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"I was ... until you came back. Now I feel safe and protected."
He smiled, and we kissed briefly.
"I'm glad you feel that way. And I'm going to do everything in my power to keep you safe from that maniac. I'm not going to let him get within a mile of you; I promise you that."
"Thank you, Everett."
"What do the police know about him? How much have you told them?" he asked me.
"I told them everything."
"All of it? About the name change and having to move across the state, all of that?"
"All of it. They seemed very sympathetic, and they assured me they'd pick him up and bring him in if he was seen anywhere, as he is now the primary suspect for the break-in at my daycare."
"Alright, good. But even though they're out looking for him, it doesn't mean you're safe. We have to take every possible precaution to ensure your safety at all times. We can't get complacent about anything."
"Believe me; I know that, Everett. This guy is very, very smart, sadly, and he'll be looking for any way he can to get to me."
"Well, I'm fairly intelligent as well, and with you and Jimmy on this as well, we'll outsmart this jerk, I guarantee it."
"I hope so," I sighed. "I really do."
"We will," he said, giving me a quick and reassuring squeeze. "Are you ready to go?"
"Yeah."
"Jimmy and I talked, and we think it's best that you—"
"Sneak in and out of the house, I know, I know," I said, completing the sentence.
"Okay, good. My truck is just in front of the garage. If you go around the back of the garage, you can get to the passenger's side without being seen from the street."
"Ugh, it's just so inconvenient and annoying," I said, rolling my eyes. “I can’t believe this asshole is still controlling my life like this.”
"I know. But we have to be cautious. I'll go start up the truck. When you hear the motor running, you can come out and go around the back of the garage. Remember to lock the door, okay?"
"Okay."
I waited for him to start the truck, and then I did as he instructed. As I got in, he turned and spoke to me.
"Okay, now you need to keep your head down until we're at least a few blocks away. If Simon is hiding out somewhere around here or has set up a few cameras, we don't want him seeing that there's anyone else in the truck. Soon he's gonna figure out that you're no longer staying at your house, and he's gonna start digging. But until then, we have to be secretive."
"Yes, I know," I said, shaking my head. Still, I did as he said and ducked down so that I couldn't be seen from outside the truck.
After we had driven a few blocks, I finally got up and sat normally, feeling relieved. I couldn't believe this was happening. How the hell had Simon found me after everything I'd done to keep my location and identity secret? I had thought that changing my name, moving and cutting off all ties from my old life would have been enough to stop him – but that didn’t seem to be the case. I honestly had no idea how we would go about stopping him, short of putting him in jail. But even if the cops did catch him, I wasn't sure how it could be proven that he had been the one who had broken into my daycare. The cops had combed the scene, and there were no fingerprints or other evidence that could link him to the crime. I was starting to feel hopeless about this; it was like living with a type of cancer that couldn't be treated. No matter what I did, I just couldn't live a normal life. It seemed like I would forever be doomed to an existence of hiding and running.
The thought was almost too crushing and depressing to handle. I struggled not to have a mental breakdown right there next to Everett in his truck – but somehow I managed to hold myself together.
We reached the hospital, and after Everett had parked the truck, we headed inside and went straight to Jane's room. She was in bed and didn't look so good, but at least she was awake. When she saw us, a huge smile spread across her cute little face.
"Daddy! Vivienne!" she cried.
Tears welled in his eyes as he looked at his little girl, and a surge of emotion crashed through me. I fought back the urge to tear up myself. He rushed over to her and picked her up carefully, cradling her in his arms.
"Hey, my little sweet pea," he said, his voice choked with emotion. "How are you feeling? Daddy has missed you so much, so very, very much."