They eventually pulled up in front of the courthouse, and the window dividing the front seat from the back rolled down. The agent who was riding in the front passenger seat turned around. “Stay here until we have your protection in place. We’ve already done a sweep of the courthouse and surrounding area. You’ll be fine. We’ll open the door when we’re ready for you.” He put the window back up, and the car rocked with him and his partner getting out and shutting the doors behind them.
***
Sarah watched as the squadron of FBI agents gathered in a few small groups, several of them separating from the others to come towards the car. Her shoulder was burning like the blazes, and her arm stuck in the sling was sweating. It was a lot heavier than it should have been, but that was her secret to keep - one she’d continue to guard until she was safely inside that courtroom. She wasn’t taking any chances. She’d already had too many things taken from her for one lifetime. She glanced up at the huge stone columns and hundred or so steps she’d have to climb before she would be comfortable about being out in public again. They were too vulnerable out here, outside the courthouse. The metal detectors that could sense hidden guns and knives lay just beyond the door that seemed so far away. Too far away. She wasn’t going to lose anyone else she cared about if she had anything to say about it.
After a signal from an FBI agent, Jonathan got out of the limo first, holding his hand out for hers. With Kevin helping from behind, she was able to get out without jarring her injured shoulder too much. She grimaced with the small amount of pain she hadn’t been able to avoid. “Stay, Xena. We’ll be back soon.” The dog climbed up on the seat where Sarah had been sitting, looking out the back window of the car.
Candi and Kevin followed her out, and they all stood in a tight group just outside the vehicle. They waited as the agents charged with their protection surrounded them in a circle. The one in charge, an agent Sarah recognized as being part of the other state’s office, said into his sleeve, “Okay, we’re ready to move in. Eyes on pedestrians, people, and windows.”
Sarah’s head whipped back and forth as she worked to follow his orders. She knew they weren’t meant for her, but that wasn’t going to stop her from doing everything she could to watch her own rear end.
Maybe if she hadn’t been so paranoid and fired up about feeling like law enforcement had really dropped the ball on her, she wouldn’t have noticed the bum sitting on the sidewalk to her left. But something about him was familiar, and it made her hesitate. She put her hand that wasn’t in the sling inside with the injured one to calm herself.
The agent walking behind her stepped on her heel. “Excuse me,” he said, righting himself.
Jonathan stopped and turned. “What are you doing? Come on, we need to stick together.”
“That guy …,” Sarah said, not taking her eyes off him. Where have I seen him before?
“What about him?” asked the agent. “He’s just a bum. Everyone present has been cleared by Agent Caffey as harmless. Ignore him and move forward, please.”
“No,” said Sarah, standing her ground, “I’ve seen him somewhere before.”
“He looks like every other bum on the street, Sarah,” said Kevin from up ahead. “Come on. It’s dangerous to stand out here like this.” He jogged to catch up to his girlfriend.
Candi had kept walking, oblivious to Sarah’s concerns, so the single group turned into two. The agents split up, some of them remaining with Candi and Kevin, some dropping back to be with Jonathan and Sarah. Sarah glanced up at her brother and Candi as they rose up the stairs to the courthouse, noticing Candi looking back with a scared look on her face.
Sarah was just about to say something about how she and Jonathan were coming, when a loud boom sounded off to the right.
Candi screamed and ducked, throwing her arms over her head at the same time Sarah lowered her head down into her shoulders a little.
Kevin stood up higher for a second, trying to see over the agents’ heads before ducking over Candi, shielding her with his body.
Another explosion came, this one again on the right, nearer the street.
All of the agents charged with taking care of them had closed in tightly, facing the right and talking into their sleeve-microphones and listening in earpieces for news of what was going on.
No one was looking at the bum anymore. No one but Sarah.
She had torn her gaze away from the smoke billowing up behind a decorative planter to their right in time to see the bum stand up, throw off his shabby, dirty blanket and pull out a semi-automatic rifle.
“The bum! The bum! He’s got a …!”
Before the rest of Sarah’s words could make it out of her mouth, the weapon was spitting bullets at them.
The agents just on the outside of the circle near Candi and Kevin fell. The one on Sarah’s left fell too, leaving her exposed to the killer’s wrath.
She lifted up her elbow and pointed it at the bum. “Not today, asshole!” she yelled, just before she pulled the trigger of the handgun hidden in her sling.
***
Jonathan heard the gunfire coming from behind him, fully expecting to see an FBI agent standing there defending them. But what he saw nearly blew his mind. Sarah was yelling like a crazy woman, shooting a homeless man holding a machine gun using her … sling?
“Sarah!” he screamed.
Crimson spread across the man’s chest. The large rifle fell from his hands to the pavement. He staggered forward three steps before falling to his knees.
Sarah kept yelling and shooting, causing the man’s body to jerk like a rag doll, until all Jonathan could hear were empty clicks. But she kept walking towards the killer, looking like she intended to knock his head off maybe when she got there.
