by Emilia Finn
“Yes,” Connor agrees. “He is. He’ll always look for her.”
“So how do we stop him?”
“That’s what I’ve been trying to do all these years,” Connor’s voice almost sounds like a literal eye roll and I have to work not to beat his face in.
“So you’ve been on this for years. Years and years, and you’ve got nothing?”
“What I’ve got is that handy dandy status quo changing.”
Bobby’s brows pull tight over his eyes. “What are you talking about?”
“I mean, in all the time since she ran, he’s been looking, but he hasn’t left his ivory tower. Not once… until now.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, Frankston has his soldiers who do his legwork. But as of a couple nights ago, his entire compound is on the move.”
“Where are they going?”
“I think they’re coming here.”
I feel the buzzing fill my ears, the red hue tinge my vision, the adrenaline dump throughout my body. “Why here? We paid cash at the hospital. We didn’t file paperwork for our wedding. We haven’t done anything to flag her.”
“Seems to me a couple of you got good news recently, right?” Bobby and Jim’s eyes narrow at Connor’s question. “That was rhetorical, of course, because I see everything.”
“What’s that got to do with Tina?”
“Bowers.” Connor turns to his colleague. “Maybe you can answer this one.”
“She was arrested,” Bowers answers, though it’s more of a question.
“No! She wasn’t.” My heart is pounding in my chest, so painful I fight the urge to rub the ache away with the heel of my hand. “They were put in the drunk tank until we got there. She wasn’t arrested. None of them were.”
“They were arrested. They were finger printed. They just weren’t charged,” Bowers explains, still in that quiet voice. “I saw the paperwork. They weren’t charged, but they were run through the process. They had to run the prints.”
“So what the fuck do we do?” Jim asks, his panic almost matching mine. We’ve been so careful. She’s been so careful. And he found her anyway because of girl’s night out shenanigans? It’s not fair. The cops took them in for a laugh and because the girls were stupid drunk and needed to be looked after until we got there.
“So now we ride the wave,” Connor says nonchalantly.
I continue to count the ways I can choke this fucker out. “Ride. The wave?” I ask, the words hissing through my tight lips.
He nods. “Yep, we ride the wave. We’re one step ahead of him. We know he’s on his way, and we know what he’s looking for. So let’s figure out a way to capitalize on that.”
Thirty Five
Tina
B is for…?
Izzy and I meander through Jonah’s store, grabbing milk and bread and bits and pieces, and I smile as I watch Iz devour a king sized candy bar while she wears Bean in her baby carrier. She’s almost making love to the chocolate and I fight back my laughter and force my mind out of the gutter. I’ve been hanging around the guys too much.
Evie is standing in the cart and pointing at everything on the shelves that she wants, even stuff she has no clue its purpose.
We don’t need bug killing stuff, and we don’t need baby rattles. Although maybe we’ll buy some soon for the new babies.
Iz and Kit are both still so early, neither of them are showing at all. We have seven or eight months left to plan and buy all the cute stuff, but I am excited, and I’m looking forward to riding along on this journey with them. These babies are very much wanted.
“Isabelle?”
We both turn at Izzy’s name, the disdain in the speaker’s voice so evident we both turn defensively. I keep the cart, and Evie, behind me.
“Oh, Belle.” Iz relaxes, though not completely, just so much that I know she’s not afraid. “How are you?”
I know of Belle. I’ve been shopping in this store since we moved here. I know who she is, and I know she’s pining after a married man. Izzy’s man.
I’ve seen the times any of the guys come in, how she asks about Jim. Or worse yet, the times Jim comes in and she tries to latch on. I watch the way his eyes visually track an escape, and how he immediately regrets his family’s need for milk. I know he wishes our town had online shopping and home delivery. I’ve also been with the girls and I’ve watched Belle follow us with her eyes, shooting daggers so dangerous at Iz’s back, I’m surprised her hair isn’t singed yet.
“Where’s--”
“Please god, don’t tell me you’re going to ask about Jim. I’m his wife, ya know? Maybe try to be a little more discreet.”
