Safe House Under Fire. Elisabeth Rees

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      David kept a close eye on the street outside while Lilly brushed her daughter’s hair in the hallway and tied it up in a ponytail. With her bright blond strands and olive-toned skin, Astrid really was a carbon copy of her mother. Both tall and rangy, they possessed a Viking quality, women who were undoubtedly a force to be reckoned with. Lilly was clearly strong-minded and raising a strong-minded daughter, but she had so much to learn about teens. Astrid was already pushing her boundaries, perhaps even going off the rails, and Lilly’s response was to compromise. One thing you should never do with an errant teenager is compromise.

      Goldie was performing one last security check of the house, ensuring that the sensor alarms were working correctly. These sensors would give them a warning of unauthorized entry. If Henderson came looking for Lilly and Astrid here, the silent alarm would trigger an immediate police response.

      His cell phone buzzed, and he slipped it from his pocket to look at the display, smiling on seeing Chloe’s name.

      “Hi,” he said, hitting the answer button. “How are things in Penn Hills today?”

      “Good.” She sounded happy, and he was pleased. “The sun is shining.”

      “Listen, Chloe, I’m glad you called because I have to go away for a week with work, so I won’t be able to come see you for a while, okay?”

      “Sure, Dad. I’m fine with that. I don’t need to see you every day, you know. I’m a grown woman now.”

      “I know.” He found it impossible to cut Chloe’s apron strings. “Thanks for reminding me.”

      “I wanted to tell you that I had a job interview early this morning, and it went really well. I think I’ll get it.”

      “A job interview? Really? Why didn’t you tell me? Where is it?”

      “Whoa,” she said. “One question at a time, Dad.”

      He deliberately slowed down, remembering that Chloe needed time to process information.

      “Okay,” he said. “What job is it?”

      “An assistant at the local grocery store,” she said, with an obvious smile. “It’s a nice place and the staff are friendly and the manager said I could take extra time to learn the shelf-stocking system if I need to.”

      “That’s great, honey, really great,” he said, feeling disappointment sink deep down into his belly. “I’m proud of you.”

      Before the accident, Chloe had been expected to graduate top of her class, and the medical profession was her passion. At the age of twenty-one, she should have been a doctor in training, not hoping to stock shelves at a grocery store.

      “If I manage to hold down this job, then I might be allowed to move out of my assisted living apartment and rent a regular place with my friends. That would be really cool, right?”

      “Yes, it would,” he said. “I’ll say a prayer for you tonight.”

      “Thanks, Dad. I’ll call back soon. I love you.”

      “Love you too, sweetie.”

      He hung up the phone, his stomach a twist of knots. He should have been pleased that Chloe was on the cusp of regaining full independence, preparing to move out of the apartment where a qualified nurse was on hand in case she needed it. Her rehabilitation had been arduous, but she’d made good progress and had regained full use of her body. Yet her brain could only recover up to a point and had lost its ability to think quickly, to retain information and to learn complex things. It pained David to accept that he should carry the burden of blame. If only he hadn’t allowed her to go out with her boyfriend that night. If only he’d realized that she was making bad choices. If only he hadn’t given her the benefit of the doubt. The words if only tormented him.

      “Hey.” Lilly was standing next to him, wearing a pastel blue sweat suit that was almost the same color as her eyes. “Are you all right? You’re miles away.”

      “Yeah, I’m fine.” He pocketed the phone. “Are you guys ready? Goldie is just doing the final checks.”

      “We’re as ready as we’ll ever be,” Lilly replied, glancing down the hall at Astrid, who was swiping her finger down her phone. “It’s crazy to think we’ll be prisoners in a strange place for a while. I can’t quite get my head around it.”

      “You won’t be prisoners. You’ll be in protective custody.”

      She gave him a thin smile. “It kind of sounds like the same thing to me.”

      “Not really. Prisoners have a strict routine and they’re confined to a small cell for most of the day.”

      “Okay, okay, I get it. Boy, you really are a stickler, aren’t you?”

      He raised an eyebrow. “I’ve been called worse.”

      She put an index finger on her lips, as if recalling a fact. “I know. I seem to remember somebody calling you old and stupid recently.”

      He laughed.

      “I’m sorry about that,” Lilly said. “Astrid sometimes lashes out when she’s afraid or unsure. She doesn’t mean any harm. Do you think you could cut her some slack?”

      “I’ll try,” he said, knowing that he would struggle to do so. “She can call me as many names as she likes, СКАЧАТЬ