“Fuuuuck,” Reyes said, sounding impressed. “Guess she got a little payback.”
“He was desperate, and he gave her what she wanted. She found cash and weapons in the safe, and also her purse, which still had her ID and stuff. She grabbed some of his clothes so she could change once she was well away. Then she found the keys to his car, and...” Kennedy shook her head. “She left.”
“No ambulance, huh?”
Still, Reyes didn’t seem disturbed. “She never told anyone, and she never went back. Unless someone found him, he died in that room.”
“A fitting end for him.”
“There were times when Jodi wanted to check the house, to make sure he was dead and gone. I always managed to talk her out of it.”
“Good.” He went back to eating. “It’s risky to revisit a site.”
“Know something about that, do you?”
Scoffing, Reyes didn’t take the bait. He just nudged her plate at her. “There’ve been times since then that Jodi went after people?”
Kennedy really hated to share this part, even knowing she had to. “I don’t have names, or even many details, but she told me about a guy who’d been abusing his wife. She sabotaged his car somehow and he ended up going over a bridge. He survived, but hurt his back, and Jodi was satisfied that he wouldn’t walk again, so he couldn’t hurt his wife.”
Reyes offered no judgment.
Rubbing her forehead, Kennedy said, “She also took credit for a few pimps who were found dead, as well as a guy who’d paid one of the pimps for time with a seventeen-year-old girl.”
“Is that it?” he asked without inflection.
Kennedy shook her head. “She went after a drug dealer who was preying on kids. He’s dead, too. OD.”
Softly Reyes said, “Jodi’s gotten around.”
“If the stories are all true, yes she has. I’ve done everything I could to convince her to stop. I’ve urged her to start building a better life for herself.”
“She doesn’t yet know how.”
“No, she doesn’t. And the longer she plays vigilante, the more concerned I am that she won’t stop—until someone stops her.”
“A worry for you, I’m sure.” He again nudged her plate. “If that’s it, will you please eat before your food gets any colder? We have a lot of shopping ahead of us.”
She had a feeling Reyes wanted time to think. He was certainly quiet for a while after that.
Once they’d finished up their food, Kennedy accepted a refill on her coffee.
“Seriously, hon, you consume way too much caffeine,” he commented.
“You can have your vices and I’ll have mine.”
“My vices are more fun.”
Assuming his were all sexually related, she shook her head. “Jodi said she’d never admitted what she’d done to anyone other than me. With the first guy, I don’t blame her.”
“Of course not.”
Kennedy knew if she’d been braver, stronger, she’d have done the same thing. Instead, she’d allowed herself to be intimidated until Sharlene gave her life to free her.
No, she didn’t blame Jodi. Too often, she blamed herself.
And the rest of it? The other people Jodi claimed to have hurt or killed? Honestly, she just didn’t know.
* * *
A WEEK WENT by in an incredible rush. Having a woman in his house was, at times, more pleasant than he could have imagined, and other times beyond frustrating. Like the way Kennedy slept in the guest room now.
Reyes hated it.
He’d liked holding her, but the very next night, she’d quietly made her preferences known and had slept apart from him ever since.
His subtle suggestions that she might be more comfortable with him, that his bed was big enough, the mattress more comfortable, had only brought out her infuriating manners.
She’d politely say, “The guest room is very comfortable, but thank you,” and he didn’t know how to press the issue without also pressing her.
That, he wouldn’t do.
Why did she have to get all stubborn now and deny them both?
Other than their sleeping arrangements, everything else was easier than he’d expected. He, Reyes McKenzie, a man who’d put careful boundaries around his privacy, now relished having a woman in his space.
And not just any woman, but a woman he couldn’t touch.
Never in his life had he thought he’d be in a situation like this—and liking it.
She’d damn near shopped him to death those first few days, saying it was his own fault since he wouldn’t let her out of his sight. True enough, she’d offered to let him sit in the mall restaurant while she gathered everything she needed, but he, being a glutton for punishment and feeling over-the-top protective of her, had stuck as close as her shadow.
He’d also covered those expenses, and it seemed like Kennedy would never get over it. Hadn’t anyone ever helped her? Didn’t matter how many times he assured her he could afford it, she got touchy about paying him back once she could access her funds.
He was independent, too, so he got it. But in some strange, chauvinistic way, he’d savored the act of providing for her.
So he had some caveman genes? Go figure.
In the end, all her careful selections, based on price and comfort, worked out. She now had warmer clothes for the chillier fall weather, plus hiking boots for their evening walks, which had become routine.
Kennedy shared his fascination with the mountains. She could walk forever, discovering creeks, exploring shallow caves and memorizing birds. Sometimes they followed easy paths, and other times they labored over rough terrain. He loved it all, and sharing with Kennedy made it somehow special.
His cabinets now held her favorite snacks, which were mostly things he didn’t eat, but he enjoyed watching her enjoy them.
How twisted was that? Here he was, a grown-ass man, sexual in the extreme, but the way Kennedy licked her lips while eating a cookie made him hot.
He really needed to get laid, and soon.
But he wouldn’t leave her alone to see to that, so... celibacy ruled his immediate future. Which wasn’t to say he didn’t appreciate his time with her.
“I need a shower,” she said, as she climbed into his truck.
“You can use the showers at the gym, you know.” They spent each morning and afternoon there together. Already Kennedy had gotten better at a few basic moves, though she wasn’t a natural like his sister-in-law, Sterling. Overall, Kennedy didn’t have the same killer instinct or a rabid desire to hone deadly skills. For her, it was more about survival. She didn’t want to maim, as Jodi had done. Or stay and fight, as Sterling would insist on doing.