OUR TIME WITH Gabby and Pax ended up being epic after Kyle and I made up. It was almost enough to help us forget that someone wanted to kill us just a week ago. The key word being almost.
Gabby hugged me tight. “I guess since you and dipshit made up, I can allow him to come to the wedding,” she said, winking.
I looked over at Kyle who had a huge grin on his face, talking to Pax. “Thanks Gabby. The past couple of days have been amazing. I appreciate you letting us stay here.”
“Anytime, my darling. I’m glad I was able to talk some sense into your bonehead of a boyfriend.”
“Are you always going to call him names?”
She glanced over at him, pursing her lips. “Probably. But I say them out of the utmost love for you.”
“I heard that,” Kyle called out. “And it’s okay. Gabriella can call me any name she wants as long as she doesn’t try to kick my ass.”
Smirking, Gabby lifted her chin and faced him. “If you keep your head out of your behind, we’ll be fine. Now you two be careful heading back to Vegas.”
I hugged her again. “We will. I’m going to stop and see Cindy on the way back. I want to tell her how sorry I am about not coming to Darryl’s funeral. I can’t believe I didn’t know about it.”
“She’ll understand,” Gabby murmured.
I could only hope so. Kyle and I hopped into the truck, waving at them as we pulled out of the driveway. Darryl’s house was only fifteen minutes away and the entire time I tried and failed to keep my thoughts from straying to his kind smile and witty personality. He was an amazing man and my heart hurt just knowing I’d never get to see or talk to him again.
“You okay?”
I swallowed hard and blinked away the tears. “Yeah, I’m fine. Just thinking about Darryl.”
Kyle reached over and clasped his fingers through mine. “His wife will understand. Don’t be so hard on yourself.”
The rest of the ride went in silence. When we pulled up to the house, Cindy was outside chasing a little puppy around the yard. Her hair was still the same auburn with wisps of gray and naturally wavy. She didn’t recognize Kyle’s truck, but when I stepped out she rushed over to me, greeting me with a warm smile and a hug.
“Well, look who it is. What brings you back to California?” She acknowledged Kyle with a nod.
“We came to visit some friends and also so I could see you. Cindy, I have to apologize right away.” I shook my head and started crying. “I had no clue Darryl passed away until last weekend.”
Her smile faltered. “I wondered if you’d show up, but then I knew you probably didn’t want to come back here so soon after . . .” she trailed off.
Kyle furrowed his brows at me and I shrugged. I had no clue what she was talking about and before I could ask, she continued.
“I wanted to call you, but I could barely breathe after he died. Why don’t you two come in and visit for a minute? I’ll wrap you up some cookies for your trip back.” She whistled for the puppy and it came bouncing back to her.
“Chocolate chip?” I asked.
She chuckled. “Your favorite.”
We followed her inside and sat down in the living room while she ventured off into the kitchen. I leaned over toward Kyle. “She used to bake me cookies all the time when I still lived around here.”
Cindy came back in and passed me a container filled with chocolate chip cookies. When she sat down, her little chocolate Lab puppy tried desperately to jump up into her lap. She bent down and picked him up, his tail wagging in excitement.
“Thank you for the cookies. I missed them. Nic’s an expert at baking, but cookies aren’t her strong suit.”
Cindy smiled. “That Nic is such a feisty girl. Please tell me she’s not getting you into trouble.”
Laughing, I patted Kyle’s thigh. “She’s not, but I can’t say the same for this one. Cindy, I’d like you to meet Kyle,” I said, looking up at him. “Kyle, this is Cindy.”
He extended his hand. “It’s nice to meet you.”
She took his hand and shook. “Likewise. I have to say, it’s nice to see a smile on Megan’s face.”
“Well, I’m glad I was able to put it there,” he murmured, taking my hand.
“Me too.” I glanced over at the little puppy and giggled. “I see you have a new friend. He’s adorable.”
Lifting the puppy in her arms, she nuzzled her nose against him. “My daughters thought he’d be able to keep me company. I have to say, they were right.”
“How are Raina and Jillian?” I asked. I wanted to talk about Darryl but I didn’t want to just jump into it. It’d only been three months since his death and I knew it was still a sore subject.
“Oh, they’re doing well. Raina’s in her final year of med school and Jillian just found out she’s pregnant with her second. She visits me almost every day.”
“I bet she does.” I paused and took a deep breath. “I really am sorry for not being here for you. But, when you said you understood why I didn’t want to come back, I’m afraid I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
She studied me and then cupped a hand over her mouth. “Please tell me you know.”
I glanced over at Kyle and then back to her and shook my head.
Setting the puppy down, she moved closer with fear in her eyes. “I assumed someone would have called you. Darryl spent weeks trying to get the system to change their decision. He was so stressed.”
“Oh my God,” I choked. “You can’t be serious.”
A tear fell down her cheek and her lips trembled. “I’m afraid I am, sweetheart. The day after Darryl died of a heart attack was when the decision was made.”
Bile rose up and burned like hot acid in my throat. I had never felt such terror than in that moment. Bolting up out of my seat, I raced to the bathroom and clutched the toilet. Over and over I whispered the word no probably a million times. Kyle knelt down behind me and pulled my hair back while I threw up my breakfast.
“What’s going on, love? What is she talking about?” Lifting me up off the floor, he held me in his arms while I cried.
