Darby twisted her fingers in her lap and tried not to panic. When James had made that sudden U-turn, she’d quickly turned to get a look at the driver of the black truck. The image was mostly a blur, although she had been relieved to register a rather skinny man behind the wheel rather than someone thick around the neck like Reyes.
Gage was right in thinking Reyes must have hired someone to watch the rear side of the mall. A sense of despair hit hard. It seemed that no matter what they tried to do to get away, Reyes and his men were one step ahead of them.
God, please, keep us safe.
For the first time in her life, she’d sought solace in prayer. There was no denying the sense of calm that washed over her when she’d uttered those words, but at the same time, she wasn’t completely certain God would listen to her.
All the things she’d done. The mistakes she’d made. The horrors of the Preacher’s cabin, and the way she’d spilled moonshine all over the floor beneath the Preacher’s bed. Being with Aaron, then Gage. Doing drugs. The memories hurt and made her want to hide her face in shame.
The only really good thing she’d done in her life was get clean and have Leo. Her son was the center of her world. And it occurred to her that the best way to get away from Reyes was to simply pack up and move somewhere else.
Far, far away.
With Gage? She shied away from answering that question.
“Take another left at the light, the police station is about a mile down the road,” Gage instructed.
“The truck is falling back,” James said.
“He probably knows the police station is our ultimate destination.” Gage turned to look at her. “Are you okay?”
She untwisted her fingers with an effort. “Yes. But now what are we going to do? Reyes’s accomplice knows James’s Jeep. And your truck.” She fought a wave of hopelessness. “A rideshare?”
“Let’s talk to Detective Pride first,” Gage said. “Did anyone glimpse the license plate number?”
“I caught a glimpse of the first three numbers 562, when we passed it after the U-turn,” she said. “But I can’t tell you much else.”
James glanced at Gage. “I think it’s a Ford truck, but I couldn’t swear to it.”
“I thought it was a Ford too, and even a partial plate is better than nothing,” Gage said. “Nice job, Darby. You helped a lot.”
She wished she could share his optimism. “What good is a partial plate? Any idea how many black Ford trucks there are in the entire state of Tennessee?”
“The first three digits will narrow that list significantly,” Gage assured her. “And maybe we can get the police to drop us off in a neutral location.”
“I feel as if I’ve failed you,” James said. “I’m sorry.”
“You didn’t fail us,” Darby protested. “I think it’s more the other way around. We shouldn’t have asked for your help, considering the danger.”
“Darby is right.” Gage sighed as James pulled to a stop in front of the police station. “I’m sorry we put you in harm’s way.”
“I offered, remember?” James reached out and touched Gage’s arm. “I’m worried about you and Darby. These guys seem very determined to find you.”
“Once we get out of town, we should be fine,” Gage said. “Thanks again for your help.”
Darby pushed open her door and slid out of the Jeep. She reached for the bags, but Gage grabbed them before she could.
Together they went inside the police station. Gage asked to speak to Detective Pride, only to be told the guy wasn’t in.
“Now what?” she asked. It was difficult for her to keep winging it like this. She liked having a plan. And right now it seemed as if their only plan was to hide out in the police station, and they wouldn’t be able to stick around for long.
“I’ll call the detective.” Gage pulled out his phone, but it appeared the detective didn’t answer because he left a message. “Detective Pride, this is Gage Killion. We were followed by a black Ford truck, three digits on the license plate are 562. We believe the driver was working for Reyes. Please call me as soon as possible.”
“Now what?” she repeated. “That woman behind the desk is glaring at us.”
Gage blew out a heavy breath. “We’ll walk to the closest restaurant and wait for Pride to call us back.”
As plans went, it wasn’t impressive. But she could see some logic in staying close to the police station. She brightened. “Hey, maybe we can find a restaurant where a bunch of cops hang out.”
“Good idea,” Gage agreed. He turned toward the woman who was still glaring at them. “Where is the nearest restaurant?”
The female officer pursed her lips for a moment. “The 799 is two blocks south of here.”
“That’s the name of the place? The 799?”
“Yes. Former cop owns the place. That was his badge number.”
“Perfect, thanks.” Gage grinned and caught her hand. “Hear that? Let’s go eat with the police.”
Walking outside the police station made her feel vulnerable. Gage positioned himself between her and the street, but she found that upsetting too. She didn’t want anything to happen to Gage. He’d already saved her life several times; she worried about Reyes getting to him.
These past few days with Gage had made her realize how much she liked him.
How much she cared about him.
“There’s the sign,” Gage murmured. “We’re almost there.”
