Page 33 of Treasured
Joseph hugged his sister. “You need to be safe. He’s completely gone off the rails.”
I needed to complete my mission too. My muscles tensed, but I made coffee while I said, “I can take her to Virginia for a few days to get away from here until he’s been arrested.”
Her brother squeezed her hand and said, “Okay, a few days will be good for both of you.”
I pressed the button for the coffee to start and waved for her brother to join me in the kitchen. Mary was still unusually still and not so vibrant at that moment. I said, “Joseph, I have one thing I need to handle. Can you stay with your sister for an hour to help her pack?”
Joseph nodded. “Of course.”
Good. We were on the same team. I went to Mary and said, “I’ll be right back.”
Her eyes met mine. For a second, I swear I saw fear. “You don’t have to rush. We’ll be fine,” she said.
I kissed her forehead as her brother stared at us both. I let her go and said, “Keep your phone on and don’t leave. If there is any problem, call the police. I’ll call you when I get a new phone on the way so you can call me too.”
“Okay,” she said with a sigh.
I squeezed her hand. “We’ll be on a plane in a few hours.”
She let out an audible breath then rose up on her tiptoes to kiss.
For a moment, I didn’t move at all.
Then I let her go and nodded to her brother, grabbing a key.
The police were still milling around, but I headed toward town to pick up a phone at the local store I’d passed when I went to her apartment the first time.
Five minutes later, I had a phone and hopped in my car. As I drove toward the factory, I called Cole Securities. Mark answered.
I typed in my security code, then he spoke: “Thunder Thighs, he has set up some meetings the past twenty-four hours. We should have come with you.”
“We’re fine.” My heart was still strumming from that morning. I stared at the road. “He tried to blow up my girlfriend and her son. I’m going to plant the bug, but I’ll be back in Virginia tonight.”
Mark then said, “Be the fuck careful there. If I could do it, I would.”
I turned onto the highway. “I’m more worried about Mary right now.”
“Keep your head on straight.”
I saw my exit sign. I would plant the bug then get Mary out fast. I needed to call her with my new number, so I said, “I’m almost here. I’ll plant the bug in ten minutes.”
Done. I then called her, and her voice was soft. I refused to let her slip away because I had failed her. She and her son were too special.
Chapter Twelve
Mary
My heart thumped in my chest. When Dwayne had left, my skin prickled, like I would die without him.
Bruce and Joseph were both here. My stomach shouldn’t have been in twists. Joseph played with my son as he drank his coffee.
Slowly I made a list of everything I needed to accomplish that seemed endless, though the time it took was probably just a minute or so. Done, I jumped up and rushed to my room. I found a suitcase for myself and one for Bruce. I tossed his things in first. For a few days, he would need diapers, clothes, toys. When we’d gone to my cousin’s wedding in Napa, his bag had been bigger.
Had I packed the stroller, and was the car seat still in Dwayne’s rental? I had a headache, to be honest. Thinking wasn’t easy. Joseph came up behind me as I stuffed clothes in a bag as I said, “I don’t know if I should go.”
“You’re not making sense.” He hugged me and said, “Someone tried to murder you.” When he let me go, I had tears in my eyes. “You either go with your boyfriend to the beach or you come to my penthouse and don’t leave until this is over.”
Arthur would find out where Joseph lived, and Joseph had enough on his plate. That same thought had kept me in the shelter rather than my brother’s place the year before.
