“This is it, up here on the left.” Sterling pointed at a pretty, brick house. The homes had large lawns and a little elbow room. “You guys going to call the loony bin on me?”
“No,” Alex said.
“Do we need to?” Jenna asked.
“I don’t know.” Sterling stared at her home.
Jenna could pretend she knew what Sterling was feeling, but the truth was, no matter how bad her nightmares got or how much she self-diagnosed, she didn’t have it as bad as Sterling. Jenna didn’t know what Sterling was going through.
“It’s up to you, but I think this is an improvement. You didn’t hurt anyone. You didn’t hurt yourself. You realized you needed help, and you called me.”
Sterling nodded.
“I’d like to look around, if that’s cool with you?” Alex killed the engine.
“Sure.” Sterling opened the door and all three of them piled out and onto the lawn.
“Is there a rear entrance?” Alex turned in place, surveying the street.
“Yeah, the garage and alley are back there.”
“You keep everything locked up?”
“Alex. Chill,” Jenna snapped. He was putting her on edge.
“I’m going to walk around the outside of the house, if that’s okay?”
“Sure.” Sterling shrugged.
They stood in the yard while Alex began to walk the front of the house, peering into the bushes and testing the windows for weakness.
“What is he doing?” Sterling asked.
“Being ultra-certain everything is okay. Don’t mind him. He’s being super cop.”
“He is fine.” Sterling slanted a look Jenna’s way and grinned. “Not as hot as my pilot, but I wouldn’t kick that out of bed.”
“Shut up.” Jenna tossed her head back and laughed.
“Jenna, Sterling, come here,” Alex called. Not a request.
The girls ambled across the lawn and through the privacy fence gate into the back yard. Alex crouched under a window, peering at little black spots on the rim of the stone flower bed.
“What’s that?” Jenna leaned over his shoulder.
“If I had to guess?” He glanced up at her.
“Yeah?”
“Snappers.”
“Snappers?” Jenna parroted back.
“Like, little fireworks?”
“You mean the ones you throw on the ground and they pop?”
“Yeah.” Alex very carefully did not touch the bits of white paper remnants. “There were a lot of these. What’s on the other side of this window?”
Jenna glance at Sterling, who seemed a bit paler.
“My bedroom.” Sterling licked her lips.
Alex straightened and his hand went to his hip where his gun should be were he in uniform.
“I want to go over the house, then start talking to neighbors.”
“Alex,” Jenna snapped. He had to tone it down. They needed to keep Sterling calm. “How about I look over the house and you talk to neighbors, okay?”
“Fine. I want you two to go inside and lock the doors.” His tone changed. He was in cop mode, and would tolerate no questions.
“Come on.” Jenna grasped Sterling’s hand, her heart pulsing in her throat.
This was bad, very, very bad.
22.
JENNA GLANCED UP AND down the quiet street as they crossed the porch. Her skin itched with dread.
“Wait.” Sterling stopped with her hand almost on the doorknob.
“What?”
“I didn’t lock it.” Sterling pushed the door open. It swung inward with a slow, eerie creak.
“You probably didn’t shut it, either. Come on.”
They stepped over the threshold and Jenna flipped the locks once the door was shut.
“What do you think happened?” Sterling asked.
“Probably some kids being assholes.” That’s what Jenna needed to tell herself. If her stalker had made the leap to Sterling...she’d never forgive herself. “Why don’t you show me where you were?”
“In my room. Through here.”
Sterling led the way down a short hall to their left and through the first door. The room was a study of neutrals. Beige walls, a cream colored duvet on the twin bed, a beige arm chair, brown desk and dresser. It was calming if a bit boring. There weren’t many personal touches. A few family photographs, but nothing of Sterling as an adult. Was this her family’s attempt to make her environment peaceful? For her to call on memories of family instead of the things that haunted her?
