“Come on, Pickle. You’re smarter than that.” Pops sighs through the line, sounding exasperated. Good.
“So now I’m dumb for wanting to stick together? You said you would never leave us,” I choke out. I’m being unreasonable, and I know it, but it hurts. “We’re a family.”
“Baby,” Mom soothes, “you know this is just temporary. The miles might be long, but there’s no distance between our hearts. You’re right here,” she says, and I can picture her placing a hand over her heart as I place my palm on the birthmark directly over mine.
“We have to go, Pickle,” Pops breathes. “Luca?”
“Yup?” Lu takes my hand, giving it a gentle squeeze.
“Keep moving. Only two days in the same town. Rest when you get there.”
I’m curious, but I know not to mention anything until we disconnect.
“I love you two,” I mutter, “and I understand. I’m sorry.”
“Me too, Pickle,” Pops apologizes. Not for his actions, I know that, but he hates that I am hurting because of them. Nothing will change. This is our life, and other than our current situation, it’s been a good one.
When they end the call, Luca takes the burner from my hand, powers it off, and places it back in the bag.
“So, now what?”
“Now we sleep, and then, tomorrow morning, we keep moving until we get to the place Axel secured for us.” Luca flops down on the bed beside me. “That’s all we can do.”
We’re quiet for a few minutes before I turn to him. “Hey, Luca?”
“Yeah?”
“Remember when Pops found us?”
“Vaguely.” He grins when I jump to my feet, puffing out my chest.
“Back off, punk!” I imitate ten-year-old Luca. “Don’t make me hurt you!”
“I would have, too!” He gets to his knees, pulling me onto the bed and pinning me under him. “I was tough.”
“Tough, huh? I have never heard Pops laugh so hard,” I tease as he tickles me.
“I impressed him with my manly show of ten-year-old bravery.” He lets me go, flexing his biceps before lying back on the pillows.
“We’re lucky it was him who found us.” I smile softly, cuddling into his side.
“We are.” He hesitates. “Have you ever wondered why he kept us? How did he even know to look in that alley? I’m grateful, but do you ever wonder why, after all the years we spent in the system and then on the streets, a man like Axel would be the one who saved us? He and Liza didn’t pull a check for us like fosters did. They had nothing to gain and everything to lose. We were a sinking ship, Oats, but they saved us. Why?”
“I dunno.” I chew my bottom lip, thinking of all of the times I’ve considered this myself. “Maybe he saw a part of himself in us? Lost souls speak a language of their own, I suppose.”
“What do you mean?”
“Have you ever watched a family together, Lu? A happy one?” I sigh, rolling my eyes. “They have a way about them, subtle glances and unspoken words that speak volumes, but to each other. Something brought those people together, and now their souls are home. Maybe it’s like that with us too. Yes, we needed them, but maybe fate was pulling them to us too because together, we are home.”
“You think so?” he grins, kissing the top of my head.
“I do and I don’t like being apart.”
“Things will go back to normal before you know it.”
“Normal?” I snort.
“Well, normal-ish… for now, let’s just enjoy the ride. Okay?”
“That I can do.” I yawn.
“Get some rest. We have a long road ahead of us.” He pulls the blanket over us and runs his fingers through my hair. “Love ya, Oats.”
“Love you too, Lu,” I whisper, closing my eyes, and pray for a dreamless night’s sleep.
4
Domantas
“I can feel her. We’re getting closer,” I huff, pacing outside our tent.
“Will you shut up and get back inside before you draw attention to us?” Berk hisses from inside. “A lot of good we’ll do if we’re captured and killed before we even find the Princess.”
“Our mate won’t stop moving long enough for us to get to her.” I push the flap of our tent to the side and step in, dropping onto my mat. “What if she’s in danger?”
“What if she feels your eagerness and is running from you.” Rais smirks from the corner. “I know I can feel it and would run if that were an option.”
“But what if-” I pull at my hair, fighting off another headache.
“There are a lot of what-ifs, brother. We will find her. For now, we all need to rest.”
“How can you rest, knowing she is out there?” I snarl.
“Same way we have for the past nineteen years, Dom. We are no good to her if we’re beaten down and exhausted. Sleep now. We will find her when we are meant to.” Berk says lying back and tossing an arm across his face, snoring nearly immediately.
“Great.” I roll my eyes.
“He’s right,” Rais adds, standing and walking to the entrance of our tent. “Sleep. I’ll take first watch. We’re close.”
“You’re sure?” I ask, deflating.
“I am. Just as I’m sure we will need to be rested up,” Rais says and snorts when Berk throws a fist into the air mid-snore.
“Rest. Tomorrow we will find our girl.”
5
Ottilie
“Oh, no!” I shout, waking Luca with a start.
“What?!” he jumps to his feet, looking around the room. “What is it?”
“Good, you’re awake.” I toss him a pair of jeans and a t-shirt with a grin. “We’re going out.”
“We’re? No, no, we’re not. Dirty trick, Oats.” He shakes his head and sits back in the chair by the window, peeking out just in case. “We should sleep so we can hit the road early.”
“Come on, Lu,” I pout, walking over and standing between his legs. “We haven’t had any fun since we split up. Ride all day, crummy motels all night. Ugh. Take me dancing.”
“It will piss off your Pops.”
“My Pops isn’t here. Remember, you’re calling the shots now.” I bat my lashes. “And you’re super good at it too.”
“Dirty, dirty tricks, Oats.” He runs his tongue slowly between his lips, shaking his head.
“Come on. Just for a little while. We need to eat anyway. Let’s hit that place on the corner the girls at the Stop and Shop were talking about. I wanna dance.”
“Oats…” Luca takes a deep breath.
“Just a couple hours.”
“One. One hour, and then we come back here and crash. We have to be out of here by 9.”
“Yes!” I jump, spinning, and do a little dance. “Let’s go already.”
“Okay,” he laughs, pulling on his jeans and pocketing his wallet as I grab my purse. “Everything important in there? Burner? Docs?”