I wiped a stray tear from my eye and cleared my throat as I held up the note. Trig took it, turning on one of the small overhead lights as he read it aloud. My heart broke all over again for Ryder as I pictured his face in the woods. He knew then he was going to leave me behind, and last night was him telling me good-bye.
“Maybe we should call the police.”
“No.” Trig held the note out for me, and I nodded in agreement. I always knew I’d have to face them again, but I never thought it would be like this. “Whatever he plans to do, he is going to do. We won’t be able to stop him.”
“We have to stop him. We have to.” I knew Ryder wasn’t planning on getting away with anything. Had I not shown up in his life, he would be oblivious to Bryce’s whereabouts and the note left by Katie.
As we pulled up in front of the Alexanders’ home, I began to mumble under my breath, rapidly counting as every nerve in my body seemed to catch fire. Fear settled deep in my belly as the panic attack began to take over. Ryder’s car was parked right in front of us. It was the middle of the night, but the living-room light was on, and I could see the movement of shadows behind the pale curtain. I waited for the others to get out before we crossed the street. Time seemed to slow, and I was thankful because I didn’t want to know what was on the other side of those walls.
Phantom climbed the porch and pressed against the front door. It swung open, squeaking on its hinges. “Maybe you should wait out here.”
“No.” I pushed by him, and he grabbed my wrists just as my eyes landed on Ryder, who sat in a chair, his elbows on his knees as he hung his head. I wished I could see his face, but I didn’t need to when I saw Janel and Coach on the couch in front of him. They looked terrified, but no one was making a sound—no one but Macie, who babbled incoherently as Janel bounced her on her knee.
“Ryder,” I whispered as I took a step closer. He shook his head but didn’t move as he turned his pocketknife over in his hands.
“How could you do this to us?” Janel called out, and Ryder’s head snapped up, the tension in the room palpable.
“How could you do this to Katie? To me?” I asked, jumping as Trigger placed his hand on my shoulder, encouraging me to be strong.
“What are you talking about? How dare you talk about my daughter?”
I held up the note, the paper shaking as I swallowed back my fear. “Katie left a note. You let Bryce hurt her. You let him hurt me.”
I couldn’t keep my eyes off Macie, with her short, dark hair and big green eyes. I took another step until I was beside Ryder.
“The baby,” he said. His voice was rough, as if he’d been fighting back tears.
I glanced down at him as his pain-filled eyes met mine.
“One of your scars.” He wasn’t asking. He already knew the truth.
My throat closed as my hand instinctively went to my lower stomach, to the largest of my scars from my C-section.
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I didn’t know you’d come here. You didn’t tell me what Katie had said.” I shook my head, fighting to keep my tears at bay. Had we both been honest, we wouldn’t be in this mess right now. I could only imagine the disgust he must feel for me, knowing I had a child with a monster like Bryce.
“I thought you’d hate me,” I whispered.
He stood slowly as he glanced at the family, unremorseful about the terror they felt. “What’s her name?”
“Macie, after my grandmother.”
“Go get her.” He nodded slightly in their direction. I glanced down at the knife in his hand, the tendons in his arm tensing as he gripped it tightly. Macie was probably the only reason they were still alive. I walked slowly toward the couch, placing my hands under Macie’s arms and fighting against Janel’s grip before lifting her to my chest and hugging her tightly as I burst into tears. I had dreamed about this moment for months, dying inside every day I had to be away from her.
Macie began to whimper, and I bounced her as I tried to keep her calm, tugging on her yellow nightgown.
Innocent
Chapter 33—Rellik
Innocent: not guilty of a crime or offense
I couldn’t walk away from what had been done to Katie and Ella, but I’d never expected that from all this would come an innocent child. Ella held the baby tightly against her chest, and there was no animosity, only love.
From all of this tragedy, another life had been created, and now I had to decide if I was going to take more away. I couldn’t think clearly, couldn’t contain the onslaught of emotions. The last thing I expected was to feel ambivalent toward those who had caused so much pain.