“I’m not sure.Could be Damien expected you to get home earlier.You mentioned that you smelled something that made you stop and back out of the house.Did the scent remind you of Damien?”
“No.I smelled a hint of cigarettes mixed with body odor.”She wrinkled her nose.“It was not familiar.To be honest, if I had recognized Damien’s scent, I probably would have gone in to talk to him.To ask what was going on.”
“That’s interesting.”Micah’s gaze turned thoughtful.“If Damien hired someone to shoot you, he screwed up by letting you escape.Maybe that was part of the reason he set your house on fire.”
“Maybe.”It was a reasonable theory.She tried not to dwell on the loss of her photographs.Crying wouldn’t change anything.After losing Tommy, she’d sought solace in attending church.She’d enjoyed the sense of community there, and the pastor’s sermons had drawn her in.She had so much to be grateful for.
Lost photographs wouldn’t change the memories in her heart.
Closing her eyes, she brought the images to mind.Her family’s smiling faces as she graduated from high school and college.Tommy’s arm thrown around her shoulders as he hugged her.
Tommy in uniform after joining the army.He wasn’t supposed to smile, but his eyes had crinkled at the corners as if he were holding back a grin.
She missed him.Missed her parents.She’d never felt so alone as she did now.Even with Micah sitting beside her.
“Are you okay?”Micah’s question made her realize she’d been squeezing his hand during the onslaught of memories.
“Yes.Fine.”She forced herself to relax her fingers.Micah was her tether in the storm, and she was grateful to have his help.Yet she couldn’t allow herself to get too attached.Once the danger was over, he’d go back to his life.
While she attempted to rebuild the wreckage of hers.
Micah feltawful about what Bryn was going through.First the shooting, then Lori’s murder, and now this.She was clearly hanging on by a thread, and he was at a loss for words that would make her feel any better.
She’d lost her home.Her personal items.He found it hard to imagine how she was holding herself together.
His heart ached for her.Yet he knew he couldn’t let his emotions get in the way of keeping her safe.Whoever was behind these attacks had come too far to go away quietly.This guy, likely Damien, would not stop until he’d killed her.
Something Micah would not allow to happen.
Not for the first time, he considered buying fake passports and taking Bryn out of the country.If she disappeared, much like Damien, she couldn’t be killed.
And from what he could tell, there was nothing holding her back.Certainly nothing keeping her in Madison, Wisconsin.
He’d give up his life to ensure her safety.Yet even as he considered contacting Di to see if she had any input as to where they could get fake passports, he sensed Bryn wouldn’t agree to the plan.
He couldn’t do anything about that yet tonight, so he pushed the possibility aside to focus on driving.When he passed a grocery store that still had lights on inside, he slowed and made an abrupt turn.
He hadn’t anticipated any stores would be open this late.Most of them ended the late hours during the pandemic.But they needed food, and maybe they could even find some clothing for Bryn.
“Are we shopping?”She looked at the store in confusion.
“Yep.We’ll get the necessities like coffee and breakfast food.”He pulled into a parking space and grinned, trying to lighten the mood.“Maybe we’ll find shoes and socks for you.”
“I doubt it.Socks maybe, but not shoes.”She stared down at her feet for a moment, then pushed her door open.“I’ll be fine.”
The way she walked indicated her feet still hurt.He would have offered to have her stay in the car, but he didn’t know what she liked to eat.The store didn’t accept credit cards, but that was okay.He’d stopped at a cash machine prior to heading out to meet Bryn.
She was right in that they only had socks.He picked out the warmest pair and held them up.“Will these work?”
“Sure.”She shrugged.“They won’t fit inside my shoes, but that’s okay.”
It wasn’t okay, but he couldn’t fix that issue for her now.Tomorrow morning would have to be soon enough.After adding the socks to the cart, he loaded up on breakfast food, including coffee and creamer for Bryn, along with sandwich items and a couple of frozen pizzas for dinner.
The total wasn’t as bad as he expected, and soon they were back outside in the SUV.The rental house was only a few miles away.Upon reaching the property, he drove past, scanning the neighboring homes for anything unusual.Despite being a Friday night in spring, the area appeared quiet.Granted, at ten thirty at night, he assumed couples with small children were tucked in for the night.Elderly people too.
If there were teenagers in the area, they weren’t hanging around outside.
After driving around the block, he pulled into the driveway.There was an attached two-car garage, so he left the motor running as he shifted into park and pushed open his driver’s side door.“Stay here.I’ll be right back.”
