Page 21 of Echoes of Danger
Sighing, which is something I seem to be doing a lot these days, I walk over to the kitchen table where the two men sit.
Jacob hands me a small wooden box.
“Jewelry?” I ask. “I don’t wear jewelry around the baby. She’s starting to grab at everything. But thank you for your thoughtfulness.”
“Open it, baby,” Jacob laughs.
Baby?
“Ma, open it.”
Giving in, I open the box to reveal a simple pink ring. The band is a single color and is beautiful in its simplicity.
“It’s beautiful,” I admit. “It looks like a wedding band,”
“Is that so,” Jacob murmurs. “Here.”
Reaching for the box, Jacob removes the ring and places it on my left middle finger.
“This is a special ring,” he tells me. “One that can give me and Elijah some peace of mind while you’re gone.”
“Define special,” I say.
“It’s a GPS tracking device,” my son answers what I’ve already guessed.
“You can already track me using my phone,” I remind them.
“Your phone isn’t always on your person,” Jacob says. “And there may come a time when your phone dies, or you lose it.”
“Knox has mad skills, Ma,” Eli tells me. “He made it to where your distance from us doesn’t matter. Your ring has a Bluetooth setting that will connect with the closest cell tower near you. As long as you don’t take the ring off, we’ll always know where you are.”
“I should be creeped out,” I say. “But I know how the world can be, so I feel oddly comforted. However, don’t lose track of your life because you’re always watching where I’m at.”
“That’s the best part,” Jacob smiles.
“I want the record to show that I did not agree to this. In fact, I fought against it for several days.” Eli frowns.
“And lost,” Jacob pats Eli’s shoulder with a grin. “Anyway, the only one who has access is Knox. He will only check to see where you are if there’s a legitimate reason for him to. He won’t let anyone, not even Elijah here, have access to it unless necessary.”
“Well, okay then,” I sigh. “Good.”
“It also has an SOS,” Eli says. “Can I tell her about it, Jacob?”
“Go ahead,” he smiles.
“Awesome. Okay, Knox told me that he got himself into some trouble not very long ago,” Eli continues. “Actually, from what I understand, people in this family keep getting into some sort of dangerous trouble. Anyway, Knox came up with the idea of these rings based on the cross necklaces that Pops gave his boys when they were younger. However, it does more than track your location. It’s basically a smart ring. It can track your steps, your heart rate, and stuff like that. But it can also send out an SOS to Knox.”
“That is kind of cool,” I admit. “But what if I accidentally send an SOS when I didn’t mean to?”
“That’s the super cool part, Ma,” Eli says excitedly.
His eyes light up as he continues. “Knox built in a safeguard so that it’s almost impossible to trigger by accident. You have to tap the ring in a specific pattern. SOS in Morse Code. Only then will it send a signal.”
I let out a small breath. “Okay, that’s reassuring. What happens when the SOS goes out?”
Jacob takes over. “Knox gets an alert instantly, and he’ll track your location through the ring. He can send help or contact us,depending on the situation. If you’re ever in real danger and can’t use your phone, this ring is your backup.”
I stare down at the simple band, turning it around my finger. It looks so innocent, yet it holds so much power.