I don’t. Your location says you’re at a house out in the middle of nowhere. And I doubt you’ll be able to find me.
Jack reads it out loud.
“You should shut it down.” Caden walks over. “We came here because we didn’t want to be tracked.”
By your fathers?
Chills again. This feels like too much.
“Who is this guy?” Caden glares at the screen.
Jack releases me to type on his computer. He says out loud, “We can’t disconnect or we’ll lose everything. He’s going through multiple VPNs to connect through the mobile device. How did you know this was on?”
It notified me as soon as it booted up.
“How do we know you’re a friend? Who are you?” I ask. My pulse quickens, wondering if my father escaped and really did leave me and my mom to this town and its monsters.
My insides turn cold. Would that be worse than knowing he’s dead?
Just a second.
I glance up at Caden. He scowls at the computer monitor. Eli looks thoughtful. Luke sets his computer to the side and comes over to sit next to Jack and me. He slides his hand in mine and squeezes it.
I rest my head against Jack’s shoulder. Nico meets my gaze and gives me a reassuring smile. Whatever this is, we’ll figure it out.
I’m not alone and neither are my guys. My mom supports us and now we might have a friend to help us with this shit my dad left behind.
We’ve turned off all our phones in case their fathers try to find us. But Jack made sure to set up a chat with my mother. Now it pings on his laptop.
Mom:
Why am I getting a text from an unknown number to tell you Mr. Snuggles knew them?
What the fuck? I turn to Luke and he seems suspicious.
Jack shakes his head and types,Tell us something you didn’t get from our conversation.
I’ll answer Mom later. She knows we’re all busy.
Poughkeepsie.
What? I cover my mouth. It can’t be.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Jack puts his hand on my stomach.
“What does it mean, kitten?” Eli asks softly. He rests his hand on my shoulder.
“When I was little, it’s the word Mom gave me to use if someone had to pick me up from school because she couldn’t make it.” Who is this person? How do they know that word?
“Did anyone else know that word?” Luke squeezes my hand. “Did anyone pick you up using it?”
When I meet his eyes, I shake my head. No one ever knew that word that I know of.
“Jack, can I?” I put my hands over his on the keyboard and he draws back. I go to the chat with my mother.
Me:
Who knew my password for pickup?
