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“Please, Tate,” he pleads, his voice cracking as he folds his hands behind his head and his gaze wanders around the room.
“Get your shit and get out.”
He shakes his head. “You have to hear me out. Please, I can explain everything.”
“I’ve made myself perfectly clear,” I say, my chest tightening as my hands tremble and a sob builds in the back of my throat. “If you don’t leave, I will shoot you.”
“Tate, baby, I love you so much. Please just let me explain.”
Hearing him say he loves me is the final nail in his coffin and rage barrels through me as I drop my aim to his thigh and fire. He roars in pain, clutching his leg as he falls to the kitchen floor. Turning away, I grab the phone and dial nine-one-one before pressing the phone to my ear.
“911, what is your emergency?” the operator asks and I turn to face Lincoln.
“Yes, I need the police, please. There’s a man in my home and he’s been stalking me.”
Typing fills the other end of the line. “And where is this man now? Are you safe, ma’am?”
“Yes,” I whisper, tears building in my eyes. “I’m safe. He can’t get to me anymore.”
Chapter Nineteen
Tatum
My eyes burn from a lack of sleep as I drop my coffee mug onto the counter and grab the pot, pouring the rest of its contents into my cup. I scowl. Did I really drink this whole thing already? Sighing, I lean back against the counter and scrub my hands over my face. After the police carted Lincoln off last night and I’d given my statement, I locked myself in the safe room but even that wasn’t enough to calm me down. Not when every time I close my eyes, I see Lincoln, lying in bed next to me with a sleepy smile on his face.
“No,” I hiss, dashing away a tear that managed to escape before I was able to lock down my emotions. I will not cry for this bastard.
He used me.
He played me.
He lied to me.
None of it was real.
That’s what I just need to keep reminding myself until this crushing ache in my chest goes away. Yawning, I push off the counter and grab my coffee before trudging back to the safe room where Mom’s box of letters is spilled out across the desk. Sitting down, I pick up the one in front of me and start reading.
Days like today, I get so mad at you, S. Mad that you felt you had to run away from me to hide your pain and mad that you felt you couldn’t lean on me when it was too much for you to handle. I know that’s not fair but I was right there with you. I lost something, too, and then, I lost you as well.
Sighing, I toss the letter down and shake my head. How many people did my mother hurt and for what reason? It had to be a damn good one, right? All I’ve been able to find in these letters is cryptic and mysterious – like they were edited to exclude anything that could give me some answers. And I’m eager for answers. Especially after I solved one mystery in my life last night.
“Tate?” Theo’s panicked voice echoes through the house and my mouth pops open as I jump out of the chair and run to the door.
“Theo?”
He pokes his head into the bedroom and I barrel out of the closet, crashing into him and wrapping him up in a hug as relief surges through me.
“What are you doing here?”
He releases me and takes a step back as he inspects me. “Lincoln called me last night and told me to get my ass to Baton Rouge as fast as I could. What’s going on, T? Are you okay?”
“Lincoln,” I snarl, spinning away from him and marching back into the safe room before I throw myself in the office chair. He scowls as he follows behind me.
“Why are you in the safe room?”
I shrug. “Because it feels safe.”
“And why wouldn’t you feel safe, Tate?” he asks, his voice taking on a hard edge as he perches on the edge of the couch. I meet his gaze and a sob rips through my lips before I can stop it. His eyes widen and he jumps up, pulling me out of the chair and into his arms.
