Page 2 of Wanted 2

Once we’d finished our ice cream, I took him to the store to pick up some Chef Boyardee, canned beef stew, and bananas, and then rented a motel room for the week at the Windmill Hotel. The place had obviously seen better days, but at least it wasn’t one of those pay-by-the-hour joints.

"It's not bad," I repeated for the third time, eyeing the dingy, lumpy floors, peeling wallpaper, and the faded comforter. The TV worked, all three channels. As shabby as it was, I knew I couldn't afford even that long term. "Don't tell anyone you're staying here," I reminded him.

Jeremy rolled his eyes. "I'm not stupid."

I ruffled his hair. "I know you're not, but we can't be too careful right now. Also, when you walk to and from school—and anywhere else, make sure you're not followed, okay? Do you remember what I taught you about that?"

He nodded. "Never take the same route at the same time. Check behind you frequently. Take paths that cars can't go down. Go into stores if you need to ditch someone."

"You're a smart kid," I said, then kissed him on the forehead. "I have to go. Get your homework done and stay inside tonight."

He looked so sad when I left that I felt my heart break.

The sun had just dippedbelow the horizon when I arrived back at the mansion. As I rushed to start my shift, I spied the Count roaming the second floor, looking lost and fragile and very unlike his normal self. Any cringeworthy thoughts I’d had fled out the window as again, my heart melted. First Jeremy, now the Count?

I actually took a step in the Count’s direction before I heard his deep baritone from yesterday, playing in my mind,“Tomorrow evening I wish not to be disturbed by anything.”

Well, ‘anything’ included me, didn’t it? Deciding to play it safe, I left him to wander in his forlorn fashion and threw myself into my work.

In my short time as a housekeeper, I’d found cleaning therapeutic, a good physical exercise that generally let me lose myself in the task at hand for a few hours.

But not today.

With Jeremy safe and sound, for now, my mind ricocheted back to Don and his escalation of the timeline. Seven days. Jerk. With only a week left to figure out the safe’s code, I’d have to move fast. I marched around the house, mopping floors, vacuuming curtains, and dusting bookshelves—man, I’d never seen so many books, and such old ones, crammed in every room—all the while, mulling over just how I might get Don’s blasted code to the safe. I didn’t let myself dwell on exactly what would happen after he got it. If I did, I just might not carry through, and I couldn’t risk that. Jeremy was counting on me.

Several hours into my shift, a loud banging on the front door shattered my thoughts. I hurried to a window and craned my neck for a view, but the angles were wrong, and shadows shrouded what little I could see.

Then, I heard my name, even through the glass. “Kassandra. Kassssandra!”

My stomach dropped.

Shit.

Double shit.

And tonight of all nights? The night the Count made it very clear he didn't want disturbances of any kind?

Steeling myself for an unpleasant confrontation, I stormed to the front door and pulled it open.

My drunk father lost his balance and fell back a few steps.

“Thereyou are, you little slut.” He glared at me from bleary, bloodshot eyes. "Whoring yourself again, are you?"

He grabbed my arm, yanked me towards him, and then slammed me into one of the rose bushes.

"What the hell are you doing here?" I hissed as I righted myself and began pulling thorns out of my skin.

"Coming to collect what's mine. Where's that brat of a brother of yours?"

"Not here," I snapped. "And not where you can find him. Now get the hell out of here before I call the cops."

He laughed, a twisted humorless sound bathed in liquor and hatred. "Go ahead, call them. I think Jerry's on duty tonight. We had drinks just last week. I'll tell him all about how you kidnapped my son. A minor. How will that go, do you think, given your record? I have a right to my boy."

I shoved him away, but his height and bulk gave him an advantage and he raised his fist and slammed it into my face before I could dodge him.

I fell back into the bushes, crushing the flowers and feeling the bite of the thorns once again. Blood coated my mouth, and I flicked my tongue against the split in my lip.

I stood up, my head spinning, my anger boiling. "Leave us alone!"

---