Finding Forever (Colorado Veterans Book 6)

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Finding Forever (Colorado Veterans Book 6) Page 13

by Tiffani Lynn


  “Wes!” she calls from the bathroom.

  “Yeah?” I ask as I lean my head inside and find her working with a curling iron while a pile of bobby pins sits in front of her.

  “Can you let Steph in? She’s on her way over with some clothes for this interview. If they don’t work, I might need you to run up to the dry cleaners and pick up a pantsuit I dropped off the week before all hell broke loose.”

  “Your interview isn’t until tomorrow, right?”

  “Correct, but I have to be prepared,” she explains with big eyes, like I’m crazy for even mentioning it.

  “Okay, the dry cleaners is closed tonight, but if you need me to, I’ll go as soon as they open tomorrow.”

  “Thanks, honey. I’m sorry if I’m being snippy. I’m just nervous.”

  I step into the bathroom and kiss her temple. “It’s going to be fine. Relax a little.”

  Before the doorbell rings, a notification pops up on our phones that someone is at the door. She turns to me. “It’s Steph. Go let her in, please? I need to figure this out so I can sit back with a glass of wine and catch up with my best friend.”

  “Fine, I’ll be a good butler and let her in,” I joke, right before I jog down the stairs and open the door.

  Standing in the doorway is Steph Miller, with her arms full of clothes on hangers. “Hey, Steph, do you have any more in your car?” I ask.

  “No, but these are about to break my arms.”

  I reach out and take as many as I can from her and she groans with relief. “It would have been easier if she could have come to my place. I’ll be glad when this guy is caught. I’m ready to kill him myself.”

  “Me too. Come on in. She’s up in the bathroom messing with her hair.”

  I turn to take the clothes upstairs but Steph stops me with a hand on my shoulder.

  “Is this for real? Are you guys back together?” Her eyes search my face as she waits for my answer.

  “Yes and yes. I’ll let Jess tell you everything,” I say, giving her the answer but leaving the details for Jess so she can decide how much information her friend should have.

  “Just don’t hurt her. I don’t think she can take any more than she’s already been through.”

  “I never intended to hurt her the first time and I certainly don’t intend to now.”

  “I know. You guys were so good together, I hated to see you split up. I’ll support you anyway I can. I’m glad you’re back.” She gives me a small smile and I return one to her before turning and hiking back up the stairs with the mountain of clothes in my arms.

  Two hours later, I’m putting the finishing touches on our late dinner when I once again hear cackling from upstairs and smile to myself. This is what life was like when I wasn’t deployed. It was chill. Jess always had Darrian or Steph or one of her other girlfriends over, and they would drink wine and laugh their heads off for hours. Most of the time, I would go out to the garage and work on whatever car project I had going on, until it was time to cook dinner. I didn’t spend time with many people outside of Jess, but I loved that she had that and enjoyed it.

  I walk over to the stairs and yell, “Dinner is served!”

  “On our way!” Jess yells back.

  When they enter the room, I notice Jess has an empty bottle in one hand and an empty wine glass in the other. Both women are giggling uncontrollably. Steph has a half-drunk bottle in her hand and an empty wine glass too.

  “I think you’ll be sleeping in the guest room tonight, Steph,” I note.

  They both break out in peals of laughter and I can’t help but grin at them. When their hysterics die down, Steph looks at me. “Yeah, I’m crashing here. Jess got me trashed and I can’t drive. Besides, if I stay over, I can help her get ready for this interview in the morning. Not that she needs to worry too much because I’m certain she’s going to get the job, but I’d like to supply some moral support.”

  “I agree. I think she’ll get the job too, but as nervous as she is, having you here will help calm her nerves,” I confirm as I wait for them to fill their plates and pass the food.

  “You two are talking about me like I’m not here,” she mumbles and pokes out her lip in a mock pout.

  “Oh please, get over yourself,” Steph says as she tosses her napkin at Jess and they start laughing again.

