by T. S. Ryder
She’d texted Gabby earlier that morning. “What would you say if Hayden and I hooked up?”
The response made Kaelyn giggle. “It’s about time?” Then a short moment later, “So, did you or is this a preemptive text?”
“We did, then decided to wait until I moved out and we’d talked to you.”
“Well, you just talked to me, so do your thing.” She’d even added a winky face. Everything seemed to be falling in place.
But when she got to her cube, all that changed. On her desk was a stuffed gorilla. Except it wasn’t just a cute little stuffed animal sitting there. It had been torn to shreds. Someone had sliced it with a knife and pulled out its insides, leaving her desk covered in stuffing and gorilla parts. Clearly, it was a threat.
She took out her phone and snapped a picture, but she couldn’t do much with this. If she told HR or took this to the police, they would know Hayden’s secret. What if Will told people? Why hadn’t Hayden considered that before he shifted in front of him? She brushed the mess into the trash and turned on her computer.
There was an email waiting from Will. She’d been able to block his calls and texts on her phone, but here at work, she couldn’t. They still worked together, so she needed to be able to get his emails. With a deep breath, she opened it.
“Kae,
Met your boyfriend yesterday and what a hunk! I find him to be quite wild. I can see why you’d be concerned about him. But don’t worry. I’m not concerned. He never has to know anything. That kind of makes it more fun, don’t you think? How about lunch? We could sneak off someplace romantic.
- Will”
It was like he knew exactly how far to go and what he could and couldn’t say. When she’d talked to HR, they said he needed to make some sexual innuendo or say something more specific for it to be considered sexual harassment. Every time she went to talk to them, it was the same thing. “It just sounds like he really likes you, and so far, he hasn’t done anything we can legally fire him over, but we’ll talk to him.”Apparently, all the talk had done was make him more cautious in writing.
But it still felt like a threat. Every line seemed to have a hidden message. Though it completely pissed her off, she could see HR’s point. If they went by this email, what would they say? We’re firing you because you like someone? Even the part about Hayden could have been taken as her complaining over a jealous boyfriend. Will came off like an idiot, but he was far smarter than she’d given him credit for.
She checked the rest of her emails and went on with her morning. But when it came near lunch time, sure enough, Will came to her cube.
“Hey, did you get my gift and email?”
She ignored him and kept typing.
“Kae? I’m talking to you here.”
Would he leave if she didn’t respond?
“I have a fabulous lunch planned for us. Are you ready to go?”
She kept typing, still not looking at him.
“Okay. We can just stay here, then.” He perched on the edge of her desk, spread out several food items that he’d brought over with him and set up a nice lunch.
When she still refused to acknowledge him, he turned to the cube beside hers and talked to her neighboring co-worker.
“Hey, Jill, look at this,” Will said.
Kaelyn could see from her peripheral vision that he was making Jill look at the lunch he had spread out.
“Nice lunch.”
“Is it romantic enough?” he asked. “I brought this for Kaelyn, but I don’t think she likes it.”
“Don’t you like it, Kaelyn?” Jill asked.
She glanced at Jill and made a tight head shake. She was started to wish she’d confided in at least one of her co-workers about the situation. Will was also pretty good at manipulation.
“I don’t know what else to do,” Will continued. “I write her love letters, bring her gifts, surprise her with a romantic lunch. You ladies all say you want romance, right? But when we do it, you don’t respond.” He chuckled. “What else can I do?”
“Aww,” Jill said. “It sounds lovely. Well, maybe there’s someone else who would appreciate it.”
Ugh, her tone made Kaelyn want to scream. It was like she was being ungrateful for everything Will did.
“You know what I bet it is?” Will said. “Kaelyn’s boyfriend is really jealous. And when he gets mad, whoa! I think my little Kae just doesn’t want to take the chance that he’ll find out that we’re falling in love. But you would keep our secret, wouldn’t you, Jill?”
“Oh, of course.” To Kaelyn, she said, “Honey, take it from me. Ditch the one with the jealousy and anger issues. It’s not worth it in the end. Go for the romance right in front of you.”
She couldn’t take it anymore. She got up, grabbed her purse and hurried to the elevator. The doors closed as she saw Will hurrying after her. Luckily, he didn’t make it in time.
She got off on the second floor and stormed to the HR office. She didn’t care if he was in a meeting or what. This needed to be taken care of now. She knocked on the door and walked in.
Mr. Brown looked up at her. “Do we have an appointment?”
“No. This can’t wait. I take it anymore. Will keeps sending me emails and harassing me and whatever you said to him yesterday did nothing. I’m quitting. Effective immediately.” She set her badge down on the desk. “I have been working with the police, though. I suggest you do something about him or you’re going to end up with a lawsuit on your hands.”
She stood up and left the office. She didn’t intend to sue them. She had meant that Will would do this to someone else, but she realized what it must have sounded like. Well, fine. Let them think she was going to sue them. If they knew her connection to Hayden, they would likely be worried. And with good reason.
