Chapter 20

twenty

ALEX

Eric watched me take three mugs out of a cupboard. “What’s going on?”

I picked up the coffeepot. “What do you mean?”

“It looks as though you’re preparing for World War III.”

“Ah. You mean the emergency supplies.”

“They aren’t normal emergency supplies.”

I handed my friend a cup of coffee. “Dylan wants to make sure I’ll be okay if anything happens.”

Eric left his cup on the kitchen counter. “It’s me you’re talking to. Are you in trouble?”

“Not yet.”

“What does that mean?”

“It means I might have something that someone else wants. If they find me, I’ll need more than my truck to get out of here.”

“Why didn’t you tell me sooner?” Eric asked.

I leaned against the counter. “I didn’t think it would come to this. If the program I’m working on gets into the wrong hands, there could be serious consequences. I can’t afford for that to happen. ”

“Is that the reason you came here?”

“No, but it’s one of the reasons you haven’t seen a lot of me.”

Eric crossed his arms in front of his chest. “Are you able to tell me anything about the people who are looking for your program?”

“I can’t. The more you know, the more danger you and Riley could be in.”

Eric sighed. “Just tell me one thing. Are you safe here?”

I didn’t want to tell Eric how unsafe I was. That would lead to a discussion I wasn’t ready to have. “I know you’re worried about me, but I’m okay. If anything changes, I’ll let you know.”

A door closed in the hallway, and Dylan walked into the kitchen. He paused in the doorway and looked at each of us. “Am I interrupting you?”

“Eric was asking about the emergency supplies.”

Dylan didn’t seem surprised. He looked at Eric, then back at me. “What did you say?”

“Not enough,” Eric said. “If you need another pair of hands to look after Alex, I used to be a detective in the NYPD.”

Dylan smiled. “That would account for the subtle interrogation. You sounded like someone I used to work with in the Army.”

My eyebrows rose. I looked at Eric, waiting for his explanation.

“I wanted to make sure Dylan wasn’t a mass murderer.” Eric sent Dylan a half-apologetic smile. “There aren’t a lot of IT specialists who know about trauma kits and what type of ammunition you need for a semiautomatic handgun.”

My head snapped to Dylan. “What’s Eric talking about? ”

“I bought you a present.”

Eric sipped his coffee. “Good luck with that. I’ve told Alex he needs more than one gun, but he won’t listen to me.”

I was beginning to think that having my best friend and Dylan in the same room wasn’t a good idea. “I don’t need another gun.”

Dylan frowned. “Yes, you do. You have a large property. Unless you carry your gun with you, it might be too far away when you need it.”

Eric rinsed his cup under the faucet. “On that cheerful note, I’ll go home. If you need somewhere to stay, come to my place. I have plenty of room and a few extra guns that Dylan might appreciate.”

Before Dylan got too carried away by the thought of more guns, I followed Eric out of the house.

One day, this would all be over. I could go back to a normal life. Plan for my future. But, right at the moment, the only things that made sense were Dylan and Eric. They were my anchor, the reason I’d get through the next few weeks.

I stopped beside Eric’s truck. “Thanks for not making a big deal out of what I told you.”

“You know I’ve always got your back. If you need someone to talk to or somewhere to go, come and see me.”

I nodded. “I will. Thanks.”

“You forgot to tell me that Dylan’s not only intelligent and resourceful but handsome.”

“He’s a lot more than that.”

Eric studied my face. “You like him.”

I nodded. “But I don’t know what to do about it.”

“For now, you could tell him you appreciate the gun he bought. Dylan strikes me as the type of person who likes action over words, but I could be wrong.”

“What kind of message does that tell him?”

Eric opened the driver’s door. “That you need his help and you’re willing to meet him halfway. Who knows—an extra gun might even save your life. I’ll give you a call in a few days.”

I said goodbye, then stayed outside until Eric’s truck disappeared from the driveway. I needed to talk to Dylan—and find somewhere to store another gun.