Her Silent Revenge novel Chapter 135

I'm surprised she doesn't snap a heel as she turns and flees, the door echoing behind her as she slams it shut.

I stand there, breathing raggedly until I can feel my own body again. This isn't my home anymore, I realize.

Not since Patton Rory invited me into his life.

I need him back. I need to make this right. I need him reunited with Arlo and his family, and this time with everybody knowing what I just told Kayla.

‘Baby daddy' doesn't scratch the surface of what Patton Rory truly means to me.

He's my home.

He's something to fight for, a man who's given me more courage than I knew.

Now, I just have to hope it isn't too late to show him how brave I can be.

PATTON

It takes me five damn days to hunt down Evelyn Hibbing.

Three days of trekking through Miami and then the Bahamas, talking with police and tracing her steps, following every crumb of information, until I finally stumble across her in Nassau.

The sun feels sickly warm on the back of my neck as I watch the hell- witch who could've murdered my son.

She's perched at a small café overlooking the sea, reading peacefully. It's a near idyllic scene, just an old woman with a book basking in the afternoon shade. You'd never guess there's a thieving, child-poisoning monster underneath.

Just like how you'd never guess she spent all night gambling away thousands of dollars at a casino down the street.

Probably old habits kicking in. A little tip from Archer he heard from Mom reminded me that Evelyn used to come back from Vegas joking bitterly about going broke.

Hell, maybe she's even lost her mind completely, desperately trying to double down on stupid and grow her money before she jets off to another continent.

At least I know where her husband's money went now.

I lean back in my chair and take a long pull from the beer I ordered. She hasn't even thought to look up or check her surroundings. Guess when you're so practiced at scamming, you get cocky.

And it's that arrogance—like giving a slight variation of her real name at the hotel—that told me exactly where she's staying. That's how I found her today, curled up with her book and her coffee, hiding in plain sight and only looking up every so often to smile at the waves as she breathes in the cool ocean breeze.

Salem would love it here. I can just see Arlo running along the beach, too, turning over rocks for shells and tiny crabs.

She barely has time to turn around before I've grabbed her arm, dragging her into a nearby alley.

It stinks—just like every trash-filled alleyway everywhere—a reminder of the grim reality staring me in the face.

Paradise my ass. Even here, there's plenty gone rotten. "Patton?" she gasps. Her eyes bug out as they focus.

There's no point in trying to escape. I'm holding her too tightly, and it feels good to dig my fingers in until she gasps.

I hope her squirming leaves a bruise.

I'm not a cruel man, no, but she hurt my son.

"Hello, Evelyn," I clip. From the way her eyes widen, my smile must look as vacant as it feels. "Thought you'd escaped with our money, huh?"

"Patton, please. Think what you're doing," she whispers, her hands fumbling at my grip helplessly.

"I've given that plenty of thought, lady." I slam her against the wall, savoring the fear flashing across her face. She looks like she's about to faint, but I've known her a long time. Evelyn Hibbing isn't the kind to clock out. "Give me one good reason why I shouldn't."