Total pages in book: 96
Estimated words: 95080 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 475(@200wpm)___ 380(@250wpm)___ 317(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 95080 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 475(@200wpm)___ 380(@250wpm)___ 317(@300wpm)
Alex’s gaze met mine. “How are you so calm about all this?”
“Because Breckin and I have been apart for a while now.” I gave him a wan smile. “And finding out about Celia threw me, but not because I found out Breckin had cheated a second time. It was the baby part. That blindsided me.”
He nodded. “Are you okay now?”
“I am. I just want all this to be over.”
“Yeah, me too,” Alex sighed.
“Okay,” Cord said, returning to sit on the table. “Looks like Sean Granger used his passport four months ago to leave the country. I have my guys digging further into that, and I’ll know everything by tomorrow, but in the meantime, we’re back to trying to figure out who this person is.”
“And you’re thinking the perp must have been watching Breckin,” Alex concluded.
“Yeah, that’s the only thing that makes sense,” Cord agreed, yawning quietly. “Which means that one of two things is gonna happen: either the suspect will eventually go after Breckin, or they will reveal themselves to him after everyone is dead.”
“But Celia Hughes is still alive, and Tracy is certainly not going to die,” Alex said adamantly, daring Cord to contradict him.
“No. Tracy will not die,” my father rasped.
I leaned forward so I could see him. “Don’t worry, Dad. Everything will be all right.”
“You can’t say that,” Cord argued. “Timothy Stanson is dead. He was killed in a house fire after he was attacked just like you and Celia were. Someone tried to blow up Celia’s car, and they’ve upped the ante with you by delivering the dead rabbit.”
I would murder him for scaring my father. “Cord,” I said under my breath.
“I will protect you,” he insisted, then looked at my father. “Nothing will happen to your son. Trust me.”
My father took a breath and nodded, clearly trusting in Cord’s ability.
“So did anyone deliver any dead animals to Celia?” Evan asked out of the blue.
“No.”
“Then why send the rabbit to Tracy?” Evan persisted.
Cord tipped his head back and forth. “I have a theory about that.”
“Which is?” Alex prodded him.
“The perp is mad at Breckin and wants Tracy to know that Breckin cheated on him. I think they’re after Breckin, maybe trying to punish him for some perceived trespass. In a twisted way, they might even be upset on Tracy’s behalf despite planning to kill him.”
“Jesus Christ,” Alex whispered. “What the hell, Cord?”
“I know.”
“I don’t—” Alex took a breath. “You have to help me protect my brother.”
I patted his leg. “I’m not gonna die, Lex. I promise.”
“No, you’re not,” Cord said hoarsely, and when his gaze flicked to mine, I was taken aback by the weight of his stare.
I reached for him, and he took my hand tightly, surprising me with his grip.
When he turned to Alex, he didn’t let go of me. “There’s a patrol car on the street, night and day, so everyone can get some sleep.”
“Good,” I said, yawning. “We all need it.”
“Yes, we do,” my father agreed, standing up. “Cord, the couch is yours. Tracy, you go with your brothers.”
Too tired to do anything but listen, I trailed after Evan up the stairs to the back bedroom, which had the second—and even better, gas-fueled—fireplace. I heard Alex mumbling something behind us as we all trudged along, but I couldn’t make it out.
My last coherent thought of the night was that I had not slept in the same bed with both of my brothers since I was, like, seven or eight. After Evan flicked on the fireplace, he got into bed, and it was comforting to look from Alex, asleep on his stomach, closest to the door, over to Evan, who had his back to me and was facing the window. Seeing them both fall asleep as soon as their heads hit the pillows, I exhaled a long sigh of happiness. I felt safe even as I looked over to the nightstand and noticed, in the flickering light of the fire, Alex’s gun lying beside the lamp, on top of my mother’s Bible.
EIGHT
I dreamed about Cord.
It was embarrassing and made no sense, but in my dream, he held me down and took me, and because of that, I woke up panting, which was not a usual occurrence. I had to get up, climb over Alex, wobble to the bathroom, and take care of myself before I could pee. I was thankful no one had been awake in the bed to notice my discomfort.
Back under the covers, I was lying there staring at the ceiling, wondering why I was dreaming about Cord again after so many years, but really, with him being around again, in my orbit, it wasn’t hard to figure out. After we first met, I had gone through a stretch of time—six months, maybe a year, I wasn’t sure—when he’d been the focus of almost every nighttime fantasy and daydream. I could only hope all that interest and longing would not return. I was thinking about all of that, incessantly, so when Alex rolled over and scowled at me, I was wide-awake, having been lying there for what seemed like hours.