“You don’t deserve him.” Belle spits. “I’ve loved him since middle school.”
My eyes flare wide at this ridiculous woman, but Iz isn’t ruffled. I’ve never met a woman more sure of her man than Izzy Hart Kincaid.
“Well that’s fine, Belle. But I do deserve him. We deserve each other, and we’re happy. It’s never going to happen for you, so for your own sake, please, just stop. Look for something else.”
“We hooked up, you know?” Belle flips her hair over her shoulder, her sharp finger nails glinting in the overhead fluorescent lights. She chews pink gum and her eyes glare at Iz. “We dated when you were pregnant with someone else’s baby. He made love to me, even while you were home crying into your ice cream.”
My eyes flare wider and I step forward, ready to take my metaphorical baseball bat and smack this bitch upside the head. What a vile thing to say to someone.
“That’s a lie.” Iz shrugs easily, not the least bit deterred. Her calm voice is the complete opposite to the voices screaming inside my head to hurt this bitch. “I know him, and I know he never touched you. You never got a single thing from him besides a bowl of pasta, and then he ditched you before dessert and came to me. I’m okay with how things worked out for us, and believe it or not, I’m genuinely happy that you got that one chance at a date. It just proves that you were never going to happen.”
“We could have, if you didn’t call him like a thirsty whore.”
“Alright.” I step forward, done with this. “That’s enough, Belle. Iz doesn’t need me to step in for her, but my daughter won’t be listening to your trash. Shut up and go away. You’re embarrassing yourself. Jim doesn’t see you.”
Belle’s eyes go soft at my words, pained. She’s hurt, and I genuinely think she has feelings for him. She might even love him, or at least she thinks she does. But the truth is, he doesn’t see her. “He doesn’t know you exist beyond being the checkout chick at Jonah’s. Move on, you’ll be happier when you do. Jim is head over heels in love with his wife, and his baby--”
“That’s not even his baby!”
“And,” I continue patiently, “the baby she’s now carrying for him. It’s over, Belle. Move on, babe. You deserve better than an existence of bitterness and pining after a married man.”
I watch as a single tear escapes her eye, then as she angrily swipes it away. She turns on her six inch heels, her perfectly cute ass clad in skin tight washed denim jeans, and her chemically blonde hair swishes with her movements, then she storms away without another word.
“I actually feel bad for her.” Iz rubs Bean’s bottom as she nestles against her mama’s chest, sleepy, but not asleep.
I nod. “Me too.”
“I genuinely think she loves him.”
I sigh. “Me too.”
“Not enough that I’m giving him to her,” she giggles then continues walking down the aisle and picks up a box of cereal. “That man is mine, and I’ve got her beat; I’ve loved him since I was six. But I do wish she found her own Jim. It’s pretty amazing being loved the way he does it.”
“She’ll find her own. One day. Though she has no chance of that until she stops pining after yours. She doesn’t deserve that until she stops focusing on Jim.”
Iz nods. “That’s true. It’s a disgusting personality trait that she�
�s okay to continue crushing on a married man. If a man cheats with you, he’s probably going to cheat on you anyway. She needs to value herself more.”
“True. Alright let’s finish up, the guys should be home soon.”
We quickly grab the last of our groceries and I keep an eye out for the front of the store. I worry that Belle will be on the checkout when we go through, but thankfully she’s still nowhere to be seen.
We bag our stuff and head out to my car, buckling the girls in to their car seats and we pull out of the lot.
“I can’t believe that just happened,” Iz murmurs introspectively, drawing my eyes away from the road. I know she’s sure of Jim, but even so, it would be work on the heart to have another woman so obviously trying to take your man. Despite her calm words earlier, I know it dug deep.
I look away before I get to speak when my phone rings through my car stereo. Iz and I both smile when Aiden’s name pops up. I don’t miss the way Iz’s mouth turns into a full smirk when she reads his contact name, but she doesn’t comment, so I hit the answer button.
