by K. C. Crowne
Graham called out over the deafening sound, “Follow me.”
We were on our hands and knees using furniture to block us as we hurried toward the kitchen. The crackling of wood signaled the front door being opened. We had to hurry if we wanted to get out alive. Footsteps flooded the living room just as Graham stood up and unlocked the door. Mason was behind me, hidden behind a wall, ready to shoot anyone who came down the short hallway to the kitchen.
Graham checked the garage and motioned for me to go out. He tossed me the keys. “Get in the truck, get it started,” he said. “We’ll be there in two seconds.”
I did exactly as I was told, climbing into the pickup truck and starting the engine. The loud roar of the motor likely gave away our location. The passenger side door flew open, and Mason climbed into the backseat.
“Where’s Graham?”
“He’s coming.”
Each second that ticked by felt like an eternity. I wasn’t leaving without him, but I worried he might have been shot in the chaos.
The passenger side door flew open again, and Graham hopped into the seat. He barely had a chance to close the door before Mason opened the garage door and shouted, “Go, now. Hit the gas and just go.”
I sped out of the garage and onto the road. Up ahead, I saw a truck blocking the exit. My heart pounded in my ears, unsure if we could get past it.
“Take a sharp right now,” Graham commanded through gritted teeth. He sounded like he was in pain.
I glanced over and saw blood spewing from his shoulder. Mason was leaning over from the backseat, giving him orders. “Get the first aid kit from the glove compartment.”
Graham was more focused on giving me orders. “Right, Jack. Take a right now.”
“There’s no road—”
“Trust me,” Graham said, his breathing heavy and ragged. “Do it.”
I didn’t have time to argue, even if I’d wanted to. Shots continued hitting the truck. We were blocked in.
I took a right through the thick woods, surrounded by trees. I kept my foot on the gas even though the path grew unwieldy.
“Keep driving; this will take you to a road,” Graham said. “From there, take a left.”
I nodded, too focused on the path to answer.
The gunshots had stopped; they hadn’t been prepared for us to literally go off-road. As I approached the road, I noticed it wasn’t the same road that led to the driveway, the one that was blocked. I took a left as instructed.
“You can slow down now,” Graham told me, heaving a deep sigh. “We’ll be in the city limits soon. They aren’t going to be shooting at us in the middle of town. Not if they’re smart.”
We entered the town of Sunville a few minutes later.
“How you holding up?” I asked Graham.
“I’ve been hit worse. It’s just a flesh wound.”
Mason had managed to stop the bleeding. Graham’s shoulder was wrapped pretty well with what looked to be an old t-shirt.
“Where should we go now?” I asked.
The truck was quiet. Apparently, no one had an answer to that question.
Cassie
I made the call I’d been dreading. It was very early in the morning; my dad might not even be awake, but he answered on the second ring.
“Cassie?” His voice was rough as if he’d been awakened. “Is everything okay?”
“Not really, Dad.” My voice cracked. I took a deep breath and made my request. “I know you’re not willing to help me, but we need somewhere to go. I know you still have the spare key to Vince’s condo at the resort. We need to go somewhere not connected to any of us.”
Vince was a friend of my dad’s; they had gone to college together. We’d stayed at his condo once, and he told us to keep the spare key, just in case we ever needed to get away. It was a nice gesture, one that we hadn’t taken advantage of until now.
“What kind of danger are you in, Cassie?” He sounded more alert. “Whatever it is, I can help you.”
“Thank you. For now, that’s all we need.”
“Come home, Cassie. Whatever’s wrong, I can fix it.”
I remembered being a child and thinking my parents could fix anything that ever went wrong. I had trusted them. I still trusted them, for the most part, to at least try to keep us safe. Even after everything, I could tell my dad was sincerely worried about me.
“I just need the key, Dad. You can’t fix this, but don’t worry, I’m with Teddy, we’ll be okay.”
