CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY NINE – THE ENVELOPE

That same question plagued Kayla relentlessly over the next several anxiety-soaked days. She grew increasingly brittle, unable to rest or focus on anything beyond the obsessive, revolving thoughts about Nathan's potential next strike. Countless times she found herself adrift in her living room, glassy eyes staring unseeingly out the windows as her mind spiraled down darker and darker paths. On more than one occasion, Lance had to firmly shake her from these fugue states, eyes shining with naked concern piercing through her dusky thoughts. "This can't go on," he stated in a gruff murmur during one particularly harrowing evening. He gathered Kayla against his chest, rocking her gently as fresh tears spilled down her hollow cheeks. "You're being eaten alive by this terror he's inflicted. We need to get you away, somewhere safe where you can breathe again without these constant threats looming over us." Kayla instantly felt her pulse kick up in protest, echoing the ever-present mant