22. Mike

22

MIKE

Keith had kept me inside the station for the day as we'd gone over what had happened the past few days and searched for what Ted had been up to. We'd found no arrests or traffic stops—and no evidence he'd left Pennsylvania. As much as I wanted to climb the walls, there wasn't much I or any of us could do until something else happened.

Cameras would take a while to install around Lila's apartment, and although Keith would send a couple of extra officers to patrol our neighborhood, Ted or whoever was doing this had managed to stay under the radar so far. I had no idea how to find them or stop them until they made contact again.

I'd called my father after Lila left the station, although Keith had already filled him in. He hadn't said much and hadn't had to since all he'd warned me about seemed to be coming true, but I'd promised I'd keep him posted on what we were able to find out today, which, so far, had been absolutely nothing.

I didn't know what to think when I found my father, Peyton, and Keely in Keith's office a few hours later. I'd never seen my father so full of rage that it radiated off him, his jaw tight when he noticed me. Peyton kept her eyes on Keely as she rocked my sobbing sister back and forth in her arms. Keely's wailing grew louder when she spotted me at the door.

"What are you all doing here?" I asked them as Keely popped off Peyton's lap and flung her arms around my waist.

I crouched on the floor, rubbing my sister's back as I swept my gaze over the room.

"Will someone please tell me what the hell is going on?"

"We were at the lake today," Peyton said, shooting my father a look. "It's a hot day, so it was pretty packed. We left our stuff on blankets when we went in the water, and most of us started to leave after Jude picked up Jason."

"Okay, so what happened?" I asked, glancing at Keith. His features were as tight as my father's, his usual cool replaced by a rigid tension that shot right through me.

Since I'd grown up with Keith and in this town, seeing the chief upset enough to show it made my blood run ice-cold.

"When they got home, we found a note in Keely's backpack," my father said, his voice low and angry.

Keith handed me a white piece of paper over my sister's shoulder.

Give this to your brother. Tell him to stop playing by the lake with his new friend…or he may end up with her at the bottom.

My heart shuddered in my chest as I read the note over and over.

Threatening Lila was enough, but coming at us through my family? Who went after a kid? This wasn't just a jealous rage. Jude had been right. This was pure hate.

I held Keely tighter and kissed the top of her head, rocking her like her mother had been doing so she wouldn't notice me shaking against her.

"They're going to hurt you and Lila," she sniffled as she lifted her head, searching my gaze with red, swollen eyes.

"No one is hurting anyone. Whoever this is wants to scare us," Keith said, kneeling on the floor next to us. "And they know how much your big brother loves you, so this was their way of being extra mean. That's all."

"Really mean," Keely said, her eyes thinned so tightly into slits I almost wanted to laugh. "You're going to catch them, right, Uncle Keith?"

I caught Keith's face crumple for a split second before he nodded. He'd always prided himself on keeping everyone in this town safe, but Keely was his family. Knowing this son of a bitch had been watching Keely along with Lila and me had to be killing him.

"Of course I am. Do you remember seeing anyone you didn't know while you were swimming?"

"No," she said, shaking her head. "We picked up Jason this morning, and Uncle Jude came to get him. We were all building sandcastles and swimming. I didn't look at any of the people." Her chin quivered. "I'm sorry, Uncle Keith."

"Don't be sorry, sweetheart." He brushed away the loose hairs sticking to her wet cheek. "If you think of something later, you can tell me then, okay?" He kissed her forehead and stood.

"It really was packed," Peyton said, her voice shaking almost as much as Keely's. "I didn't spot anyone strange or see anything that would make me take any kind of pause. But we had our backs turned to the sand for most of the day. It would have been very easy to slip in and out."

"I think it's a good idea to give the lake a rest for a while, until we find out who this piece of—" Keith stopped when his gaze snagged on Keely, still in my arms and clutching the collar of my shirt.

"Until we find out who did this. Shouldn't be long."

Whatever had happened over the past couple of days had set Ted or whoever off since this had been the third point of contact in as many days, and getting my sister involved had upped the stakes by a lot.

We all turned to the creak of the door. Keith's office was dead silent other than Keely's muffled cries.

"Hey," Jude said, holding the door open behind him. "Lila's here."

Lila's eyes were as red as my sister's as she wiped her cheeks with the back of her hand.

"I'm so sorry, Keely," she said, joining me on the floor. "I hate that you were scared today."

"Are you hurt?" Keely said, examining Lila's face.

"No, I'm fine," she said, swallowing before she pushed a smile across her mouth.

"I think you could use some candy, kiddo." Keith tugged at her ponytail. "Why don't you let your mother buy you some from the vending machine down the hall while I talk to Mike and Lila, okay?"

"Are they in trouble?" Keely asked, still fisting my shirt.

Trouble was a laughable fucking understatement right now.

"No, I promise. Go ahead." He nodded at Peyton.

"Come on, girlie. Mom needs some candy too."

Keely looked back at me, her eyes still wet even though her crying had slowed, before she took her mother's hand and headed into the hallway.

I let my head drop to my hands when Jude shut the door behind them. I didn't know whether to scream and pound the wall or weep like a baby, but I couldn't do any of that. Taking slow breaths, I sat up and stood from the floor.

"So this asshole is watching all of us," my father said, a statement not a question since it was obviously true. "My son, my wife, my daughter. What are you doing about this, Keith?"

Keith leveled my father with a glare.

"Do you think I'm not as furious as you are, Russo? Things like this don't happen in my town, especially to my nieces. They're just coming at us faster than I can make a plan right now. But trust me—we're getting this son of a bitch."

