32. Gideon

We stopped, and Riley bought some things she needed. We drove for two more hours before we stopped and got a room. They had one room left, and it was a king, so we took it. I figured I would sleep like a log.

“You don’t have to worry about me trying anything; I could fall asleep standing up. The bed is big. You’ll have your side, and I have my side,” I said, yawning.

“Fine, I trust you. I will sleep soundly myself.”

We had stopped at Subway and got some food earlier, so we ate our sandwiches.

Then we climbed into bed; it took me a little longer than usual to go to sleep for one thing: after Riley showered, she walked out of the bathroom looking like a different woman. She did have a black eye, from that bastard hitting her.

She had been wearing an ugly red wig, and now her short blonde curls bounced around her head. She removed the fake glasses; her eyes were emerald green. The woman was beautiful. She had on some comfy pajamas she got from Target.

I lay there for about an hour before I slept, and when I woke up, I was hard, and my leg was thrown over Riley’s body, and my hand was under her shirt, holding a perfect-sized breast. My eyes flew open, and I jumped out of bed.

“God, I’m sorry. I swear I had no idea what my body did in its sleep.”

She must have woken up at the same time as me. She looked confused, and then she looked down at her breast; both of us saw her nipples harden.

She grabbed some clothes and walked into the bathroom. I hurried and dressed before picking up my things and walking to the truck. I walked Bear so he could do his thing. I looked around and didn’t see anyone suspicious. When I returned to the room, Riley was picking up her things.

“Are we ready?” she asked.

“Yep,” we walked outside and got into the truck. We drove until ten, and I had to stop and get something to eat. I pulled into the pancake house. When I got out, I called River and handed the phone to Riley. “Do you want pancakes?”

“Yes, please.”

I watched her talking through the window as I waited for our table. She would laugh and, at the same time, wipe her eyes dry. I couldn’t imagine the horror she went through living with that man—a man who killed his own son. I knew he would kill Riley the next time he set eyes on her.

I was on my way to our table when Riley stepped inside. “Thank you. I loved talking to Haley; she sounded so happy. She hasn’t been happy since Jonah forced us to move in with him.”

“She told me that he beats you?” I said, watching her.

“Yeah, that won’t happen again. The next time I see Jonah Reeves, I’ll have a gun. ”

“You should stay away from him,” I said.

“He won’t let us stay away from him.”

“That’s why you need to stay with me. He will never know where you are?”

“I don’t know you; I can’t just move in with a stranger.”

“Sure you can, plus I’m gone most of the time.”

“Why are you gone most of the time?”

“My work takes me away. I was on vacation when I saw Haley running. I have a cabin my grandfather left me. I go there to fish.”

“I love fishing,” she said with a sigh.

“Have you ever fished in the ocean?”

“Yes, I went deep sea fishing when I was sixteen. The boat captain let me go for free if I cleaned the boat. Believe me, I got the wrong deal on that one. Two people on the boat couldn’t stop vomiting. It was nasty.”

“One was in the little cabin we had for sitting in, so you can imagine no one went down there. The other one locked herself in the bathroom. She wouldn’t unlock the door for anyone. I did catch some good fish. When I took it to the people I lived with, they were happy.”

“Why did you live with other people?”

“I was in the foster system since I was eight. These foster parents had a home in Florida; that’s where I went deep sea fishing.”

“Eight, how many times were you moved to other homes?”

“Seventeen times, I was sent to different homes. They didn’t like me because I would tell them when the foster daddy tried to touch me. I would even call the cops. The one thing my mom always told me was when someone tries to touch you, scream and never let anyone, man or woman, touch your privates. ”

“What happened to your Mom?”

“She died from fentanyl poisoning. Her boyfriend said she didn’t know she was taking fentanyl. I think he probably gave it to her. She thought she was taking a pill for anxiety. A lot of good that did me. I was left all alone. So they put me in the system.”

“What about your Dad?”

“I don’t know if I even had a Dad.”

