Page 8 of Sean

He stalked back toward the house, reviewing his possible options. If he was by himself, he’d hunker down and wait for them to come at him. But that was not a possibility with Julia and the kids. He had to move them to a safer place. He paused on the deck and looked up at the stars overhead. They were bright, the Milky Way visible. Like Amos, he was also a watcher of the night sky and had been since he was a kid.

As he looked upward, he let the idea that he had been pushing away come to him. There was a place that would be safe he could take them to, a place where they’d be surrounded by caring adults. He squeezed his eyes shut, not liking the option one damn bit for himself. But this wasn’t about him, and he wasn’t going to be a selfish dick and deny the woman and children he was protecting a safe haven. Decision made, he tapped out the pre-arranged knock on the door and went inside.

He found Julia in his bedroom, helping the kids gather up their toys and clothing. Her motions were mechanical, almost too calm, not the panicked actions he might have expected. She was brave. He’d give her that.

“We’re leaving tonight,” she said to him. “I hope once we’re gone no one will bother you.”

“I’m going with you.” No way was she leaving without him.

“That wasn’t part of our arrangement.” She made eye contact with him. “Kids, go get your things from the bathroom.” She waited until they left. “I’m serious. I shouldn’t have dragged you into this. Like I said, if we’re not here, Wilson will leave you alone. His beef is with me.”

“Keeping you all safe was our arrangement. I promised you and Ethan that,” he told her. “That job continues, even if the location changes. I have a destination in mind. Do you?” He saw instantly that she didn’t. She was just fleeing, and that was dangerous. He didn’t much like his own plan, but it was a hell of a lot better than blind running.

She sighed. “No. I was just going to drive until I found a motel, I guess.”

“In a car that the authorities are already looking for?” he questioned gently, and her lips pressed together.

“Not ideal, but…” He could sense that she was coming around to the idea that he was going with them.

“When will you be ready to leave?” he asked as he went to the closet in the room and grabbed the go bag he always kept packed. Old habits never died.

“Ten minutes at the most.”

“Good,” he said, firmly committing to what he was doing. He added a few items from his dresser to the bag, trying not to think about where they were going. It was a two-hour drive normally, but he planned to take a circuitous route in case they were followed.

She caught his hand as he zipped up his bag. “Thank you for rescuing Amos. Thank you for helping us.” Her warm fingers were wrapped around his. The simple contact robbed him of speech. No one had touched him in so long. All he could manage was a nod before he shouldered his bag and left the room.

FIVE

Julia felt only slightly safer when they were in Sean’s truck headed away from the house. He’d been incredibly efficient about moving them out. The groceries he’d bought were now in a cooler in the bed of the truck along with their bags. She’d seen him go to his gun closet and select a few weapons, but she had no idea where he’d sequestered those.

What she did know was that he was an incredibly brave and honorable man, willing to go above and beyond to help a woman and kids who were practically strangers to him. And she was grateful. If it weren’t for him, she’d have just driven until finding some place to stop, where she would have spent the night on guard and not gotten a wink of sleep. She couldn’t say where the next day would have taken her, and the thought of wandering directionless had her feeling a little sick. It wasn’t that she minded moving around. She’d grown up with a mother who moved frequently for her work, so Julia was never overly attached to a place. Her work as a photographer often took her to new destinations, and she’d always enjoyed that. She’d spent much of her adult life being a nomad with a home base in Virginia, so she’d be near her sister, even if she was on the road most of the time. But she’d always had a sense of purpose and direction—had always known where she was going. Since she’d gone on the run with the kids, the only clear direction in her life was to get away. Away from Wilson, away from danger…for a little while, at least, before it caught up with her again.

She longed for stability, longed to stay in the same location for more than a day or two and know that she was safe. If Sean could make that happen, she was indebted to him.

“I’m going to do some zigging and zagging,” he said to her quietly. The kids were singing the alphabet song in the back seat, which was good for Amos. It gave him something to focus on. She fully expected him to have nightmares tonight and for several nights to come, but he was holding it together as well as a four-year-old could. “It’ll be a long night.”

“They’ll fall asleep eventually.” Another round of the same song began.

“When?” Sean shot her a look that was almost humorous, almost a grin.

“I can’t make any promises. Don’t forget you had a chance to bail on us,” she reminded him.

“Hey, how about we play twenty questions?” he asked the kids instead of responding to her.

“We usually play I Spy. How does twenty questions work?” Lucy spoke up.

“Hard to play I Spy at night,” Julia said. It was too dark to spy anything in the car, and they were driving on lonely roads that didn’t offer much scenery. “In twenty questions, one of the players thinks of an object and the others ask questions to figure out what it is.” Just then her phone chirped with a message.

“It’s Helen and Sophie,” she said. “I should let them know what’s going on.”

“Go ahead. I’ve got this. Okay, kids, I’m thinking of an animal. Now you ask me questions to figure out what it is.”

“Is it a horse?” Lucy shouted as Julia checked the message, seeing that the other women were checking in.

“No, and you might want to start with more general questions. Like, is it white?” Sean suggested.

Julia turned her attention to texting as Amos repeated the question Sean provided. “We’re on the move. Wilson caught up with us and tried to take Amos. Safe now.”

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