Authors: Randi Cardoza
Chapter 15
Shawn could hear Kenzi talking to somebody but he wasn’t sure whom that person was. Then he heard Kenzi scream. His heart jumped into his throat and his palms started sweating.
“Kenzi, what’s wrong? Kenzi?” Shawn screamed into the phone.
He heard a series of loud crashes and Kenzi along with that other person screaming at each other.
“I want her back,” Jan yelled at Kenzi.
“Well, you’re not going to get her back. I’m going to press battery and trespassing charges against you and that will guarantee it,” Kenzi snarled at her.
Jan grabbed Kenzi’s hair and she could hear Shawn yelling for her over the phone.
“God! Do you have to fight like such a girl,” Kenzi complained as Jan tried to rake her nails over Kenzi’s face but didn’t succeed.
Kenzi quickly stomped on Jan’s foot and tossed her head back as hard as she could hoping it would make contact with Jan’s face.
“I’m going to teach you for ruining my life,” Jan screamed pulling Kenzi’s hair even harder, managing to bring tears to Kenzi’s eyes.
“How did I ruin your life? You’re the one who tried to coerce Shawn into marrying you in high school. It’s not my fault that Jason decided to man up and take responsibility instead,” Kenzi said as she grabbed a handful of Jan’s frizzy brown hair and yanked hard.
“Jason didn’t want me! At least Shawn did,” Jan cried as Kenzi’s hair slipped out of her fingers.
“Shawn didn’t want you! He felt sorry for you because you got yourself into something that you couldn’t get out of. He didn’t do anything for you, he did it for your baby. He did it for Emma,” Kenzi said in hostile voice as she swept Jan’s feet out from underneath her.
Shawn was still calling to her over the phone but she ignored it. This fight was a long time in coming and Kenzi wanted to knock Jan into the third dimension.
“He wanted me and was going to marry me because you wouldn’t put out,” Jan said as she landed hard on the floor in the dining room.
“I’ve had it!” Kenzi screamed and she turned just as Jan tried to attack her again. Jan ran face first into a pillar separating the living room from the dining room and collapsed in a heap with blood seeping out of her mouth and nose.
Kenzi ran to the phone and caught Shawn just as he was getting ready to hang up and call the police.
“Shawn, Shawn? Are you still there?” Kenzi asked picking up the phone from where it had been kicked under the couch.
“What happened Kenzi? I could hear you and someone else screaming,” Shawn asked.
“Jan came by and decided she was going to attack me since I wouldn’t help her get Emma back,” Kenzi replied as she dialed the Farmington PD on her cell phone.
“Did you call the police?”
“I am right now. They’re on my cell and are sending someone over here,” Kenzi replied.
“Are you okay?” Shawn asked worry obvious in his voice.
“I may have a few bald spots and a black eye but I’ll be fine. I think Jan broke her nose and probably her jaw.”
“Jan or you broke them for her?” Shawn asked.
“She tried attacking me and she ran into that pillar by the dining room. I should probably check on Sunshine. She’s probably scared to death,” Kenzi replied as she got off the couch and called out to Sunshine.
Sunshine was just starting down the stairs when the police arrived. Gabe was the first officer there.
“What happened, Kenzi?” he asked looking at a still unconscious Jan.
“She came here trying to talk me into getting Emma back for her then got mad and attacked me when I told her I wouldn’t,” Kenzi explained as she held the phone on her shoulder.
“Is that phone call so important that you can’t hang up until we’re through?” Gabe asked as uniformed officers stood near Jan waiting for an ambulance.
“It’s Shawn,” Kenzi replied.
“Oh. Did he call right after you called us?”
“No, he was on the phone when Jan showed up. He might have a few gray hairs when he gets back,” Kenzi said adding a light tone to her voice.
“Do you want to press charges?” Gabe asked.
“Yes! She came here earlier when Emma was still here and wouldn’t leave. I had to throw her out. I’m sure I have a few bald spots where she tried to yank out my hair and I can feel my eye starting to swell.”