She nodded. “I think you’re right about Reyes and his accomplice leaving us alone this close to the police station. I only hope Detective Pride calls you back soon. It seems like the only way we’ll get out of here is with help from law enforcement.”
“Yeah.” Gage swept his gaze around, no doubt searching for the black Ford truck. Yet they had no idea what vehicle Reyes might be driving.
She followed Gage’s glance with one of her own, knowing Reyes could be anywhere.
The 799 was busy. Many of the customers were cops in uniform, but there were just as many who weren’t. Darby relaxed a bit, realizing they wouldn’t stick out too badly amongst the group.
A sweet girl who looked about seventeen or eighteen led them to a booth near a window. Gage slid into the seat that faced the doorway, setting their bags on the floor at his feet.
“Your server will be right with you,” the young girl said.
“I can’t drink any more coffee,” Darby said wryly. “My heart already feels like it’s racing. And I’m not hungry either.”
“We have to order something.” Gage drew his plastic menu closer. “Maybe we can split a burger and fries?”
“That’s fine.” She didn’t really care what he ordered. Her stomach was still in knots over their near miss with the Ford truck. “How long do you think we’ll have to stay here?”
“Only as long as it takes for Pride to call me back.” Gage reached over to take her hand. “I know this has been a long morning, but keep in mind, we’re still alive and well. Leo and Edith are still safe. And we’re going to find a way out of town to meet up with Leo and Edith.”
“Promise?” Her tone was wistful, even though she knew he couldn’t promise her anything.
“I promise to do everything I can to make that happen.”
“I know. I trust you, Gage.”
He smiled, but then leaned back when their server arrived. Darby sipped her ice water as Gage placed their order. “We’re going to share if that’s okay.”
The server eyed them warily. “That’s fine.”
Again, sharing a meal reminded her of those first few years after escaping the preacher. How many times did Hailey manage to scrape a few dollars together to buy a fast-food burger that they’d have to split in half?
Too many times to count.
“Hey, what’s wrong?”
Her expression must have reflected her thoughts. “Oh, nothing. I was just thinking of my foster siblings, especially my sister Hailey. I haven’t seen any of them in years because I never took the time to try and find them.”
“Being a single mother and working full time probably didn’t give you much free time,” Gage pointed out.
“No, but I also didn’t make it a priority.” She took another sip of her water. “Especially Hailey. I took off with Aaron when she ended up in juvie, and I haven’t seen her since.” She grimaced. “Leaving her to go with Aaron was one of the biggest mistakes of my life.”
“I can see where you’d think so,” Gage agreed. “But, Darby, your leaving with Aaron was what brought us together. And without us being together, you wouldn’t have Leo.”
She slowly nodded. “True.”
“Don’t spend all your time looking backward, trying to erase the mistakes you made. What you need to remember is that every step you took, even the wrong ones, brought you here. To today. To the life you’ve made with Leo and Edith.” He hesitated, then added, “And with me. I’m grateful we’ve been able to beat the past, Darby. Both of us are in a much better place now.”
“For all the good it’s doing, with Reyes trying to kill us.”
“I know. We’ve spoken before about how hard it is to understand God’s plan for us, but have faith, Darby. Things will get better. All of this”—he waved a hand—“will work out exactly the way it should.”
“I’ll try.” It was the best she could offer. He made a good point, she couldn’t regret that time with Aaron when leaving him after being smacked around for the umpteenth time was how she’d ended up with Gage.
A relationship that had created Leo.
She stared at their clasped hands for a long moment. Gage was right. She couldn’t keep living in the past.
Staying focused on the future was more important. But with Reyes and whoever the skinny guy was driving the black truck following them, she was having a difficult time thinking about what her future would hold.
At this point, she didn’t know whether or not she and Leo and Gage would have a future at all.
Gage didn’t know what else he could say to lift Darby’s spirits. He shared her concerns, but he wasn’t giving up.
Not by a long shot.
Raking his gaze over the officers seated within the restaurant, he spied Officer Crow. For a brief moment, their gazes locked, and even from this distance, Gage could see the smirk when Crow recognized him.
Their server arrived with their food, breaking the moment. Gage took a moment to send up a silent prayer of thanks, before cutting the burger in half and offering it to Darby.
“Try to eat something,” he encouraged. “We don’t know when we’ll have the chance to eat again.”
“I guess.” She halfheartedly picked at a fry.
“Don’t look now, but Officer Crow is sitting catty-corner from us with his same young partner who questioned you.” Gage took a bite of the juicy burger and nodded in satisfaction. “This is really good.”
Darby ate her fry, then reluctantly picked up the other half of his burger. “Did he see you?”
