by Nicole Fox
Hunter stood where they had been embracing just a moment ago, watching her.
“I’m sorry,” she said. “I should have been watching more carefully. I don’t mean to just kiss you and run out, I—”
“Vanessa.” He grabbed her hand and pulled her close, pressing his lips to hers again. “It’s okay. I understand. You haven’t scared me off. It would take a lot more than that to keep from coming back.”
“Thank you. And thank you for a lovely night.”
“We will do it again sometime.” It wasn’t a question. He wasn’t taking the chance that she might say no.
“Soon,” she said.
He followed her out of the apartment and walked her to her car. When she got in, he gave her another brief kiss before closing her car door. She gave him one final smile before pulling away.
In her rearview mirror, she glanced back as often as she could before she turned and he was out of sight. He had his eyes on her the whole time. Knowing he was looking out for them, especially now that he knew the truth, and knowing he would come back, all made her feel even more safe. If Hunter were around, Jeremy couldn’t harm her, couldn’t take Opal. So maybe she’d just have to make sure Hunter was around an awful lot.
Chapter Nine
Vanessa
Vanessa knocked on Mari’s door, her apologetic expression already on her face. But Mari opened up with a huge smile and ushered her inside.
“How was your date?”
Vanessa couldn’t help grinning when she thought of Hunter. “Fantastic. I’m so sorry I’m late.”
Mari waved her off. “She fell asleep two hours ago. She was so much fun, I’ll look after her anytime. Like maybe the next time you have a date?”
The smile returned. “There will certainly be a next time with Hunter.”
“Good. I’m so glad you found someone.”
“I’ve never felt so safe in my life.”
“Then I’m even more glad. You need to have that peace, and so does Opal. She seemed very happy to have me call her by her real name, even if she knows I still have to call her Katrin at school.”
“It’s so good to be able to tell people the truth,” Vanessa said. “I told Hunter, too, and he wants to protect us. It’s strange to feel that, though. To have a man want to keep us safe instead of hurt us.”
Mari pulled her mouth into a half smile. “Just be glad you’re able to trust like that. My lack of trust has ruined quite a lot of relationships. Probably why I’m still single.”
“It’s a miracle, really. I have no reason to trust him. And Jeremy was really the only serious relationship I had. Maybe not having a lot of bad experiences has helped me, I don’t know.”
“Maybe.”
Vanessa scooped Opal up from the sofa and cradled her against her chest. “Thank you so much. It really means the world to me.”
“Any time.”
Vanessa drove home and got Opal tucked into bed, all the while feeling the absence of Hunter. He’d been there, so close to where she was now, and she wished he still was. She undressed slowly, wondering what it would be like to undress for him. The idea of it gave her delicious chills.
She had just slipped between her cool sheets when her phone rang. A grin broke out across her face and she snatched up her phone from her bedside table, eager to hear Hunter’s voice.
“Hello?”
“Well, if it isn’t the little misses.”
Vanessa’s heart stopped, and she sat up in bed. The room spun around her and a cold sweat broke out across her skin. “Jeremy.”
“That didn’t take long, now did it? I found you in under two months.”
Vanessa’s mouth was dry and she couldn’t think. What did this mean? Where was he? What did he know?
“You missed our little date, dear. You know how I hate to be stood up.”
“What date?” Her voice sounded like a haunted version of what it was. Her tongue was thick and stubborn.
“Our court date. The one where the judge would have given me full custody of my daughter. Convenient that you missed such an important occasion.”
“You’ll never have her.”
He laughed a cruel, hardy laugh. It was the laugh he made anytime she said something he didn’t agree with.
“I know where you are. And I will send the police if you don’t hand her over.”
She pressed “End” and jumped out of bed. She was shaking so badly, she almost couldn’t get the snap done on her jeans. In her closet was a bag. She’d packed it the day they moved in and hoped to never need it. It held everything they needed to run. Clothing, money, new identification.
The bag was part one. Part two had only recently been added and she couldn’t believe that it had to be enacted so quickly. If she hadn’t had that conversation with Mari the other day, she would have nowhere to take Opal to keep her safe. She texted the code word to Mari and ran out the door.
She dashed to Opal’s room and left the door open wide so the hallway light would fill the space. She shook her shoulder.
“Opal, wake up, baby. Come on, we have to go.”
“What?” Opal rubbed her eyes and sat up.
She was about to tell her the truth. That Daddy had found them and was coming for them. But when she saw the look in her daughter’s eyes, the fearful expression, she changed her tactic. She broke into a smile, difficult as it was.
“I have a super special surprise for you!”
Her little eyes went wide again, but this time with wonder. “What it is?”
