troll, and I really disliked trolls.
“Look on the bright side,” Kennedy said, rubbing my back and shoulders. “You weren’t home when this happened, which means you didn’t have to face this psychopath. And Wilbur wasn’t here either. He’s safe at my place. You and he both have some of your things there, too, so you’re not completely bereft. Plus, this means that you and I get to spend more time together, since you’ll be moving in with me until the repairs are done.”
As positive as he was trying to be, I wasn’t fooled. Kennedy wasn’t the kind of man to just smile and shrug his shoulders. He was just as upset about this as I was which was evident by his take-charge attitude. Only from his perspective, this was an issue of personal safety. It would only give him more reason to watch over me, which I both liked and disliked. I liked having my freedom, and I really liked not having to answer to anyone but me, but I had to admit that it was nice to know I had someone looking out for me.
We headed back to his apartment, and as predicted, as soon as I was able to pull myself together, Kennedy started in on the new rules. “As of now, I am taking a leave of absence. I already put in for time off this morning, so be prepared. You’re about to gain an extra shadow. It’s obvious to me that whoever this guy is, he’s gunning for you. So, until he’s behind bars, I’m going to be with you everywhere you go.
“If you need to go shopping, I’ll drive you. If you want to take a walk, I’ll walk with you. If you want to meet your friends for any reason, I will take you and pick you up at an agreed time and place. I’ll be doing a security sweep of the bakery every morning before you open, and you’ll no longer be sending Dexter or Ronald anywhere if it means you being alone, I don’t care what the circumstances are.”
My eyebrows lifted, and I felt my stomach twist with unease.
“Didn’t think I knew about that, did you?” The side of Kennedy’s mouth crooked up, but he looked far from being happy. “This is serious, Abigail. If you’re not going to take your own safety seriously, then I am prepared to do it for you. From now on, you do nothing alone.”
“What about going to the bathroom?” I asked smartly.
“If you so much as pass gas, I’m going to know about it.”
“Ken!” I shouted, appalled. “Unless there’s a fart monster that might shank me while I’m on the toilet, I seriously think you need to dial it down a notch.”
“Hey, stranger things have happened,” Kennedy said, smiling widely. “The bathroom was a joke, but if anything happens outside of these walls, it happens with me present. Got it?”
Pursing my lips, my gaze slid away. I didn’t like the idea of having my every move monitored. Privacy had always been a big deal for me. Hell, I was bathing myself by the age of three and by ten I’d chosen to have a bedroom in the basement because I refused to share one with Amy. Giving in to Kennedy’s wishes would be a big concession for me.
“Do we have an understanding, Abigail?” Kennedy lowered his head and looked me in the eyes, waiting for his answer. I knew by his stern countenance, there was only one answer he was going to accept.
I nodded. “I guess if I’m going to have my own security detail, he might as well be a hunky firefighter.”
“Oh, hunky,” Kennedy said, pulling me into his arms. “I like the sound of that.”
After a little quiet-time spent on the couch petting Wilbur and talking about random crap in order to distract ourselves from the elephant in the room, Kennedy drew a bubble bath for me. While I lay soaking in it, he got started on dinner.
Blackened catfish was on the menu, alongside a heaping pile of buttery garlic mashed potatoes and a small tossed salad. It was simple, and yet surprised the hell out of me because I loved every bite. “You are a god,” were my exact words as I finished off my meal.
Kennedy hadn’t corrected me. In fact, I think he took a certain amount of satisfaction in hearing that word applied to him. After polishing off a bottle of wine, I repeated the phrase several more times between the balcony, the back of the couch, and the bedroom where we finally fell asleep from pure exhaustion.
***
Monday morning began our new routine. Kennedy and I woke together, showered together, ate together, and went to work together. After reassuring us both that the place was clear of any and all danger, he left to run some errands with a promise to stop back in later.
“How is Operation Destroy Abby’s Freedom going so far? Are you two sick of each other yet?” Having left work early for a doctor’s appointment, Hope had stopped by for an impromptu lunch date request. Leaning her hip on the counter while I carved out brownie squares, she was serving as my entertainment until Ronnie returned from picking up deli sandwiches for his and Dexter’s lunch.
“It’s only been a couple days. We really haven’t had time to get sick of each other yet,” I replied. And I hoped we never would, but if anything could prove whether or not we were a good match, this would be it.
“I think it’s sweet how Ken is all possessive of you. I wish I had a man like him in my life.”
“You’ll find your guy soon enough,” I assured her. “Looking all fabulous in your skin-tight jeans.”
“Oh, please,” she said, rolling her eyes. “If this ass gets any fatter, it’s going to rip through these skin-tight jeans.”
“You have a lovely ass.”
“It practically has its own zip code, Abs.”
“Men like that, Hope. If I could switch with you, I would. Try carrying around no ass sometime,” I said, referring to my flat butt.
“Yours is perfect. Small, round, and perky. I’d switch with you in a heartbeat. Hey, change of topic, but have you had a chance to feel out any of Ken’s coworkers?”
