Page 75 of Kian

“I should’ve known this would happen,” she mumbled to herself. But as she lay in bed, she knew she should apologize but he still hadn’t come to see her since he showed up at her house to show her his new house. If he wanted to straighten this out, shouldn’t he be here to talk about it? She closed her eyes and hoped for sleep. Maybe when she woke up, she’d try to get intouch with him, if she could walk that far.

Chapter Twelve

The following week, Kian walked briskly across the parking lot, climbed into his truck, and drove out onto Main Street. As he drove, he kept thinking about seeing Gretchen. He’d been so busy the past week that he never had a chance, and he knew, without a doubt that she would be angry with him. Again. Suddenly, he spotted two men getting into a blue pickup truck and nearly slammed on the brakes in shock. It was them.

He pulled over, parked and watched them through his mirrors as they drove past him. He made sure to tilt his head down so they wouldn’t recognize him. After a few cars had passed by, Kian carefully merged back into traffic and followed the truck from a safe distance.

He couldn’t believe it when they turned onto Gatlin Road. It seemed like they were heading back to an area they were familiar with, regardless of the potential consequences.

Kian stayed far enough behind not to be noticed but never let them out of sight. When they eventually pulled off onto the shoulder of the road, Kian drove past them and continued until he rounded a bend. Then, he pulled over and waited for a moment before turning around and heading back in their direction.

He parked his truck near where they had parked their vehicle and then turned into Gretchen’s driveway. His first priority was letting her know that those men were out there again.

Kian got out of his truck, pulled on his protective vest and strode up to her front door. He wanted to fall to his knees and beg her to come back to him when she opened the door, but her expression told him that she was not happy to see him.

“What are you doing here?”

“Could I come in for a minute?”

Gretchen sighed, opened the door wider, and motioned for him to enter. He strode past her and turned to face her.

“Those men are back,” he began, but she gasped before he could finish.

“I followed them from town. I’m going to confront them, but I need a gun, Gretchen. Mine is at home.”

“Why? Don’t you always carry it with you?”

“I usually do, but I was moving things into my house and didn’t want it on me. It’s in my safe.”

“You can’t go after them alone.”

“I’ll call for backup when I’m sure it’s them.”

“You’re not positive it’s them?”

“I believe so, but I need to be certain before I confront them.”

She stared at him for a moment before nodding and walking over to the gun cabinet. She retrieved the gun and handed it to him along with a box of ammo.

“Thank you. Stay inside and keep Lobo with you.” Kian looked around. “Where is he?”

“He’s in the bathroom. I have to clean his paws off; he was playing in the mud.” She gestured toward her floors, which were covered in pawprints. Kian couldn’t help but grin at the sight.

“Okay.” He stared into her eyes. “Gretchen—”

“You’d better go. Find those men and get them arrested, then we’ll talk.”

Kian sighed. “Alright. I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

She opened the door for him and after sighing again, he walked out, stood on the porch, then jogged down the steps. He stopped beside his truck, loaded the gun, stuck the box of shells into the back pocket of his jeans, then walked into the forest.

As he entered the woods, Kian surveyed his surroundings. He knew those men were out here somewhere. He slowly made his way through the trees, stopping to glance around every few feet. It was quiet. Way too quiet for his liking.

Holding the Smith and Wesson .357 Magnum revolver in front of him, he moved cautiously, stopping when he heard a noise to his left. Slowly, he cocked the hammer and placed his finger on the trigger as he spotted one of the men moving through the trees. Kian’s stomach clenched as he knew he was right to follow the truck. He recognized him as one of the two who had attempted to kill him.

Taking care not to step on any twigs or branches that could give him away, Kian heard a gun being cocked and froze as the barrel was pressed against the middle of his back.

“We probably should have made sure you were dead the first time,” the man threatened. “But we won’t make that mistake again. Toss the gun, get on your knees, and put your hands on your head.”

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