Chapter 14
They’d just finished dinner and the kids were helping Gina in the kitchen.
Kyle had gotten Myla settled down with a container of yogurt and a new stuffed unicorn.
She’d been running a fever and felt horrible, so he sat beside her on the bed and talked to her while stroking her forehead. If he could just get her to sleep …
And the alarm on his phone went off.
He’d moved the sensors closer to the house, so someone was definitely coming up the driveway.
After a long, tense conversation with all three kids, he’d left the Mossberg in the umbrella stand by the door, loaded and ready.
Before Gina and the kids could ask what he was doing, Kyle had the shotgun and was out the back door.
He stepped around the corner of the house with the gun shouldered until he recognized the car—a gray Kentucky State Police cruiser.
The officer got out with his pistol drawn, but instead of speaking, Kyle laid the shotgun on the ground.
When he rose with his hands up, he yelled, “I’m sorry, sir. You scared us.”
The trooper holstered his weapon and stepped cautiously forward. “Any other weapons?”
“No, sir. I just didn’t know who you were. I’ve got an alarm on the driveway now, and—”
The trooper sighed. “You can put your hands down. I’m sorry. Didn’t mean to frighten anyone. You Mr. Miller?”
“Yes, sir. Something wrong?”
“Is Ms. Pritchard here?”
“Yes, sir, she is.”
“I need to speak with both of you. Away from any kids, if possible.”
“Uh, okay. Mind if I take my shotgun back in with me?”
“Of course not. I’ll wait out here for you.”
“Thanks.” Kyle picked up the shotgun and headed for the back door. When he opened it, Gina, Hadley, and Briley were standing there, huddled together against the inside wall. “It’s okay. Just a trooper.”
“Oh. Everything okay?” Gina asked, and he knew she could tell something was up.
“He just wants to talk to us. You and me. Could you guys go sit with Myla? She’s feeling horrible.”
“Sure.” Hadley grabbed a bottle of flavored water, and Briley followed her down the hallway to their shared bedroom.
“What’s going on?”
Kyle shrugged. “Just said he needs to talk to us without the kids.” Gina took his hand, and he led her down the front steps right up to the trooper’s cruiser.
“Ma’am,” the trooper said and touched the brim of his hat.
“Yes, sir. What can we help you with?”
“Ms. Pritchard, right?”
“Yes, sir,” Gina answered with a nod.
“I’m Kentucky State Trooper Brinley. I was told to come and inform you that your ex-husband, a Nathaniel Ivitts, has escaped from the Kentucky State Penitentiary in Eddyville, Kentucky.
” Gina let out a little gasp, and Kyle tightened his grip on her hand.
“At approximately nine thirty last night,” the trooper said, reading from a paper he held in his right hand, “guards noticed the prisoner’s bunk empty.
After questioning his cellmate, who had been asleep, they ascertained that he escaped in some manner unknown to them.
At this time, the prison is in lockdown and will remain so until he’s recaptured.
They have no idea if he has a weapon or where he might be headed. ”
Gina stared at the trooper. “You’re kidding, right?”
“No, ma’am. This is no joke.”
Gina snorted and tossed her head. “I’ll say! They had one job, one, and they couldn’t even do that?”
Thoughts bolted through Kyle’s head so fast that he couldn’t breathe. Finally, he stammered out, “And, and, and his mom’s? Anybody check there?”
“Troopers are there now but so far, no one has seen him.”
“So what are we supposed to do, just sit around and wait until he shows up?” Gina almost screamed.
“I came here so you would know to watch out and also to keep the children inside.”
“And what else?” Kyle tried to keep his voice calm, but it was almost impossible. “What, get friends and family to come out and stand watch? We’re already at that point with the crazy woman. So what now? We’ve got the addition of another threat? Awesome. And what will you guys be doing about it?”
“We’re actively looking for him, sir.”
Kyle sighed. “And if he finds us before you find him? What then?”
“Just came here so you would know to watch out and also to keep the children inside.”
Broken record much? Kyle wanted to ask. Well, that was that. “Then thank you very much. Consider us forewarned, and we’re going inside now.”
“If we can—”
“No, no. I get it. We’re on our own. Thanks and have a nice evening.” Kyle took Gina’s hand and turned her toward the house.
“Sir, if—”
Kyle turned and leveled his best fuck-you look at the trooper.
“I know the drill. If we see him, we’ll let you know.
If we’re still alive. Good night.” There was no time for the trooper to say anything else before Kyle powered toward the house, dragging Gina with him.
The trooper said something else, but he didn’t hear it.
It didn’t matter. They weren’t going to do anything, so there was no point in hearing anything else he had to say.
As soon as the door closed behind them, Gina spun to face him. “What do we do now?”
