Chapter Three
My eyes peel open to bright sunlight, but I feel as if I haven’t slept at all.
I look next to me, smiling at my children curled up next to me in bed.
Slowly, I slip out and head into the bathroom.
I wasn’t expecting a fully furnished house when Bertha told me about her brother, but I am grateful for it.
We have been in a truck so long that I didn’t remember what it’s like to sleep in a bed.
Between that and the constant worry that Evan would find us, I couldn’t sleep more than five minutes at a time.
I swear, I was up and down all night, always checking the windows and doors.
I have no idea when my life turned into this.
After using the bathroom, I make my way toward the kitchen. I thought I would need to beg Mac to run us to the store last night, but I was surprised to find it fully stocked.
I need to talk to him and thank him again, but the idea has my skin crawling. I don’t exactly trust men right now. So even though he is being nice, in the back of my head, I keep waiting for it to change.
I think that’s why Bertha was such a relief. For the first time since we left Evan, I could relax a little. I didn’t have questions in my head about her motivations or what she might do to me and my kids.
Probably stupid of me. Women can be predators too, but I needed the break.
Now I have a whole new set of worries to contend with.
Like, how long will the money last us until I need to get a job or get back on the road?
Or if Evan will find us, even if I never leave the house.
Then there’s the question about the kids.
How do I educate them while keeping them safe?
Can I even provide them with a normal life anymore? Have I permanently damaged them?
Shaking away my thoughts, I take out the stuff to make pancakes and bacon. I go through the motions, cooking while my brain continues to mull over everything going on. Once everything is done and plated, I go back to the room and wake Tanner up.
“Mom, is everything okay?” he asks, sitting up to look around.
“Everything is fine. Go clean up and meet me in the kitchen while I get your sister ready,” I tell him.
He nods, getting up.
Emily is a bit tougher. She is not a morning person.
“Emily, sweetie. It’s time to wake up.”
She whines, burrowing into the blankets.
“I made pancakes,” I tell her.
That has her eyes opening.
“Pancakes?”
“Yep.” I pop the p.
“Okay. I’ll get up.” She stretches before she stands.
I grab her little hand and lead her toward the bathroom. Tanner steps out, looking slightly more put together, before he heads into the kitchen.
“Don’t eat all the pancakes,” Emily screeches, making me wince.
“Inside voice, baby,” I tell her.
She smiles up at me. “Sorry, Mom.”
I let her use the potty on her own before I go in and help her brush her teeth and hair.
When we get to the table, Tanner is sitting in front of an empty plate waiting for us.
“You could have eaten,” I tell him.
He shakes his head. “You two first.”
I hate that he feels that way—that he is now acting like the man of the house. I don’t know where he learned it from, though. Lord knows his father would never wait for us. In fact, Evan always demanded to be fed first because he paid for it.
“Nope. You two eat first. I’m the mom, remember.” I give him a small smile.
He gives me one nod, waiting as I make Emily’s plate. Once I’m done, he takes one pancake and two pieces of bacon.
I roll my eyes, putting more on his plate before making my own.
“Can we play outside today, Mommy?” Emily asks.
I frown. “I don’t know. I’ll have to see what it’s like out there before I make any decisions.”
“We are safe here, right?” Tanner asks, suddenly looking worried.
“Of course. I don’t know much about the area, though, and need to check it out.” I try to appease him.
He doesn’t ask any other questions.
Suddenly, there’s a knock on the door.
Tanner and I both freeze, Emily oblivious to the possible danger.
“I’ll get it,” I tell Tanner.
He looks like he might argue, but he doesn’t.
When I get close to the door, there’s another knock.
“It’s Mac,” a deep voice calls through the door.
With a shaky hand, I open it slightly.
He stands there in his faded jeans, a T-shirt, and some leather vest with his name on it.
“Hi,” I whisper, my voice breaking a little.
I wish I weren’t so scared of him. Here he is helping me, and I can’t be sure about him. I can’t trust him.
“Can you step out here for a minute and chat? I don’t want the kids to hear,” he says low.
I clear my throat. “Sure.”
It takes me a moment to get up the nerve to open the door wider. When I do, I step out quickly and shut the door behind me. My entire body is shaking, but I pretend it’s not.
“Hey, it’s okay. I’m not going to hurt you,” he says softly.
I nod, taking a deep breath. He stays quiet as I slowly am able to get the tremors under control.
“Sorry. Guess I’m still on edge. Was there something you needed?” I ask.
He studies me for several long moments. I hate that it has me wondering what he sees.
Does he see the woman I once was? The beauty everyone once claimed I was? Or does he see the broken single mom struggling to survive?
The thought that it’s the second makes me steel my nerves. I can’t let my kids down again. They need a champion. I will be that for them.
“Well?” I ask.
His eyes slowly meet mine, making me swallow hard.
I’m brave. I can do this.
I can see her shaking, and it’s driving me insane. It’s making this protective part of me want to emerge and kill whatever put that fear in her eyes. Or should I say who.
I had Fox run a background check on what little I knew about her, but he couldn’t figure out who she was. He needs something more to be able to run a check.
He suggested I grab some DNA, but we use a local place to run it, and if she is truly running from someone who has influence and power like I think she is, then they would be able to find her that way. I refuse to put her in more danger because of my need to eliminate the threat.
