Page 59 of Reaper
I give him a chin lift, throw my leg over my bike, and start her up.
We drive together for an hour before I break off from the group and head south for about another half hour. The sun isshining and the wind in my face feels perfect as I wind through the curvy road that will lead me to the house that Kenzie rents on the outskirts of Beaverton.
As I pull into her driveway, I frown at the cherry red sports car in her driveway. Whose is it? Last I knew, Kenzie wasn’t seeing anyone. Not since we helped her take care of her ex-boyfriend three years ago and put him in his place.
Shutting off my bike, I take off my helmet and hang it off the handlebars. Walking up her sidewalk, I peer in through the large picture window of her living room, and my frown deepens when I see a man hovering over Kenzie in a menacing manner. He’s talking loudly, but I can’t make out what he’s saying. While Kenzie is giving her own back at the man, I know this has to be rattling her. I pick up the pace and knock hard on her door.
After a few moments, Kenzie cracks open the door and the relief on her face at seeing me sets me even further on edge.
“You okay?” I mouth and she immediately mouths the word ‘no’.
Fury licks my veins, but I need to stay in control. I don’t know who this fucker is, but he’s not going to get away with threatening my cousin.
“Hey, Tony, thanks for stopping by,” she says somewhat loudly and opens the door for me.
Stepping into her living room, my gaze immediately narrows on a man that looks to be in his late forties. His black hair is slicked back and the hair around his temples is starting to grey. He adjusts his black suit and scowls at me as his beady little eyes swept over me again. Then, his scowl deepens as he takes in my cut and his gaze goes toward the bay window that my motorcycle is parked in front of.
“Tony, this is my boss, Dr. Branson. Dr. Branson, this is my cousin, Tony Leyton.”
Reluctantly, Dr. Branson sticks his hand out and I shake it, using more force than I probably should have, but I don’t have a good feeling regarding this guy. Especially since a boss is at his employee’s home and was, I assume anyway, just threatening her based off the way Kenzie’s face looked a moment ago. She’s come a long way these past three years and I don’t want this asshole to set her back.
“I guess I should be going,” Dr. Branson said, and as his gaze cuts to Kenzie, his eyes narrowed. “Remember what we talked about, Ms. Leyton. I expect your answer by the end of the day.”
Kenzie began to sputter but MD. Branson cuts her off.
“The end of the day.”
With that, he strides out the door. I walk over to the window so that I can have a better view of him as he leaves and my own gaze narrows when I see him taking a picture of my bike’s license plate before he gets in his car and drives off.
“Kenzie, what did that asshole want?”
Kenzie fiddles with the hem of her shirt as she walks into her kitchen. I follow her and sit at her table as she turns on her electric kettle to boil water, most likely for her tea since she doesn’t drink coffee.
“He… He wants me to take on different clients instead of just working with children and battered spouses.”
Kenzie used to be a therapist at a hospital in Green Bay, but after what happened with her ex three years ago, she moved here to Beaverton to start fresh.
I narrow my gaze at her as worry eats at me. “What sort of clients?”
Her throat works as she glances at me hesitantly. “Green Bay Penitentiary.”
My eyes widen in shock and she nods, knowing what I’m thinking.
The muscle in her jaw ticks and her eyes blaze in anger. “He knows about William and about my restraining order against him, but he still wants me to relocate back to his Green Bay office so I can work with the inmates there.”
“Then tell him no.”
She sighs, her shoulders slumping. “I’ve already told him ‘no’ numerous times and reminded him of the restraining order. He refuses to listen to me.” She gnaws on her lip as she puts loose tea leaves into a container and then puts it into her mug, pouring hot water over them. “Ever since he opened his most recent office, he’s gotten cockier and more arrogant. Honestly, I think most of his problem is that I don’t meekly do whatever he tells me to do. I question him on things, and he doesn’t like that. There aren’t many women left that still work for him, but of those that remain, I’m the only one that stands up to him.”
Pride warms my chest and she blushes when she looks up and sees me grinning at her. “That a girl, Kenzie. Don’t give into him.” I pause and frown. “How long as this been going on?”
She exhales heavily, the action causing her bangs to flutter a bit on her forehead. “For the past two months. Honestly, I’ve been contemplating just quitting and starting my own practice. There’s only one other therapist that works with the same client base as I do now, and that’s because Dr. Branson has been pushing us to get away from that sector. He doesn’t see it as a viable need and that it isn’t a good source of income for the company, which is absurd. Emilia and I were overworked before Theresa quit and now we’ve had to start turning clients away because we aren’t allowed any overtime to help our patients. Our sector used to bring in almost half of our office’s income, but now we’re barely bringing in a quarter of it due to his selfish desires. He’d rather go after the larger contracts, hospitals, penitentiaries, places like that.”
“Why was he here at your house?”
A small tremor runs through Kenzie’s body before she frowns. “He gave away Emilia’s and my offices to expand a few offices for the higher-up therapists, so we’ve been told to work from home like we did during COVID. It wasn’t until these last couple of weeks that he’s been dropping in, trying to pressure me to switch departments.” She pauses as she bites her lip. “If I don’t tell him that I’ll do it, he’s going to transfer my clients without my approval and then, I think he’s going to try and strong-arm me into taking the position or just straight up fire me.”
“You know we’re here for you if you ever need us. Just say the word and we’ll be on our way. Thor’s chapter is closer, so he’d be able to send guys here quicker.”
