Kick Home Extended Preview Scene

My Babe

Thomas

“Kick… everything all right in here?” I knocked lightly on the bedroom door while entering the surprisingly darkened bedroom. She’d taken longer than expected to change out of her work clothes. They usually flew off as fast as her fingers could fly—especially the bra—when Kick had declared her day’s end.

“Shh…” She waved at me as she leaned around the drapes at one window from a kneeling position. It looked like she was filming something with her phone. “Get down. And shut the door.”

I scratched my chin. “Are you recording the snow?”

“No. A person,” Kick murmured while studying the fuzzy image. “A peeper, really.”

I crept over to her position and squatted behind her. “What the fuck?” I said, peering over her shoulder. A young man paced the sidewalk across from her side yard. Every minute or so, he’d stop and glare. I ducked, even though he probably couldn’t see us in the dark. “The son of a bitch is staring this way.”

“I know,” Kick answered. “The little shit watched me undress.”

An icy chill tap-danced up my spine. “What? Why didn’t you say something?”

She cleared her throat. Come to think of it, her voice sounded wrong. Scratched. “I tried, but nothing came out. My vocal chords locked up, probably from shock. Anyway, when my heartbeat settled down, I figured I’d spy back on him.” She adjusted the image. “He can’t keep at it much longer. If it hadn’t been for the storm, a neighbor would’ve noticed him by now.”

The peeper stopped pacing and looked up toward the second floor. Kick gasped. “Do you think he can see into Rachel’s room?”

“Maybe.” It was a good guess, actually, but I didn’t want to agitate her more. I started hashing a plan in my head to take care of it.

Kick adjusted her glasses and squinted. “It can’t be Cody wanting her back. He’s too lazy to go out in this weather. You think it’s whoever’s been harassing Snow?”

Anger spiked over these two women I cared about being violated this way. I pulled my phone out of my pocket and brought up the Angel security app. I told it to play the video feed at the house for the past thirty minutes. The system Banger had installed operated like any voice assistant service, except it ran on a private network. Kick let me monitor her properties along with mine and vice versa.

“Why didn’t I think of that?” She said as she shook her head.

“I’ve had Angel for years,” I said absently as I studied the footage. “It’s new to you.” I saw the figure—conveniently dressed head to toe in black winter gear—move past the front of the house then disappear as if he were a regular neighbor passing by.

Shit. “Looks like he’s found a hole in the camera coverage. Bet he knows how to spot the cameras.” But how would that be?

Kick looked at me over her shoulder. “I thought he ran away after I caught him staring, but something told me to keep a lookout for a bit in case he came back. When he showed up across the street and just stood there, my alarm bells really rang. I mean, if he was a regular peeper, wouldn’t he just move on to another house? Or maybe I’m still on edge after Halloween and everything. Anyway, that’s why I started filming. I should’ve texted you though. Sorry, cowboy. My brain kind of shorted.”

I kissed her head and stood while texting Banger. Maybe he could see something in the footage.

“You think it’s Jonn?” Kick asked as she fussed with her glasses again.

“Isn’t he on an ankle monitor?” I tried to get a better look over her shoulder. From this distance, it could have been any young man.

“Right. Plus, he was mad about the business, right? It was the café he tried to hurt.”

That’s what I had thought until the kidnapping attempt, but again, I didn’t want to stress her further. I simply had to get to the bottom of it. I shifted back to stand. “I’ll gather Dylan and Dummy and see if we can flank this guy—”

“Hank,” Kick said.

I pointed out the window. “Do you recognize him?”

She shook her head. “Not the peeping twerp. We’re calling Dummy Hank now. Well, I talked him into beta-testing it with me but, you should be on the team too. You know, so he can see how sounds from a masculine voice.”

Not for the first time, I wondered how the hell Kick kept all her thoughts spinning continuously without driving herself mad. “Will you focus on yourself and the kids for a damn minute?”

“I can walk and chew gum. Or in this case, film and think about the family. Besides, Hank needs someone to protect his future. He’s been so beaten by his family, he won’t do it.”

I gripped the back of my neck, taking in everything as I crossed the room. “Fine… Hank.” With that settled, my mind ran through potential scenarios to handle the guy outside. I called over my shoulder, “Oh, and keep the dog in the house.” Couldn’t have any barks give us away and spoil my plans. Plans that might involve fists and threats. My patience had run out with this shit.

Kick stood and followed me. “No problem. I’ll quickly close her dog door before I grab my coat.”

“Your coat?” Oh shit. I didn’t like where this was headed. No way would I let her near whomever this was. My shoulders moved back as if with their own resoluteness as my arms folded across my chest. “You need to gather the girls and the dog. Stay in the loft, out of sight.”

Kick approached and placed her hand over my heart. “Remember our promises to each other at the oak tree?”

“No.” Of course I did, but this was different. My promises to keep Kick and her family safe came first.

“Yes, you do.” She went up on her tiptoes and kissed the underside of my jaw. It was this weird yet cute thing she’d started doing. Probably had to do with the way my jaw flexed when I stressed about something. Like most things Kick did, I liked it. It settled me.

“I know you can fight this battle for me, but what if we did it together? Back-to-back, like we talked about when you gave me the bracelet.”

I closed my eyes and silently counted.

“Have you reached ten yet?” she asked.

I opened an eyelid and saw her brow raised.

“Nine… ten.”

“Good.” She squeezed each of my shoulders slowly. “You can still wear your shining armor. Just let me wear my own.” The corner of her mouth ticked up. “Think of it as the kind the female characters wear in video games.”

Then my brow raised, envisioning Kick as an elvish wet dream.

She didn’t give me a chance to respond. “I want to ask my own questions, get answers firsthand. With you at my side, I’ll feel safe enough to do it. Please don’t turn it into a fight between us.”

“Aw hell.” I pinched the bridge of my nose and growled. What did she plan to do after this? Walk into a tiger’s den and make it purr?

Thank you for reading this extended preview. I hope you loved it. If you think you’d like to participate in my ARC team—receive a free e-book copy of Kick Home in exchange for an honest review on release day—click on the Contact Me tab and send an email (or hit reply on the newsletter) and let me know. I have a handy Google Doc for you to fill out.

All the best,

Kallyn