I have a standing job offer from a firm in New Zealand I’ve been putting off, as I couldn’t imagine being separated from Miriam for that long. But now that she’s trying to build a romance, I feel it would be timely for me to spend some time off the grid. Our lives can only be so entwined, after all. I have some recent emotional revelations of my own I need to process, and where better than the land of the hobbits?

I will probably be very difficult to reach for the next six months or so. I will send proof of life updates as possible, but I’ll be working around the clock on a confidential project. Mimi, please feel free to ignore any and all calls from my mother.

Both my heart and my blackmail material remain yours,

Nicholas Jedediah Fraser IV

“Did he make us accessories to a crime?” Mrs. Matthews asked with annoyance.

“I don’t think he would intentionally make us felons, no matter how bad his other decisions were in this matter,” Miriam said, “and if he had, I definitely think Elijah would have said so.” Oh, Cole. What the hell was he doing, and how was she going to live without him for six months?

“I almost wish he’d taken your dad down, so we’d never have to worry about him again,” Mr. Matthews huffed. “I hate that son of a bitch.”

“We could always do it,” Noelle reminded them. “We hold all the cards now.”

“As long as these receipts are legal for us to possess, we’re going to hold them as close to our chests as possible,” Miriam said. “And we’re going to buy Elijah and Jason the world’s nicest belated Christmas gift for having to deal with all of this.”

They all nodded. Eventually, inevitably, Richard Blum would again make himself a problem they would have to deal with. In the meantime, they had a team and ammunition and had bought themselves some time.

Miriam was miserable and whiny without daily access to Cole. For days, Miriam pulled out her phone reflexively, checked the text message notifications, and sighed.

When Hannah got sick of watching, she finally said, “Give me your phone.”

“You can’t put me on a phone moratorium,” Miriam warned. “The Bloomers will riot, which no one wants. They are legion.”

“I’m not taking your phone away, although it’s honestly a good idea,” Hannah assured her. “I’m making a call.”

Miriam handed over her phone, skeptically. “If anyone knows where Cole is, and how he’s doing, who would it be?” Hannah asked Miriam.

“Me?!” Miriam answered.

Hannah rolled her eyes and dialed.

It rang once and picked up.

“Miriam,” Tara started over speaker. “This is a bad—”

“It’s Hannah.”

“Oh.” Tara’s voice thawed considerably. “Are you looking for Cole?”