Free Embattled Home by J.M. Madden Page A

wanted to. Lora frowned and shook her head, unable to believe she’d contemplate doing something so crazy.
    Mercy had no problems flinging her arms around his neck though, then pulling back to tell him about the experience. Chad nodded at everything the girl said, but Lora could tell he was thinking internally. He caught her eyes. “I need you to pack a bag.”
    Shit. Blinking, she turned without argument and headed toward her room. She threw essentials into a small suitcase, then turned to the heater vent in the floor, debating. For several long seconds, she wavered in indecision before going to her hands and knees and pulling the grate from the floor. Reaching inside, she dragged the plastic wrapped package from its hiding place and stored it in her bag along with everything else. Then she went to Mercy’s room to pack. Within just a few minutes she was back at the kitchen. Mercy was watching TV quietly while Zeke and Chad watched the windows.
    Lora was having second thoughts about leaving. “Are you sure this is necessary?”
    Chad held an arm out to guide her into the kitchen. “Your home was just broken into. Again.”
    Lora understood what the investigator said, but it didn’t mean she had to like it. This was her home. And Mercy’s home. Her daughter would be devastated if they had to uproot everything while they waited this thing out.
    “I need time to think.”
    Chad nodded once. “That’s fine. But we don’t have a lot of time. If they try to break in again, it will be with more men. You don’t want to be here when they do. If we leave, he won’t be able to serve you with any documents, either. I can guarantee your safety and Mercy’s, but you have to trust me.”
    Unable to help herself, she snorted. “I’ve heard that before.”
    “But not from me.”
    As she looked into his vivid blue eyes, she could see his determination to do what was right.
    “How long would we have to be gone?”
    He shrugged. “I’m not sure. It depends upon how quickly Duncan can get his contacts moving. It may be a week or it may be three months. Derek is after you and Mercy. You, for throwing him over. But I feel like he wants Mercy for some other reason.”
    Lora blinked as a domino suddenly fell into place in her mind.
    “She’s a partial stock holder. I thought it was strange when I signed the papers with him, but if the business is having problems, maybe he needs her leverage.”
    Chad pursed his lips and nodded. “If he gains custody, he gains her shares, basically.”
    Lora looked at her young daughter watching TV. “Why would he try to take her then? I would have to sign over guardianship and he knows I won’t do that willingly.”
    He tilted his head. “So maybe he’s aware of that and he feels the only way to manipulate you is by force.”
    Lora sank down to the kitchen chair behind her, her knees suddenly weak.
    “Regardless,” he continued, “I think we need to get you out of Dodge. Make you disappear. Things are escalating. If Zeke and Killian hadn’t been here, she would probably have been taken.”
    A shudder rippled through her. She couldn’t imagine losing her daughter to that man. The thought was enough to make her sick.
    The solid weight of a hand settled on her shoulder and she tensed. But as soon as the weight was there it was gone again. “We’ll take care of both of you.”
    She looked up at him and knew he believed he could keep her safe. Years of frustrated struggling came back to her, and for the first time in longer than she could remember she wanted to let somebody help take care of Mercy. The two of them had been constant companions for her entire life. It would be hard to relinquish some of that control, but she had a feeling she was over her head with Derek. If he wanted to take their daughter, she had no doubt he would try. And his mother would be right there trying with him.
    “Okay.”
    A bubble of tension eased in her spine. Chad smiled at her, bright teeth flashing, and