“How did that happen?” Gabe asked looking over at Jan as the ambulance crew, which had just arrived, started strapping on a neck brace and then easing her onto the gurney.
“She ran at me one more time, I guess trying to head-butt me and I turned before she could hit me. She ran into that,” Kenzi said pointing to the pillar.
“Okay, that sounds like it’s about all I need. Anything else I need to know?”
“Shawn says that you should try to find Sunshine. She’s probably scared to death,” Kenzi said as Shawn spoke over the phone.
Gabe laughed and called out to Sunshine. She came trotting down the stairs a few minutes later and jumped into Gabe’s arms.
“She’ll be fine. Won’t you girl?” Gabe asked as he handed her to Kenzi.
“Thank you, Gabe. I guess I shouldn’t have tried to handle it myself but I thought she would go away after the first time,” Kenzi explained as she walked him to the door.
“You should know better. Tell Shawn 'Hi' for me and that we love him. I’ll see you later,” Gabe said as he walked down the path to his car.
“Did you hear that, Shawn?” Kenzi asked as she headed back inside.
“Yep,” he replied. “Tell me something.”
“What?”
“Are you sure you didn’t hit Jan?”
“I was awfully tempted but the most I did to her was stomp on her foot and pull her hair a little. I didn’t hit her at all,” Kenzi replied as she closed the door and locked it behind her.
“Okay. Where were we?”
“I think we were at the
What are you wearing
point,” Kenzi said looking at the floor where Jan had knocked herself out and was glad the EMTs had cleaned up the blood and that it hadn’t stained the hardwood floor.
“That’s right. So what are you wearing?” Shawn asked his voice a seductive whisper.
“That depends. What do you want me to be wearing?” Kenzi asked her voice lowering to a sexy drawl.
“Definitely not that nightgown. Why don’t you take it off?” Shawn suggested.
“Well, that depends. What are you willing to take off for me?” Kenzi asked coyly.
“Just about anything you want me to,” Shawn answered quickly.
“Why don’t you tell me what you’re wearing first?” Kenzi suggested.
“Well, I’m wearing my leather jacket, my favorite pair of jeans that you
love
, and a light blue t-shirt. Why do you love those jeans by the way?”
“You have so many attributes that you don’t even notice. I love the way they make your ass look. I just want to grab it and hold on,” Kenzi purred in response, knowing Shawn went crazy when she started to swear during foreplay because she never did otherwise.
“That’s what I thought. Why don’t we try that holding on thing when I get back?” Shawn teased.
“Hmm…as long as we don’t do it on the bike again unless we’re in the garage. It’s very embarrassing to have sex when people are around,” Kenzi replied as Shawn laughed.
“Honey, that was ages ago. I can control myself a little better than I could when I was twenty. But if it’s the bike you want, it’ll be the bike you get,” Shawn teased as he lay back in the bed.
“I don’t want you to be controlled, Shawn. I want you to be wild like you always were before,” Kenzi said in a hoarse whisper.
“Like I said, I aim to please. What’s mine is yours and you can do whatever you want with it.”
“Mmm…I can’t wait. It’ll be
hard
to wait until you get back to Farmington,” Kenzi moaned into the phone.
“Yeah, it’ll be
hard
until I get back there,” Shawn replied looking down at the bulge in his pants.
“Well, the
harder
it is, the better the reception,” Kenzi teased licking her lips unconsciously.
“That’s definitely true. Too bad you never got into phone sex and that you can’t come down here,” Shawn said as he conjured up an image of Kenzi naked from a few days earlier when she had woken up to find him in her room.
“Phone sex is cheap besides I like to draw out the anticipation for you. It’ll make it even better when you get back,” Kenzi replied. “This phone call is going to cost you a fortune. We better get off of here.”
“Okay. I’ll talk to you later,” Shawn said.
“Okay, I’ll talk to you later too. I love you.”
“I love you, too. Hey, Kenzi?”
“Yeah?”
“What were you wearing when my dad knocked on the door?”
“That nightgown,” Kenzi responded cheerfully.
“What?” Shawn asked sitting up in bed.