"I'm so sorry," Lila said, crossing her arms as she came up to my father. "I was afraid of something like this happening when I came here, and I never should have left Philly. I brought this to your family, and I hate that." Her voice cracked before she padded over to me.

"I'm calling Steven and heading to Brooklyn. I'll stay with him and figure out when I'll move the rest of my stuff later. I can't do this to any of you." She turned to my father with a sad smile. "Thank you for giving me a job, but I can't stay."

I grabbed her arm when she turned to leave.

"You're not leaving," I grunted out, my head spinning as panic filtered through me. "You can't let him win."

"Let him win? What am I supposed to do? It was one thing to threaten us, but Keely? I can't let her get hurt. Let any of you get hurt." She yanked her arm away, shaking her head as she rushed toward the door.

"So, that's it? You love me, but you're leaving. Just like that?"

She froze, her eyes wide as she turned to me.

"Yes, of course I love you. But I can't do?—"

"Do this to me. You've said that," I spat out, all the anger and fear that had been simmering in my gut now about to explode. "This may not even be Ted."

"What are you talking about?" She squinted at me. "Jude said the same thing, but who else could it be?"

"I don't know." I clenched my eyes shut when Lila flinched back, not realizing how loud I'd been. "Maybe it is, but if he only just found you, he seems to know the town pretty damn well and how to slip past a bunch of parents and kids unnoticed."

"Whatever it is—" she sucked in a breath as her eyes shone with tears "—you being with me is what's making this person angry enough to come after a kid. If something happens to you or your sister, how am I supposed to live with that?"

"What if this were me? If someone were threatening me? Would you just expect me to walk away because I didn't want you at risk, or would you leave me because you were afraid?"

Her face crumpled as she sank her teeth into her quivering bottom lip.

"No, I'd never leave you. But I have nothing to lose." She shrugged. "It's just me. I have no family other than Claudia and a cousin who lives hours away."

"So my life is more valuable than yours? Jesus, Lila, that is such bull?—"

"Both of you, stop it!" Keith bellowed, raking his hands through his gray hair. "Sit, please," he told Lila, pointing to the chair against the wall.

"I'm with Mike," Keith said, his voice softer. "I don't know for sure if this is your ex. This sounds like someone who knows the town well enough to go by unnoticed. Could he have been watching you all this time and only acted when you and Mike looked officially together? Maybe." Keith shrugged. "But from what I understand of your history, I doubt he would have waited this long to contact you if he were here."

Lila said nothing as she stared at the floor.

"And whoever this is," Keith whispered, pressing on her bobbing knee, "if you run now, that's what you'll always have to do. I know you think leaving is going to protect the people you care about, but all it's going to do is hurt everyone involved. Including you."

Lila wiped her cheeks with the back of her hand and kept her gaze on the floor.

"Your life is valuable. People would care if you left," Dad said, looking between us. "None of us blame you for any of this."

"And keep in mind. This—" Keith moved a finger between Lila and me "—this is the endgame for whoever is doing this. They want you fighting and apart."

Lila finally raised her head and gave Keith a weak nod.

"And if all that didn't convince you, this is an ongoing investigation. I really would prefer you not leave town right now. Since this is an official connected threat, I'd appreciate it if you made another statement."

"I'll take you down the hall," Jude said, meeting my eyes with enough sympathy to make me want to crawl out of my skin.

Lila's eyes lingered on mine as she followed Jude. Consciously, I knew she didn't want to leave me and would only do it to keep me and my family safe. But it felt like I'd already lost her, the ache in my chest pinching so hard I could barely breathe.

I wandered around the station like a zombie for the next half hour, ignoring the stares from fellow officers and looks of pity from the admin staff after I walked my family out and waited around for Lila.

I trudged outside, leaning against the rail on the front steps when I spotted her come out of the doors.

"Torres said he'd drive me home again. I guess that's what the rookies are here for?" She sputtered out a nervous laugh as she came closer. "I do love you. More than anything. And I wish we could go back to this morning, but?—"

"But why can't we? You heard Keith. This is what they want. They want you away from me and gone. Did you come all this way just to give in?"

She shut her eyes for a moment but didn't reply. Everything was too raw today to fight anymore. I'd end up saying things in the heat of the moment that I wouldn't mean, especially since I was two seconds away from begging her to stay.

"I love you," I whispered as I took her face in my hands. "More than I ever thought I'd be able to love anyone. Do you love me?"

"Mike, please. You know I do?—"

"Just not enough to stay with me."

"That's not fair." She shook her head, her jaw trembling when her gaze landed on mine. "You know it's not that simple."

"I actually believe it is. Because the way I feel about you, you bring me to my fucking knees, Delilah."

I swallowed when I caught my voice crack.

"There's no one and nothing that could keep me from you. I hate this every bit as much as you do, but I'm not going anywhere. No one is chasing me away from the woman I love."

Big tears snaked down her cheeks as she dropped her gaze to the ground.

I was ready to tear whoever this was apart for doing this to us, and as much as I wanted to handcuff her to her bed to make her stay, it would mean nothing if she didn't want to.

"I'll be home around seven." I feathered my hand down her wet cheek and stepped back. "If you're going to stay—and stick by me and fight for us—you can let me know."

I wanted to pull her into my arms and kiss her, hard and deep enough to convince her that what we had was worth everything, because after a lifetime of not believing in love or stupid things like the one , I knew with a bone-deep certainty that she was it for me.

That was why I'd always been so terrified of loving someone enough to ruin me.

Because it already had.