Never in a million years would I have expected that when I let Mitch into my life, I’d wind up on the run because of him. That was the thing about life, though. You go left, not knowing you were meant to go right.
“Will you run the plan by me one more time?” I hated that my teeth were chattering again.
Alex straightened and stepped into the room to join me, a touch of hesitancy still lingering in the lines of his body.
“Trevor’s emergency escape route wasn’t compromised during the ambush. Thermal imaging and surveillance verify it’s still secure.”
“And still zero evidence anyone has gone near the snowmobile he has hidden, or the Jeep two miles away that’s camouflaged, either?”
“Right.” He nodded. “And we’ve got my rental, Ryder’s truck, and your SUV parked in the three-car garage now. We’ll exfil using all three. Once we roll out and get far enough away to be the decoy, then Trevor will move out with Chase. Once they’re in that unregistered Jeep, he’ll head to the next location, where we’ve planned for him to swap vehicles and make his way to Michael Maddox’s cabin.”
“And Michael is there now with his family for a ski trip, and he really doesn’t mind Trevor and Chase crashing their vacation knowing what’s going on?” I brought my hand to my stomach. Bye-bye, good flutters. Hello, pain and nerves.
“He’s an excellent operator in his own right. You know, even for a marine.” He gave me a lopsided smile. “And his security will be off the charts. He told the secretary he’s happy to help, and Chase can play with his kids.”
He closed the space between us and lifted his hand like he wanted to touch my shoulder and offer his support, but then he let his arm go back to his side.
“I needed to hear that one more time.” At least no one had tried to lay siege to the property again. “And Eden’s being escorted by Beau to the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office. She’ll be protected by them at the precinct while we’re gone.” I couldn’t handle anything happening to her, either. “Better for her to be with Beau, though, or us?”
“It’s what she wanted.” He lifted one shoulder as if not totally sold on Beau’s protection abilities, which didn’t sit well with me. “They want you, not anyone else.”
“And if they try to use her to get to me?”
“What makes you think that just because Trevor’s letting Eden make her own choices he’s not still calling in extra reinforcements to keep her safe?”
Good point.Trevor was uber protective of those he loved. Case in point, what he’d done to keep us safe this last year because of a hunch about Mitch—a hunch that had turned out to be right.Well, maybe right. If Mitch had been en route to a government safe house, had he been helping them? Not a traitor?Ugh, who knows.It didn’t matter right now. I still didn’t even know if he was really alive.
“And no one aside from Trevor knows our plans and where we’re going, or where Chase will be staying. Not even Eden.”
Safer for everyone all around. I was on board with that.
“If anyone tries to come for us on the way to the airport, we’ll lose them. And at the airport, we’ll swap vehicles. Ryder has friends picking up Seraphina. They’ll keep her safe, and then the four of us will go to Boulder and hopefully get answers from the secretary.”
“And Wyatt and his wife will have eyes on us the whole way, yes?”
“Big Brother—or in this case, Gray Chandler’ssister—is watching us.” He smiled, attempting to pull off that casual, it’s-all-good attitude I was lacking.
I knew he was just trying to make me feel better. Probably also hoped I’d forget he’d been cut right in the spot his ex-wife had shot him last year. Talk about a shocking admission we’d need to unpack at some point.
“You okay?” He tipped his head, eyes narrowing on me.
“I’m not remotely okay, but thank you for this plan. For everything. And for finding a way to Houdini my son to safety.”
“None of that is thanks to me.” He shook his head. “Your husband had it all covered. You didn’t even need me.”
Ouch.On so many levels. “Notmy husband. And I do need you.”
He frowned. “Sorry, you know what I meant.”
Not sure I did—and why did I feel like there was some unspoken message sitting here between us that I wasn’t quite picking up on?
He nodded, keeping quiet, but I could still feel the weight of everything he didn’t say. “Ready to go?”
Not at all.“I’m not ready to leave my son.”
“I don’t think any parent is ever ready to do that,” he said in a somber voice. “It’s never easy to walk away from those you love.”
Chapter Nineteen
