Chapter 25
Nick
Walking out to the Jeep after MMA class with Ceres, I find a large brown envelope under the wiper.
Opening it, I find more photos of everyone, mostly of Shortie, though.
This time from school and the carnival. He has to have someone new working for him because I haven’t seen any of his old crew around.
Turning over the photos, “tick tock” is written on the ones of Summer. So he’s really after her. “Fuck.”
“Your dad again?” Ceres asks.
“Yeah.” I don’t know what to do other than lock her in her house or never leave her side.
He’s going to take her, or try to, for revenge.
I would stay far away from her if it would help, but she’s already on his radar, so there’s no point.
I text Troy to see where he’s at. He’s still at Finn, so I nod goodbye to Ceres and drive over there.
Troy is in his office, so I drop the pics on his desk and take a seat. After looking them over, he sighs. “He’s after Summer.”
“Yeah. He'll try to take her. We both know it.”
“That poor girl,” he says, shaking his head. “Let me call Z and Eddie at the FBI office.”
I nod and wait for him to connect with everyone.
Maybe I should drive to Tennessee and confront the bastard.
I can’t let him hurt Shortie. She’s coming along with her training, but it’s no match for guns, or more than one man.
Patrick isn’t stupid. If he is watching us, he’ll realize she has some training and will send two or more men to grab her.
Focusing back in, Troy greets Eddie on the phone. “What are you thinking, Nick?” Eddie asks.
“He’s going to try to take her. I’d bet my life on it.”
I hear Zander swearing in the background, and I feel like shit I brought this into her life after everything she’s been through. “Sorry, Z.”
“Hey, this isn’t on you, Nick. I’m upset about the situation, not you. Eddie, what can you do?”
“Still not much. He’s out of state, so I shouldn’t even be looking into this, but I’m allowed because he was from here.
The office in Tennessee is aware. They're watching his crew and trying to get someone on the inside. So far, they haven’t been successful.
People have seen his crew with drugs, but there is no direct evidence linking them to Patrick.
The office there isn’t interested in the lackeys; they want Patrick's boss. We still don’t know the name of his boss either. ”
“Should I hire a bodyguard?” Zander asks.
“I dunno if I should be around more or less,” I tell them.
“What about the rest of the guys?” Troy asks.
“Safe.” I know him well enough that he’ll go for my strongest connection. Given the choice, he’ll always use a woman. “I can go back to him,” I offer.
“No Nick. You don’t deserve that. We worked too hard to get you out,” Troy says.
“If it’s me or Summer, it'll be me.”
Troy looks sad, but knows I’m serious. He nods, acknowledging my words.
“I'll update my contact in Tennessee about Summer and the new photos. Call if anything changes,” Eddie says before hanging up.
“How do I realistically protect my daughter?” Z asks. “I can hire a full-time bodyguard. Maybe homeschooling? Or I can fly her back to Virginia to stay with Sue? Or to Savannah with Sarah?”
“He’ll find her. We're her best protection,” I tell him, shaking my head.
“Okay, let’s talk to Summer about this. Make sure she understands she's the target and what will happen if they take her. Z, what about Nick moving into the guest room for now? We can talk to Ceres about guarding her. He’s the most well-trained, besides us and Nick, and he can carry,” Troy says.
“Okay. I’ll talk to her tonight. I won’t force her to do anything, but I will push her if I need to. Nick, if you’re willing, you can stay here until we resolve this issue.”
“I’ll be over later tonight,” I tell him as he hangs up. “You know it may end with me going back to him,” I tell Troy.
“I know, but I don’t like it. You do everything you can to avoid going there. I mean everything,” Troy says. “Let me get the Tennessee contact from Eddie, and we can place you undercover if you end up there. That way, you’re protected and can at least help them put him away again.”
“Fine, but I’m killing him this time, Troy. No jail, just death.”
“I don’t want that on your conscience, Nick.”
“My conscience will be clear. He won’t stop, you know that. I’m surprised it took him this long to come for me.”
