Chapter 24
“I need to stay late tonight. We’ve got an active op with guys in the field, and Jake’s with Fiona at a doctor’s appointment. Don’t hold dinner for me,” Adam said, as Josie finished reviewing resumes for the grant-writing position at the Center.
She closed her laptop and checked the time. “No problem. I’ll get the kids off the bus. I’m going to try my hand at Joan’s lasagna. I can’t make any promises though.”
Adam laughed. It had become apparent to everyone that he was the superior cook, but Josie tried hard, and she had a few recipes she was proud of. Lasagna wasn’t one of them. Yet. Something about her tomato sauce still wasn’t quite right.
They’d taken two vehicles into the office that day, anticipating Adam might need to stay late, so Josie shrugged on her sweater, packed her bag, and headed to her car.
The air had a crisp, fall feel to it. Arguably, it was the best season in New England, and Josie already had a pumpkin picking plan arranged for the weekend.
She might be more excited than the kids to carve pumpkins and decorate for Halloween.
It had been a long time since a holiday for Josie was anything but stressful or sad or ignored entirely.
Her mother had always been walking on eggshells, and her elderly aunt and uncle didn’t have the energy or interest to celebrate with two children they’d been forced to raise.
By the time Josie and Charlie were on their own and old enough to start their own traditions, Charlie’s military service made it nearly impossible, and Josie had spent most of her Thanksgivings and Christmases volunteering at the local food pantry.
As she pulled into the driveway, Josie thought about trick-or-treating with Ellie in her butterfly costume.
She smiled at the colorful leaves and the overflowing pot of mums on the front steps, but when a car pulled in directly behind her, her smile faded and the hair on the back of her neck stood on end.
The silver sedan parked sideways and essentially pinned her between the driveway and the closed garage.
When Kevin emerged from the driver’s side, Josie exhaled a small sigh of relief, but as he approached her window and pounded his fist against the glass, Josie got a look at the snarling expression on his face.
Her blood chilled. She checked to be sure the locks were still engaged and kept the engine running.
“Get out of the car, Josie,” he demanded, pulling the sunglasses from his face.
Wild, bloodshot eyes stared at her through the glass.
“What do you want, Kevin?” Josie asked, noting the way his gaze darted around, as if he couldn’t stay focused on any one thing.
“I need help,” he said.
She sucked in a breath and tried desperately to keep her voice from trembling. Without breaking eye contact, she surreptitiously hit the Bluetooth phone button on the dashboard. “What kind of help?”
“I’m in trouble, and I need cash,” he said, wiping sweat from his forehead.
“How much cash?” Josie asked.
“Twenty-five grand,” Kevin bit out, and then pounded the window again. “Get the fuck out of the car, Josie. I need you to help me.”
“I’m sorry, Kevin, but I don’t have that kind of cash available, and even if I did, I don’t feel comfortable giving you money,” she said.
Her finger hovered over the send button for Adam’s cell. She hesitated, knowing he was busy monitoring a sensitive operation. She really didn’t want to interrupt him unless things got out of hand.
“You need to leave here before the kids get home from school, Kevin. If you’re in trouble, Adam and I might be able to help you, but not here and not now,” she said calmly.
Her tone only served to agitate Kevin further.
“You fucking bitch!” he yelled, slamming a fist into the side of the door.
“The kids will be home any minute! Get out of here, right now, or so help me god, I will run you over!” Josie shouted, surprising herself with the fierceness of her tone and by the fact that she actually meant it. She’d run his ass right over if he posed any kind of threat to the kids.
When she put the car in reverse and tapped the gas, Kevin’s eyes widened with shock. He stumbled backward and, without another word, flung open the driver’s door of his sedan, got in, and sped away.
Josie’s heart slammed in her chest and her hands shook as she watched Kevin’s car disappear down the driveway. She allowed her head to fall onto the steering wheel as she exhaled a long breath.
“Okay, pull yourself together before the bus comes,” she whispered.
The adrenaline still raced through her system, but she knew it would dissipate soon.
“You need a glass of juice and a minute of quiet meditation before the kids see you. Let’s do that now,” she coaxed herself, feeling only slightly foolish for speaking out loud while alone in the car.