But five FBI agents had different ideas. Two of them sprinted over and grabbed Sarah between them, rushing her away and into the building. They pretty much carried her the entire way, with her yelling at them, using a stream of obscenities that was actually quite impressive in its creativity and breadth.
The three remaining agents converged on the bum, who apparently was not actually a bum, but someone they should have removed from the scene before escorting them out of the car.
“Where’s Caffey?” yelled one of them. “Why didn’t he clear this guy outta here?!”
Jonathan looked around as he was rushed by some new agents up the stairs. He didn’t see the agent they’d met right after the prom anywhere. He could have sworn he’d seen him earlier.
Before he had time to think about it anymore, he was being pushed through the metal detector and into a small room with his sister, Kevin, and Sarah. They were all sitting around a table, looking shell-shocked - Sarah worse than all of them.
The door shut behind him, leaving two agents inside.
Sarah looked at the two of them. “You FBI agents listen up … don’t even think about trying to take us out. I’ve got weapons, and I’m more than happy to use them on anyone who tries to hurt us. So just go ahead …”
One of the agents lifted an eyebrow. “And make your day?”
“Yeah. Exactly,” she said.
Chapter Eleven
Summertime
KEVIN LOOKED OUT OF HIS sister’s bedroom window. She was still asleep, but she’d be getting up any minute. He’d set her alarm for an hour earlier than she’d planned, knowing Jonathan was coming over with a surprise.
The annoying sound of her clock went off, making Sarah reach over blindly to hit the snooze button.
“Wake up, sleepy head. Your boyfriend’s going to be here in thirty minutes.”
“What?” she asked, confused, squinting at her brother across the room.
“Yeah. Super secret romance plan. Better get your face on.”
Sarah jumped out of bed and pushed him aside to get to her closet. “What should I wear?”
“Uhhh … something that looks good.”
“That’s helpful, dipshit,” she said from inside the closet.
> He left the room saying, “My work here … is done.”
He pushed the door to his own room open, getting the card and envelope from his desk and quickly penning his name and a short message inside. Smiling at the picture on the front of it again, he slid it into the blank envelope, sealing it closed. Candi was going to be beyond surprised. He scribbled something on the outside of the envelope and went downstairs to wait for her and Jonathan to arrive.
***
Candi got off the back of Jonathan’s scooter, pulling the helmet from her head and doing her best to straighten her newly blond-highlighted hair. Sarah had sent her to her favorite hair dresser with strict instructions of what he was to do. Sarah had been a force to be reckoned with before, but now that she was some kind of hero, saving all of them and the majority of the FBI agents at the courthouse from being gunned down, she was unstoppable. Candi just stayed out of her way as much as possible.
Two weeks after returning, Sarah was in a better frame of mind. No longer seeing hired killers behind every tree and car, she was finally able to relax out in public. She still preferred to stay inside, though - mourning all that she had lost - so that’s why they needed to go over to the Peterson’s instead of meet at the mall like Candi had wanted.
“Come on, let’s go inside,” said Jonathan. “Kevin’s expecting us.”
“Oh. Did you guys plan this or what?”
“Yes, we did, as a matter of fact,” he said, obviously proud of himself. “It’s a surprise though, so don’t ask me anything else.”
“Does Sarah know about it?”
“No.” Jonathan rang the doorbell.
The door opened to reveal Kevin standing there. He stepped out and picked Candi up in his big, strong arms, swinging her around in a big circle. “Hello, Gumdrop! Welcome to the Peterson house!”
She giggled, holding on for dear life. “You’re happy today.”
“It’s a wonderful day for surprises, don’t you think?”
“Uhhhh … maybe.” He put her down on her feet, and she held onto his arm until the dizziness faded. “I guess it depends on the surprise.” She’d had enough of the bad ones to last a lifetime.
“Here,” he said, pulling something out of his back pocket. “But don’t open it yet.”
“Awww,” she said, her worry melting away at the sight of a small heart he’d drawn on the back. “K heart C. I love it.” She reached up and kissed him on the lips, lingering a little longer than necessary. She heard Jonathan leaving to enter the house, but ignored him, enjoying the closeness with Kevin too much to stop.
A throat cleared behind them. Candi released Kevin, stepping out of his embrace and into the foyer. “Hello, Mr. Peterson.”
“Hello, Candi. Nice to see you. Here for your surprise?”
She smiled. He wasn’t nearly as scary as he used to be. “Yeah, I guess. What is it?”
“Dad …,” warned Kevin.
“I’ve been sworn to secrecy. Sorry, kid.” Frank walked into the living room, leaving them in the front hall.
“Come into the kitchen.” Kevin looked behind him to watch Sarah and Jonathan coming down the stairs. “Kitchen, you guys.” He pointed into the hallway and started walking.
Candi followed, looking back at Sarah who seemed just as mystified as she was.
Once inside the kitchen, Kevin gestured for them to sit around the small round table that was at the far end of the room. He and Jonathan remained standing next to it.
