Chapter 9
?
Shocked silence filled the air. Andrea didn’t know whether she should laugh or cry. Her response had been as much instinctive as protective.
Finally Amir asked, “What?”
“They’re looking after me. They’re trying to keep me safe.
The last thing they need is you coming in, all bluff and gruff, looking to cause all kinds of chaos.
I know that you love me and that you don’t want me to get hurt.
But right now, the worst thing you could do is get all of us into a bigger mess with these other people doubling their efforts because you are nearby,” she explained.
“So please just listen to these guys, and I’ll stay in touch, and you can stay in touch too. ”
“As if you’ll make that easy. You didn’t even share your new number with me.”
“I promise I will keep in touch. We can text. We can have a phone call periodically, but things are at a critical juncture right now, and I really need you to trust me.”
“Trust you?” he bellowed. “Aren’t you the one he just told me was at a warehouse, all alone, and he had to pick you up?”
“Yes, but I was outside the warehouse because I escaped from this guy. So, at least give me a little bit of credit, Dad.” He harumphed.
Considering he wasn’t ranting anymore, she would call that a win.
“I love you, Dad. I’m hanging up now.” And, with that, she disconnected and placed her phone on the table and just stared at it.
She looked over at Hayden and shared, “I don’t think I’ve ever spoken to him in that way before.
” She shook her head. “He may not survive that conversation.”
Hayden stared at her, a big smile on his face.
“He will survive, and he will respect your words. He may not like it, but he will understand that—at some point, in some way—you have grown up, and you’re not a little girl anymore.
You are an adult. You get to make some decisions, and he will get to make some decisions as well.
And, with any luck, the two of you will find a meeting of the minds and a way through. ”
She looked over at him, shaking her head.
“You don’t really believe that, do you?” When he burst out laughing, she grinned.
“Yet it’s probably the best phone call I’ve ever had with him.
So, thank you guys for that.” They just looked at her, and she shrugged.
“I know you’ll say it had nothing to do with you, but, without you here, I probably wouldn’t have gotten into that argument with him. ”
“I guess he’s always been very dominant, hasn’t he?” Hayden asked.
“Yeah, you could say that,” she replied, with a huff. “I mean, he’s always been a very good father, don’t get me wrong. But with that very good father part came a lot of dominance and control. And, if you didn’t like the way he did things, that was just too damn bad.”
Oakley stood and waved his hand. “Glad to help.”
Hayden walked to the front door and let Oakley out. “I’ll contact you guys in a couple hours, and we’ll do a switch here too.”
Oakley nodded. “It’s all good.” With a last glance and a wave at her, he walked out.
She watched Oakley leave and wondered out loud, “They’ll be okay out there, won’t they?” Hayden nodded but didn’t say anything. She frowned and pushed him.
He shrugged. “This can be a dangerous job. We don’t know from one day to the next when things will go south. To the best of my knowledge, they’ll be just fine,” he replied.
But he was proven wrong when Oakley phoned him five minutes later. “Trent is out cold,” he said, his tone dangerously quiet. “I’m trying to get him to wake up right now. Be alert.”
“You want me there?”
“No, don’t come here. Just be aware that he’s been attacked. The car door was unlocked, and he was half inside but collapsed outside of the driver’s door.”
“How’s his breathing?”
“Weak, but he is coming around right now.”
“Take him to the hospital. He needs medical attention. Do you need me to help?”
“You stay where you are and prepare for a visitor,” Oakley snapped. “It’s all on you now.” And, with that, he disconnected.
Hayden turned to her and snapped, “Get dressed. We’re leaving.”
She bolted to her feet, her face pale, but she didn’t argue. She headed into the bedroom and quickly put on socks and sneakers, ready to move.
He nodded approvingly as she came back out. He was already at the door ready to leave. “Grab a jacket.” He held out her purse that she’d been using. “We leave now.”
*
Hayden heard the unmistakable creak of a porch plank outside the front door. His blood ran cold. Swearing under his breath, he grabbed her hand and yanked her upstairs to the spare bedroom. Behind them, the front door handle rattled violently.
There was no time to waste. He threw open the glass doors, half dragging her onto the small upper deck. The wood groaned under their weight. A crash echoed from inside—the intruder had kicked through the front door.
