Page 46 of Stay With Me (Griffin’s Den #2)

FORTY-FIVE

Noah

As Collin finishes taking the pictures for evidence, I survey everything around me. We’re one step behind whoever is doing this, but this time, we know it’s more than one or two people.

“This is the most evidence they’ve left behind. Maybe they’re getting lazy and want to be caught?” Collin says.

“Maybe. Or was this intentional? I have a feeling we’re missing something.

” Closing my eyes, I picture a map of the town that I’ve called home my whole life, trying to see if there’s a pattern.

“When we get back to the station, I’m going to need a map of town.

I want to try to plot out where they’ve been staying. ”

“You think it’s more than people making a pit stop on their way to somewhere else?” he asks.

I look over at him. Collin didn’t grow up here.

He moved here after getting out of the military, wanting a slower life.

“At first, I thought we were going to catch up to them and just tell them to head out. But don’t you think it’s weird that it’s been a couple of months, and there has been no evidence of who it is?

No one has seen them. They move from place to place during the night and destroy it before leaving and magically avoiding any cameras.

I think it’s weird that they’re sticking around. ”

He shrugs. “It’s nice weather here. Maybe they plan to hang out for the winter and then head on their way?”

“Yeah, maybe, but I won’t let the people in town feel unsafe knowing that someone could be hanging out in one of their outbuildings,” I tell him.

I turn and head back to the main house.

The sheriff is talking to Joe and the girls. When Mike called me over the radio to head over here, I couldn’t get here fast enough. He made sure to let me know that everyone was alright but that Joe found evidence of squatters and wanted to talk to us.

The pattern of the people squatting doesn’t point to physical violence, but they leave every location damaged.

I look at my watch and see that it’s close enough to the end of my shift that we can probably head home after this.

Walking into the main house, I head to the kitchen and beeline to Luna and Jess sitting at the table.

I stand next to them and bend to kiss the top of Luna’s hair.

I put my hand on Jess’s shoulder, and she goes stiff, so I pull my hand away to make her more comfortable.

She isn’t the most affectionate child because of her upbringing, but I want her to know I’m here for her too, but only in ways she’s comfortable with.

“And what time do your ranch hands start in the morning?” Mike asks Joe.

“As long as it isn’t farmers’ market day, they start around six in the morning, but that shed is one I’ve been meaning to tear down for some time, so we don’t check that back area often,” he admits.

Mike nods as he takes some notes. He looks back up at me. “Did you find anything?”

I nod and give a brief version of what I found. We’ve worked together long enough that we’ll go more in-depth after this.

“Well, we have everything we need. If you do see someone, please call it in, and we’ll be back out. Do not approach them on your own.” He cautions Joe as he starts to stand.

“Collin is already heading back to the station. I’m going to take the girls home and call you after we get Jess settled in bed,” I tell him.

He gives a quick nod. “I’m interested in the ideas I can see bouncing around in your head,” he says softly as he walks by and heads out.

I turn to the girls. “Are you ready to head out, or do you have anything else to finish up here?”

“They’re good to go,” Ann says quickly.

Luna snaps her head to the side. “There’s a lot to get done for the weekend. Can you give me an hour or two?”

“Dear, you are so ahead and prepared for those guests that you can head home early. We can finish tackling everything tomorrow. Go home, spend some time with Jess,” she says as her eyes slide to Jess, who’s barely said anything since I got here.

“If you’re sure?” Luna says.

“We are. Have a good rest of your day,” Joe says and stands, walking over to Luna, making her stand to pull her into a hug.

We quickly gather all their things, say our final goodbyes, and head home.

I lean my hip against the workbench in my shed and stare at the map. The dots are scattered in the shape of a star and a moon.

There’s no way the pattern is a coincidence now that I’m looking at them all on a map.

My gut tells me that my girls have been found and we’re one step behind. I just have no concrete proof.

I switch the beer bottle to my left hand and wipe the condensation off on my jeans.

I turn back to the photos of locations and the evidence scattered around.

The door creaks, and Luna walks in.

“Is Jess asleep?”

“Yeah. She stayed up reading a little longer than normal, but I think she needed it. Are you okay?”

I pull her into my arms and breathe in her scent.

“Did you just smell my hair?”

“Yeah, it smells good.”

Her shoulders bounce as she laughs into my chest. “I need to wash my hair tonight.”

“Ahh yes, hair-washing night.”

I was shocked when I walked in on the girls talking about how they hated hair-washing day.

I made the mistake of asking what was so bad about washing your hair since I did it every night.

I got a fifteen-minute lecture about how I don’t get it because I use the same shampoo as my body wash and not a shampoo and conditioner or a hair mask.

