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Back in the Sunshine’s hotel room, I found Theo in almost exactly the same position I’d left him in, anxiously looking out the window.
“Here we go,” I said, reaching out to squeeze his bicep.
“Here we go,” he repeated, clearly trying to convince himself that he could do this.
Theo and I got all of our stuff together and made our way out the back door of Sunshine’s. We walked around the whole block until we made it in the rear entrance of Hotel Howdy’s, then walked down the main corridor, out to the front.
This was Theo’s time to shine. He was supposed to be noticed now, and Theo did a good job of that.
In front of the hotel, he stopped for a selfie, smiling wide even through his fear. He paused, captioned it with had a great time at Howdy’s! The hospitality in Kansas never ceases to amaze me. With love, TC xx.
It was all part of the plan. Theo and I loaded our bags and got into his car, knowing all along that some creep in the black SUV was right behind us, watching our every move.
It made me sick. Every bone in my body wanted to turn around, walk up to the vehicle, and pull the guy out. I wished that I could be the one to put him in his place, to scream at him until I couldn’t speak, to personally make him fear for his life and then throw him behind bars.
But I had to hold back.
I had to stick to the plan.
It was the only way this was really, finally, going to work.
Theo got into the driver’s seat, immediately letting out a long breath he’d been holding. “I hope this works.”
Theo launched the car into reverse, then high-tailed it out of the Howdy’s parking lot, driving as fast as he ever did. For a moment, I thought the plan was screwed. The SUV didn’t budge. But once we’d pulled onto the highway that led back to Amberfield, it only took a few minutes before we saw it, behind us in the distance, just far enough away that it wouldn’t raise an eyebrow.
“We’ve got him. We’ve fucking got him.”
“I feel like I’m going to puke,” Theo said.
“Are you okay to drive?”
“I’m always okay to drive,” he said, gunning the gas pedal like he was trying to prove a point.
It was about ninety minutes back to Amberfield, and the whole time, I was on edge. I knew it had to be a thousand times worse for Theo. For the first time ever, he didn’t try to make conversation. He didn’t even blast music. He was silent, checking the rearview mirror every few minutes, his eyes darting back and forth. When we made it back onto his street, I put my hand on his leg.
“We’re so close.”
He just nodded. “It’s just weird, luring him back to my home. I mean, he clearly already knows I live here. It’s not like I’m giving him any new information. But it still feels wrong, somehow.”
“I know. It feels awful.”
“Let’s do this,” Theo said.
As we drove down the street, we passed a few parked cars along the road, one of which was an undercover vehicle that Tim was in. More police forces were in the surrounding streets in the neighborhood, ready in case we needed them.
He pulled into his garage and got out, going up into the house. I stayed in the car for a few minutes, confirming to Tim and the police that we were back, before heading in after Theo. I took up station in one of the upstairs rooms, watching outside like a hawk.
The adrenaline felt like it was going to burn a damned hole in my heart. We waited ten minutes, then thirty, then an hour. Slowly, the world went dark, and we didn’t see any action outside.
And then just after the sun went down, the SUV finally pulled up, a little down the road, on the opposite side. My heart jumped when I saw a figure actually get out of the front door, slowly making his way across.
I dialed Tim immediately. “Now,” was all I said to him before hanging up and sending out a blast text to Theo and Madeline. I watched as the figure crossed the street and the moment he crossed Theo’s property line, I went out onto the bedroom balcony.
The guy was here. He was on the property.
Now was when Tim and the other police were supposed to arrive. But in the breathless moments that passed, I saw no action on the street.
I watched as the hooded man slunk his way across the big lawn, walking up to Theo’s front door.
My heart felt like it might explode in my chest.
Just then, another car drove down the street its headlights illuminating the lawn. I watched as the stalker tried to cut across, making a run for it back behind the house.