  When Steph looks down at her plate, which is filled with roast beef, carrots, potatoes and green beans, she looks across the table at me and asks, “Can we clone you? I was always so jealous. Not only are you all big and protective and hot, you also cook and clean and can fix a car. There are no more men out there like you. It’s why I’m still single. I’ve looked all over and I keep finding bums. If you could find a way to make another one of you, I’d be grateful.”

  Jess laughs. “Sorry, girl, but there is only one of him.” Then she smiles and winks at me and I grin back at her.

  The next morning, I make omelets for breakfast and we sit around discussing topics that might come up during Jess’s interview. Just as I suspected, her answers are thoughtful and to the point. I think she’s ready for this.

  After breakfast, Steph does the dishes while I head upstairs to get dressed. The only thing that Jess found out of that whole stack of her friend’s clothes was a teal blouse that she plans to wear under the pantsuit I agreed to pick up.

  “I’m headed to the cleaners and the store to pick up food for Zuzu. I won’t be long. I’ll send Steph in to help,” I explain as I kiss her quickly, before heading downstairs.

  “Steph, I’m locking the door behind me. You can head up and help her get ready. I’ll be back soon,” I call to her as I’m pushing my feet into my sneakers.

  “See you in a bit!” she calls back to me.

  I get in the car and drive to the store first. It’s the furthest point from the house and it will give the cleaners time to get past that first morning rush. While I’m standing in line at the grocery store with cat food and kitty litter in my cart, my phone rings. It’s Javier, so I pick it up.

  “Where are you?” he asks without any greeting. My muscles lock at the tone of his voice.

  “The grocery store. Why?”

  “Jess with you?”

  “No. Why?”

  “Unless Dex is with her, you need to drop what’s in your cart and get to her.” I can hear the dinging sound as if he’s getting in or out of his car, and then a door slams.

  “What the fuck is going on?” I bark at him as I push my cart to the side and jog to the door.

  “We got a hit on Vogler’s debit card last night at a strip club in Colorado Springs. He’s back. My computer guy called me back a little bit ago and he’s traced the bail money to a defense attorney named Johnathan Switcher. Last night, Switcher used a credit card at the same strip joint where Vogler was. I decided we needed to get eyes on Switcher, so we staked out his office and his house, and haven’t even gotten a glimpse of the guy. I called his office just now and found out he’s on vacation this week at a cabin in the mountains. I don’t have a good feeling about this.

  “Don’t leave her alone. I’m headed to her place to set up surveillance, and my guys and I will take turns until Switcher turns up again.”

  “I’m headed back now. Her friend Steph is with her until I get back there. Call me if you beat me to her house.”

  I hang up and call Jess, but no one answers. Fuck! I should have moved her phone from beside the bed to the bathroom, where I left her doing her hair.

  Five minutes later, while I’m speeding through town, the motion detector on the Ring device chimes and the video comes up. A man in a T-shirt and jeans, with a baseball cap pulled down low, approaches the door. I can’t see everything, but I can tell that he tried to open it. When it won’t open, he pulls something out of his pocket and the next thing I know, the guy is going into Jess’s house.

  “Siri, call Jess Chapman!” I yell into my phone as I increase my speed further and weave in and out of traffic, trying to get to her befo
re that guy does. Then I dial Rajesh.

  Twenty-One

  Jess

  I’m sitting on a stool in the bathroom, listening as Steph tells me about the last loser she dated while she applies my eye shadow, when the motion detector chime goes off on my phone in the other room. Wes hasn’t been gone long enough for it to be him and I’m not expecting anyone else. I don’t know if I’m just paranoid or if I need to be concerned, but I’m not taking any chances, especially with my best friend here.

  “Steph—” As I’m saying her name, I hear the slight creak in the hinge of my front door and know that it’s opening. No one has the keys to get in here, besides Wes and me. I freeze for half a second too long, until fear slaps me into gear. “Steph! Get in my closet and don’t move. Don’t come out until I come get you!” I whisper urgently to her.

