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He was so proud that she wasn’t freaking out like most women he’d known in the past would do. After he got some guns out of the safe, he went over them with her. They walked around the house, placing them where they both knew where they were and checking all the windows and doors. They also made a code up, using her birthday so they would remember.
That night they lay in bed, and he stared up at the ceiling, unable to sleep. Anna was tucked against his side, and it was the best feeling in the world. He finally fell asleep but woke periodically when he heard a sound. He wished he’d spent more time in the house before he went undercover. Then he’d know which sounds belonged and which didn’t.
The next day, she helped him organize the office and was working on putting a computer together from scratch with the parts she found in boxes. When he asked how she learned how to do that, she replied that she read a manual. He’d forgotten about her photogenic memory and thought it would come in handy.
Her phone rang later that night when they watched a movie in bed. He could guess that it was her mother. He thought she would have called before now, but the way it sounded, she probably hadn’t known her daughter was gone until now.
He pulled her tighter against his side so he could hear everything.
“Hi, Mother.”
“Where are you?”
“I’m with a friend. I’m helping him while he’s getting better from an accident.”
“They have services for that, dear, and I don’t like the fact it’s a boy. Is it someone I know?”
She looked at him. “No. I doubt you’ve ever met.”
“Well, I need to meet him.”
“Why?”
“Why? Are you kidding me?”
“No, I’m an adult, Mom. It’s past time when you meet my friends, find them lacking, and forbid me to see them again.”
There was a brief moment of silence.
“I was told you quit the hospital, and the school hasn’t seen you this week.”
“Yes, I quit because I hated the job, and I’m quitting school because I hate my classes. It’s ridiculous to pay for classes when all I have to do is read the book.”
“I want you home this instant.”
“I’m not coming home.”
“Anna, if you’re not home by midnight, don’t ever come back.”
“Mom, do I have to remind you where you’re living?”
He thought that sounded strange, but he kept his mouth shut.
“Your father would be so disappointed in you.”
She sucked in a breath.
It pissed him off when she started shaking.
“I don’t think he would. He would be proud that I was following in his footsteps,” Anna said.
“You’re wasting your gift, dear.”
“It’s mine to use the way I want, Mother.”
“Don’t come crawling to me when you need money.”
“I won’t need to. I hope someday you can see me for the person I am instead of who you want me to be. I love you,” Anna said and hung up the phone before her mother could talk.
