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Cleaning his throat, Landon says, “You were right. Target is going to move.”
Hunter curses under his breath, his hand rubbing his face. There’s silence for a moment before he follows up with, “Watch it and report back.”
Landon nods, then walks to the kitchen and grabs the empty plate on the counter. My focus returns to Hunter.
“What’s going on?” May asks the question I’d been about to.
Hunter sits back down. “We’re not sure yet. We’re keeping an eye on things. Then we’ll decide about moving forward with the meeting.”
I sit a little higher in my seat. “You mean meeting your father?”
“Yes,” he bites out.
“When is that going to happen?” I ask.
His head turns to me, and his eyes burn into my soul. “When the time is right.”
26
As I open my eyes, the house is silent. This is the opportunity I’ve been waiting for.
Leaping out of bed, I don’t turn on my light—I only use the flashlight on my phone.
I silently go to the closet and grab my prepacked backpack. When I retired to my room earlier, I made the excuse that I was tired. Instead, I’d packed my bag to clear out of here tonight. I’m going to get my mother and hopefully not get killed while trying to get to her.
I’ve left the patio door slightly ajar, so after slipping on my runners, I take my phone and order an Uber. It tells me that it will be about twenty minutes before it’s supposed to arrive. Slipping on my backpack, I silently open the door.
Hooking one leg over the patio railing, I bring my entire body over, then make a jump. Landing on the dirt, my shoes crunch, and I cringe. It’s like I’m walking on a bag of potato chips in a silent church.
It’s a cool night tonight, and glancing at my phone, it reads two a.m.
Without thinking, I run toward the driveway, not looking back. It usually takes about five minutes to drive this driveway, so I should make it to the gate before the Uber arrives. My breaths are even, and it’s times like this that I’m thankful for being an active person.
Fifteen minutes later, I make it to the gate. Turning back, I don’t see anyone following and puff out a huff of air that I’d held onto.
Headlights come over the little ridge, and I step back into the shadows, hoping it’s not someone who might be keeping an eye on me or something. When I see the indicator come on for the driveway, I step out and wave to them.
They stop themselves from going down the driveway.
Pulling the door open, I lean down. “Hey.”
“Are you Aelina?”
“Yes.”
“Hop in.” The driver seems focused on his job as he pushes some buttons on his phone. “So you’re heading into the city? You’ve put in a bakery that I know doesn’t open for another few hours.” He eyes me in his rearview mirror.
“Uh...yeah. I’m meeting my friend there. She’s showing me the nightlife of New York.”
He shrugs, seeming to accept my lame response. I only knew of the bakery because it had been mentioned to me once. I’ve never been to New York, so I’m stepping into a place I know nothing about.
Here’s hoping Thomas finds me.
I swallow my anxiousness.
This is something I need to do.
You can do this.
