Protector: The Flawed Series Book Three

by Becca J. Campbell

  “Not really—”

  A crease appeared between Jade’s eyes. “I can tell you’re stressed enough already. But I have something important to tell you, and it can’t wait.” She glanced at the office door, gave Kelsey a hesitant look, reached to shut it.

  Kelsey thought about asking how the girl knew she was stressed when she was typically pretty good at covering up her anxiety, but instead she walked around her desk and sat, gesturing for Jade to take a seat in one of the guest chairs.

  The crease between Jade’s eyes deepened and she bit her lip. “I’m not sure how to say all this, so I guess I’ll just tell you what I know.”

  Kelsey nodded, her shoulders tense. She wasn’t sure what was coming, but her intuition threw up smoke signals like crazy.

  Jade took a deep breath. “This summer a friend and I went down to Carlsbad Caverns. When we were there we got abducted by this guy. We ended up getting out without getting hurt…well, much.”

  Kelsey caught her breath, and her heart did a little flip flop.

  “Then in November one of my other friends got kidnapped—this time in Denver. This time the man seriously wounded her—er, him. Shot in the legs like half a dozen times.”

  Kelsey gasped. “That’s horrible! Did he recover?”

  Jade nodded soberly. “He’s doing better, but it’s been a long road.”

  “That’s horrible.” A pang of sympathy squeezed Kelsey’s heart, but she felt the precious minutes until the gala ticking away. She glanced at the clock then focused on her visitor once more. “Still, I’m insanely busy right now. We’re about to kick off this major event tonight, and it has to go well.” She cleared her throat. “I mean, I don’t get what the emergency is and what all this has to do with me.”

  Jade leaned closer to Kelsey’s desk, her green eyes blazing with intensity. “The man who did this to me called himself Ethan, and I think he’s after you now.”

  The cold was back, racing through Kelsey’s veins and arcing across her stiff shoulders.

  “It was too dark for me to see him, but my friend said this man looked about thirtyish and had short, black hair and dark eyes. Average height, muscular upper body. This Ethan said he took me because I looked like someone from his past.” Her voice lowered to near a whisper. If it hadn’t been so quiet in the room Kelsey might not have heard her. "He called her…Kelsey. I think it was you.”

  Kelsey stared at the young woman, at her hair that was the same shade as her own but without the stubborn waves. She scrutinized Jade’s face shape, a perfect oval with a slightly narrowed, delicate chin. The features were much like her own. This girl looked younger, less seasoned perhaps, but Kelsey realized that was how she would have looked five years ago.

  “You think my old boyfriend is out kidnapping people?”

  “He was your boyfriend? I can’t imagine anyone wanting…” Jade’s cheeks went pink as her words trailed off.

  “It was a long time ago, back when I lived in Florida. He seemed so harmless back then… He was this cute guy from the next school over—and so intelligent, not like the other boys.”

  Could it be the same man? A mixture of emotions flooded Kelsey at the prospect. The anger and resentment were understandable, but the flash of wistful longing surprised her.

  “Really?” Jade said.

  “We met during a field trip. It was a crowded day. The group from my school kept getting tangled with the group from the deaf and blind school. I don’t know if there was a scheduling mishap or what, but I bumped into him once or twice—literally.” She chuckled at the memory. “We joked about it, and I thought he seemed so out of place with the other kids. He had this maturity about him, quiet and mysterious and self-deprecating. I was so sick of high school boys and their silly rivalries, you know?”

  Jade frowned. “Wait. You mentioned a deaf and blind school. But he’s not deaf…or blind.”

  “He is. Sort of.”

  “What? Blind?”

  “Yeah.”

  “But he could see—even in pitch black he could see perfectly.”

  Kelsey’s breath hitched in her throat. If Jade knew that, it had to be the same man. She swallowed. “Only in pitch black. In the light, he’s completely blind.”

  Jade’s eyes went wide and her lips pursed into a small o. “Wow. I had no idea.”

  “Really?”

