Dragon Hunts

I sniffed.

“You can’t get rid of me this easy, Jessica. I won’t let you go. Now, pack your things and come with me.”

Declan possessed amazing skills of persuasion. With grace and eloquence, as if he were putting his case before the board of directors in an important meeting, he explained to me the terrible cons if I chose to be stubborn and refuse to take his advice. By the time he’d finished, I felt like I was the worst mother in the world. So I packed my bag and went with him.

Bobby and I sat in the back seat. My son grinned at me. “Mommy, does this mean tonight we get to sleep somewhere that isn’t stinky?” he whispered. The toilet in our room had broken. No matter how many times I’d tried to flush it, it emitted noxious odours from the pipe that were quite bothersome.

I covered my face in shame. I wanted to crawl under a rock and die.

Declan didn’t say anything. He fixed his gaze on the road. His face was grim.

I held my son’s hand and whispered back, “Yes. We get to sleep somewhere clean.”

Bobby leaned over to me and said quietly, “Are we going to live with Declan from now on?”

I sighed. “Looks like it.”

“Awesome.” Bobby covered his mouth with his hand and giggled.

God.

It was apparent that Declan was not only in control of my situation, but he also had won my son’s heart. I caught Declan’s eyes in the rear view mirror. He looked so smug I was itching to smack him.

Braden drove us to an affluent residential area and entered the driveway of a grand, two-storey house. Tall palm trees flanked the Spanish-style gate. Roses and wisteria climbed and flourished on the front pergola. Was this also a Cairne home? I’d thought we were going to stay in a hotel or something. I supposed I shouldn’t have been surprised that the Cairne family owned properties everywhere.

I was surprised to see Curran open the door.

“Welcome back, Jessica. Hey, Bobby. It’s good to see you, buddy.”

Curran and Bobby traded a high five. My son chattered with Declan’s youngest brother, like they were old friends. I felt a hand on the small of my back. It was Declan.

“Come.” His voice was curt. I could see he was still angry with me.

I trudged along.

We went to the kitchen. Curran was making Bobby chocolate sandwiches. My son sat on a tall stool and ogled his surroundings with wide eyes.

“A TV in the kitchen,” he exclaimed. “How cool is that?”

“That’s not a TV, Bobby. That’s our security system monitor,” Braden said. The image on the screen mounted on the wall changed every ten seconds, showing different inner and outer parts of the house. “See this? You and your mommy will be safe here. If a bad guy comes, we can see him before he enters the house.”

“Wow.” Bobby gaped. “But can you watch SpongeBob from this TV, though?”

Braden only smiled. “No, you can’t. You have to watch it from the TV in the living room. Or the ones in the bedrooms.”

Bobby nodded eagerly. His attention diverted to the plate before him. He snatched the sandwich and took a big bite.

I shifted from foot to foot, waiting for what Declan was going to say. I felt like a child who was waiting to be grounded.

Declan’s eyes cut at me. “You and Bobby will stay here until we get you new IDs and passports. It will only take a few days. Then we’ll be leaving for London until this matter is resolved.”

“London?” I echoed. “Why London?”

“We have a safe house there.”

Why, of course.

“Besides, they have a private school that’s good for Bobby’s situation. They guarantee discretion and security.” Declan turned to my son. “Would you like to go to London, Bobby?”