“I’m leaving town. I need to get on the road.”
“I’ve got a break I’m overdue for. How about I walk out with you and help you scan your car with that device?” He nods to the item he helped me find.
“That would be great, but I don’t want to get you into trouble.”
“No trouble. Come on.”
We walk to the checkout, and I purchase the item, then go out to my car. I load my son into his car seat while John goes over the vehicle.
It only takes him a minute to find a little tracker with a magnet attached to the wheel well of my back tire. He pulls it off and shows it to me.
“Oh, my God.” I’m stunned by how small it is.
“There’s no telling how long it’s been there.” John searches my eyes. “Is this man violent?”
“Yes. He can be.”
John scans the parking lot. “You need to get out of here quickly. He’ll already have tracked you here if he’s looking at it right now.”
I can only hope he hasn’t returned to the apartment and found me gone. “Thank you.”
“Please be careful, honey. Go to someone he doesn’t know and can’t track down.”
I nod and yank the driver’s door open.
“I think I’ll have a little fun with this tracker.”
“What do you mean?” I ask.
“Gonna put it on my vehicle. Let him follow me.”
“Please don’t engage him. I’d hate to think anything bad happened to you because you helped me.”
“Good luck to you, honey.”
Slipping inside, I lock the doors and drive away.
I take I565 west toward I65, but before I reach it, I call my brother in Memphis. Jared has a wife and baby, and I won’t risk their safety, but maybe it’ll be safe for the night. Snake doesn’t know about anyone in my family.
At that thought, I ease to the side of the road and pull up my social media accounts. I delete every one of them. It’s sad to let them go, but my child’s life is more important, and I don’t want Snake pulling them up and looking through all my contacts. I can only hope he hasn’t already done that.
I call Jared and tell him the situation. I also tell him if he’s not comfortable with me staying there, that we’ll find a motel. Of course, he insists we come.
I stop and get gas at the next exit, then don’t stop again until we reach Memphis at 1am.
Jared is waiting for us when I pull into the driveway.
He gives me a big brother hug the moment I step out of the car, and I burst into tears.
“I’m sorry. I’ve been holding it together until now.”
“Who is this guy? I’ll fucking beat the shit out of him.”
“He’s dangerous, Jared. If he shows up here, promise me you won’t open the door to confront him. And if he comes after I leave, you don’t know me and I was never here, understand?”
“What are you saying? What do you mean after you leave? You’re staying here, and that’s that. Come on.”
He carries a sleeping Tucker into the house and lays him in the double bed in his guest room.
