Chapter 2
Ollie sat on the strange bed of yet another strange bedroom and stared at the strange wall opposite her. She was so tired of strange and different. However, the terror that stayed with her constantly had eased a fraction despite the attack they’d just escaped.
She’d lived in fight-or-flight mode for so long that she should be used to it by now.
But she wasn’t.
Was it wrong that she just wanted to feel safe? To belong somewhere and have someone love her? And not because that someone was getting a paycheck for letting her live with them? To come home to a bedroom that didn’t feel like she should sign the visitors’ log?
She knew there were good foster homes. Some even amazing. She’d heard the stories from other foster kids she’d gone to school with. She’d just never been one who got to experience that.
She pulled her legs up, wrapped her arms around her shins, and rested her head on her knees. Why do you hate me, God? And why was she talking to someone she wasn’t sure was even real?
Ollie rose and grabbed a packet of meds from the side pocket of her backpack, glanced at her watch, then swallowed a pill dry.
She pondered the dresser against the opposite wall and sighed before tucking her bag of belongings next to the bed.
There’d be no unpacking—not if she wanted to keep her stuff when they had to leave in a hurry.
And they’d have to leave, so she’d just keep to herself and hope it took more than twenty-four hours for the bad guys to find them.
Because she had no doubt they would find them.
Sully stood at the window and looked out over the property. He’d grown up coming here and had come back as often as possible. He had thirty-three years’ worth of memories and loved the land, but most especially the peace and quiet that came with it.
And the people, of course.
He and Maya shared a connection to the land that ran as deep as the bond formed through their mutual love for their amazing grandparents.
It was ironic that their fathers—twin brothers—wanted nothing to do with the place Maya now called home.
A smile tugged at his lips as he thought about their grandfather’s wisdom in willing the ranch to her.
Definitely the right move. Their grandmother had chosen to vacate the home and move into the independent living center just fifteen minutes away, and no amount of begging her to stay had swayed her decision.
Maya had filled him in on the conversation shortly after she’d taken possession of the ranch.
“Your grandfather left this to you,” their grandmother had told her. “He and I talked about it for years and we both agreed on this. I’m too social to want to live out here any longer without Paul. So, you just keep me a guest room made up, and I’ll come spend the night occasionally.”
Maya had finally agreed, and truly, their grandmother did seem like she loved living in town. They all missed Paul Sullivan, of course. He’d been a great man. A godly man. And taken much too soon by a heart aneurysm.
Gramps had been gone just under a year, and his passing left a void in Sully’s heart that didn’t seem like it would ever heal up. He sighed and walked into the kitchen to open the refrigerator, surprised to see it stocked full.
Maya had been busy. He grabbed a bottle of water and listened for any movement from the bedrooms.
All was quiet.
And he was hungry. They’d grabbed something at a drive-through on the way, before the cat-and-mouse game, but all the adrenaline had burned some calories.
He grabbed some cheese, an apple, a banana, and some crackers and figured that would hold him until morning. He turned to see Ollie in the doorway and his heart jumped, then settled. Good grief, she was like a ninja. “You hungry?”
“Yes.”
He put the food on the table and grabbed a few more pieces of fruit. Another trip to the refrigerator netted him a purple sports drink that he set in front of her. “Adrenaline rushes can do that to you.”
“I know.” She sat in the chair facing the door and snagged a banana.
“You feeling okay?”
“For now.”
“Will you tell me or Piper if you’re not?”
“Of course.”
He grunted. She was talkative tonight. “You want to watch television?”
“No.” She glanced up through her thick lashes. “Thanks.”
He narrowed his gaze at her while she ate the banana and set the peel aside to grab an apple.
“Wanna talk?” he asked.
She hesitated, then opened the drink and took a swig. His Spidey senses tingled, so he waited and sliced the block of cheese.
“Can you call that woman? Elena? Ask her to come back over? I want to talk to her.”
Oh. Elena. He nodded and tapped a message to the woman who’d captured his attention from the first time he’d met her.
Ollie wants to talk to you. Are you up? You mind coming back over?
He set his phone aside. “If she doesn’t answer in a few minutes, I’ll call her. In the meantime, you have time to eat before she gets here.”
“Thanks.” She ate the apple, then started in on the crackers and cheese.
“There’s chips in the pantry if you want some,” he said. “Want me to make you a grilled cheese?” Shouldn’t he offer her something a little more filling and nutritious?
