Angels Mark (The Serena Wilcox Dystopian Trilogy Book 1)

Angels Mark Chapter 11

11

Serena belted herself into the passenger’s seat. “Where are we going?”

“I was hoping you’d tell me,” said Tom.

“We can’t go home if Bryce, or Otto – let’s call him Bryce – knows where we live.”

“He seems able to find us anywhere. Let’s go home. We can secure the house.”

“What do you mean by ‘secure the house’?”

“What do you think I use to shoot at coyotes and raccoons?”

“You wouldn’t really shoot Bryce, would you?”

“Sure I would, if it’s him or you.”

“You’re going to walk around all the time holding a gun?”

“I can booby-trap the house.”

“How?”

“I can do it.”

“Home does sound good. Our own bed, our coffee, our food.”

“I want to go home,” chimed in all three kids from the back. Ipod and tablet earbuds were temporarily removed. Unplugging happened when their parents said something they wanted to hear.

Home was agreed upon and they drove the six hours back from Deer River, making a stop at the McDonald’s in Cannon Falls. After a trip to the restrooms, the Meadows family wandered back to the parking lot, carrying drinks and bags of food. They stopped short when approached by a familiar figure.

“Hey, Meadows-es!” Paul rang out cheerfully. “Long time no see. Haven’t seen you around seminar lately.” He didn’t wait for a reply, but clapped his hand on Tom’s shoulder. “How’s the place in Goodhue working out?”

“It was great, until people found us,” said Tom.

Paul didn’t need to feign surprise, because he was surprised to hear that they were already aware of discovery. Who was after them? Was Paul their second choice? Or had Bryce laid down the foundation for Paul to close the deal on? It was infuriating to be out of the loop. However, he bounced back quickly, and feeling a grin not unlike the Grinch’s spreading over his face, he came up with a plan. It was too, too easy.  “Wow, we can’t have you in a dangerous situation. Follow me back to my place. We can talk there and figure out a plan to relocate you.” Whatever possessed him to strike up a spontaneous conversation in a “chance meeting” location had produced brilliant results. This was most unexpected, especially since he hadn’t really thought this through ahead of time. He hadn’t worked up how to get Serena. He’d simply gotten lucky.

“Oh, that would be perfect,” said Serena. “Thank you.”

As Paul headed back to his own vehicle he reflected on his good fortune and dug into his pocket for his phone. He had only one number programmed, Clyde’s. He dialed it now. Clyde picked up after the first bar of the “Everybody Wants to Rule the World”  ringtone he’d assigned to Paul’s number.

“You rang?”

“I got them. The Meadows family will be at our place in about fifteen minutes.”

“The whole clan, not just the girl?”

“Serena.”

“Doesn’t matter, I’ll deal with the collateral damage.”

“Collateral damage? What?”

“Put them in the kitchen, give them some coffee, milk for the kids. There’s a bag of chips in the pantry. Keep them happy and talking. Stall. I’m thirty miles out.”