Signs of Love (20 page)

She took a deep breath, inhaling the fresh, clean scent that she would forever associate with him. It helped for just a moment to clear the smoky odor that clung to both her and Caden. For a few minutes, she let herself not be strong. She allowed Justin to hold her and be the strong one. But finally, she took another deep breath and pulled back from him. He held onto her for a moment then let his arms slide from around her.

She stepped back and crossed her arms over her waist, feeling more able to continue. "I didn't know what to do. But then a firefighter came and took Caden from me. At least I knew he was going to be safe."

"But what about you? How did you get out?"

She remembered the rush of relief when she'd seen that second firefighter and realized that she would be saved too. "Another firefighter found me."

Justin didn't say anything right away as if he was waiting for her to go on. When she didn't, he said, "Why didn't you call Beth or me? We were...worried."

"My phone was in the apartment, and I didn't know either of your numbers by memory."

Justin seemed to consider her explanation before nodding. "You don't need to stay here."

Alana glanced around the room. It wasn't bad—definitely better than some places she'd stayed—but the neighborhood left little to be desired. And having to walk to get food for them would be a challenge. Still, it was one she was willing to take on.

"Seriously, Alana. Beth has room or if you'd rather be on your own, you can have my apartment."

Alana stared at him. "I don't want to impose."

Justin scowled at her words but then seemed to make an effort to soften his reaction. "It is no imposition. Absolutely none." He pulled his phone from the holder on his belt and swiped on the screen. "Here. Why don't you call Beth? You can hear for yourself that she has no problem with you guys moving in with them for as long as necessary."

Alana hesitated then took the phone he held out to her. She looked down and saw that he brought up Beth's contact information. She just had to tap the screen.

"I'm going to step outside with Than while you talk to her," Justin said as he nodded his head in the direction of the open door.

Alana watched as he walked away then she looked down and tapped the screen to call Beth.

~*~*~

Justin took a deep breath and let it out as he joined Than by the railing outside the room. He hadn't even had a chance to say anything to Than when he felt a small hand slip into his. Glancing down, he saw Caden at his side, his fingers gripping his tightly as if afraid he was going to leave them. Justin wanted to reassure him that he wouldn't, but until Alana said the word, he had no idea if they'd be in the back seat of Than's truck when they left.

Than smiled at Caden before looking at Justin. "I started the ball rolling to circle the wagons."

Justin arched a brow. "In what way?"

"I contacted Linds to let her know what's happened, and she said the charitable arm of their company will step up and help in any way they can. Victoria called to say that she, Brooke and Staci would be willing to go buy clothing and anything else Alana and Caden might need. I told Lindsay to get in contact with them and organize that."

Warmth spread through Justin. These people barely knew Alana and Caden, and yet were offering their help. He was proud to be able to call them friends. "She's on the phone now with my sister, and I'm hoping Beth can convince her to go stay with them for a while."

Than glanced around at the neighborhood. "Yeah, it would be better if they weren't here."

Justin looked down again at Caden and wished that he could talk to him. It was then that it dawned on him that the little guy had lost his tablet. And Alana had lost her laptop. He knew those two things were important to them. He would have to take care of replacing those as soon as possible.

"Here's your phone."

He turned to see Alana standing behind him. Her gaze dropped to where Caden held his hand, and he could have sworn he saw a flash of pain on her face, but Justin was at a loss to understand what would have caused it.

"So, are you going to stay with Beth and Dan?" Justin asked as he took the phone from her. "Or would you rather go to my apartment. I hardly use it so it won't be an inconvenience at all."

"I think it would be good for us to stay with Beth."

Justin was actually glad she'd taken Beth up on her offer rather than going to his apartment. Being at Beth's meant he could stop by more frequently without it being awkward like it would have been had they stayed at his apartment.

"Then let's get this show on the road. Than will drop us off at Beth's." Justin was eager to leave the rundown motel and get them somewhere safe.

"I'll go pull the truck around," Than said as he strode away from them.

Justin followed more slowly. With Caden holding one hand, he laid the other lightly on Alana's back as they moved toward the stairs. He knew Than was bringing the truck closer so they didn't have to walk across the parking lot in bare feet. He would have carried Alana if he thought she'd accept that, but Justin was fairly certain that at this particular point, she'd rather walk over hot coals than let him pick her up.

By the time they got to the bottom of the stairs, Than had the truck pulled around and stood with the back door open. While they got themselves situated, Than went into the office, presumably to tell the desk clerk that Alana and Caden were checking out. Alana helped Caden climb up and then got in behind him. Once he was sure they were buckled, Justin closed the door and slid into the front passenger seat as Than got behind the wheel.

He gave Than Beth's address so he could plug it into his navigation system then Justin pulled out his phone and sent a text message to Victoria.

Than said you're going to shop for Alana and Caden?

Yep. I'm meeting the others in twenty minutes.

Justin hesitated then typed,
When shopping for Alana, she prefers long-sleeve shirts. They can be lightweight, but she prefers her arms to be covered.

Okay...I'll see what we can find. Might be a bit difficult this time of year.

And not to be difficult, but she also prefers longer skirts to pants. But if you do buy her pants, I don't think she'd want skinny jeans.

:D Wow, Justin, you really know this girl.

Justin grinned at her comment.
Well, I also know Caden likes Spiderman.

I guess we'll just wing it on sizes. How old is Caden?

He's seven.

