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“She’s being stupid! She’s going to fucking die!”
“She’s anything but stupid, Abe. That woman is intelligent. I can see it in her eyes, and she’s so fucking brave, it breaks my heart. She’s willing to sacrifice herself for what’s right. Put her uncle away for good.”
“She. Will. Die.”
“No. She won’t. Not as long as we’re here. Whether you’re a part of this or not, we will all protect that young woman.”
Abe kicked the dirt, sending rocks and grass flying across the path. He stared back at the cottage, then turned to see Mama Irene walking toward him. He was so angry with her he was afraid of what he might say.
“You’re angry. That’s alright,” she said, nodding. “It tells me I did the right thing. That girl needed help, and we can give it to her. But more than that, she needs someone that loves her to truly protect her. I knew it was you.”
“No offense, Mama Irene, but you know nothing.”
“ABE!” yelled Razor, taking a step toward his son.
“No, honey. It’s okay. He can be mad at me all he wants.” She took a step towards him, her barely five-feet of nothing staring up at his six-feet-two. “Be mad. Be real mad. But let me ask you something. If she walked out of here today, what would you do? Would you go after her? Would you track her down? You were prepared to do that when you thought she was alive. Would you be able to live with yourself knowin’ you coulda’ protected her but didn’t?”
Irene stopped, saying nothing as the cold wind blew through them. She looked over his shoulder, staring at the women walking with Lyra into the cafeteria.
“If you let her go, and her uncle takes her, what do you think will happen?” The fear etched on Abe’s face told her everything she needed to know. “That’s what I thought. Pull yerself together, and go tell that girl how you feel before she decides to run.”
Abe’s eyes followed Lyra into the cafeteria, watching as his mother and the other women help her to fill a plate and sit with them. He looked at his father, then at Mama Irene. Shaking his head, he moved closer, grabbing her and hugging her to his body.
“Forgive me. Please forgive me. You’re the last person I would ever want to hurt. I know you did this for me. I don’t know how, but I know. I love you, Mama Irene.” She patted his back, then pushed back to touch his face.
“I know, baby. I love you, too. It’s why I did this. She will bring you peace. Just let her in.” The old woman turned and walked away, leaving Abe with tear-stained cheeks. His father gripped his shoulder, and he turned.
“I’m sorry, Dad.”
“Nothing to be sorry for, Abe. When you love someone, your behavior tends to be out of the ordinary. I just think you didn’t realize how much you actually loved that woman. The challenge for all of us, and I do mean all of us, will be to figure out what the fuck she knows about her uncle and his businesses and then how we stop him.”
“Can’t we just shoot him?” asked Abe. Razor laughed, shaking his head.
“Well, that would be the easiest solution, but I’m going to bet that the feds have a say in this. What do you say we go find out?”
Abe nodded, following his father toward the cafeteria. It was already filling with all the familiar faces of family and friends. He’d missed this. He’d missed it all and never realized how much until this very moment. Passing each person, he shook hands, hugged, kissed, and smiled. All the while, his eyes were only on one person. Lyra.
“He’s going to yell at me, isn’t he?” she asked Bella.
“If he does, I’m going to turn him over my knee,” said Bella. Lyra laughed, shaking her head at that image.
“I might like to see you do that,” she smiled. Bella and the other women stood, moving to the next table over as Abe sat next to Lyra. He grabbed her hand, placing it between his two rough palms.
“I’m sorry. Forgive me. I’m scared, Lyra, and I’ve never been scared before. Never. The thought of losing you again is eating me alive.”
“Oh, Abe,” she said. Reaching for him, she hugged him, enveloping herself in his arms. She’d cried for this. Every night, she prayed that she would have another chance to be in his arms.
“I know that you’re scared. I am, too. I wanted you by my side. I needed you by my side, but Agent Carr said that couldn’t happen. Dozens of times, I reached for the burner phone and wanted to dial your number, but I kept remembering that Carr said someone could track your number and find you. I couldn’t live if that happened, Abe. The fact that someone stabbed you is making me… Wait. You were stabbed? Where?”
Abe laughed, shaking his head as he kissed her.
“Explanation for another day,” he said, pulling her tighter against his body. Inhaling her scent, he nearly cried aloud. “This is all I’ve dreamed of. The thought of never seeing you again was never a possibility. Never. I just knew that you were out there somewhere. I knew it in here.” He thumped his chest, and she kissed him again.
“Abe, what do we do about my uncle? He’s not going to give up.”
“We’ll handle that. You’re going to need to tell us everything, Lyra. Everything. Give any information you have to our team, and we’ll keep it safe.”
“Abe, it’s a lot. More than you think. More than Carr knew. I didn’t show him everything.”
