Built For Her

“Understood,” she says, and right then Janet comes down the hall.

“He said there’s a patrolman on his way.”

I tell Janet what I just told June and she nods in confirmation. “I’ll make sure it’s taken care of. You take all the time you need, Ginny.”

I hold her tighter as we leave the building and rush out to my truck. I pick her up and strap her in and then go to my side. I’m cranking up the truck and throwing it in drive before I can even get my own belt snapped.

“What if he’s gotten her? He said he’d never had twins before.” There’s a sob in her throat that is threatening to escape, and I squeeze her hand.

“He won’t lay a hand on her. Do you hear me? Neal would die before he allowed it, and so would I.”

She squeezes my hand back and I feel her regain some of her strength. My stomach rolls thinking about what he might have said to her. I’ll find out the whole story later, but right now she’s not going to be at ease until she’s got her arms around her twin.

My phone vibrates and I answer it.

“Hey, Barrett, the chief said everything is okay,” Janet says.

“Gabi is all right,” I relay to Genevieve, and her body immediately relaxes. “Thanks, Janet. We’re on the way to her house now. Should be there in just another minute.”

“The chief needs Ginny to come in and fill out a report. I explained this to her earlier, but we’re trying to build a case against him. We let him go yesterday, but someone let it slip that it was in part due to a complaint made by Ginny.”

I grip the phone so hard that I’m afraid I’m going to break it in half.

“Keep her close and keep her safe. I feel like this is all my fault. I never should have hired him in the first place.”

“I’m going to protect her.”

“I knew she’d be safe with you. We’ve got the whole team on this, Barrett. I want him nailed to the wall.”

“Just make sure I’m the one holding the hammer,” I say, then tell her we’ll be at the station in an hour to make a statement.

When we pull up to Gabi and Neal’s house there are three cop cars outside. Genevieve jumps out of the truck and runs straight up to her sister on the porch and wraps her arms around her.

“Barrett, what the fuck is going on?” Neal asks as Gabi looks over Genevieve’s shoulder at me with pleading eyes. “These cops show up saying they’re doing a welfare check on my wife. She’s pregnant and throwing up constantly. She shouldn’t be getting this stressed.”

“We’ll explain. Let’s go inside and have her lie down,” I say as I turn to the cops and shake their hands.

I thank them for coming out and explain that I’d appreciate it if they could perform some periodic patrols. They all agree to keep a close eye on her house and the neighborhood. After that’s taken care of, I send a text to my security guy Sam to let him know I need a full system in this house, too.

When I walk inside, Gabi is lying down on the couch with a washcloth on her forehead, and Genevieve is sitting on the coffee table in front of her holding a water bottle. Neal is pacing nearby and stops when I come in.

“I think we all need to talk,” I say as I walk over and pull Genevieve in my lap. I take a seat across the couch from Gabi.

I tell them about my sister and Mark. Then we both explain what happened on Genevieve’s date with Mark and how it’s all connected to today. Genevieve tells us about the phone call and what he said. It takes everything in me not to tear out of the house and go looking for him, but that fucker is slick. He’s managed not to get caught so far, and he has to know after that phone call today he’s got a target on his ass.

“So, what am I supposed to do? Just sit here locked in the house with my wife and baby, hoping that it all works out?” Neal barks, and I feel the exact same way.

“Right now, Genevieve and I are going to go to the police station and she’s going to give her statement about today. She’ll tell them about the night of her date with him, too, just so we have it on record. My security guy Sam is going to be here in an hour to equip this whole house with a security system, and you’re going to have neighborhood patrols from the local cops,” I say, trying to reassure him that it’s not totally beyond his control. “You and I are going to make sure our woman are protected in every way possible. And in the meantime, we’re going to plan a wedding and baby showers.”