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He parked the truck, turned it off, then just sat there for a moment, giving her a minute to settle.
She just wound herself up more tightly, sweat breaking out on her upper lip and forehead.
“You tell me what I’m looking for, I’ll go in there and find it for you. I’ll pack up your clothes, grab whatever you want, and you don’t have to get out of the truck at all.”
“I can’t stop seeing it.” She looked down at her hands. “There was so much blood.” She swiped one hand over the other, like she saw it plain as day and couldn’t get it off. “I couldn’t stop it. He just... He wouldn’t wake up.”
“It wasn’t your fault.”
She swiped at her tears. “It was. He should have just dropped me off and left.”
“Then you’d be dead.” The thought chilled him to the bone. “And he should have walked you to your door for exactly the reason he did. To keep you safe.”
She grunted. “I ruined the last moments of his life, just like I ruin everything with men. I broke up with him.”
What?Max’s mind did not compute that.
She opened the truck door and slipped out.
He rushed to catch up to her.
She walked with her head down, eyes on the pavement all the way to her place, which was the last unit on the end. He loved her place because it had a little courtyard with a bench out front. They used to sit out there, talk, have a beer together, and look at the stars.
Hunt and Agent Gunn were waiting outside.
Max stopped beside Kenna, hoping that having himclose eased her anxiety a little. If she broke down, or whatever, he’d be there to help her.
“Why haven’t you gone in?” he asked, wondering why they were standing out here.
Hunt turned to Kenna. “Someone broke the police tape seal and went inside, since I was last here.”
Kenna finally looked up and at her front door. “The frame’s been fixed.”
“I came back the other night after I saw you at the hospital and waited while the maintenance guy fixed it,” Hunt said.
“Who else besides you has a key to your apartment?” the agent asked.
“Kyle. My parents. My landlord, of course.” She paused. “And Max did back in the day.”
That raised an eyebrow. The agent looked at him. “Hunt filled me in on your relationship and breakup on the way here.”
Max kept his mouth shut. Being here reminded him of her and how often they spent time together here alone, just the two of them hanging out, making love, making memories.
Now the place had been tainted, but his memories weren’t.
“Can we get on with this,” Kenna snapped, getting more anxious by the second.
He could practically feel her holding herself back from running for it.
“Maybe Kyle came back to retrieve what he left?” the agent guessed.
“Wait here.” Hunt pulled his gun. “I’ll go in and clear the place first, make sure there are no surprises.”
Kenna wrapped her arms around her middle and hugged herself tight, the memory of the other night still so fresh in her mind that the horror was written on her face. Max could practically feel her fear echo through him.
He wanted to wrap his arm around her and offer her what comfort he could, but he didn’t, afraid that even cracking the door into something more than the nothing they shared now would utterly destroy him. He knew she thought the worst of him, and he reminded himself again that his place was not beside her any longer.
Hunt filled the doorway. “All clear.” He holstered his weapon. “It’s not easy to tell if something was taken or not.”