Looking for a man was at the top of Hope’s list of priorities, right below losing twenty pounds and getting her nails done. “I haven’t been back to the station in a while, but I promise next time I will find out who’s on the market.”
With a deep sigh, Hope pinched off a corner of one of the brownie squares and tossed it into her mouth before I could slap her hand away. “How much longer do we have to wait? I’m starving, and if I have to sit here looking at this endless display of heaven, you’ll need a baseball bat to keep me from eating them all.”
Holding up a finger, I walked over and poked my head out of the kitchen. Seeing Ronnie back at his station, I flashed Hope an “OK” sign. “Ready to make a break for it?”
“Hellz yeah!” Hopping down from the counter, we breezed up to the register where Dex and Ronnie were ringing up a customer.
“Hey, hun. We’re going to be heading out for a bit. Since we’re coming up on the afternoon lull, I’ll flip the sign on the way out, and you two can take your break once the last customer leaves.”
“Oki
e dokie. Before you leave, where will you be eating and when will you be back?” Ronnie asked us casually, although there was nothing casual about the way his eyes held mine.
Tilting my head, I propped my hands on my hips. “Kennedy got to you, didn’t he?”
“You’re every move is to be noted and reported back,” Dex confirmed. “Failure to follow directions is punishable by a thorough beat down by the whole fire department. Apparently, you have fans.”
Fans? Me? But I… Oh. “They’re just protecting their own interests. If anything happens to me, the gourmet treats stop.” With a wave, I said, “Tell Kennedy that we’ll be at the diner next door and we’ll be back in an hour.”
Hope and I were just stepping onto the sidewalk when I came up against a wall of muscle. “Excuse us…Oh, hey.” My smile was instant. Seeing Kennedy standing there, dressed in faded jeans and a dark pullover, was a treat for sore eyes. Only a few hours apart and already I missed him.
Embracing me, he kissed the top of my head. “Hey, sweet. Hey, Hope. Where are you ladies headed?” He was being so polite, that I almost missed the strain in his voice.
“Don’t worry. We’re just going next door to grab a bite for lunch. I already turned in my itinerary with your hired goons.” I hitched my thumb at the bakery, so he knew I was referring to Dex and Ronnie.
“All right. Well, while you do that, I’m going to hang around a bit.”
At lunch, I confided in Hope about my inner worries. Things I didn’t want to burden Kennedy with. “I just don’t want him to think he has to hold me together, you know? The last thing I want to do is fall to pieces every time I think about the possibilities, and what purpose would that serve anyway? Except to make us both miserable.”
Stirring her hot chocolate, Hope did what best girlfriends did for each other. “I totally agree with you. There’s no point in crying over spilled milk.”
“Thank you.”
“But,” she continued. “There’s also no point in hiding your feelings from him. Kennedy obviously cares about you, so why not let him shoulder some of the burden? That’s what couples are supposed to do for each other.”
“All good points,” I agreed, “but everything is still so new. Wouldn’t that, like, jinx it if I just started dumping all my inner turmoil on him? Isn’t that the first step in running a guy off?”
“Only if that guy is a total creep.” Hope pushed her mug away and sat forward in her chair. “Look, if Ken were going to run at the first sign of trouble, he would have done it already, right? So give him the benefit of the doubt.”
“And if he runs?”
“Then he wasn’t worth your time in the first place. It’s better to find out now, than after your heart is invested.”
The problem was, it was already too late for that. “Yeah, I guess you have a point. I’ll think about it.”
“Do that.”
We spent the rest of our lunch talking about Hope’s latest project at work. As a design consultant, she was working on putting together a floor plan for a loft in downtown’s historic district. If she could pull it off, it would mean a healthy commission. I had the utmost faith in her ability.
By the time we exhausted all conversation, we’d run over our hour lunch. “I hope the boys aren’t too pissed,” I said as we settled our bill and headed out.
“You’re right next door. If they had a problem with it, they knew where to find you.”
Stopping outside the door to the bakery, I turned to Hope and gave her a big hug. “Thanks for coming out to spend time with me. I definitely needed it.”
“Me too. Girl time has been seriously slim lately, and I was in desperate need of my Abby fix.”
“Next time, we won’t wait so long to get together,” I promised. After we said our good-byes and parted ways, I felt as if a small weight had been lifted from my shoulders.
As I approached the shop, I noticed the sign on the front door had been flipped to ‘closed.’ Frowning, I tested the door and finding it unlocked, I pushed my way inside and flipped it back to ‘open.’ I was ready to scold the first person I saw for being so careless.
“Seriously? First the sign, and now this?” I muttered as I scanned the empty room. None of the guys were in sight. No one manning the counter. No one cleaning. The least they could do was pretend to be working.
