She fell onto her bed, buried her head into her pillow, and cried harder than she had in all her life. Behind all of the sorrow was the still-lurking anger towards Alex Lynch and a very tenuous set of plans as to how she might put a stop to whatever he was doing. Realizing there was no way she could actually have a conversation with Grandma Tate without her figuring out something was amiss, Rachel opted to text her. Through tear-streaked eyes, she typed in: How do you feel about some visitors tomorrow? Just a day or two?

She barely had enough time to wonder if it was almost rude to ask such a thing without any sort of lead-up before the response came through. She sometimes forgot just how quick Grandma Tate was to respond to texts.

Yes, please. Especially if Paige is part of the deal. When will you be here?

Rachel managed a thin smile, but as she typed in her response, she wondered if she was legitimately paying a visit to an ailing loved one, or if she was just running away.

CHAPTER THREE

They left the following day, and Rachel wasnt sure if she should be relieved by the fact that Paige had not asked why her father wasnt coming along. Maybe the girl was more observant than Rachel was giving her credit for, and even at a young age understood that something was off between her parents, and they needed some time away from one another.

Peter had texted the night before, letting Rachel know that he was checked into a Hilton. Hed be staying there for at least three days and going to work as usual. After that, he wasnt sure and would keep her posted. Hed step in and watch Paige for the foreseeable future, until they could work things out between themwhatever that looked like.

Rachel found herself reading through his texts again while standing outside of a fast-food restroom in Charlotte, North Carolina, waiting for Paige to come out. Paige was old enough now where she was embarrassed for Rachel to go into a public restroom with her, but Rachel was not comfortable with just letting her roam into a random McDonalds unattended.

As she waited for Paige, Rachel also checked the last texts from Jack. Reading through them, she was reminded how good of a friend Jack had always beena solid friendship that was usually hidden under the formalities of their jobs. The last call she received from him told her that hed personally spoken with the Richmond chief of police that was responsible for stationing two men in front of her house at all times.

Youre safe, hed texted. And youll remain safe until this is all over. Were looking hard into who may have broken into your home. Director Anderson sent some agents to visit Lynch to get him to talk. No luck so far.