Tiny cocks his head, and I see him thinking it over. I step back from the guys to let them sort out their issues. It’s like the guys are a fraternity, not a motorcycle club. I keep that thought to myself because I don’t think Morris would much appreciate the comparison. But if you count the dogs, the girl crew outnumbers the bikers.

  Before anyone can respond, my phone buzzes with a text message. I check my phone and see I have five messages already, more texts coming in fast and furious. I scan the messages from my sister.

  Rayne: Alice, he knows.

  Rayne: Alice, are you okay? Are you getting my texts? He knows, Alice.

  Rayne: Alice, call me as soon as you get this.

  Rayne: I’m scared, Alice. Jerry’s been calling me every five minutes. He won’t stop calling.

  Rayne: God, I’m scared. Please, big sis, call me as soon as you can.

  Rayne: Do you think he’d come out here? Come to Denver? Does he have my address, Alice?

  I hold the phone in shaking hands as I walk up to Morris.

  “Baby?” He looks away from the conversation he is having with Tiny and Leo. “What is it?”

  My pulse turns to lead as I hold up the phone and show him Jerry’s text.

  Jerry: I thought the dog you were going to see was your sister’s. Not three yapping mutts.

  “Jerry’s watching us right now,” I say before the room goes black.

  15

  “She’s gonna be just fine, aren’t you?” A perky, happy voice I don’t recognize finds me through the haze.

  I struggle weakly to open my eyes until I feel Zoey’s little hand in mine.

  “Mommy, what happened? Did you fall?”

  “She’s okay, little love. Your mama’s okay. Let’s just let her sip some water.”

  I sit up and realize I’m on a kitchen chair, surrounded by Lia, Zoey, and Morris.

  Morris is holding my phone, and his face is red with a rage I haven’t seen since he found us at the side of the road with the stranger.

  “Here you go.” Lia hands me a glass of cold water. “I would add some herbal remedies, but all my stuff is out in Dad’s truck.”

  “I’m all right, thank you.” I take a sip and squeeze Zoey’s hand. “Go ahead and play with the puppies, baby. Mommy’s fine. I just felt a little light-headed.”

  Zoey gives me a hug. “Okay, love you.” She kisses my cheek and then bounces back into the living area. “Lia, can the puppies have treats?”

  “Well, of course, they can have treats,” Lia tells Zoey.

  Morris comes to sit beside me and places his hand over mine. “I put your sister’s number in my phone. I texted her that you’re with me and she’s not to answer any calls from that motherfucker. I told her I’ll have you call her and to not, under any circumstances, give my number to anyone.”

  I nod. “Okay, who did you tell her you were?”

  “Your boyfriend.” His answer makes the room start to spin again, but then I focus on the salt-and-pepper of his beard. The strength of his grip on my hand. Morris leans close and whispers in my ear, “We need to get you out of here. Do you have all the numbers you need from this phone? Is there anyone you need to be able to reach?”

  “My sister. Just a few friends, but no one I need right now. Anyone I need to reach, I can e-mail in a few weeks.”

  “Okay.” He looks me in the eye. “Baby, this phone’s gotta go. He’s tracking you.”

  No, he can’t be.

  I shake my head again, fear and confusion warring for control over my thoughts. “That’s not possible. I disabled location services on my phone. There’s no way he can find me with it.”

  Morris presses his lips into a thin line. “Baby, who bought the phone? When it was new? You or him?”

  “We got new phones together,” I explain. “Why?”

  “Who set them up? Do you have a family plan, a shared account?”

  “Well, yeah.” I struggle to remember. The phone is almost a year old now, so not new. “Jerry’s business paid for all the accounts. Our cars were titled to the business. That’s why I didn’t take his SUV. He could have reported it stolen and called the cops. It wasn’t in my name, so I had no rights to it.”

  Morris nods. “Baby, it’s possible he’s installed something on your phone. It’s not at all uncommon. Spouses use apps that you’d never know are on the device to track where their partner is. If you’re not where you say you are, he probably knows to within a couple of blocks exactly where you are. He knew the minute you didn’t get on that plane this morning.”

