Even better, Sam couldn’t find her, couldn’t track her, couldn’t trail her. She set up a private domain registration for her website, so Sam couldn’t get that information.
Now, he knew she was back.
The one time shortly after the divorce was finalized that Sam had shown up at Eliza and Rusty’s house looking for Rebecca, Eliza had—literally and bodily—thrown the much larger man off her front porch when he refused three times her demand for him to leave.
It was nice having a friend who was a martial arts expert.
When Eliza had come home one evening a week later and passed a car parked down the street that she didn’t recognize, with a man sitting in it who she did, she snuck back down under the cover of darkness and placed large roofing tacks in front of and behind all four tires without the man ever realizing she’d been there.
An hour later, a tow truck drove past their house and stopped just down the street.
That was the last time they’d seen a hint of Sam Edsel around their neighborhood. The wrecker left a short time later with the car on it, all four tires flattened.
Sam wasn’t as smart as he thought he was. At least when faced with an obviously superior opponent—or, in Eliza’s case, a crazier and wilier one—he’d backed off.
Unfortunately, he’d sworn to Rebecca countless times that he considered her his property unless or until he released her, and as far as he was concerned, he’d never released her.
It didn’t matter to him that she’d released herself.
Yes, she was older, wiser, and stronger now than the terrified woman she’d been back then, but she didn’t want anything to do with Sam.
If she stayed in Sarasota and he tracked her down, her life would be misery, always looking over her shoulder. Not afraid, because while he was abusive and nuts, she didn’t think he was quite stupid enough to try to physically harm her now that they were no longer together.
But he was fond of a mind fuck, and yes, she absolutely believed he would try anything he could to annoy, harass, intimidate, or otherwise interfere with her life, right up to and skirting but not quite crossing the line of breaking the law.
Rebecca was no Tilly and definitely no Eliza. She’d flinched one too many times during her relationship and marriage to Sam. No way would she subject herself—or Toby and Logan—to that kind of nonsense. Because she had no doubts that Sam would do everything in his power to harass Toby and Logan at their jobs, try to get them fired, do anything he could to any of her friends to make them miserable simply for allowing her presence in their lives.
It was better to leave and let the men get back to their lives. She did leave them a note. Yes, she expected them to try to contact her, but she was hoping they’d let her make the clean break.
After getting her things packed and loaded and walking Chewi one last time, she set up the Waze app on the tablet, stuck the tablet into its dashboard holder, and pulled the RV out of their yard.
It was late in the day when she stopped south of Atlanta at an RV park off of I-75. She had an event in Tennessee next weekend anyway. She’d stay here a couple of days before continuing north to where she’d planned to stay there.
Rebecca hated to leave the way she had, to just up and go, but she knew if she stayed any longer she wouldn’t be able to stand it. She was too damn nervous, now that Sam knew she was in the area, to stay.
Even for Toby and Logan. She wouldn’t let Sam try to ruin their lives, and if she was there, that was exactly what he’d set out to do.
It would break her heart to walk away from the two of them without a chance to really find out if they could have had something more, but they were tied to their house and jobs and she had her own life.
And a whole lot of fear.
Maybe more than was healthy, and she realized that, but it was the truth.
Maybe they can come visit me from time to time.
* * * *
Toby noticed it immediately when they returned home from work that afternoon.
Becca’s RV was gone.
He’d wondered why she hadn’t returned his texts that day. Now he had his answer.
“Dammit,” he muttered, jumping out of the car before Logan even had it shut off, charging up toward the house.
Sure enough, she’d left them a note on the dining room table. Toby picked it up and read it before passing it to Logan.
Dear Toby and Logan,
I’m sorry to leave like this, but after running into Sam at the club, it slammed home how stupid I was to think I could have anything approaching a normal life. If Sam knows I’m back in the area, he’ll try to hunt me down, and I don’t want to cause trouble for you guys or any of our other friends.
I love you both, and you were wonderful to me. I can’t tell you how much I hate doing this. Maybe you can come visit me sometimes. But I would have had to leave anyway. I didn’t expect it to be this soon, or permanently. I really wanted to make a home and a life with you both.
I love you,
Bec
Logan handed the letter back to Toby and pulled out his phone, trying to call and then text her.
“She won’t answer, you know,” Toby said.
“I know. I still wanted to try.” Then he sat at the table and started swiping through an app on his phone.
“What are you doing?”
Logan didn’t look up. “I’m going to find her.”
“What the hell do you mean you’re going to find her? How?”
He held up his phone, smiling. “Waze. She added us as friends, remember?”
“Son of a bitch.” He also sat, pulled out his phone, and opened the app.
Working together, they began scouring any icons along I-75. Logan searched from Sarasota north, while Toby started at the Georgia state line and scrolled north from there.
After forty-five minutes and both men having to get their chargers for their phones, Toby let out a triumphant cry. “Found her! Ha!” He zoomed in and it looked like she was stopped at an RV park.
“Good,” Logan said. “Let’s go. Don’t lose her. That’s your job. I’ll drive.” Logan grabbed his keys and headed for the door again.
“Wait, don’t we need to pack?”
“Fuck that, it’s only eight hours to Atlanta.”
“She’s south of Atlanta.”
“I know, that means we can be there before midnight and hopefully talk some sense into her.”
They locked up the house and got into the car, Logan verifying they had Toby’s car charger, too, and raced for I-75.
* * * *
Rebecca sent Logan’s call to voice mail and didn’t read his texts. It would just make her sad, and she didn’t want to be crying while on the phone with them.
That was Eliza’s job, to listen to her cry. And she called her friend once she’d had dinner and walked Chewi, preparing to settle in for the night.
“Heya, chica,” Eliza said by way of greeting. “We still on for this weekend?”
“No. That’s why I called.” She told Eliza what happened.
“Um, oookaaay. Back the fark up. You’re where?”
She didn’t tell Eliza exactly where, knowing her friend would absolutely rat her out to Toby and Logan. “I had to leave. Sam saw me at the club. You know that.”
“Um, yeah, and Sam’s now banned from the club. I told you I took care of it.”
“You didn’t tell me you got him banned from the club!”
Eliza hesitated. “I didn’t? I thought I did. Sorry.”
“Sorry?”
“Well, had you, ya know, called me and told me you were freaking out this badly, instead of just up and leaving, maybe it would have come out sooner. Look, honey, stop running. We talked to Kel and Derrick and told them what was going on. They refunded Sam his annual membership and told him he’s not allowed back on the property. He’s got a lifetime ban.”