Secrets

Part 5

Nick POV

My phone is ringing; I frown at an unknown number but answer it anyway. "Bird flew, eagle follows, vulture circle." I quickly hack the number into pieces and reply, "track, trace, hide." "Copy." "In motion." "Over and out." The call ends, and I think I have to move now. I pack quickly, and I jump to my car. "Fuck, what did you get yourself into this time."

I call my pilot, "be in the plane in ten." "Copy that in motion." "Over and out." I drive faster than usual, and I arrive before the pilot in two minutes. "Hey, where to?" "Raleigh, North Carolina." "Okay, wheels up in ten." I entered the plane and called my brother, "Alex, I need you in Raleigh, North Carolina, in two hours. I am coming from New York."

"Okay, I will be there in an hour. Want me to do something before you arrive?" "Yeah, I will send you a photo of and last place she was in; maybe you will find her before I get there." "Who is it, this time?" I chuckle, "the same one." Alex gasps, "what? Who is after her again? I thought we took care of that last time." "Yeah, you and me both. She called 15 minutes ago. She never does that. I traced the number back to the mafia. So this time, it is more serious than last time." Alex laughed, "yeah, those fuckers are a bigger threat than terrorists." I chuckled, "see you in two hours. Over and out." I end the call, and we are in the air.

When I arrive, Alex is waiting for me at the airport. "Why are you here? You were supposed to be looking for Hails." Alex scratched his neck, "Yeah, about that." "He already found me," Hailey stepped out of the car. I smiled at her and hugged her, "I missed you." "I missed you too." I pulled back and watched her; there was something different about her.

"What happened? You seem sad and tired." She chuckles, "yeah, that is all a girl wants to hear." "I am sorry." "Don't be. I am sad and tired; you saw it first." I nod and wait. She signed, "my brothers died five weeks ago. I found out my dad is alive, and I have an uncle in the mafia. Oh, and my bodyguard may be in the mafia too, who are after me. They are looking for something my brothers may have left with me, but I don't know what that might be. Oh, and I don't have any place to go anymore." I pull her in my arms, "the usual then. Don't worry, we will help you again." Hailey chuckles, "yeah, but the last time wasn't my fault. Like this time, my brothers are idiots. Who is insane enough to go after the mafia? Don't answer that." "As fun as this is, we should move," Alex said.

"Where are we going? Should we warn my dad too?" "Yeah, well. If your bodyguard is in the mafia, they already know where your dad is, and they are not after him. They are after you. Which means it will put you more in danger to warn him. We will stay in Raleigh because they are already here. There is no point to go somewhere else." "Okay, you should know; I used Eli's phone to call you." "I know; I already changed my device. And I traced it to the mafia; however, I am not sure if he is involved. The calls are irregular, always to the same number and simultaneously. But it is better to be safe than sorry later."

"Okay. Where should we go?" "I found a place on my way here. It is near Shelley lake. It has one way in and out. Alex, did you look for bugs?" "Yeah, she is clean. Let's go."

Eli POV

What is taking her so long? We should be in the safe house by now. I wasn't waiting any longer; I went to check on her. I entered the bathroom, but it was empty. I panicked. Did they get Dani already? I failed to protect her, and we were out of the house for two hours. What am I supposed to do now? I forgot to put a tracker on her, so how will I find her?

I call a friend, "Hey, I lost her. I don't know what to do." "Hi, stay calm. Where are you?" I gave him the information and waited. Finally, I heard the keyboard clicking. "Okay, it looks like she took off on her own." "What? Why would she do that?" I didn't get it. I am her bodyguard, and I would have protected her. "I don't know why. I lost her near the park; there weren't cameras. It looks like she has done it before." "What do you mean?" "I mean, she has run before. She avoids cameras, changes her clothes, and moves quickly but unnoticed. Who is she?"

"She is Declan's sister. They sent her here after they died." "What? Dec is dead?" "yeah, and his brothers too. They left her a letter to come here, and I will be her guard. I don't get it; why did she run?" "What happened today before that?" "We went to pick up her stuff, but someone had tossed the place. She called someone, and then she took off." "Who did she call?"

"I don't know. Dani said a friend, but they spoke few sentences in code." "What do you mean in code?" I frowned, "she said something about birds; I don't remember what exactly." "Anything else?" "She finished with over and out." I heard more typing, "okay. I think her friend is someone with military training. It makes sense. Someone is after her, and you are a stranger to her. She doesn't trust you, so she called someone she does." I thought about it, "yeah, probably you are right. But what am I going to do now? I can't go back to the house; it is not safe. I can't tell Jack I lost her. What am I going to do?"

"Go to the safehouse. I will keep looking. I will contact you when I know anything." "Thanks." I ended the call, "oh, Dani. Why didn't you talk to me?" I walked to the car and drove to the safe house.