Page 36 of Protecting Clove
“He always wants money, so wherever he is staying, it has to be cheap. He has never paid child support or given me anything. He doesn’t want Neo because he loves her. He just wants me to pay him money. Or worse, he wants to—” A sob cut her off.
Wolf reached out and squeezed her shoulder. “It won’t come to that. He won’t get to her. I’ll make sure.”
She nodded, unable to speak. Neo had already suffered enough. She didn’t want her daughter to see her cry, so she wiped her tears away and forced the pain down.
“Go freshen up in the bathroom. I’ll make sure you have our contact information. It looks like Neo likes Caroline, so it would be good to get together again.”
She nodded, then headed into the bathroom to wash her face so Neo wouldn’t see her crying. She wanted to be solid for Neo, but with Keith out there, it was all so fragile. Bud needed to make it back to her so everything would be good again.
26
Bud knew the man they wanted was in the house in front of them. They wanted to take him alive, but if he died, then he died. What happened last time wouldn’t happen again.
Kevlar was taking the lead this time. Bud was stationed across the street, ready to take on anyone who tried to interrupt them.
The order was given over coms to enter the building. This time, no explosions went off as they approached the building. He kept his eyes and ears peeled for anyone approaching.
Kevlar’s team entered, and Bud heard someone coming up the street. Bud readied himself. Moments later, someone raced closer, and Bud steadied himself. The guy running toward the house holding their high value target had a gun, so Bud didn’t hesitate. Two more men raced closer, both of them holding guns. He took care of them, then focused back on the building.
He learned that their target had been captured. They were ready for exfil. Bud held his position, keeping the streets clear so they could escape. The helicopter would land close, but they still had to traverse a few hundred yards to get there.
At least they had their man. Now, they could escape and get him to the people who wanted to question him. He didn’t knowwhat the intelligence community wanted with this guy, but it wasn’t up to him to make decisions. Other people were in charge of that. He just did what they asked and was damn good at it.
27
Keith was ready to head back home. He was tired of living in his car or in shit hotel rooms. The only good thing about this state was the large number of people he could take advantage of. He spent his mornings hustling on the beach or at stores. Most people had no clue he had hustled them until after he was long gone, if then.
He wanted to be home, though. Clove was harder to find now. He thought about places a kid would want to hang out and he came up blank. Then he thought about how that brat had talked about reading and he wondered if he would find them at the library. It only took him a few days to see them entering the library, and then he followed. He knew exactly where she lived.
Approaching during daylight was crazy, so he bided his time, waiting until he knew she was asleep. He had talked to his contact again, and they would rather have Clove, not Neo. That was fine, he didn’t care which of them was sold, he just wanted the money.
He was about to get out of the car when he saw a police officer driving past. Anger and fear slid through him. Had she seen him? He ducked down, watching as the officer slid right beside him, not even giving him a second look. Keith chuckledbut the sound died when the officer stopped his cruiser and got out.
“Fuck,” Keith whispered, hoping the officer didn’t come back here. He didn’t want to answer questions right now. He thought about speeding away, but that would raise more questions.
After a moment, the officer got back in his car and left. Now, Keith had to decide what to do. Did he go in and take her or wait for another night?
28
Clove woke to the sound of banging on the door, and she pulled up the security application, seeing that the person knocking wasn’t at Bud’s door but at her old place. Fear spread, and her hands shook as she tried to get a good look at the person knocking.
Her phone buzzed, and she saw that Thario was calling. She answered, worry sliding through her.
“It isn’t him. I don’t know who the person is, but it isn’t Keith,” Thario said.
She breathed out a sigh of relief. “Thank you. That scared me.”
“You’re in Bud’s place. Just don’t make any noise, and don’t leave.”
She nodded though Thario couldn’t see her. “Got it.”
“I’ll call you back in a bit. I need to get the police over there.”
“Thank you.”
The call ended, and she got dressed, knowing she had to be ready for whatever happened next. Neo wouldn’t wake for a few more hours, but if the noise woke her, she wanted to be ready.
It took most of the morning for her to relax. She wasn’t sure who had come by, but she at least knew it wasn’t Keith. Hehadn’t found her. It was weird not teaching and not going out to do shopping. She hadn’t had this much time with Neo in a while. They played and read, mostly read because Neo wanted to learn more about chemistry after meeting Caroline.
