Page 4 of Vengeful Lies

There didn't appear to be anything out of the ordinary. It looked like it always did, the older couple across the street were out working in their spectacular front yard, there were a couple of kids riding bikes, and a few cars driving up and down the road.

Nothing out of the ordinary.

“It’s fine, Gabby, you're just being paranoid,” she muttered to herself, a bad habit of hers.

“What's pamanod?” Essie asked, looking up at her with wide gray eyes.

“Not a word for little girls,” she replied as she hurried them both down the street, anxious now to be within the relative safety of the car. It was silly, but she didn't want to be out in the open any longer than she had to be, it wasn't safe.

Although she supposed nowhere was really safe for anyone in this family right now and she was part of this family. All the guys were like brothers to her, and she had quickly accepted Willow, Susanna, and Becca as sisters. While the little girl holding her hand might not be her daughter by blood, she’d helped to raise her since she was a year old, and she couldn’t have loved Essie more if she’d given birth to her.

“Morning, Ms. Sadler,” Gavin greeted her as he opened the backdoor for her and Essie to climb in.

Gavin was one of the bodyguards assigned to her and Essie. They had four who worked in pairs for twelve-hour shifts before clocking out. Since Gavin and Dave did the day shifts, she was better acquainted with them and liked them both, although Dave was rather quiet and didn't say much.

“Good morning, Gavin,” she returned with a smile as she helped buckle Essie into her car seat. “And I've told you at least a hundred times to call me Gabriella or Gabby.”

“Sorry, ma’am,” he said with a grin that told her he wasn't going to do that any time soon.

She was chuckling to herself as she sat down and did up her own seatbelt. It was weird having bodyguards. It did make her feel safer as she tried to keep Essie’s life as normal as possible while also being sensible and keeping her little charge safe. The threat continued to escalate, and she was sure it wouldn’t be long before Cade decided to send them both away somewhere no one could get to them. Most likely that would be to the Delta Team guys where Cade’s little sister Cassandra was currently hiding out. Those Delta guys were scary, but they could also be sweet, she’d witnessed that herself with how they treated Essie the handful of times they’d met her.

“Gabby, what game we playin’ today?” Essie asked, looking at her expectantly.

Usually, they passed away car trips, even short ones, playing games since she preferred to limit screen time as much as possible. There was a whole wide world out there to explore, so driving in the car was always a time to talk and play games.

“How about we count how many red cars we can spot,” she suggested.

“Okay!” Essie enthusiastically agreed.

So that’s what they spent the next ten minutes doing. They were up to six when they stopped at a red light. There were only another five minutes to go until they reached the pool, and she could relax a little. It was too busy a place for the men after Cade’s family to try anything, and she’d be in the water with Essie while Gavin and Dave watched over them.

“Look, Gabby! Right next to us is a red car,” Essie squealed in delight.

“How many does that make now?” she asked.

The four-year-old scrunched up her nose as she thought. “Umm … nine?”

“Not quite. Let’s try again, we’ll use our fingers.” When she held up both hands Essie copied her. “Okay, so we already had,one, two, three, four, five, six,” she said, putting up one finger for each number. “Now let’s add one more. How many does that make? Count them again if you're not sure.”

Looking at her little fingers, Essie counted. “One, two, three, four, five, six, seven. Seven. Seven red cars,” she said excitedly.

“That’s right, you're getting so good at addition,” she encouraged. While she had no formal degree in childcare and no idea what had prompted Cade to hire her when she was sure there were more qualified candidates, she’d worked hard to learn about child development and ensure she was the best nanny Essie could have.

Leaning over to tickle the little girl’s tummy, she caught sight of a car stopping in the middle of the street crossing theirs that currently had the green light.

“What a terrible place to break down,” she said absently.

“Stay in the car, Ms. Sadler,” Gavin instructed, his tone hard and unyielding.

Before she could ask what he meant, he climbed out and pulled out his weapon.

Four men spilled out of the large SUV she thought had broken down. They were all dressed in black, their faces were covered with ski masks, and they held weapons.

A kidnapping attempt.

The people after Cade’s family had decided to come for little Essie.

In a panic, she realized there was nowhere for them to go as she looked around. They were in the middle lane, three cars were ahead of them and at least a few behind them. They were trapped and outnumbered.

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