Time To Shake Things Up

Another month came and went. Damon had agreed it was worth trying to look into what Zach looked like when he was younger. The issue was that the holidays made it harder to actually get it done. I had been busy getting things taken care of at Amethyst and he was swamped at Tipton Enterprises.

Now things were finally calming down though. We could get back on track again. Justin had continued trying to get information while we were busy but it was hard. With Damon being too busy to back him he didn't get very far. At least he had tried though.

"Are you ready to get going?" Damon asked as he finished up his breakfast.

"Yeah." I nodded.

It was January now. Damon's birthday was soon and the opening of the second Amethyst was coming in the next two months. The wedding would follow soon after. We planned to have this Zach taken care of by then but it was becoming unlikely.

We had enjoyed the holidays and there was no trace of him since he found out Damon was looking around. It had been too quiet and that made me uneasy. I was getting more and more on edge as time went on. I tried not letting it bother me but this seemed so odd.

Why come back and tell us you're here to finish the job? Then spend two months in hiding. There were only two reasons I could think of. Either Damon had made it too difficult and he got scared, or he was getting off on keeping us on edge. My bet was the second option.

"You're thinking about it again aren't you?" Damon asked. He could read me like a book at this point.

"Yeah." I sighed as I answered.

"I know this isn't easy. It's starting to piss me off too." He spoke honestly. "We'll find him Love. He can't hide forever."

"I know." I knew Damon was right. When he was determined he didn't stop until he had reached his goal. This time that goal was finding this man and making him answer for what he did. "I just wish it was sooner rather than later."

"Believe me, if I could've I would have had this man figured out from day one. Unfortunately we just have to work with what we've got." Damon responded.

"I know." I let out another sigh.

"Let's go." He stood up from the dining table.

I got up and followed behind him. We still took the same car together for safety precautions. However there was one change. Our driver was now Spencer. Cody was now only handling the head of security duty. His job was to make sure we were protected and that our guards were where they needed to be.

Damon had changed his position so that Cody could focus on Julie. Damon understood how big of a deal a baby was. He wanted to make sure Cody had the chance to experience everything he had with Scarlett. I was glad he had done so, it had made Julie a lot happier to not feel so alone.

We dropped Sterling off at school and then the car headed for Amethyst. When it pulled up to the store my heart dropped into my stomach. Someone had broken the window. Things inside looked like a complete mess. The look on my face was a mix of shock and horror, I had never expected something like this.

"Stay here." Damon ordered.

"No." I protested. "I want to go inside. This is my store, I need to see the damage that's been done."

"Kaydence-" I knew he was about to fight back so I cut him off.

"Damon, let me go in with you." I was stern as I held my ground.

"Sir, let me do a sweep first and make sure the intruder is not still inside." Spencer spoke up from the front seat.

"Alright." Damon nodded and then turned his attention to me. "Once he's cleared it then we can go inside."

"Thank you." That was a deal I could live with. If it wasn't safe then neither of us should go inside anyway.

Spencer got out of the car and we both watched as he entered the store. We waited patiently for him to return. The fact that the store seemed quiet must be a good thing. If someone was inside then we would know it by the sound of some sort of struggle.

Damon took advantage of the time we waited. He called Stacey to inform her that he would be late. He then called to notify the police. He hung up his phone and turned his attention back to the store, waiting for Spencer.

"The police will be here soon." He spoke. I noticed the slight hint of annoyance in his voice.

"Is that a bad thing?" I asked.

"No." He responded. "But I doubt there's much they'll do about this themselves. They've been pretty much useless during this whole thing."

He was referring to the shooting. The police hadn't gotten anywhere with it. Usually when he needed something from them they had it in a matter of hours. This time though, it had gone cold and it bugged him.

The only thing that I think helped keep him sane is he still visited Dr. Henrie once a month. He hadn't let the post traumatic stress disorder take over even with him on edge. I was grateful for that. I felt like I had to really watch him at first when Zach had made himself known. To my surprise it seemed that I was the one who was struggling a little more with this. Damon helped keep me grounded and thinking clearly.

Spencer finally returned to the car. "Everything is clear."

"Let's go take a look then." Damon spoke as he got out of he car.

He held my hand as we walked into the store. My stomach was in knots as I saw the clothes all over the place. The mannequins were knocked over as well. The entire place was a total disaster. There was no way we could open like this. Especially with the broken window.

We checked everything. No money had been taken and no clothes were stolen. It was all accounted for. It became obvious that this was not a thief who had come in to do this. No, this was someone sending a message.

The police arrived and inspected things themselves. They looked around for evidence but didn't find much. The security tapes were pulled but the intruder had made sure he couldn't be seen. That alone only confirmed my suspicions.

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" I asked.

"That this was probably done by our culprit." Damon responded.

"Yup." I agreed. "I guess he must've figured it was time to shake things up again."