Chapter 8 · Five Years Later, Mr. Walker Loses Control Again

Chapter 8

This time, she wasn't going to run. At two in the morning, her phone jolted her awake.The same unknown number had sent a fourth message. [Ms. Hill, you didn't show up, and I'm disappointed. As punishment, your brother is spending tonight in the prison clinic. Next time, it might be the morgue.]Olivia's blood turned cold. Barefoot, she rushed out and ran to Alex's room at the end of the hall. The door was ajar, and light spilled through.He was still at his desk, case files spread before him, an unlit cigarette in hand. She thrust the phone at him, trembling.After reading the message, Alex's eyes turned icy.He immediately called Joe. Whatever the hour, he wanted people sent to the prison at once, his own men to the prison clinic, rotating guard twenty-four hours a day. If Nathan lost so much as a hair, someone would answer for it.When he hung up, he told Olivia that Nathan had been in a fight and was hurt, but it wasn't life-threatening.Olivia's knees nearly gave out, and Alex pulled her into a chair. Then, terrifyingly calm, he told her to go meet the texter as planned the next day.Olivia looked up at him. The calm in Alex's eyes was terrifying."They want you to go alone, so you'll go alone. But I'll be in the shadows."I want to see which Walker is so eager to show himself."He bent over her, bracing both hands on the chair arms and boxing her in. "From now on, everything that concerns you goes through me."You are not allowed to carry this alone anymore. You are not allowed to hide anything from me. And you are not allowed to disappear from my life again."Can you do that?"Olivia looked at the face so close to hers and the feelings he had buried for five long years. Then she nodded.Alex straightened, walked to the window, snapped the unlit cigarette in half, and tossed it away.His tall back looked straight and solitary against the city lights. Olivia suddenly remembered the last time she'd seen him five years ago, when he had walked away alone. Now, at last, he had turned back.Her phone buzzed again. This time it wasn't a text but an email from William.[From: William Walker][Subject: About Nathan's Case. The Truth You Want to Know][Ms. Hill, your brother was framed. I have the evidence. Come see me at the courthouse tomorrow at 10:00 a.m. Come alone.]Olivia showed Alex the email. After reading it, a cold smile tugged at his mouth. "Finally. Couldn't hold still any longer. Let's go."Olivia stared at him. "Where are we going now?"He said as he pulled the door open. "To find the other person who knows the truth."My mother."She owes you an apology. And she owes me one too."The night was thick as ink. A reckoning five years overdue was finally beginning. By three in the morning, the airport was vast and nearly empty.Olivia followed Alex through the arrivals hall, still a little dazed. When she asked whether his mother wasn't still abroad, he said she'd flown back that afternoon. Alex said, walking fast. "When I got the news, I wasn't planning to see her."But now she has to see you."Only a few people waited outside international arrivals. Alex stopped, his gaze fixed ahead. Following it, Olivia saw an elegant woman in a dark green silk suit emerge with a luggage cart.She was in her fifties, impeccably kept, and resembled him at once. Mrs. Walker had arrived.

Chapter 8