“No, I haven’t heard anything yet. I’m sure if he does, he’ll let Mason know. I was going to get someone to cover Craig long enough for me to drive back to Atlanta, so if you could do it, that’d be even better.”
“That’s the perfect excuse for me to head that way after I leave the airport. Cailín isn’t on a job, so I’ll see if she wants to tag along. Do you want me to grab your things from the trailer?”
“Since I have no idea how long we’ll be here, yes, please. Let me speak with Craig, and he may want some of his things as well. Why don’t you call Mason, then call me back?”
“You got it. Talk soon.” Tabitha disconnected, then dialed Mason. He agreed that Tabitha should meet Major at the safehouse with his and Craig’s clothes and watch over Craig while Major drove to Atlanta. He had yet to hear from Everett regarding the shooters, but he would message Tabitha and Major when he did. After speaking with Major, Tabitha went to his trailer to gather his things. She folded his clothes and added them to his duffel. When she entered the bathroom for his toiletries, Tabitha stopped short. Major had printed a selfie they took during their weekend together, and it was taped to the small mirror. Tabitha carefully removed the picture and ran her finger over Major’s face. She should have known the fates wouldn’t have chosen someone for her who wouldn’t be all in. Now, if they could have some alone time where they could sealthe bond.
Once she had his items gathered, she tossed the duffel in her trailer, then went to Craig’s. She was punching in the code when Sarah approached. “Hey. I didn’t know Craig was back. I’ve tried calling, but he’s not answering.”
“He’s not. He and—”
“Then what are you doing?” Sarah gestured to the door.
“I’m gathering his things to take to the safehouse.”
“Safehouse?” Sarah looked around before stepping closer. “Where is he? Why does he need a safehouse?”
“He and Major ran into a little trouble when they left earlier. It’s just a precaution.”
“Craig’s okay? Tell me where he is, and I’ll take his things to him.”
Tabitha leaned her back against the door. “I’m sorry, but I can’t do that. Until this mess is—”
“But I’m his assistant! Craig trusts me.” Sarah’s face turned blotchy, and she stomped her foot.
Tabitha softened her voice. “I don’t doubt that Craig trusts you, but his safety is paramount at the moment, and we cannot risk someone following you. You wouldn’t want to inadvertently lead someone to his location, would you?”
“No, but—”
“I’m sure he’ll call you when he can. You might want to make sure Craven knows the situation? He was looking for Craig earlier.”
Sarah rolled her eyes. “Sure. Let me get yelled at. Again.” Still, she headed in the same direction Craven had gone earlier. Tabitha punched in the code and entered Craig’s trailer. If she snooped while gatheringhis belongings, well, that was the private investigator in her. She didn’t find anything incriminating, nor did she see anything exciting. No books. No laptop. No e-reader or music player. Although he hadn’t asked for it, Tabitha grabbed the script that was lying on the dinette table and added it to his bag. He didn’t have many clothes, but she figured Daniel would retrieve those from the hotel, if he hadn’t already since he’d not arrived at the set.
Tabitha carried his bag to her trailer and dumped it beside Major’s, then she set about gathering her own things. She wanted to be ready to roll out first thing when it was time to take Trista and Marilyn to the airport. To pass the time, Tabitha spent the rest of the evening texting Major and Cailín, the latter excited to go with Tabitha to the safehouse.
The last text before going to bed was from Major, asking if Tabitha would stop at the grocery store on the way so that Craig would stop bemoaning the fact that they didn’t have a cook. That was the problem with safehouses; it was every man or woman for themselves. Tabitha and Major both loved to cook, but if they showed Craig their skills in the kitchen, he would expect them to cater to him at every meal.Sigh.
The next morning, Tabitha took Major’s, Craig’s, and her bags to the SUV. She then parked it closer to the guard shack before escorting Trista and Marilyn. The sun hadn’t thought of coming up when they left, and the movie set was a ghost town with everyone still asleep. Well, almost everyone, as Tabitha could hear a couple of people talking in hushed tones. Even with her shifter hearing, she couldn’t make out the words. Once safely in the vehicle, she kept her eye on the guard as shepulled away. It wasn’t until she was turning at the end of the row that she saw him on his phone. He may have been calling his wife, then again, he might be alerting someone that she was leaving the park.
She had already asked Cailín to go with her, so at the edge of the parking lot, Tabitha stopped long enough to text Cailín with her suspicions instead of sending the message through her Bluetooth. She didn’t want to scare her two passengers. The drive from Stone Mountain to the Atlanta airport was roughly forty-five minutes if they didn’t run into bad traffic, but this was Atlanta. Bad traffic was synonymous with the city. Tabitha kept an eye behind them for anyone following. She wouldn’t put it past Sarah to try and sneak her way to where Craig was.
Almost an hour later, Tabitha pulled up to the curb at the Delta departures and popped the hatch, getting out of the SUV to help with the women’s bags. Trista gave Tabitha a hug. “It was a pleasure working with you. If you ever want to try your hand at being a stunt double, just let me know.”
“I appreciate that, but my job is plenty exciting. Good luck with the new film. Marilyn, take care.”
The women took their luggage and disappeared into the terminal. Tabitha had to wait to merge with oncoming traffic, then she was off. Instead of heading directly to the safehouse, she drove to Solaralun, Luna and Solara’s Wicca shop. Not that she needed to see Luna, but she wanted to ensure she wasn’t being followed. Cailín had agreed to meet her there with the device that detected trackers as well as other supplies they might need, like bulletproof vests. The male Gargoyles were impervious to bullets; the femalesweren’t so lucky. Neither was Major. Even though the government had cracked down on weapons used by civilians, they were still out there. All of Tabitha’s coworkers had permits considering their line of work, but she didn’t carry one on her person, but she did keep one in her vehicle. She and Cailín had their bracelets that Luna created. They could call up any weapon of their choice through magic.
Solaralun wasn’t open this early, so Tabitha and Cailín had the parking lot to themselves. “Any trouble?” Cailín asked.
“Not that I could detect, but I want to be sure.”
Cailín opened a case and removed a small device, running it over Tabitha’s SUV. “All clear. Since I had time after you texted last night, I went shopping so you don’t have to on the way. Papa asked what I was doing, and he helped cook several meals that only have to be reheated.”
“Your papa is the best.” Tabitha adored Trevor. Tessa had shared many stories about the quirky man from when they first met. The two were kindred spirits in that Tessa had been the first baby successfully cloned, and Trevor was a clone of his brother, Travis. Trevor’s younger years hadn’t been easy, but he’d met his mate, Jasper, and all that changed. Back then, Trevor worked in the morgue with Tabitha’s Uncle Dante, who took Trevor under his wing and helped the human flourish. Jasper was Cailín’s older brother, but he and Trevor had the paperwork drawn up to adopt her after bringing her back from Ireland as a toddler.
“That he is. You head out, and I’ll keep a little distance between us, just in case.”
“Sounds good.” Tabitha was ready to see her hottie,even if they were hiding out in Bumfuck, Georgia. From what she had researched the night before, Wilkey was one of those small towns that hadn’t bounced back from the apocalypse in the early 2000s. In its heyday, it had boasted almost fifteen hundred residents. Not the best place to remain hidden for long since everyone knew everyone else, but now that it was all but abandoned, it was the perfect area to keep someone safe. At least for a few days. It would allow Major, Tabitha, and Cailín to notice anyone coming and going. It was close to several state parks, and if needed, they could spirit Craig away and hide him out in the forest. Tabitha hoped it didn’t come to that because Craig was a needy jerk on the best of days. She could just hear him complaining about sleeping in a tent.
