"Yes, thank you."
The old man took the adult menu and walked away. I reached down and gently shook Tommy. "Tommy, honey, wake up. There's some hot chocolate here for you and something to color."
I loved the look of wonder that flushed Tommy's cheeks as he opened his eyes. He was such a good boy, a happy boy. I wanted to keep him that way. I didn't want my father turning him into a clone of himself or Roger. Tommy deserved better than that.
"Sit up and let's get your jacket off."
Once he sat up, I helped Tommy off with his then took mine off, as well. I placed both of them on the other side of Tommy. If he got tired, he could use them as a pillow until it was time for us to go.
I drank my coffee while watching Tommy and the door. I knew people would begin coming in pretty soon. This was a diner after all. People were also looking for me and Tommy.
The coffee sat heavy in my stomach, and I was afraid I wasn't going to be able to eat my food. I knew I needed to. I needed the nourishment. I was just wasn't sure it would stay down. My stomach was in knots.
"Where are we going, Daddy?"
I smiled for Tommy's sake. "Someplace wonderful."
At this point, anywhere my father wasn't was wonderful in my book.
"Here we go," the old man said as he walked up to the table with our plates of food.
I quickly moved everything out of the way so he could set them down. "Thank you."
"I'll just go get his juice."
I grabbed a knife and fork and cut up Tommy's food into munchkin-size bites then tucked a napkin into the collar of his shirt and pushed his sleeves back. I knew he was still going to get food all over everything, but I could try and minimize the damage.
"This is good, Daddy," Tommy said after a few bites.
"Good, I'm glad you like it."
Luckily, Tommy wasn't a picky eater.
I picked at my food, taking a few bites, mostly when Tommy looked up at me. I didn't want him to see how freaked out I was. I knew he could tell on some level. He was a fox shifter after all, but hopefully, he didn't fully understand my agitation.
I forgot to breathe when the bell over the door jingled. I wrapped my arm around Tommy, prepared to push him to the floor if needed. I didn't recognize the two very large men who walked in and started to relax a little until they started looking me and Tommy over.
They were big, like freakishly big. At least, it felt that way. I topped out at five foot ten, but these guys were way taller than that. The black clothing wouldn't have been so odd if they both weren't wearing it. Black pants, black shirt, black shoes, black jackets. It was a little unnerving.
They walked farther into the diner, taking a booth a few down from me and Tommy. The old man came from the back, grabbed the coffee pot and some menus, and went to their table. With my shifter hearing, it was easy to hear them ordering a very large breakfast. Like, enough food to feed six people breakfast.
Damn.
Once the old man walked away, the two men started a conversation that grew really boring really quickly. I relaxed back against my seat. I knew we'd need to get up and go pretty soon, but I wanted to give Tommy just a few more minutes inside somewhere warm, and give me a few more minutes to rest.
A few more people came in, and I held my breath every time, not relaxing until they were seated and well on their way to having their breakfast.
My heart ached a little when I glanced down at Tommy, knowing our time had come to an end. We needed to get out of this small town before my father remembered it was here, and he would. I was pretty sure right now, he was searching the woods and the town we lived in.
He probably assumed I had gone to stay with a friend or something, except I had no friends. The ones I'd had growing up, I'd given up when it became apparent no one would stand up for me when my father beat me or threatened me or married me off for his own personal gain.
I didn't need friends like that.
My breath caught once again when the door opened and a third man dressed all in black walked in. He walked over to the table where the first two were sitting and greeted them, telling them to order him some coffee.
When he started in my direction, I dropped my gaze. I jumped when something dropped onto the floor right next to my table and the man squatted down to pick it up.
"Your father's looking for you," the man whispered. "He has men searching the entire area."
