He lunged for me with his knife, aiming to stab me through my heart, but a single booming crack resounded through the room, and the blade stopped just inches away from my chest. Simon's eyes froze cold on me, and a trickle of blood ran down his forehead from the gunshot wound in his head. He collapsed onto the floor, dead.
Everett holstered his gun and ran over to me, and started undoing the ropes that bound me to the bed.
I tried to hold it in, to come across as brave and unaffected, but the moment he placed his hands on each side of my face and looked me in the eyes, tears immediately overcame me, and I threw my arms around him and hugged him tightly. “You came for me,” I mumbled into his neck between sobs.
“Of course I did,” he said as he hugged my back. “You’re safe now.”
“B-but, what about Liza?” I asked as I pulled back and looked at him.
“I know you saw the text, but you couldn’t have seen all of it. If you had, you’d have seen that nothing happened. Liza was the specialist who came to take care of Jane. She also happens to be the woman I told you about who cheated on me in college. That text was her wanting another chance. I told her that could never happen for many reasons, but mostly be
cause my heart belongs to someone else.”
Our eyes locked and I immediately knew how stupid I had been. “I'm so sorry, Everett,” I sobbed. “I'm so sorry.”
“It’s alright, beautiful; you have nothing to apologize for. Nothing at all,” he whispered, caressing my cheek as he wiped a tear away. “I love you. I don’t ever want you to doubt that. I will always come when you need me.”
He pulled me to him, and for the first time since my father had died, I truly felt loved and protected.
Epilogue
Vivienne
“It's hard to believe it's been more than two years since you moved in across the street from me,” I said to Everett, watching through the window as the newest family in the neighborhood directed a delivery team delivering a red couch into their home.
“I can’t believe you’re stalking the new neighbors,” he joked.
“Well, technically it’s still my house. Maybe I want to know what they’re taking into it,” I jabbed back at him teasingly.
“They’ve been living there for almost a year. You’ve been in the house several times since then. Nice try, Nosy Nancy,” he said with a laugh.
I smacked him in the arm. “I’m just glad they seem to be fitting in well here.”
“They are, aren't they?” he remarked. “Doesn’t hurt that they have a six-year-old for Jane to play with too.”
“Yeah, well, I’m also glad they get along so well. It's great for her to have a friend the same age in the neighborhood.”
“It really is,” he agreed. “Kids these days don't do enough of that. When I was growing up, there was a whole crew of neighborhood kids. We used to play football or baseball in the street every afternoon, or go climb trees, or all that other good outdoor stuff. It was great for me, too; gave me the chance to get away from the house. Wasn’t the happiest place on Earth.”
I turned and slipped my arms around his waist. “Well, despite everything you went through as a child, you didn’t turn out so bad,” I teased.
“You must not think I’m too bad. You did agree to marry me.”
“You have a good point. Then again, maybe I didn’t really have too many options,” I jabbed back.
He hugged me tightly. “It’s true. You settled. I don’t know what you were thinking.”
I smiled sweetly up at him. “I’ll tell you what I was thinking. I was thinking that you are very likely the best man I've ever met, to be honest.”
“See, now you’re just trying to butter me up, aren't you?” he laughed and gave me a kiss on my neck that sent a delightful shiver down my spine.
“You know, as much as I want to take you back to our room and have my way with you, isn't it about time for us to pick Jane up from Stacy's house?” I asked.
He glanced at his watch. “You're right; we did say we'd be there at five. Guess you’ll just have to make it up to me tonight. Come on then, let's go.”
I grabbed my purse, and we headed out of the house and locked up.
We drove for just five minutes to the house where Jane's friend from her first-grade class lived and parked outside then walked up to the door and knocked.