Chapter 34
Derek
Hannah had turned my world around and made me want things I didn”t think I needed, much less deserved.
I watched as she told the girls to stop throwing the strawberries she”d cut up for them on the floor, and then as they threw them again. She sighed, shaking her head and finally sitting in front of them. I didn”t have to look at her face to know that she smiled. Hannah adored our girls.
”They”ve decided to feed the floor, huh?” Our girls squealed when they saw me and Hannah glanced back with a small smile on her face. I pecked her on the lips, lingering there just a bit longer than usual. She seemed tired and pale, and though she seemed to be happy...I could feel something was wrong. ”Is everything okay?”
Hannah took the plate from Isa and Annie, setting it in the sink before looking back at me.
”I don”t feel well,” she admitted.
”What is it?”
Hannah shrugged, before looking at our girls once again. ”I just...I have a feeling...and it”s making me anxious.”
Tilting her head up with my fingers, I forced her to look at me. She swallowed thickly, quietly avoiding my gaze.
”I feel like something is wrong,” she whispered. ”Don”t ask me what it is because I don”t know.”
I could see it in her eyes...the fear. Something was wrong, we just didn”t know it yet.
I wrapped my arms around her and pulled her to my chest, holding her tight. I glanced at my girls and their mess, unable to avoid the feeling that took over. It was in her embrace, in her touch...she was terrified.
”We should move to Antarctica,” she mumbled against my shirt. I gave a quiet chuckle at her words.
”The polar bears will get us then,” I replied. Her soft laugh lightened the load on our shoulders, as did our daughters squeals. I gave them each a kiss and then Hannah, promising I”d be home soon.
I hadn”t driven far when my phone began to buzz in my pocket. I touched the screen in the car, answering the phone call when I realized it was the private investigator.
Shit.
There it is.
There”s her fear.
”You found something,” I stated, without bothering with a greeting. I figured it wasn”t needed.
”I did. Are you at your house? I”m on my way.”
”Nope. Heading to the restaurant. ”
”I see.” There was a long pause, one that told me what I already knew. ”Your wife will need you for this, so you may want to head back.”
***
Envelopes gave me fucking nightmares.
For a long time they had. Every time I received one, it meant bad news. Of course, our private investigator Mark Wilson had one in his hands as he walked in. We didn”t bother cleaning up the kitchen, instead inviting him to the living room where Hannah sat on the sofa while Isa and Isa played in their playpen.
Hannah bit her lip, tapping the wood floor with her foot while she waited for Mark to speak. It wasn”t long, only a few seconds, but it felt like an eternity before he said anything.
”Eugene Calvin,” Mark began, taking out his phone and showing us a picture. The man looked nothing like I remembered. His hair was disheveled and he looked like he hadn”t shaved in weeks. Hannah nodded slowly and I gripped her hand, holding it tight. ”He is in New York...has been for a while now. Couldn”t place him in every place where you”ve been for the past year, but I was able to gather enough to where I know it is him who”s been stalking you.”
Hannah sighed next to me, one full of relief, like just knowing who it was helped ease her worry.
It made me furious.
”He lives in the rough side of town with a roommate but I don”t think he”s involved. The man is only at his house to sleep and shower so it”s mostly Eugene there. Roommate says Eugene has anger issues and is paranoid about everything.”
I scoffed. ”Well that”s ironic.”
Mark shrugged, fixing his eyes on Hannah. I would have been pissed for him staring her down, but when I noticed the pity in his eyes, I realized there was more...and it was about to get worse.
”What is it?” Hannah tensed next to me, like she knew too. ”What else did you find?”
Mark cleared his throat, clearly dreading this part of his job. Hannah”s eyes followed the movement of his hands as he pulled out a photograph from the envelope, and held it out to her.
”Charles Carson, your father, has been in New York since the week you went to Colorado.”
She blinked, taking the photo from Mark”s hands. Her father looked...healthy. He”d returned to Pennsylvania, stating that he wanted to start over and it was his home...but why the hell would he be in New York and not tell her? Didn”t he want to be near her? His granddaughters? “By your reaction I am assuming you weren’t aware.”
Hannah set the photo on the table and ran a hand over her face. She pushed back the tears, and mustered a quiet “no” as Mark sat on the small sofa. Nothing I did would give her comfort so instead, I simply held her hand in mine.
So maybe he was in New York and didn’t tell her, but it couldn’t be much more than that, could it?
Mark took out several pictures from the envelope, setting them on the wooden coffee table in front of us. Charles was standing in front of a motel in one, and in the following pictures, he was seen with another man...Eugene, talking comfortably. Hannah could only stare at the pictures, gripping my hand tighter. I could feel her pain, her confusion and heartache as she started to draw her own conclusions.
“Given the history, I’ve been looking into him possibly working with Eugene.” Mark stated the obvious, as if Hannah didn’t think the same thing. “However, in some of these pictures which I was able to acquire through a business security system, they seem to be having some sort of disagreement so I’m not sure.”
Hannah looked up at the ceiling, avoiding eye contact with both of us. “He promised he wouldn’t do it again.”
Her whispered words and heartbreak made me physically sick. Her dad was tearing up the little hope and trust she had left. She would never trust him again. She would never let him into her life or our girls...and I didn’t blame her.
Mark sighed, glancing between the both of us. “Like I mentioned, I can’t say for sure that he is involved but I am convinced he knows something due to the timing of events.”
“It’s easier if I just talk to him, no?” Hannah stood up, pacing in front of both of us. I could tell her mind was working over time, trying to make sense of the situation when all I could see was that her father had betrayed her. “Maybe he could tell me what is going on...explain what is happening...”
Clearing his throat, Mark shook his head. “That will tip Eugene off and we don’t know what this may cause. He doesn’t seem too...stable.”
Hannah scoffed, her hands in fists by her side as she prepared for what was to come. She knew it was over—the peace, the calm that had surrounded us for the last few weeks. It was all gone in an instant.
“So I just wait and see what happens? Is that what you’re telling me?”
“Unfortunately, yes. We can go forward with the stalking charge and present what we have, but I am not sure it’s enough. There’s no evidence he’s trying to harm you.”
“That’s bullshit and you know it.” The words were out of my mouth before I could think about them, laced with anger and frustration. Hannah stilled, her lip quivering as she looked at me. “This needs to end.”
Mark nodded. “Give me a day or two.”
He walked out the door without saying much else, leaving behind a storm brewing inside the four walls of our home. We stood in silence, Hannah’s face buried in her hands and I looked from her to our girls...thinking of how the hell I would protect them. My hands felt tied.
Hannah’s quiet sob broke through the silence in the house, making my attention turn to her. Covering her face in her hands, Hannah cried, completely shattered. She expected it to be Eugene...but never her dad.
“Come here,” I said, pulling her into my arms. Her body shook as she cried, her heartbreak palpable in the air. Our daughters stared at us from their playpen, their little brows furrowed as if they knew something was wrong.
This wasn’t something I could fix.
It wasn’t something that would go away quickly.
“I want this to be over,” she mumbled against my shirt.
I ran my hand down her back, trying to offer some comfort. “I know, baby. Me too.”
This wouldn’t be an easy fight, though...that I knew was certain.