Surrender by Elizabeth Knox

Author:Elizabeth Knox [Knox, Elizabeth]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Knox Publishing
Published: 2020-06-14T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 8

Chase

Nora is already fast asleep by the time I’ve gathered my things and gotten dressed. Sneaking in one last kiss to her forehead, I quietly slink out of the room and make my way back downstairs. The kitchen light is back on and I hear shuffling around.

Careful not to startle whoever is up, I make my way into the kitchen and find Lucas sipping on a bottle of water.

“Hey, kiddo. You good?” I ask softly, noticing that Nora’s shirt is folded neatly and sitting on the counter just behind him.

Shit.

“Nightmare.”

“Want to talk about it?”

“I don’t really remember it. I just know that I woke up in a panic and couldn’t get back to sleep.”

“I’ve been there. I used to have nightmares all the time as a kid.”

“Really?” His eyes soften and he looks relieved.

“I did. And you know what I did to make it better? I counted the stars.

“So, I should go outside and stare at the sky?”

“Nope. Stars. On the ceiling.”

He laughs. “Chase, I don’t have stars on the ceiling.”

“Easy fix. Leave it to me.” I ruffle his hair.

“Thanks, Chase. I’m going to try and go back to sleep now.” He surprises me when he wraps his arms around my waist and gives me a hug. I hug him back and breathe in a sigh of relief.

“I’ll see you later, kiddo.”

Once Lucas has gone back downstairs, I grab Nora’s shirt and make sure everything else is cleaned up before running her shirt upstairs and setting it on her dresser.

One last look over my shoulder at her peacefully sleeping form and I’m out the door.

When I get back to my place, I stretch out on the couch for a bit— too exhausted and . . . lonely to sleep in my own bed.

Early the next morning I wake up with a cramp in my neck and my cell phone blaring from the coffee table. Still half asleep, I blindly answer.

“This is Chase.”

“Chase. Oh good, you answered. This is Martina.” The warm voice of my mother’s hospice nurse fills the other end of the line.

I instantly perk up. “Everything okay? Did you need something? Are your husband and kids okay?”

“Oh yes, yes. But, I wanted to call you and warn you. The police, they were just here. They had a lot of questions about the night your mom died. It sounded odd to me and I was worried.”

Fuck. This cannot be happening right now. “I see.”

“I’m so sorry. But I thought you should know They suspect foul play, something about too much fentanyl in her system.”

“I appreciate it. Take care, Martina.”

“You too, Chase.”

I bury my head in my hands. It figures. Just when I thought everything was going right.

This can’t be good. I imagine it won’t be long before they’re knocking down my door. For now, I need to get everything in order, and then, I’m going to have to face Nora later. She’ll need to know everything.

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