“Thank God.” I stepped forward slightly. “Jesus, Winnie, are you okay? The kids have been worried sick. I’ve been calling all day.”
The man beside the doorway went very still.
Winnie glanced at him briefly before looking back at me. “I’m fine.”
She absolutely was not fine.
Every alarm bell in my body started screaming immediately.
The man’s attention settled on me again. Hungry. That was the only word for it. Hungry enough that my pulse actually kicked harder. He stepped closer, towering over me. “I believe Winifred said she’s fine.”
Something cold slid down my spine.
The man lifted one hand slightly toward me and?—
Was he licking his lips? What the actual hell?
My entire body tensed. “Winnie,” I said slowly without taking my eyes off him, “are you safe here?”
The question changed everything. The man’s jaw tightened, his gaze hardening into something cold and sharp. She rushed forward and stepped between us, grabbing my arm hard enough to shock me.
“Conrad,” she said quickly, “come with me.”
Then she started pulling me toward the driveway. Fast. Too fast. I had to jog to keep up with her pace.
“Winnie, what the hell is going on?”
“Please get in your car.”
I tried pulling my arm free and nearly stumbled because her grip did not budge even slightly.
Holy shit. She was strong. Much stronger than she should’ve been.
“Winnie. Please.”
Her jaw trembled slightly as she drew a shallow, ragged breath.
I looked back toward the porch. The man was gone. Just gone. There had been no footsteps or the sound of a closing door. Nothing. He’d vanished. A chill worked its way painfully up my spine. “Where the fuck did he go?”
“Conrad,” she said.
“Who the hell was that?”
She opened my car door so abruptly I nearly lost my balance, then she pushed me inside. Up close, she looked even worse. Distracted and dazed—almost feverish. Like someone heavily medicated or drunk. This wasn’t Winnie. Not the version I knew, anyway.
“Tell me what’s happening,” I demanded. “Are you in trouble? Do you need help? Should I call the police?”
Her face crumpled for a fleeting, painful second. God, she looked miserable.
“I can no longer work for you.”
The words landed like a physical blow. “What?”
“Please tell the children goodbye for me.”
Panic surged through me. “No. Absolutely not. Winnie, what are you talking about?”
“I have to go.”
