Grant scoffed, “And then some.”
Okay, so that was a little more than impressive. “Wow. I thought that sort of thing was made up for TV and the movies.”
He looked over at her again, his expression serious. “You spot that guy again, I don’t care where we are, you let me know. And stay as far away from him as you can, you hear me?”
“Yes, sir.”
“I’m serious, Bryn.”
“I said okay,” she repeated. Brynnon would admit she could be stubborn, but she wasn’t stupid. Nor did she have a death wish.
She heard a muffled voice answer the call and Grant mumble, “It’s me.”
Feeling as though she should give them some privacy, Brynnon started to open her door, but Grant stopped her. “Hold on,” he told his friend. To her, he asked, “Where are you going?”
“I forgot to check the mail when we got back last night. Figured I’d go do that while you talked with your friend.”
Grant’s eyes slid to his rearview mirror, no doubt looking at the multiple mailbox post across the street. Brynnon resisted the urge to roll her eyes.
“It’s just the mailbox, Grant. I’ll grab it and come right back over.” She raised two fingers. “Scout’s honor.”
He looked back at her, deadpan. “The Girl Scouts use three fingers.”
She smirked, glad to see his pseudo-sense of humor had returned. “I never joined.” With that, she slid out of the truck and headed down the gentle slope of her drive. Looking both ways like a good girl, she deemed it safe and casually walked across the street.
Opening her box’s metal flap, Brynnon pulled out a larger-than-normal stack of mail and realized she’d not only forgotten to grab it last night, but also the night before.The first night Grant stayed with me.
No wonder. Her brain had experienced all sorts of misfires since the frustrating man had barged into her life.
As she always did, Brynnon stood at the edge of the street near her mailbox—which was on one end—and began sifting through the numerous envelopes.
Some were bills she’d been expecting, others some political flyers she’d never read. At the bottom, however, there was a large, manila envelope that caught her eye.
Her name was hand-written on the front, but there was no address or return address. She looked the rest of it over and realized it didn’t have any postage or a post-mark from the USPS.
Thoughts of the non-reporter ran through her head. She knew she should probably hand it straight over to Grant, but Brynnon’s curiosity got the better of her. Instead, she stayed put and began ripping the envelope open.
Seeing multiple items inside, she balanced the rest of the mail in her arms, she slid her hand inside and pulled out what felt like a picture. The glossy image left her momentarily stunned.
It was an image of her at the flip house she’d just sold. Only, from the looks of it, it had been taken several weeks prior.
Heart pounding, she dropped the rest of the mail onto the pavement at her feet and began pulling out the other pictures. There was a thick stack of them. Some as recent as two days ago while others had been taken well over a month ago.
And they were all of her.
Sick to her stomach, Brynnon’s mind began to whirl with what this meant. Someone had been following her. For a while, from the looks of it.
She started to put the pictures back into the envelope, but her fingertips hit another piece of paper inside. Pulling it out, Brynnon read the ominous words typed out there.
Your father did not heed his warning. He was told what would happen if he didn’t confess his sins. Now, you will atone for the sins of your father.
“What the hell?”
There was a loud noise coming from somewhere down the road, but she was still too lost in her thoughts to pay it any attention. One by one, she went back through each of the pictures. Her stomach pitched at the knowledge that the threats her father had received were actually against her.
Brynnon felt nauseated and was suddenly lightheaded.How could I not have known?
The sound in the background grew louder. Brynnon’s fear-induced fog had just started to clear when she heard Grant yelling her name. Looking up, she was surprised to see him running wide-eyed down her driveway.
