Chapter 31
THIRTY-ONE
Jane’s momentum was stalled slightly, the next morning, when she got in her car and it wouldn’t start. Nik opened the hood and peered inside, a move that made her smile. She had a feeling that unless the car had lungs and a spleen, Nik would have no clue what to do with it. He confirmed as much when he closed the hood and offered to drive her home.
She’d call Kait later about towing the car. Maybe by then Jane would have talked to Martin and gotten an idea of her next steps. Maybe she could tell Kait she wouldn’t need to trade it in for a nondescript sedan to get them across the border to Canada after all.
When they pulled up to Mom’s house, though, there was a car parked out in front that exactly matched the description of the sort of vehicle she’d asked Kait to get for her. A small white Nissan hatchback with New York plates. Had Kait dropped the car off? Jane was surprised that the other woman hadn’t texted or called to do the switch at the garage where Mom’s busybody neighbors like Mrs. Swanson wouldn’t be peering out their windows, wondering about the unfamiliar vehicle in their driveway .
Nik glanced over as he pulled up next to the Nissan. “Looks like your mom has a visitor.”
Jane shook her head. “I think it’s the car Kait got me to take to Canada.”
A dark cloud crossed Nik’s face.
Jane reached out to weave her fingers through his. “I don’t think I’ll be needing that now.”
“You won’t.” He turned to face her. “Jane, promise me that you won’t go running again and shut me out. No matter what, we’re in this together.”
Her eyes met his, and she was overwhelmed by the love she saw there. How could she ever go back to being on her own? “We’re in this together,” she repeated, pressing a kiss to his lips.
When she pulled away, Nik leaned back to look her in the eye. “I’ll call Kait about towing your car in front of my house. You worry about talking to Martin.”
With that, Jane felt another weight lift. She didn’t have to do everything on her own. Mom was here to help with Scarlett, and Hannah and Ali were back in her life. And so was Nik. For the first time in so long, Jane had people she could trust. People she could count on. “Thank you,” she whispered, leaning in to kiss him again before she hopped out of the car.
Jane climbed the porch, and with one last wave, she turned and opened the front door. She was still smiling when she stepped inside the house and bent over to kick off her boots. And then, suddenly, she heard a loud crack. Her head snapped back, and a burning pain seared across her face. From somewhere far away, she heard a shrill, terrified female voice call out, “ No! Stop! ” right before another blow had her flying across the hallway and slamming into the wall.
Jane bent over, gasping as her head spun and her vision blurred. What had just happened? But at the same time, she knew. This feeling, this moment, was so familiar. She’d been here, hugging a wall, her body aching, terror filling her lungs, more times than she could count.
She clutched a hand to her burning cheek and slowly lifted her head. “Matteo,” she whispered.
He towered over her, holding his right fist in his left palm. “Surprised to see me?”
“I—” Jane’s brain felt like it had rattled around in her head. Focus. You need to focus. “What are you doing here?”
He crossed his arms over his chest. “I came to see my girlfriend and my daughter. Aren’t I allowed to do that?”
Scarlett. Jane’s eyes swung wildly around the room, past Mom, who stood shaking in the living room doorway. Scarlett wasn’t here.
And then she remembered. Scarlett is staying with Hannah. Her friend had said she’d drop her off today. Jane’s gaze swung to Mom’s stricken face. Almost imperceptibly, Mom gave a shake of her head. Jane closed her eyes in relief. Oh, thank God. Scarlett wasn’t here, and Mom hadn’t told Matteo where to find her.
“Imagine my surprise,” Matteo said, in a low, eerily calm voice, the one that Jane knew meant more trouble than the yelling. He took a slow step toward her. “When I got here…” Another step. Jane shrank as far away from him as possible. “…and saw you making out with some guy in the driveway.”
And then like a predator who’d been stalking his prey, Matteo pounced, reaching out and grabbing her by the shoulders. “Who the fuck is that guy?” He shook her so hard her head smacked against the wall. “Who is he?”
“Stop!” Mom yelled, grabbing one of Matteo’s arms and trying to pull him off. But Matteo barely flinched. Instead, he just waved a hand and flung Mom away, sending her reeling back across the hall where her shoulder crashed into the coat rack.
And that was when Jane knew for sure. The ominous look on his face, the emptiness in his eyes, the ease with which he used violence on anyone who crossed him. He’d never let her leave him to live here in Linden Falls. He’d never let her take Scarlett.
