Jamie watched Corrus pace as he whispered into his phone. When he first came in, he seemed so warm and friendly, but after he saw Ethan, he changed. It was like a switch was flipped. Where before he gave her a lot of eye contact and the conversation flowed smoothly, after seeing Ethan, he wouldn't meet her eyes or do more than nod.

Wrapping the box with a bow, Jamie slipped it onto the counter and saw a twenty-dollar bill lying there. Corrus must have slipped it on there while she wasn't looking. How he'd managed to do it without her noticing, she wasn’t sure, but what she did know was that his interest in interacting with her was over.

Jamie sighed as disappointment weighed down on her shoulders. Here she was, yet again upset with a guy who lost all interest in her after he found out she had a son. She should have been used to it by now and taken it for the positive sign it was. If a guy was thrown off because she had a kid, then he wasn't husband material.

It had been a while since Jamie dated, and she blamed that fact for her foolish hope that Corrus might be interested in her. In fact, now that she looked back at their earlier conversation, he'd been nothing but polite, showing no signs of flirtation. Again, it was all in her mind.

What would a GQ-model-looking guy want with me, anyway? She thought.

Then she bit her lower lip. She didn't want to go down that dark, self-pitying path. She was stronger than that. Life had forced her to be stronger than that. If she went there, she'd hurt Ethan by being less than the okay Mom she felt she was.

Jamie straightened her shoulders and rung up Corrus' order, placing the change on top of the box. She looked at him once more and saw that he'd grown even more agitated. He raised his voice slightly, mentioning something about not leaving. Jamie shrugged. His frustration wasn't any of her business.

Pushing the backroom door quietly, Jamie found a frustrated Ethan flipping through the pages of a thick story book she'd hoped would keep him occupied for the better part of the morning. She should have known better. Ethan was a voracious reader, well, as voracious as a five-year-old could be. He’d probably gotten through the book within minutes.

Jamie pulled a chair up to Ethan’s. "Hey, Ash."

"I don't feel good, Mom. And I'm bored."

Jamie sighed. While she worked hard to give Ethan the best she could, there were certain things she just couldn't provide. Like a morning off to take her son to the hospital when his flu was starting to give him a fever. She needed her job to keep food on the table and a roof over their heads. Not to mention paying for the massive hospital bill her lack of insurance would incur in a short while.

Ethan was a great kid. Rarely cranky. It was like he understood that Jamie only had so much strength and patience within her, so he reined himself in. There were several times when Ethan had mentioned wanting a new book, and Jamie had had to tell him she couldn't afford it. He'd push for a few more times, then stop and say okay, banishing the thought from his mind.

The action was so adult, and it broke Jamie's heart. |She wasn't fooling anyone with her poor efforts to improve her and Ethan's life, and he knew it just as well as she did. All she could do was try her best to keep a minimum wage job and hope to find something better. |In the meantime, little treats here and there were the best she could give her son.

Jamie squared her shoulders and took a deep breath. Ethan had been patient enough. It was time to give him the attention he deserved.

"Okay, Ash, I'm going to lock up and then we'll go to the hospital, okay?"

"Can I go to school after?" Ethan asked, his blue eyes wide with excitement.

Jamie had personally hated every minute of school but was happy to see that Ethan hadn't inherited that from her. "Not until you're better.

Ethan frowned. "Okay."

Jamie leaned over and wrapped him in a bear hug. While Ethan's presence in her life had been the cause of so much loss, he gave her fulfillment and happiness like nothing she'd ever known. Husband or no husband, family or no family, Ethan was worth every shitty minute she had to spend trying to scrape together enough money to live on.

Ethan squirmed. "Enough." Jamie chuckled. He was growing up a lot faster than she'd expected. Six months ago, the hug would have been followed up with an 'I love you, Mommy,' but, now, that was the farthest thing from his mind. Her little boy was growing up too fast, but, in a way, it was a good thing. She doubted many five-year-olds would have sat still, feeling sick for so many hours, without crying.

"Okay. Give me a couple of minutes." Jamie stood and walked back out to the front of the store. When she got to the counter, she found the box of fudge gone and the change remaining. She pocketed it with a sigh. Usually, a tip would have made her smile, because it meant a little more money for her to treat Ethan with and that someone found her service to be excellent. Now, it just made her feel like Corrus wanted nothing to do with her, since he’d carried out the rest of his transaction without a word to her.