“Teddy’s with you? He’s taking care of things?”
Teddy wasn’t going to the department, no, which is likely what Dad meant. He was a lawyer; he trusted the police.
“Yes, he’s aware of everything, and he agrees this is what we need to do.”
He was quiet for a moment, then said, “Cassie, I’m sorry about everything. I really am. If you come home, I promise we can work this out.”
Samuel popped his head into the hallway and mouthed to me, “We need to go.”
I nodded. “I don’t really have time to talk right now, Dad, I’m sorry,” I said. “I just need the key. We need to get out of town.”
“Well, if Teddy thinks this is best, I’ll give you the key. But please, sweetie, be careful.”
My father rarely ever called me sweetie. Something had changed in him since our argument weeks before. Something had shifted. It gave me hope that maybe, once this was all over with, we could find a way to work through our differences.
Samuel gave me a look. It wasn’t the time to talk over our problems. “Thanks, Dad. I’ll be over there soon.”
I hung up the phone and went back into the living room. My son was asleep on Madison’s lap, safe and sound for now. I was determined that no matter what, I would protect Owen.
“He said it’s fine. We’ll get the key and head out,” I said. “It’s a couple of hours away from here.”
“Everything ready to go, then?” Elijah asked.
“I think so.” I had packed everything of ours, and Teddy and Madison had done the same. No matter what, we would’ve had to leave, and we were ready.
“Good. Samuel will drive you in Teddy’s car. I’ll take Madison, Teddy, and Zoey in the truck.”
My hands were shaking. Hell, everything on me was shaking. But I managed to nod. “Sounds good.”
“Let’s go. Samuel will protect you and Owen, and I’ll be right behind you. Get in the car as quickly as possible, and let’s hit the road.”
I picked Owen up and cradled him in my arms. He fussed a bit; this was so hard on him, and I felt horrible for it. My poor boy just wanted to sleep for more than a couple of hours without being woken up. “Soon, baby. Soon,” I whispered to him as we hurried from the house and to the car.
I got in the back seat of Teddy’s car with Owen, buckling him in as Samuel started the car. Elijah was already in the truck, and we pulled out together. They were right behind us, nearly tailgating us.
I leaned down low in the seat, hiding from view. I rested against the car seat and kept talking to Owen, telling him that everything would be alright. Mostly I was talking to myself, but I had no one to comfort me. I had to comfort us both.
I gave Samuel my parent’s address, and Teddy ran up to get the key. I remained in the car, tucked away safely. I didn’t even get to see my father, as I didn’t want to sit up. It only took a second before we were on the road again.
“It’s a long drive,” Samuel said from the front seat. “You might want to get some rest.”
My eyes were wide open. Even though I could feel exhaustion taking its toll on me, there was too much adrenaline running through my body. I would never be able to sleep. “I doubt I can.”
“Understandable. Just know that we’ll do everything in our power to keep all of you safe.”
I hardly knew this man, but Jack trusted him. Even if I didn’t understand the reasons behind him helping us, I trusted him. I had to.
I wasn’t sure we had any other choice.
&n
bsp; The sun had come up at some point in our drive. The sunlight seemed to bring a renewed hope. Scary things always happened at night, in the midst of darkness, right?
My eyes were growing heavier with sleep and had just closed when Samuel announced, “We’re here.”
I sat up in the seat and stared out the window at the familiar ski resort. It was the off-season, and the snow had all but melted. But the town had a small lake, and people still came to stay and enjoy the great outdoors year-round. Just not as many. It was less crowded, but there were still people around - some folks lived here permanently in the condos nestled against the lake.
“It’s beautiful up here,” Samuel remarked.
“It is. My family came up last winter to go skiing,” I said. “If you think this is something, you should see it in winter.”
“I bet it’s something,” he agreed.
I directed him to the private parking spot reserved for the condo. There were two spots, so the truck pulled up beside us.