  Her eyes are wide and frightened as she shakes her head. “Don’t go down there. Hide with me,” she begs. “Wes will be back soon. Let him handle it.”

  “No! Get in there. I’ll be okay. If we both hide, they will get us both. Now get your ass in that closet.” I push her toward the closet and pull my 9mm out from between the mattress and box springs. My heart is pounding and my hands are shaking as I tiptoe across the room to my door. It’s closed, so I lean my ear against it and listen for any sounds that might help me figure out if someone is upstairs or downstairs. I can’t hear any noises, so I twist the handle as slowly and quietly as I can and make sure the gun is ready in my grip. Turning the corner, I find the hallway empty and breathe out a quiet sigh of relief. I creep toward the stairs as slowly as possible until I get close to the part of the floor that I know has a squeak, and pause.

  Zuzu zips up the stairs and past me like her tail is on fire and I know for a fact someone is down there. If it were Wes, he would have come right up the stairs to bring me my clothes, with Zuzu in his arms. She was clearly scared.

  Holy shit. My palms are sweating and I’m quaking all over, but I’m not going down without a fight. The front door opens and closes again, and I can hear whispering. Then it’s quiet. Seconds that feel like eons pass and I hear the creak of the floorboards in the kitchen by the pantry. Oh my God, this is it. I swallow hard and take a deep breath before turning the corner, with my gun aimed in front of me as I work my way down slowly, avoiding all the noisy spots on the staircase. By the time I make it to the bottom, I have to take a deep breath again.

  A drip of sweat runs down my hairline and slides down my neck. My heart is pounding so hard in my chest, I swear whoever is here is able to hear it. Someone walks through the doorway from the kitchen to the living room and I stop and brace myself before I yell, “What the hell are you doing here?”

  “I… I … I…” he stutters and starts to squat down. When he looks up at me, I realize that this guy is Vogler, the damn janitor.

  “Why?” I growl. My blood starts boiling over because now I’m certain it was him that killed my sister. I never would’ve thought this sorry sack of shit had it in him, but apparently he does. “Get down on your belly, you asshole! You killed my sister and you’re gonna pay!” I scream as my loose hold on sanity slips away.

  Before I can kick him in the head like I want to, a flash of something catches the corner of my eye. I turn and fire at the blur rushing at me, and my aim may not be perfect when I’m in motion like that, but it must be good enough because the moment the bullet pierces his flesh, blood starts spurting everywhere. The guy was already in motion though, so he hits me like a Mack truck and takes me to the ground. There is blood squirting all over the place and I punch, kick and scream, trying to get this guy off of me. I’m so hysterical, though, that I don’t notice that this guy isn’t fighting me, he’s just dead weight trapping me to the ground.

  Finally, he’s pulled off of me and shoved to the side like a sack of potatoes. It’s Wes, and he reaches down and pulls me up and into his arms. I’m covered in blood and shaking like a twig in a hurricane. “It’s okay, sweetheart, you’re okay. It’s okay. It’s gonna be alright.” He does his best to soothe me, but I’m too far gone and my legs give out. Wes catches my weight and pulls me over to the couch, where he sits and hauls me onto his lap. The last little bit of zing I had is gone and the adrenaline crash is like nothing I’ve ever felt before.

  “Shhhh, it’s alright. I’m here. You’re safe,” he whispers against my hair. “Where is Steph? Is she okay?”

  Detective Rasan and three police deputies rush through the door and stop when they see us.

  “She’s fine. Go get Steph out of the closet in the master bedroom upstairs. She’s her best friend. She’s hiding.”

  The detective runs up the stairs with one of the policemen following close behind. The other two flip over the guy that was on top of me, and check for a pulse. “He’s gone,” one of them tells the other. “We’ll ask Rasan where he wants to start when he comes back down.” The other guy nods and they both stand there for a second, waiting awkwardly.

  Wes finally speaks up. “Can you give us a second alone?” They nod and step out the front door.

  “Are you okay? Did he hurt you?” he asks. His eyes wide and obviously afraid of the answer.