  “No.” I drop my face in my hands. “How? How do you know? How’s that possible?”

  “I told him,” Leo says. He comes closer to us and lowers his head to explain. “Sorry, Alice. Morris isn’t as tech-savvy as you probably are.” He gives Morris a smile, but Morris just lifts a brow in silent warning.

  “I’m not,” I admitted. “But I checked the phone plan before I left. I didn’t see anything on there that would make me think Jerry did anything to the account.”

  “If there is something on the phone itself, it’s likely not on the account,” Leo explains sweetly. He points to the phone. “Invisible apps. It could be anything. No way to know for sure without some kind of tech specialist. There are so many ways to chase down a cheating spouse, a lying teenager. I mean, parents use all kinds of tricks to keep track of their kids without the kids knowing about it. Can you imagine all the ways you can do the same thing for a spouse?”

  “And I’d never see it? I wouldn’t even know it was on the phone?” I ask.

  Goddammit all to fucking hell.

  I’m an idiot.

  “Don’t feel bad about it, Alice,” Leo says, trying to be positive. “It’s a really specialized thing. It’s not like you can just hop on to Facebook and see ads for spouse-stalking apps. And if you’re an honest person, which I totally know you are, you’d never even think to use something like this.”

  I nod. That much, at least, is true.

  “The technology will come in handy when Zoey’s a teenager,” Leo says with a lighthearted grin, but Morris shoots him a look, and Leo backs away and stands near Tiny.

  “So, what do we do?” I ask Morris. “Jerry knows I’m here. He’s seen me. He might even be right outside. Right now.”

  I feel sick, and the room swims again before my eyes.

  “Alice!” Morris grabs my arms and brings me to standing. “We’re going to get out of here. We’re going to go someplace Jerry can’t find you. And I sure as hell hope that asshole is outside. I’ll end this right here, right now.”

  “No, no,” I say. “Just, please…” I put a palm on his arm and slide it down to his hand. I lace my fingers through his and squeeze. “What are we going to do? Do you have a plan?”

  Morris nods. Without releasing my hand, he grabs my phone off the table. “We start with this,” he says, then drops it on the kitchen floor, and with a single stomp of his boot, the phone shatters into a million pieces.

  16

  “Mom, please, please! Please can I have a sleepover with the doggies, please!” Zoey is in her pajamas and has freshly painted toenails.

  Lia is also in pajamas, if you count fringed pants and a tank top that has more cutouts than fabric sleepwear. She’s sitting with her feet spread out in front of her, and she’s fanning her damp toes with an old, beat-up issue of Hot Rod magazine she found in a pile on a coffee table.

  “Can we pleeeeease!” Lia giggles and imitates Zoey, calling out so her voice carries past me and into the kitchen.

  Somehow, there is a motley crew of bikers, women, dogs, and children in Leo’s house.

  I look over at him apologetically. “Leo’s house, Leo’s rules,” I say.

  If he doesn’t mind all these strangers in his house, I can’t imagine why he’d care if this girl crew sleeps on the floor.

  Leo is helping Alice put away the dishes and clean up the dinner table. We ordered takeout for dinner, and after Lia went through a shockingly complex ritual to prep her dogs’ food, everyone in the house had eaten.

  Tiny is finishing off a beer on the couch, watching his daughter and Alice’s daughter add the finishing touches to a living room floor pedicure, while the dogs crash out in various spots on the furniture, stuffed from their meal of whatever that shit was with herbal supplements Lia decided to feed them.

  Leo looks back at me. “Morris, whatever, man. I’m easy. Mi casa, as they say.”

  I don’t want to make myself at home in another man’s house, but he has three bedrooms, and we have Alice, Zoey, and Lia, as well as myself, to settle someplace for the night. Tiny plans to head back to the compound to sleep in his own room tonight, which solves one of the bedroom questions.

  “You sure you’ll be all right if I head out, man? This is all good?”

  I’ve known Tiny a long time, and my brother looks fucking beat. If I became a hands-on father like this all in one day, I’d want to retreat to my room at the compound too.

  Then again, maybe not.