“But he couldn’t see it because it was covered up by the robe. Good-night and sweet dreams my love,” Kenzi said and hung up the phone.
“Yeah, goodnight,” Shawn said looking at the phone. “I’ll be dreaming of you all night in that nightgown.”
Shawn undressed and turned off the lights. Looking down towards his legs as he crawled into bed he said, “You better stay down buddy or we’ll never make it through this trip.”
Chapter 16
Shawn crouched in a dingy hallway waiting for Garret, the kidnapper. He couldn’t believe some people lived this way. The stench of urine was overpowering and he’d had to stifle the urge to stomp on some cockroaches the size of rats. He’d stepped in something on his way in and wasn’t quite sure he wanted to know what it was.
Stern and Kent had called him early that morning to tell him they’d located Garret and they were going to stake him out for a while before grabbing him. Shawn had been waiting in this dim vermin infested hallway for an hour when he heard Brown’s shrill voice whisper to close in.
Shawn patted his chest and shoulders to be sure the Kevlar vest was in place and then took his gun out of the shoulder holster. Sweat trickled down his back as he slowly made his way to the door and Stern met him there.
“Get to the side and knock. Be sure to stay away from the door, he may just shoot through it if he knows who we are,” Stern whispered standing to the left of the door that was barely hanging by its rusty hinges.
Shawn stood to the right and knocked on the door. Stern called out that he was under arrest and the door seemed to explode. Stern motioned for him to go in first and he’d cover.
Shawn ducked inside and came face to face with the most hideous man he’d ever seen. His greasy white blond hair hang in limp curls grimy from living in filth, his face was a mixture of acne, burn, and knife scars. What stood out most to Shawn in those moments was the tattoo on his forehead.
It read
If I’m going to die, I’m taking you to Hell with me!!!
“Get your gun on him,” Stern shouted from behind Shawn.
Shawn wasn’t quick enough he felt a stinging pain that seemed to rip his left shoulder apart. He fell to the ground hearing Stern yell at Garret to drop the gun and put his hands in the air.
Pulling his greasy hair back, Garret shouted, “Read it, shithead! I ain’t going down without a fight!”
From out of nowhere a board materialized in Garret’s hand and Shawn could feel it striking his neck and head but only vaguely. He seemed to be watching from somewhere else above his body. He watched as Stern fired a bullet right between Garret’s eyes.
Shawn could hear Stern calling for Brown and Kent to get an ambulance in there. Suddenly he was sucked back into his body and there was intense pain. His shoulder and his head throbbed and he looked up at Stern through glazed pain-filled eyes.
“Kenzi, call Kenzi,” Shawn said and sank into unconsciousness.
“Damn it! Where’s the ambulance?” Stern called out to Brown.
“Just got here, boss. On their way up.”
Stern grabbed Shawn’s wallet so he could immediately get in contact with his family rather than having to cut through the FBI’s bureaucratic bullshit and wait until they were ready to release the information to the hospital.
Looking over at Garret’s lifeless body he snarled, “That’s the end of your road, buddy, and I Megan it leads you straight to Hell! You won’t be taking anyone with you this time.”
Kenzi was reading a romantic thriller when the phone rang. Hating to put the book down she dog-eared the page and answered the phone.
“Hello?”
“Mrs. Douglass?”
“No, this is the former Mrs. Douglass, Kenzi Fromier. Who is this?”
“This is Agent Stern. I am working a case with Shawn Douglass and you’re his contact person on his ID card.”
Kenzi sat straight up in bed, immediately on alert. “What happened? Is he all right?”
“He was wounded while we were bringing in the guilty party, ma’am. He wanted me to call you.”
“What happened?” Kenzi asked frantically.
“He’s in a temporary coma induced by some head trauma and was shot in the shoulder. He had to have emergency surgery to remove the bullet and fix the ligaments it went through.”
“Where? I’ll be there as soon as I can, just tell me where,” Kenzi said as she pulled on jeans and pulled her nightgown over her head.
“He’s in Memphis at St. Anthony’s Memorial hospital. There’s a flight leaving in a half hour from Farmington, the bureau has already booked your seat,” Stern said and hung up the phone.
