Survivor (The Soul Mates Series Book 1) (14 page)

I turned and started walking without answering, I was completely convinced that this was about me and not Ross.  When we got to the forest edge I did what we’d agreed and waited at the edge of the tree line for over twenty minutes.  My brain was in a cycling frenzy with certainty that I’d been discovered when Sam returned with the all clear.  There was no one lying in wait at the house. 

I was desperate for Sam to make the call to Ross in front of me, I wanted as much information as he did but it was clear he wasn’t going to do it in front of me.  “I think I’ll take a soak in the tub, try for a bit of forced relaxation.”

“Good idea Mouse, I’ll put the stove on for some fodder.”

I nodded and let him get busy before I left the room, going upstairs and starting the faucet on the bath tub.  I waited five minutes and used one of my recently acquired new skills, creeping about.  I snuck back down the stairs assuming he’d be keen to make the call as soon as he thought I was out of the way.

It didn’t take long.  “Son, a new visitor appeared in town, came lookin’ for you.  Chuck gave me the heads up.  You OK?”  He went quiet, listening and intervening during appropriate times in the conversation.  “License plate number IZYZ452.  Get back to me.”

My brain started to spin and pulse with activity, I missed any remaining conversation and stopped listening as Sam was telling Ross that he thought the whole thing had spooked me out.

I missed it because my brain had worked its magic, I knew that car.  I’d seen it many times both written down in the ledgers and parked outside of our family home.

It was my brother, Valentino’s car.

They’d found me.

*****

Ross

“There’s a faster way to identify that plate dad, go and ask Cara if she recognizes it.”

“Are you nuts?  You’ll scare the shit out of her,” he barked back at me.  My dad had become protective of his mouse.

“Lyin’ or hidin’ shit is not an option.  Her head doesn’t work like ours.”

“I know that!” he snapped again.  His frustration was getting the better of him, he was worried.

“No I mean it.  It intensifies shit.  It twists and turns stuff until she can’t cope because it won’t shut down.  If she’s involved in figurin’ this out it might stop that happenin’.  I need to know she’s OK so go find her and ask her.”

“Alright,” he mumbled back at me and I could hear his work boots clomping out of the kitchen, into the hallway and then up the stairs.  “What the…” I heard him say.

“What the fuck what?  Dad, what the fuck’s wrong?” I lashed out.

“The tub is overflowing, she told me she was takin’ a bath.”

I didn’t like the sound of this, I wasn’t with her and relying on someone else to tell me she was OK was killing me.

Fuck! When did I become so attached.  “Find her dad.  Now.  Room first and then check the storage locker in the main garage, if the money is gone, she’s runnin’.”

“I’ll call you back.”

“Do not hang up!” I barked at him.  “If you find her I want to talk to her.”

I’d not yet made it to Hawkstown, I’d decided to stake out the strip club a little while longer.  I thought understanding the clientele would educate me better and confirm the honey trap operation.  Guiseppe Acerbi came and went enough to validate that it was a main office base for him.  I also wanted to make sure that Raven was still in one piece.

What the hell was it about me and damsels in distress?  It’s not as if every case I’d worked didn’t have some kind of female involvement.  For some reason though, I was unable to keep my carefully constructed wall up and keeping that wall in place was a big part of keeping me focused and alive.

I heard my dad open the back door, the tell tale hinge squeak gave it away.  It was a noise that was loud enough to be heard whilst you were sleeping during the night and for that reason alone my dad had never oiled the nuisance away.  “Money’s gone.  Just checking the trailer.”

“Fuck! This is bullshit, it’s me they’ve found not her.”

“Mouse darlin’, what’s going on?  Why are you out here cryin’?”  I heard him say gently.

“Give her the phone dad.”  I knew he’d done this when I heard her sniveling down the line.  “Baby listen, can you tell me what’s goin’ on?  I need you to try and calm down for me.”

“I… I… heard,” she sniffed, “I heard it.  The… plate…d… details.”

“That’s good.  I was hopin’ you’d be a faster database check than my contacts at the DMV.”

