Page 131 of Bound By Words

The airport in Hartford wasn’t huge, but we’d managed to secure seats on a direct flight that got us into Chicago O’Hare two and a half hours later, so I had to hope we’d have some answers by the time we landed.

“Do you know anything about this guy?” Evan asked as we settled into our seats on the plane. Chase was sandwiched in the middle seat with me sitting on the aisle.

“I had a cop buddy run a check on him, but he hasn’t called me back yet. I tried to do an internet search and found a private Instagram account. A random article from a university in Chicago listed him in the graduating class from their graduate school in computer science, but nothing before that.”

“I mean, she told us about the harassment claims before she flew out to Boston, but she never said anything about text messages. Do you think this is related?”

Clenching my fists, I tried to scan through the timeline of everything mentally. It was far from coincidental that the person sending the threatening text messages knew where we’d been and what we’d been doing. Clearly, someone was watching us, or someone was feeding them information.

“I hope she just accidentally set off the alarm and dropped her phone or something, but I can’t shake the feeling that this guy is a little unhinged. He just got fired for harassing multiple women in their office. I don’t want to consider the possibility of it all being related, but there’s no telling what he’s capable of.”

“This flight is taking too long,” Chase sighed as she checked her watch for the tenth time in the last half hour. “And I’m fucking starving.”

Evan handed her a package of almonds and water, and she blew out a deep breath, suddenly looking a little pale.

“You alright?” Evan asked as he rubbed her back. While she’d been worried when Evan was missing last year, she’d kept her shit together pretty well. “I’ve got those ginger chews in my bag if you need one.”

“I’m fine. Just a little lightheaded,” she sighed as she sat back and pressed her hand into her abdomen. My eyes drifted to Evan’s and back to Chase’s, and they both smiled guiltily.

“Yeah,” she laughed. “Came back from vacation with more than a sunburn on my ass.”

Evan laughed, shaking his head as he looked over at me. “We haven’t told anyone yet, but now hardly seems like the time.”

“Congratulations. That’s great. I’m sure your families will be thrilled.” Kelly would be. I knew she’d love having a niece or nephew.

“Yeah,” Evan nodded, his hand covering Chase’s. We sat silently for a few minutes, my knee restlessly bouncing as I thought about how Kelly would feel upon hearing their news.

“I should have stayed with her.” Running my hands through my hair, I tugged, the pain helping distract me from the immense guilt running through my system. “If he hurt her, I’ll fucking rip him apart.”

Chase gasped, but Evan nodded seriously, making direct eye contact, which I knew wasn’t something he was typically comfortable with. “And I’ll help.” Under normal circumstances, I would’ve laughed because he was a big cinnamon roll, but I nodded, knowing he’d do anything for his sister.

“Let’s hope we’re all overreacting,” Chase responded, trying to break the tension, but we were all likely to be on edge for the rest of the flight.

Since none of us had checked a bag, we took off through the airport terminal toward the rental car area with our carry-ons as quickly as possible, Evan continuing to try to contact Kelly.

When we got to the rental car desk, he cursed, answering his phone and holding it to his ear as he stepped out of line. “It’s my parents. I’ll be right back.”

Chase and I awkwardly stared at him while he paced back and forth next to the elevator doors, his eyes widening at a few points and his body language indicating he was visibly upset. Part of me wanted to rip the phone out of his hand and demand answers, but I knew he loved Kelly just as much as I did, and we were all in this together.

“She’ll be alright. It’s Kelly. She could kick this douchebag’s ass if she needed to.”

I chuckled at Chase’s attempt to be encouraging, but the longer Evan was on the phone and the more agitated he became, the more my stomach tied in knots. “I fucking hope so because I don’t want to go to prison for tearing this guy apart with my bare hands.”

“Calm down there, killer,” Chase laughed, but we shared a loaded look as Evan ended the call and shoved his phone back in his pocket.

“We need to get to the hospital…” My pulse started pounding in my ears as he talked, my anxiety likely rivaling his at that moment.

KELLY

Chicago

As Trent used his foot to kick open the door to the stairwell, I felt a moment of panic overwhelm me. If he took me somewhere, this might be the last time anyone ever saw me.

“You don’t want to do this.”

A dark chuckle escaped his lips at the clear desperation in my voice. “Of course, I don’t, sunshine. But what choice did any of you leave me? I started over entirely once already. And now, I might end up in jail for harassment. You had to file a complaint like a whiny little bitch so they confiscated my computers. What choices do I have left? My career is toast. My family doesn’t exist, and everyone thinks I’m a monster.”

“I don’t.” A jolt of pain ripped through my scalp as I tried to shake my head, but it was nothing compared to how it’d felt earlier when my head hit that concrete wall in the stairwell. There was still a dull throbbing at the base of my skull that had nothing to do with his grip on me. Once the adrenaline wore off, I worried about what it meant.

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