Me - Have I told you that you’re the best?

Kinsley - You have yes, but tell me again …

Me - You’re the best, Meadow.

Once again, I chicken out. You would think I’d have grown a set of balls by now.

* * *

The bell sounds signalling lunchtime and the kids scatter, packing away their books and collecting their lunchboxes before the classroom falls silent again, leaning back in my chair I pull my phone out of my pocket. There are multiple notifications on my screen.

Tanner - missed call

Tanner - I got the registration plates 676 AVC

Kinsley - Lou’s knackered out, we went for a run

I open Kinsley’s message first and there is a selfie along with her message, the photo is of them both sprawled out on my couch after their run. Kinsley’s face is red, her hair wild and sweaty. Laughing to myself, I send off a reply before I call Stanley.

“Jesse,” he greets. “How can I help you today?”

I decide to get straight to the point, knowing that Stanley has no care to indulge in small talk.

“I need you to run a registration check for me, can you do that?”

“Of course, fire away.”

“676 AVC, the plates were on a blacked-out SUV.”

The line goes quiet, all I can hear is the tapping of the keyboard. I was stupid to think we could just go on living in this bubble of contentment.

When Kinsley and I made our move closer to the city and started looking into her father’s disappearance, as well as the death of her brother, we knew the risks of drawing attention to ourselves; clearly we have become complacent. Twelve years of silence. My hand balls into a fist in my lap and a laugh bursts out of me from deep within my chest. What is this, a fucking psychotic episode? Pull yourself together, Jesse.

“Everything okay, Jesse?” Stanley questions. I almost forgot he was still on the end of the call.

“I have a fucking dog,” I blurt, without even thinking.

“Hmmm?” Stanley is still typing away.

“I have a dog, a townhouse in suburbia, my dream job … Why the fuck is this happening now?” Stanley doesn’t bite into my spiral, so I slip back to my thoughts.

Kinsley can hold her own, I know that, and I won’t keep this from her. But, I want to have some sort of idea who we are dealing with before I tell her. Unless Tanner already has, considering I’ve chosen to ignore the missed call and message from earlier. I glance over at the door to make sure I’m still alone before running my hand through my hair and swearing under my breath.

“Got it,” Stanley says moments later. “I’ll email you through what I found.”