Using Terry’s direction, Ethan Willows turned the stolen car onto the curb leading to their destination; a mansion that displayed sophisticated architectural design. He parked a distance from the house as Terry had instructed him. There was a dense garden, a garage, and a porch. The lights on the porch were on and from the spot he’d parked the car, Terry saw Eddie sitting in a small chair.

     “Stay down. If my husband sees you, he’ll recognize you,” she told him.

     The initial plan was that he’d leave her at her cousin’s place and continue with his journey, but after Gabby’s disappearance, he had dropped every plan to help find her daughter, which she’d considered very noble of him.

     Before she unbuckled the seat belt, Eddie had dragged himself to the curb and was opening the door for her. She immediately stepped out of the car and wrapped her arms around him.

     Threading his fingers through her messy hair, he said almost in tears, “Thank God you’re safe. I was worried.”

     Terry broke into tears. “How are you holding up?”

     They pulled apart. “I’m managing. The cops haven’t said anything since yesterday.”

     Terry itched to know in detail how it had all happened, but first she needed to separate the two men.

     “Let’s go inside. There’s so much I want to share with you.”

     He nodded and she tucked her arm into his, pulled him toward the house but then, he halted, said, “Won’t you invite your guest in? I want to thank him myself,” and broke free of her grip. She couldn’t stop him. By the time she was able to do anything to prevent the imminent fight, Eddie was already at the door, pulling it open.

     She didn’t know how it happened. Eddie’s face suddenly went red, and he muttered a very bad word she never would have imagined him saying before he gripped Ethan’s shirt, dragged him out of the car, and started punching his face.

     “Eddie, please stop!”

     She darted toward him and gripped his hand. He parried her grip and sent another fist that left an imprint on Ethan’s face. Terry knew the only reason Ethan wasn’t fighting back was that he didn’t want to hurt him.

     “Stop it, Eddie! You’re hurting him.”

     He stopped the punch halfway to its destination and pulled an angry face at her. “He kidnapped you and now you’re defending him?”

     She was shocked at the outburst of accusation. If anything she was trying to save her husband before Ethan reached a breaking point where he’d want to retaliate. Eddie hadn’t landed the next punch on his face when Ethan ceased his wrist and twisted it. In a manly voice, he said, “Behave!” and was about to break a finger like he’d done to the state trooper when Terry stared daggers at him.

     Ethan stood down and shoved him in the chest. Eddie staggered back. Finding no support, he landed on the floor. Terry dropped to her knees close to the section he’d fallen and tucked her hair behind her ears. “Are you all right?”

     Eddie shooed her away. “Don’t touch me!”

     It was the first time since their so many years of marriage he’d been rude to her. He was angry, or perhaps embarrassed that the fugitive had defeated him in front of his wife. And even pushed him to the ground, degrading his masculinity, which in any way he considered very inappropriate that he couldn’t fight back. He struggled to his feet and stared menacingly at the fugitive.

     Esther and her husband Ernest came running from the house, her toddler in her arms. She shouted, “Call 911. It’s the fugitive!”

     Ernest reached for his phone and hastily punched numbers. When he was connected with an operator, he told her about the fugitive on his property. No one needed to tell Ethan to leave. Without a word, he got inside the car, started the engine, and lurched the car onto the road. Then he disappeared.

     Esther walked briskly to Terry. “Are you all right? Did he hurt you?”

     Physically she was all right, but emotionally she was sad about so many things. Her peripheral vision saw Eddie walk past them into the house. She couldn’t wait for all this upheaval with Eddie to be over.

     “Yes, I’m fine.”

     “I was so worried when I read the papers. That man—he’s dangerous. How did you get away from him?”

     Right now Ethan wasn’t a threat like the media had painted him to be. Ethan at large was the least of her worries. Moments ago she’d thought otherwise, but now she knew better. If anything she had learned the media wasn’t always right.

     “It’s a long story. I’ll tell you indoors.”

     She nodded and examined her dress. When she saw the bloodstains, she yelled, “Is that blood?”

     Terry smiled at the toddler and fondled her cheeks before she said, “It isn’t mine.”

     Esther sighed and led her into the house. By the time she was done taking a bath, it was morning and the birds in the garden were chirping. She remembered how much she’d missed that sound. After they breakfasted, Esther packed the plates into the kitchen and saw her husband off to work.

     Terry passed through the living room and into the study, she found Eddie reading a newspaper. She stepped inside the sparse room and closed the door behind her.

     “Can we talk?”

     Eddie set the book aside, glanced at her, and said, “You chose the fugitive over me.” Then he stood from the chair.

     Terry was shocked he was still holding on to what happened a while ago. “I didn’t choose anybody over you. You were creating a scene, and I was trying to stop you from getting hurt for nothing.”

     Eddie fumed. “For crying out loud, he kidnapped you and held you hostage. Why are you defending him? He’s a mass murderer.”

     “Ethan didn’t kill those men in the storehouse. He was framed.”

     He retorted, “Hell he was.” He stomped to her side and stared blankly at her. “What did that man do to you?”

     “Nothing, Eddie. He did nothing to me.” She scowled at him for the first time. She didn’t know why he was angry over a trivial matter when their daughter was nowhere to be found.