  I watch Zoey giggle and play with Lia. The little girl seems like she’s chilling out right in front of my eyes. As if just a few hours out from under the clutches of her mother’s douchebag husband were releasing all the chains that kept the kid toeing the line like a soldier. I could be done with this mess in the morning. Let Leo deal with the car and let Alice sort out her own business with her ex.

  Go right back to the life I thought I had yesterday. But I know there’s no way I can go back now. Something changed when I found Alice in that gas station. The new building. Jessica moving on, ending things for good. I don’t think I could deny how I’m feeling, even if I tried.

  I wouldn’t dream of walking away from these two now. Alice and Zoey.

  Not tonight.

  Not now.

  Not ever.

  Tiny hauls himself off the couch and waits.

  “Yeah,” I assure Tiny. “Yeah, we’re all good. Come on back in the morning if you want. You can check out the new property. Take your daughter for breakfast.”

  “I will,” he says. Then he heads over to Leo. “Thanks, man. You’re saving my ass.”

  “Thank you for dinner and the beer,” Leo says, turning to clap Tiny’s hand in a shake. “Happy to host your daughter as long as you need.”

  Oh, Leo, the poor fucker.

  He’s got no game.

  He can’t keep his eyes off Tiny’s daughter, but I can’t tell if she’s even noticed Leo’s alive.

  Lia is a sweet one, but she’s got one foot on another plane. She’s more connected with kids and animals than other adults.

  Although, she did a great job helping when Alice had her little anxiety spell back at my apartment. Growing up with a nurse for a mother rubbed off somewhat, it seems.

  Tiny walks through the mess of tissues and nail polish, dog toys and pillows, to wish his daughter goodnight.

  “I’ll be going, then,” he says stiffly.

  “Oh! Dad, wait up! Wet nails, I gotta move slow. Don’t leave!” Lia leaps to her feet, dramatically spreading her toes and moving in a zombie-like walk toward Tiny. “Ooooohhhhh, I’m so happy!” Lia circles her dad’s enormous belly, reaching her arms as far around him as they can go.

  Tiny gives the girl the world’s most awkward hug, barely patting her back with a hand before frowning and stepping away from her.

  “All right, then. You got money? You need food or something?” Tiny asks.

  “Aw, look at you!” Lia reaches up and pinches Tiny’s cheek, being careful to hold her fingers out so she doesn’t smear her nails. “Such a dad. I’m great! Got everything I need right here.” She pats her chest, and I swear Tiny rolls his eyes but then quickly composes himself.

  “Right, then. Right, okay. Okay.” Tiny stands there muttering to himself, so I wave him off.

  “Come on. I’ll walk you out. I wanna lock up.” I head toward the front door with Tiny close on my heels.

  We step outside into the humid night air. Darkness has fallen, but Leo’s motion-activated exterior lights turn on once we get past the front door.

  “What the fuck, man,” Tiny says. “I need a smoke.”

  “Go home and smoke a j,” I say. “Been a day.”

  Tiny nods. “This Alice…” He doesn’t finish the sentence. He doesn’t need to.

  I nod back.

  “Okay.” Tiny gets it. “We weren’t followed, and without that phone, that fucker of an ex shouldn’t be able to find her, right?”

  “That’s the hope,” I say.

  “Thanks for bailing me out of a tight one,” he says.

  “’S’all right.”

  Truth be told, I think having Lia and those yapping dogs will be good for Zoey. Leo sure as hell doesn’t seem to mind, and keeping our host happy is a win-win.

  “Tomorrow, then,” Tiny says. “I’ll put the key to your place back at the compound? Or you want it now?”

  “I’ll take it,” I say, and I grab it when he hands it my way. “May need some shit from over there at some point.”

  Tiny claps me on the back and then climbs behind the wheel of his truck.

  I wait until his taillights are out of sight before I walk the perimeter of Leo’s house.

  It’s a classic split ranch built on a slab, but I don’t like the fact that any asshole with a hammer could get in without so much as a stepladder. The backyard is fenced, but the fence is old as fuck. It’s clear that no one has put any money into keeping this place up in some time. But it’s a roof over our heads, and tonight, I’ll be within arm’s reach of Alice and Zoey.