“I fell asleep here. It’s easier if I’m not lying down. I can kind of trick myself into thinking I’m just sitting down for a bit. Then I fall asleep.” Sterling crossed to the arm chair and sat down on the edge.
“And you’re right next to the window.” Jenna’s mouth began to water. A sick sensation swirled in her stomach. “Can I have a quick look around?”
“Sure, but do you think we should call the cops?”
“Yeah, yeah I do. I’ll text Alex and see if he’s made the call first.”
“Someone did this intentionally, didn’t they?” Sterling’s stare was grim.
“Or by accident.”
“Do you really believe in accidents?” It was the MP staring at her now. Sterling had always made those tough calls.
“No, not anymore.” Jenna pushed a hand through her hair, slicking it back against her skull.
This was all her fault.
“Jenna!” Sterling shoved to her feet.
Something pressed against the back of Jenna’s neck. She sucked in a breath, her whole body going rigid. A detached part of her mind mussed that her neck wasn’t a very good place to aim, too many bones for the bullet to hit.
“My Jenna. My Jenna. My Jenna.” A man’s hand slid up her left arm to her shoulder and neck.
She shivered and whispers of memory reached out to her. She’d heard that voice, in her dreams. Or had he been there? Talking to her while she slept.
Oh God, she was going to be sick.
“Jenna...” Sterling’s eyes were wide, her gaze flicking from Jenna’s face to a space just behind her.
The stalker.
It hadn’t been an accident. No coincidence. All of this, it was purposeful. But to what end? Alex was right outside. He’d stop this guy, wouldn’t he?
“What the hell do you want?” Sterling’s voice broke, panic leaking through.
Shit. Jenna had to get this guy and his gun away from Sterling before she had a full-on meltdown.
“My Jenna,” he said again.
“W-what’s your name?” Jenna hated how her voice cracked and rose an octave, but she was shaking all over. It couldn’t be helped.
A hand dug into her hair. Before she could think or react, he slammed her face-first into the door jamb. Sterling shrieked something Jenna couldn’t make out. The upper part of her eye socket and cheekbone took the brunt of the impact, blurring her vision. She felt the ache deep into her sinuses.
“William. Say it with me,” he growled into her ear.
“William,” Jenna blurted.
“That’s right. Say it again.”
“William.” It would forever be burned into her memory, however long or short her life would be. She’d never disassociate lunatics with William.
“Sterling.” Jenna held up her hand, stopping Sterling’s slow creep forward. “Stay there, okay?”
William extended his right arm, the Glock aimed straight for Sterling, who had her back against the wall and a visible sheen of sweat on her face.
“No, no—stop. I’ll do whatever you want me to,” Jenna said in a rush.
“There’s two syringes in my right pocket. Get them.”
Jenna turned her head slightly until she could see his jeans. A rag flopped out of his pocket, but she could see the capped end of a syringe. She grasped the edges of the rag and syringe, then pulled it out, careful to get the second syringe, too.
She held the two syringes in her hand. The
y were...not something she’d ever use on a human. At least not an adult. While the syringe was fairly normal, the needle had to be tiny. Maybe an inch long.
“Give one to her, then one to yourself.” William shoved her right between the shoulder blades.
Jenna lurched forward, clutching the syringes. She got her feet under her and turned.
That face...she remembered it now. He was the bird patient, but he’d aged since then in ways that were premature and disfiguring. His hair was thin and long, his skin coloring not quite right and his pupils were too large.
“I can’t give this to her.” She didn’t know what the medication was or how it could make Sterling react.
“Give it to her or I kill her,” William said.
“What is it?”
“Propofol.”
She couldn’t give it to Sterling. William was going to do something to Jenna, and she needed Sterling to be aware enough to tell Alex what happened.
“Okay,” Jenna said slowly and turned her back on William. She stared hard at Sterling, willing her to understand without words.
“I can’t see. Show me.”
Jenna turned slightly, her heart hammering. Shit. He was a couple feet closer now.
“This is going to be difficult with needles this small,” she said.
