We pulled into the Mini-Mart parking lot. This was a smaller town so the Mini-Mart was the only grocery store within the town. The townspeople were nice and everyone smiled and waved at you.
We had been coming here for the last 4 months. I made a deal with the manager, Davie, to where I could do my business in his office. This gave me access to a computer and landline. “Good morning, Fallon! I was waiting for you to arrive this morning!” Davie was always so happy to see me. “I had the bakery make you some fresh cookies!” I was starting to think he had a thing for me.
“Well thank you, Davie! It is a beautiful morning. I’m not used to this cooler weather, but I don’t hate it.” He smiled.
“It takes some getting used to, but you will love it here the longer you stay.” He opened the door to his office. “Oh, I got a call from a young lady who was looking for you earlier, I told her I would have you call back but she asked me to give you a message instead.” He fumbled through his pockets, pulling out a sticky-note. “Palm Springs, 2018. Does that mean anything to you?”
My heart dropped. Something was wrong. “Thank you, Davie.” I gave him a small smile and he closed the door. Amber, my best friend, had been running my businesses for me since I went into hiding. I had been coming to this Mini-Mart to contact her and check my emails weekly. Palm Springs, 2018 was our code that something had come up. I quickly opened my email.
Amber was a computer genius. She could do anything from web design to hacking. She had sent me a secured email that required a code to open, if the wrong code was typed in, the email would delete itself. The code was always the anniversary of our friendship, 08/20. I typed in 0820 to the popup and the email opened and was set to destruct in 5 minutes.
The email read:
Fallon, they are getting closer. I have been tracking their movements and I think they are onto us. I have shut down my phone number and have gone on “vacation.” Please stay safe. I love you. I will contact you when I can.
My heart sunk. She is a great hacker and hacked their servers to track their phones, cars, and emails. Maximo must be getting closer to finding me. I was instantly sick to my stomach. If he found me, would he kill me? Would he hold me captive until I had the baby? I logged out of my email and cleared the search history. I exited the room quickly and almost ran into Davie.
“Woah there, momma! Out of here so quick? I have your cookies here.” I smiled and patted his chest.
“Just got a little hot in their Davie.” I pushed the hair out of my face. “Thank you so much for the cookies, your cash is on the desk.” This arrangement worked because I paid him handsomely. I found Miles, James, and Claire in the deli section. When James saw my face he stood up quickly.
“What’s happened?”
“They are onto us, they found out about Amber.”
Everyone quickly stood up and James put his hand in the small of my back and escorted me out of the market. I could tell he was nervous by how he was scanning the perimeter. He always did this, but it was amplified when he was nervous. He helped me into the back seat and closed the door.
Miles and James talked outside of the car for a minute and Claire grabbed my hand. “It’s okay, they won’t find us at the cabin.” I smiled and wiped away a tear.
“I hope so.” I said before laying my head back and taking a deep breath. I would never forgive myself if anything happened to Miles, James, Amber, or Claire. Mile and James hopped in and off we went for the cabin.