Something caught my attention and I stopped dead in my tracks. A knife was stabbed into the front door with a note. The same type knife which was used in Dad’s barn. The note was sloppily scrawled.
I dropped the phone. Everything slowed as I looked at the angrily scrawled words. Jaxson called my name, but I wasn’t able to answer.
They found me.
They were here.
It wasn’t over.
Pressure on my shoulders cleared the fog. “London, sweetheart, look at me.” Our eyes connected as Jaxson turned me to face him. “You’re safe here. We’re safe.”
“Jaxson—” I couldn’t breathe.
A voice sounded from behind and my eyes grew wide. “Hey, Syd. Take Ty in the house. We’ll be there in a sec.” There was no mistaking the urgency in Jaxson’s voice.
“Sure thing.”
I heard Ty calling for Jaxson. For me. I wasn’t able to answer. The words stuck in my throat. Jaxson called over his shoulder. “Buddy, give us a few. We’ll be right there. Everything is okay.”
Ty. I was bringing this on Ty.
“London, look at me.” I stared him in the eyes. What if Ty got hurt? Jaxson? My dad? “London, I see the look in your eyes. You’re not leaving.”
I swallowed hard. Jaxson pressed on. “We’ll figure this out. I’ll protect you. Protect our family.” Panic kept setting in. “London, you have to promise me. I can’t lose you. Ty can’t lose you. We love you.” Jaxson sounded panicked. “I love you. Dammit, sweetheart, I love you. I can’t lose you.”
The breath I held expelled from my body. Thoughts snapped into place. “I won’t leave. I promise. I love you both too much to leave.”
Jaxson’s lips smashed against mine as he claimed my mouth. “I need to call the cops. Get this documented. And we need to tell our parent’s what’s going on.”
Numbly, I responded, “I agree. Pam’s at her hair appointment, but I can make us breakfast. I’ll call Dad and tell him we need him to come back.”
Arms became like a vise grip around me. “I won’t let anything happen to my family. I swear it.”
I believed him, but at what cost?
Dad and Levi came home as soon as I called. The only thing I said was that there was a threat similar to the one at home. When Dad went back to Guin, he would be able to fill Millie in as to what happened.
After the cops came, we ate breakfast in Pam’s kitchen. Sydney was a lifesaver keeping Ty away from seeing what was going on. The last thing I wanted was for my life to taint his.
Currently, Ty was feeding the sheep with Levi and were due back in about a half an hour. My nerves were raw, exposed.
I sat nestled into Jaxson’s frame on the couch in the guesthouse as we alternated filling Dad on what Millie found when she visited. After we finished, Dad sat back. “Your mom and I always knew something else had happened. We kept searching for answers after you went to prison, but couldn’t find anything. She thought there was something wrong with the reports. But, shortly after she got sick, I wondered if we were causing you more harm by chasing what could have been figments of your mom’s imaginations. I’m so sorry we stopped looking.”
I stood and Dad followed suit. “We didn’t know. This isn’t your fault, Dad. Yours or Mom’s. We’re all victims of this. Alec. His family. Me. My family. The list goes on.”
Dad scrunched his brows as Jaxson stood. “How did they find you? This was the first you’d heard from them, right?”
My spine stiffened. “Yesterday, on the phone, Jaxson said his full name to Charles.”
“Fuck.” Jaxson’s head lolled back. “I did. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.”
Millie was right as I said, “Whoever this is has connections somewhere here. Yesterday, I heard Rachel in the background while Charles was talking to me. Her parents were there. They have the connections.”
Squeezing me to him, Dad directed his attention to Jaxson. “We need to come up with a plan to keep London and Ty safe while we figure this out.”
Dad released me and Jaxson intertwined his fingers with mine. “I think London should move in with me. I can up security at the house. Keep her and Ty safe at the same time.” I raised my eyebrow. “Ty will be fine. Staying in the guesthouse is not an option anymore. Hell, I’ll marry you right now if it keeps you safe, but I know you want a wedding.”
Dad interjected. “London, I want you safe. I’d feel better with you at Jaxson’s.”