Chapter 26
MITCHELL
Talking to Rissa last night solidified my decision to get to know Charlie and Jace. So, after dropping Charlotte off at school whilst her mother got a few things done for work, I went to look for them.
It didn’t take me long; I didn’t even have to try. The RV parked by the river with the giant dog wash logo was the talk of all the mothers at this morning's drop off.
Parking the car next to their RV, I lock up and follow the path down to the river where I can see them sitting at a table talking with an older lady.
They look upset. Whatever she’s telling them has a pained look on Jace’s face and Charlie has his arm around Jace, as though he's trying to comfort him. Meanwhile, the woman is reaching across the table, holding onto Jace's hand.
Curiously, it pulls a somewhat protective surge to rise in me, and I fight the desire to storm down there and demand to know what she’s saying to upset them.
Instead, I watch as Jace gets to his feet, Charlie quickly following. I don’t realise I’ve stopped walking until the lady says something that neither are paying attention to and makes to leave.
As she passes me, I reach out and stop her. “What did you say to them?” I demand, keeping my voice and grip light despite the sudden urge to shake the answers out of her.
“I don’t see how that’s any of your business, young man,” she quips, jutting her chin out and looking down at me despite the several inches I have on her.
This close, I recognise her from the research I did when Marissa told me this was where she wanted to settle in in her new life.
Darla O’Brien. In her late seventies. Husband deceased and often refers to herself as the town mum, which is reinforced by the fact she had at least a small hand in raising almost every adult now in town, babysitting for their parents so they could celebrate anniversaries and the like.
“They’re family.” It’s a lie but probably won’t be one for very long. I have a feeling this thing between the three of them is going to move very quickly. Marissa still loves them, that much is obvious, and Charlotte adores them, and they clearly feel the same way.
She glances towards the two men now holding each other before finally answering my question. “I knew his father,” she says gently, not explaining herself further and I watch as she crosses the road, disappearing into one of the houses with her dog hot on her heels.
By the time I resume making my way to the guys, they’re walking off closer to the river, so I follow. When I catch up to them, they’re standing at the bottom of a big mulberry tree. Neither turns to me as I stop by their side, they just continue looking up at the tree.
“How did you find us?” Jace finally asks, turning to me with red eyes and a blotchy tear-stained face.
“This is a smalltown, people talk when a big RV drives through it. Wasn’t exactly hard.” I shrug, stuffing my hands in my pockets. “Figured we could get to know each other, seen as we’re gonna be in each other’s lives.”
“What do you want to know?” Jace gives a resigned sigh, sitting down on one of the tree’s roots and looks to me expectantly.
“Well, for starters, wanna tell me what that was about?” I nod my head in the direction Darla went and Jace clenches his jaw, his nostrils flaring as he looks away. I wait, finding a spot to sit down, looking at hom expectantly.
He looks toward the road where Darla disappeared before telling me what happened.
When he's done, I feel like a bit of a dick for pushing him to answer. I could have given him the out, changed the subject or asked a new question when he didn’t immediately move to tell me, but I didn’t. “You gonna be alright?”
Jace nods. “Yeah, eventually. It’s just a lot, you know?” I’m pretty sure it’s a rhetorical question so I don’t answer.
“So, how long have you been…” I lift a brow, enjoying Charlie’s discomfort as he tries to find a polite way to finish his question.
“The vigilante shit,” Jace finishes for him, and I let out an amused huff. It’s a slightly offensive oversimplification of what I do, although technically speaking, it’s not inaccurate. What I do is outside of the law, even if governments have been among my clients in the past.
“About ten years, give or take.” I tilt my head, studying them.
In all the years I’ve been doing this, they are the first to have guessed what I do.
No one else has come to that conclusion and there are only a very small number of people I trust, like Mark, who are aware of my identity.
“How’d you know?” I’m not mad, but I am very curious.
I mean sure, by now they’ve likely worked out I’m the person Marissa was talking about in her posts, but she didn’t mention anything about what I do, other than forging her a new identity.
I could just as easily be a criminal…which, depending on who you ask, I kind of am.
But they said vigilante, hinting they're aware of at least some of the stuff I do.
“Apparently no one erases a digital footprint like you. The best location we could get was Australia,” Charlie answers, the two sharing a loaded look, and I narrow my eyes.
Other than spelling Mum with a 'u' rather than an 'o', there was nothing to even hint the country they were being posted in. I highly doubt either of these two were able to trace the posts. Neither one of them look like they have the technical skills that would require.
I’m seconds away from asking who they hired to do it when Charlie adds, “And before you ask, we’re not telling you how we got that information.”
Smart. Probably the smartest thing they’ve said since I found them on the side of the road. “There are a lot of people out there would pay, and not pay if you know what I mean, to have someone with that skillset. Your desire to protect them is admirable, but it tells me more than you think.
“I’m guessing you not only know this person, but you’re close with them. A relative? Friend? Or perhaps, a relative of a friend?” They try to hide their reaction, but I see it and nod my head. A relative of a friend then. “Good to know.”
“Leave her out of this. She’s family, she wouldn’t do anything to put Bonnie at risk, and that includes exposing you.”
“So, it’s a she.” That'll make finding her identity later easier. Charlie and Jace both tense when they realise their mistake. There’s genuine worry in their gazes, and for the sake of the life we’re no doubt going to have to build together, I decide to not press them.
They can have their secrets; it won’t take me long to find the information for myself. I should feel bad for not respecting their boundaries, but there are only two people I care about in this world, and when it comes to their safety, there are zero boundaries I won’t cross.
“You’re not going to let this go, are you?” Jace narrows his eyes at me, and I shrug again. No, I’m not. Until I know that this person isn’t a threat to Marissa or Charlotte in any capacity, I won’t. “Anyone ever tell you you’re a bit of a dick?”
“Plenty, though they never really lived long enough to say much else,” I muse, kicking my shoes off before making my way into the water to cool off a little, enjoying their stunned expression at my joke.
This is…nice. It’s probably not going particularly well by their standards, but for me? I’d say this is doing pretty good. Until Marissa and Charlotte, I didn’t care to have anyone close. I don’t do friends, never have. “So, how long have you two been together?” I ask, changing the subject.