“Don’t make a sound,” he hissed, pulling her toward the tree that grew dangerously close to the house. “Grab here. Go, go, go!” By the time Hayden had her secured in the tree, he was already swinging up behind her, practically throwing her from branch to branch as they descended.
A gunshot cracked through the early morning air, bark exploding inches from his head.
Instead of heading around to the front of the house, Hayden pulled Andrea to the back fence, basically tossing her over it. She hit the ground hard on the other side with a muffled cry. Another shot rang out, this one closer. The intruder was on the upper deck now, taking aim.
Hayden vaulted the fence and landed beside her in a crouch. They pressed themselves against the wooden slats as footsteps pounded above them on the upper deck. She was gasping hard, her whole body trembling tightly against him.
He pressed a finger to her lips, his gaze scanning the property they’d landed in. The footsteps stopped. Silence stretched out for a long while. Then came the sound of someone dropping from the deck into the yard they’d just left.
With her hand locked in his, he pulled her around to the front of the neighboring house, running on by. They vaulted another fence, then another, cutting through backyards in a zigzag pattern. Behind them, he heard their pursuer crashing through the same route, relentless and gaining ground.
When they finally reached an alleyway, he stopped, pulled her behind a dumpster, and whispered, “I’m checking in with Trent.
Hold on.” He pulled out his phone and called Trent.
“We’re several blocks over,” he shared, his breath coming in ragged gasps.
“We’ve got a tail. Armed. How’s your position? And your head?”
“I’m okay,” Trent replied. “We’re coming up on the corner of Hatchett and Sixth.”
“Okay, go one block south, and we’ll meet you there.” He quickly put away his phone, glancing down the alley, flanked by wooden fences on both sides. At the far end behind them, a shadow moved.
They exited the alleyway as several others walked by, enjoying the early morning weather.
The street traffic was heavier out here, as the work commute had begun.
He looped her arm through his, as if they were just out for a casual stroll, forcing himself to walk normally, despite every instinct screaming at him to run.
They walked up one block to a corner, then headed down another block.
Behind them, their pursuer’s footsteps maintained a steady, measured pace.
The intruder was playing it smart now, blending in. Watching them …
By the time they made it to the rendezvous point, Hayden noted Oakley’s vehicle idling at the curb, Trent sitting in the passenger side, blood seeping through a makeshift bandage on his head.
Pulling out his phone, Hayden called Trent. “We will walk past you and around the block, where I’ll pick up some new wheels. He’s right behind us.”
They passed by Oakley’s vehicle and continued on, but Hayden couldn’t help sending an assessing glance at Trent, who looked up at him and said through gritted teeth, “I’m fine.”
“Like hell,” he muttered cheerfully, before turning the corner and coming upon an older lifted pickup that may have been parked here for a while. It would be easier to break into than one of the newer all-electric models. Yet would it even start? Its battery could be long dead.
He managed to get the door open and boosted Andrea up and told her to move over.
The truck was lifted high, and getting in and out was awkward, but adrenaline made her nimble.
Behind him, he thought he heard running footsteps.
The intruder had made his move. Hayden worked faster, prying open the panel underneath the steering wheel, hot-wiring it together.
His fingers fumbled with the wires as the footsteps grew closer.
A figure rounded the corner just as the engine roared to life.
He smiled grimly. It was a manual transmission, which made it easier to control in a chase.
He threw the truck into gear and peeled out of the parking spot, tires squealing as a bullet punched through the rear window. He went around the block and passed Oakley’s car with a honk of the horn. Tossing his phone to Andrea, he ordered, “Call Oakley.”
As soon as they were connected, Hayden turned the truck onto the main highway, saying, “I’ve lost the gunman, who was on foot. I’ve radioed in for another safe house. We need to move now before the foot soldiers all get mobile.”
“We just got the address,” Oakley confirmed. He quickly relayed it and added, “We’ll meet you two there in an hour. There’s a tail on us now, and we’ll shake them off. Just get her somewhere safe. That’s the bottom line right now.”
In the rearview mirror he could barely see Oakley taking the next off-ramp and the dark sedan following them.
He laughed. Glancing over at Andrea, he shared, “Now we’re driving to the new location and, with any luck, no more assholes are there.”
“You want me to punch in the coordinates?”