“Hey baby--”
“Peaches,” he growls softly, his voice deep and a little scary, but in a sexy way. I love when he does that. He can make my knees weak with a single syllable. “I just got your text. That picture-”
That picture was of my ass, bare naked, and while I knew he’d love it, he doesn’t need to talk about it in front of Iz. “Ah actually--”
“It was hot, babe. Where are you? What time you gonna be home?”
“Ah--”
“Maybe you should drop into the gym instead. Leave bug with the guys and step into my office. I can meet you there.”
“Can you stop--”
“I’m thinking of redeeming my coupon tonight.”
I look at Iz, knowing my face must be bright red. She’s biting her knuckles to keep her laughter at bay. She’s not even trying to mind her own business. Thankfully Evie isn’t paying attention, instead playing games on the iPad.
Risking a quick glance at Iz’s puckered face, I roll my eyes, then I look back to the road and whisper, “Which coupon?” I know I gave him a handful and I’m dying to know which one he wants to use. It’s turning me on just thinking about it.
“The photo shoot. I get you and your camera for thirty minutes, and I can do as I ple--”
“Okay, stop now.”
Izzy’s laughter escapes on a snort, her hiccupping cutting through my lust fogged brain as she wipes tears from her cheeks.
“Sissy?” Aiden’s voice is a groan, deep and defeated.
“Yep,” she squeaks, her cheeks so high from her smile, her eyes are squinting half shut.
“How much of that did you hear?”
“All of it, big boy. You’re on speaker in the car.”
“Peaches! Why didn’t you stop me?”
“I tried!”
“My baby sister just heard--”
“Yeah,” I laugh as I turn from the main street and continue toward home. “She did. We’re on our way home now.”
“Okay,” he grumbles. “Love you, Peaches. See you soon. Bring your camera.”
I snort, even as Izzy bites her knuckles again. “I will. Love you too, babe. See you in a bit.”
I hit the end call button and Iz and I break out in laughter at the totally awkward conversation, but I can’t say I’m not a little excited for tonight. Evie goes to bed at seven. Bring on eight p.m. Aiden and Tina time.
I look up into my rearview mirror with a frown as a car turns the corner a few moments after we do. It’s Monday afternoon, it’s quiet. Work isn’t out yet, so the streets are pretty empty. But strangest of all, since this is such a small town, I recognize most cars now, and I tend to know who owns each one. I may not know the person, but I’ll recognize them.
But I don’t know this car. I’ve never seen it before, except just five minutes ago, parked a few spaces down from mine at Jonah’s. And earlier this morning when I drove to my studio to pick up the images that I wanted to gift the guys with. The picture of them at Jim and Iz’s wedding, with all the black eyes. I feel my skin break out in goose bumps even as I try to quell the feeling.
“Iz.”
“Hmm.” She looks up from her phone, distracted but searching my eyes even as hers still dance with laughter.
“Don’t be all obvious and stuff, but maybe take a look in your mirror. Do you know that car behind us?”
I watch out the corner of my eye as she sits up straighter, her head remaining mostly still but her eyes cut across to her side mirror and her brows furrow. She studies them for a moment before she looks away. “No. Who is it?”
“Yeah, that’s what I’m wondering. This is the third time today that I’ve seen that car.”
“That’s freaky.” She looks back toward me, her words the understatement of the year, but her eyes tell a different story. She gets it. “What do you wanna do?”
“I don’t know. Do we drive home and through the gates, or do we lead them away? I don’t want to show them where we live if I don’t have to.”
“Babe, I think this whole town, and probably many counties more know where the Kincaid’s live. Who do you think it is?”
I glance at my mirror again, taking note of the opal white SUV, the Subaru badge, the mag wheels that reflect the sun when we turn corners. The side windows are tinted dark, possibly darker than law allows, but the front window isn’t.
I can’t tell who’s inside, but I can see it’s two people. Adults. Men. And they’re both wearing sunglasses.
I feel an awful oil slick through my belly, realization hitting me like a ton of bricks, because I know exactly who this is.
