Shiver

“He has women falling all over him,” I said. “He doesn’t need to pursue anyone.”

“True enough,” agreed Dodger. “Is there anything that we can do to help with the Ricky Tate situation, other than be on the lookout for him?”

“At the moment, no,” I replied. “Though I’d appreciate you running him clean over with your bike if the opportunity presents itself.”

Dodger chuckled darkly. “Oh, darlin’, I’d be happy to.”

When we all later filed out of the house and headed to our respective vehicles, Cade pulled me aside. “I don’t like that you’re insisting on staying at your apartment, Kensey. I get that you don’t want to let the little fucker chase you out of your own home, but I’m worried about you. Move in with me for a while.”

I was pretty sure Blake wouldn’t like that.

“If you won’t do that, at least let me stay at your place for a few weeks.”

I was pretty sure Blake wouldn’t like that either. Still, I’d have taken Cade up on his offer if I thought it was necessary. But this was another reason why I hadn’t wanted to tell Cade—I knew he’d worry like crazy and hate for me to be alone. “I thank and adore you for worrying, but I’ll be okay. I’ve updated my security, and I’ll be more on my guard now.”

Jaw hardening, he shook his head. “I don’t like this, Kensey. I don’t like it one little bit.” When I didn’t back down, he cursed. “If he manages to break in again or he hurts you in some way, you move out. No arguments.”

“No arguments,” I agreed.

With a mollified nod, he kissed my cheek. “I’ll follow you home on my bike and do a walkthrough of your apartment before you go inside. Don’t argue with me on this, Kensey, I won’t sleep tonight if I don’t at least do that much.”

I gave him a soft, grateful smile. “You’re awesome, you know.”

“Yeah, I do know.”

I just chuckled.

During my lunchbreak the next day, I was typing the skeleton of a scene in my notepad app when Dodger entered the breakroom. Blinking in surprise, I looked up and said, “Hey, Dodger.”

“Everything okay, Dad?” Sarah asked.

Sighing, he plucked at his beard—a sure sign that he was troubled. “There’s something you need to see, Kensey.”

Tension tightened my muscles. I exchanged a worried look with Sarah. “What is it, Dodger?”

“You’ll see. And you’re not gonna like it.”

With Sarah close behind me, I followed Dodger out of the bar and into CCC—which was currently closed for lunch—and into his own breakroom. From his spot near the kitchenette, Bandit rose to his feet, ears perked. I gave the dog’s head a quick scratch as Dodger led me over to a small, wall-mounted T.V. in the corner. I realized that he had some security footage paused on the screen.

Dodger pointed at a guy who was loitering near CCC but whose attention seemed to be on the bar. “Recognize him?”

The face was a bit blurry but, yeah, I recognized it easily enough. It was as familiar as the thick hair and gangly build.

“That fucking asshole,” snapped Sarah. “If that’s not Ricky Tate, it’s his goddamn doppelganger.”

“After you told us about Ricky,” began Dodger, “I got to thinking about the time some guy was skulking outside, watching the bar. The second Cade asked what the hell he wanted, the guy bolted. Cade gave chase, but only in the hope that it would discourage him from coming back. Here, see for yourself.” Dodger pressed ‘play’ and stood back.

I watched the scene unfold. Watched as a person who looked remarkably like Ricky jerkily shifted from foot to foot. Cade turned his way, hands fisted. I couldn’t hear what he said, because there was no audio, but it made Ricky stiffen. Then he fled. The fucker was fast. Cade ran after him, but not at full speed—it was clear that he’d only meant to chase him off, just as Dodger had said.

Stopping the footage, Dodger said, “Afterward, Cade said he knew the guy from somewhere but couldn’t place him. I figured he’d probably just been lurking around here before.” Dodger sighed. “I played this for Cade and, well, you should know that he’s feeling bad that he didn’t try to catch him.”

I rolled my eyes. “Idiot.”

“That’s what I said,” said Dodger.

Sarah leaned against the wall. “That’s what I’ve always said. Shame you guys don’t listen to me more often.”

After shooting his daughter a brief look of reprimand, Dodger told me, “I checked all the video footage I have. Ricky hasn’t lurked in that spot before or since then. If he was watching the bar before or after that day, he wasn’t doing it from there.”

“Does Mom know about this yet?” Sarah asked him.

“Why do you think she’s been snippy all morning?”

“I just thought you weren’t giving it to her regular—she gets like that when she’s, you know, frustrated.”

Incredulous, Dodger shook his head at Sarah. “Do you have no filters?”

“Not that I’m aware of.”

The door of the breakroom swung open. Cade strolled in, carrying a deli bag that smelled of warm bread and peppers. Realizing we were crowded near the T.V. monitor, he gave a sheepish smile. “You saw it, huh?”

“I also see that you’re pissed at yourself because you didn’t try to grab him,” I said. “Which is utterly stupid.”

Cade’s jaw hardened. “If I’d caught him and seen him up close, I would have recognized him for sure. This could all have been over, just like that.” Cade clicked his fingers. “So, yeah, I’m pissed at myself.”

I snorted. “Idiot.”

Cade flicked a look at his father. “That’s what he said.”

“You should listen to us,” I told him. “We’re fucking brilliant.”

Cade snickered. “Your coffees are brilliant.”

“Yes, they are,” I agreed. “Give me five minutes and I’ll bring you each a black coffee.”

“It was good thinking to check the footage, Dad,” said Sarah.

Dodger gently tugged on his beard. “Do you think that’s definitely Ricky Tate?”

“I’d say it is,” said Sarah. “And I’d say he’s definitely the one causing Kensey problems. It is way too much of a coincidence that someone who looks like Ricky would be hanging around these parts at the exact same time that some asshole has targeted her.”

“I’m working on getting his address,” said Cade. “There can’t be many Richard Tates living in Jacksonville.”

“He lived with his mother,” I reminded Cade. “The house will probably be listed under her name, which is good because I don’t want you tracking him down. You’re too pretty to survive in prison.”

“I won’t take time off work to find him,” said Cade. “But I will do it in my own time. There’s no point in lecturing me about it, Kensey. I’ll locate the little shit if it kills me.”

I sighed, knowing there would be no sense in pushing him. Cade wouldn’t respond to pressure. He was as strong-willed as I was. He obviously felt that finding Ricky would make up for having let him get away. “Fine. Whatever. But I meant it when I said you were an idiot for being pissed at yourself. You don’t need to ‘fix’ anything.” But he just looked at me blankly. My words were falling on deaf ears. “Just don’t do anything stupid.”