Page 69 of Restitution

“Yeah. Do you believe in miracles?”

I shrug. “Do you?”

He just laughs through his nose and takes another draw of his smoke.

22

STACEY

Silence falls between us, and we can hear the faint voices from Ewan and everyone else walking towards us. Tobias or Aria must’ve called Ewan. But he doesn’t go into the trees. Neither does Barry.

We all wait, and nearly two hours later, Aria and Lu walk out of the small patch of woodland, and Base rushes towards them and hugs Luciella. Tobias and Jason have Kade’s arms over their shoulders. His head is down. Ewan goes towards them, and Aria tells him that we need to get Kade back to the lodge.

I swallow harshly, and we follow them all the way home. Every now and again, Tobias looks over his shoulder at me, mouthing,Are you okay? Hewinks when I nod.

We get Kade into the lodge, and Jason and Tobias clean him up, get fresh clothes on him and settle him into his own bed. He falls asleep pretty fast, and I want so badly to go to him, but I don’t want him to start freaking out again, thinking I’m a figment of his imagination.

It’s breaking me standing back, but right now I think he needs some space.

Aria makes us all hot drinks, and I walk to my own room to get changed, catching a glimpse of Base sitting on Lu’s chosen bed, her standing between his legs, crying again.

The only thing I catch before I keep walking is him saying, “Come on. Don’t be upset, princess. Don’t say goodbye like this.”

I shower quickly and pull on fresh clothes, heading to the main sitting area where Barry has screens set up on the dinner table, studying them.

“Everything is almost too quiet. Her buildings are empty.”

Tobias leans down on the table and stares at one of the screens. “Whose car is that? It’s the only one there.”

“Greyson’s. He’s working from the inside. He’s not given me updates all day, and I fear he’s been caught.”

“Shit,” Tobias mutters. “When was the last time—” He stops and narrows his eyes at one of the other screens. They both swear at the same time as four black SUVs pull into the small road that leads up to this lodge.

“Fuck!” Barry slaps the table as he shoves away and radios all his men, but people open fire from the cars, and the guards on patrol are downed one by one.

Base and Lu run down the stairs, asking what’s happening, and Jason appears in only a pair of shorts, still wet from his shower.

“They’re here,” is all Tobias says, and everything changes.

Havoc erupts in and around the lodge.

“I want as many bodies as possible guarding my son, right now,” he orders, bellowing at people to hurry as they grab their guns, him taking one as well and tucking it behind his back, into his waistband. “Aria, take Luciella and Stacey to one of the rooms and stay there.”

But it’s too late – the cars are already outside.

Surrounding the lodge.

“Ewan’s in the room with Kade,” Barry says. “We need to keep them as far away from him as possible.”

“And my girls,” Tobias says, glancing at Base. “You, go with them.”

Base grabs Luciella’s hand and leads her upstairs, even as she yells at him to leave her alone, but Aria and I stand our ground.

“Go with them,” Tobias barks at us, and we both shake our heads. “Goddammit, go with them now!”

“Now, now, what do we have here?” a voice says as the door opens, and my skin crawls, my blood going cold at the tone of it. I turn around to see Bernadette in a black trench coat and heeled boots, gun in hand as she smiles gleefully at us. “I thought everyone would be excited to see me?”

Aria grits her teeth, Jason grabbing her arm as she goes to pounce at her. “Go to hell, you cruel bitch.”