Chapter 18
Eighteen
After another long night shift at the grocery store, Laila stepped out of her car and into the morning’s eerie quiet. The memory of flashing lights from the new roadblock still hung in her mind, along with having to produce ID just to get home. She’d grown used to her routine. To this town’s early morning hum and the tranquil trill of birds and crickets whilst most everyone else slept. But today, that hum sounded different. It sounded off. Or perhaps it was more the constant clash of thoughts in her head.
She steeled herself for the walk to her front door, to the added pressure to shut down the unease churning through her. Would she even be able to carry out her normal routine of having a nap or finding any kind of comfort before her parents came by with Whitney? One thing was certain, the Coopers’ fire, followed by that town meeting, changed everything.
Her foot landed on the first porch step, where a folded sheet of red paper caught her attention, causing her heart to stumble its next beat. She clung to the hope that this would be another of Adrian’s kind gestures. Kindness being something she felt deprived of right now.
So, she bent for the note, picturing his profound or romantic words and how they’d somehow succeed to settle her restlessness. But flipping the note open revealed something else entirely.
A hard and immoveable weight took up space in her tummy. There were no nice words. Not even a sign of careful penmanship. Only one unambiguous word scratched out in thick, black marker.
“LEAVE”
Her stomach clenched and she wanted to be sick. That someone came to her door to... to what? To threaten her? They offered no further explanation. No signature. Nothing. Just that one word. LEAVE.
She peered around herself, to the details of her porch and then the empty expanse of her lawn and the street beyond. As if her letter-dropper would have stuck around to gauge her reaction. But no one else was here. Only the morning quiet and isolation to deepen her panic and turn her insides stone-cold.
She had nowhere to pour her fear. No one to blame. Just hints on why they sought to scare her, while her sole certainty was that she would not be getting any rest now.
Her head pounded and her eyes felt overly dry, not just from fear or anger, but from her previous days of meeting assignment deadlines, entertaining Whitney, work, and now, severe sleep-deprivation…
Welcome to motherhood and the hellscape of living in Harlow at this particular point in time.
Feeling vulnerable and alone on her porch, she rushed to her front door and hurried inside, wrenching her phone from her purse as she walked. She had her mom on the line soon enough. While she clutched the threatening letter in the palm of her hand, a part of her still needed to confirm all this was real.
“I know what you’re calling about and we got one last night.” Her mother held a muffled voice, likely because Whitney still slept in a nearby room. “I’ve already heard from Ally, and she got a letter too. So did Sarah, though I haven’t spoken to Emilia and Blaine yet.”
“Seems someone’s been busy.” Laila dropped the note to her kitchen counter and squeezed her eyes shut, attempting to stem a rise of overwrought emotions.
She’d made so many sacrifices throughout the years, tried so hard to make positive changes in her life, and now it all came down to this . A group of self-serving men who didn’t think twice to toy with a whole host of other people’s lives, much less hers and Whitney’s, as if either one hadn’t already had their future altered by just one selfish man…
She let out a sigh and stared blankly ahead. “They’re making good on the promise to take matters into their own hands.”
“Oh. Laila.” Her mother’s tone dropped, weighted with a sense of sympathy. “With what the syndicate did to Ally, this is getting beyond scary. Maybe it is past time we leave Harlow.”
Despite the rapid beat of her heart, a harsh scoff shot free of her. “And go where? Harlow is the only place any of us has called home and it’s also the only place offering any protection. Who will stop the syndicate from tracking us down in any new hiding place? Who will help us or notice anything amiss anywhere else? They followed Chip all the way to Boston, remember?”
“I know. I know.” Her mother’s voice remained a tight whisper. “It’s just that nowhere feels safe. Yah know?”
Laila bit her lower lip and debated stating that nowhere was safe, but a steadfast knock hit her front door and she turned from her kitchen. The tension pulling at her chest eased once she recognized Adrian’s dark figure filling the space behind the door’s frosted glass.
“We always figure something out, don’t we?” Still, her churning insides held none of her word’s certainty, but then, this was her mom and Laila didn’t want to leave her on a hopeless note. “Someone’s at the door, I have to go. Just tell Whitney I miss her and can’t wait to see her again, okay?”
She and her mom said some final goodbyes, and then Laila hung up to answer the door. Adrian’s worried gaze peered down at her, before sliding lower to the red note in her hand.
