Page 11 of Jack

“You’re almost there, sweetie.” Gwen pats my hand and nudges me toward the open truck door.

My eyes drift back to the mountain. “I don’t know him.”

He smiles and remains quiet.

Gwen laughs. “You didn’t know me either.” She taps Shepherd on the stomach. She probably broke her fingers. There’s not an ounce of fat on this man. “He’s a big guy, but he won’t let anything happen to you.”

Shepherd nods and patiently continues to hold the door open. I lock eyes with him. “Where are we going?”

His smile fades. He gives me a moment to understand that he’s serious. “I’m taking you to Jacob.”

“Jacob? Nina told me to ask for Jacob.” I’ve repeated the things she told me to say at least a hundred times in my mind since leaving LA.

“Where is he?” No one has given me clear information about any of this.

“You’ll meet him tonight.” Shepherd motions to the passenger seat.

I cautiously take a step forward before spinning around to face Gwen. “Who is this Jacob? Why’s he so important?”

Her eyes go to Shepherd for a moment. They have some sort of silent conversation before she turns back to me and smiles. “Jacob’s story is his to tell when he chooses to tell it. He and his family started this organization.”

“This is an organization?” My eyes dart between them. “An actual organization? With a name?”

They both laugh. And it hasn’t gone unnoticed that they aren’t clearly answering my questions. So far, all my‘helpers’have done is given me more questions than answers.

“Yes, dear. This is a real organization.” Gwen takes a deep breath and wraps her arms around me. Who knew she was a hugger? “It was nice meeting you, Lily. I wish it were for better reasons, though.”

Gwen drops her arms and steps onto the sidewalk outside our motel room door. She was with me the longest on this journey. I’m going to miss her.

I climb up into the truck and fasten my seatbelt. I smile and wave goodbye to Gwen as we pull out of the parking lot. She didn’t share much of her personal life with me. Well, not her present life, anyway. From the things in the back of her minivan,she has at least one child. She did tell me she grew up near the beach, but not which beach.

My other helpers didn’t answer my questions. It’s highly doubtful this one will either. Does it stop me from asking questions? Not at all.

“I’m Lily.” I wait until we’re on the interstate to introduce myself. I’m sure he already knows my name.

“Nice to meet you, Lily. Did you get breakfast?”

I drop my eyes to my stomach like it has the answer. It’s only eight in the morning. Breakfast was the furthest thing on my mind. The only breakfast our motel included were muffins, coffee, and fruit. Gwen went across the street to a café for all our meals for the two days we were stuck there.

“No.” I keep my eyes on my lap. “I was too nervous to eat.”

“There’s a travel center about thirty minutes away.” He lifts a finger from the steering wheel to point ahead of us. “They have a little kitchen and make breakfast sandwiches. They have donuts, too. And I think you can get a hotdog and burritos twenty-four seven. We could get breakfast, top off the tank, and get road trip snacks.”

“Sounds good.” I also need to go to the restroom, but I’m not saying that out loud. I look Shepherd over from the corner of my eye. He, like Andrew, is wearing some type of leather vest. I can’t get a good look at the emblem on it. He doesn’t seem like the talkative type. I’ll try asking a few questions anyway. “What’s the name of your organization?”

Shepherd scratches the back of his head and scrunches up his face. “Jacob usually shares that.”

“Uh.” I toss my hands up. “Why’s everyone so secretive?”

These people are crazy. They expect me to go along with them but won’t explain things. I’m a deranged lunatic for following along so blindly. One teeny tiny glimpse of freedom let way too much hope bloom. I sniffle and wipe my cheek with my palm.

“Look.” Shepherd holds up a hand and quickly wraps it back around the steering wheel. “I know this is scary for you. I promise you'll understand once you hear the whole story tonight.”

I snap my head toward him. All of a sudden, every nerve in my body is on edge. “Tonight?”

“Yes, tonight.” He glances at me and nods. “We’ll be there in about eight hours.”

Wow. Eight hours. It feels too soon. It’s Friday. I left California five days ago. I should want this journey to end. Knowing it will in eight hours twists my stomach into knots.

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