Page 56 of Every Sunset
I felt all of the calm the guys had given me the night before torn from me in an instant. Panic rose within me at knowing for a fact I had been right and Callum was still alive.
I didn’t even remember falling asleep the night before. After the ordeal of me telling Madd and Logan everything, Logan had taken me from Maddox’s arms and carried me up to his room, Maddox right behind us. We hadn’t spoken much as we’d all crawled on top of the covers on the bed and just cuddled up in a huddle – me pressed exactly where I wanted to be – betweenthe two of them. They urged me to try and sleep, and reassured me again and again when I told them I was too tired to close my eyes. They promised not to leave me, and they hadn’t. I had woken that morning in the exact same spot I must have eventually fallen asleep – too exhausted to fight it any longer. They had both held me between them all night, and I hadn’t had a single nightmare knowing they were there with me. It had been the best nights sleep I thought I may have ever had in my entire life, but now all of that peace and calm I had gained was gone at the sight of that monster on the computer screen.
Maddox pulled out his cell phone after pausing the image on a pretty clear shot of Callum’s face. With his cell phone he snapped a photo of the screen.
“I’m sending this to a contact in LAPD. He’s agreed to run the image to try and get an identity for us,” he explained when he looked over to where I was stood behind him, leaning heavily against the back of the chair he sat in. Logan was in the chair beside him and Max was at my back. We were all crowded around the screen of the laptop.
“No Madd, please. I d-don’t want the police involved in this,” I cried as fear consumed me.
“Easy baby,” Madd said as he set down his phone and turned to face me. “My bud is running the search unofficially. There’ll be no record of it.”
“You’re sure?” I worried.
“Trust me. You know I’d never do anything to put you or Max at risk,” he told me with a raise of his eyebrows, daring me to disagree.
“I know. Sorry. I do know that, and I do trust you,” I agreed easily.
I had to trust them to have given in to them as I had. They were the only thing standing between Max and I, and the crazy psycho who had almost killed me. I was doing everything they asked of me because I was sure they knew better than I did what would keep Max and I safe, but it was a huge leap for me. I had never trusted anyone to take care of me or my son in the thirty years I’d been alive. It had always been down to me to make the right choices and keep myself, and my son safe. I’d failed plenty of times, but I never had any choice but to brush myself off after I made a mistake, and keep fighting. I never had anyone I could trust to take care of me and Max. Now I was trusting Maddox and Logan because they had earned my trust. I knew they cared for me and my son, and I felt safe when I was with them. My instinct was that they would never intentionally let us down. I just had to trust my own instincts now. Easier said than done though.
“I trust both of you,” I said, making it clear as I looked between Madd and Logan. “I just…trusting people, and relying on them in anyway…it’s new, I guess. It’s always just been me looking out for myself, then Max came along and it was just us. I’m not saying I was any good at any of it, of course, but I was all I ever had to rely on before.”
“We know, sweetheart, but you’ve got us now. It’s alright to allow yourself to lean on us sometimes. We’ll always be there to catch you if you need us to.” Logan promised
“What do we do abouthim?” I asked, nodding to the screen. Nausea filled me at the sight of those cold eyes that haunted me night and day.
“We find out who the hell he is and where he’s staying, then Logan and I pay him a little visit,” Maddox replied threateningly.
I knew I should be protesting, and telling them that I didn’t want them both getting mixed up in my mess. I knew I should be strong enough to handle the situation alone, but the truth was that I wasn’t strong enough – not nearly. Callum terrified me. Just the sight of him outside the store had frozen me in utter horror, and the fact he had essentially risen from the freaking grave to come after me and my son only intensified my fears a hundred fold. I needed Logan and Maddox’s help and I knew it.
“Are you okay, mom?” Max asked as he placed a hand on my arm, and looked to me with so much worry. I knew he’d be able to feel the way my body was trembling as adrenaline coursed through me at just the sight of Callum.
“I’m good, honey,” I reassured him as I turned to face him fully and gave his forearm a squeeze that I hoped comforted him. “We’ll handle this. Everything’s gonna be just fine.”
“Your mom’s right, kid. You don’t need to let this worry you,” Madd agreed with me as he and Logan both got to their feet and stood either side of Max and I.
“What do I do about school? It starts in two days?” Max asked.
“We’ll drive you there and back. You’ll be safe inside the school building. You just can’t leave during the day. It’s too dangerous, Max. Do you understand?” Logan explained, and Max nodded.
“Yeah. I get it,” he agreed. “You guys are gonna keep my mom safe right? When I’m not here, you’ll stay with her?”
“Yes. One hundred percent, Max. We told you we’d keep you both safe and we meant it,” Maddox assured him, and again Max nodded.
“Why don’t you go and lie down? You look exhausted. Did you get any sleep last night?” I suggested as I reached up to brush his wild hair from his face so I could see the dark rings under his eyes.
“I’m fine, mom,” Max groaned as he stepped back out of my reach. “I’m gonna go swim some laps,” he added as he waved a thumb behind him in the direction of the pool.
“Okay, honey. Just don’t work too hard. It’s been a tough twenty-four hours,” I reminded him.
“And let us know if you need to go outside the house. The grounds are pretty safe, but I still don’t want either of you out there alone,” Maddox added.
“Then I’m gonna need one of you guys to come with me, if that’s okay? I need to go to the cottage to pick up some more of our stuff,” I said, trying to ignore the part about Maddox suggesting we could be in danger right outside the door, and keep my mind focused on the mundane instead. If we were going to be staying with the guys for a while, we were going to need more of our belongings. That should avert my mind from the panic it was desperate to spiral into for a while at least.
***
“Shall I take this one downstairs?” Maddox asked as he placed a hand over the closed duffel bag on my bed. I had already filled it with my own clothes and essentials. I hadn’t known how long we would need to stay with the guys, and since I dare not ask, for fear of the answer, I had just packed almost everything I had brought with me.
I was trying hard to hold myself together, but I knew I was doing a pretty piss-poor attempt at it. Callum was alive and he wascoming after us. That was all that was running through my mind continuously. He had tried to kill me. That meant he wanted me dead. Was he going to try and kill Max too? Was this about revenge because we tried to get rid of him? Was it about him needing to win? Or was it just about us knowing who and what he was? Whatever it was, there was no denying he was coming after my son and I. How long had he even been in town? Long enough to know where I worked apparently, and likely where Max and I lived too, since he had known the way I would drive home the night he tried to run me off of the road. What else did he know about me? About Max? What if he already worked out a way onto the guys property?
