I roll to my side, noticing the bed is empty. Travis has gone. The memory of the dream last night jerks me into a harsh reality I don’t want to face.
“No,” I mutter.
“Fuckin’ answer your phone. Sally is calling me, she said it’s urgent.”
My heart lurches.
That can’t be good.
I get out of bed, picking up my phone and rushing out where Chief is standing in the hall. I can see the look in his eyes tells me he is as scared as I am about this call. I dial Sally’s number and put it on loudspeaker, my eyes still blurry from sleep.
“Violet?” she answers, her voice full of a concern I don’t like.
“It’s me. Is everything okay?”
“I wish I had better news.” Her voice is low, tight with fear. “Jeremy came by this morning to inform me, very proudly, that he’s dropped the case.”
I blink at her words. Relief warms my chest. “That’s good, right?”
Her pause tastes like ash. “I don’t think it is,” she whispers. “He said there wasn’t enough evidence that you harmed Lillian or forced her in the water, and his lawyer told him he would likely lose and his money would go with him, not to mention we advised that we had evidence of him hurting you after the fact, which is assault. With all of that, plus Travis’s hotshot lawyer liaising with us, I think he knew he was going to lose. I thought it was great, until he was leaving, and he whispered to me that I should let you know it’s not over for you, because he’ll be handling it himself.”
Ice shoots through my veins. “Oh.”
“He’s dangerous, Vi. I’ve called the police and made a report, but they’re unable to locate him so you will probably hear fromthem very soon. There was something about the way he said it, like he just knew he was going to fix it himself.”
“We’ll handle this,” Chief says, before I can speak. “Thanks for letting us know, Sally.”
“That’s okay,” she says, her voice still shaky with nerves. “Vi, don’t come in until this is sorted. I don’t think you should be alone at all.”
“We got it covered,” Chief says.
We end the call.
I am standing, my leg wobbling, fear running through me.
Chief puts his hands on my shoulders just as Travis comes up the stairs, his eyes locked on me. “I’m going to get the club involved, see if we can find this fucker. Until then, you don’t go anywhere alone, stay here unless you absolutely have to go anywhere. We clear?”
I nod.
“What’s going on?” Travis asks, stopping next to me.
“I’ll let her fill you in,” Chief says, already turning and walking down the stairs, phone in hand.
Travis turns to me. “What is happening, kid?”
I sweep past him. “I’m going to shower.”
His eyes narrow. “Violet...”
I move to the bathroom, my hands shaking. Everything from last night, and then this morning, washes over me and makes my body feel like it’s going to give in and crumble.
A moment later, Travis is there, his face twisted with frustration. “What the fuck is going on, Violet?”
I turn around, my hands shaking. “Who is Amber?”
The colour drains from his face, which only makes everything hurt more. “What?”
“Don’t play games. You said her name last night.”