“It’s… it’s Valentino’s.  He’s found me, he’s found me!  I won’t let him take me back,” she wailed down the phone.

“OK baby, OK.  I really need you to relax just a bit and pay attention.  I don’t think it’s you they’ve found, I think it’s me.  I’ve stumbled into one of their operations and I think they’re lookin’ into me as a possible mark.”

“I don’t understand.”

“I know beautiful, I know. 
Fuck
, I’m done with this being apart shit and I can’t concentrate ‘cus I’m stressin’ that you might run or might kill my old man if you manage to convince him to spar with you.  I know that mind of yours is workin’ overtime wonderin’ what I’m up to.  Remember that name and address I gave you?  I want you and dad to head over there and I’ll meet you there.  I’ll carry on checkin’ in via dad’s cell, but I promise you, I’ll explain everythin’ when we’re together.  Can you do that for me?”

“Yes Ross, I’m… sorry.  I’m a failure.  All your training and faith in me and I was going to run again,” she started to cry as she was finished her sentence and it felt like I was having my fucking heart pulled from my chest.  I wasn’t good with words and I knew if I was with her I could love her, hold and comfort her, until she felt better.

“Ssh, ssh, you haven’t failed anyone.  You followed your instincts and survival is exactly that, makin’ decisions based on information available and that’s all you did.  I’d rather you listen to your gut and run than stay and fight, especially when I’m not there to fight with you.”

“Alright.  I…” she stopped talking.

“What is it?  No secrets, tell me.”

“I… I miss you so much,” she whispered and fuck if that didn’t just fill me up with joy inside.

“I miss you too, but the sooner you get on the road, the sooner we’ll be together.  Can you put dad back on?”

“Yes.”

“So, I’m road trippin’ then?” he said astutely.

“Yeah, sorry.  I can’t risk lettin’ her do it alone. I’ll keep in touch but you know the drill, keep her away from street cams, gas station security video feeds, the whole fuckin’ lot.”

“I do.  It’ll be like takin’ a trip down memory lane.  I’ll look after her son.  I didn’t think earlier.”  He was starting to apologize and there was no need.

“I should have warned you this could happen.”

“Would’ve been a nice heads up, but what’s done is done.  See you in a few days,” he replied and hung up.

I exhaled a lungful of air.  It felt stagnant as I expelled it, like I’d been holding on to it because I was worried I wouldn’t be able to calm her down and get her to come to me.

If we were to have a future of any kind, I needed to convince her that I’d do everything in my power to keep her safe.  I couldn’t carry on with the fear that the moment I turned my back or we had the slightest blip or set back that she’d run.  Life wasn’t drama free, but she had to find another way to react.

I made it back to the window in time to see Raven being man-handled out of an Escalade into the back door of Sunset Strip.  She was the reason Cara’s brother had gone to Rockton.  The most worrying thing was that he’d turned up at my old man’s place, it meant they had a Fed on payroll who would have I.D’d me as one too.  I didn’t own my own place and his address was listed, buried deep in my personnel file, with my dad as my only next of kin.

All throughout my career I’d been protected, or so I thought, by obscure cover stories and legends so backed up, that there were times
I
forgot my own names and real identity.  For them to get access to my very factual details meant that the Acerbi reach was far and wide.  People I trusted to keep me safe had rolled over and given me up.  I imagine the lure of bribing or having an ATF agent in the club had sent them scrambling quickly.  I’d be the golden goose for those mob motherfuckers. 

“FUCK!” I was beyond angry.

Trust was everything in my job.  Maybe this was why I’d never come across the Acerbi’s or been put on any case involving them, they were protected.  This kind of corruption was possible and more common than anyone wanted to admit, but I always swore that the day I felt unsafe, I was done.

Looks like I’m done then.

Motherfuckers.

What’s worse is that they could have found Cara by accident, what a prize that would have been for them.  We were lucky this time and I knew we couldn’t chance that kind of luck too many times.  This only confirmed my need to have her with me and by my side, because if she was going down, then I was going down fighting for her.

I dialed the familiar number I’d come to rely on lately more than ever.  “J,” I spoke when he answered.  “Cara and my old man are moving across the country to yours.  One of her brothers rocked up in town.”

