Page 36 of Noel Secrets

Former cop or not, Chuck was still a stranger. But he was neutral in all of this. Perhaps he could be of help as he had been all night. He’d opened his home, given them a getaway car, even if he didn’t know it, and he asked no pertinent questions until this moment. And maybe Michael needed to get the truth off his chest.

“There are men after us,” Michael said finally, his voice clipped.

Chuck’s eyebrows ticked up. “After you—or her?”

“Her.” He shifted, careful of Jayda’s sleeping form. Michael exhaled slowly, careful not to wake Jayda. “She stumbled into this by accident. Wrong place, wrong time. But once they marked her, there was no going back. They want information. About a woman who witnessed a crime years ago. Something big. Guy went to prison. Jayda found something she wasn’t supposed to. Now they think she knows where the witness is—or maybe even who she is.”

Chuck gave a low whistle. “Sounds messy.”

“That’s one word for it.”

“And this witness?” Chuck asked. “What’s her deal? Testified? Flipped on someone? I had a few cases where people turned state’s evidence. Sometimes they got deals. Sometimes they just wanted a clean conscience.”

Michael’s mouth twisted. “Who knows? We have a partial court case file and two pictures of her…and her name. Veronica Carlisle. Probably cut a deal for protection. Maybe witness protection. But if that’s true, no one’s confirming it. Not the feds. The marshal we met in Chicago stonewalled us at every turn.”

Chuck’s eyes narrowed. “That’s interesting, though I doubt the U.S. Marshals would share details with you anyway. But I’m sure you put them on alert. If she’s in the program, she should be safe.”

With no answers to the plaguing questions, they settled into silence for the rest of the trip, but it felt good for Michael to be honest with the man after all he had done for them that night.

Chuck pulled into the station, the crunch of his tires muffled by the falling snow. He shifted into park but didn’t cut the engine. For a moment, the rumble filled the silence between them, until Chuck leaned an elbow on the wheel and spoke low.

“You know,” he said, eyes on the windshield where flakes blurred the glass, “that woman you told me about, Veronica…maybe she didn’t go into witness protection. Maybe she went on the run to protect herself.”

Michael turned, curiosity piqued. “What do you mean?”

Chuck’s mouth curved in a knowing, almost weary smile. “Some folks don’t wait for the government to fix things. They run. Disappear. Start over under their own strength. If she did that, then what you need to figure out isn’t where she went—it’s who she was running from. Find that out, and you’ll know who’s chasing you, or I should say, Jayda now.”

Michael sat with that thought heavy in his chest. It made sense. Veronica may not be just hiding but fleeing. Just like Jayda.

“It’ll give you the upper hand,” Chuck added. “If you can put the pieces together.”

Michael opened his mouth, but movement beside him drew his attention. Jayda stirred, her head shifting slightly against his shoulder. Her eyes fluttered open, hazy with sleep, confusion flickering there before softening as she realized where she was.

“We’re here?” she whispered.

“Yeah,” Michael said gently. “We’re here.”

Chuck grinned, his weathered face warming at Jayda. “Glad you got some rest, young lady. You’ll need it.” He reached across the seat and squeezed her arm. “Stay safe, both of you.” His gaze shifted back to Michael, more pointed now. “Take care of her. She’s a precious gift.”

Michael swallowed hard. He knew Chuck wasn’t just talking about protection. The words hit him deep.Precious gift.He looked down at her again. She had trusted him enough to rest her head against him. And in that moment, he realized God had been giving him more than he ever imagined from the very start. Including Jayda.

And if he had missed that…what else had he missed?

“Now, get in there, and don’t miss your train,” Chuck ordered. “Or we’ll be driving to the next stop in Denver.”

Jayda jumped out into the storm with Michael right behind, waving to Chuck and running up the steps to the doors of the Kansas City, Missouri, station.

Jayda turned suddenly toward Michael. “Wait,” she said, fumbling in her pocket. She pulled out the folded bills Simon had given them, tight in her fist. “I need to pay him back. He helped us—he deserves this.”

Michael hesitated but nodded, watching as she darted back out to the parking lot. He followed a few steps behind, scanning the rows of snow-covered cars.

But the truck was gone. Not just gone—there weren’t even tire tracks in the snow where he’d parked. Only smooth, untouched powder stretched across the lot. The fresh falling snow had already covered them.

Jayda stopped short, clutching the bills to her chest, her expression caught between confusion and disbelief. “Michael…where did he go?”

Michael stared at the empty space, his breath frozen in his throat. He had no answer. He wrapped an arm around Jayda, doing as Chuck said, taking care of her.

“Come on, the train will be here soon. We can’t miss it. Let’s just thank God for Chuck tonight, okay?”