Chapter 22
Aspen
I'm not keeping track of time, but it only feels like half an hour or so before he pulls off the highway. His first stop is a fast-food drive-thru where he orders me the chocolate shake I requested, but I don't feel the same joy I think I would've felt if I didn't know what was coming.
I knew the instant the man on the phone said secondary check, that it was possible there might be another tracker inside of me. The wound at the back of my neck throbs from him pulling the first one out. I can't imagine where a second one could be hidden.
I have only taken a single sip of my milkshake before he pulls the vehicle into a secluded but empty parking lot. I can see the hint of the sunrise kissing the edge of the sky, but we're still probably a full hour before it's fully visible.
He seems cautious as he pulls closer to the only other vehicle in the lot, rolling down his window as he approaches the man standing outside of it.
"You got a fucking problem?" he snaps, and I start to shake at the aggression in his tone.
Why would we meet with someone who would cause us problems?
"No, sir, " the other man answers, completely unoffended by Nolan's tone. "I'm here to help you with your problem."
Nolan relaxes beside me, and I have to guess it is some sort of test or code. Whatever it is, I don't understand it at all.
"Come on, Peach," Nolan says as he shifts the SUV into park. "Let's get this over with."
Every muscle in my body trembles as I climb out of the vehicle and make my way around to his side. The man pulls a larger machine out of the back seat of his car and walks toward me with it. Instinct has me taking a step back until I feel the warmth of Nolan's body against mine.
"You got this, Peach," he says, lifting my arms up and holding them while the guy runs his scanner along every inch of my body.
He looks up at Nolan, not me, when it's time for me to turn around, and I get the feeling that he's doing it because he's scared of the man and doesn't want to step over some invisible line.
It makes me feel like I'm in a protective cocoon, and I turn to face Nolan, looking into his eyes as the man scans the backside of my body.
"She's clean," he says as Nolan urges me to turn back around so I don't have my back to the man.
I feel like a fool in these oversized clothes, but it's so much better than having to stand in front of this man in nothing but a towel.
Nolan steps around me, handing the man a thick envelope which I presume has money in it, but instead of us getting back into the SUV, they exchange keys and Nolan escorts me to the passenger side of the sedan the man arrived in.
The other man wastes no time getting behind the wheel of the SUV and driving away.
"Who was that?"
"I don't know. Someone we can trust," he says before closing my door and walking around the front of the car to climb into the driver's side.
He doesn't speak again as we buckle our seatbelts. I feel his gaze on me as he pulls out of the parking lot, but I don't know what to do with the attention, so I close my eyes.
I sleep off and on for what feels like days, as if my body hasn't had rest in longer than I can remember.
We stop for bathroom breaks and to get gas three times, grabbing gas station snacks to tide us over rather than any form of real food. As much as I hate it, I don't say anything. I'm not in a position to complain about the things he has to do to keep me safe.
I still can't help but think about Eli and what all of this could bring to his feet. My sweet little seven-year-old boy deserves so much more than the life I brought him into. I have to trust that Nolan and the men working with him are doing everything they can to make sure that he gets back to me safe and sound.
The quick turns and curves shift my body back and forth, making me open my eyes and sit straighter in the seat. I look out the window, seeing through the leafless trees. It's a beautiful sight even in the bareness of winter. Since I was sleeping so much, I know we're in Tennessee but I don't know if we're in the Smokies or the Appalachian Mountains.
"Where are we?" I whisper.
"Gatlinburg," he answers, his voice sounding as weary as I still feel even after several hours of off-and-on sleep.
A couple more turns in the road brings us to the driveway of a massive cabin. The house I grew up in was big, but it's a real possibility that this house could be even bigger.
"Have you heard anything about Eli?" I ask, praying I missed a call with good news and he was letting me sleep instead of waking me to tell me.
"Nothing new."
My chest caves in, tears burning the backs of my eyes.
Warmth covers my hand, and I glance down to see his big hand in my lap, right over mine.
"Look at me, Peach."
It takes a minute before I feel strong enough to look him in the eyes, but, eventually, I manage it.
"You're safe here. We have countless men working on bringing our son home."
"Wh-who are you?" I ask, my eyes darting to the multi-million-dollar home. "If you're not a fed, what have you gotten yourself into?"
His lips form a flat line. He has already told me once that he wasn't going to go into detail about who he is and what he does for a living, but I guess killing four men and cutting a tracker out of the back of my neck didn't bring him any closer to trusting me.
"Just know that we're the good guys. We don't hurt people who don't deserve it, and we fight with everything we have to bring justice to horrible people."
"People like my father?" I whisper.
"Your father was a piece of shit, Peach, and although you may have loved him in your own way, that fact still remains. He hurt countless people with his guns and drugs, but the team I work for focuses more on sex-trafficked individuals. Your father and Damien Gaines wouldn't have been on our list of people to take down until I asked them for help with Eli."
