Page 84 of In Hiding

“Thank you.”

He served up a bowl of steaming beef stew and they ate without talking. She didn’t have any words. William’s behavior worried and confused her. She couldn’t explain it but she desperately wanted to understand it.

“Relax,” he said as he cleared away their dishes. “Let me see if I can work some magic.”

His hopeful smile didn’t reassure her and the only thing she could think about when he left, was whether she could somehow save her son from going off the rails. She thought he’d turned a corner. Part of her wanted to think he had a good reason for skipping school but she couldn’t come up with one herself. One thing she knew for sure, was that somehow, Sam Newman had a hand in it.

Pulling herself together, she returned to her office. With food in her system, she felt better and hoped it would help her concentrate. Sitting back at her computer, she woke the machine from its slumber and opened the file she’d been working on. About to lose herself once again in the numbers, she was pulled away when the phone rang.

“Sarah Andersen speaking.”

There was a moment’s hesitation before a woman spoke on the other end. “Sarah, it’s Linda Northward.”

No.

Sarah’s mouth dried as her body went on high alert.

“Sarah?”

She swallowed and a cascade of memories hit her all at once. Almost like physical blows, each one pummeled her with a force she couldn’t counter. The dread she’d been trying to fight off swelled until it filled her chest and threatened to crush her lungs.

“Are you there?”

“I am.” Her tiny voice shocked her. She could only imagine what it sounded like to the prosecutor who’d befriended her during the trial. “It’s bad news, isn’t it?”

There was a brief silence. “I’m afraid so. I’m sorry to inform you but Ryan Mitchell was granted parole this afternoon. I want you to know we vehemently appealed his application to no avail. You should receive a call from the Victim’s Register, probably tomorrow, but I wanted to be the one to tell you in person.”

“Is he out?”

“It will take a few days to process the paperwork.”

Numbness spread through her. “He’ll come for me.”

“Sarah, no. He was expressly forbidden from seeking you out. The judge made it very clear.”

She laughed, then slapped a hand over her mouth to hide the hysterical sound. The frustrated sigh on the other end of the phone echoed the sentiment in her mind.

“I want to say you’ll be safe, Sarah, but we both know Ryan is a smart man. I did everything I could to keep you hidden but I can’t guarantee it was enough.”

It wasn’t.

If Jake was able to find her, Ryan would, too. Five years ago, the legal eagle on the other end of the phone had worked her magic to alter their identities. She’d pulled every legal string there was to bury Katherine and William Mitchell under a pile of suppressed paperwork. Sarah knew it wouldn’t be enough.

It was never a matter of if, but when.

“I know,” she conceded. “Linda, if anything should happen to us...”

“Then you need to leave. Get out of the country, Sarah.”

The suggestion raised her hackles. “I will not run. Not again. Promise me, Linda. If he comes for us, if something happens to us, you will make sure he pays.”

“Done.”

The woman was a shark in the courtroom and Sarah knew she was true to her word. She hung up and stood on shaky legs. Pacing across the floor of her office, her mind ran through the possibilities. How long would it take him to find them? What would he do when he did?

A shiver raked through her body and she knelt by the open fireplace to throw another log on the embers. Stoking the fire back to life, she let it chase away the chills and steady her resolve. She’d run and she’d hidden them as best she could. If Ryan found them, she vowed to fight. She wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of killing her. He didn’t deserve it.

When Jake returned with a repentant William in tow, she sent the boy to his room. Jake eyed her warily.

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