Matt found himself panicked all over again.

“And until we’re absolutely sure this is Desmond, don’t tell me where you are or your name. Just in case you’re wrong.”

“What about a police report?” Erin asked.

“The first thing the authorities are going to ask is if you have a name. You give them Desmond’s name and if he doesn’t know where you are, you’ll be handing yourself over. If we can prove he’s close, then yes. Give me twenty-four hours, Maci. Don’t go anywhere. If I have news sooner, I’ll call.”

“Do you think I’m wrong?”

Renee paused. “I don’t believe in coincidences. Desmond’s unreachable and you start having problems. Remember one thing. He’s a coward. He preys upon you when no one is looking. If he’s reduced himself to slicing up cars, then he’s getting desperate.”

“I don’t like the sound of that.”

“Is your firefighter still there?” Renee asked.

“I’m here,” Matt told her.

“Don’t leave her alone. Desmond is smart, charismatic, and has a way of making people believe whatever lies he spins. He’s a true narcissist that believes his own shit. He won’t confront you. He’ll be the one who gets you to make the first move and then play victim. And, Maci?”

Erin . . . who apparently had changed her name from Maci . . . glanced at him before answering. “Yes?”

“Have you shared a picture of Desmond to your new friends?”

Erin looked away. “No.”

“Now might be a good time. I’ll call tomorrow. Nine in the morning my time.”

“Thank you, Renee.”

“Be careful.”

“Where the hell are you?”

Desmond pulled his cell phone away from his ear, looked at it as if it were a foreign object, and put it back. “Excuse me?”

“Listen, Brandt, you pay me to be your divorce attorney, and I agreed to deal with the restraining order as it applied to the basis in which your wife asked for the divorce. However . . . and this is a big however . . . I’m not a criminal defense attorney. So let me ask you this question one more time. Where the hell are you?”

“I told you I’m in Greece.” Desmond looked out his hotel window onto a golf course in Valencia.

“What time is it there?”

He flexed his fingers. “Is this the goddamn Spanish Inquisition?”

“Simple question.”

“Fuck you.”

“Attorney-client privilege works really well for shit you did, but it won’t cover my ass if you’re about to commit a crime.”

“What’s this about, Schwarz?”

“Maci’s attorney is filing an emergency restraining order.”

Just knowing he’d gotten under her skin made him smile. “On what basis?”

“Attempted murder.”

Desmond couldn’t help it, he laughed. “That’s a stretch.” He reached for his medicine and popped a pill in his mouth.

“Give me proof you’re in Greece and I can make this go away.”

“Fine.” He took a swig of water . . . shook his head.

His attorney paused. “You have proof?”

“I’ll get it to you.”

“I need it now, Desmond.”

“Is that all, Schwarz? I have a date.”

Schwarz cussed under his breath. “At one in the morning? Because that’s what time it is in Greece right now.”

“You’re beginning to annoy me. I’m going to hang up, and you’re going to do your job. You tell that bitch that’s representing my wife that I have assured you I’m out of the country. And if slanderous accusations of my character surface, I’ll be forced to sue my wife in order to sustain my good standing in the community.” Desmond didn’t wait for Schwarz to comment. He hung up.

“His name is Desmond Brandt. And he’s my husband.”

Matt peered at the image Erin had brought up on her computer. So many things caught him at the same time.

First, this wasn’t a picture that she had in her files but rather an image she pulled off the internet. A picture from the society pages of the Chicago Tribune.

Second, Erin looked like a completely different person than the one in the images she clicked through.

Third, she was more beautiful now.

“My name has been legally changed from Maci Brandt to Erin Fleming. My social security, driver’s license, passport—everything—is legal.”

Matt glanced over to his brother. They’d called for a family meeting . . . well, one for the immediate people involved, which in this case was Colin, Parker, Austin, and Mallory. And since Mallory was living with Jase . . . Jase was there. Matt had called Grace, but she hadn’t picked up. He left a voice mail asking her when was a good time to meet at their parents’. This disclosure of the truth was a trial run. Erin asked that they get through this round and then move to his parents the next day. Considering it was his mom’s bunco night and Dad was elbow deep in poker with a bunch of retired law enforcement, he deemed them safe.

“Desmond was—is—a dangerous man. I’m ashamed to say that I stayed with him even though he was responsible for . . .” Her words trailed off, and tears began to swell behind her eyes.

Matt reached over and took her hand in his.

“. . . for many broken bones and shattered dreams. I was too frightened to leave and too scared to stay. He threatened to hurt anyone I loved if I left. So when I did, I cut all ties. My sister has no idea where I am or who I’ve become. My father . . . no one. I moved here because this city is large enough to get lost in and small enough to feel comfortable.”

Erin looked around the room. “I’m sorry I lied to you. I hate that I’ve lied about anything. But I truly had no choice. The people that helped me escape this man gave me a blueprint of how I was supposed to behave. What I was supposed to say. I’ve stuck to that as much as I could to protect you and me.”

Colin met Matt’s gaze.

“So why tell us now?” Colin asked.

“Because I think—”

“We think,” Matt interrupted.

Erin tried to smile.

“We think Desmond is in town. Or at least knows where I’m at. I need you to know what he looks like so that if you’ve seen him or anyone like him, you know to stay away.”

“How dangerous is he?” Colin asked.

Erin looked around the room and physically recoiled.

Matt spoke for her. “The leaky brake lines on her car weren’t an accident.”

Colin swore, and Parker placed a hand on Erin’s arm.

Matt explained what Ty had told him to offer weight to Erin’s concern.

“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I left Chicago, spent time in Washington State, and then came here in the hopes of avoiding this.”

“Soooo, what exactly does this have to do with us?” Austin asked.

“He told me he would hurt the people I loved to get to me. And I care very deeply for everyone in this room. It would gut me if he hurt any of you.”

Matt noticed Colin shifting in his chair. “Erin’s attorney told us to show his picture to everyone. Have any of you seen him?”