Chapter 46

The front door creaked, a shiver skating down my spine as I stepped into the dimly lit kitchen.

"Mom?" Alex"s voice cut through the silence, small and uncertain.

"Hey, sweetheart." I forced a smile, crossing the room to plant a kiss on his damp forehead. His eyes, wide and dark with something he shouldn"t know at his age, met mine.

"Mom, a man… when I got off the school bus. He said…." Alex hesitated, his small hands fidgeting with the hem of his shirt.

"What is it, honey?" I urged, my heart throbbing in my chest.

"He said that we"re all in danger." The words spilled out, and the room spun. "Because of you."

I froze. I bent down in front of him, forcing him to look into my eyes.

"Who said that, Alex?"

He shrugged. "I don't know who he was. Just some man."

"Have you seen him before?"

"No." He shook his head, the fear palpable in his voice. "I"ve never seen him. He just told me to tell you."

"That we're in danger? Because of me?"

"Yes."

"Matt!" My voice was sharper than I intended, panic clawing at my throat.

"What"s wrong?" Matt hobbled in, his crutches clicking against the tile floor. He saw the fear on my face immediately. "What's going on, Eva Rae?"

"Someone threatened Alex. They said…." The words choked me. "He said that we are in danger…."

"Damn it!" Matt"s face flushed red, the veins in his neck bulging with anger. "I told you this would happen!"

"You really think we're in danger? He might just be some lunatic," I said, trying to calm myself.

"And what if he's not?" Matt said. "Is that a risk you're willing to take?"

"I'm sure he's just someone trying to…." I paused, unable to believe my own words. "I mean, who would…?"

"We can't take that chance," Matt said. "I, for one, am not prepared to."

"Do you want me to call the station? Have them put a patrol outside?" I asked.

I saw the fear on Matt's face. It was somehow deeper than anything I had ever seen in him before, fueled by his PTSD from the incident. It was getting serious.

"What do we do?" Desperation laced his tone. "This man must know where we live. The bus stops right outside. He knows Alex is your child. Are we even safe here tonight?"

"Calm down," I said. "I'm sure we're okay here. I'll get the chief to have a patrol come by and"

"God, I don"t know!" Matt slammed his crutch down. "It might not be enough. I don't like this. We have to keep the kids safe, but how?"

"Safe… yes. We will." My mind raced, fear turning to steel inside me. I had to calm him down somehow. I didn't want him scaring the kids. "We"ll figure this out. Together."

"We should go somewhere," Matt said with a deep sigh. "Somewhere safe. Just for tonight, and then we'll see."

"Okay, we can do that for one night if that makes you feel better. My mother's?" I asked.

Matt sighed. "Too obvious."

"Hotel?" I asked.

He nodded, eyes on fire. "Has to be."

"Okay, let's pack light. Just the essentials." My voice was steady, but inside, my heart raced like a trapped bird. I was worried about Matt's state of mind and about the children. Would this scare them? Going away was the right solution for us all.

I dashed to the kids" rooms, tossing clothes into backpacks. "A hotel is good. That's definitely somewhere they wouldn"t look. Whoever they are."

"Got it." The frustration was evident in his voice, but beneath that was a current of resolve.

"Christine! Alex! Angel!" I called out, my throat dry. They appeared, confusion etched on their innocent faces. "We"re going to spend the night at a hotel, okay?"

"Why, Mom?" Christine"s eyes were large and questioning.

"Please, don't question me; just trust me on this, okay? There's no need to worry," I lied, smiling through the fear. "It's just for tonight."

"Is it because of the bad man?" Alex"s voice was barely above a whisper.

"What bad man?" Christine said. "What's going on here, Mom? I have homework to do. I can't just…."

"Please, don't fight me on this," I said to her, giving her a look I knew she would understand.

"I'm scared of the creepy man," Alex said.

"Shh, no more of that," I hushed him, scooping up toiletries. "Let"s just get in the car."

"Can I bring Mr. Fluffles?" Angel clutched her stuffed rabbit.

"Of course, baby." I ushered them downstairs, trying to keep my cool.

Matt was waiting by the door, balancing on his crutches, his face strained with effort and anger. "Come on."

"Everyone in the car. Now!" I didn"t mean to bark the order, but urgency left no room for gentleness.

Matt struggled out the door, his movements hindered by the crutches but driven by adrenaline. I glanced around the shadowed yard, every rustle of leaves sounding like a footstep.

"Mom, are we safe?" Christine"s hand found mine as we walked to the car.

"I won't ever let anything happen to you," I promised. "This is just a safety precaution, nothing else."

I helped Angel get into her car seat and strapped her down, then kissed her forehead and Mr. Fluffles, of course.

"Seat belts," Matt grunted, lowering himself into the passenger seat with a grimace.

"Head count. One… two… three." I clicked my belt into place, my eyes never ceasing their vigil. "All good."

"Let"s go," Matt said, his tone harsher than intended. I was worried about scaring the children, but I believed Matt was right. You should never take a threat like that lightly.

I turned the ignition, the engine"s roar slicing through the night"s stillness. "We"re going to be okay," I told them, more to convince myself than them.

"Damn right, we will," Matt echoed, his hand finding mine for a brief squeeze before I put the car into drive and pulled away from the only safety we knew.

As we reached A1A, the rearview mirror kept pulling my gaze, the silhouette of a car behind us morphing with each passing streetlight—too close for comfort, too constant to be a coincidence.

"Matt," I whispered, "that car… it"s been with us since Minutemen Causeway."