“He’s out,” I whispered. “Alex is out of jail and he’ll come for me. He’ll find me.”
Kyle froze, his muscles tense as he held me. “Fucking shit. Why the hell didn’t anyone tell you?”
That was a good question. Lifting my head, he wiped away the tears with his thumbs. “I don’t know, but I’m sure as hell going to find out. We need to get out of here.”
I called Mason three times before I finally got him to answer. “Damn girl, don’t you know how to leave a message?”
“I would have if this wasn’t important. Why didn’t you tell me Alex was out of prison?”
“What? How can that be?”
“I was hoping you could answer that for me.”
He growled low. “Fuck, I have no clue. Where are you at right now?”
“We’re still in Cali. I want answers and I’m not leaving until I get them.”
“All right, meet me at the station in half an hour. We’ll get the answers together.”
After we hung up, Kyle drove us straight to the station. Shutting off the truck, he rolled the windows down while we waited on Mason. “It’s been three months since he’s been out. Don’t you think he would’ve come after you by now?”
I closed my eyes and breathed in the fresh air. “Not necessarily. Alex loved to play games. He’ll come after me in other ways before striking.”
About that time, Mason pulled up and we got out of the truck. He looked pissed and ready to fight. “Let’s go.”
Kyle took my hand and we followed Mason into the station, straight to one of the back offices where a young guy stood behind a desk, reading a file. His head lifted and when he saw us, he smiled. Throwing the file down, he marched around the desk and held out his hand. “Mason, what the hell are you doing here?”
“I could ask you the same thing. What are you doing in Gary’s office?”
He snorted. “Reading up on the newest case I’m being sent to solve. I head out tomorrow. Gary won’t be back for another couple of hours.”
Mason shut the door and rushed behind the desk. “Good, then I’m sure he won’t mind if I use his computer.” He sat down and pounded away on the keys while Kyle and I just stood there.
Holding out his hand, the young officer smiled devilishly at me, his blue eyes beaming. “I’m Bryce, it’s nice to meet you.”
I shook his hand. “Megan.”
Next, he held out his hand to Kyle and shook his. “So what brings you all here?” he asked, sitting down and putting his feet up on the desk.
Mason huffed. “I need some information on Megan West’s case. Apparently, her psychotic, piece of shit ex was released from prison. I need to know why no one called to tell her.”
His head jerked in my direction and he studied me. “So you’re Megan West?” I nodded. “I thought you looked familiar. I remember your case.”
“And I wish I could forget it.”
“If I recall correctly, he was only supposed to serve a couple of years since they couldn’t actually prove he was intent on killing you. You fucked him up bad. I remember him telling the judge you lured him to your house so you could attack him.”
“That’s such bullshit and everyone knows it. He was going to kill me. I should’ve finished him off when I had the chance.”
“Don’t worry, love. He’s not getting anywhere near you,” Kyle whispered, putting his arm around me.
Mason sat back in the chair and huffed. “All right, I’m in. Megan, come take a look at this. I think I found out why no one called you.”
Rushing over to the desk, I kneeled down beside him and looked at the screen. “What is all of that? That’s not my information. It says I live in Austin, Texas.”
“And it also has the wrong phone number,” he added. “I don’t know where this information came from.”
Bryce jumped up out of his seat and joined us. “What do you mean the information’s wrong? The only people who have access to this are us and the government.”
Mason stood up and sighed. “Not unless it got hacked somehow. Anyone trying to call Megan would’ve gotten that wrong number. It looks like someone didn’t want her to know he was out.”
Bryce stepped in front of him and typed a couple of codes into the computer. “It says here the information was put in back in January. Alex was still in prison at that time.”
“Then he has someone helping him,” Kyle interjected.
Mason leaned his hands on the desk. “That he does.”
“According to the information, it says Alex Brady lives in Florida now. That’s where I’m headed tomorrow. If you want, I can head out tonight and go to the address listed,” Bryce offered.
Mason nodded. “That could work.”
“Not unless you think he’s found you,” Bryce mentioned to me. “If he had someone hack into the computers, he already knows where you are. Has anything happened to you in the last couple months?”
Kyle spoke up. “We were chased by a car while on the way home last week. The cops back home haven’t been enthusiastic to help, given my track record.”
Mason elbowed Bryce and then pointed at him. “That’s Kyle Andrews. Surely, you’ve heard of him.”
Bryce’s eyes went wide. “Holy shit. I thought you couldn’t walk after your last fight.”
Kyle’s jaw clenched. “Well, now I can. Let’s get back to Megan. What if it was Alex coming after us last week?”
The thought made me sick. All this time, Kyle thought it was his enemy going after him when it could very well have been mine instead.
“That one’s up in the air,” Mason stated honestly. “You have a lot of people who hate you. I don’t know if we can say that’s Alex right now.” He then turned to me. “Has anything else happened?”
Closing my eyes, I tried to concentrate on everything that’d happened in the past three months. Nothing came to mind except one, utterly disturbing realization. “Oh no,” I whispered hoarsely.
My legs started to go numb but Kyle was there to steady me. “What is it?”
I looked up at him and then to Mason and Bryce. “The prank calls. I’ve gotten a few of them now. I never in my life thought it could be Alex, but it is. Now that I can replay the conversations in my head, it’s him. He found me. It’s only a matter of time now.”
He’ll come for me.