“I want you carrying outside of school. Z has a safe you can use. What do you think the timeframe is?”
“A month, maybe less.”
“Okay. Let’s have everyone over at Z’s tomorrow after school.”
Nodding, I get up to leave. Time to grab my gun from the armory, then pack up to move in with Summer.
Summer
Zander asks to talk to me after he comes out of the office. Judging from the tension rolling off him, it’s nothing good, so I take a seat in the sofa’s corner. “What’s wrong?”
“Darling, things have escalated with Nick’s father. He found another set of pictures on his Jeep after MMA class. Most were of you from homecoming with a message written on the back saying ‘tick tock.’ Nick is certain that Patrick is after you and not the guys now.”
Oh crap. Not good. Not good at all. My previous kidnapping’s horrifying scenes flicker across my mind as an involuntary shiver races across my skin. Based on my knowledge, being captured by Patrick would be a far more terrifying experience than what Ben put me through. “What do we do?”
“I suggested sending you to Virginia or Savannah, but Nick thinks Patrick would find you there and you’d have less protection. He is moving into the guest room tonight. We were thinking of hiring Ceres as your bodyguard.”
Wow, a bodyguard? A knot forms in my stomach; this is serious.
Needing a bodyguard feels like a whole new level of danger.
If Nick and Zander think it’s necessary, though, then I’ll do it.
Ceres reminds me of Nick. He’s quiet and reserved, but nice, and we got to know each other a little over the summer while he was working with Finn. “Okay.”
“Really?” Zander seems surprised at my easy agreement. “That’s great, darling. The goal is to let you live your life, but in the most protected way we can. Troy, Nick, Ceres, and I will carry from now on too. I would like you to learn how to use a gun. Are you comfortable with that?”
“Sure. I don’t mind. It’s a little scary, but I want to be safe.”
“Come, I’ll show you the safe room I built, and the combination,” Zander replies.
Curious, I follow Zander into his closet.
There’s a false panel in the back right corner.
He shows me the code, then opens a heavy door.
A small room greets me, about the size of a powder room.
“This is a safe room of sorts. It’s small but works.
” He shows me the two handguns and bullets he has stored in here, as well as MREs, snacks, water, a laptop, monitors, money, and a few burner phones.
“Wow, were you expecting trouble?”
“Not really, but I suffered from PTSD after leaving the Army, and I installed it during the remodel.”
To comfort Zander, I offer a side hug and tell him how sorry I am for the trauma he endured. I know, though we haven’t talked about it, that losing their entire team caused him and Troy to retire. Zander explains the door’s automatic locking mechanism from both sides, then we exit the closet.
My phone dings as we walk back to the couch.
Troy is asking all of us to meet here tomorrow after school to discuss Patrick.
I notice Zander checking his phone too, so he probably got the same text.
“I feel I should apologize for all this trouble, darling. Moving you here was supposed to be an enjoyable experience, and it has been so difficult.”
“None of this is your fault, and we couldn’t have predicted any of this happening, Zander. I wouldn’t change my life with you and the guys for anything. I’m happy and actually living again instead of surviving. Bumps in the road will happen no matter what.”
Zander smiles. “There have been more than bumps, darling, but I appreciate the sentiment.”
A knock on the door has me getting up to answer it, and I find Nick with a backpack and duffel bag. “Hey Grumpy,” I smile.
“Shortie,” he nods, coming inside.
“Oh, good, you’re here,” Zander says. “I’m going to call Ceres and get things set up for his new job. Holler if you need me,” he says, going into the office.
I follow Nick into the guest room. “You okay, Shortie?” he asks.
“I guess. It’s scary, but it hasn’t really sunk in yet.”
Nick drops his bags onto the floor and pulls me down beside him on the bed, kissing my temple.
“This is serious. Patrick is after you. He uses women. He could inject you with drugs, put you into a human trafficking ring, or have you raped. Shortie, you need to take this more seriously than you’ve ever taken anything. ”
Sobering, I look him in the eyes. “I will. I agreed to have a bodyguard, and I’m going to learn to use a gun. I’ll do whatever you guys want me to do to stay safe.”
