The Broken Road (The Broken Series) (26 page)

We
were still talking about the competition when we left Troy’s apartment. I was
holding my jack-o-lantern in my arms. I looked up at Kadyn as we crossed the
parking lot. “Your friends take pumpkin carving to a whole new level.”

Kadyn
chuckled. “You’re telling me.”

Mason
and Gabi were walking just a few steps behind us. Mason groaned. “Why didn’t I
think to play the Air Force card? That was a guaranteed win.”

I
giggled as Gabi soothed his ego. “I don’t know, Mason. I really liked your
haunted house.”

Kadyn
stopped and stared at his car.

I
glanced at Kadyn, then peered at his car.

“Holy
shit! What happened to your car?” Mason exclaimed from behind me.

All
four of Kadyn’s tires had been slashed. Deep scratches marred the paint on the
trunk and all down the side of the car.

I
dropped my pumpkin and backed away from Kadyn.

Mason
grabbed my shoulders as I backed into him. “Kri, are you okay?”

Kadyn
turned to look at me. His eyes flitted to my pumpkin, which lie broken on the
ground. He took a step toward me, then froze. His eyes softened with
understanding. “Are you okay?”

I
stared at him, thoroughly confused. “Aren’t you mad?”

Kadyn
shook his head. “Why be mad? It doesn’t change anything.” He set his pumpkin on
the ground and pulled the cell phone from his coat pocket. He examined every
side of his car as he reported the damage to his insurance company. Then he
called the police.

The
police officer arrived an hour later. He photographed the car and recorded Kadyn’s
statement. As their conversation drew to an end, the officer asked Kadyn, “Is
there anyone in particular you suspect?”

Kadyn
leaned against the trunk of the car. “No.”

The
officer’s pen hovered over his notepad. “Are you aware of anyone who might have
a grudge against you?”

Kadyn
shook his head. “No.”

“Yes,”
I quietly interrupted.

Kadyn
eyed me questioningly. “Tom?”

I
shook my head. “No. Michael.”

“Who’s
Michael?” Mason and Gabi asked simultaneously.

I
turned and looked around the parking lot. I suddenly realized that Michael
could be within earshot.

 “Ma’am?”
The police officer prompted.

Kadyn’s
eyes locked on mine. “Michael Garcia,” he responded. “They dated briefly when
Kri was living in Montana.”

The
officer’s gaze flitted between Kadyn and me. “And…?”

I
tore my eyes from Kadyn’s as I responded to the officer. “I had to get a
restraining order against Michael when I broke things off. He sent a post card addressed
to me at Senator Rockefeller’s office when he discovered that I had moved to DC.
He was threatening to follow me to DC. Michael e-mailed me at work a couple of weeks
ago. He knew I was dating someone else. He claimed Kadyn could never love me
the way he does. He said we’d be together again soon and nothing would keep us
apart.” I shuddered as a chill ran down my spine. “Michael and I have no mutual
friends. The only way he could possibly know about Kadyn is if he was here, in
DC, watching me.”

“He’s
stalking you,” Gabi whispered as she reached for my arm.

I
looked at Kadyn. I was mortified to think his car could have been keyed because
of me. “I’m so sorry, Kadyn. I should have told you about the e-mail.”

Kadyn
pushed off the trunk of the car and walked toward me. “We don’t know that
Michael did this. My car could have been keyed by anyone.” He wrapped his arm
around me reassuringly.

The
police officer closed his notebook. “Most vandalism cases remain unsolved. We
don’t have the manpower needed to investigate these types of cases. To be
honest, we have much bigger fish to fry. But it’s good to file a report for
insurance purposes. I recommend you get your car fixed and move on.”

Kadyn
hugged me as the officer walked away. The tow truck arrived a few minutes
later. We watched as the driver hooked Kadyn’s car to a wench that pulled it up
onto the truck bed. Then Mason and Gabi gave us a ride home.

