Why hadn’t I connected those dots? My hand clenches around my beer and Tanner doesn’t miss the frustration on my face.

“I can’t believe it,” he scoffs.

“What I can tell you is this.” I rub the back of my neck. “Kinsley and I have a private investigator we are working with regarding shit that I’m not going to mention. I gave him the registration and he has hacked into Kinsley’s cameras to set up a notification to ping him if the car is spotted outside her apartment. She is safe there.”

“Who does the car belong to?” Tanner snaps, his mind filtering through the information.

“Let me bring up the information Stanley — uh the P.I sent to me. He sent me all the information he found.” I stumble my words, rushing to get my laptop out of the case. Why did I not look at the reports? Tanner moves to hover around me as I bring up my emails.

Opening the first document, the name under the heading REGISTRATION stands out, it takes me a few seconds before I realise where I have seen it before. Lance Harding. Fourteen years ago, he was charged with the abduction of a seventeen year old girl. Kinsley’s dad was a Police Officer at the time and he was assigned to the case. The case was open for two days before they tracked him down and were able to pin him on several charges. He was serving fifteen years behind bars. It was on the third day straight of Kinsley’s dad – Warren – working on the case, that he finally returned home.y the time morning came around, he, himself, had disappeared.

“Talk to me, Jesse”

“Back when we were kids, the owner of the vehicle was charged with abduction, amongst other things, in Greenswood. Kinsley’s dad was the lead police officer on the case.”

“So? Why would he be coming after Kinsley? Do you think he is attempting to seek revenge on her father?”

“Maybe,” I say, more so to myself. Tanner doesn’t know that Kinsley’s dad went missing; I don’t think he knows anything about her family’s past.

Tanner is typing away on his phone. “We need to find this fucker. What else do you know about him?”

“I’ve got a garage address for the vehicle, but Tanner these guys aren’t ones you want to mess with.”

Tipping his head back, he finishes his beer and places it down on the counter. “I’ll send you my email address and I want you to forward everything you know about him to me. Do that and I’ll give you the time you need to tell Kinsley about all this.”

Before I can answer, he turns and leaves.

Without knowing it, and by trying to protect her, Tanner is now digging into Kinsley’s past. A decision which could cause more trouble than he intends.

Chapter Seventeen

Kinsley