In the End (Lifetime #3)

by Ariadne Wayne

  “We haven’t been together for two years. Two years, Dean. You can’t just come in here and …”

  He stopped, turning on me, his eyes blazing with anger. “I gave you space, and you want a divorce? What the hell?”

  “It’s been over for a very long time. You know why.”

  Pain seared down my cheek as he hit me again. It stung, but it didn’t matter. Better he hit me than our daughter. I would die before I ever let him get hold of Paige.

  If I couldn’t raise an alarm, that might just happen.

  Sam.

  Chapter 18

  SAM

  Want to grab some lunch today?

  I’d received the text not long after getting out of bed.

  Matt was in town—had been since the day before. Every so often he drove down to meet with clients and would drop by for lunch. A nearby cafe had become our Auckland regular stop.

  Sure thing.

  Our relationship wasn’t the same as it used to be—it never could be—but with me having found someone new who wasn’t previously involved in the giant clusterfuck I’d made of my life, he’d listen. I needed that right now.

  I’ll swing by at twelve. I came down last night and would have texted, but I fell asleep on Vanessa’s couch.

  I smiled and shook my head. See you then.

  Walking out into the living room reminded me of the night Natasha and Paige had stayed, of the brief time this felt like a family home. Hell, everything reminded me of those two, and seeing Paige through the week at school didn’t help. I missed them both. What I wouldn’t give to turn back the clock and confess earlier. She could have dumped me before we’d fallen in love, or maybe we could have worked through it. This was all my fault.

  I got in the car, sighing at the sight of the booster seat in the back. For such a short time, it had almost felt like we were a family.

  I’d lost everything.

  As I made my way to the classroom, I couldn’t help but look out for Paige. It wasn’t unusual for her not to be in the playground before school—she often just went straight to her class—but I still scanned my surroundings to see if I could catch a glimpse.

  Today, as every other day since I’d told Natasha the truth, would suck.

  LUNCHTIME COULDN’T COME FAST ENOUGH. Matt parked in one of the guest parks at the school, and we’d walked down the road for lunch.

  “Glass of Coke and the chicken pasta,” I said to the woman behind the counter.

  “How’re things going?” Matt asked.

  I shrugged. “Shit.”

  “Things not sorted out with Natasha?” He shifted his focus to the counter. “Can I get the same as him?”

  With two drinks and platefuls of pasta straight out of the bain-marie, we made our way to a table.

  “I just don’t know what to do. She asked for time, and I’m giving her that, but I’m so scared that this is it. It’s all my fault, and I don’t know how to fix things.”

  Matt sighed. “She loves you, man. Maybe you just have to have some faith in that.”

  “It’s easier said than done when she’s so close but so far away.”

  He had a wistful smile on his face. “Once upon a time, the woman I loved asked me to give her time and space to get her head together. So, I did. She was heartbroken too, Sam, and it was the hardest three months of my life.”

  “You’re talking about Ella.”

  Matt nodded. “The point is, while Vanessa was the one who pushed me to do something about it, I would have waited for however long it took. She was worth the wait.”

  I chased a piece of pasta around my plate with a fork. “Can I ask you something?”

  “Anything.”

  “Did you two sleep together when I was still with Ella? I know I accused you of it, but I just want to know.”

  He shook his head. “I kissed her. Before I went to the UK, and again when I came back. I told her I loved her when I couldn’t bear to hold it in anymore.” He paused. “There were times when I was a shitty friend, but I would never have crossed that line, and neither would Ella.”

  I looked back up at him. He had no reason to lie to me now, not when we were so far down this track. Besides, deep down I knew Matt didn’t have it in him to hold something like that back. He was no liar.

  “Do you really think I have a chance with Natasha?”

  He leaned his elbows on the table. “Like I said, she loves you. It sounds like her ex treated her really badly, and she has a lot to work out. It’s gonna take some time for that to happen.”

  “I just really miss her.”