“You get to have an overnight field trip with your teacher!”
“Okay.” Opal climbed out of bed. “Are you coming, too?”
“I’ll take you over there, but I can’t stay this time. Maybe next time we can all have a slumber party.”
“Can I bring my bear?”
“Of course you can.”
“This will be so fun!” Opal was wide awake and running around her room, shoving stuffed animals and toys into her book bag.
“Okay, baby, we need to go. You have enough.”
She took Opal’s hand and grabbed her bag with the other, pulling her from the room.
“Oh wait! I just need—”
“Opal, no. We’re going NOW.”
Vanessa failed to restrain the panic in her voice. Jeremy could be coming at any moment, and they didn’t have time to get another stupid stuffed animal. She didn’t mean to yell like that, but in her urgency, it had come out harsh.
Opal’s lower lip shook and her eyes filled with tears.
“I’m sorry, we’re going to be late if we don’t go right now, and you don’t want Miss Snyder to be waiting for us, do you?”
She shook her head and sniffed. A tear dripped down her cheek, and Vanessa bent to give her a quick hug. “I’m sorry I yelled. We’re really late.” She slung the book bag over her shoulder and picked Opal up with her other arm. “Hold on, baby.”
Opal held on tight and snuggled her nose into Vanessa’s neck. Her throat tightened. If anything happened to her daughter, she’d kill the bastard. Her mind went to Hunter. If she called him, would he come? Would he protect them?
By the time they got to the car, Opal had recovered. “Maybe we can play Candy Land again. Last time, I won!”
“That sounds great.” Vanessa threw the bags in beside Opal and jumped into the front seat, then jammed her key in and took off.
They weren’t off their street yet when she saw the black van pull out behind her. She watched her mirrors, trying desperately to pay attention to what Opal was saying so that she wouldn’t upset her.
“I’m sure you can play lots of games,” she said. Was there a way she could lose this van? How in the world did someone pull that off? In the movies, it involved lots of fast turns and crazy antics. Far too dangerous with a child in the backseat. Especially when that child didn’t know they were on the run.
She glanced down as her phone buzzed. It was Mari responding to the text she had sent immediately
after hanging up with Jeremy. She’d simply responded with, “I have some,” which was the plan. That response to Vanessa’s initial text of “Orange juice?” would make sense if someone read it, but no one would know what it meant.
Now that she knew Mari was ready, she could focus on the more immediate problem, if there was one more pressing than another in this horrible situation. She looked in her rearview mirror and saw the van right behind her.
She tried to think and make a plan. She stopped at the next stoplight and watched. She had her left turn signal on and watched the traffic coming the opposite direction. She waited for the right setup, then, when there was a car close enough, she stomped on the gas and turned right, pulling out in front of an oncoming vehicle. The car honked at her, but she smiled.
The van couldn’t possibly get out behind her. She made a fast turn at the next road available, then turned several more times until even she didn’t know where she was. She popped in Mari’s address on her phone and took the directions to get there, checking constantly for the van to reappear.
When she pulled up to Mari’s, she backed in. Maybe if her license plate was hidden, it would be less obvious that this black Honda Accord was hers and not one of the hundreds on the road. She tore open the car doors and got Opal out, then rushed her to the front door.
Mari was waiting for them, the door already open. “Are you okay?”
“So far.” Vanessa glanced to the road. No black van in sight. She handed the book bag to Mari and knelt down to hug Opal tight. “You do whatever Miss Snyder says and be real good, okay?”
“Okay, Mommy.”
“I’ll see you real soon.” She kissed her forehead and held her tight, trying not to lose it. She stood and gave Mari a tight hug. “Thank you.”
“Go. Be safe.”
Vanessa dashed back to her car and was on the road in seconds. As she drove, a thought haunted her. She had just told Hunter everything about them. Right before Jeremy showed up. Maybe her previous suspicions of him were correct. Her blood turned cold as she thought that maybe he was the one who had told Jeremy where they were.
# # #
Hunter yawned and reached for his phone. Jeremy was calling. Again. How many updates could he give this guy?
“Yeah?” he said, stretching out on the couch. He’d fallen asleep watching TV.
“Well, I guess I can understand why you’d be sleeping. I’d be worn out, too, after a night with Vanessa.”
Hunter sat up. So his suspicions were correct. Jeremy was having him followed. “It was nothing special.” He had planned to play this off as nothing more than part of the job. No ulterior motives whatsoever.
“Is that how you treat all your dates?”
“No, it’s how I treat all my jobs. Sometimes I have to use a romantic relationship to get closer to my mark. You don’t want to chance me hurting the child, do you?”
