Page 64 of How Much for the Whole Night?

“Agreed,” was all he said. “This is something different. It used to be that Sanctuary only provided safe houses for people who needed them, the ones who fell off the radar, people in need. But this world won’t let us do that alone anymore, and we’re increasingly pulled into situations that are outside of the remit my dad originally set. So, I decided I wanted to set up a team that runs alongside Sanctuary but works in the shadows, the undercover side, the criminal investigation side, a team who can work with Sanctuary but also have autonomy where the situation demands it. The team will have our backup, resources, finances, but it would be something new. A wholly independent shadow team. I know you’ll want to talk this over with Josh and Ben, but I’d like you to head up the team, bringing in your own people, working in the morally gray areas, helping people who need it. You have your choice of where to locate but we do have an extensive property in Maine for this and for helping kids that would be suitable. Somewhere for both you and Josh to work together.”

He paused as Josh squeezed my hand. It wasn’t me who had a stake in this and the touch of his fingers settled my anger.

“What do you want to do?” I asked Josh.

“I want to help the kids here, I want to have a safe place for them,” he said, with conviction in his expression.

“We already have that in development if you’d be interested in heading that up,” Jake suggested to Josh.

“I’d be interested,” Josh confirmed. “It depends on what Ben wants.”

I leaned past Josh to see his son. “Ben?”

He glanced up from petting Oreo and gave me a smile like his dad’s. “That’s easy. I want to stay with you both, but I’d like to maybe go to school, help Dad with the kids my age, and maybe end up being a special agent working for your team in the shadows,” the last he said with a broad grin.

“Do you think we should take time to think about this?” I asked them both.

“No.” Josh said.

“Nope.” Ben added.

I faced the monitors and nodded. “We’re in, but I want my team; I want Ryder and Luca.”

“It’s one hundred percent your team,” Sean said, “only the Ryder thing won’t be happening.”

Regret filled me. “Because I shot him and everyone thinks he’s dead, so that’s blown his cover everywhere?”

Jake and Sean exchanged glances again. “No,” Jake said after a pause. “Ryder’sdeathhas been reframed as fake with surprising support from August. Which throwsyouunder the bus, as he had to give up your name. Hence the safe house idea for you and your family, but also it was the best way of him getting into a new situation.”

“What kind of situation?” This didn’t sound good—Ryder was one of my best friends, a trusted lieutenant, and the way that Jake used the word situation filled me with dread.

“Ryder is the one we’ve sent in undercover to rescue August’s daughter.”

Epilogue

Josh

Kingscliff wasn’t likeany safe house I’d imagined, not that I had a lot of experience in safe houses, but it wasn’t a small cabin in the forest, or a farm in rural Tennessee.

It was a Cape Cod mansion, strong and proud and very white, with a collection of outbuildings, dug deep into the rocky coast of Maine. Close to the border with Canada, the place had been home to Ben and me for two weeks now. The glistening waters of Cliff Creek were visible from the vast deck at the front of the house, the rear of the place backed onto forest, and the only way into the complex was down a was blink-and-you-miss-it exit from the main road. The mansion had its own private beach—a mix of sand and stones leading to the rolling waters of an enticing ocean. In practical terms it needed a shit-ton of work, which is what I was in charge of.

Some change from being an accountant to mustering the trades working on finishing the job. All had been through background checks—it was a team Sanctuary had put in place—and all I had to do was make sure things were completed to the complicated specifications, which included so much security I suspect not even the tiniest bug could get in unannounced once it was done.

Kingscliff was planned to be a safe house for Sanctuary; a specific rehabilitation and re-homing site for stolen kids and their families who’d been destroyed and pulled apart by trafficking. With a medical facility—Lois in charge—dormitories, quiet rooms, family accommodation, and best of all, classrooms. Still, it was a long way off from being there.

For me and Ben, this was our new home.

Plus, Ethan of course.

The three of us were a family in the making.

Ben was seeing a counselor, or rather Ben and I were seeing one, sometimes together, others apart. She was unpicking the years of uncertainty for Ben, and his relationship with his mother, and for me she was helping me to see that I was capable of keeping Ben safe.

As to Ben’s mom, Ruth was still at Charles Rouxier’s side, still giving him unwavering support and ready to go to the wall for whatever he was giving her. Money, I assume. I noticed that with every news report she seemed more exhausted, and maybe it was because I’d known her intimately, but there was darkness under her eyes that makeup couldn’t hide.

To her credit she’d signed legal papers meaning I had sole custody of Ben.

Something else for Ben to unpick in counseling, although he seemed happy enough, and brighter each day.

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