Page 41 of Single Mom's Firemen

“I…. No. I didn’t. I didn’t even know he’d found me,” she manages, wiping her tears. Something else is taking over her. An instinct I have seen manifest in other people, under similar circumstances of duress. Taking deep, shaky breaths, Halle straightens her back and steels herself. “It explains a lot, though. I need to go.”

“You’re not going anywhere, Halle, we’re not done talking,” I say. “You need to tell me everything. You need to tell us everything. We deserve that much!”

“Not right now.”

She bolts right past me, and I’m too shocked to do anything about it. I try to catch up with her before she walks out the door, but she yanks her wrist free with a seething look on her face.

“Halle!”

“I said not right now! I need to get my kids out of here!”

The glassy yet determined look in her eyes sends shivers down my spine. I’ve never seen her like this—so furious and devastated at the same time. My blood runs cold as I reach for my phone.

Whatever she thinks she’s doing, she’s not doing it alone. Whether she likes it or not. Sooner or later, Halle will have to understand that she’s not alone anymore. I sure as hell don’t plan on letting her battle The Devil’s unhinged son on her own. Especially not after he tried to burn her and their kids alive in that fucking diner.

This impending danger puts everything in a different perspective, now that Halle is out the door. My own anger subsides and a sense of protective urgency takes over. We can fight about the secret she kept from us later. Colby Nash isn’t going to stop. We know who he is. We also know how powerful and influential his family is.

No wonder Halle is running.

14

Halle

It all makes so much sense now.

That dreaded feeling in my gut that never left me alone while I was working at the diner, always telling myself that it was going to be okay, that he couldn’t find us. But it was never going to be okay. Colby found me long before I became aware of his presence outside Marie’s daycare. He set the diner on fire. He must’ve known that our children were in there with me.

Oh, God, I wanna throw up.

But I can’t. I need to keep it together until I get Luna and Sammy out of daycare and to safety.

My heart is beating so hard, so fast, I can barely breathe. Panic threatens to take over, but my survival instincts have always been stronger in the face of danger. I ran away from Colby once, and I will do it as many times as I need to until he’s so far removed from our lives that we will finally have the peace and safety that we deserve.

Sammy and Luna deserve to grow up in a nurturing and loving home, not in one where they have to deal with Colby’s violent fits over the smallest thing. They deserve to go to school without having to worry about what Daddy is doing to Mama at home.

I’m sobbing in the back of the yellow cab, trying to be as quiet as possible, as the driver pulls over just around the corner as I asked. I can see the daycare center from here. I pay the man and get out, wiping away my tears as I brace myself for the toughest moment yet to come—having to tell my children that we are going away again.

The vacation idea won’t do. I’ve confused them enough already. We’re going, we’re staying, we’re safe, we’re gonna be safer somewhere else. Luna and Sammy may be young, but they do need to understand my role as their mother. As their protector.

As much as it pains me, they understand that Daddy is a bad man. They know he isn’t safe, that we aren’t safe with him around.

My phone rings. It’s Eric. I switch it to silent mode and slip it back into my pocket, then make my way around to the back entrance, keeping my head down.

A man steps out in front of me.

I bump into him, then instantly jump back. “I’m so sorry,” I say, trying to go around him but he blocks my path. “I need to—” I look up, and everything shuts down inside of me. The process is automatic and out of my control.

“Long time no see, babe,” Colby says, a sneer slitting his face.

This can’t be happening. No! This is a nightmare. Maybe if I pinch myself hard enough, I’ll wake up in Eric, Chase, and Wyatt’s loving arms. It’ll be a lazy Sunday morning, and my past will be nowhere to be found.

“Cat got your tongue?” Colby asks, his beady brown eyes never leaving mine.

“Colby… how did you find me?” I can’t breathe anymore.

My knees are Jell-O, the rest of my body frozen in place. Tight as a bow about to release an arrow.

“I will always find you, Helena,” he says, his tone cocky and confident.

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