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2
Michael folded the cash he’d syphoned from the ATM and stuffed it in his front pocket. Luckily his mother lived close in Sacramento and he was able to drop Sydney at his mom’s house while he made the run. Flipping on his phone it seemed Sassy wasn’t just a few minutes away. No message came through beyond the letter K in reply to his. Telling him she was probably at work or running errands. Even though he made it look like a robbery, his ex would call him before the cops. Like most in his squad he had go bags at not only his home, his mother’s and one small one in the truck with a t-shirt, socks, weapon and a few bucks. With a bigger one with a few day’s worth of clothes in it he was free to head out of California because he could hide in the Sierra’s long term, but not with Syd leaving him few options.
Once he crossed the state line with Sydney there was no turning back. Even if he hadn’t sent Mitch to the great beyond, it was custodial interference. The paperwork his lawyer had to file so he could take Syd to the Grand Canyon last year had been beyond ridiculous, but right now he needed to process the dangers as if he were in country on a mission and needing to find assets to remove the rescue.
The word rescue bounced around his head a few times, emails, texts and phone calls made to a brother in arms. Thomas Creek had gone home after discharge to a little town in Montana. There were a few conversations as the computer genius from his SEAL team told about an organization he’d been helping with, rescuing domestic violence and sexual assault victims and their families. Moving them around and giving them a new life.
His daughter had to qualify and starting over meant little to him since he’d probably be doing it anyway at the end of the month. Only this time he’d be minus some VA bennies, but his daughter would be safe. There was no price on that.
He knew what he had to do. Leave town, get his ass to Montana with a friend he trusted. The military wouldn’t be looking for him since he was on leave and the world was somewhat silent at the moment. Even then he’d been coming up to putting in his papers. He had his proof and he made sure to lock Mitch’s phone, shut it off and remove the sim card. A sliver of plastic held his daughter’s torture and locked it away in an old case that used to have mints, tucking it in the zippered pocket of his backpack. Hack would help him, the man had a moral compass that pointed north. For a few hundred miles Michael could drive his truck. A few modifications and he would have covered his tracks, but he needed to set up a life which included Sydney where she could find safety and heal.
“Michael?” his mother said in the hushed whisper she used as worry furrowed her brow. “What is going on?”
“Nothing mama,” he assured, doing his best to cover his lies. “I’m gonna take Syd for the week and we’ll see what happens after that.”
“She needs a doctor,” she pointed into the living room where his daughter was curled up, holding her teddy and blanket as if she were two. Eyes fixed on the cartoon for babies not big girls. “She hasn’t sucked her thumb for three years. Not since she started school. I can’t even get her to eat an ice cream sandwich.”
“I know mom,” he admitted. “I’ve been seeing it for the last few times I had her and… Let me tell you it’s gonna be okay now.”
“You’re not thinking of doing something stupid are you?”
“First off, my eyebrows grew back and secondly you never liked that hedge anyway.”
“Don’t mess with me and don’t joke,” she admonished, as he pulled the mother who’d raised him mostly on her own into his arms. She was full figured because she was full of love. At least that’s the way she told it. Being raised by a single mother he knew the work it took and had given Sassy too much lee-way on raising Sydney. His daughter didn’t need his dependent card and money, she needed a valiant protector and he wasn’t going to let her down now.
“If Sassy calls looking for me, anyone else, tell them I took Syd over to the Sierra’s.”
“Why would anyone come looking?”
Her eyes implored him and if he had one weakness it came from those eyes. The ones that told him with honesty ‘I have no time for forgiveness when permission could have been granted.’Opposite of the rest of the world.
“I found out some things about Mitch and Sassy and I handled the problem,” he said. “I can’t say more because you can’t say what you don’t know, but if Sassy pushes tell her, in no uncertain terms, that Sydney loves her daddy very much and never has to prove it.”
“I don’t understand Michael.”
“Repeat it back, word for word,” he commanded as his mother’s eyebrows knitted together.
“Sydney loves her daddy very much,” she said her mind searching for the words.
“And never has to prove it.”
“And never has to prove it. Michael what does that mean?”
“Trust me, she’ll know and if she doesn’t, apologies mom, but fuck her,” he said unwilling at this time to hold his tongue like he usually did with his mother. “I have to go, there’s only so much time before...”
“Before what, son. You’re in your mode and you shouldn’t be when you’re at home.”
Her eyes blinked rapidly at him and he pulled her into his arms. Needing the comfort from his mother he may never get again because there was a very good chance for Sydney’s sake, this could be the last time he saw her.
“Come on baby,” he said snagging his bag and rations his mother put together in an old cooler. “Give Nana a hug—” he stopped himself, the truth of his daughter’s life hitting him like a two by four across his back.
Sydney had been forced to touch and worse family members. Probably strangers. The way we all were raised to be polite and hug that uncle or aunt we didn’t like. No, he wouldn’t do that to his daughter. A simple gesture, but one society needed to stop. It wasn’t a salute to a higher-ranking officer made at a distance with no physical contact. While he knew his daughter cared and loved him, the way she hugged him hello told him the last thing she wanted right now was to be touched.
“Tell Nana goodbye,” he said shifting his stance.
Crawling off the couch, her comfort items clutched tight she came and stood by his hip. “Bye Nana,” she meekly said.
“Please call me when you’re safe,” his mother said as tears pooled in her eyes, the stoic woman not about to let them fall as he gave her a kiss to her cheek. “And you sweet child, you keep daddy in line and make him eat his vegetables.”