“It’s Sean.”
Iz’s entire frame startles, her chest filling with air, her eyes going wide. Her left arm slides between our seats and I know she’s holding her daughters hand right now. Possibly Evie’s too. “You’re sure?”
“Well… no. And I doubt it’s actually him in the car, but I have a bad feeling those people know Sean, and they’re here for him.”
“How can you be sure?”
“I just… do. I don’t feel sick like this except when he’s around. He does this to me. He’s like a poison.”
“Alright. Call the guys.”
“Are you insane?” I gape at her ridiculous suggestion as the possibilities flash through my mind. “This is what I’ve been avoiding all along; bringing Aiden into this. Bringing the family into it.”
Iz’s face has turned white, though her body has turned steely, rigid. She’s pumped full of adrenaline. I’m so fucking sorry, because no matter what, she’s in this car, Bean is in the car, her unborn baby is in this car. The family has already been brought into it.
“So what do you suggest we do?”
“I don’t know.” Shit, I don’t know.
My phone rings a second time, this time an unknown number scrolled across my display and Iz and I look toward each other, even as I peek at my mirror to note the car is getting closer behind us. They’re not trying to be sneaky. They don’t care that we see them.
“Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit.”
“Answer it.”
“Shit. Shit. Shit. Okay.” I lean forward and hit the green icon, and I swallow down my dread. “Hello?”
“Peaches.”
A single second of relief floods my body before a thick nausea replaces it. A heavy accent drawls through my speakers and my mind processes that it’s not Aiden Kincaid. He’s not here when I need him to be and I work hard not to vomit everywhere. Sean knows Aiden’s nickname for me; he already knows too much.
A second Subaru pulls out into the street in front of us, sandwiching us in, and my eyes flash to Iz’s.
“What do you want, Sean?”
“I want you to come home, Sweetheart. I want you to bring my baby home.”
“I’m happy here.” I’m almost whispering, hating my pathetically weak voice, but unable to make it stronger. This man has plagued my nightmares for a l
ong time, long before I even left him.
“Yes, I’ve seen you. I’ve seen you smiling with other men. Don’t you understand, Sarah, adultery is a sin. What are you going to tell Him when you get to the gates?”
“I’m not married to you, Sean. We were never married.”
“Mama.” Evie’s crying voice drifts from the backseat, the tears in her eyes reflecting back at me through the mirror, they cut me deep. It’s my job to protect her, and now we’ve got a couple Subaru’s locking us in. Shit.
“Shh,” Iz softly coos and takes Evie’s hand. “It’s okay, baby.”
“Hi Katie.” Sean’s voice over the speakers is downright giddy, like we’re a regular family and he’s called us while on his lunch break, just to speak to her and touch base. “Follow my cars Sarah. They’ll take you where you need to go.”
“I can’t, Sean. I can’t.”
“Bring your friends if you want. I don’t care. If they don’t wanna come to the party, send them on their way, but she’ll be jumping out of the car while it’s moving. If you stop, if you move away from my men, they’ll take you out.”
Sean hangs up and my sob tears up my throat.
“Shit. Okay.” Iz looks around, no longer scared to let the car behind us know we see them. She looks behind us, she looks at the girls, she looks at the identical car in front of us. “Do we have any weapons? Anything?”
“No.” I slam my pathetically shaking hand down on the wheel. “I don’t carry frigging weapons. I’m not a superhero. Or a psycho.”
My phone rings a third time, the loud trill spooking us all and we let out more tears as the ringtone taunts us. It’s another unknown number and I groan out loud. It can only make things worse. I don’t want to answer it. I don’t want anymore. I just want to live my life without Sean fucking me over and over and over again.
Iz leans forward, her finger poised to swipe right on the green icon and I slap her arm away. “What are you doing?”
“Answer it. Jim just texted me. Answer the call.”
“He… what?”
Iz ignores me as she leans forward again. “Hello?”
“Sarah, this is Special Agent Patrick Connor. I’m with the FBI and I need you to listen carefully.”