Chapter 48
Nathan
I arrive to fanfare in front of my home. There are so many police cars blocking my driveway, we had to park fifty yards down the way. Fuming, I leave my dad in the dust, making a beeline to my house, vowing never ever to leave my girls again.
Miller already told me they’re okay, and Peter is on his way to receive treatment where he’ll be handcuffed to a hospital bed before they drop him back in a cage where he belongs. He should be grateful. Prison protects him…from me.
I trudge forward, making plans. Security will be tripled.
Spencer, Charlie, and Claire will have personal security details on them at all times.
We’re installing a panic room and a panic button.
Every inch of the property, inside and out, will have security cameras.
I will hire armed guards to perch at every entrance to our home. Snipers on the roof, too.
In about a week when I’ve calmed down, I’ll think of more reasonable security measures, but as of right now, my girls are on lockdown.
“Are you Mr. Hatcher?” one of the policemen asks, falling in stride next to me.
“Yes. This is my residence.” I don’t slow my pace. If he wants to talk, he needs to keep up.
“We’ve already taken a statement from your wife and daughters, but we need one from you too, if you don’t mind.
” I halt, turning my head to observe the squirrely cop.
He looks a little new, probably more concerned with procedure than reading the room.
He called Spencer my wife. Claire and Charlie, my daughters.
That’ll be misrepresented on his report…
But I don’t correct him, because I like how it sounds.
“Anyone who stands between me and my family at the moment is going to see a very ugly side of me. So, all due respect, Officer, please come back later.”
I storm off, up the stairs, through the stoop and into my home.
A small forensics team is working away. They’ve roped crime scene tape around the entry pillars to try to block off my kitchen.
There’s a little blood splatter, probably from when Peter got shot.
Spencer’s phone is shattered in pieces by the far wall.
Miller called me the second everyone was safe and gave me the rundown.
Peter crashed his car through the main security outpost, deactivating the gate.
He left his car and walked the half mile from my property entrance, to my home.
Spencer opened the door and had a gun pointed at her head.
Every time I picture her face, I nearly collapse.
She must’ve been so scared. But my clever girl somehow managed to alert the authorities.
Miller beat them to the house by minutes.
From what I was told, Spencer kept him calm, kept him talking, and bought precious time until help could arrive. She saved their lives.
I wouldn’t have survived losing them.
She saved my life, too.
“Spencer?” I bellow out. I bet she’s in the bedroom. I make my way down the hall past all the strangers in my home who I want out.
A door opens behind me with a small squeak. I look over my shoulder to see big, green eyes and long, bright red hair. It knocks the wind out of me. She looks so much like Elise, it stuns me into silence.
“Hey.” Tears dripping down her face, she forces a small smile. “I thought I heard you, Dad.” She scrunches her toes into the hardwood floor. “Can I call you that, still?” She sucks in a small breath.
It feels like I float to her. I blink. I’m on my knees. I blink again. She’s in my arms. One more time. I’m sobbing into her hair. “You call me what I am, princess.”
She blubbers into my neck about how she missed me and how she begged Ruby to let her visit. I can’t even think straight enough to form independent thoughts. I have to piggyback off all her sentiments. Everything she says, I add “me too.”
This hug feels like home. This little girl feels like a promise. I am never letting her go again.
Claire pulls away before I’m ready. She has to push hard against my shoulders to put any space between us.
Silently, she wrestles out the long chain from underneath her shirt.
The heavy, heart-shaped locket swings like a pendulum in her hand.
She shows me proudly. “I kept it safe.” I duck my head and Claire loops the chain over my neck. “You can have it back now.”
The words of my promise to her from years ago echo through my mind.
I wouldn’t give it up without being sure I’ll get it back. Keep it safe for me. I want it back when you come home.
“You’re home now, Claire. They can’t keep us apart anymore.”
She wraps her arms around my neck and squeezes tightly. “Home,” is all she murmurs, over and over again. “ Home , home , home. ”