“You did a good thing rescuing that Wentworth kid,” Marshall continued. “You did the department proud at a time when we needed a little positive press.” He sighed. “Make that a lot of positive press.”
Kelly nodded. He was talking about the corruption allegations. She’d seen the headlines, read the stories. Hell, she’d even been part of the story for a while. Fortunately, things had died down on that front. Just as with her brief flirtation with celebrity, hungry journalists had moved on to newer, more sensational stories.
“I’m proud of you, Officer Jenkins. You should be proud of yourself.”
Kelly forced a smile. Proud of herself? She wished she’d skipped her run that fateful morning. If she had, she would have never met Trey Wentworth.
“Thank you, sir.”
“You’re dismissed,” Marshall barked, as if uncomfortable about his uncharacteristic praise. “Be safe out there.”
Kelly saluted and marched out of the lieutenant’s office. She was pleased, of course she was. Resuming patrol was what she’d wanted, had prayed for, but lately she couldn’t muster much enthusiasm for anything. Not even eating. She’d lost the weight she’d gained from Greta’s gourmet meals, and maybe a couple pounds more.
She ought to be elated about her career, on that proverbial cloud nine. Instead she felt as if she trudged around inside a dark rain cloud.
What she needed to shake her out of her slump was a good callout on patrol today. She needed an incident that summoned her entire squad, sirens wailing. Something exciting—no, something worthwhile. She needed to do something that made her proud to be a cop.
Kelly gave herself a swift mental kick in the butt as she pushed into the women’s locker room. Was she fantasizing about rescuing another little boy? If I’m going to daydream, why not reach for the stars? Why not save the mayor of Dade County? Or the governor. The Dalai Lama.
The whole thing with Trey was just as much of a fantasy.
Lana, standing by her locker, looked up and grinned at Kelly, eyebrows raised.
“Kelly?”
Kelly raised her arm for a high five. “I’m baaack.”
“All right.” Lana slapped Kelly’s palm. “Welcome home, girl.”
Kelly slammed open her locker. Welcome home. That sounded right. This police station was her home, the only home she had ever wanted. Truly the only home she’d ever known.
She smashed her cap onto her head. What did she know about a family? She’d never actually been part of one. The make-believe with the Wentworths didn’t count.
The locker room door swung open. Grinning, Trice entered and said, “I heard a rumor.”
“Please,” Kelly said, holding up her hand. “I’ve had enough celebrity gossip to last a lifetime.”
“Rudy says you’re off suspension.”
“Damn straight,” Kelly said.
“Make it count,” Trice said.
“Make it count,” Lana repeated.
Kelly nodded. “Make it count,” she said again, the mantra the three of them had cooked up during training.
Make it count. She had saved a little boy. She pictured Jason in the park when he crashed into her that morning, and the tightness in her belly loosened just a little.
Okay, yeah, maybe he was spoiled and rich and would have eventually been rescued when the ransom payoff got straightened out. But what if he wasn’t? Her lieutenant was right. She should be proud of herself.
So why did she feel so empty inside?
* * *
AT HIS DESK, Trey looked up at a knock on his office door. He was expecting Brian, and that was who stood in the doorway looking as intense as ever, toting his massive brown leather briefcase.
“You’re late,” Trey said, smiling to soften his accusation.
“Sorry. The two o’clock ferry was full, and I had to wait,” Brian said. “Has the meeting started?”
Trey glanced at his computer screen, which showed a long empty conference table. A woman carrying a tray with a pitcher of water and glasses moved in front of the camera and disappeared. The sound was muted, but Trey knew she’d placed the water on a sideboard for use by directors during the upcoming emergency board meeting.
“Any minute now,” Trey said.
He sat back, rubbing his eyes. It had been a long day. A long week. Between plans for the tennis clinic and preparing himself for the CEO position at Wentworth Industries, he’d tried to keep too busy to think about Kelly. She’d texted that she was off suspension, which was of course excellent news. But he couldn’t help wonder if she blamed him for almost destroying her career.
And he couldn’t help wondering if she missed him.
“You need a secretary,” Brian said, glancing at the various stacks of paper on the desk. “And a file cabinet.”
Trey followed Brian’s gaze and winced. “I’ve got a temp coming tomorrow morning.”
“I think you’ll need more than a temp.” Brian settled himself so he could see the screen. “Are you certain this is the way you want to go with your father?”
Trey cut him a look. “You said there were no problems legally with the board’s decision.”
“Absolutely not,” Brian said, withdrawing a thick packet from his briefcase. “A majority vote is all that’s needed to make a change. But—” He hesitated. “The man is your father.”
“And I would have preferred to wait a few more months, give him a little more time to get used to the idea of stepping down. But the board is adamant. Senior’s recent decisions have been too costly.” Trey paused, then said, “I thought you agreed.”
“I do,” Brian said. “As your new corporate counsel. It’s your old friend who is worried about the consequences to your family.”
