Free His Every Move by Kelly Favor

up in their black SUV. The car parked and then the head security guard got out and made his way to the front door.
    “Red, we found your mother about a mile and half South of here, right around the edge of the woods and the pond. She was cold and her feet and hands were a bit scratched up, but physically she appears fine.”
    “Can I talk to her?”
    The guard looked doubtful. “Mentally, she appears very erratic. She’s not making much sense. Do you know if she’s taking any prescription medication?”
    “I don’t know. Could I speak with her quickly?”
    The guard finally nodded, and Red went out to the car. They opened the car door and he leaned in to speak.
    Kallie couldn’t tell what was happening. She looked to Nicole, whose face was pale and anxious in the glare from the headlights.
    “I’m sure everything will be fine,” Kallie said softly.
    “Of course. He’s fixed it, hasn’t he?” Nicole said. But her tone was disturbed, not at all relieved.
    When Red was done speaking to his mother, he closed the door and then conversed with the guard. The guard nodded, and a moment later he’d gotten back in the SUV and driven away, as Red came back inside.
    “What happened?” Nicole asked.
    Red looked at her. “She’s had some kind of psychotic break. I told them to take her to the hospital. I’m going to follow behind, so I need to get dressed.”
    Nicole patted Riley’s back lightly, as she baby cried louder. “Should I come to the hospital with you?” she asked him.
    “No, you and Kallie stay here. It’s going to be a long night of getting my mother situated. I want to make sure she gets the best possible care,” he said.
    “Was all of this really necessary?” Nicole said. “All of the theatrics, the games, manipulations? Was this what you really wanted?”
    “I’ll do whatever it takes to protect my family,” he replied.
    Nicole turned and walked away from him, still shaking her head. She went up the stairs slowly.
    He stared out the front door, hands on his hips. “I’m going to be gone most of the night now, probably. Try and make sure Nicole is okay?”
    “I will.”
    “She’s mad right now, but she’ll cool down.” He seemed to be trying to convince himself as much as Kallie. “It’s what needed to be done.”
    “I’ll take care of things here,” she told him, “so don’t worry about us.”
    “Thanks, Kallie.” Red left and went upstairs, presumably to get changed.
    Kallie went to the kitchen and started to make a pot of fresh coffee. It was going to be a long night.

    ***
    Red returned home late the next morning and explained that Erica was being kept at the psychiatric ward of the hospital for forty-eight hours so they could observe her.
    Apparently during the evaluation, she’d made some comments that led them to believe she might be a danger to herself.
    Kallie was finally able to go back to sleep, as she’d been up pretty much the entire night with Nicole and Riley.
    When she woke up, it was late afternoon and her phone was next to her bed on the nightstand, and someone had left another text message. Her first thought was that Hunter had contacted her again.
    I don’t want him to give up on us, she realized.
    That realization was painful in a way. Because when she took the phone and looked at it, Kallie saw that the message was not from Hunter.
    It was from Levi. It said:
    Are u up for doing something tonite?
    All at once she was angry and sad that this message hadn’t come from Hunter.
    Hunter was the one she wanted to spend time with tonight, even if it was wrong and against her best interests. But because the message was from Levi, she decided that the best revenge against Hunter would be to accept the new guy’s offer.
    At least Levi was pursuing her in a normal way. Maybe he was actually a normal guy.
    But maybe I don’t want normal.
    That was a disconcerting thought, to say the least.
    Kallie sighed, and replied to Levi without giving herself a chance to