Not Our Daughter

Nine

Cole pushed his old truck to the limit while racing home. The tires squealed at every sharp turn, and the vehicle’s whole body rattled, as if it might come apart at any moment. He was grateful the truck had started right up in the grocery store parking lot. Every second mattered. At this point, he had no idea how many Feds were already in town. Was the FBI agent alone? Was he still trying to figure out if Cole was the man formerly known as Greg Olsen? Or had that match already been confirmed with the photographs he’d taken earlier, and now the FBI agent was just awaiting the cavalry? Cole had to plan for the latter. They could take no chances. But how had they been found? It had to have been the money transfer from the offshore account that morning. There was no other possible explanation on how the Feds had shown up on his doorstep only hours later. He cursed. He’d rolled the dice and lost. And it might cost them everything.

Their two-story home was a quick drive from the grocery store in the back of a neighborhood called Grand Park. He hoped he’d just bought himself an extra five to ten minutes by jabbing a screwdriver into the FBI agent’s back tire. He pressed the gas pedal all the way down, his heart hammering inside his chest. His whole world felt like it was spinning. This was an out-of-body experience. His fingers were numb and shaking as he tried to clutch the steering wheel. He always knew there was a chance they’d be found. They stayed ready. But as the years had turned into a full decade, Cole had started to believe they might be in the clear. He certainly knew Lisa felt that way. They had both been dead wrong.

He dreaded telling Lisa it was time to immediately abandon their whole lives—again. Ten years just wiped away in a single moment. And on Jade’s birthday, no less. That reality punched him even harder in the gut. Jade had been only four years old the last time they’d had to pick up and leave. She was easy to fool back then. It was a fun adventure. They’d had plenty of car games and a bagful of her favorite snacks ready. She didn’t remember much about it to this day. But this was entirely different. They had no choice but to introduce her to a frightening new reality: her parents were both wanted fugitives. There was no way to predict how she would respond, but she needed to trust them and go willingly.

Any other response from her could be disastrous.

Cole skidded around a last turn and sped down his street. He let out a quick sigh of relief when he spotted his house up ahead with no other cars parked out front. He’d feared the Feds might already be there taking his family into custody. He slammed on his brakes and parked on the street. He didn’t even want to waste time in the driveway. He planned to take off immediately after telling Lisa the brutal news. He jumped out of the truck and sprinted up to the front door. He scrambled for his keys in his pocket, quickly unlocked the front door, and stepped inside. He stopped, took a deep breath. He resisted the urge to yell out his wife’s name, knowing it would only set the whole house into panic. He needed to do this as calmly as possible in order to also keep Lisa calm.

Before heading to the kitchen, he stepped into his small study and opened the bottom right drawer of his office desk. Inside, he grabbed two cell phones. They were burner phones he kept replacing each year for this exact moment. They would need to ditch their current phones to make sure they weren’t being tracked. He could hear noise coming from around the corner. He took another deep breath, let it out slowly, and circled back to the kitchen, where Lisa stood over a chocolate cake. She was busy sticking colorful birthday candles into the chocolate icing and didn’t notice him at first. His wife was smiling and humming a happy song. It sounded like U2’s “Beautiful Day.” He felt sick to his stomach. It might be a long time before she smiled like this again—maybe ever. It crushed him.

She turned, spotted him standing there. Her smile grew even bigger.

“Hey, didn’t hear you come inside. Where’s the ice cream?”

He swallowed, stepped toward her. Her brow bunched at the sight of his tight face. He could tell she immediately knew something was wrong. He could never hide anything.

“What is it, Cole?” she said, suddenly alert.

But she knew. He could see it in her widening eyes.

“We have to go, Lisa,” he said, his voice shaky. “Right now.”

“What are you saying?” she whispered, barely getting the words out.

“It’s time. They’re here. They found us.”

She dropped the pack of candles she was holding to the hardwood floor and put her hand to her mouth. “How do you know?”

She was getting wobbly, so he reached out with both hands to hold her up.

“Someone was following me inside the grocery store. I spotted him earlier today over at Grand Lake. And then I found FBI credentials in his car.”

“Cole, please, no. Are they on their way here now?”

“I presume so. Which is why we have to go.”

“But Jade ...!” she said. “It’s her birthday.”

“Listen to me, Lisa,” he said, his voice steadier. “We can’t focus on that right now. Where is your phone?”

She turned, grabbed her cell phone from the counter behind her. He took it from her and handed her one of the new burner phones.

“Everything is already programmed. Get Jade’s phone when you go upstairs and then destroy it. Use the hammer in the kitchen drawer. You understand?”

She nodded. “How much time do you think we have?”

“Five minutes, at most. Just get her out of this house.”

“What are you going to do?”

“Ensure you get away from here clean.”

She frowned. “How?”

“By leaving first. Making sure they follow.”

“Do we go straight to the unit?”

“No. Text me when you’re in the clear here and then wait for me across the street at the top of Rendezvous, where we like to park and hike. But leave without me if I don’t show or you don’t hear back from me within twenty minutes.”

Her mouth dropped, her voice rising. “I can’t leave without you, Cole!”

“Yes, you can. For Jade. You can do this without me.”

“What do I even tell her?”

They had not planned out that part. They’d never wanted to think about the possibility.

“Whatever it takes to get her out of this house.”

She again nodded. The color had returned to her face. Her eyes were more firmly set. She was pulling it together. That was good. This was the Lisa he needed right now. This was the Lisa who helped them get away the first time. Brave. Fierce. Determined. For a moment, they just stood there and stared at each other, both probably feeling the exact same thing. This could be the very last time they were together. If he got arrested, they might never see each other again. He thought of Jade upstairs. He didn’t even have time to go up and see her. The weight of that was nearly unbearable.

“I love you,” she said.

“I love you, too. See you in a few minutes.”

“I hope so.”

“You will. I promise.”

With that, Cole spun around and raced for the front door.