Page 13 of Montana Silence

Right. I inhaled for a count of eight and held it for the same, breathed out for eight and held it. Again, and a third time. These were all things I knew how to do and had done countless times by now, and still, I needed to be reminded.

Shame washed up over me, even though I rationally knew it had no place.

I looked up and met Rayne’s eyes. She smiled gently. “You’re okay,” she said. “You’re here, and nothing in this office will hurt you. Do you still believe that?”

Slowly, I inhaled. Exhaled. “Yes.”

“I’m glad to hear it. Take as much time as you need, but I’d like to know what’s in the box since it seems like it’s the thing that brought you here.”

“Can you look at it?” I asked.

“If you’d like me to.”

I handed her the box, my hands clearly shaking as I passed it over. She opened the box, and it was a small miracle to see she wasn’t afraid of it. Her brow furrowed when she pulled the pile of frothy fabric out into the air.

She looked at me. “From what you’ve told me, I know you’re not recently engaged. This is from your past?”

I nodded. There was more I hadn’t told her about it, and I pushed the words out, every sound of my voice in the silence relieving some of the pressure in my chest, even if the words were halting.

The brides of honor and what it meant to be one. The real truth of why everything had happened. Why I sat here with her now. But I still didn’t knowwhyorhowthat thing was here.

Rayne nodded slowly, carefully folding up the veil and putting it back in the box. She set it on the table between us. “Thank you for telling me all of that, Mara. I know it wasn’t easy. And you’re probably feeling a bit raw right now.”

I blew out a breath. “Yes.”

“And you think this means he’s out of prison?”

“What else could it mean? He’s the only one who would want to send me something like that. To terrorize me.”

She looked at me carefully. “Not any of the other men you mentioned?”

“They disbanded The Family,” I said, swallowing but not feeling much conviction behind the statement.

Rayne nodded. “Tell you what, let’s call and find out if he’s still in prison. No point in worrying about something if we don’t know if it’s a yes or a no, right?”

I blinked. “You can do that?”

“If you know where he is, yes.”

For sure, I did. Moving to her desk, I gave Rayne the information for his prison down in Phoenix. In no more than a minute, she had the general information number. “Write down his name for me.”

She knew his name—I’d mentioned it enough times. But in this case, I was glad she didn’t take the chance of getting it wrong. Still, writing his name on the notepad felt like I was sticking my hand into mud.

Malcolm Novic

Rayne flipped the phone to speaker. “Hello, I’m calling to check on the status of an inmate.”

“Name?” the male voice answered, sounding bored.

“Malcolm Novic.”

The man didn’t even hesitate. “He’s here, and he’s fine. But if you’re calling about the parole hearing, I’ll tell you,again, that’s not this number. It’s—”

I didn’t hear the rest of whatever he said. The rushing sound in my ears drowned out the words.

Parolehearing.

Somehow I ended up back in my chair across the room, knees pulled up to my chest. He was still in jail, but there was a chance he wouldn’t be. Panic welled up in my throat, and I couldn’t force it down. My soul was a hurricane trapped in the statue of my body. What would I do?

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