Page 5 of Girl, Fractured

But seventy-three-year-old reflexes were no match for a bullet.

CHAPTER TWO

Ella had seen her share of FBI safe houses over the years.Most were the kind of places that made you wish you’d taken your chances with whoever was trying to kill you; the kind designed for convenience and not comfort.

But this one was straight out of a real estate porn magazine.Six bedrooms’ worth of f-you money and a garden that probably spanned two zip codes.As she peered through doors on her way through the hallway, Ella had also spotted an indoor pool that glowed turquoise even on this overcast Monday morning.

‘Cup,’ said the baby at Ella’s feet.The chubby-cheeked little boy used Ella’s legs to haul himself upright then offered Ella a plastic mug.According to Ripley, he was one year old, and he’d clearly already mastered the art of pretend dining.Ella was apparently his favorite new customer.

‘Mmm, delicious.’Ella offered a sound of exaggerated satisfaction.The baby’s cheeks dimpled when he smiled - pure Ripley genetics there.It was strange seeing her partner’s features softened and remixed in this tiny human package.Then he slapped her knee, which Ella took as a positive sign, and collapsed onto all fours.

Mia Ripley arrived in from the kitchen and planted a real cup in front of Ella.She took a seat on the other side of the room.‘He doesn’t usually like strangers.’

‘Must be my maternal magnetism.’Ella hadn’t spent much time around kids, but there was something irresistible about Max.Maybe it was the pure, unfiltered joy he found in the basics.Even pretend tea.‘How’s this place working out for you?’

‘I’d rather a killer not have shown up to my son’s front door, but as far as safe houses go, this one’s pretty good.’

Ella thought back to the hair that had been left outside Ripley’s old house.The same house she’d given to her son when she’d downsized recently.The killer hadn’t known about the change in residence, which was fortunate because it meant they were working with outdated information, but it meant that Ripley’s family were the ones in danger instead of her.

‘Edis really went all out for you.’

‘The Attorney General uses this place when foreign dignitaries need protection,’ Ripley said as she tracked her grandson’s movements across the carpet.‘There’s a play area outside.It’s got a climbing area in the shape of a pirate ship.’

‘That’s what everyone needs.Max must be happy.’

‘He’s got everything he could want here.He doesn’t seem to be missing his old house.’

‘Dare I say it, but this place is an upgrade even from your old fortress.Is this what you do every day?’

‘Yup.Used to be Max would come to my place, but we’re all just staying here for the time being.I’m on duty until twelve every day, then my son gets home.’

Since hanging up her badge and gun six months ago, Mia Ripley’s life had been less serial cases, more cereal boxes.She seemed to have settled into the lifestyle quite well.Max ambled over again and began taking a casual interest in Ella’s sneakers.She raised her foot and gently rubbed Max’s face with her laces.He laughed like it was the most sidesplitting incident of his short life.

‘Funny aren’t they.Babies,’ she said.

‘Yeah.’

‘I like their chubby thighs.’

‘You should get yourself a few.’

Ella clutched her leg.‘Chubby thighs?I could use some of those.’

‘No.Kids.’

Ella teased Max again, wondering when she’d gotten so comfortable with this domestic scene.Children had always been variables in her life, but something about Max bypassed her detachment.‘I don’t know.I’m either too young or too old, depending on who you ask.’

‘You’re what, 30?’

‘31.’

‘Young enough for anything you want.Kids help put the world in perspective.’

The truth was that Ella had indeed thought about it, but only in that abstract way you think about distant countries you might someday visit; a possibility filed away for some theoretical future that kept receding with each slice of human depravity you saw.

‘Sometimes I want them.What woman doesn’t?It’s hardwired.’

‘If you don’t have kids you end up as one of those middle-aged women who pushes dogs in a stroller.’

---