  Matt nodded. “I know you do. I nearly worked myself into the ground before chasing Ella to a tropical island.”

  “You did what?”

  He laughed. “She was ready, but scared to call me in case I’d changed my mind and moved on. As if I was ever going to do that.”

  “So you think I should just wait?”

  “I know it’s hard, but you have to. You can’t force her into a relationship with you if she’s not ready. That’d be a disaster.”

  Sighing, I put my fork down. “I know.”

  “She’ll come around, I’m sure. Paige adores you too, and that’s gotta count for something.”

  “I guess.”

  He smiled. “Eat before we run out of time.”

  I picked up my fork again, stabbing a piece of pasta. “Are you going home today?”

  “After this. I’m glad it’s all over and the contract’s secured. It’s hard being away from home, and this job has taken a bit to get. It’ll be worth it, though.”

  His words faded into the background as I thought over what he’d said.

  She had to come back to me. Right?

  I RETURNED to work a little lighter after talking to Matt. We walked back into the carpark and toward his car.

  Charles Simpson, the only other male teacher on staff, headed toward me. “You need to come to Laura’s office, now.” Charles sounded serious. He never sounded serious.

  “It’s nearly time for class to go back.”

  “This is more important.”

  I shrugged, turning to Matt. “Summoned by the principal.”

  He nodded. “Sure thing. Talk to you later?”

  “Sounds good.”

  I turned toward the office, following Charles. “Any idea what this is about?”

  “It’s about Paige Rankin.”

  My heart dropped. “Is she okay?”

  “Let’s just get inside.”

  We reached Laura’s door, and Charles nodded. “I’ll go sort out what your kids are doing this afternoon. I might combine your class with mine, and we’ll watch a movie or something.”

  “I think under the circumstances that’s a good idea,” Laura said.

  “What the hell’s going on? Charles said it was something to do with Paige Rankin.”

  Laura licked her lips. “I think you need to take a seat.”

  I shook as I sat. If anything had happened to Paige, it’d destroy Natasha. As it was, I was barely keeping it together, and I didn’t even know what had happened.

  “What’s going on with Paige?”

  “She didn’t show up at school this morning. Calls to her home went unanswered. Because of your personal relationship with her, I didn’t want to cause you unnecessary stress so I sent Charles around to her place, as I was concerned. It’s so unlike her mother not to call if her daughter’s sick.”

  “Is that what you normally do?”

  Laura shook her head. “Something didn’t feel right about this one. When Paige started school, her mother was in the midst of a custody battle with her father, and we were under strict instructions not to let her go with him if he showed up here.”

  I nodded.

  “I’ve watched her change from a quiet little girl whose parents were fighting over her to a confident achiever who hasn’t had a day off school in more than a year. It just felt off.”

  “And?”

  “A man opene
d the door. Said he was Paige’s father and that Paige and her mother were both sick. Charles said his eyes were glazed over, like he was on something. So, I’ve called the police.”

  I swallowed. “What did they say?”

  “They’ll conduct a welfare visit. There was a restraining order while the court battle was going on, after Mrs Rankin went into hospital, but it ran out after a year. They’re not treating this as urgently as I think they should, but they are going around there.”

  “When?”

  She looked down. “They wouldn’t say. I pressed them, but it’s not an emergency as far as they’re concerned. There haven’t been any calls for help.”

  My chest burned in anger. “That man put Natasha in hospital. There’s no way she would let him stay there.”

  Her green eyes fixed on me. “I felt you should know. I organised Charles to take over your class for the afternoon as your mind will be elsewhere. Take the afternoon off, Sam. I’ll call you if there are any updates.”

  “I need to talk to the police. Explain …”

  She sighed. “I tried, and if the restraining order was still in place …”

  “Dean left her alone after the court case. She probably thought she was safe.” I ran my fingers through my hair. “This can’t be happening.” Why would Dean have suddenly shown up now? It didn’t make any sense.