Kadyn
joined me as I walked Cade. “Listen, I’ve been thinking about that e-mail you
received from Michael. I don’t want you walking Cade by yourself anymore. You
call me when you’re ready to go for a walk, and I’ll join you. I’ll talk to
Mason. I'm sure he’d be willing to walk with you if I’m out of town or tied up
with work.” He kicked a pebble as he stared down at his feet. “I know you’ve
had your fill of controlling men, so I'm asking nicely. Please, let me help
keep you safe.”

I
reached for Kadyn’s hand. “I’m sorry my life is such a mess. I didn’t mean to
drag you into this, Kadyn. If it’s too much and you want out, I completely
understand. You’re such a nice guy. You don’t deserve to have your car keyed
like that… and you deserve to be with a woman who trusts you not to hit her
when things go wrong.”

Kadyn
grasped my shoulders as he forced me to look at him. “Kri, this isn’t your
fault. You didn’t do this. Terrible things have happened to you, and still
you’re determined to make this world a better place. You are selfless, kind,
funny, and smart. You’re so devoted to helping others, Kri. You’re
exactly
the type of girl I want to be with, and I’ll be damned if I’m going to let Tom or
Michael ruin this chance we have to be together.”

I
caressed Kadyn’s cheek as I sought to soften the fierce look on his face.
“You’re an amazing man, Kadyn Rand. Thank you for saying that.”

His
eyes softened. “
You’re
amazing, and it’s about time you had someone
acknowledge you for it.” The tension eased from his body as he pulled me into
his arms. He kissed my forehead and the tip of my nose before finding his way
to my lips. His lips teased and coaxed mine until we fell into a soft,
lingering kiss.

Kadyn
steadied me as he ended the kiss. Still, he seemed hesitant to release me. He
held me in place while he silently studied my face. My pulse quickened as his
eyes captured and held mine. The hunger reflected in his eyes was provocative
and raw. I couldn’t have moved if I had tried. My breath caught as his lips suddenly
crashed against mine. I whimpered softly as he backed me against the side of
the building. I dropped Cade’s leash and reached for Kadyn’s face as he
consumed me in a firestorm of passion and hope.

Patrick
knelt on the floor in front of my desk. “Kri, are you okay?”

Jonathan
peeked around the corner of my cubicle. “What’s going on?”

I
tried to rein in my tears. “It’s my cousin. She’s in the hospital. Something’s
wrong with her transplanted kidney.”

Patrick
grabbed my hands. “Tell me how we can help.”

“I’ll
get her some coffee,” Jonathan commented before disappearing around the corner.

Patrick
handed me a wad of tissues from his desk.

I
sopped up my tears. “I need to go home.”

Patrick
reached for my hands as they fell into my lap. “Virginia home or Montana home?”

I
stared at him through watery eyes. “Montana home.”

Patrick
stood and walked back to his computer. “I’ll help you find a flight.”

My
cell phone rang again. I glanced at the Caller ID, then picked up the phone. “Hello?”

“Hi,
Kri. It’s Charlie.”

The
tension eased from my head and chest the second I heard his voice. “Hi,
Charlie.”

“Kimme
and Ann are here with me. I have you on speaker phone. We need your help
tracking down the source for some data from that aging report you worked on
earlier this year.”

“Okay.”
I sniffed as I tried to clear my head and focus on the question at hand. “Which
statistic are you looking at?”

“Krissy,
are you okay? You sound sad,” Kimme interrupted.

Tears
pooled, then spilled from my eyes. “No. It’s my cousin, Lexie. She’s in the
hospital in Great Falls. They think she might be rejecting her kidney. I’m
trying to find a flight home.” My heart stalled as I began to panic. “Oh, God…
what if she dies before I get there?” I folded in on myself as I began to sob.

“Kri?
I just pulled Betty, Jerry, Doug, and Cec into the room with us. We’re going to
pray, okay? You don’t have to say anything. Just listen. We’re going to pray
for your cousin, right here on the phone.” Charlie didn’t give me a chance to
respond. He immediately began praying. “Father, we pray that you lay your
healing hands on Lexie. Breathe new life into her kidney. Hold her in your
loving arms. Guide her doctors and nurses… guide their hearts and hands and
minds. Comfort her family and friends…”

Patrick
slid a note in front of me. I read the slip of paper.
The cheapest ticket I
can find is just under $3,000.
He looked at me apologetically.

