Page 54 of Stormswept Colorado (Hart County #3)

FORTY-SIX

Ayla

There was a washing machine and dryer down here. A set of heavy dumbbells and a workout bench. Not much else. My lungs constricted from being trapped in this small space. The damp smell was too familiar.

Terrible memories surfaced in my mind.

Teller, please find me , I thought for the thousandth time. Please hurry .

I heard the floor creaking upstairs. Jarod was up there, but what was he doing? I had no idea when he’d come down here. Or what he had planned.

Could I pick up one of the dumbbells, wait for him to step into the room, then knock him out? But wouldn’t he see that coming?

My eyes scanned the small basement. Looking for a tool maybe, anything small I could hide in my clothes and use as a weapon. But the place was stripped clean.

After a while, the door at the top of the steps opened. “Ayla? It’s me. I’m coming down.” He’d spoken as if this was a normal visit. But then he paused on the steps, the gun pointing down. “Come to where I can see you. Show me your hands. ”

I stepped into the light coming from the exposed bulb. Held out my open palms. I hadn’t found anything, anyway.

The stairs creaked as Jarod made his way down. He’d changed out of Officer Duncan’s uniform. His hair was damp like he’d showered. Like he’d wanted to look nice for me.

“I’ve been waiting so long for this,” he said, repeating his words from earlier.

I backed up against the wall, while Jarod sat on the bench, still pointing the gun at me. At least he didn’t make me sit next to him. “What do you want?” I asked.

His gaze slowly moved over me from head to foot. “You said you wanted to talk. Let’s start there.”

The bitter taste of bile hit my tongue. “You sent the flowers to me in Toronto, didn’t you? With that old photo of me.”

He nodded. “Lori gave me a copy of the photo. That was after you’d left. I missed you so much. The night that it all happened, when my dad tried to kiss you…”

“You knew about that?”

“I snuck out when he walked you home. I’d seen the way he looked at you. The way he looked at other girls around the base. I didn’t trust him. I saw him try to kiss you, and you hit him. That was so badass.”

A smile lit Jarod’s face. He looked so normal. I could imagine how he’d managed to fool everyone in Silver Ridge, pretending he wasn’t unhinged.

“But then, when you went inside, your dad was yelling at you. Saying all those terrible things. I’m so sorry, Ayla. I wanted to do something, anything , to help you. But I was just a kid. I was scared.”

A tear streaked down my cheek. I wiped it quickly away. Maybe it would gain more sympathy from Jarod if I cried, but I had to hold them back. Keep my strength. Focus .

“I watched you through your bedroom window afterward,” he continued.

“I saw you packing a bag. I knew you were leaving, and I wanted to go with you. Ran home to pack a bag of my own. But my dad caught me. He made me stay in my room, and I fell asleep. By the time I woke up and got back to your house the next day, you were already gone. I tried calling your phone, but you didn’t answer. ”

“I left it behind.”

“Yeah. You had to leave a lot of things behind. I was in love with you back then. I even gave you that bouquet of daisies on your birthday. I left them on your porch. I was too nervous to do it in person.”

Jarod looked so sad and small. Like the twelve-year-old I’d once taken care of. And yeah, I did recall letting some things slip. Confiding in him a little when I was really upset after my dad was awful to me.

But I’d had no idea about his feelings for me. I’d thought his father Sergeant Carpenter left the birthday bouquet. I should’ve known the man wasn’t that thoughtful.

“I was heartbroken when you left,” Jarod went on.

“I didn’t blame you, though. I blamed myself , for not being able to stand up for you.

Nobody stood up for you. Your mom had left.

Lori was always off with her friends. You were alone.

That’s why my dad thought he could kiss you.

And why your dad thought he could treat you the way he did. ”

I crossed my arms, hugging my middle. “I did feel alone. But I went to New York City and made something of myself.”

“I know. When I first heard your music and saw your picture and realized it was you , I was so proud of you. You’d turned out okay.

I was happy for you.” His expression darkened.

“But then a couple years ago, everything fell apart for you. You suspended your tour. Ran away from that rehab facility. I realized you were still lost. As lost as I felt. You needed my help.”

My skin crawled.

“At first, I tried contacting you on your social media. But you never responded. I guess my voice got drowned out by all the other people wanting your attention. I was taking some college classes already, so I got a transfer to a school in Denver. My plan was to move here, to Hart County. Silver Ridge. So I’d be closer to you. ”

“I’ve never heard of a Jarod Carpenter living in Silver Ridge, though.”

