Chapter 4 - The Predator’s Gambit
The next forty-eight hours were a blur of calculated movement. I knew Julian would attempt to track our location through the car’s GPS or my own digital footprint. I abandoned the rental car three miles from the hotel and moved Leo into a nondescript sedan provided by my contact.
We moved through the city like ghosts. I didn't head for the airport; that’s where he would expect me. Instead, we headed for a private airfield in the outskirts of the state.
While I drove, I monitored the fallout. Evelyn had been dragged out of the house in handcuffs, the authorities having found evidence of child endangerment and accessory to fraud. The house, our home, was now a crime scene, cordoned off with yellow tape. It was satisfying, but it wasn't enough. Julian was still free, and as long as he breathed, he was a threat to Leo’s safety.
I pulled into a secluded rest stop, the night air thick with humidity. I checked on Leo in the backseat. He was finally beginning to speak again, though his voice was a whisper.
"Are we going home, Mommy?" he asked.
"We’re going to a new home, baby," I promised, stroking his hair. "A place where no one can ever make you hide under a table again."
My phone buzzed. It was an email from my lawyer. “Julian has liquidated his personal savings. He’s liquid and he’s mobile. He’s not going to the authorities, Clara. He’s coming to you.”
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I looked at the rearview mirror. A pair of headlights was approaching—fast. They were weaving through traffic, ignoring the speed limit. A black SUV. Julian.
I didn't panic. I steered the car toward the gravel exit of the rest stop and floored the accelerator, cutting across a field toward the secondary road that led to the airfield. The chase was on.
