Page 64 of Every Sunset
“I have to go and collect Max, but before I head out you should know you don’t need that sketch artist. I have images and video footage of this scum bag,” Maddox told the FBI.
“How?” They both asked in perfect synchronicity.
“He turned up here a little over a week ago, stalking Anna. He tried to run her off of the road when she was driving home from work. I managed to find him on the surveillance footage from the store Anna works in,” Maddox explained.
“He’s here?” The female agent asked, but the male was already pulling out his cell phone.
“He hasn’t been spotted since that day, but yes, I think he’s still here somewhere,” Madd agreed.
“Makes more sense now,” Logan spoke up, and I looked to him with question. “He wanted to finish what he started, Anna. If you are the only victim who managed to escape him, he knowns you’re also the only person who can identify him. He was trying to tie up loose ends.”
“Oh God,” I gasped as I sat up and clutched my lurching stomach. “Max!”
“I’ll go now, baby,” Maddox told me, then he rushed from the room and out of the house with a slam of the front door behind him.
“He’s safe at school, sweetheart. No one can get to him there,” Logan reminded me. “Try to drink some juice. You’re shaking so hard I feel like we’re on some strange carnival ride,” he joked. I couldn’t bring myself to smile, but I did take the glass of juice from him. I only managed a small sip before it started to shake so hard in my grip I panicked I’d drop it. Thankfully, Logan grabbed it and set it on the table for me.
“That’s enough for now. Anna needs to rest,” Logan told the agents who were watching me like a bug under a microscope. I couldn’t stand them staring at me that way, so I turned my faceand hid against Logan. I knew it made me look like a child, but I was done.
It was one thing to go through being held and tortured by that monster, but to find out he had planned to murder me too – that he had already murdered so many other women – it was all jus so much more than I could take. And knowing that Callum was a murderer just increased my fear for Max by about a million times. If Callum got a hold of my son…
“We need those images, Mr. Easton, right away,” the male agent spoke up, startling me from my nightmarish thoughts.
“Here. I have images on my cell. You can do what you need to with those, but I need to take care of Anna right now. Anything else you need can and will wait,” Logan snapped, his tone brokering no argument.
“Mr. Easton. We will need to speak further with Miss Hart as soon as possible. We can take a break, however…”
“No,” Logan cut off the male Agent’s argument. “Miss Hart is done speaking to you today. She’s been through enough and I’m not going to allow you to push her any further. Any other questions you have will not be asked tonight, so please either leave, or wait quietly for my brother to return, so that he can give you the surveillance footage that you want.”
With those final and very clear words of dismissal, Logan gathered me up in his arms and stood like I weighed nothing. I didn’t even look up as he carried me from the living room and started up the stairs. I knew I was being a coward, and that I should be doing all I could to help the FBI find Callum, And I would. Tomorrow. First I needed time to shore up some strength from somewhere. I had no idea from where, since I felt completely drained and empty, but I would find some. I alwaysdid. I’d take the night to get myself together and tomorrow I would do what I could to make sure that monster was found and locked away for all he had done. I would help them to make my son safe once and for all and I would find a way to end the living nightmare I had been trapped in ever since I made that stupid, selfish decision to go on that date.
CHAPTER 24
MADDOX
The relief that flooded me when I walked into the school office and found Max sat on the seats in there was so great it took me aback for a second. I liked Max. Of course I did. He was a good kid – loyal and caring. He took amazing care of his mom, despite him still being so young. Anna had brought him up so amazingly, and even though he was still a kid, anyone could see the kind of good man he would be in a few years.
Logan and I had both grown close to him in the weeks that he and Anna had lived with us. It helped that the kid was pretty mature for his age, and had a great sense of humor. We hadn’t lied when we told Max and Anna that we cared very much about the both of them. They’d become important to us in the time they had been with us. Anna was ours, and that meant Max was ours too. But I never really thought when I told Anna multiple times how much I loved her, that I was growing so attached to Max too.
But seeing him sat there whole and safe – it showed me for damned sure that I was starting to feel more than just responsibility for the teenager. It was more than me simply caring about him too. What I was feeling in that moment had to be something paternal – the love of a parent. I knew that may be jumping the gun. Anna barely knew me, let alone Max, and it would take time for them both to come to trust me enough tosee me, and Logan too, as a father figure to Max. None of that changed the fact that Max was already feeling very much like he was my kid though.
“Madd? What happened? Is my mom okay?” Max demanded the second he looked up and saw me walking through the door. He was already on his feet and in an instant he was at my side.
“Yeah, bud. Your mom’s alright. She just needs you home right now, okay?” I assured him as I placed my hand on his shoulder and gave it a squeeze of support. It helped calm my fears too, to place my hand on his wide shoulder and assure myself without a doubt that he was there and safe.
“Did she pass out again?” he asked.
“Let’s get to the car and then I can tell you everything.”
Max barely allowed me to get my seatbelt into place before he was demanding answers from me once again. I abandoned starting the car and looked to him. I hated seeing the stress on his young face again. It seemed like that was the only feeling he ever had since he arrived with us. He was too young to be carrying all that he had on his shoulders.
“The FBI turned up at our place this afternoon,” I started.
“Oh fuck!” he gasped as he dropped his head into his hands. His breathing started to pick up right away. “Do they know? Did that fucker report us? Because if he did, we didn’t do anything wrong! He drugged my mom and he…he hurt her so bad, Madd. He could have killed her! I just wanted to stop him. I just…I had to save my mom!”
“Take a breath, Max. It’s all gonna be just fine. Callum didn’t report you. The FBI are investigating a series of murders and the investigation led them to your mom. They think Callum is themurderer, though they had no idea who he was until they spoke to your mom,” I explained as I held the back of his neck in an attempt to calm him down.
“Murderer?” he gulped.
