Jacy
Does that guy work for Carter? Was he just a random freak who had the urge to yank my chain?
I had no answers.
My stomach in nervous turmoil, I burned Declan’s lunch, sprayed bug killer around the kitchen instead of a deodorizer to get the nasty smell out. Declan watched me with concern while munching the sandwich I’d made for him. I knew he wanted the reading lessons to continue, but I doubted my state of mind permitted it. If I can’t read the label on a spray bottle, how can I teach him to?
“Can we go back to the library?”
Step outside the house? Ye gods! “Not today, sweetie.”
His small face crumpled as though he’d cry, but he didn’t. It broke my heart to say no, to see that expression of upset crunch his normally cheerful countenance. What was I doing to him? I’m scared to death to leave this house, yet how can I demand he do the same? Was I putting him in danger simply by my presence?
“I’m sorry, honey,” I said, crossing the kitchen to crouch beside his chair. “Maybe tomorrow, okay? I’m just – not doing well right now.”
Declan brightened instantly. “Okay.”
While he happily finished his lunch, I scrubbed the blackened pan while castigating myself. If the dude from the black sedan worked for Carter, how long before he tracked me to this house? Would he kill both Declan and Avery along with killing me? Would he leave them alone? Not likely. Carter’s philosophy was to leave no witnesses.
In the TV room, Declan played an educational game on his tablet. Trying not to be obvious, I looked out the window to the street. Sprinklers watered green lawns while a few kids rode bikes up and down the pavement. I saw no black sedans sitting at the curb. All the vehicles I did see were familiar as belonging to the neighbors.
Still, I didn’t feel safe.
My cell beeped. Frowning, I pulled it from my back pocket. I seldom received calls, and only a few people had access to my number. Avery, for instance. And Beth. My call log was empty, but my e-mail icon informed me I had a new message. Getting an e-mail was rarer than a phone call or text.
I clicked on the icon.
Olly, olly oxen free! Come out, come out wherever you are. I just want to talk. Just you and me. Let me know where you are, and I’ll send a car for you. We can work this out, Jacy. I promise.
I deleted the note, feeling sick. He doesn’t know where I am. Not truly. He maybe has my general vicinity, hence the e-mail. He needs me to come to him. My stomach roiled, rolling in waves after waves until I knew everything I’d eaten would come back up with the force of a steam roller.
I ran to the bathroom.
I’d barely hit the tiled floor in front of the toilet before my meager breakfast splattered over the pristine white porcelain. Sweating, my belly hurling not just food but sour bile, I vomited again and again. I both heard and felt Declan enter the bathroom, watching me from the doorway.
“Are you okay?”
“No,” I choked, gasping, before barfing yet another thin stream of nasty stomach acid into the bowl.
Declan stepped in and put his hand on my back. I spat, clearing crap from my mouth, my hair hanging to either side of the toilet. At last, my belly quieted, no longer in rebellion. I shakily stood, then flushed my puke away. Declan solemnly watched me as I rinsed my mouth at the sink.
“I was sick before,” he commented helpfully. “You should lay down.”
I nodded, splashing water on my hot face. “I think I will.”
Trembling, my legs weak, I made my slow way back to the TV room and the sofa. Declan held my hand the entire journey, then sat beside me as I laid down on my back. I tried to offer him a smile, but I knew it wasn’t sincere. Declan didn’t smile back, which told me my effort was in vain.
“Thanks for looking out for me, kiddo,” I murmured.
Declan merely nodded. “Can I watch TV?”
“Sure. I’m going to sleep if I can.”
Considerate, he turned the volume down low, then sat cross-legged on the floor in front of it. He’d chosen a light-hearted Disney movie, and I watched it for a time before closing my eyes.
“Don’t go anywhere without telling me,” I said. “Not even to the backyard.”
“Kay.”
***
I dozed off and on through the afternoon. Declan fixed his own snack of pre-sliced apples and a breakfast bar, munching as he watched a documentary on whales. My rest helped my stomach, but not my fears. Visions of being shot in the back of my head haunted my thin sleep.
I woke from my light sleep to discover Avery standing over me.
“Dad, she’s sick. Don’t wake her up.”
“Too late.” I slowly sat up, the sour flavor of vomit still coating my mouth. “I didn’t hear you come in.”
“No worries,” he said. “Got the flu? I’d heard it’s traveling around town.”
I shook my head, throwing my tangled hair over my shoulders. “Just a minor bug. I’ll fix dinner.”
Starting to stand, I was forced back down with Avery’s hand on my shoulder. “No, you won’t. You rest while I fix dinner.”
“But –”
“No buts about it. I can certainly cook for once.”
The warmth in his dark-blue eyes, the kind smile that creased his face brought me near to crying. Tears stung my eyes, and I lowered my face before he saw them. “Thanks.”
“No worries. Will you be able to eat?”
“I’ll try.”
My guilt at endangering both Avery and Declan wrapped itself around my heart so tightly I couldn’t breathe. I should move out. Quit. Ask him for a ride to the train station, then board it. For anywhere at all. Any place that is far from this town, keep them safe from Carter and his evil.
