~~Young~~

Chapter Nineteen

   “Quick?” she scoffed, “hunny it was a whole day ago I talked to you. The stress has been killing me waiting to find you.”

   “Yeah but you couldn’t have left as soon as you got off the phone with me, you already said you had talked to your parents afterward and your Prius does not go that fast.” She didn’t like how that sounded, like she was suspicious of her friend.

   But if Chels had caught it she didn’t show it, instead she just flopped on the love seat opposite of Jerry sparing him a glance as if to say ‘I’m watching you’.

   “No, no it doesn’t, which is why Duncan let me borrow his Audi so I’d have some hope of getting first. Oh, and to Will first,” she cursed and pulled her glasses from her face to rub her eyes, “My dad called me when I was halfway here to tell me the Angels were raiding his place first thing in the morning. He said if I didn’t get him out first then he wasn’t going to make it out at all. So I went there first, got him out of there and on a plane to my parents in the states. I had asked him where you were but he didn’t know, only you and Mama ever know where she is going to be.”

   Mama, oh Mama, Sera thought that subject better left till later when Chelsea seemed a little less wound up. Poor thing, she looked like she was on the verge of a breakdown. Much as Sera was yesterday. But Gage had gotten her through that. She felt bad though that she had forgotten about what those she cared for were going through. That she had found time to recover from everything that was going wrong, that she had found her safe haven in this mess when it was so obvious Chelsea hadn’t.

   Sera wandered closer to Chelsea’s couch to stand over her. She wanted to give her a hug and tell her it was all okay, but it wasn’t, not even close.

   “Well, it’s good to know the Angels didn’t shut Will down, I was worried.”

   “No,” Chelsea looked up to her, her brow puckered, “no I definitely got there first…but how do you even know about that?”

   “I saw the sign on the door,” Sera stated.

   “Wait, you’ve been out on the streets and didn’t get picked up?” this time Chelsea flopped back against the couch in disbelief, “Hunny you’ve got to be the luckiest girl I know.”

   “Hardly,” Sera mumbled but came to sit next to her friend, “but if Will didn’t know where I was then how did you find me? I didn’t even know where I was when I talked to you.”

   “No, but Lacy did.”

   “Lacy?” Sera couldn’t help that bit of panic in her voice. Lacy was definitely not on her side.

   “Yes Lacy. She called me after that little run in the two of you had. She said you didn’t look good at all, and spooked. She was worried you were going to get yourself killed out there.”

   There was a chuckle from the other couch where Jerry now had an ice pack covering his groin. One Death put a little extra pressure on for his remark.

   “But even then I couldn’t come charging in, we had to be careful, had to wait for your Uncle’s men to clear out. Duncan had hacked the security just to make sure she wasn’t full of shit, so we just watched and waited.” She finished as if she hadn’t heard him.

   But something didn’t fit, the timing of everything. If Lacy hadn’t called the authorities right then…then how was it the police were already at her hotel when she got there? The cops of Vancouver didn’t work that quickly, not without being directed there by someone and she asked Chelsea as much.

   “My guess,” she hitched a shoulder, “Nathan, maybe your Uncle? I mean someone’s been giving away trade secrets so maybe they fingered you out. But I made Lacy promise not to call you in, she agreed only because we were both thinking the same thing…”