She just wanted this to be over. And now she was very glad she hadn’t yet brought in any personal items. The only thing she had with her was her purse and it was now on her shoulder. She went straight to her car and called Hayden.
She tried not to cry when he answered and she told him about the gorilla and lunch.
“I’m in my car now. I just quit.”
“Okay. Well, that’s understandable. How are you feeling about it?”
“Better. I don’t think he’ll just go away, but at least I won’t have to see him every day.”
“Right,” he said. “When do you want to start working here?”
“Oh, Hayden.” She let out a sigh. “You’re the best.” The tears she’d been fighting came and she wiped them away. “As soon as possible, I guess.”
“Why don’t you take the rest of this week to relax and recover from this, and you can start fresh on Monday?”
“That sounds great. I think I’ll go home and take a nice, long bath.”
“Well, don’t tell me that. You’ll make me want to leave early.”
She giggled. “Okay. I meant I’m going to put on frumpy sweatpants and an oversized shirt and sit around with no makeup on, tweezing my eyebrows.”
There was a pause then. “Nope. Not working. You’re sexy no matter what I picture you in.”
She blushed. “Get back to work, Mr. Lynch. See you when you get home.”
“Yes, dear.”
Kaelyn couldn’t help grinning. He was so sweet and fun. So different to anyone she’d dated before. She tried not to think about the fact that he was a billionaire. Most times, it was easy. He was the same old Hayden from high school. More grown up and far sexier, but the same underneath. Living in this house, though, and going to fancy meals and whatever else they might do together would just be such an amazing lifestyle, she honestly couldn’t picture it. What would it be like to really be with him? To be his girlfriend? She wanted to know badly.
When she got home, she did go to her room and take a long bubble bath. It helped her relax and she did feel much better already.
Just knowing that she wouldn’t have to go in tomorrow to face Will brought her huge relief.
&n
bsp; Then she thought, maybe it wouldn’t hurt to go for a run. Hayden was always working out and said it helped him relieve stress. She should ask him about it. Maybe have him help her workout in the basement or something. But for today, a little jog or walk in the park sounded lovely. Get in touch with nature, get in a little exercise. She’d be feeling great by the time Hayden got home. Maybe they could have a nice dinner together.
Kaelyn drove to the park. Anytime a thought of Will came up, she replaced it with a thought of Hayden. So far, it was working pretty well. She parked and found the trail, but when she got there, it seemed so peaceful, she decided today was not the day to become a runner. She began a stroll, pausing to appreciate any flowers or trees along the way that she found interesting.
She’d walked a long time and was starting to wonder how close she was to her car. This trail was much longer than she expected. What if it just kept going? She stopped abruptly and turned around.
Behind her, on the path, and who knew how long he’d been there, was Will. Kaelyn froze. She couldn’t keep walking back to her car, that would take her right past him. But if she turned back around, she had no idea where this path led and how far it might go.
But she didn’t have to choose. Will darted off the path, into the trees. He disappeared from sight. Kaelyn took off at a run, past the place he’d been standing, toward her car.
She almost chuckled. It looked like she was going to get that run in after all. She ran until she was out of breath and then bent over, panting. She kept looking around, but there was no sign of Will anywhere. He must’ve been following her, but why? And where was he now?
She stood up to look around again, and a hand clamped over her mouth. She didn’t bother trying to scream but put her energy into getting away. She dug her heels into the ground and pulled her body back. She gained a foot or two but lost in the end when he tugged and knocked her off her feet.
Will was much stronger than he looked. They moved slowly, but he managed, step by step, to get her into the woods. They were out of sight of the path now. Anyone walking by wouldn’t see them.
Now she tried to get his hand off her mouth so she could scream. She managed to get out a few garbled cries, but it probably wasn’t enough. She expected to be thrown down on the ground any second and for him to climb on top of her. That’s what he wanted, wasn’t it? To have her?
Will growled at her, “You shouldn’t have quit, Kae.”
Then she felt a pinch in her neck. By the time she realized he had injected her with something, it was too late. The world around her went black and she felt herself fall to the ground.
Chapter Eight
Hayden had expected Kaelyn to be home when he got there, and he was disappointed to find her car gone.
“Heya,” he texted. “What are you up to? Wanna grab dinner?”
She didn’t respond and when it had been almost an hour, he called her. No answer. He waited a few minutes and called again. Still no answer.
He tried to rationalize. She could be out with friends and hadn’t heard her phone. Maybe she was seeing a movie. That would explain her not answering for such a long time. But with all that had happened, that wasn’t really acceptable. And she wouldn’t question for a second why he was freaking out. He called one more time and sent one more text: “Hey, I’m getting worried. Please call or text as soon as you can so I know you’re okay.”
Then he opened the app on his phone that he’d downloaded and hoped to never, ever use. It was a tracking app used by parents to let them know where their kids were. But when everything with Will started to happen, Hayden had set it up so that he could track Kaelyn’s phone if he ever needed to.
He tapped the screen with shaking hands. When he’d done all this, he kept telling himself it was just a security measure. He’d told himself that he’d never need to use it, and when things went back to normal, he’d delete it. The fact that now he was relying on it terrified him.
