35. Tessa

“It’s going to be okay,” Rosie said, her tone firm as if she could will her assertion into fact.

“What if it isn’t?” The fear and anxiety spinning like a whirling dervish through me kept my doubts in play.

My friend looked at me. “Okay, what I’m about to say is going to sound really fucked up,” she warned me.

“Um, okay?” I let out a ragged sigh.

“Rich wants you. He doesn’t want Eric. I know Rich is an asshole, and I’m still confident you haven’t told us just how bad things were. You don’t have to. I completely understand.” I swallowed, the knot in my throat beyond the point of aching too sharp. “I don’t believe Rich would hurt Eric. Oh, he’ll pull some kind of bullshit like this. But I don’t believe he would hurt Eric. I just don’t. I might turn out to be wrong. But ask yourself, would he hurt his own son?’

I contemplated her question. She had a point. I honestly didn’t think Rich would hurt Eric. Oh, he would be dismissive, he would be a jerk, and more than half the time, he couldn’t be bothered to deal with his son. But what he wanted was to make my life hell. I’d known when I was leaving him that I was violating something that meant more than I could even imagine to him. I’d injured his pride deeply. My mistake in offering to help his girlfriend was not realizing that would remind him of what he had lost. That I had the strength to see him for who he was and walk away.

Rosie came to a stop sign and glanced over. I met her concerned gaze. “I think you’re right. I don’t think he would hurt Eric.”

She nodded, just once. “You are a strong woman, one of the strongest I know. You can, and you will get through this. I’m going to drop you off, and those overprotective Cannon brothers will come to your house and make sure you’re safe. We will find Eric, and it will be okay.”

While I didn’t feel her confidence, I appreciated it. “Okay,” I whispered.

In short order, Rosie dropped me off at home, making a show of talking to me when the car door was open as I climbed out. “I can give you a ride in tomorrow if you need it.”

I felt vulnerable and exposed as I jogged from her car to the house and let myself in. My hands shook as I locked the door. I had no idea how long it would be before Adam and his brothers might get here. I knew they planned to walk through the trees from the street where Rhys and Haven lived and come to my kitchen door because it wasn’t visible from the front.

I was shivering cold, and my fingertips tingled again. I didn’t know what to do. I sat down at the kitchen table and placed my phone on it. I checked again to make sure the volume was on. Then I stared at it.

I nearly jumped out of my skin when it chimed loudly as a text came through. As I slid it closer, my heart pounded. It was a text from Rich. I couldn’t even remember what I was supposed to do.

Just when I started to panic, there was a light knock on my side door, and I glanced up to see Adam. I hurried over and opened the door. He walked in and carefully closed the door behind him.

“Rich texted. I haven’t read it, and I can’t remember what to do.” I could hear the panic in my own voice.

“We’re supposed to read it. Let’s just see what it says,” Adam said, his tone level.

“You read it. Please,” I whispered. My lips were numb.

Adam quickly spun the phone around before holding it up to my face so that it opened.

My pulse raced in a stumbling, sickening beat. My throat burned from the acid of the bile rising. My stomach was a churning mess. “What does it say?”

Adam scanned it, his eyes narrowing and darkening with anger before he lifted his gaze to mine. “He’ll trade Eric for you.”

“Okay. Where do I meet him?”

“Tessa, are you insane?”

“No. I’m terrified, and I want to know that my son is safe.”

Adam closed his eyes, his jaw clenching tightly. One of his palms was flat on the table, and I watched as it curled into a tight fist. He forcibly stretched it open. When his eyes met mine again, his shoulders rose with a deep breath. Just then, there was a tap on the door.

I leaped up, hurrying across to see Kenan and Wyatt when I peered through the side window.

Adam was on my heels. “Tessa! You’re supposed to let me let them in. It could’ve been Rich.”

I spun around. “I don’t care!” I felt jumpy inside with restless, unsettled energy coursing through me.

Adam reached around me to open the door and let his brothers in.