Eli. Not me.
It shouldn't hurt my feelings, but I'm no longer in control of how I react to his words. Honestly, feeling happy he's willing to help and get others involved is amazing. Without them, I have no chance to get my son back. Damien has never been the type to feel bad for someone and grant them a reprieve. He sure as hell wouldn't do a single thing to ease my mind or make my life easier.
"Let's go inside," he says before pulling his hand back from mine and opening his door.
I feel antsy, not knowing what I'm going to face inside the house. It's much too big to be only his, telling me there are people inside, and I've seen a lot of betrayal in my life. He managed to slip into my father's organization unnoticed, so it wouldn't be unheard of for someone inside to have been turned by Damien or to have been a plant from the beginning since my husband didn't kill him like he had claimed he had for years.
What else has Damien been lying about?
"How much more danger is Eli in since you killed those men?" I ask when he opens my car door.
"I can't answer that question, Peach," he says as he reaches down and takes my hand the second I climb out of the car. "But I can tell you that there was no way around it. There was no bargaining with those men."
"What if they were doing Damien's bidding to protect their own children? What if Damien has their kids too?"
A sob bubbles from my throat, making me feel even more helpless and out of control.
"Then they died as heroes for their kids," he says without apology.
The front door opens before we make it onto the porch, and my feet skip a step at the sight of the beautiful woman standing in the doorway with a soft smile on her face.
"Welcome home," she says, giving Jericho a bigger smile before turning her gaze to me. "Hi, Aspen. I'm Zara."
I shake her hand, realizing that mine is empty now. Nolan released it when the door opened.
I swallow as I do my best to give her a smile, feeling like we did something wrong.
"Come inside. I know it's probably too late for coffee and freshly baked cinnamon rolls, but I made them anyway."
Ever the gentleman, Nolan pauses as I climb the steps so I can enter the home first, following Zara through a massive open area to the kitchen on the far side.
Zara explains so many things.
It's not that I expected him to jump into my arms. There's too much between us now for that to be possible, but him shutting me down so quickly makes sense now.
Zara flits around the kitchen, grabbing plates and coffee cups as I take a seat at the breakfast nook.
She seems completely normal. Why would Nolan even consider a physical trip down memory lane with me when he has this woman? I don't even compare, and the reality of that is like a slap to the face. I come from dirt and blood, crime and evil.
She seems like she has always stood in the light, shadows never managing to get their claws on her. She's clean and proper, literally, everything I'm not.
"Thank you," I tell her when she hands me a plate with a massive cinnamon roll on it. I pass it to Nolan because reflexes take over and with Damien, I've never been allowed to be served first. "Nolan?"
"Nolan?" the woman asks as if the word has never slipped past her lips before.
She hands me another plated sweet roll, but I'mfreaking out a little inside, wondering if he has given her a different name. Would he bring me here while he's working another undercover case? Has he been lying to her as well?
"That suits you," Zara says with a wide smile.
"Wait," I say, my eyes darting between the two of them. "Aren't you two—"
Her head tips back, laughter bubbling out of her as if she's completely carefree and uncaring of who witnesses it.
I look over at Nolan who seems less than impressed about all of this, his lips a flat line, irritation boiling in his eyes as he watches her response to my speculation.
The other guy who was at the cabin in Massachusetts walks into the room, his eyes darting to land on everyone in it.
"What's so funny?" he asks, incapable of keeping the growl out of his voice.
I stiffen. This guy scares the living shit out of me.
"She thought Jericho and I were together," Zara explains as she opens her arms.
The mean-looking man goes right to her as if he's powerless to resist that spot right beside her.
"Why would she think that?" the man snaps, all his attention on Nolan.
For some reason, the way the man seems ready to rip Nolan's head off for my confusion of the situation makes laughter bubble out of my throat. I don't know that I've ever witnessed a more territorial interaction before in my life.
"Settle down, Hemlock," Nolan says.
Hemlock's chest seems to swell as if he's readying himself for battle, and I begin to feel bad for Nolan. Before I can explain that it was all my mistake, Zara presses her hand to his chest, and it seems to be the only thing he needs in life. His eyes cut down to hers, and the way that man looks at her leaves me breathless from across the room. She is his entire world. I have to look away because although they're just simply looking at each other, I feel like I'm intruding on an intimate moment.
I pinch off a piece of the cinnamon roll and pop it into my mouth. I can tell by the sweetness on my tongue that it's delicious, but what if Eli hasn't had anything to eat today?
"You need your energy," Nolan says, closer now than he was before. "Eat."
I look over and notice his is gone. I swear the man licked the plate clean.
"I didn't mean to cause trouble," I whisper, but the other couple in the room aren't paying us any mind currently. They're too wrapped up in each other to concern themselves with the outside world.
"It's fine. Eat, and then I can show you to a room."