I reached out and stroked her cheek. “Nothing is going to happen to them. And nothing is going to happen to you. I swear on my life, Melanie, if that sick son of a bitch shows up here, the barrel of my shotgun will be the last thing he sees in this world. I will send him straight to hell myself.”
At that moment, Hadley started to whimper from the living room. I moved to get out of the bed and Melanie sat up to follow. “Stay in here as long as you need,” I told her.
“No, I need to get up. I need to live my life. I need to stop letting him have any power over me,” she said, the spark back behind her blue eyes.
My God, that woman was amazing.
We both went into the living room and I sat on the couch with Liam while Melanie scooped Hadley up from her playpen.
“She’s pretty warm today,” Melanie said with a frown. “I’m going to go give her a lukewarm bath and some Tylenol.”
I watched as she carried the baby down the hall, cooing softly to comfort her. Liam snuggled up next to me and I draped the blanket over us both as we watched the movie. Liam started to doze at my side and I stared out the window, my senses on high alert.
Part of me thought I should close all the curtains, but another part realized that I wouldn’t be able to see anyone coming onto my property if I did that. The best thing was probably to keep the kids close by in the center room where no one looking in would see them. The last thing I needed was to give that sick fuck psycho more targets.
I picked Liam up and carried him to his room which was the first off the hallway. I put him in bed and checked that the one window in there was locked and the heavy blackout curtains were shut tight. Nothing and no one would be able to see in or get in. Next, I went out to the living room and grabbed Hadley’s pack and play. I moved it into Liam’s room so that when she was ready to go down, both kids would be in the same place, safe and sound.
Melanie came out of the bathroom with Hadley in her arms and went to dress her and give her some medicine. Once she was done, the baby was already falling asleep in her arms and so she laid her down in the playpen in Liam’s room.
The two of us went around the house, checking all windows and closing curtains into the bedrooms. I rechecked my guns and ammunition, keeping them close, but out of the reach of curious little hands.
We tried to go about the day as normally as possible, though there was no way I was leaving the cabin to go work in my shed. I would stay close to Melanie and the kids until this mess was over, one way or another.
I did the laundry while Melanie cleaned up. She made us a simple lunch, setting some aside that could be warmed up when the kids woke. Finally, we sat by the fire and watched a light snow fall outside.
“How are you?” I finally asked.
“Pissed,” she said, her arms folding across her chest.
“Good. Pissed is good.”
She turned her blue eyes on me and my heart stuttered as it usually did. “I’m scared too. And that pisses me off even more.”
I smiled and pulled her close to me. As long as we were together, everything would be alright.
CHAPTER 32
MELANIE
Sleep was almost nonexistent. Even with Evan at my side and his guns at the ready, I couldn’t get myself to settle down. Every little sound woke me. Every time the wind howled by the window, my eyes flew open. And when I did chance to slip into a slumber-like state, I saw his face. I smelled his breath. I felt his hands. My eyes would come open and I would look around the room, reminding myself of where I was. Then I would look over at Evan sleeping next to me and I would feel safe for the moment. Until I closed my eyes and he was there again.
When the kids woke up the next morning, I was exhausted. It took all the energy I had to pull myself out of Evan’s bed. Part of me wanted to lay back down and forget the world existed. It would be so nice just to pull the covers up over my head and pretend I was someone else for a while. Someone with no cares or worries in the world. Someone without a deranged psychopath hunting her.
But, I knew I couldn’t. I had two children who were dependent on me now, and I couldn’t leave them again. Liam was smiling at me and seemed to be doing much better. His appetite was back and even though his nose was still stuffy, he was back to running around and yelling at the top of his lungs. His fever was gone and his body didn’t seem to hurt anymore, and it made me smile to see him bouncing in his seat at the kitchen table. He was chugging his juice and munching on an apple while I figured out what to do with breakfast, and it warmed my heart to see him feeling better.