Page 9 of Echoes of Danger

The sound of my new boss’s voice startles me, and I turn so fast that I nearly fall. Elijah grips my shoulder, pulling me behind his body, and I can do nothing but sigh.

“Sorry,” Jacob Reynolds smiles. “I didn’t mean to scare you. Jessica and I were out for a little stroll. But, as I was saying, your son isn’t wrong. You have no idea what kind of man I am.”

“You’re really not helping matters any,” I grumble.

“Elijah, right?” Mr. Reynolds asks my son, who nods.

“I like how you think, Elijah,” Mr. Reynolds continues. “Protecting your mom should be your most important job.”

“My son needs to focus more on school than protecting me,” I add.

“Here’s what I can do,” Mr. Reynolds says, completely ignoring me. “We’ll go inside, and I’ll answer your questions. I’ll always be honest with you as long as you respect me enough to do the same. Then I will give you my information so you can go and get a background check done on me.”

Since it appears I’m not invited to this conversation, I walk to the stroller beside Mr. Reynolds and kneel down to get a good look at the beautiful little girl sleeping peacefully.

He continues, “I will give you full access to my security system so that you can check in on your mom whenever you’d like. Now, doing so, I’m putting my trust in you that you also keep an eye on my daughter. I trust that you will make sure the system is always armed when you leave, especially if our girls are inside. Do we have an agreement?”

“I’ve already had your background checked,” Elijah says, much to my surprise. “Apart from your prison record, you’re a clean guy.”

“Wrongly imprisoned,” Mr. Reynolds corrects. “So, are we good?”

I unbuckle the baby and pull her into my arms just as her eyes slowly open.

“Deal,” Elijah says.

I look up from my kneeling position into two pairs of brown eyes. Even though Elijah is a big boy, Mr. Reynolds still towers over him. Was he that tall when I met with him yesterday?

I look from the worried and protective eyes of my son to the intense and confident eyes of my new boss.

“What have I gotten myself into?” I ask the sweet little girl sucking on her fingers.

“I’ll show you to your rooms, and then I’ll order dinner. Does pizza sound okay to everyone?”

“Oh, you don’t have to order for us, Mr. Reynolds,” I say, following behind him. “We’ve already eaten dinner.”

If you call crackers and peanut butter dinner, that is. But I choose not to say that part out loud.

Mr. Reynolds turns and looks into my eyes. I’m not sure what he’s searching for, but he doesn’t look away for a long while.

“Elijah,” he says, still looking into my very soul.

“We had peanut butter crackers,” the traitor says. “I ate lunch at school, and Ma said she ate at home, but I don’t believe her.”

“Elijah Lee,” I gasp.

“It does no good to be prideful, Ma,” he tells me. “You’re hungry, and I know it.”

I expected pity to shine on my new boss’s face, but all I see is determination. I don’t know what he’s so determined about.

With a nod in Elijah’s direction, he leads us into the house.

“If you don’t mind, Mr. Reynolds, could you show me where you keep Jessica’s formula?” I ask.

“Just Jacob,” he smiles at me. “And sure. Everything is in the cabinet above the bottle warmer. Elijah, your room is down in the basement. I had my brothers come and help set it up last night. It has everything but a kitchen and a shower. I’ll show you where the bathroom is while your mom feeds little Jessica.”

Jacob walks to a door at the back of the kitchen and opens it for Eli.

“How far away from Ma is the basement?” I hear him ask while I measure the powder into the bottle.