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“Down. Get down on the floor.”
He moved the truck to the edge of the road and drove to meet Addy and Grace. He jumped from the truck and ran to help Addy. Grace was winded and moving slow. He picked her up and carried her the rest of the way. Addy ran ahead and opened the back door. He practically shoved her inside as Addy helped to pull her in and took off.
“I’ve got her. Back to the HOG.”
“Roger.”
Elena scrambled up from the floor and leaned between the driver’s and passenger seats. “Mama. Are you alright?”
“That bastard shot at me.”
“I know. Did you get hit?”
“No. But you can bet I’m pretty mad.”
Elena laughed then and his heart felt lighter. “I’ll bet you are.”
The drive to the HOG wasn’t far and he soon saw Tate’s truck behind them. He pulled his card from his pocket and had it ready to scan when he got to the gate.
It opened and he zipped around the HOG and into the garage. Grace gasped in the back seat, and he locked eyes with her in the mirror. “It’s alright. We’re safe here.”
He parked the truck and jumped out to help Grace from the cab. He helped her into the house and seated her at the dining room table. Lara was cooking something delicious already this morning and began pulling bottles of water from the refrigerator and coffee cups from the cupboard.
Elena sat next to her mom and took her left hand in both of hers. “Mama, this is Lara.”
Grace looked into Lara’s eyes. “Kent’s sister, Lara?”
Lara frowned slightly. “Lara Vickers. It’s nice to meet you.”
Elena smiled. “Grace. Her name is Grace.”
“It’s nice to meet you, Grace. I have water here for you. Do you like tea or would you like to try coffee?”
“The coffee is pretty good, Mama, if you put creamer in it.”
Grace’s fingers shook as she picked up a bottle of water and stared at it. The bottle crinkled in her hand as she turned it. “Who puts all this water in these little containers?”
He grinned. “It’s done by machine. Maybe one day we’ll go on a tour of a factory.”
“A factory?”
“Where they bottle the water.”
She struggled with the top. He picked it up and twisted it off for her, then handed it to her. He glanced at Elena. “What do you need, Elena?”
She skittered around the table to him, threw her arms around him and hugged him so tightly his heart felt light and free. He wrapped her in his arms and held her close. He pulled his comm unit from his ear, flicked the receiver off, and laid it on the table. Then he folded her into his body again.
ChapterThirty-Six
She was so excited to show her mom a shower. And a toilet. And a faucet. It was fun watching her expressions at all the new discoveries. The women here were so sweet, they brought beautiful smelling soaps and lotions and shampoo and conditioner. She’d never in her life had conditioner for her hair and she couldn’t believe how it made her hair feel.
Lara showed her a blow-dryer and then used a hot metal pole to curl her hair. Her hair was curled. Then she had her put lotion on her body and she felt so smooth and good and fresh. She looked in the mirror and couldn’t believe the person looking back at her.
“Thank you, Lara. I’ve never...I don’t recognize myself. I didn’t know...Look my hair is shiny.”
Lara laughed. “Your hair is beautiful. I’m glad Maya had clothes to fit you until we can get you to the store for your own.”
She swung her head around. “I don’t have any money. I can’t...”