Although I was still terrified for my son, and it literally felt as if my heart had been ripped out of my chest, a strange sense of calm fell over me. It felt sort of like a curtain surrounding me. I wasn’t delusional. I knew exactly what was happening. It was just that the worst had almost happened, and now I was solely focused. I wasn’t worried about myself. I just wanted Eric to be okay.

I distantly heard Adam talking, and my awareness clicked into place again as I turned to listen. He flung a hand in the air. “Rich wants to trade Eric for her, and Tessa thinks that’s a good idea.” Adam spun away from his brothers and began pacing.

Kenan focused on Adam while Wyatt shifted his attention to me. He took several steps and stopped in front of me. “How are you doing?” His tone was calm, and I needed that calmness.

“Well, I’m not okay at all. But I don’t think Adam understands,” I explained.

“Maybe, maybe not. We’re calling the police to let them know. We’ll do whatever they recommend,” Wyatt said. He placed a palm on my shoulder, his touch strong and soothing as he squeezed before his hand fell away. He was already lifting his phone and calling the police on speaker.

“Chief Mike Taylor.”

“Rich texted Tessa. Wants to trade her for Eric. Adam is understandably upset. What should we do?” Wyatt asked without preamble.

Whatever Kenan had said to Adam, he appeared to have calmed considerably. He and Kenan came to stand on either side of me. Adam curled an arm around my waist, holding me close to him. Even though I could sense his unrest, I felt comforted. Because it was Adam, and I knew he loved me.

“You’re not going to like my suggestion,” Mike said on the phone.

I slid a look at Adam as he closed his eyes. I felt the deep breath that he took. “You’re gonna say Tessa should do this.”

“Yes, but we have a plan. Rich is desperate. Whenever people do things like this, they are desperate. He may seem calm, but he’s not. I know Rich,” Mike said. “You guys know him too, and Tessa knows him better than any of us. He’s always had a reputation for flying off the handle. He’s not a cool, calm, collected kind of guy. He always lets his temper get the best of him. At the moment, he might think he has it under control, but he doesn’t because he’s done something stupid. Tessa, we need you to share your phone like we talked about so I can see what’s happening on your phone.”

The next few minutes passed swiftly. Adam was considerably calmer because he had something to focus on, the logistic steps needed to connect the police to my cell.

Mike basically told me what to say but had me text it how I would say it.

Me:You know I’ll do anything for Eric. Just tell me where to meet you. Who is meeting us there to pick up Eric?

I had called my parents in Juneau at some point this afternoon. Even though they wanted to fly here, they were waiting until the police updated them. I knew they would meet Rich, but my first choice was my uncle David. He would be the least reactive in the situation, and Rich actually liked him.

“Why can’t I go?” Adam asked while we waited for Rich’s reply to my text.

The police chief was still on Wyatt’s speaker. He interjected, “Because you can’t keep your cool either. I trust you far more than I trust Rich and I don’t think you’ll do anything dangerous. You’ve had a lifetime of controlling your temper, but Rich won’t go for it. We need someone neutral. Let’s see what Rich says. If he suggests someone, we might go with that.”

Rich’s reply came as Mike finished speaking.

Rich:I’ll see you in an hour at the Lupine trail. My mom can pick up Eric.

I clenched my teeth. Rich’s mom and I had never gotten along. “She’s been pissed off at me ever since I left,” I muttered.

“That’s fine. I can deal with Barb,” Mike said.

I took a slow breath. Of all the things I was in a sheer panic about, my mistrust of Rich’s mother shouldn’t get to me. But it did. Because I knew she knew. She knew how he treated me, and she didn’t care.

Adam’s palm circled between my shoulder blades. I savored the contact and bit back the urge to argue with the police chief.

“Are you sure?” I asked.

“I’ve known Barb for years. She’s married to a man who’s a lot like her son. I can understand why you don’t trust her, but she’ll do what’s right for Eric,” Mike said.

Even if I didn’t want her involved, I knew he was right on that count.

“Okay. What do we do now?”