I just smiled and nodded and agreed with them.

I know better than to argue with them about it.

She tilts her head back and looks up at me. “Are you going to come in soon?”

I look over at the map. “I won’t be too much longer.”

She nods as she trails her eyes over everything I have set up in the shed. She stops on the map and tilts her head, pulling away to examine it closer. “Weird, does that look like a star and a moon combined?” She runs her finger over the lines I’ve traced and looks over her shoulder at me.

I nod, and she freezes. “It does. Are you okay? Does that mean something to you?”

“Well, my name is Luna, and Matthew’s dad would call him the star of Bethlehem for The Family. That he would always guide us the right way.” She snorts. “I always wondered if he knew how demented his son really was or if he just didn’t care.”

“Sadly, a lot of parents don’t care to notice. Other times, the kids are good at hiding it from the people they need to hide it from.”

She nods and turns back to the scattered photos. “Can I look at these?”

“If you want. Maybe you can see something that we don’t.”

Her hands shake as she shuffles through the photos. She pauses on one, and the photos drop from her hands.

“What did you see? Are you okay?” I ask, my chest tightening with just the thought of her recognizing something.

“That’s one of Matthew’s favorite snacks. When we got old enough to run errands and sell things in town, he would buy them and hide them from the elders,” she whispers, the color draining from her face.

“Are you sure?” I ask as I bend to pick up the photos and look at them closer.

Her eyes slam closed. “Yeah, he would tease everyone that he got treats, but we couldn’t have them.”

I crowd behind her and move her hair over her shoulder.

Leaning down, I brush a kiss over her shoulder.

“Hey, I’m here. Take a breath with me,” I say softly and take a few breaths.

Once our breaths are synced, I ask, “What about the people who worked off the compound? How did he get away with that?”

“They all had to hand their checks over to Father. It was drilled into us that whatever we earned had to go to The Family, but he wasn’t watched as closely.”

I bracket her between the workbench and my body. I can’t protect her from her past, but I can try and protect her from them trying to catch up. I kiss her neck, my lips lingering.

She turns in my arms and pushes at my chest. “They’ve found me, haven’t they?” she whispers as she eyes the door.

“Yes” is all I can say. Fear threatens to strangle me at the thought of her leaving.

A humorless laugh escapes her, and she shakes her head. “I should have taken Jess and run. What a joke that I thought I could settle down here and start an actual life.” She tries to push me away, tears filling her eyes.

I wrap my arms around her and pull her close. “Hey, I want you to hear me out.”

She stops pushing and rests her forehead on my chest.

I bring my hands up to her face and tilt her head up to look at me. My heart stutters in my chest at the pain on her face.

“The Family might be here in Griffin’s Den, and as much as I’m hoping we can stop them before they get anywhere near you, we have the first lead and can try and get ahead of them, but I’ve notified Hunt and his team to see if they can get here.

I want to be realistic, for your safety and Jess’s.

I want you to promise me you won’t go anywhere alone.

If you’re ever cornered, you need to do everything you can to not get put into a car with them.

Kick, scream, bite, whatever you can, okay?

But if you want to leave, I’m leaving with you.

Or we can talk to Hunt about putting us in the witness protection program until they’re caught.

Or you can claim the city as yours and not let them run you out of town.

The choice is yours, and I’ll follow you to the ends of the earth to help keep you and Jess safe. Do you get me?”

She nods. “I don’t want anyone else to be in danger. Can you see what Hunt thinks? He knows them almost as well as I do.”

I lean down and kiss her lips softly. “Yeah. My gut tells me they’re hoping you run.

Here, you’re surrounded by people all the time.

Stay with me, my Lunabella, whether it’s here in Griffin’s Den or we go on the run.

Trust that I will do anything within my power to keep the two of you safe.

” I can see the fear in her eyes as she weighs her options.

“Please,” I add, knowing I’m not above getting on my knees and begging.

“I trust you more than I trust anyone. I’ll stay, but after your conversation with Hunt, can we make several plans on what to do?”

“Whatever you want, baby. Now, let me send everything you mentioned today to Hunt and the others in the department. It shouldn’t be long. Go inside, and I’ll meet you in bed soon. Okay?”

“Okay. I’m going to pack a go bag for Jess and me just in case we have to leave in a hurry.” She stands on her tiptoes and kisses under my jaw.

I take a deep breath, knowing this is our reality right now. “It should be less than an hour. I’ll pack my bag when I get in, and we can put them all together and talk about a couple of plans.”

She nods and walks out of the shed. I watch her the whole way, and once she’s out of sight, I fish my phone out of my pocket and start a group call with Hunt and Mike. Hopefully, if I make both calls at the same time, I can get to my girl faster.