Trey shook his head, refusing to dwell on the meaning behind the word family. He pushed away an image of Kelly reading Jason a bedtime story, his son gazing adoringly at the woman he’d chosen for his new mother.
“Father refused to resign,” Trey said. “It’s either me as CEO, or they bring in someone new. I’m certain Senior would rather have me than an outsider he’d have less influence over.”
“Will he show to protest the vote?”
“Unknown,” Trey said with another glance at the monitor. Two men and a woman were now seated around the table. The board had acquiesced to a teleconference due to Jason’s situation. Trey wasn’t ready to leave his son yet since one kidnapper was still at large.
“Alexander could file suit,” Brian said. “He doesn’t have a case, but the litigation would be expensive and cause a stock dive.”
“I hope he doesn’t go that route.” Trey sighed. “My father is slipping, and he doesn’t want to admit it.”
“How bad is it?” Brian asked. “Could you have him declared incompetent?”
Trey shook his head and didn’t reply.
“I take it you don’t want to go there.”
“Not if I can help it,” Trey said.
The phone rang. Trey checked caller ID, wholeheartedly agreeing with Brian that he needed a permanent assistant, if for nothing else than to screen calls. His life was definitely about to make a radical change. He’d be attending fewer fund-raisers and answering more phone calls. He couldn’t help but think that had to be a good thing. He’d have less time to obsess about what was missing in his life.
One Officer Kelly Jenkins.
And this call was from the company that managed the apartment building where she lived. He’d been expecting to hear from them. He heard a chime from the computer and glanced at the monitor. The table was now full, so this conversation had to be quick.
The meeting to depose his father as CEO of Wentworth Industries was set to commence.
CHAPTER THIRTY
ALREADY SEATED WITH Sean at their usual
table at the Coral Bagel, Kelly waved Trice over when she entered.
“Man, what a slow day,” Patrice said as she slid into the booth.
“That’s the way we like it, ladies,” Sean said.
“Speak for yourself,” Kelly muttered.
“I know you like to rock and roll, Kel,” Sean said. “But we can’t be heroes every day.”
“And you know where you can shove it, Sean,” Kelly said.
Sean laughed. Trice opened her mouth to say something, but shook her head and looked down at her menu. As if she didn’t already know what she’d order.
“What?” Kelly demanded.
Trice waved her hand. “You don’t want to know.”
Their server appeared, interrupting the conversation. Kelly scrutinized her friend as she requested her usual lunch. Trice knew something. Something big, no doubt juicy gossip about Trey. Kelly had been careful to avoid even hearing his name, but now she had to know.
When the server moved away, Kelly leaned forward. “What don’t I want to know?”
Patrice smiled knowingly. “That your lover is now in charge of Wentworth Industries.”
“What?”
“Trey staged a coup d’état and threw his dad out,” Trice said, picking up her water.
“Close your mouth, Kelly,” Sean said. “Even I couldn’t miss hearing that news.”
“What do you mean?” Kelly asked, unsure who to glare at now.
“It’s all over the news,” Sean said. “Don’t you watch TV?”
“He’s apparently some big financial wizard,” Trice said. “Who knew your party animal was a business genius?”
“Wentworth Industries stock went through the roof,” Sean said.
“That’s good, right?” Kelly asked.
Sean shrugged. “For the stockholders. The whole stock market is happy. Even my little 401K has gone up. I’ll bet yours has, too. Do you ever check?”
“When did this happen?” Kelly asked.
“The market started reacting to rumors three or four days ago, but the official announcement was made yesterday morning,” Sean said.
“Why the delay?” Kelly asked.
Trice met Kelly’s gaze. “No one knows.”
Kelly nodded and fell silent. So Trey did it. He booted Senior and took over the family business. Good for him. Would he become so immersed in Wentworth Industries he’d ignore Jason? No, Trey wouldn’t do that. He loved his son too much.
She needed to return his SUV. She’d received her insurance check yesterday and planned to rent a car while she searched for a vehicle she could afford. She should drive to the ferry tonight, but knew she wouldn’t. She wasn’t ready to sever that last connection.
What did another day or two matter? Trey had more vehicles than anyone needed. She could wait until her next day off.
“Have you heard from him?” Trice asked quietly.
“Only indirectly,” Kelly said.
“What does that mean?”
“My entire apartment complex has been wired with a new state-of-the-art security system courtesy of Wentworth Industries.” She shook her head. “I can’t believe how quickly it happened.”
“Money talks,” Sean said.
“There are new video cameras at every entrance or exit, and get this. I have four monitors in my apartment so I can view every one of them.”
“No way,” Sean said.
“Yep. I came home from work one night and there they were, along with detailed instructions on how to scroll through each access point.”
“Surely he didn’t put monitors in every unit.”
“No,” Kelly said. “Just mine and the manager’s office. Apparently Trey wanted them to hire guards 24/7 to monitor the cameras, but when management said that would mean raising everyone’s rent, he had the screens placed in my unit.”
“And he paid for the whole deal?” Sean asked.
