Page 18 of Deadly Revenge

Ace stamped his foot and tossed his head. She followed his gaze to the woods. A flash of light had her spidey-sense tingling. Jenna blinked, and the light was gone. Had she imagined it? She certainly hadn’t imagined Ace’s behavior. But why would anyone be watching her?

She shook the thought off, hating the paranoia she’d had since getting shot. Jenna scanned the woods again, seeing no sign of anyone. Ace trotted over, and she patted his neck. “I’ll be back in a minute.”

She halfway considered bringing him back to his stall and working around him as she cleaned it. Once again, she glanced toward the trees, seeing nothing unusual, and forced herself to return to the barn.

Jenna set to work cleaning the stall. The psychologist she’dseen after the shooting said most of the symptoms of her PTSD would leave, and they had. She no longer fainted at the sight of blood, which had been extremely embarrassing for a cop. And she didn’t freeze when she heard the sound of gunfire.

She hadn’t complained in the beginning when her superiors assigned her to a desk job. It was for the best, but once the psychologist cleared her, she didn’t understand why they hadn’t allowed her to resume her normal job. In the end, the desk job was the reason she’d moved home to Pearl Springs to create a new life for herself. Away from everything to do with her old life in Chattanooga.

Alex had believed in her when no one else did, and Jenna would do whatever it took to live up to the chief deputy’s expectations. She smiled to herself. Alex had been impressed when she found the pin, and she would be even more impressed when Jenna solved the case. Some of the excitement of getting the lead in the investigation returned, energizing her.

When she finished mucking the stall, she filled Ace’s water bucket and added feed and hay to the trough. The horse was waiting for her when she went to the paddock after him, and she whistled for him to come. He trotted to her while Jenna checked the woods again, feeling just a little foolish when everything looked normal.

Thirty minutes later she pulled into her driveway and parked in front of the garage she used more for storage than for her SUV. Her house wasn’t large, but it fit her. She liked to think it was cozy. Jenna climbed out of the SUV and entered her house through the kitchen, automatically checking to see if everything was the way she’d left it this morning.

Clearing her house each time she returned was another by-product of the shooting, a habit Jenna hadn’t been able to break yet. Tonight everything looked okay, but a lingering doubt troubledher even after she checked the almost invisible strip of tape on the fake electrical outlet.

The overhead light flickered, and in her mind’s eye, she saw the flash of light in the woods from earlier. That explained her unease. She was still on edge.

Jenna turned to go back to the kitchen to make supper when she caught a faint whiff of ... She sniffed the air. An expensive men’s cologne, the same one she’d asked Wayne about.

Cold sweat popped out on her face. Now she remembered why it had seemed familiar. It was the same distinctive cologne she’d noticed Rick Sebastian wore the few times she’d been around him.

But that was impossible ... wasn’t it? Maybe not impossible, but Sebastian was in prison. He couldn’t be in Russell County and certainly not in her house. Wayne’s cologne must’ve transferred to her clothing someway.

A twinge shot through Jenna’s shoulder, and she rubbed the scar again. She hated the paranoia that sometimes controlled her emotions.

A text chimed, and she grabbed her phone, glad to focus on something besides her past.

Her eyes widened. Max. She’d known giving him her phone number was a bad idea. But it wasn’t like she’d had any choice. She opened the message.

It’s Max, in case you don’t recognize the number. Just trying to get my foot out of my mouth again. I shouldn’t have asked you if I could call tonight—any call could’ve waited until morning. It won’t happen a second time.

Three dots. He was typing something else.

It was great seeing you today.

Jenna stared at the message. How was she supposed to respond to that? She needed something to drink first. After laying her phone on the counter, she opened her cabinet to grab a glass.

Good grief. Reorganizing her cabinets had been on her weekend to-do list ... maybe next weekend. She wasn’t quite sure how she’d let her goblets and mugs get stuck on the same shelf with the plates ... or how she’d let the over-the-counter drugs get scattered on every shelf. If Granna saw this mess, she would scold her for sure.

Jenna grabbed a glass. Right now she needed tea so she could answer Max’s text and then change to go with her dad. She’d deal with her cabinets tomorrow ... Procrastination seemed to be her middle name lately and probably why the cabinets needed straightening.

She filled the glass with crushed ice and grabbed the pitcher of tea she’d made this morning, making it a point not to check out how bad her fridge looked. Jenna padded to her sofa and curled up at the end and took a long sip of the sugary drink. Everyone talked about comfort food, but there was nothing like sweet tea to make the world right.

She read the text again. Max was trying. Now Jenna felt kind of bad about blowing him off earlier.

He wasn’t going away anytime soon, at least not until after the political rally. She would be seeing him every day.

Why did that make her heart speed up?

She hesitated before she started typing.

No need to apologize. It was appreciated that you asked.

Jenna deleted the last sentence.

It was nice that you asked. And it was business.

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