Page 30 of Redemption's Inferno

“Hello, mate,” he answered in a lighthearted voice.

“If you’re with Em, don’t let on it’s me.”

“No, she’s at the market with my mother.”

“What’s going on?!” Viggo snarled. “This isn’t your fault and I’m grateful you’ve gone to get her, but why are you having a holiday with your mum while Emilie is on the verge of…well, whatever the hell she’s on the verge of!”

Chains actually laughed. “Relax. My mum is better for her than you and me put together. She’s a tough old bird, but after being a critical care nurse for 30 years, she reads people better than any spy I ever met! Despite the fact I’ve been a shit to her and needed to make it up in person, this is the very best place for Emilie to be right now. Mum is intuitive when it comes to people who are hurting… She thinks a bit of mothering, a little bit of country living and time away from her busy life will get her to a place where she can at least…think about everything with a clear head.” He didn’t want to lie but he wasn’t going to tell Emilie’s bisexual ex-husband that Chains’ middle-aged mother thought Emilie’s only problem was that she hadn’t been romanced and loved enough.

Viggo was quiet.

“You still there?”

“Yeah.” He cleared his throat. “So essentially we—all of us—didn’t take care of her.”

“This is a mothering thing, not a friend, or even necessarily a husband thing. You didn’t fail her, mate. She was seeing a psychologist who couldn’t sort it out either. This isn’t on you.”

“Sometimes it feels like it is,” Viggo sighed. “If I hadn’t…well, anyway.”

“This is not about you and Jamie. I won’t pretend to know women all that well, but the one thing I know with no doubt at all is she adores you and Jamie. Look, I’ll tell you a secret if you swear you’ll never let on I told you—only so you understand this isn’t what you think.”

“Of course.”

Chains wasn’t sure he should be outing her secrets, but he explained about Adam anyway. “Her guilt and issues started long before you and Jamie. Between Adam’s death and that bitch Therese, you never had a chance.”

Viggo blew out a breath. “Shit. I wish she’d told me—we could’ve hired someone—and maybe settled this two years ago when we had the bullshit with Therese.”

“She’s deeply ashamed, but I’m working like hell to find some bit of evidence to say there’s more to the story.”

“Thank you.” Viggo was nodding even though he knew Chains couldn’t see it. “She promised to text me daily to let me know how she’s doing—make sure she does, yeah?”

“Of course. Take care.” Chains disconnected and drummed his fingers on the steering wheel as he thought about what to do next. The library search had divulged Adam’s name: Adam Brown. Only one of the most common surnames in all of the United Kingdom. There was a slight catch that might be a break for them, though; the young man who had died came from Ashbourne, a city not far from Bickford. In a city that size, in central England, there couldn’t be many Brown families whose 20-year-old son named Adam died in a hotel in London eight years ago. At least he hoped not. For now, he wouldn’t tell Emilie where he was from, only his last name. He wanted to find out more before he told her anything that might send her spiraling again.

* * *

The Grim Reaper held a baby in his hands, shaking it roughly as he screamed at Emilie to wake up, his voice a rumbling baritone that thundered through her dreams until she was whimpering in fear.

“Bitch! You bloody bitch! Adam Brown had his whole life ahead of him—and you took it away! Now I’ll take yours!” His icy skinless fingers closed around her throat and Emilie woke with a scream, hands at her neck as she gasped for breath.

“Em!” Chains sat up with a start, instantly reaching for her. “It was just a dream, easy.” He wrapped his arms around her trembling body and pulled her into his bare chest. She was shaking so hard she couldn’t even talk and he closed his arms around her more tightly, his lips on her temple. “I’ve got you…it was just a dream. Just hold on to me, love.”

“It, it, it was…” She burst into tears and buried her face against his shoulder, soaking up his warmth and losing herself in his strength. “I can’t do it anymore…” she sobbed. “I can’t. I have to turn myself in!”

“Not tonight,” he whispered. “I’ve got you. Shh.” He rocked her like a child, his thoughts racing as he considered telling her about finding Adam’s family. Not now, he decided, but in the morning. Two days had passed since finding out Adam’s identity and earlier this afternoon he’d discovered where the boy’s parents lived. He’d been planning to contact them on his own, but if Emilie’s guilt was escalating again, he might have to bring her along. He just didn’t know if that would be a good or bad thing.

“Please don’t leave me tonight,” she whispered. Most nights Chains either fell asleep on the couch or came in close to dawn so she didn’t know he was there until she woke in the morning.

“I’m not going anywhere.”

The deep timbre of his voice washed over her and she relaxed slightly.

“Sleep now,” he said, stroking her hair. “And in the morning we’ll come up with a plan.”

“You have a plan?” she murmured sleepily.

“Yeah. But not at four in the morning. Sleep and we’ll talk when we get up.”

“I don’t know if I can go back to sleep,” she shuddered. “It was so awful.”

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