“Shit.”

“Yeah, I think they’ve found me and are lookin’ at my honey trap potential.”

“That was quick.”

“I know.  They found me at my dad’s which means someone has been through my restricted personnel file at the agency.”

He knew what this meant, the danger this posed.  “On it.  I’ll see if I can hack in and assess who the weak link is.”

“I owe you man, I owe you a lot.  Cara is headin’ to your place.  I need you to be ready, I trust you’ll prep Dolly if you need to, but the others absolutely can’t know.”

“Sure.  I’ll be inventive,” he chuckled, “see you when you get here.”

“Roger that,” I confirmed, reverting to army chatter and hung up.

Throwing everything in my bag, I left the room without formally checking out.  If there was any chance that they had my list of legends and I had to face it, it was a strong possibility, then I didn’t need any flags being raised about my current whereabouts.

Hawkstown.  Shit, that was somewhere I never thought I’d visit again.  Memories of what could have been, the lifestyle I’d always wanted was repeatedly shoved down my throat when I was with my friend. 

Things would be different this time though, I was the one seeking help and the more complicated all of this became, the more unsure I was of just what kind of help it was I needed.

Sam and I borrowed a truck from someone in town who he trusted.  I knew, even though he didn’t tell me, it was because his truck was probably compromised.  He kept making excuses when I asked, ‘they owe me,’ or, ‘more comfy ride and better on gas.’  Whatever, either way, I rarely left the vehicle along the route.  We continued to argue about it until he came clean, it wasn’t safe for me to be wandering around in front of security equipment.  Sam also apologized for trying to keep me in the dark, apparently the protective trait is a hard one to shake.

Because of the risk, he was selective about which gas station rest rooms it was safe for me to use, so much so, that I used them irrespective of whether I needed them just to be sure.  I wore an old oily ball cap and sunglasses pretty much permanently and we stayed in some seriously dodgy motels along the way.

Driving under threat in the past meant I hadn’t had any opportunity to take in the scenery or surroundings but this time it wasn’t a problem.  Having time to gaze out of the window also gave my brain time to whirl and gyrate, I was generally grumpy and overactive so it didn’t take long for the mumbling and fidgeting to kick in.

“Mouse… mouse, hey girl, listen up.  Want me to make a stop at a library or bookstore?”

“That would be amazing if it’s not too much trouble although I guess I can’t go in and choose them myself,” I mumbled, hopeful.

“No sweetheart, ‘fraid not.”  At the next town he did as he said and returned with a paper bag full of used books from a thrift store.  He chosen a varied selection of mystery, science fiction, romance and to my surprise, erotica although I’m sure he didn’t realize that.  “I just steered away from anything that looked too close to home, mob related, mafia stuff or crime and gangland.”

“Good plan.  If nothing else it would really annoy me if they were inaccurate,” I replied much to his surprise and he chuckled, handing me a take away coffee and some cheese subs that he’s also picked up.

My mind was capable of doing multiple tasks, so I paid attention to the books and stories, looked at the scenery we passed, listen to and answered Sam’s queries, but mainly I was focused on what would be waiting for us when we got to Hawkstown.  I’d pegged Ross as having a really lonely lifestyle and couldn’t grasp his friendship with this Jonas, I was stunned as to how he had someone in a small town that he’d managed to drag into both of our lives and my drama.  “What’s this Jonas like?”

“Never met him.  Heard stories about him from Ross.  Both ex-military which means they’ve had to trust each other under circumstances probably more dire than this.  Know he was part of a case that Ross worked a while back.”

“What does he do now?”

“No idea for sure, but I get the idea he’s still part of some kind of service.  He must be to have the kind of intel he’s been feedin’ my boy,” he surmised.

“What if it’s too populated and I can’t…”

“Hide?”

“Yeah,” I answered on a sigh.

“We have to trust that where we’re heading is a safe place and besides it’s probably safer for you there, than it is back at mine.”

“I’d not thought of that.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll be staying long enough to make sure it’s all ok.  Then I’ll be back on the road.”  Sam told me this like I knew it was inevitable.

