“I dropped my bag and grabbed the handle of the suitcase to lift it up, and when I did the entire contents spilled out all over the floor. Oh, God, Luke. I don’t know if I can finish this.”
Tonya stops moving and hangs her head and starts crying uncontrollably.
“Take your time, Tonya. Do you need some water or anything?” Luke asks and she shakes her head ‘no’.
“Tonya. Look at me,” I ask her with as much compassion in my voice as I can find. She whips her head around and looks at me but her gaze is out of focus. “What was in the suitcase, Tonya?” I press.
I don’t know if it’s the sound of my voice or what that brings her back to her senses, but somehow she does. She directs her attention back to Erin.
“I…I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw all that stuff on the floor, so I bent down and started looking at all of it. It was pictures of you, Erin. All kinds of pictures of you.”
Erin looks shocked.
“Wait. There’s more. There were also pictures of your daughter.”
At that, I stand up and the sound of my chair scraping across the floor makes everyone’s attention turn my way.
“Tonya, spit the rest of it out please so we can all get the hell out of here,” I growl. I don’t care if my tone is scaring anyone or hurting anyone, the only thing I care about right now is getting home to MY DAUGHTER.
“There were also pictures of you, Adam and when I saw pictures of Erin and Joel and Sierra from years ago, that’s when I knew he had to be your ex-husband. I swear to God I knew nothing about him attacking you until I got here. The only reason I came here in the first place was because there was a gun and bullets and a note that scared me so bad when I read it that I dropped it, picked up my bag, and drove straight here.” Her eyes are wide as she looks at the three of us.
“Tell them what the note said, Tonya.” She closes her eyes and takes a deep breath and when she opens them she stares directly at me.
“It said...the note said that Erin and Sierra are his and that he is going to kill you, Adam.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
Erin
I would have thought my first reaction to what Tonya just told us would have been fear, but it’s not. I am straight up pissed.
“My ex-husband is a worthless piece of shit!” I scream after Adam and I walk out of the station. Since no crime was committed, the police were not able to put Tonya under any kind of protective custody; however, she was so terrified of what Joel might do if he suspected she discovered what he was up to that Luke arranged for security to watch her house until he was found. I feel so bad for her, but knowing he didn’t do anything to physically hurt her took a huge weight off of everyone’s shoulders. I saw the guilt and remorse written all over Adam’s face when we first walked into that room. This whole thing is all kinds of messed up. Joel is even more warped and perverted than I ever thought he was. I just want this nightmare to end and to finally live like a normal person.
Luke suggested that neither Adam nor I leave the house until they were able to locate Joel, which did not sit well with Adam. I have never seen him so furious. I can still see his brows furrowed together and the rage written all over his face as we climb into the truck.
Adam starts the truck and turns down the music as we sit in silence. We haven’t had a chance for him to tell me how he feels after learning about Joel’s threat.
“You know, I really should be scared hearing he wants to kill me, but the funny thing about this is that I’m not. I am not one bit scared of him.”
Adam’s response is shocking to me. Even though I am angry after everything Joel has done to me, I am still afraid of him.
“Well I will be scared for the both of us, then.”
“No, you won’t. And neither will I. I am not the type of man to let a piece of shit just threaten me and then sit around with my tail tucked between my legs, and you know it. I have a life to live and a damn good one, now that I have you and Sierra.”
I turn to face him as he pauses.
“Adam, what is it?”
“This may be farfetched, but I think I know what his real problem is, besides the fact that he’s a drug dealer and a junkie.”
“What’s that?” I ask with trepidation.
“He wants what I have, what he has never had, and what he will never get because I won’t let him take you away from me. Ever.”
Adam reaches across the middle console of his truck and without a word unsnaps my seat belt.
“Come here, sweet cheeks.”
I climb over and instantly feel his warmth and strength. His arms envelop me as I straddle his lap.
Adam gazes into my eyes with confidence as his hands cup my cheeks, and with feather-like strokes he caresses the sides of my face.