Page 3 of Carlos

People would go to jail, including Bulldog and Carlos. Cancer hadn’t gotten their mother, but seeing her sons incarcerated might.

Why would Steel invite the sheriff here? Why now? Carlos briefly wondered if it had to do with Jasmine and Sophia. Those two hooligans were going to be the ones in jail if they didn’t stop their investigation.

Growing up, Carlos had had the biggest crush on Jazz. People assumed he hung out with the two besties because of Sophia. She was old-money rich and her family could be traced back to the original settlers of Mount Grove. However, as much as he enjoyed Sophia’s company, it had always been Jasmine who had drawn his attention. She was the shy one of the two, uncomfortable in her own skin. Carlos had never minded that she didn’t have the traditional Barbie-esque body. Even as a teenager, he’d liked her for who she was.

Then Jasmine and Sophia had left Mount Grove and gone to Penn State for college. With Sophia’s money, she could have gone anywhere in the world, but she’d chosen to go to the same school as her best friend, who had needed scholarships and student loans to pay for her education. Carlos had been sad to see his friends go, once more left behind in this small town. It had been fun to visit them, but then reality would call him home.

As they entered their twenties, Carlos realized that he no longer had a crush on Jasmine. He was grateful he’d never made a move or asked her out. Even more grateful that Sophia had never divulged that she and Carlos had shared a drunken one-night stand back when it had been illegal for them to be drinking. Regardless, Sophia and Jasmine fit back into his small-town life as his friends. Nothing more.

The picture of a shy brunette entered into his mind. Clara, Jenna’s niece. She’d been living with Steel and Jenna over the winter but had since moved on. Carlos didn’t know where. He knew she had a son and that she was recently widowed. Beyond that, though… He wished he’d gotten a chance to know her. She was…compelling, to say the least. Her utter sadness had gripped him in a way no other woman in his life ever had. Even if nothing came of it, he felt like Clara could have been someone to him. If only a friend.

Another missed opportunity.

That feeling of trepidation nearly reaching a boil, Carlos followed his boss inside.

Zoe Rutterson peeked around the closed living room curtain. It didn’t matter that she had been in Mount Grove for a year with no issues and no hint that anyone knew where she was. Every knock was the Marshals, every noise in the night was the cops, every thunderstorm was the crack of that awful belt…

The trailer Zoe and Kyle had moved into was small. Jenna had made several comments about it being too small, but Zoe assured her that it wasn’t. Small meant there were less places for an adult to hide and take her unawares. The windows were also small enough that she knew she and Kyle could escape out of them, but a grown man could not.

“Clara,” she heard called out, “it’s Jenna. I have groceries.”

It had been almost three years since she’d taken the name Clara, but she still didn’t feel like a Clara. She felt like an imposter. It had been easier in her head to switch Kyle’s name. She hadn’t wanted him to carry his father’s name anymore; it was bad enough that he carried the bastard’s DNA. Kyle was young enough that there had been little confusion. It was difficult to believe her little boy was almost four.

Though Zoe knew Jenna’s voice, she still had to check. When she’d first arrived, Steel and Bulldog had offered her firearms lessons. It wasn’t like she could legally carry, but she felt better knowing that there was a handgun on top of the fridge out of Kyle’s reach.

A wave of sadness hit her as she saw Kyle hurry to his hiding place. They’d practiced for days after moving into the trailer. Kyle had a hiding place in each room.

Until Zoe said the magic word, Kyle was to remain hidden. The only other person who knew the magic word was now dead. It occurred to Zoe, not for the first time, that she should confide in Steel, and maybe even Jenna, what had brought her to Mount Grove on her hands and knees begging for sanctuary. Fear always clamped her lips closed. They knew the basics, but not everything. They did not understand her fear, her need to stay hidden.

No child should ever be instinctually scared when someone knocked on his door. Not for the first time did Zoe wonder if she was a bad mother to have taught her son so young to be afraid.

It was that concern, the apprehension that she was teaching Kyle to be scared of the world, that made Zoe accept Jenna’s invitation to come to their house for lunch. Though Jenna was obviously surprised by her acceptance, she hid it quickly with happiness. Zoe had never accepted one of her invites before.

They had been in Mount Grove for over a year. Steel assured Zoe that no one knew she was here. Besides, it wasn’t like they were leaving the club’s property. They had lived in Jenna’s house with them for over six months and had shared many meals with them during that time. What could happen?

CHAPTER 2

SIX YEARS AGO

“Ijust heard the news. Congratulations, Zoe.”

Zoe looked up to see Mr. Arnold’s grandson, Conner, standing in front of the nurse’s station. He was dressed in a Marines t-shirt, cargo pants, and boots. His dog tags were on the outside of his shirt. Despite the new ring on her finger, Zoe could appreciate the man’s good looks and masculine physique.

She liked Conner. Many of her residents’ family members treated her like she was a servant, but Conner had always treated her like a person. He didn’t come around often, being active duty military. It was admirable that he spent his leave-time with his ailing grandfather. Mr. Arnold was lucky to have family who cared so much for him. Not many of her residents were so fortunate.

Zoe held up her left hand as she’d been doing all day with her residents and co-workers to show off her new bling. “Thank you.”

“When’s the big day?”

“June, I’m hoping.” Zoe looked down at her hand and realized, not for the first time, that she wasn’t as excited as she should be when she reached this moment in the life. Since she was a little girl, she’d always dreamed of getting married in the same church her parents had been married in. Unfortunately, it had been condemned recently due to asbestos.

That was why she wasn’t entirely happy. It had to be. She loved Davis.

“Tell your lucky man that he better seal the deal before a wayward Marine tries to steal you away.”

Zoe blushed. The man was a flirt and too sinful for his own good.

FIVE YEARS AGO

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