Come Back to Me

Chapter 39: Present Day

Three days. Three damn days and I was losing my mind.

House arrest at the Brownstone was nothing compared to being forced to hide out in Thad's riverside penthouse. I'm sure there were worse places to be stuck in but I was missing the brownstone. It had begun to feel a little like home, even though my time there was short. With the unsuccessful raid on Stephen's shiny hotel room, Thad's place was going to be my home for the foreseeable future.

Mal's men had discovered where Stephen had been holed up while in Boston. They hadn't found him, though. It seemed that he had known we were coming after him and ran. Some of his belongings were left behind, as well as notes about my location and activities since coming to the city.

The police were also still looking for Stephen. They hadn't been able to find him either, and evidence now makes it clear Stephen Laughlin isn't even his real name. Nothing I provided them had been any help, and when they checked in with the school district in Houston, they had no record of Stephen Laughlin ever being employed. That had earned me a lot of questions from the police.

I thought you said he was a teacher?

He was!

Apparently not. Didn't you teach at the same school?

Well, no. We taught at different schools. He was a high school geometry teacher.

Did you ever see him in the school, in class?

I hadn't. We met at a bar where many teachers in the district hung out on Friday evenings, and when he said he taught at one of the high schools, I had no reason to doubt it. It was a large county, with five high schools in total, and mine was on the other side of the city from where he said he taught. I never met him at the school for anything; he would always pick me up at my classroom since my classes ended after his.

So, until Mal or the police found him, I was stuck pacing the lavish floors of Thad's home. He had offered it up without hesitation, insisting I stay there since Stephen wouldn't know anything about it. Thad would be staying in his other home outside of the city. That's where Beth had been assigned. She was a-okay with it. Noah had explained the suspicions around Greg when he had driven her to the hospital. She immediately washed her hands of all things Greg and was currently enjoying Thad's company. Very. Much.

We were still upset that she wasn't here with me. The boys decided it was better to keep us split up, all of us split up, to make it harder for someone to determine our locations. This meant I was banished here by myself most days, with occasional visits from Mal or Joshua. They never stayed long. As soon as they had eyes on me, checked in with my overbearing security detail, and dropped off some supplies, they'd leave. Sometimes, I didn't even get to speak with them.

Noah hadn't come by yet, and when I asked the others about him, they got quiet and said nothing.

I knew he was punishing himself. And that pissed me off even more.

I was about ready to kill him when I saw him next. Scratch that. Kill all three of them.

They had forced me into this new prison, as gorgeous as it was, and left me to stew in my own thoughts and nightmares. I couldn't relax. Anxiety kept me strung tight the whole time they were away from me. No one was telling me anything about what was going on. It was "for my safety" and "better I didn't know," which was all condescendingly bullshitty. Since the attack at the gallery, I had been shut out. Left in the dark and going crazy.

My body was tight with tension, sexual and otherwise, and had no outlet. Thad had a workout room, which thankfully included a treadmill. Walker brought all my recent purchases over, including some workout clothes and a new pair of running shoes. The treadmill was set up to face the rooftop deck, so there was at least a view, but it paled compared to running outside. Even in the cold, snowy weather, I'd rather run out than in.