She stood. “I don’t want the sandwich, but I won’t say no to the chips. I’ll get them.”
When she returned to the table, she had the bag of kettle chips already open.
“I’m sorry, Ollie. I really am.” Sully sighed and rubbed his temples.
“It’s not your fault.”
“Isn’t it? I’m asking you to trust me to keep you safe, and someone keeps showing up to kill you. I wouldn’t trust me at this point.”
She laughed. More of a snort and a choke, but her eyes held a shimmer of mirth. “That’s the first real funny thing I’ve heard you say since you got stuck with me.”
“Aw, Ollie, I didn’t get stuck with you. Sure, you’re my assignment, but the truth is, you’ve grown on me. I like you. I care about what happens to you.”
She narrowed her eyes and looked away. “Whatever.”
They fell silent. Her walls were still so high and thick he wasn’t sure he’d ever manage to reach her. Then again, maybe he shouldn’t try. Shouldn’t let himself care too much.
“Why now?” she asked.
He blinked. “What?”
“You’ve been protecting me for a little over three months now. The boredom was real, but at least no one found us. So what changed?”
He frowned. “I don’t know. I’ll confess I’ve wondered the same thing.” He shouldn’t be surprised she’d thought of it too.
She crunched a chip. “And?”
He sighed. “We’ve had our analysts check the computer you were using. There was no breach. No one found you that way. All the agents who were watching out for you came back clean.”
“Y’all checked that?”
“Of course. And yet one day, hit men show up to the safe house and we barely escaped because one of them tripped the alarm system.” He shook his head. “I keep going back to ‘what changed?’”
She frowned at him. “But that’s just it. Nothing did.”
“I know it looks like that on the surface, but something did. I just can’t figure out what.”
“I don’t know either. I just know that the trial is next week and they’re closing in.”
That was the first time she’d expressed her fear like that. He had to admit he felt the same. “Yeah.”
A knock on the door brought Sully to his feet, hand on his weapon.
Ollie raised a brow at him. “You really think the bad guys are going to knock?”
He relaxed a fraction. “Probably not.” But he’d still be careful. He walked to the door and saw Piper in the hallway, hand on her weapon.
“Hey, it’s me, Elena,” a voice called. “You texted?”
Piper slipped back into her bedroom, leaving him with the one woman who made his heart squirm and his emotions roller coaster.
Great.
He opened the door.
Elena ignored the sudden surge in her pulse when Sully opened the door and smiled. “Ollie wanted to talk to me?”
He stepped back and let her in, his eyes sweeping the area out of what she figured was pure habit. “That’s what she said.”
“Sounds good to me then.” She stepped inside and spied Ollie at the table, chin resting on one hand.
“I’ll just leave you guys to it.”
He disappeared downstairs and Elena took a seat across from the teen. The girl was pretty in an understated way, with thick blond hair, gray eyes, and clear skin that looked like it would tan easily in the summer. Right now, she looked pale, timid, and bone-deep weary.
Then Ollie’s eyes met hers, and Elena could see the strength beneath it all. “Hey.”
“Hi.” Ollie dropped her gaze to her hands and sucked in a slow breath. “Thanks for coming.”
“Of course. What can I help you with?”
“You said you could teach me ways to cope. To deal with . . . stuff. Did you mean it?”
Elena reached across and covered Ollie’s hands with her own. “I meant it.”
“Okay.” Ollie drew back and crossed her arms, and Elena filed that away. No touching. “What exactly does it entail?” Ollie asked.
What exactly does it entail? Elena cleared her throat. The question was legit, she was just surprised at the phrasing. What fourteen-year-old talked like that?
“When you get a chance, you come to my place and I’ll show you something.”
“What?”
“Just something that helps me when I’m feeling lost or alone, scared or sad.”
Ollie studied her for a moment, then nodded. “I’d like that.”
“Great.”
“I want to learn other things too, though,” the teen said, her voice low. “Then I can protect myself and never be afraid again.”
And just like that Elena lost her heart to this girl and vowed to do whatever it took to help her feel confident and secure in her world. “Well, I can help you there too. I grew up in a prepper family. I’m assuming you know what preppers are.”
She shrugged. “I call them human squirrels who hoard supplies like winter is always just around the corner, convinced that their six-month stash of beans, bullets, and toilet paper will be their salvation when the aliens, robots, or mutant hyenas finally take over.”
Elena blinked. Then laughed. A genuine belly laugh that rolled from her and felt so good she didn’t want it to stop. This girl was very smart.