Leaving the TV on, Declan joined Avery in the kitchen. I listened to their father/son chatter marked by clattering pans. I endangered their lives by being here. It was only a matter of time before Carter located me. I now felt sure the guy in the car worked for him, was one of his enforcers. The thought of leaving Declan broke my heart, but knowing my absence would save his life eased that pain.
I slowly climbed the stairs to my room. Standing in the doorway, I glanced around the comfortable chamber, the spacious bed, the frilly curtains. It represented what I’d hoped was a fresh start, a new life, freedom from Carter. Instead, it had become a trap. A corner with my back to it. If I hoped to survive, I must leave now.
First, I brushed my teeth and rinsed my mouth with mouth wash as my mouth definitely smelled bad. I didn’t have much energy to climb the stairs and grab my toothbrush earlier as I felt so weak that time.
Taking my suitcase from the closet, I tossed it on the bed.
I threw my clothes into it without care, without folding them first. Adding my few personal possessions I still owned, I clicked the latches shut, then went to the window to stare out and down. No black sedan cruised past the house.
But I knew it soon would.
“It’s not just a bug, is it?”
I turned.
Avery stood in the doorway, his arms folded across his broad chest. I shook my head.
“No.”
Pacing slowly toward me, Avery stood beside me, then also looked out the window. “What are you running from, Jacy?”
Death. I couldn’t say it, however. I couldn’t speak at all. Sure, I owed him an explanation as to why I packed my belongings with the obvious intent to leave him and Declan. Yet, no words connected from my mind to my mouth.
“You’re afraid of someone?”
I nodded. “Yeah.”
“Who?”
I stared out the window again at the quiet and orderly neighborhood street. “I – I can’t tell you.”
Silent, Avery also gazed out and down. What his thoughts were, I had no idea. Nor could I ask him for them. Despite the keen knowledge that leaving him was the best decision possible, my reluctance to do so felt strange.
“So you’re going to run?” he asked finally.
“I have to. I’m putting you and Declan in danger.”
Avery leaned against the wall, gazing down at me. “You don’t think I can keep you safe? You as well as the two of us?”
Shocked, I looked up. “I can’t let you even try, Avery.”
“I don’t want you to leave.”
“I have to.” I failed to stop the whiney tone from my voice. “He’ll kill us all.”
“Whoever this guy is,” Avery stated flatly, “I’m not afraid of him. There’s more to me than you think.”
“Are you willing to kill to keep me safe?” I studied his dark eyes, the grim slash of his mouth. “I can’t ask that of you.”
“You don’t have to ask,” he snapped. “If any asshat comes in here with the intent to harm either you or my son, he’ll wish he hadn’t. Neither of you know what I’m capable of.”
I shook my head. “Perhaps not. That’s not a risk I want to take. If I leave now, he’ll leave you both alone and follow me. You’ll be safe.”
“But you won’t be.” Avery’s voice took on a hard note, almost a growl. “I’ll protect you, but only if you’re here, not out there.”
I looked away from his fierce protectiveness, his hard gaze. “Why?”
“Why what?”
“Why would you risk your life for me?”
“It’s mine to risk,” he replied in a tone so stubborn I chuckled.
“That’s not an answer.”
“It’s all you’re going to get. I like you, Jacy. You’re good for Declan. So good, in fact, that I’m scared losing you would be like losing his mother all over again.”
I stared up, my mouth open. “I’ve been here barely a week.”
“Long enough to sink deep hooks into Declan’s heart.” Avery half smiled. “And those hooks are sinking into me, too. I want to protect you. That’s all that matters.”
His timing either perfect or atrocious depending upon the perspective, Declan chose that moment to dash into my room. His keen perceptions instantly told him of the tension that all but vibrated the very air. He stopped. Glancing from Avery to me, then to the closed suitcase, Declan’s face crumpled, and he began to cry.
“No, no.” I slid off the bed to my knees beside him. I hugged him, holding his small body to mine, his arms clutched tightly around my neck. “Don’t cry, sweetie. Everything’s okay.”
“You’re gonna leave,” he wailed, his face buried in my neck. “Don’t go, don’t leave. Please, don’t leave.”
I caressed his silken hair. “I’m not leaving, sweetheart. Your daddy talked me into staying. Okay? I’m staying.”
My words had little effect, and he continued to cry. I glanced up at Avery, who smiled and winked.
“C’mon, little man,” he said, gently pulling on Declan’s shoulder. “Let’s let her unpack. We still have to cook dinner.”
I seized a tissue and wiped Declan’s face, permitting him to blow his nose into it with a sharp honk. His cheeks red, he managed a small smile, then hugged me again.
“I love you, Jacy,” he said simply.
“How ‘bout that. I love you, too.”
My light jest brought a smile, and he kissed my cheek noisily. Imitating a Tarzan yell, he dashed from the room and thundered down the stairs.
Avery bent and pulled me to my feet. Then into a tight hug of his own.
“It’ll work out,” he whispered against my hair. “Promise.”
I tried to laugh into his shirt. “That’s a promise I’ll make you keep.”
“I’ll protect you. I swear I will. Just don’t leave us. We need you.”
My arms around his tight waist, I looked into his sweet, kind eyes, his extraordinary good looks. “I guess I need you, too.”
“You do. Unpack your things, then come eat. I’m treating you to an Avery Armstrong special.”
“And that is?”
“Something edible.”