Chapter Six #2
Her father had become a tyrant and a warden.
On some basic level, Carys realized he’d become overprotective after losing the love of his life.
He’d overcorrected and become detached. Based on the few pictures she’d seen from before she was born, it was hard to believe he was the same person.
Pain had an interesting effect on people.
In her father’s case, it hardened him. His fear came out as anger. She knew that now.
Still, it was difficult to forgive him for all the damage he caused. It didn’t help matters that he hadn’t tried to reach out or make their relationship right. Once she walked out the door, he stuck to his threat of disowning her and cutting her off.
Families were complicated. And yet she couldn’t help but wonder how different her life might have been had her mother been alive. Would she have made a difference in the manner in which Carys had been brought up?
Would there have been laughter in the house? Holidays with large Christmas trees that they would have decorated together? Hot chocolate by a fireplace?
Would her father smile more? Or at all?
Would she know what it was like to have someone fight for her in parent-teacher meetings rather than ice her out on the way home if she got one bad report?
A crash outside caused her to gasp. Blaize’s head popped up. He wiped his eyes.
“What happened?” he asked.
She flipped off the kitchen light, crouched low, and nodded toward the back door. “Someone’s out there.”
Blaize was on his feet and making a beeline for the back door in two seconds flat. He grabbed a butcher knife out of the block on the countertop before exiting.
Carys was torn between going to the baby or following Blaize. Based on his size and physical strength, he could handle himself in pretty much any situation. What if he brought a knife to a gun fight?
That would be a problem she couldn’t solve with her presence.
What if he was surprised? Caught off guard? In a physical fight with someone much larger than he was?
What if someone slipped inside and stole the baby?
Rue was in Carys’s charge. She crawled to the baby and sat next to the carrier. It dawned on her that she might need a weapon.
Panic gripped her as she popped up long enough to get a knife.
It occurred to her that she should have checked to see if the front door was locked.
The sheriff’s questions nailed her. Have you interacted with anyone lately who might want to do you harm?
Have you been in a disagreement with anyone? Have you rejected anyone?
Three names had come to mind. The first was a father who’d lost custody of his child based on her recommendation.
Veiled threats in this job were becoming surprisingly commonplace.
Gabe Hutchins hadn’t threatened her with words.
There was no evidence or no way to prove he was out for her.
It was more in the way he’d stood there, arms crossed, pure evil in his eyes.
The slight sneer. The way he picked her apart with his gaze.
Feeling threatened by someone’s presence wasn’t the same as being threatened. She’d confided in Harrison, and he’d basically patted her on top of the head and told her not to let her imagination get the best of her.
The next person, James Gray, was someone she’d dated who couldn’t seem to let go.
They’d gone out a few times after both had swiped on each other’s dating profile.
The whole situation had been casual for her until she realized he was building a narrative about them being in a relationship.
A handful of dates didn’t equate to being a couple.
James confused the situation despite her being upfront about not being open to anything serious at the time.
She was interested in casual dating, good dinner conversation, and that was about it.
With the right person, she’d consider adding sex to the equation.
She wasn’t in a hurry for a relationship while she was busy building a career.
Swiping on James’s profile turned out to be a huge mistake.
It had been quiet lately, though. She thought he’d gotten the hint.
And then there was Ethan York. He came to mind almost immediately when the sheriff asked if there was anyone she felt threatened by.
One of her first cases, she’d helped him get into a halfway house as he timed out of the system.
She’d graduated college at twenty-two years old.
Ethan had just turned eighteen. He had obsessive-compulsive tendencies and had developed the belief that the two of them were destined to be together.
He’d mistaken her sympathy for his situation for a love connection.
He was impulsive and had poor emotional regulation, coupled with low self-esteem.
If she could go back, there was so much she would do differently this time.
She’d been green, a newbie, and it had cost her.
Last Carys heard, he was in jail after being caught with drugs. Maybe it was time to check his status, see if he got released.
Any of those three could fit the vague description of the person wearing the hoodie earlier.
She listened for any signs of a fight outside as more panic gripped her. It was quiet. Too quiet. What the hell was happening out there?
Should she turn around and alert Kit to the potential danger?
The baby stirred.
No. No. No. This is not a good time to draw attention to the kitchen.
Moving her might wake her up. At this point, there was a chance she would stay asleep.
One look at the baby said otherwise. Rue’s face twisted, scrunched, before she sucked in a deep breath and then belted out an ear-splitting cry.