Okay. Hopefully, Brooke will be able to help with his stuff since she had Danny.

Justin glanced over his shoulder and saw Alana staring out the window, almost as if she was in shock. They needed to get her and Caden settled as soon as possible.

Thank you for helping
.

Any time! Just wish it weren't necessary because of something like a fire.

He was typing a final message to Victoria when suddenly Than put his blinker on and swerved the truck into a parking lot. Justin looked up in surprise and glanced at Than.

"I'm hungry. Didn't get lunch yet. How about you?" Than arched a brow at him.

"Yeah, me too," Justin agreed as he looked up at the fast food sign then glanced back at Alana. "How about you guys?"

He saw Alana signing something to Caden and waited for her to decline the offer. It didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that she didn't like people doing things for her. She was going to have to come terms with that in her current situation, though. She was about to get a lot more than fast food.

As Than pulled up into the drive-thru lane, Alana said, "Caden would like a plain cheeseburger with fries and a chocolate milk."

"What about you?" Justin asked.

She stared at the board with the menu and then asked for a salad with chicken and ranch dressing.

"What about something to drink?" Than asked after he relayed his order and Caden's.

"A vanilla milkshake." She said the words in a rush as if she knew if she thought about it too long she'd change her mind.

Justin gave her a grin then told Than what he wanted. Within a few minutes, the aroma of fried food filled the interior of the truck. He didn't make any mention of helping with the cost of the meal but planned to talk to Than about it later.

"We'll just wait to eat until we're at Beth's," Alana said when they handed her the bags with her and Caden's food and their drinks.

"We should be there in a few minutes," Than said. 

As Than got back on the road, Justin called Trent to find out what was going on at the compound. The good news was that Marcus had been released from the hospital even though he was on crutches given the damage the bullet had done to his leg. The bad news was that they had absolutely no further leads on the shooter or who might have given him the information on the exercise.

"Can you run me out to the compound to grab my truck?" Justin asked Than as they neared Beth's house.

"Sure thing. I had planned to head out that way anyway," Than said. "Am I the only one wondering if this is all connected to the hacking and kidnapping attempt on Eric?"

Justin sighed and lifted a hand to press against the bandage under his T-shirt. "No, you're not. It can't be a coincidence, can it? We've never had any significant issues and then suddenly within the space of a year we've had three fairly serious attacks."

"I think it's something we're going to have to address. It's like someone is toying with BlackThorpe. They never came after Eric again even though we were fairly certain the threat originated in the US. And the hacking attempt. It was just the once and then nothing more. And this...well, he was either a bad sniper or he intentionally shot you guys with non-lethal shots."

"Yeah, Trent said they found the spot where the sniper had been and from that distance he should have been able to make a kill shot."

"How is your arm, by the way?" Than asked.

Justin lifted the edge of the sleeve, wincing as he saw the blood that stained the white gauze. "Hurts some. Looks like I need a bandage change."

"You were shot?"

Alana's voice had him turning in his seat so he could see her. For some reason, he'd assumed she wasn't paying attention to them.

"Yeah, but not seriously. Just grazed my arm." He lowered the sleeve so the bandage was covered again. "We had an incident during the exercise last night. Everyone is okay, though."

Alana frowned. "But you were shot."

"That's kind of a risk of the job. I don't carry weapons just for the fun of it." Before Justin could say anything more, Than pulled into Beth's driveway and came to a stop.

Gathering up the food, they got out of the truck and headed for the front door. Beth had it opened before they even reached the door. Justin saw his sister's gaze take in the way Caden and Alana were dressed along with the lack of footwear. He saw compassion in her eyes and knew that it hurt her to see them this way as much as it had hurt him. But now, between them and their friends, things would be better for the Jensens.

~*~*~

Alana held onto her own emotions by just a thread when she saw Beth's emotional response when they walked in her door.

"C'mon inside," Beth said with a wave of her hand. "Go ahead and take your food to the table."

Once she'd set their drinks and food on the table, Alana found herself engulfed in a tight hug. As Beth held her, Alana lost it. The fear she'd experienced from the first moment she'd awoken fighting to breathe finally loosened its hold on her, and her emotions unraveled in the process. The gratitude she felt for what these people were doing for them overwhelmed her.

"You're safe now, sweetie," Beth said, her voice soft and low. "Caden is safe too. You are such a good mom. Everything is going to be okay. I promise."

As she took several shuddering breaths, Alana felt a hand rest between her shoulder blades.

"
We
promise," Justin said, his voice gruff. "You've done a great job taking care of Caden. Now you need to let us take care of you both."

The warmth of his words washed over her. She didn't know what she'd done to deserve these people in her life but right then she was so very grateful for them. And for the first time since she'd realized that they'd lost everything, Alana felt a spark of hope.

Finally, feeling a little more in control of herself, Alana lifted her head and saw that Beth's cheeks were damp with tears too. She gave her a weary smile. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," Beth said as she lifted a hand to smooth Alana's hair. "Now you need to eat. I'm sure you must be starving."

Alana nodded and turned toward the table, happy to see that in the midst of her emotional meltdown Than had stepped in. He sat with Caden eating their burgers and signing.

Justin urged her toward a chair and then sat down next to her. As she ate her salad, Alana was glad the conversation stayed away from the fire. Instead, she listened as Beth berated her brother for not telling her about the shooting as soon as it had happened.

"I did eventually tell you. Isn't that good enough?" Justin asked as he held out a fry, an apparent peace offering.