“Because I changed my name. I’m Finn Mackie now.

I…” He glanced guiltily to the side. “I had some issues back on the east coast. Misunderstandings. Some women thought I was following them around, watching them. After I got to Colorado, I filed the paperwork to take my Mom’s last name. And switch my middle name to my first.”

So he’d had a history of stalking. Not remotely surprising.

“Then late last year, I saw the job opening for a dispatcher in Silver Ridge. I applied. It was so perfect. And I thought it was time to reach out to you in a way you couldn’t overlook.”

“You sent the flower arrangement to my concert venue last fall.”

“I didn’t want to tip my hand just yet. Just…get your attention. Get you thinking about your old life and people you used to know. That’s why I included the photo.”

The words of the message played out in my memory. You have no idea how beautiful you really are. I’ve always been your biggest fan.

“And the red daisies?” I asked.

“I picked an arrangement that had them. So you might guess it was me. I had this fantasy that when you finally saw me in Silver Ridge on one of your visits, you’d recognize me.

You’d remember everything. You’d know, right then, how much you meant to me.

But you didn’t.” He squeezed the gun, fingers going white.

“Chief Landry brought you into the station after that street brawl, and I smiled at you, and you looked right through me.”

Dread seeped into my veins. “It wasn’t on purpose.”

“But it still hurt. That weekend, I sent flowers to the Last Refuge Inn using the wedding florist. No card that time. Picked another arrangement with daisies, and I thought that was message enough.” He rubbed his free hand against his navy pants, scowling.

“ Wanted you to know I wasn’t giving up. We were meant to be together.”

“But you’ve also been vandalizing houses around Hart County for months.”

“Because of the pressure ,” he shouted.

I cringed, flattening myself against the wall.

“I was sitting around, waiting for you to come to Silver Ridge and notice me. I wanted someone to notice me. Women would call 911, and I’d get to help them.

Make them feel better. When I realized how many women around the county were alone all the time, I knew I had to do something.

I didn’t ever hurt them. Just scared them, so they would know how dangerous it was to be all alone. ”

Chills made me tremble. The innocent kid I’d once babysat was gone. Finn Mackie was truly twisted.

There was no reasoning with him. I had to get out of here.

“I heard about you and Chief Landry. You thought you had a stalker, and you turned to him for help. I heard him talking to you in his office at night when I passed by. Then he took off last weekend, and I knew in my gut he was going to see you in California. It wasn’t right. You were supposed to be mine .”

“You sent the flowers to my house in Malibu with Teller’s picture.”

“I was warning you!” Spit flew from his mouth. “He’s not good enough.”

So much of it was becoming clear to me. Paul’s stupid emails, calling himself Biggest Fan, just distracted us. It didn’t seem like Jarod even knew about the fake stalker emails.

“You broke into Piper’s house last night, didn’t you? Was that to draw Teller away? How did you even know I was in Silver Ridge? We told almost no one.”

“It was because of Seth Duncan. He lived next door to me. We were friends. But after you came to town last time and he got to meet you, he acted obsessed with you. Always looking at your social media and going on about your music. Joined one of your fan groups online. It was embarrassing. ”

Did he even hear how he sounded? Obviously not. If he’d held on to his grip with reality for the last several months, it had to be broken now.

“Seth was good with computer stuff. He managed to set up access to the internal network for Silver Ridge PD at his house. He was able to look up the GPS trackers for department vehicles, and he tracked Chief Landry’s.

Seth knew the chief had gone to the private airport, and then he saw when the chief’s vehicle headed back to Silver Ridge.

There’s a dashboard cam installed. He caught a glimpse of you yesterday when you walked in front of the SUV.

That’s how I knew for sure you were back in town. ”

“You were wearing Officer Duncan’s uniform.”

Jarod shrugged. His rage had subsided again.

“It was time for me to make my move. Seth didn’t deserve to know so much about you.

He annoyed me too. Always sick all the time.

I got rid of him during the night. Went and broke in at Piper’s place, so Chief Landry would go there to be with his sister.

And I put on Seth’s uniform, took his police vehicle, and went to get you.

I figured you’d come with me if you thought I was a police officer. If you thought Landry had sent me.”

“But Paul was already at my house.”