I wasn’t sure if I was going to be able to keep Chris around or not. He certainly got me hot and bothered when we were together. There was a chemistry between us that I had never felt with any other person. It was hard for me to imagine that there was another man out there that I could feel so bonded to so quickly.
In the morning when Robert went to work I decided to go with him. I wanted to keep an eye out through the town and see if I saw any suspicious vehicles. Since his office was right downtown, I could easily watch people from the comfort of his building. No one would even know I was there since he had tinted windows that overlooked the main street of town.
Originally I had planned to venture out into the town a little bit, but I lost my nerve. I was terrified of going out by myself and I couldn’t ask Robert to stop working to babysit me. He was starting to think I was crazy as I watched all the cars that came and went throughout the city.
“There’s a black SUV, that’s unusual. Right?”
“No, that’s the Edward’s new SUV. They just had a baby and needed more room,” Robert said as he became more and more annoyed with me.
“Oh, wait. Look at this sedan. I’ve never seen it before.”
“Katelyn, that’s the city manager’s wife. I’m pretty sure she isn’t going to try and kill you.”
“Seriously Robert, what about that minivan. I’ve never seen it around town before.”
“Katelyn, that is the Johnson’s van. Either sit there quietly or I’ll take you home. I can’t keep doing this all day I won’t get any work done.”
“Alright, I’ll sit quietly.”
I did sit quietly for the remainder of the day. It was very hard for me to do as I watched car after car went by throughout town. But I decided to wait until I could see the drive and then I almost always knew who it was. There was one woman that drove by in a minivan that I didn’t know, but then I thought it would be silly to think a woman in a minivan would be the one coming to get me.
Robert seemed to appreciate my silence and he worked quickly on his projects so he could get off from work early. He packed his things at a quarter after four and we loaded into his truck to head over to my house. It was only a few blocks, but I felt relieved to have him with me. I was thinking and worrying so much about someone following us that I could hardly think anymore. I just wanted to relax and feel safe again and that wouldn’t happen until Chris got back from Chicago.
“I don’t see anyone around, do you?” I asked.
“Just run in and grab your camera and come back out,” Robert snapped.
“I also wanted to grab some clean clothes. Do you think that will be alright?”
“Yes, just hurry up. I don’t want to be out here all day.”
I jumped out of his truck and made my way up to the door of my house. I got too scared and turned around and came back to the truck.
“I can’t go in there alone. Will you go with me?”
“Oh man, Katelyn, just go in.” I stood next to the truck and just shook my head no. I felt like I was going crazy, but I was so scared to go back into my house. I needed Chris to go with me, but since he wasn’t there, Robert would have to do.
“Please Robert, I know I'm horrible. I’m too afraid to go in there by myself.”
Robert sighed, turned his truck off and climbed out of the cab. He seemed really annoyed as he walked up to the door of my house. I put the key into the door, but it wouldn’t open. It looked like Chris had jammed something into the door to keep it from opening after it had been kicked in.
“Let’s go to the back,” I said as I started around the side of the house. This made Robert even more annoyed at me. I used my key to get into the house and then waited for Robert.
“You go first,” I said as I stood in the corner of the kitchen.
“Oh man, Katelyn, you are going to owe me big for this.”
Robert slowly started moving throughout the house and I stayed in the kitchen and waited for him to tell me everything was clear.
Chapter 40
“Is everything alright?” I yelled up to Robert as he made it to the top of the stairs.
“Yes, just come get your things.”
I hurried up the stairs and into my bedroom. I grabbed a bag from the closet and started to fill it with some more of my clothes. I wanted to grab everything, but I knew Robert wouldn’t be alright with that. Instead, I just grabbed some clothes from each of my dresser drawers and a couple pairs of my favorite shoes. I had forgotten to grab shoes last time and wasn’t going to make that mistake again.
“I’m going to wait for you out in the truck,” Robert said as he made his way down the stairs.
“No, no, no. I’m coming. Don’t leave me here,” I said as I tried to hurry and pack my things as quickly as possible.
“You are fine Katelyn, just grab what you need and then head out to the truck.” I heard him finish moving down the stairs and go out the back door. I looked out the window and watched him get into this truck and start it up. I did feel a bit silly for making such a scene, but it was really hard to be in my house after everything that had happened. I didn’t know if I would ever be able to feel safe in my home again.
As much as I didn’t want to blame Chris for this feeling, I couldn’t help it. If he had never moved to Bain, then none of this would have ever happened. I went back to packing my things and tried not to freak out. I looked through everything one last time and then headed down the stairs.
“Don’t scream,” I heard a familiar voice say as I got to the bottom step.
He reached out and wrapped his hand around my mouth and then tilted my head up to see him. It was Gunner. He looked different. His dimples were covered up by a beard and he looked like he hadn’t showered in the three weeks since I had seen him last.
“Gunner, what are you doing here?” I said as I tried to calm my nerves.
There was something different about him and how he interacted with me though. I had an uneasy feeling and didn’t want to be alone with him.
“Go tell your friend he can leave. You aren’t going back with him.”
“I am supposed to stay with them until Chris gets back.”
“Tell him now!” Gunner said as he yelled at me.
Something was wrong, I didn’t know what it was and I didn’t want to find out. Gunner had been sweet and nice to me before and now he was rude and agitated. Suddenly the thought came to me that Gunner wasn’t one of the guys with Chris. Maybe he was some sort of a double agent and really worked for the bad guys. I tried to remember the times I had seen Gunner before and I thought he worked with Chris, but I had never heard that directly from Chris before.
Chris had said he was working with the bad guys and pretending to be one of them, maybe this Gunner guy was really one of the bad guys who was trying to get to Chris. Maybe taking me with him or hurting me was the only way they could get Chris out of hiding.
I couldn’t disobey Gunner though, I could tell in his eyes that he wasn’t messing around. So I walked out to Robert’s truck and did my best acting job ever.
“Hey Robert, I’m feeling better about things. I think I’m going to stay here,” I said and then I turned around and came back to my house. I walked around to the back door and Gunner was standing there with my back.