Chapter 6 - Safehouse on Lake Erie
The sun rose over Lake Erie not with warmth, but with a pale, cold glare that pierced the low-hanging fog.
Before heading downtown to the bank, Daniel relocated Evan and Marcus to a family property eighty kilometers west of Cleveland—a secluded timber cabin perched atop the limestone bluffs of Vermilion, overlooking the endless, gray chop of the open lake. The cabin had belonged to Daniel’s grandfather; it had no internet, no smart devices, and only a single dirt access road cutting through two miles of dense pine woods.
Evan stood on the cedar back deck, wrapped in a thick wool sweater of Daniel’s that hung past his knees, watching the gulls dive into the frigid surf.
Daniel stepped out onto the porch, carrying two steaming mugs of hot chocolate. He handed one to the boy.
"Thanks," Evan said softly. His hands were still small, but they weren't shaking anymore.
"How are you holding up?" Daniel asked, leaning his forearms against the cedar railing.
Evan blew gently across the surface of the mug, watching the steam vanish into the lake breeze. "I keep thinking about the hospital. What if Mom wakes up and I'm not there?"
"She has two police officers right outside her door, Evan. And Detective Miller is watching over her. She's safer right now than she has been in weeks."
Evan was quiet for a long moment. Then he looked up at Daniel, his hazel eyes piercing and direct. "Mom told me a story once. About a prince who lived in a castle made of glass. She said he wasn't a bad prince, but he was so busy looking at the reflection of the glass that he couldn't see the people walking in the rain outside."
Daniel felt an old, familiar guilt tighten in his throat. "Did she say that was me?"
Evan nodded slowly. "She said you were a good man who forgot how to bleed."
Daniel let out a dry, bitter chuckle. "She always had a way with words." He turned to face the boy fully, crouching down so their eyes met. "Evan... I didn't know about you. If I had known, not all the armies in the world could have kept me away. I would have torn this city apart to find you."
Evan looked down at his mug. "Mom said you would come. Even when Uncle Ray yelled at her, even when we had to pack our clothes in garbage bags and move to three different apartments in one month... Mom always kept that picture on her nightstand. She said, *'Daniel will fix the broken things.'*"
A tear stung the corner of Daniel’s eye, but he blinked it away. He reached out and squeezed Evan's shoulder, feeling the fragile strength beneath the wool. "I'm going to fix this, Evan. I promise you. When I come back this afternoon, this nightmare ends."
Marcus stepped onto the deck, holding a pair of binoculars and checking the perimeter. "Time to move, Danny. Traffic on Route 2 will pick up in twenty minutes. If you want to hit the bank the second the vault doors turn, you need to roll."
Daniel stood up. He looked at Marcus. "Guard him with your life."
"He's my blood now too, kid," Marcus grunted, resting his hand on his hip where his Kimber .45 was holstered. "Nobody gets within five hundred yards of this bluff."
Daniel ruffled Evan's hair. "I'll see you this afternoon, son."
Evan smiled—a small, tentative, beautiful smile that looked so much like Laura’s it made Daniel’s heart ache. "Be careful with the other headlight."
May you like
Daniel grinned, turned on his heel, and walked down the gravel path to his vehicle. The play for the truth had begun.
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