“Enough of the bullshit! You spent hours with her alone, and Opal was out of the house. You had more than enough time. I’m through with your lies and manipulation. You’re not the only hit man I have on speed dial, you know.”
“And you think your other man would be able to get the information I’m about to get from Vanessa? Believe what you want, but when she takes off, I’ll be the one she confides in.”
“Why would she take off?”
“If she suspects you’ve found her. Do you honestly think she doesn’t have a plan? What do you think I’ve been doing all this time, getting close to her? I don’t expect you to understand how a hit man works, but I do expect you to let me do my job. Now do you want to scare her off and lose them again, or do you want to let me do it my way?” He let his voice be full of anger. That would make it seem more realistic.
There was a long pause. “Actually, my men have already lost them.”
“What? What did you do?”
“I called her. She needed to know it was all over. But they took off. I had someone on them, but she managed to shake him somehow. Now I don’t know where either of them is.”
“You stupid moron. God, if you’d just have let me do my job, I could have avoided all of this. I guess it’s a damn good thing I went out with her, wasn’t it? No one is in a better position to find out where she is and where Opal is than I am. You can apologize at any time.”
“I, umm…”
“You idiot. You will increase your rate by $10k, or I’ll help them instead of you. What’ll it be?”
“Fine. Another 10. But you have until morning. I want them both in my possession. Got it?”
“Then keep your shitheads out of my way so I can do my job.” He hung up and punched the bed.
This wasn’t how it was meant to go at all. Jeremy had called Vanessa and scared her. Who knew where they were now. How could he protect her and Opal if he didn’t know where they were?
He pulled on his boots in a hurry. Why hadn’t Vanessa called or texted him? Didn’t she trust him enough to call him to help her? Maybe he hadn’t gotten as close to her as he thought.
He called her. No answer. He sent a text: “Are you okay?”
He didn’t want to include any specific information, but he wished he could tell her that Jeremy was coming. That he knew where they were in case she didn’t already know, and Jeremy had been lying. He couldn’t put anything past that man at this point. Clearly, he would resort to any means necessary to get what he wanted. And Hunter was going to make sure that didn’t happen. If his life depended on it, he would keep Jeremy from Vanessa and Opal.
He hurried out of the house and into his car to speed over to Vanessa’s apartment. Jeremy had said she fled, but he wasn’t going to believe anything he said. There was a good chance Jeremy was there now, hurting Vanessa or Opal. Since he had no other information on where she might be, her apartment was all he had to go by. If nothing else, maybe she’d left a clue for him.
He pulled into the parking lot. Her car was nowhere in sight. Maybe she had gone after all. He ran into the building and to her door. He paused to listen. No sound came from inside. No light crept under the door.
He put his hand on the knob and turned. It gave under his touch. He pushed open the door and entered her apartment, shutting the door quietly behind him.
“Vanessa?” he whispered.
He walked toward her bedroom. When he stepped into the hall, he heard the click of a gun’s slide, then felt the hard tip of the barrel press against his head. He froze and put his hands up in the air to show he wasn’t holding a weapon. Of course, that didn’t mean he didn’t have his gun on him and his knife, or that his hands weren’t weapons in themselves.
A hand reached out and pulled the gun from the back of his pants. He stiffened at the touch.
“I’m going to ask you a question, and if I suspect you’re lying at all, I will shoot you.”
Hunter blinked in the dark of the apartment. He hadn’t heard correctly. He couldn’t have. He tried to turn his head, but the gun pressed harder to keep him looking straight ahead.
“Vanessa? Why are you doing this?”
Chapter Ten
Vanessa
“I need answers, Hunter,” Vanessa said. “And some things aren’t adding up.”
“Can we talk about this? I don’t know what you think is going on, but I came here to find you, to make sure you and Opal were okay. To protect you.”
She didn’t let up with her gun. If her suspicions were correct, he was part of the problem, and she might have to kill him before the night was through. She hated the idea of it, hated the thought that this man who she trusted, who she had let in when she had let in no one else, had been the one to turn her over to her greatest enemy. She hated herself for being so wrong about him, and she wanted more than anything to be wrong. To be able to trust him after all.
“Where do you really work?” she asked.
“I will explain everything. Can you please put the gun down?”
“No. Answer the question, Hunter.”
“I don’t
work around the corner in the restaurant supply company.”
“Where then?” She pushed the gun harder into his head. Her anger and raw feeling of betrayal had pushed her to the point of lacking all compassion. She didn’t care if she hurt him. He’d hurt her.
“I don’t have an office or a place I go. I’m sort of a freelancer.”
“Doing what?” she growled through clenched teeth.