I watch as Jane steels herself, her back straightening as she looks at me. When I allow my eyes to meet hers, I see a small fire behind them.
Good. She isn’t a total doormat. She’s got a feisty side inside of her. It’s just dormant. She needs a chance to find herself again. I’m going to do my damndest to give that to her.
“Bertha said that you were running from an ex. I don’t need to know what your situation was. If my sister thinks you need my protection, then you have it. You see this patch?” I point to it.
“Yeah?” She looks down at it.
“That’s my club. If you run into any trouble, anyone with this patch will protect you. I don’t know what the likelihood is that whatever you are running from will catch up to you here, but you will be protected. We won’t let anything happen to you.”
She sniffles as she nods, her hand tightening on the doorknob.
“Enough depressing shit,” I tell her. “Do you have everything you need?”
“We do. Thank you. This was more than I expected, but we appreciate it.”
I nod once. “If you need anything else, you let me know. This is my phone number. I know Bertha got you a phone on her plan, but I’ll be taking that over from her.”
“Oh, you don’t need to do that. I can figure something out,” she mumbles.
I move my hand to run it over my head, frowning when she flinches.
My fist tightens as anger surges through my veins. I push it down, though. It seems this woman has dealt with enough anger from a man. She doesn’t need to see the anger I have for the kids piece of shit sperm donor.
Forcing a smile, I clear my throat. “I know you probably could, but the main priority with you being here is to keep you safe. It’s not worth the trouble of putting your name anywhere that could be traced.
I’ll keep it in my name. It only makes sense in case you need to replace your phone or anything.
I’m closer since Bertha is on the road a lot. ”
“Oh, yeah, that does make sense. Can I at least pay part of the bill?” she asks.
“Sure, when you get a job. Have you thought about that?”
She looks behind her as if she can see the kids through the walls.
“I haven’t. I’m not sure I can get one unless you know somewhere hiring under the table. Even then, I don’t know what I would do with the kids. It’s a lot to think about.”
I hate how anxious she looks. I didn’t want to get involved with this, but now that I’m in it, I can’t step back and let her figure it out herself. Not when I can make her life a whole hell of a lot easier.
“I need some basic info about you and the kids.”
She looks startled by my sudden question.
She bites her bottom lip before meeting my stare. “Why?”
“I can get some stuff handled for you, but I need to know some things. Like, how old are the kids?”
She hesitates. “Tanner is eight. Emily is five.”
“Good. I know they probably know their birthdays, but it’s best to change them. You can still celebrate privately, but having it be a few days different will help hide them. So when are their birthdays?” I ask.
She frowns. “You know a lot about this. How do you know how to do all of this?”
“I know my sister told you I’m not on the right side of the law. This isn’t the first time we have had to get someone off the grid but keep them in plain sight. Normally, it’s not this intensive since they are adults and can take care of themselves, but with the kids, I’m not taking any chances.”
“Tanner was born on June 14. Flag day.” She gives a little smile. “He always says ‘Happy Flag Day’ when you wish him a happy birthday.”
“That’s cute. He seems like a good kid,” I tell her, wondering about the older boy who looked haunted when I met him.
“He is.” She takes a deep breath. “Emily will be a little more difficult. She was born on December 19, so she remembers it being so close to Christmas.”
“Would you be willing to tell her that her birthday is on Christmas now? Maybe the excitement of double the presents would help?” I offer.
“I’ll do whatever I have to in order to keep them safe.”
“Good. For your driver’s license, I need to know what color you want me to put down for your hair.”
Her hand goes to the strands hanging around her shoulders, and she starts to twirl the ends.
“This is my natural color.”
I eye the mahogany color. I should have known it wasn’t a box dye job, not when the kids have the same color.
“I’m assuming you don’t want to change it?”
She shakes her head.
“Okay. Now, a generic last name seems like a great idea, but that is what I would look at first, so how about I pick a random last name for you? I’ll need to know what last name to avoid, though.”
Her eyes widen as she shakes her head.
“Not the whole thing. It can be Voldemort and all that shit. Just tell me the first letter.”
“A.”
“Okay. We can work with that. It will take a couple of days to get everything worked out, but I have it under control. Use these couple of days to explore the neighborhood. There’s a park down at the end there.
I would steer clear of any dark water, though.
Freshwater this time of year won’t really have alligators as much with the mornings being cooler, but water moccasins are deadly,” I warn her.
“What are those?” she whispers.
“Snakes. Most are friendly, but those aren’t. You are more than welcome to let the kids play in my yard as well. Call me if you need anything.”
“You have already done so much,” she tells me.
“I haven’t done anything but let you take space in a home that would have sat empty otherwise. Now get back to the kids. Tanner has peeked out at us at least three times.”
She looks to the window, catching his fourth look.
“Thank you, Mac. Seriously.”
I nod. “No problem. Take care.”
As I walk away, I go through the checklist in my head.
She’s going to need identification for herself and the kids, which means forged birth certificates and schooling.
Smoke is still looking for an office manager, so I can get her a job easily enough, but the kids really need schooling, so that needs to be the first thing I work on.
I sigh deeply, wondering if she will trust me enough to keep her safe because, for whatever reason, I know it’s my duty to do so.