“Two hours away,” Talon said when I got into the passenger seat of his truck. “Fucking two hours away.”
“Could be a trick,” Ruby said. “In fact, it’s probable. The best way to keep us off the trail is to send us off the trail.”
“We have to try,” Ryan said. “You know that.”
“Of course I know that. Why do you think I’m with you? You need me. I’d do anything for this family. Everybody armed?”
“Always,” I said, echoing Joe’s response I’d heard so many times.
Talon had been in the military, and Ruby had been a police detective. Clearly, they could shoot. Joe said he had taught Ryan, but was he any good? Did he carry a gun?
“Yeah,” Ryan replied.
That answered that question.
“Of course,” was Talon’s response.
“I still think we should tell Joe what we’re up to,” Ryan said.
Talon shook his head. “He has enough on his mind. Let him become a dad. He deserves it.”
“I agree,” I said. “We can handle this. Everyone in this car loves Marj just as much as Joe does. Plus, his baby is premature. He needs to have his head in that game right now.”
“I talked to Melanie,” Ruby said. “There’s a good chance the baby will be fine without incubation. Babies have survived that are born at twenty weeks. Everything will likely go well, so I agree with Bryce. Let them have this time together.”
“Joe will be pissed,” Ryan said.
“Oh, yeah,” I said. “He will. But after he gets over his hotheadedness, he’ll realize we did what was best.”
“He needs to be with Melanie,” Talon agreed. “Besides, we don’t know what we’re getting into. This could be dangerous.”
“Said the new father of almost three,” Ryan reminded him.
“I’ve gone into many a battle,” Talon said, “and I’ve come out of all of them, even when I didn’t want to.”
Silence after that.
We all knew Talon’s story, how he’d tried to get himself killed in Iraq. Seemed life had other plans for him. Plans with a wife and kids.
Talon would come out of this alive.
We all would.
Including Marj.
She would.
She had to.
I needed her.
We drove in silence for another half hour, when all of our phones dinged with a text simultaneously.
From Joe.
He’s here. Four pounds even. Tiny but breathing on his own. Strong as an ox and gorgeous like his mom. He’ll be in NICU for a week or so. Expected to do fine.
We all sighed in relief.