"Change lanes," he said, voice low and steady. My hands tightened on the wheel as I obeyed, flicking the turn signal with a trembling finger. The other vehicle mimicked our path, its headlights an unwavering pair of eyes in the darkness.

"Speed up." Matt"s command was terse.

I pressed the gas, the needle jumping as we sped along the deserted road. A glance in the mirror—still there, still following.

"Take the next right, then a quick left," he instructed, scanning the side mirrors with a frown.

"Is this going to work?" My voice betrayed the panic that was threatening to spill over.

"Has to."

Our tires squealed against the asphalt as I followed his directions, the sudden turns throwing us side to side. Angel let out a small whimper from her car seat.

"Mom?" Christine"s whisper was shaky.

"Shh, there's nothing to worry about," I lied, hoping my voice sounded lighter than I felt. "We're like spies."

"Spies don"t get caught," Alex piped up, trying to sound brave.

"Exactly," Matt said, casting me a grim look that belied his confident tone.

We zigzagged through streets, the suspense gnawing at my insides until, finally, a red light ahead gave us a chance. I made a sharp left into an alleyway, killing the headlights and holding my breath.

"Down," Matt ordered.

We all ducked, hearts pounding in the blind dark. Seconds stretched like hours until the sound of the other car roared past the alley"s entrance.

"Go," he urged, and I fired up the engine again, pulling out in the opposite direction, leaving the specter of our pursuer behind.

"Are we… are they gone?" Christine"s voice quivered.

"I think so." My relief was punctured by the fear of what could"ve happened.

The hotel"sneon sign blinked a welcome as we pulled into the lot, a beacon in the consuming night. We shuffled inside, the lobby"s sterile lights harsh against our strained eyes.

"Christine, Alex, Angel," I counted them once more, hugging each tightly, their small bodies solid and real in my arms. They were safe for now.

"Good job, Mom," Alex murmured, his face pale but trying to smile.

"Thank you," I whispered back, brushing a kiss on his forehead.

"Let"s get to our room," Matt said, the strain evident on his face. He was trying to be the rock, but I could see his hands trembling.

"Okay, kids, race you to the elevator!" I forced a cheerfulness I didn"t feel, anything to distract them from the ordeal.

"Last one there"s a rotten egg!" Christine giggled, taking off with her siblings in tow.

"Hey, no fair! Wait up!" Alex yelled after her.

"Slow down!" I called, half-laughing, half-scolding.

Once inside our room, I surveyed our temporary haven: two queen beds, a TV, the mundane details offering a surreal comfort. The children clambered onto the nearest bed, their laughter a balm to my frayed nerves.

"Mom, can we watch cartoons?" Angel asked, her innocence a stark contrast to the night"s events.

"Sure, sweetheart." I clicked the TV on, the animated chatter filling the silence.

Matt leaned against the wall, watching them, his jaw clenched. "They shouldn"t have to go through this," he said.

"None of us should." I joined him, letting out a long breath as I took in their faces—my reasons for everything.

"Tomorrow, we figure this out," I murmured.

"Tonight, we rest," he replied, though the set of his mouth told me neither of us would find sleep easy.

"Tonight, we rest," I echoed, clinging to the semblance of peace as a shield against the fear that lingered just beyond the flicker of the TV screen.

The television"s glow danced across the room, casting flickering shadows that played on the walls like specters of our fear. Matt"s silhouette was rigid, a statue carved from worry and pain.

"Look at them," he whispered, his voice strangled with emotion. "They think it"s an adventure, but it"s a nightmare."

I turned away from the kids, their giggles belying the gravity of our situation. He threw himself on the bed. His crutches ended up discarded on the floor, a testament to his own battle that was still haunting us now. Was he ever going to be the same old Matt I fell in love with? The one who was afraid of nothing? The one who hunted criminals down fearlessly and never worried about his own safety?

I missed him.

"Matt, I?—"

"Stop." He cut me off, his eyes searching mine in the semi-darkness. "You need to stop this. This isn"t just about you anymore. It"s all of us. You're putting us all in danger. This isn't even your case. Look what happened to me last time we went down this road."

I bit my lip, tasting the salt of anxiety and guilt. "I know."

"Then, why can't you see? This investigation is tearing us apart, putting our family in danger, and it"s not worth it." His voice cracked at the last word, revealing the depth of his fear.

"Sarah didn"t kill anyone," I said, my voice steady even as my heart raced. "If I back down now and let these threats scare me away, then everything I stand for means nothing. Justice, truth—it all becomes empty words. Sarah is innocent, and I can"t turn my back on her."

"Even if it costs us everything?" His question hung in the air as heavy as the dread that clung to my skin. "Even if we have to go into hiding?"

"Someone is trying to silence me because they know I"m close to the truth. If we run scared now, they win. I can"t live with that. I won"t let our children live in a world where the bad guys get away because we"re too afraid to stand up to them."

"Damn your principles!" The words exploded from him, a raw surge of desperation. "They keep getting us in trouble. They could have taken Alex today!"

"That"s why I have to end this, Matt. I will find out who"s doing this and stop them. But I can"t do it without your support."

He slumped against the wall, the fight seeping out of him. "Just promise me you"ll be careful."

"Every step of the way," I promised, my resolve as unyielding as the darkness outside.

"Fine," he sighed, defeated. "But we do this together. No more lone-wolf antics. Agreed?"

"Agreed."

His hand found mine in the dim light, a lifeline amid the chaos. Together, in the quiet hotel room with the sound of cartoons playing softly in the background, we faced an uncertain future—one I was determined to meet head-on.