Chapter 56

*Payton*

Joe carries me outside and places me into the passenger seat of an older model pickup truck and as he pulls the seat belt around me he whispers, “keep acting until I tell you we are clear.” He slams my door cursing under his breath to keep up the act and hussles around to his door. As he is getting in, someone shouts something indistinguishable at him and I have a moment of panic. I am immediately relieved when I hear him good naturally tell someone to fuck off and his door slams. Without saying a word, he starts the truck and drives away.

We drive for about five minutes when he finally says, “all clear”. I straighten up and look out the window. I can’t see much as it is dark outside and we are well outside of the city.

I glance nervously at Joe and ask, “where are you taking me?”

He gives me a quick glance and responds, “I’m not taking you very far. I’m going to pass you over to one of my colleagues and she will take you to a safehouse.” I start to ask a question and he cuts me off. “This is the best place for you, Payton. I know you have a little knowledge of what is going on, not that I like the fact that there are civilians sniffing around my case. Your new stepfather has got himself in a delicate situation. There was no indication that there was any threat to you but this thing with Dean. Fuck, I don’t what has gotten into that little shit but we never suspected him to be involved in any of this.” He looks at me then and gives me a wry smile. “I haven’t seen Dean since I went undercover and we were never that close with the age difference and all. But fuck, this really threw me. I never saw him around the Devils until about two weeks ago and couldn’t ask any questions. Then when I got a call to keep a look out for you, it just …” he runs his hand through his scruffy beard and lets out a heavy sigh.

I feel bad for this man who has rescued me and appears to be as confused over his brother’s behavior as I am. “Well, I’m as puzzled over all this as you are. I’m just glad you were there. Dean, he…, well, he is not the Dean I remember.” A shiver runs through me and Joe simply nods his head.

Joe gets back to the business at hand, “now that we got you away from Dean, he will be dealt with. As for your stepfather, we are hoping to take care of that situation very shortly. If Dean doesn’t mess that up as well,” he says this with a shake of his head. “We really don’t know how safe you are now. You were not on the Devils’ radar before but now? Better safe than sorry. I know this is not what you want to hear but we have to keep you tucked away to keep you safe.”

I swallow deeply but I know what he says is true. It sucks that I can’t just go home and everything be the way it was but it wasn’t before Dean snatched me either. I think of Jake, what he must be going through and then Melissa. “Can I at least talk to my friends. I mean, I don’t know much about safehouses, only what I’ve seen in movies, but do I have to be totally cut off from everyone?” I ask, nervously.

Joe chuckles at that, “ yah, the movies like to make things look worse than they really are. You are not cut off from the world, we are just keeping you where you can be safe and it really should only be for a few days. Once we get you settled, we will give you a burner phone that you can use to call others. Just keep the list short and make sure you clear it with Janice, she will be the detective in charge of things once I hand you over.”

“Will I be able to go to work?” I ask, even though I am pretty sure the answer will be no. “What am I going to tell the office?”

“You got a bug. We will even get you a doctor’s note to make it legit. Like I said, unless things go sideways, everything should be taken care of by the end of the week.” Joe assures me.

“Can my mother come home then?” I ask.

Joe glances at me as we take an exit off the freeway. “That was good that you got her out of town by the way. Yes, she should be okay to return if all goes as planned. I can’t make any guarantees however.” We pull into the parking lot of a rest area, up to the side of a dark colored sedan. He turns towards me then, “We’ll protect her if need be. Worse case scenario, she is placed in a safehouse as well until we get this worked out but I honestly can’t see it coming to that. By all indications, she has no idea what Roland is involved in and the Devils have no interest in her. Now, let's get you introduced to Janice and tucked in safe okay?”

Joe gets out of the car and walks around to my side as a toned and very tall woman gets out of the driver’s side of the car we pulled up next to. He reaches in to help me down from the truck and as I move to give him his jacket back, I self consciously look down at my clothing. It is only then that I realize Janice is holding a blanket and a pair of tennis shoes out to me.

She gives me a smile as she says, “stressful situations can make the body think it is cold even when it is not. I always have one handy, the shoes were just a lucky guess.” She then wraps it around my shoulders as I look at her dumbfounded. How many times has she been through this kind of situation? It is hard to see her age through the darkness and her stature should be intimidating but I am grateful she is here.

Janice and Joe both walk me to the passenger door of the car and help me inside. I reach under the blanket and give Joe his leather jacket and as much of a smile as I can muster. “Thank you, Joe,” I tell him, hoping it sounds more sincere to him than it did to my ears.

He simply nods his head at this but goes on to reassure me, “Janice will take good care of you and I’ll check in. Anything you need or anything you have questions about, you ask her okay? You couldn’t be in better hands.” With that he nods again, knocks his knuckles on the roof of the car and closes my door gently.

He stands there for a minute talking to the female officer and I can’t help but size him up. He looks so different from Dean. Even though I know he is undercover and this is not how he normally looks, I can’t help but think of how rough and crude he looks disguised like that and how gentle and considerate he was with me. Dean, on the other hand, with his cleancut perfect cop persona was so cruel. What had happened to him to make him so angry? I go back through our teenage years and there was nothing, no hint to this side of him.

My thoughts then go to Jake and my thoughts when I first met him. He is such a multifaceted individual. Grungy biker one minute, cleancut security guard the next. While he was infuriating and somewhat mean when I first met him, he has been nothing but considerate and even loving with me since. Would that change? Is that all an act? What if he was just like Dean under all that charm? All these thoughts are circling through my mind as put my head against the car's window and drift into a restless sleep.