Hearing a small noise in the back, I followed it. “Guys, come on. It’s the middle of the afternoon, and the ‘closed’ sign was up. Do I really need to tell you…” I stopped in my tracks, my words trailing off as I looked down, startled to find Ronnie on the storeroom floor, his arms and legs bound behind his back with plastic zip ties and his mouth covered in shiny silver duct tape.
20
“Ronnie, oh my God!” Dropping to my knees, I ripped the tape from his mouth, and then started searching for something to cut the ties.
“Abby, get the hell out of here,” he whispered harshly.
“Are you crazy? I’m not leaving you behind!” Finding a box cutter on top of one of the shelves, I cut the tie from his wrists first. Sitting up, he grabbed the box cutter from me and set to work on the one around his ankles. “Where’re Dex and Ken?”
“I don’t know. I didn’t see where he took them.”
“He who? Ronnie, what the hell happened?”
Standing, he talked fast as he began searching the shelves. “Right after you left, Kennedy came in. We were getting ready to take our break. Dex split his sandwich with him and we all sat down at one of the tables. We were talking when that guy showed up out of nowhere pointing his gun at us.” Horror shown in his green eyes. “I thought he was playing some kind of joke.”
“What guy? Did you know him?” Fear gripped me and I held my breath. Was Kennedy okay? Was Dex?
“The cop. The one that was here before. I don’t remember his name, but Dexter asked him if he knew one of the customers.” He shook his head in confusion. The next thing I knew, Ronnie was brandishing a broom over his shoulder like a weapon. “When I find that fucker, I’m going to beat the holy hell out of him.”
My head was spinning, and then, in a moment of clarity, it clicked. Grabbing onto his shirtsleeve, I pulled him back as he stormed past me. “Are you talking about Officer Findlay? The one who answered the call about the break-in?”
“The cocky asshole? Yeah, that’s the one. He came right in through the back door, Abby,” he said, answering my unspoken question. “I don’t know how he did it, because we changed the code. The only people who know it are you, me, Dexter, and the security company.”
The security company… That had to be how he was getting in. I was going to be sick. Cradling my stomach, I looked around for another weapon. “Do you think they’re still in the store?”
“I’m not sure, but I plan to find out. Don’t try to be a hero, Abby. Get out of here and make that call. I have a feeling we’re going to need back-up.”
As Ronnie disappeared through the door, I was left alone in the storeroom closet. Officer Findlay was the one who’d broken in, attacked Dexter, and set fire to my apartment? He was a jerk, I could agree on that, but as someone who’d taken an oath to protect and serve, could he really have done all of that? What was his motivation? Maybe Ronnie was mistaken. Maybe he hadn’t gotten a clear look at the guy, or maybe we’d gotten our information crossed. Either way, I couldn’t stand around and do nothing when three people, whose lives I cared about, were missing and possibly in trouble.
Taking a quick look in either direction, I raced back to the front of the shop and ducked behind the counter. Grabbing the house phone, I call the police like I’d been told, but there was no way I was going to jump ship and leave Ronnie behind.
After hanging up the phone, I crept back down the short hallway toward the back, checking the storeroom and bathroom first. Seeing that the back service door was hanging wide open, I debated on whether or not I should close it. If I left it open, the perp could escape, but if I closed it, we might not be able to.
<
br /> It was a tough decision, but in the end, I closed the door. Then I changed the passcode. Whether he killed us or not, when the police got here, the perp would have no place to run. I could be signing our death warrant, or I could be signing his. Either way, we were all leaving through the same exit.
Still uncertain I had made a good decision, I stayed low as I silently made my way back toward the kitchen. If I were to rob a bakery, I figured my goal would be to commandeer the kitchen; but somehow, I didn’t think this guy was here for the donuts.
My initial scan of the room didn’t reveal anything suspicious. There were no armed gunmen, no blood, and no bodies. I almost breathed a sigh of relief, and then Officer Findlay stepped out of the freezer and every muscle in my body seized up.
Dressed in a pair of navy work pants and a matching button down crew neck shirt, he was clean shaven and resembled someone out for a casual stroll. But the snarl permanently etched on his face and the gun hanging down at his side told a different story. This was a man who was out for vengeance.
I thought back to my conversation with Mrs. Findlay, and how she alluded that her husband used to own the shop. She didn’t seem like the vindictive type or someone prone to holding grudges, but this guy? He struck me as exactly that type. The question was, who was he to Mrs. Findlay?
I watched from my hiding spot as Findlay walked behind the counter toward the ovens. His leg reared back, and I heard a dull thud followed by a pained moan. “You think you can come in here and take what doesn’t belong to you?” he shouted, pulling his foot back and kicking whoever was back there again.
Knowing there was no one else in the shop, it had to be one of my guys, and I felt the back of my throat burn at the idea of any of them being hurt over something they had nothing to do with.
“Where is that bitch? Tell me!” Findlay let his foot fly once more, and then bent down. When he came back up, his face turned red with strain as he backed toward the walk-in freezer. I closed my eyes and tried to block out the sound of clothing sliding against the hard floor and the low moaning.
Sweetest Temptations Page 14