“Yeah.” Gage kept an eye on the guy through his peripheral vision. A few minutes later, Crow and his young partner rose and left the restaurant.
“We were probably wrong about him,” Darby said. “No wonder Detective Pride was annoyed. I think it’s clear that the skinny guy driving the truck is the accomplice. He’s probably been helping Reyes all along. Between skinny guy and Archer, Reyes could easily have kept tabs on our vehicles.”
“I still don’t trust Crow as far as I can throw him.” Gage struggled to shake off his bad attitude. Crow wasn’t the first cop who’d treated him poorly because of his criminal record, and he likely wouldn’t be the last.
Time to move on.
His phone rang as they were finishing their meal. Gage pounced on it, relieved to recognize Pride’s number. “Detective? Thank you so much for calling us back.”
“You’re absolutely certain the black Ford was following you?” Heavy doubt laced the detective’s tone.
“Yes, I’m sure. We made a U-turn at a left turn light, and the truck did the same thing.”
There was a moment of silence. “I ran the plate and found an owner of a Ford truck who recently reported his license plate was stolen. The stolen plate number is 5624TJ.”
“Stolen.” A stab of disappointment hit hard. “That figures.”
“Where are you?” Pride asked.
“We’re at the 799,” Gage informed him. “We wanted to be near other police officers in an effort to avoid being targeted again.”
“That was smart,” Pride admitted.
“Detective, we need your help to get out of town. Reyes and his accomplice are clearly watching our every move. A friend of mine tried to help, but we were still followed.” Gage paused, looking at Darby, then added, “Please.”
Another moment of silence, and Gage prayed the detective would find a way to help them escape.
They were quickly running out of options.
“I’ll be there in twenty minutes,” Pride finally said.
Gage sighed in relief and smiled encouragingly at Darby. “Any chance I could convince you to meet us at the police station? Maybe there’s a back door you could take us through? We easily could have been followed here to the 799.”
“Yeah, fine. We’ll meet at the station in twenty minutes.” The detective sounded put out, but Gage didn’t care.
“Thank you very much.” He disconnected from the call. “Twenty minutes. I think that gives us time to share a dessert.”
For the first time in what seemed like hours, Darby smiled. “Anything but apple pie.”
He groaned. “But that’s my favorite.”
“I prefer French silk,” she countered. “In case you’ve forgotten.”
He signaled for the server to return. Of course he hadn’t forgotten, he’d only wanted to tease her.
“You really think Detective Pride can sneak us out of here?” Darby asked.
“He’s our best chance.” Gage couldn’t honestly think of another way out. “If he can get us far enough out of town and away from Reyes and his accomplice, then we should be able to take a rideshare the rest of the way.”
She nodded and picked up her fork when their dessert arrived. “But detectives don’t use police cars, right? I mean, maybe Reyes knows what kind of car he drives.”
“I hope to convince the detective to use a squad long enough to take us out of here.”
Her expression was skeptical, and he understood it wouldn’t be easy. But he was tired of running from bad guys. Especially since every cop in the city should be looking for Reyes.
The pie was good. Not as great as apple, but still good. And he would readily give up apple pie for the rest of his life if that made Darby happy.
“Ready to walk back to the police station?” Darby asked.
“Yeah.” He waved down their server and went through what remained of his cash. At some point, he’d need to find an ATM to obtain more.
“I can pay for this one,” Darby said.
Since he barely had enough to cover the cost, he slowly nodded. “Once we’re safe, I can replenish my cash reserves.”
“Me too,” Darby agreed.
He grabbed their bags and led the way through the restaurant. He intended to go out first, just in case Reyes or skinny guy was out there with a gun.
Being surrounded by cops offered some protection, but Reyes and his buddy could shoot from a distance, getting away before the cops in the restaurant had time to react.
He hadn’t looked over his shoulder this much since he was in prison. And this was worse because he needed to protect Darby.
The walk back to the police precinct didn’t take long. The woman behind the desk scowled when they entered. “Now what?”
“Detective Pride asked us to meet him here,” Gage explained.
“Hrmph.” Her expression was one of annoyance, but she didn’t say anything more.
The detective arrived five minutes later. He came in from the back, which was reassuring. “Killion? This way, please.”
Gage gestured for Darby to follow the detective. Instead of going into one of the interrogation rooms, Pride led them through an area that was chock-full of desks and cubicles. Some of which had officers sitting at them, but many of which were empty.
“This way.” Detective Pride gestured for them to keep following him through another door. Over Darby’s shoulder, he could see they were approaching the rear entrance to the police station.
“Detective?”
Pride glanced over his shoulder. “What?”