She stared across to a similar note in his hand, soon shrugging and putting on a dry tone. “Can’t say the people of this town aren’t thorough.”
“I saw your car pull up. I came out to say ‘Hi’ only to find this.” He lifted his note, brow still dipped in concern. “Are you okay?”
She blinked at his question, the answer being a firm no , though she didn’t want to say that. Didn’t want to give voice to her doubts, especially those pertaining to her ability to keep Whitney safe.
And then there were her thoughts on this man. That things moved faster than she wanted, during a phase in her life when everything was far from stable, all because she’d rushed things in the past. And even then, she’d always kind of had a sense of direction, something she didn’t really feel right now.
Now, the syndicate wanted her gone, as well as a good chunk of people in this town.
So, no. She wasn’t okay, and she wasn’t sure about anything. Not about her future. Certainly not about Adrian Ramos.
That thought invaded her brain, just as her attention landed on his hand holding the note, her focus traveling higher, to his thick biceps and then his broad shoulders. This man was the visual show of strength she so sorely needed right now.
“Yeah, I’m fine.” She paused and cleared the hoarseness from her throat, a sense of betrayal winding through her. That she wasn’t being honest with herself or him. “Just a little shaken up, that’s all.”
His eyes narrowed at her, and he shook his head. “You’re a bad liar, Miss Egan.”
A small, but empty, smile broke from her lips. Despite the situation, she wanted to laugh, but she didn’t go that far because his perceptiveness broke something more within her. “You’re right, just... I just can’t believe this whole thing is happening.”
And even that wasn’t the compete truth. Adrian’s solemn expression said he knew as much. That he hadn’t been self-serving when it came to her. Or anyone else in this town for that matter. He downright put his life on the line everyday he stayed here. In this town, and now, connected to her.
Unlike Mike, or the Gerrys and Lennys of this town, she couldn’t see Ramos leaving her to languish.
And maybe that, too, added pressure to the prospect of relying on him in any substantial way. Too much pressure on him. Too much of a leap for her. A mother used to handling so much on her own. A relationship too new to trust when she had a daughter to protect, and a syndicate and irate townsfolk breathing malice down her neck.
“It’s just people blowing off steam.” The certainty in his tone broke her focus and he stepped closer, reaching out until his wide hand wrapped her wrist in a gesture of support.
A hot jolt ran through her body, and she lifted her stare to lock with his. She’d trusted Mike. She’d always trusted the people of Harlow, too. Did everyone always betray each other eventually? What made Ramos any different?
What a terrifying time to be an adult. Much less one in charge of a child.
“Thank you for checking on me.” She forced a smile for his sake, her wrist limp in his hold as she debated snatching her arm back. “I appreciate it. I really do. It’s just, they all turned on us so damn quickly, yah know?”
Her voice dropped to a raspy whisper and her heart raced at the intensity of his gaze. He drew in a little closer. The stillness in his eyes seemed to push through her attempt to downplay her worries. “That was a bold move you pulled at the meeting.”
Her shoulders fell slack and her lips sank into a frown. “You think this is my fault?”
“No.” He shook his head, his hold on her increasing in a way that added resolve to his words. “You stirred the pot a little, but perhaps that gave them a hint that we might fight back.”
Her breath grew shallow, and he seemed to read her doubt, as he pulled her in and wrapped her in his arms. “There’s still hope, okay? And you have to remember, whoever did this, it wasn’t all of them. I’d wager it wasn’t even most of them.”
His eyes lit with an optimism that she didn’t feel, and an unexpectedly boyish smile took over his face. One that shone a light on the ridiculousness of their situation.
Despite her darker thoughts on her relationship with Ramos and the turning of this town, a genuine chuckle broke free of her and she leaned her forehead into his, his peppery musk embracing her with welcome warmth.
“These things happen, Laila. People get riled up.” He tipped her chin up and gave her a light kiss, his hand stroking all the way back and down the length of her ponytail. “With any luck, they’ll feel like the angry letters achieved something and they’ll move on.”
Though she offered a weak smile, she sensed the conflict on his softened tone, like he knew their situation remained precarious.
“You can’t promise me that things will be okay, though, can you?”
He shook his head, a small show of hopelessness entering his eyes. “You know I can’t, but we’ll try our best to get through this, won’t we?”