Chapter 557 No Easy Goodbyes

With those words, Lucas turned and walked away. I watched him go, lost in a daze for a few seconds. This towering man, who seemed so strong, now struck me as tragically vulnerable. Getting two kids back to their homeland was no small feat. Lucas's influence had grown wild over the last couple of years, leaving too many casualties in its wake. The border was on high alert, every inch of it guarded like a fortress. Without the right papers, crossing was nearly impossible. Charlotte and Chloe had no proof of identity when they came down from the mountain. Just sending them back without cause was not going to be easy. Lucas was up to his neck in it, between the kids and some deal he was working on. It hit me then that it was poppy-picking season again. That explained the mud caked on his boots the other day. He must have come straight from the fields. Charlotte had been scared to death of him since that day, barely speaking a word. With his schedule being so busy, his visits had dro