“I’m not an actress,” Lucy replied—though the slightly hopeful tone in her voice made Kendrick suspect she was at least considering the possibility.
“Hey, everyone starts somewhere. And some people have natural talent. It’s hard to explain. But we in the industry know it when we see it.” Zach stepped even closer. “And I see it now.”
Kendrick couldn’t listen to another second of this crap. He glanced over at Isaiah. Based on the look on his face, he couldn’t listen to more, either.
So, Kendrick called out, “Hi, Lucy. We’re here.” He then stopped walking, feigned surprise, and pointed at Zach. “I know you!” Looking over at Isaiah, who was walking beside him but a few feet away, spread out, like they did when they were cops as to not present themselves as one target, he continued, “It’s our old buddy!”
Isaiah nodded. The smile on his face was more than a little exaggerated. “Zach! Zach Snodgrass. I haven’t seen you since… well, since you went to prison. How long ago was that?”
Kendrick answered for the sleazy man. “Oh, I’d say three years or so. Wonder why he’s out? Must’ve been time off for good behavior.”
Lucy’s eyes were wide as she studied the man before her, clearly in a new light. “You said your name was Aaron.”
“You sly old dog, you,” Kendrick said. “Did you tell a fib? That doesn’t sound like the Zach Snodgrass I know.”
Isaiah shook his head slowly and clicked his tongue. “It sure doesn’t. Man. What’s this world coming to? Just when you think you know someone…” He shook his head again with a heavy sigh.
Zach backed up a few paces. “I heard you two aren’t cops anymore. That means I don’t have to listen to you.” Despite the bravado of his words, his voice trembled a little, betraying his fear.
“It does,” Kendrick said, inching forward. “But it also means we don’t have to consider things like, oh, your constitutional rights. Meaning, we can just kick your ass now. No need to Mirandize you are anything.”
He popped his knuckles on both hands for dramatic effect.
“Hey! You can’t do that! I’m gonna call the cops!” Kendrick saw a lot of desperation in Zach’s eyes when the guy looked at Lucy. “Help me! Call the police.”
But Lucy simply stood there wearing a mask of skepticism. “Why were you in jail?”
Kendrick was glad she asked. Going to jail didn’t automatically make someone a bad person. Some people were wrongfully incarcerated. As a cop, it had kept him up nights. That’s why he dotted every I and crossed every T, not rushing to snap judgements, and making sure he truly believed the guilt of the person he arrested.
And unlike some police officers, he had welcomed tough questioning whenever the trials had rolled around. Everyone deserved legal representation. He wanted slick lawyers to try and poke holes in the prosecutions’ arguments. It was imperative the right person was going to jail.
So, again, he was glad that Lucy wasn’t rushing to judgement.
But he knew for a fact Zach Snodgrass was a disgusting human who got his rocks off by victimizing young ladies.
And that was something Kendrick couldn’t abide by. Not when he was on the force. Not now. Not ever.
“These guys are just messing around. I don’t even know them.”
Lucy’s posture shifted and she put her hands on her hips. “But you just said you heard they weren’t cops anymore.”
“Uh. I…well…I kinda remember them, but they’re not…”
Kendrick knew what the guy was going to do before he even did it: he turned around and bolted from the scene.
For a moment, Kendrick stood there, debating on whether or not he should chase him. He didn’t have any sort of jurisdiction, obviously. It wasn’t as if the Daddy Guard was a legal entity.
But he couldn’t let Zach get away to victimize more women. If he was even doing that. Odds were good he was. After all, he’d been caught red-handed trying his old scam on Lucy.
A few moments passed before Kendrick settled on a course of action.
Pulling out his phone, he sent a text to a few of his officer buddies who were still on the force.
“You sending a not-so-anonymous tip to our pals?” Isaiah guessed correctly.
“Yep. Letting them know our otherold buddyis up to the same old tricks.”
He put his phone back in the pocket of his jeans and smiled at Lucy. “Sorry about all that. We’re glad you called.”