Kyle was already moving toward the bedroom. “I’m going to tell you what we’re going to do. First off, I’m calling in some favors.”
“Favors?”
“Yeah. I’ve got some buddies who owe me. One of them has a wife and a kid. Our kids are going to their house to stay until this is over.”
“But I can’t send my—”
“Then we’re calling my dad and my brother. We’re going to need reinforcements, somebody who can watch so we can at least get a little sleep. We need to be sharp so we can—”
“Kyle, slow down! We don’t even know if—”
“Gina!” She stopped and stared at him, so he leaned in by her ear and whisper-growled, “One or the other of them is going to try to kill us. Or maybe both of them. I’m not going to let that happen.
And if I need help to make sure it doesn’t, then that’s what I’m going to ask for.
Do you understand me? We’re not going down without a fight.
This is my home. You are my wife. These are my kids. And I won’t—”
“Kyle?” He stopped. “I’m not your wife.”
“Do you want to be?”
Gina scowled. “Well, that’s a helluva proposal if—”
“I asked you, do you want to be?” The glare he gave her said he expected an answer.
“Yes. Yes, I do.”
“Good. Then I’ve got to keep you alive long enough for that to happen, but as far as I’m concerned, you’re already my wife. I love you, Gina. I’m not willing to just roll over and play dead for them to walk in here and take what we have. It’s not happening. Are you with me or not?”
Her hand was soft on his forearm. “Babe, you know I’m with you, whatever it takes.”
“Then here.” He held out a shotgun he hadn’t shown her before. “Hang onto this for a minute. You can have my Mossberg. This is my Kel-Tec. Son of a bitch will hold twenty three-inch cartridges. If I go down, I’m taking somebody with me.”
Gina was a little pale. “Kyle, you’re scaring me.”
He stripped the weapon from her hands, dropped it on the bed, and cradled her face.
“You don’t have to be scared if you’re ready.
And we’re going to be ready. I do not want us to be caught with our pants down.
Now, I’ve got calls to make. Take the KSG-25 into the living room and I’ll load it as soon as I’m finished.
” He watched her pick up the gun gingerly and head toward the living room.
From somewhere down the hallway, one of the kids asked her something, and she told them to go back in the room and close the door, so Kyle punched in the first number.
“Hey, man, how ya doin’?”
“Casey, I need your help.”
“Got something heavy to lift?”
“No. I need you to come get our kids.”
“Kids? Yours and your girlfriend’s?”
“Yeah, man, Myla and Gina’s two. Now. Right now. And come in the back side of the property, okay? You remember how to do that?”
“With my eyes closed, man. I’ll be there in ten.”
“Thanks. I’ll owe you.”
“No. I just won’t owe you anymore. In a minute. Bye.”
“Who was that?” Gina had come back to stand in the doorway.
“My friend Casey. We were in 4-H together when we were kids. He’s been all over this farm, so he’s coming in the back way. Get the kids some clothes packed up and get ready. I want them out of here within three minutes of the time he gets here.”
“Kyle, don’t you—”
“Just do it, babe.” He pushed past her with a box of shotgun shells and headed for the living room, his phone in his hand, and he punched a contact as he walked. “Hey,” he whispered when the voice answered.
“Hey. You okay?”
“No. I’m not. Nate busted out of Eddyville somehow.”
“What? No. That can’t be possible.”
“Guess what. Possible, apparently. Is there any way you could come over in the morning and take a watch so she and I can sleep?”
“Well, yeah, but what about the kids?”
“Casey’s coming to pick them up and take them home with him.”
“That’s a good idea.” Keith chuckled. “Coming in the back way, I assume?”
“Of course.”
“Yeah, bud. I’ll be there in the morning at six. If you need me between now and then, just yell.”
“Thanks. I appreciate it.”
“Not a problem. You call Dad yet?”
“I thought about it, but I think that might be a mistake.”
“Well, that’s true. I mean, it’s one guy.”
Kyle stopped for a second and took a deep breath. “Actually, it’s one guy and his crazy-ass mother.”
“His mother? The nutty bitch from the picnic?”
“The same. Long story. I’ll tell you when you get here in the morning. Right now, I’ve got to make sure the kids get out of here.”
“Okay. See you at six. I’ll come in the back way too.”
“Good deal. Thanks, bro.”
“Always.”
He’d gotten both shotguns ready and was helping Myla pack a little bag when he heard something and ran to the back door. Sure enough, Casey was bolting toward the house. “They ready?”
“Yeah. Kids, your ride is here,” Kyle called through the house.
Hadley was crying. “But Peaches—”
“The kitten will be fine,” Gina snapped.
“But I need to stay here,” Briley was arguing as he came up the hallway.