The house was eerily quiet as we moved through the hallway and down the stairs. It reminded me of when windstorms would knock out the power back home. Sometimes it would take hours for the electric company to get the lines fixed, and the house would be so quiet while we waited, like a tomb.
“Takin’ her out the back,” Mark murmured too quiet for anyone but me to hear.
“Who are you talking to?” I asked quietly.
Turning to me, he lifted a finger to his lips. I nodded.
As we made our way through the kitchen, Mark stuffed his hand inside my bag and rummaged around for a minute. When he didn’t find what he was looking for, he stopped. Setting the bag and purse down on the floor, he unzipped his hoodie and quickly pulled it off.
“It’s cool out,” he said, his mouth so close to my ear I could feel his breath. “Put this on.”
I didn’t stop to question him. Letting him hold the sweatshirt for me, I carefully shifted the baby from one arm to the other so I could get the sleeves on. When I was done, he gently zipped us both inside.
“All good,” a woman whispered from the doorway, motioning for us to follow her out.
I had no idea who these people were or how the hell Mark Eastwood fit into it all, but I followed them blindly anyway. What did they say about the devil you knew? Leave it to my father to send a savior in the form of the last person in the world I’d ever want to see.
I didn’t question it when they ushered me toward the trees to the side of the house instead of the driveway, and I didn’t say a word as I ducked and weaved through branches and leaves, but when we came to a six foot high fence I balked.
“There’s no way I’m going over that thing,” I said seriously. Inside my sweater, the baby’s mouth went lax as she fell fully asleep.
“Piece of cake,” Ephraim said. When he smiled, his teeth were startlingly white against the dark of the greasepaint.
“No, really,” I replied, looking at the fence again as I reached inside the sweatshirt and pulled my sports bra back over my boob and my t-shirt down. “Not happening.”
“This ain’t our first rodeo,” Josiah said. “The wall is about ten inches thick at the top. We’ll lift you up to straddle it, someone else will help you on the other side.”
“This is insane,” I sputtered.
“It’ll be fine,” Josiah reassured me.
Just as I started to take a step backward, because no fucking way was I going to attempt that wall while carrying a baby, a hand on my lower back made me freeze.
“Can’t use the front gate,” Mark said in my ear. “This is the only way out of here.”
I stared at the wall. Okay, logically, I knew I was going over it. I wanted to get the fuck out of there, and if this was how it had to be, then this was how it had to be. However, I honestly didn’t know how in the world I was going to actually do it.
“I’ll hold—” Ephraim came toward me and I jerked backward, instinctively pressing my back against Mark.
“The fuck you will,” I snapped. “She stays with me.”
“Hey,” Josiah said soothingly. “It’s all good, yeah? We’re here to help you.”
“This is takin’ too fuckin’ long,” Mark said shortly.
Before I knew what was happening, I’d taken about five steps forward and I was suddenly turned and lifted into the air. My ass hit the wall with a thump as I yelped.
“Get your balance,” Mark ordered, his hands still bracing my waist. He waited until I was steady before letting me go. Then, in one smooth movement, he hopped the fence. Just seconds later, I was being tugged backward and lowered to the ground.
It was over in less than a minute.
“Told you,” Ephraim said teasingly after he’d cleared the fence. “Piece of cake.”
“Let’s go,” a southern accented voice rumbled from somewhere in the trees.
Four shadows emerged out of the darkness, and I damn near tripped over my own feet.
“Jesus,” I whispered, tugging the baby even closer.
“Load up,” the same voice ordered. “We’ll meet at Chief’s. Different routes. Catch you on the flip side.”
I was ushered into a dark SUV as the two groups split up, and before I knew it, we’d made it out of Liv’s neighborhood and were flying down the freeway.
“Call your pop,” Mark ordered, his voice startling in the silent car. “Let him know you’re safe.”
I nodded and reached for my purse that was stashed near his feet. Without another word, he lifted it up and set it on the seat between us.
The phone rang and rang with no answer, but I hadn’t expected one. If my parents were on the road, they wouldn’t be able to answer until they’d found somewhere to stop.
“Thank you,” I rasped before clearing my throat. “Thank you for coming to get us. I don’t understand how—”
“Casper called me,” Mark said. Yeah, I’d figured that much out already.
“But why?” I prodded. “Who are these people? What the hell?”
“This is what we do,” the southern guy said from the driver’s seat. “Get people out of sticky situations.”
I looked at Mark for clarification, but he ignored me.
“You’re some kind of commando?” I asked dubiously.
The woman who’d ushered us out of the house earlier laughed and turned to the side so she could see me from the passenger seat. “Oh, yeah, he’s a regular Rambo.”
“Shut it, Lu,” Mark muttered.
“What the fuck is happening right now?” I said under my breath, shaking my head. The whole situation was surreal. It felt like one of the vivid nightmares I’d had when I was pregnant.
“Who were those people?” Mark asked, as I pinched my leg just to be sure I was awake. “How the fuck did you get caught up in that shit?”
It wasn’t necessarily the words he’d used, but his tone that made my back snap straight. “I wasn’t caught up in anything,” I shot back. “I was in the wrong place at the wrong fucking time.”
“Understatement, Cecilia.”
“Liv’s a friend—” I caught myself. “Was a friend. A good one.”
Mark didn’t say a word as he glanced down at where I’d unzipped the hoodie so baby girl had room to get some air. I could tell he wanted to ask more questions, but he didn’t, so I didn’t offer up any more information. The SUV was quiet as we weaved our way through the county toward Mark’s house.
Dammit, I really didn’t want to go to his place. Dread mixed with the relief of escaping the closet.
I didn’t want to see where he lived, whether he had a bachelor pad or his place felt like a home. I didn’t want to know what kind of life he lived. I knew he kept in touch with people back home because I’d heard his name mentioned in passing more than once, but I never, ever stayed around long enough to hear more than that. I couldn’t. I’d survived and thrived to that point because I didn’t know those things, because I’d completely distanced myself from him.
The whole night had been one horrendous horror show, and I knew the full weight of it hadn’t hit me yet. I was still running on pure adrenalin. I recognized the feeling—the racing heartbeat and hyper-vigilance. While logically I understood that we were no longer in danger, nothing felt safe yet. We were still, for all intents and purposes, on the run. As I stared out the window, I wondered if I’d ever feel settled again.