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“Probably just because they knew I’d return here. If I’d never come back, they probably would’ve lost interest in you and continued their search for me.”
She dropped her burrito and dug her fingers into the denim covering his thigh. “Do you think you could’ve kept your return from me? I’m sure I would’ve found out somehow, and then nothing would’ve kept me from your side.”
Drawing her toward him, he kissed her with his spicy lips. “I love you, Jen, more than anything, but that means keeping you safe.”
“Yeah, yeah. I’ve heard that line before.” She cupped his jaw flicking her fingers through his longish hair. “This is no military cut, sailor.”
“They weren’t offering and I wasn’t asking. Had more important issues on my mind.”
She glanced at her cell phone. “I have one more question before I head off to class. How could one mole in the intel community get to you?”
He jerked his thumb at the laptop stashed in the backseat. “That’s what I’m going to try to find out.”
“Can Josh Elliott help you?” She crumpled up the waxy paper around the rest of her burrito and tossed it into the bag at Miguel’s feet.
“No. He’s headed out for another deployment. He had a little time off after his last assignment. Guess he met a woman.”
“Josh?” Miguel’s sniper teammate was more intense than Miguel. “I hope she’s tough as nails.”
“She’s...” Miguel shrugged. “I hope so, too. I’m going to be waiting right here for you at noon, and then we’ll pick up Mikey.”
“And then?”
“We should find another house. Mikey can’t stay in a motel forever.”
“Tomorrow is the last day of school. Let’s deal with it then.”
A bell rang in the distance, and Miguel raised his eyebrows. “Are you late, teacher?”
“That’s the first bell. I’m not late until the second bell.” She kissed him again just because she could and he was inches away from her. “Noon.”
Before she turned the corner, she glanced back at the car and waved. She still felt like she was moving through some crazy dream. Miguel alive, back home—and their lives in danger. When would they catch a break?
She had no time to pop into the teachers’ lounge like she usually did, so she headed straight for her classroom.
The first bell had called the kids to class, and they jostled and nudged each other as they lined up in the hallway outside the door.
“You’re almost in middle school. Behave yourselves.” She jingled her key chain at them and then opened the door.
“What’re we doing today, Ms. Lynch?”
“I must’ve told you a hundred times, Chase.” She dropped her bag on the floor and nudged it under her desk with her toe. “Cleaning up the room. You guys are going to take all your stuff home, projects, papers, supplies, and then we’re going to walk to the high school to run through the promotion ceremony.”
The morning passed quickly, and at ten thirty Jennifer got her class ready for the walk to the high school. As she gathered the kids in the hallway, Olivia sidled up next to her.
“What happened at your house last night? I heard there was a fire.”
“That news spread quickly.” Jennifer snapped her fingers. “Girls, stop talking. There are classes in session across the hall.”
“Are you and Mikey okay?”
“We’re fine. M-my friend discovered it quickly, got us out of the house and called 9-1-1.”
“Thank goodness. When you didn’t make it to the teachers’ lounge this morning, I got worried. Do you have a place to stay?”
“Motel for now. I’ll start looking for a new place soon. I was done with that place anyway.”
“It’s a good thing it’s the end of the school year.” Olivia took Jennifer’s arm. “One more day until freedom.”
Freedom? Jennifer had been feeling a noose tightening around her neck ever since Miguel appeared—no, that wasn’t fair. She’d been feeling that noose even before. She just hadn’t understood its significance.
Just like they had the day before, the fifth-grade teachers herded their students through the park and across the street to the high school. The school had reserved its auditorium for their practice.
Once inside, the students were assigned a place in line alphabetically. The teachers gathered in the back while the principal and vice principal ran the kids through their paces.
Olivia took a sip from her coffee cup. “Are you and Mikey still going to visit your sister in San Francisco this summer?”
“Maybe.” Olivia knew all about her dead navy SEAL fiancé. When would she be able to tell everyone the good news about Miguel? She was pretty tired of being the poor, young fiancée, left to raise a child by herself.
She wanted to shout the news from the rooftops. She wanted to tell Troy that Mikey no longer needed a father figure—he had his own father.
Jennifer sighed. “You still going out to visit the in-laws?”
“God, yes, for two long weeks.”
A buzzing sound had Olivia patting her pockets. “It’s not mine.”
Jennifer reached for her purse hanging over the back of a chair in the last row of the auditorium and scrambled for her cell phone in the side pocket.
Her heart did a little flip when she saw the number for Mikey’s day care. She held up one finger to Olivia. “Excuse me a minute. I have to take this.”
“Hello?”
“Oh, Jennifer. I—I...” Franny, the owner of the day care, dragged in a ragged breath. “First of all, let me assure you that Mikey is safe.”
The blood rushed to Jennifer’s head all at once, and she grabbed the edge of the seat. “What does that mean? What happened?”
“Mikey’s fine and we already called the police.”
“The police? Franny, tell me what happened.”
“A man broke into the center, into Ms. Lori’s room. Jen, he tried to take Mikey.”
Jennifer gulped and pressed two fingers to her throbbing temple. “Where is Mikey now?”
“He’s in my office with me. We’re waiting for the police right now.”
Shifting the phone away from her mouth, Jennifer tapped Olivia’s arm and said, “I have to leave. Mikey’s okay, but something happened at his day care. Tell Sandra I’ll be gone the rest of the day.”
Olivia’s eyes grew round. “Go, go. I’ll get your class back to the school and dismiss them.”
As Jennifer hustled from the auditorium, she continued with Franny. “What happened? What do you mean someone tried to take him? Was it someone who tried to sign him out and pretend I sent him?”
Had Miguel tried to pick up his son, not realizing the security measures in place at the day care?
“I mean take, Jen, as in forcibly try to remove him from the center.” Franny released a little sob.
A blast of adrenaline shot through Jennifer’s body and she quickened her pace back to the school. “Are you sure Mikey’s okay?”
“He’s