“Do it. Now. Hurry.” William clenched the gun with both hands.
“Sterling, I’m sorry.” Jenna slid the cap off the first syringe, tilting it so hopefully her body hid what she was doing. She slowly pressed the plunger, forcing out over half the dosage.
“No, no, no,” Sterling said, but it lacked the same, near-hysteria notes from earlier.
Sterling was putting on an act.
She might have a few loose screws, but Sterling was a smart cookie.
“This won’t hurt. It’s just going to put you asleep. Can you pop a vein for me?”
Sterling held out her arm, pressed her thumb to the crease at her elbow and began flexing her hand. It only took a second for the blood to pool, creating a bulge. Jenna felt the area wither thumb, seeking the pulsing beat of Sterling’s heart.
There.
Jenna blew out a breath.
The dosage was small. Sterling would be knocked out, maybe for a few minutes, maybe a half hour. Jenna just hoped it was enough to keep Sterling safe and still be able to call for back-up.
“What’s taking so long?” William demanded.
“I’m not used to this needle. It’s harder to find the vein. There. I’ve got it now.” Jenna blew out a breath and pressed the plunger, sending the sedative into Sterling’s bloodstream. “Okay. You should sit down now.”
“Wow.” Sterling wobbled a bit. As exhausted as she was, the sedative would probably work faster.
Jenna helped ease Sterling down into the chair and leaned close.
“Get Alex,” Jenna whispered.
Sterling’s eyes were closed, her mouth slack.
“Now do yourself,” William said.
“How is that supposed to work? I’m one-eighty. Are you going to carry me out of here? Or drag me?”
William’s gaze darted around.
Jenna’s first responsibility was getting William away from Sterling. Maybe Jenna could turn the tables if they got enough distance between them and innocents.
“Walk. Through the kitchen. Don’t try anything.” He thrust the gun forward.
Yeah she wasn’t going to take a chance with a lunatic and a loaded gun.
“Okay. I’m cooperating, see?” Jenna held up her hands, syringes clutched in her left, and edged past him, through the living room and into the kitchen.
The utility room door stood open with a clear view out through the garage and to the back alley. The spearmint green car sat in the drive, the back door open.
He’d planned this.
She wanted to deck him, punch him so hard she knocked his teeth out. What a selfish bastard. Sterling could have hurt herself or worse, someone else.
“I remember you.” Jenna glanced over her shoulder. “You like birds, right? I never forgot the pretty Macaw in your house.”
“Shut up. You don’t care.” He shoved her shoulder, and she staggered the last few steps to the car. “Do it now.”
“Is that really necessary? I’ve cooperated. I’m out here. I’m doing what you say. We’re friends, right?”
“I said do it.” He lifted the gun higher, arm stretched out straight.
He wasn’t built enough to hold the weapon steady. His hand shook, and the barrel bobbed up and down.
“Look, you don’t want to do this. We should just hang out. You and me.” She needed to keep him talking. Occupied.
William took two steps and shoved her shoulder, turning her toward the car by force.
“William—ouch!”
Jenna cringed and her shoulder burned. All the muscles across her shoulders and down her spine tensed up and the injection area burned like the bite of a dozen fire ants. She gripped the open door of the car, holding still for fear he’d stick her again.
“Shit.” The word came out slurred. “How much—how much did you give me?” Jenna twisted, but her knees had the consistency of rubber. They crumpled under her like a house of cards and she sat down heavily on the concrete drive.
William knelt over her, two syringes held loosely in his hand.
“My Jenna.” He reached out and stroked a finger over her hair.
She tried to flinch away from him, but her body wasn’t working. She couldn’t even draw the breath to call out for help, to get Alex.
Oh God, what if she never saw Alex again? No one needed to tell her what the outcome could be. She’d seen it a dozen times, and today could have been the last chance she had to tell Alex she loved him.
