Page 86 of Death is Familiar

Bundling my fists, I stalked off, putting one foot in front of the other. Left. Right. Left. Right.

This was not the walk I had envisioned. Instead of clearing my head, I found myself growing frustrated. Yes, Mads was in custody, and I got some insight into my past, but now I couldn’t even take a walk in peace? Hot air huffed from my nose. It wasn’t like this was what Todd and Jack had been planning to do with their evening either. They thought they were doing me a favor, which was a small comfort.

Right. Left. Right. Left.

At least Jack and Todd gave me the courtesy of silence while I worked to clear my head and ignore the presence trailing me, the crunch of tires on gravel.

Left. Right. Left. Right.

And they were letting me get my frustrations out on the road. The big lugs weren’t even complaining.

Right. Left. Right. Left.

Slowly, but surely, the swirling pools of confusion and anger gave way. I didn’t plan on stopping the walk any time soon, but I gathered enough of myself to start asking questions. To put my resurfacing unease around Mads to bed before it festered.

“So, are you going to tell me or what?”

Illuminated by the headlights of the rental car, Todd cocked his head.

“How you managed to get Mads behind bars, without bail.”

“We’ll tell you what you are at liberty to know.”

I waited for Todd to elaborate but when he didn’t say more, I added, “Which is…”

Todd just flashed a grin. He was being difficult on purpose.

Well, I could also punch him on purpose. That would show him. And it wouldn’t be a punch of appreciation either.

“We got him on firearm use, danger to community, and strong evidence of a capital offense,” Jack spoke from the car, window rolled down, ruining my fun. “It’s not a decision that will be overturned.”

Good. Good. That was… good. I returned my focus to my feet. Kicked a pebble.

Jack’s assurance should have made me feel better. But the wheels of my sleep-deprived passenger-carrying mind wouldn’t cease. They looped and spun, round and round, regurgitating, and tugging at the what ifs.

What if Mads had a way out of jail?

What if Mads had only told me what I wanted to hear?

What if Mads had a grander scheme at play, and this was part of it? He’d manipulated my life so far, who was to say he wasn’t in control of this situation. That this wasn’t part of his grander scheme…

Warmth radiated from my shoulder.

“He’s gotten into your head, Delilah.” Todd tapped his temple. “That’s what he wants.”

He was right. But I couldn’t shake the sinking feeling that something bad was going to happen. I had been so easy to manipulate when I was younger, and the impacts of his actions had affected who I was at my core. So much so that the first, and only person, I’d slept with was Jack. And now⁠—

I found myself standing in front of a run-down house. Holes in the roof, steps to the front porch—rotted, all the windows broken and boarded up with warped and weeping plywood. It was a house I now only associated with pain. While my mind churned, my feet had brought me back here. Of all places.

Todd came to a stop beside me. “Is that…”

I swallowed. “The house where I grew up.”

“Mmm,” Todd grumbled, turning his attention back to the house.

The car door shut and Jack joined Todd and me in our silent vigil.

No one said anything for a long time.