- Text Size +
** NICK **

This was my fault. I didn’t know why the stupid men in the suits didn’t just come right out and say it. I should have told the police about Dan. I honestly couldn’t remember why I had decided to keep his existence a secret. Sure, I was embarrassed by the fact that some random guy was following me around and copying my appearance, but would it really have been so bad if the others guys had found out about him?

I knew that Dan was really nothing more than an innocent victim in terms of the bigger picture, but I still couldn’t shake the nagging feeling that things would have turned out differently if I had mentioned him sooner. Then again, I always thought that things were my fault, even when they weren’t. I’m pretty sure that the mentality stemmed from the fact that I was the youngest; that I was always the one that the other guys blamed when things didn’t turn out the way that they expected. It was no surprise that apologetic and self-deprecating had long been my default settings.

I watched as Howie struggled to keep his emotions in check as he slipped his phone back into his pocket. The poor guy looked as though he had just been punched in the stomach.

“It was Leigh, wasn’t it?” I guessed.

Howie nodded slowly. “I hung up on her. I’ve never hung up on her before.”

“I’m sorry.” I averted my eyes from Howie’s pained expression and stared absently down the driveway. The street was deserted.

“Why are you sorry?” Howie challenged. “You didn’t force me to do it.”

“This is going to be hard on all of you.” Detective Eaton stepped in. “It’s going to be even harder on your loved ones.”

“So why are we going to do it?” AJ grumbled. “What’s the point?”

“The point, Mr. McLean, is to try and keep you alive.” Detective Eaton snapped. “Like we said before, no one is forcing you to go along with what we’re suggesting.”

“What are you suggesting?” I drew my eyes back to the group. “You haven’t really told us.”

“We’ve made arrangements for the five of you to be placed in a situation similar to witness protection. You will have no ties to the location and you will be watched by unmarked security officials at all times. Your ability to come and go will be restricted and you will not be allowed to have contact with anyone outside of the police.” Detective Eaton explained the procedure with a no-nonsense expression. “The last piece of the equation is the most important. If you reach out to anyone, it will make it nearly impossible for us to keep your location a secret. That means no phone calls, no emails, no Facebook, no Twitter, no Instagram ...”

“For how long?” AJ still looked defiant. “That’s a lot to ask. We all have a family.”

“For as long as it takes us to find whoever is trying to hurt you.” Detective Eaton answered simply. “Do you want some time to think about it?”

“No.” Brian spoke for the first time since he had challenged Kevin’s authority, surprising all of us. He withdrew his phone from his pocket and promptly turned it off. “If shutting myself off from the world is going to keep my son safe then I don’t need to think about it.”

My mind flashed to Lauren as I watched Brian power off his phone. I could practically see her emerging from her ridiculous cleanse only to see the incorrect news reports that I had been killed. I could imagine her breaking down when I didn’t answer the phone, crying her eyes out when she couldn’t get in touch with any of the other guys, and losing it completely when the other wives told her that we had all but disappeared.

“Brian’s right.” I pulled my own phone out of my pocket and shakily turned it off, pushing my thoughts of Lauren aside. “I don’t need to think about it.”

“No surprise there.” AJ snorted. “Whatever Brian says goes, right Nick?”

I leaned across Brian to get a better look at AJ. His brown eyes met mine in heated rebellion and I narrowed my own in response. Brian leaned back as far as he could to give us space; his face ashen. “You know that we don’t really have a choice, Aje.”

AJ turned his eyes away from mine and directed his question to Brian, his face softening. “You really think that this is what we ought to do?”

“Think about Ava.” Brian struggled to get the words out. “If you go home, you’ll be putting her in danger. As much as I want to go home and protect Baylee, I know that it will be better for him if I stay away. The same is true for all of us. If you stay here, you’re giving Ro and Ava a free pass.”

“I hate this.” AJ twirled his phone between his fingers. “I hate that what you’re saying is right.”

“You can’t leave.” Brian added. “I would never forgive myself if I let you leave and something ended up happening to you.”

“Fine.” AJ stared into Brian’s face long and hard before turning his phone off with an unsteady finger. “I’ll stay. I’ll cut myself off.”

“Kev?” I raised my eyes to the oldest member of our group. “What about you?”

“It’s already off.” Kevin held up his phone for emphasis; the display was dark. He turned to Detective Eaton. “We’re on board. All of us.”

“Good.” Detective Eaton’s affirmation came out sounding like a sigh of relief. “The cars are waiting down the block.”