He would stalk her for the rest of her life.
And he would kill her.
Jane’s head spun, but she had to get it together, she had to focus. “Why did you come here?”
Matteo crossed his arms over his chest again. “One night, when you were gone, I started googling. I wanted to see about this East Bumfuck place that you were so eager to come back to after all these years. What was the big damn deal?”
“And…?” Jane said, cautiously.
“You’ll never guess what I found.”
What could Matteo have possibly unearthed in an internet search about this town? The Linden Falls town council webpage? A review of the wineries out by the lake? None of that had anything to do with her.
“I found a video of my girlfriend singing at some café. Someone had posted it on the East Bumfuck Instagram page.”
Oh God. The musical showcase at the Grassroots Café. Someone had been taking a video? “So, I sang one song. It was a favor for the old friend who owns the café.”
“Are you fucking him, too?”
“What? No. Of course not. You know I used to sing and play guitar. Why is this such a big deal?”
Matteo pulled out his phone. “Maybe you want to take a look at the video.” He scrolled around for a moment and then held it out.
Jane peered at the small screen, watching herself climb on the stage and pick up the guitar. She cringed again as she watched the replay of how she’d accidentally banged it against the stool. Her mind whirred, fast forwarding through her memories of that night. What could possibly be on this video that would upset Matteo? The song was by a well-known artist, there was nothing objectionable about it. Maybe her singing had sounded terrible, and she hadn’t realized it. Was he embarrassed ?
Jane watched herself settle on the stool. And then she watched herself freeze up. Her face had gone white, her brow pinched. Was this it? Was this what was upsetting Matteo? The video kept playing… Jane scanning the room and then stopping on someone in the crowd. And then—oh God.
Oh no .
The camera slowly panned away from her and across the crowd of people sitting at café tables. And then it stopped.
On Nik.
He must not have noticed he was being recorded either, because… Jane remembered his face so clearly that night, and now she watched it play out again… His eyes were locked on hers, an intimate smile tugging at his lips. The camera panned back to her, capturing the matching half-smile on her face.
Jane closed her eyes.
“You see the big deal now?” Matteo shoved the phone closer to her face.
“I—” How could she explain this in a way that would appease him? How could she talk her way out of it? “He’s just an old friend.” It sounded just as bad coming out of her mouth as it did in her head. And with her voice shaking like that, she sounded guilty.
“I’m taking you and Scarlett home with me.” His grip tightened around her arm, but his voice stayed calm. It was worse than if he’d yelled at her. Yelling meant he’d react quickly. A slap, a kick. Calm meant he was planning something.
This was an absolute nightmare. She needed more time. A plan.
“Come on.” Matteo yanked harder.
Jane wrenched her arm away. “No.” She stumbled backwards, back into the doorframe leading to the living room. “You can’t force me to go with you.”
Matteo laughed and backed up, holding up his hands like he was surrendering. “Fine. I can’t force you.” He paused, looked at her sideways. “But I am taking my daughter.”
Jane’s heart hammered in her chest. She could barely breathe. “No.”
Matteo shrugged. “Either you both come, or Scarlett and I are going alone.”
“You can’t take her.”
“The hell I can’t.”
“I won’t let you.” Thank God Scarlett is at Hannah’s. But Scarlett couldn’t stay there forever. Matteo would find her, and he would take her. He’d done it before.
“She’s my flesh and blood, and you kidnapped her and took her across state lines. I could have you arrested.”
And then it came to her. The only way out.
Jane stood up straight. “She’s not your flesh and blood.”
Matteo’s head jerked back like she’d been the one to hit him. “What the fuck are you talking about?”
“She’s not your flesh and blood. You’re not her father.”
“Well, then who the hell is her—” And then Matteo’s gaze slid past her, to the front door. And that’s when Jane heard Nik’s voice.
“Jane?”
Jane closed her eyes. “Oh God.” She’d never had a chance to close the door before Matteo had hit her. Nik must have heard the yelling. Nik must have heard everything.
Matteo looked from Jane to Nik and back again, and the disbelief on his face would have almost been comical if her whole life weren’t imploding.
“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me,” Matteo grunted. He waved a hand in Nik’s direction. “ This guy? ”
Jane slowly turned around to find Nik standing in the doorway, his face as pale as she’d ever seen it.
