Page 29 of Clara's Secure Hideaway

“What? No, that can’t be right. I made sure to set the alarm before bed and the house has been locked up tight all evening.”

As if to accentuate her point, the shrill blast of an alarm erupted in the background.

“Owen and I are en route and should be there soon.”

“I have to see to Clara. I have to make sure she’s okay.”

He opened his mouth to tell her to stay put, to not put herself in harm’s way, but the line went dead. “Shit.”

“Don’t go to the worst-case scenario,” Owen said as he sped toward Pine Valley. “Clara’s smart. She told you what was happening. If Mitch knows we’re on the way, he won’t stick around.”

Heath rubbed his palms up and down his thighs and tapped his toe against the footwell. Time crawled by, the landscape outside his window nothing but a blur as his mind focused on Clara and the kids. “Is that supposed to make me feel better? We’ll get there to find Clara upset, terrified, or worse and Mitch will be long gone?”

“Dude, I told you, don’t think like that. I just meant he won’t want to be arrested so hopefully he’ll bolt before he goes too far.”

Heath held onto the sentiment, praying it was true. If Mitch had laid a hand on Clara or the kids, he’d lose his shit.

His breath sat trapped at the base of his throat until the shelter came into view. As Owen parked, Heath released his seatbelt and readied himself to fly out of the car.

“We treat this like any other threatening situation,” Owen warned. “Don’t jump in and get yourself or anyone else hurt.”

The implications he’d put anyone in harm’s way raised his hackles, but he held back a smart-ass retort that wouldn’t help anyway. He secured his weapon, the weight familiar and grounding in his hands, and as soon as Owen shut off the engine, jumped onto the hard ground.

Owen’s footsteps sounded behind him.

Heath hurried up the porch steps, his weapon trained at the ground. “Deputy Sterling and Deputy Wells. We’re coming inside.”

“We’re in the library,” Mrs. Collins called out. “Mitch is gone.”

The weight on his chest didn’t lift until he ran across the foyer and saw Clara on the sofa. Davey and Avery were curled into little balls on the opposite ends of the sofa, blankets pulled up to their chins and fast asleep.

Clara glanced up. Her eyes were red and puffy. A bruise on her neck made his pulse thunder in his veins, and blood on her split lip had him hesitating for a beat in the doorway. A wave of rage crashed over him like he’d never known before. He had to get a grip, push his own emotions aside so not to scare her more.

Mrs. Collins stood and met him with a hug. “You made it quick. I’ll let Clara tell you what happened, but Mitch ran out of the house.”

Owen stood beside him. “You speak with Clara, I’ll place a call to city police about getting men out to search for him right away. If all goes well, we’ll find him in no time, and this will all be over.”

An unknown force drew him to Clara. He walked slowly as if approaching a spooked horse, but he had to know for sure she was okay. The fire in the fireplace didn’t do a damn thing to thaw the fear still clinging to his bones. “Is it okay to talk now?”

She kept her wide eyes latched on him and nodded.

“Are the kids all right? Did he touch them? Hurt them?” He could see Mitch had used his hands on Clara, but if he touched those kids, he’d tear through the town himself to find the bastard.

Clearing her throat, tears filled her eyes before leaking down her face. She dropped her gaze to her hands folded on her lap. “They didn’t wake up until I brought them downstairs. I didn’t want to be away from them.” Her voice cracked, and she covered her mouth with her hand as sobs shook her shoulders.

He couldn’t stay away. Couldn’t not touch her, hold her, comfort her any way he could. Dropping to his knees in front of her, he hovered his palms in the air, seeking permission before covering her hand with his. “He hit you.”

There was no need to ask, the proof was written in blood on her face.

Again, she nodded.

He squeezed her hands. “I’m sorry. This should have never happened. You never should have been in this situation.”

She lifted her shoulders and sniffled. “I left the window unlocked. He climbed a tree and snuck right inside. He was waiting for me.”

“Did he say what he wanted?”

“The computer. I told him I didn’t have it and that I found out the truth. He said we couldn’t prove it. He said he’d make me pay. That this isn’t over.” A tortured expression twisted her facial features. “Will this ever really be over? Will I ever be free of him?”

---