Page 5 of Safe Haven

“No. Not tonight.” He pulls out a cell phone, the screen of it offering a tiny bit of illumination in the dark space as he makes a call. His explanation continues as the line rings, the trill easy to hear in the silence. “Anyone watching will think you went to bed.Turning off all your lights and then turning them back on will be suspicious.”

A chill snakes down my spine as he confirms my suspicions. “So Iambeing watched.” It’s not a question.

Whoever Maddox is calling answers, so I don’t get the confirmation I don’t really need.

“I’m in. The place is clear.” Maddox strides to the front window, one long finger reaching out to lift a single slat of the blinds so he can peek outside. “It looks like the car is still out there. Have you seen any movement?”

I know which car he’s talking about. It’s the same one that had me big spooning a baseball bat every night for the past few days.

I hoped I was overreacting. Tried to convince myself I was being paranoid. That there was no way Trevor would have figured out what I’d done. I did my best to believe the unknown car simply belonged to a new neighbor.

Who happened to also occasionally park outside the clothing store I managed.

If I tried hard enough I could convince myself it was possible. Plausible, even.

Which was a ridiculous thing to do considering my history of choosing to see things differently than they actually are.

“Stay on it. I want to know the minute something changes.” Maddox lowers the blind into place and turns to me, his expression nearly impossible to read in the dim lighting. “She’s okay.”

It’s good to hear that I appear okay, even though I’m not confident it’s an accurate assessment.

Maddox reiterates to whoever’s on the other end of the line that he wants to be informed of any changes. Then he hangs up, sliding his phone into one of the pockets on his tactical pants as he looks me over.

“Is that why you called us? Because of the men parked outside?”

Among other things.

I nod. “Yes.” Because if he can claim not to have enough information to give me answers, then I feel like I deserve the same luxury.

Maddox continues studying me in the darkness, making me want to shift on my feet. Can he tell I’m holding back? Is he going to be pissed as hell when he finds out how much more there is to this story?

“How long have they been out there?” he asks.

“Today?” The word comes out on a squeak as the familiar twist of dread ties my belly. I know I called Alaskan Security for help, but I was thinking they would just send someone big and scary to shoot at anyone who might try to kidnap or kill me. I didn’t really expect them to ask too many questions. “Or just in general?”

“Both.”

“Well.” I take a deep breath, trying not to fall apart as I face him and the truth. Silently hoping he handles unpleasant news better than the man in my past. “Today, they’ve been out there since just after lunch.” I wipe my hands on the front of my pants,attempting to rid my palms of the clamminess collecting there. “In general, about a week.”

“So you waited almost a week to call us?” He doesn’t sound pissed, but he does sound skeptical. I don’t blame him. Any reasonable person in my situation would have assumed seeing the same car everywhere they went meant they were being followed.

But I’m not so sure I’m a reasonable person.

“I didn’t want to be overreacting.”I didn’t want it to be true. I wanted everything to work out the way I expected. For things to slowly find their way into a new sort of normal. A normal that didn’t involve getting the shit beat out of me when things didn’t go my husband’s way. Or hearing about what a piece of shit I am every night.

Unfortunately, I’m discovering I don’t simply get to leave those things behind. The universe appears to be more of an exchange type situation.

Now, instead of wondering when I’ll get smacked again, I wonder if someone’s going to come for me in the middle of the night. Instead of hearing what a piece of shit wife I am, I get to be threatened with having my life ruined. Manipulated with promises of money and the return of my dog.

My life is still just as fucked up as it was before, only in new and exciting ways.

“If it makes you feel any better, I don’t think you’re overreacting.” Maddox moves toward me, tipping his head in the direction of my bedroom. “Which is why I need to go get my stuff so I can get set up.”

Stuff? I know I was a little distracted when he first came in, but I didn’t notice anystuff.Not even after I realized it was him standing in my bedroom, not some goon Trevor hired. “I didn’t see you bring anything else in with you.”

“I didn’t.” He pauses partway down the hall, turning to peer at me over one shoulder. “Which is probably good, considering it would’ve made it a hell of a lot harder to block the baseball bat you aimed at my head.”

Did he sound amused or irritated? It was kind of hard to tell. “I wasn’t aiming atyourhead specifically.” I follow behind him as he begins to walk again. “I was aiming at the head of the random person breaking into my apartment.”

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