I shook my head and told her some stuff about my life. “When I was nine months old, my mom dropped me off at my Grandpa’s and never returned. I was so much better with my grandpa.” I said.

“Did she die?”

“I don’t know. She never came back.”

“You didn’t look for her when you grew up?”

“No, I didn’t want someone in my life that didn’t want me in theirs.”

“Yeah, I would never be that parent. If I have to kill Jonah, I will.”

“Did you tell the police what you knew?”

“Yeah, they were under his pay. I didn’t know which ones were good and which ones were bad. So I stopped calling them.”

“Are you ready?”

“Yes, how much further do we have?”

“A couple of days. Haley is safe. River and Kat are great people. They work with me.”

“What do you do?”

“We have a high-security business. We rescue people in other countries, guard them, and keep them safe. We also help with Derick fires. People call us because we helped put them out overseas. We are all former Army Special Forces. Kat is our assistant, and she is also a medic. So you don’t have to worry about Haley. She’s in safe hands.”

“Thank you again. Maybe I could hire your company to guard us.”

“We are already guarding you. The moment I took Haley under my wing was the moment I became your guardian. I will take care of everything for you. You don’t have to worry about Jonah Reeves ever again.”

I looked at him. Haley and I have a guardian angel. “You’re going to guard us.”

“Yes. Did you think I would leave you to face that bastard alone? I would never do that.”

“I don’t know what to say.”

“You don’t have to say anything.”

She was quiet for the next hour. “Do you need to stop for anything?” I asked.

“No, thank you. But if you stop for gas, I’ll have a Pepsi and a chocolate bar,” she said with a chuckle.

“Do you have a sweet tooth?”

“Only when I’m nervous. What about you?”

“No, I don’t eat many sweets. One of my co-workers is a great cook. Sometimes, he brings a lemon cream pie to work, and I eat most of it.”

“I like pies too.”

“Tell me about your life growing up.”

“My life has always been boring. I lived in the same town growing up. The lake was the only good thing about living in Farmington, Oklahoma. We had a great lake. I started fishing there when I was little,” she wiped her hand across her eyes. I wondered if she was crying.

One of my foster brothers stole me a fishing pole and a bunch of fishing tackle. I know it’s terrible to steal, but that’s the best gift I’ve ever had. I guess he knew I needed something.”

“No one told you to stay away from the lake?”

“Most of the foster moms didn’t care where you went as long as you were home by bedtime. If you weren’t home by then, you were locked out.”

“They would lock you out.”

“Yeah. I had one couple who couldn’t have kids. They were so nice to me. They bought me clothes, and she would take me to have a pedicure and manicure. I loved living with them. I was there for almost a year. I was ten, and they said they would adopt me. I was so happy, but she got pregnant. And they sent me back to the group home. My heart was broken for the longest time, and then I smartened up.

“That pisses me off. Why didn’t they keep you?”

“I don’t know.”

“What happened when you turned eighteen and the money stopped?”

“I camped out at the lake and started participating in fishing contests for money. I knew the lake; I knew where the fish were and how deep in the water they went. I won almost all the contests. But I didn’t have a boat. Eventually, the guys started following me and throwing their line in where I went.”

“When I turned nineteen, an old fisherman I always fished with said he was too old to fish and gave me his truck and boat. That’s when the fishing contest became real. I picked that old man up every morning, so we fished together. When he died, I missed him. He was only the second person up to then that I missed when they were no longer in my life.

“When did you meet Gavin?”

“I had already met him, but we didn’t start dating until I was twenty. We married not long after that, and when I was twenty-four, we had Haley.

“Gavin told me he had no family, so when he was shot, he told me to get Haley and hide. I didn’t know what he was talking about until his father arrived at our house.”

“Wow, I’m glad I saw Haley running and screaming for help.”

“Yes, thank God. He beat me because I said we were staying at our home. He hit my baby. I hate him. He was ready to kill me. He was waiting until Haley was old enough to care for herself, and then he was going to kill me. One of the people who worked for him told me I needed to leave before it was too late.”