Page 29 of Shadow of Fear
She couldn’t imagine going back there at all until the shooter targeting her was apprehended. Targeting her. Not just her. Her friends now, too.
Which brought her back to wondering if Dev and Colin had come under attack.
“Come on, child,” Sandy said. “Focus now and let’s pray.”
Sandy gripped her hand tightly and led the three of them in a prayer for the men’s safety. And for Kinsley’s and Jada’s safety, too. Kinsley added Sandy’s name at the end for good measure.
Sandy clutched her shirt at the chest. “You can’t think that I am in danger too.”
She didn’t want to tell the truth and worry Sandy, but she wouldn’t sugarcoat it. “I think anyone who is near me is in danger. So that would include you and all the men who are trying to protect me.”
“I agree with her, Mom,” Jada said. “Which means you need to stay in the house unless someone else is with you.”
“Well, of course if you think that’s what I need to do, then that’s what I’ll do.” She skimmed her hand over her hair as if to straighten it when every piece of the chin-length cut was already in perfect order.
This was her go-to move when she was extremely stressed, adding to Kinsley’s worry.
No. Let it go. Let God take over. He’ll protect everyone. He just has to.
“Look at this.” Jada lifted out of the box a pair of cropped T-shirts displaying graphics of the Backstreet Boys. “The best boy band ever.”
“We had such terrible crushes on them.” Kinsley took her shirt and held it up against her chest. It featured Kevin Richardson, and Jada’s shirt held a picture of Nick Carter.
Jada raised an eyebrow. “Among other people.”
Kinsley wasn’t sure who she was referring to, but maybe Jada had known about her secret crush on Dev.
“I don’t know.” Kinsley hugged her shirt against her chest. “There was no one like Kevin. He was so dreamy.”
Kinsley laughed, and Jada joined in.
Sandy snickered. “All I know is if I had to hear any of their records one more time, I might’ve lost my sanity.”
“Was it that bad?” Jada asked.
“Worse,” Sandy said. “I thought when they played a concert in Portland, and we couldn’t get tickets, the two of you might take off on your own and try to get backstage.”
Kinsley glanced at Jada and then back at Sandy. “We talked about it.”
“I knew it!” Sandy pumped her fist.
Kinsley got into the fun of things and slipped on her T-shirt over her blouse, then pointed at Kevin’s picture. “Do you blame us? Just look at him. A dreamier teenage heartthrob never existed. I was so-o-o in love with him.”
She started to twirl like a lovesick teenager and found the front door had silently opened. Dev held the handle and stared at her, a question in his eyes.
She pointed at her shirt. “Kevin Richardson. The Backstreet Boys. My teenage crush.”
He tightened his jaw. “Glad you’re having fun.”
He was upset about something. Did he really think they shouldn’t be having fun while he was working on her behalf? Or did her teenage crush on Kevin bother him? Why would he care about that silly crush? He wouldn’t. Short of reading his mind or asking him about it, she wouldn’t get an answer. Best to just move on.
“Just trying to pass the time until you got back,” she said, hoping to placate him. “You were gone for so long, I was worried. Did you run into trouble?”
He grimaced. “We should sit down and talk about that.”
“That doesn’t sound good.” She quickly removed her T-shirt, taking care not to damage it. “Did someone get hurt?”
“No, we’re both fine.” He gestured at the sofa. “Go ahead and take a seat so we can talk.”
His dire tone completely erased her good mood. Whatever Dev had to say wasn’t going to be good news for sure. Part of her wished he would just rip the Band-Aid off and come out with it. The other part of her, the biggest part of her, didn’t want to hear the news. Not at all.