Jamie hung the closed sign on the door before locking it. She looked outside and saw the homeless man get up. She wondered if he needed a good bit of conversation, like she did from time to time, but decided against talking to him as she had over the past two days. A conversation with him might lead to him asking for money that she didn't have.

"Okay, buddy. Let's go." Jamie mentally double-checked that she'd carried out all the lockdown procedures for leaving the store unattended and reached out for Ethan's hand. He took it without a second thought, and his ease with her warmed her heart as they walked through the back door of the store to the employees’ parking lot.

Jamie's beat-up sedan was the only car there, and she gritted her teeth as the thought of how much gas she was about to spend driving to the hospital floated to the front of her mind. She let go of Ethan's hand and reached into her purse for her car keys. As she dug through the mess in there, she felt Ethan tug at her jeans.

"Just a minute, buddy." Jamie was disappointed that his little burst of positive energy had faded into impatience. Ethan tugged on her jeans once more, and she drew a sharp breath as she looked up and saw the homeless man standing before her. Jamie dropped her purse in shock and reached for Ethan's hand.

She took a step back, and her voice was shaky as she spoke. "How can I help you?"

"Is this your son?" the man asked. His accent was a little weird, and the paleness of his blue eyes was disconcerting against his pasty skin. The homeless man looked to be the worse for wear, but that didn't stop Jamie's protective streak from waking up. The parking lot was secluded, and the fact that he'd followed her there raised her suspicions.

"That's none of your business. Please move out of our way." Jamie tried to sidestep the man.

"Not so fast, little one," he said.

Jamie felt her hackles rise. "Who are you calling little?" She'd had far too many encounters with tall, imposing guys in college who thought they could get her to spend time with them by merely throwing their size around.

The homeless man, who started to look less homeless and more creepy with the energy he used to get in her way, ran a hand down his face. Jamie took another step sideways and, yet again, he blocked her path.

"I just need some answers; then I'll leave you alone."

"What makes you think you have any right to answers?" Jamie felt her anger rising as it mixed with the fear she felt. There was no one else around, and her phone was buried deep in her purse somewhere. Jamie had no way to call for help, and she and Ethan were stuck in a secluded area.

"Look, I don't want to hurt you. I just want to talk."

"Then why corner me and my son in an empty parking lot?"

"So, he is your son." The man nodded to himself with a smile. "What about his father?"

Jamie blanched. This man was not homeless, and he was not to be pitied. The glint in his eyes told her he wanted a lot more than just a conversation, and she'd stupidly played into his hands by answering his first question.

"Leave us alone." Jamie picked Ethan up, and dashed to the car. She’d taken no more than two steps before the man's large hand squeezed her arm so painfully that she stopped in her tracks and put Ethan down before struggling out of his grip.

"Seriously, what is your problem?" Jamie pushed Ethan behind her legs.

The man raised an eyebrow, smirking. "I think you know exactly why I'm here. How long did you think you could keep the boy hidden away?"

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"The boy's father wasn't like any of the other men you date, was he?"

Jamie's eyes bulged, and her body shook as her heart slammed against her chest. Ethan's father had always been secretive in the few months that she knew him, hanging around some questionable- looking characters. After all these years, it looked like her suspicions were correct.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Jamie turned and gave Ethan a push. "Go," she yelled. The little boy took off, running in a wide circle around the homeless man. Jamie clutched her arms around her belly when she saw the man's eyes fill with rage as he took a menacing step toward her.

"You shouldn't have done that. You've made this more difficult than it had to be."

Jamie drew rasping breaths as her chin trembled. "Leave me alone."

"I would have done that, but you acted stupid and sent the boy into a panic as if your stupid human life has more meaning than his."

Jamie couldn't understand anything the man said. Perhaps he really was homeless, and he was experiencing hallucinations. Yes! That must be it. The guy was unstable, mistaking Jamie and Ethan for people they weren't.

Jamie raised her shaking arms defensively in front of her. "I don't want any trouble, but I won't let you hurt my son." The man halted his advance and let out a belly laugh. Over his shoulder, Jamie saw Corrus creeping toward them with a finger on his lips.

