“I love him. I love him so much, Cassandra.” Her words were broken between sobs and pants.

I hated not knowing where she was. I needed to find out and go to her. “I know you do. Has he texted?”

“Not since yesterday morning. He stopped and now it’s only been calls, about every hour. I can’t answer, though. What is there to say? He’s gonna see me—the real me. I’m not good enough for him, and he’s finally going to figure that out. I’m not a fighter like you, Cassandra. I’m weak and pathetic, obviously, and now he knows. The only man I’ve ever loved now sees me for what I’ve become: a coward.”

“Hilary, he—”

“Oh God,” she gasped, her words slurred. “What if he takes the baby?”

“Let’s worry about that later, all right?”

“You think he will, don’t you?”

Obviously, my attempt to pacify her had failed. Hoping the truth would at least knock some sense into her, I said, “He has the right to—it’s his child. You can’t go ahead with an adoption when the father is there waiting in the wings, and honestly I wouldn’t be surprised if he does. I mean, if you don’t work it out with him, anyway.”

“He’s calling now,” she whispered, as though he could hear.

“Answer it. Be honest with him. He’ll understand.”

“Yeah, right. I know Caleb, Cassandra. He has a temper.”

“Yeah, I saw it,” I said, remembering how Caleb’s fists had redecorated Logan’s living room.

“He’d never lay a hand on me,” she added quickly, “but he would shut me out…remove me from his life. I can’t even imagine it. It hurts too much.”

“Listen, whether you answer his call or not, he left for your aunt’s house yesterday. He should be there by now.”

She sighed into the phone. “I’m not there. I wasn’t ready to go…I just needed to think.”

“Then where are you?”

“I should go.” I could feel her numbness setting in through the phone. “I don’t want to put you in the middle of this.”

“Too late for that! Hilary, just tell me where you are. I’ll come to you. Caleb doesn’t have to know, I promise.”

“I’m sorry. I’ll call you soon. Love you.”

She hung up, and there was no stopping the tears that ran down my cheeks. Damn her! Why did she have to be so bullheaded? Well, if she wouldn’t let me help her, she left me no other choice.

I dialed Caleb.

“Did you find her?” was his rushed greeting.

With the car fully heated now, I tugged the scarf loose from my neck. “No, but she called. I just got off the phone with her.”

“Thank Christ,” he blew into the phone, sounding relieved.

“She’s not at her aunt’s.”

“Yeah, I know. I was already there and searched the place.”

My smile was instant. “Searched it? Her aunt let you?”

“Not at first, but once I explained why I was there, she agreed to help to put my mind at ease. It didn’t work and I’m back to square one, so you need to call her back and tell her to pick up the fucking phone when I call!”

I shook my head and leaned my throbbing head back. “She won’t. You should try texting her. She’s just scared.”

“She should be.” The dark threat in his voice twisted my gut.

“Okay, that’s not gonna get her to speak to you!” I snapped.

“She was planning to off my child, Cassie!”

“No, she wasn’t. She was looking at adoption.”

He let out a low, dark chuckle. “Well, let’s give her a medal when she returns, shall we?”

“Are you going to take the baby from her?”

“I’m going to do what needs to be done. Just call me again if you hear from her—and let her know I won’t stop looking.”

With that, he hung up. I sat there, watching the last of the parents picking up their kids. I was going to kill Hilary when Caleb was finished with her.

Chapter Twenty

Priorities

After a quick detour to the local market to stock my fridge, I was on my way home. Eager to see Logan, I passed by his property with a small smile that fell the moment I saw a squad car parked in his driveway. It wasn’t my mother’s, either—it was the sheriff’s.

Forcing myself to remain calm, I rushed my groceries inside, tossed them on the counter, and called Logan. It rang several times before his voicemail kicked back. It wasn’t the norm from Logan’s cell, but considering the presence of the vehicle, I wasn’t surprised.

I stared out the window, chewing my bottom lip. It was a single squad car and no ambulance. A good sign. I needed to relax. It could be anything, and growing up around the sheriff’s department, I knew that if they were there without paramedics it meant they were talking. There was no need to rush over, make a scene, or distract anyone from doing their job. The problem with that, though, was that patience had never been a friend of mine.

With an occasional peek out my window, I put the groceries away, then poured myself a glass of juice. The reverberating sound of a car door slamming penetrated my eardrums and I ran back to the window, reaching it just in time to watch the squad car drive away.

Seconds later, my phone was in my hands. I dialed Logan, only to hit his voicemail again. After another peek outside, my curiosity growing, I spotted Jax’s car. He’s my next phone call, I thought, my mind racing with worst-case scenarios. If he didn’t answer, I’d go over and check in.

With bated breath, I leaned against the wall and waited until Jax answered.

“What’s up, baby?”

I rolled my eyes, but smiled at the surge of relief I felt. He wouldn’t be acting playful if something terrible had happened…right?

“First, I’m not your baby.” I kicked off from the wall. “Second, is Logan home?”

“He is, but kinda in the middle of something.” Jax’s voice grew distant as he began speaking to someone in the background. “Okay, set it up and I’ll play.”

My smile grew, my tension relaxing further. “Tell Oliver I said hi. So is everything okay? Saw that the sheriff was over.”

“Probably not, but I don’t have specifics yet. I’ll let Logan know you called, though. See ya…baby.”

A strange mix of irritation and relief balanced me enough to placate my nerves for the time being. Turning my focus on something other than waiting for Logan’s call, I tossed my phone on the couch and ambled back to the kitchen to prepare a meal for my boys. I’d promised them dinner, after all.

An hour later, one of my finest culinary masterpieces was set out on the table with no one there to enjoy it other than myself. Aggravation reared its ugly head, stomping out the distressing anxiety. I dialed Logan, and was sent straight to voicemail this time.

Something was wrong.

Less than five minutes later, I was ringing Logan’s doorbell, a scarf wrapped tight around my neck to battle the endless-winter-air bitterness. Jax finally answered, with Oliver at his side.

“Cassandra!” Oliver leapt forward, his arms wide.

I stumbled back at his sudden embrace, laughing. “Hey, buddy, have you eaten dinner yet?”