Grayson
It takes hours to clean up the broken window and answer questions posed by the State Police. Now, it’s morning and her whole clan has gathered at the house where me and Isabella were supposed to get a good night’s sleep.
“Got it.” With exacto-knife, magnifying glass, and tweezers, I remove the GPS, no bigger than a tick.
Then, add a cartoon band-aid, kiss it, and check in with Slate who says the kids have all gone home.
It’s about sunrise when Lois pops some corn muffins out of the oven and says, “I still don’t understand.”
Her husband pats her mitted hand and places a checkered cloth at the bottom of a basket. “You remember how Izzy was? How she broke into that bank as a kid? It took all we could do to keep her locked up. The Feds wanted her real, real bad back then.”
Isabella’s mouth drops open as she stares at the group sitting at the table. “You guys never told me that.”
Josh throws his coat into a bedroom and returns to the boarded-up kitchen. “At the time, we didn’t dare. There were some real heavy-duty spooks sniffing around, wanting to take you off to Washington DC. None of us liked the smell of them so we made sure judge Ellis locked you up.”
“I thought… I thought you all gave up on me.” Big tears roll down her cheeks and it dawns on me that I still don’t know this young woman at all. She can brave through being shot at but cries to learn that her family always has had her back.
Josh’s cell phone rings and he curses. “They lost Cross near the border.”
“Are you fuc… Are you serious?” At my feeble attempt, Izzy’s mom nods at me with encouragement and I continue. “How the heck did Xavier get away?”
Josh scratches his beard, shaking his head, dark circles under his eyes. “The State Police thinks he got into Canada with a fake passport. They’re checking but still nothing. However, if he tries to get back into the US, we’ll get him.”
“Something doesn’t jive.”
Isabella swallows back some muffin with coffee. “I remember that first night. He said he wanted to come home.”
“What else did he say?”
“Nothing.” But she’s thinking something. I can tell by the way her eyes dart and her heel jiggles nervously, making her knee jump up and down.
I grab her hand, pull her out of her chair, and say to all, “Excuse us for a few. We need some air.”
Chairs scrape, people give their goodbyes, and of course, there’s more hugging. By the time we find our coats under the pile on our bed, only Lois and George remain.
“We’ll be right back.” I stop just outside the house and kiss Izzy. “I never want you to be in danger again. Scared the shit out of me.”
“Me too.” She touches a scratch near my eye, then her arms are around me, her head on my chest.
“Tell me what you were thinking in the kitchen, luv.”
“I can’t.”
“Why the hell not?”
“Don’t get pissed.”
“I’ll get damned pissed if I feel like getting pissed. We’ve been harassed, shot at, and the children in your family endangered. I need to know if there’s something, you’re not telling me.”
Her lower lip quivers as she toes a pebble on the street. “Those Houston boys were pretty serious about security. They said if I shared anything, they could put me in jail, seize my assets, even yours.”
The fact that someone else threatened her, supposedly the good guys, makes my blood boil even more than before. “The Houston Project? Is that what this is about?”
“Well, when you asked, that was the only other thing I could think of.”
We start walking again, then stop at the yellow blinking light and cross the empty street.
We window shop at the Dollar store for a few minutes, while I think. “I read the statement of work. It said you were staff augmentation.”
“That’s true but the other night, before our shower? I wanted to finish up the job and I figured out what they’re doing. It’s hard to explain but basically, they’re working on an anti-virus program.”
“What’s so special about that?” We start down the sidewalk and pass a Seven-Eleven and a gas station,
“It’s got some souped-up artificial intelligence and if I suspect a security breach, I’m supposed to call this number here.”
She hands me her cell phone, I press the number, and an automated voice plays, “Press 1 for pin reset, otherwise stay on the line and someone will help you.”
I’m put on hold and moments later an annoyed, sleepy male voice answers. “Yeah?”
“Patten here, of Patten Securities.”
Rustling happens in the background and the tone changes. “Yes, Mr. Patten. How can I help you?”
“We believe there may be a breach with the Houston Project.”
“Please, hang up and say no more.”
“Wait, we’re heading back to New York.”
“Understood.”
The phone line goes dead and Izzy touches my hand, “What did he say?”
“Just that he’ll contact us. Ready to go home?”
“Oh my God, yes. But… do you think my family will be safe?”
“Seriously?” I look at her like she’s lost a few marbles.
She grins. “They might be just a little over the top.”
“I’ll call Slate.”
“Wait, before we head home, there’s one more thing I have to do.”
My brows raise and I figure she needs some more Mom-time but instead she shocks me. “I need to talk to my cousin, Mike.”
I nod. After all that went down, she finally gets that her family won’t abandon her, no matter what.
I guess that means she’s ready.