I force myself up and see him sprawled across the living room floor—it’s Walter.
The man Natalie told Nathan about, and the one who was watching me the night I babysat the dogs. Scott’s holding himdown with one hand at the chest, the other wrapped around his wrists.
Finding a burst of energy I didn’t have before, I lurch toward him.
I drop to my knees beside him and grab his collar, yanking his face toward me. “Where is she?” I scream. “Where is Natalie?”
He blinks up at me, his face frozen with fear and wide, unfocused eyes. He’s confused.
Noticing Maddie with her phone, he stretches out his arms.
“Wait! Please. The little one’s in her room. I’ll tell you all of it. All of it,” Walter rasps.
I don’t wait for anything else and spin and bolt down the hall, stumbling on the rug a few times as I push into Natalie’s room.
“Natalie!”
She’s sitting up in bed, startled by the noise.
“She’s safe,” I call out to Maddie and Scott and cross the room in two strides.
My legs tremble like a snapped rubber band. Relief crashes over me so hard I almost faint.
Throwing my arms around her, I squeeze her to my chest and kiss the top of her head over and over.
Our little girl is safe.
“Momma, what’s that noise outside?” she whispers into my shoulder. “It scared me.”
She’s in her blue pajamas, and her hair is damp. It looks like she’s had a shower before bed. Other than being frightened, she looks okay.
“It’s nothing, sweetie, you’re safe now.” I pull her closer. “Can you tell me what happened?”
“Mr. Walter grabbed me away from theBig, Mean Manand took me in his car.”
“Did he hurt you?”
“No,” she says as she shakes her head. “He said theBig, Mean Manwas trying to get me. Mr. Walter saved me.”
A cold lump falls into my stomach.
“I’m sorry for scaring you, Momma.”
I hug her tighter. “You’ve got no reason to be sorry, sweetie. None.”
“I threw the bone too far, and then we went farther than you told me to. Denver didn’t want to do it, but I thought it would be fun to go closer to the street. There was a horse carriage.” Her brow furrows. “Momma, I saw him. TheBig, Mean Man.”
I force myself to stay calm.
“He was big like you and Daddy, and he had sunglasses and a hat. He didn’t talk. He was just there. Denver bit him. That’s when Mr. Walter ran out of the trees and got me.” She sniffles. “Denver chased theBig, Mean Man,but he got away in a car.”
I can hear raised voices coming from the hall.
“What color was his car?”
“Silver.”
“You’re safe now.” I brush her hair back and kiss her cheek. “Let’s get you tucked in. Momma’s going to talk to Mr. Walter.”
