Page 33 of Darkwater Lane

Now, I have Sam.Wehave Sam. It’s hard to even describe the relief I feel knowing I’m not alone in this anymore.

However, as much as I want him by my side, I’m not sure that’s what’s best right now. I glance over my shoulder at Madison. She’s got the driver-side door open and she’s standing, watching me over the roof of the car.

“Do you mind giving us some privacy?” I ask pointedly.

Her cheeks flush with embarrassment at having been called out for so blatantly eavesdropping. “Of course. Sorry.” She drops back into the car and closes the door. Even so, I turn so she can’t see my face and lower my voice.

“Something happened at the house,” I tell him. “When Lanny and Connor got home from the barn, Lanny opened the door and—” The words get stuck in my throat. I can’t believe I’m about to say this out loud. “There was blood and a dead body.”

There’s a beat of silence where the only sound I can hear is the engine on his truck. “What?”

“I don’t know,” I tell him. “She said there was blood everywhere and a man was on the couch, clearly dead. She came straight here to the gas station and texted me.”

“What the fuck is going on here, Gwen?”

“I don’t know,” I say again. It’s such a useless phrase, but it’s all I have. I pinch the bridge of my nose between my fingers, trying to think through the chaos in my brain.

“You should go to the house. Figure out what’s happening.” I check behind me to make sure Madison is still tucked in her car and can’t overhear before I add, “I’m going to call Kez and see if she’s okay with Connor and Lanny driving up there.”

“You’re going to let them drive out to Stillhouse Lake on their own?”

An hour ago, my answer would have been an unequivocal no. I wouldn’t have even entertained the thought of letting my daughter and son go that far on their own.

I look toward my daughter. She’s standing a few feet behind me, her arm protectively around Connor. She’s scared; I can see it in her eyes. I can also see from the set of her jaw and the shift in her stance that she’s determined.

Another rush of pride swells in me. I’ve spent so many years alternating between a desire to shield her from the worst of the world and the understanding that shielding her won’t protect her. Only preparing her will. Hence the drills, the training, the emergency planning.

Tonight, she showed me that she’s been paying attention. She’s been taking it seriously. As much as I want to be the one to bundle my kids into the car and whisk them off into the night, Lanny has proven that she’s capable of taking this task on.

As much as I’m not ready for it, sometimes we don’t get to choose the moments we have to learn to let go.

I meet my daughter’s eyes, making sure she hears me when I tell Sam, “I trust Lanny. She can handle it.”

I note the flash of satisfaction in her expression.

“Get to the house,” I add to Sam. “I’ll be there as soon as I can.”

Then, I call Kez. My conversation with her is brief and to the point. The minute I explain what happened and that I need somewhere safe for the kids to go, she tells me to send them her way. I let out a sigh of relief. Kez and Javi love my kids and will protect them with their lives.

Once that’s taken care of I turn back to Lanny and Connor. “Kez and Javi are expecting you. Javi’s been fixing up the barn—turning it into a guesthouse. It’s not finished yet, but there’s space for you.”

Connor’s eyes go wide. “You’re sending us away?”

I nod. “It’s the best place for you right now.”

“What about our stuff?” he asks. “I don’t even have a change of clothes, and I smell like horses.”

“Javi will have something you can borrow for tonight. We’ll sort the rest out tomorrow.”

Uncertainty and fear war in his expression. I want to pull him against me again and rock him like I did when he was a child waking up scared from a nightmare. How many times back then did I tell him monsters weren’t real? How little I knew. The monster wasn’t in his closet, but rather down the hallway sleeping peacefully in our bed.

The truth is, the world is full of monsters.

“It’s going to be okay,” I tell him, pressing a kiss to his forehead. That he doesn’t pull a face at the gesture tells me more than anything else how worried he is. “I’ll touch base in the morning. Until then, keep your phones on and charged.”

He gives me a hug, holding on a little longer than usual, and then moves back around the car to climb into the passenger seat. Once his door is closed, I turn to Lanny, keeping my voice low. “MyGlock is in the lockbox in the back. The code is 1452. It already has a full magazine loaded, and there are two more in there.”

She’s always known I carry a gun in the car, though I’ve never given her the code to the lockbox before. She’s never needed it. And even though she’s been taught and trained to respect firearms and use them appropriately, I haven’t been ready to give her one of her own.

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