Jack’s POV
The roads stretched endlessly ahead, lined with frost-covered trees and the occasional flicker of a distant farmhouse. The sky was a dull, overcast gray, reflecting the tension pressing down on my chest. The SUV’s heater hummed softly, filling the silence between me and Rose. Ellie sat in the back, Mr. Bun tucked under her chin, humming a tune to herself.
I kept my grip steady on the wheel, my mind racing. The motel hadn’t been safe anymore. The city wasn’t safe anymore. The media was closing in, and I needed a place where no one would think to look for us. A place that even Rose wouldn’t have guessed existed.
My grandfather’s ranch.
Just outside of Mayfield, hidden from the world, abandoned for years. It had been my escape when I was younger, back before my life became publ
