No.
“I’m sure I have something around here,” she said. “Just be quiet. My mother and Rory are both asleep. I haven’t told them what’s going on. I don’t know how to… I’m not sure what to say.”
They walked in front of the camera in our bedroom, and I clicked on that one, listening in. I could no longer see them as they were out of view, but I listened closely.
“I understand,” he was saying. They were quiet for a bit, and then I heard him say, “She could be your twin, you know? She looks just like the way I remember you from back then.”
She laughed softly. “Thank you. I get that a lot, but I see her dad in her more. She has his smile.”
“No, no… It’s all you.”
“That’s what they tell me.”
He didn’t respond right away.
“She’s beautiful, you know?” he said, his voice a low growl.
“Thank you,” she said, something in her tone stiffening. “So, what do you think about this picture to send with him?”
He didn’t answer.
After a moment, she said, “Elias? Where did you go—ah! ”
She screamed, and I heard a thud. “Addy!” I cried, though it was no use. No one could hear me. I was invisible. A fly on the wall.
I watched him move past the webcam, a blur of black.
He was leaving. What had he done? I put a hand over my lips as I tried to think of what to do. I clicked away from the camera, back to the hive-like screen, and saw him come into view in another one moments later. Rory’s bedroom.
His words echoed in my head as realization flooded me.
She could be your twin, you know?
He wasn’t after Addy anymore.
He wanted her as she was before.
He wanted Rory.
I watched my daughter sit up in bed. She rubbed her eyes gently, pulling the cover up over herself, seeming to sense the danger she was in. I stood from the chair as I heard her voice, wanting to run to her and not wanting to move at the same time.
“Mom?” she asked, her voice hoarse from sleep. When she processed the sight of him, she cocked her head to the side. “Brody? What are you… What are you doing here?”
Brody? I felt myself grow dizzy as I recognized the name.
Chapter Thirty-Four
I didn’t know what to do. No choice made sense as I made my way out of the apartment, not even bothering to close the door behind me. I didn’t have a phone, didn’t have a wallet, but I had my keys. I had to act quickly.
I was wobbly on my feet, my head still fuzzy, but I had no time to slow down. I climbed in the car, zipping out of the parking garage and onto the street. I hurried out of downtown, pressing the accelerator to the floor as I hit the interstate.
I needed to call the police, but I couldn’t stop. I didn’t have a phone. I had to get there. I just had to keep moving.
Faster.
Faster.
I turned on the icy air conditioning, trying to keep myself awake as I felt a wave of exhaustion sweep over me. I had to get to Rory. I had to get to Addy.
I wasn’t crazy.
I’d never been crazy.
Elias was everything I’d thought he was and so much more.
Now, my family needed me, and it was up to me to save them.
When I arrived at the house fifteen minutes later, it was a complete miracle that I was still standing. I leapt from the car, barreling up the stairs with my key at the ready. I stuck it in the lock, opening the door swiftly.
“What do you want from me?” I heard as I opened the door. Rory was crying, her voice too loud for him to hear all the noise that I was making. I rushed through the living room, into the hall. “Please don’t do this. You don’t have to do this. I don’t want to go with you. Please. My parents will be home any minute. My grandmother’s right down the hall. They won’t let me go with you.”
Without a hint of reservation, I shoved into her bedroom, and Elias turned around, his eyes wild.
“What the—”
I leapt at him, no qualms about sensical actions as I rammed him into the wall. Rory was on her bed. She’d changed out of her pajamas into everyday clothing and had a suitcase open on her bed, one she was reluctantly packing with clothing. When she realized what was happening, she dropped the stack of T-shirts in her hand and cried, “Daddy, I’m sorry.”
“Get your mom!” I screamed. “Call the police and lock the door behind you! Get out of here.” She darted from the room, though she glanced behind her once hesitantly, as Elias jammed his elbow into my side.
“Go!” I screamed through the pain.
“I’m not sure how you managed to find me,” Elias said, standing up as I covered my side with my hands in pain. “You were supposed to be taking a nice, long nap.” He lifted his foot, ramming it into my stomach, and I doubled over. He turned away from me, moving to walk out of the room, but I grabbed his feet, holding on for dear life. He stumbled, but didn’t fall, trying to kick himself free. His fingers found my eyes, shoving into them, and I screamed, pulling my head back but refusing to let go.
“Stay the hell away from my family,” I roared, jerking us backward so he fell on top of me. We both cried out, though he recovered quicker. The room had begun to go fuzzy for me, my eyes throbbing.
“You had everything, Wes,” he snarled. “Everything, and you still managed to screw it all up. You don’t deserve her. You don’t deserve any of them. I couldn’t let you keep hurting her. It was killing me.” He moved