The men swarmed Madison and me as we got out of the car and hurried toward the elevator. An elderly couple smiled and cooed at the babies as we walked past. We had to wait a little longer since the first elevator was full of college kids.
Jack had said to go somewhere with other people. We were safer in numbers. So seeing all these people around made me feel safer, but I just wanted to get up to the condo and out of sight. The longer we lingered, the higher the chance someone would see us. We could have been followed, even though the guys were looking for that. Anything could happen.
The second elevator arrived, and we crammed into it – Madison and Teddy had to wait for the next one with Elijah. There was simply not enough room for all of us because of the giant men with us.
My hands were shaking as the elevator opened, and we hurried to the condo. I unlocked the door, and Samuel rushed us inside. He stayed by the door, directing me to step further inside, away from the door and window.
My heart raced as I waited for my best friend and her family. I heard the elevator beep, and I prayed it was them. Samuel checked the peephole, then opened the door. Even though I’d only seen her moments ago, it felt like an eternity. I ran to Madison, and we did our best to hug each other even though we were carrying our children. Tears streamed down our faces.
“We’re safe here,” I told her, speaking as much for myself as her. “I’m confident about that.”
The men had already scoured the place, checking for God knows what, and Samuel said, “It’s clear.”
Elijah nodded. “There are two bedrooms, so the women can have those. Teddy will stay with Madison at all times, and one of us will be with Cassie at all times. The other will stay in here, watching the door.” Samuel nodded.
“Stay with me? As in the room with me?”
We were on the fourth floor; I wasn’t sure anyone could get to us through the windows – only the front door.
“At least outside your bedroom door, so if we hear anything, we can come running,” Samuel said.
I nodded. “Yes, thank you.”
“I think we should all get some rest,” Elijah said. “I’ll take first watch. Samuel can pull up a chair near Cassie’s bedroom and sleep there. I’ll run down and unpack the truck while Samuel and Teddy keep an eye on things here.”
From the looks on everyone’s face, I wasn’t sure if any of us would be sleeping anytime soon, but we all nodded anyway.
Jack
We’d been on the road for several hours when Graham’s phone rang. Mason picked it out of Graham’s coat jacket and answered it.
“Yes?” he said. Mason turned to me and said, “It’s Elijah.”
Mason put the call on speakerphone, and Elijah’s voice came from the other end of the line. “We’re at the condo. Everyone’s safe and resting now,” he said. “Where are you?”
“We ran into some trouble,” Mason said. “Nothing we couldn’t handle. We got out of the cabin and are on the road now.”
I quickly added, “Hank knows about Cassie and Owen. They’re not safe.”
“We’re keeping an eye on them,” Elijah promised. “But, this could mean a change in plans.”
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“Well, if they already know about Cassie and Owen, maybe it would be better if we were together. Power in numbers. Besides, no one knows about this place, and I don’t think we were followed. If you’re not being followed, I think it would be a safe place to gather and work out what we’re going to do next.”
I glanced at Mason through the rear-view mirror. Graham piped up. “I agree. I think that’s for the best.” His voice sounded pained. He hadn’t said much; I thought he might have fallen asleep.
“Is that Graham? Is he okay?”
“Just a flesh wound,” Graham said.
Elijah let out a low whistle. “Sounds like you did run into some trouble.”
“Nothing we couldn’t handle,” he repeated.
I wasn’t so sure about that. There had been too many of them and not enough of us. We got lucky, at best.
“Sounds like Graham needs to get somewhere and get fixed up,” Elijah observed. “So meet here. We’ll figure out what to do next. I’ll text you the address.”
Elijah got off the phone, and Mason entered the address into the GPS. The directions started immediately. “Make a U-turn and head North on Mountain View Road,” the robotic voice read to us. Distance – 95 miles.
I let out a sigh and looked at Graham, who adjusted in his seat. He winced but didn’t let out an audible sound. “Think you can hold on for a couple more hours?”