Kenzi rushed around grabbing shoes, socks, and trying to put on a bra at the same time. Dropping Sunshine off at Greta's she practically flew to the airport.
Kenzi was ready to hit the dorky man at the registration booth but managed to suppress her anger until she was safely aboard the plane. A flight attendant with bleached blond hair asked her why she was so jittery but Kenzi was in no mood to respond politely.
The elderly lady sitting next to Kenzi patted her hand and said, “Everything will be alright. Have a little faith.”
“My husband’s been shot and is lying in the hospital in a coma, ma’am. I’m sorry if my faith is running a little low,” Kenzi replied sarcastically.
“Pray for him, dear. In your heart you know he will be fine and you will see that when you get to him,” the woman said and turned to look out the window as the plane took off.
Kenzi quickly said a prayer and spent two miserable hours on the plane waiting to get to Shawn. She’d kill him if he died on her.
She got to the hospital and the nurses wouldn’t let her in to see him.
“I’m sorry visiting hours are from 8am to 5pm unless you are immediate family,” one called, as Kenzi stood at the station ready to pull their hair out.
“I am Shawn Douglass’s WIFE!!! Let me see him, now!” Kenzi thundered at her daring her to try and contradict the statement.
“Room 735 west wing, Mrs. Douglass.”
Kenzi ran towards the elevators and the west wing. Her legs were burning by the time she reached the elevators and no matter how many times she pushed the button the elevator wouldn’t come.
“This is a nightmare! This is a fucking nightmare!” Kenzi screamed and a young doctor came over to her.
“Is everything okay, ma’am?” he asked.
“No, everything is not okay. My husband is up on the seventh floor in a coma with a gunshot wound and I cannot get to him because these elevators are taking forever and a day,” Kenzi replied turning on him with eyes blazing.
“Oh. Well, let us know if you need anything,” he said as his face turned red and he walked away.
The bell on the elevator finally dinged and Kenzi jumped in, pushing the door close button so no one else could get on. Finally, the door opened up and she ran to the nurse’s station.
“Room 735. Where is it?” Kenzi asked grabbing a small oriental nurse by the shoulders.
“Down that hall and at the very end. Are you his wife? The Kenzi he keeps mumbling about in his sleep?”
“I better be. I’m the only Kenzi he knows and he’s my husband,” Kenzi replied as she ran down the hall to Shawn’s room.
The doctor was leaving as she was running into the room and she ran right into him.
“Mrs. Douglass?” he asked looking at her.
“Yes. How is he? Will he be okay?” Kenzi asked looking towards the bed but she could only see his feet.
“He has a mild concussion and we've brought him out of the coma but he is asleep right now. His shoulder will take a while to be like new and will need physical therapy after the wound heals, Mrs. Douglass.”
“But he’s okay, right?” Kenzi asked with relief in her voice.
“Yes, he’ll be fine. He’ll be released a couple days as long as it looks like the prognosis is still good. Go see your husband, Mrs. Douglass.”
Kenzi walked over to Shawn and took his hand. His head was bandaged and one eye was swollen darkly. His shoulder was bandaged tightly and propped up with a pillow.
“Thank you, God for not taking him away from me,” Kenzi whispered.
Shawn could sense her the moment she walked into the room. Her scent was the same and just to feel her hand in his was comforting. His brain conjured up unknown images as he succumbed to sleep and dreams.
A man watched the house. Kenzi could be seen through the windows as she changed clothes and it was exciting the man.
Shawn could see himself walk into the room with Kenzi. They kissed and began to make love to each other. And still the man watched with wicked thoughts running through his brain.
Shawn could hear the thoughts in his mind and they all involved Kenzi. He could feel the man’s obsession with her and yet was powerless to do anything as he watched himself through this man’s eyes as he made love to Kenzi.
The dream faded as Shawn’s senses came alive. Sweat was pouring from him as his shoulder and head throbbed in pain. Kenzi’s hand was still clutched in his. He fought to open his eyes and end the nightmare because last he saw the man visualize raping and killing Kenzi.