dickens,” she said with a smile. “Going to make walking difficult, but as far as being badly injured, don’t worry. I’m not.”
He appeared to be satisfied with that, then again he desperately wanted her to be fine so something in his world was okay. She could only hope they found their parents and they were still alive. For all her and her father hadn’t seen eye to eye, she’d do a lot to hear him rage at her once again. He’d always been gruff and loud but it was who he was. She’d hoped for something closer but after her mother’s death, Arianna had gone inside to deal with her loss and so had her father. They’d rarely met in any meaningful way after that. After Kevin was born she’d made a point of telling her father how he needed to change if he wanted his son to love and respect him and to have a relationship with him. He’d been angry like she couldn’t remember ever seeing, but for a while he’d seemed to be there for Linda and the baby more.
But in the last few years he’d gotten busier, colder, and Kevin had gotten older. The relationship between the two had stretched very thin. That Linda hadn’t much in the way of maternal hormones had further complicated manners. Then she was raising Kevin the way she’d been raised. As a showpiece to be seen and not heard. That might have worked for her decades ago, but Kevin needed so much more than that.
Arianna had started taking him for weekends where they’d done zoo trips and park outings, she’d taught him to swim and snowboard. She sucked at baseball, but they’d spent many a great hour playing catch. She knew her time with him was going to change once he grew into a teenager and needed his friends around more and more. He had friends now, but he still wanted to spend a lot of time with her.
Hard footsteps raced toward them.
Kevin lifted his head, his grip around her waist tightening.
Shit. She tried to lower herself to the ground so she was hidden by the brush a little more until she caught sight of who it was. Shadow. He raced toward her.
“Are they okay?” she asked anxiously.
“They are alive,” Shadow said in a low voice. “But your father is in bad shape.”
She knew that. But he was still alive and that meant he had a chance. Right? Shadow bent down and scooped her up, startling a gasp out of her. She wrapped her arms around him and held on. Glancing behind, she saw Swede walked silently carrying her father while Cooper carried her stepmother. Her father was unconscious, her stepmother had a large bruise on the side of her face and appeared to be in shock. The bruise probably meant she’d fought, hopefully to help her father. And for that she liked her stepmother for the first time in a long time.
Another man, nodded at her and disappeared into the bushes ahead.
“That’s Mason,” Shadow said in a low voice. “Hawk has gone ahead as well. Trying to clear a path for us.”
“Why?” she asked. “There were two vehicles back there. Why couldn’t we grab one of those?”
“Because we don’t know if they have rigged them both,” he answered in low tones, his gaze never stopping as they swiveled from one side to the other. “They also could have remote detonators. They could blow us up just when we thought we were safe.”
“Right.” She should have considered that. A sign of how she was really feeling. In fact, all she wanted to do was close her eyes and let this man carry her to safety. But then Kevin reached up and grabbed her hand. She squeezed his fingers. “I’m fine, Kevin. We’ve got Mom and Dad and we’re heading to safety.”
“Dad looks bad,” he whispered just loud enough for her to hear. She stole a look behind her at her father’s large but scrawny form in Swede’s huge arms.
“I don’t think Dad looks all that bad. It’s just the giant carrying him that makes him look small and injured,” she joked.
Kevin glanced back. “How come he’s so big?”
“’Cause he ate his
He appeared to be satisfied with that, then again he desperately wanted her to be fine so something in his world was okay. She could only hope they found their parents and they were still alive. For all her and her father hadn’t seen eye to eye, she’d do a lot to hear him rage at her once again. He’d always been gruff and loud but it was who he was. She’d hoped for something closer but after her mother’s death, Arianna had gone inside to deal with her loss and so had her father. They’d rarely met in any meaningful way after that. After Kevin was born she’d made a point of telling her father how he needed to change if he wanted his son to love and respect him and to have a relationship with him. He’d been angry like she couldn’t remember ever seeing, but for a while he’d seemed to be there for Linda and the baby more.
But in the last few years he’d gotten busier, colder, and Kevin had gotten older. The relationship between the two had stretched very thin. That Linda hadn’t much in the way of maternal hormones had further complicated manners. Then she was raising Kevin the way she’d been raised. As a showpiece to be seen and not heard. That might have worked for her decades ago, but Kevin needed so much more than that.
Arianna had started taking him for weekends where they’d done zoo trips and park outings, she’d taught him to swim and snowboard. She sucked at baseball, but they’d spent many a great hour playing catch. She knew her time with him was going to change once he grew into a teenager and needed his friends around more and more. He had friends now, but he still wanted to spend a lot of time with her.
Hard footsteps raced toward them.
Kevin lifted his head, his grip around her waist tightening.
Shit. She tried to lower herself to the ground so she was hidden by the brush a little more until she caught sight of who it was. Shadow. He raced toward her.
“Are they okay?” she asked anxiously.
“They are alive,” Shadow said in a low voice. “But your father is in bad shape.”
She knew that. But he was still alive and that meant he had a chance. Right? Shadow bent down and scooped her up, startling a gasp out of her. She wrapped her arms around him and held on. Glancing behind, she saw Swede walked silently carrying her father while Cooper carried her stepmother. Her father was unconscious, her stepmother had a large bruise on the side of her face and appeared to be in shock. The bruise probably meant she’d fought, hopefully to help her father. And for that she liked her stepmother for the first time in a long time.
Another man, nodded at her and disappeared into the bushes ahead.
“That’s Mason,” Shadow said in a low voice. “Hawk has gone ahead as well. Trying to clear a path for us.”
“Why?” she asked. “There were two vehicles back there. Why couldn’t we grab one of those?”
“Because we don’t know if they have rigged them both,” he answered in low tones, his gaze never stopping as they swiveled from one side to the other. “They also could have remote detonators. They could blow us up just when we thought we were safe.”
“Right.” She should have considered that. A sign of how she was really feeling. In fact, all she wanted to do was close her eyes and let this man carry her to safety. But then Kevin reached up and grabbed her hand. She squeezed his fingers. “I’m fine, Kevin. We’ve got Mom and Dad and we’re heading to safety.”
“Dad looks bad,” he whispered just loud enough for her to hear. She stole a look behind her at her father’s large but scrawny form in Swede’s huge arms.
“I don’t think Dad looks all that bad. It’s just the giant carrying him that makes him look small and injured,” she joked.
Kevin glanced back. “How come he’s so big?”
“’Cause he ate his
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