“I left him and pressed charges, so he was in jail for a while, and I divorced him while he was incarcerated. He’s found out what town I was living in twice, the last time about twenty months ago. We barely got away.” Sara met Ezreal’s gaze, and she looked sick. He covered her hands with his.
“How’s he finding you? Through your name?”
“I think that’s how he did the first times. I’d reverted to my maiden name and moved to Oregon. This time I took my great grandmother’s maiden name and moved clear across the country into this house that’s being held for me in a family trust.”
“So you don’t know if he’s found you, just that he's looking for you.”
“Right, but my mother’s really gullible. It makes me uneasy that he’s probably dragged her into this.”
“Does she know where you’re at?”
“No. I broke all connections with her when she tried to talk me out of leaving him.”
“She did that?” For all his mother’s inadequacies, she’d never encourage a woman to stay in an abusive relationship.
Their food arrived. They stopped talking and focused on it for a few minutes.
“I want to hire someone to keep track of this guy,” Ezreal said, spreading black cherry preserve on his biscuit. “Our head of security helped with Ahri, and he’ll probably have some suggestions.”
“I don’t know.” Sara moved her salad around on her plate. “Those people still found her.”
It seemed unfair, but Ezreal could see how she’d think that way.
“Sara, you can’t be saying we should just live with the possibility that this nut case could show up to hurt you and the children—and do nothing to prevent it.”
“We?” she asked, her voice small.
“We.” He reached across the table and covered her hand. “I told you I was in this with you.”
Sara’s lips trembled. For a second he thought she might cry, but she got control of herself and squeezed his hand. Even so, she looked like she wanted to say something else but didn’t.
“I think it’d be best to keep an eye on this guy. At the very least, it’ll give us some warning if he makes a move.”
“I’ve thought about getting passports for me and the children and leaving the country. Anything to get out of his reach.”
“You could do that without him signing?” Ezreal asked, alarmed that she might do it.
“I have sole physical and legal custody, so yes. But it’d be complicated because of their unofficial name changes. More importantly, I’d hate to leave. We’re finally settling well here in Boone.” Sara glanced at Ezreal. “We’re happy here.”
“Don’t do anything drastic. I’ll check with Bill and see what I can set in motion.”
“This isn’t even your problem.”
“Yes it is. I care for you. Your burden is my burden.”
She sniffed and took a teary bite of her salad.
