I didn’t know how much time passed before I heard a soft knock on the door.
“Who is it?” I hissed.
“It’s me, Sam. It’s safe. You can open the door.”
I recognized Ryan’s voice, so I carefully opened the door and slipped out into the hallway.
“You okay?” Ryan asked, looking me up and down.
I shrugged. “I guess. Did you call the police?”
“Yeah,” he told me, rubbing my shoulders in a soothing gesture. “They’ll be here soon. We can go downstairs and wait for them.”
I nodded and let him lead down to the living room. We sat together, snuggled up on the couch in silence while we waited. It didn’t take long for the police to arrive, thankfully.
“Hang out here,” Ryan murmured. “I’ll talk to them.”
I nodded and pulled my knees up to my chest as he walked out of the room. I felt sick, and I couldn’t stop thinking about Henry and what I needed to do to keep him safe. I hated to admit it, but staying away from Ryan until he’d resolved this ex-employee thing was probably for the best. If it were just me, I’d stick it out and trust that Ryan could keep me safe. I’d be willing to take the risk.
With Henry, however, I couldn’t make that same choice. I had to choose Henry over everything else.
By the time Ryan returned, I’d made up my mind. I hated what I had to do next.
“Did the police leave?” I asked, pushing to my feet.
He nodded. “Yeah. I gave them the rock and the note. They’re going to add it to everything else they have on Bill already.”
“Are they any closer to catching him?”
Ryan sighed and shook his head, his shoulders slumping. “No, they aren’t. But they’re going to have plenty of officers posted tomorrow for the wedding. If Bill shows up, they’ll catch him.”
I bit my lip as my heart clenched.
“I’m sure they will, eventually,” I murmured. “It might not be tomorrow, though.”
Ryan frowned. “That’s true, but they’ll get him soon enough.”
I released a long breath and wrapped my arms around myself.
“Ryan, we need to talk about this whole thing. I know you’re going to catch whoever this guy is and put him away, but until then…”
“Until then?” Ryan prompted when I couldn’t finish.
“Until then, I think that Henry and I should stay away from you.”
He didn’t say anything for several moments and just stared at me, as though he were having trouble absorbing my words.
“I-I don’t understand,” he stammered at last. “I thought things were going well between us.”
“They are,” I assured him. “And if it were just us, I wouldn’t be saying this, but I have to look out for Henry. I need you to understand that.”
“I do.” He groaned, running an agitated hand through his hair. “I do, but I can protect you both. I know the note freaked you out, but there’s no reason for you to be afraid.”
He was fighting for me, which made this even harder.
“He’s already gone after us once, Ryan,” I whispered. “I can’t risk him doing it again. I’m sorry.”
“Sam, please, let’s not be hasty about this.”
“Ryan, I’m not saying this is the end of things. Once he’s been caught, we can revisit how to move forward.”
He opened his mouth, clearly wanting to argue the point further, but I held up a hand and shook my head.
“You’re not going to change my mind, Ryan. I’m sorry. Henry has to come first.”
He stared at me another moment before finally releasing a sigh of defeat.
“All right,” he murmured. “I get it. I do. I hate that I’ve put you and Henry in this position. I’ve messed everything up again.”
I reached up and cupped the side of his face.
“You haven’t messed anything up,” I assured him. “This isn’t your fault. I promise, this isn’t the end of things. But for now, maybe Henry and I should go to my parents’ house.”
He looked crestfallen, and it broke my heart.
“You don’t have to go,” he mumbled. “It’s late. If you want, you can have one of the other bedrooms.”
The last thing I wanted was to sleep alone after being in his arms, but I knew it was for the best if I was going to maintain this distance.
“Okay,” I agreed and nodded. “That’s probably a good idea.”
He sighed again and took my hand. “Follow me.”
I let him lead me up the stairs and to a different bedroom, knowing deep down that I wasn’t going to get much more sleep that night, anyway.