“Is it true?” he choked.
“Nik, listen—” Jane began, but then stopped. How could she explain this to him? And with Matteo standing right there. This was a nightmare.
“ Tell me ,” Nik barked.
Finally, Jane nodded. “I don’t know. But I think you could be.” Now that she had seen the similarities on their faces, she couldn’t get past it. Every time she looked at Scarlett, she saw Nik’s cheekbones, his nose, the arch in his brow.
“Fucking hell,” came Matteo’s voice from behind her now. “Why should I believe any of this?” He balled his fists. “I’ll get a lawyer. I’ll get custody. I want proof that she’s not mine.”
“That’s a great idea,” Mom stepped in, agreeing readily. Too readily. “You’ll get your proof. We’ll get a DNA test.” She bustled over to the entry table and yanked open a drawer. “I’ll give you my phone number, and we’ll arrange it for tomorrow. In the meantime, there’s a motel out on Route 8. You can check in there.”
Jane gaped at her. She didn’t want Matteo in a motel on Route 8. She didn’t want him anywhere near her or Scarlett. What was Mom thinking?
Matteo’s gaze swung from Mom, who was holding out a scrap of paper with her phone number on it, to Nik, who had stepped in front of Jane and crossed his arms protectively. Finally, Matteo snatched the paper from Mom. “Fine.”
He headed for the door, and though it was a wide hallway, he intentionally veered left, invading Jane’s space as he brushed past her. Jane’s body tensed, an automatic reaction. It was like she’d egged him on because in the next second, Matteo’s broad shoulder slammed into her collarbone, sending her flying back into the doorframe and knocking the wind out of her again.
Nik covered the space between them in three strides, grabbing Matteo by the shoulders and yanking him away from her. From somewhere far away, Jane heard him tell Matteo to stay the fuck away from her, and then a scream, probably from Mom, as Nik flung Matteo across the hallway and toward a vintage mirror that hung by the coat rack.
Matteo put a hand up to stop his momentum and his palm hit the mirror, cracking it into pieces. A jagged shard sliced through his skin. “Fucking hell!” Matteo yelled, grabbing a scarf off the coat rack and wrapping it around the bleeding gash.
Still dazed from her second collision with a doorframe, Jane could only watch in horror as Nik took another step toward Matteo, his hands curled into fists. But then— thank God —Mom ran in between the angry men.
“ That’s enough. ” She held up her phone, waving it at Matteo. “My husband was the police chief in this town for over thirty years. If I make a call, we’ll have every deputy within fifty miles at my door in five minutes.”
“And then what?” Matteo snarled. “Are you going to have me arrested?” He hitched his chin at Nik. “I’ll have him arrested.”
“Nobody is going to be arrested if we can all behave like adults,” Mom snapped. “Now, you have my number, and we have a plan for a DNA test.”
Matteo headed for the door, this time keeping a wide berth. But as he passed, Jane could hear him mutter under his breath. “You know this won’t work out for you, Jane. This never works out for you.”
Jane shivered, knowing he was talking about the one time she’d tried to leave him. She’d thought about running away a lot over the years, but there had been one day when she’d finally packed up their things and bought bus tickets to San Diego.
A shelter there had had a couple of beds open. If they took the 8 p.m. bus while Matteo was working at the club, they could have made it there before he noticed they were gone. But she hadn’t counted on Teddy, the bouncer. He’d spotted her trying to lug her suitcase and four-year-old Scarlett down the block. He’d wanted to help, he’d said, so he’d called inside to Matteo and offered to take a short break so he could drive them.
She’d ended up in the hospital, and Matteo had refused to bring Scarlett to see her. Jane had been frantic, desperate to see her daughter, to know she was okay, but Matteo wouldn’t tell her anything. And when Jane came home in a cab a couple of days later, Matteo and Scarlett were just… gone. Gone. She’d called the police, but since Scarlett was with her father, they said there wasn’t much they could do.
Matteo had rolled in three days later, Scarlett by his side in a princess dress and Mickey Mouse ears, like they’d planned a trip to Disneyland all along. Jane had played along for Scarlett’s sake, but inside she’d been screaming. Matteo had never done something like that again, but he hadn’t needed to. The message was clear to Jane that he’d use any means to control her, even their daughter. Jane had never tried to leave again.