  Jade took a deep breath and forced a smile, but it didn’t reach her worried eyes. “I told you we were in Carlsbad when it happened. What I didn’t mention was that he locked us up in these dungeon-like cells deep underground. It was always dark. That’s why I never saw him. I had no idea he was blind.” Jade wrung her hands.

  A pang gripped Kelsey’s gut. “I’m so sorry,” she breathed. “That’s horrible.” She wondered which was worse—being trapped as an unsuspecting woman or as a girlfriend.

  Jade shook her head with awe. “It’s almost impossible to imagine that if I could’ve flipped a switch and turned on some lights that the man who had trapped me would’ve been incapacitated. Are you sure? The blind thing wasn’t just a trick?”

  “Positive.”

  Jade looked like she was processing. “So, you met him on some field trip?”

  Kelsey nodded. “I knew he wasn’t like the rest of the blind kids from the moment we entered the auditorium to watch this educational film.”

  “Why did they take blind children to a film?”

  Kelsey shrugged. “It was mostly narration about historical events. I guess listening was just as educational. And it was closed-captioned for the hard of hearing.”

  “Oh, right.”

  “Anyway, Ethan sat next to me in the dimmed theater, and when everyone else was watching the show, his dark eyes were on me the entire time. I was certain he could see me. I was completely enamored by his smile—he’d been so charming. We had this instant, intense attraction.”

  Jade’s eyes were wide.

  “After that, we made excuses to see each other. I was fifteen, and he was a few years older but still under the care of the school.”

  “He lived there?”

  Kelsey nodded. “He would sneak out to visit me, and I made up stories about why I was out late. My parents thought I was spending the night with school friends, and they left for work so early our paths rarely crossed anyway. Ethan and I dated for over a year.” Kelsey wasn’t sure why she was telling Jade things she’d only shared with her therapist, but it felt right, somehow. Never had she met someone who could actually empathize with her experience. A shadow passed over Kelsey’s thoughts as she remembered her last encounter with Ethan. An involuntary shudder made her tremble.

  “I haven’t seen him in a decade,” she said. “Why is this all happening now?”

  “Well, that’s the thing,” Jade said. “Apparently he never stopped looking for you, and now he’s finally getting close.”

  “What? Are you sure?” Kelsey’s pulse quickened. Could it be that after all these years she’d hidden away, he was still searching for her?

  “My friend who saw him also overheard him talking—back in Denver. He heard Ethan say he was going after you next. And if I could find you, surely he can too.”

  Kelsey considered this. Ten years ago she’d been careful. She’d left the state and hadn’t been back to Florida since, severing all her high-school friendships. Her number wasn’t listed, and she wasn’t on social media. Few people knew she was here except her family and the staff at Sprawling Plains. “How did you find me?”

  “We saw you on TV.”

  “The news report.” Kelsey closed her eyes and drew in a breath.

  “Yeah.”

  She cursed. “I knew that was a bad idea. Okay. I’ll be on the lookout. Thanks for the warning.”

  “So, are you going to cancel the fundraiser?”

  Kelsey thought about the hospital’s desperate need for funding. She considered her own job position. But what it really came down to were the kids like Hugh. They needed Sprawling Plains an
d its art therapy program.

  “I can’t. There’s too much at stake.” She glanced at the clock on her monitor. “Plus, it’s too late. It starts in an hour.”

  Jade’s mouth tightened. “You can’t blow off the fact that this guy is trying to find you. I don’t know how things ended with you two ten years ago, but I’m pretty sure he’s hurt others—lots of others—besides me. He’s killed people.”

  Kelsey sighed. By the end, Ethan had turned dangerous, but he hadn’t been a killer. “If this is such a big deal, why aren’t the cops banging on my door? Why is it just you coming to tell me all this?”

  “They don’t have enough evidence, and they don’t understand how all the pieces fit together. It's not like we can tell them about his ability. They've labeled the case unsolved and shoved it in some filing cabinet.”

  “Do you have any reason to believe he’s in Pueblo?”

  Jade bit her lip. “No… I just—”

  “Then I can’t call it off. I’ll talk to security and make sure they’re warned and aware.”

  “Okay.” Jade seemed resigned, if not happy, about the decision.

