Page 55 of Wait For You
Kenan shrugged. “We take care of each other. I already texted Rhys,” Kenan replied. “Wyatt wants to be there to help too.”
Mike sighed. “You can’t all drive over there. How are you going to do this in a low-key way? We’ve already done a sweep to make sure he hasn’t hacked into any of her security cameras or put anything extra on her property. If he calls, keep him talking. What we want is an opportunity to negotiate.”
I felt Tessa’s tremble beside me and turned my attention back to her. “What do you need?”
Her eyes lifted to mine, and the pain and fear flickering there cleaved my heart. “I just want Eric home and safe.”
She looked over at Colin. “Please tell me after this that I’ll finally get full custody.”
“You will,” Colin said simply.
I could feel the shudder in her breath. My heart ached, and emotions tangled inside. I felt relief that Tessa had called me, as well as fear and a raw anger toward Rich for playing these games with Eric and Tessa. They didn’t deserve this. No one did. I felt an old sense of helplessness from childhood rising up underneath it all, back when I’d been too little to stop anything. I didn’t want to hurt anyone; I never had. I just wanted those who did hurt others to fucking stop and for the truth to be out there about who they were.
“Adam.” Kenan’s voice broke through the emotional cacophony creating static in my thoughts. I looked over at him. “Wyatt and I will meet you there. We’re gonna park over at Haven and Rhys’s house. We can walk through the trees to where Tessa’s place is.”
I held his gaze and nodded. “I’ll drive over with Tessa.”
“No, you won’t.” Mike’s voice cut through.
“Why not?”
“We want him to believe she’s alone. You go with your brothers. All of you can walk through the trees. We’ll check the area again to make sure he’s not nearby before you do,” Mike explained.
I gritted my teeth, but I knew Mike had a point. I leaned close to Tessa. “Are you okay to drive by yourself over there?”
“I don’t know,” she whispered.
At that moment, Rosie arrived in the doorway, hearing my question. “Maybe we leave Tessa’s car here, and I drive over?”
Jerri chimed in. “Rosie called over here because they heard something on the scanner at the ER. I filled her in when Mike said it was okay.”
Tessa glanced over. “Thank you, Jerri.”
“I’ll drop Tessa off,” Rosie said firmly.
“That’s a good plan.” I caught Rosie’s eyes, mouthing, “Thank you.”
It physically hurt to part from Tessa in the waiting area a few minutes later. I placed my hands on her shoulders. “I love you. We’re going to find Eric, and Rich won’t get away with this.”
Tessa’s cheeks were pale, and her eyes red. “Okay.”
“I’ll see you in about a half an hour. I love you,” I repeated.
Chapter Thirty-Five
Tessa
“It’s going to be okay,” Rosie said, her tone firm as if she could will her assertion into fact.
“What if it isn’t?” The fear and anxiety spinning like a whirling dervish through me kept my doubts in play.
My friend looked at me. “Okay, what I’m about to say is going to sound really fucked up,” she warned me.
“Um, okay?” I let out a ragged sigh.
“Rich wants you. He doesn’t want Eric. I know Rich is an asshole, and I’m still confident you haven’t told us just how bad things were. You don’t have to. I completely understand.” I swallowed, the knot in my throat beyond the point of aching too sharp. “I don’t believe Rich would hurt Eric. Oh, he’ll pull some kind of bullshit like this. But I don’t believe he would hurt Eric. I just don’t. I might turn out to be wrong. But ask yourself, would he hurt his own son?’
I contemplated her question. She had a point. I honestly didn’t think Rich would hurt Eric. Oh, he would be dismissive, he would be a jerk, and more than half the time, he couldn’t be bothered to deal with his son. But what he wanted was to make my life hell. I’d known when I was leaving him that I was violating something that meant more than I could even imagine to him. I’d injured his pride deeply. My mistake in offering to help his girlfriend was not realizing that would remind him of what he had lost. That I had the strength to see him for who he was and walk away.