I
buried my head in the crook of my arm as I curled over the top of my desk. I
continued pressing the phone to my ear.

Charlie’s
voice rolled over me. “We pray this in the name of the Father, the Son, and the
Holy Ghost.”

I
tried to say something, but I was completely unable to speak. I felt… hollowed
out, hopeless, and unbelievably cold. Finally, I forced the words from my
mouth. “I can’t come. The plane tickets are too much.”

“We’ll
figure out a way to get you home,” Kimme soothed.

“Thank
you,” I whispered. I glanced at the piece of paper Patrick had slipped in front
of me. There was no way I was going to make it home.

“Keep
us posted on Lexie. We’ll keep praying for her and for you,” Charlie responded.

“Please,
Kri. Don’t worry about that data. We’ll do some more digging here or sort
through it later. You just focus on your cousin and on finding a way to get
home,” Ann added.

I
sighed as a fresh round of tears threatened to fall. “Okay. Thank you. I’ll be
in touch.”

Jonathan
rounded the corner with a cup of coffee. He handed me the cup and smiled
encouragingly. “It’s a caramel macchiato, skinny and extra hot.”

I
smiled weakly. “Thanks, Jonathan. That’s very sweet of you.”

Patrick
offered a sympathetic look. “I'm sorry I couldn’t find a cheaper ticket, Kri.
They really rake you over the coals for last minute flights.”

I
took a sip of coffee and steeled myself as I picked up the phone. I called all
three airlines that flew into Montana to inquire about bereavement fares. None
of the airlines offered a bereavement fare for a hospitalized cousin. They all
said the same thing… bereavement fares were extended to immediate family only.

I
was calling my credit card companies to see if they would extend my line of
credit enough to pay for a plane ticket when my cell phone rang. The Caller ID
displayed the toll free number for my old office.

I
reached for my phone. “Hello?”

“Hi,
Kri. It’s Ann. I think I’ve found a way to get you home.”

I
clenched the phone. “What? How?”

“Mac
and I have enough frequent flyer miles for a plane ticket. Mac has been too
sick to travel, and I’m not going anywhere without him. So we’d like to use the
miles to purchase you a ticket,” she explained.

I
breathed a huge sigh of relief. “Ann, are you sure?”

“I’m
positive. Mac and I want to help you with this. I just need to know which day
you want to fly in and how long you want to stay.”

I
shook my head in disbelief. I pulled up the calendar on my computer and quickly
glanced it over. “I have to clear this with my legislative director, but I
should be able to fly out tomorrow and stay for a week. Can you give me an hour
or so? I need to track her down so I can get her approval.”

“Sure,
Kri. Call me as soon as you can.”

“Thank
you, Ann. I don’t know how I’ll ever repay you, but thank you.” I disconnected
the call, then rushed downstairs to search for Ellen. I eventually found her in
the Capitol building, hovering just outside the senate chambers. She immediately
approved my request.

I
tried to call Ann back, but she didn’t pick up. I left a message on her voice
mail, then turned my attention to work. There were a number of briefings I
needed to complete before I could leave.

My
cell phone rang just before five o’clock. I answered on the first ring. “Hello?”

“Oh,
Kri. I’m so sorry,” Ann hoarsely exclaimed.

My
shoulders tensed. “Ann, what’s wrong? What happened?”

“I
lied. I’m so sorry I lied to you; but I couldn’t follow through with it. I… I
had to tell you,” she stammered as she began crying.

“I
don’t understand, Ann. Why would you lie to me? What did you lie about?” I
asked, thoroughly confused.

“I
don’t have any frequent flyer miles. Justin made me tell you that I did. He was
standing over my desk when I called.”

All
of the air rushed from my lungs. “Why would Justin do that?”