Page 21 of Instinct & New Identity

“Wow,I’mimpressed,”Valsaid.

“Your dad is a bounty hunter too?”Catasked me.

“He was.Hejust finally retired,”Iresponded. “Hewas a cop for a few years in the beginning but couldn’t handle the red tape.Trackingwas always one of his better skills, so he decided to leave the force and just go into bounty hunting and a little bit of private investigation work instead.Mymom was a teacher, so in the summers, she would help him with getting caught up on paperwork and such.”

I also told them about the pub and the general layout of the building, including thatJack,Wade, andEllieall lived in the apartments on the top floor.Imentioned the newer guys we’d recently added, includingAxel,Diego, andDane, and what each of their specialties was.

“Then there’sRuthie, who is our receptionist,”Iadded. “Sheschedules all our client meetings, organizes all our invoices, and basically makes sure we do all our boring paperwork.ItwasRuthiewho ultimately started me on the path to finding you.”

I explained how she’d been looking for a website designer and hadCat’ssite pulled up in the office whenIwalked by.I’dinstantly recognized the logo, and the search had begun from there.

“I can definitely help you out with the website, especially after everything you’re doing forValand me,”Catsaid.

“I’ll introduce you toRuthieso you can find out what she needs, but you’re not doing this for free,”Itold her. “I’mnot helping you andValout becauseIexpect favors in return.”

I didn’t know whyIadded that, but it was important for me to make her realize that my helping them was not becauseIexpected something in exchange.

“So, where do you live,Vince,”Valasked. “Apartmentor house?Howbig is it?Canyou let us know a bit more about our soon-to-be temporary living situation?”

I told them about my condo, that it was in an old warehouse that they’d converted into loft spaces.Threebedrooms, though the third one was currently my office, but it had a futon, so there would be sleeping space for both of them if they wanted separate rooms.Twobathrooms and plenty of storage for them to stow some of their stuff into until they moved out.

The rest of the ride was filled with stories about our childhoods, learning more about each other’s families, and, unfortunately for my sake, listening to an ungodly number ofTaylorSwiftsongs.

9

CAT

It was a fourteen-hour trip from our apartment inIowatoVince’splace inGeorgia.Wedrove most of the trip the first day but stopped just outside ofNashville.Westayed the night at a hotel –Vincein one room andValand me in the one next door.Itwas a really nice hotel room, whichVincepaid for, and he wouldn’t even hear of taking my credit card or me trying toVenmohim our share.Iwas kind of irked but also utterly exhausted, soIchose not to fight him on it.

We got up early the next day, ate our free continental breakfast, and got back on the road.Vincesaid he hoped to get to his place before lunch time so he could bribe his buddies with a free meal if they helped us lug all our stuff intoVince’sstorage unit.Hedidn’t know it yet, butIintended to pay for lunch.Vincehad already done way too much for us.Iwasn’t going to be a charity case.

As we nearedAtlanta, the traffic certainly started to pick up.Mostpeople hated traffic, andIunderstood because it meant adding more time to your day that you’d rather spend doing something else, butIlooked at traffic in a different way.Trafficmeant lots of people, and lots of people meant security.

One of the things theMarshalstaught us when we went into hiding was that bigger cities meant more places to hide.Youcould walk twenty city blocks inNewYork,Chicago, and evenCleveland, and no one would even look at you.Youwalk a few blocks in a small town, and everyone stares at you because you aren’t from there.Thenthey start asking questions about you, and word spreads quickly.Whenyou want to hide, you don’t want people to spread info regarding your whereabouts.Andif the bad guys have a lot of money and resources, they can even tap into social media accounts, city traffic cams, and more.

Val andIhad lived in more than a dozen locations in the last seven years.Allof them were medium to big cities, such asPhoenix, thenRaleigh, over toSanAntonio.NextwasMinneapolis, back out west toSanDiego, thenDenver, and several more.Weended up inBostonwhen we were finally told we would be safe and no longer in need of government protection.Asuburb ofDesMoines,Iowa, had been my test.Itwas not a big city at all.Infact, it was the smallest place we’d ever lived, butValwanted to try something different, andIfigured we could see how it was in a location that didn’t have as many people.

“Alright, ladies, this is our exit,”Vincesaid, pulling me out of my thoughts.

I was surprised as close as we were to the city that there were so many trees, andItoldVinceas much.

“Atlanta is called a city in a forest,” he explained. “Beautifulto look at, but kind of a pain in the ass every time it storms because those trees come down and either land on someone’s house, or power lines, or cars.”

Ahh,Ihadn’t thought of that, butIremembered some of the dangerousSantaAnawinds that came through while we were inSanDiego, and those were fierce.

We pulled down a street that had several mixed-use buildings with shops and restaurants on the ground level and apartments or condos above them.Someof them appeared to be older but renovated.Otherswere brand-new and modern-looking, but they all seemed to blend in cohesively.

“The security business and restaurant are coming up on your left,”Vincesaid, pointing to an older brick building.Itlooked like it was kept up very nicely and modernized.Ithad two rows of parking in the front and more parking around the right side and back, likely for the restaurant.

“And here’s my place on the right,” he said, shaking me out of my focus and turning my head in the other direction.

“Helluva commute,”Valjoked from the back seat.

“Most days,Iwalk ifIcan,”Vincesaid. “Plus, there’s a great bakery below my place, so it makes me feel better about eating that junk ifIcan walk it off on my way to work.”

Vince did not have an ounce of fat on his body, soIhighly doubted he was worried about his physique at all.

“Are they hiring?”Valprobed from the back seat. “Ineed a job and could get you the family and friends discount.”

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