While chances were that her right hand man was up here dealing with cartel business, I couldn't take a chance that he was here for me or Mo. I couldn’t determine why.
Lupe never said anything about wanting Mo back. I realized that if she did ask me to return him, I wouldn’t. He didn’t need to grow up in a cartel, but even if she wasn’t living a life of crime, I’d fight for my rights as his father.
Even though I couldn’t imagine Lupe’s man being in the area for me or Mo, I wasn’t going to risk it. "Maybe it's time for us to take a little vacation for a couple of days."
I wondered if Harper would come with us. As soon as I thought it, I shook the idea away. Of course, I’d love to have Harper come with us. But if I or Mo were in danger, the last thing I wanted was to get Harper involved.
When we got back to the house, I immediately packed Mo and I a bag and loaded them into my SUV. I then called Archer to give him a heads up.
“I got a call from Dax that Mo’s mother’s right-hand man is in the area. Chances are he’s here on business, but I don’t want to take any chances that there’s something more nefarious going on involving Mo.”
“Like what?”
“I don’t know. Remember when I accused Bran and Harper of bugging my home? I’m now leaning toward Lupe being the culprit.”
“For what reason?”
“I’m hoping it’s just to make sure Mo is okay, but who knows. The reports I’m getting from Dax suggest she’s not the woman I’d known before. The point is, Mo and I are going out of town for a few days. Dax will be back in the next few days.”
“What do you need from me?”
“Nothing. I just wanted to let you know.”
“Stay safe.”
After getting off the phone with Archer, I carried Mo over to Harper’s place to let her know he and I were taking a vacation. I knocked on the door, a part of me worrying that she would read our sudden departure wrong and take it personally.
Just when we were getting along and exploring the possibilities between us, I was taking off. But her anger was a chance I had to take to keep Mo safe.
When there was no answer, I knocked again. The house remained silent. I walked over to her garage, peering in the window to see her car was gone. She must've left early to talk to Bran. I didn't have any paper or a pen on me to leave a note.
I headed back to the car thinking I would call or text her at some point. The most important thing right now was that I get my little man out of town.
As I drove away from home, I tried to figure where me and Mo should go. At first I thought about returning to New York, but if Lupe were following me that would probably be the first place she’d look since that was the last place I'd lived before coming to California.
I could drive to the mountains, but Mo seemed to like the beach, so I headed north thinking we would go to Santa Barbara or maybe even up to Northern California. Maybe Monterey or San Francisco.
I'd made it to Santa Monica before Mo was hungry again. I found a nice place along the beach, fixed Mo his bottle, fed him, and then we were on the road again. When we reached Santa Barbara, I decided that I wasn't comfortable going further north.
The farther away I got from Harper, the more I felt the distance between us. Having just bridged the gap between us, I didn't want to ruin it again. Did Mo feel the distance too? He wasn’t happy at all to be in a strange place, if his fussiness was an indication.
By the time I got Mo settled down, it was late and I was exhausted. My head hit the pillow and I was out like a light.
CHAPTERTWENTY-EIGHT
Harper
The next day I woke up feeling puny again, dry heaving over the toilet, but recovered well enough to go see Bran. I headed out first thing in the morning knowing it would be best for his schedule.
Noel had been right that Bran was looking at buying boss kids.
"Now I know you don't like it when I try to guide you towards something to fill your days with. But at the very least, I'd love to have your input on the purchase and if I do decide to buy it, maybe you could be on the board or a consultant."
I looked over the documents he had pulled together. "I might be interested in being involved in this Bran. Let me take all this paperwork home to review it."
He gaped at me. "Really?"
I laughed. "Yes, really. See how easy I can be to get along with when you're not trying to dictate my life?"