I should be sad. Maybe shed a tear or freak out a little, but there is nothing. Nothing, but the heavy weight of the pain that they’ve caused me over the years, as it vanishes from inside of me.
I grab my coffee off the railing and take a long swallow, enjoying the burn of the whiskey mixed with it. When I pull the mug away from my mouth and feel my lips curve into a smile, I know that everything is finally okay. My life is finally perfect, and there isn’t anything that can take this feeling from me.
****
By the time I pull myself off the couch on the back porch, it’s nearing lunchtime. Beck’s already called twice to check on me, and the last time he called I told him he better not call me again. I love him for wanting to make sure that I’m okay, but we both need to start getting back to normal. Our normal. Together.
After a quick lunch, I sit down to start answering emails. I’ve enjoyed my break from work, my forced break, but now it’s time to get back on the wagon, so to speak. The first order of business is to start cleaning shop with the North Carolina branch. I spoke with Chelcie the other day about selling the business and having her move down here to help me run things. I’m ready to stop making work my number one priority, and focus on living my life.
Ring.
“Hey, Chelc, I was just thinking about you.” When I hear her soft sob, the smile on my face vanishes. “Chelcie? What’s wrong?”
“Oh God, Dee. I thought it was over, you know? Things have been so quiet around here, but you… you got a letter today.” She sounds terrified, and all it does is fuel the dread slowly closing in on me.
“Chelcie, what did it say?” I’m pretty proud of myself for sounding a lot calmer than I feel. I take a few deep gulps to calm myself and wait for her to speak.
“There are pictures, Dee. They have pictures of you, and they have pictures of me.”
My heart is beating out of control. Oh my God.
“Was there anything else?” Tears are streaming down my face, and my hands are shaking so badly that I have no idea how I’m able to hold onto the phone.
“There’s a message,” she whispers back.
“And?”
“It said… God, it said that if you don’t deliver Adam or two hundred thousand dollars by the end of the month, they’re going to clear the debt owed in other ways. Dee! What the hell does that mean?!” By the time she finishes, she is sobbing.
I give myself a few minutes to freak out before trying to come up with a fix.
“Chelcie, listen to me. I want you to get your things and go straight home. Lock the door and do not answer for anyone. Pack as much as you can and get down here. I need to call Beck and let him know what’s going on, but I want you here where I know you will be safe.”
She’s silent for so long that I have to pull my phone away to make sure she didn’t disconnect.
“Chelc, do you understand?”
“Yeah, Dee. I’ll be there by tomorrow. Promise me you’re safe?”
“Don’t worry about me. Worry about you. Get down here, Chelcie. Everything’s going to be okay. Make sure you bring everything they mailed you and try not to touch it, okay?”
“I’ll be there.”
I quickly hang up the phone and immediately call Beck. After I fill him in, he tells me to check every door and stay away from the windows. I know he’s worried, but he’s trying to hide it so it doesn’t freak me out.
“I’m okay, Beck. I’m really okay. Just get home okay?” I don’t think I realized until that moment that I’m not as scared as I would have been months ago. I’m worried, but mainly for Chelcie. I know that Beck won’t let anything happen to me, and until she gets down here, I don’t think I’ll be able to stop the feeling that I have no way of controlling what happens here.
I check all the doors and make sure the alarm is active before making my way back upstairs. The only place that I know I’ll feel one hundred percent safe is in Beck’s bed, where I can pull the covers around me and let his scent surround me.
The second that I hang up with Dee, I gather the rest of the guys in the office so I can fill them in on what’s going on.
“She doesn’t know if there’s more. The letter didn’t come here, which makes me think that he wants her to believe he knows more than he does. There’s a reason he sent it to Chelcie at the office and not here.”
Axel looks around for a second, thinking about all the facts that we have. Which is basically is a whole lot of nothing. “I don’t like this. How is it possible for this Adam shit to hide for this long?”
“We need the letter. Maybe we can pull something off of it. It’s a long shot, but right now, it’s all we have.” Coop sits down and for once doesn’t end a sentence with some smart-ass remark.
We’re all worried. This guy has us all by the balls, and it’s not sitting well with any of us.