“Cars?” I repeated.

“We’ve arranged for the five of you to have access to two vehicles. They’re untraceable rentals with local plates, very nondescript. It would be too much of a risk to ask any of you to use your personal vehicles at this point.”

“Right.” My stomach flipped. “Of course.”

“Pack your things.” Detective Bell checked his watch. “The cars will be here in ten minutes. When they arrive, we’ll introduce you to your new security personnel. You’ll split up into two groups and leave separately. Each group will take a different route to the new location.”

“Wow.” Howie shook his head in disbelief and began leading the way back into the house. “Just wow.”

It took the rest of the guys all of two minutes to collect their already packed suitcases and to return to the driveway. By the time I had tossed a random assortment of clothing and toiletries into a bag, sorted out extra food and water for Nacho and re-emerged from the house, the cars and our new security team had already arrived.

Detective Eaton looked discreetly at his watch as I locked the door and dragged my suitcase down the walkway. “That took you twelve minutes.”

“I had to feed the dog …” I gave up on my excuse as Kevin’s eyebrows drew together in annoyance. “Sorry.”

“It’s fine.” Detective Bell compensated for his partner’s terse observation. “This is Joey and Tony.” He introduced the two very tall, very wide, very muscular, and very Italian men standing next to him. “They come very highly recommended by a private security team that has extensive experience dealing with high-profile clients. They’re going to be your new best friends from afar.”

I looked at the men with a mixture of relief and loathing. “I’m Nick.”

Tony and Joey nodded in response. They didn’t appear to be big talkers.

“Okay.” Detective Eaton stepped forward and broke the silence. He handed both Kevin and AJ a set of keys and gestured at the two cars that were now parked in the driveway behind Brian’s SUV; a blue Chevrolet Malibu and a black Nissan Altima. “These are the cars. The directions to the secure location are inside. Joey and Tony will be right behind you the whole way, but don’t worry if you can’t see them.”

“Are we all staying together?” Howie looked at the beefy men rather warily.

Detective Eaton smirked. “No, Mr. Dorough, Joey and Tony will be staying in a separate house across the street.”

“Oh.” Howie looked more than just a little relieved. “Okay then.”

“You two …” Detective Eaton snapped his fingers at me and Kevin. “You’re taking the Nissan.”

It was my turn to look wary. The thought of travelling with Kevin during a highly stressful situation was less than appealing. Besides, Kevin drove like an old man.

“How come you get to decide who rides with whom?” I sounded like a whiny brat, but I didn’t care. I was scared shitless by the whole situation and the last thing that I wanted was to be interrogated by Kevin as he tried to determine the exact origin of my fear; as if it wasn’t obvious already.

Detective Eaton exchanged a quick look with Detective Bell. The two of them were definitely withholding information from us. “We feel as though this arrangement is best.”

“It’s fine.” Kevin gave me a pointed look as he popped open the Altima’s trunk. He hoisted his suitcase into the car and motioned for me to follow suit. “Nick’s just being difficult.”

“I’m not being difficult!” I shot back as I stuffed my luggage into the trunk. “I was asking a question.”

Kevin rolled his eyes at me before turning to AJ. “We’ll see you guys there.”

AJ nodded and released the latch on the Malibu’s trunk. “Drive safe.”

I slammed the trunk shut and scowled, exchanging my own private eye roll with Brian as I walked around to the passenger side and slid into the car. Brian smirked and bit his lip in response; likely overjoyed by the fact that he was not being forced to travel with his cousin.

“Ready?” Kevin folded himself into the car and went about adjusting the mirrors. “You’re in charge of the directions.”

My eyes quickly scanned the dash as Kevin began to back slowly down the driveway. “Where’s the GPS?”

“There isn’t one.” Kevin pulled a folded sheet of paper out of the centre console and handed it to me. I hadn’t even noticed it. “A GPS system can be tracked.”

My face flushed in embarrassment as I unfolded the map. Turn-by-turn directions had been neatly printed at the top, and I hurried to position the paper in the right direction as the car approached the bottom of the driveway. “You need to go left.”

“Are you sure?” Kevin teased. “Can you even read a map?”

“Of course I can read a map.” I replied hotly. “You just worry about driving like the good little senior citizen that you are.”

Kevin tightened his hands on the steering wheel. “I drive according to the conditions.”

“Sure grandpa.” I muttered. “Whatever you say.”