Page 76 of Unseen Danger
“It was my fault in a way. I was friendly with him like I tried to be with everyone who responded to that. I let him out of the pod to go on his maintenance shift, and we chatted like usual. I let him go around the desk, get behind me, and I didn’t turn to watch him.” The worst mistake she’d ever made in her life. Trusting someone like Walter Johnson. Thinking someone like him could be a friend and would respond to her kindness like people should.
She stopped. If she went any closer to it, she’d risk flashbacks, a PTSD episode. She loved these girls, but they didn’t need to see that first thing in the morning.
The humor in the thought gave her the strength to quirk her mouth and find distance from the memory. “You know how it is. Somebody does something to you, but they blame you for it. He’d only had one year left to serve at the time. So I was the reason he had to do more time. I heard he was pretty mad about that.”
“That’s insane.” Anger undergirded Bris’s statement.
“Yeah.” A laugh somehow found its way to the surface and escaped Nevaeh’s mouth. “That’s a good word for him.” She fought not to picture his face, the craziness in his eyes as he’d—
Sof suddenly got to her feet, startling Raksa into standing. She stalked around the coffee table and stopped by Nevaeh, then sat on the edge of the table in front of her.
Raksa followed the odd path, stopping to smell Jana when he arrived by the love seat.
“Was there a motive for the attack?” Sof’s dark gaze held something Nevaeh hadn’t seen there before—a blend of fury and compassion that seemed to throw sparks from her eyes.
Nevaeh cleared her throat, unable to look away. But to answer she’d have to remember what he said, have to hear his voice in her head. She couldn’t risk that.
Jazz gently squeezed Nevaeh’s leg.
Nevaeh knew what she meant without looking. She nodded.
“He wanted Nevaeh to give him her car keys so he could escape.” Jazz’s voice was thick with emotion as she explained. “It was a stupid plan. None of the COs were allowed to keep any personal keys with them in the prison. And there was no way he could’ve gotten all the way out without other officers stopping him anyway.”
She paused and gave Nevaeh another squeeze. “He got angry when she wouldn’t help him escape. And he claimed she’d been stringing him along, flirting with him. Which, of course, she never did. She was only trying to treat all the inmates like human beings.”
“I get the picture.” Sof’s eyes sparked enough for lightning to be housed in them. She put her small hands on Nevaeh’s. Possibly a more startling thing than the man staring in her window last night. Sof was never a toucher. Never.
“Where is he now?” Her voice held a sharp, barely restrained anger, like she was ready to finish him right now if she found out his location. Was that for Nevaeh’s sake?
Her cold hands warmed beneath Sof’s touch and protective passion. “He would be out now. His sentence was done seven weeks ago.”
Sof looked deeply into Nevaeh’s eyes. “You’ve got this. And you know we’ve got your back.”
Nevaeh swallowed, the assurance infusing her limbs with strength, slowing the trembling in her hands and arms. She didn’t care Sof had probably noticed. Her support, no matter what, was obvious. And having a fighter like Sof in her corner sure gave a girl a boost of confidence.
“Always.” Bris nodded in agreement. “Thank you for telling us. You’re incredibly brave, Nevaeh.”
Brave. That was one thing Nevaeh never was when it came to Walter and the memory of the attack. But it was awesome of Bris, former bomb tech with nerves of steel, to say it. “Thanks.”
“Do we have a name and location for this thug?” Sof stood as she aimed the question at Cora.
“Walter Johnson. Phoenix had me locate him as soon as he was released and again three days ago.”
Nevaeh glanced at Phoenix. She shouldn’t be surprised. Of course, Phoenix knew when Walter’s sentence was up. And Nevaeh should’ve known the boss would be monitoring him and the situation. She always thought of everything.
The shadow cast by the bill of Phoenix’s gray baseball cap hid her eyes. But she seemed to be watching Nevaeh.
“He’s in the Los Angeles area of California working on a stock car racing pit crew.” Cora looked at the other women above her computer screen. “I haven’t been able to verify yet that he is actually there and showing up for work every day. His employers won’t give out that kind of information. But I believe Phoenix has a lead we might be able to use for that.” Cora angled her head toward the boss.
No surprise there either. Phoenix had connections better than a U. S. President’s.
“How likely is it Johnson would want to track you down?” Bris asked the question Nevaeh would give her right arm to know the answer to.
Her fear screamed one answer—that he must be close, in the Twin Cities, right now. But her fear had said that even when he was behind bars. “He was mad at me when they…” Her throat started to close.
Jana leaned closer and rested her head on Nevaeh’s lap, as if, like Cannenta, she knew Nevaeh needed comfort and grounding.
Nevaeh focused madly on the golden, stroking her soft fur as she forced her mind away from the memories. “When they caught him, he was furious at me. At least, that’s what they told me later.” She’d finally passed out, maybe become unconscious, when the officers came in to stop him. “They told him he wouldn’t get out for a lot longer because of what he’d done.”