ALEX KNOCKED ON THE front door again. What the hell were the girls up to that they couldn’t hear the front door? He pulled out his phone and called Jenna but it went straight to voicemail. She had said the battery was almost dead earlier, but he couldn’t help the jolt of panic at the thought that maybe something had happened to her. But that was silly. He’d been right here the whole time.
“Jenna? Sterling?” He pounded on the door with his fist this time so hard the hinges rattled.
Maybe Sterling’s room was sound proofed? It was unlikely, but perhaps her family had gone to extreme measures to avoid triggering her PTSD.
He circled through the side gate and peered into Sterling’s window. He could make out the shape of furniture, but neither of the girls were in his field of vision.
The neighbors weren’t home for the most part, but he’d ran into two who remembered the pops of the Snappers as well as one who thought they’d seen a green car. It was too much coincidence.
He pulled up Trevor’s contact and hit dial on his way around the back of the house.
“Shouldn’t you be checked into a nice hotel by now and not calling me?” Trevor chuckled.
“I’ve got a bad feeling.”
“What happened to Jenna?” The alarm in the other man’s voice echoed Alex’s.
“Nothing. I don’t know. Hold on.” Alex shoved the gate leading from the back yard to the driveway open. It wasn’t the open garage that made him stop in his tracks—it was the open door to the kitchen. “Shit.”
“What? What is it?” Trevor demanded.
“We came up to Grapevine to see a friend of Jenna’s, and I think it was a trap.”
“The friend?”
“I don’t know.” Alex pulled his personal gun out from the waistband of his jeans and crept toward the open door. “I think the friend was bait. The rear door is open, I’m going into the house now. Jenna is not responding to her phone or the front door.”
“Front door?”
“Long story. I’m texting you my location. Get here.”
“If I don’t hear from you in five—fuck it. I’m calling Grapevine PD now.”
“Do it. I’ll call you back.” Alex ended the call and quickly sent the address to Trevor.
Alex should have gone through the house first, but Jenna had insisted it was fine. He’d sacrificed her safety because he didn’t want her to be angrier with him. That was shitty reasoning. He pocketed the phone and crept toward the utility room door, keeping to the balls of his feet.
Why hadn’t he listened to his gut? He’d made excuses, because it was Jenna, because he was too paranoid, because they were fighting, and he was too involved to remain objective. And it might cost him her life.
Alex stepped into the utility room and crossed it in one stride, putting his back to the wall. He listened to the sounds of the house, felt the air pressure, tuned into the ambient atmosphere.
It was quiet.
Were the girls here? Had they left? Where would they go?
He peered around, into the kitchen. It was clear, but he had no idea what lay to the right and left of the living area.
Now or never.
Alex stepped into the kitchen, gun pointed at the ground. Two long strides and he was at the dining nook. He darted a quick glance to the left—clear. To the right lay a hallway and Sterling’s bedroom.
His blood pounded through his veins, hammering away at him.
Please let them be okay.
Alex turned the corner, facing down the hall. Something moved. He ducked, hitting a knee. His finger twitched—but he didn’t fire.
“No, get out!” Sterling stood in her bedroom door. She jerked a photograph off the wall and hurled it at him.
Alex ducked and dove out of the way, landing on his side. Sterling was on him in an instant. Her knees driving into his chest. She delivered a hard, mean right hook to his jaw, ringing his bell. Her hands wrapped around his right wrist grasping for his gun.
No!
“Sterling,” he bellowed.
She yelled incoherent words that might have been another language.
Her fingers hooked the trigger. The blast of the shot nearly deafened Alex.
“Sterling—I’m American,” he yelled over the ringing in his ears. “I’m American.”
That one word sent all the fight out of her.
Sterling stared down at him, eyes large, mouth slack, as if she were finally seeing him.
“American?” She panted, her body trembling. There was something wrong with her eyes and the way she stared at him.
Fighting Redemption: A Small Town Romantic Suspense (Texas SWAT Book 1) Page 24
