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“What Bryant?”
“It might be wise for you to stay out of town. They’re going to be ticked that it didn’t work and likely will try again. We’re keeping watch on all chemical suppliers to make sure nothing was or is stolen. We found all of their stash so if they’re going to attempt to create more, they’ll have to get the supplies somewhere.”
“Can you make sure that Emma is okay as well as the house? I’ll see if I can get my bosses to let me off longer. I wasn’t planning on being back until Wednesday…wait the office, they know where I work.”
“Stacey we’ll keep someone watching your house and the office along with making sure that Emma and Miles are safe. They know the easiest way to get to you is to hurt the people you care about.”
“Thanks, I’ve got to go. We’re at church.”
“I’ll let you know the second we have answers. Just stay safe Stacey.”
“I will Bryant,” she said before hanging up. She hit the doorway to the sanctuary and found Jake easily. He was talking to his parents, and she took a deep breath as she headed towards them.
“Cee,” he said smiling at her until he saw the look on her face. “Baby what’s wrong?”
“Nothing we need to discuss right now.”
“No lies Cee, what’s wrong?” he asked, and she let the fear hit her and moved into his hold burying her head into his chest. “Baby, you’re scaring me.”
“It was Bryant, they escaped sometime last night. They don’t know where they are.”
“Oh baby, come here,” he whispered pulling her up against him as he wrapped his arms around her. “Shh, we’ll make it better.”
“How? I thought it was over Jake and now they’re out there. Do you know the kind of damage they can do with those things?”
“But they know how to diffuse them,” he replied just as quietly as her breathless speech.
“Yeah, but how many people out there can do calculus in eleven seconds?” she countered revealing the truth for the first time to him.
“What are you talking about?”
“After the first portion of diffusing them, there’s a second protocol that requires you to solve a calculus problem, advanced calc Jake. There’s eleven seconds to do it in, how many people can manage that?”
“Very few,” he acknowledged ignoring the looks from everyone else as they sat down, and he kept her tucked in beside him refusing to let her go as the service began.
He kept her close when it ended not letting her out of his sight despite knowing that the group couldn’t possibly know where they were and if they did, it was highly unlikely that they’d managed to get there. He wasn’t going to take any chances when it came to her though. She was everything to him and he’d make sure she stayed safe.
“Jake, I can go to the bathroom on my own,” she said when they reached the lobby. “I’m fine. Yes, I freaked out for a few moments, but I’m entitled don’t you think?”
“Yes, you’re more than entitled to it but I can’t stand the thought of someone hurting you,” he replied dropping a gentle kiss on her lips.
“I’ll be right back Jake,” she promised heading into the ladies’ room to stop her heart from beating out of her chest. She took several calm breaths as she leaned against the sink willing herself not to be sick that would let them win and she couldn’t allow that. Once she finally felt normal again, she made her way back to the lobby and sighed with relief seeing it mostly clear. She didn’t need to spend an enormous amount of time with people from her past asking about her life right now.
“Mom, Dad, we’ll meet you back at the house,” Jake said coming over to her. He slid an arm around her waist pulling her against him once again and she let him. It was easier not to argue with him in front of everyone. They’d have plenty of time for that later.
“Of course, we’ll have lunch ready around one,” Rebecca said giving them both smiles. “You simply are more beautiful every single moment Stacey.”
“That she is Mom,” Jake agreed dropping a kiss on the top of her head.
“Behave Jake,” Leo warned kissing her cheek. “Are you alright honey?”
“I’ll be fine; we’ll tell you about it later,” she promised giving him a light hug.
“We’ll hold you to that,” he said letting them go.
She gave them a wave over her shoulder at the door and let Jake hurry her to the car. Once inside he quickly drove away, and she knew exactly where they were going. It made her happy to know he knew what she needed right now, and this was precisely it.
Chapter 11
