“I know,” Amber says. “The police said she was spotted in town a few weeks ago, walking near the apothecary. But she vanished. They don’t know where.”
My memory clicks into place. The gym. The cold, the fear, the resemblance. A cold chill washes over me that has nothing to do with the winter air.
“I saw her,” I say, standing up abruptly. “Weeks ago. At the gym. I thought it was you. I gave her money for a cab.”
Amber stares at me. “You saw her?”
“Oui,” I say, the memory playing back in high definition. “She was terrified. Looking for a bus stop. She looked just like you.”
“Why would she come here?” Amber asks, her voice rising. “Why would Luke send her?”
“To spy,” I say, the pieces connecting with a sickening click. “To see who you’re with. Luke is a narcissist. He wouldn’t just send threats. He wants eyes on you.”
The horror of it settles over the room. If he sent a woman who looks like Amber to spy... what else is he capable of?
“Or worse,” Eli says quietly. “Maybe he was planning to take Maisie. If he thinks you’re unfit... if he thinks he can prove you’re an addict again...”
“No.” Amber sounds terrified. “No. He can’t have her.”
“He won’t,” I vow, moving to her. I drop to my knees in front of her, taking her cold hands in mine. “He won’t touch you. He won’t touch your daughter.”
Eli and Fallon move closer, boxing her in.
“You should’ve talked to us about this, sweetheart,” Eli says, his voice thick with emotion. “We should have been protecting you better.”
“You’re here now,” she says, crying freely now. She releases the cards, bringing her hands up to her face and sobbing. “I was so scared to tell you. About the drugs. About the baby. I thought you’d look at me like trash.”
“Never,” I say fiercely. I pull her hands away, forcing her to look at me. “Look at me, Amber.”
She blinks her eyes open.
“You’re the strongest person I know,” I tell her. “You survived hell. You built a life. You’re not trash. You’re everything.”
Eli reaches out, rubbing her back. “We aren’t going anywhere.”
“We’re your pack,” Fallon adds, his hand resting on her knee. “We’re your wall. Nobody gets through us.”
She cries harder, a release of weeks of pressure. She leans forward, resting her forehead against mine. I hold her there, on the floor of our warehouse, while the snow falls outside.
“We’re going to kill him,” Fallon mutters to Eli.
“No,” I say, though the urge to rip Luke apart pulses through my veins. “We’re going to put him in prison. And then we’re going to make sure he never sees the light of day again. For Amber. For Maisie.”
I press my lips to her forehead, tasting her tears, feeling the vibration of her sobs against my chest. The fear is real, and the danger is real.
But looking at Eli and Fallon, seeing the ferocity in their eyes, I know one thing with absolute certainty.
Luke has no idea what he just walked into.
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
Fallon
Every creakof the settling wood, every whistle of wind against the steel siding makes my muscles tense. I sit on the edge of the sofa, my elbows on my knees, staring at the dead fireplace.
I’m tired, but sleep feels like a foreign country I can’t get a visa to visit.
Soft footsteps pad down the hallway. Amber appears in the mouth of the living room. She’s swimming in one of Knox’s white T-shirts. Her hair is a messy halo around her head, her eyes soft with sleep.
