FOURTEEN
Rowdy had finally managed to convince Kelly and her mother to leave the bedroom alone until morning. They were both exhausted when he and his father walked into the bedroom at three a.m to find the two women crying in each other’s arms.
Rowdy had taken Kelly to his bedroom where he held her as she slept, and Ray had taken her mother to their bed. Rowdy was certain his father had gotten no more sleep than he had though, despite the fact that Dawg and Natches had slept downstairs until the security system could be repaired.
At eight, Rowdy met Ray in the hallway heading downstairs.
“Kelly still asleep?” Ray kept his voice low.
Rowdy nodded sharply.
“Coffee?” His father’s eyes glittered with anger.
“If I know Dawg, it’s already on.” Rowdy was certain he had smelled it moments before he left his bedroom.
Ray tugged at the band of his jeans and sniffed sharply, his jaw bunching. “Let’s go get some. I’ve had about all I can take of sitting around and thinking.”
Rowdy knew exactly what he was talking about.
They met Dawg and Natches in the kitchen. Both men were hunched over steaming cups of coffee, talking quietly as Rowdy and Ray entered the room.
“It’s fresh.” Dawg nodded to the pot on the counter.
“Did you manage to find anything this morning?” Rowdy asked as he moved to the cabinet and pulled two cups down.
“Nothing.” Dawg sighed. “Me and Natches went over this place with a fine-toothed comb. Whoever it was slipped in like a damned ghost and back out the same way.”
“Bastard!” Ray snapped. “I’m about tired of this, Rowdy. Maria and Kelly are losing enough sleep. They don’t need this.”
“I know, Dad.” Hell, he didn’t need it. He was having nightmares the way it was.
“He was just watching her until you came back, Rowdy,” Dawg informed him. “We found several places where he’s been watching the house from. The rains have wiped out most of the evidence of someone watching, but he likes to snack while he’s watching. A few candy papers, a couple of soda bottles. No prints though. We checked for that. He’s watching from points above the house, several different areas.”
“She said she knew she was being watched,” Rowdy sighed. “She felt it.”
“We’ll find him.” Natches’s eyes were flinty, cold. “He’ll make the wrong move soon.”
Rowdy rubbed the back of his neck as he pulled out a chair and sat. His cup smacked the table as he sat it down.
“He destroyed every fucking piece of clothes she owns. Every goddamned hair bow and frilly girly thing she possessed. He destroyed her.”
And Rowdy would destroy him, it was that simple. Once Rowdy got his hands on the bastard, he was dead. Painfully dead. The hurting, screaming kind of dead.
“How do you catch a damned ghost?” Ray snarled as he sat at the other end of the table. “The sheriff has been looking for him, I’ve been watching out for anyone suspicious, and no one has seen shit.”
Rowdy’s gaze connected with Dawg’s and Natches’s. The bastard had come after Kelly again because he knew she was on the boat with Rowdy. He was pissed. He would make a mistake soon enough.
“Don’t you three think you’re going to keep me out of this,” Ray warned knowingly. “You’re not as good at those sneaking little looks as you think you are. Tell me what you’re up to.”
“We’re not up to anything, Dad.” Rowdy pushed his fingers wearily through his still damp hair. “He’s mad. He had to have known Kelly was on the boat with me last night. He considers her his good girl. She’s not waiting for him, so he’s punishing her. He’ll make a mistake soon enough.”
“Especially if you have your way?” Ray growled. “Be careful, Rowdy. Don’t try to play games with this bastard.”
“No games.” Rowdy lifted his cup to sip at the coffee as he stared back at his father. “I won’t have to play any games. He won’t be able to stand her being with me. He’s trying to scare her away from me with this. When it doesn’t work, he’ll come after me.”
“Or Kelly?” Ray snapped. “What if he goes after Kelly?”
Dawg shook his head at that one. “He’ll come after Rowdy. And when he does, we’ll all be waiting.”
Ray stared at the three of them harshly. “Don’t play with Kelly’s reputation, Dawg,” he warned him. “I won’t like that.”
Dawg glanced at Rowdy.
“The three of you are going to piss me off,” Ray snapped.
Hell, just what he needed, his father getting in on this. If Ray was suspicious, then Maria would be too and then she would start working on Kelly. Rowdy knew what it was going to take to bring Kelly’s attacker out of the woodwork. If they didn’t push him, then he would strike when none of them expected it. They couldn’t take that chance.
“I’ll take care of this.” He stared back at his father firmly. He wasn’t arguing over it. He wasn’t debating it. One way or the other, he would make certain Kelly was safe.
“Without hurting Kelly further?” Ray’s expression was suspicious.
“There’s no way to keep Kelly out of this,” Rowdy warned him. “She’s the one he’s after.”
“And she’s the one that needs to know how we’re going to stop him,” Kelly’s voice stated from the doorway.
All eyes turned to her. She was dressed in one of her mother’s gowns and a robe, her long hair flowing around her, her gray eyes stormy.
She was scared and fighting to be strong. Enduring. Kelly was enduring. He had known that years ago, but he was learning it more now. She wouldn’t go down easy. She might have her weak moments, but she would come back fighting. And what he needed her to do now was fight.
He watched as she moved to the coffeepot, filled her cup, then turned back to stare at the four of them in determination.
“Whatever happens, Ray, it’s my decision,” she stated. “You and Mom can’t protect me forever.”
Ray’s jaw bunched with the anger that acknowledgment brought.
Turning back to Rowdy, his eyes narrowed warningly as he rose from the table. “She better not get hurt,” he snapped. “Or the three of you will answer to me.”
He stalked from the kitchen then and stomped up the stairs, obviously heading for the bedroom he shared with Maria.
Silent, Rowdy watched as Kelly moved to Ray’s chair and sat down gingerly, placing her cup carefully on the table before asking, “What’s the quickest way to draw him out?”