  Laura’s lips clamped together, like she was trying not to say something.

  “What do I do?” I asked.

  “I’m not going to tell you to take things into your own hands, but this has me worried, Sam.” Her green-blue eyes were full of fear.

  “I understand. And I agree.”

  She sighed. “Whatever you do, be careful.”

  As if anything would keep me away.

  I left Laura’s office, having reassured her that I’d keep her updated if I heard anything, and she said she’d do the same if she heard from the police.

  They’d better get there soon, or I’d reach her first.

  If Dean was on drugs, he’d be unpredictable—maybe violent. I needed help.

  I pulled out my phone and dialled Matt. “Are you far away?”

  “The next suburb?”

  I licked my lips, my mouth suddenly dry. “Natasha needs help.”

  “I’m right there. You still at the school?”

  “Yeah, meet me outside.”

  I leaned against my car and took a deep breath. Losing my cool wouldn’t help Natasha. Working out what was going on might. I had to know my girls were safe.

  Even if they weren’t my girls anymore.

  Chapter 19

  SAM

  The first time I met Matt, we got into a fight. Not with each other, but in kindergarten we ended up in a three-way brawl with a boy our age.

  That little snot, Trent Burke, was the type of kid who just liked bashing other kids. For reasons I never found out, he’d decided I was his next target. When Matt had spotted Trent smacking me in the face, he’d tackled the other boy, bringing him down on the concrete of the school quad. The two of us had bonded that day, and in the end, it was me who tore us apart with my deception. I’d felt the loss of my best friend, a man who was my brother, just as much as the wife I’d left behind. I was so glad I had him back.

  Now the two of us had come together to take on another bully.

  “What the hell are we doing?” Matt asked.

  “After what Laura just told me, I doubt the police have been to the house yet. You go and knock on the door and distract Dean. Pretend you’re selling something. I’ll sneak in the back door and check it out.”

  He let out a sigh. “This is either the bravest or the dumbest thing we’ve ever done together.”

  I couldn’t help but smile. “Maybe. But we’re doing it together.” Squeezing his shoulder, I looked down the road toward the houses. “I have to do something, Matt. Knowing she’s in there with that psycho is killing me.”

  Matt nodded. “I know. We’ll get her out. Somehow.” He had that thing going on where one of his eyebrows almost curled in, as if he thought I was mad. Maybe I was.

  Even if we got there and found nothing wrong.

  Giving this a shot was better than doing nothing.

  THE GRASS down the side of the flats was a little overgrown, and I ducked as I passed by windows on my way to the back of the place. Turning the corner, I looked up at the glass, as I pondered the best way to get Natasha or Paige’s attention.

  I didn’t have to try.

  Paige sat in her room, looking out the window. Her face lit up at the sight of me, and I raised my index finger to my mouth to show her not to say a word. She nodded. It broke my heart a little more that she understood that she had to be quiet and why. If she alerted her father at all, Natasha would be the one to pay. The fear in her eyes told the whole story. I had the strongest urge to knock that damn window out and pull that little girl to safety. But I couldn’t risk Natasha.

  I continued on to the back door. It led into the laundry beside the kitchen. Leaning over a little from the step, I could see in the kitchen window and straight through to the front door. Matt stood in the doorway, gesturing, waving his arms around, talking about who knew what to keep Dean’s attention.

  Slowly, I turned the handle of the back door, praying that it was unlocked. I didn’t need to worry. It opened, and on the other side stood Paige, her index finger raised to her mouth to tell me to be quiet.

  I grabbed hold of her hand and pulled her through. At least if I got her out there’d be one less person to worry about. At the bottom of the steps, I reached into my pocket and handed her my phone.

  “Honey, you need to dial one-one-one and ask for the police,” I whispered. “Do you know your address?”

  She nodded.

  “I need you to be really brave. I’m going to get Mummy, but we need the police here.”

  Paige beamed. It made me nervous to leave our fates in the hands of a seven-year-old, but if a little girl called for help, they’d come.

