Total pages in book: 107
Estimated words: 100086 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 500(@200wpm)___ 400(@250wpm)___ 334(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 100086 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 500(@200wpm)___ 400(@250wpm)___ 334(@300wpm)
“Mama?”
Keep it together, Olivia. If you don’t, you’re going to scare Hadley, and that’s not going to do anyone any favors. “I’m here, baby girl.” She extracted herself from his arms to find Hadley offered her a handful of dandelions. She sank to her knees next to her daughter and made a show of examining them. “What have you got there? Flowers for your mama?”
Hadley presented them to her solemnly, and then split into a grin wide enough to make Olivia want put all her problems on the back burner. She climbed to her feet. “Come on, baby girl. Let’s get these flowers in a vase.” Cillian’s presence at her back was almost enough to steady her and make her believe that everything would be okay.
Almost.
Chapter Twenty
Sloan stared at the little house, the sound of the ocean in her ears. She’d done it. She’d really done it. It had taken her the majority of two days to get here—first a plane to Denver and then a rental car to LA and a different rental car north to the little Oregon town of Callaway Rock.
She rubbed her hands over her arms, the sea air distinctly chillier here than it was back in Boston. I’ve been alone more in the last two days than I have in the last five years. There had been no one looking over her shoulder or checking up on her or drawing her into some plot that she wanted no part of. There had just been her and the open road. It had been…terrifying.
This is how the rest of my life is going to be.
She wasn’t sure if the thought was scary or exhilarating. Sloan pulled the flip phone out of her purse and turned it on. Teague’s instructions had been detailed to the point of being tedious, but he knew more about putting people in hiding than she did, and she wasn’t about to take any risks that her family could find her. She pressed one, speed-dialing the only number in the phone. Two rings later and her brother’s voice came over the line. “You’re there?”
“Yes.” The house was dark, not even the exterior lights on. “I thought there was someone already here.” The whole reason they’d picked this place to begin with was because Callie had some distant aunt who owned it. Sloan fully expected to have to deal with that once she arrived, but the place looked deserted.
“She’s out of town, but she’ll be back in a few days—a week at most. You have enough money to get you started in the meantime. I can always wire you more if you need it.”
“I won’t need it.” She was going to get a job and provide for herself. Teague had already put himself out there too much for her. She wouldn’t let him take any further risks—or give her any more handouts.
“If you do—or if you need anything—I’m there for you.” He paused. “I’ve got to go, but there will be a package showing up in the next day or two with phones to contact me. Don’t ever use the landline.”
“I won’t. And, Teague, thank you.” She hung up, took a deep breath, and started up the narrow walkway to the front door. She reached for the key she’d shoved in the inner pocket of her purse, when the sound of a foot on the gravel had her turning around. She squinted, trying to make out the details in the darkness. “Hello? Is anyone there?”
A shadow detached itself from the corner of the house to the left of her, and Sloan had to cover her mouth to keep from shrieking as it formed into a hulking brute of a man. He had shoulder-length hair and a close-cropped beard and looked like he was capable of the kind of acts that would put someone into prison for the rest of their life. “Stay back.”
“Trespassing is against the law.”
What is he talking about? She backed up a step, hating the fear that clogged her throat. “I’m renting here.”
“That’s impossible.” His voice was so low, it was almost lost in the nearby sound of the waves hitting the shore.
Get a hold of yourself. You can’t spend the rest of your life jumping at shadows. Now’s the time to discover your spine. She lifted her chin like Keira tended to do before a confrontation, though the move made her feel like an impostor. “Hardly. I have a key.” She turned, resisting every instinct that screamed she was an idiot for presenting that man with her back, and inserted the key into the lock.
Or she tried.
A hand covered hers and, this time, she couldn’t fight down a small shriek. The man used his hold on her hand to turn her around. Being faced with the fact that he towered over her made her literally shake in her boots. Show no fear. “Get your hands off me.” Instead of coming out harsh, the words were small and weak.