Chapter 33

CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE

Ajax

I turn from the newspaper stand, a flash of blue catching my eye.

Another cop car. That makes three that have driven by. We’re close to the I-90, too close. We shouldn’t be here shopping. I need to be more careful. We have Lulu with us now, and she’s more likely to be recognized. Cromwell isn’t far enough away for my liking.

Something tickles at the back of my mind, urging me to turn. My breath catches as I do, blood draining from my face. I walk toward the woman in the black pantsuit.

Agent Collins. FBI are here. How the fuck did they know? I didn’t even know we were coming here .

I’m not risking getting stuck in another roadblock. We need to leave now.

After years of tracking the I-90 killer, the FBI have never gotten close to me in their search. That’s not about to happen now.

I watch, unable to look away. The local police look annoyed and tired.

I guess Agent Collins makes friends wherever she goes. The man at her side draws my eye. Special Agent Aaron Mitchell, the man in charge of hunting the I-90 killer. And he does not look happy.

His upper lip pulls back in a snarl, the angry words he spits out lost in the noise of those around us. Agent Collins flushes, her gaze fixed on the finger he’s pointing at her face. The older man straightens, standing to his full height.

His eyes stay on his agent as he waves away the locals without looking at them, his lips pinched tight.

Uniformed officers scatter, looking grateful for the chance to escape.

Not wanting to be seen, I turn away quickly. But my panic only grows at what I see next.

Fear and despair make me stumble.

Lulu and Mary step out onto the road, my new love smiling down at my daughter.

She’s running and taking Mary with her.

Rage joins the swell in my chest. I rush forward, desperate to get to them, but people block the way. I push through, shouting for her to stop, all thoughts of police momentarily forgotten .

“Louise! Mary!”

I lose sight of them when traffic picks up. Cars, trucks, and buses hide them from sight. I can’t see my girls.

This isn’t happening.

A large bus stops directly in front of me as the traffic stills on one side. The other continues to flow, keeping me trapped on this side. I stand on the curb, gasping for air as my whole world crumbles.

I can’t live without them. I won’t.

The bus hisses, the noise making me jump as it pulls away.

Mary and Lulu stand on the other side. My baby girl waves excitedly with cotton candy clutched tightly in her hand, the other holds Lulu’s.

Wide-eyed, I take in their matching smiles. My gaze flicks behind them to the cotton candy stand surrounded by another family. My gut twists at the pay phone beside it.

What did you do, Louise?

My body turns, a mind of its own, to where the feds and local cops still congregate within the crowd. Lulu’s gaze follows mine. Does she see them?

My wife-to-be and daughter step out into the road as the cars thin. My heart thuds with every step they take. I’m having a stroke at thirty-six.

My girls cross quickly, but it feels like a lifetime. Their big smiles attack my chest, taking away my panic as they come back to me. As Lulu comes back to me .

My eyes glance at the bus station behind them. She had time, and she had Mary. This could have ended so differently.

But it didn’t, I remind myself.

She chose to stay. Lulu chose us.