  Kelsey sat back in her chair and looked at the pretty brunette. “Are you from Pueblo?”

  “No. I live in Colorado Springs.”

  “You drove all the way down here just to tell me? Isn’t it like an hour away?”

  “About forty-five minutes. And I did try to call you, but you didn’t answer your messages.”

  Kelsey glanced at the blinking light on her phone. “It’s been insane here the last few days. I’m just trying to make it through tonight. Then maybe my life will get back in order.” She gave Jade an apologetic smile. “I’m sorry you had to drive all the way out here just to talk to me. And thanks for caring enough to warn me.”

  “Well, I’m concerned about you. And he’s…” Jade shuddered.

  “He’s not a great guy.” Kelsey thought of her last encounter with him, of the taste of adhesive she’d never been able to forget, and of the sore rings around her wrists that had taken weeks to heal fully. Flashes she thought she’d shoved away came back—of the things he’d done to her.

  “Are you okay?”

  Kelsey blinked, caught Jade’s pained expression. She shook off the itchy feeling of contamination and tried to swallow, but her throat was dry. “Yeah, I’m fine.”

  Jade’s brows tugged together, her eyes suddenly deep and understanding. “What did he do to you?” When Kelsey didn’t immediately answer, Jade blinked and shook her head. “I’m sorry—I didn’t mean to pry. I just—” Her voice went soft. “He hurt you, didn’t he?”

  “Let’s just say that toward the end it wasn’t the fun and games for me that it was for him.”

  Jade watched her, and Kelsey wondered whether she was waiting for more or just imagining the possibilities.

  “He restrained me, too, if that’s what you were wondering,” Kelsey said. “I don’t know if you can call it kidnapping when I was there willingly…at first, anyway. His dark side reared up one night and took me by surprise.”

  “I’m sorry,” Jade said. “After you got away, did you report it?”

  “I…” Kelsey hesitated, scratched at a piece of food stuck to her desk. She sighed. “No, I didn’t.”

  Jade’s frown deepened, an unspoken question on her lips.

  “I just…I wanted to get out of there. Plus, I was young. I didn’t even think of him hurting other people. I just wanted to get away.” Kelsey bit her lip.

  “I understand,” Jade said.

  “Obviously that was a bad decision,” Kelsey muttered. “I’ll say one thing for him: he knows how to disappear. He must, if he’s still out there after all this time. It’s definitely a talent for a blind guy to vanish like he did.”

  Jade looked thoughtful. “Maybe the disability will slow him down.”

  Kelsey arched a brow. “I wouldn’t bet on it.”

  “Why?”

  “Light doesn’t incapacitate him. It blinds him. Those are two entirely different things.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “He might be blind, but he has extraordinary senses. His hearing, sense of smell—all are more in tune.” She eyed Jade for a minute before continuing. “He could get around great on his own. No aid, no seeing eye dog. Just his senses and his walking cane. And that was in daylight. Once dusk settled in—” she gestured at the fading light through her office window. “His vision returned.”

  “Knowing that worries me more.”

  Kelsey nodded. “I’ll call hospital security now.”

  After warning them to watch out for a man who might or might not appear blind, including a description of Ethan’s age and appearance, she turned back to Jade. “They’re on it. Okay, now I’ve got a few things to do before the fundraiser starts, and I’m running out of time. You heading back home?”

  “I don’t know…” Jade hesitated. “I don’t want to leave until I know for sure you’re all right. You should probably have someone escort you home for a while. You might even want to get a weapon or something. Maybe you should take some self defense classes too.”

  “I can’t afford a bodyguard. But I’ll see about the other stuff after the weekend’s over.” Kelsey thought for a minute. “I feel bad for having blown off your calls. Do you enjoy art?”

  Jade shrugged. “Sure. Why?”

  “Why don’t you stay for the gala? It’s basically going to be a big party, with music and dancing after the auction. It’ll be a lot of fun.” She smiled. “I’ll cover your ticket as a way to say thanks for driving down here. What do you say?”

  Jade smiled. “Okay. I’d love to. I’ll follow you home afterward, too. To make sure you get back okay.”

  “You don’t have to do that,” Kelsey said.

