Theo tapped the keys of the laptop harder than neccesary, deep in concentration as he focused on his work. I knew why he couldn't focus fully though, and it was for the same reason as me.
Damian was in California. He was skulking around somewhere close by, waiting for me to mess up and identify myself. But it was a risk I couldn't take.
Theo and I had been confined to the house for the next couple of days until the police located a safe house for us to move into. He hadn't loved it, and neither had I, but it was important that we listen, and Theo had sworn that he would watch over me.
Or...us.
He was unaware of it for now, but he was protecting more than just myself. The child I carried currently was under his supervision as well. I fumbled once more with the positive test that I had kept close by. I needed to get rid of it. Some part of me believed that if Theo knew now, he would lose his mind and I wasn't up for the argument.
As it was, we had already been fighting over the situation. He had gotten upset about me not telling him sooner about Damian once the shock wore off, and every now and then, he made a comment that my hormonal attitude would jump on. I hated being this way. I hated that we were arguing instead of holding each other.
Blowing a long, slow sigh, I tiptoed into the kitchen while he was preoccupied and discreetly took the test from my pocket. I wrapped it tightly in several paper towels and threw it in the garbage. I pulled the strings up and tied them, setting the bag out the back door where it would be claimed by the dumpster soon.
I felt bad, but I had to wait.
The house phone ringing loudly startled me, and I went over and picked it up.
"Hello?" I asked.
"Cass, it's Cora. The sheriff wants you guys to come in this afternoon. They finally located a place and it's two hours from here. You'll be cared for. Details at the station. Hurry."
Before I could answer, my best friend hung up and I set the phone back down on the receiver. "Theo?" I asked.
"Hm." He mumbled, not fully paying attention. "We need to gather up and go, they found a place for us." I said. "Where?" He asked, closing the laptop. "I don't know. Cora said there would be details at the station."
He nodded, went upstairs, and came back five minutes later with a bag packed with our clothes. I picked up my purse from the table, made sure my keys and wallet were inside, then packed up the laptop and charger. Fortunately, Theo could still work from our safe house, whereas my job would be put on hold until we were through with this situation.
"Ready?" He asked, opening the door and scanning around before allowing me to step out. I nodded and followed after him, locking the door. With luck and Damian out of the picture, we would return here to raise the munchkin.
Theo opened my door, waited for me to get inside and closed it firmly. Then he pushed the bag and laptop case in the back seat and climbed in beside me. "Got everything we need?" He asked me, opening the middle console to make sure everything we had put in there the day previously was still there. "I think so." I replied, wanting to be sick, but swallowing it.
"Did you lock your car and the house up? Leave keys for the cops in the mailbox?" He asked, putting the truck in reverse. "Check and check." I said.
After that, he said nothing and we rode silently to the police station.
Once we arrived at the station, Theo got out and opened my door again, offering his hand to help me out, which I took. He left everything in the back and reached over and took my hand to slide in the crook of his arm. He protectively kept me close as we walked to the door.
He hadn't said much to me outside of an arguement in the last couple of days, but at least he wasn't shunning me.
Sheriff Stilinski stood in the doorway to his office, sighing in relief upon seeing us enter. "Step in," he told us, "got a few things to discuss and then you're off to Ojai."
"Ojai?" Theo asked, "Of all the places."
"It's the best we could do short term. This sudden arrival on her brother's part was intentional. I guess he figured he'd find her faster if he took her off guard." "It's what he's best at." I mumbled, feeling fear settle in my chest again, and unthinkingly clutched Theo's arm closer.
Theo took his arm from me and wrapped it around my shoulders, holding me close for comfort. "Alright, so Ojai. Let's get down to business." He told the sheriff.
"Obviously, you know of the place a little. It's a smaller town, less likely to draw attention. We're going to put you on the first train to Ventura, fifteen miles from Ojai. At the station, you'll meet an FBI agent who will give you the keys to your rental car and your safe house. Here is the address." The sheriff said, holding a slip of paper to Theo.
"Either memorize it or keep it well hidden, then when you get there, burn it. No traces left. Now, you'll have access to everything that you need and money won't be an issue. Cassia," Sheriff Stilinski looked me in the eyes, "Theo is the only one who can go into town. You'll be close to the beach and may take an occasional stroll there, but be aware of your surroundings and keep your hair down to cover your face. Do everything to keep your identity hidden."
I nodded, but this was old news. I had been running for seven years. I knew how to evade my brother.
"Now," he continued, "it's an advantage that Damian doesn't know of your marriage. He won't expect to find you with someone, will he?"
"Unless he's done some very deep digging, he shouldn't know. But, I wouldn't put it past him. We didn't give any announcements to the papers or public pictures. I also asked you to keep it from my record momentarily."
"And we have. As soon as he's put away for good, we'll update it. As far as records go, you're still Cassia Whittaker. Now, one of my deputies is going to take you to the station. I need your truck keys, Theo." He said.
Theo took them out of his pocket and set them on the sheriff's desk. "Just a warning, one scratch and I will kill everyone." He threatened.
Sheriff Stilinski gave Theo a cold, hard look, but nodded. "Deputy Barton, you may enter." He called.
A young female deputy stepped in and took a set of keys from the board behind her boss. "If you will please follow me, we'll get your stuff and be on our way." She said to us.
Theo took my hand and pulled me back outside. Two other cops had already put our stuff in the trunk of the cop car and the back door was open for us.
I recalled the night that I rode in the back of a cop car for the first time. Damian had been inches from slaughtering me, but the cops had arrived too quickly, and they'd kept me in custody for days before I was freed to a foster family.
I had broken out and left that night, changing my name the second I crossed into Alabama.
Now, I clung to my husband and once more was helped into the backseat.
Officer Barton climbed into the driver seat and took off. Nerves bundled in my stomach, and I stopped my hand as it reached to hold my abdomen. No clues, no hints, no confessing.
Theo put his arm around me and squeezed gently, kissing my cheek. It was a nice change from the fighting we'd been doing and I turned my head to return his kiss. "The first year is the hardest, yeah?" I said to him.
Theo snorted, "If you call this 'hard'. At least I can protect you, and hey, I'll take this excitement over you burning every meal at dinnertime. Plus, it was hard from the second we met, it couldn't be expected to get easier."
"I could learn not to burn meals. I can't promise to come out alive after Damian's visit." I said, gripping his shirt front. "I can." He said back, "If he is so determined to track us down, there will be one hell of a fight waiting on him."
"In a way, I'm glad that he doesn't know about you." I went on, "He won't expect you. But at the same time, I'm worried that if he gets taken off guard, he'll react even more violently."
"All the better. After all his trouble, I hope he's willing to die." Theo said, pulling me even closer to him.
**Welcome back to the world of Theo and Cassia! I hope you enjoyed! I can't be positive how long this story will be, but I promise it won't be without excitement :P Updates will probably be slow as I write around my work hours. Thanks for reading and have a good day!**