“What’s the deal, babe?” asked Sarah. “And FYI, this better be good. You woke me up from a sound sleep, and I was having some good dreams too.”
Candi didn’t comment, but she was glad to hear this. Sarah had been plagued with nightmares since the trial testimony started, and even with it long over, she still hadn’t been able to sleep without being terrorized by her own mind.
“It’s good. I promise,” said Jonathan. “Kevin, would you like to start?”
“Sure, man.” He cleared his throat and took a deep breath, letting it all out in one big huff. “Okay … phew. So … ladies. Jon and I were talking about how we’ve finished our junior year and how a lot of shit … I mean crap has happened. And how we’re all having trouble with sleeping and feeling safe and all that. So we decided that we need to just go away for a while. Right, Jon?”
“Yes. Exactly. We need to go somewhere where we can recharge our batteries. Sleep in and not worry about someone waking us up or wanting us to go somewhere or whatever.”
“What do you mean? Like a vacation?” asked Candi.
“Yeah. A vacation or a getaway … or whatever you want to call it,” said Kevin.
“For how long?” asked Sarah, sounding suspicious.
“Well, here’s the surprise … we’ve put something together for a month. But we could extend it indefinitely, really,” said Jonathan. “And we’ve already shared our proposal with all of our parents and they’ve all agreed that we should do this and without them along. Just the four of us.”
“They’ll agree to anything at this point,” said Candi. “I think they just want us to be happy.”
“Yes. And we’ve shown them we have thought of everything. Even safety and things they’d worry about.”
Jonathan took a card from his back pocket and laid it on the table in front of Sarah. “Open it,” he said, smiling nervously.
Candi put her card on the table next to Sarah’s. “Are they the same?”
“Kind of,” said Kevin. “Just open them.” He and Jonathan exchanged glances. They were like two kids in a candy shop getting ready to spend their allowance, they looked so excited.
Candi tore the flap off her envelope. Inside was a card that had a beach scene on the front of it. Four chairs were positioned in the sand, a palm tree partially shading them. She looked over and saw the same card in Sarah’s hand.
Candi opened it slowly. Inside was a single paragraph, written in Kevin’s boyish handwriting.
In three days we will leave on a plane from the airport. The plane will deliver us to the port where a boat with a captain will be waiting for us. He will take us to the island where we spent our best time together and leave us there with food, water, and everything else we need to stay there for a month. Then he’ll return to take us back. We need this. Please say you’ll do it with me. I love you. Kevin.
Candi looked up, her eyes bright with tears. Sarah put her card down on the table and dropped her face into her hands.
“Oh, no … are you crying?” asked Jonathan. “I thought you’d be happy about this. We cleared it through everyone, including the FBI. They said we could do this.”
Sarah lifted her face, nothing there but a smile. She was shaking her head slowly, her eyes glued on Jonathan. “I can’t believe you did this.”
“Is that a good thing or a bad thing?” Kevin asked, warily.
“It’s a reckless thing. I mean, seriously reckless.” She was still smiling. “We could starve … get caught in a hurricane … get bitten by a poisonous spider.”
“So you don’t want to do it, then?” asked Jonathan, visibly deflated.
“I didn’t say that.” She put her arm around Candy’s shoulders. “What do you think, Sugar Lump?”
Candi shrugged, smiling now too. “It is reckless, I agree with you there.”
“So what are we going to do?” asked Kevin, using his fired up voice. “Go safe or go reckless?”
They looked at each other around the table, the boys dropping into seats across from the girls. Each of them was weighing the idea, the consequences, and their need to do something, anything to get out of this funk that was dragging them down into pits of dark misery.
She couldn’t wait anymore. She had to make a command decision and say what the hell. “I say we go reckless,” said Candi, putting her hand in the middle of the table.
“Yes! Reckless. I’m in,” said Kevin, putting his hand on hers.
“Reckless sounds like the best avenue at this juncture in our lives,” sai
d Jonathan, placing his hand over Kevin’s.
“Well, I guess reckless it is, then,” said Sarah, slapping her hand down firmly on top of the pile. She grinned at Candi, leaning into her. “Now get out of my way, Sugar Lump. I have to go pack.”
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Elle Casey is an American writer who lives in Southern France with her husband, three kids, Monie the bouvier, and Hercules the wonder poodle. In her spare time she writes women’s fiction and young adult novels (you can find her Women’s Fiction work under the pen name Kat Lee.)
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Other Books by Elle Casey
War of the Fae: Book One, The Changelings - FREE!
War of the Fae: Book Two, Call to Arms
War of the Fae: Book Three, Darkness & Light
War of the Fae: Book Four, New World Order
Clash of the Otherworlds: Book 1, After the Fall
Clash of the Otherworlds: Book 2, Between the Realms
Clash of the Otherworlds: Book 3, Portal Guardians
Apocalypsis: Book 1, Kahayatle
Apocalypsis: Book 2, Warpaint
Apocalypsis: Book 3, Exodus
Apocalypsis: Book 4, Haven
My Vampire Summer