“Well, I sure as hell didn’t,” Kelly said. “There’s also an alarm on my front door. So far I’ve set the damn thing off twice when I couldn’t disable it quickly enough with my password.”
“He wants to make sure nothing happens to you,” Trice said. “I think that’s sweet.”
“The man is in love,” Sean said with a grin.
“He’s grateful because I rescued his son,” Kelly said, relieved by the arrival of their food.
“Oh, yeah,” Trice said. “I’m sure that’s it.”
Sorry she’d even mentioned Trey’s ridiculous security system, Kelly picked up a fork to signal she was done with the discussion. Too bad her traitorous stomach roiled at the thought of food.
The fact that Trey had been so high-handed rankled, although her fellow residents had been delighted with the extra level of security. She’d actually made a couple of new friends. Turned out most of the building knew who she was and that she’d rescued Jason Wentworth.
Kelly stabbed a French fry. Yeah, but her neighbors didn’t have to enter a security code into a blinking box within sixty seconds every time they came home. She’d been tempted to refuse to set the alarm, but that just made her feel stupid.
She’d like to call Trey and give him a good piece of her mind. But she didn’t dare do that. Hearing his voice would only make her loneliness worse. And she’d want to talk to Jason. Better that she stay away.
Funny how lately every small child she saw reminded her of the little dude, made her wonder how he and his dad were doing. Made her want a child of her own.
She forced herself to take a bite of her tuna sandwich. She was trying to forget Trey, move on. So how was she supposed to do that when his security system was in her face every single day?
* * *
KELLY ENTERED HER APARTMENT, hurried straight to the alarm pad and entered the password. When the blinking light changed from red to green, she released a sigh. At least tonight she wouldn’t have to place an embarrassing call to the alarm company to call them off.
After locking her front door, she went to her bedroom, unbuckled her duty belt and looped it over the chair where she always kept it. No need to lock away her service weapon. No small children in the house to worry about.
She changed into workout clothing and stretched her arms toward the ceiling, feeling lighter now that she was free of her belt and the Kevlar vest she always wore on duty. But she never minded the additional weight. The vest and the belt protected her on the job. They were the only security system she needed.
In the kitchen she grabbed a bottle of cold water from the fridge and stepped to the four new monitors that took up too much space in her tiny living room.
The first monitor showed a view of her hallway leading from the camera over her door to the elevator and the fire escape stairwell beyond. Every five seconds the view flipped to show the hallway to the second fire escape. She could see anyone who exited the elevator or the stairs on her floor.
She unscrewed the cap on her water. Right now the hallway was empty.
The second monitor revealed the main entrance of the building. Even before the new system, every door was always supposed to remain locked and residents used a fob to enter and exit any egress point. Management provided a phone so guests could notify residents of their arrival, but the phone and camera to view guests seldom worked, so someone had disabled the locks.
Trey’s new electronic door couldn’t be tampered with, and the camera functioned perfectly. Taking a long drink, Kelly watched people enter and exit the doorway on her monitor. It was 8:00 p.m., so the view was fairly active.
She waited while the third monitor rotated between two separate views of the parking lot, the two fire escape exits on the ground floor and the various stair landings on all six floors.
No monsters anywhere. At least not in real time.
The system kept the video for forty-eight hours, and then recorded over the loop. She switched on the fourth monitor and scanned the recordings in triple time, looking for anyone that resembled Adam Chandler. She’d done this for three nights and had come up empty. She pulled up a chair and wondered how long she’d continue this routine. She was already bored. That was the problem with these passive types of security systems.
She yawned, her mind wandering to the workout she’d do later. When Kelly refocused on the screen, she bolted forward to freeze the recording on a figure trying to open the east fire exit door. Hadn’t she seen the same person trying to access the west door at some point? She made note of the time signature, backed up the video and slowed the recording to normal time to watch the man again.
Yeah, maybe this guy was Adam Chandler, but maybe not. Body type was the same, but the face was in shadows. Definitely similar hair. Long sleeves, so no way to make ID through his tats.
Well, whoever he was, he definitely wanted in her building but didn’t have a fob to open the door.
She checked the instructions from the security company, located the time signature for the west door and sure enough the same guy was trying to gain access. He even kicked the door in frustration, and that was likely why she’d remembered him.
He’d made a mistake.
She repeated the process for the main entrance and found the man again. The lighting was better here. Kelly’s heart pounded. He definitely resembled Adam Chandler. The FBI could confirm it with their face recognition program.
The timing, if it was accurate—but then of course it was; Trey paid for it—showed he’d started with the fire escapes and then moved to the front door. Why would a resident do that? Or a guest?
Last night this man had tried to get inside where he didn’t belong. It didn’t mean the man was Chandler, but Trey’s new security was working to keep whoever he was out.
She watched him read the instructions that told guests how to notify residents of their arrival. He picked up the phone and punched in some numbers. He turned his face away from the camera, so she couldn’t tell if he spoke to anyone. Maybe no one answered. Whatever occurred, he dropped the receiver and stomped off the visual field.
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