If her self-talk kept the kids from getting totally freaked out by her current state, she’d keep talking.
“He’s gone. Open the garage and go inside.”
She pressed the garage door opener, put the car in gear, and drove in. Even as she grabbed her bags and sweater from the passenger seat, she kept an eye out for Kevin’s car, but there was no sign of it.
Once inside, she opted to send Adam a text instead of calling him. She knew he’d be upset if she didn’t tell him about her encounter with Kevin right away, but she also knew the lives of his operators could be on the line, and she wouldn’t risk them now that the potential danger had passed.
Hey there. Everything’s okay and the kids aren’t here yet, but I wanted to let you know Kevin stopped over. He was asking for money, and he didn’t look well. He left when I refused.
Adam replied almost instantly.
Are you okay? Do you need me to come home? I can ask Maria to take over here.
As much as Josie wanted Adam, she always seemed to want him when she felt stressed, she’d be okay for a while longer.
No, really. I’m fine. We can talk about this when you get home tonight, or even tomorrow. I’m getting snacks ready for the kids. See you soon. Love you!
When she hit send, Josie hoped she conveyed a calm confidence. She’d handled her errant brother, at least temporarily.
Okay, text or call if you need me. Love you too.
Josie’s heart still fluttered when Adam told her he loved her.
Whether in person, on the phone, or by text, he always made sure to express his feelings.
Josie had never experienced anything like it.
Her early family life had been so fraught with danger and violence, even if the words were spoken, they’d been overshadowed by the reality of living with a monster.
Then, although Josie’s older aunt and uncle had provided well for her and Charlie, they’d never wanted children, and that message had been made perfectly clear over the years.
Adam’s easy affection brought a smile to Josie’s face and calmed her frazzled nerves.
By the time she heard Ellie’s boisterous laughter in the yard, Josie had downed an orange juice, changed her clothes, and put on her favorite playlist. When two sets of pounding feet clamored into the kitchen, she stood by the counter dishing out ice cream.
Fluff, who’d known something was wrong the moment Josie had walked in the door, stuck to her side like glue. Grateful, Josie held out a tablespoon of whipped cream as a reward, earning her a slobbery, sticky dog kiss.
“Josie, a hummingbird’s wings beat like a million times a second,” Ellie declared, and then shoved an overfilled spoonful of ice cream into her mouth.
“Actually, they can beat up to five thousand times a minute,” her brother corrected, rolling his eyes.
“That’s like, just a little less than a million,” Ellie argued.
“Okay, El.”
Adam shot Josie a conspiratorial smile. It warmed Josie’s heart that this adorable boy had gotten so comfortable around her.
“They are amazing little creatures. Maybe we can build a hummingbird feeder this spring when they come back,” Josie suggested.
“Oh, I like that idea. You don’t think the squirrels will get it, do you? They got into our other feeder and spilled seeds all over the deck.”
Josie opened her mouth to answer, but Ellie had already moved on to another topic.
“We had art class today and I painted a pony. It has stripes. I made them the colors of the rainbow. I know that’s not real, but it looks so pretty. Do you want to see?”
“I’d love to see it,” Josie answered.
“Two speeds,” Adam mumbled, sounding very much like his father.
Adam had homework now that he’d moved up a grade.
As he sat at the kitchen table working on his multiplication tables, Josie plopped Ellie on the counter with a bowl and spoon and invited her to stir up the cheese mixture for the lasagna.
The remnants of distress from Kevin’s unexpected ambush faded, and Josie put him out of her head entirely.
The lasagna came out better than last time, and when the kids raved about it, Josie felt a disproportionate amount of pride.
Adam called after dinner to say goodnight to the kids, and she wondered if hearing his voice would always make her heart leap in her chest. Never in her imagination had she pictured a life like this, with a man like him, and a family of her own.
But they were hers, all of them, and she was keeping them.
***
“One more round, and it’s bedtime,” Josie said, collecting the game pieces and shuffling the cards.
“I’m gonna win this time,” Ellie said, a gleam in her eye.
