“Call me when you get home,” Holly yelled.
She broke the speed limit racing through the quiet streets to her house and parked out front, not waiting for the garage door to open as she flew up the steps and through the front door. “Jordan!”
She’d never been so pleased to hear the television blaring. She burst into the lounge room to find Jordan on the couch playing his favourite video game. “Hi, Mum.”
The panic resided as she swept him up in her arms and hugged him.
“Mum! I’m in the middle of a fight.”
Anger pushed aside the relief and she stepped back. “What the hell are you doing here?”
“Playing my game.” He peered around her as she was blocking his view of the TV.
She snatched the gaming controller from his hand. “What are you doing at home and not at Cody’s?”
He stared up at her, then leaned back as if realising how angry she was. The motion made her aware of her tense muscles, clenched hands, and she took a step back, exhaling.
“I didn’t want to go. I’m old enough to stay here by myself. Nothing happened.”
Gretchen took another moment to breathe and chose her words carefully. “When I went to Cody’s place to pick you up and you weren’t there, it scared me.”
He looked down at his lap.
“I didn’t know where you were, and I worried something had happened to you.”
“Retribution Bay is safe.”
She bit her lip. Gretchen didn’t want him scared, just cautious. It was a relief he didn’t remember the tension of their Melbourne days. She’d worked hard to keep the danger hidden from him. “It is, but there are also a lot of tourists in town. They don’t always pay as much attention on the roads.” Maybe she should get him a mobile phone. She’d always thought ten was too young, but there might be a basic handset which allowed them to call each other if necessary. She’d investigate and see if her budget stretched to it.
“I use the footpaths.”
“What do you say if someone offers you a lift?”
He rolled his eyes. “I say no.”
She nodded. “What if they say they’re a friend of mine?”
“If I don’t know them, then I don’t go.”
“And if they say they’re a friend of your dad’s?”
His eyes widened. “Dad? But he’s in Melbourne. Is he coming to visit?” The interest, with a touch of hope in his voice, killed her. She’d thought he understood his father was out of their life for good.
“No.”
Jordan shuffled his feet. “Has he called?”
Damn. She shouldn’t have mentioned Kurt. Jordan hadn’t asked about his father in at least a year. Hell, maybe it was time to tell him the truth. Kurt’s threat was very real. She sat down on the couch. “What do you remember about him?” Jordan had been five when they’d left.
“He used to buy me chocolate all the time.”
Bribing him. She nodded. “What else?”
“He took me to the zoo to see the orangutans.”
Only because he was meeting a contact there and had smuggled drugs in the nappy bag. “Anything else? Can you remember other outings?”
A moment’s pause. “There was my birthday party at Luna Park.”
