Damien reached out with his free arm and grabbed Ellsa up before she completely hit the ground. He dragged her up against him, carrying her entire weight on his arm. Good thing he was in good shape, a weaker man would have been on the ground with Ellsa and DJ in tow. He jostled her until her head dropped onto his shoulder.
“Is momma okay?”
Damien turned to the squeaky whisper of his son. My son. His heart skipped—in a good way. A fantastic way. There was no doubt in his mind that the little boy he held was his son. Though he wondered why Ellsa—yes, he’d come to terms with the fact that VS was the murderer Ellsa when he’d spotted her leaning against the SUV waiting for school to break. He wondered why Ellsa hadn’t told him about DJ’s existence. She’d had three years of sanity to do so.
He saw recognition in her eyes when she saw him. Like someone, she’d occasionally see at the store but never spoke to except polite nods of the head, not the kind of recognition of someone she’d spent a steamy weekend with. Why was that? And why had she fainted?
“Don’t worry buddy. The heat must have gotten to momma.”
DJ didn’t look convinced as he stared at his mom with fear in his eyes. Well, he would be more afraid if he knew the FBI was around the corner waiting on his cue to come arrest his mom. They needed to leave and fast before anyone began to question Damien’s delay—before Dale started questioning his delay.
Damien jostled DJ on his arm, drawing his attention. “Hey, everything is going to be okay. Reach for the door and open it would ya?”
He nodded solemnly, leaning over to grab the handle and pulling the passenger door open.
“Good job buddy. Now get in and climb into the back. Can you do up your seat belt on your own?”
He nodded and Damien put him down on the passenger sear. He quickly scrambled to the back, into his seat and did up his belt all the while craning his neck to gaze at his mother’s unconscious form.
Damien felt the emotion gnaw at him. DJ was probably the only one who understood his own fear—though their fears had different causes. He swung her up in his arms, cradling her close to his chest. He stared down at her. Though her face was serene, little balls of perspiration had begun to form on her forehead and if he wasn’t mistaken, she was getting a temperature too. Maybe there was more than one cause to worry.
“I lost you once, I’m not going to lose you again. We’ll figure out what the hell happened to you VS but very far from here.”
He’d decided. He was taking his family and running.
He carefully placed her in the passenger seat and did up her belt. He quickly closed the door and ran around to the driver’s side and got in. He cheered when he saw she’d left the key in the ignition—stupid but presently, brilliant.
From the rearview mirror, he saw DJ struggle against his belt to lean forward and touch Ellsa.
“Sit back buddy. I’m going to drive really fast and I need you safe and secure in your seat.”
Without question, DJ sat back holding Damien’s gaze in the rearview mirror. “Does she have a temperature? Is she sweating?”
Damien turned on the car and pulled out looking around him for tail cars. They weren’t expecting Ellsa to drive out. Damien was supposed to have her in custody and quietly walk her to the corner where the FBI were waiting—opposite to where he was headed now. Dale was sure she was staking out a kid to kidnap. He was going to flip when he found out that the kid was his own nephew—double the relation.
“Yes buddy. But don’t worry she’ll be fine.” He answered driving away at a sedate pace not to draw out any attention. But the second he was on the main road, he was going to drive like a bat out of hell.
“It happens when she tries to remember. She needs her medicine.” He watched DJ’s brows furrow deeply in thought.
“What meds?”
“The one’s Mr. Turner gives her when she remembers. I don’t like them because he makes her forget. She forgets even me and I have to start all over again to remind her.”
That raised his hackles, “Who is Mr. Turner and what do you mean by he makes her forget?”
“Momma’s new husband. I don’t like him. He told momma I was his son. I’m not. Before she forgot, everything momma told me you’re my daddy.”
Damien’s grip tightened around the wheel, “Well, I don’t like him too. DJ why doesn’t your mom remember?”
Before he could get an answer, a car swerved in front of him, blocking the road. Damien quickly braked, throwing his arm across Ellsa. The second the car came to a stop, two people jumped out. A white man and a black woman both dressed for combat with nine millimeter guns held to their sides. They weren’t FBI, he knew that for sure. They looked more like mercenaries and that shook him to the core. Never had he ever been this scared in his life and he knew why. All those skirmishes he’d gotten into over the years in the police force, none of those times did he have his family with him.
“Shit! DJ, get down!”
“It’s okay daddy. It’s just Uncle Mike and Aunt Elaine. Just don’t let them take us away again.”
Uncle Mike and Aunt Elaine?
Damien stared at the two armed persons as they approached the car. He wasn’t sure he would have a choice in the matter. Quickly, he pulled his phone out of his pants pocket and passed it behind to DJ. “Son, take this. Once you reach where they take you, call me. I’ll come get you. Don’t let anyone see this.”
DJ quickly snatched up the phone and stuffed it into his backpack and just in time. His door swung open and he turned to the barrel of a gun, in the hand of the woman.
“You’re persistent. Not everyone would keep searching as long as you have,” she said with a hint of a smile on her lips.
“I don’t know who you are and I don’t want to know. All I want is my family.”
Her eyes softened and she quickly lowered the gun. “All we want is to protect them. Your search hasn’t made it easy.”
Damien turned to face the man who stood in front of the car, his gun still at his side but his face stern, then he turned back to the woman—Elaine. For some reason, he didn’t believe that was her real name.
“Elaine, who are you?”
She huffed looking to the back seat. “Brainiac, what have we told you about revealing our identities?”
“He’s my daddy, doesn’t count. And she’s momma’s sister.” He added, answering Damien’s question to Elaine.
Damien shook his head, “Ellsa has only one sister.”
“Daddy can I met aunt Ellie?” DJ asked excitedly.
“No,” Elaine answered before he could. “Consider me adopted. Now step out of the car and let me do my job.” She shook the arm that held the weapon and he knew that was a subtle ‘hurry your ass up’.
He unbuckled his seatbelt and slowly stepped out. “I’ll see you soon buddy. I promise.”
“Don’t make promises you can’t keep,” she whispered with a glare.
“I found them once, I’ll find them again. You’ll have to kill me to make me stop,” he whispered back with his own glare.
She rolled her lips staring at him intently as if she was silently debating something. Then she climbed into the car and shut the door. The man—Mike rushed back into his car and moved it out of the SUV’s path.
Elaine spared him one last thoughtful glance and said, “See you soon dad.” She drove off leaving him standing in the middle of the road, the sound of sirens growing louder behind him.
He had a son. That’s what she’d called begging him to protect. Their son, Damien James Chan. He didn’t care what Ellsa had done, all he wanted was his family and he was going to get it.
****