“Cool,” Matt whispered. He continued to chuckle softly to himself. All he needed now was a plan. He tried the back door and it was locked—not a major obstacle. Their bedroom screen door led onto a balcony and it was wide open. He would have preferred to enter through the kitchen and get a knife. But it looked as if he would have to scale the dangling ivy and come in through the bedroom. Still no problem. He would take them by surprise; he was twice the man David was. He would kill him first, then Amy. He would use his bare hands if he had to. He would stare into her eyes as she choked. It would be interesting to hear what sounds she made then.

Would she try to say his name?

“Matt,” he said aloud. The word just burst out. He gasped at his carelessness and put his hand over his mouth. Twelve feet overhead, the heavy breathing stopped but after ten tense seconds of waiting no one reacted to his blunder. Yet the sound of his name had a profound effect on him. It reminded him who he was—Matt Connor, a fool in love, but not a fool when it came to revenge. A stab of sanity seared him. If he killed now he’d be killing himself. He’d go to jail and Jimmy would grow up with no one. It was the thought of his son more than anything that brought him to his senses. Slipping to the ground, he buried his head between his knees and quietly wept.

“Jesus,” he whispered. How could she have done this to him?

No. The question was: how could she have done it to him again?

Matt sat for several minutes in his misery before realizing his vulnerability. Neither David nor Amy could be asleep yet, and there were always the neighbor’s rear windows. He had to get out of there! But the stretch of backyard that had not bothered him minutes before suddenly looked like a shooting range. He did not want to retrace his steps. He decided to do what he had done before with Jimmy. Go out the front.

David had not installed a new security system. Useless after the fact, the bastard probably thought. Matt climbed the side gate and seconds later was just another guy out for a late-night walk. He retrieved his binoculars from the hill and got back in his car and drove home.

Kathy was entering her apartment as he hiked up the stairs.

“Simon!” she called and waved.