Page 31 of Hiding Rose
“I meant physically locating him. The flower was sent through the mail. Apparently, it came into the mailroom this morning addressed to you. The mailroom asked one of the new guys to deliver it, which is why Sawyer didn’t recognize him as an employee and thought he was a flower delivery guy. It was mailed, but the postage was bought online with a fake account, and the return address is an empty field in the middle of Kansas.”
“So, it’s a dead end,” I said, my hand gripping the comforter on my bed tightly. “He’s in Kansas somewhere and he knows where I am.” She grimaced and I waited, but she didn’t say anything. “Kate? What aren’t you telling me?”
She took my hand and squeezed it. “We don’t know if he’s in Kansas. It was a fake return address and he bought the postage online. He could be anywhere. We aren’t any closer to finding him now than we were before.”
“What you’re saying is he could be here already,” I whispered, fear making my voice shake.
She swung her head back and forth. “No, he’s not on the island. We have enough people keeping an eye out for him and we know he’s not here.”
“But our hope that he laid down and died somewhere is dead,” I finished, and she nodded once.
“It appears so. I don’t want you to worry about it, though. You’re safe here and Niko, Gideon, and the cops are doing everything they can to locate him. He’s wanted for two counts of attempted first degree murder in Minnesota. The cops want him, too. Stay calm and remember we’re going to take care of you.”
A tear leaked out of my eye and down my cheek. “I don’t know how to be calm when I’m scared to death. I always knew this day would come, but I didn’t expect him to threaten to kill me via poem. I’m embarrassed I made a scene in front of everyone.”
She leaned forward and wiped the tear off my face. “No, you’re embarrassed you were emotional in front of Sawyer,” she corrected me.
I shrugged. “Probably more than anything.”
“Don’t be. I would have done the same thing in your position. No one who gets a dead rose in the mail with a death threat is going to react well. You get to feel however you want to feel. This isn’t happening to me or Sawyer, this is happening to you. We don’t get to dictate how you feel. I hope you can trust Gideon and I are doing everything we can to protect you.”
I took a deep breath and then let it out. “I know you are. I’m thankful for everything you’ve done and are doing for me. I’m scared, and when I’m scared my brain doesn’t always fire correctly. Usually it yells, ‘run’ and I’m gone.” I put a hand to my mouth, the fingers shaking. “My parents. How are my parents?”
She took the hand down from my mouth and held it. “They’re fine. Niko’s guy down there reports everything is normal and no unusual packages have been delivered. I think your parents are safe, he’s not after them, if he even remembers where they are. He wants you, but we’ll keep you, and them, safe until the cops find him.”
“If they find him,” I moaned, resting my hand on my forehead. “He’s already made it longer than any of us expected. This could go on for years. I still can’t believe how badly I misjudged the guy. I never dreamed we’d be here talking about dead roses and poems threatening murder.”
She rubbed my arm soothingly, the way she does for Hope when she’s upset. “Gideon and Niko have this under control. I want you to trust them, okay? We think it would be wise though if you discourage your parents from coming for a few months. I know you want to see them, but you also want them to be safe.”
I nodded. “I agree. I’ll tell them the new center is eating up all my time and when it’s done they can come over and see me. It should buy us a few months.”
“Perfect,” she agreed. “We also don’t want you outside the resort alone, just in case. If you have to go outside take someone with you. Preferably someone strong.”
I snorted with laughter. “Like Sawyer, right?”
She grinned. “He would be an excellent choice. I heard he took you to the beach the other night. Did you enjoy yourself?”
“Honestly?” I asked and she nodded. “It changed my outlook on life, at least it did until today.”
She cocked her head. “What do you mean?”
I shifted in an attempt to get more comfortable. “When I was standing in the surf and the water went on forever into the blackness, I realized how infinitesimal we are in this universe. The water and moon had more power over me than I did. The two of them had the power to kill me in the blink of an eye. I realized if I kept living in fear of Jarrett then he was winning and stealing my life away from me. I vowed to live more in the moment and not be afraid all the time. It lasted a whole seventy-two hours.”
“Today’s events don’t have to change anything. We always knew Jarrett was out there somewhere—”
“We did, but we didn’t think he knew where I was,” I jumped in. “We thought I was safe here.”
She squeezed my hand. “You are safe here, and I want you to keep living the way you lived the last three days. Enjoy the beauty around you and the experiences you can have here. If you don’t then you’re letting Jarrett win with his campaign of terror.”
I sat up and leaned against the headboard. “I don’t understand why he cares. Wouldn’t it make more sense for him to fade into the woodwork and pretend I don’t exist than to contact me again. He has to know the cops want him. He’s been on TV as a most wanted fugitive for six months.”
“I never said he was smart, but luckily for you, Gideon and Niko are. They will track him down and we will get him out of your life. You have to have faith for a little while longer. Can you?”
I wasn’t sure I could, but I smiled and nodded, to make her feel better.
