Chapter 23
Chapter Twenty-Three
LILY
The credits of the show we’ve been watching roll across the screen, but none of us are paying attention.
We’re sprawled across the couch in the short-term rental, Cole’s head in my lap while I mindlessly run my fingers through his dark hair.
Hudson’s pressed against my left side, one arm around my shoulders, and Gage sits on the other couch, elbows on his knees while he’s deep in thought.
It’s been four days since we packed up our essentials and left the house. Ninety-six hours of living out of suitcases and trying to pretend everything’s normal while we wait for updates from the police.
A sharp knock on the door makes us all freeze.
Cole sits up, his body coiled like a spring. “Who is that?” he asks the question we’re all wary of answering.
My pulse starts to race. The same way it has been at every unexpected noise, every car door slamming, every shadow moving past the window. I’m getting tired of living on the edge of a tripwire.
The guys exchange glances over my head before Gage stands. “I’ll get it.”
“We’ll all get it,” Hudson corrects, helping me to my feet.
Through the small window in the door, we can see Officer Trina in her uniform, her expression unreadable in the porch light. Gage opens it cautiously.
“Evening, folks. May I come in? I have some updates about your case.”
My heart hammers against my ribs as we lead her to the small kitchen table. The chairs scrape against the vacation-rental-grade luxury-vinyl plank floor as we sit. Tension pulls tight as the officer settles across from us in her seat.
“First, the good news,” she begins. “We were able to track down and interview Matt yesterday.”
The old wooden chair creaks when I grip the edge of my seat. Even though we all suspected it was him, hearing his name in this context makes it real in a way that steals my breath.
“Based on our conversation with him and some inconsistencies in his story, we obtained a search warrant for his residence.” She frowns.
“The IP address from the threatening emails traced back to his home internet connection. We also recovered a laptop that contained deleted files matching the photos and messages you received.”
The room spins around me. “So it was him?” I whisper. In a way, I’m relieved to know who it is, but at the same time, betrayal punches through me.
Trina nods grimly. “The evidence is overwhelming. We found additional photos on the laptop. . . surveillance shots of you at work, at the grocery store, photos of all of you taken from outside the house windows.”
Hudson’s jaw ticks beside me, anger rolling off him in waves. I’m right there with him.
“Did he confess?” Everything she’s shared is undeniable evidence, but some part of me still needs to hear it, needs the confirmation that someone I trusted for two years could do something so twisted. That Matt is so out of control he’d resort to violence.
“No, he didn’t.” Her voice is professional but not unsympathetic.
“He’s claiming someone else must have used his internet connection and that the laptop isn’t his, despite it being found in his bedroom.
But the evidence is quite damning. Photos, emails, browsing history showing research into stalking methods and intimidation tactics. ”
My stomach lurches. What the fuck, Matt?
“He also had what appears to be a detailed schedule of your daily routines,” she continues. “When you leave for work, which grocery store you frequent, even notes about your friends’ schedules.”
Disbelief ricochets through me. That’s next level unhinged. What was he planning to do with all that information? How far would he have gone had he not been caught?
Gage scrubs a hand over his face. “Jesus Christ.”
“Due to the nature of everything, he’s being held without bail pending trial. Given the escalation to animal cruelty and the threatening nature of his recent communications, he’s looking at serious time.”
Relief floods through me so quickly my head spins.
As easy as that, it’s over? The nightmare that’s consumed the last few weeks is finally finished.
I can wake up. Take a deep breath. Go on about my life without looking over my shoulder.
Simple things I’ve taken for granted are suddenly vitally important.
“The good news is you’re all free to return home whenever you’d like. Any questions?” Officer Trina looks at each of us in turn.
The four of us shake our heads. There’s nothing we can ask that she’d know the answer to.
Plus, I think we’re all still in shock to learn that it really was the person we all thought we knew.
The guys walk her to the door, their voices low as they discuss some final details.
I trail behind them on unsteady legs while my mind tries to process everything and make it make sense.
That’s the thing about crimes of passion, though. There’s nothing logical about them.
The door clicks shut, and then I’m surrounded by warm, solid bodies.
Hudson, Gage, and Cole envelope me in their arms, creating a cocoon of safety.
