Page 60 of Shelter from the Storm

Theo gave her an adorable pout but didn’t fight her. “Hurry back, kitten.” He gave her a quick, hard kiss, one that ensured she would do just that, because she was becoming too accustomed to always being with him. More than that, she wanted to be near him.

The short walk from the brewery to the brewhouse was well-lit, and while she was anxious to return to the party, she didn’t rush, enjoying the smell of fall in the air as well as the peaceful sounds of evening. This was the first moment she’d had to herself all day, so she took advantage of it.

She’d just reached her office when her cellphone rang. She pulled it out of her pocket, frowning when she saw Brenda’s name. Her former boss had called three or four times, shortly after her escape from Harrisburg, to make sure she was okay, but it had been over a month since the last call. While they’d grown closer during the last six months of Gretchen’s employment, it was probably a leap to call her and Brenda friends. It was more that Brenda had stepped up when she’d needed her, offering her help to leave town, and after that, their common bond no longer existed.

“Brenda,” Gretchen said.

“He knows where you are.”

Gretchen staggered across the office to her chair, sinking down heavily. “Are you sure?”

“Yes. Briggs obtained my phone records without a warrant, which is illegal as hell. Don’t think my lawyer mom isn’t salivating, ready to press charges for that. Briggs asked my brother if I knew anyone in Gracemont, Virginia. Douglas said he didn’t think so, then asked why Briggs wanted to know. That’s when Briggs said he’d pulled my phone records. He saw from the records that I’d called someone in Gracemont a few times and he knows the number belongs to a Tracfone, which sparked his suspicions.”

“Oh,” Gretchen breathed.

“Douglas is finally starting to see the light about Briggs. Because in addition to invading my privacy, he’s acting obsessed and more than a little crazy. Briggs has gone off the deep end, Gretchen, and I’m worried about you.”

“Oh,” Gretchen said again, suddenly breathless, her chest too tight.

He knew where she was. She’d known this day was coming, known Briggs wouldn’t stop until he found her.

She thought she was ready for it, but given how quickly this panic attack was coming on, that was another lie she’d been telling herself.

“Okay,” she said because her brain had stopped functioning.

“I’m sorry, Gretchen,” Brenda said, distraught. “If there’s a bright side, I don’t think he knows your new name.”

Maybe not. But she hadn’t met a single other Gretchen in Gracemont yet. She should have moved to a hell of a lot bigger city, like New York or L.A.

“It’s okay,” she repeated, as if that would make it so. “It’s okay. It’s okay.”

Brenda continued apologizing, but Gretchen couldn’t focus on the words.

Briggs knew she was in Gracemont. With that information, how long would it take before he found Edith’s address? Gretchen pressed her fingers to her lips, feeling nauseous that she’d put the dear woman in harm’s way.

She needed to reach out to Edith. Now. Right away.

“I have to go, Brenda,” she said, interrupting the woman who was still quite upset. “I need to…” Gretchen was light-headed, her mind whirling as she pictured Edith at home, Manny sleeping off the party in one of the other guest rooms, as his aunt insisted he wouldn’t drink enough water or take aspirin if she wasn’t there to look after him.

Disconnecting the call, she tried to figure out next steps, and she needed to do it quickly because her hands were already trembling violently, the edges of her vision going gray, her breathing too rapid and shallow.

She pulled up Edith’s name in her phone and sent a quick text, lying and saying that she was having a sleepover with Nora. She couldn’t go back to Edith’s in case Briggs showed up there.

If she hadn’t been out of her mind with terror, the quick thumbs-up and okay gestures Edith replied with might have made her laugh, because Gretchen had only recently taught her how to use emoticons as text responses.

Staying away from Edith’s only solved one problem. Just as she wanted to ensure her beloved landlady was safe, she also didn’t want Briggs around the Storms. Originally, she feared him showing up here in case they believed Briggs’s lies about her mental health. That was no longer as big a concern, because she didn’t think Theo or his family would fall for Briggs’s bullshit.

But after a lifetime of being hurt and disappointed by people who should have cared for her, she couldn’t shut down that teeny tiny insecure part of her that still worried they would.

She hadn’t protected her heart. She’d allowed herself to be swept away in this new magical, amazing, happy place, believing there was some sort of dome over Gracemont that would ward off all the bad shit and keep Briggs out. She thought she’d been getting stronger, but now, when faced with the likelihood of Briggs’s arrival, she found herself reverting to that same terrified, weak woman.

Gretchen covered her mouth with her hand, bending over to reach for her trash can. She gagged several times, the contents of her stomach threatening to come up. The idea of facing him again made her physically ill, and a lifetime of insecurities broke free from where she’d buried them, too many voices screaming in her head.

Ivan cursing her out as the police put him in handcuffs, shoving him outside to the squad car after he’d hurt Shaw. “You worthless, stupid cunt!”

Gretchen closed her eyes.

Her mother shouting at her after Ivan’s arrest. “Having you was the biggest mistake of my life! You’ve been nothing but a disappointment. Why do you think your father left? It was because he couldn’t stand the sight of you!”

---