Page 78 of His Loving Wife

The letters started arriving at the house shortly before we received the news that Paul would be released. And I think back to how he reacted with Noah on the boat the other day. It was more than inaction. On the night of the invasion, he’d done nothing out of fear. On the boat, his delay seemed intentional. Maybe he’d meant to harm us then but backed out. And now Vincent is here to make sure Andrew carries out his original plan.

“Does it storm like this often?” Noah asks, breaking my thoughts, reminding me my children are part of this terrifying situation.

“We get a good one every now and then.” Vincent winks. “Nothing too scary.”

“Anyone thirsty?” Andrew walks into the kitchen and begins filling a pitcher of water.

“Nothing like some good food to eat while you’re waiting out the storm,” Vincent says, turning back to the fridge. “I think you’ll enjoy this. It’s a family recipe.”

“How is your family?” I ask Vincent, trying to squeeze out more information.

He pauses, his back still to me, then continues messing with the platter.

“They’re getting so old, no one has time for ’ol Dad anymore.”

“It seems like you’ve been with us nonstop the past two days,” I say dryly. “I’m sure they miss you.”

“It’s not often I get to meet up with one of the guys from Second Chances, and I didn’t want to pass up the opportunity. People underestimate the power of a brotherhood. Through our greatest weaknesses, we’ve found strength in each other. That’s what makes this group special.”

“Have you spent time with any of the other members and their families?”

“Some.”

I picture the Rogers family, their beautiful children reduced to nothing but an old family photograph in the newspaper. Was Vincent with Cal Rogers during his last moments, or was he simply the puppeteer, pulling strings from a safe distance?

“Mom, are you okay?” Willow asks. Her voice is low, but we’re all too close for her words to go unheard.

“I’m fine,” I say, keeping my eyes wide, hoping my smart girl is able to sense something in my expression.

“Mom is just bummed she missed out on the fun today,” Andrew says, and for a minute, it sounds like he’s back to normal. Is that why Vincent and Andrew were so insistent about me joining them? Did they plan to hurt us then?Kill us then, my mind corrects itself. After all, the Rogers and Fowler families aren’t just hurt; they’re dead.

“I actually have some news,” I say. “I spoke with Detective Marsh.”

“Really?” Andrew’s voice climbs an octave.

“I’d tried reaching out to her before we came on vacation. She just now managed to get back to me. I wanted to ask her more details about Paul’s case. She assured me Paul Gunter is still behind bars and will remain there a long, long time.”

Both the children tense up. They’re not used to hearing me say his name. They also have no reason to suspect Paul is anywhere else; we kept the news of his release from them. But now Andrew knows I’m aware of the ruse, and Vincent, too.

“And this is odd,” I continue. “Turns out the person we’ve been communicating with over the past few months isn’t actually Detective Barnes. Someone was pretending to be him and giving us false information.”

“Why would someone do that?” asks Noah.

“I don’t know.”

Andrew’s expression has fallen, and his shoulders are slumped. I know too much for him to offer up an easy explanation.

“Do you think this Paul guy had one of his friends try to scare us?” asks Willow.

“Something like that.” This time, I lock eyes with Andrew. I see the shame on his face, the disappointment that his plan has been found out.

“Kate, I think you’re jumping to conclusions,” Andrew says.

“I don’t think I am. I think I’ve got just about everything figured out.”

“We’re here, okay?” Andrew begins to pace about the room. “We’re safe as long as we’re together. That’s all that matters.”

“We need to go home,” I say calmly. “There’s nothing to fear there.”

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