  “Good girl.”

  She slipped along the back of the house until she got to the corner of the building. After tapping on the phone for a moment, she raised it to her ear. I guessed letting her play games on it had taught her a thing or two.

  With Paige out of the way, I looked back in the kitchen window. Natasha stood off to the right, her arms wrapped around herself. If the laundry door was closed, she wouldn’t have seen Paige leave. From where she stood, I wasn’t sure if she could see Matt, but she would surely recognise his voice.

  I gripped the door handle, turning it as carefully as I could, and stepped in the door. I was blind to what was happening in the living room now, but the sound of Matt’s voice carried through the wooden door.

  It was a risk I had to take.

  Closing my hand around the door handle, I slowly turned and pulled. Natasha spun at the sound, her eyes growing wide at the sight of me. Even from across the room, all I could focus on was the long, red mark down her face and the puffiness of her eye. He’d hit her.

  Heat prickled over my body, from the top of my head down to my toes. All I saw was red; all I heard was the blood rushing in my ears; all I felt was rage.

  I took the two steps to get me into the kitchen and I threw myself into the living room.

  “You fucking hit her.” He turned his head, but I still caught him by surprise, swinging at his head and connecting with his chin. He took a step back. I turned my head in time to see Matt roll his eyes in a kind of ‘here we go’ reaction. But as Dean stepped back, he flailed, smacking Matt right in the nose.

  “You’re the one who’s been fucking my wife.” Dean’s eyes lit up with anger.

  “She’s not your wife. Not anymore,” I yelled.

  It wasn’t until then that I realised how hazy his eyes were, just as Laura had told me. He was high on something. This was more than his temper.

  He swung at me and missed, and Matt, still dazed from the punch in the face, grabbed hold of his
arms. “Get Natasha out of here.”

  “Matt …”

  “I’m right behind you.”

  In the distance, sirens screamed, and I let out a breath of thanks at Paige having done exactly what we needed her to do.

  I grabbed Natasha’s hand, pulling her behind me.

  “Paige,” she called.

  “She’s already out. Come on.”

  Dean thrashed against Matt’s grip as we went past.

  “I got this,” Matt cried out.

  We stumbled out the door and across the front lawn. Drawing closer, police sirens wailed, and I breathed a sigh of relief as we reached the footpath. I turned back to check on Matt.

  He wasn’t there.

  Police cars pulled up on either side of the road and in the driveway as I started off back toward the house. Out of nowhere, a hand grabbed my arm and tugged me back.

  “Who’s in the house?”

  I glanced over my shoulder. A heavyset policeman even taller and bigger than I was stood beside me.

  “Natasha’s ex and my friend, Matt. We thought he was behind us, but something must have happened.” Panic gripped me at the wasted moments spent standing here explaining. “Dean’s high on something; he’s out of his mind. You need to get in there and stop whatever’s going on.”

  The policeman nodded, motioning the six other officers forward.

  The front door opened. Dean stumbled as he stepped into the doorway, streaks of blood all over his shirt. Behind me, Natasha screamed, but my feet acted like they were stuck in concrete. I couldn’t move. The metallic clang of a knife hitting the ground rang out.

  He offered up no resistance as the cops swarmed, throwing him to the ground and handcuffing him. The door open, I took off toward it, ignoring cries behind me as I reached the living room. Matt lay on his stomach on the floor, blood pouring from his back. Scarlet liquid covered the carpet beside him, and I stripped off my jacket, running to him, rolling up the fabric and holding it against him to try and stem the bleeding.

  “Please.” That was all I said as the policeman who had spoken to me stood in the doorway. Everything was hazy as I heard him call for help. All I knew was that Matt groaned and moved, and I raised my face to the ceiling. “Don’t you dare let him die.” I’d never prayed before, even in my darkest hours when my life was at its worst. Now, it was all I could think to do as I applied pressure to Matt’s wounds.