“What!  You’re going to leave me there?”

“Have to.  Need to head home and see if they come back to look for Ross.  Both of us disappearin’ will ring some alarm bells Mouse.”

“I never thought of that.”

“I didn’t expect you too,” he confirmed as he pulled into another motel.  “Last night at one of the state’s finest roach motels, let’s get some rest.”

Ross called and confirmed I would be arriving in Hawkstown ahead of him and Jonas was on point at his house to meet me, other than his wife no one knew I was coming.  He told me he’d been delayed making sure things wherever he was, were still safe.

I took ages getting to sleep and knew it was down to nervous excitement.  I was going to be relying on strangers for a while but more importantly, I was going to be seeing Ross again.  I could feel that missing part of me reshaping, my heart knew it wouldn’t be long now.

I’d been reading sci-fi on the road, Game of Thrones.  Even though parts of it were violent and more medieval than I’d expected, it was good to move my brain through an entire world I could conjure up in my imagination.  At nights when I was alone in my motel room I read the erotic fiction Sam had grabbed for me.  It set my pulse racing and my heart pounding, all of the sex scenes were gritty and descriptive.  I learned more in a few nights reading, than I had in years and the endless sexual possibilities both intrigued me and shocked me.  The part I really enjoyed was how easy it was for my imagination to insert myself and Ross into the scenes and situations.  The nights alone had been filled with longing and desire.

Yes.  I was definitely excited to see Ross.

Hawkstown arrived on our landscape soon enough and was nothing more than a mid country town like any other.  An average main street containing a standard bank, generic shops, a coffee shop and high school.  The only main difference between that and Rockton was the population, this place just seemed that little bit busier.

We breezed through with Sam following directions from the Sat Nav to the address I gave him.  We landed at a farm track and pottered down it until we came to a really beautiful farm house.  “Looking for the Drakeson place,” Sam asked a guy on a horse.

“Yeah, next place along.  Back up the main drive, out onto the road and take the next driveway on the right.  You’ll feel like you’re driving in a circle back towards here because you are.”

Sam nodded and turned us around after thanking the man and it wasn’t long before we hit the right driveway, “No post box or sign,” he mumbled to himself.  After we cleared the trees a new build style ranch house appeared in view.

“Wow,” was my only comment.

Sam started chuckling beside me, “And that’s coming from the millionaire princess who probably has a family house bigger than Rockton town.”

He wasn’t wrong, I’d lived in grandeur, I knew what it was to live like a princess, especially a Disney princess and like all those apparent perfect girls their lives involved evil and baddies.  Yeah, the irony of Sam’s description was not lost on me.

Looking at the Drakeson home I felt the shroud of love and protection it gave the family that lived here.  It was this vibe that made it wow because it was a home.  The yard at the side was enclosed, but I could see a love swing facing an epic child’s play set, complete with army flags, swings and a slide.  The child that lived here was lucky enough to have their very own fort to play in.

“Stay here, I’ll go and knock, although I imagine he knows we’re here.”  Sam nodded in the direction of the discreet cameras attached to each side of the house.

“Sure,” I replied, rubbing my hands on my thighs.  My palms were sweaty, I was going to see Ross again soon.  The last time I felt this much trepidation was when I was a young girl and it was approaching my birthday.  I soon got over that excitement, fake parties with guests I didn’t know and presents fit for someone of my wealth and stature sucked the real fun out of them pretty quickly.

The front door opened and Sam extended a hand inside.  After a minute or two of chat he motioned for me to get out and join him.  By the time I got to him I was teetering like a cat on a hot tin roof, “Oh my,” were the words that slipped out from between my lips when I clapped eyes on the guy the other side of the door. 

He was as tall as Ross, not as wide, but still he looked like one half of a WWE tag team.  He was strikingly handsome, the kind of stop you in your tracks handsome.  “You must be Cara,” his voice rumbled as he stuck his hand out to meet me.

“Uh…” I couldn’t form words, I’d thought Ross was a one off.  Clearly our armed forces bred machines that kept us safe during their formative years, but then they graduated to become hot guys capable of disintegrating your panties during the latter part of their manhood.

