Tragedies stick with a person for the rest of their life.

I couldn't forget that night out at the aquarium. No matter how hard I tried to forget it, the details never faded. I still recalled the sound of the gunshot, the car that sped off, and even what we both wore that night. And all the blood.... Lord, there was so much of it. I thought I'd die right there in Adam's arms.

It haunted me to remember. After much consideration, I decided to look into therapy whenever we got back home. Living in fear forever wasn't healthy, and I feared that once my stalker got locked away, I'd still be paranoid about her breaking out of jail to come find me.

Sunlight filtered through the closed curtains as the birds chirped away outside. Reluctantly, I got out of bed, where Adam still dozed quietly. We shared his childhood bed, despite it being such a tight squeeze to fit both of us. I didn't mind it though.

Before grabbing some clothes from the luggage we packed, I leaned over and kissed his forehead. At least he was finally getting some well deserved rest. We'd be back in New Syracuse soon, and I knew he'd return to burning the midnight oil at work. Especially to help find my stalker.

I made my way down to the bathroom to shower. The warm water felt so good against my tense muscles. It helped me clear my mind too. The psycho had left us alone for too long, and I'd gotten too comfortable with her not being around. I should've known she'd follow us out to Crittendale.

Guilt still ate away at me for putting Ms. Lindel in danger like that, but she kept assuring me that I wasn't to blame. I wanted to believe her, I really did, but if I hadn't come down here, she'd be much safer.

Wrapping a towel around my waist, I stepped out into the foggy room where Adam sat up in bed. He still wore his flannel pajamas. Dropping the towel, I changed into a pair of pink sweats.

"Feeling better today?" I asked.

"A lot, actually. Enjoying the nice view too." Adam smirked.

"Perv." I rolled my eyes, failing to bite back a grin. Honestly, I loved how he still admired my body. While we hadn't been too intimate sexually lately, given the circumstances, I was relieved that he still found me attractive. "I'm glad to hear that you're feeling better though. I hated seeing you so sick."

"Are you still having nightmares?" Adam asked. His playful grin faded to a concerned frown.

"Sometimes." I shrugged. "I relive that night I got shot. Other times, I dream about having our baby and watching him die. I even dreamed she killed you... I'm fine though, I promise."

Adam came up behind me, wrapping his arms around my waist. "Those sound like horrible nightmares. I'm sorry you keep having them. I hope I can find this bitch soon so you can put your mind at ease. You know, I actually had one awhile back where I got my limbs pulled off and eaten. Gruesome shit, ain't it?"

"Jesus," I murmured. "That's intense."

"Yeah, it was. You feeling okay?" Adam asked.

"It's just my stomach, but I'm fine," I replied.

Gently rubbing my back, Adam pulled me closer. "You sure you're fine? Should you still be hurting almost a month later? Did the doctor say anything about that?"

"I'm not hurting because of that." My face heated up as I pulled away, facing the window with arms crossed.

"Huh? Then what's wrong? I don't understand."

"I started my period last night," I murmured.

"Oh. Uh, isn't that a good thing then? Your body's starting to bounce back to normal."

"Nothing about this feels normal. When I woke up in the middle of night, it was like miscarrying all over again. Even the painful cramping feels similar. It was just a painful reminder that I'm not pregnant anymore. I try not to agonize over it too much, but I think about our baby every day. I couldn't keep him safe like I was supposed to."

"Honey, you know it wasn't your fault. Don't blame yourself. If I could take all your pain away, I'd do it in a heartbeat." Adam peppered my face in kisses. "You gotta give yourself time to heal, okay? I know it's difficult. You want to fight it and move on, but sometimes it doesn't work that way."

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to throw all this at you so suddenly. I'm just a mess this morning."

"A beautiful mess then."

"For such a tough cop, you can be lame sometimes." I shook my head, grinning.

Those cheesy words got a small, genuine smile out of me. Once we got home, I'd pick up right where I left off with the investigation. While we ate breakfast that morning, I texted my brother to keep a close eye out when we headed home. If anyone could find the bitch stalking me, it was Emmett and his crew. I still needed to have that talk with him about leaving too.

