Page 20 of Not Our Daughter

Cole hit the brakes, the car skidding to a stop on the gravel road.

He turned around to face Jade. “Baby, do you trust me?”

She hesitantly nodded.

“Do you trust your mom?” he said.

“Yes.”

“Do you believe we love you, and we’d do everything in our power to protect you?”

“Of course. It’s just—”

“Then no more questions for now, Jade. When we get somewhere we can stop and breathe for a moment, we will tell you everything. I promise. But this back-and-forth with you right now isn’t helping us. Okay?”

He could tell she didn’t like that, but she nodded just the same. He floored the gas again, the tires spinning. A half mile down the road, he pulled up to a property with a secured gate and a big red sign that saidGilley’s Auto and Boat Storage. There was a rusted keypad in the short driveway. Cole rolled down his window, tried to type in a code he’d used dozens of times before. The digital box above the keypad flashedError: Code 14. He typed the code again. Same result.Error: Code 14.

Cole cursed. This was bad. He did it a third time without success.

“Is it the right code?” Lisa asked.

“Of course. You think I’d forget the code?”

“No, I just ... what is going on?”

“The damn automatic gate isn’t working.”

“Cole, everything is in there,” Lisa said, panic surging up in her voice. “How’re we going to get the van? This is the only way in and out.”

Cole pounded on the steering wheel, racking his brain. He’d never anticipated something like this happening. He’d never had any issues with the automatic gate. He knew if they left in the Subaru right now, they likely wouldn’t get very far. That couldn’t be their only option. He studied the gate for a moment. It wasn’t a big, reinforced steel number. It was cheaper looking, with thin metal bars and some mesh wire. Could he blast through it?

“Both of you get out of the car,” he instructed.

“Why?” Lisa asked.

“So I can get us inside the property.”

Lisa and Jade climbed out of the vehicle and stood off to the side in the grass. Cole shifted the car into reverse, backed straight out into the dirt road, and then put the vehicle back into drive. He pushed the brake pedal fully down, revved the engine, and then released the brake. The surprisingly powerful Subaru rocketed forward toward the gate. Gripping the steering wheel tightly, Cole ducked his head at impact. The vehicle collided violently with the gate, ripping it from its hinges and deploying the car’s airbags in the process. Cole’s head slammed forward against the airbag and then back against the headrest. He hit the brakes again, bringing the car to a stop, and pushed the already deflating airbag away from his view. His face felt like he’d just been punched by a prizefighter. But it had worked. The gate lay flat on the asphalt. He could see the front end of their Subaru crumpled up and slightly smoking. Something had flown up and put a huge crack in the windshield. The car suddenly went dead on him. He tried to start it back up but got no response from the vehicle.

Opening the car door, Cole stumbled out.

Lisa and Jade rushed up to him.

“Are you okay?” Lisa said.

He was dazed but okay. “Yes, I’m good. But the car won’t start. We’ll have to go on foot from here.”

After grabbing their bags, Cole took off running, Lisa and Jade on his heels, and followed the main storage facility drive all the way to the back. The place was full of covered slips. Boats on trailers—some of which looked like they’d been sitting there for twenty years—as well as company cargo trucks and several rows of RVs. Their parking slip was just around the corner and to the left. Cole was thankful there were no other people currently on the property. In that regard, the automatic gate system being down had aided them tonight. The last thing he needed was to run into someone trying to pick up or drop off their boat. He wanted to get in and out without being seen.

Cole hustled up to an old white van with faded blue lettering on both sides that saidGunderson Family Plumbers. He’d purchased the van a few weeks after they’d moved to Winter Park ten years ago. The company had gone out of business. He visited the storage unit once a month to take the van out for a quick drive to make sure everything was running okay. He’d probably put only three hundred miles on it in ten years. Lisa came to the unit twice a year to switch out the clothes stuffed in three large duffel bags in the back—mainly to keep up with Jade’s rapid growth—as well as update a small collection of nonperishable food items in a plastic cooler. The last two times she’d insisted Cole come here alone with the updated clothes and food. She said she didn’t even want to be on the property anymore, it was so depressing.

Cole found the key sitting on top of the back right tire and unlocked the vehicle.

“What are we doing here?” Jade said. “If I’m even allowed to ask that.”

“Switching vehicles,” Cole said.

His daughter’s face scrunched up. “For this old thing?”

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