Chapter Four #4
Bodhi’s shoulder’s sagged, seeming lost. After a full minute of thought, he straightened. “I’m coming. Just give me a couple of hours to pack,” he said, standing. “Don’t leave until I get back.” He kissed Olive quickly on the mouth, a ghost of a smile on his lips. “Don’t leave until I get back.”
“Bodhi,” I said. “You can’t come with us. It’s not safe.”
His brow furrowed. “Why would you take her somewhere that isn’t safe?”
I sighed. “Being near her isn’t safe. Not until we neutralize all threats.”
His jaw ticked as he shifted his weight from one foot to the other.
“Do you think I give a single, solitary fuck if it’s safe?
” He pointed to her. “She’s not just my girlfriend, Thomas.
I’m in love with her. I’ve planned a whole future with her.
She’s going to be my wife and the mother of my children.
If you leave without me, I’ll look for her.
And I won’t stop until I find her. I’ll go to Vegas and knock on the Carlisis front fucking door if I have to!
” He looked to Olive, who was holding her hands over Stella’s ears. He frowned. “Sorry.”
“Okay,” I said, standing, holding out my hand. “Okay. Let us get a plan together. I’ll see where you fit in.”
Olive stood and crashed into his arms as he wrapped them around her.
“Where you go, I go,” he said against her cheek.
She let out a breath that might have been a laugh if her body wasn’t shaking.
His eyes snapped to mine. “She doesn’t go anywhere without me. No one will make sure she’s safer than I will.”
Olive looked up at him. “I’m not going anywhere without you. I promise.”
He gently raked back her hair and smiled down at her. “I know.”
Liis and I traded glances. We no longer had a choice.
Bodhi’s phone buzzed, and he reached down to check it. “It’s Sunny. Someone in Illinois connected Livvy to the drive-by shooting, the internet picked it up and now it’s running in the conspiracy circles.”
“Liis?” I said, doing a quick search. “It’s all over social media. Call Sol and get us a car and a flight.”
“Copy that,” she said, tapping on her phone. “Where are we going?” she asked.
I thought about it for a moment. The family would call; they’d want face time with Olive and wouldn’t take no for an answer.
I thought of my getaway home in Chinle, Arizona, but it had been compromised when we were there with Trenton and Camille—and it wasn’t big enough.
But… Arizona could still work. There was only one place I could think of to accommodate everyone and keep us all safe. “Baboquivari.”
Liis nodded once, turning to finish her conversation in the living room. “Sol, it’s Lindy. We need a quick exit to Arizona,” she said into the phone.
“Arizona?” Olive asked.
“You remember Travis taking those friends of friends to Arizona from Colorado?”
“The,” she trailed off, thinking, “the militia compound?”
I nodded.
A dozen emotions scrolled across Bodhi’s face. “We’re going to stay at a desert militia compound for the foreseeable future?”
I nodded again.
He breathed out a laugh. “That’s kind of cool. I figured we’d be holed up in a windowless, drafty hut in Alaska.”
“Not with my daughter,” Liis said, walking into the kitchen. “We’re all set. We’ll grab Bodhi’s things and then circle back to Dulles Airport.”
My phone began vibrating on the counter. Taylor. I hit decline. Then again, this time Travis. I declined it again. My phone buzzed, over and over.
“Fuck,” I said. “They know.”
“We have to pack,” Liis said, putting away her phone. “HQ is sending a car. We’re on a plane in an hour. We’ll stop by Bodhi’s on the way.” She looked at him. “How will you explain this to your parents?”
“I’ll…” He paused. “Wait. We don’t have to stop by my apartment. I’m already packed for conference. It was going to be tight after I dropped Li—Olive off from dinner, so… I have a bag with five days’ worth of clothes and toiletries in the car.”
Liis and I traded glances.
“Perfect,” Liis said. “Your parents?”
“I’ll tell them I’m escorting Livvy home to her parents in Utah, that I’ll get her settled in and reassess. They’re not going to like it… but they’ll understand. They know what she means to me.”
Olive grinned, her eyes still red-rimmed and wet.
“And the school? Your team? Your scholarship?” Liis asked.
“I’ve already thought of that,” Bodhi said without hesitation.
“Family medical emergency. The school is legally limited on what they can ask. It’s believable, boring, coaches hear it all the time.
I’ll tell them I intend to return as soon as possible.
No documentation required aside from a generic note.
As excuses for extended leave go, it’s the gold standard. ”
Liis nodded. “Good enough. Olive, get started. Pack light. It’s the desert. Hot during the day, cold at night.” My wife looked to me. “I’ll start in Stella’s room. Sol will make sure there’s a car seat for our ride to Dulles.”
“Understood,” I said, nodding to Olive as she and Bodhi left for her room.
Once the first Maddox call went unanswered, I knew there would be no version of this that stayed contained. Whatever safety we’d built for Olive ended the moment the world recognized her face. Olive’s cover was gone, the fallout was inevitable, and the night was far from finished.