We knew my stalker was watching me somewhere not too far from me, perhaps even lurking in Crittendale County. Maybe she's even closer than I thought.

💘

I hated leaving Ms. Lindel's farm so soon, but we needed to get back to New Syracuse so we could catch my stalker without anyone else getting hurt. While I wanted to stay behind, I couldn't just let Adam go back alone. Besides, I planned to let Emmett help me snoop around the town. Adam wouldn't be too pleased with me after I finally left their gang for good. I didn't want us to fight anymore either. Not when we've patched things up.

Adrian returned to the farm just as Ms. Lindel started cooking us supper before we hit the road. He looked like death warmed over. After tossing his coat on the rack and kicking his boots off at the door, he plopped down on the couch. Letting out a yawn, he rubbed fiercely at his sullen eyes.

"What the heck happened to you?" Archie asked him.

Adrian sighed. "Been down at the station all night. It was a huge ass mess, let me tell you. I don't even know where to begin."

"What happened?" Adam asked.

"Just a rough day, that's all. I'm glad to be home," Adrian said.

After supper that night, Adam and I loaded up his truck to head back to New Syracuse. Part of me reconsidered staying behind, but I worried about putting Ms. Lindel in danger. Her gun might not be able to protect her. If I were partially responsible for something happening to Adam's mom because of my stalker, I'd never forgive myself.

So I had to get it together and prepare to fight back. All the rage I kept bottled inside would soon be released, but little did I know who it would be toward.

"Y'all be safe driving home," Ms. Lindel said, hugging us each goodbye as we got our shoes on. "The roads aren't as bad as before, but they're still slick."

"You sure you don't wanna stay for a few extra days?" Adam asked Archie.

"Nah. I need to get back too. I've got stuff to do," he replied.

Adam frowned. "What kind of stuff? You talking about drugs?"

"Maybe Adam's right." Ms. Lindel stepped in. "You should stay here for a while and get away from that horrible town. You can stay in your old bedroom or on the couch."

"It'd be nice to have extra help around here," Adrian said. "The upkeep can be hard with just the two of us, especially when I have to work long hours."

Archie scratched the back of his neck. "I'd love to, but I really need to get back home. Maybe sometime this summer I can? Right now... I just need to get back to New Syracuse."

Why the hell was he so eager to get back home? Finding his precious drugs was my first thought, but I also couldn't help wondering if he needed to come back for another reason.

We promised Ms. Lindel to come back for the summer, and we'd keep in contact until then. Archie would break his promise to her once he got high. She gave him too much leeway, much like I did for Emmett.

We cruised down the countryside where phone service was weak. Even some of the radio stations had trouble playing without static. It was the perfect place to kill someone and never hear from them again. A killer could just toss the bodies in the endless rows of cornfield for the crows. They'd love a juicy eyeball snack.

"So, why are you rushing to get home, Archie?" I gripped my steering wheel, glaring straight ahead.

"Want the truth? It's cuz I plan to join the Voiceless Rebels. Emmett's gonna help me out," he replied.

"Are you seriously going through with that?" Adam asked. "Are you really that stupid? What do you think will happen when you get involved with them? You think you can stay clean around that shit? Hell, you'll be doing more than drugs there. They will make you kill people. I know how it works."

"Emmett won't make me do something I'm not comfortable with," Archie snapped. "Right, Everly? He never got you involved with their killings. So he could do the same for me. I could, like, take your position."

"I don't think it's a good idea," I told him. "I really doubt he'll let you have my role, as it was specifically made for me."

Adam grumbled, "It's a terrible fucking idea."

Archie shrugged. "Y'all just don't understand."

New Syracuse was filled with cranky drivers honking or rolling their windows down to scream obscenities. As if those were the magic codes to make traffic run faster. We dropped Archie off down in Viper Valley at his rundown little house once we got through the hellish traffic on the highway.

"Don't do anything stupid," Adam warned him.

Archie only grinned back at us. "I'll try not to."

I worried about Archie. He wasn't thinking reasonable As I drove away from Viper Valley, I tried to focus my mind on other potential suspects. Chasing useless leads wouldn't get me any closer to figuring out the truth.

Our last stop was home, where I couldn't be more grateful to be until we got there and found an unexpected present for us.