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“Two hours,” Blade said.
“I know about the one in Utah,” Lyla ventured, desperate to discuss anything but the cloud of doom hanging over them. “How many safe houses does he have?”
“Half a dozen. The one in Arizona is one of the closest, and I know how to get there.” He tapped the unresponsive GPS. “I don’t know what the fuck is going on with this shit.”
Carmen pulled out her phone. “Still no service.”
Nora sat on her lap and burped loudly. Beau leaned over to make sure she was all right and waffled in Lyla’s hair. She reached back and scratched him under his chin.
“You’re such a good boy,” she praised.
“Yes, you are,” Carmen agreed and kissed his cheek.
“Get some sleep,” Blade advised.
“How?” Lyla asked as she bounced Nora on her lap.
“We don’t know what else that fucker has in store for us tonight. You should rest while you can.”
She dropped her face on Nora’s chest and inhaled. Sadist wouldn’t get her baby. She dropped the seat and crawled in the back of the SUV with Beau and found some blankets. She placed Nora on her back and watched her baby kick and wave her arms. Beau lay beside her with his head on his paws.
Thoughts of her mom in Sadist’s hands chilled her to the core. Sadist didn’t keep his victims. She squeezed her eyes shut. She watched Manny die. God wouldn’t be cruel enough to take her mother too, could he? Helpless despair filled her chest, drowning her. Why did Sadist hate her so much? It was a coincidence that Sadist caught her at Manny’s house that day, but now he was striking out at her family. This was personal.
She tucked Nora against her body and breathed in her scent. The world could fall around her, but she would do whatever she had to for her daughter. She fought to bring Nora into this world, and she would pay whatever cost to keep her here. Her thoughts turned to Gavin, and her chest burned with fury. If he was in Maine on a personal vendetta, leaving them vulnerable to an attack, she would never forgive him.
“Lyla.”
She opened her eyes and found she was curled protectively around Nora who was sound asleep. Beau was gone, and there was a harsh chill coming through the open doors of the SUV. Carmen reached for the baby and hustled into the darkness.
She felt worse than she had before she slept. Her mind was sluggish and unfocused. She scooted out of the back of the SUV and landed on coarse sand. A small cabin sat at the base of a canyon in the shape of a horseshoe. Jagged peaks seemed to touch the starry sky. She walked around the SUV and saw that the safe house was at the top of a steep incline. On the horizon was the faint glow of city lights. She wished they were in the city, not in the middle of nowhere with no one around for miles.
She walked toward the cabin, which was set deep enough into the canyon that no one would see the lights. She stepped onto the worn, creaking porch and heard Blade cursing.
“What is it?” she asked.
“Still no reception. I’ve been checking every fifteen minutes since we got on the road,” Blade snapped and stuffed his phone in his pocket. “Did they bug our phones? What the fuck?”
The house had one bedroom and was sparsely furnished with wooden chairs and not much else. Carmen came out of the bedroom with a blanket wrapped around her and Nora. Pat sat at a small dining table, face buried in his hands.
She used the facilities and splashed water on her face to wash away the grogginess and grime. The bathroom had one set of towels and toilet paper, but nothing else. She looked at herself in the dingy mirror. The woman looking back at her possessed dull, defeated eyes.
She trudged into the kitchen and opened the cupboards, which were empty. The house had electricity, but no rations, not even drinking water. She was thirsty enough to drink from the rusty tap. Carmen huddled on a twin bed with Nora in the only bedroom.
“I changed her diaper and put on the warmest clothes she has,” Carmen said through chattering teeth.
Beau trotted through the house, sniffing the floor excitedly.
“I’m going to talk to Blade,” she said.
Her father sat at the table, staring intently at his phone. Blade’s punch gave him a fresh set of bruises on his cheek. He looked like a walking dead person. She wished he would wash up. Knowing he was covered in her mother’s blood made her feel sick.
She walked outside and found Blade standing at the top of the hill, looking out over the desert.
“What are we going to do?” she asked.
“Most of the safe houses are near cities where we can pick up supplies.” He jerked his head at the distant city lights. “How do you want to do this?”
She blinked. Blade was asking for her advice? “What do you mean?”
