Mad World (Book 2): Sanctuary Read Free Page B

the men had been from some type of government agency, looking for some people who might have matched our descriptions. They wouldn’t say why they were looking for us, only that we were wanted for “questioning.” They also specifically mentioned a little boy, 5 years old by now, who might have looked different.
    “Oh my God, how did they find out?” I shuddered.
    “We don’t know if they did find out,” Jacob said. “Their questions seem to be pretty vague. They may have tracked us here from Arizona.”
    “From five years ago?” Caitlyn asked.
    “You never know,” Jacob replied.
    “We’ve been through more than a dozen cities since then. Four different states,” said DeAndre.
    “Well, I think it’s from Arizona. No one has noticed or asked about just Luke. I could be wrong, but I don’t think so. This may have to do with Luke’s mother,” Jacob said.
    I looked at the ground for a minute. Luke’s mother had charged me with caring for her son. I had considered it a sacred charge. He was my responsibility. Never mind that I loved him fiercely as I would have my own son. Because he was what he was, he was special. Important. I looked up.
    “What do you think they want with Luke?” I asked quietly.
    “I don’t know, but… nothing good. Nothing good for Luke anyway,” Jacob answered.
    I shook my head.
    “They’re not getting my Luke. Absolutely not. I’ll take off on my own if I have to,” I said.
    “Now, hold on,” Jacob said, rubbing my back, “no one said anything about anyone going off on their own. We’re a family. We stick together.”
    “Yeah, Alyssa. We all love that little boy. No way would his Uncle D let anything happen to him,” said DeAndre.
    Caitlyn smiled. “Nor his Auntie Cait,” she said.
    “Okay then. Good. It’s decided. We move again. But this time we make extra sure they can’t follow us,” said Jacob.
    “Guys, I can get you a bit of dough. For the kids, you know,” Tim said. “And I think Paddy wants to talk to you before you leave. Something about a safe house he may have heard about.” Paddy was the old man who lived above us. He and his wife, Donna, had been married for over forty-seven years. They survived on Social Security and Medicare, and with their old schnauzer, Hawthorne, they lived a quiet, happy life. They had helped us a lot and we’d grown quite close to them in the few months we’d been in the neighborhood. Donna especially had become a grandmother figure for Luke and Risa. Her smiling face and blue-washed hair was a familiar sight in our home. Paddy’s gruff exterior soon gave way to an old soft gentleman’s heart, and he loved performing magic tricks for the kids. Luke never got tired of Paddy pulling coins out from behind his ears, and making handkerchiefs appear out of his fist. They were both wonderful people.
    “Well, I think we should leave before dawn. So tell Paddy to come now. Girls, get some sleep. We may have only a few hours. What time is it?” Jacob asked.
    “It’s almost nine, Jake,” said Caitlyn, hugging herself.
    “Come on, Caitlyn, let’s go to bed. The men will talk to Paddy and make plans. We’re gonna need energy for the long day tomorrow,” I said. We went upstairs, and I quickly brushed my teeth and then lay in bed for half an hour before Jacob joined me. His feet were frozen as he slid into bed next to me. I curled myself around him, trying to warm him and wanting a small bit of comfort before the morning came. I had a bad feeling about this. Closing my eyes, I fell quickly to sleep against his chest.
    I awakened to the sound of talking downstairs. Jacob was pulling his jeans on.
    “What’s going on?” I said groggily.
    “I don’t know, but I’m going to find out,” he replied. He pulled on a shirt and padded out of the room in socks. I quickly pulled on one of his sweatshirts and some pajama pants of his and followed him. In the hallway I tiptoed over to the kids’ room and, cracking the door open I