They crept to the backyard, taking care not to make any noise when they passed the recycling bins full of cans and bottles.
Please let this turn out to be nothing. Please let her be fine.
All the windows were dark except for the kitchen. The table was set for three and a few pans were on the stove. He tried the slider. It slid open easily.
Silently, they stepped into the kitchen. The water in one of the pots was boiling but hadn’t gone dry yet. Whatever had drawn her mother away hadn’t been very long ago.
A faint sound came from the door to the basement. Footsteps. Someone was coming up the stairs.
Asher pushed her against the wall and drew out another knife. From here, neither of them could see the basement door, but they could hear when it opened.
More footsteps. A flash of yellow. Then a cough. It sounded like her mom.
“Just one person?” Olivia mouthed to Asher.
He nodded.
She peered around the corner. Her mother was at the stove, hunched over one of the pots. She breathed a huge sigh of relief. She was okay. She motioned for Ash to put his weapons away. It was better if they didn’t have to tell her mother that they’d come into the house with weapons drawn. She already was going to have a lot of explaining to do when she told her mother that Asher was from Cascadia.
“Hello?” she called in a singsong voice.
Her mother jerked her head up and took a half step backward. But instead of rushing forward to give her a big hug, she stayed were she was. She touched a finger to her lips once then quickly dropped it. “So good to see you, Jennifer. You’re here early. I wasn’t expecting you so soon. Was Ben able to come?”
Jennifer? Ben?
“Um…uh…”
Asher must’ve caught on to what was going on faster than she did because he was already backing toward the door. He put a hand up, indicating they were to stay here. Then he jerked his chin toward the front.
The car. They were to make a run for it as soon as they could. Okay.
He made a swirly motion with his finger. Keep talking. Then he slipped out the sliding glass door and into the backyard.
Olivia had to think fast. “He’s…uh… He couldn’t make it. Had to work.”
Her mother shifted a few pots around the stove. “He works too much. This is Saturday, for God’s sake.”
“Mother,” she mouthed silently. “What. Is. Going. On? Is someone downstairs?”
Her mother opened her eyes wider, indicating yes, then went back to stirring the pots again.
They continued this line of fake small talk until they heard the sound of breaking glass. Was that their cue to go? She grabbed her mother’s hand and they ran for the front door. The house wasn’t large, but tonight it felt as big as a mansion. Either that, or they were running in slow motion. But before they could even get out of the kitchen and through the dining room, the door to the basement opened and a man with a horribly scarred face stepped out.
The Fixer. The one who was after Asher.
Olivia shoved her mother behind her and backed away. She cast a glance toward the backyard, but Asher wasn’t there. She’d keep this guy occupied as long as it took for Asher to formulate a plan.
“Mrs. Crawford, you’re actually quite convincing,” the Fixer said to her mother. “For a moment there, I really did believe you that you were expecting a friend for dinner and that this wasn’t your daughter. I would’ve come up sooner, had I known. Although I’ve had my hands full.”
What was that supposed to mean?
Asher?
“Stay away from her,” her mother said through clenched teeth.
The man laughed.
“The army killed my husband and my son. I will not let you take her, too.” Her mom held her arms out as if to make herself appear larger, like you’re supposed to do if you encounter a bear in the woods.
“Hate to correct you at a time like this, but only your husband died. Last I heard, your son was still alive.”
Olivia gasped. How was that possible?
“Whaaat?” Her mother took a staggering step and clamped a hand over her mouth. “Vince is…alive?”
“Yes, he’s one of us. But if you don’t cooperate, you’ll die trying to protect your daughter just like your husband did trying to protect your son.”
“Go, Olivia,” she whispered. “Run.”
The Fixer had left the door to the basement open. Damn it. Where was Asher? She felt a strong pulling sensation in her chest, as if she were a fish on the end of a line and someone was reeling her in.
And then she knew. It was Asher. He was hurt and he needed her.
She lunged at the door, but her mother caught her and held her back. “What happened to him?” she screamed.
“Your boyfriend?” The man smiled, but only the muscles on one side of his face worked. “Dead. Or, I should say, nearly dead. He’s bleeding out downstairs with a severed carotid artery. I give him, oh, about two more minutes.”