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“Hello?”
“Dani, this is Arlene Bing. Please don’t hang up. There’s something I need to tell you. I can only imagine how you feel about our family, but as you know, we were horrified by what happened to you, and there is no way an apology is even a proper response.”
“I really don’t want to have this conversation. Why are you calling?” Dani asked, then heard Arlene take a deep breath. When she spoke again, it sounded like she was crying.
“Alex has disappeared. He’s gone completely off the radar. He isn’t answering his phone, but we know where he is, because we put a tracker app on it after Tony went to prison. You know how close they were, being twins and all, and he became completely irrational about what Tony did. In his mind, he has justified every action Tony made and blames you.”
A chill ran through Dani so fast she shivered and dropped onto the sofa before her knees gave way.
“I already know this! He pretty much said it in front of a judge, a courtroom full of people at the sentencing, so stop beating around the bush with this. What are you trying to tell me? Where does the app say Alex has gone?”
“He’s somewhere in Kentucky. At some big tourist attraction in a place called Jubilee.”
Dani moaned. The room was beginning to spin. She put her head between her knees before she passed out where she sat, and realized Arlene was still talking.
“We heard you quit your job here in Monroe, and we certainly can’t blame you. I don’t know where you went, but if it’s anywhere around that area, then beware. I wish I had an answer for why my sons turned out this way, but I don’t. We’ve been afraid of them for years.” Then Arlene was crying. “By the time they were teens,Hank and I were sleeping with our door locked at night. There’s something wrong with them. I’m so sorry you became a victim.”
The disconnect in Dani’s ear was the slap she needed to bring her back to reality.
“God, oh God, why is this happening? How did he find me? Am I going to have to die to ever get peace again?”
She broke into sobs—harsh, choking sobs of utter defeat.
When her doorbell suddenly rang, she jumped, then remembered Aaron was coming and staggered to her feet. She looked out the window to make sure it was a police car in the driveway before she opened the door.
Aaron had the folder with the photos in his hand, expecting to see a smile, and instead, she was in hysterics. He stepped over the threshold, kicked the door shut behind him, and took her by the shoulders.
“What’s wrong?”
She couldn’t talk; she just fell into his arms, sobbing as he wrapped his arms around her.
“Dani. Please. Tell me what’s wrong.”
“I just got a call. He’s here. He’s after me. I just know it. He screamed it at me in the courtroom the day his brother was sentenced.”
Aaron was confused.
“Wait. Who’s here, and what happened in the courtroom?”
Dani swiped at the tears on her face and took a breath.
“Tony Bing, the man who tried to kill me, has an identical twin brother. His name is Alex. He threatened me in the courtroom and has been alienated from his family for some time. I guess his mother was still keeping tabs on him about town, because she said he’s disappeared. He holds a grudge against me for his brother’s imprisonment. He’s as crazy as Tony.”
“Then how do you know he’s here?” Aaron asked.
Dani took a slow, shuddering breath. “She just called me. She located him by a tracking app on her phone. She knows he’s in Jubilee, Kentucky, but she doesn’t know where I am. All she said was, wherever I was, to be careful, and she hung up.”
Aaron’s thoughts were spinning.
“He thinks he’s pulled a fast one finding out where you are, but he doesn’t know his cover is blown. There are only so many places he can be staying, and as soon as we find out where he is, we’ll put a tail on him.”
Dani shook her head and pushed out of his arms. “That won’t help. You can’t arrest him for just being in Jubilee. Oh my God, I don’t want to have to sleep in a closet again. I thought I was finally safe.”
Aaron reached for her again, this time with anger in his voice. “You’re going to be safe. I’ll make sure of that.”
“How?” Dani asked. “There aren’t laws for people like them.”
“No, but there are bodyguards for people like you.”
