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Livvy dodged to the officer’s side so she wouldn’t get in the way if he had to shoot.
Treven lifted his hands. Then he grabbed the guy next to him and threw him at the officer. The man knocked into the officer and the gun went off.
Livvy screamed and ran for her house. She had to get away from Treven.
Treven sprinted the opposite direction, vaulting over a fence and calling to her, “I’ll be back for you!”
Livvy reached the back patio as the other officer came out.
“You’re all right?” he asked.
“Yes … but help …” She couldn’t catch a breath. She pointed at the officer and criminal on the ground.
“Don’t move, please.”
She nodded. She’d stay as close to these officers as she could. She glanced around at the hole in her bedroom wall and the men on the ground.
Her beautiful house, her safe space, had been invaded, vandalized, and destroyed. Shock filled her. All her faith and bravery had been for nothing.
The officer helped his friend push the other guy off him. The criminal wasn’t moving, and blood covered his chest.
Livvy’s body shook. Her vision had cleared, but her head spun and her ears continued to ring.
The adrenaline wore off, but the horror hit her full force. Treven had somehow escaped from prison. He’d blown a hole in her house to get to her, unafraid of Jensen’s men, and he and this man had almost kidnapped her.
Livvy leaned against the door frame, revolted and dazed. Her bravery and independence dwindled in the face of ominous reality. Treven would keep coming until he kidnapped her and somehow forced her to marry him.
Would she ever be safe from that monster?
Chapter Seven
Jensen sped through Livvy’s quiet neighborhood, slamming on his brakes and parking the Volvo in her driveway. He’d been awakened twenty minutes ago by a call from one of his officers. Two men had blown a hole in Livvy’s bedroom wall and tried to kidnap her. She believed one of them was Treven Rindlesbacher.
He’d never want to doubt or discount Livvy but it couldn’t be Treven. There had been no prison breaks. Someone had to be impersonating Treven to terrify her.
Livvy had been so brave when he left. What if she’d had a breakdown with the attack and near-kidnapping and somehow in her mind believed it was Treven who’d come after her?
He sprinted onto her porch and into her house. Officers turned to look at him. Some started toward him, but he could only focus on one person.
“Livvy.”
She was on her couch, her legs tucked up under her, with her arms wrapped around her legs. Her beautiful brown skin was tear stained. She looked tiny, much younger and not as independent, but still devastatingly beautiful. Her gaze met his, and Jensen was sick at the devastation in her eyes.
She was looking at him, but she probably didn’t even know he was here. He’d seen that look when helping those suffering from abuse. Livvy refused to label herself a victim and was braver than anyone he knew, but everyone had a breaking point. She’d worked so hard to be independent and thought she was safe in her beautiful home, and she had gotten hit exactly where it would hurt to strip away her confidence.
He’d felt the same way when he’d listened to his respected partner, Peter, and protected Hattie Ballard from Treven framing her with murder years ago. He’d known it was the right thing to do, despite how hard it had been to not follow the law to exactness. They had to protect that innocent young lady from Treven’s schemes. Then Hattie had returned and the Rindlesbachers had struck again, killing again and making a nightmare out of everything. They knew exactly how to set someone up and devastate them. Even with William dead and Treven in Jensen’s secure prison, it felt like they were one step ahead of him.
Sergeant Laramie came from the bedrooms and toward him. “Chief Jensen.”
“Give us a moment,” Jensen said.
The man nodded, glanced at Livvy, then motioned to the other officers.
Jensen slowly approached, afraid to spook her. He sank onto his knees so they were eye level with each other. He didn’t touch her, though he longed to hold her, comfort her, and reassure her.
“Livvy?”
Her gaze was vacant.
