Page 26 of Operation: Integrity

“What about Lacy?” He knew Connor would never allow that. Connor wanted Lacy close by at all times, and she wasn’t one of the guys, as much as she sometimes acted like one.

“I could?—”

“No,” Connor’s definitive response silenced Lacy.

Dominic grinned. “If you want the opportunity to make amends, then this will give you all the time in the world to do so.”

Had he really asked for time just a day before? Now, he wanted none of it. “I don’t feel right about this.”

Connor nodded. “I know. Because it’s not the way we do things. But Junior had to stay with Gabby when shecame and got mixed up in Scarlet’s family mess. He had to protect her even though he didn’t want to. Protecting is what we do.”

Connor was right, but that didn’t make Sam hate the idea any less.

Chapter Twelve

Apile of clothes laid behind Kelly in a heap where she knelt on the floor in front of her closet. The heap was smaller than most people would expect, but represented her entire wardrobe. Even after Lacy had brought over a large suitcase of clothing that fit her, she still didn’t have enough to fill a closet. She whimpered as a splinter dug deep into her thumb as she scraped her hand across an old floorboard.

Nothing. No camera.

How could Nathan see her? How had he known just when she was angry and when she was out walking? How did he know when to message her? Obviously, he was close by, or he wouldn’t keep urging her to meet him. But that didn’t explain how he wasseeingher. The men at Wayside wouldn’t let a stranger hang around the place.

She headed for the small storage closet near the back patio door. Edwyn had told her all the cabins were the same, except for the back row that had two bedrooms, and that some people stored their outdoor gear in that closet.There wasn’t anywhere near the front door for that kind of thing.

She’d hung her coat from Lacy in there and the vest she’d gotten from the halfway house. Other than that, there hadn’t been anything to store back there. If Nathan had planted a camera inside that tiny space, she wouldn’t have seen it. That also would tell him when she was leaving because she couldn’t go outside without a coat.

After feeling along the shelf and hunting along the floor, she came up empty. What about fire spigots, smoke detectors, or even charge cord plugs? All of those could house cameras. But could Nathan have placed them? He’d only been at Wayside once and he hadn’t been allowed to leave the parking lot. Still . . . better to be safe than sorry.

She dug around in the kitchen junk drawer and found a small flashlight. The bulb was dim, but should be enough to reflect back at her if there were camera lenses hidden anywhere. She hunted through each room, scanning heating vents, smoke detectors, plugins, and even doing the finger test on the mirrors to be sure they weren’t two-way. Everything in her room checked out safe. So, how was he seeing her?

Her wrist buzzed and she flinched, tired of the contact. Why couldn’t he leave her alone? She was gone. His secrets were safe with her because she never wanted to talk about what she’d been through ever again. If he would just leave her be, they could both move on. It wasn’t like he didn’t have many other girls to take her place.

She sucked in a breath and tugged on her sleeve to look at the text.

You’ll be there tonight. Don’t leave me waiting.

She clenched her fists, refusing to give him the pleasure of responding. If he was going to hurt Jasmine, he would anyway. Her connection didn’t matter. He liked controlling people. Maybe physical abuse wasn’t his usual method, but he loved emotional torment. Who knew that better than her? He’d enslaved her merely with words for years.

The physical buzz against her wrist felt more insistent, though it probably wasn’t. Her whole body was sensitive to stimulus. The ranch sounds outside suddenly seemed obnoxiously loud. The heat in her room was too much. The scent of the soap in the kitchen assailed her nose.

Answer me.

Kelly closed her eyes and slowly took the watch off her wrist and laid it on the desk in front of her. “I will not,” she said, but didn’t send it as a message. She didn’t quite have the strength to stand up to him that strongly yet.

It buzzed again almost immediately.

Put it back on or Jasmine dies.

Kelly squeezed her eyes shut as tears burned so deeply she could feel the harsh reality through her whole body. She’d been sure she was beyond tears, beyond feeling, beyond caring. At least she still had a heart because it was breaking. Sobs took over as someone knocked on the door.

She swiped the watch off the table and put it back on as she headed for the door. Not answering would arouse suspicion and that would mean she couldn’t go to meetNathan or whichever thug he’d sent to meet her. She couldn’t risk being the cause of Jasmine’s death. There were too many marks against her that Jesus would make her account for when she met him.

Unable to speak through her tears, she simply opened the door. Sam stood there and his face immediately shifted from a complete lack of emotion to the deepest compassion in the space of a second. “What happened?” He rushed inside and closed the door.

His firm hand on her back didn’t do anything to stop the tears, but she couldn’t deny that she felt safer with him there. Sam wouldn’t let Nathan hurt her. Not if he knew what was going on. She opened her mouth to tell him everything when she felt her wrist buzz again.

“Let’s sit. You can tell me what happened when you’ve had a minute to get it out. Sometimes, emotion just needs to vent. It’s okay.” Sam’s steady words should’ve helped the well stop, but instead made the tears come all the faster.

No one had allowed her to cry. No one had let her mourn her old life. She’d been flung into a new existence, perhaps slowly at first, but the death of her old self was no less harsh with a slow start. His encouragement might have come years too late, but there it was. Why hadn’t she told him at first? Why hadn’t she shared her burdens with him?

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