AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Wow, so this is all exciting! And your name is so unusual, a pretty name for a pretty girl,” Blaze exclaimed with a genuine smile.
“I was named after my grandma. Fae and then Lea from Mom. My middle name is Abigail, after my aunt,” Faelea muttered, distracted, and I nearly groaned as Gauntlet sent me a puzzled glance.
Thinking on my feet, I rushed a reply, “Ju… lie…. Fae… lea.”
“Yeah, okay,” Gauntlet drawled suspiciously.
“Oh well, that’s everything inside now. Thanks for your help,” I said pointedly.
Blaze stepped away from Faelea and sent me a worrying glare.
“Mrs Jepson, Gauntlet’s gran, she was worried about you after the… incident,” Blaze changed the last word after shooting a glance at Faelea.
“There’s nothing to worry about. Tell Mrs Jepson thank you for her concern, but everything is fine.” My voice was stilted. I wanted them gone before Faelea slipped with something. Faelea was only ten and couldn’t guard her words. Then again, Faelea had been doing exactly that her entire life.
“Gran would like to see you to reassure herself that you’ve come to no harm,” Gauntlet murmured, his eyes on Faelea.
Faelea’s head snapped up, and I saw worry cross her face.
“It’s okay, pickle, just a noisy and rude neighbour. I dealt with him,” I informed Faelea with a warning glance at the men. Faelea had every right to feel safe in her own home, and I wouldn’t let these two ruin it for her. I offered them a glower, and they exchanged a look.
“Well, I’ll tell Gran,” Gauntlet said, and with a goodbye to Faelea, they left. I wanted to heave a sigh of relief, but somehow I knew I’d be seeing Gauntlet again. Something about me bugged him, and Gauntlet was uber-protective of his grandma. Damn, this wasn’t working out for me.
Gauntlet
“Think something is off there,” I muttered as Blaze and I crossed the road.
“Agreed. Julie seems to be in hiding,” Blaze said as we stopped by our bikes. I didn’t want Gran to overhear.
“Did you get a picture?” I asked, knowing Blaze had snuck his phone out while we were inside.
“Yeah, I’ll send it to Mac and see what he digs up. If Mac can’t find anything, he can pass it to Hawthorne. But Gauntlet, I don’t think Julie’s a danger to anyone, more like she’s running from it,” Blaze responded.
“Did you notice what the daughter said? Seriously, I peeked into some of those boxes. The kid literally has everything brand new. Says to me they’ve not lived together,” I mused.
“Think Julie kidnapped the girl?” Blaze asked, straightening and sending a glance at the locked-down house.
“No, the kid was happy to be there. But there’s something I couldn’t put my finger on. Julie seems almost desperate to make Faelea happy, and Faelea seems the same. And I noted Faelea ducked some of your questions about where she’d lived before and how come it was her first time here,” I stated, my mind working furiously.
“I’ll get Mac to do an Amber alert check. But I don’t think Faelea was kidnapped. Faelea seemed to be okay and not distraught,” Blaze said, tapping on his phone.
“Yeah, because of how Julie’s acting, something is wrong.”
“Sure Julie’s not just a private person?” Blaze challenged.
“Brother, if you thought that, then you wouldn’t have taken those pictures.”
“Shit, that’s true.”
“Tell me what Mac says. If Faelea was kidnapped, then she needs help,” I replied, and Blaze nodded. With him at my back, I walked into Grans, worried about a little girl I did not know.
Amberlea
“Simone has tracked him and is obtaining his confession right now,” a man called Angel announced. I was wary because Angel was someone I did not know, though I’d spoken to him three or four times.
“Where’s Butch?” I asked.
“Where else?” Angel snickered.
