It had been nine days since I’d mailed the DNA to Roman.
I hadn’t heard anything back.
I didn’t know if that was a good or a bad thing.
His face wasn’t on the news as a missing person.
But the cops hadn’t showed up to take my daughter yet, either.
I wasn’t positive that was the way it would work, but every night as I fell asleep with her in my arms, a knife under my mattress, Walt curled up behind me, I had the sweetest dreams about that moment.
It would kill me to tell her goodbye.
But the relief of knowing she was finally out of his reach would make it all worth it.
It was the day after Thanksgiving, and I was decorating the house for Christmas when I heard Walt coming down the stairs.
Tessa froze when she heard him, but I gave her a smile and a wink and tossed her a few of the plastic ornaments I’d managed to untangle from the lights.
I kept my back to him, hoping he’d ignore me.
I’d never been more wrong.
I felt him get close, and I steeled myself for his usual hug and kiss.
Only, this time, I felt his hand wrap around my neck, cutting my air off, as he spun me and slammed my back against the wall.
My scream was unable to escape past his grip on my throat.
I had always been afraid of Walt, but I’d never, not once, seen him as angry as he was in that moment.
His face was nearly vibrating as he exploded. “You gave the police our DNA!”
That was it.
The time had come.
It was my day to die.
And, as my eyes frantically flashed to Tessa, who was screaming on the floor, my only thoughts were that I’d failed her for the first, and ultimately last, time.
“What are you planning to do?” I asked, sitting in the passenger’s seat of Heath’s white Explorer as he gunned it toward the Noir residence.
“Haven’t made it that far,” he grunted, swerving around traffic.
Fuck. This does not sound good.
“Then maybe we should pull the fuck over and develop some sort of plan of action here,” I argued.
He ignored me and lifted a phone to his ear. “It’s Light. I need surveillance at Noir’s temporarily shut off for about an hour.” Pause. “Well, that’s up to you, but there’s about to be a fuck-ton of my face up in that shit.” Pause. “Then that’s on you. But I’d suggest you do it now.” Pause. “Right. I’ve got Leblanc with me.”
I heard the man on the other end of the phone shouting as Heath pulled the phone away and pressed the end button.
Fuck. That sounds even worse.
“Heath, man…I’m not sure about this. I want this done too, but I don’t think this is the way to—”
He cut me off. “He’s gonna kill her. If he hasn’t already.”
“Tessa?” I asked, my heart lurching into my throat.
He shook his head, keeping his eyes on the road. “Clare. Then he’s gonna pack up your kid and leave the city. We might find him again.” His haunting gaze flashed to mine. “But we might not. The one thing I can swear to you is that we do not have time to pull over and work out a plan of action. Now, I can pull over, drop you off, and you can walk away from all of this here and now. Or you can reach into my back seat, dig out my vest, put that motherfucker on, and follow me into the pits of Hell to retrieve your daughter.”
I gritted my teeth.
It wasn’t a choice at all.
If he was right, this might have been my only shot to bring her home to Elisabeth.
So I stayed silent, leaned into the back seat, and pulled a fucking Kevlar vest on, vowing to arm our boys in blue with Rubicon the first chance I got. And then I prepared to take back my family.
“You stupid cunt!” Walt yelled into my face.
His hand was still around my throat, and I struggled to pry his fingers away.
I couldn’t breathe, and I was precariously close to losing consciousness.
But knowing that, if I let go, I’d probably never wake up again gave me the strength to slam my knee into his groin.
His body jerked and his grip loosened long enough for me suck in a sweet gasp of oxygen.
He regained his hold on me, but with fresh air in my lungs and a lifetime of fear fueling me, I threw my fists into his face and another knee into his groin, and then I shoved him as hard as I could. Desperation made me strong, and he stumbled back.
Suddenly free, I took off at a dead sprint. Snatching Tessa off the floor and then darting to the front door.
My pulse was roaring in my ears, but I could hear his footsteps echoing behind me.
I pushed myself faster.
I struggled with the door before swinging it open and racing out front.
I only made it two steps before pain detonated at the back my head, forcing me to a sharp halt before snatching me backward.
“No!” I screamed as Tessa fell from my arms.