Page 68 of At Last

20.

Caitlin

I wanted to stick. For him. For us. But Houdini killed Laynie Briggs. He killed her. Jade and I need to get out of here. He won’t get my daughter. Her poor parents, sister and brothers. How can you ever be right again after something so heinous happens to your family?

With Hero out doing whatever he does when not guarding us, I jump on Duke’s laptop and navigate to a travel-booking site. As I scroll, I see Nashville has a red eye to Ireland leaving tonight. I calculate it in my head.Three hours for us to get to Nashville. The allotted three hours to get through security… if we packed now, Jade and I could be at my family home by lunch tomorrow.

But only if we pack now.

My cell phone rings. Unknown number. Sydney, Australia. I cannot deal with him right now. For some reason I swipe to answer. “Aiden, I sold the locket. It’s gone. So leave us alone.” Then I hang up, not giving him the opportunity to turn his vitriol my way, and toss the stupid phone onto the coffee table.

I should have let it go to voicemail the first time. He calls and hangs up four more times. Four times.

Duke will be so angry with me. For talking to Aiden. For walking away. But he has to understand I’m not leaving him. I’m saving my daughter from ending up dead behind a garage.No. No. Quit second guessing yourself, Caitlin.I let out a breath and walk over to the island to grab my purse.

Credit card in hand, I click to purchase two tickets to Ireland. Though, once my confirmation pops up, it hits me that our passports are at the rental house with all our other stuff. And I know I’m not supposed to leave without a guard, but he can’t know we’re leaving anyway. Because I know for a fact Hero would try to stop us.

While Jade plays in her room, I walk into mine to grab our bags from the closet, pack quickly for myself, then head out to the laundry room to pack Jade’s clean clothes that I hadn’t put away yet. We won’t be gone forever. If she needs more than this, I’ll just have to buy it for her.

After loading the bags into Duke’s truck, I go back in to get my daughter.

“Teeny, sweetheart. Jade and I have to leave. So you need to head home, okay?”

“Sure, Dr. Brennan.” Teeny stands, but bends forward to give Jade a hug. “See you tomorrow, Jade.” She won’t. But she doesn’t need to know that.

“By Teeny.” Jade hugs her back. “Where we gowing, mama?”

“Out,” I tell her. “Now get your shoes.”

She does without asking.

At the last minute, I grab my cell up and shove it into the pocket of my jean shorts before heading outside. Then after getting my daughter buckled in to her booster, I back out of the spot and turn around. There are always bikes and trucks coming and going, so the prospect guarding the gate doesn’t give Duke’s truck a second look. Now it comes down to waiting. Because he’s not going to let me out without a guard with me.

But then… but then a busty young woman in an electric blue tube top drives up in a little convertible. It’s older, but cute. Red. Her over bleached hair looks windblown, but the way the prospect glares hungrily at her, he doesn’t seem to mind. No, he seems more concerned with something else as he looks behind him nervously, and then opens the gate to let the convertible in. With his head, he motions for her to drive a little ways in. She climbs in the backseat. He climbs on top of her.

And that’s it. The damn horny prospect forgot to close the gate.

I shift the truck into drive and slowly ease off of the Lord’s compound. We’re free. Pointing the nose toward town, Jade oblivious to everything watching her princesses on her tablet, we take road after road until pulling into the driveway in front of our rental. It’s been forever since we’ve been here.

Climbing out, I reach in the backseat to extract Princess Jade and set her down on the pavement. When I open the front door to the house, I expect the place to smell of dumpster. But it smells clean and fresh, instead. Duke taking care of me. He had someone clean out the trash and food. Damn it, I’m going to miss him.

We climb the stairs and walk to my pre-Duke bedroom. That’s where I have the passports. In a safe in the closet. Since I don’t know how long we’ll be gone, I collect our other important papers, shoving them in my purse. This whole time Jade keeps quiet, trusting me. Trusting that I know what I’m doing.

There’s nothing to grab from her room. She and Duke had moved it all over to his house, so we move back downstairs, and I stumble back a step. Blocking Jade with my body.

“H-how did you find us?”

“I have my ways,Caitlin.” He says my name with such distain it almost makesmestart to hate me. “Now let’s go. The truck. That fucking biker has eyes on the SUV. But we’ll still have to ditch for another vehicle as soon as possible.” He’s very handsome with his in-need-of-a-cut, light brown hair dusting around his ears and that full, trimmed beard. Too bad his soul is pure evil.

“Mama,” Jade whimpers from behind me. “Who’s dat man?”

“What?” He sort of snarl-laughs. “You haven’t talked about me?”

“No.” I tell him defiantly. “I try to shield her from evil.”

Before I can raise my hands to block the swing, his fist cracks against my jaw. His fist cracks against my jaw. I’m stunned. My mouth begins to pool with blood. I’ve never been hit in my life.

He leans around me. “All in good time, sweetheart. All in good time. Now walk.”

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