Page 206 of Made in Love and Blood

“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—”

“I’m a dove, right?”

“Don’t focus on the little details; they don’t have to mean anything to you. It’s just how we communicate.”

“No, it does mean something.”

Larkin found her in the rearview again. The soft expression on his face said he knew exactly what it meant. “Can I continue? Once you’re on the plane, we won’t speak until we land. That is necessary, too.”

Frankie sniffled as tears gathered. “Why does it sound so involved?”

“Because it has to be. Things were left to chance and what was expected, or usual, before, and it was devastating for your father. That’s going to be your last question, got it?”

She nodded.

“Good, try to stick to it.”

Rubbing at her belly, she settled back into the seat and let the kicks of her son lull her into a less scary place. Him, and the pregnancy, she wouldn’t worry for. Every appointment showed him healthy and thriving, and she intended to get them both to the finish line in the same condition.

“As I said before,” Larkin spoke again, dragging Frankie from her thoughts, “for the next few weeks, could be less, could be more, the doves will continue to be in perpetual movement, be it on land, air or sea. There will occasionally be breaks when resting during travel has not been available for prolonged periods. Those breaks will last as long as a night of sleep, so don’t get it in your head that we’re shopping, sight-seeing, or anything in between.”

Like that mattered now. She stayed quiet.

The vehicle finally broke into a clearing, and the headlights of the truck illuminated a chain-link fence that Larkin turned to drive alongside. Staring out the window, Frankie tried to peer through the darkness to see what lay beyond the fencing and snowy field.

Larkin noticed. “As I said, chartered plane, so we’re at a private airport.”

“Carina is the other dove, isn’t she?” Frankie asked.

Larkin cleared his throat. “Yes.”