“Any chance we can take a squad out of here? To avoid being followed?”
To his surprise, the detective smiled. “Yeah, I have a buddy of mine ready to take you guys wherever you need to go.”
Gage’s gut clenched. “Oh? Who’s that?”
“Officer Larry Beacon.” Pride narrowed his gaze. “Did you think I’d stick you with Crow?”
“To be honest, I was hoping you would take us yourself,” Gage admitted. “We trust you.”
A flash of appreciation crossed his features. “Larry is my brother-in-law, and we went through the academy together. You can trust him too.”
Gage nodded. “Okay, thanks.”
Minutes later, he and Darby were in the back of a squad that was parked right next to the rear door, with a large transport vehicle blocking any view across the parking lot. He and Darby crouched down very low in the back seat as Detective Pride gave Officer Beacon instructions. “Make sure you aren’t followed and keep your eyes open for anyone who looks like Tyrone Reyes.”
“Will do,” Beacon agreed.
“Can you take us someplace we can get a rideshare?” Gage asked. “Like the nature preserve?”
“I can, yes.” Beacon met his gaze in the rearview mirror. “But the country club would be a better spot to pick up a rideshare.”
“Yeah, okay.” Gage realized he was probably right. “Thanks.”
“No problem.”
As per Detective Pride’s directive, the cop took a roundabout way out of the area. Taking several turns and doubling back more than once. By the time Officer Beacon pulled up near the country club, Gage felt certain that they’d gotten away without being followed by Reyes or skinny guy.
“You both stay safe now, you hear?” Officer Beacon said as he let them out of the back seat.
“We will, thanks.” Gage shouldered the bags and took Darby’s hand.
“You want me to hang out until the rideshare shows up?”
“Sure.” Gage used his phone to call a driver. “Looks like he’s less than five minutes away.”
“Good.” Officer Beacon eyed them for a long moment. “We’ll do our best to find this Reyes character.”
“Thanks.” Gage nodded, appreciating the cop believed them about being in danger. Far different from Officer Crow’s attitude.
The rideshare pulled up, the driver asked for Gage. He gave the cop a nod, then opened the door for Darby.
“Can you please take us to Asbury?” Darby asked.
“Yep. Any place in particular?” The driver pulled away from the country club.
Darby thought for a moment. “There’s a restaurant called Karen’s Kitchen. Could you take us there?”
“Sure.” The driver plugged the address into his built-in GPS.
Gage didn’t think they’d been followed, but he couldn’t help looking frequently out through the back window to scan the traffic behind them. No sign of the black Ford pickup truck.
No sign of anyone else following either.
Darby pulled out her phone. “I’m going to call Edith, let her know we’re on our way.”
He nodded and listened to her side of the conversation. Darby’s voice choked up when she spoke to Leo.
“I love you, Leo. Mommy will be there soon.” She sniffled and brushed tears from her eyes. “Be good for Oma.”
Darby put her phone away and sat back against the seat cushion. “I can’t believe we’re finally safe.”
“I know.” It had been a long haul getting here, but he was glad they’d made it out of East Knoxville without a problem.
“Gage, what if we can’t go back?”
Darby’s question caught him off guard. “What do you mean?”
“If they don’t catch Reyes, we’ll never be safe.” She turned in her seat to face him. “Unless we disappear forever.”
He looked into her clear gray eyes. “We?”
She flushed and nodded. “You need to be safe too, Gage. And I know you want to spend time with Leo.”
It was his turn to choke up. He was grateful she’d included him in her plans. But he really hoped it wouldn’t come to that. He still had three months of probation that required him to stay in Knoxville. “Let’s take it one day at a time. I’m really hoping the police will find Reyes.”
“But if they don’t,” she persisted, “I’m not going back to East Knoxville. Not if there’s even the remote possibility of Leo being in danger.”
“I know.” He truly understood where she was coming from.
Their driver pulled up at the restaurant. Edith and Leo were standing outside waiting for them. Darby bolted from the car, rushing over to scoop Leo up and into her arms. “Oh, I missed you so much,” she said.
Gage added a tip for the driver, then grabbed the bags and crossed over to join her. Edith eyed him warily. He offered a smile. “Hi, I’m Gage Killion.”
“Edith Schroeder,” she responded. “It’s nice to meet you.”
Darby finally set Leo back on his feet. “Leo, I’d like you to meet—” she faltered, then said, “your daddy.”
Leo stuck his fist in his mouth, clutched his mother’s leg, and looked up at Gage through green eyes.
His green eyes.
And in that moment, Gage knew he’d go wherever Darby wanted, even if that meant breaking his probation, as long as they could all be together.