I breathe their scents in, a mix of pine and fresh rain.
The comfort of a warm fire on a snowy day.
They give me the deepest sense of security.
The world could end and I’d still feel like they could save me.
“It’s finally over,” I say, though it comes out more like a question.
“Yeah, baby,” Gage murmurs against my hair. “It’s done.”
“Can we go home?” I ask, fighting tears of relief. “Please, I just want to go home.”
“Of course we can,” Hudson says softly. “As long as you promise us something.”
I pull back slightly to look at him. “What?”
“That you won’t ever leave,” Cole says, his icy blue eyes more serious than I’ve ever seen them. “That you’ll stay with us.”
My heart stops beating for a moment. “Are you saying what I think you’re saying?
” I’ve been talking myself down for weeks.
Trying to be rational and to not get lost in the thrall of a new relationship, but there’s an undeniable certainty when it comes to my feelings for them.
I thought perhaps I was rushing myself, but the way the three of them are watching me, I know that I’m not alone.
Gage cups my face gently, his thumb brushing over my cheek. “We love you, Lily. All of us. We’ve been trying to figure out how to tell you without scaring you off.”
“But after the shit show of last week . . .” Hudson’s voice catches slightly. “We can’t pretend anymore.”
“We don’t want you as a temporary thing,” Cole adds. “We want you permanently. All of us, together.”
While I’ve only been single for two months and we’ve been dating for one, the guys have been showing up for me a lot longer than that.
It was easy to pretend they were there for Matt.
Looking back, though, I can’t help thinking of all the times their presence stopped Matt from being truly terrible.
How they were there for every important moment.
The way they wormed their way into my heart long before we ever started dating.
The truth is right there. “I love you too,” I confess. Those three words have never felt more right. “All of you. I was so scared you’d get tired of me, or that this was just some fling—”
My words are cut off as they pull me into another group hug, this one fierce with promise and relief. I’m surrounded by their warmth, their strength, their love, and for the first time in weeks, I feel completely safe and utterly content.
We’re going home. All of us, together.
I park outside the memory care center and take a deep breath. Here’s hoping mom is having a good day. Walking through the automatic doors, I wave to the receptionist.
“She’s having a great day,” she tells me with a warm smile. “She’s been asking for you all morning.”
My heart lifts as I make my way down the familiar hallway to Mom’s room. I knock gently before pushing the door open.
“There’s my beautiful girl!” Mom’s face lights up the moment she sees me. She’s sitting in her favorite chair by the window, her graying hair neatly brushed. Today her green eyes—so much like mine—are bright and focused.
“Hi, Mom.” I lean down to kiss her cheek before settling into the chair across from her. “How are you feeling?”
“Wonderful now that you’re here. I was thinking about that trip we took to Yellowstone when you were in high school. Do you remember?”
I blink in surprise but don’t question this gift. “Of course I do. We saw that grizzly bear on the trail and you grabbed my hand so tight I thought you’d break my fingers.”
She laughs, the sound exactly like I remember from childhood. “I was terrified! But you were so brave. You stood there taking pictures like it was no big deal.”
“Someone had to document your panic.” I grin at her. “Though I was shaking as much as you were.”
“We had such a good time that week. Just the two of us.” Her face grows distant but not in the scary way it sometimes does. This is the good kind of distant, the kind that means she’s savoring a happy memory. “I loved having you all to myself. No distractions, no work calls. Just me and my girl.”
My throat tightens. “I loved it too, Mom. Best trip ever.”
A nurse appears with a tea service. We spend the next hour sipping Earl Grey and talking about everything and nothing. Mom tells me stories I’ve heard a dozen times, but I listen like it’s the first time because her voice is steady and sure. She asks about work, about the house, about my life.
Today is one of the best days I’ve had with her this last year. When it’s time to go, I’m reluctant to leave. When will I experience this again? Mom reaches for my hands and holds them tight.
“I love you so much, sweetheart.” Her voice wavers slightly. “I’m so sorry I’m like this. I’m sorry you have to see me this way.”
“Mom, no.” I squeeze her hands back. “You have absolutely nothing to apologize for. Nothing at all.”