The Runaways: Book 1 of the The White Goddess Series

31. Sacrifice

The white Durango was still in the driveway when they pulled up to the house, directly in front of it this time. Hopefully that meant they were home.

Tom turned away from the curious stares of the neighbours to button his shirt and followed Erikson to the side of the tiny house. Nodding politely to the onlookers, Nick surveyed the area as he trailed behind them. No sign of the black SUV.

Erikson gestured for Tom and Nick to remain behind as he climbed the short steps to knock on the fibreglass and aluminum door. Of the three of them, he was the least intimidating.

They heard the sound of approaching footsteps from inside and the door flew open to reveal an older human female in a floral dress and long, unkempt grey hair. Her hopeful expression died when she saw Erikson. Tears filled her eyes.

"Oh." She'd obviously hoped it was the runaways, coming home. Nick didn't realize how badly he'd been hoping they'd snuck back in the past few hours until disappointment filtered through him.

"Who is it?" An older human male appeared in the doorway behind her, one hand resting supportively on the female's shoulder.

Erikson nodded politely. "Boulder County Sheriff's Department. Are you Bonnie and Abel Gunderson?"

The male eyed them watchfully. "Yes."

"Did you find them?" the female blurted, renewed hope lighting in her eyes.

Erikson's expression was sympathetic. "Can we come in and talk?"

The female visibly deflated at his reply. "Of course," the male said, gently manoeuvring her out of the doorway.

"Thank you. I'm Deputy Sheriff Kyle," Erikson said as he stepped inside. He indicated Tom and Nick, bending their heads to step into the room behind him. "And these are my colleagues, Deputy Francis and Deputy Dick."

Tom covered a bark of laughter behind a cough. Fucking Erikson. Despite himself, Nick had to bite his cheek against a laugh.

"Please, sit." Abel Gunderson gestured to what passed for a dining area in the tiny space.

"Thank you." Erikson joined Abel and Bonnie around the table and motioned for Nick to do the same.

"I'll go get another chair," Abel said with a glance a Tom, still towering, shoulders hunched above them.

"That's fine." Tom's voice rumbled through the quiet room. "I'll stand." The flimsy chair didn't look like it could support his weight anyway. Nick was careful to sit on the edge of his seat and put most of his weight on his legs.

"All right then." Abel sank back down into his chair.

"Can I get you gentlemen a coffee? A cold glass of water?" Bonnie blurted nervously before anyone could speak. Her husband put a hand on her arm, settling her down before she could jump up from her seat.

"Thank you, we may just take you up on that before we leave," Erikson said kindly. "Right now we'd like to hear about the events of yesterday and focus on getting any information we can get to assist us in finding your grandchildren."

"We told Pete and Joe everything yesterday at the school," Abel said with a frown. "Nothing new has happened since then."

"I understand and apologize for making you repeat yourself," Erikson said. "We just want to make sure no detail, however small, was lost in translation that may be helpful to our investigation."

"Of course," Bonnie said quickly before her husband could speak. "We're happy to tell you what happened. Anything we can do to help find the kids." Tears spilled from her eyes as she briefly closed them, gathering strength. "We—Abel, myself, Ian and Sarah—went to Jamestown school yesterday morning with our neighbour Kelly Romero and her two boys." She gestured loosely in the direction of the street. "Ian and Connor, Kelly's oldest, were trying out for the football team."