“Your mom’s a fighter,” Victor said. Then, almost ruefully, “Just like you.”
The page finally loaded. GoodKnight92 had posted a comment eight minutes ago.
“I have to go.” Faith hung up the phone. Her hand hovered over the laptop. She stared at the words on the screen. They had a familiar ring.
You must be feeling cooped up. Why don’t you get out of the house and take some fresh air?
They had contacted Jeremy again, and her son, her little boy, had been ready to walk out the front door and put his life on the line so that he could get his grandmother back.
She raised her voice, calling, “Jeremy?”
Faith waited. There were no footsteps overhead, no squeaks on the stairs or floorboards.
“Jeremy?” she called again, going into the living room. An eternity passed. Faith grabbed the back of the couch so she wouldn’t fall down. Her voice trilled in panic. “Jeremy!”
Her heart stopped at the thumping sound from upstairs, heavy footsteps across the floor. But it was Zeke who called from the top of the landing. “Jesus, Faith, what’s wrong?”
Faith could barely speak. “Where’s Jeremy?”
“I told him he could go for a walk.”
Ginger came in from the kitchen, a puzzled look on his face. Before he could say anything, Faith grabbed the gun out of his shoulder holster and bolted from the room. She didn’t remember opening the front door or running down the driveway. It wasn’t until she was in the middle of the street that Faith stopped. She saw a figure up ahead. He was about to turn the corner onto the next street. Tall, lanky, baggy jeans and a yellow Georgia Tech sweatshirt.
“Jeremy!” she yelled. A car pulled up to the intersection, stopping a few feet from her son. “Jeremy!” He didn’t hear her. He walked toward the car.
Faith ran all out, arms pumping, bare feet pounding the pavement. She gripped the gun so tightly in her hand that it felt like part of her skin.
“Jeremy!” she screamed. He turned around. The car was in front of him. Dark gray. Four doors. New-model Ford Focus with chrome trim. The window rolled down. Jeremy turned back to the car, bent down to look inside. “Stop!” Faith yelled, her throat clenching around the word. “Get away from the car! Get away from the car!”
The driver was leaning toward Jeremy. Faith saw a teenage girl behind the wheel, mouth agape, obviously terrified by the armed madwoman running down the street. The car screeched off as Faith reached her son. She bumped into him, almost pushing him down.
“Why?” she asked, gripping his arm so tight that her fingers hurt.
He pulled away, rubbing his arm. “Jesus, Mom, what is wrong with you? She was lost. She needed directions.”
Faith was dizzy from fear and adrenaline. She bent over and put her hand on her knee. The gun was at her side. So was Ginger.
He snatched the weapon back. “Agent Mitchell, that was not cool.”
His words filled her with anger. “Not cool?” She thumped her open palm against his chest. “Not cool?”
“Agent.” His tone of voice implied she was acting hysterical, which only served to amp up her fury another notch.
“How about letting my son walk out the door when you were assigned to watch him? Was that not cool, too?” She pushed him again. “How about you and your partner standing around holding your dicks while my boy is gone?” Another push. “Is that cool?”
Ginger held up his hands in surrender.
“Faith,” Zeke said. She hadn’t noticed her brother standing there, maybe because for once he wasn’t making things worse. “Let’s just go back to the house.”
She held out her hand to Jeremy, palm up. “iPhone.”
He looked appalled. “What?”
“Now,” she ordered.
“That’s got all my games on it.”
“I don’t care.”
“What am I supposed to do?”
“Read a book!” she screamed, her voice screeching. “Just stay offline. Do you hear me? No Internet!”
“Jesus.” He glanced around for support, but Faith didn’t care if God Himself came down and told her to give the kid a break.
She said, “I’ll tie you to my waist with a rope if I have to.”
He knew she wasn’t bluffing; she’d done it before. “This isn’t fair.” He slapped the phone in her hand. She would’ve thrown it to the ground and crushed it with her foot if the damn thing hadn’t cost so much.
“No Internet,” Faith repeated. “No phone calls. No communication of any kind, and you stay in the fucking house. Do you hear me?” He walked toward the house, giving her his back. Faith wasn’t going to let him off that easy. “Do you hear me?”
“I heard you!” he yelled. “God!”
Ginger shoved his gun back into the holster, adjusting the straps like a haughty cheerleader. He followed Jeremy down the street. Faith limped along after them. Her feet were bruised from the rocky asphalt. Zeke fell in beside her. His shoulder brushed against hers. Faith braced herself for some kind of tirade, but he was mercifully silent as they walked up the driveway and entered the house.
Faith threw Jeremy’s iPhone onto the kitchen table. No wonder he wanted to leave. The space was beginning to feel like a prison. She leaned heavily against the chair. What had she been thinking? How could any of them be safe here? Evelyn’s kidnappers knew the layout of the house. They had obviously targeted Jeremy. Anyone could’ve been in that car. They could’ve rolled down the window, pointed a gun at Jeremy’s head, and pulled the trigger. He could’ve bled out in the middle of the street and Faith wouldn’t have known until his stupid Facebook page loaded that something was wrong.
“Faith?” Zeke was standing in the middle of the kitchen. His tone indicated this wasn’t the first time he’d said her name. “What’s wrong with you?”
Faith crossed her arms low on her stomach. “Where have you been staying? You weren’t sleeping at Mom’s. I would’ve seen your stuff.”
“Dobbins.” She should’ve known. Zeke had always loved the soulless anonymity of base housing, even if Dobbins Air Reserve was an hour drive from the VA hospital where he was doing his inservice.
“I need you to do me a favor.”
He was instantly skeptical. “What?”
“I want you to take Jeremy and Emma back to the base with you. Today. Right now.” The Atlanta police couldn’t protect her family, but the United States Air Force could. “I don’t know how long it’ll be for. I just need you to keep them on the base. Don’t let them off until I tell you.”
“Why?”
“Because I need to know that they’re safe.”
“Safe from what? What are you planning?”
Faith checked the backyard to make sure the detectives weren’t listening. Ginger stared at her, his jaw rigid. She turned her back to him. “I need you to trust me.”
Zeke snorted a laugh. “Why would I start doing that?”
“Because I know what I’m doing, Zeke. I’m a police officer. I was trained to do this kind of thing.”
“What kind of thing? Run into the street barefooted like you’re escaping from the loony bin?”