Page 50 of Tracking Safety

Luke’s chest tightened.

He was still angry. He wanted to be clear with himself about that. He was still carrying the two years of silence, the children’s questions, the sleepless nights.

But he was also the man who’d stood at the front of a church and made promises he intended to keep.

He didn’t know yet what any of this meant for those promises. He didn’t know what was salvageable . . . or whether salvageable was even the right word for it.

What he knew was that an assassin was somewhere in Blue Ridge Hollow with his sights set on Jenna.

He couldn’t let her get hurt. Not when he was finally getting answers. Not when they still had so many conversations to have. Not when their children still needed a mom.

He squared his shoulders and went back inside, pausing beside the table. “It’s all settled. Are you ready?”

She looked up at him with wide eyes. “Ready for what?”

“To go to Refuge Cove.”

A frown tugged at her lips before she nodded. “Yes.”

“There’s one more thing you should know.”

She waited for him to continue.

“The kids will be there. Are you ready for that?”

Her breath caught. “You’re going to let me see them?”

His jaw tightened before he nodded. “If you want to.”

“I do.” Her voice cracked. “I really do.”

“Then let’s get out of here.”

Luke and Jenna stopped by Hollow House to retrieve her things. Then they went to the station and told Micah everything. He listened, took notes, and thanked them.

By the time they left town, it was past dinnertime. Jenna had insisted she wasn’t hungry.

Truth was, neither was Luke. He had too much on his mind. Part of him thought he should insist she eat, but he just didn’t have the energy. They could grab something later at Refuge Cove if they wanted.

He pulled away from town, Jenna beside him in the passenger seat. As he drove, he kept his eyes on the road and tried to work through all the details again.

He’d made the right call to bring Jenna with him. He knew he’d made the right call.

That wasn’t what made his chest tight.

This whole situation made his chest tight.

Beside him, Jenna was quiet. She’d been quiet since they left town, with her hands folded in her lap and her eyes on the road ahead.

He didn’t try to fill the silence. There wasn’t anything left to say that could be said in twenty minutes in his truck.

Finally, he turned off the main road and felt the familiar shift as the pavement gave way to the winding two-lane that climbed toward Refuge Cove. He’d already texted his mom to let her know what was going on.

She deserved to know—especially since she was with the kids right now.

His thoughts wandered to Liam. He’d been six when Jenna left—old enough to understand that something was wrong and to feel the full weight of her absence in ways that Cora and Jonah hadn’t. After a while, he’d stopped talking about her, but Luke had sensed his grief.

Liam would remember his mom. Luke had no doubt about that.