“Ross hasn’t hit town yet.  You need to hang here.”

“Uh…”

“Shit Mouse, get a grip.  Boy put the coffee on.”  It was then that I started to chuckle.  Boy.  Sam just called this gigantic lump of muscle, boy.  “Excuse her Jonas, it’s been a long few days and I think cabin fever is setting in.”

Jonas wasn’t fussed, he took us in his stride and my behavior didn’t seem to faze him.  I assumed my reaction to him was just the standard he got every time he met someone new.

Moving through the house, it became clear that this was a complete family home, toys and kiddy paraphernalia ruled.  “Excuse the mess.  Dalton is not a fan of housework.  Coffee with her crew, yes.  Shopping for our girls, definitely.  Clearing up, never seems to be a high priority on her to do list.”

“Girls?” I asked as he filled the coffee machine with water.

“Twin monsters.  A and B.  I’ve seen some messy shit over the years and managed some sticky situations but that is nothing compared with fatherin’ twin girls.”  The way he said that, with a smile, was so endearing that I knew this was his world and his reason for being.  Just then, a door slammed and two adorable toddler sized girls rushed forward.  When I say adorable I mean, one was clean and pretty and the other was wild eyed and ready to throw down at a moment’s notice.  “Talk of the devils,” he mumbled.

“Daddy,” they both squealed, heading in his direction.   Each girl latched onto a leg as he leant down to cuddle them both.

Beautiful, it was all just so beautiful to see.

“Sorry I’m late.  Barbara had trouble disengaging that one from the tool shed.”  I turned around towards the voice and saw the most fresh faced looking blonde.  Her hair was naturally curly, she had boobs twice the size of mine and an ass that looked real and feminine encased in kick ass Jeans.  She wore a T-shirt that said
We’re gladiators, where’s the Scandal?
on the front and old battered cowboys boots.  “You must be Cara, nice to meet you.  I’m Dolly.”  She reached out a hand to me and I shook it with pleasure.

It was then that I heard the dark, gravelly voice mutter, “Babe,” and she forgot about the rest of us and made her way over to him.  The look on his face told me it wasn’t just the twins that were his reason for being, she was it for him.  This woman was his world and in return, I saw the same glow sent back in his direction.

Dolly moved to him and he kissed her so gently that it was the tenderest thing I’d ever laid my eyes on.  I’d never seen my mother and father like this.  All the people in my life didn’t show natural affection, just PDA on command and usually in an attempt to assert power and control.  I looked away quickly, feeling like I was intruding on something personal and caught Sam watching me.  He smiled and raised his eyebrows in a gesture I wasn’t sure I understood.

One of the girls broke free and with a look of amusement on her face, Dolly watched the tiny commando drag a chair and a box to the counter top, place them together so she had enough reach to get to the cupboard for the cookie jar.

“Jesus B, haven’t you had enough at Granny’s?” Jonas groaned, but the child who was apparently busy in a tool shed not too long ago, was undeterred in her efforts, so to save her risking injury he gave her a cookie from the jar, along with a hair ruffle and scalp kiss full of pride.

“Guess who she takes after?” Dolly said smiling which caused Sam to burst out in a fit of laughter.

“Babe how about you take Cara to Jo’s in town for coffee, you’ll be OK there,” he said to her, although I think this was for my benefit.  “I need to talk to Ross’s dad, it’ll save time if I do it before he gets here.”

“Sure,” she told him grabbing her purse, it didn’t seem like she needed to be told twice she could have a break.

It took me a moment to gather myself together, I wasn’t used to being able to go out for coffee and my nervousness about people was still at the very front of my thinking.  Public places had become the enemy for me.  “Go Mouse, you’ll be good,” Sam whispered, sensing my unease.

Dolly kissed her man again, then kissed her girls in turn.

“I’ll call when Ross gets here, stay at Jo’s OK babe?” A look passed between them, she knew his tone and understood that this instruction was important.

And before I knew it, I was walking out the door with a stranger who was one of the friendliest people I’d ever met.