He waited while the app worked. When Kaelyn’s dot appeared, Hayden sucked in a breath. She was far away from him. No way would she just get in the car and drive. She wouldn’t do that with everything happening with Will. She wouldn’t just take off without mentioning it. She wouldn’t just not respond when he called and texted. Something was very wrong.
Hayden dashed upstairs to his room and went to his bedside table, where he kept his gun. This, too, he had as a security measure and never expected to have to use. Especially not with a coded gate, a top-of-the-line security system and a house full of staff. But as he tucked the gun into the back of his pants, he hoped the few hours he’d spent at the range would do him some good.
He hurried back downstairs to his garage and jumped into the Jaguar. He tore out of the driveway and sped toward the little blinking dot—the only thing he had to go on to find her.
He drove as fast as he could without getting caught. He’d thought a few times that maybe he should just call the police. But what could he tell them? His… friend? Roommate? Hadn’t come home and wasn’t answering and because she had a stalker, he assumed she’d been kidnapped? And his only evidence was that her phone was far away? They’d think he was nuts.
He called his gorilla family. They would come any time he called for them. They kind of had to since he was the alpha, but he knew they would anyway. By the time he hung up the phone, Katherine was on her way to get Stella and Bella.
He drove for a half hour, and the logical, rational side of his mind started to take over. Yes, he was a gorilla shifter and had a gun. He could take Will out if he had to, and would do it for Kaelyn in a second. But he’d also spent a lot of hours in office buildings in white collar settings and hadn’t been in a fight—aside from his scuffle with Will—in many years. He never doubted himself when it came to investments and business decisions, but when it came to a kidnapping? He could be out of his realm of expertise, and that could get Kaelyn hurt or killed.
He picked up his phone, dialed the police, and asked for the officer who’d been working on Kaelyn’s case.
“I have reason to believe that this stalker may have kidnapped her,” Hayden told the officer.
He relayed the day’s events, how she’d quit her job because he’d left a torn stuffed animal on her desk—that was a veiled threat, wasn’t it?—and now how she wasn’t answering and was far away.
“Where is she right now?” the officer asked.
“According to my tracking app, she’s two hours north of the city, but she’s still moving.”
“And what is this app?”
“It’s for parents to be able to track their kids. I put it on our phones in case something happened with Will. Something like this.”
“Any idea how accurate this app is?”
Hayden tried to recall if any marketing had given information on that. “I’m not sure.”
“And you know for sure that she didn’t just decide to go for a long drive after an upsetting day?”
“She would answer my calls and texts. She would have told me, especially with all that’s going on.”
“Okay,” the officer said. “Well, problem is, she’s out of our jurisdiction.”
“But the crime happened here.”
“Alleged crime. We don’t have proof of anything, but I can’t just drive to where you think she is and knock on the door if it’s not my jurisdiction. I’ll have to call that department.”
“Okay, and will they call me or something?” Hayden tried to keep his voice calm, but he was anything but. He was so frustrated that no one seemed to be able to do anything about this.
“They will. I’d expect to hear from them just as soon as I can call and relay the information of the case.”
“So that’ll be soon, right? I mean, who knows what he’s going to do. He could kill her, for all I know. He may have already.” His throat was thick when he thought of it. That couldn’t be true. Will couldn’t have hurt her. He wouldn’t allow his mind to even think it. They were going to get to her in time. She
would be fine. Scared, sure. The emotional repercussions were enough, but she would be unharmed.
“I wouldn’t worry too much, Mr. Lynch. Based on what we know about this case, I doubt it would escalate that fast.”
“Okay, well, thanks for your help.”
He tossed his phone aside and pressed on the gas. At this point, if he got pulled over for speeding, it might not be a bad thing.
Katherine called to check in. They weren’t far from him at all, surprisingly. Katherine did always like to drive fast. He gave them the updated location.
He’d driven for an hour before his phone rang. It was the police, calling to get an update. Hayden went through much of the same information with the new officer that he had with the first one. He gave him an update on their location. Kaelyn’s dot seemed to have stopped, but he was still a little bit away.
After the call, he was feeling antsy and sped even more. The cops were headed in her direction, but they didn’t have any way to track her like he did, and it wasn’t like he could give them an exact address or anything. His family was close, too. They might all arrive at the same time.
When his location and her location were on the same screen on his phone, his heart started to race. This was all taking too long. How long had she been with Will? What sort of condition was she in right now?
His phone told him to turn off the highway and he was now on small back streets. He texted an update to Katherine and, soon after, they texted back that they’d also just gotten off the highway.
When he was very close to the location and had an address, he texted Katherine and called the police to give it to them. They were in the area patrolling but hadn’t had the address. They advised him to stay in the car and wait for their arrival.
Hayden drove slowly down a dirt and gravel path, thick with forest on either side, to an old house. It looked like it might be abandoned. Sitting in front of the house was Will’s car. He got out of his car as Katherine pulled up behind him. He jogged to their car.
“Hey, ladies. I’m going to circle around and see if I can get in the back.”
