Kris nodded her agreement, then, sensing Shelby's discomfort, reached over and squeezed her hand. "Fine. But I'll be waiting right outside and if I even hear him raise his voice, I'm coming in."
Shelby smiled and gave Kris' hand an answering squeeze, resenting the tendril of fear she felt at the prospect of facing her stepfather. "Well, it's now or never."
Jonathan tried to ignore the insistent knocking, until it finally filtered through his beer-induced sleep. Dragging himself up to a sitting position on the couch, he shook the cobwebs from his mind. He'd been furious when the cops had rousted him from bed that morning, asking him to provide proof of his whereabouts the previous evening, and when they'd departed, he'd sought solace in a six-pack of Budweiser.
He stalked angrily to the door, prepared to threaten the officers with harassment charges, knowing they had absolutely no evidence to tie him to the shooting. Totally oblivious to his appearance, Jonathan pulled open the door, his glare turning to a look of surprise at the sight of his stepdaughter and her bodyguard.
Shelby looked at the stubble covering Jonathan's face and the red-rimmed eyes squinting against the sunlight before taking in the grayish T-shirt and boxer shorts he was wearing. She suddenly wondered why she'd never been able to fully escape from her childhood fear of this pathetic man. The last time she'd seen him was in the courtroom. He'd been in complete control then, particularly when he'd uttered his threat against her, making certain he wasn't overheard. Now she was seeing the unvarnished version, and it finally sank in just how weak he was without anyone to bully or abuse.
The analyst had no intention of letting her guard down, knowing her stepfather was still very dangerous, especially since his plans to move in with Lisa were being threatened. However, Shelby's lingering fear faded as she looked at him objectively, and she found herself feeling a mix of contempt and revulsion.
Shelby glanced quickly at Kris, but was unable to read any expression on her enigmatic companion's face. Keeping her voice neutral, she asked, "Aren't you going to invite us in?"
Jonathan swallowed uneasily at the unforeseen visit from his stepdaughter and began backing out of the doorway. "Yeah, come on in. I'll be right back."
Kris tensed, watching the door down the narrow hallway through which Jonathan had disappeared. Her peripheral vision scanned the interior of the trailer, and she was disgusted by the rank smell of garbage left sitting too long. Beer cans squashed to a fraction of their size lay scattered on the floor around the couch and end table. Some guests on the Jerry Springer show were screaming their hatred for each other from a small television set, and she smiled her appreciation when her partner turned it off.
Her eyes landed on the barrel of a rifle, barely visible in a corner behind the entry door. She moved toward it, her eyes still trained on the hallway, and spared it a quick glance. Kris quickly determined it was a 20-gauge shotgun and immediately eliminated it as the weapon used in either shooting.
Kris could see Shelby still standing in the middle of the living room, shaking her head with a look of disgust on her face. That pretty much mirrored her own thoughts.
Shelby spoke quietly, not wanting her voice to carry beyond the room. "He never used to be like this."
Drolly, Kris commented, "He never had to clean up after himself before. He thrives on manipulation and control. Without anyone to bully, he's lost. Power is the whole focus of his life."
Jonathan reappeared a few moments later, clean-shaven and wearing jeans. He smiled with practiced ease. "Sorry for the mess. It's been a rough day." Looking at the large bandage on Shelby's arm, he added, "I'm glad you're okay. You really should get a safer job."
Shelby rolled her eyes at Jonathan's feigned concern and glanced at her tall companion.
Kris nodded imperceptibly. "I'll be waiting outside." She stared at Jonathan, delivering an unspoken warning, and smiling inwardly at the flicker of apprehension appearing in his pale blue eyes.
When the tall woman left, Jonathan crossed his arms, his smile disappearing. "I'm surprised you sent your bodyguard outside. Aren't you afraid of me?" His voice took on a derisive tone. "You must be, since you sicced the cops on me." He sighed in mock injury. "You never give up, do you?"
Shelby shook her head incredulously. "I never give up? You're the one that keeps pressuring Mom to take you back. You might have her fooled, but you can't fool me."
"It's not an act. I love your mother."
"You love to manipulate and bully her." Shelby gazed deeply into her stepfather's eyes. "It's only me and you now – no witnesses. So how about telling the truth? Did you shoot at me last night?"
"No, I didn't." Jonathan grinned malevolently, deciding to have a little fun since there were no witnesses. "It's too bad that guy missed, though. It would've been satisfying to have witnessed your death."
Shelby was chilled by the words, but refused to show any fear. And he had piqued her curiosity. "You saw the guy that did it?"
Jonathan assumed the intimidating stature he had wielded successfully against Shelby as a child and grinned cruelly. Enunciating each word, he spoke slowly and clearly. "Yeah. Seems I'm not the only one who would like you permanently gone. Great minds think alike."
Refusing to allow her stepfather control of the conversation, Shelby calmly asked, "What did the guy look like?"
Jonathan smiled smugly. "You really think I'm going to tell you? Maybe he'll be luckier next time."
Keeping her irritation hidden, Shelby returned his smile. "I'm sure Mom will be interested to hear you witnessed the shooting. I don't think you'll be moving in anytime soon."
Angry that the fear he'd expected to see in her eyes was absent, Jonathan decided to give his stepdaughter a physical reminder of whom she was dealing with. In two quick steps, he closed the distance between them and cruelly grabbed Shelby's injured arm, squeezing. "You little bitch. It's your word against mine. I'm warning you now, keep your mouth shut about me to your mother or there will be two of us after you, and both of us aren't going to miss."
When her former stepfather squeezed her injured arm, Shelby's face paled and she gasped in pain, reflexively pulling away and holding her arm protectively with her other hand, tears welling in her eyes. Very pleased he'd gotten the response he wanted, Jonathan brutally shoved her.
Angered by the triumph visible on her stepfather's face, Shelby grabbed the doorframe, refusing to allow him to physically dismiss her. Her eyes started flashing as she launched a verbal counterattack. "Feel better now? You really get off on attacking women and children, don't you? You're pathetic. You had a real opportunity to get help and just went through the motions. And I do plan on filing assault charges against you." Keeping her eyes on her stepfather, Shelby called out, "Hey, Kris, how about joining us?"
Jonathan's eyes widened at the verbal assault, and he stood there momentarily speechless in the face of Shelby's anger.
The door slammed open and Blue strode in, her anger barely under control.
The only open window had been on the far side of the trailer, and the operative cursed the extra seconds it had taken her to reach the door after hearing Shelby's gasp of pain. She'd been following the discussion intently, not wanting to invade her partner's privacy, but also not willing to leave Shelby totally at the mercy of her stepfather, should he try something.
Glancing at Shelby and witnessing the pain her partner was experiencing, Blue narrowed her eyes and focused on Jonathan, even though the analyst looked like she had the situation well in hand.
She bore down on Jonathan as he backed away, trapping him against the far wall of the trailer. "You bastard!"