“May the best player win,” Josie answered diplomatically.
When Fluff ran to the front window, barking, Josie stood from her seat at the kitchen table.
“Is Daddy home?” Ellie asked, bouncing in her chair.
It shouldn’t be Adam. He’d told them he wouldn’t be home until after midnight.
“Hold on, honey. Let me check,” Josie said.
Fluff’s bark held a more aggressive tone than Josie had ever heard.
When Josie surreptitiously parted the front curtains and peeked out, her heart stuttered in her chest. In the fading twilight, the outdoor motion-sensing lights had come on, further illuminating the driveway and the two men stepping out of Kevin’s familiar sedan.
“The boyfriend’s still at work,” she heard Kevin say as he walked up the paved front walkway.
A chill raced up Josie’s spine when his companion, a barrel-chested, bald man with an oversized spider tattooed on his neck, tucked a gun into the waistband of his pants.
“We should take the kids too,” Spider-tat said as he kicked over Ellie’s bucket of sidewalk chalk.
The colorful cylinders rolled haphazardly onto the lawn and under the porch as the pair walked over them. Footsteps clomped up the front steps, and Fluff resumed his relentless barking.
Josie spun away from the window to find the kids staring at her. Before Ellie could speak, Josie frantically shook her head and put a finger over her lips. She shooed the kids back into the kitchen as one of the men pounded on the door.
“Josie! Open up! I need to talk to you,” Kevin shouted over the dog’s snarl.
“Stay here,” Josie whispered to the kids.
Straightening her spine and schooling her voice, she returned to the front of the house, this time making an obvious show of looking through the curtains.
“Kevin? Is that you? What are you doing here?”
“I just need to talk to you, Josie. Please.”
Josie’s mind raced. She needed to protect the kids. The house had an excellent security system, but if Kevin and his thug friend wanted to get inside, they’d manage it, and no matter how quickly the alarm alerted Adam, it wouldn’t be quickly enough.
Fluff, still growling angrily, pushed his big, furry head against Josie’s leg.
Think. Buy time. Get the kids safe. Josie’s thoughts centered her as she pulled in a deep breath.
“Let me put the dog in the laundry room!” she shouted.
“Hurry up,” Kevin demanded.
Josie grabbed the dog’s collar and tugged him toward the kids, now standing stiff and wide-eyed at the edge of the kitchen.
With shaking hands, Josie grabbed her cell phone off the table and handed it to Adam. She released the dog and squatted down so she was eye level with him.
“Is that a bad man outside?” Ellie whispered, her voice trembling.
“I don’t know what he wants, but I need you two to go someplace safe just in case. Take Fluff out back and hide in his favorite spot,” Josie said, trying and failing to hide the fear in her voice.
She pinned her gaze on Adam, who nodded slowly.
“Once you’re under there, call your dad. Tell him he needs to come home right away, that Kevin is here. Can you do that?”
Adam nodded, put an arm around his sister, and squeezed.
“Do not come out, no matter what you hear, until your dad comes for you. Do you understand?”
“I’m scared, Josie,” Ellie whispered, tears spilling down her cheeks.
“I know, sweetie, but your dad will come, and everything will be okay.”
She stood and kissed the top of Ellie’s head. The pounding at the front door resumed. Fluff swung his head around and lunged forward, but Josie caught him by the collar.
“You take care of these kids,” she ordered the dog.
He looked up at her with big, intelligent eyes and gave a single wag of his tail.
“Hide with us,” Ellie said, tugging at Josie’s hand.
“I can’t, sweetie. Kevin knows I’m here, and I don’t want him looking for you two,” she said honestly.
“Come on, El,” Adam coaxed, gripping his sister with one hand, the dog collar with the other.
Josie turned off the motion-sensing lights in the backyard and keyed in the emergency code for the alarm, which silenced it but sent out an alert. Then she watched as the kids hurried down the back steps.
“Josie, open the fucking door or I’m kicking it in!” Kevin shouted.
“I’m coming!”
Swallowing hard, she walked stiffly through the living room, opened the front door, and found herself face to face with the man who looked so much like Charlie it made her heart ache, and the wrong end of a gun.