Page 44 of Protecting Lainey (Broterhood Alliance #7)

Lainey hadn’t slept much. She tossed and turned most of the night worrying about the site. What the X meant. The council. Sarah Granger’s smug smile.

But it was a new day, and the sun was shining through the curtains.

She still had a million things to do—grocery shopping; paying her crew, as well as taking care of her own bills; and driving Luke to school.

Finn would be over later, after stopping at the Brotherhood for any updates on the security breach.

She padded barefoot across the hall and pushed open Luke’s door. The boy was a lump beneath the covers.

“Come on, sleepyhead.” Lainey tugged the covers from Luke, who was still clinging to the NASA cap. “Time for school.”

“Do I have to?” Luke muttered, trying to pull the covers back up.

“Absolutely.” Lainey laughed. “Today is art day, and you love art day.”

That got his attention. His eyes popped open. “Oh, I forgot.” He untangled himself from the sheets. “I’ll be right down.”

“Brush your teeth,” she called after him as he bolted for the bathroom.

She shook her head and smiled as she headed downstairs to make breakfast and lunch. She cut up some fruit and poured his cereal. Then she got to work on his lunch. The sun filtered through the window. Outside, the birds were singing. The world felt normal.

It’s going to be a good day, she decided. Even if she had to fake it.

Luke thudded down the stairs a few minutes later, hair combed, dressed in jeans and a blue tee with the NASA cap firmly on his head.

“Are you ever going to take the cap off?” she teased.

He grinned and shook his head. “Nope.”

He climbed into his chair just as she placed his cereal and milk in front of him.

“Is Dad coming over today?” he asked casually. “Can he pick me up?”

Lainey froze mid-reach for the juice. Dad. He’d said it yesterday but hearing it again and having Luke accept Finn as his dad still made her breath catch.

She swallowed hard and nodded. “I think that can be arranged,” she said gently, brushing a hand over his shoulder. “I’ll let him know.”

Luke nodded and dug into his cereal like any other morning. But for Lainey? It wasn’t even close.

When he finished, he brought his bowl to the sink. “Okay, bud, grab your backpack and let’s go,” she said.

She locked the door behind them and opened the car door. Luke climbed in and secured his seat belt. Then they were off, Luke chattering about what they were going to do in art, wondering what he and Finn could do after school. Would he bring him to get ice cream again?

Lainey drove the familiar back road to school. They had a little extra time, so she took the two-lane road winding through the woods and farmland that was always hers and Luke’s favorite.

Luke sat in the back seat with his NASA cap pulled low over his eyes.

Then, halfway down the hill before the bend, Lainey’s gaze snapped to movement in the woods. A deer shot across the road. Fast.

She tapped the brakes. The tires locked. The car skidded.

She pressed harder.

The rear end fishtailed.

Her heart jack hammered as the adrenaline surged. Not now. Not today . Today was supposed to be okay. Normal. Safe.

She gripped the wheel tighter, wrestled the car toward the shoulder and thanked God when it rolled to a stop, barely missing the huge oak tree.

“Why’d we stop?” Luke asked from the back seat.

Lainey kept her voice calm. “Just checking something. Stay in your seat, okay?”

She opened the door and stepped out, gravel crunching under her shoes. The woods were silent in an eerie way that made her skin prickle.

She crouched beside the car, not sure what she was looking for. No obvious damage. No puddles. No warning light.

Her stomach turned. How had this happened? Wear and tear? Or deliberate?

“Mom, what is it?”

She turned to see Luke’s little sneakered feet standing beside her. “Luke, I told you to stay in the car,” she said sharply.

“But I wanted to see.”

Lainey reached into the car for her phone, hands trembling. Call Triple A? Or Finn? Or…?

The low rumble of another engine reached her ears, coming up behind them.

She turned to see a dark truck stop behind them. A familiar dark truck. The door opened. Footsteps hit the gravel.

She looked up.

Travis.

Her breath caught. Everything within her went still.

This was not a coincidence. It wasn’t fate. This was a setup, and her gut instincts were screaming.

He had on a pair of worn jeans and a ball cap. His smile didn’t reach his eyes. She used to think he was harmless. Not anymore.

“Morning, Lainey,” he said quietly. “Car trouble?”

This was no accident. He planned this.

Lainey’s pulse thundered in her ears. She hesitated until her eyes dropped to the gun in his right hand. “Travis?”

She looked at Luke, who was watching her. Frozen. Terrified.

She had one shot. One chance.

She threw her phone under the car with a flick of her wrist and turned to Luke.

“Run!” she shouted, shoving him toward the trees.

Luke bolted without question, his backpack bouncing on his shoulders.

“Damn it!” Travis cursed, raising the gun.

Lainey turned back, hands up. “Don’t. He’s just a kid.”

Travis stepped closer. The gun didn’t waver. A muscle ticked in his jaw.

“Get in the truck,” he snapped. “You’re the one they want anyhow.”

Lainey hesitated, her heart hammering.

Please, God, let Luke find someone. Let Finn find us.

If she didn’t come out of this alive, at least Luke would have his dad. And Finn would make sure he was safe.

She swallowed her fear as Travis yanked her toward the truck.

“I’m just following orders, Lainey,” he muttered, like that would make this okay. “This isn’t personal.”

“The hell it isn’t,” she spat out.

He pushed her into the passenger side and slammed the door behind her. Then he walked around and climbed in on the driver’s side.

“Put your seat belt on, Lainey. I want you to stay safe. For now.”

She clicked the seat belt and stared ahead.

She wanted to ask why. She wanted to know who was behind this. What the hell did they think this would solve?

Although at this point, none of it mattered. Not now.

She was in way over her head. And it would take a miracle to get out of it.

Luke ran as fast as he could.

Branches clawed at his arms. His legs burned, and his backpack thumped over and over against his back. He didn’t look back. Didn’t stop.

Mom told him to run. So he did.

He didn’t know where he was. The trees all looked the same. He ducked under a low branch and kept going. His chest hurt.

His cap flew off once; he grabbed it and shoved it back on. Then it flew off again.

He almost stopped. Almost. But he couldn’t. He had to keep running.

The woods were quiet, so quiet. He was scared. Scared for himself but mostly for his mom. He needed to think.

He didn’t hear any footsteps, but that didn’t mean the man wasn’t there. Maybe he was sneaking up on him like the bad guys did in the movies.

Where was he supposed to go? What if he got lost? Couldn’t find help? Or a wild animal ate him? He’d die out here alone, and his mom would be sad.

No, he couldn’t think about that.

He tripped on a root and fell hard. He tumbled down a small hill and landed next to a big tree that had fallen over. It was covered in moss with some bushes growing around it. His knee stung, and his hands were scraped. But he didn’t cry.

He crawled behind the log, pushed his backpack off, wiggled in until he was hidden and curled up small.

Maybe the man wouldn’t find him. Maybe he’d keep going.

Slowly, Luke lifted his head and listened.

Silence. No heavy footsteps chasing him. Nothing.

He peeked through a tiny hole in the branches. He could still kind of see the road.

His cap was gone. His mom was gone. And now he was lying in the woods, trying not to cry.

Where was Mom now? Was she okay?

What if no one found him? What if Finn didn’t know?

He squeezed his eyes shut. He wouldn’t cry. He had to be strong for Mom and his dad. He stayed like that until his muscles ached and his throat felt dry.

He didn’t know what time it was or how long he should wait. But he wasn’t moving. Not until someone came.

Finn would come. He had to.