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“My calling in life is to help you discover life outside these walls. It’s the most challenging volunteer work I’ve ever undertaken.”
“Why don’t you go undertake—” I stop short when I see Jinx hasn’t moved from the hall.
The only difference is she now clutches the stuffed bear with a death grip. She slowly relaxes her hold the more I close the distance between us.
“You ready to cook dinner?” I ask.
She peers at Max.
“Dory—”
“Max!”
“—will join us. Unless you want to do me a solid and tell me to kick her out.”
“As if you could.” Max passes me to enter the kitchen, ensuring she gives Jinx a wide berth.
Jinx swings her head to follow Max’s progress before silently following behind my lifelong stalker.
While Max and I cook and banter, Jinx sits and stares at us as if we’re from another planet.
The moment I close the oven on the biscuits that will accompany the chicken stewing on the stovetop, my phone rings. Not the one I have for daily needs. It’s the secret phone that only my accountant and tech guy have.
Regardless of which person is reaching out to me, I’m on alert. Our communication is mostly through texts. What emergency would necessitate a call?
“Can you start on the veggies?” I ask Max. Without waiting for her agreement, I leave the kitchen to answer the phone in the privacy of my upstairs bedroom. I nibble my lip as I answer, “Omari, do you have someone new?”
“Not quite, but that’s not why I’m calling. Your suspicions were spot on. Someone’s looking for the kid, and he’s not someone you want to fuck with. I’m preparing docs in case you need to flee the country last minute if Plan A falls through.”
“Shit.” After today’s disastrous meeting, this news isn’t welcome. I silently run through the best escape plan I developed when I took over my father’s hobby. The danger has always whispered its presence, but with Omari’s call, it’s sitting on my shoulder and talking to me in a conversational tone.
“Don’t panic yet,” Omari says. “The wipe I did of your name is still good. No one will find you in any database.”
“So I’m safe for now?”
“As safe as you’ll ever be given your extracurricular activities.”
I swallow the momentary relief. Despite his reassurance, I promise myself to be hypervigilant. Not even Max and her playful intrusiveness work to dissipate the anxiousness I feel. She leaves after dinner, and Jinx becomes my shadow. Whereas she usually follows me everywhere, now she’s two steps behind me instead of barely entering the room I’m in.
My anxiety is affecting her, so I do what I always do whenever my emotions begin to overwhelm me. I go to my closet. Not the everyday closet with my nondescript wardrobe meant to blend into the background. Instead, I head to a spare bedroom that I converted into a fashion house of designer clothes and accessories organized by color and length.
Jinx lets out a barely audible gasp and her eyes widen at the boutique-style design.
“Want to play dress up?” I ask her.
She approaches the wall of shoes, my tribute to the fashion accessory that amps up any look from meh to fierce. With a look close to awe, Jinx reaches out to touch a pair of furry kitten heels before snatching her hand back.
I take the shoes. “You know what this will go great with?” Although my clothes are too big for the little girl, I find a shawl, hat, glasses, and jewelry that will glam up her look.
She stares at herself in the mirror without a word. Yet, I sense her quiet joy at doing something silly that other kids take for granted. Watching her eases some of the unease that drove me to my haven, but also reinforces the thought that came to me after rescuing her from her desperate situation.
No matter what happens to me, I won’t let anyone hurt Jinx again.
Never.
CHAPTER 4
Sansone
