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“Hi, Father. It’s Willow,” I began.
“I don’t think you’ve ever called me directly, have you?”
I decided I didn’t like that at all.
“No. I haven’t needed to,” I replied.
“Tell me why you’ve called,” he directed blankly, and my mouth went dry.
It was now or never. By the end of this conversation, I would know if he would kill me or rescue me from this mess. I started from the beginning. It would do no good to hide my situation from him. I told him everything except for the little nagging feeling tugging at my heart. I didn’t tell him that I actually cared about Dean and that I’d called him Daddy.
“I just need to disappear,” I started.
“We can certainly move our people into place for you. There is a bus due to pass through the town you mentioned within the hour. You will board that and d
isembark in Lucerne. There, I will send someone to meet you with a new identity and everything else you’re going to need.”
“Thank you,” I sighed. “Where are you thinking of sending me?”
“How did he find you again?” he asked instead. “Were you able to get him to tell you that?”
The fact that he’d answered a question with a question unsettled me and even though I was scared, I didn’t miss a beat.
“No. I think he probably used facial reconstruction to identify me. If that is the case, I could get plastic surgery. A nose job or a face lift should be enough to confuse the algorithms those programs use,” I ventured. I didn’t know if that was true, but I wanted to say something to alleviate any lasting concern he might have.
“We’ll send you to Portugal. I think your time in the United States has come to a close,” he offered.
His voice was businesslike, as it always was. I couldn’t get a read on him and that made my blood run cold.
“What about Tim back in New York?” I asked.
“We’ll send word that you had to leave. We’ll make your quick exit believable. Don’t worry,” he muttered, and I didn’t like the way he referred to my departure from the city. I chewed my lip, feeling as though I needed to further explain to him that I was still an asset to the family and not a liability.
“I think staying away from the States for a time would be a good idea. I’m sure there’s plenty of marks here in Europe with much older and bigger bank accounts,” I offered.
“Most certainly,” he said curtly.
“Thank you for your help,” I said softly.
“It is no problem. When you catch the bus, give them the name Irene Stevenson. Your ticket will be paid ahead of time, so you don’t have to worry about that,” he replied.
“Okay,” I answered, but the line had already gone dead.
I swallowed heavily. I’d been unable to get a read on him and I didn’t like that. I leaned against the glass wall of the booth and sighed. For several long minutes, I just took one deep breath after another, trying to calm the frenzied beat of my petrified heart. The sound of a passing car jolted me back to my senses and I opened the door to the booth and made my way outside. After wandering a bit longer, I found the bus stop and waited out of the eyes of anyone passing by, not that there were very many. There was one elderly woman walking her dog and a thin man just strolling lazily by.
Neither of them gave me any concern, but I still played it safe anyway.
I turned when I heard the gentle hum of a Greyhound bus not far away. Its headlights were bright, and I walked forward to meet it. The streetlamp above the steel bench flickered several times as the bus pulled up in front of me. It was a newer model, the chrome along its sides still glimmering with metallic shine. I climbed aboard and the driver asked for my ticket.
I gave him the name the Father gave me instead.
He pulled open an app on a tablet and scanned down a list of names. Once he found mine, he nodded and put it down.
“Pick whatever seat you like. We don’t have another stop until we hit Lucerne, so get comfortable. Restrooms are all the way in the back,” he explained.
“Thanks. I appreciate it,” I answered and smiled. I kept my head down though. I didn’t want to be too memorable.
I made my way down the bus and took an open window seat. There wasn’t a great deal of people on the bus. Maybe this route wasn’t particularly well traveled, or it was just an off night, but I was grateful for that.