But if Scarlett wasn’t biologically his, would that make a difference? Could Jane keep him away from her for good? She truly didn’t know. Scarlett could well be Matteo’s. And not knowing for sure was tearing her apart.
She watched from the front window as Matteo climbed into his Nissan and drove down the block. And then she turned to face Nik.
“Are you okay?” He took her by the arm and looked her over.
“I’m fine,” she said.
“The hell you are.”
He strode down the hall to the kitchen, and Jane could hear him rattling around in the freezer. A moment later, he came back with a bag full of ice wrapped in a paper towel and pressed it to her cheek. “Mrs. McCaffrey? Did he hurt you?” He turned to check Mom over.
“Don’t worry about me,” she said.
“We should call the cops.” Nik adjusted the ice on her cheek. “At the very least, you should have a record of this. A police report.”
“But what about you?” Mom wrung her hands. “If we press charges against him, he’ll do the same to you.”
“Don’t worry about me.”
“Of course we’re worried about you. You could lose your job. And if you really are Scarlett’s father, we need you here . Not in jail.”
“Nik…” Jane began. But she didn’t know what to say. How to explain this. “We need to talk about Scarlett.”
Nik stepped away from her and headed back down the hall. For a moment she thought he was going back into the kitchen, but then he spun on his heel to face her. “I could get over you taking off for LA without a word. I even understand why you did it. But this. How am I supposed to forgive you if you kept my daughter from me?”
“Nik, you have to believe me that I didn’t know.” Her eyes filled with tears. “I don’t know for sure.”
“But you suspect it, at least enough to tell Matteo that I’m Scarlett’s father. Or were you just saying that to get him to go away?”
Jane hesitated. What if she said yes? What if she said it was just a story she’d made up to protect Scarlett from Matteo? Maybe if she did, Nik would stop looking at her like this, like she’d betrayed him in the most unimaginable way. Like she was shattering his heart. But Jane couldn’t lie to him anymore, couldn’t keep him away from his daughter if that’s what Scarlett truly was. “Yes, I think it’s possible.”
He slowly shook his head as if he were trying to process that. “And how long have you suspected?”
“Just a few days.” Jane swiped at her wet cheeks. “When I came home and saw you and Scarlett together… when I saw yo ur baby picture at your mom’s house again… That’s when it started to come together.”
“I don’t know what to say to that. What to think. How could you get this wrong?” Nik raked a hand through his hair, turning to pace down the hall and then back again.
“Please, Nik. You have to understand what it was like for me back then… I was living in a shitty motel in a strange city. I was out of money and hadn’t eaten anything but ramen in days. I didn’t even notice my periods until suddenly I was puking in a night club toilet. Matteo didn’t like condoms. And I was just a kid. I assumed…”
Nik whirled around. “I was just a kid, too, Jane. I didn’t know what the hell I was doing with that condom. You don’t remember that?”
Jane shook her head slowly. So many terrible things had happened right after that night. All she remembered was how Nik had made her feel safe, loved. She’d hung on to that feeling for a decade.
“Were you ever going to tell me?”
“Yes,” Jane whispered. “I know you have no reason to believe me. But when I realized the possibility a few days ago… I knew I couldn’t keep it from you.” Jane’s voice broke, and suddenly, she was crying. Sobbing over the heartbreak of everything she’d lost, that Nik had lost. And Scarlett. To have grown up with a man like Matteo instead of Nik. “I was going to talk to Martin and figure out a plan.”
Nik inhaled a sharp breath, and the next thing Jane knew, his arms were around her. “Hey,” he whispered against her hair. “Come on.” He steered her to the living room couch. “Where is Scarlett now?” he asked, brushing her hair off her wet cheeks.
“Still at Hannah’s. I need to text her and ask her to keep Scarlett another night.”
Nik nodded. “I’ll sleep here on the couch tonight.” He looked at Mom. “If that’s okay with you. Just in case he comes back. And then tomorrow…”
“I’ll look into DNA tests,” Mom said. “Jane will go meet with Martin, and we’ll figure out where to go from there.”
Jane looked from Mom to Nik. Nik might be sleeping on the couch, but he was staying, and he had his arm around her. And Mom… she couldn’t believe how Mom had talked to Matteo. She’d never stood up to Dad like that. But she had now, finally. Maybe they could face this together. Maybe everything would be okay.