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“Yeah.”
“You play any?”
His eyes light up. “I play lacrosse at school.”
The kid loves lacrosse. It’s his favorite thing to do. He could talk about it for hours.
“Cain,” I say, getting his attention. “Go pack a bag. We’re getting out of here.”
“Where are we going?”
“We’re going to stay at a hotel tonight.”
“Why can’t we stay here?”
There’s so much I need to explain to him but it’s all stuff I don’t want him to know. I may have to make something up. I’ll figure it out later. For now, I just need us both to be safe, and until I know they’ve caught all the people who work for our father, I won’t feel safe.
“C’mon,” Josh says to Cain. “I’ll help you pack.”
I nod at Cain to go with him.
As they walk up the stairs, Josh says to him, “I don’t know much about lacrosse. Why don’t you tell me about it?”
Cain starts talking, his voice getting excited. It’s good Josh asked him about lacrosse. It’ll get his mind off what happened.
“Josh is good with kids,” Sage says. “He runs a youth basketball team. Some of the kids are around Cain’s age.”
“I didn’t know he did that.”
“He’s been doing it for years,” Hank says. “I’m going to keep watch outside. Call if you need me.”
“We will,” Sage says. “Thanks.”
When he’s gone, Sage hugs me tighter than she ever has. “I was so scared for you.”
“I was scared for you too. I told my father I didn’t tell you anything but I don’t think he believed me.”
“So what are we going to do now?”
“We’re going to pack up our stuff and go home.”
She looks up at me. “Butthisis your home. Aren’t you coming back here?”
“Only to testify against my father. I’m not living here again. This is my old life. I have a new one now.”
“In Kansas?”
“Until you graduate, yeah. After that, who knows?”
“So this isn’t ending after the summer?” she asks hesitantly.
“I already told you it wasn’t.”
“But that was Kyle. This is Jonathan.”
“Call me whatever name you want. I’m still not letting you go after the summer. We’ll get a place close to your college. We could move there now. We don’t have to wait. I have plenty of money and I don’t have to hide out anymore.”
She doesn’t say anything. She’s thinking something but I can’t tell what. Is she still upset that I lied to her? Does she think she can’t trust me?
