My Father's House

Chapter 46

Burley and in her late thirties, my new bodyguard could have passed for a young Bruce Willis with the exception of her short, curly, black hair and a shadow of a female figure. Maxine, or Max as she preferred, would be staying with me all week.

Ava offered access to her closet as I didn't have clothes of my own. The gesture seemed far beyond anything I had hoped for from the woman, so I accepted.

Kael stayed in my room from the first night. We both slept better this way, even if he was on the floor. He'd start off on the living room sofa and eventually show up after an hour or so when my first onslaught of nightmares began. I guessed this was for Ava's benefit. I appreciated his discretion, although I suspected Ava wasn't oblivious to our arrangement. He was convinced I was suffering from post-traumatic stress. As the nightmares continued without reprieve, I was starting to wonder if he was right.

Kiley's locket never left my neck. Part of me was starting to treasure the piece against my better judgment. A greater, more terrifying part of me feared losing Kael. His words in the car haunted me. As much as I wanted to discount them, I couldn't.

Two days into my quarantine, I was tired of it. I hardly saw Kael and Ava. I had been given a cell that had both their numbers on speed dial, but I felt guilty using it unless there was a true emergency. Their days seemed to get progressively longer with little to no recompense. Gideon had not been found and more importantly, Garrett's whereabouts were still a mystery.

I had spent the last two days planning my escape. Despite her lack of friendliness, Max was a fantastic guard. I could scarcely step onto the porch without her silent presence following behind me.

Convincing her to go out to lunch with me hadn't been as hard as I'd expected. She and I both knew the affair would be stiff and awkward, but the reward of getting out of Ava's townhouse was too great to pass up. It was no coincidence that the cafe I selected was across from the train station. After all this wasted time, I prayed I wasn't too late to find Garrett.

I researched everything online from the distance between the cafe and the train station to the time the train left that I would be on. My timing must be exact. Max would probably grow suspicious after five minutes in the restroom which gave me a very small margin of error. I had run through the entire scenario a thousand times in my head. Unfortunately, nothing ever works out for me as planned.

The cafe was perfect. I had used the restroom at the appropriate time, exited out the back, and crossed the street within ninety seconds. In truth, I was ahead of schedule. I was at the ticket booth when I heard a woman shouting. Turning to look, I saw an angry lady collecting her things that had spilled from her suitcase. An older gentleman appeared to have run into her and walked on, initiating the angry outburst.

He glanced back at her momentarily, keeping his head low under the bill of his hat. Despite his efforts, I recognized him. Less than a hundred yards away stood a haggard Higgins. I didn't know how he had found me here, but the man was every bit as resourceful as I'd feared. I froze where I stood, the insistent pestering of the clerk finally drawing me back to reality. Higgins looked up just as I started to turn away. His travel worn face split into a look of relief as he started in my direction.

Dropping the money I had been handing to the clerk, I bolted through the crowd to the exit. Adrenaline pulsed through my veins, carrying my legs faster than they had ever gone. Higgins should not be here. Not only had he ruined my plans of finding Garrett, he likely had very sinister plans of his own.

I stopped at the street light momentarily, but when it didn't immediately turn, I started running down the sidewalk. I didn't have time to wait. I had run a city block when I paused for a moment to fumble in my purse for the phone.