  “I want to.”

  Kelsey shrugged. “If it makes you feel better.” She frowned at Jade’s jeans and t-shirt. “Only, if you’re staying, you’ll need something a little more formal to wear.”

  Momentary alarm flashed on Jade’s face, and Kelsey laughed. “Don’t worry. I brought some extra clothes since I won’t have time to go home. It looks like my indecisiveness came in handy.” She stood and opened the closet behind her desk. “I couldn’t decide what to wear, so I brought two dresses. You look about my size—hopefully one of them will fit. I’ll let you pick—it’ll save me the decision.”

  She pulled the two plastic-draped dresses from the closet, one emerald and one deep blue. Both were strapless and floor-length. Jade selected the green one, and Kelsey directed her to the restroom where she could change.

  “Sorry I don’t have an extra pair of shoes.” She pointed to Jade’s feet. “But those flats aren’t bad, and the dress is long enough to hide them anyway.”

  “Thanks,” Jade said as she exited the office.

  Kelsey hoped the girl’s fears were unfounded. She sighed and pushed the worry from her mind. Her priority was to make sure tonight went off without a major disaster.

  ~

  As the sun went down, cold fear settled over Logan, influencing his mental faculties. Only ten minutes down the road he had to turn back, having forgotten his cell phone. Back in his truck heading toward Pueblo, he wrestled for control of his emotions. He needed to be clear-headed if he was going to be there for Jade. He released the tension in his back, feeling the calm slowly crawl along his spine and work its way throughout the rest of his body. His control seemed to be back, and that made him feel better.

  Logan focused on the feel of his hands on the wheel and on the dark road ahead of him. He thought of Jade and tried to push away a distant memory of her captive in a dark, damp cell.

  Something creaked behind him. The minuscule sound of a seat coil squeaked softly as if someone was adjusting his or her position. He threw a quick glance over his shoulder at the truck’s bench seat. A scrap of white flashed and was gone.

  Logan’s body tensed, and he jerked onto the shoulder of the highway, pounding the brake ha
rd. Something thumped the back of his seat. It sounded big. Heart pounding wildly, he threw off the seatbelt and turned to peer behind him. His backseat had been empty—he knew that for sure.

  In the darkness, the truck’s backseat was blanketed in shadows, but it looked empty. He rose up higher and craned to look down in the floorboard. He again spotted the white fabric, but the darkness obscured its shape.

  The hair on his arm bristled as he reached down and poked at the thing.

  “Ooof.” Despite the grunt, the voice held a light timbre, like a woman’s.

  Logan reached for the flashlight he kept under his console and shined it behind the seat. A pale face, sheathed in red hair, stared back at him.

  “What the hell are you doing here?” he said.

  Violet blinked and tossed a hand over the seat to pull herself out of the cramped floorboard.

  Logan’s pulse pounded loud and hot, and he could feel his biceps flex in anger. “Why are you in my truck?”

  As she extricated herself, Violet’s expression remained pleasantly neutral. “I thought it would be fun to come see you.”

  “Come see me? This isn’t a friendly visit. You hid in my truck! This is stalking.”

  She waved a delicate hand as if he were being preposterous. “A little mystery now and then spices things up.”

  Logan ground his teeth together. “Get. Out.”

  “Okay. It’s a little cramped back here anyway.” With a coy smile she threw a leg over the back of the seat. The dress she wore exposed most of her thigh as she crawled over and scooted close to him.

  He tried to shoot venom from his eyes. “Out.”

  “I love it when you play hard to get.”

  “If you don’t get out, I’m going to throw you out.”

  Her lip pouted. “Aww, don’t be so cold, Logan.” Instead of moving for the passenger door, she threw a leg over his lap, straddling him in the driver’s seat. Her eyes locked on his, and her lips parted as if anticipating what would come next.

  “Get out!” Logan grabbed the door handle and shoved his whole body into it. A car horn honked as the door swung out into traffic. But Logan was too angry to care. He barely glanced over his shoulder to check for cars before throwing Violet off him. She was all wafting perfume and flying hair and flashing white dress as she tumbled out.