Daphne
Knowing that the biker was gone for now, Daphne allowed herself a measure of calm. Though with Xander gone for a few hours, she couldn’t help but feel a little ill at ease.
A vibration came from her pocket, and as she pulled out her phone she expected to see that it was Xander calling with an update. But instead, she saw that it was Caroline.
“Hey,” said Daphne. “What’s up?”
“Hi, sweetie,” said Caroline. “Listen, I’ve got Jack here and I just got a call from one of my doctor’s. I had an appointment for a week from now, but he just told me that he had a last-minute cancellation and could get me in today. Any chance I could drop Jack off with you for an hour or so? It won’t take very long at all.”
“Of course,” said Daphne. “I’ve got the day off.”
“Oh, great,” said Caroline. “And Jack’s been chomping at the bit to see his mom; it’ll do him some good. We’ll be by in fifteen or so.”
“Sounds good,” said Daphne.
As soon as she hung up the phone Daphne felt herself fill with happiness at the idea of seeing her boy again. She knew that bringing him here might not be the best idea in the world, but she didn’t care—she needed to see her son.
Only for an hour or so, she thought. I can drop him back off with Caroline before Xander gets back.
Daphne tidied up the apartment and as she did, Caroline called to let Daphne know she was outside. Moments later, Jack was back in her arms.
“How was Aunt Caroline?” asked Daphne, kissing Jack on the forehead.
“Good,” he said. “I want to come home.”
“Aw, baby,” said Daphne, her heart splitting in two at Jack’s words. “You’ll be back for good soon; Mommy just has some things she needs to take care of first.”
Stopping in place, Daphne looked around and saw that it was a beautiful day out.
“You want to go get a cheeseburger and go to the park?” she asked. “It’s super nice out.”
“Okay,” said Jack, a little light returning to his expression.
Soon, the two of them were in Daphne’s car and on the road. After grabbing some food from Jack’s favorite burger place, Daphne took Jack to a nearby park and the two of them ate their lunch in the shade of nearby trees. Jack was a little skittish at first, but once he had the first few bites of food in him, he was back to his normal, chatty self. Daphne listened to him eagerly as he spoke, taking in every word. For a time, she was even able to pretend that she wasn’t in the situation that she was in.
When they were done, they went for a brief walk before heading back to the apartment. As they walked in through the front doors, Daphne checked her phone to see how much time had passed.
Only an hour, she thought. If Caroline comes back in a half-hour or so then we’ll be fine.
But in spite of her assurances to herself, Daphne felt her anxiety grow by the second in the pit of her stomach.
“Why don’t you watch some TV until your aunt comes back, kiddo?” Daphne asked Jack.
“‘Kay,” he said, flipping on the TV.
Daphne made herself a pot of coffee and sat down at the kitchen table, her phone in front of her as she awaited Caroline’s text to let her know that she was on her way.
Come on, come on, thought Daphne, drumming her fingers on the counter.
“Are you okay, Mommy?” asked Jack from the couch. “You seem stressed.”
“Mommy’s fine,” Daphne responded.
“Maybe you shouldn’t drink anymore coffee,” he said. “I heard it makes people crazy.”
“Or helps people not go crazy,” said Daphne.
“Maybe,” said Jack, turning his attention back to the TV.
Daphne poured herself a cup of the fresh coffee and set it down on the table. But before she could sit down, a knock sounded from the front door.
Not like Caroline to come without notice, thought Daphne as she started for the door.
But before Daphne could even move an inch, her phone buzzed on the table. Daphne snatched up her phone and looked at the screen. It was a text from Caroline.
Hey! Sorry, but I’m going to be running a little late from the doctor’s … there’s more of a wait than they thought. I’ll let you know when I’m on my way.
If Caroline’s still at the doctor’s, thought Daphne, then who’s at the front door?
Another firm knock sounded, and Daphne rushed to the front door. She gasped as she looked through the peephole.
It was Xander.
Daphne turned to Jack.
“Baby, you want to play a game?”
“Um, sure,” he said.
“Okay, this game’s called, um, ‘being someone else.’ And the way you play is by pretending that you’re not who you are.”
“Who are you going to be?” asked Jack. “I want to be a dinosaur.”
“It has to be a person,” said Daphne. “For example, I’m going to be Amy. So that means you have to pretend like I’m not your mom, but a neighbor instead.”
“This game is weird,” said Jack.
Another knock from the door.
“Hurry and pick, baby.”
“Um, I guess I’ll be a police officer.”
“Perfect,” said Daphne. “We can start playing when the man at the front door comes in.”
“Okay.”
With that, Daphne took a deep breath and opened the door.
“Hey,” said Xander, entering in a huff.
Then his eyes flicked to Jack on the couch.
“Who’s the little guy?” he asked.
“This is that kid I told you I watch,” said Daphne.
“That’s the neighbor,” said Jack, pointing to Daphne. “And I’m a policeman. You better not be a crook. I bet you are, though—you look like one.”
“Why?” asked Xander. “You think you’re gonna take me in, big guy?”
“I bet I could,” said Jack. “You don’t look so tough.”
Xander smirked. “Kid’s got some brass ones on him, I’ll give him that.”
“What’s the story?” asked Daphne, eager to hear news about the biker situation.
“I tracked his ass down to some dive outside of town,” said Xander, plopping down into one of the dining room chairs. “Good news is that I know where he’s at. Bad news is that he’s hooked up with a new MC. Means it’s gonna be harder to take him down.”
“He has a whole crew on his side?” asked Daphne as she wrung her hands. “Then that means there are more of them after me?”
“Maybe,” said Xander. “But probably not. If he just joined up with a new crew, chances are he’s not directing operations; probably just bothering you on his own time. His harassing you is probably just to send a clear-as-day message to my crew.”
“And that message is?”
“‘Watch your backs.’ If he knows who you are, that means that they’ve been doing recon on people that my crew is close to.”
“I don’t like this one bit,” said Daphne. “I feel like I’m about to get caught up in something that I have nothing to do with.”
“Hey,” said Xander, reaching across the table and placing his hands on Daphne’s. “I swore that I’d protect you, and I meant it. Nothing’s going to happen to you with me around—you can count on that.”