  I’ll be able to keep them safe.

  When I go back inside, I flip the deadbolt lock on both the screen door and the aluminum exterior door. The front door opens right into the living room, which has, in the few minutes I’ve been gone, been transformed into a sleepover wonderland.

  Zoey and Lia are lying on the floor with their backs leaned against the couch, tucked beneath my mother’s quilts.

  The dogs, two tiny critters that can’t weigh more than fifteen pounds together, and then a medium-sized dog that looks like a mix of golden retriever and German shepherd, are passed out cold around them.

  Zoey, leaning against the couch, my mother’s quilt over her lap, gives me pause. Lia is young enough to be my daughter, and of course, so is Zoey. Even with the age gap, the two could be sisters.

  Leo is lying on the couch behind Lia and Zoey, transfixed by the feathers in Lia’s braids when he’s not watching the kids movie playing on the TV.

  But it’s not until I see Alice that something catches in my chest. She’s sitting alone at the kitchen table. She’s taken off her shoes, and her feet are bare. Her legs are crossed, and she’s sipping a beer, watching me intently. There is something in her eyes, a look that draws me in, toward her.

  I head into the kitchen, fill two glasses with water, and set one on the table in front of her.

  “You know we just did all the dishes,” she teases.

  I stand behind her and put my hands on her shoulders. “You sure did,” I note.

  “Morris,” she starts, but I squeeze her shoulders. She looks up at me, and I shake my head.

  “Let’s take a minute,” I say.

  “For what?” she asks.

  I don’t say the word on the tip of my tongue, so I just fall silent.

  Home.

  I want to take a minute to savor something I have not felt since my mom passed.

  What it feels like to be home.

  17

  I crawl on my knees through a mess of dogs and blankets and pillows to get to my daughter. “Did you brush your teeth good?” I ask.

  “Lia watched. Tell her,” Zoey says, nodding vigorously.

  “She did absolutely great,” Lia yawns big, revealing her perfect white smile.

  “Thank you,” I say to her. Then I turn my attention to my daughter. “Zoey,” I say softly. “Mama’s going to sleep now. Are you sure you don’t want to sleep in the bed with me?”

  Zoey’s eyes widen as though sleeping with me is a punishment. “Mommy, please! You promised I could have a living room sleepover with Lia and the dogs!”

  I look at Lia, this young woman whom I hardly know, but who my daughter seems to think is her new best friend. “Lia…are you sure? You know it’s okay to change your mind.”

  On the one hand, I am so desperate for a little help, I would love if she’d sleep in the living room with Zoey. The thought of a few hours alone, totally alone, in a strange bed, where no one and nothing can get to me… It sounds like heaven.

  Morris is confident that Jerry hasn’t followed us, and Leo has reassured me that as long as I don’t have anything else electronic with me that Jerry could have installed any kind of software or app on, it is unlikely he has any idea where we are.

  I can really, fully, finally breathe.

  Lia curls onto her side and gives me a smile. “Pinkie-swear promise,” she says. “Zoey and I are gonna leave the TV on quietly and watch shows until she falls asleep, even if that’s at three in the morning. She’s on spring break, and I’m on an adventure. This is awesome!”

  “Thank you,” I say. And I really am grateful. I kiss my little love goodnight and put a hand on Lia’s arm. “I’ll be right upstairs. If anything changes and you want to come upstairs, Leo promised the hall light will be on.”

  “All night,” he says. Then he yawns and gives Lia a shy smile. “Goodnight, then. See y’all in the a.m. I showed Morris where everything is, so I’m turning in.”

  He heads down the hall, flicking on the lights so the path will be illuminated if the girls get up.

  Clearly Zoey’s infatuation for her new auntie Lia is even more powerful than her crush on Leo, because he is almost all the way up the stairs before she calls, “Goodnight, Leo!”

  He looks back, ducking his head so he can see her from the top of the stairs. “’Night, Princess Zoey!”

  I kiss Zoey one more time and remind her where the bathroom is if she needs to get up during the night. I repeat my promise to Lia, letting her know if she changes her mind and doesn’t want to have a sleepover, she can send Zoey up or come and get me anytime.