What the hell is he doing here? Jamie thought. And where is Ethan?

Corrus signaled for Jamie to keep the man talking as he crept closer.

"What are you going to do? Call the police?"

"Maybe I will. You are harassing me."

The man's smile dropped. "I've not even begun. Give me the answers I want, and I might consider leaving you unharmed. You've been far more trouble than you should have been."

"Look, I don't—"

Jamie gasped as she watched Corrus kick the larger man in the back of his left knee. The homeless man dropped to his right knee, throwing his head back as he grunted in pain. Before he could retaliate, Corrus looped his right arm around the man's throat. Stretching his right forearm which circled the man's throat, Corrus grabbed his own left bicep and squeezed before clapping his left hand over the homeless man's mouth.

The homeless man struggled to turn his head around and, when his eyes met Corrus', he bucked even harder. Jamie watched the man writhe and grunt for about seven seconds, after which, he passed out. Corrus released him and let him drop to the ground.

After a few deep breaths, he looked into Jamie's eyes, sincere as he spoke. "You need to come with me."

Jamie shook her head. Far too much had happened in a short space of time. First, a homeless guy had tried to attack her. Then, the hot guy she’d met only half an hour ago had snuck up behind him and choked him, possibly to death. On top of that, she didn't know where Ethan was.

"Oh my god! Ethan!" Jamie held her hands to the sides of her head.

"He's with my friend." Corrus turned and whistled.

A tall guy, with even more muscle than Corrus, stepped out from around the corner, holding Ethan's hand. Ethan ran to Jamie, and she picked him up and hugged him to her, breathing in his child’s scent. Her eyes teared up, and she repeated the words thank you to no one in particular.

"Are you okay?" Jamie asked, putting Ethan down, squatting to look him over.

"I'm fine. Corrus found me and told Penum to stay with me when he came to get you. Are you alright, Mom?"

Jamie nodded her head absentmindedly and looked at the tall ash-blonde man who smiled and waved at her. She had no idea where he had come from. Where any of them had come from, now that she thought about it. Yet she'd foolishly sent her son out of her sight and into their arms.

Jamie squeezed her eyes shut. She hadn't been thinking straight all morning, but it was time to remedy that.

"Who are you?" she asked Corrus.

He shuffled his feet. "I'll tell you all of that, but we need to get out of here. He's a huge guy, and he'll be up in a minute," he said, gesturing to the homeless man who lay sprawled on the ground. Corrus had moved so quietly and swiftly that if Jamie hadn't caught sight of him over the homeless man's shoulder, she wouldn't have noticed his approach. Corrus also apparently knew what he was doing. His movements were sure, and he’d subdued someone much larger than him in a matter of seconds.

Is he in the army? Jamie wondered.

"Please come with us, Jamie. We're in the army, and all we want to do is keep you safe. I'll explain everything once we get to the safe house."

So he was in the army. It would explain a lot of things. His friend definitely looked like the movie version of a marine. All muscle and confidence. Although he looked like he'd outsize any marine. His stature was intimidating. Jamie looked at Ethan, who seemed entirely at ease and, oddly enough, healthy.

"Penum and Corrus are nice, Mom. They helped me. Can we go with them? Penum promised to finish the story he was telling me."

Jamie looked at her son, then at the homeless man who lay on the ground. Finally, she looked at Corrus. His forest green eyes begged her to trust him, and there was the fact that he'd just rescued her. The way he’d subdued the homeless man convinced her that he really could be in the army, so Jamie squeezed her eyes shut and nodded before she changed her mind.

"Great, our car's this way."

Jamie followed and picked up her purse when she reached it. She had a can of mace in there that might buy her some time if she needed to escape. She wasn't a hundred percent sure that she was making the right decision but going with Corrus and his friend seemed like the better option.

Whoever the homeless man really was, he'd followed her and been watching her for days. There was an excellent chance he might have followed her home, and he already knew where she worked. Jamie was stuck between a rock and a hard place, but she owed it to both herself and Ethan to go with the two soldiers who had proven their concern for her well-being.

The one thing she was sure about was that whatever Ethan's father had been involved in was really bad that he associated with such lowlifes that army men were hunting for them.

I just hope I've not jumped out of the frying pan and into the fire. No matter how pleasant that fire might be with Corrus by my side, she thought.