     “Could we not talk about him? Ethan is not a threat to us anymore. He’s gone. Let’s focus on finding Gabby. She’s our most priority.”

     She was right, and he agreed with her. Although he’d wanted to hurt that man so badly for kidnapping his wife, he knew he had to let it go and focus on the most important matter. Ethan dropped his exasperation.

     “Have you heard anything from the police?”

     Eddie walked back to the swivel chair and sat slowly. “No. Not yet. You said you wanted to tell me something about Clinton.”

     “Yes. I’ve got a feeling Clinton has our daughter.”

     His interest was stimulated. “Why would you think that?”

     Terry fumbled with an apt answer. She didn’t know how to explain her suspicions to him without involving Ethan.

     “Clinton’s keeping secrets from me.”

     “Secrets about?”

     Terry walked forward. “So many things. I have a feeling he framed Ethan and ordered a hit on Jerry Hamilton’s life.”

     “He’s the Attorney General. Why would he want to do that?”

     She shrugged because she had no idea of Clinton’s endgame. Ethan too had failed to tell her what the allegations against Admiral Peterson were to keep her safe from God knows what. But one thing she knew for sure was that Ethan had been telling the truth from the very moment she met him.

     “I have no idea why he’d do something as evil as kill a witness and frame Ethan.”

     “How do you know he framed Ethan?”

     “Because he told me.”

     Eddie said sarcastically, “And you believe a kidnapper, a mass murderer, and a fugitive?” When she said nothing, he continued, “What did he do to you? When we spoke on the phone you didn’t want to talk about him and now. . .” He flailed his hands in the air, “you’re up and down ready to defend him.”

     She wanted to tell him that the fugitive had fed her, protected her, and above all brought her safely to her destination. She was still breathing all thanks to the fugitive he despised with every fiber of his being. But she remained silent because she didn’t want to argue with him about Ethan.

     “Clinton’s evil and you have to know that.”

     “The only evil person I know is that fugitive who kidnapped you, and God only knows what he did to you to gain your trust.”

     Just like everyone, his mind was fixed that Ethan was the bad guy in the story. Initially she’d thought so too until after spending the whole day with him. That was when she’d gotten to know his side of the story. Arguing with her husband about Ethan’s innocence was useless because nothing was going to change his mind.

     The door slid open and Esther poked her head inside. “Sorry to interrupt, but an officer is waiting in the lobby. He’s here because of the fugitive. I don’t know what to tell him.”

     Terry faced her. “Make him feel comfortable. I’ll be down in a jiffy.”

     “All right.” She closed the door and disappeared.

     “We’ll continue later.” She turned to leave when his voice stopped her.

     “What are you gonna tell the cops? That you let the fugitive escape right under our noses?”

     Terry hated the tone of his voice. She wondered why Eddie was being so harsh to her. She didn’t stop to answer. She felt there was no need to since nothing would convince him Ethan was innocent. And there was no way he’d believe he had saved her life.

     She went down the stairs and found the officer sitting in the living room.

     “Good day, Officer.”

     The officer glanced up at her and was a bit taken aback. “Judge Terry?”

     She nodded. Terry saw the surprise in his eyes.

     “How did you get away from him?”

     Terry moved closer, sat down, and said, “Long story. I didn’t get away from him. He brought me here.”

     “The fugitive brought you here?”

     “Sounds strange, right?” she said dryly.

     “I wasn’t expecting him to bring you. Let me understand this,” he said, not fathoming anything. “He kidnapped you from your house and brought you here. Why?”

     “Because he isn’t what the media is saying he is.”

     Officer Coulter’s eyes widened. “Is this an official statement?”

     “Yes.”

     Coulter brought out a notepad and a pen. Terry walked him through the details of the event starting from where Ethan had abducted her at gunpoint from her house, kept her hostage in a cabin, and saved her from the gunmen. Coulter jotted all the information down, having doubts these were what happened. But then, he thought to himself these were the Judge’s official statement, and there was no way she’d lie about something as serious as one’s abduction.

     He put the notepad aside, looked at her, and said, “That’s quite a story. I’ll pass it on to my supervisor. After everything you’ve gone through, I think you need to rest. I won’t bother you any further.”

     Terry was glad for his consideration. She had to rest, but there was no way she could do that when her daughter was somewhere she didn’t know. The thought drew tears and she blinked them off.

     “My last question. Where’s the fugitive?”

     Terry didn’t have the slightest idea where Ethan might be. After he’d taken off abruptly—which she was glad he did—she felt sure that would be the last time they’d see each other again. During their brief moment together, she began to know a lot about him. She hadn’t met a man like Ethan, who’d kidnap a prominent figure from her house, keep her hostage only to let her go in the end, and even apologize for taking her against her will.

     He’d said kidnapping her had been a mistake, which she believed because it served him no purpose. Some part of her was happy he was out there and unharmed. The other part wanted him found, so he could prove his innocence using the right channels and expose the guilty faction. Ethan Willows wasn’t like any other man she’d met.

     Terry looked at the officer. “I don’t know. I wish I could tell you where he is, but I can’t.”

     “All right, Judge. I should be on my way.”

     He rose from the couch. Terry saw him to the door. They stepped onto the porch. The officer told her his name and gave her his card, in case she wanted to update her statement. She took it and thanked him. Then she watched him pull out of the driveway.