Chapter 211

Dana POV: A Goodbye To Family AgainAt the airport, Hymar lets the car idle in the parking lot. He stares straight ahead for a long moment before speaking.I've been sitting in the car too, staring at the airport lounge, unable to open the door. "Lori told me she can't bring herself to face you again, Dana," he says.Travelers are bustling past with rolling suitcases, a world on the move. One that waits for no one.I look back at Hymar."Are you going to marry her?"He nods. "Yeah. We’ve been talking about officially moving in together next month."I nod slowly, a bittersweet taste on my tongue. Life is moving forward for everyone else. I look back out the window at the terminal. A small, desperate part of me just wants to sit perfectly still in this passenger seat forever. I want to delay the inevitable, hoping that if I sit here long enough, I might change my mind and go back home. But I can't sit here all day. Hymar has a life to get back to. My phone rings but I don't bother t

Chapter 212

Alex POV: Finding Dana Stanton was right about this guy. Randall Haynes is the kind of ghost you want on your payroll when you're hunting for someone who doesn't want to be found. He is a wiry small man who looks like he could completely blend into the brickwork of any city street.Through the frosted windshield of my rental car, I spot his lean silhouette across the park. I flash my high beams once and wave him over. I watch as the man trudges across the thick, unbroken snow.Randall jerks the door open and lets in a freezing swirl of winter air before slamming it shut. He rubs his gloved hands together, his small eyes scanning my face."Mr. Logan," he greets me with a slight accent. English or Australian, it's hard to tell through the biting chill. "Dreadful weather we're having, isn't it?""Nice to meet you, Randall," I say and offer a firm handshake."You look quite different from your photographs in the news, if you don't mind me saying.""It's the hair."I gesture vaguely at t

Chapter 213

Alex POV: The Tulip Painting I hurry out of the apartment building, my breath plumes of steam in front of me. My face is burning hot with embarrassment, and disappointment. I pull my leather gloves back over my freezing hands and cross the snow packed road in long hurrying strides.I throw the rental car door open and jump into the driver's seat, bringing the biting winter chill with me.Randall turns to me instantly, his eyes wide with anticipation. "How did it go, Mr. Logan? Did you speak to her?"I look at him. He must see the defeat written or can't he? His excitement falls apart, his shoulders drop. The car's heater slowly begins to calm my speeding pulse. "She moved again, Randall."Randall shakes his head, his brow furrowing. "No. No, she didn't. I am sure of that, Mr. Logan."I turn my head slowly to look at him. "There is a different woman living inside that apartment right now. She’s Latina, a nurse, and she has a boyfriend named Larry. She has a young child too."Randall

Chapter 214

Dana POV: William Logan.I sit by the window, biting my lower lip as I stare down at the street below. I shake my head. The snowfall has upgraded into a punishing blizzard that blankets the street in thick layers of white, but Alex is still sitting inside that car.Wow.I turn my head slightly as a soft footstep sounds down the hall. Freida walks into the room. She isn't just my nurse. Over the last two years, she became my friend and confidante, and then ultimately, my ally in keeping my address a secret from the world I left behind.It was Freida who had cleverly invented the "Larry" ruse in the first place, a fictional boyfriend to put Alex or Charles off if they ever managed to track me down.Yesterday, Alex successfully found my apartment building. The Larry trick didn't work. Somehow, against all odds, Alex knows I am exactly where I am, and he has refused to leave."Is he still out there?" Freida asks, stepping up beside me.I nod slowly. "He went back to Arnold's diner again t

Chapter 215

Alex POV: Arnold Won't Snitch Arnold really does have a miserable cold. He sneezes, pulls a wad of toilet paper from a roll behind the counter and blows his big, reddened nose with a loud and wet honk.He looks up from his misery, his watery eyes shifts from the framed canvas on the wall back to my face. He says, "You make it sound like an auction sale when you say it like that, Mr. Logan."I shrug casually, trying to seem indifferent. "It's the fountain. I recognize it from a past holiday in Paris. You could say the painting holds a sentimental meaning for me. You know what I mean, don't you?"Arnold sighs, adjusting his apron. "I do, unfortunately. But I still can't sell it to you.""Why not?" I try harder. "Name your price, Arnold. I can write a check right now that will cover your lease for the next three years.""Because the woman who gave it to me wouldn't be very pleased if it's missing from that wall the next time she walks in here," Arnold says."She gave it to you?""Yes."

Chapter 216

Dana POV: Together Forever. It is the shortest walk of my life, yet every single step feels like dragging my feet through airless space.Alex walked back to his car over an hour ago. Then the sky opened up again, sending down a punishing sheet of blinding white snow. He has been sitting out here now for two days.I can't take it anymore. The wall I built around my heart over the last two years hasn't just cracked, it has shattered.I walk out of the building, wrapped in a black cardigan. It is almost ten o'clock at night. The street is dead, save for the howling wind. When I reach the driver’s side of the car I peer through the window.Through the orange glare of the overhead streetlights, I can see his silhouette. He is slouched into the seat, and leaning away to the side. The engine isn't running, which means the heater has been dead for hours.Oh, dear God. He must be freezing.I knock on the glass. The dark figure inside doesn't move. My heart stops. I knock significantly harder