Page 5 of Stryker's Ruin

He looks at me in confusion before I see his jaw clench. He visibly relaxes and smiles. “Then this is going to be a very easy move. Shall we go?”

Stopping at the side of the big car, he opens the passenger door, “Hop in while I put these in the back.”

“Is this a truck? I’ve never ridden in a truck before.”

“It’s a modified SUV. Let me help you up.”

He puts his big hands on my waist and lifts me onto the seat before going back to take care of the luggage.

I’ve never gotten to ride in the front before nor in a vehicle so high off the ground. Part of me feels like I should take a seat in the back where I won’t be seen. I know that’s what Vince would want.

But I wonder what it would be like to be above everyone else and looking down.Be brave.

Shifting in the seat quickly before he realizes what he’s done, I shut the door and buckle my seat belt.

When he climbs behind the wheel and eases onto the road, he glances my way and smiles. “What’s in the suitcase that weighs a ton?”

“My books. I was told I could bring them to continue my studies.”

“Your laptop in your backpack?”

“Laptop?”

“Computer?”

“I’m not allowed to have one of those. I would get appropriate books to study every couple of months.”

He frowns. “Let me know if you need to get more.” He follows a narrow winding road flanked by trees that soon open up to beautiful rolling fields of grass and a huge brick building.

“Is that a castle or a mansion? I’ve seen pictures of them. It’s so big.”

He clenches his jaw. “That’s a mansion. It’s where your grandfather lives. He didn’t take you there?”

I shake my head. “I don’t think so. It was dark and he had me wait in the hall.” My eyes focus on the grand home and I try to memorize every detail.

“Do you know where we’re going?” He asks as he pulls on to another road and I lose sight of the big house.

I straighten in my seat. “No. I was just told to be ready. That’s how it always is.”

“What do you mean?”

“That’s all they ever tell me when he moves me.”

“You’ve been moved a lot?”

“Yes. About every two years. A couple of times it was longer, but that was when I was little, maybe two or three so I don’t really remember.”

“What happened to your mother?”

I shrug. “No idea. She tricked my father and got pregnant. When she realized she wasn’t going to get any money from his family, she dumped me on the family doorstep and never came back. I’m a bastard. I have no claim on the family. I’m grateful for their generosity.”

“Who told you that?”

“Vince.”

“Vince, as in your grandfather?”

“Yes. But I should never call him that.”