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Storm squealed again.
“If the Ganders are home, they will know you’re here, little noisemaker man.” Storm squealed and screeched amid the raspberries Finley was giving him to feed his belly.
But peace was never meant to last.
As they quieted down, the comforting noises of the park seemed to stop. Suddenly, the moment was shattered as Finley noticed a man in the distance, his eyes trained on them with unsettling intensity. A man was walking very slowly past the high outer gate. Her heart raced, and her combat ready mind kicked into gear. This wasn’t a neighborhood. These were large estates with plenty of land between them. No sidewalks. She didn’t see a vehicle. Odd. Out of the norm. She glanced at Levi, who had also taken notice of the stranger. They exchanged a glance, their hands tightening around Storm’s.
“Stay close,” Levi murmured, his jaw clenched. “I don’t like the looks of this guy.”
“Neither do I.” Finley kept her voice low, trying not to alarm Storm. She’d learned the hard way to trust her instincts, and right now, they were screaming danger.
“Did you hear that?” Levi’s voice suddenly sounded tense, his brow furrowed as he glanced over his shoulder.
“Maybe it’s just the wind,” Finley suggested, though her heart began to race, her senses on high alert.
“Perhaps, but pay attention.” Levi bit his lip, unconvinced. He tried to focus on the beauty surrounding them once more, but something felt... off. He was on high alert and nothing would change that.
“Levi, look.”
Finley nodded subtly toward a man standing by an ancient oak tree just on the other side of the front gates of the Ganders’ garden, his dark hair partially obscuring his face. He seemed to observe them intently, his cold eyes unblinking.
The once-peaceful garden now seemed suffocating, the laughter and cheerful chatter from earlier fun was drowned out by the blood roaring in Finley’s ears. Desperation gnawed at her, every step feeling heavier than the last. They needed to get back onto their side of the fence, but without knowing if their observer had a weapon, she had to be cautious.
“Levi, what’s the plan?” She fought to keep her voice steady, but Storm seemed to zero in on her change of tone. He became a little restless.
“Let’s just see what it is he wants. He could be lost.”
“I’m keeping my and Storm’s distance.”
“Damn it.” Levi’s hand instinctively reached for the small weapon he always carried, but he hesitated. Storm was with them, and he didn’t want to put him in harm’s way. He moved closer to Finley, his voice barely a whisper. “We need to get out of here. I’ll try to access my gun without bringing any attention to me. You should try to make your way back to the fence. It’s a distance from here, but you could make it if you seemed like you were busy cleaning up.”
“Agreed.” Finley’s heart pounded in her chest, fear clawing at her throat as she kept her gaze locked on the stranger. She had nothing to go on but her gut that was churning. Evidently, Levi’s radar was going off too.
Levi, always one to take an immediate open protective stand around Finley and Storm, allowing her to respond less aggressively because of Storm, yelled to the man.
“Can I help you?” Finley moved as though she were showing Storm something on the ground ahead of them. They moved slightly closer to the fence.
“Yes, I’m looking for Roan Gander. Is this his address?”
“What address do you have?” asked Finley, as though she wasn’t inching further away from the gate.
“I don’t know. I was given coordinates,” said the man who had walked up to the gate.
Finley pulled Storm up close to her. She reached for her phone and pulled up the Keep Safe program. They were two well-trained Marines, but she had a vulnerable child and that made things complicated if it went south.
Her cautious instincts were heating up and her need to get Storm away from even the shadow of possible trouble was coiling in her gut tight. She tried to play it off, but her core was zinging. Deciding to make an active move toward safety, Finley picked up the bamboo wrap on the ground. Grabbing the toddler, she wrapped him against her, pulling the thin blanket around them, securely knotting it to her like a sling and putting on her pack. The stroller was against the inner gate where she’d left it. Then she stood beside Levi as he continued to talk to the man but at an angle to the fence, bringing them closer to the connecting gate.
“Why don’t you call the Ganders and ask them where they live? It will be easier and faster,” said Finley.
“Roan is my brother, and it’s a surprise. I live in another state.”
“But, Roan,” she stopped from said he didn’t have a brother. Or that they had lived here for nearly thirty years. This man didn’t look like he was in his fifties.
Levi must have caught on to the change in Finley and the essentially odd information the man was feeding them. He shrugged.
“She had the best idea. Just give your brother a call.”
“Well, hold on while I do that.”
