Forgotten Past. Mary Alford
a tropical storm building strength in the Atlantic.”
JT blew out a sigh. “Yeah, I heard.” The storm in question was all over the radio lately. Every time the Weather Bureau issued a warning, people up and down the coast went on full alert. With everything going on at work, this was the last thing JT needed. If the storm kept gaining strength, he’d have to stockpile necessities and weatherproof the house just in case.
“If it keeps on the path it’s on now, the entire East Coast is within its strike zone. Who knows where it’ll hit. I’m still praying it will lose strength before it gets close.” Derek paused. “Well, I’d better get a move on. I’ll give you a call as soon as I have something on your neighbor.”
“Thanks, buddy. I don’t know what I’d do without you.” JT disconnected the call and unlocked the back door. As he stepped inside the house, his cell phone rang again. Liz’s number popped up on the caller ID. She worried about him; that’s what big sisters did. He touched the ignore button. He would call her back tomorrow. Right now, he couldn’t get his mind off the terrified woman down the beach.
Was he simply trying to find redemption for failing Emily by helping a stranger in need? Possibly, yet there was something different about Faith McKenzie.
Get her out of your mind, Wyatt. You have plenty of real concerns in your life to be worried about. He grabbed his laptop and cleared off enough space at the kitchen table to set up shop, while ignoring the reminders scattered around the house of things he should be doing. Like finishing the drywall in the great room, not to mention getting the cabinets hung in the kitchen so he could finally put dishes away.
Instead, he started brewing a pot of coffee and dove into work. In the security world, business was booming. On average, over the past year, the company had a couple of new clients sign on every month. If things kept growing at this rate, he would need to hire additional staff just to keep up.
JT was halfway through writing a proposal for the global energy firm when Derek called back.
“That was fast.”
As usual, his friend didn’t mince words. “It took some doing, but I was able to find a copy of her lease agreement for the house. Since the Fitzgeralds didn’t have any living relatives, the county commissioned a real estate agency to sell the house. In the current market, selling a house that size is next to impossible so the agency agreed to put it up for rent, which meant the agreement was on file at county records.” Derek cleared his throat. “Apparently, the leasing agent didn’t do a credit check, because the name McKenzie didn’t match up with the social security number on the application. That social corresponds to a Faith Davenport who was originally from Oklahoma City, but moved to Austin, Texas when she was a teenager.”
This bit of news wasn’t a surprise. “Figures. She changed her name because she’s running from someone.”
“Probably,” Derek confirmed. “Her past is sketchy. Parents died when she was ten and she ended up in foster care. She ran away to Texas when she was a teenager. It appears she turned her life around. Finished school and got an accounting degree from the University of Texas—all online. She doesn’t appear to have much of a presence online now. I’m still digging. I’ll know more soon.”
“Good.”
“So what are you thinking about doing?” Derek asked the expected question. He knew JT well enough to know he hadn’t wanted the information just to satisfy his curiosity.
JT stared out the kitchen window. In the darkness, all he could see was his own troubled reflection. “I’m not sure, but if anyone needs our help it’s Faith McKenzie.”
Somewhere close by, a ringing noise woke Faith from a sound sleep. She had forgotten to turn off her phone.
She sucked in a handful of frightened breaths as the phone continued to shrill. Three more rings followed by dead silence and then the real trepidation set in.
Ollie let out a low growl and moved closer to Faith’s side.
“It’s okay, boy.” If only that were true, but dread settled on her shoulders like a prickly blanket because she had been here before. This was the third call. At this point in the past, she’d be tossing everything she owned into the back of her car and running before he had the chance to make his next move. Only this time he’d changed the game. He’d sent her roses already. So why was he stepping up the threats now, after two years?
An eternity passed before her eyes adjusted to the darkness. Over the staccato beat of her heart, she heard it. The sound of a car’s engine. Someone was outside.
Panic pumped adrenaline through her body, propelling her out of bed. She clutched Ollie close and tiptoed over to the window. Her bedroom faced the ocean instead of the driveway. She could see headlights shining off the side of the house and out toward the water.
She didn’t know what to do. She’d stopped trusting the cops long ago. The Austin police hadn’t believed her when she’d first reported the calls to the detectives handling her case. They’d all but accused her of making the whole thing up to get attention. Or worse.
Faith crept downstairs with Ollie tucked under her arm. She didn’t dare turn on any lights. She had practiced getting around the house without them many times.
When she reached the great room, she inched the drapes apart. A pickup truck sat motionless in her driveway. Lights turned on bright. The engine revved up. It sounded as if the person inside had the gas pedal all the way to the floor.
Faith groped her way over to where she’d left JT’s business card. Using the light from her phone, she called the cell number listed there. After the third ring, he picked up. At the husky sound of his voice she let go of the breath she’d been holding.
“JT Wyatt.” Too late, she wondered if she might have awakened him from a sound sleep.
“I’m sorry to call so late, but I didn’t know what else to do. There’s someone outside my house.” Panic infused its way into every syllable she spoke.
“I’m on my way. Where are you?” He didn’t hesitate to offer his help.
“I’m in the great room.”
“Good. Stay there and don’t open the door until you hear me call out to you.”
The phone went silent. He hadn’t waited for her answer, but it didn’t matter. Just knowing he was on his way was a tremendous relief.
She double-checked the front door to make sure it was securely locked and then went back to the great room, expecting the showdown she had known was coming since that night two years ago.
* * *
JT shoved the phone back into his pocket and raced toward Faith’s house. He’d been down the beach from her place when the call came in. After tossing and turning most of the night, he’d finally abandoned sleep altogether around four a.m. It was still dark outside when he’d decided to take a walk, mostly because there were too many questions running through his head. He’d begun working the details of her case from the minute he met her. Saw the terror in her eyes, the way she reacted to him. Added to that were the clues he’d seen lying around her house, and there’d been plenty. She’d gone for overkill with three locks on both doors. A state-of-the-art security system, stun gun, enough pepper spray to stop a small army.
All those things pointed to someone who had gotten good at being on the run. Faith McKenzie was in big trouble. The kind of trouble that didn’t go away on its own, but convincing her to let him help her wasn’t going to be easy. She was about as closed up emotionally as anyone he’d ever seen.
When he reached the edge of her property, he clicked off the flashlight he’d brought with him and stopped long enough to listen for any unusual noises. He could hear a truck engine coming from the front of her house. JT circled