Page 87 of The Heart of Winter

That’s why, when I got a call from Jacob that evening, I almost told him we should delay the trip by a day or two. But before I could, Jacob said something unexpected.

"Blue Lowen was supposed to fly with you, but… he changed his plans. He pushed his flight back by two days and decided to take his own jet."

A wave of surprise swept through me. And suddenly, two puzzle pieces clicked into place.

Blue’s life was constantly targeted by assassination attempts. But now, he wouldn’t be on the plane. If someone had planned something, maybe they’d back out? Maybe it wouldn’t happen at all?

Relief flooded through me.

"Do you know why he canceled?"

"Apparently, his new bodyguard insisted on it."

"Did they have any intel suggesting another assassination attempt?"

Jacob sighed. "It's a weird situation. Blue didn’t give me details, but his bodyguard got a text from someone in his family, someone supposedly reliable in these matters. They pushed hard for him to change his plans."

"Someone from the FBI?"

"No idea. But maybe it’s for the best that Blue isn’t flying with you. If someone had something planned, they’ve got two days to call it off, if anything was plotted at all."

"Phew. Yeah, that’s a relief. My brother, who has pretty sharp intuition, also told me I should cancel my flight."

Jacob let out a muffled chuckle. "I think it's definitely safer with Blue out of the equation. My brother is a magnet for disaster. His new bodyguard has already saved him a couple of times from minor attacks."

"Seriously? He finally found someone he can trust? I thought he had trouble with that."

"Seems like it. But he won’t tell me any details, no matter how much I ask. Apparently, the guy is really young but has some serious combat training. Blue also mentioned he has some kind of supernatural abilities."

"Oh? That’s new. What kind of abilities?"

"Something about reflexes, his reaction time is almost… prophetic. He seems to see things happening two seconds before they actually do. At least, that’s how Blue described it," Jacob said, sounding slightly amused.

I swallowed hard as my throat suddenly went dry. Because… I knew someone with that exact ability. In my own family.

"Do you know the bodyguard’s name?"

"No. Blue said he tested him, and the results were convincing. It’s definitely a useful skill for a bodyguard, don’t you think?"

"For sure." I forced myself to shake off my shock.

"Well, at least he’s not flying with you anymore—so that’s good. Hopefully, everything goes smoothly."

"I hope so too."

"Good luck in Japan. Call me when you land."

"Will do. Thanks, Jacob."

After hanging up, I sat there, frozen.

When I finally snapped out of it, the first thing I did was call my dad.

"Dad, can you tell me what happened to cousin Gabriel after his legal troubles? Last I heard, he got into the Second Chance Program…"

Dad sighed and said, "Unfortunately, that's where my knowledge ends too. It's a government program, and I don't think they share much information with the families. Uncle Van only told me that Gabriel got accepted into the program, but what happened after that… we have no idea."

That would have to be enough for now.

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