Total pages in book: 157
Estimated words: 154525 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 773(@200wpm)___ 618(@250wpm)___ 515(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 154525 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 773(@200wpm)___ 618(@250wpm)___ 515(@300wpm)
“Thanks,” she whispered.
“No problem, kiddo.”
“You could tell me where we’re going.”
“I can now, yes,” Larkin replied, his eyes peeled on the road ahead of them as the vehicle started to slow, “because we’re arriving at phase three of a several part plan that your father has been working on for a while. I suggest you listen closely and ask as few questions as possible over the next handful of minutes, Frankie, as I will not have time to repeat very much.”
She already had a question. “What plan?”
“Keep up,” Larkin murmured as the truck suddenly whipped sideways into what looked like a dirt road. “There’s a black duffle bag next to you on the seat. Could you open it, please?”
Frankie hadn’t paid much attention to the bag next to her, as she figured it belonged to Larkin. Pulling it into her lap, she opened the zipper only to make a noise of shock at what rested on top of folded clothes. “A gun?”
“Two summers ago, you spent every weekend at a firing range with me and your father. Do you remember?”
“Yeah, of course.”
It was one of the few summers she got to have with her father without him needing to run off or jet away to the next job. Or whatever he had to do that constantly left her alone and without him.
“You were a pretty good shot, I thought,” Larkin noted, a hint of pride in his tone, “so let’s hope you still are. If you need to be, I mean.”
She eyed the gun, not really wanting to touch it. “Am I supposed to keep it on me, or...?”
“No, it is for emergencies only. You know where it is, and you know how to use it should you need to. It’s the same model you practiced with every weekend at the range. Nothing is different. It’s already loaded.”
“Okay.”
“The bag is full of clothes Sissy packed for you. And a pair of running shoes because I’m sure you don’t want to be wearing those heels for however long this is going to take. Also, at the top of the pile is a hoodie of Nico’s. He left it hanging in the entry last week. I thought it a nice touch.”
Frankie immediately began to dig for that item, wanting the smell of him to ground her anxiety. Pulling it from the bag, she held it to her face, and breathed Nico in. The scent of his favorite body wash, and the aftershave he liked around the collar, had her closing her eyes.
Larkin started talking again. “In case of specific situations once an inevitable event came into motion, dove one and dove two must be moved from whatever their current location to an immediate second through various means.”
“Doves?”
Larkin paid her no mind as he causally, easily, navigated what seemed like a trail with trees all around and bushes so close to the truck that the branches scratched along the sides. His speed quickly returned to the same it had been on the previous road. “Frequent vehicle switching is a must and will likely continue to happen should it be needed. Don’t get prissy and make demands, the men, me included, who will be doing the driving or escorting over the next few weeks are not paid to care if you don’t like what’s happening or if you refuse. You will be kept safe—that is priority. It is the only priority, in fact.”
“A few weeks?” Frankie shrieked, jerking forward in the seat.
The seatbelt bit into her collarbone.
“What about Christmas?” she demanded.
He didn’t respond.
“And Nico’s birthday.”
Carina turned thirty-eight in mere days.
Larkin continued, unconcerned, “The next phase at the current time is a chartered plane out of state. I will not tell you which state, and the pilot and staff aboard were specifically hired for their discretion and professionalism. They have been informed of the seriousness in the matter of keeping locations and arrivals secret so that it cannot be shared by anyone, including you. We will not be traveling out of country, although if needed, we will be in international waters. Passports are not needed for this plan, but should it come up at some point that we do need to leave the country, I have the needed documents. It just doesn’t say your name.”
What the fuck?
Frankie only cared about one thing he said. “You mean, I can’t tell Nico where I am?”
Finally, Larkin answered a question. In a way. “Frankie, I threw your phone out a car ago, honey.”
She blinked. “What?”
All her things had gotten shoved into the front seat of a black sedan she hadn’t recognized. They assured her the things would get moved from vehicle to vehicle as needed, and she didn’t get much of a choice.
“Yeah,” Larkin confirmed, “you have no way to contact him until I get the sign that it’s safe for the doves to land. So—”