Page 10 of Chasing Kaylee Kringle

“Elasia, what is happening? If you’re in trouble, come with me.”

She smoothed back Kaylee’s hair and kissed her cheek. “I love you, Kay. Always have, but I can’t lose him.”

Kaylee wanted to argue, to tell her that if he’s doing something illegal or dangerous, Elasia should stay out of it, but she was already out the door. Kaylee went back to her room, hands shaking as she finished packing and continuously checked Elasia’s location. When she saw her at The Den, Kaylee knew Elasia had gone to confront Ansel.

Despite the small voice in her head screaming at her to do what Elasia said, she’d gotten in her car and driven out to the bar. She’d parked on the dirt road in the trees, giving her a view of the front and back entrances. There were only a few cars in the parking lot, and the neon sign was off, giving the place a closed appearance.

She’d watched from the car as a half dozen men spilled out the back of the bar, Ansel leading the way. A man with a blond bun, whom Kaylee recognized from the bar, grabbed Elasia by the arm and dragged her behind him. Another man, this one the same bearded, bald-headed creep who’d hit on Kaylee and been punched by Ansel, made Wyatt kneel and watch while they pushed Elasia to her knees beside him. Ansel handed off a gun to the blond man and stepped back into the shadows as the blond man placed the gun to Elasia’s forehead.

Kaylee covered her mouth, silencing her scream as a muffled pop sounded and her friend fell to the side, unmoving. Wyatt shouted, and the bearded man hit him across the face. Two others propped him back on his knees, and he appeared to be begging for his life before the blond man came up behind him and a second pop, quieter than a normal gunshot, took his life, too. And while he hadn’t pulled the trigger, Kaylee watched Ansel standing back, orchestrating the entire show like a director waiting to yell Cut.

While Ansel and the blond man went back inside, the bearded man took off at a jog to the front of the building and pulled a truck around. Kaylee’s breathing quickened in panic as they loaded up the bodies of Elasia and her boyfriend. Where are they taking them?

This is all your fault, the small voice in her head snarled. You should have gone to the police like she wanted.

Kaylee started the car with shaky hands and pulled out of the parking lot, sobbing, and called the cops just a few miles down the road. A patrolman met her outside the station and escorted her to a back office with a detective. She’d taken screenshots of Elasia’s location and the time before whoever had her phone had turned it off. Kaylee told the detectives everything, and they contacted the FBI, which was involved in an ongoing investigation.

A very nice agent showed up, and while he was leading her to his car, they encountered a man passing by on the sidewalk who was watching her intently. It wasn’t until the agent pulled out of the parking lot that Kaylee realized where she’d seen him before. The man was a Pit Viper.

Terror seared through her like a red-hot poker, all the while the agent told her how brave she was and that they would take her to a safe place. That he sent his partner to the dorm she’d shared with Elasia to grab Kaylee’s bags while she waited.

They’d barely parked at the motel two towns over when her phone vibrated and a text from an unknown number came through.

Hey Goldie Locks. Elasia gave me your number.

Kaylee’s breath caught.

We need to talk. Be careful with the feds. Wyatt was one of them.

Kaylee stared down at the text and then showed it to the FBI agent. “What does this mean?”

The agent stared at her with a heavy gaze. That’s when she learned Wyatt had been an undercover federal agent.

Anger still coiled inside Kaylee every time she thought of Wyatt. If he hadn’t come on to Elasia, if he hadn’t brought them to that place? Ansel would have never targeted her, and Elasia would be alive. How could she trust her life to them when one of their agents had dragged Elasia and her into danger in the first place?

Kaylee knew that her first instinct to leave was the right choice all along, and that’s when she constructed the plan to take off as soon as the agent’s guard was down. She hadn’t counted on Rick or her reaction to him.

Or the fact that he was a stubborn son of a bitch who’d dogged her across two states and wouldn’t take the fucking truth at face value. She wasn’t going to testify. Ever.

Racing footsteps echoed in the alleyway behind her as she struggled to her feet, desperate to get away.

The steps slowed when Kaylee managed to get to her knees, staring at Rick’s crotch and her coat clasped in his left hand. Her gaze traveled up and landed on his furious expression. Kaylee’s eyes narrowed.

“I’d rather rot in a cell than testify.”

“You mean letting your friend’s killer get away? That’s all right with you?” Rick’s words twisted the knife in her chest, creating a painful throb, and it took everything in her not to punch him in the dick. That moment would live forever in her brain. The leather upholstery against her bare legs as her skirt rode up. The stale scent of fast food and perfume permeated the car’s air. Elasia, on her knees one minute, then falling to her side the next.

She swallowed past the lump in her throat, hardening her heart.

“I’m not looking to join her,” Kaylee snapped.

“If you trust me—”

“How am I supposed to trust any of you?” Rage burned in her, memories of Wyatt’s betrayal pouring gasoline on the fire. “Elasia wouldn’t be dead if she’d never gotten involved with one of you. He should have known better and protected her.”

“I agree, but I can’t speak for him,” Rick said softly. “Only for me and what I’m willing to do to keep you safe.”

“You can’t. If you take me back there, he will find a way to get to me. You can’t be with me twenty-four seven, and you aren’t bulletproof.”