Here's to Us (Blood Money #2)

Chapter 55 - Inevitably Dark

It's after 3 AM when the bedside telephone rings, startling me and Silas. For a moment, I just stay there, warm and cozy, ignoring it. Minutes later when it's still ringing, Silas sighs into my neck, "It must be urgent. If you don't mind I can pick it up."

"Mmkay," I murmur, rolling over to breath him in. He reaches for it, the sheet slipping down his torso, revealing the tattoo on his chest. Instinctively, my hand touches the ink, feeling how smooth and hard he is.

"Luke, oh, it's okay. She must have left her cellphone in the study." Silas flops back down on the bed, holding the receiver against his ear. I lean on my elbows, suddenly concerned. Luke can't be calling at this hour if it isn't urgent.

I watch Silas listening to him, his thick eyebrows furrowing gradually. "Are you sure? Do you have any idea who might have helped her?"

Suddenly aware, I sit up, clutching the sheet to cover my chest for modesty's sake. Silas nods, sitting up as well.

"Thanks, Luke. No, it's okay."

"Is everything alright? Is it Megan?" I ask just as he hangs up.

He nods his head, pursing his lips first. "Yes, she... she broke out of the prison thirty minutes ago."

"Silas?"

He reaches for my hand, his eyes still narrowed. "It's going to be okay."

"She's going to come after us," I say, my voice low. Blinking twice, I let him squeeze my hand. 

"We can't stop living because of that." He smiles, one eyebrow raising subconsciously. "We are going to sleep now and tomorrow when we wake up, we'll live like any other day. If she comes after you or our son, we'll fight back."

"But for how long?" I stare at him now, resentful and habitually scared. I don't want to hear him say anything to that so I add, "Where do you think she can go?"

"I don't know." He shrugs, his green eyes wide and aware. "For new credentials, she will have something planned out. For all we know, she can be already out of the state."

"No, Silas. She waits all these years to break out. And she does that the same week you come out. It isn't a coincidence."

"Dawn?" He almost laughs. "I didn't leave the country before I made sure you were okay and had all the clues of where I might go. She doesn't have anything holding her back."

"She does," I interject, exasperated at how he can't see what I can. "You and Adrian..."

"Don't be ridiculous, Dawn," he frowns, shaking his head as if dismissing a joke. "It's already late. Just go back to sleep, okay? Come here."

"Silas." I push his arms away from me, out of instinct. "I need to go check on the baby."

He only nods but remains silent. Reaching for the tee shirt I had been wearing, I pull it down over my head, tugging it down to my panties. He watches me, his face impassive. I don't know if he realizes the sinking feeling inside my chest. I don't want to let him see that now that he has said all these.

The door to Silas Jr.'s bedroom is ajar, the glow of the nightlight hitting my face. The sight of his bed paralyzes me, leaves me numb as if I have just slid into a pool of cold water. The covers are kicked back, the bed empty. Before jumping into any conclusions, I open the bathroom door, saunter into my study, even the TV room. He's nowhere.

Tears stream down my face, my stomach locking up tight.

Please, God, not him.

"Silas!" I holler at the edge of the staircase, hoping his high-pitched voice will call back, "Mommy!"