Page 4 of Shared By Her Brother's Best Friends

“It was!” he insists.

“Maybe it was someone who looks like Daddy, but it isn’t him. Daddy’s gone. Was it Uncle Jacob? Does he seem like a dad to you?” I probe.

He shakes his head vigorously, “No! It was Daddy.”

I sigh, frustrated and terrified at the same time of the ramifications if it wasn’t Jacob. “Max, I need you to understandthat it can’t possibly be Daddy. Remember what we said about stranger danger?”

“That I shouldn’t talk to strangers,” he mumbles.

“Right, and that man is a stranger…”

“He’s not, he’s my dad!” Max yells.

“Max, he’s not your dad! I don’t care what he’s told you, that man is a stranger danger!” I yell back, my fear getting the better of me, “You mustn’t talk to him and if he ever comes near you again you must go tell an adult you know right away, okay?” He scowls and crosses his arms over his chest, glowering out of the window. “Max, promise me, this is very important. Stay away from that man, do you understand me?” I shout, using my best stern ‘Mom voice’.

“Okay Mommy, I will,” he replies, his eyes filled with tears that break my heart, but I need him to understand to keep him safe.

“Good boy,” I reply, my voice calmer than I feel.

My eyes land on a black SUV and I realize it has been behind us since we left the school. Usually, I wouldn’t think much of this, but in my already paranoid state, I start to watch it closely as we continue our journey. Whenever I think I’ve lost sight of it, it reappears in my rearview. As we take our exit toward the small town we live in, I start to get even more concerned when it continues to follow us. I decide to test whether or not it’s tailing us by going a longer route, taking random turns back and forth on myself, not wanting to lead whoever it is, right to our door.

“What are you doing Mommy?” Max asks when he realizes we’re not going straight home as usual.

“I’m playing a game. Do you see the car behind us? Well, it’s a bit like tag. We’re trying to get away from them,” I reply as my foot hits the gas.

I’m now certain that they're following us, and they know I’m onto them. I make the mistake of turning onto a quiet road with no other traffic and the car behind accelerates, coming up alongside our car. The huge SUV dwarfs our small Honda hatchback and the hairs on the back of my neck stand up as I realize what they’re trying to do. The car swerves, knocking into the side of ours and causing us to veer toward the side.

They’re trying to knock us off the road!

I grip the steering wheel with white knuckles as I stamp my foot down on the gas, focusing only on protecting my son and getting away.

“Mommy!” I hear Max say, his voice high with fear as he realizes this isn’t a game.

“It’s okay, Maxi,” I reply, trying to hide the tremor in my voice.

My little car is no match for theirs and soon they’re by my side again. Thankfully, an oncoming eighteen-wheeler forces the car to drop back, but it soon gains on us again. Luck is on our side again when I see a turn-off and I quickly take the exit, hoping to reach somewhere with more people.

Surely, they won’t try anything with dozens of witnesses?

Our pursuers must realize what I’m doing as they gain ever closer, ramming into the back of the car and sending us jolting forward. I let out a yelp and Max screams, crying in fear.

“It’s okay sweetie, Mommy’s gonna get away from them,” I try to comfort him, but my words fall on deaf ears.

When we reach the town, for the first time, I’m happy to hit traffic. The main street is busy with cars and pedestrians and the car behind me falls back. When we reach the most densely populated area, I pull into a busy diner parking lot, right up near the entrance where some people and cameras will see us. The car slows but continues to drive away and I let out a breath I didn’t know I’d been holding.

“It’s alright now Maxi, we’re fine, it’s safe.” I soothe him.

I get out of the car and walk on legs that feel like jelly to the backseat where I unstrap Max’s seat and hug him tightly as he sobs into my arms. When he’s calmed down slightly, I tell him, “Come on, let’s go inside and have some hamburgers and milkshakes for dinner shall we?”

Max nods, rubbing his eyes and taking my hand, allowing me to lead him toward the brightly lit safety of the diner. I don’t want to risk going back out on the road and encountering them again. We’ll be safe here with so many other people around. But the stark reality of the situation is sinking in. Someone is after Max.

I can’t write this off as an overactive imagination, there’s a strange man who wants my son and isn’t afraid to run me off the road to get to him. I’m going to have to do the one thing I didn’t want and ask my brother and the Iron Serpents for help.

My brother might have his flaws, and I’m pretty certain the Iron Serpents aren’t exactly law-abiding, but I know my brother will do anything to protect us and it’s clear whoever we’re up against isn’t scared to play dirty either.

As the saying goes, sometimes you’ve got to fight fire with fire.

Chapter 3

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