“Good.” He picks up his backpack and throws it on the bed before opening the duffel bag.
Looking around, he plugs his laptop in by the nightstand before opening it up and sitting on the bed, so I decide to unpack his clothes into the dresser and closet.
I get an eyebrow raise, but I just give him one back and continue.
Once his clothes are done, I take his toiletries to the bathroom and put them away.
When I reenter the room, he is putting a gun on the top shelf of the closet.
Breathing deeply, I settle onto the bed’s edge as Nick sits beside me. “Memorize this email and phrase, Shortie. It’s how to contact Fawx.” He hands me a torn piece of paper. This isn’t your typical email address, so I’ll need to practice memorizing both.
“What is the phrase for?”
“If you need to contact him, he'll need to verify it’s you. If you give him that phrase, he'll know who you are and will help you.”
“Okay. I will. I should memorize everyone else’s numbers, too.” We rely too heavily on electronics these days instead of information.
“Z, Ceres and Seb,” Nick says.
Nodding in agreement, I go into my room and grab a sticky note to write those three numbers down.
I have studying to finish tonight, so I let Nick know I’ll be on the couch working and he grabs his laptop to join me.
Turning on the tv for background noise, I call Alex, and we work through precalculus questions together.
Zander joins us after an hour or so. “Ceres has agreed to be your bodyguard, Summer. That means he will meet you after school each day and follow you unless you are home with Nick and me. If we suspect you're being watched at school, that will change, and he will be with you during class as well.”
The pressure is mounting; I can feel the invisible weight of it causing me to slouch. My protection isn’t because of my fame, but a clear and imminent threat.
“I have an idea I want to throw out there,” Zander begins. “Should we be looking at witness protection? Nick and you moving to an undisclosed location until he’s caught?”
Wow…just wow. Witness protection after I just met Zander and the guys. Then there’s Sue, Sarah, and Jake to consider. The thrumming drumbeat of my heart rises in tempo with my anxiety. Why can’t my life be mundane? One moment at a time, Summer.
I know everyone would prefer me safe, even if I couldn’t communicate with them.
Maybe all the guys could come with us? I don’t think Alex would agree, though.
A whirlwind of anxieties and hopes, a million unspoken thoughts, chase each other through my mind before I turn to Nick.
“I hadn’t thought of that. What do you think, Nick? ”
“No idea how long we'd have to be gone, and he could go after someone else if we disappear,” Nick says.
“Would it be selfish to say that’s better than Summer?” Zander replies.
“No,” Nick says at the same time that I say yes.
“I wouldn’t want someone else to take my place. That’s not right,” I say, looking both of them in the eyes.
“The guys will disagree,” Nick says, “because they won’t be put into a human trafficking ring or raped.”
“What about Gabby? Will he go after her instead of me?” I ask.
How would we protect Gabby? There's no evidence she's in danger, but would Patrick focus on her if I weren’t available? I’d like to think I could handle whatever Patrick did to me better than Gabby.
So much to think about and no time. I’m getting overwhelmed.
“Maybe,” Nick replies.
“It’s something to consider seriously. Let’s check in with Troy and Eddie and see if it’s an option,” Zander says, leaving to make the call.
My sleep is restless that night, a turbulent sea of visions.
A man dressed in black with a large P for Patrick where his facial features should be, laughing as I’m groomed to be a sex slave.
Gabby’s terrified eyes meeting mine as she's injected with drugs. Ben working with Patrick, finishing what he started at the cabin. My imagination, a frantic bird, claws at my mind until, around midnight, I stumble out of bed to swallow a sleeping pill. I should have taken one earlier with all the revelations, but I forgot. Eventually, sleep claims me, but it’s a shallow, unsatisfying rest. The beeping of my alarm leaves me feeling heavy, unrefreshed, and profoundly disturbed.