Chapter 31
Amayah’s shoes slapped against the cracked porch as she burst through the Crump doorway.
“Eli?” Her voice echoed into empty rooms. “Maisie?”
Silence.
No coats. No backpacks. No signs of life.
“They’re gone,” she breathed. “They ran.”
A sick fear twisted in her chest. Six children. Alone. They’d disappeared into the cold winter.
She forgot about her anger toward Luke for a moment. But she’d definitely address it again later.
“We have to find them.” She turned back toward the street. “We can’t let them disappear.”
“I agree,” Luke muttered. “It’s not safe for them out there.”
Amayah stepped back outside—and froze.
A man stood near the edge of the sidewalk.
Watching.
The same man she’d half-seen at the mall and while judging Christmas decorations. The figure that lingered too long on the edge of her vision. Her so-called “fan.”
Her breath caught.
What was he doing here?
And could his timing be any worse?
Amayah was acutely aware of Luke stepping up beside her, following her gaze. “Is that . . . ?”
She gave the slightest nod. “It’s him. The man who’s been following me.”
Luke squared his shoulders as he started to charge across the street.
“Luke . . .”
“It’s time to address this once and for all,” he murmured.
She wanted to argue. However, she knew they wouldn’t find the Crump kids if this man got in their way.
Amayah stayed on his heels, anxious to hear what the man would say.
Luke paused in front of the man, who stood on the sidewalk frozen as if unable to move.
The man looked rough—hair uncombed, jacket stiff with cold, and boots too worn for the winter pavement.
His nervous energy flickered in the way he shifted his weight, eyes wide and unfocused, as if he wasn’t sure whether to run or apologize.
He wasn’t menacing. Just . . . unsettled.
And deeply uncomfortable under Luke’s glare.
And he looked . . . slightly familiar.
Luke’s hands went to his hips as he leered at the man. “Who are you?”
The man raised both hands in surrender.
“I’m not here to hurt her. I promise.” His gaze dropped, heavy with regret before he looked back up at Amayah. “I just . . . I didn’t know how to approach you. I was afraid I’d either scare you off or scare myself off.”
“Then start talking.” Amayah’s voice was sharp and trembling as she said the words. “Who are you? Why have you been following me?”
His jaw worked as if chewing through guilt. “My name’s Darren. I knew your boyfriend. Isaac. Back when . . . when things went wrong.”
Her knees nearly gave out as the memories hit her. Late-night arguments. Isaac coming over, his words slurred and cruel. The way his personality completely changed.
The new friends he began hanging out with.
She hadn’t seen Darren in years, but the sight of him now—the guilt in his eyes, the defeated slump of his shoulders—dragged every painful detail back into sharp focus.
Finally, she whispered, “I remember you.”
Darren’s breath hitched. He nodded quickly, then swiped the back of his hand across his eyes before he could stop himself.
“I was the one who got him started.” His voice sounded as if it were scraped raw.
“First, he just started drinking with us—just weekends, just for fun, or at least that’s what I told myself.
Then I brought pills around. Told him it’d help him unwind.
Make the world feel lighter.” His throat worked.
“It didn’t take long before he wanted more than I ever meant to hand him. ”
Her heart pounded in her ears as she listened.
He stared past her at some point in the road, eyes hollow. “After a while, he wasn’t the same guy anymore. You know that. He got jumpy. Mean sometimes. And quiet other times—so quiet it scared me. Like he was slipping down into some place I couldn’t pull him out of.”
A cold gust rattled a loose shutter nearby, the sound hollow and mournful. Amayah felt it in her bones.
She drew a long, shaking breath. “You presented him with the temptations, Darren.” Her voice wavered. “But he’s the one who made the choices.”
He flinched like the truth physically struck him before scrubbing a hand over his face. “I’ve carried so much guilt for years. I’ve wanted to make things right. I’ve wanted to apologize for my role in this. I just didn’t know how.”
Amayah’s throat tightened.
This subject wasn’t a fast conversation. It was something that needed time.
Time was something she didn’t have right now.
“Listen, I—I can’t talk about this now.” She glanced toward the darkening street. “The kids who were just in that house—they’re gone. I’ve got to find them.” Her voice steadied only enough to hold shape. “Did you see where they went?”
Darren pointed immediately, urgency overtaking his grief. “Down that way. One of them saw me watching and mumbled something about going somewhere safe. Said I shouldn’t worry.”
Amayah nodded, already stepping past him. Then she paused, heartbeat trembling in her chest.
“Darren . . .” She swallowed hard. “We’ll talk more later. I—I promise. But right now, I’ve got to go.”
Then she ran, Luke on her heels.