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Chapter Sixteen

Tanner

These reports aren’t going to write themselves. I purposely came into the office today to try and focus, but all I can think about is how perfect yesterday was. How perfect Kinsley was.

I can still hear her screaming my name before she passed out in post-orgasm exhaustion. The way she acknowledged that she was mine through her breathy moans, ‘I’m yours’ . Even though the sex was hot as hell, it was the time I was able to spend caring for her afterwards that’s on my mind.

After untying her wrists and taking off the blindfold, I moved her further up the bed to rest whilst I went and ran a bath. I had so much more planned for her, but when I told her earlier in the day that we had forever, I meant it. With her in my arms, I washed her body. Taking note of all the things I don’t normally get to admire. The small birthmark on her left hip, the light dusting of freckles across her nose, the old scars on her wrists.

When I saw the scars, pain shot through my chest. I hate knowing she has hurt herself, even if it was in the past. My fingers trailed over the scars and I couldn’t help but wonder what she had gone through.

When she’s asleep there are no worries in her eyes, her mind isn’t busy; she’s peaceful. I held her close and closed my eyes, resting my head against the tiles. After a while, Kinsley’s hand reached up and stroked my cheek, I opened my eyes and looked down at her. “Yeah, Pip?” I asked.

A sleepy smile played on her lips. “Can we go to bed?”

A message from Jesse pulls me from those thoughts.

Jesse - Kinsley doesn’t know about the car. I just need some more time before I tell her.

If he’s going to ask me to keep secrets, he is going to need to give me more than that. I would do anything for this girl. Then it hits me. He would do anything for her too. Surely we can put our differences aside. The two of us protecting her is better than one, right?

Me - Let me in on what’s going on, Jesse. We both care about her.

Bubbles pop up and then disappear again before he finally responds.

Jesse - It’s not my story to tell. Does he expect me to carry on as if everything is normal? Not only is there a car following her, but now the bar she owns and her place of work has been targeted. Jesse is a fool if he thinks I’m going to sit here and twiddle my thumbs. Running my hand through my hair, I decide I will get to the bottom of this one way or another. I don’t think Jesse realises who he’s toying with here. He might know Tanner Hayes but this boy from Darcel House has a few tricks up his sleeve.

* * *

Jesse

Crossing the carpark at school, I glance in the direction of my car to see a guy perched up on his motorbike. God damn Tanner. He has his back to me, leaning forward with his arms resting on the handlebars of his bike. The muscle shirt he wears gives him away, anyone who knows him would recognise his tatts. They cover his neck, shoulders and both his arms. Clearly, he’s a good looking rooster, I can see why Kinsley is drooling over him. Freakishly, as if he could sense me standing here, Tanner climbs off his bike and leans against my car. His arms folded across his chest.

“What do you want, tough guy?” I laugh.

“You’re going to tell me who is following, Kinsley.”

I roll my eyes, it clearly wasn’t a question and he isn’t going to give this up. Unlocking my car, I place everything onto the back seat before facing him again.

“Fine. Follow me back to my place, we can talk there.”

Tanner nods as he climbs back onto his bike and buckles his helmet. He walks his bike backwards before starting it up, waiting for me to take the lead. Here goes nothing, let’s just hope Kinsley doesn’t fucking kill me in my sleep.

Ten minutes later, I’m walking into my house with Tanner a few steps behind me. Lou greets us at the door and he stops to acknowledge her; maybe he isn’t so bad after all. I toss my keys onto the kitchen counter and walk towards the fridge. “Beer?” I ask with my back to him.

“Sure,” he clips, clearly eager to get all of this out in the open.

Taking two beers out of the fridge, I place them down on the kitchen counter and flick the tops off of them, sliding one across to Tanner. I perch up onto one of the bar stools and ask him, “What do you want to know?”

“I want to know who the fuck is playing with her, Jesse! First there was a car following her, now someone is breaking into Twisted Sister. Surely you don’t think that was a coincidence?”

Why hadn’t I connected those dots? My hand clenches around my beer and Tanner doesn’t miss the frustration on my face.

“I can’t believe it,” he scoffs.

“What I can tell you is this.” I rub the back of my neck. “Kinsley and I have a private investigator we are working with regarding shit that I’m not going to mention. I gave him the registration and he has hacked into Kinsley’s cameras to set up a notification to ping him if the car is spotted outside her apartment. She is safe there.”

“Who does the car belong to?” Tanner snaps, his mind filtering through the information.

“Let me bring up the information Stanley — uh the P.I sent to me. He sent me all the information he found.” I stumble my words, rushing to get my laptop out of the case. Why did I not look at the reports? Tanner moves to hover around me as I bring up my emails.

Opening the first document, the name under the heading REGISTRATION stands out, it takes me a few seconds before I realise where I have seen it before. Lance Harding. Fourteen years ago, he was charged with the abduction of a seventeen year old girl. Kinsley’s dad was a Police Officer at the time and he was assigned to the case. The case was open for two days before they tracked him down and were able to pin him on several charges. He was serving fifteen years behind bars. It was on the third day straight of Kinsley’s dad – Warren – working on the case, that he finally returned home.y the time morning came around, he, himself, had disappeared.

“Talk to me, Jesse”

“Back when we were kids, the owner of the vehicle was charged with abduction, amongst other things, in Greenswood. Kinsley’s dad was the lead police officer on the case.”

“So? Why would he be coming after Kinsley? Do you think he is attempting to seek revenge on her father?”

“Maybe,” I say, more so to myself. Tanner doesn’t know that Kinsley’s dad went missing; I don’t think he knows anything about her family’s past.

Tanner is typing away on his phone. “We need to find this fucker. What else do you know about him?”

“I’ve got a garage address for the vehicle, but Tanner these guys aren’t ones you want to mess with.”

Tipping his head back, he finishes his beer and places it down on the counter. “I’ll send you my email address and I want you to forward everything you know about him to me. Do that and I’ll give you the time you need to tell Kinsley about all this.”

Before I can answer, he turns and leaves.

Without knowing it, and by trying to protect her, Tanner is now digging into Kinsley’s past. A decision which could cause more trouble than he intends.