  “No.” I shake my head. “The other guy got away though.”

  “No, he didn’t. Javier got him across the street. It was Vogler. He’s not getting bail this time. Guaranteed.”

  “How did you know to come home?”

  “Javier called and said Vogler was in town and they linked him to Johnatha Switcher, the guy you killed, and he was afraid they were about to make a move. We both hauled ass to get here when I couldn’t reach you on the phone. When the Ring camera on my phone went off, I saw Vogler going inside, so I called Rajesh on the way. He must have left as soon as we hung up.”

  “Oh my God! What if we didn’t have that Ring system? I wouldn’t have known they were here. They would’ve gotten Steph and me.”

  “But you did, so don’t think about that. I’m so proud of you, sweetheart. You nailed him right in the neck. All that target practice in Nebraska paid off.”

  “He startled me and was running at me, or it would have been between the eyes. That scared the shit out of me. There was blood everywhere. I don’t ever want to do something like that again.”

  “Me either. I was so scared.” He presses his face into my hair and holds me tight until Detective Rasan comes down the stairs with his arm around Steph, who is curled so tight into his side that I think we may have to get a crowbar to separate them. She’s sniffling and obviously terrified.

  When Steph finally spots me, she lets go and runs for me. I stand up just in time for her to hit me full speed in a moving hug. Wes stands up and puts a hand behind my back to brace me. If he didn’t, I would have gone down with the force of her impact.

  “Are you hurt? You’re covered in blood.” She starts crying all over again. “I thought you were dead. I heard the gunshot and I thought they killed you. I was so scared and I didn’t have my phone to call for help. I didn’t know what to do.” She squeezes me so hard I’m breathless, and continues rambling. “Oh my God! I can’t believe you’re still alive. How are you still alive?” She’s sobbing harder but I don’t answer, I just hold her and wait for her to settle a little. Wes steps over and talks quietly to the detective for a moment while we compose ourselves. Finally, I lead her to the couch and we sit down and hold hands as we wait to see what’s next.

  A few hours later, we’ve all given our statements and the coroner has come and gone. Vogler was arrested and sent to the police station in the back of one of the cruisers. Detective Rasan promises me he won’t get out on bail this time.

  Wes grabs Zuzu and places her in her carrier and packs me a bag. The thought of staying in this house tonight is not one I can even fathom. We’re going to Wes’s apartment for at least tonight and then we will decide what to do next.

  Although Steph’s car is out front, Detective Rasan is insisting on taking her home and having one of the deputies fol
low him in her car. He says she’s in no state to drive and I agree. I’m just thankful that he was here to help. Javier left to pick up Thea from a friend’s house as soon as he was done giving his statement because Valerie was stuck in surgery and couldn’t get away. This has probably been the longest day of my life and I’m wiped out.

  A few days later, Detective Rasan asks to come to Wes’s apartment to see us. I haven't been able to go back to my house yet and I’m wondering if I ever will. The last three nights since the attack, I’ve woken up in a cold sweat because I was dreaming of shooting him again, feeling his weight on me, seeing his wild eyes. Every time, I’m terrified and my heart is racing so fast I feel like it will come out of my chest. Sometimes, I even dream of seeing Darrian try to fight him off, and those nights I puke when I wake up.

  This morning, when we got out of bed, Wes made a call to Dave, his friend and former counselor, who agreed to take me on as a client. Wes swears he will help, so we are going to meet with him at the beginning of next week. If he could help Wes, I’m praying he can help me too.

  I obviously missed my interview, but as soon as Liza saw the news, she called me and told me she was glad I was okay and we could reschedule for when I’m ready. My boss called yesterday to tell me she was pleased that I was okay and to give me clearance to come back to work next week. A lot of things in my life were put into perspective with all of this, and my job was one of them. So instead of telling her I’ll be back next week, I told her to expect my resignation letter in the next day or two. She was sad to see me go but had a feeling it was coming after the way Mr. Smith treated me.

 

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