Page 67 of Hushed

“Thank you, Adam.”

She walked to the front desk and asked for the package. It was a thick padded envelope with her name scrawled across the front.

As she pressed it in her hand, trying to determine what might be inside, she asked the desk clerk who brought it.

“A man delivered it about two hours ago, Ms. Reginald. Is there a problem?”

She shook her head. “No. I just wasn’t expecting anything. Have a good night.”

She took the elevator up to her apartment and set her bags down in the entry before tearing into the envelope.

A pair of black lace panties fell out along with three photographs.

She picked the eight by tens up and gasped. Evie was mostly naked in them. Except for the same pair of panties that currently lay on her counter. A man that looked suspiciously like Gage stood in front of her with his back to the camera.

But Evie wasn’t as smart as she thought she was, because as good as the photos were, she didn’t count on Kenzie being an expert in photo manipulation, and she recognized a photoshopped image when she saw it.

Tossing the offensive images on the counter, she pulled out her phone and called Gage. It went straight to voicemail, and she almost hung up. Instead, she let out a long breath and left a message.

“Hi. I understand that you’re out saving the world or whatever, but I kind of need to talk to you. Evie is going to be a problem. Call me back when you can, and you’re not allowed to die before you do.”

She hung up and stalked into her office to sit at her computer. There were six design projects that needed to be done within the next week, so she pulled one up to work on it. Despite her rageover Evie meddling in her love life, she was able to focus on her work for the next several hours. As she was scrolling through her font library, The energy in the room shifted, and she whirled to find Gage standing in the doorway to her office.

“What did she do?”

Gage’s voice was harsh and downright scary, but the look on his face was enough to stop anyone in their tracks.

“She sent me photoshopped images that make it look like you’re fucking her. Along with a pair of dirty panties. Hers, I presume, since she’s wearing them in the photos.”

“Son of a bitch. I’m going to kill her.”

“Don’t say shit like that. You are not.”

He laughed. “Not literally. But I am about to make her life a living hell. Why the fuck would she do that?”

Kenzie laid her head back against her chair. “I have no freaking idea, Gage. You said yourself that she was obsessed with Peter. A man who was suddenly unavailable to her. It’s possible she saw me with you and realized you’re not within reach anymore either and turned her obsession on you.”

“How do you know they’re photoshopped?”

Her eyes flew open, and she glared. “What the fuck does that mean?”

He blew out an impatient breath. “I’m absolutely sure they’re photoshopped. I’m asking how you were able to tell.”

She waved a hand at her three-monitor setup. “Because I’m a goddamn professional, Gage.”

He stepped farther into the room and stood in front of her, tapping a finger on her nose. “First of all, damn right you are. So, stop undervaluing yourself. Second, drop the attitude or we’ll finish this conversation with you over my knee.”

She rolled her eyes but sighed. “Fine. I see your point. But what are we going to do about this?”

“We’re going to have her arrested for stalking and harassment.”

Kenzie’s stomach churned. She did not want to bring the law into this, but deep down she knew it was the right thing to do. It wasn’t right to let Evie get away with tormenting her.

“What are you doing here?” Kenzie asked when it finally clicked that he was standing here in her apartment instead of talking to her over the phone from D.C.

“Once my last meeting at the White House was over this afternoon, I snagged the first available flight. Your voicemail was waiting for me when I landed. Do you want to call the police now or wait?”

She looked at her watch. It was already late in the evening. “I guess we should get it over with.”

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