“Listen, I was once shot three times in my right arm, abdomen and left thigh,” he listed. “And I still managed to crawl ten miles through a ditch.”
Mason snickered from the back but tried to cover it up with a fake cough when Graham glared at him. “Ten miles? You might be exaggerating there a bit.”
“Maybe the distance is a bit off, sure, but I was shot three times. I have the scars to prove it. Wanna see?” Graham started to pull his shirt up.
“No, thanks, I believe you,” I said with a laugh.
“This is nothing,” Graham said, getting situated next to me. “Keep your eyes on the road, and don’t worry about me.”
I pulled up my jacket, covering my head and face as I exited the truck. We parked away from the condo complex, leaving the truck in a bar’s parking lot. We would walk the rest of the way.
“Need some help?” Mason asked his brother as we got out of the truck.
“Nah, man, I’m good,” Graham said. He tried to hide the grimace on his face. His shoulder hurt more than he was letting on. “Don’t want to scare anyone, so let’s not act like I’m injured, alright? If I can handle war, I can surely handle a quick walk to a fancy condo in tourist paradise.”
Graham’s mood had taken a slight turn since the incident at the house. No longer the cheerful, talkative one of the bunch, he seemed to want to be left alone. I wondered briefly how bad it really was.
As if he read my mind, Mason said, “It’s not too bad. We just need to clean it up, and I can stitch it when we get to the condo. The bullet just grazed him.”
“See? So stop babying me,” Graham growled. He took the lead, walking a few steps ahead of us.
“Is he always this stubborn?” I murmured.
Mason chuckled and ran a hand over his beard. “Yeah, but to be fair, we all can be. Thanks to our dad and grandad, most likely.”
“Your mom’s dad, right?”
“Mmm hmm,” Mason answered. “He helped raise us since Dad was always working. Grandad was retired; a war injury put him out of work, and he stayed busy by raising us right. He always said our mama was too soft on us. He was probably right.” He chuckled.
I thought about Owen. If something happened to me, I pictured Cassie’s dad being a lot like their grandpa, and I wasn’t sure yet whether that was a good thing or not. “How was it growing up without your dad around?”
Mason shrugged. “Pretty normal, I guess. We didn’t know much else. Sure, we missed him, and it would’ve been nice to have had him around more. He missed a lot of little league games and graduations, but he always made sure to send a card.”
“I can’t imagine.”
“Imagine what? Not having a dad or—”
“No, leaving my kid like that,” I confessed. “I didn’t know it was possible to care this much for someone until I had Owen. The idea of missing out on his life scares me more than dying.”
“I hear ya. I mean, I don’t have kids. They don’t really work well for this kind of life.”
“Will you two jackasses stop chatting and hurry up?” Graham grouched. He was at the back entrance to the condo complex, holding the door open. He smirked at us, to let us know he was joking - mostly.
“He hurts more than he lets on, doesn’t he?” I asked, cocking an eyebrow.
“Yeah, but more his pride than anything else. Give him some time; he’ll get over it. We’re just in the grit of it now,” he told me. “Graham is great with planning and talking to people until shit hits the fan. Then we all kinda shut down. Including Graham.”
We entered the complex and walked to the elevator. The elevator ride was silent. I was the first one out the door when we reached the fourth floor. The condo was the first one right off the elevator, and I knocked quietly.
“It’s us,” I said. “Your…brothers.”
It felt weird saying those words. I’d never had brothers before. But it was safer than calling out our names. The door opened, and we rushed inside.
“Where’s Cassie?” I asked the moment I was in.
Elijah pointed to the hallway. “First door on your right,” he said. “Samuel’s camping out right outside it.”
I was at the door before he finished the sentence. Samuel was in a chair, leaning back but awake. It was nice seeing them taking this seriously. I knocked on the door, not sure if there would be an answer.
“Yes?” Cassie’s sweet voice called out.